What's Concerning You?

If you're thankful for the blood, give the Lord

a good praise in his house today. There's power

in the blood. Wonder -working power, amen, in

the precious blood of the Lamb. If you have your

Bibles this morning, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Thank you for being

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

here on this first Sunday of the new year. The

goodness of the Lord. His kindness and mercy

extended to us every day. Amen. Grateful for

that. Begin reading at verse 12, 1 Thessalonians

5. And we beseech you therefore, brethren, to

know them which labor among you and are over

you in the Lord and admonish you. And to esteem

them very highly in love for their work's sake

and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort

you, brethren, warn them that are unruly. Comfort

the feeble -minded. Support the weak. Be patient

toward all men. See that none render evil for

evil unto any man, but ever follow that which

is good, both among yourselves and to all men.

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything

give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ

Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit,

despise not prophesying. Prove all things, hold

fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance

of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you

wholly. And I pray, God, your whole spirit and

soul and body be preserved blameless unto the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is

he that calleth you who also will do it. Faithful

is he that calleth you who also will do it. I

want to preach to you on a thought this morning.

What's concerning you? What's concerning you?

Father, I love you. I thank you today for your

goodness and your mercy. The richness of your

grace, the kindness, the encouraging power of

your spirit. I ask, Lord, in the house today

that you do great things. As we're fully trusting

in your wonderful grace. Lord, that spirit that

makes it easy to preach, let it be in the house

today. I surrender self, mind, will, and body.

Speak that which is pleasing to the spirit and

edifying to the body. In Christ's name. The church

said it. Ask your neighbor, what's concerning

you? On this first Sunday of the new year, today

is the fourth day of January. We're four days

in. We've got 361 more to go. It's like that

already. Four down, 361 to go. And before we

know it, we will be standing back here. Across

the threshold of another new year. Paul's giving

some encouragement to the church in Thessalonica.

I don't know about you, but I, in my 30 years

of ministering the gospel and preaching, I like

to bring a conclusion to the previous year. Normally

try to do that on the last Sunday of the year,

but with the way everything fell this year, it's

the first Sunday. I have learned over 30 years

not to try to cast a new focus or a new vision

on the first Sunday because a lot of folks aren't

there. And I want everybody to hear it. To catch

everybody at Hopewell, I'd have to preach it

for at least six weeks every Sunday. For it appears

as though we are on a six to eight week rotation.

Oh, wait a minute. I forgot this thing. Somebody

might want to hear this again. Maybe not that

last statement. Technology, isn't it amazing?

That's a microphone for the recording. So I'll

back up and say that again so it's on record.

It seems as though congregationally we are on

a six to eight week rotation. That's the reason

I like to wait at least a week into the new year

to share with you the new focus that the Lord's

laid on my heart. for the upcoming year, something

that we can dive into, something we can really

study toward and put a goal. How many of you

are goal -oriented? You like to have some type

of goal. Well, we're going to set that next week,

and I don't want to preach it for six to eight

weeks, so we're going to record it, and we can

just point them to the recording. But I like

to conclude the ending of the previous year.

If you've noticed already four days in, things

that you were dealing with in 2025, you're still

dealing with them. Notice that just because the

ball dropped, the problems didn't go away. Just

because we flip the page on a calendar to a brand

new year doesn't mean everything's new. All that's

new is January. All that's new is an opportunity

to do things differently in this upcoming year

than we have done in the previous year. I don't

know about you, but I've watched and I've looked

and I've seen those prophecies about 2026. And

people proclaiming all this really, really, really,

really, really good stuff. And I pray that it

really, really, really comes to pass. But as

I've noted before, I'm a realist. I'm not a pessimist.

I'm not an optimist. I'm right in the middle.

I am a realist. I look at things as the way they

are and I call them like I see them and deal

with them as they are. There ain't no half empty,

half full. It is what it is. It's not positive.

It's not negative. It is what it is. And believe

it or not, that's exactly the way I live out

my faith as a realist. I know God is real. I

know the devil is real. And I know right smack

in the middle of that is where I exist. You and

I exist within the tension of the pull of the

realms of spirituality. You've got a devil. You've

got the enemy that's trying to pull you to hell.

And you've got the loving spirit of an almighty

God that's wooing. He's not... necessarily pulling

like the devil. He don't get his claws in you.

The devil doesn't want to let go. God will let

you do you. And the whole time you were doing

you, he is wooing and lovingly drawing. And you

have to see and understand the difference in

the tension between the two. One's got a death

grip on you. The other has life he's trying to

give to you. One's trying to separate. One's

trying to unite. One's trying to draw you close

and bless. The other's trying to curse and kill.

