Psalm 33, we're gonna read verse number 20. And I will read, we'll pray, we'll ask our God for his help. I want to get some glorious, a glorious Wednesday morning. And my Bible says in Psalm 33, verse number 20, the psalmist says, our soul waited for the Lord. He is our help, watch it now. and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us Let's pray. Father, thank you for all you've been, one of the blessings, and thank you for the precious life-changing word of God. And I pray God to take your word on this afternoon, and give us strength off of a journey. I pray God to build our faith muscles. I pray God to clear our minds. I pray God to soften our hearts. I pray God to help us see of what you want to show us. You got to help us to follow your footsteps. I'm not just part of the way, but all the way. I'm not part of the shack, hell, no. I bring up the soul that might be among us this afternoon, who's not truly slain, but brought forth, born again, and redeemed. I bring up the fist that will be the day they'll receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. and make it a vessel that speaks for the master's creation. God pray, God, that somehow, someway, you do inside of all of us what only our power is able to do. And that's why we shout, Hallelujah. God, we love you much, and we owe you everything. We're about to let that thing out. Yes, sir. We've got great things in the world. Of course, on your side, man, we pray, hallelujah, Jesus. But in the name of Jesus, amen. Amen. Hallelujah. I want to talk this afternoon on a simple thought. Our health. Our health. Now I know that as men, as all of us sometimes, A lot of times, we're just trying to figure it out ourselves, by ourselves. But it comes to a point in every person's life where we have to realize that we need some help. We need somebody to help us along life's journey. But a lot of times, it won't be a family member that can give us the help that we really, really need. It may not be a close friend that's going to give us the help that you and I really, really need. But there is one person that can give us the help that we really do need, and it's the Lord God Almighty. And the psalmist says here in this verse, he says, number one, that we need some patience, some patience as we wait on our help. The Bible says in verse three, our soul, For the Lord. That word waiting here, it means to wait. It means to tarry. In other words, I'm not getting up and walking out. Instead, I'm waiting for somebody to come and give me some help. I am patiently waiting. And a lot of times, that's a hard thing for all of us in that order to wait patiently. When you go into a restaurant, when you walk in there and you say, you know what, I'd like to have here a certain type of meat, I'd like to have here a certain type of vegetables, but you know what happens? Somebody has to go back there and prepare the meal. Somebody has to cook the meal. And what you and I do is we might wait for 15, 20 minutes until the meal gets prepared. But as soon as it comes out, it is a good meal, you're excited about that meal. If you're in Chicago, or we've got a place like Volunteer Doctors, eat this pizza, have a meal. I'm going to tell you what, when you get your order, pizza are from Giordano's, it's not ready in 10 minutes, it's a minimum of 45 minutes. But you also know that when that deep dish pizza comes out, baby, it's going to be good. And then you got your pork, you got your lime, I have sometimes I have a little bit of lime all day. I have to have a little bit of pork in the night. But nonetheless though, I am anxiously waiting for that Giordano's pizza to make it so valuable. You know what? Maybe there's somebody else that has more power and more mind and more substance than $10 pizza, and that's more power and more mind. And what you and I have to do is grab him for help, but patiently wait for him to give us a helping hand. That means, to a certain point, not only be patient, but that it's the person that we're waiting for. I got a cousin, I don't forget, I was about 17 years old, and he told me there was a bug. And what is the name? I feel like I have to pick you up in about 15 minutes. Well, you know what? That was over 40 years ago. He still ain't sure about playing tennis. In fact, he ain't sure if he's going to help him when he passed away. But you know what? I was waiting for him to be alive, and he never showed up. Well, there's some people that you cannot trust to wait for them. But this person you can trust. Who is this person that we're waiting for? Who is this person that we're waiting for? The Bible says, I was so waiting for the King. HAWK! We are waiting for the Lord. That's the person that we're waiting for to show up and to help us in the circumstances that we find ourselves in the midst of. And he is somebody that's never late, but he's always on time. He might seem like he's behind schedule, but he ain't behind schedule. Come on, just let me give you an example. We're all