other to good works, to love on each other, and to be used to build each other in our most holy faith. So we want to come together on one accord. We want to come together in an attitude of worship and gratitude. We want to have a heart of celebration and rejoicing. If you're going through a lot, that's all right. The Bible says we can even glory in our tribulations because we know that whatever he allows, he's going to allow it to work together for our good. Only God can take even our difficult situations and work them for our buildup, our growth, and for his glory because he's sovereign rule over all. And so he has that level of control that we don't have. So with that said, let's just all enter into prayer. Let's enter into one accord. And we're trusting him to just use this gathering for his glory and his purposes. So Lord, we bless you. We praise you. We magnify you. Lord, let us have one heart, one mind, one voice. and that is to lift you up, to hear from you, to look to you, to mobilize us, to motivate us, to correct us inwardly, align our motives and intentions, Lord, to bring conviction and correction wherever is necessary. You're the good shepherd, you're our father, Lord and you're you're the giver of every good and perfect gift. So, even correction is a blessing. So, lord, right now, lord, we just wanna hear from you but we also wanna rejoice in you. We wanna be used to celebrate you and magnify you with the fruit of our lips. He said, let the redeemed of the lord say so. He said, let everything that hath breath praise you. So, that's what we wanna do, lord god. as your holy habitation. Hallelujah. Just use us to bless you. Hallelujah. Many people come to be blessed by you, but many people do not come to bless you. And we want to bless you knowing that you always bless us. So Lord, if we did come in with any other motive and intention, fix our hearts, Lord. We just humble ourselves before you. Hallelujah. We thank you that not only did you create us, but those of us who are born again, you're recreating us. You made us new and now you're making us new in our thinking, our attitude, our perspective. Hallelujah. You're letting us see, Lord, the one whose ways are far above our ways and whose thoughts are far above our thoughts. You're elevating our thoughts and our motives and intentions to align with yours by your Holy Spirit. So, lord, we just want to rejoice in you. So, let anoint the singer, use the singer, use the musician, use the people, lord god to let let your name be glorified in this gathering and then use the speaker lord god and lord and just give us ears to hear what you have to say to the church. Hallelujah and we thank you for these things and bless you for these things in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen. together. We're going to be reading from Psalms 87 verses one through seven. And it reads on the Holy Mount stands the city founded. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah. Among those who knew me, I mentioned Rahab in Babylon. Behold, Felicia in Tyre with Cush. This one was born there, they say. And of Zion, it shall be said, this one and that one were born in her. For the Most High himself will establish her. The Lord records as he registers the peoples. This one was born there, Salah. Singers and dancers alike say, all my springs are in you. Bless God, bless God. So we going to rejoice. Good afternoon, Transforming Love. How are you? Good afternoon. It is time to worship the Lord in singing. What a beautiful day it is to worship God. Amen. It's a beautiful day to worship the Lord. So let's sing together. This song just says he's worthy of our praise. He is worthy of our praise. It's when you need sound. All right, we're gonna sing a song and listen, there's a lot of repeat after me, but there's words on the screen. So you should be able to just sing out to the Lord because he is worthy of worship. Hallelujah. It says this. Say, I will worship. Yes. With all of my heart And I will praise you With all of my strength And I will seek you All of my days And I will follow all of your ways. I will give, I will give you all my worship. I will give you all my praise. You alone Yes, He is worthy of all of our praise. Here we go, so repeat after me. Say, I will bow down and I'll hail you as king. And I will serve you. I'll give you everything. And I will lift up eyes to your throne. And I will trust you. Yes, I'll trust you alone. Say, I will give. Lord, I will give you all my praise. You alone. I love to I will give you all my worship. I will give you all my praise. He's worthy of all of our praise. Thank you, Lord. So we're going to say this, I will bow down. Say, I will bow down. And I'll hail you as king. And I will serve you. I'll give you everything. And I will lift up. my eyes to your throne. And I will trust you. Yes, I'll trust you alone. Say, I will give you all my worship. And I will give you all my praise. You alone. I alone. Yes, you alone are worthy. Say, Lord, I love you. Lord, I love you. Here we go. You're worthy. Lord, I love you. Lord, I love you. Lord, I love you. You're worthy. Say this. Now, Lord, I praise you. Lord, I praise you. Lord, I praise you. You're worthy. Lord, I praise you. Lord, I praise you. Lord, I praise you. You're worthy. Now we're going to say this. Say hallelujah. Yes, hallelujah. Hallelujah. You're worthy of hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You're worthy. One more time. Say hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, you're worthy. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, you're worthy. So I will give, I will give. Yes, I will give you all my praise, you alone. Let's give him praise. Let's give him praise. Hallelujah. He is truly, truly worthy of all of our praise. He is a god that keeps doing great things for us. There is a song, a They even go further and they say, if I had 10,000 tongues, I just couldn't praise him enough. If I had 10,000 hands, I just couldn't praise him enough. Because he keeps right on doing great things for me. And that is the story of our lives. And that is the story of our God. He has been so solid. Such a solid rock for us. Don't we know that to be true? Such a solid rock for us. Hallelujah. Such a solid rock. We don't have to worry. Hallelujah. Such a solid, firm foundation for us. Let's remember that as we sing. Christ is my firm foundation. The rock on which I stand when everything around me is shaken. I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus. Cause he's never let me down. He's faithful through generations. So why would he fail now? He won't. Are you a witness of that? Hallelujah. He won't. Hallelujah. He won't fail. He won't fail. He won't. Hallelujah. Time after time after time. He won't. Hallelujah, Lord. He won't fail. See, I still got joy in chaos. Anybody else? I've got peace that makes no sense and I won't be going under. I'm not held by my own strength because I built my life on Jesus. And He's never let me down. He's faithful through every season. So why would He fail now? He won't. Thank you, Lord. He won't. He won't. I hear you declaring it. Hallelujah. He won't fail. He won't fail. He won't. That's what we know for sure. Thank you, Lord. He won't. He won't fail you. He won't fail. He won't fail. Why? Because Christ is my firm foundation. Let me hear you sing it. The rock on which I stand when everything around me is shaken. Hallelujah. I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus. He's never let me down. He's faithful through generations. Generations. So why would he fail now? He won't. