Transcription
>> Oh, the blood of Jesus. That washes white as snow.
Hallelujah.
You know in baseball there's a pitching rotation they call them. Some of them they call starters and some of them they call closers.
Well, brother Staten, you need to as leader of this wonderful men's ministry in Maryland, you have the authority to realize who you are. You're I don't know that you're a starter, I think you're a closer. So, if I'm ever amongst with you again, just you you have the you have full right to flip the script because I feel like the closer's already preached and I'm the starter and so we'll get it figured out. I know the Lord knows what he's doing. Oh, I was glad when they said I I feel like there's some gentlemen here that's excited about being in the house of God. Is everybody if you had your rathers you'd rather be here than wherever you're employed today? You this is a better place to be. Well, let me let me lean on in on that. This is better than than the best fishing trip you could be on right here. Somebody just leaned over his buddy and said, "I don't even like to fish." Whatever your greatest pleasure or pastime would be, oh, this is premier right here. It's it's awesome. Again, I think this is the last time I get to greet this conference floor and so I first of all just say a a great hearty appreciation for each of you that made sacrifice to be here. I know these things don't happen easily. You have to take off time and make adjustments. And thank you local church for Can we just give a big hearty thank you to this local church for working and making this possible in hosting. Host pastor, brother Staten, and then of course I'm very excited to hear friend of mine preach this evening, brother Jay Carney, and wrapping this weekend up. Excited about that. And uh to your district leadership, brother Libby and brother Wright. Amen. Amen. Wow. God's good.
If you have your Bibles, I'd direct your attention to Luke, the 14th chapter. I am on a mission. I think we could probably have prayer and all just go eat lunch. But early this morning, I awakened, and I felt like there was a seed of this put in my spirit last night. But as I got up this morning, I felt the spirit impress on me that He's after a man this weekend. I know there's men here in a plurality, but you need to realize we're serving a very personal God. And He's concerned about the one. And you might just try to float through the weekend, and you know, go through the motions. But by His grace, He's pursuing you. I thought as brother Staten was preaching, I I I I love the character David. He was a man after God's own heart, but he he had some fallacy in his life. He had some things that needed to be adjusted. There were some things he did not get to do because of some of his life story. But David had the keen ability to hide out in a cave in the presence of a king. Sometimes we can come to church and hide out in our own little cave in the presence of a of the king. And I'm going to be reading a text from Luke the 15th chapter, which very familiar passage deals with the the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin and the lost son. And I really feel, hear me, I really feel that Jesus has shown up this weekend and he wants to sweep the house to find the one. So it's not so much that I'm after you, but I really feel as a conduit of him and an instrument of his purpose. Would you just I I don't want to get too hurried here. Would you just hook up with a friend right up I want to get connected to what God's saying to us. Father, in your name I thank you for these men that have gathered. Ah! Lord, the young and the middle aged and the elder. Oh, how you love us. How you love us. How you pursue us. Help us to get real before you, Lord. Help us, God, I pray to become vulnerable, oh God, transparent, oh Lord, in your presence. Reveal yourself and your intentions to our hearts. Oh, the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He's He's after you, sir. It's His grace, His immense love. He is pursuit of you. I'm going to be mindful of your time, but I'm also going to follow the leading of His spirit. I don't think I'll match Paul's address where he preached past midnight, but we will We need to get over these 30-minute segments we give God. Come on, somebody. And then sit down and doomscroll for 2 hours. Okay. I I know who we are. Luke, the 15th chapter. Luke, the 15th chapter. There is basketball and there is the slap after it activity. I like to see some I I know somebody like to see some of it. Praise God. Luke, the 15th chapter. Verse four. Jesus is talking. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Wow, it just preaches and preaches and keeps preaching to us. What man of you or who of you having a hundred sheep if he lose one of them doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it. I want to pause right here. A lot of times when we read these parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son as saints our minds always go to the center in the world. But I want to challenge you. We can be in the house and be lost. And I would venture to say some of us have come this weekend needing to make some adjustments in our lives. So change that concept putting it off on the guy outside. And open your heart to the word cuz he's after you today. And when he had found it he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors saying unto them rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost. There's the parable. Here's the application. Jesus says I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one over one sinner that repenteth. Now that's probably what we should have done this morning. I probably should have preached this morning and brother Staten should have closed it out with that tremendous message. But before we leave and go eat, there's going to be an invitation. Cuz there's there's there's joy in heaven over one that repenteth more than over 99 just persons which need no repentance. Put your Bibles down and let's just let's let's let's tune in, guys. Here, give me give me 30 minutes, 45 minutes. I I'm telling you there there there's one there's one he's after. Would you join me in prayer? Father, bless my brother. God bless this house, minister. God, I pray for conviction. I I thank you, Father. Your word's already anointed. Anoint my lips of clay, God. Help me, I pray, God, to be a conduit of what you would desire to manifest and say, God, in this place. Help us to do a good job and God, to please you in all things. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Poke a neighbor and say, "He's after you, man. He's after you."
