I'm In My Bag - Sermon Only Podcast

1:24 Thank you for your word and for its power. And now we need a word from you. We need to hear from you. If we don't hear from you, God, what shall we do? So please remove any distractions that may divert our attention. Don't let me or anything in me or about me get in the way of what you are up to and what you want to say and accomplish. God, have your way. Have your way. You are the potter. We are the clay. mold us and make us after your will while we are waiting yielded and still in Jesus name we pray amen and hallelujah praise God with me for our wonderful music ministry y'all blessed us tremendously thank you thank you they are on fire I want to call your attention to a passage of scripture found in the gospel according to Matthew, Matthew chapter 6.

2:29 And there in Matthew chapter 6, we find the words of our text for this message. I want to say that what I'm going to do today is lift up this passage that may not seem to connect with our theme verses, but I promise you it does. Matthew chapter 6, verse 33 from the English Standard Version, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. You may be seated in God's presence. I want to put a tag on this text and for a few moments with your prayers. I want to talk about I'm in my bag. I'm in my bag.

3:24 Inflation, no chance to increase finance. Bills pile up sky high. These are sounds of stress and nightmarish notes of anxiety in these picturesque lyrics from the mind of Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gaye, the cool crooner in the socially conscious song, inner city blues, make me want to holler, was singing for those attacked by anxiety because their outgo exceeded their income. Shook, stressed. Do you feel the anxiety? J. Cole transparently testifies about the earthquake rattling his own mental health. I got thoughts, can't control, got me down, got me low, rest my mind, rest my soul.

4:21 J. Cole is up front about being knocked down mentally. His thoughts are like a runaway train running over him. He is overwhelmed and overthinking. I hang out right there because it's enough to be overwhelmed, overwhelmed by funds being low and debts being high and bills continuing to slap you in the face for which you have no financial answer. It's hard enough to be overwhelmed by what's going on around you. But then your misery is magnified when you think about, no, keep thinking, no, overthink to the point where you are thinking and thinking and thinking and overthinking and adding. Here it is, more misery to your mindset.

5:15 I'm simply suggesting my sisters and brothers that both J. Cole, who is talking about overthinking because he is overwhelmed, he is stressed and he is shook. And then you have Marvin Gaye, who in a real sense, in 1971, please don't forget that Richard Nixon is the president. Tricky Dicky, watch this, has messed up the economy. And because he is the second most corrupt president in the history of this country, we know who the first one is. We're living under him right now. Now, Tricky Dicky had set up, please don't miss this, a trumped-up economy. A trumped-up economy is really reverse Robin Hood. You know Robin Hood.

6:10 Robin Hood would rob from the rich to give to the poor, but Trump Hood robs from the needy to give to the greedy. The wealth is always going up, And that's exactly what Marvin Gaye is singing about. So he is overwhelmed. And then you have J. Cole who was overthinking. I'm still not coming through like I'd like to judge. I thought about you as I reflected on the fact we're in the midst of the baseball playoffs. And I flash back to 1974. 1974 hammering Hank Aaron was on the verge of breaking an unbreakable home run record that had been established by Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth had hit some 714 home runs and here comes Hank Aaron. But his tragic testimony is that in spite of his success he was under overwhelming stress.

7:15 You talk about being overwhelmed and overthinking. Hank Aaron testified that he was the recipient of hundreds of thousands of letters. The vast majority of them were threatening him because Hank Aaron, who was melanin rich, Hank Aaron was about to break a sacred baseball record. Y'all folk were upset and Hank Aaron testified that one of the letters he received that he shared with Sports Illustrated read simply, here it is, you will not break this record inward. understand that Hank Aaron is being threatened and y'all not getting this because you forget about the fact this is before there were metal detectors that greeted you at stadiums and so Hank Aaron 1974 in Atlanta ah that didn't get you Atlanta Martin King had been assassinated a resident of Atlanta only six years before there in Memphis, Tennessee.