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. He won't. He will never fail you. Hallelujah. He won't fail. He won't. He will never fail. He cannot fail. He won't. He won't. He won't. Thank you, Lord. He won't fail. He won't fail. See, what we know is Christ's record is sure. His foundation is sure. His word is true. You can bank on it. Hallelujah. You can set your clock to it. His word, His statutes, His principles, are sure. Hallelujah. So, when you run up against the enemy, you have backing that is foolproof. Hallelujah. You have a victorious god on your side. Hallelujah. So, you can stand boldly in the face of every storm. Hallelujah. Boldly in the face of the enemy. Hallelujah. Knowing that no you prosper. Hallelujah. It may form but it will never take you down. Hallelujah. Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Hallelujah. He is a sure thing. He is the sure one. He is the savior, the We can stand. We can stand. Hallelujah. The rain came. Wind blew. But my house was built on you. Hallelujah. See, I'm safe with you. And I'm gonna make it. Let me hear you say that. Rain came. My house was built on you. I'm safe. The rain came. Rain came. Wind blew. But my house was built on. Lord, I am safe. I'm safe with you. And I'm going to make it through. One more time. Rain came. You saw the rain. You felt the wind. But my house didn't fall, it stood this test of time. I'm safe. And I'm gonna, this is why, they say I'm safe. Said I'm safe with you. I'm gonna make it. You're declaring in the face of everything. I'm safe with, why? ♪ Because my house was built on you ♪ I'm safe with you, Lord. ♪ I'm safe with you ♪ ♪ Because I'm standing strong on you ♪ I'm safe. ♪ I'm safe with you ♪ My house, my house was built on you. ♪ Christ is my firm foundation ♪ The rock on which I stand When everything around me is shaken I've never been more glad Put my faith in Jesus Cause He's never let me down He's faithful through generations So why would he fail now? He won't. Now let's give our never failing God some praise. He won't fail us. Hallelujah. Even right now, he is making a way. While we sit here worshiping him, he is making next week's miracle. While we are lifting our hands, thanking Him for yesteryear, and last year, and last month, and the miracle of our lives as we stand here, He is making a way for tomorrow. And months down the road, He will never fail us. That's the goodness of our God. That is the goodness of our God in the land of the living. And guess what? The goodness doesn't stop in the land of the living. This is how good our God is. For eternity, He will be good. And we get to behold Him for eternity. When we cross over to the other side, we get to behold the goodness of our God. For the rest of eternity, we will be singing the praises of our God. He never fails. He never can. What a good God we serve. It just really makes me want to say this. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. Can we just end like that today? Is that all right? Lord, we stand and we sing in awe. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. We don't have a big ask today, Lord. We just want to behold you. Lord, you're great. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. If you could just go back in memory lane for all the things that he's done. Lord, we sing how great. My God, how great you are. How great, how great. You are. Lord, if you never do another thing, another way out of no way, you've been great. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. We can hold these hands up, Lord, forever as we count the ways that you've been great. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. And Lord, I could just stop at me, Lord, but there were three kids that you gave me, Lord, and they have all, Lord, seen the miracle of you. How great, how great you are. How great, how great you are. And maybe there weren't children, Lord, but there was a brother, a sister, an auntie, an uncle, a cousin, Lord. You've been great, my God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. And Lord, someone said, well, Lord, I don't have family, Lord, but you kept my friends, Lord, you kept my dog, you kept my cat. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. Lord, everybody got laid off at work, Lord, but I was the only one left in my cubicle. Lord, thank you. You've been great. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. I saw on the news, Lord, everybody's house burned down, but there was one house left standing on the block, God, and I know that they're saying right now, Lord, how God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. Lord, so many things should not have happened in my life, Lord, but you allowed it and I thank you, Lord. My God, how great you are. How great, how great you are. Our hearts are filled with gratitude today, Lord. Lord, you're so great, so great. So great, so great. God, we just can't say it enough, Lord. You have just been so good to us. You've allowed so many things so great. How great, how great, how great. You've been good, Lord. You have been good, Lord. He has been good. He has been good. Lord, you've just been so great. Yes. So great. Yeah. He allows such beautiful, wonderful things. He allows such beautiful, wonderful things. He allows beautiful, wonderful things. Hallelujah. And let's endeavor not to miss that. Let's endeavor to thank him for beautiful, wonderful things. Every trial, every triumph, beautiful, wonderful things. When we think back over our lives, let's not just see the great, see how the trial shaped you, See how the the difficult shaped you. See how the hurdle make you jump higher. How it let you see over the cliff at the goodness of the lord. That the valley let you see the wonder of the mountain. He has allowed beautiful, wonderful things. And let's worship him from those That means that song rings in the valley. That song rings on the mountaintop. If you can only sing in the sunshine, then you cannot see the goodness of our Lord. You have to sing in the rain. You have to sing in the thunderstorm so that when it is clear, hallelujah, and the flowers bloom, you can also sing and see the goodness of our God. They all need each other. God is good. And he allows beautiful, wonderful things. