The God Who Rules in the Chaos – Pt. 4 | Bishop Craig L. Oliver, Sr.

Heat. Heat. Well, this is the day the Lord has made and we shall rejoice and be glad in it. Anyone grateful to be here today, I dare you. Just greet the Lord with the best praise you have. No, no, no. That's good enough if you were just greeting someone else. But can you greet the Lord with the best praise you have? The one who woke you up this morning, the one who started you on your way, the one who put you in your right mind. Anybody got a praise to give him today?

When you just think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done for you. If you don't do nothing else, somebody say he's already done enough. Give him a praise for what he's already done. Come on, just think and thank. Just think and thank. Anybody got a memory on your mind that God brought you out? Praise him for when he brought you out. Anybody God brought through, praise him for when he brought you through. Come on, give him the best praise you have. That's not good enough. Come on. Come on. If you got one thing to thank God for, thank him for that one thing. Come on, Jesus. If you got two things, praise him for that two things. If you got three and four and you just can't stop counting, somebody ought to magnify the Lord with me.

And let us exalt his name together. We give him glory. We give him praise. And we give him honor. So, for a moment, can you lift those hands in the room? That's it. That's it. And just take a few moments to begin to talk to your savior. Yeah. Yeah. Tell him how grateful you are. Tell him how wonderful he is. How we appreciate him. Come on, give him glory. Come on, give him honor. That's it. Come on, give him praise. Invite him to your section. Invite them to your row. Put praise all over your row. Invite the Lord to your role. The Bible says he inhabits the praises of his people. So he, he wants to come where you are. Sit where you are. Speak your language and give you direction. My God today. That's it. Now clap those hands. Open your mouth and bless him. Lord God, arise in this place and let his glory fill the house. Come on. Come on. Lift him up. Lift him up. Worship.

Everybody clap. Come on. Shout before the Lord. Yeah. Here we go. Arise. Arise, oh God. And take and take your place. Let your kingdom. Let your kingdom be established. Oh ancient of days. Oh, why? Cuz you are good. You are good. And your mercy and your mercy endure forever. Come on, saints of God. Put those hands on it. Hey, say rise, oh God, and take your place. And take your place. We enthrone you. We adore you in our worship and glorify glorify your praise. For you are you are good and your mercy and your mercy and glory forever. Anyone know he's a great God? Arise God and take your place. Take the place. We are standing. We are standing standing on the cross. The church shall the church shall live by cuz you are good. You are good and your mercy and your mercy end your forever. I don't see you clapping loud enough yet. Said, "Rise, rise, rise, and take your place." And take your place. We have come to give you glory. We have come to give you glory. We come to give you praise. We have come to give you praise. You've been good. You've been good. And your mercy. And your mercy endures forever. And if you know he's good, make some noise in here today. Come on, everybody. Clap God. Come on. Make some noise. Worship team. Yeah. You a good God. All right, y'all know this. Help me say it. Come on. You are good. So good. I'm going to come on this side. Everybody got you are good. Come on. Cuz you are so good. Wait a minute. I don't want to leave y'all out cuz y'all getting the praise up in here. Say you are good. How good? I think they came to sing better than us. Yeah. Say you are good. You are something. You are good. You are good. So good. So good. Anyone know he's a good God? Yeah. Yeah. You are good. You are good. So good. So good. Real good. Real good. Still good. You are good. You are good. So good. So good. Real good. Real good. Still good. Still good. You are. You are good. So good. So good. Real good. Real good. Feel good. Feel good. Still good. Feel good. When I look back over my life, feel good. When I look back over my life, feel good. Feel good. Still good. Still good. He's still good. Still good. Still good. Still good. God is still good. Still good. Still good. God is good. Still good. All the time and all the time. God is good. But it feel good. Feel good. If you know it, let your voice and sing it out. But it feel good. Feel good. Feel good. Feel good. It feel good. Everybody come on. Church. You're really good. He's still good. He's still You're really good. You are good. So good. Real good. Feel good. Feel good. Feel good. Feel good. Feel good. Take it away. Feel good. Opening door. Feel good. Keeping my path. Feel good. Keeping my bra. Feel good. Feel good. Feel good. Healing my body. Feel good. Just feel good. Feel good. Feel good. Feel good. Still providing good. Still covering. Still giving good. Still good. Oh yes, the Lord is good. Oh yes, the Lord is good. Oh yes, the Lord is good. Oh yes, the Lord is good. All the time. All the time. All the time. Say you are good. You are good. And your mercy. And your mercy endures forever. Come on. Come on. Nobody is good. You ought to put your hands on it right there. All you got to do is look back over your life and see the ways that he's made and the doors that he's open. How he comes you every day. Yes. Say yes. You're a really good God. You're still good. You're a really good God. You're still good. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. You're a really good God. I tr and I know he is. You're really good. Can I get a one witness? You're really good. Can I get a one witness? You're really good. I know he's good. You're really good. You good, good, good, good. You're really good. God is good. You're really good. You are good. You're really good. You are good. You're really good. You are good. You're really good. You're really good, God. You're really good, God. Just clap your hand. Everybody just clap your hand. Just clap your hand. Everybody just clap your hand. Everybody just clap your hand. Let me see you clap your hand. Everybody just clap your hand. Let me see you clap. Everybody clap your hand. We got to go. Can I go? But can I ask one question? Can I ask one question? Had the Lord been good to you? Had the Lord been good to you? Tell me, have it brought you out? Tell me, have it brought you out. Tell me, have it brought you out? Tell me, have it brought you out. I had the Lord God fade away. I had the Lord God fade away. Come on, God in the sanctuary. Come on. He's a good God. He's a really good God. Say yes. He's a really good God. He's a really good God. He's a really good God. He's a really good God. He's a really good God. Say you are good. You are good. And your mercy. Come on. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Somebody have a hallelujah anyhow. Everything doesn't look the way I want it to look, but I have a hallelujah in my spirit because he's still a good God. Open your mouth and shout, "Yeah, glory." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hallelujah. Hey, glory to your name, Jesus. Come on. Right there. Just open your mouth and begin to tell them thank you. Come on. This is what we came to do. Come on, Zion. Open your mouth and you begin to tell your God who he is to you. You are Jehovah Rafa. You are my healer. You are Jehovah Gyra. You are my provider. God, we magnify you in your sanctuary. Let this praise rise. Let our worship rise. Come on, let's do this together. It's better when we worship together. Come on. Can we feel his sanctuary? Come on. Hey, let your praise feel the roof. Let it feel the room. Come on, one more time. Come on. Thank you. Thank you for your presence. Oh, let it sound a great praise from the inside. From the inside of me. May you be alive in the inside. I hear you. Come on in the say come feel my life from the inside. Come on, tell them set me up from the inside. Now you tell them, say, "All I want, all I want is for you. For you to be singing," all I want. Come on, let's sing it together. Let praises from the inside. From the inside. From the inside. May you feel me inside. Come and feel my life. Fill us up inside. Fill us up. I'll be see my world. All I want for you. For you, for you to be for you to be all I want is for you. It's for you. Glorified in my life, Lord. Be glorified. Be glorified. Yes, Lord. I love this part. is still my life will always be in you Lord glorify your name. Come on, talk to me. My life, Lord. Fill me up. Fill me up. Fill me up. My love is you. Fill my heart with your presence with your glory. Fill me. Feel me. Feel me. Feel me. Feel me. Glorify. Glorify. Come on, let your worship in the sanctuary. Oh God, you're worthy of the glory. Come on, let your praise rise. Let your praise rise. Come on, let your praise. Let it rise. All I want. All I want. This is your time. It's for you. You get the glory out of us. You for you, God. It's for you. You glorify you to be my Lord. They see it. My heart's pray my life. Come on, sing it to him. a little louder. Come on. Build my only want you. God, teach me your ways. God created me a clean heart. Renew the right spirit within me. is you Lord. Glory by your name. Give God the praise. Come on. Lift your worship in the room. God. Hallelujah. How many of you that's your praise? Lord, fill my life. So all they see is you, oh God. When I walk in my job, let them see you. If I'm in the grocery store, let them see you. When I walk in my house, let them see you. If I walk in school, let them see you. God, everywhere I go, every step I take, let them see you and not me. God, let your glory shine. Fill me up. Fill me. Come on, fill me. Come on, praise him right now. Come on, open your mouth and praise him. Build me up till I go. I want to run over. I want to run over. You're running over. It's when you bring somebody else in and put them under you. So what you run over fill their cup and what they run over fill somebody else's cup. And so when we come together as a community, we just sing sweet praises unto him. Lord, fill me up till I overflow. And Father, we come Lord thanking you, Father. Someone press their way here today. And Father, we're believing that you're going to meet them at that point of need. Restore unto them the joy of their salvation. Restore them their hope, their peace. Father, show that married couple that you are the glue that can hold that marriage together. Show some parent you can bring that child back home. Father, whatever they stand in need of, meet them at their point of need. And even now, Father, we lift our bishop up before you, Lord. Keep your hands around him. Even now begin to prepare the soil of our heart for the seed of your word. So, Father, we believe in you for blessings and increase that you will fill us up until we overflow. And so, Father, we give your name the praise, the glory, and the honor in your son Jesus name we pray. Amen. Now, come on, hug someone. Encourage someone next to you. I want to run over. I want to run over me. I want to run over. I want to run over. Feel me up. Feel me. Feel me. I came to discipleship because the Holy Spirit guided me to. I wish that there was a much more elaborate answer than that, but that's truly what it is. I saw the email and I felt a tug and pull that said that I should go and so I signed up. Discipleship has changed my life in really showing me what being a true disciple of Jesus is. I had a very loose interpretation before going and afterwards I have a much clearer framework where I know it's not just about bringing people into relationship with Jesus. It's also establishing relationships with those people and for me to also continue to develop my relationship with Jesus as well. Since being in discipleship, uh the changes that have happened actually it started 24 hours after uh the last day of training. I had a friend that had posted something online. We've been going through this spiritual walk journey together and she was sharing something just personal that had a bit of scripture in it. And I could kind of tell where she was going, but it was a little off to the side. And before I knew it, the Holy Spirit was guiding me to share certain scriptures. And so we had a conversation and we got on the phone and we had this really nice conversation. And it was the first time that I was able to not just talk to her from a place of testimony of my own personal relationship, but also truly connecting with Jesus and being guided by the Holy Spirit of sharing certain scriptures. And then we were able to have a really in-depth conversation to help her give her a better understanding of what the scripture was for her. So to really invest in her and her life and help to get her into deeper relationship with Jesus. I'm Kendall and I went to discipleship family. This Sunday is Giving Sunday. The one Sunday where 100% of everything we give goes straight back to the community. Not to us, but through us. Now, last year, we blessed families, funded small businesses, covered rent and mortgages, and met real needs in real time. And this year, we're believing God to do even more. Now, our goal is a million dollars, but not for buildings, not for budgets, but for people, for Atlanta, for the ones God has called us to lift. So, pray, give boldly, give joyfully, and let's hit that million together. This is Giving Sunday, and this is Love in Action. EBC is bringing the holiday spirit to families in need. Parents receiving public assistance can register online, choose their children's gifts, and pick them up at designated locations. Don't wait. Spots fill fast. Register to volunteer or for more info, go to elizabethbaptist.org. So, Barrel of Love is that event that we put on every year and it is actually what I would just call in simplest terms is the church being the church. 1300 families amongst the campus that we're giving out food for. It's, it's just liberating. I do it every year. This is like my third year. I love it. I love it so much. I'm actually um doing this on behalf of my mom who I am a caretaker for and she's disabled. So, this will most definitely tremendously help her. So I appreciate Elizabeth for doing this. This event impacted me and my aunt and my mom very good. They are seniors of the community and this has really blessed them in so many ways. I think Barrel of Love has impacted the community in a great way in that they can see that we care. It's one thing when you tell somebody you care, but when you show them that you care, it makes all the difference in the world. And community means to us coming together to help those who are in need and making sure that those at the holidays have good food and know that they are surrounded by love. God was a God of compassion and he was a God of action. And so EBC encompasses both of those aspects and characteristics of Christ as you can see in our EBC Barrel of Love that happens each and every year. Happy Thanksgiving.

