Transcription
[Applause] [Music] [Music]
There are some saying that they've heard somebody's saying, "Get ready! Get ready to rally! Get ready! Are you ready for it?" God bless you. Out of her chins, let's hear what doesn't sing. God bless God for this opportunity to stand before the greatest church in the world, the Church of God at any price. And I am a native of Flint, Michigan, and I thank God for my heritage. I'm a graduate of Saints College. I thank God for the church's school. I am your product. I am what you have produced. I thank God for the privilege of serving the pastorate in a beautiful location in the world-class city of Orlando, Florida. And I'm privileged to serve there, the Orlando Institutional Church of God in Christ.
I give honor to our presiding bishop, a man of vision, a man bountifully endowed with an unusual ability to communicate God's Word, both in faith and demonstration. To our administrative assistant, Bishop Haynes, to all of our channel board members, capable men of great stature, to our board of bishops, and to all of our men of God who share in this awesome responsibility of the propagation of the gospel. If anybody knows what it's like to preach, it ought to be another preacher. So I thank you for your support. To my sainted mother-in-law, who I did not know 20 years ago when I met my wife. 40 years of marriage, I did not know. I knew I was gonna gain a mother-in-law, but I did not know I was marrying what would become the National Mother of our church, a very capable and beautiful woman of God, Mother Rivers. I honor my wife tonight and my son, my only begotten Son, in whom I'm well pleased. [Music] My mother tonight, who is in the prayer, and to my father, who's out here.
Let me share a word with you, if I may. I want to invite your attention to the book of Romans. The book of Romans. Shall we commence reading there? Those of you that have your Bibles, if you would be so kind to read aloud with me, the 14th verse, the first chapter of the book of Romans. Shall we commence reading together? "I am indebted both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise." Let me read this in your hearing. I'm going to begin again at the eighth verse. And if you will take attentive perusal of this particular scripture passage, I believe its contents will prove to be edifying to our very souls. "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let hitherto, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the Gentiles." Well, you see, I am a get—I am catapulted to the Greeks, to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in you lies, I'm ready. I'm ready to preach. I'm ready to preach the gospel. I'm ready to preach this gospel to you. That I, even I, had wrong. I would that God that I could get you to repeat the subject with me tonight, if you would, for a point of emphasis. Just come on, everybody. Turn to somebody, just for point of emphasis. Why don't you just turn to somebody better-looking than you are and repeat these words with me? I notice some of you act like you can't find nobody. Gotta look at. Well, if you can't find anybody better-looking, then just find somebody looking and say with me, "I am." [Applause] Now look at them again and say, "When you look at me, you're looking at a gap." [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
This verse of scripture was written by the Apostle Paul. He penned it while he was here in another city. Paul, the Apostle, who would not boast, neither would he brag. But if you had asked him, "Who are you?" The Apostle Paul would have told you, "By birth, I am a Benjamin. My racial identity, I am a Jew. By training, I am a Pharisee. Then by trade, I am a pit maker. By assignment, I'm an ambassador for the King. And concerning my education, I matriculated through the Sanhedrin courthouse and then sat at the foot of Gamaliel and told him, 'If you be my teacher, I'll be your student.'" The Apostle Paul, you know him. Concerning foreign languages, he majored in thirteen and minored in seven. And told the people, "By the grace of God, what I am, I am a prisoner of righteousness. I'm a servant of the King." He turned every corner into a pulpit, at every house into a chapel. Then he sat in a Nero cell and wrote letters unto the churches. While writing, he wrote this to the church at Rome. Now, Paul had never visited the Roman Church, and he had never seen the believers at Rome. Yet here he is writing to them. How could he best reach them? And how could he express his purpose for writing them? How could he do it? Well, how could he arouse their interest to such a peak that they would read what he was writing and even the more heed to it? This is the subject of the present passage. Paul wanted the Roman believers to know his great interest in them. Therefore, to the best of his ability, he shared why he was writing to them. Simply stating, he said he was writing because he could do nothing else. He was compelled to share the gospel with the whole world, including the capital city of Rome. In fact, he was enslaved by the gospel. He was—look at the demons. A neighbor, Lord has given me away, and I am—look at some others. I must do it. I've got to do it. Oh, God, the chance that role. We've got too many people in shirts act like they're doing God a favor. We got too many people sitting in church and look like they've been baptized in prune juice and smoother than lemon sauce. You got to tell them when to clap. Got to tell them when to pat their hair. Got to tell them when to stand up. Got to tell them when to shower. Got to tell them when to dance. David, you don't have to tell me when to praise God. Just give me a little time to freak. [Applause]
