Exodus 40, verse 34 says, Then a cloud covered
the tent of the congregation, and the glory of
the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not
able to enter into the tent of the congregation
because the cloud abode there and thereon, and
the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And when the cloud was taken up from over the
tabernacle, the children of Israel went forward,
onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud
were not taken, Not taken up. Then they journeyed
not until the day that it was taken up. For the
cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by
day and fire was on it by night. And in the sight
of all the house of Israel throughout all their
journeys. I'm going to pick up where we left
off hopefully last week on the secret to our
success. How that we succeed as a child of God.
And understanding that. Those are two different
things, two different versions. That which is
successful to a child of God may just be a total
failure to someone that's in the world. Amen?
Because it looks totally different. It's just
totally different. To be a successful believer
is different than being a successful person in
the world. But it's not alone. Because when we
succeed in Christ, we succeed in the world as
well. Amen. Father, I love you. I thank you.
I pray your blessings on the household of faith.
Lord, just help me now. Help me to preach what's
pleasing to you, edifying to the body. And Lord,
let me be expedient in what we do today. That
when we leave, we leave enriched by your word
and grace. And may we leave here empowered. By
your spirit, till you be praised forever. In
Christ's name the church says, amen. Ask your
neighbor, are you a success? To speed through
this introduction and get us going, remember
the cloud that we've just read about in our text
stood as the symbol and the representation of
God's presence with the children of Israel early
in their leaving Egypt. As God was leading them
out, he went before them. He wanted them to see
his presence. A little bit later, his presence
would be in the Ark of the Covenant. As the Ark
would be constructed, it would be built. The
Ark of the Lord would go before the children
of Israel. Amen. As the Ark moves forward, it
comes to stand and to be the representation of
the presence of God among his people. Today,
what we have... Amen. We don't have an ark. We
don't have a cloud. We have the Spirit of God
residing within us, within you. Amen. If you
are a born -again believer, the Holy Spirit resides
in you. You are the ark that's taking his presence
around the world. Wherever you go, he goes. Amen.
Matter of fact, wherever you go, he's there waiting
for you to show up. Amen. The Lord understanding
was over them to shield them, behind them for
defense, before them to lead them. the same way
the Lord is still today. He leads us. He guides
us. According to the psalmist, the steps of a
good man are ordered or directed by the Lord.
The Lord is guiding your footsteps. Now, if you're
like me, I don't always like where he takes me.
Hello? Sometimes he leads me into a wilderness.
Amen? There have been times he's led me into
a furnace like some other boys I know. You go
through the fire. Sometimes he's led me through
a flood just like he did his children. Amen.
Israelites, the water's open. Wherever he leads
me, though, he provides the way for me. And somebody
needs to hear that this morning. You may be in
the middle of a wilderness, but if you quit looking
at God and seeking his presence, then you're
just going to wander around there. But if you're
watching after him, he's going to lead you all
the way through the wilderness. I love that text
where he told the children. told Moses, he said,
look, you've been here long enough. You've walked
around this place long enough. It's been 40 years.
You've been here long enough. Now I want you
to turn and go the other direction. I love it
when the Lord says, okay, we've walked around
here long enough. Let's go the other way. Amen.
But the thing about it is it's not long enough
until the Lord says it's long enough. Wherever
you're walking, if you are a child of God, you
are where he is leading you unless you're in
disobedience. you got there on your own. And
if that is the case, you can call upon the name
of the Lord and say, okay, Lord, how do we get
out of here? How do I get from here? And he'll
start from that point and lead you right on out.
He is better than Siri. We had to rent a car
here a couple years ago. It was a Ford, and we
had to rent that thing. The lady that spoke through
that car was possessed. Men hurting get along
from get -go. Not like Lucinda that leads me
where I go. Lucinda sends me wherever she wants
me. I say, hey, get me here. Boom, she gets me
there. Had led me astray once. That's Lucinda.
That other woman. Tried to get me off on wrong.
It's a Ford. She knew that I was a Chevrolet
man. Now, that's no offense to you Ford people.
