Pastor Ralph Douglas West - Now Concerning The Collection | 1 Corinthians 15:58, 16:1-4

0:02 This morning while you're standing open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 because we never will get off of that because when you think about what the Lord has done. for you it's hard to turn that loose 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 58 one of your favorite verses that you often recite and then the reason why you recite it. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. You may have King James that says, be ye steadfast.

1:07 Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Now about the collection for the Lord's people, do what I told the Galilean churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up so that when I come, no collections will have to be made. Then when I will arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. this is the word of God you may be seated One of the many ministries of pastors is that they exercise a ministry of encouragement.

2:25 Sometimes I think when we forget, we forget when we're reading these letters in the New Testament that's been penned by Paul, that Paul is a pastor and someone who is acutely aware of the circumstances that affect the people who make up his congregation.

2:46 As he's writing to the Corinthians this beautiful letter, he was probably looking out certainly not as many people then as are here today, but it was a very talented church. It was a highly gifted church. I was reflecting this morning on my way into worship, how much wisdom sits in the seats of the people who are here at the church without walls, how much encouragement flanks any person that stands up to read or pray other scriptures, that they said amen as our children were reading and praying prayers today at the different people. That Paul knew like you know that one of the reasons that we belong to communities like this, we call it the church, is because of the encouragement, the wisdom, the strength that a person can gain being in a place like this.

3:48 Paul is writing to his congregation and he has been writing to them in chapter 15 of the lofty teachings of the resurrection and in so doing that he is reminding those who have experienced possibly the loss of a mother or father a son or daughter to death of the future reality in the resurrection that, and this may be an assignment for you this week, that you sit down and read 1 Corinthians chapter 15 if you have experienced loss and wonder what the future looks like, to be reminded that this is the chapter, this lofty chapter on the resurrection, the bodily resurrection of the believer that one day we shall be reunited with those who love God in Jesus Christ.

4:47 It is here that if you've ever been to the graveside, you have heard some of these words uttered from the lips of the preacher or the officiant that day who reminds us that one day we shall be changed in the moment in a twinkling of an eye when the last trumpet will be sounded dead in Christ will rise and be caught up to meet our Lord high up in the air he would rail a right to the Thessalonica church but here now Paul says this is our resurrection and at the end of the resurrection of all of the things that he could have said. It's almost a non sequitur is what teachers of English tell us that it almost seems like it doesn't fit there. He's talking about resurrection and death and belief and talking about that if you don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, your living is faithless, it's in vain. He says all of this, you're going to be changed in a moment in a moment in the twinkling of eye from corruptible to incorruptible from mortality to immortality and then he says now this is what I want you to do be steadfast stand firm unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for you know sounds just like a pastor for you know reminding you after all of your years of service you know that your labor in the Lord has not gone unrecognized God has paid attention to your work of service he saw you when you stood at the door trying to let people in the church and they late and you trying to find a seat and they don't want to sit where you tell them to sit He said the Lord sees your labor when you're sitting on the front row and you're praying for the congregation.

6:52 He said the Lord sees your labor working with the children. You want to go to church, but you can't go to church on Sunday because you got to be with the youth. The Lord sees your labor getting up early on Saturday, cooking breakfast for men. God sees your labor working with the women in ministry. Some of y'all still ain't got it because if you ain't in ministry, you don't know what I'm talking about that your labor is not in vain in the Lord, preach Pastor Webb. And then the next line in chapter 16, Paul says, now concerning the collection. He puts the collection in the celebratory context of the resurrection.

7:49 While you're talking about I'm glad Jesus got up on Sunday, he said, yeah, that's good, but I want you to know him getting up cost something. The resurrection was a costly affair. It cost all of Friday's suffering. It suffered on Friday, all of the bloodshed, all of the crown of thorn. And then on Sunday morning, he got up. Verse 2. in the resurrection.

8:27 I'm amazed. This is the same Bible over the last week I've been preaching. And man, y'all, as soon as you hear money, very serious, which is always the indicator of immaturity, you shout over his mercy But you don't shout much over his money. But you shout when he give it to you. I'm gonna remember that. And he begins with the resurrection of saying that giving always begins with a planned regularity. That is that God says to those of us in worship, don't come to my church without a planned regularity of giving.

