I want you to take your Bibles tonight and I want you to turn to the book of Psalms, chapter number 137. I apologize if I squint. I forgot my glasses, amen. Man, my wife texted me, amen, said she's gonna be watching, I gotta be on my best behavior tonight. But man, my little boy, she texted me just a while ago, said he's eating dino nuggets, amen. That's a praise in my book, amen. Our morning rituals, wake up, I get my coffee, Mitchell, and have myself a good time. And man, I make him a couple little pancakes, warm them up in the microwave, and he normally eats three of them. He's not been eating but just a couple bites. So I know the dude's sick, but him eating Dino Nuggets is a blessing to me, amen? It don't do nothing for you, but if that was your kid sick and won't eat Dino Nuggets, I say praise the Lord. What a blessing, but boy, Donnie, you, man, I appreciate you minding God. I'm serious, man, when that song first come out, boy, we'd lose it. We'd lose it. We'd lose it. Because, boy, it hit something. It reminded us. Really, I appreciate you being obedient to God. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I don't count it lightly. You pray for us. But I want to help you tonight. I really do. Boy, I want to encourage you and try my best to give you what God's gave us. Psalms 137, verse number one. If you got it, say amen. The Bible says, by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. Verse number two, we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there that carried us away captive required of us a song. and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion. Verse number four, this is the people of God now, and they said, how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? I'm interested tonight in verse number two. The Bible says we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst there. That word willows means a place of mourning. Y'all know a weeping willow. They grow up and they pout right over. That's called a weeping willow. And here we find the people of God. They have hanged their instruments on the willows. In other words, their worship was wilted. Worshiping tonight, that is wilted. I will say this by outset of the message. No man, no woman, boy or girl is ever apt to be, not apt to be, may I say it like this, not missing the devil. You're no bigger match for the devil than you are to anybody else. What I'm saying is, ladies and gentlemen, is we are no match for the devil. Whether you've been saved for 100 years or one day, we all can come to a place in our lives where we lose our song. Amen, I'm not preaching something tonight that I have not been through, son. Honey, I've been through, we've been through it. We can talk afterward if you want to, Brother Donny. You say, preacher, you're a preacher. You're supposed to be happy. You're supposed to be go lucky all the time. Honey, I'll say this, my flesh isn't saved. There has been times where I found myself in Psalms chapter number 137, I felt like just giving up. Amen, don't you put your angel wings and halos away tonight. You've all been there. What's the point of going home? May I say, ladies and gentlemen, we find in verse number one, the Bible said, by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We find, number one, we find the people of God's captivity. The captivity, you say, preacher, Why? Why did they go into captivity? Well, it's amazing to me, God always has an explanation for everything. Jeremiah 25, verse number 8 through 13, the Bible said, Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. How about that? The enemy to the people of God, God said, that's his servant. I ain't got time to dwell on that, but, and will bring them against this land and utterly destroy them, make them an astonishment and an hissing and a perpetual desolations. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, you'll find that in the word of God there in our reading, and the voice of gladness. and the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, and the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. Man, there's all kind of preaching right there. This whole land shall be a desolation, an astonishment. These nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. And it shall come to pass when the 70 years are accomplished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity in the land of Chaldeans will make it a perpetual desolation. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. Here's what the Lord is telling the people of God. He says, if you choose to do wrong, I'm going to deal with you. Before, ladies and gentlemen, before we ever find Psalms 137 in our Bible, God has given, preacher, the people of God a warning. He said, if you don't do as I command you, this is what's gonna happen to you. I'm gonna let the enemy come in. He's gonna flatten out the walls of Jerusalem. He's gonna take everything you've ever owned, and you're going in slavery for 70 years. And I've got to be honest with you, learning how to teach a one-year-old no-no is probably the worst thing I've ever had to do. Amen. Boy, my grades are popping even more. My wife told me last night when I got home, she said, honey, your grades are getting more. Amen. I said, well, thank you. Be more nicer to me. Amen. Boy, it's tough raising a one-year-old. Y'all got kids, y'all know