All right, EBC, those are your announcements this holiday season. We want to make sure that you stay connected and you stay plugged in. So, make sure to follow us on all social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and be sure to keep all your information up to date so you get notified for everything that's happening here at EBC. Bye. Well, come on, EBC. Let's give God praise and glory in this place. Come on. You can do better than that. This is the day that the Lord has made, and you and I shall rejoice and be glad in it. Great is our God, and he is greatly to be praised. Now, listen. I said, let's give God praise and glory in this place. Can you do better than that? Come on. He's worthy of it. He's worthy of it. He's worthy of it. We thank God for each and every one of you that have gathered in this sanctuary. And not just to you who gather physically in this auditorium, but to the many of you as well that is joining us in the virtual community. How we thank God for this hybrid experience of worship as we're coming together as the people of God in the house of God to give God praise and to give God glory. I pray and trust upon your entrance into the auditorium that you sense the spirit of hospitality and Christian kindness. I pray and trust as well that you didn't just walk in and just plot down in the seat that you at least said good morning, hello to someone. And if not, would you take a brief moment to the level of your comfort? Speak to that person in close proximity to you. Come on, say good morning. Welcome them. That's it. That's it. Take a brief moment. Let's fellowship. What a fellowship. What a joy divine. We give God praise and we give God glory. Give God praise and we give God glory. Amen. You may claim your seats in the presence of our God. Family and friends, this Sunday is a very exciting Sunday in the life of our church as we have the joy and have the privilege of sharing in the dedication service of these precious gifts that God has given. And we thank God for these wonderful children and parents as we would have the joy and privilege of dedicating them. The parents who are standing behind me have gone through the parenting course that is offered by our Christian counseling department and they are being dedicated even right now. And the word of God declares in Mark 10 verse 13 down to verse number 16. And they brought young children to Christ that he should touch them. And his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased and said unto them, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of God. And verily I say unto you, whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein, and he took them up in his arms, and he put his hands upon them, and blessed them." To the parents, you've come before this congregation conscious of the awesome responsibility that is yours in the rearing of this child with the knowledge of the love of God and the teachings of God's holy word. You've come to dedicate this child to God and to dedicate yourselves to seeking God's will for this task and this church support as you proudly carry it out. Do you present this child before the almighty God in the solemn act of dedication? Parents, you respond. Do you promise to consecrate yourselves as parents and to bring up this child in the nurture and the teachings of the Lord? Your response. Congregation, would you send your right hand forward as we pray? Father, how we honor you and how we thank you and how we bless you for the wonderful gifts that you've given in the person of these children. Father, we pray your blessings upon them. We thank you, oh God, for their healthy birth. We thank you, oh God, for the activities of their limbs. We thank you, oh God, even for what you're going to do in and through them beyond this day. And so, Father, we pray your blessings upon them. We pray protection upon them. We pray, oh God, that you would grant the day for them to grow and to mature to the extent that they would come to know you as Lord and as Savior. Father, we pray for the parents as well. We pray, oh God, your blessings upon their lives as they seek to nurture and to help enhance the growth of these precious gifts in the multifaceted ways not just physically but intellectually and even spiritually socially. And Father, we pray again blessings upon the household to which they would grow. May it be a place of peace and may it be a place where you're Lord may it be a place of laughter and love. And so, Father, we dedicate these children back to you. And we pray this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. And all those that agree with this prayer in one united voice said, "Amen." Come on, congregation. Let's give God praise and glory as we have the presentation. Good morning, family. We have this morning Casey J. Nicole Gibbs, Jackson Edward James, Ammani Belle Thomas, and BA Rose Williams. And while they have completed their classes and received a certificate as well as a blanket from you and Lady O, we at the Greenhouse, which is our children and youth ministry, look forward to partnering with you guys as they begin their spiritual journey. God bless. Amen. Come on, give them another wonderful hand. And as well, family and friends, we're excited to have sharing with us in worship various candidates who are in of course the final leg of the runoff elections that would take place this Tuesday. And we're honored to have Royce Man with us, a candidate for the Atlanta school board at large. Tolen Pace with us, a candidate for Atlanta school board district number six, and as well as dear friend brother Wayne Martin who's of course with us as well, a candidate for city council district number 11. We also have with us Mark Baker, who is a candidate for the mayor of South Fulton. And we have one of the greatest mayors. We're excited to have Mayor Andre Dickens with us. Come on, give him a wonderful hand. And we're going to we're going to say the big gun to come last. We'll let the mayor come last. If you would come in that set order and just briefly just introduce yourselves if you don't mind in that we want to be fair. We started the process early on this year allowing individuals to give a quick comment and I'm just going to be fair and do it again today. And so give them another wonderful hand as they come at this time.

