Transcription
There's so [Music] thank you. Praise the Lord, everybody. Good to be in the house of the Lord. Could we stand together in the presence of God today? And, uh, this is, as you know, this is, uh, Labor Day or, yes, Labor Day weekend. And so we've got people in our church traveling. We've got family members traveling. And, uh, I want to, I want to say a prayer for all the people right now that are on the highways. Uh, people that you care about, family members that are out traveling today. Could we just pray for God's protection?
Family members and all those that are on the highways and are going to be on the highways on this Labor Day weekend, would you help me do that? Jesus, dear Lord, there are people that we care about. There are family members. There are church members that are out on the highways traveling. God, I'm asking you for traveling mercies. I'm asking you for protection. I'm asking you to bring them home safely, Lord, in the name of Jesus. And through the power of your might, in Jesus' name.
Now, with that done, let's lift our hands together and ask God to baptize this place today with His glory. Did you come to worship and lift Him up? Jesus, dear Lord, I'm asking you in the name of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Ghost to move in this house today. Reign in this tabernacle, God, with your power and your authority in the precious name of Jesus. Would you give the Lord a good hand clap, a praise all across this building? Clap your hands together. Oh, come on, that's it. Somebody magnify the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Worship together with this praise. Seeming, let's have church today. You can be seated if you need to.
[Music] Sing it with us. Come on. Through the mountains.
[Music] And now let's break through. Now there's freedom in Your name. You gave us power and the keys to do the same. You
[Music] made holy. Dropped their stones. Showed us mercy with Your mighty miracles. With Your mighty period. Clothes. And now that's breakthrough. And now there's freedom in Your name. You gave us. In Jesus' name. And we are healed. In Jesus' name.
[Music] [Applause] You crush the darkness.
[Music] And now that's breakthrough. And we proclaimed in Jesus' name.
[Music] Authority. And we proclaimed in Jesus' name.
[Music] [Applause] [Music] Is. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Authority. Victory. Somebody give Him some praise right now. Lift your voice up to Him. Shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Hallelujah.
[Music] Hallelujah. You can be seated this morning. I love the presence of God that I feel in this house right now. Hallelujah. I heard what Pastor said in the prayer room this morning, and I'm telling you, we need to speak at church. God is a creator. And God created everything that you see right now, the matter, and the, and the, the cells, and all the atoms, and everything. He did that by speaking. He spoke, and worlds were formed. And when He spoke, seas rose up. And when He spoke, my God, have mercy, forests just popped up. My God, creatures just came into being. And finally, when He really wanted to do something special, He reached down. He put His hands in it. And out of the dust of the ground, He formed man. And it's something when He made us, He actually got His hands dirty. My God. But I'm telling you, He is a creator. And when He created and fashioned us out of the dust of the ground, He formed us in His image and after His likeness. If we are like unto Him, and He creates by speaking, that means I create by speaking. I speak faith.
[Music] And mountains that seem impossible can be moved. Are you hearing me? I speak a prayer. And when I speak that prayer, when I speak that prayer, I speak it out. I begin to create. I begin to form. And when I begin to speak, and God really wants to do something special, then He puts His hands in it. What I ask Him to do, He begins to create. He begins to work in my situation. I am made in His image. I'm a creator. And I create with these words. In this tongue is death and life. I can speak. I can speak evil today if I want to, and I can create that. And so many are. But I'm going to speak life today. I'm going to speak my family healthy. I'm going to speak this church full of people who need the Holy Ghost. I'm going to speak in my prayers. I'm going to make something happen today through my words. That's what prayer is about. It's what believing in God's about. Hallelujah. You can be seated. We were singing, working on these songs today, and I had no idea what he was going to say. But I'm telling you, these, these songs, we're singing, we testify of Your victory, Jesus. We proclaim Your authority. We echo. You speak it, God. We echo it back. We echo Your authority. And I'm going to, we're going to speak some things today in this place. We've already spoken in the prayer room, but we're going to speak them in this church today. Hallelujah. Gary, I want you to come say what you said this morning. We were rehearsing, and Cara gave this testimony. Listen, listen to it. Speak it, sis. We have promises that the Word of God gives us that we can hold to. And one of those promises is that what the enemy meant for evil, God can take it and work it for your good. And so we know from the Word of God, the Bible says, "I have, I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper." I wish I had memorized the whole verse, but you know it well. Unfortunately, the devil has plans for every one of us too. We don't know those plans. We can't see into our future. But God knows His plans for us, and He knows the enemy's plans for us. And before the enemy ever gets a chance to execute those plans against us, God has a plan to work it for your good. And the Word of God also says that no weapon that is formed will prosper. It doesn't say there won't be a weapon. There's going to be a weapon, but that weapon cannot prosper against you. For the child of God that serves God, that trusts God, that depends on God, He will work it for your good. The weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper. And when the darkness
[Music] Knows. [Music] Speak. That was victory. I'm gonna see the victory.
[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] It won't prosper. Come on.
[Music] [Music] Knows. [Music] Victory. [Music] [Music] Belongs to you. Belongs to you, Lord.
[Music] Somebody believing in faith right now.
[Music] It won't breathe. [Music] And my God will never. Victory.
[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] Existence. Oh, somebody believe it right now. Or somebody believed. Somebody believed. You take what the enemy meant for.
[Music] You. [Applause] [Music] You turn. And I'm gonna. [Music] I'm gonna see the victory. Come on.
[Music] You take what the enemy is. You take what the enemy meant for me. You take what the enemy meant for me in my situation.
[Applause] [Music] [Music] I'm. [Music] [Music] Victory.