how it is. Man, that little boy of mine, man, he'll get into everything preaching. I'm all the time saying, no, no, don't do that. And if that don't work, I hate even doing it. It honestly breaks my heart. But I go to his little hind end and I say, no, no, don't do that. You know why? Because there's a problem when you go put your hand on an outlet. There's a bad thing that there's a consequence that's gonna come out of that. See, what I try to do, we got right in our fifth wheel, man, our bar, not our bar, our food bar. We got no drinking bar. Our food bar right in that camper, man, it's about eye level with him. He's just now getting to the place where he's reaching for everything. Man, I've got an outlet up there, I've got a candle, I'm a weirdo, I like smelly things. Hey man, I'd rather smell a candle than stinky feet. Somebody help me right there. First thing I do every morning, man, I put some coffee in my pot, amen, and I drink it and then I light a candle. My wife calls me a little feminine, but tell you what she want, I like it to smell good. Say amen right there. Man, he'll start now, he'll start reaching for that candle. He'll start doing things, he'll start getting close to it. You know what I gotta do? I say, Carter, don't do that, no, no. Boy, he'll look at me a little mean now like his mama does at me sometimes, amen. She'll look at me a little mean, and right there I say, buddy, don't do that. Boy, he'll look at me mean and he'll smile. You know what he does? He starts reaching again. It's not that I'm being mean to him. I'm giving him a choice. Either don't do that and get a whoop whoop, amen, or stop doing that and everything's gonna be all right. It's amazing to me, every time I say, no, no, guess what he does? He goes right back to doing what I told him not to. And isn't that just like us? God says, don't do that, no, no. Well, okay, Lord, I'm good. And then when the consequence comes, because you go right back to it, you're like, well, Lord, why did this happen? What's the purpose of this? God wanted this. Why did you allow this to happen in my life? God's plainly told you, don't do this or this is gonna happen. Here we find the people of God. Well, they are now in bondage. The truth of God's word has come home to roost. If you do wrong, you're gonna be in captivity. If you do wrong, you're gonna lose everything. You'll find that we're perpetual desolations. Man, it means completely wiped out. They're gonna lose it all because of disobedience. I say, ladies and gentlemen, what is killing our churches today is just one thing, it's just disobedience. We know better than to do the things we do. But yet we still do them anyway. You ain't gotta amen me, we'll get some happy stuff in a minute, amen? What I'm telling you is, the people of God are in captivity. They are suffering the judgment of God, but they knew better. They knew the consequence. Going into this thing, Brother Daniel, they knew better. Boy, if you don't obey me, this is what's gonna happen. If you don't obey me, I'm gonna take you and your husbands and your wives and your kids and you're gonna serve the king of Babylon. It's 70 years. You're gonna have no more control. I'm gonna wipe out everything. They're gonna destroy everything and God's gonna be in charge of everything. Either obey God and get blessings or disobey God and get desolations. I say this, when they were in captivity, they'll never be able to point their hand at God and say, God, I didn't know about this. Man, with Carter, I'm telling you, it almost breaks my heart. My dad, man, when he used to wear my tail out, I'm talking about wear it out. I mean, I don't know what I'm talking about a wear it out. Not just, don't need that. I'm talking about a war spanking. Somebody help me right there. Boy, you turn into an Indian, boy, start dancing around, amen. Almost Pentecostal, amen. Start speaking in tongues. I'm talking about a hurting that high knee. But my daddy would always say, son, it's gonna hurt me worse than it is you. I said, I don't know, daddy, it hurts pretty bad. But now, man, I don't know what it is about them tears. That little boy preacher just does something to my big old mushy heart. Amen, just messes me up. Boy, I can imagine the disgrace and man, the pure sadness of God. When the very beings he created, Brother Donnie, he gave them a choice. You're not, and then you don't have to suffer, do wrong, and I'm gonna have to take everything from you. And the people of God chose to do wrong. So you know what? God had to allow his judgment to come. I wanna time out and say this right here. I know this is Old Testament here, but honey, we are this close away from the judgment of an almighty God. I'm very shocked today that God has not unleashed all this judgment upon mankind. How much, I ain't gonna say that, how much more bad can it get? I don't know if y'all saw this morning, one of my preacher friends sent it to me, said, man, our great president, who we have, said, man, he made yesterday an Easter holiday, a transgender thing. Said New York was lighted up with red, white, man, the colors of the rainbow. How worse can it get? The judgment of God. Do wrong and suffer. Do right and not suffer. It's a plain choice tonight. You obey God, you get blessings. You disobey God, God takes you behind the woodshed and wears you out. While