The Church: Perfection of Beauty

Welcome to the Southwest Apostolic Church podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by the Southwest Apostolic Church located at

3161 South Rowena Street in Indianapolis, Indiana 46241.

The podcast will feature preaching

from our pastor and from other ministers, so we hope you enjoy it.

Without further ado, let's get right into it. God bless.

Turn to Hebrews 12. If you want to follow along, I'm going to read some scriptures tonight.

This is Bible study, and we're going to look at something tonight that I feel

impressed to talk about tonight.

Hebrews 12 and 22.

Hebrews 12, the book of Hebrews. They don't know who wrote the book of Hebrews.

Most people attribute it to the Apostle Paul since he was so well acquainted.

He was so well acquainted with the Hebrew ways, and he understood the temple more than anybody.

But the authorship's been on controversy from the very get-go.

It doesn't say who the writer was, but most people believe it was the Apostle Paul.

So looks like it was written probably before the destruction of the temple. That's interesting.

And the theme of this book, the theme of the book of Hebrews is better.

The key word is better. It makes a series of contrasts between the good things

of the Old Testament or Judaism and the better things of Christ.

Christ, and if you read Hebrews, oh, you're standing. I didn't know you were standing.

Hebrews, let's go to my scripture then. Hebrews 12, 22. Thank you for standing.

And then I'll go back to rambling again in a minute.

But, well, let's back up a minute here to go to 18. He's making a contrast here.

For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, that burned with fire,

nor with blackness and darkness and tempest.

He's referring to Mount Sinai when Moses got the law.

So you are not come unto the mount that might be touched and that burned with

fire, nor under blackness and darkness and the tempest.

And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they heard entreated

that the words should not be spoken to them anymore.

They told Moses, Moses, we can't deal with this. Moses, you got to talk to us.

For they could not endure that which was commanded.

And if so much as a beast touched a mountain, it shall be stone or thrust through with a dart.

And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.

So now we'll get to where we wanted to start.

But you are come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem,

and to an innumerable company of angels,

to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,

and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus,

the mediator of the new covenant,

and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

And I want to talk about the church tonight, the church.

I also want to, let's see, you may be seated. How about that? We'll just do that.

Psalms 50 and 2 says, out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

And I want to talk to you tonight about the church being the perfection of beauty.

Amen. I want to talk about the church and what it is and talk about the church tonight.

In Acts 20, 28, the Bible tells us that the church was purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 1, 18 through 24, the Bible tells us that the church is His body in the earth today.

In 1 Timothy 3, 15, the Bible tells us that the church is the family of God,

the pillar and ground of truth.

In Ephesians 5.25, it tells us that Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.

So the church, now I want to look also at Psalms 48 if you want to look at that.

I want to look at this beautiful poetic psalm and it talks about Mount Zion.

And we read that we are come unto Mount Zion, the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem.

And I'd like to look at Psalms 48. It says, a song and psalm for the sons of

Korah, great is the Lord, greatly to be praised in the city of our God,

in the mountain of his holiness.

Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion.

On the sides of the north, the city of the great king.

And he talks about the attributes in the Old Testament, Zion.

He's painting a picture of Jerusalem.

But it also, Paul tells us, or the writer of Hebrews tells us,

that we're coming to the heavenly Jerusalem.

When you're born into the church, you are born into something that's more than just an organization.

It's more than just a club. Come on, somebody.

It's more than just a social get-together. But the church, we need to see the

value and the beauty of the church.

And the church is beautiful for situation.

The joy of the whole... You see, the church, when it's...

If I could really bring this out, I hope I get it to come out.

But beautiful for situation, he said.

You know, the church, when it's done like it should, not what somebody says,

not what some man tries to do and not what somebody tries to do on their own

and not what some man has made up.

But when the church is done like it should be from the top to the bottom,

from the front door to the back door, from the lowest seat to the highest seat,

When the church is what it's supposed to be, it is beautiful for every situation.

It is beautiful for a situation. It works. The church of the living God works.

The ways of God and the things of God are found in his church.

It's beautiful for a situation.

And the church, if the world would let it, would be the joy of the whole earth. Amen? man?