So that is the tension. You can optimize. You

can negative. You can do whatever you want to

do. You can be the pessimist. But I encourage

you to kind of get real about what's going on

in life. And just because that ball dropped in

New York and the calendar is flipped over, whatever

time you went to bed Wednesday or for those that

were up all night at the... At the lock -in,

and it was later on Thursday when you finally

got to close your eyes for a little bit, when

you woke up, situational circumstances had not

automatically disappeared. Amen? There are people

who are prophesying a reset, a new beginning,

a fresh start, and all these things, and we want

that to happen. But wherever you woke up Thursday,

you woke up with the same thing staring at you

as you went to sleep with. There's still the

reality of a devil that wants to kill you and

the reality of a God who's trying to save you,

to bless you, and to spare you, and to add his

favor on your life. That is the reality of life

every morning that the sun rises, and when the

sun sets in the evening, that is the reality.

God loves you. The devil hates you. It's that

simple. So with that, it'll cause us. If the

cares of life didn't reset and the cares of life

have not disappeared, then just proclaiming it's

a new year is simply not enough. Just saying

a new start, I gave up resolutions a long time

ago because I have determined that resolutions

mean not a lot to me. It has to be a life -altering

decision for me in order to do something different.

I can resolute, and by the end of the first week,

that's done, or the first day. Right? It's not

about resolutions. It's about determinations

in our life and in the life of the Spirit that

we are trying to endeavor to grow closer to within

God. So, if something has to change in the issues

for them to be different, then the thing that

has to change must be on me. If the issues are

the same, the enemy's the same, trying to do

the same thing to me in 26 as he was in 25 that

he previously tried in 24, amen, he's going to

try again in 26. And just because the calendar

changed, the ball drops, the new year comes,

we shoot fireworks and we carry on, it doesn't

mean those issues are going away. And when I

woke up in the new year, they were staring me

in the face. So I had to make a decision. I've

already made another one for 26. I am not. I

am not going to repeat the failures of 25 and

26. Amen? I am not. I refuse to repeat those

failures. Maybe, just maybe, the reset, the fresh

start, a new beginning is in you and it's in

me. We have to leave the idea of insanity behind,

meaning we cannot do the same things over and

over and over and over, and yet every time we

do them, we expect something different. to be

the result from what we have just done. No, child

of God, in 26, you have to resolve within yourself

to fail to call and to fall into the idea of

insanity. You have to do something different

if you want a different end result at 26's end.

When we get to the 31st day of December of 2026,

through the course of the next 361 days, we must

endeavor to take the alternative the change upon

ourself. There's some things that we're going

to have to do differently if we expect different

results in our life. It doesn't matter if it's

physical. It doesn't matter if it's mental, emotional,

spiritual, or financial. You cannot repeat the

same cycles and expect different results. I'm

going into 26 with something that's been concerning

me. The other morning I was reading to Sister

Kathy, and this verse popped out, verse 18. Chapter

5 of 1 Thessalonians. And in everything give

thanks for this is the will of God concerning

you. And I've been gnawing over the word concerning

all week long. Like a dog chewing on a bone.

And I've almost gotten a marrow from the bone

and all that's left is that which I cannot crack.

And I have been dying to get here. Just urgently

waiting to get here. Asking to pose that question

to you. What is concerning you? What is the cause

of your anxiety? What is the cause of your worry?

What is cause to upset you? Or what is cause

to bring joy in your life? What is it that is

concerning you entering into this 2026 year?

I'm looking for a brand new season. I am looking

for the newness and the freshness of life. Amen.

I'm looking for differences in health. I'm looking

for God's blessings and his favor that he has

spoken over my life. And I am not going to repeat

whatever I did. in 2025 that kept me from inheriting

the goodness and the favor of God in my life.

Oh, God bless me. Don't get me wrong. But you

know what? I always stop and wonder. I always

stop and wonder what did I leave hanging on the

vine. Amen. I know what I partook of. I know

what I received. But what's always in my mind?

What of God's goodness did I not acquire in 2025

because of something that I may could have done

differently to God? more of him. I don't know

about you, but my desire is more of him. Church,

it's time we become motivated one more time that

we want more of him. I don't know if you've been

paying attention a lot, but this world is turned

upside down. To leave the insanity behind. Abandoning

tried and failed methods to receive God's favor

for something greater. Ecclesiastes 7 and 8 declares,

better is the end of a thing than the beginning

thereof. Better is the end of a thing than the

beginning thereof. Why? Because there's hindsight.

In hindsight, it's 2020. I would not have believed

that what befell upon our lives would have weighted

us when we preached and going beyond and breaking

the limits in 2025 as our focus for the year.

There's many areas of our life that we've broken

the limits of and we've encountered the favor

and the blessing of God. God has been good, continues

to be good, and will always be good. But I'm

wondering, what have I left in 2025 that is gone

now? It's behind me. I have to look forward.

Forward now to 26. And no, I do not want to abandon

and forsake or forfeit any of the goodness and

the blessings of God that he has for me in 2026.

There's some things of character and behavior

spiritually that have got to change within me.