I haven't talked to you about four things and conclude with where I am. Adela. First of all, the church. Can I talk to you about this great church in Rome? The church at Rome was a great church. So great that Paul thanked God for the church always. It's a wonderful thing when the preacher can thank God for the church. Some churches drive their pastors up the wall and around the ceiling and back down the side of the wall. Look at your even. Assam, can your pastor thank God for you? Some of y'all come to church on Sunday morning, but we can't find you with a flashlight during the week. If you can't say it, man, say "I say." I say, "I'm rest." But say something. It's a disgrace and a shame. Most of us are no more than upfront. I don't have my mother talking to me. We come to church and we'll drive. But some of these women will drive in the car with their husbands all the way to church. And once they're word to him all the way to church, "Honey, you all right?" "Yeah, I'm all right." But notice you. I notice you're not talking normally. You talk. I said, "I'm all right." And then Sue, she gets to church, she's got this picture on. Long talker, moaning. You're hungover. Come over there and grab your by your skirt. Tell until you sit down. David, I know you're not talking to God. You didn't talk to me all the way to church. Some of us are nothing but a fraud. Some of you, me, and I'm nothing but a front. Yes, Uriah Shah. In a time, you can call everybody in the church, "baby, bow, honey, sweetheart, hello, sugar pie, hello, prom, hello, sweet darling, dear." And then when you speak to your wife, "Come on here." That's cool. If you can't call your wife sweetheart, don't be calling mine sweetheart. The chance. Can I talk to you about the church in Rome? Some of us are no more than a front. I remember I had the privilege of being invited to Mr. Blake's shirts. I like to tell this story because I like to tell people. I got invited out there and while I was there, I went out to Hollywood Universal Studios. You know, I ought to be in pictures. Universal Studios. Hannah, I saw something. A pizza rest of you. I used to watch Dallas. Mr. Hands. And what I was watching Dallas, I'll never forget the episode. You remember it? When, when they burnt Southfork? I know I'm not the only one that watched Dallas in here. Somebody else saw that when they burnt stop. [Applause] Now remember wondering how in the world could they afford to burn a five-million-dollar house just for one episode? But while in California and notice at the Universal Studios, as I approach what looked like sofa, at the same amount of windows as South-South, but as I approach this panoramic view, and I saw absolutely nothing. It was just a facade, just a front. And the spirit of the Lord said to me, "That's what some of these church folk are. Just a bunch of fronts. Nothing behind it." Big long parker mone, but nothing behind it. Come on. Just look at your neighbor. Act like you're looking behind them. Heard your testimony, but I'm trying to see if there's anything behind hurt. You sing. [Applause]
I had never been to the church ever. All he did not know the church personally. He only knew what he had heard about it. But not the church's testimony for Christ was so strong, it was being talked about throughout the whole world. It had phenomenal testimony. And wherever Paul traveled, he heard about the threat of the church at Rome. What made the church at Rome so strong? Two significant things. And now Harry alone, two significant things can be gleaned from this text that made the church at Rome strong. Number one, the believers were living fewer lives in the midst of an immoral, base, an unjust society. The citizens of Rome were known for their morality, for their freshness, for their trunkness, for their partying, for their gluttonous, for their extravagance. They were known in Rome for their whoredom and their materialism, their greed and their selfishness, their indulgence and their idolatry, their pride and their sin and their wickedness. Sounds like the world we live in, man. Is trying to define seeing differently than God, but seeing is still sin. My former pastor when I grew up, this rod the dolls defined sin and said that man calls see an amusement, but God calls it abomination. Man calls him a blunder, but God calls it blindness. Man calls him a slip, but God calls it suicide. Man calls sin weakness, but God calls it wickedness. You can camouflage it all you want to, wrong, it's still wrong. We've got some of everything now, not just in the world, but we've got it in the church now. We've got sisters and yippits and freebie gypsies. But I'm praying, God, give me the strength to stay with you in times like these. Look at your neighbor and say, "If you're not one, you're the same, man." [Applause]
