If you're thankful for the blood, give the Lord
a good praise in his house today. There's power
in the blood. Wonder -working power, amen, in
the precious blood of the Lamb. If you have your
Bibles this morning, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Thank you for being
here on this first Sunday of the new year. The
goodness of the Lord. His kindness and mercy
extended to us every day. Amen. Grateful for
that. Begin reading at verse 12, 1 Thessalonians
5. And we beseech you therefore, brethren, to
know them which labor among you and are over
you in the Lord and admonish you. And to esteem
them very highly in love for their work's sake
and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort
you, brethren, warn them that are unruly. Comfort
the feeble -minded. Support the weak. Be patient
toward all men. See that none render evil for
evil unto any man, but ever follow that which
is good, both among yourselves and to all men.
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything
give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit,
despise not prophesying. Prove all things, hold
fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance
of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly. And I pray, God, your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is
he that calleth you who also will do it. Faithful
is he that calleth you who also will do it. I
want to preach to you on a thought this morning.
What's concerning you? What's concerning you?
Father, I love you. I thank you today for your
goodness and your mercy. The richness of your
grace, the kindness, the encouraging power of
your spirit. I ask, Lord, in the house today
that you do great things. As we're fully trusting
in your wonderful grace. Lord, that spirit that
makes it easy to preach, let it be in the house
today. I surrender self, mind, will, and body.
Speak that which is pleasing to the spirit and
edifying to the body. In Christ's name. The church
said it. Ask your neighbor, what's concerning
you? On this first Sunday of the new year, today
is the fourth day of January. We're four days
in. We've got 361 more to go. It's like that
already. Four down, 361 to go. And before we
know it, we will be standing back here. Across
the threshold of another new year. Paul's giving
some encouragement to the church in Thessalonica.
I don't know about you, but I, in my 30 years
of ministering the gospel and preaching, I like
to bring a conclusion to the previous year. Normally
try to do that on the last Sunday of the year,
but with the way everything fell this year, it's
the first Sunday. I have learned over 30 years
not to try to cast a new focus or a new vision
on the first Sunday because a lot of folks aren't
there. And I want everybody to hear it. To catch
everybody at Hopewell, I'd have to preach it
for at least six weeks every Sunday. For it appears
as though we are on a six to eight week rotation.
Oh, wait a minute. I forgot this thing. Somebody
might want to hear this again. Maybe not that
last statement. Technology, isn't it amazing?
That's a microphone for the recording. So I'll
back up and say that again so it's on record.
It seems as though congregationally we are on
a six to eight week rotation. That's the reason
I like to wait at least a week into the new year
to share with you the new focus that the Lord's
laid on my heart. for the upcoming year, something
that we can dive into, something we can really
study toward and put a goal. How many of you
are goal -oriented? You like to have some type
of goal. Well, we're going to set that next week,
and I don't want to preach it for six to eight
weeks, so we're going to record it, and we can
just point them to the recording. But I like
to conclude the ending of the previous year.
If you've noticed already four days in, things
that you were dealing with in 2025, you're still
dealing with them. Notice that just because the
ball dropped, the problems didn't go away. Just
because we flip the page on a calendar to a brand
new year doesn't mean everything's new. All that's
new is January. All that's new is an opportunity
to do things differently in this upcoming year
than we have done in the previous year. I don't
know about you, but I've watched and I've looked
and I've seen those prophecies about 2026. And
people proclaiming all this really, really, really,
really, really good stuff. And I pray that it
really, really, really comes to pass. But as
I've noted before, I'm a realist. I'm not a pessimist.
I'm not an optimist. I'm right in the middle.
I am a realist. I look at things as the way they
are and I call them like I see them and deal
with them as they are. There ain't no half empty,
half full. It is what it is. It's not positive.
It's not negative. It is what it is. And believe
it or not, that's exactly the way I live out
my faith as a realist. I know God is real. I
know the devil is real. And I know right smack
in the middle of that is where I exist. You and
I exist within the tension of the pull of the
realms of spirituality. You've got a devil. You've
got the enemy that's trying to pull you to hell.
And you've got the loving spirit of an almighty
God that's wooing. He's not... necessarily pulling
like the devil. He don't get his claws in you.
The devil doesn't want to let go. God will let
you do you. And the whole time you were doing
you, he is wooing and lovingly drawing. And you
have to see and understand the difference in
the tension between the two. One's got a death
grip on you. The other has life he's trying to
give to you. One's trying to separate. One's
trying to unite. One's trying to draw you close
and bless. The other's trying to curse and kill.