And if it's got to change within me, I'm sure

the Lord is drawing the attention to you. There's

some things spiritually, characteristically,

that we have to change and alter in order to

walk in. the richness and the fullness of his

favor and his love and the blessings that he

desires to fill in our life every day. Why? Because

the God of glory knows every battlement and everything

that's waiting for you. He knows where the enemy

stands around the corner. And would to God that

we would finally understand that he's wooing

us, he's correcting us, he's giving us his word

that we may be prepared so that we may be, as

Paul wrote to the church, at Ephesus, when you

see the devil coming, when the enemy's at hand,

when you've having done all to stand, he said,

I want you to stand therefore. Too many fell

by the wayside in 25. Too many have turned back.

Too many are lukewarm. It's time that the church

of the living God, we understand that hell is

what's coming against you. devil is a force that's

trying to destroy you. And I want to know what's

concerning you this morning. And whatever it

is that's concerning you is that you take the

instruction of the word of the living God and

stand therefore. It's a good thing we only got

two little hand scribble pages today. Isaiah

5, 20 reads, Woe unto them that call evil good

and good evil, that put darkness for light, light

for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet

for bitter. Current events, you can't escape

them. The church, we're caught right up in them.

Try not to and never have been much on. Politics

from the podium and the platform of the preached

word. But we're entangled in it. We're entangled

in the culture and the environment in which we're

in. Washington, D .C. has gone nuts. I hope some

of them listen. You've gone nuts. See what the

Word of God said. Woe unto them. Woe, hardship,

warning. Take note. Be in knowledge of. Unto

them that call good evil good and good evil.

We've got some of the dumbest people on the face

of this planet trying to run this country. And

I'm telling you, if the church, we don't get

down on our knees and get between the porch and

the altar and take hold of a horn on each hand,

some of you don't have a clue of what I just

said. If you'll do a little Google search about

the horns of the altar and go read up on it sometime

today, amen, and find out what your role in this

needs to be, that's where the church needs to

find its self -position, between the porch and

the altar, and we take hold of the horns and

we get a good grip and we begin to plead that

power. of the blood that we were singing about

because this nation, they will protest good and

then celebrate evil. There's such idiocracy going

on in this nation. How in the world can God continue

to weep without crying and shedding tears? How

can he weep at what's going on in this nation?

I'll tell you the only thing that's holding back

my own personal opinion, the only thing that's

holding back the hand of God is that there is

a remnant down at the altar by the porch that's

rooted and handheld and locked on to the horns

of the altar and interceding for a lost and dying

world. I'm telling you, you better start praying

for this nation or the hand of protection of

God will be lifted up and we'll see the wrath

of this world and the enemy, not God. His wrath

is being reserved. But the wrath Of the enemy.

For the goodness that has come from our borders

will be unleashed because of the ignorance. I

don't know that you can call it ignorance. There's

three or four of them that I see quite often.

Yeah, they're just ignorant. They just ain't

got no better sense. But those others are just

plain. fell into stupidity. A direct spiteful

refusal of the knowledge and the will of God

in heaven. That's all it is. That's all. We've

got our idiots protesting in the streets. Because

of a capture this weekend. And the multiplied

thousands and millions of those countrymen are

celebrating. The potential for their freedom.

And we got our idiots who are free. By the way.

I better move along. I better move along. Because

I feel I'm getting mad not anointed. And there's

a fine thread between those two. It's a similar

feeling. It really is. And when you got a hold

of this, you have to really try not to lose your

total self to the mad side. Empty yourself to

the anointed side. So let me digress. Because

when I, I don't even hardly watch, I can't watch

it. Watching the news anymore is like me watching

a Tennessee football game. Sorry, Brother John.

I know you're hardcore. You're a supporter. I

watch it and I get so, it hurts. I don't know

if I can explain that. I mean, it's painful.

It's deep. Now, I know, and you've heard me,

I've confessed it before. I should not allow,

I told somebody that this morning, about how

that bothers me. But when I try to watch the

news and try to stay informed, there's an aching.

I can't explain this to you very clearly. I don't

have the ability to articulate and find the words

that I really would like to express to you. It

goes deep. It's inside me. It's inside me. And

when I see it, I think, oh God, how have people

abandoned the all sense of good sense? And we're

out there doing this. How can they do that? In

my mind, the Spirit just kindly reminds me that

in the last days, say, God, I'm going to pour

out my Spirit upon all flesh. And then my mind

goes over into Luke's gospel, and I see Matthew

as he begins to pen the words toward the ending

of time. And you'll see these things begin to

take place around the world. You're going to

see rumors of wars, and we see them. You're going

to see brothers rise against brothers, nations

against nations. You're going to see pestilence,

and you're going to see earthquakes in diverse

places. And this earth is spewing and venting

just so it can hold on. Volcanoes are erupting

all around this world. Maintaining the pressure

level just so it can hold on. The earth is groaning,

waiting again for its day of redemption. It wasn't

the earth's fault that man sinned, but because

of the curse of sin, the earth had been affected

by my God. And we see the effect of sin as it's

grown rampant from that day, that moment in the

garden to where it is now. But what is on my

mind now is not so much what's concerning our

nation, but what is concerning you. What is it

that you've brought over? into 26 that you need

God to help you with? What is it that's causing

you some anguish? And when I begin to read Paul

in this little letter, man, it's power packed.