A good Chevrolet will do you the same way. They
get offended. But what I'm trying to tell you
is, no matter where you are, the Lord will lead
you out. If he led you there, he will take you
on further. If you got in the mess you're in
on your own, you just stop right there. The worst
thing in the world for a man to do is have to
ask for directions. All roads lead somewhere.
And eventually I'll get to somewhere. Oh, I know
where I'm at now. 50 miles later in an hour and
a half, right? Oh, yeah, I know where I'm at.
But we hate to ask for directions. As a child
of God, you cannot have that attitude when you
get yourself lost. You stop when you realize
that, hey, I don't belong here. Have you ever
got into places where you think, I should not
be here? We pulled off in Memphis one evening
about dark trying to get a hunting license before
we got into Arkansas and realized very quick
that we made a major mistake. We made a major
mistake getting off. First of all, we picked
the wrong exit because we were right downtown.
We had no business looking for a hunting license
on that side of Memphis, none whatsoever. So
we got out. And it's the same way in our lives
sometimes. We find ourselves in places where
we know better than to be. And we took the wrong
turn, but we can get out because wherever the
Lord leads you, he's going to take you out. And
if you get there, he'll get you out because you
got yourself in there. The Lord will never leave
us or forsake us. As a matter of fact, if you
get somewhere, you took him with you. So we understand
that the Lord's presence is what we need in our
life. It's the presence of the Lord that represents
who we are. Praise his name, who he is for us,
in us, and through us as we go about this life.
And we succeed as the Lord goes with us. Because
we've sung it over and over this morning. He
has never failed, and he never will. He cannot
fail. Amen? Oh, when we begin to think about
that, and if our trust and obedience is in the
Lord, what you may see as a failure in your life
is a victory because God is doing something wonderful
in you, to you, and through you. Everything is
not... As it appears, there are spiritual optical
illusions in your life because what we see is
negative. God's saying, okay, I got you where
I want you now. I've got you broken. I've got
you down there. You are where now I can do something
in your life. And sometimes it takes the wilderness
to get us ready to hear, okay, you're ready.
Go the other way. Sometimes it takes standing
before a raging river and an ocean or a sea and
hear the Lord say, stand still right now. What
do you have in your hand? And what we should
have is our praise. and our surrender unto the
Lord. And we lift that up before him. He said,
okay, now I'm going to make a way out for you.
That's the way the Lord works in the life of
a believer. That's the way he's going to work
for you. No matter where you're at right now,
I can't get past this. No matter where you are
right now in your relationship with God or not,
you may not even have one, but all you have to
do is stop where you are this morning and call
upon the name of the Lord your God. Repent through
his son, Jesus Christ, and accept the Lord. lordship
of Christ into your life and ask him to cleanse
you of your sin and he'll do that and move you
forward. Why? Because the Lord becomes our salvation.
We succeed when the Lord is the source of our
rescue. Are we understanding that he is the source
of your rescue? You've tried and you've messed
with your life long enough. It's time you get
your hands off yourself and let God do something
in you and for you. You don't have enough sense
to get your own self out of trouble. Well, pastor,
you're You're offending me. I can't believe you
said that. Well, I'm just relaying to you an
experience I had in my own life. I didn't have
enough sense to get out of my own way. And I
tell you, you don't either. We can't do it for
ourselves. We can't rescue ourselves. That's
the reason we're in the mess we're in because
we've had too much control of ourselves. It's
time we stop and lift our hands toward the heaven
and surrender our heart and life and say, okay,
God, I've made a mess out of it this far. Can
you do something with the rest? And he said,
thank you. for your invitation. Thank you. Yes,
by the way, if you'll just hang a little right
right here, you'll come out on the street called
straight. Hallelujah. And when you get out on
the street called straight, my Lord, he'll lead
you in that divine direction. The street called
straight is where we need to be. So he becomes
our salvation. We understand that the Lord our
God is a sun and a shield and the Lord will give
grace and glory and no good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly. If you're not
walking uprightly and you think life's treating
you unfair, well, you're on your own. But when
you begin to walk upright, what does that mean?
