11:00AM "Fenced In" Rev. Reginald W. Sharpe Jr. Sunday June 5, 2022 11 AM

46:21 Anybody on the virtual ship glad you tuned in today? Just right in the chat, I'm glad to be here. I'm so happy to see you all. Thank you so much for your prayers, for your concern, for your compassion for my family and I and the passion of my grandfather. And I'm so grateful that more than that, more than for your prayers, your support, even while I was away, means so much more. And I want to just park and pause and say thank you, fellowship, for loving me through every season. I don't know what we would do without you all. You all have been a source of support and strength for us. And I know it's a lot that has happened in these little almost three years that I've been here. But every time we've hit a bump in the road, a shift in life, fellowship has a way of loving on you to make you feel like you can run on to see what the end's going to be. Can you thank God for a church family that is loving, caring, compassionate?

47:28 I want to say thank you. We went down to Atlanta for the virtual ship. We had people, we had a virtual ship pop up in Atlanta, not this Saturday, but last Saturday. And wait a minute, was it last Saturday? It's been so much going on, I don't even know what today is. Is today Sunday or did we just all come on another day? I'm so grateful. we were able to see people that have been tuning in to our church from Louisiana, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama. They drove down just to say thank you, just to worship with us, just to have a time together. And my grandfather passed on May 23rd, which was that Monday before it. And so I had to make a decision to practice what I preach. and that is you always show compassion to others, but you have to have self-compassion for yourself.

48:23 And so I showed myself some self-compassion and just said, let me park, let me be with my family, let me not try to fly back to Chicago and get back to Atlanta for the funeral on Tuesday morning. And then I was asked to do the eulogy. So on top of everything, I got to find out the words to say for your granddaddy. And I don't know if you're a preacher. All preachers understand trying to do that stuff for others is a little easier than when it comes close to you. And so the fact that I could not be here last Sunday, I knew there were some Christians in the church who said, Lord Jesus, the pastor ain't here. But I thank God for Elder Justin Hambler and the future Dr. Jamie Fluker who fed us with the manna from heaven. And I want to thank them for filling in. I want to thank our staff. I want to thank Elder Vassar and Pastor Pope. I want to thank Brother Lamar.

49:15 Come on, y'all. Let's thank God for our staff and our deacons and our leaders. And I'm taking this moment to say never, ever, ever, ever, ever put me above God. You're setting yourself up to lose 100% of the times. That's a 10 out of 10 L every time. You're going to take an L when you put any preacher, woman or man, above God. Your relationship with God has to be deeper than that. And let me tell you, I got 50 claps because the rest of y'all are like, uh-huh. but I want to give you a secret a true strong church cannot just be centered around the pastor it has to be committed people who want to see this ship sail even when the pastor is not in the pulpit and for my real ride or die that's when I need you most I don't need you when I'm here and you're in my face he he and ha ha when I'm down you get up and say Oh, we got this rep.

50:18 Go on. We got this. We got this. Deacon Michael called me. He said, I'm going to get my, I'm going to get my, what's that thing the police have that they beat Rodney King with? The billy club. He said, I'm going to have my billy club with me at church next week. If anybody get out of line, you got to know Deacon Michael Evans to know that that's just hilarious that he's going to bring a billy club to church. And he said, I'm going to make sure everybody stay in line. That's what you need. You need people who are committed. And fellowship, I celebrate you for being a committed church. You love God. And when I'm down, you're up. And you keep the work going. So to God be the glory. And I also say this. Just give me a minute to talk. I ain't seen you since two weeks ago. Give me a minute. And I also say that because my sabbatical is coming up in August. And here at this church, when I started, I committed that Genesis comes before Acts. I will never put the church before my family.

51:15 Genesis, the family was created. Acts, the church was created Genesis comes almost 45 chapters 45 books before Acts and so that's what I live by and in the month of August I take off every Sunday unplug, unwind just to breathe and be a human just to be a man just to hang out with my family take breathe on a trip huh? put an umbrella in my cup huh? My Sprite, my Sprite, my Sprite. Now that's Deacon Roosevelt and Deacon Brenda with them bellinis and mimosas. This is my, no, I'm just kidding. But I do that, and I'm saying this now to prepare your heart. In August, I don't need you on sabbatical when I'm on sabbatical.