If people did what they should do in the church,

I'm talking about live and be baptized and get the Holy Ghost and live holy

and godly before God and let God work in their hearts and in their lives.

Wouldn't our country be a whole lot better off?

Wouldn't our world be a whole lot better off? Wouldn't our neighborhoods,

and I've said it many times, wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to worry

about somebody stealing your bicycle off your porch.

You wouldn't have to worry about leaving your keys in your car.

You wouldn't have to worry about locking your doors.

It would be joy for the whole earth. Everybody would be happy.

Everybody would be so much better off if people understood the value of what

God is trying to do through His church that's in the earth today.

Beautiful for any situation, excuse me, beautiful for situation.

The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north.

Of the great king. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

The thing about it is the true church of Jesus Christ is a place where people can find God.

I mean, really find God, not talk about God, not just dream about God,

but come in contact with God. Amen.

Come in contact with the real divine that is, you know, the only divine there is.

The one true and living God can be found in His church.

Now, that's interesting because

Jesus said, in my Father's house are many mansions. Did He not say that?

And let me just say this. Those that are blood-bought, Holy Ghost-filled,

baptized, live and forgot, they are the mansions He's talking about.

In my Father's house, there In other words, where my father dwells,

there's many dwelling places, okay?

And he said, in my father's house are many mansions.

So God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

See, the only Christ people are ever going to see in the world today are those

in the church, those that are really living.

We are Christ in the world today. Now, I'm not saying I'm the same as Jesus.

I'm not saying, and I don't believe that one man can say he's a replacement

for Jesus in the world, but the church,

the body of Christ is the replacement for Jesus in the world because it's in

the church where the Spirit of Christ dwells. Praise the Lord.

Wow, that's heavy right there. That's heavy stuff.

So we're dealing with something that's way beyond just this is better.

This is higher than Trump Tower, folks.

This is taller and bigger than anything in the world. This is something that

is so great and magnificent.

If you want to look at a book of the Bible, let me flip there real quick.

This is kind of off the cuff. I hadn't thought about this, but I'm going to

look at it real quick. the book of Ephesians, one of my favorite books in the Bible.

When you read about this and you talk about, let me see, let me find it real quick. Stay with me.

1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, I think Ephesians next. Yeah. Listen to this.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints,

which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Jesus Christ, grace be to you and

peace from God our Father, and the literal reading should be grace to you and

peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, listen now,

with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,

according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,

that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

He's talking about his church. Now, listen to this.

Verse 9, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his

good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself.

Now listen, that in the dispensation of the fullness of time.

He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven

and which are in earth and even in him, in whom also we also have obtained an inheritance,

being predestined according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after

the counsel of his own will. You ought to read that.

I'm not going to read that whole chapter, but you need to realize that what

God is doing in his church and what he wants the church to be,

well, not what he wants it to be, what it is.

Because if I miss the mark all over the place, God's got somebody that's in

the church. He got somebody that's sincere and really living for him.

As a matter of fact, he's got a church in the ground. I said,

he's got a church in the ground.

There's people that have lived for God and they live for God and they followed

the teaching. They were taught, and they lived for God.

The church was conceived in heaven in eternity past, which we just read.

Its birth was heavenly. The sound came from heaven, according to Acts 2, 1 through 4.

The commission is Matthew 28, 19, and Mark 16, 15. We know that.

Go ye therefore. That's our commission. Go out and teach the world about Jesus,

teaching them and baptizing them. Come on, somebody.

The message of the church is Acts 2, 38.

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the

remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That is our message.

That is the only message. There is no other message. That's the message that

Peter stood up and preached.

It's power is found, Acts 1 and 8.

It's lifestyle. Titus, we read that the other night.

It's destination. Our heaven is heaven, and we know that Jesus Christ is the

head of the church who bought it with his own blood.

In the church, this is interesting. I've got some notes here that I've had for

years. I got it from a brother named Steve Epley. He lives in, he's in Missouri now.

He used to be in Indiana, but I've used this. So I didn't write all the stuff

that I'm reading here. He did, so I'll give him credit for it.