So that is the tension. You can optimize. You
can negative. You can do whatever you want to
do. You can be the pessimist. But I encourage
you to kind of get real about what's going on
in life. And just because that ball dropped in
New York and the calendar is flipped over, whatever
time you went to bed Wednesday or for those that
were up all night at the... At the lock -in,
and it was later on Thursday when you finally
got to close your eyes for a little bit, when
you woke up, situational circumstances had not
automatically disappeared. Amen? There are people
who are prophesying a reset, a new beginning,
a fresh start, and all these things, and we want
that to happen. But wherever you woke up Thursday,
you woke up with the same thing staring at you
as you went to sleep with. There's still the
reality of a devil that wants to kill you and
the reality of a God who's trying to save you,
to bless you, and to spare you, and to add his
favor on your life. That is the reality of life
every morning that the sun rises, and when the
sun sets in the evening, that is the reality.
God loves you. The devil hates you. It's that
simple. So with that, it'll cause us. If the
cares of life didn't reset and the cares of life
have not disappeared, then just proclaiming it's
a new year is simply not enough. Just saying
a new start, I gave up resolutions a long time
ago because I have determined that resolutions
mean not a lot to me. It has to be a life -altering
decision for me in order to do something different.
I can resolute, and by the end of the first week,
that's done, or the first day. Right? It's not
about resolutions. It's about determinations
in our life and in the life of the Spirit that
we are trying to endeavor to grow closer to within
God. So, if something has to change in the issues
for them to be different, then the thing that
has to change must be on me. If the issues are
the same, the enemy's the same, trying to do
the same thing to me in 26 as he was in 25 that
he previously tried in 24, amen, he's going to
try again in 26. And just because the calendar
changed, the ball drops, the new year comes,
we shoot fireworks and we carry on, it doesn't
mean those issues are going away. And when I
woke up in the new year, they were staring me
in the face. So I had to make a decision. I've
already made another one for 26. I am not. I
am not going to repeat the failures of 25 and
26. Amen? I am not. I refuse to repeat those
failures. Maybe, just maybe, the reset, the fresh
start, a new beginning is in you and it's in
me. We have to leave the idea of insanity behind,
meaning we cannot do the same things over and
over and over and over, and yet every time we
do them, we expect something different. to be
the result from what we have just done. No, child
of God, in 26, you have to resolve within yourself
to fail to call and to fall into the idea of
insanity. You have to do something different
if you want a different end result at 26's end.
When we get to the 31st day of December of 2026,
through the course of the next 361 days, we must
endeavor to take the alternative the change upon
ourself. There's some things that we're going
to have to do differently if we expect different
results in our life. It doesn't matter if it's
physical. It doesn't matter if it's mental, emotional,
spiritual, or financial. You cannot repeat the
same cycles and expect different results. I'm
going into 26 with something that's been concerning
me. The other morning I was reading to Sister
Kathy, and this verse popped out, verse 18. Chapter
5 of 1 Thessalonians. And in everything give
thanks for this is the will of God concerning
you. And I've been gnawing over the word concerning
all week long. Like a dog chewing on a bone.
And I've almost gotten a marrow from the bone
and all that's left is that which I cannot crack.
And I have been dying to get here. Just urgently
waiting to get here. Asking to pose that question
to you. What is concerning you? What is the cause
of your anxiety? What is the cause of your worry?
What is cause to upset you? Or what is cause
to bring joy in your life? What is it that is
concerning you entering into this 2026 year?
I'm looking for a brand new season. I am looking
for the newness and the freshness of life. Amen.
I'm looking for differences in health. I'm looking
for God's blessings and his favor that he has
spoken over my life. And I am not going to repeat
whatever I did. in 2025 that kept me from inheriting
the goodness and the favor of God in my life.
Oh, God bless me. Don't get me wrong. But you
know what? I always stop and wonder. I always
stop and wonder what did I leave hanging on the
vine. Amen. I know what I partook of. I know
what I received. But what's always in my mind?
What of God's goodness did I not acquire in 2025
because of something that I may could have done
differently to God? more of him. I don't know
about you, but my desire is more of him. Church,
it's time we become motivated one more time that
we want more of him. I don't know if you've been
paying attention a lot, but this world is turned
upside down. To leave the insanity behind. Abandoning
tried and failed methods to receive God's favor
for something greater. Ecclesiastes 7 and 8 declares,
better is the end of a thing than the beginning
thereof. Better is the end of a thing than the
beginning thereof. Why? Because there's hindsight.
In hindsight, it's 2020. I would not have believed
that what befell upon our lives would have weighted
us when we preached and going beyond and breaking
the limits in 2025 as our focus for the year.
There's many areas of our life that we've broken
the limits of and we've encountered the favor
and the blessing of God. God has been good, continues
to be good, and will always be good. But I'm
wondering, what have I left in 2025 that is gone
now? It's behind me. I have to look forward.
Forward now to 26. And no, I do not want to abandon
and forsake or forfeit any of the goodness and
the blessings of God that he has for me in 2026.
There's some things of character and behavior
spiritually that have got to change within me.
