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Foreign. [Music] This. Wow. [Music] God, some praise in this house. Jesus. Dear Lord, thank you for your anointing. God, thank you for the power of your Spirit. God, I'm so grateful for the anointing of the Holy Ghost that's in this house today. I'm so thankful, God, for the power of the Spirit that we feel in this house. In the name of Jesus, I'm asking you to baptize this place today with your anointing. Let heaven reign in the house. Let the glory of God magnify this place with the beauty of the Spirit. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. We're about 60 seconds early from starting the service. This would be a good time for you to pick up your phone, in fact, and share our live feed on Facebook. Tell someone to join us in the house of the Lord today. I know that some of you, uh, are still a little uncomfortable, and if you are, I totally understand that. Uh, but if you are comfortable enough to move around, shake someone's hand, welcome to the house of the Lord. We have guests here. Let's make sure our guests feel very welcome today. And we're to kick off service in about 30 or 45 seconds, so do it quick. God bless you in Jesus' name.
Welcome to everyone that's here. Welcome to our guests in Jesus. I believe it. Name of Jesus. Name. [Music] Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. [Music] Cast out demons. [Music] [Music] With your mighty miracles. [Music] You gave us. [Music] Is in Jesus' name. [Music] [Music] And the keys. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Jesus. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Is. [Music] In Jesus' name. Oh. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hallelujah. Why don't we do that right now all across this building? Hallelujah. Let's proclaim the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. There's healing in that name. Hallelujah. There's victory in that name. [Music] Hallelujah. Why don't you give the Lord a handclap of praise as you make your way back to your seats? It feels good in this house today. The presence of the Lord is in this place today. [Music] He's not here because of this building. [Music] This building is beautiful, and everything that's in it is beautiful. He's not here because of that. He's here because you are here. He's here because I am here. He is here because we are here. He said where two or three are gathered. He didn't say where there was a beautiful building. He said where two or three are gathered. And I'm telling you, the Spirit of God is in this place, and He's ready to heal. He's ready to work miracles. He's ready to put marriages back together. He's ready to, he's ready to heal the addict. Oh, hallelujah. I'm telling you, whatever you need, it is in this place. This praise team is coming back. You can be seated if you need to. I want to welcome our guests. Let's give our guests a handclap of praise. Thank you for being with us in this place. Worship with the praise team as they come to sing.
[Music] And I will. [Music] Me. [Music] See, I was breathing, but not. [Music] All my failures. I tried. Oh. [Music] [Music] You call my name into your glorious name. [Music] Now your freedom is all. [Music] Jesus, Jesus, when I met you. [Music] [Music] You called my name. You called my name, and I ran out of that crap into your glorious day. [Music] Get you into your glorious day. Oh, aren't you glad that He found you? Aren't you glad that you found Him? Whoa, hallelujah. Yeah. Maybe this was your story right here. Come on. I needed rescue. Let's sing. I needed rescue. My sin was heavy. [Music] But you called me. My eyes are wide open. [Music] [Music] Yes, I did. [Music] I needed shelter. [Music] When I was broke. When I was broken. My name is. [Music] Somebody living in the light today. [Music] Jesus. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh, yes. [Applause] [Music] I don't believe they're done with that. Yeah. I was, I was just standing, you know. You know, listen, listen. Never have to say one more, one more time. But I was sitting over thinking about Lazarus, and I just wonder how Lazarus fell. You know, I know everybody thought it was too late. They thought God had showed up too late. And I'm telling you, there's someone in this building that you walked in here today and you thought, there's no chance. [Music] You thought that there's no way that God can come through on my behalf. But I'm telling you, hallelujah. This, the weight of sin might have felt too heavy. You might feel like you needed rescue, but you can run out of that grave today. You can step out of that grave today. Today is your day. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day. It's your turn. It's your time. I need, but you called me. [Music] Eyes are. Is. Cause when you call my day. [Music] [Applause] [Music] I'm. [Music] Is. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] You call my day. [Music] [Music] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Jesus. [Music] Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Doesn't it feel good in the house of the Lord today? I'm telling you, we're having church. Hallelujah. We're having church. We didn't come to just look at each other. We didn't come to dress up and see who was the prettiest. We come to give Him some praise. We come to give Him some worship. It's what we were created to do. [Music] Hallelujah. Jesus. Hallelujah. God bless you. You can make your way back to your seat. I'ma ask the usher to come and help me give you an opportunity to be blessed today. Hallelujah. How many, how many love partnering up with God in your finances? Hallelujah. It is the best thing we can do. In the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you guys for helping us today. Yes, y'all can, y'all can go ahead and be seated. You'll come back.
I just got a couple of things I want to say right quick, uh, while we have the opportunity. And one is, thank you so much. A few weeks ago, you purchased this church, went together and purchased an iPad Pro for your pastor. I'm going to be preaching from it for the first time today, and I want to say a great big thank you to this church family for that. Thank you so much. Thank you. You're the greatest church in the world. Second thing I want to say real quick is, thank you so much for all of you who pulled together to make last night a great success. There was a number of people here today who worked very, very hard and had a lot of time involved in our fall festival last night, and I want to say a great big thank you to you. Thank you, Brother Tommy Parker. He worked very hard. He had a lot of organization and, uh, and physical labor involved in that. Thank you, Brother Paul Morrison. To my dad, Brother Ronnie Copeland, who worked very hard out there getting things together, making sure everything was nice. We had a fire and a lot, then the ladies department, and then there was a fall festival committee. Who was on that fall festival committee? If you were the couples that worked together on the fall festival committee, would you stand right quick? Just real quick. I want to thank the fall festival committee so much for working so hard to make it nice last night. Thank you. I thank these couples with all of my heart, and they just did an awesome job. I know the ladies department is involved in that. Man, I don't want to miss anybody. What we had a parking team out there. Brother Cody Thrash, I know was on the parking team. Thank you so much for helping everyone park. To Brother Clay and Sister Ashley, who work so hard every year with a hay ride, supplying a truck, trailer, hay, and all that kind of stuff. Thank you so much. And then all you that came, all you that came to be a part of it. Uh, aren't you glad that you're part of the greatest church in the world? Stand real quick together. We're gonna receive the offering. Jesus. Dear Lord, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your blessing and your favor. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless you as you cheerfully and with joy bring your offering to the storehouse in obedience to the word of the Lord.