9:31 What does it say now concerning the resurrection? And then look at verse 2. It begins with saying, on the first day of the week, that God expects a planned regularity in the way that we give to him. And you say, why? Isn't it amazing that it's only with God do we plead ignorance. We plan with regularity for everything else. most of us here have a mortgage and most of us have to pay it every month some of us lease property we have to pay it monthly some of us drive cars that we have a note that we pay monthly there are bills that we pay monthly utilities that we pay monthly and nobody just does it at random you know that every 30 days there's a payment and God says in the same way that you take care of your secular affairs, I expect you to take care of my spiritual matters with the same planned regularity.

10:44 Establish a habit. We have habits to get our hair cut, our dues done. We have habits for hygiene. We have habits for exercise. and it's only in the spiritual disciplines that people ever get offended when you start talking about habits of giving. And yet, this is in the scripture connected to the resurrection, the grandest theme in all of the Bible that you can't talk about resurrection without talking about the collection. It's not just a habit, it's an honor. The honor is that God who supplies for me is expecting me habitually in a high honor and reverence to give back to him.

11:39 Planned regularity. I want to ask you, I know most of you, even though you're not saying much to this sermon, that last week when I was talking about worry, Lord you have to pack people out the door This will reduce worry Once you plan regularity And it will help you walk through the doors of the church With a joyfulness And by the way I'm not talking to any of you Number one who are not in Christ And number two where Christ is not the Lord of your life I think I can say this from 2 Corinthians 8 that Paul would say as a pastor, God doesn't even want what you have. Not if you're not connected with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because if you're giving out of being begrudging and mad and mean-spirited, then the Lord says, no.

12:37 Plan regularity in giving. plan it mom and dad this is something you ought to start teaching your children early plan it most of you who give you didn't learn it from me i was i was honored when i said this those of you been around here none of this is new you know how we give in our church and this is actually born out of one of my young people. I said, I noticed that you are rather inconsistent now preaching about giving. It's not that I don't want to talk about giving and it's certainly not the way you look at me that I don't want to talk about giving. I just had some other stuff I want to talk about. But one of my young people, several of them that I'm meeting with tomorrow, by the way, said, I want to know about that.

13:31 I thought that was very interesting. Young people wanted to know about giving. You ought to pass down to your children a planned regularity. Here's an assignment that while you're paying bills, you ought to just ask them sometime to come in and look at how you pay bills. Here's another assignment. Get a sheet of paper, just put God on one side, bill on the other, and then just list all of what you pay out for living, and then just look at what you give to God. And ask yourself a question. Do I give in a year more than what I spend on bills in a month? You'll be surprised at where the numbers fall. Plan regularity in giving. Mom, dad, don't rob your children of that great gift.

14:28 Some of you remember the uncle, I've told this story before, bears be repeated today of the nephew receives 10 silver coins, silver dollar coins. I don't even know if they make them anymore, silver dollars. And he was gifted this by his uncle. And the first thing that the boy did was that coin number one, he slid to the right and said, this is for Jesus. Now he was free to do what he wanted with coin 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and then when he got to coin 10 he said and this is for Jesus. The mother just simply asked him one question. Wait a minute now coin 1 you already gave to Jesus. He said yeah that coin I owe to Jesus. This one I just wanted to give to Jesus. Sometimes you ought to just want to give something to Jesus.

15:26 The second thing that I want to remind you of is the personal responsibility attached to giving to God. Look what it says. Do you pick up the line? I've just got one verse here. He says that on the first day of the week, you know, you set aside a certain amount and he includes everybody. All of you. Do you see it? It's that all of you. for years as a pastor I almost shut the windows of heaven on several people because I knew that there were people in hard times I said well this sermon ought not be directed to them they should be alleviated and yet if I had done that I would have shut the windows of heaven on them You see, Jesus expects, this is not a sermon about the amount that you give. Because there are some people who can give much more than others.