And if it's got to change within me, I'm sure
the Lord is drawing the attention to you. There's
some things spiritually, characteristically,
that we have to change and alter in order to
walk in. the richness and the fullness of his
favor and his love and the blessings that he
desires to fill in our life every day. Why? Because
the God of glory knows every battlement and everything
that's waiting for you. He knows where the enemy
stands around the corner. And would to God that
we would finally understand that he's wooing
us, he's correcting us, he's giving us his word
that we may be prepared so that we may be, as
Paul wrote to the church, at Ephesus, when you
see the devil coming, when the enemy's at hand,
when you've having done all to stand, he said,
I want you to stand therefore. Too many fell
by the wayside in 25. Too many have turned back.
Too many are lukewarm. It's time that the church
of the living God, we understand that hell is
what's coming against you. devil is a force that's
trying to destroy you. And I want to know what's
concerning you this morning. And whatever it
is that's concerning you is that you take the
instruction of the word of the living God and
stand therefore. It's a good thing we only got
two little hand scribble pages today. Isaiah
5, 20 reads, Woe unto them that call evil good
and good evil, that put darkness for light, light
for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet
for bitter. Current events, you can't escape
them. The church, we're caught right up in them.
Try not to and never have been much on. Politics
from the podium and the platform of the preached
word. But we're entangled in it. We're entangled
in the culture and the environment in which we're
in. Washington, D .C. has gone nuts. I hope some
of them listen. You've gone nuts. See what the
Word of God said. Woe unto them. Woe, hardship,
warning. Take note. Be in knowledge of. Unto
them that call good evil good and good evil.
We've got some of the dumbest people on the face
of this planet trying to run this country. And
I'm telling you, if the church, we don't get
down on our knees and get between the porch and
the altar and take hold of a horn on each hand,
some of you don't have a clue of what I just
said. If you'll do a little Google search about
the horns of the altar and go read up on it sometime
today, amen, and find out what your role in this
needs to be, that's where the church needs to
find its self -position, between the porch and
the altar, and we take hold of the horns and
we get a good grip and we begin to plead that
power. of the blood that we were singing about
because this nation, they will protest good and
then celebrate evil. There's such idiocracy going
on in this nation. How in the world can God continue
to weep without crying and shedding tears? How
can he weep at what's going on in this nation?
I'll tell you the only thing that's holding back
my own personal opinion, the only thing that's
holding back the hand of God is that there is
a remnant down at the altar by the porch that's
rooted and handheld and locked on to the horns
of the altar and interceding for a lost and dying
world. I'm telling you, you better start praying
for this nation or the hand of protection of
God will be lifted up and we'll see the wrath
of this world and the enemy, not God. His wrath
is being reserved. But the wrath Of the enemy.
For the goodness that has come from our borders
will be unleashed because of the ignorance. I
don't know that you can call it ignorance. There's
three or four of them that I see quite often.
Yeah, they're just ignorant. They just ain't
got no better sense. But those others are just
plain. fell into stupidity. A direct spiteful
refusal of the knowledge and the will of God
in heaven. That's all it is. That's all. We've
got our idiots protesting in the streets. Because
of a capture this weekend. And the multiplied
thousands and millions of those countrymen are
celebrating. The potential for their freedom.
And we got our idiots who are free. By the way.
I better move along. I better move along. Because
I feel I'm getting mad not anointed. And there's
a fine thread between those two. It's a similar
feeling. It really is. And when you got a hold
of this, you have to really try not to lose your
total self to the mad side. Empty yourself to
the anointed side. So let me digress. Because
when I, I don't even hardly watch, I can't watch
it. Watching the news anymore is like me watching
a Tennessee football game. Sorry, Brother John.
I know you're hardcore. You're a supporter. I
watch it and I get so, it hurts. I don't know
if I can explain that. I mean, it's painful.
It's deep. Now, I know, and you've heard me,
I've confessed it before. I should not allow,
I told somebody that this morning, about how
that bothers me. But when I try to watch the
news and try to stay informed, there's an aching.
I can't explain this to you very clearly. I don't
have the ability to articulate and find the words
that I really would like to express to you. It
goes deep. It's inside me. It's inside me. And
when I see it, I think, oh God, how have people
abandoned the all sense of good sense? And we're
out there doing this. How can they do that? In
my mind, the Spirit just kindly reminds me that
in the last days, say, God, I'm going to pour
out my Spirit upon all flesh. And then my mind
goes over into Luke's gospel, and I see Matthew
as he begins to pen the words toward the ending
of time. And you'll see these things begin to
take place around the world. You're going to
see rumors of wars, and we see them. You're going
to see brothers rise against brothers, nations
against nations. You're going to see pestilence,
and you're going to see earthquakes in diverse
places. And this earth is spewing and venting
just so it can hold on. Volcanoes are erupting
all around this world. Maintaining the pressure
level just so it can hold on. The earth is groaning,
waiting again for its day of redemption. It wasn't
the earth's fault that man sinned, but because
of the curse of sin, the earth had been affected
by my God. And we see the effect of sin as it's
grown rampant from that day, that moment in the
garden to where it is now. But what is on my
mind now is not so much what's concerning our
nation, but what is concerning you. What is it
that you've brought over? into 26 that you need
God to help you with? What is it that's causing
you some anguish? And when I begin to read Paul
in this little letter, man, it's power packed.
