Copeland, Tim - Your Response to the Preachers Firm Stand

[Applause] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to the name of the Lord. What a beautiful presence of God that's in this building tonight. I want to tell you this is too good to keep it to ourselves. Hallelujah. I said this is too good to keep it to ourself.

>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. God has blessed us. Hallelujah. The Lord has blessed us. Hallelujah. I'm glad I'm in the church. The worst times in the church are better than the best times in the world. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I have so enjoyed being a little part of this meeting. It's been an honor and a privilege to get an invitation to come and and speak each night. I love and appreciate all these sponsors, honor them and their ministry, what they're doing for the Lord. And uh this is a tremendous meeting that needs to go on. And I agree, this is something that's going to grow and get bigger and bigger. And uh thank God for young people, hallelujah, that come with their minds made up. They want to live for the Lord. They want to worship God. They want to get something from God. They want their life to count for the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I want the will of the Lord here tonight. I want God's will here tonight so desperately. I want us to pray right now. Let's pray for God's divine direction for the rest of this service tonight.

>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. In the name of the Lord. In the name of the Lord. In the name of the Lord.

[Music] Glory to the name of the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Pray tonight. God, talk to me. I want you to pray that tonight. God, I want you to speak to me tonight. Hallelujah. Don't you want to hear from the Lord tonight? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

>> Glory to God. I tell you, these day service has has just been tremendous. Hallelujah. The preaching of Brother Elder, Brother Meyers, and uh today, Brother Pixler, and Brother Dudley has just been tremendous. You young people know how blessed you are. Hallelujah. I'm telling you, you're in a favored place, a blessed place. Hallelujah. God has given you an edge to do something for him. And you need to take everything that God is sending your way and you need to apply it to your life and uh let it become a part of you and do something great for the Lord in these last closing moments. What a great day to be living for the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. It's not really a sacrifice to live for God. It's a privilege. It's a privilege to live for God. Hallelujah. What an honor. What an honor to be a part of his kingdom. Thank God for what has been handed down to us. Thank God for the precious preachers of bygone days that uh gave their life for the message of Acts 2:38. uh Rush Arbor days. Some of my folks come out of those days. I'm a fifth generation Pentecost. And uh preachers that I won't tell you, they took a stand for this message and they were made fun of and mocked and scorned. And it's sad to see some of them live a little too long. a very few of them, but some of them have lived long enough to deny it and to compromise it. I know one man connected with our family that uh my folks knew him when he didn't have nothing but one suit to wear and shirt that he washed out every day and preached Acts 2:38 or hell and done a great work for God only to think and make it known two or three years ago that just seemed to be too much for preacher to have to sign a statement of affirmation that we believe this Acts 2:38 message. But I would tell you, it's not like that with a lot of folks. And I thank God for this heritage. I thank God for this message. I thank God for what has been handed to me, what is being handed to you young folks. And I want to tell you, you need to appreciate men of God that love you and stand for truth. And I believe that these hours before the coming of the Lord are our greatest hours. And uh this bunch of young people that are here tonight will get behind the man of God in your church. Hallelujah. He can use your energy and your enthusiasm. You can ignite a revival that is unbelievable. Hallelujah. But there's got to be a working together. Hallelujah. And uh you're in a position and a place to do it. Hallelujah.

If you got your Bibles tonight, the book of Joshua, Joshua 3 and verse 17. This has been kind of a night when my heart's been divided and between things to preach tonight. I've wanted to obey the Lord and I trust tonight that I've found what the Lord wants us to talk about tonight. Hallelujah. Joshua chapter 3 and verse 17. And the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. And all the Israelites passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. Chapter 4:1. And it came to pass when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you 12 men out of the people, out of every tribe of man, and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priest's feet stood firm, 12 stones. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in a lodging place where you shall lodge this night.

I liked the sound of that reading. I like the words that were used. The priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm. Everybody say firm. Not a wishy-washy stand, not an uncertain stand. How many believes we've got something worth living for and worth dying for? Stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. And all, everybody say all. That includes young people. And all the Israelites passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean. Everybody say clean.

>> Clean over Jordan. Hallelujah. Let's lift our hands and love the Lord tonight and ask God to bless his word tonight. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We love you tonight, God. We love you tonight, God.

[Music] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to the name of the Lord. Hallelujah.

In this passage of scriptures, there were commandments given to the priest. That was a performance that they had to do. The Bible commanded that they step out in the swirling rivers of Jordan and take a firm stand. The Bible says that when they took a firm stand, the water rolled back and the bottom of that river became dry. And then there was a commandment to the people after the priests had stood firm. God expected a response of the people. They were to pass over Jordan and clean Passover Jordan. I want to tell you, God cannot get done in this end time what he wants to get done by just anointing your pastor to preach. That's part of it. The direction has got to be declared, but there's got to be a response. Hallelujah. There has got to be some folks that get behind the man of God.

>> When it's time for revival, it's time for revival. When it's time to witness, it's time to hit the streets. When it's time for a prayer meeting, it's time to pray. You know, a lot of times, well, let me say it like this. I've seen pastors, I've seen preachers go to one place and do nothing and go to another place and they flourish and grow and everybody wants to know what's their secret. I want to tell you many times the secret is he's found somebody that'll work with him. It's not just the preacher of the pull pit. There's got to be some action in the pew. We are co-workers together. We are fellow labors together. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

And I want to tell you young people in a church when when young people are not responding and on target. It doesn't matter how many of the old folks are in it. There's something missing in a church when there's not that ingredient of young people. You know something? The devil has sold us a bill of goods. at least some folks that uh you know, you got to wait a while before you do anything for God. Need to wait on the the older folks all the time. But you know, when nations go to war, they never call their elders to the battlefield. When you read war stories and great feats and things that have happened, you're reading the story of young men, young people. Hallelujah.

>> Hallelujah. 19, 20, 21 year olds. Hallelujah. Now, they don't call you in when they're planning the strategy and they're at the negotiation tables. They don't need you. Then there's some things you don't get until you're a little older. But I want to tell you when it comes to going to war, it is young people.