[Music] You, Jesus. Somebody turn it over to Him right now. Speak it out. Speak your miracle right now. Come on, pray your way out. Pray your miracle right now. Speak it out with your mouth. Open your mouth wide and speak it. Yell at, screaming at the top of your lungs. What do you need God to do today? God, save my family. God, intervene in my health situation. God, protect my house. What do you need today?
[Music] In the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. You can be seated this morning. Hallelujah. Oh, when the Holy Ghost starts moving like that, you've got to respond. You've got to step out by faith, believing I'm going to see my victory. You take God, what the enemy meant for evil, and you turn it for my good. Oh, it still exists. It's still there. The weapon's still there. It didn't change. It's still standing there, glaring at you. And I think that's a part of the problem. A lot of times, when we get up from the altar and we say, "Well, nothing's really changed." You think the weapon's gonna magically disappear? No. God's gonna take that and turn it for your good. There's been times He's completely destroyed and eradicated the weapon, and I've seen the weapon just crumble. But then there's been other times the weapon was still standing there, just as big as it had ever been, but He just changed it. Everything that the devil had plotted and devised for my downfall, God used it to take me higher. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. Are you glad to be in God's house on Sunday morning?
[Music] We sing a song. No place I'd rather be. No place I'd rather be. And right here. Hallelujah. Let's all stand today. We're going to receive the offering. And I know you've been on your feet already a lot, worshiping. I'm going to tell you, this is one of the most important ways you can worship right here. Sometimes it's easy to shout and dance to the music and clap our hands. Sometimes that's an easy sacrifice because we kind of enjoy it. But when God asks us to give of our finances, that's where the real rubber meets the road. That's where we're truly blessed. And I want to be blessed. I want to be blessed by the hand of God. I believe in God's blessing program. How about you? This is your opportunity today to give to God's house, to His work, to His kingdom. God bless it in Jesus' name, we pray. Bless one God who gives today in Jesus' name. Come with a joyful heart. Given today.
[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] God bless you. You can be seated.
[Music] I want to take just a moment to, uh, while the choir is preparing and getting ready, to recognize, uh, the groups that have went to Louisiana and worked over the last week. Uh, if you went into, uh, Charles or to Quincy and helped with, uh, recovery after the storm, would you stand? I need you to stand just a minute. We had a number of men, uh, go and give up their time and, and, and work, uh, to make changes. And I know they're, they're not all here. Brother Chancey Branding is on the drums. He took a group, uh, this week. We appreciate that so much. Um, maybe some here on the platform with Jason Morrison, uh, Brother Jeffrey Vowell, uh, and then Brother Glenn Brooks, Brother Wesley Bradley, Brother Chris Bond. Chris Bond's not standing. He, he must have wore himself out down there. Brother Chris Bond, Brother Myers, Brother Jerry Myers.
[Music] Jacob McNeil, Brother Jacob McNeil. Thank you. And then Brother Jerry Myers, uh, took a young man with him. Uh, we, why don't we give all these guys a good hand? Thank you so much. And I know that we're not done. I believe Brother, uh, Bozeman and Brother Count both have plans of going in next Saturday with heavier equipment and trying to do some recovery. So thank you so much. Also, in the midst of all that, this church gave right at $30,000 to different needs, uh, and part of that was, uh, to help with storm recovery. So this is a great church. We're blessed because we give. And thank you so much for your giving. Also, welcome to every guest that's here. We're going to be doing a baby dedication in just a few minutes. But would you worship with the choir as they prepare? And again, thank you for honoring us, guests, by being with us today. God bless you.
[Music] So. [Music] I saw darkness run for color. But the miracle that I just can't get over. My name is registered in heaven. I believe in signs and wonders. Yes. I have resurrection.
[Music] My praise be lost to you forever. This is my testimony. From their delight cause grace rewrote my story. I'll testify by Jesus Christ, the righteous, unjustified. This is my testimony. This is my testimony.
[Applause] [Music] Blood and washed in water.
[Music] Our God will finish what He started. My Jesus. This is my testimony. This is my testimony. This is my testimony. From their delight. Let's. This is my testimony. This is my testimony.
[Music] If I'm not dead, You're not done.
[Music] [Music] [Applause] Is. This is my testimony. From their delight cause grace rewrote my story. I'll.
[Music] Testify. Christ, the righteous, unjustified. This is my testimony. This is my.
[Music] Testimony. What a testimony. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. Oh, yeah.
[Music] [Music] And is. [Music] [Music] [Music] Is. [Music] Oh. [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Shining like the sun. Salvation. Before He.
[Music] Is. [Applause] [Music] God like salvation. There's no God like Trafalgar. There's no God like Jehovah. There's no God like Jehovah. There's no God like Jehovah. There's no God.
[Music] There's no God like. [Music] There's no God like Jehovah. There's no God.
[Music] [Music] [Applause] Shining like the sun.
[Music] Until salvation comes. You mean 2020 is the year of jubilee? You mean with everything that's going on in our world, you're going to call this a year of jubilee? Absolutely. Because 2,000 years ago, God knew 2020 was coming. He knew what you were gonna face. He's already in control of all of that. And no weapon formed against you, no virus, no illness would prosper. My God, Jesus had mercy.
[Music] We gotta sing it one more time. I know we got things to do today. We're gonna sing this.
[Music] There's. [Music] [Applause] [Music] There's no God. Oh.
[Music] [Applause] This is. Is. Is there. Is. Um. There's no God. I.