In that fourth chapter, he gives them revelation
about the coming of the Lord and the saints that
are going to rise and we're going to be with
the Lord forever. He's given them that hope.
He's given them that insight. And he goes on
and begins to talk about the day of the Lord
and how the day of the Lord's going to be. And
then he begins to tell them that Trump's sounding
and all these things are going to transition.
and then we get to be with the Lord. Hallelujah.
But then before he closes out this small letter,
he gives them some instruction on holy living,
how you're going to live holy in the days that
are in front of you. And I begin to look at that.
There's some wonderful, powerful insight there.
So when we begin to think about what's concerning
us, he offers great insight in Philippians 3
.13. I count not myself, brethren, to have apprehended,
but this one thing I do. Amen. This one thing
I do. Oh, those things which are... I forget
those, and I'm reaching forth unto those things
which are before, and I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. And he begins to tell the Thessalonians
as he encouraged the church at Philippi. He's
encouraging them, and he says, here's what you've
got to do. You have to rejoice evermore. We must
get ourselves and our determination down to break
the cycles that hinder us, those reoccurring
events. We find ourselves like a hamster on a
horse. on a wheel going round and round and round.
It's time you break some physical and spiritual
and emotional cycles in your life that cause
you to be elevated by the glory and the anointing
and the power of God's love in 2026. It's time
to go beyond your current mode of being. See,
those hand claps are kind of weak because that
means the more we clap, we're thinking, oh, he's
talking to me. Oh, I got to change. Yeah. If
you want something different, you do. You got
to break those reoccurring events. You could
probably write down what's coming your way. Look
here, the devil doesn't have to change his approach
to you. He's already got the plan to you. And
as long as you don't change, he don't change
nothing. It's the same stuff year in, year out,
the same temptation. Why? Because he knows he's
got you. I know it's simple, but to break cycles,
been a hard year, 25, I broke some cycles. One
of them was some food cycles. I do good for a
little while, then not so good for a long while.
And it came to a head the third Sunday of January
2025 for you, Pastor. I'll just call me out.
Many of you inspired me. You've been on weight
loss journeys, and I'd say our church all total,
we pull off somewhere around 1 ,000 to 1 ,200
pounds corporately. Hallelujah for you. Amen?
Hallelujah. But it was beginning to affect my
preaching. I mean, it was stretching me to go
45 minutes and keep my breath. It was affecting
everything in my life. There was a sudden realization
I have to get healthy for obvious reasons that
are ahead of me. I've got to be healthy. And
so a resolution wasn't going to do that. What
was concerning me was my overall health. Fat
preacher, you heard myself refer to that myself
that many times because it was true. These memory
things pop up where some of you posted pictures
and tagged me in. And I'm thinking, oh, my Lord,
son. And then some of you had the audacity to
tell me during this process of 2025, Pastor,
you really didn't look that big. And I looked
at that and I said, liars, they're going to repent
or go to hell. I did look that big. I was. Thank
you, Sister Rita. You don't cull it. But it had
to be more than a resolution. Saying all that
to say this. There's got to be some changes about
what's concerning you. If it's going to turn
out and have a different result at the end of
26. There's some spiritual things. There's some
emotional things. There's some physical things.
Amen. There's some sickness. A lot of that. There's
some things we have no power over. But we have
power over ourselves as we go through them. Thus
what Paul says when he says rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing. And in verse 18 he says
this. Now stop for just a moment. He didn't say
for everything. He said in everything. He didn't
say don't give thanks for everything. What am
I going to thank the Lord for? I said, fat, I
couldn't hardly bend over and get back up without
losing my breath. No, no, no. But it's in everything.
It's in the trouble. It's in the trial. It's
in the warfare of life. Amen. That when we're
going through the gauntlet, we are to give God
thanks while we're in it. Not for it, but in
it. Why? Because when we're in it, we don't quench
the spirit. Hallelujah. And while I'm in it,
I pray without ceasing. And so there are some
things that we must recondition and have resolved
over our life. And we must break the unbeneficial
cycles of our life. We'll start the new year
with a made -up mind to break some cycles. It
is not easy. It's discipline. And sadly, the
world and the church in particular, we don't
have a lot of that. It's a weak area. It's like
lifting. You have to be diligent with it, don't
you? It can't just be half -heartedly. You have
to be diligent. You have to have your mind made
up. You have to be disciplined on that morning.
How many of you work out before you go to work?