facing, you know, our country today is with COVID-19. And we're like, man, let's not do COVID-19. God knows all about COVID-19. It is a rough time for a man. But you know what? He'll show up at the right time. He'll show up on time. He'll help us through the situation that we're facing today. But let me ask you a question. I'll be patiently waiting for that person for the Lord. Because His purpose is this. Not only the patience, the person for help, but then the purpose of the wait. The purpose, the reason why I'm waiting for him, is because he can come. He's the one that will aid me. He's the one that will help me. He's the one that will guide me. But you know what? It didn't happen the moment I thought it was going to happen. But before you knew it, officer, all of a sudden, I didn't have that desire for cocaine anymore. I didn't have that desire for alcohol anymore. I didn't have that desire for marijuana anymore. Because my health had come back. And then you came in. Opened that side of my ass up. Come on. Amen. Come on. The Bible says he is our shield. My shield. That's my protector. That shield protects me I'm the god of anger, I'm the god of bitterness, I'm the god of deception, I'm the god of discouragement, I'm the god of defeat. When these things are coming, when these things are coming at my direction, he says, I will be your shielder, I will protect you. But that means you gotta call upon him, that means you gotta wait upon him. And don't be out from under his protection, but stay behind that shield so he can protect you from the fire of darkness. I'm saying that he's our help, we'll be patient, the person for our help, the purpose. But then we see their prayers, their prayers. The Bible says this, for our heart shall rejoice. Our heart shall rejoice in him, why? Because we are trusted in his holy name. We see the greatness. He says, our heart rejoices. That's like anyone's man. It rejoices. It is a miracle that the gladness and the word of our rejoicing also leads to brightness. Yeah. I don't know about you, but they like it when it's cloudy outside. It's good to have the sun shining through. Yeah. I was telling the ladies a few moments ago, as her service illustrates, I told them how I got three grandchildren. I got a grandson, I have two granddaughters. My grandson is five years old, my granddaughter is three years old, and my youngest granddaughter is one year old. And you know what? Every time I see them, I pass them to them, they fight over them. They forget that they're breaking the trust. They'll walk up to him and say, Papa, Papa, maybe this little boy, Papa, maybe he just does something on the inside. So you know what? There's a God that goes out to give us joy that's more greater than a grandchild's joy. He'll give us joy that's more greater than any other individual's joy. And His name is God Almighty. And the psalm says right here, for our heart shall rejoice in Him. And this is the reason why it rejoices, because we have trusted. Amen. We have trusted with His companions in His holy name. That means His authority. That means His character. Let me ask us the question. Are we trusting Him? Yeah. Come on. Are we trusting Him? Man, South Africa is so much stronger. I mean, I think I can handle it, I can do it. I mean, I grew up in Westside, Chicago. I'm a proud member of Dusty Boulevard. I went to John Hay Elementary School. I went to high school in Gloucester. And I got brought up to go to summer school at Orr High School off of Chicago Avenue. And I'm gonna tell you what, when I was going to those schools, those places, but I didn't go to school. And sometimes I decided I didn't even go that day. But you know what? Man, still! Because I was a black teacher then, and I thought I knew what was best. And I remember my first period, and I didn't want to go to swim class because I didn't want to mess up my gynecology. I mean, back in the day, gynecology was about the curls for the girls. I remember going to gym class for swimming to mess up my hair. And you know what? I went all the way to high school and never learned how to swim. And I'm going to tell you what, I'm five years old right now, and I just ate an oxtail in the morning. I didn't sleep on top, I'm going straight down. You know what? If I had to be where I'm supposed to be, in the White House, or in the Supreme Court, and I wouldn't have been in the situation I am in today, you know who he has to hire? The one who has to trust his man. Trust his voice. But I don't know about you, I don't know what to do. Listen, we have to realize that we have to yield to someone, and that someone that we have to yield to is the Lord God Almighty. When you yield to Him, it's amazing. I can convince you, I can convince you, I can convince you, I can convince you. The question is this, will we trust Him? The psalmist says in his verse, he says these words, And then we see something about the patience, the person, the purpose, their praise, and then we see their plea for mercy. Their