they were suffering by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Can I say, ladies and gentlemen, that these people have now come to the place where they have said, I quit. Look there in your Bible, verse number one. There we sat. God said, damn. Brother Donny, the people of God knew the outcome. They knew the outcome. And now when they're having to suffer the outcome that God told them, God, you know what they said? God, we quit. It's too hard. Well, if I'm not seeing nothing in these days, I am seeing moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and kids quit on God like never before. My dad, I wish back in the days when he was pastoring, I wrote an excuse book. Every excuse he's ever heard, man, I'd like to have that thing, amen. Every excuse, a preacher, they hurt my feelings. Preacher, they done me wrong at church. It's amazing to me, somebody can cut you off at Walmart, take your spot, maybe have to wait in line 30 minutes, and guess what, you just sit there and be happy and content, but somebody does something wrong at church and the very first thing we do is we X church off the list. You don't say, I quit. It's too hard. I give up. Let your service, man, let your service go back at the restaurant. You'll say, all right, I'm done with that. And two weeks later, you're right back at where you said you'd never go again. But when it comes to the things of God, we think we can quit. And can I say this? We don't do God a displeasure by quitting. You do yourself a displeasure by quitting and giving up on God. Them sitting down didn't affect God at all. You know what affected it? It affected those little kids that was around them. You ain't got time to preach that. But boy, they shut down. One guy said, when you feel like quitting, think about why you got started. Amen. One guy loved this. Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. Look in your Bible, it said they sat down, not only they sat, but we find those next few words, they sobbed by the rivers of Babylon. The word Babylon, preacher, I looked this up and it blessed my heart, the word Babylon means confusion. They were in a place of confusion. How many Christians you know like that today? That have no idea where they're at. No idea what's going on, but I tell you what put them in confusion is their disobedience. I know this is boring right here, but we'll get to some stuff in a minute. I just gotta lay this down. Babylon, a place of confusion. People of God, men that, people that loved God, people that served God, people, the men that got to worship God. Now they are drug out, and now they are slaves, and they are placed in a place of confusion. Don't know whether to go to the right or go to the left. You know what they've become? Instead of standing, instead of running, instead of marching, we're sitting down, we're gonna sit, and then we're gonna sob a little while. Having a pity party. Look there in your Bible. Yay, that word yay means yes. We wept. having themselves a pity party. Can I time out and say this right here? It was too late for weeping now. Amen. It's too late to weep now. Brother Donnie, it's too late to weep. Now they're in the judgment of God. Now they're suffering disobedience, man, their consequence. It's too late now, preacher, to weep. Boy, they're shutting down, they're quitting, and now they want to weep. And now, can I say this right here, before the judgment of God ever becomes in our life, before God ever puts out his punishment on us, we better weep on that side of the river. We better weep before our families on that side of the river. We better weep for our loved ones on that side of the river. Because I don't want to be found sitting down and weeping and nothing nobody can do about it. They're stuck. If they would have went before Babylon captivity, they would have never been in this situation. It's amazing to me, we get these phone calls, we don't care nothing about church or preacher. Let our kids, something bad happen to them, you know the first person they call? Amen, I know this is a little tough right here. I promise I'm getting somewhere. I know this is tough. It was tough when God gave it to me. We'll weep at the wrong time. Before tragedy ever strikes your life, you need to be weeping before God. Well, they wept. Look at when they wept. Notice not only they sat and they sobbed, but notice the subject of their sobbing. Look at this now. When we remembered Zion, Zion, boy, Zion was a big place for the people of God. I've got several verses, let me read them to you. Psalms nine, verse number 11. Sing praises to the Lord which dwelleth in Zion. Declare among the people his doings. Psalms nine, verse number 14, that I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of thy daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy salvation. Psalms 87, verse number two and three, the Lord loveth the gates of Zion. More than all the dwellings of Jacob, glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God, Shelah. Psalms 132, verse number 13, For the Lord hath chosen Zion. He hath desired it for to be his habitation. This is my rest forever. Here will I dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe the priest with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of David to bind. I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish. Can I