Anybody? Get up early. I know Randy likes to
go on his lunch break, or used to. Do you still
do that? Instead of eating lunch, of course,
you can't really go by him. He don't like food
to start with. I forgot that. Scratch that illustration.
Let's go to Brother David. Randy gets a smoothie
and goes lifts weights for 30 minutes, gets decompressed
in his mind, goes back and does his job. But
it still takes discipline. Whatever it is, it
takes discipline, right? I love what the Apostle
Paul said. I fight against my body. Not as one
that beateth there either. In other words, he
gets in a corner and he has it out with himself
and he gets himself down. If you want some emotional
things different, you have to change your emotional
mindset. Well, how do I do that, Pastor? Well,
let's take the Word of God, for instance. Let
this mind be in you. That was also in Christ
Jesus. What did Paul further say? Whatsoever
things are good. I've been going over this with
Sister Kathy and I. We've been going over this
about every day or at least every other day.
Whatsoever things are of a good report, think
on these things. Can I tell you, you have control
of your thought processes in your mind. You think
on what you want to think on. You stop the thoughts
that you don't want to mull over and you give
permission to those that you do. You have simply
to change. your discipline on what you think
over. Let a man let him word and meditate on
the word of God. Let me hide your word in my
heart first of all God that I didn't sin against
you. I do not want to sin against you and I will
meditate on your word both day and night. That
is a choice. It is your choice. Amen. And if
there's some cycles that are going to break we
have to start with the spiritual cycles. Amen.
So if we're going to have something different
we have to start by breaking the cycle of prayerlessness.
Jesus said men ought always to pray. He said
when you pray, get in your closet, shut the door,
and get down and do some business. Amen. Pray
without ceasing is what Paul said. Every aspect
and every day of our life, if you have the free
moment, let your mind be meditated on the Lord
and pray. Amen. You don't have to fall down on
your knees every time. It is a culture. It is
a lifestyle. It is an attitude of prayer. You
wouldn't find yourself thinking about some of
the ungodly the things that you dwell on if your
mind is stayed on prayer. Amen. If you've got
your heart set, breaking the cycle of a prayerless
life. See, that only gets one or two little claps.
Why? Because it's discipline. Seven minutes.
And prayerlessness is a cycle. We repeat it day
in and day out. I looked up the statistics one
time on how long the average Christian prays,
and it was very minute. Most of it attributed
over meals. You want something different spiritually
in your life, you're going to have to pray. You
want some of those foregone Jericho walls to
fall, you've got to pray. You've got to start
interceding. You've got to start calling out
on God regularly, consistently, daily. And unless
that cycle is broken right there, you're not
going to have anything else spiritual happen
in your life in 26 than you did in 25. It isn't
going to happen. Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall
be filled. If you're hungry, you're going to
try to find something to eat. If you're thirsty,
you're on a search. for something to quench the
parched mouth and to get your tongue loose from
the roof of your mouth. I know some of us that
think we've been thirsty, but we really don't
know what thirsty is. But there's a longing down
in the depths of my soul that's getting me thirsty
for more of God's grace and glory. And the only
way some things go with but not by prayer and
fasting, that's the only way that it happens.
That's the only way that it happens is that we
pray and we fast. We have to break the cycle
in worship. We have to break that cycle. You
know, worship is a decision. That we make up
long before our mind enters this building. Worship.
That is the sole purpose of this day. I know
we think it's preaching, but no. It's worship.
And we are to offer sacrifices of praise and
worship. The two coincide. Jesus told the woman
said there's a day coming. The father seeketh
up to worship him for he is spirit and he is
truth and he's seeking those to worship him in
spirit and in truth. It's not optional. It's
the purpose. We worship him and I've seen places
and been in services where we Reverse the order.
We want to try to worship before we praise him.
My opinion, there is a sequence to those events.
I have always noticed as I begin to praise the
Lord, his presence begins to draw where I'm at.
And the closer he becomes to where I am, the
more the innate spirit that's in me identifies
with the holiness that's coming around me. And
the more the holiness that comes around me begins
to withdraw that praise and adoration to cause
me to fall in declaration. When I'm praising,
I'm proclaiming, making a proclamation of the
goodness and the glory of his name. But when
he comes to where I am, I can only but prostrate
and declare his holiness. God, have you ever
noticed that? The thicker and the richer the
glory of God gets around you, the lower you become.
Why? Because we begin to realize who we are and
presence of whom we are in, down in front of
him because we are not holy unless he transforms
our sin into righteousness and the more of his
presence that gets around me the lower I gotta
come and all I can do is declare his holiness
I've seen them try to worship their way in and
then shout, no, it doesn't work that way. My
opinion. Developed from my personal experience.