Good morning, Elizabeth Baptist. My name is Royce Man. I am a candidate for the Atlanta Board of Education seat 8 citywide in the runoff election on Tuesday. I am a lifelong Atlantan, a proud graduate of Atlanta public schools, a recent Emory alum, and a longtime community organizer. And I am running to bring the voice of somebody who's been a student in our schools recently to our board of education. I'm honored to be here with you all this morning. You can learn more about me and my campaign at royforatatl.com and I would be honored to have your vote on Tuesday. Thank you so much. Thank you, Royce. Thank you. Good morning, EBC family. Good morning. Oh, you can do better than that. Good morning, EBC family. Good morning. Yes, it's an honor to be here. Uh, feels like home. My name is Tolton Pace and my family and I have worshiped with you many, many times over the years, Bishop Oliver. Uh, my cousin Philip Golden serves here in the praise and worship ministry. Uh, amen. Yes, indeed. Uh, my good friend, Brother Terrence, over here, Al Britain, and his wife India are close family friends. So, this feels like home, Bishop. So, thank you for having me today. Uh, native southwest Atlanta, born and raised right here in the Swats. Any Swats natives in the room today? Come on. There we go. Well, it's been an honor to serve you on the Atlanta school board in this seat for the past 10 to 11 months. I got appointed to finish out Miss Eay Collins term when she moved over to city council and we've made some great progress. Test scores, guaranteed college admissions, all the great things. But there is more work to do. So, I'm asking you to help me keep the pace toten pace for district 6 Atlanta public schools. Can we do it, y'all? Amen. Somebody bless you. Thank you. Thank you. Praise the Lord. EBC. Hey, come on. Praise the Lord. EBC. I'm so glad to be back here. I have been around the district. Y'all know me, Young, Brother Wayne Martin, uh, Bishop's understudying how to do ministry, right? Uh, I've been around the district. I've been feeling your prayers. I, Bishop, I run into members all over Southwest Atlanta saying, "Hey boy, we praying for you. We got you." And I feel the prayers of the Lord. We came in first place and made it into the runoff. And EBC is largely responsible for that. I am grateful, but I need y'all to go back on this coming Tuesday, December 2nd, so we can finish what God has already started. Amen. Again, remember Wayne Martin for Atlanta City Council, District 11. Y'all know I'm a native of this community, a graduate of Theo High School, and I love ABC. That's right. That's right. We got the Panthers. Y'all heard that growl. You heard that growl. Bishop Panthers are in here. Not CA Panthers. The Theo Panthers. We in here. We in here. I love you all so much. See you at the poll on Tuesday. God bless you, Bishop. We love you, my friends. Bless you. Greetings. My name is Dr. Mark Baker. Uh a proud graduate of Clark Atlanta University for my masters and my doctorate. Thank you. And I uh also taught current issues in African-American studies there and I was the first male professor of women's studies there. I'm one of the founding members of council in the city of South Fulton. I served proudly on Old National uh as their first District 7 council member and I'm currently in the runoff for mayor. Uh, I passed some of the most progressive legislation in our region. First to write a reparations legislation, the first to end no-knock warrants and only out of the 535 cities in the state of Georgia. And I'm currently in this runoff. South Fulton, I need you to come back out to vote on Tuesday. My attempt is to bring civility, stability, and change to our city council. And it's much, much needed, and I can do it with your help. We only had $10,000 and we're in the runoff. So, I really need you to come out. This is a movement that you guys have started. Let's complete it. Thank you so much, South Fulton. Bless you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. All right. Elizabeth EBC, how y'all doing? I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord one more time. I I love EBC. I love this church because of what you do and what you stand for. Giving Sunday and to be able to give good groceries and good food to people in a time of need when SNAP benefits and challenges with inflation and all that. The church, this church stands as a beacon of hope and opportunity for everybody. So, I am thankful right now during this season of Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for Elizabeth Baptist Church. And this pastor, this man right here, Mr. Craig Oliver, you are the man. I'm so thankful. I'm thankful for good, God-fearing men and women of the cloth that deliver what thus sayeth the Lord unto the people. So, I stand before you uh because I just got reelected, y'all, to be mayor of the city of Atlanta one more time. God is good all the time. All the time. God is good. Four more years and I'm so thankful to serve you. Man, it went fast. Four years. Think back to 2021. We were wearing masks when I was asking for your vote at that time because it was COVID. Now we are we're not wearing masks. We're going right back to go do the runoff. I was begging for your vote during the runoff. You took me from 4%, Elizabeth, to 64% when I won that election in 2021. And this time, y'all did it overwhelmingly. I won by 86% of the vote. So, I'm grateful. But we still got a job to do. On Tuesday, it's runoff time. Say runoff. Runoff. On Tuesday, it's runoff time. So, we're going to show up Tuesday morning and we're going to make sure we vote in new leaders to make sure we take this city forward. I am invested into the city of Atlanta. And I know there's candidates in South Fulton and all over the place. Right now, I'm going to talk about the city of Atlanta. I got Wayne Martin on my mind for city council of this district right here. And I want Tolen Pace. He just got that job as our Atlanta public schools leader for the last 10 months to finish out EA Collins term. And so we want him to go back in there because Tolan Pace has done an amazing job. So God bless you. I'm supportive of him. Listen, APS has gone from 83% graduation rate to 90.5%, y'all. The highest ever in the city's history. That's three percentage points higher than the state of Georgia. And listen, it's all because of the group project. And so that is why I believe in the government. I believe in houses of worship. I believe in business and nonprofit all working together in what I call the group project to help move Atlanta forward. And that is why this is going to be the best place in the nation to raise a child because of the work that we're doing between the city of Atlanta, the school system, and everybody here. God bless you. I'm ready to worship with you today. Amen. God bless you. Love you, pastor. You got Thank you. Come on. Give Let's give our mayor another wonderful hand. catch going to catch this one here. This is the one that counts right here. Come on, let's give our mayor another wonderful hand. And how many have gone out to vote? How many have already gone out to vote? I want to encourage you if you're not lifting your hand, make sure that you do so. Make sure that you exercise your civic responsibility and do your part and go out and vote. We know the story and the reality of how countless lives have been sacrificed, blood, sweat, and tears, so that you and I might have this right and this liberty. And I would encourage you to make sure that you do your part and go out and vote. Let's again prepare to worship God by way of giving. What a joy it is to give. What an honor it is to give. What a blessing it is to give. And as we're preparing to give EBC, we give as an act of worship. We give as an act of faith. We give as an act of Christian stewardship. We give as an act of obedience to the word of God. We recognize that God throughout his word instructs us and even encourages us to sow and to give. Matter of fact, the book of Malachi teaches a biblical principle and practice of tithing that we're to give God the 10th part of our income and of our increase. As we prioritize God even in our giving, we prioritize God in our faith and in our finances. And and Malachi declares that as we honor God, God in turn will honor us to the degree that who will open up the windows of heaven and pours out blessings that we will not even have the capacity to receive them all. And how many can testify that when you take inventory of your life, God has blessed you beyond your wildest imagination. And we also recognize the same principle as it is seen in Paul's writing to the church of Corinth that as we give God will see to it that grace will always abound towards us to the degree that we will always have sufficiency towards every kingdom endeavor that he's entrusted to our heads and hearts to fulfill. And so we're giving today as we seek to honor God. And also we recognize we also recognize that next Sunday is our Giving Sunday. Next Sunday is our Giving Sunday. It is not this Sunday. It is next Sunday. That Sunday is our Giving Sunday and the Giving Sunday was birthed in 2020 during the throws of the pandemic as the church was shut down and all other institutions were closed as well. And I was in the basement meeting along with the staff wrestling with the question how can we as a church show up in this critical hour in this time of need. And at that particular time I was watching as social media had a lot of different advertisements and different emails was coming in advertising Giving Tuesday Giving Tuesday. And I thought about what if the church had a Giving Sunday? What if we took the entire offering on a particular Sunday in that case the first Sunday of December and what if we took that entire offering and gave it away? Not one brown penny being reserved in the church account for administration and operational purposes whatsoever. And that was the launch of Giving Sunday for us. And that first year, we raised over $400,000 in one Sunday. And we gave it all away. And since then, since then, we have given away close to $5 million. $5 million. We've given it all away. Last year, last year, we raised a million dollars in one Sunday. And guess what we did with it, church? We gave it all away. And so this upcoming first Sunday of December is our Giving Sunday. And whatever you give, we're not asking you to give a particular amount. Whatever it is that you ought to give, we encourage you to do so. Please also understand that you can write off your taxes through giving. This is one of the last opportunities as well. You have to minimize that tax liability and you might as well go ahead and give it to the Lord as opposed to giving it to the government. You might as well talk to me somebody. And so I would encourage you today friends to make sure that you prepare for Giving Sunday on Sunday as again we will come and demonstrate again one of our core values which is spontaneous generosity because compassion requires action. And with that being said family and friends of course there's a myriad of ways whereby you're able to give and being projected even right now is the different ways wherein you're able to give. And if you ought to give by way of the envelope system, our doorkeepers will be standing at the various doors at the end of the day's worship service and you can deposit your gifts within the receptacles and they will see to that your gifts are accounted for. With that being said, let's all rest upon our feet everyone everywhere as we will read with excitement and with enthusiasm our offeratorial declaration of faith. Let us read it with excitement. Let us read it with enthusiasm as we claim this confession by faith today. On the count of three, let us all read one, two, and three. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your many blessings and the blessed privilege that is ours to give our tithes and offerings. We thank you that as the owner of all things, you have given us this blessed privilege of stewardship over all that you place into our hands. We declare that we be found as faithful stewards who will joyfully sow seed into the kingdom of God to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you Lord that as we sow into your kingdom that you will cause all grace to abound towards us so that we will have sufficiency in all things and be successful in all that we set out to do. Because we've aligned ourselves with your righteous cause, we declare jobs, better jobs, raises and bonuses, benefits, sales and commissions, favorable settlements, estates and inheritance, interest and income, rebates and returns, discounts and dividends, checks in the mail, bills decrease and bills paid in full, overflow blessings and increase. I am a child of God. I am not bound by this world's economy. I am an heir of heaven's economy. This day I declare that I'm walking in abundance and in favor. If that's your declaration, give God praise. Come on, give God glory. I'm walking in abundance and I am walking in favor. As you're preparing to take your seats, our worship and arts department is going to come at this time to lead us in this time of praise and worship. Praise the Lord. Come on, praise the Lord EBC.