say, Brother Donnie, about Zion? It was a place the people of God remembered where God dwelt. It was the place when they were at home. Y'all know Wizard of Oz and Dorothy? Boy, she clicked her heels. She really said this. She said, there is no place like home. Boy, here we find the people of God and they're remembering the place called Zion. Zion, man, was where protection was. Zion was where the peace was. Zion was where the Psalms was. Zion was where the presence of God was. Zion was where the promise of God was. Zion was a place of power. Zion was a place of plenteous. Zion was a place where the priests dwelt. Zion was a place for portions. You say, preacher, why? Were they crying over Zion? Because Zion is where God dwelled. Zion was the place, Brother Donnie, if they could ever get to Zion, if they were having a bad day, they were over there in the city of Zion, where they could look up and see the temple on the mountain. and that was the city of Zion. That's where God's web. They knew if they could ever imagine something's wrong, they could get close to Zion, and boy, things would happen in their life. In other words, it was a city of refuge. It was a place they could run to to get help. It was a place they could run to to find help. But here now we find the people of God, and boy, they've drifted away, and they've got away from the place called Zion. They could no longer look up and see the city where God dwelt. Brother Donnie, they no more could look up and get happy again because they saw the city of Zion. I come out and say this right here. I sure am thankful tonight that I don't have to go to a certain place in Israel tonight, have to climb up a mountain wall when I'm alone, and when I need some help in the middle of the night, I'm glad I don't have to go to the top of a mountain to climb through rocks and climb through all kinds of monsters. Somebody say amen. I'm glad I don't have to run to the city of Zion. You say, preacher, why don't you have to? Because that city of Zion, it dwells in my heart and it's in my soul when I'm not saved. I don't have to run to the top of a mountain to get no help. That mountain comes in my soul. I'm glad I don't have to run. I'm glad I can call to God. It's a sea where I can get some help. Think about the blessings of God, the power of God, the presence of God, the provisions of God. Boy, the people of God were fine as long as they were around the city of Zion. Boy, their burdens were getting lifted. Their loads were being lifted off their lives. Brother Donny, Brother Daniel, more people are getting saved in their lives. Families not busting up. Why? Because they were close to the city of Zion. Said preacher, why were they crying? They didn't have no more protection. They didn't have no more peace. They didn't have no more Psalms. They didn't feel God's presence anymore. They couldn't rely on the promises of God anymore. They couldn't praise God anymore. They couldn't feel the power of God anymore. They didn't feel the plenteous of God and then hear from the priest of God and get the portions from God, why? because their disobedience has taken them away from the place of Zion. And I say tonight, Zion was a place of victory. Zion was a place, boy, where you could go. Boy, you're overwhelmed, there's a place you could go. Back in the Old Testament, it called Zion. I believe if you could just get close enough, boy, you could get some help. Say, preacher, why? Because that's where God dwelt. And I say tonight, some of you are missing out on what God can do in your life. Because now you're in a place of confusion called Babylon. And it has robbed you from the city called Zion. I've gotta be honest with you, preacher. I'd rather God take preach out of my soul than to get up here and preach without the power of God. I'd rather God knock me flat on my back than to be without the blessings of God. The sad thing is, ladies and gentlemen, so many people today are so content without being close to Zion. when you're close to Zion. Boy, you can come into church. You've got people that's been close to Zion all week. Boy, you can come to the house of God. Boy, you can feel the power of God. You can feel the presence of God. You can feel God doing stuff in your soul. Boy, when you get around Zion, boy, you can get in the car. It about happened to me last night, amen. I'm not jerked on the side of the road, amen. My soul come home, said I'm free to worship. I'm free to lift up holy hands. I'm free to magnify and glorify. Boy, I got thick in that truck last night. I had to switch cars, amen. That was too much for me, amen. Boy, when you're around Zion, you feel the presence of God. Boy, when you're around Zion, You'll be walking through Walmart. Boy, you'll remember the goodness of God. And tears start streaming down your face when you're around Zion. Boy, you can feel the touch of God. You can feel the power of God. You know what the presence of God is. But now you've disobeyed God, and you've got away from the Zion in your soul. Some of you used to feel God, but you don't no more. And I say this, it's not the preacher's fault, it's not God's fault, it's your fault. They chose, Brother Daniel, when they chose to disobey God, Brother Donny, they chose to say no to Zion. Liberty, peace, praise. You know why your life is so humdrum right now? It's because you've