[Music] [Music] Choir, after you give, you can go ahead and be assembling on the platform. [Music] God bless you. You can be seated. [Music] Choir, to be seated also. I'm going to take just a moment here and say a couple of things to you, and I'm going to get down here where it'll almost feel like a fireside chat. It is very important. It is very important. November the 3rd, that you vote, and that you vote your convictions. It's time. It's time in 2020 to forget about political lines, to forget about political parties, and vote who is running for your Christian, Judeo-Christian values, and vote your convictions, and not to stand with a candidate or a party that is in opposition to what brings your life freedom. I can't tell you how to vote, and I would never use this platform to tell you how to vote. That's not the place to do that. I will say one thing, though. Your candidate to Trump any socialist regime that would go against Judeo-Christian values. So don't forget that. But I would never tell you how to vote. In all sincerity, I can't tell you how to vote. Don't want to. But you do need to. There was a time that that you could go with a party and just, just click the buttons or write in and go right down your party line. But that's not the truth anymore. The truth today is, you better forget what Grandma was and Grandpa was, because they're not living in your world, and that does not matter. What matters is who is going to keep our freedoms and keep America free. That's what matters. And so, please don't forget that.
To every guest that's here, I want you to know how honored we are that you're here today. We're honored that you would spend this morning with us. The, the second thing I want to tell you that is vitally important is that Monday night, Monday night, the evening before the vote, the ladies are going to be having ornaments exchange up here. And while they're having the ornament exchange, to all the men and young people and children and college and career and whoever you are that wants to gather us in this building, Brother Roger Simpson is going to be leading a prayer, a prayer for our candidates and for our nation, for our future. I don't know of anything you can do right now that, that would be more important than be at that Monday night prayer. I don't want to pull people away from the ladies' ornament exchange. I'm sure they're going to have a great time, and I'm sure they're going to pray on their own time. But right here in this auditorium, we're going to go together, and we're going to pray for the future of your great nation. We're going to obey the word of God. We're going to obey the word of God, and we're going to pray for our leaders, and we're going to pray that God's will is done. Going to pray that God's will is done. So I want to thank you so much, uh, for being with us today. Thank you for joining us. And we have two, uh, very important people here today. And I, I mean that from my heart. I mean that with all sincerity, because anyone that's running to serve us is important to us. And so, I'm first happy to have Brother Kenneth Griffis with us today. He's running for the Mississippi Supreme Court. And I wish he'd come up here just a second, take a moment and greet you. Aren't you glad that he's taken time to be with us today?
Thank you, Pastor. It's great to have church with you today. I think the pastor was right. Y'all got the best praise team I've heard. Thank you. My name is Kenny Griffis. I'm your Supreme Court Justice, and I'm running for re-election. I believe that we need to make sure that we have judges that care about things that matter to us, about life, about marriage, and about religious liberty. And so, I'd be honored to have your vote on Tuesday, and I thank you for giving me the chance to worship with you today.
Pastor, thank you so much. I thank him for taking time to be with us during a busy campaign schedule. It's important that he deems this church important enough, uh, to join us, and we, we're really grateful. Also, uh, Caleb May is with us today, and his family, his wife and girls are with us. And, uh, is this your full family? Okay. I, well, we got a lot in common. I raised two girls, and so, all right. They have three children. He beat me by one. Uh, but we're so glad that he's with us today. And, uh, he is running for a circuit judge in the four counties that almost this entire church lives in one of those four counties. So we're so thankful he's with us today. God bless you.
Thank you, Brother Copeland. My priorities, number one, faith. Faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We are to be examples to our children. The second priority in my life is my family. As we pointed out, I have three girls here. Me and Natalie are there to be the examples that they need. The third priority in my life is working hard to help others. And God calls us to help others. The parable of the Good Samaritan in the book of Luke, it talks about the Samaritans and the Jews who were enemies at the time. And when the Samaritan looked upon that Jewish man, he looked on him with compassion. That even though they are enemies, he looked with compassion. That's what God calls us to do. That's what He calls us to be as Christians. Now, 2020 has been a tough year. We've had the coronavirus, we've had national unrest, we've had this divisive election going on. But God is good, and God is good all the time. He has sent me people in my life this year that have been such a blessing to me, people that will be friends my entire life, and who I will return the favor to them this year. Remember, God is good. He's going to bring us through everything that the world can send at us. God is good all the time. Thank y'all.
Don't you appreciate these folks for taking time and making this church important and, uh, making us feel like we're a part of what's going on? And we are. Your votes are very important. I've heard of people just this week that said they can't make their decision, so they're just not going to vote. Uh, don't be guilty of that. No one is going to be perfect, and no one's going to fit the exact perfect situation. Only God is perfect. If it gets down to just voting for the lesser of two evils, do that, but make your voice heard in this election. We've, I don't believe we've ever had an election that is as vitally important to the future of our nation and our world as this election right now. America has been the torch of liberty and hope, and needs to continue to be the example and the torch and liberty of hope for this world. This entire world. We have been the hope. That Statue of Liberty means something, and you need to keep it meaning something like never before. The United States of America still needs to be the hope and the help of the nation of Israel. You need to pray for Israel. And America has been Israel's best friend since its inception or its gathering together again in 1948, 1967. We need to stand with the nation of Israel. God bless you. Worship with the choir. Let's have church in Jesus' name.
The choir is getting ready. I couldn't pass the opportunity to share this scripture with you as they prepared. Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 6. It says, "For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people." [Music] "But because the Lord loved you, because he kept the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, and the Lord had brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of the bondman, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, he is a faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." We serve a loving God. He loves us. Let's worship Him today.