The church, the believers were serving Christ faithfully, laboring ever so diligently for the Lord wherever they were, at home or away, traveling. They were sharing Christ and ministering to people. So much so that some of them were known by name all around the world. The testimony of this stretch was strong. The Roman Church stands as a testimony for every church that no matter how immoral and base, polluted and corrupt society is, we too stand firm for price and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Look at somebody, say, "Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Yes, you can." Don't you let that make you think you can't live. Say, "Don't you let the devil make you think you can't hold out. Don't you let the devil make you think you've got to compromise your stand. Don't you young women let the devil make you think that you can't hold up your standard." There's a shame of disgrace that's going on in our society. Many of our young women have become so gullible till they just want a man. But baby, you better wait and make sure that you get what God's got for you. There's so many of us that have lost our self-esteem and we'll let some external force determine our sense of self-worth. You can't afford to give anybody that much power over you. You get afford to let somebody else tell you whether or not you look good or not, whether or not you are beautiful or not. You can't let anybody have that kind of power over you. You've got to do like I did this morning when I looked at myself and got the suggester told God, "My, my, I thought you two knew what you were doing." You get to the point, you've got to get to the point, young woman, where you all sit and sell out for anything or anybody. You've got to get to the point where you tell that that brother it tells you, "If you love me, you will." Tell him, "If you love me, you won't ask me to." I won't take it back. [Music] [Applause]
Yes, this at the time was the scripture must come alive. 2nd Corinthians 6 and 17: "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." No matter where we are, at home or traveling away, on business or for pleasure, we also be witnesses and ministering for Christ. How can we minister? Well, our problem is many of us have no parallel. I thought about this, and I thought about what is the great need of the church? To have Holy Ghost power. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." I'm finding that many of our churches, we've got people that are saved, but have never experienced the baptism in the Holy Ghost. So we got about two believers, but have not been empowered by the Holy Ghost. One of the great testimonies of the New Testament church was that they had the power of the Holy Ghost. When you look at the ninth verse of that same chapter, I'm attentive perusal of this ninth verse. I pray for exegetical exactitude in these final few moments. The gospel subjected Paul's spirit. I said it. The gospel. Somebody say, "The gospel." The gospel subjected Paul's spirit to God's real. Now, I want to talk to you just briefly about that. The reason why Paul was able to get to the latter part of the fourteenth and fifteenth verse, he is because he had given his spirit under spiritual authority. You got to watch the spirit of a fame. Look at your neighbor and say, "You gotta watch the spirit of a thing." Look at them, say, "I see you dancing and shouting, but I'm watching your spirit." Some folk spirits are not subject. Hello, somebody. That's why you got to guard your spirit. If you say, "This is the day and time," you better guard your spirit. The devil in hell is trying his best to destroy the Saints from the inside. You said they're judging your action, but the devil has already contaminated your spirit. You sittin' up in church and got to walk to the other side of church to avoid Sister Sorenson because she stepped on my toe in 1949, and I forgot it yet. You better forget it if you want to go back with God. You better let it go. And tell me now, you got to watch your spirit. You got to guard your spirit from other things getting in there and contaminating you from the will of God. I want to stay sensitive to God. I wanna be—I want my spirit. You know, my third point is found in the ninth verse also. I've dealt with first of all, the church, and secondly, the spirit of Paul. And I want to deal with prayer. The gospel stirred Paul to pray without ceasing. If the church is going to survive today, it must pray. Paul was a man of intercessory prayer, a man who always prayed for others, and not just for himself. No two points. Paul called upon God to bear witness that he prayed. He did not just talk about praying, he prayed. He did not just tell people to pray, he prayed. He did not just pretend to pray, he prayed. He did not just spend a few minutes in religious exercise, but he prayed. [Music] Paul really prayed. He took time to ask God to strengthen him. Now, I'm going to know about you, but I need God to strengthen me. I don't ever want to get so insensitive. I don't want to ever get so—you can be gifted, y'all don't hear me, and you can be appointed, but I'd rather be anointed. We got people with papers, but no power. We got him with lice enjoying or pray for me here, but we need people that are anointed of God that can destroy every yoke of the enemy and pull down the strongholds. He prayed. My in Psalm 5 and 3: "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 55 and 17: "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice." Oh, well, the last point before my final point is that the gospel stirred Paul to seek people personally. He did not leave the ministry and the sharing of the gospel to all of us. I don't care about talking to me. He became personally involved. So much so that he begged God to give him an opportunity, opportunity even to the point of letting him travel to the capital of the world. How many people here got something you want to do for God, and you just want to go before God? I'm in a time again. It's a Lord, if you just open that door, Lord, if you just make the way. Sit in the church here and be idle, but Lord, I know you called me to do something. He had a seal, but his seal was not carnal. He had a spiritual seal. Get a seal that calls him to a ballgame. You'll see the basketball. Anybody ought to be praising me. Brought me some. Put your hands on. [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]
Under you some spiritual gifts. What do you mean by spiritual gifts? We've got these so-called prosperity preachers, and you because they'll make you think that's all God is interested in is financial blessings. [Applause] [Music] [Music] Thank you. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Paul's main concern, I gotta give you some spiritual blessings so that you might be established. Look at your neighbor, say, "Neighbor, shopping and shouting, it's alright, but you need to be established. You need something that will be with you when the dance is older, when there's no musician around. You need something that'll be within the midnight." Preach this thing. I know preacher, less than a thousand people soap retailer, Hudgens. Well, since you insist, not brothers, master says, let me tell you, sitting in church like we got seniority. Such sitting in church. Preachers, you don't have me playing musical chairs in the pulpit. That's my seat. That's my seat, baby. Don't you know preach? Sitting in the pulpit don't make you more concerned. Table round your knee. Really, some missionaries. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I haven't always leaping on my feet. [Applause] [Music] When I do that, my quad dogs are behind me. [Applause] With a deep sense of indebtedness, he was said with a readiness to reach all me. [Music] [Music] [Applause] Is upon us. [Applause] I'm not leaving the church. I don't know about this thing. Bingos. [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] Look at your neighbor and say, "Neighbor, clothes are you telling me you're not the reason come in here? You're not gonna be the reason." [Music] Oh. [Applause] No, I'm not. I'm not here. Look at your neighbors. Hey, I'm not here. The cars are you. Look at them, say, "Neighbor, I'm not in the church because of the brothers in the church." Tell them, "They're some brothers that are not so right. Get on your last nerve. Cause you go pray for me. Feel mistreated. Who lost their sensitivity? You don't have me have a form of godliness, power there." You gotta tell your neighbor, "I'm not in the chair." Their cars. These sisters either. They're too minute gossiping kales and whispering witches. These women. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] Yeah, I help retain people. They preach elevators. I'm taller. Is it? What are you doing? Paul said, "I can't. I came to tell you that I'm ready." Now look at your neighbors. Hey, neighbor, so you think you're ready? Huh? [Applause] Paul said, "Yes, I'm ready. Not because of my degree. You don't have me. I got my degrees, but that's not what makes me ready." [Music] [Music] I was running out of Thessalonica. I'm ready. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Look at your neighbor, say, "A good saint is like a cookie bag. He's not worth very much hot water hit you." [Music] [Music] [Applause] Face and shake your head like folk do when they mean what they say. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] If I was in a Baptist Church right along in here, those Baptist deacons when I get to this point in my message in the Baptist Church, that's some old after speakers that would be talking to me right now, and they would be telling me. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] But the bishop didn't tell me. You told me. Yeah. [Applause] Look at your neighbor, say, "No, to praise the witness." [Music] [Music] If you need somebody. [Music] Through after this, can I tell my story? [Applause] [Music] I tell it unless you tell me to tell. [Applause] [Music] Somebody said, "Tell your story." [Music] [Applause] [Music] The gospel is in Jesus. Three people say, "Yes, it is." Yes. [Applause] [Music] There's ng. I'm taking my seat. Believe you with my story. All the stories you don't want to hear me. That was a story. Love about a rich man. I'm the rich man. He had. He had paintings. He had fine jewelry. He had a Mercedes-Benz. He had a mansion and a condominium. You don't have me. Rich man, when he looked at his wife, "Honey, I got all the material things. My parents want one thing that I want more than anything. I want me a son so I can leave my heritage to." Well, his wife got pregnant. Yes, but she died in childbirth. And three months later, the rich man's son died. Yes. A few months later, the rich man himself, he died. Broken heart. But eleven record, he level record with