In that fourth chapter, he gives them revelation

about the coming of the Lord and the saints that

are going to rise and we're going to be with

the Lord forever. He's given them that hope.

He's given them that insight. And he goes on

and begins to talk about the day of the Lord

and how the day of the Lord's going to be. And

then he begins to tell them that Trump's sounding

and all these things are going to transition.

and then we get to be with the Lord. Hallelujah.

But then before he closes out this small letter,

he gives them some instruction on holy living,

how you're going to live holy in the days that

are in front of you. And I begin to look at that.

There's some wonderful, powerful insight there.

So when we begin to think about what's concerning

us, he offers great insight in Philippians 3

.13. I count not myself, brethren, to have apprehended,

but this one thing I do. Amen. This one thing

I do. Oh, those things which are... I forget

those, and I'm reaching forth unto those things

which are before, and I press toward the mark

for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ

Jesus. And he begins to tell the Thessalonians

as he encouraged the church at Philippi. He's

encouraging them, and he says, here's what you've

got to do. You have to rejoice evermore. We must

get ourselves and our determination down to break

the cycles that hinder us, those reoccurring

events. We find ourselves like a hamster on a

horse. on a wheel going round and round and round.

It's time you break some physical and spiritual

and emotional cycles in your life that cause

you to be elevated by the glory and the anointing

and the power of God's love in 2026. It's time

to go beyond your current mode of being. See,

those hand claps are kind of weak because that

means the more we clap, we're thinking, oh, he's

talking to me. Oh, I got to change. Yeah. If

you want something different, you do. You got

to break those reoccurring events. You could

probably write down what's coming your way. Look

here, the devil doesn't have to change his approach

to you. He's already got the plan to you. And

as long as you don't change, he don't change

nothing. It's the same stuff year in, year out,

the same temptation. Why? Because he knows he's

got you. I know it's simple, but to break cycles,

been a hard year, 25, I broke some cycles. One

of them was some food cycles. I do good for a

little while, then not so good for a long while.

And it came to a head the third Sunday of January

2025 for you, Pastor. I'll just call me out.

Many of you inspired me. You've been on weight

loss journeys, and I'd say our church all total,

we pull off somewhere around 1 ,000 to 1 ,200

pounds corporately. Hallelujah for you. Amen?

Hallelujah. But it was beginning to affect my

preaching. I mean, it was stretching me to go

45 minutes and keep my breath. It was affecting

everything in my life. There was a sudden realization

I have to get healthy for obvious reasons that

are ahead of me. I've got to be healthy. And

so a resolution wasn't going to do that. What

was concerning me was my overall health. Fat

preacher, you heard myself refer to that myself

that many times because it was true. These memory

things pop up where some of you posted pictures

and tagged me in. And I'm thinking, oh, my Lord,

son. And then some of you had the audacity to

tell me during this process of 2025, Pastor,

you really didn't look that big. And I looked

at that and I said, liars, they're going to repent

or go to hell. I did look that big. I was. Thank

you, Sister Rita. You don't cull it. But it had

to be more than a resolution. Saying all that

to say this. There's got to be some changes about

what's concerning you. If it's going to turn

out and have a different result at the end of

26. There's some spiritual things. There's some

emotional things. There's some physical things.

Amen. There's some sickness. A lot of that. There's

some things we have no power over. But we have

power over ourselves as we go through them. Thus

what Paul says when he says rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing. And in verse 18 he says

this. Now stop for just a moment. He didn't say

for everything. He said in everything. He didn't

say don't give thanks for everything. What am

I going to thank the Lord for? I said, fat, I

couldn't hardly bend over and get back up without

losing my breath. No, no, no. But it's in everything.

It's in the trouble. It's in the trial. It's

in the warfare of life. Amen. That when we're

going through the gauntlet, we are to give God

thanks while we're in it. Not for it, but in

it. Why? Because when we're in it, we don't quench

the spirit. Hallelujah. And while I'm in it,

I pray without ceasing. And so there are some

things that we must recondition and have resolved

over our life. And we must break the unbeneficial

cycles of our life. We'll start the new year

with a made -up mind to break some cycles. It

is not easy. It's discipline. And sadly, the

world and the church in particular, we don't

have a lot of that. It's a weak area. It's like

lifting. You have to be diligent with it, don't

you? It can't just be half -heartedly. You have

to be diligent. You have to have your mind made

up. You have to be disciplined on that morning.

How many of you work out before you go to work?