[Music] [Music] God bless you. Make His face and leave me. [Music] Um, you make your space shine upon you and me. [Music] Me. Sing it with us. [Music] Me. [Music] [Music] Me. [Music] [Applause] [Music] 1000 generations and your family and your children and their children and their children. May you stay upon and. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Make His presence. [Applause] In the morning. [Music] He's. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Me. [Music] Generations and your family and your children and their children and then she made herself. [Applause] [Music] [Music] Me. Generations. [Applause] [Music] You. [Music] [Applause] Yes. [Applause] Is. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Would you stand together and just lift your hands in the house of the Lord? Thank you so much, choir. If you need to, uh, go to the restroom, get a drink of water, anything like that right now would be the time to do that, because I want you to get back in here and hear what the word of the Lord says today. It's very important that you, uh, that you hear the voice of the Lord in this house. How many of you believe we need to hear the voice of God? We need to hear God speak to us in this place today? You're standing, and I don't want to leave you standing mentally, so let's go quickly. The word, Philippians chapter 3 and verse 13 today. Thank you, Brother. Philippians 3 and verse 13. I've got a number of scripture today, so keep your Bible out, and those of you who are running the computer, please try your best to stay with me, because I want to go quickly. I don't want to take up your time today, Brother. "And I count myself not to have apprehended." This is the Paul, the Apostle Paul, is speaking. The Apostle Paul is speaking to the church at Philippi, and he says, "Look, I'm the first to tell you, I don't count myself to have apprehended." He said, "But this one thing I do." Very important. He says, "This one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind." Well, that's an important part of that verse. Somewhere you got to forget your past. You can't go forward looking in the rearview mirror. Sometimes, somewhere you got to forget this world. That's where he said, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world: if any man love the world, the love of the Father's not in him." You got to forget. There's got to be a total sellout. The only way you can be happy living for God is there's going to be a total sellout. [Music] "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Verse 14. And I'm going to let you be seated. "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." God bless you. You can be seated.
Would you lift your hands and just for a few minutes, ask the Lord to speak to your heart today? Before we go home, would you ask the Lord? Come on. Would you ask the Lord to speak to your heart today? Everybody here. Everybody here. Reaching out to the Lord. Jesus. Dear Lord, I want you to know that I love you. I appreciate you. My heart is after you today with everything that is within me. God, I'm reaching for your goodness and your mercy and your grace and your love. In the name of Jesus, I can't do anything on my own. I can't do anything by myself. I've got to have you today. I've got to have you today. In the precious, precious name of Jesus. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
I want to preach to you for the next few minutes from this subject, and it's just a two-word subject. And again, I'm going to be very conscious of your time, but I want to preach to you from this subject with joy. With joy. And I want to, I want to start today by, by saying again and reminding you that living for God requires balance. It requires balance in everything. Living for God requires balance, and it is vitally important. That is the one thing that most people, or a lot of people that struggle in living for God, do not understand is that, is that balance is vital. It's absolutely vital that you have balance. What, what do I mean by that? Well, my pastor when I was coming up had a lesson that he taught, and, uh, it was, it was not on a church service. It was a, it was in a classroom setting. It was done, um, you know, you didn't have to come. It was not required if you were a member of the church. It was just open to those who wanted to come, and I did. And I went to those classes, and I've referred to them all through my pastoring, because it was one of the most important times of Christianity formation, or the formation of the spirit in my life as a young person, to prepare me for living for God. And the class was called Roots and Wings. Roots and Wings. And the reason he called it Roots and Wings is he said, if you're going to be successful in living for God, you've got to have both. You've got to have roots that hold you in the fundamentals of the faith, but you've also got to have wings to fly in the Spirit. And if you're too rooted, you won't ever go anywhere in the Spirit. You won't enjoy living for God. But if all you want to do is just fly around in the Spirit, you have no roots. You'll wind up, you'll wind up in false doctrine. You'll wind up messed up because you've not stayed, remained founded, rooted in the principles of the doctrine. And so, here's what I'm going to tell you today. We've got to have balance. You've got to have balance if you're going to be living for God. And that balance point, this is vitally important that you hear this. Listen to what I'm saying. That balance point means that you've got to live for God out of obligation. Somewhere you got to make up in your mind that if I'm going to be successful living for God, I've got to be obligated. I've got to sell out to the obligation of it. And the way the old-timers expressed their obligation, and it didn't matter what they were, it didn't matter if they were Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, Church of God, and I could go on and on and on. It didn't matter what their religious affiliation was. You had a grandma or a grandpa, if they were really serious about living for God, that made this statement somewhere in your life, you heard it. "If the doors are open, I'm going to be there." It doesn't matter what they're having. It doesn't matter how, if they're having prayer meeting or a candy pulling, I'm going to be there. I'm going to be, if the doors are. Their expression was, if something's going on at the church. This is what I understand. That if I'm going to be successful in living for God, I can't just pick and choose, because picking and choosing is it. Picking and choosing is an erosive thing. See, so many things in, in living for God and life are erosive. That's what coronavirus is doing to this nation right now. I'm really, really worried about what our future is going to look like even after coronavirus