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Well, amen. Let's give God a great praise. Let's give him a great praise. He is wonderful. It is just such a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful thing to be able to worship the Lord alongside of you all. And welcome to Transforming Love Christian Center, where we are here every Sunday at 1.30 p.m. at 19300 Redwood Road. I am super, super, super, super duper happy to see all of your faces. And those of you who are streaming with us, we are super duper, duper happy that you have stopped by and are worshiping alongside of us. We hope that you're worshiping and not just watching. We hope that your hands are raised and that you are also thinking of the goodness of our God through a screen and God can hear you and see you too. So we praise God for that. We're asking that you would stop by sometime and enjoy the Lord alongside your brothers and sisters. It's nothing like being in the room where it happens. So please come on down. We'd love to see you. But in the meantime, please visit us at www.transforminglovecc.org, where you can learn all things TLCC, who our leaders are, what we believe, and what we got going on here. You can see on the Bible study tab Thursday nights that we have Bible study at 7 p.m. Some of you reached out to get plugged in. We are going to get you that information to make sure that you are getting plugged into Bible study. Also, if you go a little further, there's a donate tab. Feel free to click on there and. There's two ways to give. You can send a check or money order to the PO box listed or feel free to zelle from your account into the ministry. The instructions are clearly listed there, but we're happy to help. So feel free to reach out if you need some support. We'll be sure to support you there. In the same manner, if you need prayer, contact us, put in the subject line, pray for me, we're happy to pray, pray for my family, we're happy to pray. Anyone that's connected to you or you just know someone needs prayer, reach out, we are happy to pray. Those of you who are here, there are prayer cards on the back table there, and we are happy to pray, Sister Kanke and Sister Donna. You wave your hands, they receive those cards and they get them where they're going. And when I tell you this is a praying church, don't be sending that prayer request at one in the morning because it's going out. We getting it. Okay? We're going to be praying at one in the morning. And there's going to be 72 people also saying, got it, got it, got it, got it. And listen, you can't even be mad at that. You roll over, you're like, amen, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Touch him, Lord. But you can't even be mad about a text coming through that someone needs prayer. We are a praying church, and we really consider that a responsibility. And so when it comes through, we stop what we're doing to pray and intercede on your behalf. It is what we are called to do and we take it seriously. So please do not hesitate. We see those prayers being answered and we know that God is honoring the fact that we want to do what he's called us to do on behalf of the brothers and sisters in our ministry and those abroad. So please reach out. With that being said, we are This is a good time to silence your cell phones. The word of God is coming. We are also praying for our pastor who's under the weather. You know, this flu is trying to take the people. So please protect yourselves, take care of yourselves, and just make sure that you are, you know, this weather is doing things and the flu is about. So take care of yourselves. And there was something else. Brother Keith is having a birthday on Tuesday. Let's say happy birthday to Brother Keith for Tuesday. Listen, sitting over there just getting younger and younger. So happy birthday, Brother Keith. We're excited that you are aging like fine wine, OK? So we're just happy to have you a part of the ministry and a wise part of the ministry. So we just praise God for you. Other than that, you all have a wonderful, blessed Sunday here at TLCC. I'm thinking about forgetting anything. I don't think so. All right, have a great Sunday. We'll see you next time. Bless the lord. Pastor Jamie wanted me to let you know that he had every intention of being here. He was actually driving in and it just really got to him. he sends his love. And so with that said, we're gonna pray for him. Fortunately, I thought I was gonna be something hit me last night, but it didn't go the same way. And fortunately, there was something the Lord had put on my heart that I was chewing on personally. So you guys get to share with me on that, okay? So with that said, let's pray. Lord, we bless you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. We appreciate you, Lord. And we do know that you don't fail. You don't fail in your purposes. You don't fail in your plans. Lord, you are the great I am. You're the one that's seated high in heaven. and your train fills the temple. You're the one who is before all things, and you will be there after all things, Lord. You're the beginning and the end, the first and the last. You are, you were, and you ever will be. And so, Lord, it's to you we bow down. It's to you we submit and surrender. It is to you that we look as the author and the finisher of our faith. It is to you that we look at that's orchestrating this masterful plan of redemption. We just humble ourselves and thank you, Lord, for including us in the number. Those that are called out of darkness into the marvelous light to show forth praises to you. We thank you for calling us out and then aligning us with your purpose, your mission, your great commission to go into all the nations and preach the gospel. So Lord, we wanna be about your business. And there's so many distractions, Lord. There's so many things that try to hijack our attention consistently. And as the technology increases, it's that much more our attention spans are diminished. But you are the great focuser. You know how to get our attention. So Lord, we pray, Lord, that you just have your way in this gathering. We submit our emotions, our intellect and will. We submit our whole selves to you, Lord God, because we want to just be used by you to accomplish your purposes. Now, Lord, use me. You know, you use the foolish things to confound