At the church, you learn things you don't learn anywhere else.

I said, you learn things you don't learn anywhere else. And in the church,

there are five things that God does not know.

He does not know a sin that he does not hate.

He does not know a sinner he does not love.

He does not know a better plan of salvation than he has already provided.

He does not know a better time to be saved than today.

Amen. And he does not know another God. Amen. Hallelujah.

You see, you learn things in the church. You learn things you don't learn in

the world. The church is his wife, bride.

The church is his lover. The church is the apple of his eye. The church is his body.

The church is his vineyard. The church is his branches, and the church is his friend.

Amen. The church is a healing place for the hurting.

It's a place where truth can be found. It's a place where people meet their

brides and their husbands.

It's a place where you can find that all your needs can be met.

Anybody believe he can meet all your needs, mental, spiritual, physical?

Now, I'm not saying everything will go perfect when you get in the church,

but I'll tell you what, he'll meet your need.

I said he'll meet your need in the church. I guarantee it. Amen. I am a witness to that.

Outside the church, people experience disappointment.

They experience despair.

They experience discouragement. you find deadness, you find dread,

you find daily struggle,

you find damaging sin, you find depreciating favor, you find debilitating guilt.

But in the church, I said in the church, you find His love, His joy,

His peace, His long-suffering, His gentleness, His goodness, his faith,

his meekness, his temperance, his spirit, his glory, his grace,

his mercy, his forgiveness, his greatness, his excellence, his insight,

amen, his faithfulness, his fellowship, his friendship.

You find his name, his sovereignty, his perfection, his simplicity,

his immobility, his fastness, his closeness, his tenderness, his understanding,

his provision, his mighty power, his wonder, his willingness, his availability,

his touch, his admonishment, his correction, his inspiration,

his teaching, his calling, his empowerment, his anointing, his endorsement,

his answer, his omniscience, his goodness, his oneness, and his eternal nature.

Wow.

You see, you hook up with the church, you're hooking up with the best that there is.

The best. I know there's a lot been done in the name of Christ.

I know there's been wars. I know there's been crusades. I know all kind of stuff.

And there's all kind of stuff going on in the world today under the banner of

Christian that God doesn't have anything to do with.

But I want to tell you what. There is a true church. There is a group of people that love God.

There is a group of people that have repented and said

i don't want nothing to do with sin and i'm trying to

live for god and they submitted to water baptism in

the name of jesus christ and god washed away their sins and god filled them

with the holy ghost and they're endeavoring to live their life and they're serious

and they mean business they're not playing games i'm going to tell you he's

got a church praise the lord i said he's got a church in the world he's got

a group of people that are really trying to live for him.

Amen. He got a church, praise the Lord.

Hallelujah. He's got one. And see, sometimes we need to realize what we're dealing with.

I think the quote was attributed to Abraham Lincoln.

He said, I'll kind of paraphrase the quote. I have it written down somewhere.

But he said, if you want to know how to get somewhere, you got to know where you're going.

Shazam, right? You got to know your destination if you want to know how you're supposed to travel.

So when you're, you see, that's why we need to realize who we are in God.

And we need to realize who we are in the church. And we need to realize what

is available to us and the greatness of what we're involved in to know how to behave.

Once we realize how great God is and how great a privilege it is to be called

and to know the truth and walk in him and live in him and serve him. Praise the Lord.

That'll give us insight as to how we ought to behave. Praise the Lord.

It'll teach us and help us understand why we do what we do or don't do,

because we realize the Bible says that we are a chosen generation.

We are a royal priesthood. You got royal blood in you.

Your father is Jesus Christ. He is the great high priest.

He is the king of kings. He is the Lord of lords. Praise the Lord.

And you have his blood in your veins. you carry

his spirit that makes you

holy that makes you royal now I know I kind of looked I like to follow I like

to read about Kate and William and and I don't care too much for Harry and Megan

though Megan kind of gets on my nerves she seems to be a this is my opinion of course.

She seems to be a wannabe star or something. I don't know what she's trying to do.

But I like to look at pictures and read about them, especially when the queen

was alive. I like to read about the queen or something about the whole mystique

of being a king or a queen.