is gone, because, because businesses, businesses that have been leaning on committed employees have now put themselves in a position. They used to stay open until 11, now they close at 8. How do you ever get those people to come back and be committed once they learn, we don't have to do this? You, we have, uh, I, I just stayed in a, in a hotel and, uh, I just stayed in a hotel and after a couple of days, I, I, I didn't have any toilet tissue. I didn't have any paper towels. I, I didn't have any, uh, fresh towels to dry off with. I, the garbage cans were overflowing. I go to the front desk, I said, "Look, they're, they're not cleaning my." "Oh, well, they're in coronavirus. We don't clean rooms except on request." Well, I'm just wondering how those ladies that are leaning back, eating a Snickers bar and drinking Coca-Cola, waiting on somebody to ask them to come clean their room, how they're just going to jump up and start cleaning 150 rooms again. There is an erosion to a lack of commitment, to a lack of obligation, that changes your thinking, and you start looking for ways not to be obligated, instead of ways to be obligated. And it's, it's very eroding. Not, not only does it erode away at your sense of obligation, but it erodes away at your character. It changes character and integrity to something less than character and integrity. It changes the dynamics. And so, there is a part of living for God that's got to be obligatory. You've got to obligate yourself. You've got to make up in your mind. This is the way. This is the way Jesus said it in Deuteronomy 6 and 4. If you'll go there, you know, we all, we all quote, uh, Deuteronomy 6 and 4, "to love your," "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." And we just stop right there. "Hear, O God. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." Well, you know what? That's His obligation to us to be our one God. But there's a verse after that in 6 and 5: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all," and it goes on to describe it, "with all thy soul, and with all thy might." With all thy heart. In other words, God says, "If you're going to serve me, I want all. I don't want you to think about anybody else. I don't want you to love anybody else. I don't want you to care about anybody else." And you know what? That's the only relationship that really works. Hmm. Anything less than that don't work. Even in a marriage, a marriage cannot work unless that other person is your all and has your all. And there's a lot of men and women that don't want that today. They want a good woman to stay home, raise the kids, take care of the kids, while they chase women at the pool hall, while they chase women at the gym, they want to get a little sugar somewhere else and come home to a clean house and kids that are bathed. And hey, don't work like that. Love demands obligation. Love demands all. If either, if they don't have your all, whether it's God or your spouse, then they don't have your love. And I'm almost done with my foundation. And please forgive me for using this, but it's the only way I know to say it. But, but Satan, on the other hand, is the harlot of the universe. God says, "You're going to recognize me as one true living God. You're going to sell out to me 100%. You're not going to have eyes for anybody else. I'm a jealous God. I'll curse you for idolatry. I'll have no other god beside me. I'll have no other god before me." You know who I am? "If you love me, take up the cross." What is that? That's obligation. "Take up the cross and follow me." And if you're unwilling to do that, then you're unwilling to have, or you're unworthy to have, relationship with me. Satan, on the other hand, Satan, on the other hand, is is like the harlot on the street corner. She says, "I got a blonde wig, I got a black wig, I got a brown wig, I got a red-headed wig. I, I got lipstick of every color. Just whatever you want me to be, that's what you, that's what I'll be. You can call me Jenny, Jane, call me whatever you want to call me, whatever name you like. If you like Heather with red hair, I can be Heather with red hair. If you like Jean as a blonde, I can be Jean as blonde. Just let me know what you want. I don't have to have all of you, just as long as I can get you away from the one true living God, I'll be whatever you need me to be." And that's, that's Satan's plan. And so, that's what Satan plans. He says, "I'll be, I'll be pornography. I'll be the, I'll build filthy movies. I, I'll be drugs. I'll be alcohol. I'll be partying. Whatever it takes to destroy you and pull you away from the one true living God, that's what I'm willing to be." Because he don't want your love. He just wants you away from the one true living God. But here's what God, God says, "I'm preaching to you with joy." And so, there's got to be an obligation to it. But on the flip side of that, obligation only holds you in the times when you're going through rough spots. And you will go through rough spots. If you don't believe, and I know the Bible says to, to when you're tempted, don't say, "I'm tempted of God." And really, what he's saying there is not that God can't tempt you. It's saying that you don't know where the temptation's coming from. So don't blame it on Jehovah. Satan tempts you. You tempt yourself. You don't ever know where the temptation is coming from. But when Jesus, when the disciples said, "Teach us to pray," and the Lord said, "Let me show you how to pray." He says, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed or holy be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive not our, or forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation." God will tempt you to see what you're made of. He'll tempt you to prove that your love is complete. [Music] So obligation, you can't live for God strictly out of obligation. That's why He said in John 14 and 26, He said, "I'm going away, but the Comforter's gonna come. The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, is gonna lead you into all things and bring all things to your." What is the Holy Ghost gonna do? The Holy Ghost is gonna lead you not into temptation. The Holy Ghost is here to comfort you in righteous decision-making. The Holy Ghost is here to bring you joy. He said, "I'm gonna baptize you with the fire of the Holy Ghost." And He also said, "I'm gonna baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with joy." The balance is, yes, there is obligation to living for God, but there's also a joy to living for Him. And I'm going to tell you, you cannot live for Him successfully, completely, unless you do it with joy. You've got to have joy in living for God. And the joy of living for God is what brings the favor of God. Now, this is very important that you hear what I'm saying right now. Joy in living for God brings the