his attorney. He said, "When I die, I want you to auction, pick, auction, and auction off my goods since I have no son. Just auction them off to the highest bidder." [Music] [Music] [Applause] Is now open. You can bid all the wristbands. Good. Somebody was waiting for the car. Somebody else was waiting on the mansion. But the first item up was a portrait of the rich man's dead son. The auctioneer said, "The auction is now open. You can bid it. The first item is a portrait of the rich man's son." Yes. Nobody did it. Before he could close it, an old lady stepped out from the rear and said, "Mr. Auctioneer." [Music] [Music] So, no, no lady said, "The portrait is yours." He looked at all the audience and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is now closed." [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Go ahead and praise God for. [Applause] [Music] [Music] I can hear the Savior say. [Music] Strength. [Applause] [Music] It's really about here. Debtor child Louise and three. [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] No, would you stop where you are? All of your debtors that are walking out. It made me a sinner. There may be a sinner that wants to cash in on that blood that Jesus shed at Calvary. God bless elders. Actions. He poured his heart out here tonight. You ought to stop and pray for him. You all stop and pray for him. [Music] Everybody gonna fool. He gonna say, "Holy Ghost." The Holy Ghost make you obey. That's what one thing it will do. Would you stop where you are? Stop where you are. This man has preached his heart out. The greatest thing that could happen behind preaching like that and other rivers, it was a soul coming. It's all about souls. The theme of department of evangelism, it's all about soul. A little while ago, I asked her if I'd ever some out of town to say Amen. Most of your order from a Tutera. You can't hardly get down escalators, and they run in one way, and it's dangerous. [Music] If you hear today tonight, and there's any doubt at all in your mind about your soul salvation, you can be Church of God in Christ and go to hell. I got three children. They're not going to heaven because they're Mr. Clean's children. Bishop Owens has two children. Bishop Agnes and all of us have children, but your children don't go because you're who you are. This is a personal thing. Down to Hudson's preach, and if you've already been washed in the blood, you are a debtor. [Music] A little while ago, Bishop Patterson raised an offering. When he said the amount, I said, "Bishop, you shocked me because I see millions of dollars, millions." And people complain about how much it cost to get here, but they made and throw away millions. Why we here next week when we're going? The newspaper talk about how much money we spent. [Music] But how much did we spend on soul-winning? I said, "We spend on weapons." [Applause] If you're here tonight, and you have the slightest doubt about your soul salvation, we can rejoice because we've already accepted Jesus. But there's someone else here that don't know Imelda Williams. Someone else in the house of laws. I think the worst place to be lost them is in Doc's house. You remember the church? I'm still lost. My dad is a bishop, and I'm lost. My mama's a supervisor. My daddy's a superintendent, and still lost. Can beat the preacher preach invisible ends, and still lost. Mr. Blake, no ever him in the book. Mr. Jones's majored in hymnology, can knows every line, but we have people sitting in our churches that know everything, but they don't know they've been born again. [Music] One man got in trouble. [Music] And couldn't pay his fine. Well, today they couldn't pay the fine. He was in deep trouble. But when he got to court, the judge that tried the case, the man he did work for for years, lol's the judge said, "He's guilty, but I'm gonna pay the fine for him." And when nothing else could help, the Lord said, "Guilty." Jesus said, "Daddy, but I'll pay the fine." And he came down and shed his blood. If we talk about death tonight, you'll talk about a mortgage, a cardinal, it's efficient for school, the insurance. We talked about dip, but the Lord, all the glory. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] Everybody stand to your feet all over the building. Get one person by both hands tonight. We are debtors to Him. When we can't pay that debt without His anointing, and I feel an anointing in this house. Get in my both hands, and the Bible said, "Pray one for another." You don't know what that person is in need of tonight. Somebody's come here with cancer. Somebody's come here with some bad news. Some things that the doctors and the lawyers and the city fathers have told them must happen. But if you will pray with them now, God can turn it around. Now, God, in the name of Jesus. [Music] Two of us on earth agree, you said it shall be done. Let decisions that have been made against us for changed. You see the intensified warfare that printers have come up under this past year because there's a great harvest about to come in. The enemy has come to bring to stop us. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] If He would anoint us, we can defeat the old image. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] God bless you. You may be seated. [Music] We really heard a judgment message.