Anybody? Get up early. I know Randy likes to

go on his lunch break, or used to. Do you still

do that? Instead of eating lunch, of course,

you can't really go by him. He don't like food

to start with. I forgot that. Scratch that illustration.

Let's go to Brother David. Randy gets a smoothie

and goes lifts weights for 30 minutes, gets decompressed

in his mind, goes back and does his job. But

it still takes discipline. Whatever it is, it

takes discipline, right? I love what the Apostle

Paul said. I fight against my body. Not as one

that beateth there either. In other words, he

gets in a corner and he has it out with himself

and he gets himself down. If you want some emotional

things different, you have to change your emotional

mindset. Well, how do I do that, Pastor? Well,

let's take the Word of God, for instance. Let

this mind be in you. That was also in Christ

Jesus. What did Paul further say? Whatsoever

things are good. I've been going over this with

Sister Kathy and I. We've been going over this

about every day or at least every other day.

Whatsoever things are of a good report, think

on these things. Can I tell you, you have control

of your thought processes in your mind. You think

on what you want to think on. You stop the thoughts

that you don't want to mull over and you give

permission to those that you do. You have simply

to change. your discipline on what you think

over. Let a man let him word and meditate on

the word of God. Let me hide your word in my

heart first of all God that I didn't sin against

you. I do not want to sin against you and I will

meditate on your word both day and night. That

is a choice. It is your choice. Amen. And if

there's some cycles that are going to break we

have to start with the spiritual cycles. Amen.

So if we're going to have something different

we have to start by breaking the cycle of prayerlessness.

Jesus said men ought always to pray. He said

when you pray, get in your closet, shut the door,

and get down and do some business. Amen. Pray

without ceasing is what Paul said. Every aspect

and every day of our life, if you have the free

moment, let your mind be meditated on the Lord

and pray. Amen. You don't have to fall down on

your knees every time. It is a culture. It is

a lifestyle. It is an attitude of prayer. You

wouldn't find yourself thinking about some of

the ungodly the things that you dwell on if your

mind is stayed on prayer. Amen. If you've got

your heart set, breaking the cycle of a prayerless

life. See, that only gets one or two little claps.

Why? Because it's discipline. Seven minutes.

And prayerlessness is a cycle. We repeat it day

in and day out. I looked up the statistics one

time on how long the average Christian prays,

and it was very minute. Most of it attributed

over meals. You want something different spiritually

in your life, you're going to have to pray. You

want some of those foregone Jericho walls to

fall, you've got to pray. You've got to start

interceding. You've got to start calling out

on God regularly, consistently, daily. And unless

that cycle is broken right there, you're not

going to have anything else spiritual happen

in your life in 26 than you did in 25. It isn't

going to happen. Blessed are those who hunger

and thirst after righteousness, for they shall

be filled. If you're hungry, you're going to

try to find something to eat. If you're thirsty,

you're on a search. for something to quench the

parched mouth and to get your tongue loose from

the roof of your mouth. I know some of us that

think we've been thirsty, but we really don't

know what thirsty is. But there's a longing down

in the depths of my soul that's getting me thirsty

for more of God's grace and glory. And the only

way some things go with but not by prayer and

fasting, that's the only way that it happens.

That's the only way that it happens is that we

pray and we fast. We have to break the cycle

in worship. We have to break that cycle. You

know, worship is a decision. That we make up

long before our mind enters this building. Worship.

That is the sole purpose of this day. I know

we think it's preaching, but no. It's worship.

And we are to offer sacrifices of praise and

worship. The two coincide. Jesus told the woman

said there's a day coming. The father seeketh

up to worship him for he is spirit and he is

truth and he's seeking those to worship him in

spirit and in truth. It's not optional. It's

the purpose. We worship him and I've seen places

and been in services where we Reverse the order.

We want to try to worship before we praise him.

My opinion, there is a sequence to those events.

I have always noticed as I begin to praise the

Lord, his presence begins to draw where I'm at.

And the closer he becomes to where I am, the

more the innate spirit that's in me identifies

with the holiness that's coming around me. And

the more the holiness that comes around me begins

to withdraw that praise and adoration to cause

me to fall in declaration. When I'm praising,

I'm proclaiming, making a proclamation of the

goodness and the glory of his name. But when

he comes to where I am, I can only but prostrate

and declare his holiness. God, have you ever

noticed that? The thicker and the richer the

glory of God gets around you, the lower you become.

Why? Because we begin to realize who we are and

presence of whom we are in, down in front of

him because we are not holy unless he transforms

our sin into righteousness and the more of his

presence that gets around me the lower I gotta

come and all I can do is declare his holiness

I've seen them try to worship their way in and

then shout, no, it doesn't work that way. My

opinion. Developed from my personal experience.