favor of God upon you. A lot of people lose out with living for God because they don't have God's favor. You see, this thing don't work unless you have the favor of God. I'm going to say it again because I don't think you get it. Nothing works unless the favor of God is shining on you. Once you get the favor of God, everything works. You see, a lot of people say, "Well, I paid my tithes and I haven't been blessed." Well, maybe it's your attitude. You know, if you, if you, if you bring your tithing and you put it in the basket, and you're like, "I could have really used that, but He said I gotta do it." And then you wonder, "I wonder why it's not working." Well, maybe we should go back to scripture, because the Bible tells us in, in, in Second Corinth, Second Corinthians, I'm sorry, 9 and 7, if you could go there, please. In Second Corinthians 9 and 7, it tells us what God blesses and what God loves and what God appreciates. "Every man according as he has purposed in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth." There's a lot of words you could insert in there. God blesses. God favors a cheerful giver. It's the person that recognizes, "If He never blesses me again, He saved me. He brought me out of an awful pit. He delivered me from drugs. He's kept my kids off drugs. He's gave me my family. He's healed me when I was sick. The church gave me my spouse. The church gave me my children. The church gave me my home." I recognize that everything I have came as a gift in the favor of God. You see, here's the, here's the whole thing. We, you got to do it with joy. Is there obligation to it? Yes, there's obligation to it. You've got to be faithful. You can't, you can't take the attitude. And so many people are taking the attitude today. So many are taking the attitude today, "Well, I accept Jesus as my Savior. I'm, I'm a Christian." You know, and, and now I don't have to do anything else. You know, if this thing's about relationship, folks, if that, if that works with God, then it'll work with your spouse. I mean, you just get back from the honeymoon, said, "Hey, I got the, I got the paperwork. We both signed it. You're my wife. I'll see you sometime." I mean, I love you now. Let's don't, you know, if anybody asked me, I'm going to tell them I love you. Uh, of course, I like pool too, and I like hanging out at the bar with my buddies, and, uh, I, I like to play golf and all that kind of stuff. So, I'm, I probably won't have a lot of time for you. But I want you to know I love you. And you're not hard-pressed to find millions of Americans that love God. Now, they haven't been to church. They don't remember the last time, and they certainly don't go much. But boy, if you, oh, I lo, I love the Lord. Of course, I went fishing Sunday, but I love Him. And if that worked with God, it would work with your spouse. You just, "I love, I love that woman." "When's the last time you've been home?" "Well, it seemed like it was last month sometime. I went and spent about an hour with her on a Sunday morning. Oh, I really enjoyed it. I've been busy since. I'm gonna try to get back as soon as I can. I probably don't see her like I need to. Oh, I love her though." And can't figure out why the blessing of God's not in your life. Let me, let me, let's, let's do, do this just a second, because I'm, I want to make sure I don't, I don't absorb your time here, because this is a, this is an exhaustive commentary we can have here today. But let's look right quick at, uh, Acts 10 and 34. Let's look at Acts 10 and 34, because this is what a lot of people go to. Acts 10 and 34. And, and if this thing with living for God is a, is a relationship, and it's about relationship, and if you don't have relationship, you're not going to be saved. You're not going to get God on a technicality, folks. I think you missed that. You're not going to get God on a technicality. You're not going to get to judgment and say, "Oh, I accepted you as my Savior. You know, you, even you can't pluck me out of the hand of God." God, a lot of people think they're going to get God on a technicality, that they did something to get saved, and nothing can get them unsaved, and God's obligated to to spend eternity with them. Well, use that on your wife. "I'm your husband. This thing's about relationship." I don't have time to go there, and I don't want to absorb too much time, so we're not going to go there in scripture. But I want you to listen to what I'm telling you right now. Matthew the seventh chapter, uh, it says that it says this. It says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." This thing's a straight gate and a narrow way. Everybody's not going to be saved. And it goes on to say, "Few there be that find it." And He says, "Many are going to come to me in that day," and they're going to say, "Lord, Lord, I thought we had a deal, man. I thought we, man, I, I thought we were partners, man. I mean, we were doing the fist bump and the whole deal, man." He's to say, "Depart from me, ye worker of iniquity: I never knew you." Knew. I never knew you. And that "knew" is the same word that is used every time the Bible says, "And Adam knew his wife," and children were born. What He's saying is, you might have accepted me as your Savior. You might even come to Pentecost Church, got the Holy Ghost, but you never built relationship with me. You never committed. You never sold out. You never, you, you never completely sold out. You never had obligation. And I bless, I give joy for the journey based on obligation. And here's the scripture. A lot of people go to. "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." And some people use that scripture to say, "I know I don't pray like I need to. I know I don't read my Bible like I need to. I know I probably don't go to church like I need to. I know I don't do a lot of things. But, you know what? God's no respecter of persons. He loves me just like he loves the sold-out guy." That's not what that scripture means. What that scripture mean is, everyone, the rich and the poor, the black and the white, the, the Mexican and the smartest, if you're polka-dotted, you have the same opportunity for relationship that anyone else has. The Jew and the Gentile alike has the same foundation. He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Take my yoke upon you. Anybody can have relationship with God. But it does not mean He's no respecter of persons, that whether you are interested in building relationship or not, that you get the same outcome. Because Psalms 101 and 6, if you'll go there. Psalms 101 and 6 says this. Let me just say it this way. God is no respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of faithfulness. "Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me." God's not a respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of relationship.