8:27 The 60s had seen the assassinations of Medgar, Bobby Kennedy, not to mention Malcolm X and Martin King. And now Hank Aaron is being threatened because of his success. I got to park right there. Before you get jealous at how well someone else is doing, always understand that whenever there is success there is added stress the higher your altitude the more turbulence you experience at high altitudes don't be looking mad because somebody is doing well you don't know the price they had to pay to get where they are you don't know the stress that comes with their success and that is exactly what's happening. Hank Aaron is successful but he's also being stressed out because his success is a threat. I think I'll park right there because some of us better understand that your success is a threat to those who are insecure in who they are and as a consequence when they see you doing well then somehow it makes them feel less than and in order for them to feel tall they've got to make you feel small and so they will come for you though you did not sin for them but the problem is that they you are experiencing the stress that comes with success. I'm talking about what? Overthinking because you are overwhelmed.

10:06 I'm talking about being stressed and being shook. I'm still not coming through. Listen, don't judge me, but I think last Sunday I had to spend my time catching up on A Different World, the sequel because I, in a real sense, was crazy about a different world. It's a different world than where you come from. Now, I could help them out right now and say, you got to get Aretha back singing the song, A Different World, because can't nobody sing like Aretha, but that's not a part of the sermon, y'all, in episode nine. It's an episode there at Hillman College. For those who are unaware, Hillman College is an HBCU, a mythical HBCU, I believe, in Virginia. And of course, the original Hillman College had, as it stars, Dwayne and Whitley, not to mention Ron and Kimberly. I could go on and on, but these are, this is the next generation of students at Hillman College. And y'all, in episode nine, there is a tornado warning. Not just a tornado warning, but a ferocious storm that has hit the area. And y'all, it is a mess because in one of the older dormitories where the freshman girls are, the lights go out when the storm hits. And when the lights went out, there were boys from the other dorm that ran to their dorm. Now, I've got to tell you about Hazel and Amir. Hazel and Amir are tight like this. They are super tight, but But somehow Amir has sex with Jalen.

12:00 Amir has sex with Jalen. And you got to understand that Jalen is supposed to be dating Hazel. So you got Hazel who was dating Jalen. But Jalen and Amir get together. So you got a hot mess of drama. And now they are all in a storm, stuck like Chuck in the same dormitory. And so as a consequence, I believe her name is Deborah Debo says, listen, y'all got something to work out. So I'm going with my man to try to handle this business. And y'all to go over here. And then she points directly, watch this too. Ah, Amir and Hazel and says, y'all go downstairs in the basement and try to turn the circuit breaker on so we can get the power back. Well, you got drama in the midst of the trauma of a tornado warning, not to mention a storm that has left them in a dark place.

13:08 I think I'm painting a picture for y'all. You've got drama, the trauma of a tornado warning. They're in a dark place and they are stuck together in a dark place in the midst of the drama that's going on between them. I'm hanging out right there because if you deal with people invariably you're going to have to deal with some drama. And sadly sometimes the drama hits at the wrong time. It's like a storm has hit. The power is out. I'm stuck in darkness. And now I got to deal with this drama, overwhelmed and overthinking, stressed and shook. I'm in somebody's Kool-Aid. I've called out your flavor because here you are in church today, not Hillman College. You're not Hank Aaron, but you know what it's like to feel shook and stressed.

14:04 You know what it's like to be overwhelmed. And now you are overthinking. That's what heaven's hero, earth's emancipator is trying to address in our text. Jesus, our sable-skinned Savior from the streets of Nazareth in the hood. The book lets us know has started out his ministry in his bag. The book lets us know that it's a strange time because Herod has had John the Baptist, his cousin and forerunner arrested. And the book says that's when Jesus withdraws to Galilee. But when he withdraws to Galilee, the book says his ministry is taking off. After all, they soon discover that Jesus is a walking hospital of healing. They soon discover that when they're hungry, that Jesus feeds the food insecure.

15:03 They soon discover that Jesus is the one who will give them strength when they are stressed. They discover there's something about Jesus. There's something liberating about Jesus. There's something delivering about Jesus. There's peace in the presence of Jesus. There is healing in the name of Jesus. Y'all, they are hype and they are following Jesus. Jesus. We follow him now in the chapter 5 where the crowds are following him. He has already called some of his disciples. He goes up to a mountain and there sits down in the presence of the masses and the book says he now teaches them or preaches to them what is known as the Sermon on the Mount And what he is doing in the Sermon on the Mount is providing an orientation of liberation.