So, listen, we get a special treat today. Most Sundays, this young lady is next door while we over here leading worship with all our teens. So, we ask her to come and lead worship with us today in the main sanctuary. Is that okay? So, I need y'all to encourage her because we're looking to build our team worship team bigger and better than ever before. Can you clap for that? If you're streaming in, if you got team, let them know that we're on our way back. But right now, put your hands together, open your mouth, and receive Sister Paulina. Yeah. Oh, oh, oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. We're here for you. Let your spirit move as we shout our praise. For my heart to your ears. All the glory is yours now forevermore. Here I worship all we can give it to you. We're here for you. So we dance and we sing, we worship you our king. We're here for you. begin everything to the one who is worthy. Our hearts are ready, Lord. We're here for you. Oh, oh, oh. We're here for you. We're here for you. Let your spirit move as we shout your praise from our hearts to your ears. All the glory is yours now forevermore. Here our worship is all we can give to you. Cuz we're here. We're here for you. For you. Yes. We're here for you. So we dance and we sing. We sing. We worship. You are You are we for you. We give everything everything to the world. The one who is worthy. Our hearts are worthy. Lord, we're here for you. We're here for you. Oh, oh, oh. If you don't come, then we won't move. We're desperate, Lord, for a touch from you. If you don't come, then we won't move. We're desperate, Lord, for a touch from you. If you don't come, then we won't move. We're desperate, Lord, for a touch from you. If you don't come, we won't move. We're desperate, Lord, for a touch from you. We need you. We won't move to a touch from you. If you don't come, we won't move. We're desperate love for a touch from you. If you don't come, we won't move. We're desperate love for a touch from you. If you don't come and we won't move for love or a touch from you. If you don't come, then we won't move. We're desperate love for a touch from you. If you don't come, then we won't move. But desperate love for a touch from you. If you don't come, we won't move. We love for a touch from you. But we dance and we sing. We worship. You are king and we give everything to the one who is worthy. Our hearts are ready. We're here for you. We won't move. We're loser love for a touch from you. We need you. We need you. We need you. Father, we need you. Father, we need you. We won't move. We're desperate love for a touch from you. If you don't come, then we won't move. We're love for a touch from you. Hey, come on. Give her another wonderful hand. Come on. You can do better than that. She helps provide leadership in the praise and worship department with our youth. And so we appreciate our worship and arts director, brother Vashan Mitchell, who thought to have her to come and lead in this particular time of worship. And she did an outstanding job. Outstanding job. I told brother Vashan Mitchell at the aid service, he needs to go ahead and sign her now. Go ahead and sign her now. She's ready. Give her another wonderful hand. Appreciate her. Hey family and friends, if you would open your Bibles for the final installment for the final installment in the sermon series entitled The God Who Rules in Chaos. I want to give this final installment as on that Sunday we will commence our advent season of sermons. And from Nah chapter number one verse number three down to verse number seven these words are recorded. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power. And the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His ways in the whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry. He dries up all the rivers. Beijan and Carmel withers. The bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him. The hills melt. The earth heaves before him. The world and all who dwells in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge in him. Look at verse seven again. The Lord is what, church? And he is also what? When church in the day of trouble and he knows who? Those who take refuge in him. Again, I want to give this final installment in the sermon series entitled The God Who Rules in Chaos. You may claim your seats in the presence of our God. And let us pray. Father, how we thank you and how we honor you for the privilege that is ours to gather in this sacred space and place known as sanctuary. We thank you for your people that have that have gathered in this place. And we thank you, oh God, most importantly for your presence that is in this place. And even now as I stand, I pray that you would anoint me a fresh for the assignment that is at hand. I pray that you would grace me with clarity of thought and of speech. And I pray for the receptivity of hearts and of minds. Be glorified in this place. It is my prayer in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. For the past month, we have engaged in an exegetical excavation and journey throughout the book of Nahum, a book that lives under the shadow of obscurity. A book to which many have not read, perhaps have not even highlighted a simple verse in it, or perhaps have not even heard a message preached from it. But yet,