made the choice to disobey God. Preacher, I don't feel God anymore. Preacher, I just don't feel him. Can I say it's not his fault or his fault? It's your fault. Well, the daughter, they no more can run to Zion and get help. Why? Because of their disobedience. Boy, they remembered how good they had it. The captivity, may I say, not only the captivity, look there in verse number two. The Bible said, we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. We find their cores. We find in 2 Samuel chapter number six, verse number five, the Bible says, and David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on the manner of instruments made of firwood, even on harps and on psalteries and upon timbrels and on cornets and on cymbals. First Chronicles 13, verse number eight, and David, and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets. That's a lot, that's a mouthful. First Chronicles 15, 16, and David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music. psalteries and harps and cymbals and sounding by lifting up the voice with joy. First Chronicles 15 verse number 28. Thus all Israel brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord, was shouting with the sound of the cornet and with the trumpets and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps. You say, preacher, why did you read all that? Because preacher, here we find in verse number two, they hanged, that is terrible English, but I'm glad the Bible, English teachers can't never correct the Bible. Say amen right there. The Bible said we, notice that now, we hanged our harps. We hanged them. God didn't take their harps away. The enemy didn't ask for their harps to be hung. He gave them up. I time out of this right here. I just read to you verses, preacher, where they once used them. Well, the ark of God, come back in the cave, you know what they did? Get out the harps! It's party time, boy, we gonna praise God! Can I say this, some of you tonight, you know what it feels like to feel the presence of God. You know what it feels like to get in the car, Brother Daniel just have a little song. But if you're not real careful, you hear me now, you're not real careful, you'll lose it. I'm a preacher what the Holy Ghost told me to, I have no doubt, amen, no doubt at all. Some of you tonight knows what it feels like to get in the car. I use that a lot because it happens to me a lot. I don't know if it happens to y'all, it happens to me a pretty good bit. But anyway, it just gets on in the car. Tyler's song come on, boy. It's just what you needed. One of them tears get to flowing. People besides you waving at you. You're like, I don't even care what's going on. Y'all know what I'm talking about. Some of you can't even experience that anymore because you hung your harp up. I want to help you here. I want to help you here. You don't got to turn there. I'm going to turn there for you. I'm going to turn there for you. Ezekiel 26. If you're writing notes, I want you to write this verse down. Ezekiel 26. But the only consequence to disobeying God is this. Verse number 12, Ezekiel 26, talking about coming into Babylon, they're taking over. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise, and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses, and they shall lay thy stones, and thy timber, and thy dust in the midst of the water. This is God talking. You'll find in verse number seven, for thus saith the Lord God, there's three I wills here. I don't have time to deal with it. Verse number seven, he said I will. Verse number 13, he said I will. Verse number 14, he said I will. The last thing in verse number 14, he said for I, the Lord, have spoken. Verse number 13, Ezekiel 26 verse 13, and I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease, and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. Can I say this right here? It's one thing to lose your song. It's another thing when God takes it. It's one thing to lose your song because of things happening in your life, Brother Donny. Tyler Gale said that. Now I appreciate them still serving God. Lost that little baby, guess what, man, that baby's in heaven rejoiced. Guess what, they just still serving God. It's easy to lose a song and your joy when things happen in your life. But when God takes your song away, you just can't snap your fingers and get it back. Before they ever went into Babylon, you hear me now, before they ever went into captivity, God told them preacher, I'm gonna take your song. Keep on disobeying me and I'm gonna take your song. Brother Donnie, think about this. Think about trying to get up here and want to sing God's been good, but you can't even hum it because God's come in your soul and took it about. Think about getting up here to preach, preacher. Brother Daniel tried to get up here, Tyler tried to preach, Brother Donnie, and want to preach, but can't, because God's come out of heaven. Said, preacher, that didn't happen. If you read your Bible, it happened. Bible said, notice this. I'll help you right here. Boy, I feel a little preach right here. But then you'll look in that verse I just read, Ezekiel 26, 13, by Donny, by Tyler. God never asked for their harps. He never said, y'all just hang them up. Notice that first word of Psalms 137, two, the Bible said, we hanged. God took their song. I'm preaching to somebody tonight, man, I