Right in the sight of God. And you only do that
through his son, Jesus Christ. And when you begin
to walk uprightly, no good thing will he withhold
from you. Now, let me just share something. That
don't mean that you're just going to have more
money and you know what to do with because that
might not be good for you. You know why we're
not all rich, don't you? Lord knows we can't
handle it. Moving right along. So the secret
church, it says, becomes the Lord's presence
in our life. We need the Lord's guidance. We
need his leading. We need his direction every
single day because he becomes our salvation.
He is your Savior. There is no saving outside
of him. Amen. There is no rescue outside of him.
I know the world has all kind of offers, and
I know there's all kind of things every day.
But I'm here to tell you right now, until you
surrender to him and accept him as your Savior,
there is no salvation for your life. You keep
digging a hole. You talk to some of the most
wealthy people in the world that do not have
an upright relationship with God, and they are
some of the most miserable people in the world.
Why? Because there's no peace without God. God,
there's no peace without God. There's no hope
without Christ. And they pile up and they pile
up and they pile up and it just becomes a misery.
But when you've got Christ in your life, amen,
then things change. And all things become different.
Why? Because we become new creatures in Christ.
Because old things pass away and all things become
new. And they do so through Christ. We understand
he is our salvation. Exodus 14, 13, and 14. I'm
trying to get to where we're going. Moses said
unto the people, Fear not. Stand still. See the
salvation of the Lord which he showed. shall
show you today. For the Egyptians that you see,
you will see them no more forever. That army
that's behind you, take a good look at them because
you'll never see them again and no one else either
because I'm going to take care of the enemy that's
coming after you. Somebody needs to know that
today. God is going to take care of the enemies
that are coming after you. You simply stand still
and wait upon his direction. Wait upon his manifestation
and his power to be released in your life. Moses
and them stood still. He stretched forth the
rod and the wind of heaven began to blow and
the Red Sea began to open and on dry ground they
went across. And as they get on the other side,
Pharaoh's army who had been slowed down by God's
pit crew. You remember that cloud that was behind
them? The Lord dispatched an angel out of that
cloud and took every wheel off every chariot.
Oh, you need to go read the Bible. It's really
good reading. It is. There's some good stuff
in there. I don't believe that. I don't care
what you believe. It happened. An angel of the
Lord came out of that cloud, took the wheels
off Pharaoh's chariots, and he was so silly,
he kept on going. They drug him. They made the
horses, dragged them in, and God got them right
where he wanted them. And when they all got in
the midst of the Red Sea, the walls came tumbling
down, and the Israelites went on toward their
promise. I'm here to tell you, no enemy that's
coming after you, pursuing you, will overtake
you because the Lord has a plan for your life.
If you walk upright before him, And allow his
presence to be authority in your life. He will
direct you to what looks like maybe the greatest
obstacle that you've ever faced. But God will
make a way. We sung it. He is the way maker.
He is the miracle worker. He'll cause a red sea
to open. He'll call a Jordan to roll back. He'll
cause water to come out of a rock. If you're
thirsty, he'll call bread to fall down from the
sky. I'm here to tell you this morning, the Lord
will take care of you. Well, hallelujah. So is
your salvation. Psalm 25 and 5, lead me in thy
truth and teach me for thou art the God of my
salvation and on thee do I wait all the day.
Don't get in a hurry. God's got it. I can't get
hung up much more. I got to get where we're going.
Okay, so he's our salvation. We talked about
help, right? The Lord being our helper. We succeed
because the Lord is our help. You don't fail
because you're not doing this in your own strength.
You succeed because he is your help. Amen. What
did the psalmist say in 121? He said, I will
lift up mine eyes unto the hills, comma, from
whence does my help come, comma. My help comes
from the Lord. Hallelujah. Who made the heaven
and the earth. Call on me in the day of trouble
and I will help you. He is an ever -present help
in the time of trouble. And in his presence is
where we long to reside. He becomes your helper.