16:03 He is providing for them a sense of the kingdom of God which is already, but not yet. That's what the Savior is doing. And the book says in the midst of that sermon, Jesus does somewhat of a shift. and he begins to focus on the mental health of those who have gathered. I find that appropriate because Jesus knows his audience and he exegetes the context in which they live. Because Jesus says, I not only speak truth to power, but in the words of Stacey Floyd Thomas, I speak truth to empower. And so Jesus is now empowering. ring and look what he does from verse 24 to verse 34 as basically he does what Rita Walker calls watch this injecting into them psychological fortitude for their mental health because the only way to overcome what's around you is to make sure you have strength within you. I think I'm quoting or remixing Lauren Hill. How you go in if you ain't right within? Jesus wants his followers to be right within. And you understand why? Because they find themselves in a setting where they could easily be stressed and shook, where they could easily be overwhelmed and overthinking. The Bible lets us know that this is a time according to Howard Thurman and Jesus and the disinherited where the people of God stood at a moment in time with their backs against the wall.

17:52 Their backs are against the wall and they are under constant trauma. The constant trauma is seen in the crosses, the instruments of torture and terror that dotted the Palestinian landscape as a warning to all would-be revolutionaries. If you rise up against Rome, this is what is going to happen to you. It's also a time, my sisters and brothers, where many Galileans found themselves losing their land that was taken from them by the Roman Empire. And many of them had become sharecroppers who could never ever catch up economically. And so it's a stressful time. No wonder Jesus says in chapter 6 that you need to understand who God is in your life. Because you can't worship both God and money.

18:50 because you soon will discover in this life that the real test of your life will be when you discover that who you belong to is more important than what belongs to you. You tripping on belongings when you need to be aware of who you belong to. Y'all still not getting this. Jesus is talking to folk who were stressed, who lived with chronic, constant trauma. It's a hell of a situation to find themselves in. And Jesus says, I'm going to inject, I love it, psychological fortitude so you can be mentally healthy and strong on the inside. And look what he tells them. He tells them, you get your God question right. After you get your God question right, you'll soon discover that you can look up every day at the birds.

19:46 And when you check out the birds, the birds, they don't have a job. They don't have insurance. They don't have stocks and bonds. But your heavenly father feeds the birds. I'm not even done. He says, y'all concerned about what you're going to wear? Well, look at the lilies of the field. Solomon is rich as he was. He wasn't dressed and decked out as fly and fine as a lily of the field. And then he says in verse 32, y'all are tripping on what non-believers are obsessed with. They're obsessed with the kingdom of thingdom. They're obsessed with trying to have. But I'm simply trying to say that ain't enough to make it in this life. Because you can have a lot and be nothing. I'm simply trying to let you know that you can have a whole lot of money. Y'all please hear me well because every time I look at that White House and how jacked up and messed up it is, he may be rich but he ain't blessed.

20:51 Because I've discovered that when you're blessed, it's not about what you have. It's about the God that has you. And when you know God has you, you can testify with the old saints. The Lord is blessing me right now. He woke me up this morning, started me on my way. The Lord is blessing me. Do I have some blessed folk in the house who can say with new school every time I turn around, God keeps on blessing me.

21:27 I'm about to do that. And so understand he's saying y'all are tripping because of what you don't have. You better recognize who has you. And then he says, but seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness. And all of these things will be added unto you. That's all I came to tell y'all today. And that is you ought to trust God. You ought to try God. You ought to recognize that God is God. And since God is God, God, I love this, says, I feed birds. I dress lilies. and if I feed birds and dress lilies, I'm going to take care of you.

22:11 I'm going to say it the way the text puts it. The text says, behold, the birds of the air. Check out the lilies of the field. And then the book says, here it is. He says, your heavenly father feeds them. Okay. Not their heavenly father. your heavenly father. They ain't in the family. You in the family. So if God takes care of those who ain't in the family, imagine what God is going to do if you a child of almighty God. Jesus is saying, oh, I love this. God ain't a dead beat dad. God is always on time with child support payments. I think I'll stop right there because I see some of God's children in the house and you ready to testify.

23:12 I know God comes through with child support payments. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory. He comes through with child support payments. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Makes me lie down in green pastures. Leaves me beside still waters. Restores my soul. Leaves me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He ain't delinquent with child support. Anybody ever had a child support payment? Child support payment. No weapon formed against you can prosper. Child support payment. What they meant for evil, God turns for good. Child support payments.