Wouldn't you like to be – it would be great to be a king for a day,

wouldn't it? You could just be the king.

I don't know if some of us, they'd want us to be king or not.

We'd be off with our head.

But you see, royalties, not, I'm sure when William was growing up,

now see, William's going to be the king one of these days, because poor Charles

didn't get to be the king until he was pretty old, because the old queen wasn't giving it up,

it was good being queen, and she was hanging on to it.

But Charles is the king now, he's the king of the commonwealth,

the king of Great Britain, And all the other nations, Canada is part of the commonwealth.

There's all kinds of nations all over the world.

And Charles is the king. And one day, William's going to be the king.

Now, I'm sure when William was growing up, they talked to William,

said, William, you ain't like everybody else, buddy.

One of these days, you're going to be the king, and we're going to teach you

your do's and your don'ts, and we're going to teach you.

You know, I read somewhere that they teach them how to have conversation with people.

They actually teach them. I'd like to go to that school.

I would like to go to that school to learn how to be at ease when you meet people, you know?

Because when I go to a, not so much anymore, I got older, but for years,

you go to a group, here's how you feel, right?

You go to a room that's got a group of people, and you know,

and there's, you feel intimidated.

And the longer you stay in the room, the smaller you get.

Can I get an amen? Anybody ever felt that? Like, man, I don't belong to these,

I don't belong in here, man.

And the longer you talk to yourself, you feel like you're just one of them,

the littles the kids used to read about, you know, one of the little people.

But you see, when you're in God's church, you can hold your head up.

You could put your shoulders back and you can walk. You got royal blood in you.

You can walk and hold your head up high.

That's why we try to do what we do and be who we are, because we realize we

are Christ representatives in the earth.

And that's not trying to say we're better than anybody. We're just trying to say that's what it is.

That's who we are. We are the church of the living God.

The pillar, listen to this, I read this, the pillar and the ground of truth.

If people want truth, they find it in the true church of Jesus Christ.

They find the truth, the reality of life, the reality of sin,

the reality of redemption, the reality of life. How many knows life is real?

Anybody know life's real? Anybody been beat around by life?

Anybody been treated hard by life? You see, the world don't,

I mean, the world, they try to, they're not in reality.

The world does everything to try to get past reality. They try to forget reality.

They go to the casinos where they don't even know what time of day it is.

They got all the windows blocked and you go into casinos and you start,

you go in there and eat and drink and start rolling dice and playing cards and

you lose all track of time.

You know what people are doing? They're trying to escape reality.

They're trying to get away from the, and people do things to escape reality.

People do drugs. They do drink alcohol because reality is too harsh,

and they realize that life is hard.

And you find in the church, we find the, Bishop Tyson used to say that the gospel

of Jesus Christ is the inoculating shot against sin that the world needs. Praise the Lord.

This world needs a shot of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord.

This world needs the church. This world needs a true church.

This world needs to get in the church. This world needs to recognize the church. Praise the Lord.

Church is a healing place for the hurting. Church is, I like this.

In the church, you learn his glorious name. You learn his holy way.

You learn that you're calling as a saint.

You learn about his benefits.

You learn his glorious attributes.

You learn that your reward is in heaven.

In the church, you learn that the church ain't heaven, so you're going to have troubles.

This is reality, right? There is a heaven where there will be no troubles.

This ain't heaven, so we'll have disappointments. But there is a heaven where

there will be no disappointments.

This ain't heaven, so we are mortals and we will fail.

But there is a heaven where we will be immortal and we can't fail.

And we learn that weeping may

endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Praise the Lord. Woo!

Hallelujah! You learn that God still has the will to save.

God has the method to save. He has the power to save. He has the time to save.

Jesus still wants people to get in his church. He still wants people to...

Life. Praise the Lord. That is the will of God for every man,

woman, boy, and girl. Praise the Lord.

You realize that what's right with the church is its constitution, the Bible.

The bylaws is the Bible.

The policies are the Bible. Its benefits, the Bible.

Its manual is the Bible. The head of the church is Jesus Christ,

and the headquarters is in heaven. Praise the Lord.