But we can't leave off praise either. It is such
a theme throughout the Word of God, why God desires
it. Matter of fact, you and I were created to
do so originally. Ephesians 5, 19 declares to
us, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns,
spiritual songs, singing, making melody, your
heart to the Lord. We have to break the cycle
of songless lives. Got to have a song. I don't
care what genre it comes from. Got to have a
song. Sing unto the Lord. Rejoice. And again
I say, rejoice. How many of you declare that
God's done some good things for you in 25? Well,
let's praise him like we realize it in 26. Amen.
Praise him like you truly. And like I said, worship
will take care of itself. As you begin to declare
his glory and lift his name and magnify his name.
The scripture says he dwells within the praises
of his people. And that dwelling, you know what
I've told you before, it's like pitching up a
tent and staking it down. When you begin to praise
him, he begins to come to where you are. Why?
Because he alone is worthy of the praises. He
alone deserves our praises. He alone. deserves
him. And when we begin to give them to him, he
comes to accompany so that you may know who you're
praising. Breaking the cycle of a songless life.
Giving. We have to break our cycles in giving.
You know I don't talk about it much. I'm praying
blessings over you. Not asking from you, but
on very rare occasions for special things. But
a minister of the gospel who doesn't slow down
long enough to explain the benefits of giving
to the giver. He's a taker. I'm not a taker.
The benefit of giving is really made clear in
Malachi. Now, I know you've got these folks out
there that are arguing, well, it ain't in the
New Testament to tithe. You do a dig in. It was
way before the law of Moses. It is a biblical
principle. It is a principle of blessing. It's
a principle of acknowledging. It's a principle
of obedience. It's a principle of trust. It's
a principle of faithfulness on our part. And
then God returns all of those from his part.
I don't believe in it. Well, then don't. And
if you get to heaven, you explain it to him.
Well, why do you say it like that? Because the
Bible says you're thieves and robbers. And they
said, well, wherein have we stolen and robbed
from you, God? In my tithe and offerings. That's
the end of the book. Well, that's the Old Testament.
Okay, you roll the dice on that one. I'll leave
that to you. Tithing, what does that mean? Tithe,
definition, tenth. Ten percent. Right off the
top. People say, well, do I tithe on gross? Or
do I tithe on, what's that other call? It's gross.
Net. Net. Which one do I tithe on? I say, well,
which one did you earn? Gross. Duh. It's not
God's fault that we're living in an overtaxed
nation. It's not God's fault that you hold 25
out into the Christmas fund, the dental plan,
your insurance. But I always tell folks this,
it depends on how you want to be blessed. Well,
what does that mean, Pastor? That means if you
want a gross blessing, tithe on the gross. If
you want a net blessing, by all means, help yourself.
I'm a gross kind of guy. Matter of fact, I'm
an over -gross kind of guy. Amen. If you were
to look at my tithe thing, you say, we pay him
that much? I'd say, no, you don't. If that's
10 % of what we're paying him, I say, no, you
don't. So it just depends on how you want to
be blessed or if you want to be blessed at all.
But if you do... The word of God says, just very
rare occasion, God says, go ahead and prove me
and see if I won't do what I'm telling you I'll
do. And here's what I'll do. I'll open up the
windows of heaven. And I will pour into your
life blessings that you cannot contain. It's
not all green, folks. God's blessings and favor
is more than monetary. Amen. I'll tell you another
one if you really want to try something. If you
really want to see God's blessings. Years and
years and years and years ago, I give what I
call a first fruit offering. The first week,
I give my whole salary back. First one. Give
the whole thing back. I cut it up in departmental
deals. I pay my tithe first because that's not
mine to cut up. That's over here. I take the
rest of that. And I just, kids ministry, seniors
ministry, youth ministry, missions. Everybody
gets some. The whole first week. For years I've
been wanting to get to the place where I can
do the whole first month. Because of what I've
seen God do with that first week. About 20 some
odd years ago. 20, too many. First time I understood
that principle, the first fruit, I don't preach
it because I don't want people to think, well,
I share it. No. I'm giving this information to
you. Do with it what you want to. I'm not requesting
it. I'm just sharing with you another way to
be blessed because we have to break the cycles
in the absence of having a free heart to give.
First time I did that, I sat down with a church
clerk and done that. She looked at me. She says,
Pastor, are you sure? I said, well, I think so.
Because it was the first time, remember? Three
kids at home. Week to week was. But we did it
by faith. And the second year. I did it again.
She said, are you going to do that again? I said,
yeah. I said, let me tell you something. I said,
I can't explain to you how all this came back
multiple times over unexpectedly. Everything
that I gave, you know, you've heard that some
30, some 60, some 100 -fold increase. That first
year was about a 60 increase over what I'd given
from out of nowhere, unexpected places. And I
said, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. Every
time an unexpected monetary blessing comes into
my hand, I'm going to let you know. She said,
okay, okay. The end of service, everybody was
gone. She was in her office. I walked by and
waved a $50 bill at her. I said, here's one.
There's gas for this week. Her eyes got about
this big around. Here's one. God's not going
to forsake you, folks, for your faithfulness.