the wise that no flesh may glory in your sight. I wouldn't have called me, but that's all right. You know what you're doing. And so right now you just get your credit and do and let this word accomplish that which you intended to do. You said your word will go out and will not return it to you void, but it will go out and perform the very thing that you intended, Lord. And you also said your word is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword. Piercing even to the binding center of soul and spirit, joints and marrow is the discerner of the thoughts and the intent of the heart. So Lord, let it hit us where it needs to hit. Bring conviction where we need conviction, Lord, because we want to repent as often as we need to so that we can graduate more and more into your understanding. You said your ways are far above our ways. Your thoughts are far above our thoughts. So Lord, we just want to have our minds renewed. and Lord, and according to your divine plan and purpose, because it's not our will that needs to be done, but your will. And so we thank you for that. And we thank you for your Holy Spirit that is moving in our hearts and minds to bring the correction where needed. In Jesus name we pray, amen. Bless the Lord, bless the Lord. Bless God, bless God. As I mentioned to you guys, this was not, once again, planned. But fortunately, the Lord has been moving. Last week, I told you a scripture that he put on my heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. And so it's not just the script. The scripture I told you is not meant to just be studied, though it's meant to be studied. It's not just meant to be entertained, though it can entertain and engage us. It's meant to be lived. And the Holy Spirit takes that word that we feed on, that word that we feed on regularly. Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So we're eating and feeding on the word like the milk that it's meant to be. And so if we're doing that, then the Holy Spirit will bring things back to our recall, whatever we need to accomplish his purposes and his timing. So with that said, and then he will use it to bring conviction. Thank God for conviction. Thank God for conviction because I was a mess when he called me in and I'm still, there's a long way to go, but I'm not where I used to be because he's been working on me every step of the way. If I told you my life before, you'd be like, man, he called you? You know what I'm saying? There would be nothing that you would want to have to deal with me about. But God has been faithfully not only bringing me to this place, but overhauling my thinking, overhauling my attitude, because we can all get a jacked up attitude, can't we? And he can fix an attitude in a minute. And that whole thing of him changing us and molding us is for his representation. And what way are we trying to represent? The fruit of the spirit should be evident in our lives. Love, peace, joy, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faith, temperance, meekness, And so with that, those things are showing up in my life. Constraint. I used to be off the hook. Just whatever I felt, I did. Whatever I thought, I did. But now, and then he showed me that his word is not just words on a page. There's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end of it leads to destruction. And so my life was, look, I was doing everything I felt, and I was getting the consequences for my choices. And God will let me know It was like, don't, he knows how to motivate, don't he? He knows how to show you is like, don't do that again. Don't do that again. And so with that said, but some people, no, but let me add this to it. He knows how to bring clarity in our thinking because we all know people that keep on doing the same thing the same way and expecting better results. We know people like that. So at least he brought us to a place where we realized, That's insanity. We call insanity what it is, insanity. I'm not doing it the same way. And even if I get pulled in that same direction, Lord, help me, I know I can cry out to him and he always comes through. Always comes through. Always comes through. Yes, Lord. So now what I'm gonna be doing is reading for one long, It's only 18 verses, that's a lot. But we'll go ahead and read it. So we're gonna be coming out of 2 Corinthians 4, the first verse. And then I'll give you the title. It says, therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. But I have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. And ourselves, your servants, for Jesus' sake, For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Hold on, let me drink a little. But, and this is the key part, we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto the death for Jesus Christ, Jesus' sake. that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then, death worketh in us, but life in you. We have the same spirit of faith, according as is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak. Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us also by Jesus and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God, for which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is reduced by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. So this title came to my heart when I was praying about it. Power displayed under pressure. Power displayed under pressure. So I'm just going to go through certain sections and read the bullets because I didn't really have much time to pray, but that's all right. and we're gonna pray us out. So the first part of it, let's read from 2 Corinthians 4, one through two. He says, therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. The light of the gospel requires right motives and intentions. The glory of God is for the glory of God. So all of us now should be living for the glory of God, not self-aggrandizement, not self-promotion, not self-centeredness. Now, everything around us in the world tells us to do you and to be about you and your purposes and your desires and your pursuits. But when you come under this kingdom, now it's not about you anymore. Now it's about him and his purposes. So we're doing these things and we're allowing our motives and intentions to be purified because after a while you realize I'm just a servant. I'm just a servant. I'm here. The only reason why I live and breathe today, he could have took me a long time ago because God knows I did enough to justify being taken out of here. Some of the people I did the things I did with are no longer here. He kept me, he saved me for his purposes, not my own. That's a hard thing because there's so many distractions, so many things around us telling us to do everything according to the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. The