But we can't leave off praise either. It is such

a theme throughout the Word of God, why God desires

it. Matter of fact, you and I were created to

do so originally. Ephesians 5, 19 declares to

us, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns,

spiritual songs, singing, making melody, your

heart to the Lord. We have to break the cycle

of songless lives. Got to have a song. I don't

care what genre it comes from. Got to have a

song. Sing unto the Lord. Rejoice. And again

I say, rejoice. How many of you declare that

God's done some good things for you in 25? Well,

let's praise him like we realize it in 26. Amen.

Praise him like you truly. And like I said, worship

will take care of itself. As you begin to declare

his glory and lift his name and magnify his name.

The scripture says he dwells within the praises

of his people. And that dwelling, you know what

I've told you before, it's like pitching up a

tent and staking it down. When you begin to praise

him, he begins to come to where you are. Why?

Because he alone is worthy of the praises. He

alone deserves our praises. He alone. deserves

him. And when we begin to give them to him, he

comes to accompany so that you may know who you're

praising. Breaking the cycle of a songless life.

Giving. We have to break our cycles in giving.

You know I don't talk about it much. I'm praying

blessings over you. Not asking from you, but

on very rare occasions for special things. But

a minister of the gospel who doesn't slow down

long enough to explain the benefits of giving

to the giver. He's a taker. I'm not a taker.

The benefit of giving is really made clear in

Malachi. Now, I know you've got these folks out

there that are arguing, well, it ain't in the

New Testament to tithe. You do a dig in. It was

way before the law of Moses. It is a biblical

principle. It is a principle of blessing. It's

a principle of acknowledging. It's a principle

of obedience. It's a principle of trust. It's

a principle of faithfulness on our part. And

then God returns all of those from his part.

I don't believe in it. Well, then don't. And

if you get to heaven, you explain it to him.

Well, why do you say it like that? Because the

Bible says you're thieves and robbers. And they

said, well, wherein have we stolen and robbed

from you, God? In my tithe and offerings. That's

the end of the book. Well, that's the Old Testament.

Okay, you roll the dice on that one. I'll leave

that to you. Tithing, what does that mean? Tithe,

definition, tenth. Ten percent. Right off the

top. People say, well, do I tithe on gross? Or

do I tithe on, what's that other call? It's gross.

Net. Net. Which one do I tithe on? I say, well,

which one did you earn? Gross. Duh. It's not

God's fault that we're living in an overtaxed

nation. It's not God's fault that you hold 25

out into the Christmas fund, the dental plan,

your insurance. But I always tell folks this,

it depends on how you want to be blessed. Well,

what does that mean, Pastor? That means if you

want a gross blessing, tithe on the gross. If

you want a net blessing, by all means, help yourself.

I'm a gross kind of guy. Matter of fact, I'm

an over -gross kind of guy. Amen. If you were

to look at my tithe thing, you say, we pay him

that much? I'd say, no, you don't. If that's

10 % of what we're paying him, I say, no, you

don't. So it just depends on how you want to

be blessed or if you want to be blessed at all.

But if you do... The word of God says, just very

rare occasion, God says, go ahead and prove me

and see if I won't do what I'm telling you I'll

do. And here's what I'll do. I'll open up the

windows of heaven. And I will pour into your

life blessings that you cannot contain. It's

not all green, folks. God's blessings and favor

is more than monetary. Amen. I'll tell you another

one if you really want to try something. If you

really want to see God's blessings. Years and

years and years and years ago, I give what I

call a first fruit offering. The first week,

I give my whole salary back. First one. Give

the whole thing back. I cut it up in departmental

deals. I pay my tithe first because that's not

mine to cut up. That's over here. I take the

rest of that. And I just, kids ministry, seniors

ministry, youth ministry, missions. Everybody

gets some. The whole first week. For years I've

been wanting to get to the place where I can

do the whole first month. Because of what I've

seen God do with that first week. About 20 some

odd years ago. 20, too many. First time I understood

that principle, the first fruit, I don't preach

it because I don't want people to think, well,

I share it. No. I'm giving this information to

you. Do with it what you want to. I'm not requesting

it. I'm just sharing with you another way to

be blessed because we have to break the cycles

in the absence of having a free heart to give.

First time I did that, I sat down with a church

clerk and done that. She looked at me. She says,

Pastor, are you sure? I said, well, I think so.

Because it was the first time, remember? Three

kids at home. Week to week was. But we did it

by faith. And the second year. I did it again.

She said, are you going to do that again? I said,

yeah. I said, let me tell you something. I said,

I can't explain to you how all this came back

multiple times over unexpectedly. Everything

that I gave, you know, you've heard that some

30, some 60, some 100 -fold increase. That first

year was about a 60 increase over what I'd given

from out of nowhere, unexpected places. And I

said, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. Every

time an unexpected monetary blessing comes into

my hand, I'm going to let you know. She said,

okay, okay. The end of service, everybody was

gone. She was in her office. I walked by and

waved a $50 bill at her. I said, here's one.