Don't be stingy with God is what I'm trying to
say. Do what you can. God doesn't expect you
to do any other than that. Be obedient. That's
the key. And do what you can. The widow woman
that gave her last mite, this half cent. In the
offering. Jesus sat and watched Pharisees and
scribes and everybody come through and just pour
money in the offering. And when that little widow
woman came in and gave that, he stopped and drew
their attention and said, do you see that? They
gave out of their plenty. She gave out of her
all. God sees it. It's not the amount. So break
the cycle in stinginess. There's my sermonette
for the year on giving. If you want blessed,
you be a tither. You be a tither. Give. Throw
in a five or a ten in the offering plate, that's
not tithing. I've heard it said one time, you
cannot give an offering until you've surrendered
the tithe. The tithe is the Lord's. All right,
so everybody say amen. Thank you, Lord. Thank
you for the help. Moving on, Pastor. I'm going
to stand you up for this one because I'm going
to close with this one. It's the last one. I
did all the kind of shouty preaching at first,
and I saved the correctional stuff to the end.
I didn't want you shut down at the beginning
because I knew you were going to shut down toward
the end. You have to break the cycle of unfaithful
attendance. I was halfway joking at the beginning
of the service about our six to eight week rotation.
But it is the truth. Now, the author of Hebrews
wouldn't have pinned under the anointing of the
Holy Spirit and the direction. The verse that
declares, forsake not the assembling of yourselves.
Well, matter of fact, it doesn't say yourselves.
It says ourselves. He included. We quote that
wrong a lot of times. It's ourselves. Forsake
not the assembling of ourselves together. In
the manner of some that already is. But exhorting
one another. Exhorting one another. So much more.
As you see the day approaching. Folks, there's
life in the sanctuary of God. Don't get me wrong.
I'm not talking about circumstances that may
keep us from the house of the Lord. I'm talking
about willful laziness. There it is. So many
Sundays I'd love to lay in there too. I would.
Don't feel like it. Do not feel good. You know
what I'm saying? But God has never failed that
when I come in that I leave better than when
I came. Now if you're snotting and feverish,
stay at the house. Come on now. You know where
I'm at, right? We have to become more consistent
in the assembling of ourselves together so that
we can exhort. Exhort means to encourage, to
lift up. We can exhort one another in our faith.
That's why I come. My mandate from the Word of
God is that I reprove and rebuke with all longsuffering.
In other words, I give the alignment of the Scripture.
And encourage you to follow what the word of
God says. Is that not kind of what our principle
is here? Is that not what I try to do? I try
to keep myself detached. Just like earlier. I
could have just went really on a. But I'm trying
to encourage. 2026. If you want a spiritual difference
in your life. You have to do things different
than you did 25. Now I know some of you here
every week. And then just shovel it on back.
You're here, right? But how are you here? How
are we here? Are we just here? Or are we present
while we're here? Are we engaged in praising
God? Are we engaged in worship? Is our attention
fully focused on what is the Spirit saying to
me today? That's what this is all about. Somewhere
between, on any given Sunday, 225 down to 155
of us. We sway that much. We sway 70, 75 people
every week. So what causes my mind, I thought,
well, Lord, is our spiritual life swaying that
way? If that is an indication of where we are
in God, how are we? There's more to this than
going through and fulfilling the routine. What
is concerning you? What hinders you? The scripture
says, lay aside the weight. That does so easily
beset you. Then it says. Keep in your eyes. Focus
your eyes. On Jesus. Who is both the author.
And the finisher. Of our faith. Where's your
focus? Where's your gaze? Is it work tomorrow?
Is it the next hundred dollars? Is it the next
fifteen hundred dollars? All of that is useless.
Without a vibrant relationship with God. And
don't think for a moment the devil didn't know
how to pull your dollar string trigger. Breaking
the cycles that hinder our growth in faith and
spirituality. What's concerning you? If you know
what's... and you want to change it, just meet
me down here. Sister Sue, come on, we're going
to get those prayer cloths that you need as well.
Wow, man. Y 'all in good shape. I missed a phone
call to where I was to be today to preach this
message. But I thought for sure it was Hopewell.
I thought for certain the other day when... We
were discussing what's concerning you. The Lord
burned this in my heart like a branding iron.
Tell my people I know what's concerning them.
Oh, God. It's going to take discipline, folks.
It's going to take changing your will, not just
your mind. You've got to change your will. The
only way to make concentrated efforts is to fulfill
them. Amen? I don't want 26 to end like 25. I'm
going to break some cycles. Prayerlessness. Oh,
we didn't have time to get into wordlessness.
Time in your word every day. Read some. Father,
we stand before you today. Lord, I know that
you're faithful and you're just. Father, we're
just asking for the richness of your blessings
on the household of faith. Lord, you know what's
concerning us. You know what's concerning your
people. You know what the cause of their anxiousness
is. You know why they're anxious. You know why
they're worried. You know why they're in fear.