52:08 Huh? I need you to come to church and say, we got it, we're going to hold it down. Whoever the guest preacher is, we're going to help them preach. We're going to pull this church through that season because for you not to support that means you don't support me. And if you only like me when I'm pouring, you're using me. can I talk real you don't want to use the vessel you want to be blessed by the vessel and so the only way that I can pour into you I gotta go be poured into myself and I'm committed to making sure I don't let ministry or church take me out of here something gonna take me one day but it ain't gonna be God's church no no no no no no and the church ain't gonna kill me. We are casual for the rest of the year.

53:00 We're casual for the rest of the year. I'm excited because our deacons have some new shirts that will debut in July. They gonna come in here relaxed in July with some new shirts. Y'all give our deacons a hand. I can't wait to see it. We are casual for the rest of the year. Not the rest of the year, Lord. Through August, through August, through August. But some of y'all wear what you wanna wear anyway and it's fine. We're not that kind of church. Wear what you wanna wear. I'm just saying it for the folk that think they got to come Dressed to kill like it's Easter every week Relax yourself Put on your jogging pants Put on your tennis shoes Because you have real good church when you're comfortable And so be comfortable Be appropriate but be comfortable Tell your neighbor be appropriate But be comfortable Yeah we don't need to see everything Amen Amen And so let me move quickly on It is giving time on the ship.

53:58 Why do I always say the strangest things right before? It's time to give an offering. Well, it's giving time. We want to give you seven ways to give. I'm excited today. I have two things to tell you after we give. If you want to sow right now in the atmosphere that God is moving in, you can feel free to bring that gift to the altar. We have two buckets that are coming. Deacon Tony grabbed those buckets and put them up here on the stage. If you want to give right now, you could do that. If you want to give online, do that. If you want to give virtually, do that. Or after church, if you want to give at the door, our deacons will be stationed at every exit to make sure that you have an opportunity to give. But if you want to sow right now, you come on up while the fire is hot and say, Lord, I'm sowing this seed. At 8 o'clock, I told them that today is Pentecost Sunday. And penta means 50, 50 days after the resurrection. That's how we know it's Pentecost Sunday because it's been 50 days since Jesus resurrected. and we honored the Easter celebration of Jesus' resurrection.

54:58 So for those of you who have some crazy faith and you need God to do some crazy things in your life, you can sow a seed of $50 today because this is Pentecost Sunday. If you don't believe in that, don't do it. But when I tell you God is in the blessing business and you can't beat God's giving, three claps. You can't beat God's giving no matter how you try. 50 claps. You can't beat God's giving. oh my wife sold this morning $50 she came to the back and said I couldn't leave the sanctuary before somebody just sold $50 back into me another Sunday I asked for $100 Aurelia Daniels may not be here we call her Riri Riri stand up Riri said I sold my $100 the next week she got a promotion on top of a promotion no y'all heard me but you didn't hear me she sold $100 it was her last 100 and she looked at her account after it was over and she told god i know you lying i know i didn't give my last amount and you're gonna leave me out here hanging like this the next day god said i got you boo and god blessed her with a promotion on top of a promotion and when god blesses like that for your neighbor you ought to really shout because that means he's in the neighborhood huh and so i'm telling you this is fertile ground at this church i have so many testimonies of people who have given and have been blessed and so you sit there with your lip poked out if you want to you're gonna miss the move of god whenever it's a time to give did anybody watch refuel whenever you set up to give you are also setting yourself up to receive i want to say to you that we're excited about having two new interns, two new interns. Come on and bless them. Come on and bless them. Come on and bless them.

56:55 Come here, sister. What did you just sow? What did you just sow? What did you just sow? You said the last cash in your wallet. What was it? It was what? $10? Yeah, I thought so. Hold on one second. Hold on. Stay right there. I feel like That's 20. So that's already double. Hold on. that's a hundred because I feel when you walk God says she just put her last in that was your last cash when you trust the Lord he always looks out for you and before you leave somebody might give him more than that Are you Giovanni? Wait a minute.

57:47 Now this is even crazier. I got a text message before service that a member was working. Where were you working? Working at Family Dollar. The whole store got stood up at gunpoint. She was there working. I didn't even know who she was or what she looked like but when you walked, I felt something. Number one, we glad you're alive. yeah and number two there's about to be an overflow right here for you i don't know who's coming to put something else in your hand but they're coming because you put 10 in watch god double triple and quadruple everything yeah and you might want to come put some more in the bucket just because you got a God who will allow favor to protect you.

58:43 He won't just bless you with money. He'll keep an idiot with a gun.