In the church, you find that the lost have a savior, the sick have a healer,

the troubled have a counselor,

the weary have rest, the sinning saint has an altar, the discouraged have hope,

and the blind can have a guide. Somebody say amen.

In the church, you learn that his commandments are not grievous,

his way is right, his fear is healthy, he listens when I pray,

he is touched by my weaknesses, us.

He is in control when life seems out of control.

He is, he will pull us through and we can't, even if I can, hang on,

I stumbled all over that one.

He is, he, this don't, he wrote, he is pull me through if I can stand the pulling.

He will pull us through if we can stand the pulling.

The church, you learn your weaknesses, your failures, your limitations.

You learn your misunderstandings, and you learn your need.

But you also find his strength, his sufficiency, his ways, his manifold wisdom, and his supply.

You learn what God loves. You learn what God hates. You learn what God enjoys.

You learn what God despises.

You learn his way, his walk, and his talk.

Amen. This is the place everybody needs to be in the church.

Everybody ought to know who Jesus is. Everybody ought to hear the message.

Amen. Sometimes I get carried away

down to mission on 10th street in the summertime and I'll open that door.

And I, especially when we was in our first place, we had to,

on 10th street, there was a sidewalk and we were in the middle part of this

little front, uh, storefront building.

And man, I used to get carried away and I'd go open that door.

I'd go stand out on the sidewalk and preach pretty hard, man.

I'd be, everybody ought to know who 10th street knows, needs to know who Jesus is.

Mars Hill needs to know who Jesus is. Praise the Lord.

The world needs to know the true church of Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord. Not a phony, not a flim flam, not a.

The church is the best thing you'll ever find in this world.

I said his church is the best thing you'll ever find in this world.

That's why the devil tries to get you discouraged and put something in your

way to try to get you out of it.

Cause I'll tell you what he does, just like he's done to me.

The first time you make a mistake, the first time you saw.

Prevail against it. It is the church of the living God. Hallelujah.

It is instituted, created, kept alive by the spirit of God.

This is more than just a club, man. Now we have dinners.

We're going to have outings. We're going to try to meet people and we get together

and eat chili and people bring you broccoli cheese soup that's really good and you eat that.

And, you know, we fellowship, but I'm going to tell you it's more than just

that. I said, it's more than just that.

This is a place where the spirit of the eternal God is free to move and do whatever

he wants to do. Hallelujah.

This is a place where the divine is really found.

This is a place where that which is deity is real. Hallelujah.

Not some so-called deity, not some so-called God,

not some so-called spiritualism, but the real spirit of God and the real power

of God and the real deliverance of God and the real love of God.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I said, hallelujah. Hallelujah.

The church, the church is the perfection of beauty.

When she's right, she's beautiful.

When she acts right and does right and is being right.

And in the church, it is the purity, the perfection of beauty.

Psalm 58, 5 says, the Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, and thou shalt see

the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

Psalms 50 and 2, out of Zion, the perfection of beauty God hath shined.

Now, remember, Paul said, we are not coming to Mount Zion like Moses saw.

He said, but we are come unto Mount Zion, the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem.

You see, this is where we are in the spirit. This is where the church is through

an innumerable company of angels, the general assembly and church of the firstborn,

which are written in heaven.

And you get God, the judge of all, and you get the spirits of just men.

This is a place where the spirits of just men have been made perfect.

Men come to God. Bad men come to God, but God takes the spirits of men and makes them better.

You see, the spirits of just men, men, you can be a sinner and still be a just

man because you know how you know if it's a just man or not.

As soon as you tell him about Christ, he's going to get saved.

He might be a sinner, but he wants to be saved and he might not know anything about Christ.

But you know what makes the difference between a wicked man and a just man?

One that obeys the truth, one that learns and wants God.

You know, I believe with all my heart, there's still people out there that want God.

There's still people that need God. And a lot of people don't know.

And I was praying the other day and I was praying and I said,

God, drive back all the spirits that lie to people.

Drive back all the stuff that exalts itself against you.