[Music] Is. [Applause] Is. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus. Come on, let's lift our hands together and praise Him right now. Everybody, all across the tabernacle, would you lift your hands? Front to back, all the way under the balcony back there, lifting your hands. Everybody praising the Lord together. Let's magnify the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Thank You, God, for Your goodness and Your mercy and Your grace. I know that you're standing, and therefore, I will not leave you standing lengthily. Would you all stand in honor of the Word of the Lord? We're going to go to the Word. And if you, uh, need to, uh, go to the restroom, get a drink of water, or anything like that, uh, right after the scripture reading would be the time to do that, and then get back in to this auditorium where we can all partake, taking the Word of God. I don't want you missing out on the Word of God today. So take care of your business and get back in here where we can go to the precious, precious Word of God. Welcome to every guest that's in the house today. To every guest that is here, we want you to know that you've made our day by being here. Thank you for being here. We got a relatively full auditorium today because you came and filled in for all the people we got traveling. So thank you for being here today. Honored for every guest. And I've got a lot of family here, and extended family, and family by marriage, and all that, because, uh, one of the children being dedicated today is my cousin. So I'm very, very glad for each and every one that is here today in the house. Lord, now, I know you're standing, so let's go quickly, uh, to the Word of the Lord. Psalms 45 and 16 today. Psalms 45 and 16 for a scripture reading, and then I'm gonna allow you to be seated. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all of the earth. God bless you. You can be seated right where you're seated. Would you lift your hands and ask the Lord to reach into this place today and talk to our hearts and our spirits? Would you do that right now? Would you ask the Lord to talk to us in this house today? Jesus, dear Lord, we need the Word of God. We need the voice of God. We need the Spirit of God. We need the anointing of the Holy Ghost to speak in this place today in the precious name of Jesus. In the precious name of Jesus. Now, we're going to do this dedication different than I've ever done one before. But in prayer and preparation for today's service, I felt in the Holy Ghost that this would be the way to make this happen today. So I've never done one like this before, but I want to invite, I want to invite the families of each baby that we are dedicating today to come together, and the extended families, welcome to come also. I want you to come and stand across the front of this building, facing the congregation, facing the congregation. Would you come right now? The guest, the guest family that came, I, I want to invite you to come also. Nobody's dedicating any babies today. All right, thank you all for coming. Uh, just come up to the front of the building and face the congregation, if you would. If you have a baby to be dedicated, and I want to invite everybody that came as a guest. So I'm inviting you. I'm not going to leave you standing long, okay? So if you'll come just for a moment, I'm going to allow you to actually return back to your seats and be seated. So come stand in family groups and, uh, just turn and face the congregation. I want the congregation to see these children today. If we could move, why don't we shift this way? I've got another family coming. So everybody shift about five feet or so, ten feet, maybe this direction. I'm afraid y'all gonna tilt the building. Y'all just do not know what y'all are doing to my OCD right now. Look, I'm going to live with it. All right. And we got some beautiful families here in this awesome, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful families gathered together. And, uh, beautiful babies, uh, standing together to present these children to the Lord. Now, I've got a number of people up here, and I don't want to leave them standing. So that we're going to do this differently. I could take up a lot of time, uh, today, because this is important to me. Dedicating children to the Lord is very, very, it's a very important part of what we do. Now, let me clarify that we are apostolic, not Catholic. So therefore, nothing that we do today is gonna eternally secure the, the salvation of these children, okay? The, the best thing we can do today, are you listening to me? The best thing we can do today is hedge our odds. That's all we can do today is hedge our odds. And so, really, today, I want to be very clear for everyone that while we call this a baby dedication, we are not dedicating the children to God. We're dedicating the families to God. We're up here making a declaration today that the salvation of our children is of vital importance to us. It is vitally important today that our children are saved. And so we're not going to dedicate these children today because they're, they're never even going to remember this. I was dedicated as a child, and I have no memory of that dedication. I'm telling you, that dedication didn't do one thing for me as a baby, as a child, but it did a whole lot for my parents because they went to the front of the building. They took me to the front of the building. They had me prayed over by our pastor, and then they made a commitment that they were going to do the best that they could do to see that I was saved. Now, I'm going to tell you, we're not asking for perfection out of families. No parents are perfect. I'm sure I've been pretty close. Y'all like, "Nut," and laugh a little bit, my goodness. But none of us have been perfect. None of us have been perfect. But I'm going to tell you, God gave us, in children, the most forgiving creature on the face of the earth is a child. I'm already preaching. Amens are okay right now. The most forgiving creature on the face of the earth is a child. Children will forgive very readily. And so we don't have to be perfect. But I'm going to tell you what a child looks for is the heart. A child looks for the heart. All right. So, what, what we're going to do right now, so that these folks can go back and be seated, is I'm asking everybody in this congregation to join with me, and we are going to ask for the blessing. We're going to ask for favor. We're going to ask for health. We're going to ask for God to put His blessing not just on the children, but on the families. Because it takes a village. There's one area, and one area alone, I believe that I agree with Hillary Clinton, it takes a village to raise a family. Not just the parents, not just mom, not just dad. It takes the entire family. Uncles, aunts, cousins are going to have a huge influence on these children as they grow up. And so I'm asking you right now to stretch your hand toward each one of these families, and we're going to pray for these families right now before I preach my message. God, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the blood, I pray for each and every one of these families right now. I'm asking right now for the blessing and the favor of God, not just on the children, but on grandparents, on parents, on aunts and uncles and extended families. I'm asking you right now, God, to take us there in the spirit. Let the presence of God be upon these beautiful children. God is their dedicated to the service of the Lord. God, in the name of Jesus, and by the power of Your blood, I'm asking for hope. I'm asking for peace. Bring peace, bring health and safety into each one of these homes. Let the hand of God be on not just the children, but upon the families in the precious name of Jesus. Now, I do not want to send these children and the families back to the pew to their pews until the family members have taken pictures. Anybody that needs to take pictures or wants to take pictures right now is the time to do that. Have each one of you families got someone out here that's taking pictures of this to, to, okay, Sister Gail is taking pictures, and I'm sure that she would help us out with, with, uh, sharing pictures, but we want to make sure that these, this is documented, uh, for you. All right, one last thing before you leave. I'm gonna go by and I'm gonna put my hand on every one of these