24:06 Oh my God. And so Jesus says, when you know God, is going to be on time with child support payments. You better live every day in your bag. In your bag. I'm in my bag, y'all. I'm in my bag. That's the culture. Y'all know that when you're in your bag, it means you're in a zone. Stuff is happening. And you're doing stuff even beyond your own capacity. And you recognize you're in your bag. And somebody came here today, And I'm simply trying to say if God takes care of your child support payments, then you trust God and watch God put you in your bag. And when you're in your bag, you'll be in your zone. And when you're in your zone, can't nobody inhabit who God inhibits. Can't nobody stop and block who God is giving strength to and blessing.

25:07 I'm trying to let you know God is with you. And when you're in your bag, here's your testimony. If God be for me, who can be against me? When you're in your bag, you got another testimony. You know what that is? Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. Anybody want to be in your bag? In your bag. How does it work? I'm almost done. Tech says, here it is. When you're in your bag, you have, I'll give you all three points real quick, case I don't get to all of them. First point is priorities you live by, a purpose you live for, and a promise you look forward to. Oh, Freddie Haynes, you about to preach. You got that right. So, so, so, so, they're the priorities that you live by. I like verse 33. It says, but seek first. Okay.

26:02 All right. Somebody been here with me. You know me. All right. It opens up, but, but, conjunction, junction. What's your function? And the function of the conjunction in this passage is to serve as a hinge, opening the door to a possibility that is not existing in verse 32. In verse 32, those who don't know God are caught up in believing that real living has everything to do with the living that you make. And verse 33 says you can make a good living but not have a life.

26:50 Okay, okay, okay. you can have a double king-sized bed but can't get a good night's sleep. You can have a fly car but you are being driven by the wrong thing. I'm simply trying to let you know that this text says, but it says, but seek first the kingdom. I'm about to shout right here because in verse 32, it's about what? It's about the Gentiles. They seek after that stuff. They strive for that stuff. They're obsessed with that stuff. That's all that they are about. But you ought to seek first. You ought to strive after the kingdom of God and God's righteousness. I'm loving that right there. I'm going to have to read the text to you one more time because I need y'all to really feel it like it's all inside of me right now. Right there.

27:46 And I'll start with verse 32. It says, here it is, for the Gentiles seek after all these things. What you wear, what you eat, etc. And, uh-oh, your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But, seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness. And all of these things will be added unto you. Now, it's basically, get your priorities straight. now when you're under pressure and stressed how does that work I learned this week I have a wonderful campaign team and this week they've been somewhat patient with me because they knew I was hit hard when McGraw-Leona passed and so even somewhat patient and and I made the mistake no it was a good thing of telling them the other day they were complimenting me because they said You just did this.

28:43 You just did this. You just did this. And I said, you don't know, I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning. Have you ever been there? Don't judge me, okay? But life can hit you so hard where it's a struggle to get out of bed. I did not want to get out of bed, but I knew I had stuff to do, and I had to put my game face on. I had to go parr Paul Lawrence Dunbar. We wear the mask that grins and lies, that shades our eyes. I had to put my game face on to handle business. And y'all, they're up there complimenting me. And so I break down. I tell them I had a hard time getting out of bed. And Tosca preached to me. She said, Pastor, you need a soul reset.

29:30 a soul reset s-o-u-l-r-e-s-e-t soul reset and so y'all I had never heard of such and she started trying to explain it but by now I had shut her off because it has grabbed my attention I go home I do some research and soul reset it comes from Junius Dotson. Reverend Junius Dotson had been up preaching. Watch this Pastor G. He's up preaching during a funeral and all of a sudden the grief is so overwhelming he can take it no more because he's been going and going and putting out and putting out without getting refueled. As a consequence he broke down in a funeral. He literally passed out while delivering the eulogy in a funeral because if you keep on giving out and never getting refueled, eventually you'll be on empty and you will just pass out.

30:35 He passed out in the pulpit, y'all. And Dotson said that's when he decided it was time for a soul reset. Reset. A soul reset is when you get your priorities straight and begin to focus on what really matters in life. Baby Baba, can I help you? When you come to the end of your life, you will not regret not making so much money. You will not regret the deal that you did not get. You will not regret not going to this place and that place. but you will regret the time you did not spend building relationships, building community. You will regret the time you did not spend building your relationship with God. I'm just trying to let you know when you get a soul reset, all of a sudden your priorities start to line up. And what matters is the thing that matters most.