He becomes the one who assists you through everything.
Understand that God is your refuge according
to the Psalmist in 46 and 1. And he is your strength
and he is a very. Ever -present help in trouble.
How many of you got a little trouble going on
in your life? If you got a little trouble going
on and things going on around you, God will be
your ever -present help. Why? Because he loves
you. And if he loves you and you love him and
you're walking up right before him, if he doesn't
perform the word that he's proclaimed over our
life, then he is not God, but he is God. And
therefore, if he's declared it, if there's a
thus saith, for I will rise, I shall. You can
rest assured he shall and he will and he'll perform
it for you. But you and I must learn to wait
upon the salvation of the Lord as the Lord arrives
to help and to assist our every need. He's your
help. Hebrews 4, 16, Let us therefore come boldly
into the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help. In the time of need.
That's the New Testament. That's not the Psalms.
Amen. That's a little New Testament for you.
The promise carries over. Why? Because he's the
same God. That's why. I am the Lord and I. Change
of not. Amen. He's the same God of the Old Testament.
He's the same God in the New Testament. Amen.
He'll raise the dead if necessary. He'll open
blinded eyes. He'll heal the deaf ears. Amen.
He'll cause the lame to leap. Hallelujah. And
they that wait upon the Lord, he will cause to
have their strength renewed. They'll walk and
not faint. They'll run and not grow weary. Why?
Because he is the ever -present help to the believer,
to the one who needs help that calls upon his
name. I just caught a glimpse out of the corner
of my eye, and I meant to mention this earlier.
Inspired this morning by cell phones laying on
the altar. Thank you, guys. That's good right
there. That means I have their undivided attention
this morning. And that's the reason I feel what
I'm feeling because the Lord's talking to somebody.
It doesn't matter how young you are. It doesn't
matter how old you are or where you're at in
between in this process. We all have trouble
of our own nature. You can have trouble. You
can have problems. You can have things that drive
you crazy at 5, 6, 7, 8, 98, 85, 65, 55, and
anywhere else in between. We all can have dilemmas.
There's dilemmas at school. These kids face things
that you and I didn't dream of. could just slap
them in the mouth and go on. You might get a
paddling, but some things are worth it. Is that
right, honey? She got in more trouble for fighting
than I did in school. Oh, yeah. Don't let that
little sweet little grin. Don't let that fool
you. You've heard the old saying, would fight
a circle saw backwards? Right there. Mean. She
was a heathen. Y 'all think I'm, I'm just not.
I'll tell you the truth. She'd jerk them by the
hair of the head and drag them out in the hall
and just, I've seen it more than once. I'm thinking,
I think I can tame that cat. Look what the Holy
Ghost in me has made right there. Way more him
than me, I guarantee you. I couldn't do nothing
without him. And it's because of him. Hallelujah.
It doesn't matter what kind of trouble you can
find yourself in. It doesn't matter at what age
you're in this morning. There's dilemmas at work.
It's just everywhere. It's all around. The devil
is everywhere. He's roaring. He's seeking out
whom he may devour. He's trying to kill, steal,
and destroy from every one of us. He's trying
to take us out. But every one of us who know
the name of the Lord Jesus, who are stamped by
the seal of the bloodstained banner of Calvary,
who have had our sins removed, we understand
that he is the source of our sin. I know I couldn't
be saved. saved without him. There's no other
thing that could do it. It had to be him. I had
to be delivered by him. There was no other power
that was able to set me free, but he touched
me. That's the reason the songwriter with so
much passion declared that song, Reach Out and
Touch the Lord as he goes on. Why? Because he
is the only thing that can alter the situation
in your life. But here's the deal. He can alter
every situation that is going on in our lives.
So the Lord becomes our help. Now, for the new
part. We succeed because the Lord is our joy.