And still, the book of Nahum is both timely and timeless. And when you begin to look at the central theme, thought, and thrust of this particular book, it is simply this: that you and I can trust God in turbulent times.

That even when we find ourselves dealing with our chaos, our confusion, our conflicts in life, that we can place our faith in God, knowing ultimately that God is sovereign, knowing second of all that God is just, and knowing lastly that God is still good. And even as it relates to the modern context in which we're in, we're living in an era of social political anxiety, frustration, and even beyond that, cosmic chaos. And we're asking the question, where can I place my trust? And in whom should I place my trust? Nahum comes and says emphatically that you and I must place our trust in God.

Understand, if you would, the biblical and the historical context of which Nahum is written. He is writing now to the nation of Judah as they're now dealing with the assault and the attack of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire is a murderous nation, as it would oftentimes come against those to whom they would take siege of. And they would literally go to the process of bringing about torture, and not just torture, but even go as far as to terrorize them as they're now seeking to take dominance and seeking to become the superior nation among them. A matter of fact, they had a similar tagline that is similar to even the tagline in today's administration: MAGA, Make Assyria Great Again. They were intentional in trying to take over the nation and ultimately trying to become that superior nation. And as a result of such, Judah has just recently witnessed Israel, as Israel was now sabotaged. Not just sabotaged, but decimated even by the Assyrians. And now they're living with anxiety. They're living with discouragement. They're living with a sense of fear whether or not their day and fate is forthcoming. And so now the prophet Nahum comes and speaks on behalf of God to give them a word of hope and to give them a word of consolation, even as his name denotes just even that comfort and consolation. But it's in the throes of chaos that he comes and gives his prophetic message. And so it is here that Nahum says, in essence, that you and I must make a shift. We must shift from our social political analysis to a theological assurance and affirmation as it relates to who God is. Because the reality is simply this: that when you and I take a social political analysis of the world around us, there is chaos, there is confusion, there is tension, there is a whole lot of reasons why you and I ought to be full of anxiety and even frustration. But Nahum says that you and I must make a shift from the social political analysis to a theological assurance in recognizing that at the end of the day, God is still in control and God is still sitting on his throne.

And to that particular end, Nahum outlines for us a three-fold framework as it relates to the theological perspective to which we ought to anchor and ground our faith in. He says that as you and I anchor and ground our faith in God, we ought to do so based upon this trifold or this three-dimensional framework. First of all, recognizing God's unquestionable power. Nahum says the first thing that you and I must settle on is that God's power is unquestionable. And he comes in verse number three down to verse number five, and he begins to articulate how God is sovereign and how God's power is unquestionable. He says God is so powerful that the whirlwinds and even the storms are the mode of transportation for God. God says, in essence, via Nahum, that you may look at whirlwinds and you may look at storms as being disruptive and destructive, but God says, "No, I am so much God that I can take the storms and I can take the whirlwinds and I can use them towards my benefit and towards your blessing." He says, "I'm not just a God who has power over the storms and power over the whirlwinds." He says, "I am so much God that I can speak and even the hills will melt down. I can even clap my hands and the mountains will begin to quiver and begin to shake." He says, "I am so much God that I can even declare even to the seas, dry up, and they will dry up. I'm so much God that I can speak to the rivers and cause them also to evaporate." He says, "I'm so much God that even in places where you see vegetation in the land of Bashan and as well as there in the place of Carmel and even there in Lebanon, I can speak and cause their lands to even wither." He says, "Don't ever forget, I am in control." And here is what Nahum is saying: Any God that can cause the sea to dry up, any God that can cause the rivers to dry up, any God that can cause the hills to melt, any God that can cause the mountains to shake, any God that can cause even a plush place to wither up is a God who has power. Is a God who is in control. He says, "And if I can control nature, I can control everything around nature. I can control every system. I can control every government. I can control every structure." He says, "I am God." And he says, "And if you're going to place your faith in anything, recognize my unquestionable power."