>> Hallelujah. I want to tell you, God's got something for you to do now. You're not just the church of the future. You're the church of right now. And I believe if a spirit would get a hold of every young person in this building tonight, I'm going to go home and I'm going to get with my preacher. Hallelujah. I'm not going to see how close I can get to the world, but I'm going to find the place where he's standing firm. I'm going to dig a rock out the bottom of the river. Hallelujah. And get something in my life stable and stand for truth. You know, anybody can get with a washy wishy-washy preacher. Anybody can get with a lacadasical preacher. But I want to tell you, when it gets down to spelling out black is black and white is white, right is right and wrong is wrong, separates the men from the boys. Hallelujah. I want to talk to you tonight about your response to the preachers firm stand. Your response to the preachers firm stand. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

You can be seated tonight. There are a lot of things that excite us as human beings. We've had a lot of excitement in this service tonight. And there's excitement all over the world. There's certain things that just excite us as human beings, the way that God has created us and made us. But I suppose one of the things that excite human beings as much as anything is when we see a display of strength. When in life we see someone that takes a stand, someone that goes against opposing odds, someone that uh is a person of conviction and desire and courage, and when it seems like all the circumstances dictate their sure defeat, they don't know what it is to quit. Hallelujah. There's something on the inside of them that they do not know how to use the word surrender. Hallelujah. It's something about when strength goes on display, it causes us as human beings to want to give a audience to it. When strength presents itself, and especially when it is against the opposing odds, when you see an underdog that comes out on top, I want to tell you, if it's nothing more than a dog fight on the side of the road, there's something about that desire. Hallelujah. Not to be defeated, not to give up. God has created us to have a desire to win. I want to tell you, God didn't design you to be run around by the devil all your life.

[Applause] I've always hated it when I heard Pentecostal stand up and say, "The devil's been after me all day long. Bless his holy name." I'm going to tell you, there's something wrong with that. The devil ain't supposed to be after you. You're supposed to be after him. The Bible says, "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." Hallelujah. We're not supposed to be on the defense. We're supposed to be on the offense. Hallelujah. You're not supposed to be run around by the devil. But if you got the Holy Ghost, you're a tailor made devil chaser. Hallelujah. You didn't get the Holy Ghost to backslide. You didn't get the Holy Ghost to be defeated. But you've got the spirit of a champion inside of you.

>> And it doesn't matter if the odds are against you.

>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I want to tell you, when you got the Lord on your side,

>> who can be against you?

>> But it's something about when we see a show of strength. It's something about when strength goes on display. We like to we like to identify with winners. You hear about somebody that's born with a handicap. I read of one young man that was born with a handicap and they say he had never walked and he said, "Not only am I going to walk, but I'm going to learn to run." And not only did he run, but he became an Olympic champion. You read of stories like that and we want to stand up and applaud such an action. I'm glad when I look in the word of the Lord, I find that this book is a book of strength.

>> Hallelujah. The champions are not a bunch of losers. Hallelujah. They're like Jacob. They're a bunch of heel grabbers. Hallelujah. They're not looking for an excuse to be defeated. They're not looking for an alibi to sit down under the apple tree and suck their thumb the rest of their life. Hallelujah. But there were men that had every 52 cards in the deck stacked against them. And they said, "We're going to fight until the finish." Hallelujah. This is a book of strength. It is a book of specifics. It's not a book of compromise. It is a book of truth. Hallelujah.

When I think of truth in the word of the Lord, and when I think of a show of strength in the word of God, I think of David and his mighty men, these men that were captains in the army of David. Uh they performed acts of battle that were unbelievable. And every one of these men that were mighty men were singled out by the Bible and by King David not because of their education. It was not because of their name. It wasn't because of their pedigree. It wasn't because they had the right parents and they were in the right political uh vein of things. But they were singled out by the Bible and by King David because they were men that overcame against overwhelming odds. Men like Jehoshabam, who the Bible says with nothing more than a spear in his hand slew 300 men. If you would have been there that day and saw that battle as it began to take array, you would have probably said, "This is the last that we will ever see of Jehoshabam." Hallelujah. How in the world can one man go against the whole army? But I want to tell you friend, when a man believes in his cause and he believes in his God and he's full of courage, hallelujah, anything can happen. We may think we're just a handful here tonight in comparison to the world, but I want to tell you, a spark of revival could start in this place tonight. Hallelujah. There's some militant people that could be raised up. And hallelujah. Sometimes we have too many. Somebody talking about a church growing. The the fellow said, "Well, I tell you what, I got I got too many of the kind of Christians that you know we have. I need some different kind of Christians." Sometimes you got to eliminate some people. Sometimes you get got to get down to Gideon's 300. Hallelujah. But I want to tell you, God can bring victory with fewer men. I'm just telling you, friend, you can have the odds against you, and you got God on your side. Everything's going to be all right. Here's a man with nothing more than a spear in his hand, opposing him as 300 soldiers, valiant men, strong men, fighters, tasters of blood, men with sharp swinging swords and shining shields. But man, this guy, he he went running in there. Jehoshabam did. And with nothing more than a spear and he gouged and he parted and he thrust and and he rushed them until when it was all said and done, hallelujah, there were 300 dead men that lay in the valley. When David heard about this, there was something about the story of what happened that excited David. And he made up in his mind, I'm not going to allow this man to just be a soldier in rank and file in my army, but I'm going to make him a captain. Hallelujah. I'm going to elevate him. Another one of the mighty men was a man by the name of Eleazar. And the Bible says that like Jehoshap, he went out by himself with nothing more than just a sword. The enemy had surrounded him. It was time to throw up the white flag and surrender. Hallelujah. But he didn't know what surrender was. And he continued to swing the sword and the heads rode and the blood ran until in the evening time when the sun set. It left him with a valley full of corpses. The Bible says that he went to lay the sword down and he had held it so long and so firm that they had to take his fingers and pry his fingers off the handle of that sword. Hallelujah. When I read stories like that, it excites me. Another one of the mighty men was a man by the name of Benani. And the Bible says that Benani slew lionike men of Moab. I don't know what a lion like man looks like, but I don't think I'd want to face him. But the Bible says that he took two of these fellas and he slew them. And then on a snowy day walking along tending to his own business, there was a lion in a pit that roared against him. Hallelujah. And it's one thing to fight a lion when he's got you pinned in a corner. It's another thing when the lion is in the pit and you don't have to deal with him. But friend, when he heard the roar of that big cat, there was probably something that started boiling in the blood of of this valiant fighter. And the Bible says that he took that line, jumped down in the bottom of that pit with maybe nothing more than a dagger on his thigh. And friend, the fur started flying and you could hear the squall of that big cat. And probably there have been somebody there taking odds that had said this is the last we'll ever see a Ben and I but when the smoke cleared and everything got quiet. Hallelujah. It was Beniah that came climbing out of the bottom of that pit. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I'm talking about champions tonight. I'm talking about men that were men of strength. Hallelujah.