16:28 But that ain't your business. You don't give spending somebody else's money. It's like people who want to borrow money from you. And they got a tendency to count your money. and they don't know what your circumstances might be. Ouch. Yeah. there's a personal responsibility for everybody that sits in the room so you come in a room like this and and you have people say well I ain't gonna give cuz all of them people You mean the 18% of the whole congregation? you mean the 18% that give 73% of our whole budget Go on, you can see it, ouch.

17:40 One of my friends pastors a wealthy church and he says, well, we don't worry about it, giving in our church. I don't even have to preach about it. When we go low and we're missing the budget, we have three or four members in our church. I just call them and they're able to make up the shortage. I said, that is the sorriest stewardship plan on the planet. God expects every one of you that he woke up this morning. to be gracious unto Him, every one of you. rich and poor the last act of church ministry of Jesus was he watched the offering being given in church in mark people were giving their money throwing their coins in the coffers making loud noises and this little widow woman threw her two leptons they're called mites if you put them together it doesn't make two cents and jesus was astonished by what he saw he said did you see that this woman has given more than everybody in the room they said how i mean she only gave to look like copper coins say yeah that's the point she didn't give she didn't give what she had she gave what she didn't have and just think if jesus had not received a gift we wouldn't be talking about her now and how god has opened a window for so many of you even when you and me we were not deserving of it.

19:29 Oh, by the way, see, if you're still just thinking money, money, money, that says I am spiritually immature, I'm childish in my faith because there are so many other things that God attaches when you give, like your health, your strength, your sanity, your peace of mind, the joy that you have in the middle of all kinds of confusion. Sometimes it's the poor But then the other times it's the rich Barnabas Barnabas chapter 4 Barnabas chapter 2 of Acts Ananias and Sapphira chapter 5 Barnabas gave everybody was supposed to give and Ananias and Sapphira didn't give but they told the people when they got mad well I give my money and they fell dead.

20:38 Lord, thank you that you don't kill us. Yeah, there you go. Thank you. I know some of us feel like we're deserving of God's grace. I'm here to tell you, keep on living. You'll figure it out that ain't none of us deserving of the grace of God. God's grace, his favor, his mercy that he gives to us is an extension of his love toward us. I'm going to tell you something. I may have some arrogances, but when it come down to the mercies of God and deserving I don't care how upset I am about life and sometimes mad at God the one line I don't cross is that I'm deserving of it because I know that the only thing I'm deserving of is death, hell and grave and yet God loved me enough to die on that cross to say that stop! Salvation is yours.

21:38 plan regularity that is God is not wanting you to give by impulse or emergency or compulsion you know we got to pay the light bill then I'm going to know if God has been good to you when you're healthy God's good with you when you got a job Don't get super spiritual when you lose everything. Love God while you're young and energetic and half. There you go. You got it now. Personal responsibility in the planned regularities of God. Alan Redpath tells this story in his book of the two sisters who were discussing church

22:39 and one says, my goodness, every time you go to church that's all those people want is more money, which is always a lie. And then every year things get more expensive. Isn't it amazing that everything gets expensive for your house but we still stay at the same level in God's house.

23:04 Think about it. it's just so expensive that sister said and her sister says well several years ago God birthed into our home a boy and the moment that he was born he cost us cost us milk and diapers and food and then as a boy growing up he cost us more he started out growing clothes look like every other week and then when he goes to elementary and middle school he cost us more high school he cost us more he wanted to get into sports and athletics and that cost us everything cost us and then he goes to college and that really cost us and then he started dating said lord we had to take a loan out Thank you.

24:00 and said tragically his senior year he died, now he doesn't cost us anything. And she asked her sister, which one do you think we would rather? Have a son that costs, or a son that doesn't cost at all? You see, as long as you're living, you're growing and you're giving. And the moment that you die, you don't have to give anymore.

24:34 Even if you don't do it, and I hope you will today, you ought to be shouting for the people that do, who make a way for you to enjoy what you do today. I'm not trying to put nobody on the spot. They don't play music for free. staff don't come here for free everything costs so even if you don't even if you are not a giver you ought to get on your knees and thank the lord for those that do give and then ask god bless them some more so they can give so that i might live It costs.