Nahum says that's not it. That if you're going to anchor your faith in God, you must first of all recognize God's unquestionable power. He says, but he's not just a powerful God. He says, come down to verse number 16. He says, and here's the second place that you must place your faith. Not only must you recognize God's unquestionable power, but you must also come to a place that you reverence his unavoidable justice. He says, "At the end of the day, God is a God that will make every evil right again. And he is a God who will judge every sinful and every evil activity." He says, "A matter of fact, by way of an interrogative, who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the wrath are broken into pieces by him." He says, "Please understand that at the end of the day, the guilty will not get away free." He says, "I don't care how they try to oppress. I don't care how they try to terrorize. I don't care how they try to engage in deportation of the people." He says, "At the end of the day, I am so much God that nobody can stand against my indignation. Nobody can stand against my anger." God says, "And when I pour out my judgment, it's just like fire being poured out." He says, "I'll break even the rocks of their foundation." He says, "Because though, watch this here, though my justice is delayed, my justice is not denied." God says, "I'm still in control."

Then he makes a rather interesting pivot in the text. Verse three to verse number five, he talks about recognizing God's unquestionable power. In verse number six, he talks about reverencing God's unavoidable justice. Then he comes down in verse number seven and he says, "Let me put the icing on the cake: that if you're going to trust God, if you're going to trust God in turbulent times, you must not only recognize his unquestionable power, you must not only reverence his unavoidable justice," he says, "but you must learn how to rest, church, rest in his unshakable goodness."

And he says it emphatically. He says, as you rest in his unshakable goodness, he says the first thing you must do in recognizing the goodness of God is recognize his character. Against everything that he has spoken thus far, all the way up to the crescendo of verse number seven, he says, "Here is the zenith. Here is the apex. Here is the crescendo in the symphony of scriptures. Here is the central theological perspective that you must have of God as you're going through this season of chaos, confusion, and conflict. Here it is." He says, "Let me explain God's character in four words: The Lord is good."

Don't you miss that, church. He says, "The Lord is good."

The Lord is what, church? He's good. He's good. He's good. He says, "And God's goodness is not circumstantial." In other words, God is not good only when your circumstances are favorable.

God says, "Even when you're dealing with less than ideal circumstances, your circumstances does not change my character."

God says, "Please understand who I am." Essentially, fundamentally, purely. Yes. Actively, ontologically, I'm good. Ontologically means the very nature and the very being of God. God says, in essence, I can't help but be good.

At the end of the day, ontologically, that is who I am. I am good. He says, in essence, this is not just a fundamental nature of God. He says, "But this is the core of his identity." God is not occasionally good. God is morally excellent. He's good.

God has beneficial intentionality, even behind our suffering. Because even when we go through seasons of suffering, there's a redemptive purpose. He says, "Even when you go through your hardships, your hardships is not towards your detriment. It's towards your development."

Because we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God and to them that have been called according to his purpose.

He says, "At the end of the day, my goodness is inherent. My goodness is unchanging. My goodness is comprehensive. My goodness is ultimate." God says, at the end of the day, I'm a good God.

And if there's one central theological attribute that you and I must ground and anchor our faith in, it is in the nature and the character and the ontological reality that God is good.

Would you say that again? He's a good God. God.

God is a good God. God. God is good. Not was good.

Not might be good.

Not seems good. When circumstances are favorable, God is.

Presently, actively, unchangingly, essentially, fundamentally, ontologically, God is good. And here's the other argument. And though you may have a different idea and notion about God, because you're looking at God, here it is, through a darkened glass.

It does not mean that based upon you how you see him, he is such.

Yes, sir.

God says, "No, at the end of the day, I'm a good God."

Then Nahum continues dealing with the nature of God. And he says, "Not only must you understand his character." He says, "But second of all, as you anchor your faith and your confidence in God, anchor it not just in his character, but anchor it, here it is, second of all, in his covering."

I love it. Watch how he unfolds it in verse number seven. Verse number seven is so loaded with preaching, I can almost preach it for the balance of this entire year. But I'm going to end it today. I'm going to end it today. He says, here it is, first four words: He says, "God is good." That is his character. Then he talks about his covering, and he is a stronghold in the day of trouble. He says, don't you miss the reality. Notice what Nahum does not say. He does not promise, "The Lord is good, therefore you won't have trouble." That's not what verse seven says.

He does not promise, "The Lord is good, so trouble will be brief and trouble will be minor." He does not say that. He does not say and does not promise, "The Lord is good, which means trouble will avoid you." No. Instead, he acknowledges with a sober reality that the Lord is good and he is a stronghold. Watch this here, in the day of trouble.

You're not going to like it.

Here is what Nahum is saying, because clause of the seventh verse of chapter one: Trouble is assumed. Trouble is expected.

Trouble is part and parcel of our earthly pilgrimage. Trouble is a reality.

And though you are saved, and though you are a child of God, and though God is good, and though God has unquestionable power, and though God has unavoidable justice, at the end of the day, you and I still will have trouble.

I knew you would put the brakes on my preaching right here. Because this does not coincide nor is it congruent with this prosperity theology that we so enjoy today, that if God is good, I ought not have any trouble, and if I'm having trouble, that means I don't have enough faith.

No. Nahum says at the end of the day, God has all power. God is going to make everything right. And he says, on top of that, though God is good, that does not immune or exempt us.

Here's what he says: from the day of trouble. That word "trouble" means distress that causes anguish, adversity that creates difficulties, affliction that produces suffering, crisis, here it is, that threatens our stability. And Nahum is not offering a theology of escapism. Because so many people want a God that just helps them escape.

And so you want a God who is a great escape artist.

"Don't let me go through anything. Just God, help me to escape. Help me get out of this." No. Nahum says, "No. While you're in trouble, God, in the context of your trouble,"

Here it is, "will become a personal stronghold that will keep you and preserve you and sustain you and protect you in the day of trouble." See, you sitting here praying that trouble leave.

God is saying, "I'm praying that trouble will come."

Because you don't understand the depth of your trust until you have some trouble in your life. Hold. Cuz anybody can say they trust me when there's no whirlwinds. Anybody can say they trust me when there's no storms. Anybody can say they trust me when there's no rain. Anybody can say they trust me when there's no problem. But can you trust me in the day of trouble?

Now, now, now, in order to help them, in order to help them, Nahum speaks in a cultural context that they can readily identify with. Because during biblical antiquity, antiquity, uh, they would have what is known as a a fortress, a refuge. It is known as in the text as a stronghold. Here it is. And it is a fortified place of refuge. It is a military insulation designed specifically to provide protection during the time of danger and attack. Now, you got to understand how, uh, this fortified, uh, stronghold was designed. It was made of thick walls, massive fortification that could withstand the enemy's assault. Not, not just thick walls, but also elevated position. Let the church say, elevated position.

Elevated.

It was built on high ground for defensive advantages. Not, not just thick walls and not just elevated position, but limited access. Let the church say, limited access.

In other words, it had narrow gates that could be easily defended. It had adequate provision. Let the church say, adequate provision. Because when you made it inside of the stronghold, it was already furnished with food and supplied with water.