babies, okay? So I want you to help me pray right now for the individual child. Would you do that? Jesus, dear Lord, I'm thanking You so much for this precious child. I want You to touch the heart of this beautiful little girl right now, God. Let her walk in the light of the truth of Jesus Christ. God, in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the blood of Calvary, God, I want You to let Nolan walk in Your truth, Your righteousness, and Your gospel in the name of Jesus. Thank You for these little boys, God. Keep Your hand on them and let them walk in the light of Your beauty and Your power and Your authority in the name of Jesus. Put the Word of God in these little hearts, Lord, that they'll never stray or leave Your precious gospel in the beautiful, precious name of Jesus, we pray for these children, God, that You would lead them in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, we praise You and we give You glory. Aren't you thankful for these families? Why don't you give them a good hand? God bless you. You're welcome to return to your seats, and we're going to begin the message. The dedicatory message. Thank you again for each family member, for every grandparent, cousin, uncle, aunt, for everyone that joined us today for this dedication. We are so grateful and so thankful that you're here. And I want to say on behalf of the parents, thank you for joining us and being with us today. I want to preach to you for a few minutes, uh, from this subject. I want to talk to you about the obligation of every Christian parent. The obligation of every Christian parent. Proverbs 22 and 6 gives us and outlines the obligation of every Christian parent. Proverbs 22 and 6. If you could help me out with that today, I can quote it, and you can too. Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Now, this passage has been, this passage has been tricky throughout the years because there are people who have actually questioned the veracity of the Word of God based on this passage of scripture because they know people that raised their children in the church and did their best, and their children died as elderly people without having God in their lives. And I would like to point out right now that there is a difference between direct promises in the Bible and observations in the Bible. There are direct promises in the Bible that are irrefutable. There are also observations of writers that it's just that it's a good observation, but it's not, not a direct promise. What does that mean? That means there's some direct promises in the Word of God. Luke 10 and 20 is a direct promise. Luke, the 10th chapter and the 20th verse is a direct promise in your Bible. It says, "Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." There are some direct promises in the Bible. If you repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Ghost, you become one of His. And this promise is to you and your children, and are them that are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. That is an irrefutable promise. But there are some other things written in the Bible that are observations, not promises. And the wise man wrote in Proverbs, and he's not promising you a direct promise. He is saying it has been my observation that people that train up their children in the way that they should go, that when they're old, they will not depart from it. There's another observation in the Bible that is not a direct promise. It's just a good observation. David said, "As for me, I've never seen the righteous forsaken or a seed begging bread." Okay? Now, I don't believe God forsakes the righteous, but I believe that is an observation of David and not a direct promise of date, not a direct promise of the Word of God. His observation is, is those that are righteous have a lot greater chance of eating than those that are not. But it's not a promise that if you're righteous, you won't starve to death, okay? So there, there are direct promises and then there are observations in the Word of God. What does that mean? It means that this is not promising you that if you raise your children right, that they'll never depart from the truth. But I'm going to just tell you this, you've got a lot greater chance of your children being saved if you'll raise them in the truth than if you don't. You said, "Well, why can't I take that as a, as a direct promise?" Well, one of the main reasons is because once your children become adults, free will gets involved. Free will gets involved. But I'm just telling you, if you want the greatest chance you can have in your children being saved, train them up in the ways that they should go. And so I'm going to preach to you for a few minutes about the fact that if you're a, if you're a Christian, if you're a Christian, then you have some obligations in raising your children. So, one last time, I'm going to tell you today that I'm not here to dedicate the children. I'm here to dedicate the families of the children. I want to cover four obligations. I want to cover four obligations very quickly, and I'm going to watch the time, and I'm going to be very careful of the time, but I want to cover four obligations of every Christian parent that is in this house today. So I'm not just preaching today to those that have brought their children to be dedicated. I'm preaching to every parent, every grandparent, every concerned uncle, every concerned aunt, every concerned older brother or sister, every guardian, every person that God's given you a heart toward a child or a young person in this church, I'm preaching to you. Your obligations today. Number one. Number one, your first obligation is to stay full of the Holy Ghost. Now, now, that one's a make or break. If you don't do that, the other three don't matter. All, all the other obligations hinge on that one. If you fail in not staying full of the Holy Ghost, then the other three won't even matter. They all hinge on number one. You've got an obligation if you're, if you're raising a child as a, as a, as a believer, if you're raising a child as a Christian home, your first obligation is not to get the Holy Ghost. Don't, don't misunderstand it, but to stay full of the Holy Ghost. There's a difference in getting the Holy Ghost and staying full of the Holy Ghost. You owe it to that child that you're raising to stay full of the Holy Ghost. John chapter 3 and verse 4. John chapter 3 and verse 4. Number two, you have an obligation to supply them, and listen how I'm wording this, with a great church. Not just a church. Any old church won't do. Any old church won't do. You've got to have them in a great church. You got to have them in a powerful church. You got to have them in a praying church. You got to have them in a church that exercises authority in the spirit. Number three, teach them to live for God. You gotta teach them to live for God. And number four, you gotta cover them and your home in prayer. You gotta cover them in your home in prayer. This is why it's so important. Numbers 14 and 18, right quick. Numbers 14 and 18. I'm going to tell you why what I'm preaching is so important. Numbers 14-18 tells us, "The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon children unto the third and fourth generation." It's important that you train them to live for God because the sins that get into a family have long-reaching effects. Sin is hereditary. It just got quiet. Sin is hereditary. Why would a mother worry so much that breast cancer is going to be passed down to her daughters, but not worried that her sins are? Sin is hereditary. Exodus 37-7. Exodus 37-7. It is important. It is of vital importance what you do as a parent, how you live as a parent. You have an obligation. In fact, this is what Jesus said, and we always type this in other areas, but it's true of a parent also. If you do something that hurts one of these little ones, it would be better for you. Well, I'm just going to tell you, the children that are brought up in your home are first and foremost His children before they're yours. They're His. If you're going to live in such a way that brings spiritual harm to them, it would be better for you to tie a millstone around your neck. Hmm. I don't understand people that have a burden for missions in Africa and missions in Haiti and missions in Mexico and missions in Belize, but forget that they're first and foremost a missionary in their own home.