Now you you read stories like this. Hallelujah. I don't know about you, but it excites me, especially when I understand that they are types and shadows. Hallelujah. In the physical of what we're supposed to be in the spiritual. Hallelujah. I'm looking at a bunch of jack killers here tonight. I'm looking at a bunch of lion killers here tonight. Hallelujah. When I read about these men and how that they went against the opposing odds and they came out on top. Hallelujah. It excites me. It's giving me something to live for. Hallelujah. It gets me gives me something to look up to, a goal to shoot at. But I want you to hear me tonight. We're living in a society where there are very few real examples of strength and victory. And there's very few real heroes left in our world today. I think that's what's wrong with the young people of our society. Hallelujah. the line of politicians and world leaders and and uh it's just got to a point that people are looking for somebody real to look up to. But uh I'm glad that in the world of compromise that we're living in where there are very few heroes that are left and very few shows of strength that are on display. It's a time of weakness. It's a time of compromise. It's a time to just kind of float along with the tide. Hallelujah. But uh I'm glad that there's still some examples of strength. Hallelujah. When it comes to this apostolic church and friend, if you ever want to look and find a real show of strength in the hour that we are living in, hallelujah, it is when you see a man of God in this last hour that'll stand in a pull pit flatfooted and preach the word of the Lord without compromise and without favor. Hallelujah. I'm preaching to some young people here tonight that God has blessed you with ministries in your life and pastors in your life that love you enough to tell you the truth that love you enough to go against the spirits of the age that we're living in. Men that love the truth enough they're not going to compromise. They're not going to backpedal. Hallelujah. They're not going to take a backseat to worldliness. And if there's anything that ought to excite us, if there's anything that ought to cause our young people that want to get on their feet and clap their hands, hallelujah, it's not just the music and it's not just the singing. Hallelujah. But when there's a man that'll bear his heart and the message of God and come against every spirit of the age that we're living in and say, "I'm not going to bend. I'm not going to bow. I'm not going to compromise. I'm not going to try to accommodate your carnality. I'm going to love you enough to tell you the truth and save your soul. Oh, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

You can be seated. When I think of a great display of courage and preaching, I think of a man by the name of Moses that marched to Pharaoh's house. Hallelujah. He didn't have an army behind him. Hallelujah. He could not turn and see a thousand soldiers with sharp swinging swords behind him to back up the message that he was going to preach. He could not listen and hear the dull roar of chariot wheels in the distance of an army that was coming to back up what he was going to say. But God sent him by himself to take his finger and put it in the face of authority. Hallelujah. in the face of a Pharaoh that commanded armies and had bodyguards at his side that could take a man's head off in a moment's time. I want to tell you, Moses had to believe this message more than he loved life itself. Hallelujah. He had to he had to believe what God had to say. God commanded him to go and preach to Pharaoh and say, "Thus sayaith the word of God, let my people go that they may serve me." Hallelujah. It took guts. It took vitality and strength and valor. Hallelujah. It took a strong faith in his God to preach the message that he preached. I want to tell you, it's always taken courage for a man to stand in the world of sin and compromise. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I think of another man by the name of Jeremiah that was a lonely man that stood and preached to the people of God and and he preached and preached and preached and I don't have one record of anyone ever kneeling at his altars and obeying what he had to say. But he continued to preach the word of the Lord. God had told him, "Jeremiah, I knew you. Hallelujah. While you was in the womb, I before you was and I called and ordained you to be a prophet." And he said, "Jeremiah, I don't want you to be afraid of their faces." Hallelujah. When I first started preaching, an elderly preacher told me, he said, "I'm going to give you a little secret. When you preach to people, look above their heads. Don't look at their face. Look at the back wall. You get to looking at people, it'll scare you. It'll bother you." I believe God gives us enough of whatever we need. Hallelujah. I'm going to tell you, there's times that I needed it. But you got to look people in the eye. You got to tell them the truth. Hallelujah. I said you got to tell them the truth. You got to love people enough to warn them. Hallelujah. Young person, your preacher is not against you. Uh when he's warning you of things that's in your life, he's loving you. He's trying to save you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[Applause] They took Jeremiah and they threw him in a pit. The mire was up to his waist and they fed him bread and water. Hallelujah. They ridiculed him. They humiliated him. Finally, they pulled him out of the pit. He mounts the pull pit and hallelujah. He comes out of the pit and he preaches the same message he preached before he went into the pit. Hallelujah. The pit did not change his message. Hallelujah. The pit and the bread and the water did not make him compromise. Hallelujah. He came out of the pit preaching the same thing he went in the pit preaching. Hallelujah. Aren't you thankful tonight for men of courage that'll preach the word of the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

What are you trying to say tonight? What I'm trying to say is don't ever let a pastor carry the ball by himself. We need the strength of our young people. We need the strength of our whole congregation. Oh, I want to tell you, friend, a church is unstoppable when there's a bunch of young people that love this truth. They're a bunch of fire eaters. They're full of the Holy Ghost. They want the man of God to tell them what they need to hear. Hallelujah. They want truth more than they want anything else. Hallelujah. They want righteousness more than they want anything else. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I said they want it more than they want anything else. Hallelujah.

You know, it's easy to preach when we're preaching about heaven. And I love to preach about heaven. Hallelujah. It's easy to preach when we're preaching about how good you are. And oh, I love to preach about how sweet the people of God are. It's easy to preach when we're preaching about revival and the good things of the Lord and what God's going to do. And and oh, that's wonderful. But I'll tell you the time that every preacher dreads. And that's the time that God gives him a message that he knows someone is not going to like it. And in fact, two or three may not like it or four or five may not like it or or half the house may not like it. Can I even tell you that sometimes the whole church can get out of step with what's going on. And the only one that knows what's happening is the watchman on the wall. I want to tell you, we either believe this or we don't believe it. If we don't believe in the preacher, we need to get out of business. We need to shut our doors and forget about it. There comes a time when a preacher's got to go against the whole bunch. Hallelujah. He sees something that nobody else sees. Everybody's feeling something, but it's the wrong thing they're feeling. And all of a sudden, the trumpet's got to be sounded. Hallelujah. Are you thankful for a preacher that can sound a trumpet? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I'm glad for preachers that not afraid to preach. It's important to sound a certain sound. A mist in the pull pit will produce a fog in the pew. Hallelujah. There's some preachers the only way they could say less is preach longer. They become professionals at not saying anything. I believe we ought to say it in plain English where people can understand what we're talking about. Hallelujah. We need to talk about the devil and let people understand who we're talking about. When you talk about sin, you need to name it. Oh yeah. Hallelujah. And there comes times that a preacher preaches something he doesn't enjoy preaching. Now I want to tell you, you can get fired up and know how you can have the anointing on you and you can get to preaching and then sometimes when you get home and the anointing has passed. Hallelujah. Some of you don't know what a preacher goes through. You know why? Because he's got a heart of love. if he's a real man of God. I've heard preachers get up and say, "I don't care whether you like it or you don't like it." Well, I want to tell you, I care whether you like it or you don't like it. Hallelujah. If it's truth, I want you to like it. Hello. In fact, I want you to love it. Hallelujah. Let me just say it like this. You may not like it, but I want you to love it.