Because when you're inside, they wanted to make sure that you had everything you needed to survive, because the enemy is on the outside.

But God has placed everything you need for the attack that's coming against you on the inside. And so when Nahum made mention that God is a stronghold, they begin to make the connection metaphorically to the reality of their life and relationship with God. They say, "Well, if God is a stronghold, that simply implies that God is accessible to me in my day of trouble."

Oh, you don't know when to shout, because a stronghold is useless if you can't reach it. It's useless if it's not accessible. It's useless if you can't run into it. And that's why the psalmist says in Psalm 46, verse number one: "God is our refuge."

And when we're weak, when we're fatigued, when we're exhausted, when we're overwhelmed, God is our refuge, and God is our strength. He's a very present help when, church, in church, in trouble. See, some of you are thinking that your help only happens when you come out of trouble.

God says, "Oh, no. Help happens when you're in trouble."

And here is when help really happens: when you're not only in trouble, it helps you when you're in trouble. Yes, sir.

And you really don't know how you're going to get out of trouble. God says, "I'm a very present help. I am accessible. I'm not just accessible, but God is also adequate for our trouble."

In other words, this fortress, fortified building was built with such fortification that it could withstand the attack of the enemy that comes against it. And thus, God's power is not limited by the magnitude of your trouble. Don't miss that, church. No trouble you face is too great for God to handle.

No complexity you face is too great for God to navigate. No overwhelming circumstance is too great for God to manage. No unprecedented pain is too great for God to deal with. Whatever you're facing, God is adequate to protect you and to provide for you. He says, "God is good and stronghold in the day of trouble because I am accessible. I'm adequate." God says, "I'm also protective." He says, "It, it is, it is, it is this imagery of protection." He says, "In other words, this does not mean that you won't have difficulties, that you won't have pain, that you won't have suffering, that you would not have days of chaos and confusion. It means that in the midst of it all, God will shield, watch this church, he will shield what matters the most."

And what matters to God is the state of your soul. What matters to God is the firmness of your faith. What matters to God is your eternal destiny.

God, God says, "I will protect what matters most." So much so that Psalms 91, verse one and two, says, "He who dwells in the secret place, in the shadow of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, he is my fortress, he is my God, in him I will trust."

He's my dwelling place.

He's my abiding place.

He is the one who protects me.

He says, "I'm the one who gives you stability when everything else around you is shaking and falling apart. I'm the one who gives you stability." A matter of fact, matter of fact, I've given you so much stability. You may have lost your job, but you haven't lost your mind.

I've been keeping your mind.

I will give you stability out of all the stuff you've been through. You ought to have lost your mind by now. But is there anybody in here that can testify, He is a mighty good keeper? He will keep your mind in perfect peace. When you keep your mind steadfast on him, he is a mind regulator. He is a heart fencer. He is a soul revival. God will protect that which matters most.

And so, in essence, what is implied and what is inferred in the B clause of verse 7 of chapter one of Nahum is that if God is indeed good, and if God is indeed a stronghold in the day of trouble, inferred and implied in the text is that there's an invitation. If indeed God is a fortress, a fortified stronghold that is accessible, that is adequate, that is protective, God says, "However, I'm not going to force you to find refuge in me."

I'm accessible. I'm available. I'm adequate. I got everything you need. But you have to come within. You, you, you have to come to a point in place that you recognize who God is, and you've taken the practical spiritual steps to, here it is, accessing what God has already provided.

Now, here's part of the problem, because as opposed to some of us running to the fortress, we run from the fortress. I, I've pastored 30 years now, and I've heard people give this explanation as it relates to their disengagement in church, for their absenteeism in church. I've heard this excuse more times than I can count. And even when I still hear it to this day, it makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

"Why have you been in church?" "I've been going through." You're going through trouble. You're going through a crisis. You're going through a hardship. You're going through a setback. You're having a moment of suffering. And your explanation for your disengagement in church is this: "I've been going through." I'm Craig, I'm your friend. To me, it seems to make more sense that if ever I need the refuge, if ever I need the community of faith, if ever I need to find safety in the sanctuary, I need it in this season. I need it in the day of trouble. Anybody can shout and praise God in the sunshine. Anybody can shout and praise God when the sun is shining and when everything is copacetic. But when you have trouble, that is when you got to trust God and turn to God and take your safe refuge in him, recognizing that he is a very present help in the time of trouble.

I got to leave, but can I show you the last part that just makes me shout? That when you look at God and consider how God, first of all, is the one to whom we must rest in his unshakable goodness, it's not just his character, it's not just his covering, he is the part that makes me shout: his compassion. He says, a clause of Nahum and seven: "The Lord is good." That's his character. "Because covering and is a stronghold in the day of trouble." See, clause: his compassion. "He knows those who take refuge in him."

Oo, you missed it, church. You missed it, church. Nahum says he knows everybody, but the ones that he takes personal interest in, he knows specifically, individually, those who take refuge in him. This is an intimate divine knowledge of God. God is intimately acquainted with the issues and the affairs of your life. So much so that he knows.

Somebody shout, "He knows."

He knows. Now, this, this, this is not speaking about the attribute of God's omniscience, the general awareness of all things that God knows. God, God is omniscient. He knows all things. God knows everything about everyone at every time. He knows the wicked as well as the righteous. He knows those who have rejected him as well as those who have trusted him. But this is different. The knowing that Nahum is speaking about is not informational. It's relational.

God says, "I'm not talking about knowing you in general. I know you in a specialized, individualized way. I know those who take refuge in me."

Throughout scripture, God says, "I know." Which denotes a special relationship. It denotes personal providential care. It denotes a committed protection. It denotes eternal security. And here is what he says: "I know you." Here is what he said to Moses. Here it is. Here it is. He says in Exodus 33:17, God says to Moses, "I know you by name."

I know it.

"And you have also found favor in my sight." You miss it. God says, "I know you by name. I know you by nature, and I know you by need." God says, "I, I know you inside out, upside down, every which way. God says, I know you." Come here, Jesus. Jesus says in John 10:14, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own knows me." Jesus says, "You're the sheep. I'm the shepherd. I know you personally. I know you individually. I know you intimately." And those who are not his sheep, he says, "I also know you." God says, "And in that I know you, I know those who," watch this here, "take refuge in me."

He says, "I know your situation completely."

This, this ought to cause you to rest in his goodness. God says, "There is nothing about your life, come here, that has caught me off guard."

You listen. God says, "I never had a moment of sitting in heaven watching what is happening in your life and what is happening in my creation. I never said, 'Oops.'"

You'll catch that during brunch. In God's extensive vocabulary, God does not have the word "oops." God says, "Nothing catches me off guard. Nothing catches me by surprise. Nothing happens without my knowing." God says, "I know the details even before anyone shares them with you. I know the struggles you're facing in private. I know the fears you have in secret. I know the pains you're carrying along. I know the questions you're afraid to acknowledge. I know the doubts that you're afraid to acknowledge." God says, "I know you."

When you feel unseen, God says, "I see you."

God. When you feel unheard, God says, "I hear you." When you feel misunderstood, God says, "I understand you." God says, "I know your situation completely, and I know your identity personally."