31:32 And maybe that's what God had me go through to tell somebody, I'm going through a soul reset right now. And maybe that's a word for you. It's time for a soul reset to put first things first. It's time to begin to prioritize love and laughter and liberation and living and relationships. It's time to prioritize the main thing in your life.

32:03 Did I lose you? You mad at me? A soul reset. Okay, soul reset. But seek first. Watch this. Strive after.

32:24 Continuously go after. That's the word seek in the Greek. It means continually go after. Continually seek. Oh, I got to go back to Hank Aaron. Hank Aaron, watch this. And I won't forget this as long as I stay black because I am in San Francisco. My dad and I are watching the game. The Atlanta Braves are playing. Hank has hit number 714. He goes up to the plate. And y'all, he swings and the ball goes deep to left field. It clears the fence. Hank is running around the bases. He has hit number 715. They asked Hank Aaron later, what was it about you and that record? What drove you to get that record? I got to get y'all. Here's the shout. He said, I had to get that record.

33:17 I had to get that record for Jackie Robinson. I had to get that record for my people. I had to get that record for myself. And I had to get that record for everybody that called me a nigga. I got to help y'all right quick. Because Hank Aaron was basically saying to all of y'all who had something to say about me getting that record, look at me now. He's running the bases. He says, look at me now. You didn't call me everything but a child of God. But you better add to that home run champion right now. Because the champ is here. I came to tell somebody, look what Hank was saying. I did it for Jackie Robinson. I did it for somebody that went before me. May I park right there? Because every now and then you ought to have a Jackie Robinson in your life. Somebody in your yesterday who made it possible for you to be where you are today.

34:16 Who am I talking to who has a Jackie Robinson of a grandmother? A Jackie Robinson of a big mama? A Jackie Robinson of a teacher? Who is your Jackie Robinson? but not just your Jackie Robinson. I did it for my people. I didn't just do it for myself. I did it for my people because I ain't just doing this for myself. It's bigger than me. It's for our people. I'm doing it for me, but I'm doing it for every hater out there, everyone who talks smack about me, those who didn't want me to succeed. I'm taking the negative you gave me and putting it inside and I'm going to use it to get everything God has in store for me. Priorities you live by But then there's a purpose That you got to live for I had to rush this thing But text says But seek first the kingdom And his righteousness Uh oh But seek first the kingdom And his righteousness Now, there's an interesting word that is used here for righteousness.

35:39 And I want to make sure I say it right. So, that's why I'm pulling it up right here. The word for righteousness in the original Greek language is, and this is my colonized rendering, and that is dekaosene. Dekaosene, watch this. And in the dictionary, it says it can be used for righteousness. It can be used for justice. Righteousness can speak of and oh my God, oh my God, the Ethiopian Bible uses the same word that is consistent with the Old Testament or Hebrew rendering of a word that means to be straight. It's also used for justice, okay? The New Jerusalem Bible reads this same passage, but seek first the kingdom of God and God's justice.

36:37 It was the influence of King James who said whenever you come across that word translated righteousness instead of justice and you understand why. King James watch this is the emperor of an empire that basically has colonized all countries of color in the known world. And so why would he want colonized people to seek the kingdom of God and God's justice? Because justice would overthrow, ah, it would overthrow the British empire. And so he's saying, I want you to seek God's kingdom. And when you seek God's kingdom, you're seeking also God's justice because there's justice in the kingdom of God. Brings me back to Stacey Floyd Thomas who said in essence that here it is divine justice invariably leads to social justice and if social justice doesn't lead to divine justice there's no such thing as justice.

37:43 I'm letting you know what justice is. Justice Michael Eric Dyson says is what love sounds like when it speaks in public. Justice Freddie Haynes says is having the back of those whose backs are against the wall. Justice, Freddie Haynes says, is wiring systems and structures with love on the on behalf of those who are othered and oppressed. I'm letting you know that we need justice in the land. Jesus says, I want you to seek God's kingdom. What is God's kingdom? It's heaven, it's heaven's values being unleashed on earth. The kingdom is already but it's not yet. The kingdom is now because Jesus has come but the kingdom is still on the way and so we look forward to it and work toward it. That's the kingdom and the kingdom for Jesus to say this was in direct opposition to the kingdom because this is the same word used for the Roman Empire and Jesus is challenging the Roman Empire and so here it is we got something to look forward to while we work toward it knowing it's already here that's what I'm trying to let somebody know am I talking so fast you just missed your shout the kingdom is here but the kingdom is still on the way and so since we have an appetizer of it it means we've enjoyed the appetizer and now we're working and waiting for the full meal Oh, oh, okay.