>> Hallelujah. Some things are not easy to receive.

>> I know y'all effectively think, "Oh, man. I'm behind you." Oh yeah, boy. It's I agree with all this. Yeah, you agree with it right now cuz I ain't found you yet. Maybe you let me find you in just a little bit. And some of you get quiet if you ain't careful. Oh yeah, I'm talking about getting with the preacher. I'm talking about your response to the preacher's firm stand. You say, "Oh, that's easy." No, it's not easy. It's not easy to say sick them to a dog that's eating your britches off. I want to tell you, every one of us got to be preached to.

>> I got to be preached to.

>> Somebody's got to plow my corn. Somebody's got to find the sore spot and put their finger in it. I want to tell you, they've done it this week. They've made me want to go to my room and repent. I' I've made God all kinds of promises this week. I got to be preached to if I'm going to be saved. I said, "I've got to be dug up and stirred up. I've got to be challenged. I've got to be inspired. I've got to hear the voice of a preacher." Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I don't see anybody here with angels wings. I don't see anybody's been raptured out of this world. You know what that tells me? That tells me you need a preacher. You still need to be preached to. God chose that through the foolishnesses of preaching to save them that believe. There's not anybody that's graduated to the place that you don't need anything from God. You ought to come to every service saying, "Give it to me, God. Let the preacher preach to me." Hallelujah. I want to hear something that'll stir my soul.

>> Hallelujah.

>> You stay around an apostolic church and somebody's going to mow your grass. Somebody's going to find you. Somebody's going to make you uncomfortable. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The word of the Lord challenges all of us. We need preachers in our life. We need men to come and say, "Thou art the man." Hallelujah. And you know what? We got to love the truth enough and love the word of God enough that when it happens and it hurts, we got to say, "Preach it, brother." Hallelujah. Sometimes I want to tell you, the preacher uh gets somebody in your family. It may be your brother, your sister, your mama, your daddy, your child. It may be your little darling. It may be your little grandbaby. Hallelujah. Sometimes the preacher gets your mail. He finds out where you're living. We can say amen when it's Joe down the pew. But when it comes home to us,

>> Hallelujah. I got some young people that I'm their pastor as long as they agree with me.

>> Hallelujah. As long as they agree with me. They get to want to date somebody and I say that's no that's you're not going to do that. Some of them decides I'm not pastor anymore. They don't want to say amen preacher any longer. Now this has been a problem for a long time. It was a problem in the New Testament church. The Apostle Paul, he found it easier to preach when he talked about heaven and the goodness of the Lord and faith and and great things happening. But there came a time that the Apostle Paul began to dig down in their garbage can. And he began to expose sins that were not even named among the Gentiles. He began to tell them what was in the church and what what needed to be done. And and I imagine he kind of stopped a little bit and waited for somebody say, "Amen." Boy, Paul, you're telling us the truth. Kind of like the first time I preached on the radio. I kept waiting for somebody to say, "Amen." Boy, it's rough on a young preacher that's preaching through inspiration and people saying, "Amen." and you get your first invitation to the radio.

>> Paul was waiting for somebody to say amen.

>> Nobody was saying amen.

>> Hallelujah. Nobody was clapping the same hands and saying hallelujah. Nobody was saying how wonderful Paul is. He said I don't understand this. He said you would have plucked your eyes out and given them to me. But now that I tell you the truth, have I become your enemy? Hallelujah. Where's the hallelujah at now? Where's the amen's at now? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The Apostle Paul was amazed at how people can change. I want you to hear me tonight. I know what it takes to make people smile.

>> Oh yeah.

>> You preached for 30 years. You learned some things. There's some little key things you can say that made people feel good about theirel. And we ought to feel good about oursel. And boy, I enjoy preaching like that. But I want to tell you, there comes a time sometimes when you I won't tell you, it's not real sweet. Hallelujah. There are some preachers that they they they they specialize. Hallelujah. They preach to their grandstands. You know what? They're not worried about your soul. They're worried about their ego. They're worried about filling their building up. That ain't the best way to fill a building up. The best way to fill a building up is get a bunch of people red hot, full of the Holy Ghost, loving the truth. You can fill a building up and then you'll have something. Hallelujah. Preacher, he he he can tell you things that make you feel good all the time. He give you ice cream and candy and but I want to tell you, you can't be saved on a peanut butter and strawberry jam ministry. Hallelujah. There there comes a time that somebody's got to ruffle your feathers. Let me tell you something, young person. There comes a time you ain't going to feel like shouting after the preacher gets through fixing you or trying to fix you. You ain't going you ain't going to feel like shouting. You ain't going to feel good about the situation. There ain't nothing feel good about a gallbladder operation.

[Laughter] Hallelujah. But if you want to be saved, there comes a time when a preacher's got to walk down your trail. Find out where you're at. Hallelujah. Find out where you're living. Hallelujah. He's got to ruffle your feathers. I want to tell you something. I hate cats.

>> My wife loves cats. I hate cats. We don't have cats around our house. Closest thing she can get to it, I bought her a postcard with a cat on it. I don't want anything to do with a cat. I believe the devil was kind of he was kind of up and down about whether to use the serpent or the cat. I don't like cats because cats are hypocrites.

>> That's right. Dogs are loyal. They'll lick you all over your face. They get up next to you and wag their tail. Hallelujah. They love you. They'll defend you.

>> They don't do that to everybody.

>> When they show their affection, they mean it. But an old cat. You just walk in a strange house and that old cat looks at you and you look at it and all of a sudden he comes up to you and starts meow rubbing cat hairs all over your britches legs. You look at that cat. If you knew how much I hated cats, buddy, you'd vacate the premise. That's right. But some people, they love cats. They like a lopsided lopsided love affair. That's what they they're weird people. I'm getting myself in trouble in that. I'll tell you cuz when you find somebody that really loves cats, they I mean they're really stupid about me. But uh but you know guy he's sitting out on a swing. He's swinging you know his cat's sitting over there in the sunshine you know all stretched out and he's looking over toward him you know he looks at the cat and the cat's looking you know in his direction and he starts talking to his little kitty cat. He just his heart just just bubbles over. You know, it's one of these weird type of fellas and then he says, "Come here, kitty. Come here, kitty." And the cat just looks at him and he kind of looks, you know, takes a close look at that cat. He's not looking at you, buddy. He's looking 500 miles on the other side of you somewhere. Come here, kid. Come here. Come on, Tiger. And Tiger, don't even blink. You know, Tiger, I just took you to the vet because you're your little excursion the other night. Spent $75 on you getting you sewed up. Come here, kitty. Just spent all this money on you. Don't even Don't even Don't even bat an eye. Now, wait just a minute, kid. Come here. got a lot invested in you. Hallelujah. I brought you in this world and take you out. Hallelujah. That's a hypocrite in the wrong direction. Ah, talk about a personality change. Yeah, that's the way some of we are. Boy, we're smiling tonight, aren't we?