All the lies of the devil, because the Bible says the weapons of our warfare

are not carnal, but they're mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds,

casting down the imaginations and fighting against principalities and powers

and wicked rulers of darkness and wickedness in high places.

The devil and the spirits, evil are lying to people and they tell people the

things that aren't true, and they lead people astray.

We need to say, God, let your light shine in a dark world greater than it's ever shined.

Let your church, Jesus told his disciples, you are a city set on a hill. Hallelujah.

You are the light of the world.

Church is the light of the world, folks. God, listen to this.

Now, take all this we've said and look at this psalm and apply it to the church, okay?

The spiritual Mount Zion, okay?

Beautiful situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion.

On the sides of the north, the city of the great king.

God is known in her palaces for a refuge. For lo, the kings were assembled.

They passed by together. They saw it.

And the Bible says, so they marveled and they were troubled and hasted away.

You see, the world, when they see the true church, they don't quite get it.

Them people are kind of strange. They don't look like everybody else.

They don't talk about it. They don't talk like everybody else.

They don't act like everybody else. You can trust those people.

You know, that throws some people off right there. because they're not used

to being able to somebody telling them the truth. They're not used to people being honest.

This world's not used to it. So they look at the church, and they look in,

and they see what's going on.

They're singing about the blood. What are they talking about?

They're singing about blood. They're singing about dying on the cross.

They're talking about this Jesus, and they're dealing. We're talking about sacrifice.

And the Bible says that they've seen the city, and they say they troubled.

They look at it, and they marvel, and they're troubled, and they haste it away.

Fear took a hold upon him there, and pain as of a woman in travail.

You see, when you come into the church, sometimes the preaching is painful because

the church tells you the truth, and the church says sin needs to be dealt with.

The church says it's sin that separates you from God, and you need to get rid

of your sin, and you need to turn to God, and sometimes the preacher preaches

hard, and he'll start preaching about certain things. you know.

He'll tell you, you need to put your adultery aside. You need to quit cheating

on your wife. You need to quit lying. You need to quit stealing.

And sometimes that makes people squirm.

And when they get away, fear, they get away.

And as we have heard, as we have seen in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in the city of our God, God will establish it forever.

We have thought of thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth.

Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion rejoice.

Let the daughters of Judah be glad because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion.

Go around about her. Tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks.".

Works is the strong part of the wall. It's the fortifications of the wall market.

You see, the church has things that are strong.

The ways of God will stand the test of time.

They teach you things that'll give you a happy family. They teach you things

that'll give you a good life.

They teach you things that'll help you when your time, if you live for God,

from the time you're 20 till the time you get to be 70, you'll have a good life. Praise the Lord.

You'll be in a pretty good position. You'll be in a position where you wouldn't

might not have been if you had not have gotten in the church.

You'll be in a strong place. You won't be walking.

And this is not to make, say, look down on anybody.

It's not saying that at all. I don't look down on anybody, But you don't have

to be 70 years old, all marked up from a life of sin with a cigarette hanging

out of your mouth, pushing a shopping cart down the street.

It don't have to be that way. And God don't want it to be that way.

You to come into the church and look around mark her

bulwark look and see what she's teaching you see

what she's trying to get you to do see what she's

trying to put into your life and mark it well

and look at all of her palaces in my father's house are many mansions look at

the palaces look at those that have lived for god for years look at their life

look at where they are look at how God has kept them and how God has been good

to them. Praise the Lord.

And how they live and they have a good place and they're in a good place spiritually.

And I'm not saying trouble don't happen to God's people.

I'm not saying we don't get sick, but I'm telling you there's a big difference

to somebody that's lived for God for 50 years with their whole heart and somebody

that's followed the devil for 50 years, and you can't deny it.

So walk around, Zion. Look at her palaces.

Mark her bulwarks. Look at the towers thereof. Think about men like Floyd Matthews

that lived for God and lived till he was 90 years old, and when he passed away,

he passed away sitting in his recliner waiting on the train to glory.

My God, I felt that right Let's raise our hands right now. God,

let somebody see what's in the church.

God, let them see the value of what you're trying to do.

Let us see, God, who we are. Let us see what your church is.