If you're not happy and you're claiming to be
a child of God, I want to lay hands on you and
pray for you here in a little while. Matter of
fact, I really don't care if you're happy or
not. It's not about being happy. It's about being
full of joy. Circumstances dictate happiness
but circumstances cannot defer joy unless you
allow it. You and I have to permit it. It'll
not be deferred unless you defer it. You have
to choose to be sad as a child of God. You have
to decide that I'm going to worry on the things
that the enemy's putting in my mind. You make
a choice to mull on it. You make a choice to
chew on it like a cow on a cud and just sit there
and over and over and over and over and let the
devil torment your mind. You do not have to live
that way. You hear me this morning. The joy of
the Lord. according to Nehemiah 8 and 10, becomes
your strength. We're talking about a people who
are in bondage. We're talking about a people
who are oppressed by the enemy, and they've got
let loose, and they're finally at home, and they're
depressed because they're at home because the
task looks so great. There's walls that's got
to be built. There's gates that's got to be hung.
But here, Nehemiah, Ezra has read the Word of
God, and the people are crying because they've
come to a realization that they are not where
they should be in God's good grace. And they're
crying and they're mourning. And Nehemiah stands
up and says, hey, go home and eat the good. Go
home and eat the sweet. Go home and drink because
the joy of the Lord is your strength. Knowing
that now you have turned again to him. And when
you turn to him, he becomes the strength of your
life. And joy in knowing that we are in right,
when you're in right relationship, you do not
have to weep. And if you're listening to the
devil, would you please stop? Do me a favor and
stop. These old depressive thoughts, that's not
from God. Huh? Despair and agony on me. If it
wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.
It's not about luck. It's about being in position
to be blessed. Did I not read to you, no good
thing will he withhold from those who walk up
right before him? If it's not good, check your
vertical position. Check it. You're sad because
you think on sad stuff. You know where the Lord
told them, said, consider the lilies they toll
not nor they spin, right? And he talked about
the sparrows. And then he talked about their
stature. He said, which one of you, taking thought,
could add one cubit to your stature just by thinking
about it? None of us. So let me just pose this
question to you. Why think about it? I mean,
what's the deal with that? Our son, Gerald, got
most of Sister Kathy's family genes. And it took
him a long time before he ever grew up to be
as tall as his mama. And she's five foot. So
he would hang from the closet rock. Milk. Couldn't
keep that boy in milk. Makes you grow. He's doing
everything he can do to add to his stature. But
let me tell you, you get what the good Lord gives
you. I always wanted to be six foot, and that
ain't never going to happen. Never. I couldn't
reach it up, so I was trying to get it around.
I was close. Whoo! I closed. So, this junk the
devil's got you fretting over, why are you fretting
over it? I mean, he's got you thinking about
world problems and all you need to do is eat
breakfast. Pop your tart. Get on about your day.
He's got you thinking about stupid people and
I said that. I did. There's stupid people in
this world. Right? And let me just tell you something.
You can't fix stupid. You have to educate stupid.
And then, some of them go from stupid to just
ignorant. You say, Pastor, it's awful strong
words. Well, we need some strong words in the
day in which we're living. If you're woke, go
back to sleep. I assure you this is not the place
for you. You know the difference between stupidity
and ignorance, right? Stupidity is not knowing.
That's like our little children when we try to
teach them that a stove is hot. You tell them
three or four times and then you'll pat the back
of that hand. No. before they get it, right?
It's hot. They don't understand the concept.
You know when they figure out the concept of
hot? When they got that little blister on the
end of that little finger. And they look at you
like, okay, the next time they just reach out
and touch it, that's just because they wanted
a blister, I reckon. We live in a world that
is consumed by ignorance. Surely people know
better. And they do it anyway. It's a refusal.
We refuse to accept the reality that's going
on around us. Don't be that as a child of God.
Look, how many of us, just by a show of hands,
you actually, you can tell when the Lord's trying
to speak to you and lead you and guide you? Okay.
How many of you know when you're just talking
to yourself and there's some things you want
to do and you know the voice of yourself? How
many? Okay. You know what the other voice is
then? That's old Diablo. Slewfoot. Who's that?
That be the devil. Satan, Lucifer, the serpent,
the old dragon, the accuser of the brethren.