[Applause] I've seen some people that had a personality change.

[Applause]

>> Hallelujah. How much do you really believe this? How much are you persuaded about this message? How much do you love the work of God and the house of God and the man of God? Are you in this sink or swim? Hallelujah. Is your attitude? It doesn't matter what daddy does. I'm still going to serve God. It doesn't matter what mama does. I'm still going to serve God. I'm not serving God conditionally. I'm not serving God because people shake my hand when I come to church and everybody treats me right. I've made up in my mind I'm not going to be offended. I'm not going to be stopped. Hallelujah. I'm not going to get disgruntled. I'm not going to get mad.

>> Hallelujah.

>> You can be seated. You know, some folks are as flexible as a watchband. Hallelujah. We have a fell in our part of the country that he told everybody how fast he's going to build a church in just just a matter of just two or three months. He's going to be running a hundred. And uh I went over there. He didn't have near 100. He had about 20, but and that's okay. Except 20 that he had was a bunch of flaky people. It's a bunch of charismatics that he was reaching out to and he was trying to sing all their songs and trying to relate and uh he didn't have any bornagain people there. He was trying to build on something that was like jello. You can't build a church like that.

>> Hallelujah. It don't matter how many people you got coming. You got to find somebody to get a hold of them and put something in them and then take find somebody else and and establish them. There's got to be some people that sell out and get behind the man of God and get with his vision and with his purpose. Young people, if you sit in the pew with your heels in the sand while your preacher is always trying to gouge you and beg you and come on, let's have revival. Come on, kids. Get in the prayer room. Come on, let's worship. Hallelujah. I want to tell you, you can kill a preacher that's trying to take a firm stand.

>> I've had people say, "Well, I tell you what, when our preacher first came to our church, he was on fire and he's just watered down now." Yeah. And you squirted him.

[Applause]

>> You can be seated. Friend of mine told him about a preacher. He he was in Hattisburg, Mississippi. driving along. All of a sudden, he heard a blowout. So, he pulled off the side of the road. He got out, looked at his back tires, both his back tires full of air. Looked at his front tires and both his front tires full of air. Man, he scratched his head. He said, "I know. I heard a tire blow out." Hallelujah. He said, "Ain't one but one left." So, he went open up his trunk and there was his spare tire laying there flatter than a flitter. He said, "You hypocrite. Here you was not carrying any of the weight and you're the first one to blow out. I'm going to tell you something. Preachers know what I'm talking about. The very one that blows out is the one that's not carrying any of the weight. The one that starts talking against the building program and having revival and being progressive is the very one that don't even pay their tithe. Young person, you need to learn to mark those that cause division among the church. If they was in the harness, if they was in the yoke, hallelujah, they'd see the vision. They' feel the burden and they say, "Come on, let's get it. Let's have revival. Let's do the work of God. Let's get behind the pastor." Oh, yes. Hallelujah. You can't build a church on folks like that. You can't build a church on a bunch of wishy-washy people that can't make up in their mind what they believe. Hallelujah. They believe something until it it it involves somebody in their family. They believe something until it involves their friend. Hallelujah. They say amen with a preacher until their buddy is mixed up in the situation. And well, I was just too embarrassed to say amen cuz I thought he he might think I was against him. You little wimp.

[Applause] Hallelujah. You know, there are some folks that say a church can't survive on this kind of preaching.

>> Hallelujah. A church can survive on it.

>> Hallelujah. A gathering can't survive on it possibly. The mark of a good church

>> is when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I preached at places before when I was evangelized and pastor get up and mention tithe. And the longer he talked about it, the tighter his collar got, the quieter everybody gotten. Oh God, that's when somebody ought to jump up and say, "Pastor, I'm behind you. Hallelujah. You're telling us the truth, pastor. You're not the only one who believes in tithes and offerings around here. We all believe in it. We don't want to miss out on the blessing. We want to be a part of the work of God. We want to be a part of the kingdom of the Lord." Hallelujah.

Now, the time that God commanded the priests to take a firm stand, the time of the crossing over of Jordan, the Bible says that Jordan was out of banks. It was flood stage. That's the way God does things so many times. He doesn't wait till the opportune time when it seems like the advantages is in your favor. Sometimes God wants a preacher to deal with things when it's flood stage, when it seems like it's the worst time to to be doing anything. And I believe sometimes the reason God does that because he wants us to know and everybody else to know. It's not us doing it. It's God doing it. I want to tell you if this is God's church, ought to be something going on around here that only God can do. This is a miracle church. This is not some kind of denominational church. Hallelujah. This is a church that God's the head over the church and the pastor's the undersheperd. Hallelujah. And we believe in the man of God telling us the truth and taking a stand for truth. And hallelujah. I I thank God for these men on this platform. I thank God for men in the apostolic movement that'll take a stand for truth. Hallelujah. I'm embarrassed that some preachers have gone so crazy. They've compromised everything there is to compromise. The only thing that's important to them is a number.

>> Hallelujah. They won't take a firm stand against television and Hollywood.

[Applause] and the ball games and the picture shows and the cut hair.

>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. They're afraid they're going to offend somebody. I want to tell you, I can't live with that kind of pressure in my life. Sometimes in my church, I got to clear the deck and let everybody know, hey, hey, hey, hey.

>> Hallelujah. It makes me feel better tonight.

[Applause] The Bible says preachers that won't preach are like dumb dogs that won't bark.

>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

>> You can be seated tonight. Hallelujah. When I first started preaching, I wanted to be the most popular preacher in the world. I had a lot of hot zeal, but I had a lot of misdirected feelings, too. One of the best things that happened to me when I got trouble. Hallelujah. over preaching some things and I had to decide you know what I was going to do and uh this is not the popularity route in some circles. Paul said I can't be a pleaser of men and serve God. Hallelujah. And I want to just back off. I want to say this. You know I'm not talking about taking something and slapping it in people's face. I'm not talking about being mean and rude and contrary and honory and not loving people and being a lord over people and I'm not that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about loving the truth and having a hot love for what's right and just being willing to stand up and say, "Folks, this is the way it is. This is what the

The Bible teaches. I'm going to be responsible for your soul. This is the way we're going to do it around here. I'm asking you to get behind me in the name of Jesus Christ. So, I don't want another spirit to get in all this. But a preacher's got to take a firm stand. Hallelujah.

The Bible says the priest took the firm stand and the waters rolled back. Then God commanded the people to cross over and he said, "I want 12 men." God needs men. We've got some great young men here in the making. God needs men. Hallelujah.