25:27 And the church is the only place where people complain that it costs. any y'all got children in these a you Let me see. Anybody, parent or grandparent, just hold your hand up. Only three of you, that's all. I know you're lying because I've seen more than that at the YMCA.

25:51 Well, you know what? Let me ask the grandparent, does it cost? Now, don't join in now. Hey, you had your chance to get in. Be quiet now. I'm talking to you and you. I'm just saying, does it cost? I know it costs because my son always telling me what it costs. I said, that boy ain't my son. They got uniforms. They got certain kind of tennis shoes. And then these trips they take and they're going everywhere all over the place. I said, on Sunday too. I said, do y'all have a chaplain for somebody to preach to these children while they're on the road? It just costs them. Any of y'all got girls that's in sports? all right thank you one person one that doesn't cause I know it calls because they got to be dolled up you ain't got to fake it because you in church and because you are robbing and stealing from God even gonna rob him at least tell the truth about it stand up and be a bold robber and stand up and say I rob from God but thank God God ain't never robbed me preach Ralph West Let me be clear again because I don't want you walking out the door talking about, I ain't said nothing about no amount.

27:31 All I said is that this is what Paul was saying to his church, be a giver. That is, if God has been good to you, then you ought to give to God. I ain't said nothing about no amount, not equal in giving, but equal in sacrifice. Let me close. Let me close. what is the last thing he says? He talks about you give according to the proportion in which God has graced you. and I close on that and that is the proportionality in the way that we give to God Now you have to make up your mind What God is worth to you Nobody can do that for you And nobody can give for you I remember growing up people say Well ask the person next to you I ain't never gave nobody nothing Not when it came to giving Because I can't give for you That's between you and God I can give to you but I can't give to you to give to God I might well just bypass you and give it to God I can give to you in benevolence and there's something else you ought to thank the Lord for Every year I want to join several other major churches in town that have no benevolence ministries.

29:08 James Harris is going to lose his job. Because we're up in the hundreds of thousands of giving. Where James at? Is he in here? Am I lying about it? They think I'm lying. Thank you. Say it a little loud. They didn't hear it, James. No, I'm serious. Say it, man. He's scared to say it because then y'all ain't going to give him nothing Every year and yet every time we want to stop we know that there are some people a lot of them they work the system a lot of them work the system but there are some people that really do need help and I wouldn't want God to get upset with me that we don't give to those who really, really need help.

30:10 See, you ought to thank the Lord for that. I belong to a church. that gives and that's just here that doesn't talk about missions that we give to alright this is your chair Hundreds of thousands in missions. I hear what you're saying. Well, well, well, parents, I recommend we don't give to them. I can't do that. The commission of the church reminds us that the family of God is bigger than the walls of the church. It affects all of the people of God. I can't wait to preach about what the family of God means.

31:05 The church really looks like while we call each other brother and sisters. I'm done now. I see you can't take much more. Let me go and wrap it up there. a couple of weeks ago I was preaching in Memphis Tennessee at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Jose Hopkins is the pastor we were eating at Soul Fish restaurant and we were talking about the church and the conversation elevated into giving and the theme of the conversation is just givers give. I can't explain it. Every one of us have met givers. All of us.

31:57 No givers. Some of you are those kind of people. They just give. It's a part of their habit structure. They just give. It's just who they are. They just give. It's the same as people who are selfish. They're just selfish. They're selfish with their wife or husband. selfish with their children, just selfish, just hold on to stuff. But then there are people who just give. Hey, giving by the way is not determined again on what people have. It's just part of who they are. They're just giving, always giving. And so while we were at the table having that discussion, Jose Hopkins told me about Jesse Webb. Jesse Webb is a woman in his church that on May the 11th, 2008, on Mother's Day, they were celebrating the communion, apparently, when she beckoned for an usher because her chest got tight. She said, something is wrong.

33:11 She asked, could you call a paramedic? And they called EMS, arrived, paramedic put her on the girding. and they rolled her out of the church, and when she got to the lobby, she stretched out her hand with some envelopes in it.