That other voice that you hear that's always
pulling you down and pointing an accusation towards
you, that's the enemy's voice. The Lord is your
help. The Lord is your salvation. Do not entertain
that other garbage. Thus, the reason we have,
resist the devil. Resist the devil, and he will
draw nigh unto God, and he will. Let's get this
thing right. You do not have to live in the condition
of your mind state. You don't have to live in
depression. Why? Because the joy of the Lord
is your strength. What does that mean? It means
no matter how bad it looks, it's going to work
out to your favor. It doesn't matter what you
may have to go through. It's going to work out
to your favor. Joy. Amen. It's when you can walk
into a federal bankruptcy court and still leave
with a shout. It's the most embarrassing thing
that I've ever walked through in my life, but
I saw the hand of God as I had to walk. The mess
that I made, it wasn't his mess, but I'm telling
you, he's the God of heaven who got me out of
the mess that we had made. Amen, amen, amen.
You don't have to be depressed about it. You
don't have to hide under a pillow about it. You
don't have to. put your head in the sand. because
he is a God who will show up at your most embarrassing
moment and let the light of his glory illuminate
your darkness, and you can lift up your head,
oh, you child of God. Ye whose hands are hanging
and swinging low, he will pick them up. Lift
up your eyes. That's the reason the psalmist
said it in the declaration, I will lift up my
head. You have to make a personal declaration.
I'm going to look to God because in him is hope,
in him is help, in him is salvation. He is the
source of my redemption. He is the ability of
my health, and he is the joy of my ongoing life.
So what Nehemiah was telling them was, hey, folks,
be happy. We're home. Go home. Enjoy. You're
here. But I'm glad for the reality of conviction.
Upon hearing the reading of the law of God, their
hearts were pricked because they understood their
spiritual relationship with God. And why God
had them where he had them, that was to get them
back to where they were at. Oh, my Lord. Remember
what the psalmist said that they demanded of
us the songs of Zion. You remember that? I preached
on that a few months ago. As we sat by the river
Chabar, our captors came and demanded of us to
sing the songs of Zion. Sing, I'll fly away.
We want to hear it. We heard you people love
to sing and worship. Sing us one of those songs.
And they said, we can't sing you a song. We've
hung our harps in the willow bushes. We didn't
even bring our music with us. We didn't bring
our song along. We can't sing for you. Then the
psalmist said, oh, Lord, never take the cunning
of my right hand away, the skill that I have
to play. Oh, don't take that away from me. Oh,
Lord, hallelujah. If it was David, David understood
the anointing. It wasn't David. It was way past
his time. But any of the psalmists would know
the joy of worship. I saw something the other
day that stirred me pretty much. It was a little
clip about what is the most important thing because
I've had to examine it in my own mind, in my
own heart. What is the most important thing we
do when we come to church? Is the preaching the
most important part or is worship the most important
thing that we're supposed to do? We do understand,
right, that what I'm doing now is because of
sin. I'm preaching to us hoping that one of our
hearts are going to change today. I'm preaching
to us today because of the effects of sin. Trying
to preach to us and encourage us and lift us
up to know that God is our salvation. He is our
source. He is our refuge. Amen. He is our rescue.
I'm preaching to you today because you are overwhelmed
with trouble and problems in life. And to let
you know that the Lord is your help. I'm preaching
to you today because of the effects of sin and
an enemy that's out to steal, kill, and to destroy.
To let you know that God's joy, joy in your soul.
salvation, joy in the fact of knowing that if
you come boldly to the throne of grace that you'll
find help in your time of trouble. I'm preaching
to you today because of the overwhelming effects
of sin. But can I tell you our worship to God
has nothing to do with sin nor sin's effect.
It has to do with the gratitude of the heart
of the worshiper. So I had to kindly back up.