enemy is constantly, do you, do you, do you? No, I live for the glory of God. I'm a servant, that's it and that's all. So the backdrop that he's going through too, he's saying all these things while his credentials and his credibility are being challenged. He's proclaiming the gospel, but there are people around him trying to dismiss his validity and trying to say, well, show us your letter. Show us your letter of credentials. And that's where we hear that thing he said, you are epistles to be read by men. You are living letters. Today's terminology, You are living emails or texts that people can look and see Jesus, the fruit of the ministry that he was performing in. God allowed him to see fruit in his, and he used that to justify his credibility, while the false preachers and the false teachers were coming with credentials otherwise. So 2 Corinthians 4, 3 through 6 says, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your servants, for the Lord Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He was making his proclamations not only with hostile people around him, but there's a hostile war zone going on. We know we're not doing this in a vacuum. When we make up our mind we're going to be about God's commission and his purposes, We know that we're going to have the enemy and his minions come up against us, right? That's why he says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, principalities, rulers of darkness in this world, spiritual wickedness in high places. So once you make up your mind, I'm going to serve Jesus, you've got to be You gotta know, you gotta man up, soldier up, armor up. He said, no man that woreth entangle himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who is called to be a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. You gotta drop that civilian mentality, and you gotta adopt a soldier's mentality. Soldier up, armor up, because you're going to be in the battle. And so you're gonna have people coming up against you, you're gonna have spiritual forces coming up against you, so the pressure is on. But once again, the power is displayed under pressure. So while you see the pressure and that pressure is sometimes inward and outward, you have to know that God's power is working in this situation. One of the things that was on my heart too is the end time, we move more toward the end time, it's gonna be marked by three things. This is what the Holy Spirit put on my heart. One, the love of many will wax cold because the iniquity shall abound. People are gonna be more cold and callous and cold-hearted. If we haven't seen that happening over the past couple of decades, you ain't paying attention. People are becoming more self-centered and, what is it, rebellious. I mean, that's it and that's all. Then, it's also gonna be marked by delusion and deception. He said that later on, in the last days, he said when the lawless one comes in, because the Antichrist, a lot of the stuff that's going on, all this chaos, all this confusion, it's all ushering in, creating the platform by which the enemy can come in and try to imitate the things of God. The Antichrist is going to come on the scene and people are so immersed in delusion and deception that they'll fall for the trick. And the Bible said it's going to be, the delusion is going to be so great that even the elect will be deceived if it were possible. But because it's not possible, because the believers are not only studying, they're also in tune to the spirit of God who lives in them, that's giving them discernment to know truth from evil. So there's gonna be a lot of delusion, a lot of deception, as well as cold heartedness. Okay, so then the next part, and I know I'm kinda going through this fast, but I didn't have a time to kinda put this together. But we've had this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power, the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed. The treasure, God's gospel, the new covenant by the Spirit is in jars of clay. So look around you, we all jars of clay. We are jars of clay and if you're born again, now you have the light of the glorious gospel deposited in you. And we're going to go through pressure so that that power can be displayed in us. Let's see, it says, Gideon, the example of the jars of clay, when they went into battle, what did he do? He broke the jar and then the light came into the place And that light troubled and overpowered the enemy. In the same way, we're going through breaking. And now the light that is in us is going to shine forth. So people may see you going through it. And they should also see the power of God being manifested in your lives. They should see something like, wait, hold on. Why are they standing while I'm having a meltdown? Why are they standing while I'm having a breakdown? And so we should be ready and available to give to every man an answer of the hope that lies within us. I told you last week, I got so many family members that are now contending with cancer. They're all my age. My brothers and me, we're all stair steps. And I've had family members that are not only dealt with cancer, but are dealing with cancer. One brother that they've given him just a year and a half to live, and he's a year younger than me. Then I've also had my nephew out of nowhere die, and I had to be the one to try to, and I'm like, I can't handle this. But I told you last week as well, I can't handle it, but I know where to go. I can't handle it, but I knew, it says, if anyone lack wisdom, and that's talking about in the trial, if anyone lack wisdom, let him ask of the Father, who giveth to every man liberally and abradeth not. I said, Lord, I don't know what to do, but I know you know. You have all wisdom, all power, all might, all dominion. You can calm my crazy. Because trust me, when I heard that, I was like, I'm about to break down. But he helped me to man up, soldier up, and handle business. And He comforted me in my affliction, and now I can comfort others with the comfort wherewith I have been comforted." God is able to make you prosper even in difficult situations. The Bible says He was a root growing up in dry ground. That means He grew up in impossible situations. It was not fertile ground. It was harsh ground. And guess what? You're prospering in harsh ground. It's in the difficulty he's managing to show forth his power. And so you're going, why am I not crazy? If this happened before I knew you, I would have been crazy. I would have been towed back to the flow back. I would have been drunk. I would have been high. I would have been everything and anything. And so I can't look at anyone else that I know who's going through it. I'm learning to look to