[Applause] Your first missionary journey is to your own children. And this is what the Bible says. The Bible says, "If you gain the whole world," and you know, we always type that to finances. I haven't forgot about my scripture. If we gain the whole world, and we always type that to finances, we're talking about houses and land and money and things. If we gain the whole world and lose our own soul, what has it profited us? I'm going to tell you, that's not just talking about money. I'm going to tell you that scripture is true. If you win the whole world, if you spend money and build churches in third world countries, if you take missionary journeys to third world countries and lose your own children, you're a fool. You're foolish. You're foolish. I'm just going to tell you, the rest of y'all, y'all may be distracted, but I got one little saint that watches every move I make. All right, let's go to Exodus 37 and 7. I got to move on. I'm running against the clock. And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out out of one piece, made of them two ends of the mercy seat. If you can't tell, there's no sense of me lying to you. I wrote my scripture down wrong. That's not it. Matthew 25 and 1. I know for sure I got this one right. Matthew 25 and chapter 1, uh, I'm just going to read just glimpses of this for time's sake and move on. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom." I want to show you something important in scripture. Five of them were wise and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. Now, I want you to stop right there. I've heard so many preachers preach this that they didn't have oil in their lamps. That's not the case. They had oil in their lamps. They didn't have extra oil. Their foolishness was not in the fact that they let their lamps go empty. Their foolishness was in the fact that they didn't have extra oil. Let's read on. I'm going to prove it to you. Verse 4, "But the wise took oil in their vessels with their." This scripture expressly for all you that have the attitude, "Well, they don't take all that. It don't take all that extra stuff." They were not foolish because their lamps were empty. They were foolish because they didn't take. If your children are going to get to heaven, it's going to be because you're extra.
[Applause] Y'all a tough crowd today. If your children are going to be saved, it's going to be because it becomes the most, one of the most important things in your world. It's going to be because that becomes your focus. That, that overshadows many other things in your life. That their spiritual health and their spiritual wealth and the fact that they're saved becomes supreme and number one. It's got to reign above everything else. I'm just telling you, if your children are going to be saved, the, the best thing you can do is make sure that it's extra to you. You've got to be a little extra. Verse 4, we're going back to Matthew 25 and 4. I want you to look at this. "But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." They didn't just fill their lamp up. They had some extra with them. I said, "I'm going to take some to make sure I don't run out." Because there's nothing that'll send kids to hell like parents that run out of Holy Ghost. I'm going to say it again because you didn't get it. Nothing sends your kids to hell like parents that run out of Holy Ghost. Carnal parents are a bigger enemy to children's salvation than Satan himself. It's true, whether y'all get real excited about it or not. Carnal parents will do more damage than Lucifer because they know what Lucifer is. They know Lucifer's an enemy. But parents are supposed to be their friend. And, and as I've been pastoring now for 23 years, and I'm going to tell you, I can overcome the devil, and I can, I can, a lot of times overcome drugs, and with my preaching, I can overcome pornography and worldly influences, and I can overcome a lot of things. But I'm going to tell you what I've never been able to overcome in 23 years of pastoring is when it's the parents putting the roadblocks in front of the kids. When it's the parents teaching the kids to love the world. Nothing can overcome that. You have an obligation to, to be a little extra. They took vessels with their lamps. Verse 5, "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept." Verse 6, "And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. Now, stop right here just a second. I'm just going to tell you, I've heard it preached all my life that they were foolish because they have all, they didn't have oil in their lamps. That is not what it says. They were foolish because they didn't have oil in the vessels with their lamps. They didn't miss the bridegroom because they didn't have oil in their lamps. They missed the bridegroom because they didn't have extra. So all you bare minimum folks, just enough Holy Ghost to make it, just enough separation to get by, you're going to get caught without any extra. Then they all rose and trimmed their lamps. Verse 8, "And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil." You know where they got that oil? You know where they wanted that oil? Not out of their lamps. They didn't say, "Pour your lamp into my lamp." The wise had extra. They went a little further into the garden with the Lord. They prayed a little more than people thought was necessary. That
[Applause] For our lamps have gone out. Verse 9, "But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there not be enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." I've got to go on. I'm just going to tell you, parents, number one point. Number one point, above all, first point, you've got to be full of the Holy Ghost, and you've got to stay full of the Holy Ghost. Before you're a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker, you've got to be full of the Holy Ghost. That's number one. Before your job, you got to be full of the Holy Ghost. Before you're a singer, musician, Sunday school teacher, outreach director, pastor, preacher, you must be, stay full of the Holy Ghost. Not just have the Holy Ghost, but stay full of the Holy Ghost. It's your obligation if your children have a chance of being saved. Hallelujah. Anyhow, it's important. Let's go right quick to Psalms 127 before we move on. Psalms 127. And I'm being very, very careful of your time, so just stay with me just a few minutes. Y'all are quiet today. I'm used to y'all helping me. Just a little bit louder. I'm glad I'm not blind. I'd wonder if all y'all were missing except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat bread of sorrow, for he that he giveth sleep to his beloved. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man so are the children of the youth. So I want you to know that when the, when it says, "The Lord, if the Lord build the house, they that labor in vain," he's not talking about the house that you live in. He's not even talking about the church that you go to. We use that passage out of context. He's not talking about all that. He's talking about your household. He's talking about your offspring. He's talking about your children. He's saying, "I'm just going to tell you, I don't care if they become great popular movie stars, famous, rich, none of that matters if the Lord don't help you build your house. If the God is not the center of the house that you're building, you labor in vain." Let's read on. Where were we? Verse 5, "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." I'm telling you, that your children will wind up being a blessing to you, or they will wind up being a curse to you. And there's not a whole lot of middle ground. And the only thing that makes that difference is whether you decide to be full of the Holy Ghost, stay full of the Holy Ghost, go a little extra, give it everything you have.