I want you to go to the bed of the river. I want you to go where the priest's feet stand firm. You know, some people, they're satisfied with a little pebble on the side of the brook. They're satisfied with a little glass of water that evaporate and be gone a little while. But I want to tell you what we need. We need something that is substantial. That'll be a monument. That'll stand up as a witness of God and truth. I want you to go to the bed of the river where the priest's feet stand firm. I want you to dig a rock, 12 rocks out of the bottom of the river. And I want you to bring them and put them on the other side and set them up as a memorial. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

We need something to stand on. We need men that'll dig a rock out of the bottom of the river, find the preacher where he's standing firm. You know what? Most of the time when you got to go to a preacher and say, "Preacher, uh, is it okay if I do this? Is it?" Most of the time when you got a question about something, there's a reason why you got a question. Hallelujah.

And you know, it just makes a lot of difference your attitude toward this thing. You know, the attitude of the rich young ruler was, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" And even though he had a lot of good things going for him, he had a lot of positives, man. He was he was somebody when the when the Lord looked at him, the Bible says the Lord loved him. Ain't that something? But you know when it got down to the brass tax, that that fell he had it all calculated out and he he wanted to get a little closer. Wanted to find out what must I do to inherit eternal life. You know, I don't want to do any more that I have to do. I we found out he didn't want to give anymore that he had to give.

But look at the difference in the attitude of the Apostle Paul when he was struck down on the road to Damascus. He didn't look up at the Lord and said, "What must I do?" He said, "Lord, what would you have me to do?" Now, that's the attitude that you need if you're going to be saved. Lord, what would you have me to do? I want to get where the preacher standing firm. I want to get right next to him. I want him to feel my heartbeat. Hallelujah.

Let me hurry tonight. The book of Deuteronomy. If you got your Bibles, I'd like for you to turn. We're going to just stop a little bit and turn here. And we want to read a sermon tonight. I want to show you how that how that they responded to the firm stand of the preacher. How you need to respond when a preacher takes a firm stand. Hallelujah.

The book of Deuteronomy, chapter 27 and verse 14. Hallelujah. And the Levites, that's the ministry, shall speak and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice. Everybody say loud voice. Loud voice.

Why do you preach so loud? I don't always preach loud. I mean, sometimes I don't. Some things go over better loud than they do soft. I'm wanting this to go over. I'm wanting to get your attention. Some things go over better soft. Wish I had my wife here with me tonight. She's a lot better looking than I am. She's a good-looking woman. Hallelujah. But if I was going to lean over and tell her I love her, I wouldn't take a deep breath or say, "Hand me the microphone." I want this woman to know what I got to say. There's a way of saying it.

But I want to tell you, I got four boys. And man, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, sometimes I think I'm raising a I I'm living on a monkey ranch. I mean, I got four boys that just going everywhere. They getting more. Sometimes you got to tie. Sometimes you got to just put some of them to bed, you know, for a while. Do it in shifts. [Applause] Hallelujah.

Sometimes I get a call to the hospital or something. Hallelujah. You got to go to the hospital. Yeah, I got to go to the hospital. Who you going to see? Uh, there's plenty of people there. See, I I may check in myself. I'm talking about the men war, but you know, you got four boys and I'm telling you, hallelujah. When one of them sticks their finger in the light socket, it ain't time to be saying, "Hey, little fella." Now, I'm going to tell you, I'm I'm doing my best to be a good daddy. And my boys got into it at the dinner table the other night. And I'm telling you, I don't like that business. And I grabbed hold of them and I said, "I want to let you know something. We don't raise our voice in this house." [Applause]

Yeah. You I've heard these people say, "Oh, my daddy never raised his voice my whole life." I can't understand that now. I don't believe in yelling and screaming and slapping and all this kind of business. I've seen some people do that. I I hate that. I hate that. But I'm going to tell you sometimes you you got to get their attention. I mean you got the little fellas, they they get they can't hear. Hallelujah. They fixing to stick their finger in the light socket. You know, say now now wait just a minute, little fella. You know, I live about uh four miles off of Interstate 85. I got a little four-year-old, little 2-year-old. He's pretty good on his tricycle now. Bye, Dad. I'm headed to Atlanta. He's on the entrance route going up at 85, you know. And I'm standing there and I'm saying, "Now, now, now, Samuel Clark. I know you're 2 years old. You got quite a vocabulary now. And daddy thinks you're brilliant. And you know, daddy loves you. And I wouldn't want to raise my voice. And I'm not going to tell you what to do. I'm not going to tell you not to have a television. Cuz daddy loves you. I I'm not going to try to stop you, you know, but there's 18 wheelers running out out down this interstate and they can flatten you like a pancake. I want to tell you, it ain't it ain't time for suggestions."

That's what's wrong with too many preachers. We got too many preachers preaching the 10 suggestions instead of the Ten Commandments. Hallelujah. Sometimes you got to raise your voice. Sometimes you got to cry aloud and spare not. Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Hallelujah. Don't sound like you're gargling with peanut butter. Make it plain.

And the Levites, boy, we we're going to have to hurry. And the Levites shall speak and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, cursed be the man. Boy, he didn't go to Bible college. That ain't no way for an introduction. Ain't he ever heard of the sandwich philosophy? Hallelujah. Use something positive, then slip that negative in, and then slap that positive on there and make everybody smile. Fact, they don't even hear what you said. They know you don't believe it. [Applause]

"Cursed be the man." Don't have my glasses. "That make any graven or mold an image an abomination under the Lord, the works of the hands of the craftsman, and put it in a secret place." And look, listen to this. "And all the people shall answer and say, Amen." Let's practice that. Amen. "Cursed be he that light by his father or his mother, and all the people shall say, Amen." "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark, and all the people shall say, Amen." "Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way, and all the people shall say, Amen."

And you read that chapter all the way through end of it, he he cursed everything came to his mind, I guess. But you know what? He didn't preach the whole message and get to the end and say, "Could anybody give me a little Baptist nod?" He didn't get to the end and say, "Okay, do you believe it or you not believe it?" I'm telling you, he wanted them to ride with the preacher. He wanted them to identify with the truth. Hallelujah. He made a statement and he waited for a response. He made another statement and he waited for a response. Hallelujah.

I'm listening for an echo. I'm I'm waiting for something to come back. Yeah. I'm going to tell you, preaching is like playing checkers. You know, you don't have to be real good to mess the game up. I'm telling you, I I I I can put a knot in the game. I don't care who anybody wants to play me after church, I'll show you. I've never been defeated. That's it. All you got to do just don't move your checker. Just don't move your checker. You get close to losing, just quit moving your checker. [Laughter] Hallelujah. No, I have been beat. But that's a way not to be beat. Just don't move your checker. Hallelujah.