39:28 Let me go back to a different world. Hillman College. Who is it? Hazel, Amir, drama. In the midst of trauma. But they go down in the dark to try and find the circuit breaker. Lightning flashes. and when lightning flashes a mirror is messed up and then he hears a clanging sound and that's when Hazel says oh this is what I read about this is where the underground railroad used to be by the founder of Hillman and he said well I don't need no ghost right now in this tornado and that's when Hazel says oh don't worry about it the ancestors are guiding us he says I don't want Harriet guiding me right now let Harriet stay in heaven where she is and she said no I'm gonna let the ancestors guide us and then she found some marker that indicated Harriet Tubman had been right there and then right adjacent to it was the breaker box that would lead to her flipping the switch and the lights came on.

40:42 Y'all didn't get that. There's your shout right there. She was led by the ancestors and once led by the ancestors, she was led to the place where the lights could come on and that's all I came to tell y'all and that is we've got ancestors still leading us. That's why someone put it like this, Lister Velt Middleton, minute by minute, hour by hour, you lose your memory. You lose your power. He's piggybacking on what the Hebrew writer said. Chapter 11, he talks about our faith ancestors. And then he says in chapter 5, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, now we got to run with endurance, the race that is set before us. I quit. Here it is and I'm done. Priorities we live by. Purpose we live for.

41:34 Promise we look forward to. But seek first. the kingdom of God God's righteousness all these things will be added unto you what things clothes for your body what things food to eat what things being all enough yourself all of the things will be added unto you it's a promise that we look forward to and whatever else I want to just shout about right now is that we got so much to look forward to. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. We sure got a lot to look forward to. Even the youth shall faint and be weary. Young folks shall fall, but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Mount up with wings as eagles. Run, not get weary. Walk and not faint. We got a whole lot to look forward to.

42:28 check this out so when I was in my soul reset because because because here's the thing Leona and I we go way back and Leona just been there she my mother will tell you she's probably been to more family gatherings for us than I have uh she just became a part of the family she just just like that. So, so I'm doing my soul reset and I feel the spirit say to me, go to your phone and let Leona talk to you. I said, huh? I said, okay. What is that? You want me to go to my phone to the text messages? And y'all, I went to the text messages. On this phone alone, I go back to 2017 with text messages from Leona and it really got me because moms here's what happened 2017 October Homazelle Davis y'all heard that name before Homazelle Davis God used to rescue me and reset my life after my dad died my high school counselor and teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School but she was also Leona's counselor and teacher at Abraham Lincoln though Leona was several years ahead of me and so Leona watched this took good care of Miss Davis as she was aging and dementia set in Leona was taking care of Miss Davis Miss Davis this this Delta who started the chapter in Utah who started a Delta chapter in Wyoming all places like that that's Miss Homazelle Davis and and Leona taking care of her. Miss Davis makes her transition October of 2017. And so I'm like, ain't nobody preaching her funeral but me. Just make sure that's known. That's my Miss Homazelle Davis. I'm handling that. And Leona said Fred is already understood. Miss Davis made that out before she made her transition. I said, cool, just make sure we have that understanding.

44:34 I go on about my business she calls me and says Fred where are you on this date I was in New York preaching a three-night revival and she said Fred well those are the dates that they have can you make that work and so I missed the whole revival and I said Leona can they do something else Leona says this this is what is in the text thread she says don't worry I have a plan don't worry I have a plan. I'm gonna go back and say it again. Leona said don't worry I have a plan and so I went ahead to New York for the first night of the revival. Preached the first night of the revival. I had discovered that Leona had made it possible. They said I could cut the if I could cut the revival off I could do the funeral on that Wednesday and so I preached the revival the first two nights and then flew from, here it is, New York to San Francisco to do the funeral for Homazelle Davis. I got to San Francisco right before the funeral that morning. Leona said, do you have a hotel?