Let's go back real quick to Philippians 3 and 13. I got a very important concept for you to get a hold of. Philippians 3 and 13. I've got my foundation built now. I'm gonna preach to you a little bit. I'm gonna tell you the only thing, this, the only way this thing works is with joy. And yes, obligation is there for the times that you're tempted, in the times that you're in trouble, because there's gonna be times that for whatever reason, God's gonna find out what you're made of, and He's gonna let you live for God a little while, and it seems like everything's against you. And if you don't have obligation, you're gonna fizzle out during that time period. But the other side of it is, it's all you got. That's why, that's why having the Holy Ghost is is vital, because if all you've got is obligation, then you're gonna give up because you're not gonna enjoy living for God. "And I count myself not to have apprehended, but this one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind." A lot of people, when they read that scripture, all they think about, all they think about is the things they're ashamed of. But there's more to it than that. You've got to forget your old life. No one wants to marry a man that can't forget his, his first wife. Well, no woman wants to sit at the breakfast table and, and hear, "Boy, I'm gonna tell you what, I really liked old Pam's eggs. I appreciate what you served me, David, man. That Pam, she could fix eggs like none of your business. She could, she was the best egg fryer in the world." And your wife said, "Well, what about my eggs?" "Boy, they're good, but boy, you shoulda, you shoulda had one of Pam's eggs." No woman wants a man that can't forget his, his ex-wife, whether she's alive, dead, wherever she is, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if she's in the ground. It doesn't matter if there's a tombstone sitting over her head. The new wife still don't want to hear about her. Her attitude can be, "I respect everything you had with her, but hey, you know, if you can't come into this new life, then stay back there." This is what Paul was saying. Paul was saying, you can't start a relationship with God that you expect to take you to heaven if you, all you can talk about is what you had in the barroom. If all you want to think about and talk about is how much you enjoyed getting drunk at the pool hall, then, then go back to the pool hall. Forgetting those things which are behind. You gotta shut the door on that and reach for the things which are before. Next verse, verse 14. "I press toward the mark for the prize." This is it. This is it. And I finally laid my foundation and where I, where I need to be for preaching for about 10 minutes. Okay. This living for God is the highest calling in the world. It's a, it's a higher calling than anything else. It is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. It is the high, are you listening to what I'm telling you right now? If you don't believe that, then we can't go any further with this message. If you do not believe your calling to serve God and reach others for Jesus Christ brings a blessing, and it is a high calling that is above everything else. If you think your bricklaying, or your accounting, or whatever it is, it's more important than your relationship with God, then, then you and I, we're not even communicating today. You might as well leave now, because we can't even finish this message. Nothing is a higher calling than your calling to serve Jesus Christ. You're not a bricklayer first and then you're a Christian. You're a Christian that happens to lay brick. [Applause] You're not a pipefitter first and then a Christian. You're a Christian that happens to have a vocation that's a pipefitter. This is the high calling. This is the highest calling on the face of the earth. It's more important than your bank, than your grocery store, than where you vacation. It's more important than your vacation home. [Applause] And if you don't feel that way about living for God, then it's no wonder you're struggling. When you get that set up properly, then all of a sudden, everything in your life. Let me tell you something. If you're a bricklayer first and then you're a Christian, then God can't bless your life, and your bricklaying won't bless your life. But if you'll put God number one, this is exactly what God was saying in Matthew 6 and 4: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." All these things. Your family, your home, your finances, your children, your occupation, your vocation, your college, your school, everything will just be added unto you. But there's no guarantee that you're going to enjoy life if you don't seek God first. This is the high calling. This is the high calling. Paul said, "I reach forward for the high calling. I search for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." I, I just tell you, I'm just, I, I'm not going to name the name of it because this is going out on Facebook Live, and I want to be real careful. But in, you know, I'm not even gonna say what the city is. There is a city that, there is a Chick-fil-A sitting right behind, right beside another fast food national fast food chain. And I'm just telling you that at any given time that they're both open, you can drive up and there'll be a line all the way around the Chick-fil-A in the drive-thru, if the other one will be empty. And it's not that their food's better. I mean, and that's up to you. Some of you say, "Oh, it is to me." Well, you know what? It's
Not to me. If I'm gonna do fast food, one's just as good as the other, and none of it is much good. I mean, it doesn't matter to me if I, if I'm down to where I got to go through a fast food drive-line. If I'm down that low, that I mean, I'm just scraping the bottom of the barrel and I don't have time, I'm just in a position where I gotta eat fast food. It doesn't matter to me if it's Burger King, Chick-fil-A, McDonald's. It, if I'm that bad off, then I'm just going to salt and pepper some cardboard anyway.
So, my point is though, there's a reason why Chick-fil-A's lines backed up and there's four other fast food restaurants around them with empty drive-throughs. And here's the reason. The reason is the same whether it's real or not. The reason is the same that, that they have fabulous management. They apparently have phenomenal management, and they learn the same thing. It's a biblical principle that, that caused the Queen of Sheba to, to, the Bible says, the Bible indicates, almost pass out. She said, "I'm going to tell you what impressed me. It's not all the things that you own, because there's other kings that own a lot of stuff. It's not your pools and your ponds and your houses, because there's other people that don't. It's not your palace, there's other kings with palaces. It's not the gold and silver and all that. I'm going to tell you what just makes me, it just takes my breath away, is how that your servants are serving you with joy. They act like they really love serving you. Whether they do or not, I don't know. But I'm going to tell you one thing." Queen of Sheba said, "They got me fooled. I mean, they, they come running in here like they are cheerful to give you what you need and cheerful to bring you what you want."
Let me tell you what the Bible says. The Bible says your flesh, that this flesh, this flesh that you live in, is at enmity with God. It does not serve God willingly. So that's your job. That's why you got to grab yourself by the nape of the neck and say, "We're going to the prayer room." The reason that so many people can't enjoy living for God is because they got an enemy. There's a name of an old movie years ago, "Sleeping with the Enemy." If you don't know it, you're sleeping with the enemy. You're sleeping with somebody that hates God. It hates church. It hates the things of God. It hates responsibility. It wants to slough off and be lazy and eat all the ice cream and not get up and go to work in the morning. And it sure don't love God. And it sure don't appreciate the things of God. And sure don't want to be honest. And, and so, you know what you got to do? You got to take it to the altar and destroy it. You got to kill the flesh. You got to die out to the flesh because it is the enemy. And let me tell you something, it's not just the enemy of God. It's the enemy of you. Your flesh is the enemy of God, and it's the enemy of anything that brings you toward eternal life for doing better. And you gotta grab this flesh by the nape of the neck and say, "You know what? I'm taking you to the altar and I'm crucifying you." That's why I'm getting up in the morning. The Bible says, "Early will I seek Him. Early will I see Him." You know what you need to do? You need to get up every morning and destroy your flesh before you even start your day. Before you even get started, you need to say, "God, forgive me for being flesh. Forgive me for living in a carnal world. Forgive me for living in, in this, this body that despises You and hates You and hates Your concepts. And I need Your wisdom today, not my ingenuity. I need to operate in Your understanding today, and not the understanding of this carnal mind. I need to live according to Your principles today, and not my own deranged principles. Forgive me." And if you, if you don't do that, you're gonna have a war all day long. But if you'll just go ahead and crucify the flesh up front, the Bible says in the book of Romans that this flesh hates the things of God. It despises the things of the Spirit. It only for God. But if you get him out of the way, all of a sudden, all of a sudden, you can enjoy living for God.