I thought, huh, I got to watch this because I
am a preacher. You know what I'm saying? They
know they're more important than the declaration
of the word. And then I got checked. Amen. There
was worship before there was a preacher. Oh,
my, my, my, my, my. We were created from the
beginning to be a worshiper of him. Amen. You
can go back and you can look and see where Adam
and them are worshiping. They're bringing their
sacrifices. Amen. They're bringing their, they
were worshiping in the garden. We have to understand
that worship is. The most important part. And
then what a preacher is supposed to do, and I
hope I try to accomplish this task, is to let
you know that sin does not have to have preeminence
and priority over your life. That darkness does
not have to prevail over you. Are you hearing
me? When the devil starts whispering things like,
you have no reason to live. You have no hope
to live. The devil, somebody needs to hear this
preacher this morning. The devil is a lie. Anything,
that's the reason I had you distinguish between
the voices that are coming into your mind. You
know God isn't going to tell you junk like that.
He's going to say, I've created you. You're fearfully
and wonderfully made. I know every sinew that's
on your bone. I know every tendon. I know every
muscle. I knew you before you were born, before
you were formed in your mama's womb. I knew you.
As a matter of fact, in that time I've called
you according to a purpose. You've got a purpose.
It's the devil over here saying, oh, woe is me.
It's dark. No hope. No life. My God, dismiss
the voice of darkness and let the voice of light
prevail. God loves you. The devil's the one that's
trying to kill you because he wants you to go
where he is destined. to be. Hell! The reason
preaching becomes so effective is because the
presence of God is drawn in by the worship. How
so? Because he dwells within the praises of his
people. What do you mean? Well, he is the one
of honor who's being honored, so he shows up.
Come on with it. That's what he's saying. Go
ahead. And the more we do, he goes, let me give
you a little more of that. Come on, give me some
more. Glorify my name. I am God. He is. Why do
you think you have the big ten and one of those
y 'all shall have no other God before me? None.
I am a jealous God, and a jealous God enjoys
the worship of those in whom he created for the
very fact of worshiping him. So the next time
you come in next Sunday morning and you want
to sit down, swell up. puff up, blow up, saying
they're not singing my song. Get over yourself.
It's not about you. Is it a song that'll glorify
him? Hallelujah. Whether it's I'll fly away or
whether it's whatever, it doesn't matter. He's
a miracle worker. He is. And he's never stopping.
He's always working. And it's good for you to
let him know that you understand when I can't
see you, you're working. Even when I can't feel
you, I know you're working. It's a declaration
of my faith in my worship. I can't see it. I
don't know if it's coming out, but I'm lifting
you up anyway. I don't know what the situation's
going to turn out like. I need your sword this
morning. Piper won her competition the other
day. Got a samurai sword. Go ahead and get ready.
I meant to celebrate that earlier. Give honor
to whom honors do. Brother Mike don't have a
sword. He wants one bad now. We'll see if he
gets one next month. Next month? November. He
got a couple months to get ready. God's on your
side. He's our joy. Instead of going back up
there and add another 30 minutes of this, I'm
going to jump right on through it. We succeed
because he's our salvation. He's our help. He's
our joy. And he is our refreshing. Acts 3 .19,
times of refreshing shall come from the Lord
when after we have repented. So if you need to
repent, honey, get on with yourself. Hello? repent
and go on, quit doing that stupid stuff. I've
never had a pastor talk like this. You probably
never will. Again. You need to get over yourself.
You need God. Plain and simple. You need God.
How many, just a show of hands, I like this hand
thing, if you're honest. If you're not honest,
it really doesn't work. How many want to go to
heaven? Really, you really want to go to heaven.
Now, how many are living like you're going? A
show of hands. Come on, let's get them up. I'm
about to give an altar call for the rest of us.
Because if you're not living like you're going,
you know what that means? You're not going. Are
you telling me I'm going to hell? I'm telling
you you're going to hell if you ain't living
right. Yes, you are. Buster wide open, baby.
You're going in head first. Sounds comical, doesn't
it, until you understand the reality of your
sentence. You see, hell is a lake of fire. More
than that little young 'un getting a little bubble
blister on the bottom of her finger. I got one
right here on this one the other day. Brother
Robbie set that brush pile on fire. I got through
spraying the ditch and he was pressure washing
the pavilion. I said, I'll go up there and restack
some more of it will burn. Well, I retched and
got one that still had some fire on the bottom
of it. And before I could turn it loose, I felt
the bubble rising. And that little old blister
hurt for days. And it's still a little tender.