33:38 On her way out the door, she said, can somebody make sure that my pastor get my tithe and my love offering? that's all he said I said did she die he said she died but not before she gave I wrote it down I didn't want to forget that story I told him I'm going to tell that story whether it moves anybody here or not it moved me that she gave before she died and I don't want to wait to die for somebody to stand up talking about me I want to give while I'm alive I want to do it like Jesus because apparently she had a hookup with the holy that she gave before she died because when Jesus was on the cross before he died he started giving he gave paradise to a thief he gave John to his mother he gave his mother to John he gave his eyes to a thousand twinkling stars he gave joy to the church he gave peace to the world he gave love to the fellowship He gave salvation to the lost.

35:07 And before you die, you ought to give something. Yeah. Yeah. You ought to want somebody to say, there goes a giver. There is somebody that before they died, they gave. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to stop right there. I could hoop right there. I really could. I could holler right there. I really could. I'm not playing with you because I get excited over the fact that God in his grace reminds us that he's always giving to us. Name a day where God didn't give you. I'm waiting up here. I'm gonna pull my pen out. Come on, yell it out and tell me when the Lord haven't given to you. Yeah, you can't think about it because you can start with the day he woke me up.

36:02 Do you have to go any further than that? If you're in your right mind, look at that. If the Lord gave you health, if God gave you strength, if God gave you activity and your limb, if God has kept you here in the middle of everything falling apart, that's worth it to give to God. Yeah. Wait, wait, can I give you one last thing? I'm going to open the door to church on this one. since giving ain't worked i've been preaching all morning on giving and and nobody's seen it like giving let's talk about receiving that is you know let's just say i ain't gonna give god nothing now now what have you received Thank you. now i'm just i just want you to think about it what have you received now now now the scripture says it's more blessed to give than to receive but the lord said well since my own creation got a problem given to me then let me just talk about receiving That is, we receive everything from God.

37:19 The sun rays, we receive everything. Vegetation, we receive everything. Friendships, relationships, love, we receive everything for him. Even when we don't give nothing to God, he says, that's all right, I'll let you be a receptacle. But what I don't want to be is a dead end. I don't want to be a reservoir. I don't want blessings just to come to me. I want to be somewhere that blessings can flow through me. I want to be a blessing to somebody. I want somebody's life to be made better. If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or a song, if I can show somebody that they're traveling wrong, then my living shall be. you can't shout on that keep on living shall not be in vain amazing amazing I'll just stop there, there ain't no need going on I hope I hope I hope you'll be encouraged to give to God as God has so graciously given to you.

38:45 This is really interesting. This is interesting. Same Bible, same God. Last week when everything was about worry and what we get, everybody in the riser was there. Today you talk about giving to God and the majority of the church sits down, hand on the chin, arms folded.

39:12 I'm surprised when I look at how handsome and attractive and how well-dressed your children and you. And mom and dad, remember this, more is caught than taught. You don't want to raise no selfish children. now i'm telling you something now you don't want to do that oh no oh no no no no i hear you coming some of y'all come from these backgrounds i ain't got no guilt in my game what i know in 38 years up or down the lord takes care of this church i got that i'm clear about i you ain't got to worry about that i don't i ain't calling for no lines i ain't asking you to sow nothing that between you and the lord there i just wanted when you get to heaven when the lord say how did you do tell him say you can't say pastor west didn't teach me from the word of god plan regularity personal responsibility and proportionality and giving how has god blessed you is how god expects you to bless him not because lights need to be paid, not because grass needs to be cut, not because of vegetation, of gardening, of landscaping, not because none of that is based off of God. I do what I do because I love you.

40:45 Yeah. Now, I'm getting ready to call for the biggest offering and don't none of you get up running out unless you come in this way. Here's the biggest offering, the biggest financial offering that you're getting ready to give in your life. Oh, I'm going to get it from you too.