Story is not yet fully disclosed. We just have bits and pieces of it. I I even looked this morning, names have yet to be released. It's deemed classified. And I'm sure book deals will be forthcoming. But it for sure, at least for me, paints a picture of redemption and the importance of one solitary soul. And it's typical of this parable that is shared by the Lord, what man of you would not leave the many and go after the one lost? And he would go until he finds the one. Good Friday of this year, two days before Easter while many of us were thinking about our Easter plans and what's going on at the church house, an F-15 fighter jet was shot down over enemy territory. The United States executed a high-stakes rescue operation to evacuate two of its airmen who were stuck deep inside of Iran. The dramatic and sprawling two-day operation involved hundreds of personnel, dozens of aircraft, and multiple close calls. I was had interest in the story from its initiation. The emergency began in the early morning hours when an Iranian missile slammed into a two-seater F-15E which bore the call signs Dude 44. Turn to the guy sitting by you and say, "Hey dude." "Hey dude." President Trump would say in the hours that followed that while US forces had eliminated Iran's anti-aircraft capability in the area, an Iranian serviceman member the words of our president said he got lucky with a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile that got sucked right into the fuselage of the engine of the F-15. American Air Force pilot and a weapons system officer who's often referred to as the backseat were down in hostile territory. They had safely ejected but were isolated behind enemy lines. This is a real picture of the aircraft seat on the desert floor. Then a few hours of the F-15's crash, 21 military aircraft and over 100 personnel flew into hostile airspace operating for 7 hours in broad daylight making the operation even more perilous. These kind of missions are usually done at night. Apache helicopter and other rotary aircraft took small arms fire and an A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft known as the Warthog was hit. And the pilot flew out of Iranian territory back into Kuwaiti airspace where he ejected and the aircraft crashed. The pilot was quickly recovered with no injuries. Within hours the first wave of rescuers reached the pilot of the F-15 behind enemy lines and dubbed dude 44 alpha. We yet don't know their names but the pilot of the aircraft dude 44 alpha was rescued and the team safely rescued him placing him aboard an HH-60W Jolly Green helicopter. Under close-range gunfire in the middle of Iran with two aircraft down and others taking on small weapons fire, the mission had just begun. The second airman named Dude 44 Bravo, a colonel, had landed a significant distance away from the pilot and the reports would declare he was injured quite badly. Despite his injuries, it was reported that the backseat or Dude 44 Bravo started climbing the treacherous mountain terrain to reach a higher altitude scaling cliffs while bleeding rather profusely. Once he had an elevated seemingly safer spot in a mountain crevice, he treated his own wounds and contacted American forces to transmit his location. The US military swung into action. The second rescue wave was even more massive than the first, encompassing 155 aircraft that included four bombers and 64 fighter planes and 48 refueling tankers and 13 rescue aircraft among others flying for another 7 hours in the darkness. It was a massive logistical effort. One resource said it was like retrieving a needle in a haystack. Also, at the same time, Iran, understanding that there was a downed aircraft personnel within their borders, began to offer a bounty for the missing pilot of 60,000 American dollars. They began to roam the mountains looking for the downed pilot. US forces were trying to locate Dude 44 Bravo. They They were not wanting to reveal his location to all the local enemy. In fact, at one point, the Air Force sent nine planes to fly over another location 25 miles away to confuse the enemy. CIA director John Ratcliffe said his agency used both human assets and sophisticated intelligence