My mind instantly goes to a lake of fire. I think
that little blister is no comparison to literally
swimming in, for our purposes, molten lava. And
you never die. The pain never stops. Because
you choose to do whatever it is that's not upright.
To watch whatever you're watching. Listen to
the junk you listen to. You realize that it distracts
and takes your soul from the presence of God,
right? The devil knows what he's doing with lyrics
and music. And don't get me on this jelly roll
garbage. And this other guy. Well, I still like
to smoke a little smoke and drink a little drink
and just sing Amazing Grace at the concert. That
ain't going to get it done. Sorry. You got to
walk upright. Got to have your sins purged by
the blood that flows from Emmanuel's veins. Old
songwriter said, I've been to Calvary. Well,
I live at Calvary half the time. I catch a fresh
flow regularly. He is our refreshing. That's
why you succeed. We have to remain cleansed.
That's the reason Jesus instituted and he gave
us that wonderful illustration in the night before
he's going to be crucified about this water baptism
and then he talks to us about washing. Washing
the feet. Remember that? Peter says, Lord, you're
not going to wash my feet unless you wash all
of me. He said, Peter, all of you is not dirty.
It's your feet, son. When you walk through this
world, you get a little on you and you got to
keep it washed off. How many has got a little
on you? From time to time, you've compromised
in areas. You got a little on you. Watching,
listening, going some places that you've got
no business taking the presence of God to. So
I better get right on past refreshing and get
to supply. You stand with me and I'll be sure
and shut her down here in about 20 minutes. We
succeed because he's our salvation. He's our
help. He is your joy. If you are a child of God,
cheer up. What did that old songwriter say? Cheer
up, my brother. Live in the. We'll understand
it when. That's when you worry about it, not
now. He's your help. He's your joy. He's your
refreshing. That Greek word there means back
and breathe. It means you get a fresh breath.
How many of you ever needed a fresh breath? Spiritually.
When times of refreshing come from the presence
of the Lord, they come from repentance. You want
to be refreshed? Repent. Let him wash it off
of you. My granny used to say, wash. Get that
wash rag and wash that off your face, boy. That's
what granny would say. I always thought washing
was a little more aggressive than washing. Especially
if granny... Took hold of the cloth. I mean,
it was high dirt and all. And that stuff she
washed hers in was not fabric softener. It was
like 80 grit with a washcloth. Wash it out. You
need to be washed. Refreshed. Then you know that
he's your supply. He's your supplier. My God
shall supply all of my need according to. I can
do all things through Christ who? Because he's
your supplier. See, I didn't have time to really
dig into that refreshing part. We could have
went to where Samson picked up a jawbone. And
what a battle. At the place they named the jawbone.
And while he was there, after God gave him the
victory, he threw that jawbone down. He was thirsty.
God, you're going to let me die of thirst here
after all this? And the Lord claimed a place
in the jawbone. A spring. And he refreshed the
man of God, the warrior of God. If you've been
fighting and you're saying, God, I'm thirsty.
Wherever you're at, he's going to hollow out
a place. My Lord. He's your supply. He supplies
us rest. So on this Labor Day weekend, Matthew
records the words of the Lord when he said, Come
unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. He said, He said, come.
Then he says, take. Take my yoke on you. It's
easy. My burden light. He said, I'll swap with
you. How many of you need to swap some things
with the Lord? You need to swap yokes. Anybody
need to come and rest in him? I mean, you just
need a reprieve. Times of refreshing come from
the Lord. You need to just catch your breath.
Devil's been a fighting the wars on. You need
a little spring. You need a little cool drink.
You'll succeed because of the Lord's presence
in your life. Greater is he that's in you than
he that is in this world. The hope that is in
you is Christ Jesus. Lord, I love you and I thank
you today. If you need prayer this morning,