41:07 The first offering, according to God's word, never have a dollar or cent tax to it. The biggest offering is, have you given your life to Jesus Christ? that's the biggest offering you can ask you say why that tell me if the lord has you he has everything yes and after the day the next time i talk about giving i want you jumping up and down my church used to jump up and down when i would preach it by giving it grew more more faith more believe more trust always.

41:52 I want you to be a mature Christian. I don't want you to be scared because you hear something that makes you uncomfortable. It only makes us uncomfortable because we know these are the areas that God is challenging us in. Now, it's offering time. is oftentimes the door to church is open dad i want you to get up with that family and i want you to put that family in in god's trust mama i want you to get up with that family i want you to put your family in god's trust I'm single I'm on my own I'm a sick I want you to get up and put your life in God's trust Pastor Wes I'm here and I'm away and I'm the school here I want you to put your life in God's trust I want you to get up from that seat come down that aisle give you and don't wait on nobody else if I'm talking to you you get up and come down here don't you wait on somebody else nobody knows what you need like you know what God has for you. And if that's you, receive what God has for you. I see you coming and you coming and somebody else ought to be getting up, coming down this aisle today and letting the day be your day to put your confident trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Come on, we're waiting on you. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Put your hands together. It's offering time. Come on.

43:36 We're waiting on you. Somebody else today. God bless. I'm waiting on you. Yeah, sing it like you're waiting on them today. What a joy today. Come on. Jesus is waiting. Hallelujah today.

44:00 Today. Come to Jesus. if you know that's you don't quench the holy spirit don't you green the holy spirit you let god have his way in your life and let him do in you all in that which he's able to do come on we're waiting on you and believe in your heart you shall be saved Hallelujah! If you just say this... Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus.

44:53 Come to Jesus Come to Jesus now let me help you i'm this my last appeal now anytime you get that kind of resistance the enemy doesn't want some of y'all set free you know who you are now some of you are in the church that need to be set free but i'm talking about those that need a relationship with christ and the church for those of us in the church I'm coming to you at prayer time I want you to help me I'm talking to my members now I want you to give now I want you to give the gift of invitation you don't know who's seated around you why they there and so I'm talking to my members now I want you to turn to the right and left front of you behind you. There are people who have made up their mind.

45:58 I ain't moving today. I'm giving no indication. Now you're not telling me no. You're saying no to God's Holy Spirit. I ain't the Holy Spirit. I'm just the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just delivering the mail. Boy, this is amazing. This is amazing. So help me, those of you who are in Christ and love the Lord, just turn to the right and left in front of you and behind you and just ask whoever it is, is Pastor West waiting on you? I'm looking at a whole row of people in the rising. Nobody has moved. Not one person. I know that they're here, but I can't wait no longer, alright? May God bless you and bless your life.

46:54 And for your obedience of bringing your baby, that God bless your life. There is something attached to obeying God when he calls us. Ain't no doubt about that. Come on, let's get ready to pray. I see you coming and somebody else. It ought to be a lot more of you. They don't need you being scared. Just trust the Lord and come on.

47:19 And don't y'all be looking at people that surround you that's supposed to be in Christ in the church. You might discover that you got more spirit out than they have. I see you coming, yeah. Thank you for your patience. Yeah, come on. I see you back there. Some more of y'all to be coming up. Yeah, don't be waiting on somebody else. You come on and receive what God has for you. Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, come to Jesus, come to Jesus.

48:06 And some of you might mean I just need a church home today. I just need to be in a place where I can worship God. Baby, baby, try to play it.

48:29 Yeah, he came down with his baby. Yeah. God bless you and you back here. Cause I want to tell y'all something. I'm glad you thank you for bringing that baby let me tell you something Thank you. One of the big mistakes that people make when it comes to a day like today You might be here and don't really want to be here. You might be here and say, I don't want to be here. And that's good, but you're here. But you're here. And that's why the difference is made. Somebody asked me this question recently, would I give leadership to a particular national body?

49:22 That's what they asked me. And I said, oh no, no, not me, I'm not doing that. You don't have to worry about that. That's what I said to this person. And this person said these words to me. I've noticed that the people God seemed to use the most are always people that initially don't want to be bothered with it. You might not even want to be down there. but you're here.