Let me tell you what the Bible says right quick. This is what the Bible says. This is so important. Ephesians 4 and 1. Ephesians, the fourth chapter and the, in Ephesians, the fourth chapter, in the first verse. My Lord, have mercy. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1. While they're going there, while they're going there, the way you live for God is you so die out to the flesh that it changes your attitude. The people that don't enjoy serving God and won't receive the prize, or the person that's not recognized. This is a high calling. Here's what Paul told the church at Ephesus: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you are worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called." This is a high calling, and we got to find ourselves worthy of this high calling.
I got to get back to Chick-fil-A. They got the most efficient drive-through in the United States of America. You know why they've got an efficient drive-through? Not because those people are trained. They're trained at the other places. But the people at Chick-fil-A want to run that drive-through. They want to get your order out quick. I mean, you go into some of these other places and you walk up to an empty counter, everybody's at the back. You stand there and you wish you had a bell that you could ring. You walk into, you walk into Chick-fil-A. "Welcome to Chick-fil-A." There's three people standing up there ready to take your order. You know what they, and every time, every time that they hand you their bag, your bag, every time they take your order, you know what they say? "My pleasure." "My pleasure, sir." "My pleasure, ma'am." You know why some of you can't serve God like you need to serve God with the joy that you need to serve Him with? Is because you, you don't view coming to church, "It's my pleasure, Lord. It's my pleasure to serve You." You're looking for ways to miss church instead of ways to be at church. Oh, if you want the joy that comes with living for God, then you ought to get up on Sunday morning and say, "I can't wait to get to the house of God. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than enjoy the pleasure of sin. Just get me to the house of God."
You know why you're not serving God with joy? Because you haven't recognized this as a high calling. To say that, "God, You chose me. God, made me a part of His kingdom." Let me, let me tell you what He said. I said, "Oh, this is, this is good right here. This is good right here. Listen to me. This is good right here." Genesis 19 and 26. Please be seated. Y'all ain't voting for me to quit. The reason you keep standing are you? I'm almost done. I promise. I just now got to the good stuff. Let me, let me, let's enjoy the good stuff just a little bit before I quit. Lot's wife looked back from behind Him, and she became a pillar of salt. You know why this fits both the scripture I read and you're hearing in the beginning? Philippians chapter 4, verse 13. Paul said, "Forgetting those things which are behind." She looked back and longed for the thing God was taking her to a new land, a new world. He was taking her out of a place of sin and bondage and degradation. He was taking her to a land that flowed with milk and honey. And all she could do is look back at the weak and beggarly elements of the world that she came out of. And God said, "You ain't gonna make it. I might as well end you right now so you don't drag anybody else back with you." And He turned her into a pillar of salt because she looked back. Somebody said, "That's just Old Testament." Oh, really? Oh, really? Let's look at Luke 9 and 62. Luke, the ninth chapter and the 62nd verse. You've got to quit looking back at the world. Somebody needs to say, "I'm glad, bro, God brought me out of the world. I'm glad He brought me into the light." "My pleasure, sir." "My pleasure, sir." "My pleasure to serve You." And Jesus sent them, "No man having put his hand to the plow and looked back is fit for the kingdom." This is a high calling, and you got to be fit for it. This is a high calling, and you got to stand up to it. This is a high calling, and you've got to recognize it as such.
Oh, my Lord, my Lord. I've got so many scriptures, but I'm done. I, I, I, I, I really am. My Lord. Matthew 13 and 44. Musicians, come please. Matthew 13 and 44. Matthew, the 13th chapter and the 44th verse. This is a high calling, and, and you're not going to make it if all you can do is say, "Well, I guess it's my week to, to cook again down there at the church." You've missed it. The attitude's got to be, "Man, I'm just telling you right now, God has done so much for my family. I cannot tell it all. Man, I got kids singing in the choir. I got kids playing the musical instruments on the platform. I got my, my church serves me one of the greatest youth groups to keep my kids out of sin. Man, all I got to do is bring a little cake down the church house. I'm ready. It's my week to serve." And I just want Him to know, "My pleasure, sir. Whatever I can bring to Your kingdom. My pleasure." You want to know why you can't win souls? At the same reason some couldn't win the, the Queen of Sheba. But I'm going to tell you one thing, that some of you, some of you, the Queen of Sheba, uh, would have been amazed at you too. Because we got people right here at this church. You know who wins the souls? The ones that say, "Man, it's time to go to church again. It's time to be in the house of God again." Watch this business of people always trying to figure out, "I wonder how I can figure out a way to tell Brother Copeland I ain't gonna stay for the second service. I wish I had a good excuse to go home after that first service." What? You don't love serving God? It's not your pleasure to be in His presence. Man, the Bread of Life's gonna be broke again in that second. You ain't gonna make it. You ain't gonna make it if you're always looking for reasons just to go to one service. Don't say you ain't gonna make it when it's over. You need to, you, you need to be seated. You need to work at that other place. Some of them other places, I don't know how they make it. You come in, they say, "Can I take your order?" If you had any sense, you know what you'd say? You'd say, "No, you can't." If that's the way you serve God, I'm here, preacher. Hope you're happy. I got up. Places I'd be rather be in other things. I'd rather be doing. I don't know why God ain't blessing me.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field; that which when a man hath found, that he had of it, and for, for what? For joy, he forgets those things which are behind. He puts his hand to the plow and he don't even look over his shoulder. Oh, my God, have mercy. He don't look back at Sodom and Gomorrah. He sells all that he hath, and with joy, he buyeth that. Oh, my God.