There's gas for this week. Her eyes got about

this big around. Here's one. God's not going

to forsake you, folks, for your faithfulness.

Don't be stingy with God is what I'm trying to

say. Do what you can. God doesn't expect you

to do any other than that. Be obedient. That's

the key. And do what you can. The widow woman

that gave her last mite, this half cent. In the

offering. Jesus sat and watched Pharisees and

scribes and everybody come through and just pour

money in the offering. And when that little widow

woman came in and gave that, he stopped and drew

their attention and said, do you see that? They

gave out of their plenty. She gave out of her

all. God sees it. It's not the amount. So break

the cycle in stinginess. There's my sermonette

for the year on giving. If you want blessed,

you be a tither. You be a tither. Give. Throw

in a five or a ten in the offering plate, that's

not tithing. I've heard it said one time, you

cannot give an offering until you've surrendered

the tithe. The tithe is the Lord's. All right,

so everybody say amen. Thank you, Lord. Thank

you for the help. Moving on, Pastor. I'm going

to stand you up for this one because I'm going

to close with this one. It's the last one. I

did all the kind of shouty preaching at first,

and I saved the correctional stuff to the end.

I didn't want you shut down at the beginning

because I knew you were going to shut down toward

the end. You have to break the cycle of unfaithful

attendance. I was halfway joking at the beginning

of the service about our six to eight week rotation.

But it is the truth. Now, the author of Hebrews

wouldn't have pinned under the anointing of the

Holy Spirit and the direction. The verse that

declares, forsake not the assembling of yourselves.

Well, matter of fact, it doesn't say yourselves.

It says ourselves. He included. We quote that

wrong a lot of times. It's ourselves. Forsake

not the assembling of ourselves together. In

the manner of some that already is. But exhorting

one another. Exhorting one another. So much more.

As you see the day approaching. Folks, there's

life in the sanctuary of God. Don't get me wrong.

I'm not talking about circumstances that may

keep us from the house of the Lord. I'm talking

about willful laziness. There it is. So many

Sundays I'd love to lay in there too. I would.

Don't feel like it. Do not feel good. You know

what I'm saying? But God has never failed that

when I come in that I leave better than when

I came. Now if you're snotting and feverish,

stay at the house. Come on now. You know where

I'm at, right? We have to become more consistent

in the assembling of ourselves together so that

we can exhort. Exhort means to encourage, to

lift up. We can exhort one another in our faith.

That's why I come. My mandate from the Word of

God is that I reprove and rebuke with all longsuffering.

In other words, I give the alignment of the Scripture.

And encourage you to follow what the word of

God says. Is that not kind of what our principle

is here? Is that not what I try to do? I try

to keep myself detached. Just like earlier. I

could have just went really on a. But I'm trying

to encourage. 2026. If you want a spiritual difference

in your life. You have to do things different

than you did 25. Now I know some of you here

every week. And then just shovel it on back.

You're here, right? But how are you here? How

are we here? Are we just here? Or are we present

while we're here? Are we engaged in praising

God? Are we engaged in worship? Is our attention

fully focused on what is the Spirit saying to

me today? That's what this is all about. Somewhere

between, on any given Sunday, 225 down to 155

of us. We sway that much. We sway 70, 75 people

every week. So what causes my mind, I thought,

well, Lord, is our spiritual life swaying that

way? If that is an indication of where we are

in God, how are we? There's more to this than

going through and fulfilling the routine. What

is concerning you? What hinders you? The scripture

says, lay aside the weight. That does so easily

beset you. Then it says. Keep in your eyes. Focus

your eyes. On Jesus. Who is both the author.

And the finisher. Of our faith. Where's your

focus? Where's your gaze? Is it work tomorrow?

Is it the next hundred dollars? Is it the next

fifteen hundred dollars? All of that is useless.

Without a vibrant relationship with God. And

don't think for a moment the devil didn't know

how to pull your dollar string trigger. Breaking

the cycles that hinder our growth in faith and

spirituality. What's concerning you? If you know

what's... and you want to change it, just meet

me down here. Sister Sue, come on, we're going

to get those prayer cloths that you need as well.

Wow, man. Y 'all in good shape. I missed a phone

call to where I was to be today to preach this

message. But I thought for sure it was Hopewell.

I thought for certain the other day when... We

were discussing what's concerning you. The Lord

burned this in my heart like a branding iron.

Tell my people I know what's concerning them.

Oh, God. It's going to take discipline, folks.

It's going to take changing your will, not just

your mind. You've got to change your will. The

only way to make concentrated efforts is to fulfill

them. Amen? I don't want 26 to end like 25. I'm

going to break some cycles. Prayerlessness. Oh,

we didn't have time to get into wordlessness.

Time in your word every day. Read some. Father,

we stand before you today. Lord, I know that

you're faithful and you're just. Father, we're

just asking for the richness of your blessings

on the household of faith. Lord, you know what's

concerning us. You know what's concerning your

people. You know what the cause of their anxiousness

is. You know why they're anxious. You know why

they're worried. You know why they're in fear.