[Applause] Or whether you just leave it all to chance, live carnal, won't pray, and just leave it all to chance. This is what it says to us in Proverbs 17 and 25. Proverbs 17 and 25 gives us a very interesting perspective. If you just leave it all a chance, if you live carnal and ungodly and don't care about the things that come into your home and the influences of your children, and you leave it all to chance, you're liable and likely to rule to raise a foolish child. A foolish child is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him. The person that I despise most in the Bible is Hezekiah. I have a hard time with Hezekiah. And Isaiah 39 and 8 will tell you why. I've got a problem with Hezekiah. Hezekiah lived very sinfully, and God brought destruction upon Hezekiah because of the way that he lived. And this is what Hezekiah said. He said, "Good is the word of the Lord." When the Lord said, "I'm going to bring great judgment on your generations or the generations after you because of the way you lived," then Hezekiah said, "Good is the word of the Lord which thou spoken." He said, "Moreover, for there shall be peace and truth in my days." He said, "Fine. If you want to destroy my kids, that's fine with me. Just don't let me suffer any of it." Every decision that you make, every worldly influence that you allow, every time you should have prayed and didn't, every time you should have ruled righteously and did not, every time you scoffed at sin and made it seem palatable to your children, and then every time that you did stand righteously, and every time that you did make the right decisions, and every time you did move the roadblocks between them and hell, all of that, according to the Word of God, is going to have long-lasting effects, not just in your children, but in the way they raise their children, and in the way they raise your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. Four quick points on the obligation, the obligations of every Christian that wants to raise Holy Ghost-filled children. Number one, and we've covered that one, so we're going to move on to two. You must stay full of the Holy Ghost. You must, you must stay full of the Holy Ghost. Number two, you've got to give them a great church. Colossians 1:28. Not just any church. You've got to give them a great church. Colossians 1 and 28 tells us and indicates us that you, they've got to have a pastor to answer for their soul and for your soul. Let's go to Proverbs 28 and 20. Proverbs 28 and 20 is a very, very important passage of scripture. Thank you. Whom we preach, warning every man and teaching. Go ahead. We're running against the clock. Let's stay with this. "A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that make..." Oh, you gotta put church above your job. You gotta put church above your business. I'm not saying anything else. Do y'all get behind that point? "A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." You're going to be judged if you put getting rich or having stuff above the house of God. You've got to be faithful. Hebrews 10 and 25. You're going to have consequences in your children. You're going to have consequences in your home. You're going to pay for it if you don't. If you put riches and money and business above the house of God and the kingdom of God. Hebrews 10 and 25 says, "Forsake not the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." What day? The coming of Jesus Christ. As you recognize we're moving toward the return of Jesus Christ, we gotta, we gotta put church number one. I'm telling you, your children are watching how you go to church. Your children are watching what's important to you. Your children are making notes of what's really in your heart, and that's what they're setting in their heart. Above, above movies, above television, above friends, above everything else. The greatest influence in a child's life is still their parents, even in 2020. The greatest influencer in the life of a child is still their parents. Verse three, or number three, I'm sorry. Number three, and this is where it's going to get really, really, really testy because there have been carnal people raised in the church that backslid, and they said, "Well, I'm not going to make my kids go, and I'm not going to make my kids do this, that, and the other because I was made to do it." Don't judge the outcome of the general public on your rebellion because it don't.
Hold true with everybody else for 4,000 years. The greatest, the ones that came out with the greatest chance of having their kids live for God, are the ones that stood up just like Joshua and said, "As for me and my house, we are go—not me, we are going to serve the Lord."
I'm telling you, I've been in this all my life. I've looked at it over and over and over and over again. And those that say, "I'm not making my kids do this, and I'm not making my kids to do that because I don't want them to hate it and despise it," well then, then let me just tell you right now, if that really is your theory, don't just take the church out and set it aside. Because what about all the parents that make their kids do soccer and make their kids do ballet? Why would you treat the church different than everything else?
If you're not going to make them live for God, then don't make them brush their teeth. They may, they may get up and throw their toothbrush away and never brush their teeth again. You know what you're doing? You're making a decision in carnal rebellion that doesn't make sense except to you. Don't make them take a bath. They may get 19 and throw their soap and water away, never bathe again for the rest of their life. You may just put hatred in their heart against bathing.
Don't make a meat. Don't make a meat. Don't force children to eat. All you just pour forcing that bottle in their mouth and setting them at the table and forcing them to, "You're not getting up from there till you eat your food." You just don't realize what you haven't. You've seen all these kids that get up about 16 and refuse to eat anymore? We've got a pandemic of it. We're burying them by the millions. That is a foolish theology. That is not true except in carnality and rebellion.