49:53 And God can do something with that. Let me tell you something. I meant it earlier. I can't tell you if you follow Jesus, everything's going to work out. Man, you'd probably be frustrated and everything else, but follow him anyway. The Lord and I have been having some real serious conversations lately. I'm telling I'm talking to y'all I'm going to help you with this I mean some real serious conversation because for because I've never known what it's meant to have to struggle in my own church to move my church to do anything I've never known it for 38 years until lately if I asked let's do this nobody want to do it like preaching today it's a miracle you got up because you sit down and said Lord if that's the response that Christians give and that past is talking I don't want to be bothered for whatever reason God gets through all of that I've never lied to these people I've never you follow Jesus he'll disrupt your life you you you want to be you want to be or whatever you want to be and the Lord say I'm changing to do something else you may be here today and you say lord the last thing i ever do is be a preacher and the next thing you know i think the lord then called me to do something I'm thinking about one of my students who came to my class on the track to be a surgeon.

51:37 The next thing you know, I'm getting phone calls from his parents saying, hey, send my son over there with your people to end up talking about he going to missions I said, hey, you the one that when he was a baby said, Lord, do whatever you want to do with him, do it. And the Lord decided to do it. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I don't know. Somebody may discount you based off anything you've done. And yet the Lord never holds our past against us. Now you getting that from me, don't worry about what they think. I'm telling you. and I know and a lot of these people that wouldn't help me preach today if I start calling their name and where the Lord done brought them from because they ain't always look like no super Saints you see they ain't clapping right don't let me start calling you out there yeah well the reality is and who wants and who wants to be that anyway i want to be somebody that can truly say what i am not ain't what i was you are looking what god can do to anybody who will trust that I had to preach another sermon because because I wanted you to hear that I feel that I feel that bird now with that said there are several other you young people here that's supposed to be here you you looking at this person waiting on them now I'm gonna tell you something y'all can go to the club you can go to the concert together y'all can but when it come to your salvation that's a personal decision that you have to make on your own now i don't know who you are

53:46 i want to give you a minute to think about it one minute to get up from that seat and come down here not asking who's next to you checking with them you think ought to go i'm talking to those of you that the holy spirit has spoken in your life and you're sitting there saying i know that man is talking to me today. I know he's talking to me. There you go, that's all I want you to do. There you go, come on. I know that man talking to me today. Somebody tell you, don't get up. Tell them they ain't got to get up. I'm getting up to receive what God has for me today. I see you coming. There you go. Welcome. We're glad to have you. Come on. I see you back that coming. I wish I had some praying people now to really intercede with me to say, let me pray with this man. You don't know who God is setting free, who God is delivering, who God is making a way out of no way for. One day, we're going to stop just showing up in church and really believe that the Holy Spirit and the gospel really does work in the life of people.

55:10 I see you coming. I see your whole family. I see you coming up there. There you go. Yeah, don't let nobody get in your way. Tell them, get out of my way. Ludicrous say move get out the way get out the way yeah come on and by the way the Lord saved children too yes he does yes he does yeah bring them babies down there I see you bring your whole family I see you that's the way to do that that's the way to do that I see you coming down. Get into a family That's what the church is The church is a family That's why we call each other brother and sister I can't wait to preach on that I think I'm going to do it on Father's Day I didn't grow up with my father But I never miss having a father Because I belong to the church and so I just started this morning thinking about all the men that were like fathers to me.

56:36 Never missed it. Not married at nobody. I don't blame nobody for nothing. I don't blame how I was reared, where I was reared on nobody. All the mess I've been in, Ralph West did it on his own. Ain't got nothing with no sociological depictions of what side of the track I was on. It was just my stubborn hard-headedness. Period. That's the reason why I can worship God the way that I do freely. I don't blame none of you for my situation. You got people mad. Well, if the church, if the church did what? If the church did what?