Be seated one last time. One last time. Anybody love living for God? Come on in. My love living for God. Luke 17 and 10. For my last verse. Luke 17 and 10. Jesus tells us something very important. Luke 17 and 10. You know why some of you, you just ain't gonna make it? You sit out there and you look up here on the platform. "My Lord, look at that girl up there. Her skirt's too short to be on that platform." Well, you know what? Isn't it wonderful? You're not the pastor. You don't have to worry about it. All you have to do is just enjoy living for God. You don't have to fix that. Just enjoy living for God. You hadn't heard me, man. I wish I just had a little, I wish I had just a little bit of black preacher in me. Well, I could preach today. I'm just too white to do it justice. I wish I had it though. I'd have you on your feet. "So likewise ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, saying, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty." And that's the problem with a lot of people. All they want to do is just, "You mean I have to do that to be saved? You mean I have to do that to be saved? You mean Brother Copeland's gonna make us do that? You mean I gotta go to both services on Sunday?" That's kind of the deal. It's the Lord's day. You're supposed to give the day to Him. The lion's share of that day is supposed to be given to God because it's the Lord's day. That's why most churches have two services on Sunday, so you can give that day to Him. No, you'd rather be fishing. You'd rather be hunting. You'd rather be shopping. You'd rather be out to eat. Well, let me just tell you, you ain't gonna make it. This is about relationship. If you'd rather be anywhere than with the Lord, if you'd rather be anywhere than with the Lord.
With joy. With joy. Stand together, everybody. I'm done. With joy, he sells all he has. With joy, he'll look back over his shoulder. With joy, he gives it all up for the kingdom of God. I love serving God. I love giving God my Sunday. I love bringing things to the church. I love you.
Somebody says, "Do I have to pay my tithes?" Absolutely not. "Do I have to pay my?" Absolutely not. If you want to keep it, keep it, you old stingy God. I love giving to the kingdom of God. I love it. It's my pleasure to bring my tithes and offerings to the story. It's my pleasure, sir. It's my pleasure. Lift your hands together, everybody. Come on, everybody's house right now. Come on, everybody reaching out to Him. Come on, everybody magnifying His name. Come on, everybody lifting up the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Come on, everybody praising God. Come on, lift your voice. Lift your voice. Lift your voice. I'm done.
Come on, praise Him. Come on, magnifying.
I love living for God. It's my pleasure to serve You. Come on, magnify Him, everybody. Open the aisles up. Come in close around these altars. Open the house up. I want everybody that loves God to come down here and worship Him before we go home. Open the aisles up. Come in close. Come in close where everybody can get in. Come in closer, everybody. I want everybody, if you love God, I want you to come around these altars and lift your hands and say, "It's my pleasure, sir. It's my pleasure to serve You. It's my pleasure. You brought me out of an awful pit. You set my feet on the rock. You brought me out of my replay. You've changed my family. You've changed my marriage. You saved my finances. Everything I have, I owe to You. It's my pleasure to serve You, sir. It's my pleasure to serve You, sir. I love living for God. I love praising His name." Come on. I don't have to give Him the offerings. I don't have to pay my tithes. I love to have God in my finances. I love to help God involved in what I'm doing. Praise Him. Praise Him. Praise Him. Worship Him. Come on. Come on. Come on.
I need somebody. The joy of the Lord delivering me now. I feel the joy of the Holy Ghost all over me. When I feel the joy of the Lord press on me, the joy of the Lord delivering me. Pain. Come on, praise Him. Come on, praise Him. Lift Him up and magnify His name in this house. It's my pleasure, sir. It's my pleasure to worship You. The joy.
Joy of the Holy Ghost. If you love serving God, then lift your hands and lift your voice. Raise Him together. Worship with somebody around you. Worship with somebody around you. Come on, let's praise His name.
Yes, Lord.
I've been set free. Pardon me a moment by having to believe for the joy of the Lord. It's real, and it's all over me. I feel the joy of the Lord press on me. The joy of the Lord delivering me. Thank God. Your joy all over me. Come on, lift your hands and magnify Him right now, everybody. Come on, you praise Him. Would you magnify the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? It's my pleasure to serve the Lord. It's my pleasure to be a part of His kingdom. It's my pleasure to work in the kingdom of God. My Lord, my Lord. You know what? I got business owners. I got business owners all over this church. Most of this church are business owners. The largest majority of this church are people that own your own business. What is an employee worth to you that does their job with joy? What kind of raises are you willing to give an employee that walks through that door on time with a smile on their face? They're having the same problems everybody else has. They're having the same interpersonal relationships and all the drama that goes on, but somehow they just walk through the door with joy. "I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready." You know, if you're not, if you're not getting a raise on your job, it's probably your fault, not your boss's. You can go to six more places wanting somebody to raise you, but the real issue is you. Cause I'm telling you, if you make yourself so valuable that that boss is thinking, "My God, whatever I gotta do, I don't need to lose them."
That's the what Jesus was saying in Luke the 9th chapter, 17th verse, that I read. He said, "You want me to reward you for doing your job?" He said, "Man, if somebody's got a servant, they don't bring them in, sit down, just on principle. They don't bring them in." "Sit down, I'd like to serve you. I'd like to give you something to eat." That's not what you get rewarded for. You get rewarded. I didn't have time to go into it, and I'm done. But He said, "You get rewarded when you say, 'You asked me to go one mile? I'm going two,' and doing it with joy. You asked me for my coat? I'm gonna give you my cloak also," and do it with your. That's how you get the favor of God. That's how you get the blessing of God. It's a principle, brother. If you'll enjoy living for God, the favor will come upon you. Everything you touch will be blessed. Everything you touch will have the hand of God. I'm done. Lift your hands together and thank God for this service. We're about to be dismissed. Come on, thank God. Thank God.
Delivering me. Thank God. Your joy over me. Well, I feel the joy of the Lord moving on me. Joe. Delivering. Please welcome our guests. Make sure our guests feel very welcome. Everybody say, "Three o'clock." Three o'clock, right here for Sunday school. Sunday school classes all over these facilities. There's gonna be Sunday school classes. Kids are gonna go to classes. Youth, college, career. Please be right back here at three o'clock. They've served. They got a meal next door. Hey, everybody. There's a meal next door. Come join us in fellowship with us. Bring your guests next door and pay for their meal. Let's have a great time. Let our guests know we're happy. You're dismissed in Jesus' name.