technologies to help find Dude 44 while misdirecting the Iranian forces. It was pretty interesting to me. I've I've looked into it, but it's pretty amazing to me from 40 miles away. An intelligent scope. You can tell me what that all means, but picked up the aviator that was located in the mountain crest. Fact they observed him for some time thinking perhaps that was him. It wasn't until after a while being in hiding that he stood up to stretch. And with precise measurements they realized they had found their man from 40 miles away. He was 7,000 ft above the desert floor. And the extraction was underway. Through the night to the early morning of Easter Sunday while most of us were getting ready to go to church. About 60 days ago. Our American military was invaded in what was called was involved in what was called a breathtaking show of skill, precision, and force. And the US forces engaged Iranian forces near the mountaintop sanctuary. And they rescued him. Dude 44 Bravo had been on the run, had been bleeding, and alone for nearly 48 hours. Two MC-130s were destroyed because of getting bogged down in the sand in a remote Iranian base. And they couldn't get off the ground fearing advanced avionics and communication being discovered, they just blew them up among other aircraft, it seems. It seems that some other small aircraft was also destroyed. We don't have the full report on that, but at 12:04 a.m. Everybody okay? In the early minutes of Easter Sunday, President Trump announced, "We got him." We got him. I read where the rescue mission might be the costliest rescue mission ever. With loss of multiple aircraft valued in the millions of dollars, the fuel and the man-hours, upward estimates as of today is $2 billion is is what we spent for one so.
Now, now you can spin the narrative. You have the liberty to spin the narrative any way you would like. The Iranians deserve a little credit for successfully shooting down one of our United States Air Force F-15s with a land-to-air missile. Of course, in the end, they had the metal, but the US kept the soul. A senior military adviser said after the recovery, and these words caught my attention and prompted my investigation. He said the most important contributors for a recovery like this to be successful is their will to survive, their will to evade, and their will to recover is everything. In this case, he went on to say the pilot's absolute commitment to surviving made much of our efforts possible. I know I'm in military country, but there's a US military doctrine that echoes the words of our text which says that no one shot down will be left. What man of you would not leave the many and go after the one lost? And he would go until he finds the one. I have a mission here today to communicate what God wants to say to every one of us. You matter to him. He's after you. Whatever's going on in your life right now, God God's concerned. God wants to come and extract you from behind enemy lines. Oh, hear me. Hear me. I I believe all this weekend, I feel like the Lord told it to me in prayer that he's on a mission. And of course, this is the parable of Christ concerning the lost sheep, which is followed by the parable of the lost coin, and then the lost son or the prodigal son as many would call it, the reckless son. And I I don't know if I can reveal the heart of every believer or even the heart of the church, but this morning I just feel it necessary before we break and go eat lunch. Maybe better reveal the heart of our savior. He is the good shepherd. That will leave the 99. And he will come and find the one. He will go after the lost. Again, gentlemen, I'm going to talk about those outside. I'm talking about the lost coin in the house. He He will sweep the house. He will look until he find it. I I'm here to tell somebody he will carry us out of our trouble and lost state, and he will do it with rejoicing. I just really feel before we conclude this weekend, there's going to be some rejoicing. There's going to be some things happen that maybe we don't even realize of what God has done. How many trust that God all by himself will bear the weight of our restoration, and our reconciliation, and of our salvation?