45:38 I said, not yet. She said, don't worry, I'll take care of it. I said, all right, thank you so much. And then I go to do the funeral for Homazelle Davis. Afterwards, Leona says, are you hungry? I said, you know I am. I have not eaten. She says, there's a high-end Chinese restaurant that is downtown near your hotel. We can eat there and you can go to your hotel. I said, high-end, how high? Because I was going to pay for this because Leona was always taking care of me. She said, don't worry, just meet me there. I got to the restaurant. It's jam-packed. It is high-freaking-end. Please forgive me, but that thing was real high. And so I step off in the restaurant. Leona ain't there yet. I say, may I see a menu? And they said, yes, do you have a reservation? I said, no, I don't.

46:31 Well, the wait is two hours. I said, two hours? I don't have time to wait two hours. I'm tired. I call Leona. I say, Leona, they say it's a two-hour wait. She said, give the phone, give the phone to the person at the desk. I gave them the phone. And Leona said something. Next thing I know, she said, sir, follow me to your table right back here. I said, well, whatever she said, I am that. And so I wish y'all had seen me swag walking to the table. Because watch this, I had to walk by people who were in line waiting. They are in line waiting. But because Leona had said something, I was able to walk on by them at a high end. Can I tell you how high end the restaurant was? It's so high end, I open up the menu. Ain't no prices.

47:23 You ever been to a restaurant where the prices ain't on the menu? That's a bad sign. And so I'm like, oh my God, how am I going to treat Leona? And the prices are so high they can't even be put on the menu. I can't pay for this. And so finally Leona decides to show up at the restaurant. We talk, we have a good time, and we share. And then Leona said, here's what you do. Going back to the hotel is right down the street and you'll be fine. I said, okay, what hotel is it? She said, oh, it's the Mandarin Oriental. Now, look it up. Look it up.

48:11 Ain't a lot of Mandarin Orientals in the world. Okay. And the few that they have. And so, so the Mandarin Oriental. And I had a room. Oh my God. on the 50th floor. Y'all hating, don't hate, celebrate. One day you can participate. I had a room on the 50th floor, so I'm up there on the 50th floor. And so afterwards, I called Leona, I said, Leona,

48:42 I noticed we didn't pay at the restaurant with no prices. And she said, she said, Fred, I told you I had it. all you had to do was show up and order. I said, but somebody had to pay for it. She said, Fred, I got a contract for the person who owns that particular hotel. And the contract I got him, he was not able to get until I came through for him. And so what he decided to do was to comp my meal every time I come here. So when I show up here, I get a comp meal. So the meal was already taken care of. All we had to do was leave a tip. And so there's no price tag on the menu that I receive because I have it like that at that restaurant. I said, oh, Leona.

49:40 She said, then said, Fred, wait, I got to come bring you something. I said, what are you bringing me? how much was your airfare switched from New York to San Francisco? I told her it was $9.50. She said good because we took up an offering among us deltas here for Miss Davis because we knew it cost you something and I just wanted to make sure that we covered the cost. I said covered the cost. I did that for Miss Davis and y'all do you know what she came and brought me an envelope. I won't tell you how many hundred dollar bills was in that envelope but the envelope covered not only my airfare to San Francisco but back to Dallas and then I went down to check out the next morning when I went to check out the next morning I said Haynes and put down my credit card they said I'm sorry sir your room has already been taken care of I said taken care of by who they said Leona I said Leona I then text her and y'all this is what Leona text me it's right here 2017 can I tell y'all what Leona said to me she said my brother whenever you do the Lord's work the Lord works for you I'm done because that's the word I want to give to everybody right now if you do the Lord's work The Lord will work for you Won't he work for you?

51:07 Won't he make a way out of no way for you? If you do the Lord's work The Lord will make a way out of no way Moses did the Lord's work Got down to the Red Sea And the Bible says God made a free way through the Red Sea Because when you do the Lord's work The Lord will work for you Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did the Lord's work got thrown in the fiery furnace Nebuchadnezzar looked in and there was another one that looked like the child of God if you do the Lord's work the Lord will go to work for you one Friday hey Jesus hung he bled he died didn't he die yes he died Right there at the cross were some women doing the Lord's work.

52:05 They weren't scared. They stuck by Jesus at the cross. But early Sunday morning, those same women showed up at the grave site wondering how we going to roll the stone away.