Jesus. I'm leaning on Jesus, and guess what? I'm a living epistle to be read of by men. They should see you and they should see your story. And they said, I see Jesus intervening in their lives. I saw the crazy and then I saw the intervention of God in their lives and the transformation power that manifested in their lives. So the things that they did before, the way they rolled, the way they thought, the attitude started to change in front of me. And all of a sudden, not only did I have words on a page, but I had a life that backed up the words on that page. I saw a living example of that gospel transformation in the life of someone who I'm watching. Bless God. Bless God. Hallelujah. So the believer goes through various mental, emotional, physical, stressed, and stretched states. Physical, emotional, mental, stressed states, but never hit extreme hopelessness. They never hit the extreme hopeless reality. We don't, we keep on keeping on. It doesn't matter. We gone through some things, haven't we? I mean, we can, even as a collective local assembly, we lost our pastor's wife. We lost, right afterwards, unexpectedly, we lost Ruth, a pillar in the church. I mean, not to mention a whole host of other people that we lost along the way, as well as all the people that we've individually. But the beauty of it, the thing is we become stronger, We've been more resolved in prayer. We're a praying church. And Jesus said, what did he say? You shall call my house a house of prayer. So guess what we're doing? We're praying. And you send us a prayer request, guess what we're going to do? We're going to pray. And we've seen results because the Bible says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. So there's that. Kidding. It's in there, right? So let's see. So our trials are regulated but still intense to bring us to the place of surrender and greater dependence. You learn, if you haven't learned anything, and I said this before, this kingdom is an upside down kingdom. When you're born into this world in the natural, You're a baby, and you're totally dependent, and then you're weaned into independence. But in the kingdom of God, you start out independent, and then he weans you toward dependence. So you learn, no, I'm going to trust you. and I'm not gonna lean to my own understanding. I'm gonna acknowledge you in all my ways and let you direct my path. I'm gonna pray, because you said men ought to pray always and faint not. You said pray without ceasing. I know I need to ask, because you said if I ask, I'll receive. If I seek, I'll find. If I knock, the door will be opened unto you. You said you'll reward them that diligently seek you, so I'm gonna seek you. You also said if anyone wanna be my disciple, then let him deny himself, what, daily, and take up his cross and follow after you. him. So I'm learning to deny myself daily. I'm learning to, I might get sidetracked, but when I get sidetracked, I get convicted and then I confess and get back on course. Bless God. I'm learning that I have to live by the spirit. I'm learning that I need to walk in step with the spirit. I need, I'm learning that I need to let him lead and guide me. Cause when I lead and guide me, it ain't nothing but trouble. It ain't nothin' but trouble. So just another supporting verse of 2 Corinthians 4, seven through nine, and it says we, but, wait, wait, wait, I'm off here. Wait, hold on, hold on now. Maybe that's a little bit down there. Okay, wait, I got ahead of myself. Okay, so it's always bearing about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. So as we're dying, his life is becoming, he's getting more territory over our hearts and minds. That's what I'm like, take it, take it, own it. You know what I'm saying? And that's why even like songs, I told you back when I came to the church back in the 90s, and I didn't come from a church background, songs were different. A lot of surrender songs, huh? I surrender all, you know what I'm saying? It's me, I need to come down to the altar and need a prayer. All these songs were about surrendering. Now you don't hear nothing about that as much, maybe I'm not gonna say it all. But the fact of the matter is surrender is still a requirement. Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he shall flee. You know, we want to be about surrendering. Sometimes that's all you can do, because you know, you dialed up, you're getting ready to head down the wrong path. And you sit up and you said, the way of escape, Lord, you know where my crazy thinking is going. You know where my desire is going to, because we still have that old nature we got to contend with. We got to put it to death, right? So we have that to contend with. And I say we use body life, too. Call in for support. Call in the troops. Hey, pray for me, because I'm about to go off on one. And then even sometimes in talking to submission, Surrender so you're submitting to God directly and indirectly through the rest of the body. Bless God. Okay, so where am I at now? For we which live always are delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life worketh in you. So our dying to ourselves benefits those around us. See, and that's where real unity is gonna come in. When we come in and we realize, look, you don't need to know me, you need to know Jesus in me. Because otherwise we're all messy Marvin, right? We all can be messy, we all can get, if we let that flesh control ourselves, messy Marvin's gonna make a mess. So right now we need Jesus. Look, I have to surrender to God because what I want is Jesus to show up. Now he's going to use your personality. We all got our personalities. And so what I'm saying, but at the same time, he's going to start changing that character so that messy Marvin will not make the mess. So John 12, 24 through 26 says, verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall unto the ground and die, it biteth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. See, if you die to yourself, you're gonna bring forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor. So we have to be like a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies. It's a good thing, though. When you die to yourself, you're opening up the door for God to do in your life the thing that you were created to do. And he's going to create opportunities that reinforce his purposes. He's going to create opportunities. I would have never picked me to get up in front of people and talk, because I'm an introvert by nature. I mean, I can be extroverted. But when I was young, I used to have to drink. Then I became the life of the party. Up until then, I'd be all quiet and timid and in my head going cuckoo, analyzing everything to a fault. And then I had to drink to kind of