Lord, we pray you break those cycles, the cycles
of sickness, cycles of disease. Take authority
over it because we know by your stripes we are
healed. Lord, help us break some of those pet
sins that we just drag around day in and day
out. Your Word says lay aside the weight. That's
the sin. That's the thing that's setting us off
track. That's the thing that keeps us from being
all we can be in you, all we can be in your grace,
and all we can be in your glory, all that we
can be for you and concerning you. Help us, O
God. Help us change our attitude. Help us change
it, Lord. Help us change it. Help us see differently,
O God. Lord, you know what's concerning us. You
know the weight. You know the heaviness. Lord,
you know what life's throwing at us. You know
what the devil's trying to do. And, Lord, we
make that declaration. We're going to stand anyway.
I'm going into 26 with that declaration. I will
stand. I am going to stand. I will stand. I'm
not going to fail. I'm not going to fall because
your promise and your word declares it over my
life. Hallelujah. Greater are you that's in me
than he that break the cycle of sickness, my
Lord, over this household, Lord. We're going
in with the anointing to break the bondages.
And, Lord, the sickness of all. Lord, in the
name of Jesus, strengthen my brother this morning.
Strengthen him today, almighty God. Lord, we're
going to break the cycle over and over and over
and over and over. I want to break the cycle.
Touch Brother Doug today, Father God. Do healing
in his body this morning, Lord. Lord, all our
brothers and sisters that are home and sick and
those that are in the hospitals today, Lord,
we just ask that you do a work in their heart,
do a work in their body, do a work in their lives,
Father God. Lord, I'm going to do some things
different. I'm going to change the way I perceive.
I'm changing the way I look. Lord, take your
authority in our life. Oh, Lord, I'm going to
change it. I'm going to move beyond, Lord, breaking
the cycle, Lord, of inconsistency. Lord, we're
going to change it. Lord, we're going to do better.
Lord, you know the weight that's on us. You know
the heaviness. You know the heaviness of life.
Give us strength and grace today, Father God.
Strengthen us today, Father God. Lord, with your
grace and your glory and the power of your might.
Lord, over the household of faith this morning.
Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Come on. Father
God, in the name of Jesus, you bore in your back
the healing. Every stripe was... Lord, take authority
over these nerves today. Lord, from the base
of the neck to the sole of the feet, Lord, let
healing, let your healing virtue flow, mighty
God. You are healer in the name of Jesus. Heal
today, Lord. Heal today, Lord. Heal this very
day. Lord, touch Brother Gary in the hospital.
Touch Sister Dean in the hospital this morning.
Meet them where they are today. Do a healing
work in their bodies, oh God. Do healing works
in their body, Lord, for everyone sick with the
flu, sick with COVID, and sick with everything
else, just sick and tired of life the way it
comes and goes. Do a healing in their life, oh
Lord. Deliverance in their life. Lift up those.
All right, here's how we're going to continue
in this week. To help us get this one, all those
that can, we're going to do our six to six fast
again this first week. From 6 a .m. to 6 p .m.
Try your best. Try your best. To maintain that,
if you can, if you have to take medicine during
the day, eat what you need to eat and try to
hold out. Now, I know it's tough. Amen? I know
it is hard. And if you mess up meat bologna sandwich
tomorrow, about one, don't stop. Just don't eat
the chips until after six. Amen? It will help
begin a discipline in our life. Like I said,
if you have to take medication and you need,
please do what you need to do. Amen. But do what
we can. Because the Lord honors every sacrifice
that we do, every meal. You know? And so let's
try that, six to six. A lot of folks are doing
these 21 -day Daniel things. I just got tired
of being a rule breaker. And I refused to carry
the rule sheet with me. It's just easy if I just
don't eat anything. I got that took care of.
Six to six. And during the day, start cultivating
this culture of prayer in your life. Pray without
ceasing. Every opportunity you can while you're
doing your stuff, pray. Keep your mind on God.
Talk to the Lord. Out loud if necessary. Inside
if not. Just talk to the Lord, and we'll start
to create a habit. You'll start to create a discipline.
Read at least one verse. Come on, somebody. I
was going to try to get us on this read your
entire Bible together, Genesis to Revelation
from the general offices, but I thought, Lord,
if I can just get them to get one good verse
a day, it's going to be victory for Hopewell.
So I'm going to take that victory. Give me at
least one. Start your day with it or end your
day with it. And before you know it, one won't
be enough. One verse just won't satisfy you.
You're going to read another one and another
one. And so you begin a discipline of Bible reading.
Are you following me? Next Sunday, we're going
to launch our new focus for 26. But I just kind
of had to. Shut down 25 first, if you know what
I mean. That's just, that's me. I'm sorry. God
is good. Stretch your hand this way. Heavenly
Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you
today.