57:18 The church does what the church does. It promotes the other program of God, the kingdom. don't blame people for your stuff own it yourself that's how god really moves in your life you know this is what you're hearing now is the reason why nobody comes to talk to me anymore because you know they're waiting on the sympathetic pastor to sit down with him say well you know i don't blame nobody i don't blame nobody on your stuff watch god start raising you up own it. Just own it. Come on, let me pray for you. Gracious God, our Father, thank you for our family members. And I feel that heavy weight today, and I know pastorally, it's because of the burden that people put on folk who start thinking, I want to be there, but maybe maybe God can't. Lord, let them know that you are a God of the resurrection, not just Jesus getting up out the grave, but you give new life in dead situations, stuff that looks dead.

58:33 You can breathe new life in it, like dry bones, the spirit and the word get a hold of us. And the next thing you know, we're standing up and we're like a mighty army. Thank you. teach us to learn how to love you so we can love ourselves and Lord please help us stop listening to negative people telling us what we can't be until we get some stuff straight we come today just as we are broken, shattered and we ask you lord if you can do something with this broken life i give it to you and then lord i can hardly wait to see those that follow you in discipleship where they're gonna be in the next six months a year i can hardly wait to see it bless them now we pray in jesus name amen i love you i look forward to meeting you follow our leaders they got something for you. While they're leaving, let's say it together. You ready? We ought to say it with enthusiasm today. You ready? Come and say it. Where there's a temple, there's a need. Where there's a need, there's a provision. Where there's a provision, there's God. And where there's God, he'll supply in miraculous ways. It's offering time.

59:58 All right, then you give and we got an announcement. As we prepare to leave, we're excited of having on our campus today. Now, I'll make sure I'm pronouncing this right. Is it Xiomara? Hey, don't get mad at me Because I don't know how to pronounce y'all stuff That's why I asked How's it pronounced? Zamora So let's, okay So we got a diphthong working here Okay, all right Zamora So let's welcome the Zamora Gil number five Today is their Founders Day Would you stand so we can recognize you And appreciate you and we're glad to have you on our campus today and the work that you do in service. Amen.

1:00:52 Then while we're praying and thanking God for your gifts today, we're excited to have our interns home and here on campus. And they all come from very exciting backgrounds. All right. So our own Braylon Payne is here. Stand up, Braylon. She's interned with us before. She is a 4.0 incoming junior at Temple University in Philadelphia. We are so excited to have you home B. And then we have Elijah Walker with us. Elijah is an MD of student at Duke University's Duke Divinity School. One of our upcoming scholars working in pastoral ministry here. And then Emory Berry III from Clark Atlanta University. He and Braylon, they'll be working in media ministry. And then Elijah will be working in pastoral ministry. We're glad to have you on campus on today. All right.

1:02:11 Let's all stand together, let them know we're excited about them being here. And we're excited. I told Braylon, I said, now, you know, we have launched a career of anchor people in this church. They started working on the camera and then their face on camera. And now, now, now, now they're gone and they're on the desk. They don't even call me no more now. I know they listening I want you to hear that you don't call me no more when when nobody would give them an internship I said we'll do it at the church all I'm asking y'all to do as the Lord bless you I've had interns forever rascals come here don't even call back just at least sometimes sometimes and I know they got play mamas in the church and all that but your play mama ain't who brought you here so at least let us know what god is doing i'm talking to all of y'all that listening and i know i'll hear from all of them this week we love you still but you know i'm still the same all right like the lord i change us not all right so we're glad to have you put your hands together and praise god for our intern we're gonna have a good time with them thank you choir you put in work today we praise the lord for you our instrumentalists and everybody we thank the lord for them we really do we do we really do all right look this way i want to bless you as we prepare to leave see you this week at the uh adventure week adventure week and yeah i'll be there i gotta i gotta session tomorrow but y'all can't come to my session this is my session y'all not allowed in my session it's going to be a good session too I'm meeting with young adult youth even some children

1:04:16 youth young adults and that kind of thing to talk about how they interpret church gospel the world I'm looking forward to that we got to hear from them these young people are brilliant and they can help us they can help navigate the future we need to know how to look at the world through their eyes and so i i praise god for that y'all ain't happy about nothing that they are my goodness the lord bless you lord please bless them