make my brain calm down. So I would be tripping, but then it would be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sometimes you would get funny Rick, and then other times you'd get crazy Rick. So it was a roll of the dice. But now I'm not drunk with wine, but I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. Come on now. Fill me, Lord. Fill me, Jesus. Come on now. So anyways. So we die to live. The life of Christ is part of his body. So we die to live the Zoe life of God. Pastor Jamie's father used to teach about that. This is the life of Christ living and abiding in us. That's why the fruit of the spirit shows up. Why? Because you're letting him live in your body. You're letting him take, that's why he said it's the fruit of the spirit. It didn't say the fruit of the flesh. It says the fruit of the spirit, you're letting him lead and guide you. You're letting him control your conversation. You're letting him control your conduct. You're letting him control your attitude. You might go there, but then you get corrected. And more and more we're going there less, huh? Because our minds are being changed. We're being conditioned to think the way he thinks and represent the way he wants to represent. Okay, so let's see, where am I at? Our dying to self and surrendering our lives to God fully blesses others. So by you dying to you, the family that you're praying for will see him and that will increase the probability of them succumbing to him. So if you don't die for you, die for them. I said, my family don't need to see me, because they know me. They knew about me, the good, bad, the ugly, and indifferent. They knew everything about me. What they needed to see was the new me that was in Christ Jesus. And God can take a mess and turn it around and use it as a message of his power. I remember we used to, we had a Christian recovery group. Keith, you remember this back in the day, but they brought in girls that sometimes were off the street, right? And so they came in and they had all, and some of them had a lot of guilt about with their children. And I said, you know what? Let God redeem the time because the thing that you thought was irreparable, God can repair. He can make the canker worm, the palmer worm, the caterpillar. He can restore the years. So the witness that you thought could never be repaired, now you're a testimony of his transformation. And they're seeing in front of their eyes the gospel being shown. And in the light of eternity, it don't matter all the shoulda, woulda, couldas. God is now saying, look, let me use today. Let me use the rest of your life to show forth my goodness in the land of the living. So you can surrender that guilt and shame and go, okay, you know what? All that I did, I lay it at the altar. Yes, I did it. But let me use it for your glory. That's one of the things the younger generation needs to hear from us. They need to hear from us what we did, but why not to do what we did. Because some of us celebrate it. We just telling it, you don't know. You thought you was doing something? Y'all didn't do nothing. Well, no, what does that do? You encouraging down this. No, I tell my nephews and nieces, I said, I used to party with some of your parents. Some of their parents went off and are dead or locked up and things of that nature. I said, we didn't start out thinking they were going to be drug addicts. They didn't start off thinking they was going to go down that path. Nobody sat up there and said, when I grow up, I want to be a drug addict, an alcoholic. No, they nibbled their way down that path. And I'm telling you this, that I did some of that same stuff too. And I got the consequences from that same stuff too. And I'm not telling you because I want to encourage you down that path. I'm encouraging you because hopefully, hopefully, you'll learn from the lesson. And even if you choose to go down some of that same stuff I did, you'll realize there's a U-turn possibility. You can go down that path. And when you start to see the crazy show up, because it will. Because it will, then you can realize that God can turn any situation around. He's just looking for that white flag of surrender. That white flag, I surrender all, Jesus. Take this mess and do with it what you can. He can redeem the time. And that's what you want to leave them with. Not, you think you're doing something. Shoot, you should have seen me back in the day. No, they don't need to hear that. They don't need to hear that. And if you're going to tell the story, tell the whole story. Tell the whole story. Don't tell just the good parts that you think are good parts. Tell the whole story. Tell them how they used to wake you up in the middle of the floor because you'd be passed out drunk. Tell the whole story. Tell them how you got locked up. Tell the whole story. Don't play the tape only part the way. Play the whole tape. Right down to you reaping. I want you to know I did some mess, but I reaped and I don't want you to do the same. Hallelujah, hallelujah. And I'm gonna tell you that some people didn't make it out. That's when, oh yeah, we all went through it. You know, everybody go through their phases. You know, you'll come through it. No, not everybody made it out. I have many people, family members, friends that didn't make it out. So don't leave them with that lie. Tell the whole story. Play out the whole tape. Okay, so he says, we having the same spirit of faith according to his reason. I believed and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak. The only thing that came to my heart is trust that causes us to speak confidence in our conversation. Our conversation, the Bible says out of the bunches of the heart, the mouth speaketh. As your confidence increases in God, your conversation will reflect it. You see what I'm saying? You're going to start talking like it. No, I know Jesus is going to come through for me. It will come out because it's in your heart. What's in your heart is going to affect the way you talk, just like what's in your heart. The more he gets control of your heart, the more your conversation and conduct will reflect it. So you become more bold in your proclamation of the gospel. because that's your hope. Everyone's wondering why it's too much crazy. I understand, but I know who's on the throne. I know my redeemer lives and that he shall stand in the latter day. Hallelujah, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus, that's a lot of power there, shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. And so I wrote a couple of bullets, I'm just gonna read. The suffering and difficulties in your life will bear fruit if you're submitting, seeking, and surrendering to God, the fruit of the spirit. Resurrection