God says, "You're not a number in a database for me. You're not a case in a system for me. You're not a stat in a report for me. You're not a face in the crowd." Would you say this right now? He knows me.

He knows me. I want you to look around this auditorium and look at a couple of thousand folks or so and recognize this reality. God says, "Among the crowd that is gathered in this sanctuary at this moment, I know you. I know you inside and out." A matter of fact, he says, "I know you so well. I know the uniqueness of your personality, the specifics of your history. I know the particulars of your struggles. I know your individual calling." Listen to how David puts it in Psalms 139, verse number one: "Oh, Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all of my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you knew it all together."

God says, God says that thought, that thought, that thought there, that one right there, God says, "I know it."

He says, "I knew it before it even came to your mind."

God says, "I am so much God. I knew the word that was about to come out of your mouth before it even formed on your lips." God says, "I'm." He says, "I." God says, "I'm so powerful and so knowledgeable to the extent that there's absolutely nothing that could ever happen in your life that catches me off guard."

Woo. So I hear you saying, "But God, if you know that much, why didn't you stop it?" God said, "You forgot what I just told you. I'm not your spiritual escape artist. You have perceived me wrong. Yeah. You have come to this conclusion that the purpose of my relationship with you is to save you from everything." God says, "No, contrary." He says, "Let me, let me, let me, let me give you a case study: Job."

"I saw Satan walking to and fro throughout the earth trying to find somebody." And God says, "And I nominated his name." God said, "You're trying to find somebody to bother? Have you considered my servant Job?" "I got a name I want to nominate." Cuz God is saying, in essence, "I know I can trust Job with trouble."

Everybody ain't going to be able to handle what Job is going to go through. But Job knows who his stronghold is. Job knows who his refuge is. Job knows where his fortification lies. And Job has so much faith in God, though his faith was like a roller coaster ride, Job landed on this reality theologically speaking: "Though he slay me, yet would I trust him." I don't care what the devil tries to do in my life. I've been walking too long with God to turn around now. I got too much history with divinity to give up on God now. God has been there with me through the thick and the thin. He says, "I know you." God says, "As a matter of fact, I know so much about you. I know your future. I know the thoughts I have towards you. Thoughts to prosper you and not to harm you." But can I share with you my favorite verse? It is right here in Isaiah 49:15 and 16. And here is what God says: "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" Think about that question. Can a woman forget her nursing child?

Yes. Yes. Yes. We, we got evidence of that. You know, we know of stories and experiences where kids are foster kids and people have been adopted. He says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved your name on the palm of my hand." Yes.

God says, "I can't forget you because every time I look at my hands, I see your name." God says, "I got you."

I want you to catch that. It is a word picture that God has us in the palm of his hand. And God will save and salvage that which is most important to him. This going to rattle your cage a little. I never will forget early on years when I started pastoring here at EBC. I had to go to the hospital as one of our members was facing the final hours of their earthly existence. I'm young, have no skills on really what to say and how to approach a situation. And I walk into the room. The person that was once some 200 plus pounds was now no more than 75 pounds. Cancer had consumed everything. And I stood by the bedside and with a small glimmer in their eyes, they looked up to me and said, "Pastor, how are you doing? Good seeing you." And I'm sitting here. I don't know. Do you ask the same question in response? "Well, how are you doing?" It's obvious. I didn't ask. Said, "You're not going to ask me how I'm doing?" I said, "Well, how are you doing?" "The best day of my life. I'm doing good, Rev." And I'm sitting here trying to process this whole conversation. And they began to share with me at the end of the day, "Pastor, I'm leaving here. I told the family to call you, tell you come in. Before I leave, I want to just share some things with you. Tell everybody when you do my eulogy, I'm fine because this cancer may take my body, but it'll never touch my soul. Tell them I'm fine." Said, "As well, pastor, do you understand that everybody must go this way? I know you may think this is morbid right now, but you do understand there's a birthday. And there's an expiration date." Oh, you thought just milk cartons come with an expiration date? There's one written right on you right now. There's one written on me right now. But God would save and salvage that which matters the most. It ain't this earthly body. Paul puts it this way: "And when this earthly house of this tabernacle has dissolved, there's another building, not made of hands, that is eternal in the heavens." In other words, God is going to take what matters the most. That's the soul of those, watch this here, who have made him their refuge.

And so you have before you right now the option: in or out. In or out? In or out? Are you in the refuge, or are you out of the refuge? Have you developed a relationship with God through Christ Jesus? That's in through faith. Or are you out and you're trying to weather the storms of life by yourself? Turn to your neighbor and ask your neighbor, "In or out?" Find somebody else that looks like they came to church to have church and ask them, "In or out?" Cuz you're either in the refuge, and he knows. Oh, let me give this to you for free as well. And he actually knows whether you're in. And he knows those who have made him their refuge. God knows. Like you can fake it with pastoring. You can fake it with your little pew pal. Yes, sir. You can fake it with your husband and your wife, but you can't fake it with God. God says, "Oh, no. Oh, no. No. You're not in. You got both feet out." Cuz you can't double Dutch with me. You can't part-time me and be in on Sunday and out on Monday. Ask that other neighbor, "In or out?" And it's a dangerous thing to be out when the whirlwinds come and the storms come. It's a bad. You don't believe it? Ask everybody who didn't get in the ark with Noah. In or out? So, Father, I pray in the conclusion of this matter of trusting you in our chaos, help us now to land on a response of whether we're in or out. We recognize your unquestionable power. We reverence your unavoidable justice. And we rest in your unshakable goodness. You're good. You are indeed a stronghold in the day of trouble. And you know those who have made you their refuge. So now, Father, I pray that some man, some woman, some boy, some girl present in this place today would make that deliberate decision of giving their lives fully, completely, totally, entirely to you. Not waiting on some emotional feeling, but making an intelligent, informed decision based upon the reality of what they know and what you have revealed. May they find refuge in you today, safety in you today, a relationship with you today that is irrevocable and irreversible. That person who has been disconnected, absent, and not in fellowship. Bring them close to thee even now. It's our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's all rest upon our feet. Everyone, everywhere. No one is leaving just yet. We're all going to leave in one brief moment. If you can hold what you have, I want to send this invitation to you to come in today to find refuge in God. To find safety in God, to find hope and deliverance in God today. Furthermore, you need a community of faith, a place that you can call home among a people that you can call family, under the watch of a person that you can call pastor. You've been visiting EBC long enough, and you have enough information now to make an informed decision. Whoever you are, wherever you are, would you walk from where you're located, walk down these aisles and make a decision today? You who are watching online, this is your opportunity as well. Would you trust God and respond to this invitation and develop a relationship with God? Whoever you are, wherever you are. Oh, how. Oh, how. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, how. I'm your own. One last time. Whoever you are, wherever you are, oh, oh, how you, oh, how you. I am. Lift high your hands on the benediction. May the Lord bless you. May the Lord keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you. May he bless your down sitting and your uprising. May he bless you as you go out and as you come in. May he continue to favor you with prosperity and protection in Jesus' name. Amen.