People make their kids play football. People make their kids practice piano. They don't grow up hating it. They grow up loving it. You have an obligation to make them live for God. Joshua 24 and 15, he said, "As for me and my house, we're all going to serve the Lord." Genesis 18 and 19. Genesis 18 and 19. Genesis 18 and 19.
I'm telling you, it doesn't make sense. Don't make your children go to bed at night. Don't you do it. Don't you dare make that. Don't you take that switch or that get in there and you get in that bed. You, you get out of that bed, I'm going to punish you. I'm telling you, they'll get up about 15 or 16, they'll throw their bed out the window. They'll never lay in one again for the rest of their lives. You'll put hatred in their heart.
"For I know him that he will come and command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; and that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken." Your greatest chance of your children being saved is to say, "We're going to go to church. We're going to serve the Lord. We're going to live."
The governance, the governance of a family is above the governance of a state or a nation. Your, your governance of your family is more important than state governance and nation, national governance. You know why? That they're having rioting in the streets and they can't bring Chicago and uh San Francisco and and all these other Seattle under control? The, the governor, the governor can't do anything with kids that's been raised without parents. A man, anyhow, you raise children without a father and without a mother, drug-addicted parents, parents it's on crack cocaine and alcoholics laying in the streets without any kind of direction in their home. What's the police supposed to do? What's the governor supposed to do?
I'm telling you, you got to start with citizens. You got to start with somebody with a moral compass. The governance of the home is more important than state governance and national governance because they can't do anything unless they're first presented with citizens.
Last point, and I'm going to close. The last obligation of every parent is to cover their homes in prayer. Job 1 and 5. Job 1 and 5. I'm telling you, I pity the home that does not have holy ghost-filled, praying parents at the helm. Let me present to you that if prayer works, then not praying works too. Uh oh. You, you didn't hear what I said? If prayer works, then your failure to pray also works. If prayer brings anointing into the home, lack of prayer brings sin into the home. If prayer defeats the forces of the enemy, then a lack of prayer defeats holy ghost influence.
"And it was so that when the days of their feasting were going about, that Job sent and sanctified them." He's talking about his children. "And rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did. Not one time, not once a year, not every once in a while in a, in a communion service. He did it continually.
I'm telling you, it is the obligation of every Christian parent to stay full of the Holy Ghost and to cover their home in prayer. Shrugging responsibility brings hurt, and it brings harm, and it brings pain into the home.
[Applause]
Jeremiah 29 and 11. Thank you, Sister Cara, for bringing this scripture up today. It confirmed what I was going to preach, and I'm closing. Musicians, come, please. Jeremiah 29 and 11. Jeremiah, the 29th chapter and the 11th verse. I want you to look at this. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." And this is the outcome, or the greatest chance of the outcome, of parents who cover their home every day in prayer.
Again, I'm going to say it again. I can't say it enough. I pity the home where children are raised week after week after week without parents getting on their knees and putting a prayer covering. Your neglect is opening your home up to every spirit of hell. Because if this is God's thoughts, John 10 and 10 reveals to us what Satan's thoughts are. You said it today. If God has thoughts for you, Lucifer has thoughts for you also. You had no idea this is what I was preaching today, did you? But God used you today, Sister Carol Hall.
John 10 and 10 tells us that Lucifer has got a whole another plan for your life. And I'm just going to tell you, you listen to me. Satan's after your children. Satan's after your family. "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." There's two plans for your children. One is the plan of God, and the other is the plan of Lucifer. And it all depends on whether parents pray for their children or neglect to. Which outcome are you going to have? That they have life, or more abundant life, or that they're robbed and destroyed? It all depends on the prayer covering.
I pity a parent. The Bible says that a man that will not work and supply well for his family is worse than an infidel. If that's true in the natural, I wonder what the devil calls a parent that won't supply spiritually. I wonder how the word of God feels for someone that knows that prayer works and knows they should stay full of the Holy Ghost, but in their own laziness and spiritual neglect, they just leave the outcome of their children to chance.
I'm telling you, you're either re—you're either removing every roadblock between your children and paving their way to heaven, or through neglect, you're placing roadblocks of carnality and prayerlessness and neglect. And maybe even through carnality, showing them how to get attached to the world. I'm telling you, this life is like a vapor. We're not preparing for this life. If you're preparing for your children down here, you've got the wrong vision. I'm telling you, in a few days, Jesus is going to come back. What's not important? What's important is not what they have down here. It's their inheritance in the glory world. That is all that matters.
Stand together and lift your hands all across this congregation, everybody here reaching out right now. Everyone. I'm asking every parent, every grandparent, every adult, everyone that's concerned about the future generations to reach out with all of your heart right now. Would you lift your voices? Would you cry out to the Lord? Come on, everybody here crying out to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords today. Everybody here reaching out, voices raised, hearts lifted. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. The Holy Ghost is here. There's Holy Ghost conviction in this house right now. Come on. I feel the Holy Ghost in such a real way. I'm telling you, I've preached to every mom. I've preached to every dad. Are you listening to me? I've preached to every mom. I've preached to every dad. I've preached to every grandparent. It is important. The moves we make, the things we do, that whether we pray or whether we don't pray.
John 3 and 4 says, "I have no greater joy than to know my children." I'm telling you, when it's over, listen to me. This is very important. Parents, when it's over, it's not going to matter if your kids, when you're old, when you're old, it's not going to matter if your kids are rich. It's not going to matter if your children are wealthy. It's not going to matter if they're healthy. None of that's going to matter at the end of your road. All that's going to matter is you're either going to have joy or lack of joy, whether your kids walk in truth or not. That's all. It's not going to matter how many home runs they hit. It's not going to matter. It's not no matter how many [Music] how much money they made, how famous they became, how many houses they built. [Music]
Lift your hands together. Every head bowed. Every I closed. [Music] I want to tell you this one story in closing. I'm opening the altars. In fact, when I open these altars, I wish you'd come as families. If you're here with your family, I wish you'd come as a family. If you're not, then find a family and join with them. We don't mind if you're here by yourself. This is a loving church, and we don't want you alone. You just find a family and you just, we'll turn around, welcome you in. In fact, families, look around. Make sure nobody's left by themselves. So important today.