feel it, I feel it in my soul. You know what it feels like to have a song. You know why we couldn't shout for two hours just now on that song? Because God's took it out of some of your souls. Tyler, think about getting up there on Wednesday night, man, I wanna preach to those kids. I know you like doing it, and I enjoy it. Think about wanting to, but going up there and opening your Bible Because God's come in, Brother Donny. Took it out. Don't even think about wanting to preach, man. Get up there. We're excited, God. We can't even get a mumble out. Because God come in. Rip that song out of your heart. Oh my. I'm afraid tonight we are going through the motions. There are churches that God has come in and reached down out of heaven, Brother Daniel, and ripped the song right out of their churches. You know why God took their song? One word, disobedience. When I think about getting up here Sunday morning, man, trying to sing a song in the choir, all you choir members, open your mouth, Nothing coming out. You got a good desire to do it. You look good doing it, but you can't even hum a song. Say, preacher, why ain't nothing, preacher, why ain't it like it used to be? Tell you why God's mighty come in taking your song out. Bible said we hanged our harps upon the willows. And I say, ladies and gentlemen, don't ever get to the place in your life where when God takes the song out of your heart, that you end up hanging your heart. You know what they said? There's no use for it. It'll never happen again. I can't get it back. I'm preaching to now more people than I ever had a preacher before. with a donny that are so discouraged, year after year I'll go back to the same place and I'll look at faces, Brother Jardiner. God's written a song right out of their heart. I like singing in the showers. Can somebody say amen right there? Somebody say amen right there. Y'all like singing in the shower too? Think about trying to go in the shower and sing. Can't even get a mumble out. Because the holy God of heaven has come down and taken your song. Boy, they used to sing, but now they can't even hit a note. They used to play, but now they can't even strum a string. Brother Donnie, we find the people of God, they have lost their soul. Verse number three, for they that carried us away captive required us a soul. When you lose your soul, you'll hear this kind of phrase. Hey, what about serving that God you serve now? How about that God you serve now? Where's he at? Anybody ever heard that? All your friends that don't know. Hey, why ain't you happy today, big guy? Hey ma'am, why ain't you smiling today on the job? Won't you just see me? Boy, I could see them, they were dragging him into slavery. Boy, they were dragging him through the dirt. Boy, they were dragging him through the dust. And they said, hey, people of God, sing us a song now. Go ahead and sing one, I'm waiting for it. Where's that big old God you serve now? Where's that God you serve? And they can't even muster up a hum because God come by and ripped it out of their soul. Oh my. We've lost our soul. Not only their captivity chords, I'm done here, look at verse number four. The Bible said, how shall we sing? Not our song, the Lord's song in a strange land. The Bible didn't say, Brother Donny, that they didn't sing. It said they couldn't sing. Some of you trying to go through the motions and God's nowhere within 100 miles of it. Can I say this tonight? You know why you've lost your soul. You know why you don't feel the presence of God. You know why, right now while I'm preaching. You know somewhere way back yonder you disobeyed God. You know what it is. You know it popped in your head. Boy, I shouldn't have done that a couple days ago, March 15th. I shouldn't have done that. Shouldn't have done that. Shouldn't have looked at that. You know why you lost your soul. But I'm thankful that's not the end of the story. Hey man, I'm done. I want you to take your Bibles. I want you to take your Bibles. I want you to turn to the book of Ezra. Say preacher, where's that at? It's in the Old Testament. Say amen right there. If you don't know where it's at, look in the table of contents, amen? I use that a lot, amen, table of contents. Book of Ezra. I want you to turn to chapter three and I'm done, I mean it. This is it. Ezra chapter number three. Boy, they've hung their harps up. God took their song, they told God, God, we're done. We're done and we're finished. Y'all ever been, am I preaching to anybody, y'all ever been there? You lose your joy. You lose your happiness. You come in, man, to church, and it's, well, boy, I missed it again. Just come through the humdrum, just leave. It happens quite often to me, amen? I'm just being honest with you. I've heard preachers, my dad said it all my life. Every Monday, he wants to quit. I've heard it all my life. And now I believe it. I can't believe it ain't Monday through Friday. Say amen. But you lose your song. That's your chapter number three tonight, and I'm done. They're coming back from captivity. I'm not gonna take the time. You go look at it if you want to, chapter number two. I cannot display, I can't even read a quarter of any of those names. If you can, more power to you. What's all chapter two is telling us? Everybody that went into captivity, that's everybody coming out. God has now turned the pages. They've paid their sentence, Brother Donnie, and they are coming back in to Jerusalem. Well, the foundation of the temple's been laid in verse number eight. Look with me in verse number 10. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set their priests in the apparel with trumpets. And the Levites, the sons of Asaph, assembled to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David, king of Israel. And they, I highlighted this in my Bible. Every time I find the word they, I highlight it. And they, who's the they? Them very same people we find in Psalms 137. Y'all get this when you get home. The very same people we find in Psalms 137 that God stole their song, verse number 11, and they sang. What happened, preacher? I'm about to tell you. And they sang together by chorus in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord. Why? Because he is good. There's mercy and do it forever. Toward Israel, how about that? Now I gotta calm down. And all the people shouted with a great shout. You say, preacher, their song's gone. They've got it back. Let me just finish reading. And they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites, of the chief of the fathers who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid, before their eyes, woke up with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy. If you don't hear nothing else, I say, look at Ezra chapter three, verse number 13, and I'm done. so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy, not crying, not men just complaining, of joy. Can I say that word again? It scares badness, folk, of joy. Somebody help me, smile at me, amen, of joy. Somebody help, of joy, not peach mouth, not oh, it's bad, of joy. Joy, joy, they're happy. From the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout. Look at the end of verse number 13. And the noise was heard afar off. I believe with all my heart, every jot and every tittle is put in the Bible for a reason. I believe in Babylon that day when God came to visit Nebuchadnezzar. He come down and the judgment of God came. Pastor Brian, I believe with all my heart. Those prison guards were sitting up there, the Babylonians. They were sitting there thinking the people of God are done. They were thinking, boy, it's over. Boy, maybe they go on top of their castle there. Boy, they're sittin' back and chillin', just havin' a good time. Maybe some of those same buzzards that said, hey, why don't y'all sing us a little song now? Why don't you give us a little shout now? Why don't you just go and praise your God now? Maybe they're sittin' up there on top of their castle. All of a sudden, it's quiet. Boy, they hear a bird chirp over now and then. All of a sudden, Brother Daniel, they, hey, did you hear that? What is that? Why do you think the Bible says they hearded the noise afar off? Hallelujah, amen, I'm about done, amen. They were sitting there minding their own business. They said, hey brother, what's that? I don't know, Fred, what's that? Boy, they begin to listen. Boy, there was a sound coming in. Maybe it was echoing through the mountains. Can I say I believe with all my heart, as they went back to Jerusalem, I believe on the way back, they went by that willow and said, I've gotta get my heart back. And can I say what they did? God gave them their soul back. And the very same people who drug them through the dirt, who drug them through the dust, they heard that the people of God got their shout back. That ain't doing nothing for you. I feel like doing cartwheels, amen. There's people in here tonight, you've got family, you've got friends, you've got coworkers that said, what's the use of serving the gods you serve? Why do you serve God the way you serve God? What's the point? Look at the mess it's got you in. And it's taken your song away. Boy, I like that. And the noise was heard. I'm far off. I'm preaching to people tonight, you've lost your harp. You've hung it up. You ain't gotta amen me, I know I am. I'm telling you the Holy Ghost said preach is what I'm preaching. I know without a shadow of a doubt, we can smile all we want to. But there's some of you tonight, you've lost your song. Preacher, when you lose that joy, When you lose that song, it makes it hard to get in this pulpit again and preach. My daughter, it makes it hard to get up here, try to lead a song when you don't even have one. You come to the piano. I'm gonna tell you tonight, you may have lost your harp. You may have gave it up. These are from Amazon, say amen right there. but you can get it back tonight. Choice is yours. Say, boy, preacher, I miss the presence of God. Preacher, I miss the power of God. Preacher, I miss coming to Sunday school, and boy, God just giving me something. Preacher, I miss just being in the car. Well, Donny, I miss, boy, I miss just getting on my harp and listening to the voice of God. Can I say this tonight? You don't have to leave this service without a tune again. You don't have to leave without a song again. We've got a holy God that will give you your song back. Amen. Oh my, we got a God that will put the smile back on your face again. It may not change the circumstance, but you can have your song back. Well, you can smile again. We're standing tonight, nobody's looking. You know what you need to do tonight. The Holy Ghost has spoken to you. Ma'am, sir, don't look.