The Bible says, "He that is taught needs to communicate with him that teacheth." Hallelujah. There needs to be some flow. There needs to be some return. Hallelujah. Of course, I know there's not much return in some of these churches that are quiet. That's right. They got Eskimos in the choir and penguins in the pew and they got a polar bear behind the pulpit. That's a problem. Hallelujah. You can be seated. Hallelujah.

God wants a response. Hallelujah. I said the Lord wants a response. In the book of Isaiah the 30th chapter, hallelujah. The Bible says the children of Israel told their prophets, "Prophesy unto us lies. Seers see not." Boy, that's smart, ain't it? I read a story about Howard Hughes and he kind of went insane the last years of his life. He had a barber way back in the early 60s or the late 50s that traveled with him. He paid him $500 a week to travel with him, a barber. And he never got a haircut. Boy, that's smart, ain't it? He really needed his barber, didn't he? Hallelujah. Some people really need a preacher. Preacher preach not. Seer see not. Prophet prophesy unto us lies. Speak unto us smooth things. How knows what abstract art is? How many knows what modern art is? Heaven knows what a hogwash is. [Laughter]

Uh me and my wife was out in in uh California. We went to San Francisco. Boy, we was heart hurting up to do something. We was on Fisherman's Wharf and we was just looking around, you know, trying to do something and and we just passed by this art gallery and the big signs outside this world-renowned, you know, artist and I mean people was just in line wanting to see this stuff and said, "Well, you know, we may miss something." So, we went in there, we stayed in line, finally got in there and and the first thing I saw was this one wall. This is the biggest picture I think I ever seen in my life. It look like it's 30 foot long just all the way across about just a canvas, you know, and and uh it's all black. Way on the other end this little speck look like a little little doodle bug or something. And all these people was looking at that thing, you know, what was the artist trying to say? And you see that the modern art, there's a picture behind the picture. What was he feeling? I've seen kids that could paint better pictures on the kitchen floor with spaghetti and meatballs. That's right. Now, I'm I'm going to just tell you the world. I'm going to tell you this. This is a classic example. Thinking themselves to be wise, they've become fools.

Readers Digest a few years ago, some of y'all probably read it about this this this elephant was doodling in the sand with his nose, you know, his trunk. Oh yeah. Anybody ever saw an elephant do that? Everyone I ever seen done that. But this trainer, he he got the thing he's trying to communicate. And so he got some canvases out and some brushes and some paint and anybody read that story. Yeah. You read it and I'm telling the truth. A Yeah. And then and then he he'd get that paintbrush in certain color paint that that elephant take it, you know, and he'd just swish, you know, you know, and they change colors, you know, and and Yeah. And so he he took it took this this painting and took it to a a dean of of art, you know, a guy that was dean over the art department in in a local college and said, "What do you think about this?" this. And the guy look at this. Oh man. Man, that's something, man. Who painted that? An elephant painted it. Yeah. How many read the story? They ended up they took it to two or three places and then took it to Stanford or somewhere. I mean a world-renowned expert. They took it to him and said, "What do you think about this?" And he said the same thing. He said, "Man, such talent, such feeling." [Applause] He said, "Man, who painted that?" Said, "An elephant painted it." You know, some of them guys said, "Hey, let's shut down shop. This is a bunch of hogwash, man. We've been fooling each other for all." Ain't nothing to this. No, he didn't do that. He said, "This is one more blankety blank talent than elephant." I tell you that. [Applause]

There's a man that was thrown in jail in Fort Worth years ago. Oh yes. Thrown in jail because he was selling modern art on the sidewalk and he was signing his name to it and they were giving him thousands of dollars. People was buying these these paintings and hanging them up in their big big mansions. And they found out he wasn't paying and he he was a fraud. That's what I was told. I didn't see it, but he wasn't painting the paintings. Come to find out, he had a mule at home and he'd stick that mule's tail in a bucket of paint. He'd swish his tail and he had changed color and he'd swish his tail again. He said any mule could have painted it. Hallelujah. Picture behind the picture. Oh, what in the world? What? Oh, we we we have become connoisseurs. What is he saying? Yeah, we got Pentecostal preachers like that.

I'm going to tell you, I'm tired. I want you to hear me. I'm tired of going to conferences where I hear somebody, they they they get right up to it. And then it's a misfire and they get right up to it. And then and and and boy, you just on pins and needles and he's going to say it. He's going to say it. He He's going to say it. All right. And then you got to go home and and you got to spend the rest of the night trying to figure out what issue he he what was he talking about? Was this issue that issue? The issue of blood? Now, I'm going to tell you that's not Bible preaching. That's not Bible preaching.

John the Baptist finally gets his break. He finally gets it. He's in prison. Or was he? Anyway, he got a little invitation to preach before the king. Can you believe it? That's the guy with the camel's hair and and the locust and wild honey. A wild man. The king's want to hear him. He had him a little later there by him that he probably felt like she'd be interested in hearing this guy, you know, Hebrew preacher. So, uh, John gets his chance. Man, boy, it's something. You young preachers finally get your chance, man. You won't make good of it. Of course, I wouldn't advise you the first time to just straighten a church out. [Laughter] [Applause] Thought I might ought to put a little balance on that.

John the Baptist finally gets his break. Man, he can't believe it. The king's waiting on me, man. If I got got a little nicer, which my best camel's girdle I can put on here. [Applause] Well, anyway, let's go on with the program. So, uh, man, he he's caught into the king's court. He's standing there, man. All this finery, boy, he just breathes in that sweet air. Smells a lot better than here than it did where I came from. [Applause] So good to be here, most noble king, man. Can't believe you invited me. Been waiting a long time. But uh I preach a pretty few good revivals. A lot of people turn out, but you know, it's kind of on river banks and stuff like that. And I always knew I ought to be in the best churches. King's Palace. Here I am. I am so glad to be here. I I tell you what, all these court servants and all these beautiful uh ladies and handsome men and all these flickering torches and everybody smile. All this finery and jewelry and and uh all this. Oh, king live forever. You're wonderful. I've always loved you and your wife. Oh, I hear she's a new addition. Yeah. Had quite a honeymoon, didn't you? I heard your brother got a little upset, but I think everything will turn out all right. You know, time is in your favor. In a little while, you can probably change churches and God will forget about it. I know it may look bad right now, but I tell you, they always look good when they're coming our way. So, you you'll do fine. Talk about that.

And so, maybe I'll be the next. Is that why you want me here? Well, that really wasn't the way it happened. He had one of the shortest messages you've ever heard a preacher preach. No beautiful introduction. No thank you king for inviting me. He didn't uh lay his foundation. I mean, he got to the root of the matter. He said, "King, it's not right for you to be living with your brother's wife. You are in adultery. You're an adulterer."