power that impacts the believer and glorifies God. So the more you submit and surrender, that resurrection power. How many of you ever felt like you, I'm going down for the count. I'm about to get knocked down, and then you're about to get knocked out, but somehow, in your crying out to God, that resurrection power, and then all of a sudden you get renewed hope. You get renewed strength. Because his life now is being resurrected, that same power that raised up dead Jesus, because he died, right? Now is alive in you and working in you. So that's why we can never be without hope. Because even if everything looks hopeless, we know that Jesus lives in us. We can persevere through difficulties by his power and bear fruit. Because sometimes it is. It seems like sometimes, I know you guys have all been through seasons where it's like, man, okay, Lord, I'm leaning on you, but I'm on the struggle bus. One day at a time. But you're persevering. You keep on keeping on. Why? Because you have that same spirit living in you. And then second, I'm almost done. Am I almost done? Yeah, look at we down at the wire. Okay, 2 Corinthians 4, 17 through 18 says, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal way to glory. While we look not on the things which are seen, but of the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. The light of flexion is in light of eternity. That's the context. When we look at it here and now, it's like, nah, this ain't light. And it isn't light, it's hard. It gets rough sometimes. It gets rough sometimes. I remember a friend of mine, her mom, used to say, life is hard, but God is good. And I said, it hit me over time. I'm like, life is hard. Life gets real difficult sometimes. It gets real difficult. But God is good. That means in the struggle, I'm not alone. In the struggle, he's there. In the struggle, he's there that I can cast my cares on him. In the struggle, I can commit my way. In the struggle, I can ask him and look to him to intervene in the situation. It may not be the way I want it to, but he always knows how to lead and guide me into the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. I remember two songs that came into my head, and this is back in the 90s. So Richard Smallwood had a song he called, It Will All Be Over Someday. Anita Baker in the winding said, it'll be all over in the morning time. So there's going to be a day when it will all be over. There's going to be a day when we will, morning time will come and we will have the reality of a new heaven and a new earth. There will be a day when we're gonna take off this corruption and put off incorruption, because he goes on in the next chapter and he talks about taking off this earthly tent, I believe it is, and putting on a building made without hands. So we're gonna, eventually, we're gonna, these bodies that are wasting away, I'm about to be 60 this year and you know them aches and pains are real. You know that the memory don't cooperate like it used to. You know what I'm talking about? Now what was I saying? I'm kidding, just kidding. You know what I'm saying? You forget, why did I come in this room again? What? Okay, what was I saying? Can you tell me what I was saying? Because I forgot what I was saying. So this outward man is perishing, but our new man is being renewed day by day. So the outward is growing old, but the inward is getting renewed day by day. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. In the meantime, let's be intentional about seeking, submitting, and surrendering to Him, the risen Savior daily. We're submitting to the risen Savior, the one, not Jesus on the cross, though He did die on the cross. Now He's sitting in heavenly places, and He's sitting next to the Father. We're submitting and surrendering to Him daily, and He's giving us power to persevere, power to represent, and power to proclaim His goodness. That's the power that's happening. So though there's pressure, there's power to accomplish his purposes. And then too, and I mentioned this last week, and many of us can attest to it, he gives his supernatural peace, joy, rest, comfort, as well as righteousness. I want him to change me because I don't wanna reap my, if I gotta suffer, I wanna suffer for doing right, not wrong. Because the Bible tells you, you can suffer for your consequences, or you can suffer for doing His will. I don't want to suffer because I'm doing His will. Because then the Bible says the God of glory rests upon you. When you're suffering for His purposes, His Spirit rests upon you. And that's what I need. I want it, and I need it. That's it. Bless the Lord. So we're going to pray. Bless the Lord. So let's all touch and agree. Lord, we humbly bless you, Lord God, that you are the God of all creation. But now you're the God of our recreation. You were the God that was there in our birth, but you're also the God that's orchestrated our rebirth. Born again of the spirit and born again into a lively hope. Born again to a new hope. born again with the blessed hope of your return. So Lord God, you told us in this life we'll have tribulations, but fear not for you have overcome the world. So Lord, that's what we want to do is we want to look and trust and have confidence in your overcoming power. You said they were overcome, they overcame him who the enemy by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimonies and they love not their lives even unto death. So Lord God, let us have that resolve. to die to ourselves to live for you. And then Lord God, let us have that resolve to look to your life to be manifested in our bodies. You have a story. You want us to be living letters to be read up by men so that when they see us, they see the testimony of Jesus transforming power in our lives. What we used to be and what we are now and what we're becoming. and we're becoming more and more conformed to the image of your son. So Lord, we just want you to be glorified. And where we're not firm in our resolve, if we're lukewarm, if we're double-minded, forgive us, cleanse us, Lord. Fix our hearts and fix our minds according to your new covenant promise. You will put your law in our minds and write them upon the tablets of our heart according to your new covenant because of your shed blood. So Lord, we bless you and we thank you for this. Lord, where we go to our respective places, Lord, let this word germinate. Lord, let it produce the fruit that you intended. Hallelujah, to use this local assembly for your purposes. And Lord, we just thank you for giving us a meaning and purpose for life, the only true meaning and purpose for life. And we thank you for these things in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen. Bless the Lord, we are dismissed.