Lord, we pray you break those cycles, the cycles

of sickness, cycles of disease. Take authority

over it because we know by your stripes we are

healed. Lord, help us break some of those pet

sins that we just drag around day in and day

out. Your Word says lay aside the weight. That's

the sin. That's the thing that's setting us off

track. That's the thing that keeps us from being

all we can be in you, all we can be in your grace,

and all we can be in your glory, all that we

can be for you and concerning you. Help us, O

God. Help us change our attitude. Help us change

it, Lord. Help us change it. Help us see differently,

O God. Lord, you know what's concerning us. You

know the weight. You know the heaviness. Lord,

you know what life's throwing at us. You know

what the devil's trying to do. And, Lord, we

make that declaration. We're going to stand anyway.

I'm going into 26 with that declaration. I will

stand. I am going to stand. I will stand. I'm

not going to fail. I'm not going to fall because

your promise and your word declares it over my

life. Hallelujah. Greater are you that's in me

than he that break the cycle of sickness, my

Lord, over this household, Lord. We're going

in with the anointing to break the bondages.

And, Lord, the sickness of all. Lord, in the

name of Jesus, strengthen my brother this morning.

Strengthen him today, almighty God. Lord, we're

going to break the cycle over and over and over

and over and over. I want to break the cycle.

Touch Brother Doug today, Father God. Do healing

in his body this morning, Lord. Lord, all our

brothers and sisters that are home and sick and

those that are in the hospitals today, Lord,

we just ask that you do a work in their heart,

do a work in their body, do a work in their lives,

Father God. Lord, I'm going to do some things

different. I'm going to change the way I perceive.

I'm changing the way I look. Lord, take your

authority in our life. Oh, Lord, I'm going to

change it. I'm going to move beyond, Lord, breaking

the cycle, Lord, of inconsistency. Lord, we're

going to change it. Lord, we're going to do better.

Lord, you know the weight that's on us. You know

the heaviness. You know the heaviness of life.

Give us strength and grace today, Father God.

Strengthen us today, Father God. Lord, with your

grace and your glory and the power of your might.

Lord, over the household of faith this morning.

Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Come on. Father

God, in the name of Jesus, you bore in your back

the healing. Every stripe was... Lord, take authority

over these nerves today. Lord, from the base

of the neck to the sole of the feet, Lord, let

healing, let your healing virtue flow, mighty

God. You are healer in the name of Jesus. Heal

today, Lord. Heal today, Lord. Heal this very

day. Lord, touch Brother Gary in the hospital.

Touch Sister Dean in the hospital this morning.

Meet them where they are today. Do a healing

work in their bodies, oh God. Do healing works

in their body, Lord, for everyone sick with the

flu, sick with COVID, and sick with everything

else, just sick and tired of life the way it

comes and goes. Do a healing in their life, oh

Lord. Deliverance in their life. Lift up those.

All right, here's how we're going to continue

in this week. To help us get this one, all those

that can, we're going to do our six to six fast

again this first week. From 6 a .m. to 6 p .m.

Try your best. Try your best. To maintain that,

if you can, if you have to take medicine during

the day, eat what you need to eat and try to

hold out. Now, I know it's tough. Amen? I know

it is hard. And if you mess up meat bologna sandwich

tomorrow, about one, don't stop. Just don't eat

the chips until after six. Amen? It will help

begin a discipline in our life. Like I said,

if you have to take medication and you need,

please do what you need to do. Amen. But do what

we can. Because the Lord honors every sacrifice

that we do, every meal. You know? And so let's

try that, six to six. A lot of folks are doing

these 21 -day Daniel things. I just got tired

of being a rule breaker. And I refused to carry

the rule sheet with me. It's just easy if I just

don't eat anything. I got that took care of.

Six to six. And during the day, start cultivating

this culture of prayer in your life. Pray without

ceasing. Every opportunity you can while you're

doing your stuff, pray. Keep your mind on God.

Talk to the Lord. Out loud if necessary. Inside

if not. Just talk to the Lord, and we'll start

to create a habit. You'll start to create a discipline.

Read at least one verse. Come on, somebody. I

was going to try to get us on this read your

entire Bible together, Genesis to Revelation

from the general offices, but I thought, Lord,

if I can just get them to get one good verse

a day, it's going to be victory for Hopewell.

So I'm going to take that victory. Give me at

least one. Start your day with it or end your

day with it. And before you know it, one won't

be enough. One verse just won't satisfy you.

You're going to read another one and another

one. And so you begin a discipline of Bible reading.

Are you following me? Next Sunday, we're going

to launch our new focus for 26. But I just kind

of had to. Shut down 25 first, if you know what

I mean. That's just, that's me. I'm sorry. God

is good. Stretch your hand this way. Heavenly

Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you

today.