plea for mercy. The psalmist says, let thy mercy, Psalm 33 verse 22, let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us according as we hope in Thee. I don't know about y'all, but oh, that need to be some mercy. Mercy means I'm not getting what I deserve. Some of y'all remember when we was growing up, we'd be wrestling with one another, and then if somebody came to you in the spot, and you couldn't get out, and you thought you'd be able to go back in there, you say, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy. That means they let you go. They ain't have to let you go, because they ain't gonna pay you. Well, you know what? We've got a God that wants us to surrender to him and say, boy, I need your mercy. I need your grace. I need your help. If this is not the way, then you're going to have to take his mercies out of you. Every morning, he's got fresh, fresh coffee. It's like when you drink a cup of coffee, you don't want some old, stale coffee. You want that cup of fresh coffee. When there's fresh coffee, and you can smell the coffee. To me, a lot of times it smells better than what it tastes. But you know what? You want fresh, fresh coffee. The Bible says that we've got mercy. Let's know everyone. Listen, you and I have not said enough that God will give us that mercy. But sometimes people might feel like, I've done too far. I've done too much messed up stuff. I've wasted my life. I've wasted my time. But God says, hold on a minute, baby. I'm going to give you some mercy. I'm going to give you some extra. I'm going to give you a new start. I'm going to do the wrong thing. Not half the way. I'm going to do the wrong thing all the way. As we expect, as we spare, as we are patient, as we are trusting in Thee. He's our help! Oh my. But here's the question. We'll be crying to him soon. Y'all remember Pete? Pete was in the back of the corner walking toward Jesus. He started singing. And the Bible says, beginning, beginning to sing. Here's where it comes out good. Beginning to sing. He says, Lord! Lord, help me. He is our help. He is our help. The plea for mercy. I've got three questions. My first question is, what do we need help with today? What do we need help with today? The second question is, are we waiting or going ahead of God? Are we waiting or going ahead of God? Let's not go ahead of God, but let's wait on God and let God give us the victory. Let's try to win, preacher! Today. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to cry out to God. Question, will we cry out to God? I tried my best to do my reward as you gave it to me. And I forgot to help somebody. I forgot to help somebody that had been messed over by life. Help somebody's soul that's struggling. Help somebody who is lagging behind in life, but he's in the love of Jesus Christ. I forgot to understand. On this September 9th, I did forget to change somebody's destination. Change somebody's mindset. Change somebody's world. Change somebody's feelings. Save somebody's soul. And Father, there might be somebody here today that needs to trust you and listen to you. And Father, if there is a person here today that needs to trust you and listen to you. Now, Father, I know that we have these more amount of protocol because of COVID-19. But if they're here today, and they want to pray and ask you to save their soul, they want to receive your son Jesus, And they will break in with you. For they've got a means. They've got to break in with you. They've got a means in their heart. And say something like this. Just repeat after me in their heart. Say something like this. Father, I've come the best that I've ever come. I've realized I'm a sinner. And I've realized that Jesus is the Savior that I am. I'm asking you to forgive me of my sins. I'm asking you to place me in the family of my parents. By faith, I receive Jesus as my Savior. The Bible says that whosoever upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. By faith, I call upon you this afternoon. And I thank you for saving my son. Now help me to live the Christian life that I cannot live. In Jesus' name, I pray for you. Amen. Amen. Father, thank you. But every day I ask the Lord, if there's somebody here today that's praying and asking the Lord to save them, just something to raise up in your hands so I can pray for you. It's you. Yes, it's in one hand. Anyone else? Anyone else? Praise God, let's pray. Father, thank you for the wonderful received Christ on today's receiving day. And I pray, Master God, that you give them extra strength, extra grace, and extra mercy. All the extra help they need to have to be victorious in this life. I pray, God, that they sleep well tonight. They slept a long time. And now they've got that peace that passes all nations. And I pray, God, for every soul that's gathered here today. I pray God for every person, every man that's here, that needs a touch from you. We need your presence. We need your power and your peace. So we can point him to you. Amen. I pray God for you.