The story's told of a [Music] of the sinking of the Titanic. It says that there was a boy on the Titanic. For the sake of time, I'll make the story very quick. Says there was a boy on the Titanic and with his dad. And the boy, the dad swam and put his boy in a lifeboat. The dad was in the water, and there was no more room. They wouldn't let the father in the lifeboat. They'd let the boy in. And so the dad turned to swim away from the lifeboat. The boy said, "Don't leave me, Daddy. Don't leave me." I said, "No, son." Said, "I've lived my life. You, you've still got a life to live. You, you go." And the boy dove out of the lifeboat into the water with his dad. And the pressure of the boy diving in took them both under. They came up, and the dad struggled with some of the last bit of energy he thought he had left to put that boy in that lifeboat again. Went to swim away, and the boy said, "No, Dad." And dove out a second time, and they both went under. [Music] Dad, for the last time, struggled, and this time he barely got that boy back in the lifeboat. He said, "Son, you go with the lifeboat. You have a life to live." The boy looked at his daddy with tears rolling down his cheeks, and he said, "Daddy, you just don't understand." He said, "I'd rather sink to the floor of this ocean and drown with you than I had to live my life without you."
I want to tell every parent in this house, your kids are trudging the dusty road to hell with you before they'll go to heaven without you. Lift your hands together, everybody here reaching out. Come on, come on, come on. The Holy Ghost is here. These altars are open. I wonder if there's parents and grandparents that care enough to bring your babies around the altar. I don't care if they're 19, 20, 21, they're still your children. They're still your responsibility. Will you come with your family and pray over them? Will you pray together as a family? Will you cover your home in prayer today? Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Everybody, everybody. The Holy Ghost is trying to move. Move in close around these altars. Come on, don't stand back. Move in close. Open these aisles up. Brothers are trying to get around these altars right now. Come on, leave the aisles open. Push in close. Come on, please. Families, move in close. Open the aisles up behind you. Come on, come on. Others are trying to get in here today. Come on, come on. Say it when [Music] Come on, grandma, travail over your grandbabies. [Music] Come on, mamas, weep over your grandkids. Nothing is more important than our kids are saying. Nothing is more important than our families go to heaven. I know of nothing more important than that our children are saved in the end. [Music] Come on, cover them in prayer. Cover them in prayer. Come on, cover your children in prayer today. Come on, daddy's pray for your daughters. Come on, mama pray for your sons. Your children are your greatest missionary work. The greatest missionary work that you have is seeing that what comes out of your loins makes it to glory. Nothing else matters. Come on, if you gain the whole world and lose your babies, oh God. Come on, come on, come on, come on. [Music] Come on, pray for your children. Cover your babies in prayer. Thank God, the Savior. Come on, I'm gonna send God to Savior. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Nothing else. Victory. [Music] [Music] Come on, don't stop. The Holy Ghost is here. Come on, don't stop. The Holy Ghost is here. [Music] Come on, pray, pray, pray, pray for your families. Pray for your children. [Music] [Music] [Music] I'm gonna [Music] Victory. Come on, mama, pray for your kids. Come on, daddy, pray for your children. Husbands, pray for your eyes. Nothing matters except that our children are safe. What else could matter but then our children make it to glory? Yes, Lord. Holy Ghost. [Music] Yes. [Applause] [Music] Turn it. [Music] Is. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
Would you lift your hands all across the tabernacle right now, lifting Him up and magnifying His great name? [Music] Come on, would you magnify the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? One last time, parents, would you just pray over your children? Ask for a prayer covering. Ask God to use you to save your family. God, let me be a missionary to my own home. God, I know I'm not going to be perfect, but would you let me be an example? Would you let me pave the road to heaven for my family? Did you give me the ability, God, to be a priest in my home? God, in the name of Jesus, Holy Ghost, God, I pray for every family that's in this house. I pray for every mother, every father, every grandparent. I pray for every family unit, extended alike. God, that you give us the ability to pave our children's road to heaven, that you don't let it be us that puts roadblocks in their path. I don't want to be guilty, God, of creating adult idolatry in the hearts of my children. I want to be careful, God, what I lead them toward, what I get them involved in. I want to be so cautious.
I'm going to leave you with one, one verse as we go home. The ladies have prepared next door. Please be a part of that. But Exodus 20 and 5. Exodus 20 and 5. [Music] Sorry, Sister Tabby. Want you to look at this as we're leaving. The ladies have prepared next door. Please come join us. Please come join us and have a meal with us and enjoy some food. Everybody say, "Three o'clock." Three o'clock. We're gonna be right back in here for Sunday school. The young people will be in their classes. The young people will be doing their services next door. "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." God warns us right here, parents, don't bring idolatry and worldliness into your kids' lives. Don't give them things of this world to bow down to. [Music] Oh Lord, because it'll perpetuate. I don't want to bring anything idolatrous. Oh, it was golden calves and golden idols and stone gods in that day, but today it's Hollywood and pornography and worldly entertainment. I don't want to put anything in my kid's life that will perpetuate idolatry. I want them to serve. "Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." I love you. God bless you. Thank you for being at the house of God. Shake hands, be friendly, welcome our guests. God bless you in Jesus' name. Three o'clock. Everybody say, "Three o'clock." Right here. Let's be back in the house of God at three o'clock. [Music] Two.