I want to tell you friend, the court servants weren't standing there poking each other in the room saying, "Who's he talking about? Wonder who he's talking about. Wonder who he's after." Yeah. Wonder what he's talking about. Man, everybody in the house knew who he was talking about. I said everybody in the house knew who he was talking about. Hallelujah. Boy, all of a sudden they want to shut him up. Oh, we don't want to hear him no more. Get him out of here. And man, they grab him and start pulling him away and all all the way down the hall, you're an adulterer. You're an adulterer. It's not right for you to be with your brother's wife. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

How did Jesus preach? Hallelujah. There were times that he knew how to he knew how to tell him, "You bunch of hypocrites. You generation of vipers, who has warned you of the wrath that is to come?" Hallelujah. I'm talking about responding to the preacher's firm stand. Hallelujah. It's easy to respond when everything's exciting. Hallelujah. But how about when it gets down to where the rubber meets the road and things get tight and and things are hard and the preacher is fighting for liberty? Oh yeah, I've been there plenty of times. Every pastor here's been there plenty of times when it's it's not just a it's a spirit that he's fighting. I want to tell you the preacher is not against you. He's against the spirit. He's battling with a spirit. And there's got to be some people that's got enough spiritual understanding about them to understand what's going on. And when that starts happening, they learn to ride with a preacher. They learn to cross over Jordan and clean crossover Jordan. They respond to the firm stand of the preacher.

I want to tell you, friend, there's a lot of reasons why I say amen. Hallelujah. I want to say amen when a preacher's preaching because I want the preacher to know I'm behind you. I believe what you're saying. I'm identifying with you. I want you to feel my strength. You don't have this by yourself. Hallelujah. I say amen when the preacher's preaching because I want saints in the church to realize where I stand. I'm with the preacher. Uh I'm not divided against him. Uh I believe the word of the Lord. Uh I say amen because I want the hypocrite to understand. I'm with the pastor. Uh hallelujah. I'm not going to side with you. Hallelujah. I say amen because I want the sinner to know I believe this truth. I believe what the preacher saying. I believe this is right. Oh yes. Hallelujah. I say amen because I want the backslider to know uh the church is no different than it was when you left. We haven't compromised. We still believe the same thing. We're not going back. We're not going to retreat. Hallelujah. We're a church that's built on the rock. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I say amen because I want the devil to know. I believe what the preacher saying. I'm with my pastor. I'm standing behind the man of God. And I want to tell you most of all, I say amen because I want God to know. I still believe the book. I still believe the word of God. I still believe Acts 2:38. I still believe without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I'm going to tell you, my friend, when you you close your mouth and clamp down and you're afraid to say amen cuz you're afraid you're going to offend somebody. And I'm not talking about trying to rub anything in people's face. I'm talking about a good right spirit and standing for truth. If you won't say amen because you know you afraid. Oh, I don't want to. Double barrel hypocrite. Hallelujah. If a preacher ever needs somebody to stand with him, it's when the goings are tough and the rivers are out of banks and the devil's trying to defy the very existence of the church. Hallelujah.

There's got to be a crossing over. There's got to be a cutting ties with some things. We got to leave Egypt and leave the wilderness and get to Canaan's land. Hallelujah. Young people, be quick. When the pastor says, "This is what I want." I told our church, I said, "You know, a lot of things I preach and teach and asked of you are not heaven hell issues." Hallelujah. Hallelujah. But I expect you to do these things. There's a reason why I'm asking you. Hallelujah. We got to draw a line somewhere. And friend, when a pastor draws a line, it's an encouragement. When you have people come and say, "Pastor, I just want to let you know I am behind you." When I have men of the church come and say, "This I want to let you know in my house what you teach is what we live. And we're with you. We're going to stand with you. We're going to be with you. We want our our our family saved."

I want to say this in closing. I believe if I would have been there that day when those valiant priests took a firm stand and and the miracle happened and the water started rolling back as I passed over with my wife and my four little boys. If it would have been permissible, Brother Johnson, if God would have allowed it, I believe I'd have wanted to reach out and say, "Preacher, thank you. Thank you for not being afraid. You had to pave the way. You had to stand out in the river when it was still rolling and tumbling. And you had to have the faith to to point the way and take a firm stand. And the reason my four little boys I'm not going to drown today, the reason my wife's not going to have water in her lungs is because you took a firm stand. Reason I'm going to Canaan's land where we're going to live in houses we didn't build and eat a vineyards we didn't plant there so many good things is going to come is because you took a firm stand. I don't want to buck you about what you're standing for. I want to let you know I appreciate it and I realize that we're getting where we're getting because first of all, you took a stand and we responded to your stand."

Young people, you can make it. You don't have to sit around biting your fingernails and pulling your hair out wonder if you're going to go to heaven or hell. You stay with the man of God. You stay with the word of God. You just stay honest in your heart. You may fall down, but there's enough grace. There's enough power, God, to help you. If you've got that attitude, preacher, you you you tell me and that's enough. I'm going to be behind you. You'll be saved. God will use you. You'll dig some rocks out of the bottom of the river. When everybody else is shaking and trembling and falling, when the storms come and they're on sinking sand, you're going to be on the rock. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Your response to the preacher's firm stand. I'm not just with you when things are well and things are easy and things are sweet. You know, sometimes people get to where they they just want a preacher to be their their buddy. I want to be a friend to my people, but I want to tell you something. When I stand in the pulpit, I have no friends. Not even my family. I love my church. I never evangelized 21 years. Didn't know if I'd ever pastor. I never had a desire to pastor. Never felt the call. Then one week it just changed. But when I started pastoring, I never knew how that I could love people. I love my church. I wouldn't trade my church for any church in the world because I love them. They love me. But I want to tell you something. I love the truth more than I love my church. If it gets down to it, if I'm going to tell people the truth by the help of God, you need to thank God for a pastor that takes a firm stand.

We're living in we're living in in in perilous times. There's things going on I wouldn't even want to get up in a pulpit and talk about. There's things that blow my mind. Not much of an explosion, but blows my mind what's happening in Pentecost in some places. But I thank God for people. Well, that's a good that's a good name for a a youth convention, heritage. I'm glad for people that love their heritage. Some people won't throw it away. Some people just sell it down the river. They don't stand for nothing. But I want to tell you, I got something worth standing for. Sometimes I feel like I'm burning my life out. I'm ready to burn it out. Burn it out for the Lord. Hallelujah.

Young people, you got something worth standing for. Be a champion in your church. Be a champion. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Be a leader behind your leader, behind your pastor. Hallelujah. Stand for what he stands for. Respond to what he preaches. Hallelujah. Let's lift our hands and love the Lord. Hallelujah. We love you, Jesus. We love you, Jesus. We love you, Jesus. [Music]