Let us believe in your church. Let us get in it and stay in it. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Mark well her blowers. Tell of her towers.

Look at ladies like Sister Matthews, 92 years old.

Live for God for years. Still living for God. Yeah, her fleshly,

the outward man perishes, but I guarantee you her inner man is renewed day by day.

She still is talking about Jesus.

Of her towers. Look at her bulwarks, talking about men like D.L.

Spall pastored the West Side for 35 years. And at the end of his life,

he got a little dimension. They put him in a nursing home.

His natural mind might've been going away, but they said every time that you'd

hear him just about, you'd go in there and he'd be witnessing to somebody about

getting the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah.

You know why? Because the inner man knew that the Holy Ghost was real.

And the outward man might have been perishing, but the inner man is renewed day by day. Hallelujah.

My God, I feel the Holy Ghost right now. Hallelujah.

Mark walked about Zion, go around about her. Hell, the towers there.

I'm telling you, there's places in the church you can stand and you will stand the test of time.

There are bulwarks in her wall that if you put them up for your protection,

they will protect you all the days of your life. I'm talking about spiritually.

You can be saved from now till the day you die.

No man can pluck you out of his hand. You can stand in the wall.

You can stand in the strong place. I will make it to heaven.

The world might go crazy.

Oh, mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces.

Listen, that ye may tell it to the generation following.

Those kids need somebody living for God. They need to see a real church.

They need to see people really living for God. They need to experience the real power of God.

They need to see somebody that's living for God because if the Lord tarries,

we're going to pass away.

And this church needs recruits.

This church needs young people. I said this church needs young people.

We need 20-year-old men. We need 15-year-old men.

We need 15-year-old girls.

We need young people to get in the church and recognize at a young age that's

the best move you could ever make.

To the generation following. For this God is our God forever and ever.

He will be our guide even unto death.

Psalms 87 and 5, and of Zion it shall be said, this and that man was born in

her, and the highest himself shall establish her.

The Lord will bless thee out of Zion, and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem

all the days of thine life.

How beautiful, Isaiah said, upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth

good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good,

that publishes salvation,

that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth.

I'm glad to know God's still reigning tonight.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. and Isaiah talked of a time

and many people shall go and say, come ye,

let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,

and he will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths.

You know how you learn about the ways of God and you learn about his paths?

You learn right in the church of the living God.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

You say, well, that's talking about Old Testament. Well, the writer of Hebrews

said, we are called to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.

The church of the living God is the heavenly Jerusalem.

And the opportunity is still, people still have an opportunity to get in the church.

My, my, my, people only realized, people only realized the beauty and perfection

of the church. I'm getting ready to close.

In the church, you find he is a high priest for your failures.

His blood speaks better things than that blood of Abel.

You find that he is a keeper.

He is your dwelling place. He is your shepherd. He is your advocate. He is your comforter.

In the church, you learn what the definition of sin is. You learn about the consequences of sin.

You learn the nature of the humanity.

You learn about the remedy for sin. You find the deliverance from sin.

Find that for your sin is Jesus Christ.

When sin will not be. Stan, my microphone's dying. That's my signal.

Praise the Lord.

Tonight, tonight is a good night for somebody to say, I'm gonna get into church.

Get in. I want to stay in. I want to be a part of it.

And it'd be a good night for all of us that are in it to say, I want to stay in it.

You run me out the back door. I'm coming back in the front door.

Run me out the front door. I'm coming back in the back door because you're not

getting me out of the church.

I said, you're not getting me out of the church, devil. I'm going to stay right

where the best place I could ever be.

I'm going to stay in the perfection of beauty. Let's raise our hands in closing

one more time. Jesus, we love you tonight.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to be in your church.

Thank you, Lord, for that church, the body of Jesus Christ that's in the world today.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,

hallelujah, hallelujah.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Anybody want to pray, we'll pray with you. Hallelujah.

Thank you for listening to our podcast. Southwest Apostolic Church is a place of refuge.

If we can help you, we'd be glad to do it. Pastor's cell number, 317-469-3100.

If we can help you, we'd be glad to do it. God bless.