Well, that was the new story. Let me Let me preach for about 10 minutes here. And I I just want to maybe maybe treat you a little bit. I want to I want to share three significant factors of this supernatural rescue that involves all of us. And I'm going to communicate it three points in the terms of the price. Somebody shout the price. Somebody say the purpose. And the plan. First, the price. There is for sure the value of the soul. Thank you, Elder Staten, for declaring to our movement the value of every soul. And it's revealed by what is expended to rescue each one. To redeem each one. To to save each one. We we can look at the price tag. Oh, hear me. Of $2 billion to save dude 44 Bravo and say, "Wow, that's an extravagant price to pay for a solitary soul." Can Can I tell somebody this this morning? Christ paid a much bigger price. Oh, you're not hearing me. I said the the Lord Jesus Christ paid a much bigger price TO REDEEM EVERY ONE of us. This is what I felt the Lord telling me this morning. He not only expended it, BUT HE'S STILL SPENDING. COME ON, SOMEBODY'S NOT AWARE OF WHAT CHRIST done to get you here this weekend, but I'm telling you he's still spending and expending himself to save us. Anybody think for his grace has extreme value? Anybody feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ in the room today? I'm just tell I'm telling somebody he's he's after us. So, I'm not just looking at the sacrifice of Calvary, what a great price, but I really feel even today he's expending. Amen. He's investing. You attempt to do the math of the of the great creator robbing himself in flesh and coming and dwelling among us. If you add it up, the price tag that didn't begin at Calvary, but was established from the foundations of of the world. I I don't know. I don't know what my blood is worth, they say they say that processed plasma is worth about 4 to 500 dollars a liter. And your body has from 4 and a half to 6 liters of blood. Or in other words, you could say about 3,000 dollars worth. Turn to your neighbor and say, "You got 3,000 on you all the time. You got it on you all the time." But if you really want to get technical, uh plasma makes up about 55% of your total blood volume. So, you really your your real marketable fluid is really only worth about 1,500. Turn and tell somebody say the preacher just robbed you of 15 right there. Yes. But my blood and your blood, it's contaminated. Oh, Jesus. I said it's contaminated. The brother sang about it. Can Can you Can you calculate what the efficacious, SPOTLESS, PURE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST IS IS WORTH? I WILL TELL YOU WITHOUT IT THERE WOULD BE NO REDEMPTION. THERE WOULD BE NO REMISSION OF SINS. I think we ought to just take a moment and pause and just personalize it for ourselves. Thank God for the blood. Thank God for the blood THAT REACHES. THANK GOD FOR THE BLOOD THAT TOUCHES my heart, my life, and my my soul. I don't think there's any one of us that would want to attempt to place a value on merely the emotion and the relief or the hope that's found when we consider our sins have been covered. Lord, have mercy. Our sins have been FORGIVEN BY THE POWER OF HIS his blood. And then calculate that by by millions. I say billions of humanity past. Suffice to say what was expended Easter weekend this year pales in comparison to what transpired on Calvary on that Friday before that first Easter. What was given for each one of us to be found. Saved from the torments of the enemy. Come on, gentlemen. I don't want to get complacent or naive what God has saved me from. Redeemed, restored to a place prepared for us. What a great price. Thank you, Brother Staten. I don't ever want to come to church. But I want to be all in. I I I want to be conscious of what the price tag was to get me here. Amen. You all right. I'm not I'm not preaching right now for response. I I just want you to get this. God God's after And you matter. We could go on about the price, but let me move on to the purpose. Jesus began to express his purpose early on when he stood up in the temple. And he declared the spirit of the Lord is upon me. Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted. To preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. If you can read on through the Gospels, you become acquainted with his purpose. For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. Perhaps there's no better purpose of Christ revealed than what he shares in John 10 and 10. The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and TO DESTROY, BUT I'M COME OH, HAVE AN AWARENESS, SIR. I'M COME JESUS SAID, "I AM COME THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE and that you might have it more." Oh, is there a testimony in the house that you might have it more abundantly. Hallelujah. Is there Is there a TESTIMONY IN THE HOUSE WHEN I FOUND JESUS CHRIST? THAT'S WHEN I REALLY STARTED LIVING. WOO! HALLELUJAH. HALLELUJAH. HALLELUJAH. YES, PURPOSE, SIR. The greatest purpose and cause in all our existence extracted an extreme price. Here's what I feel in the spirit. There There are some that are locked down bleeding and hurting behind enemy lines in this room right now. And I've just come to tell you there's one that's after you. He's already paid the price. But if there's another price tag attached to it, he'll pay that, too. It's his purpose. It's his identity. We need to understand who he is. It's his motivation. He He's driven to it still. And I felt it this morning. Hallelujah. I don't know who you are, sir. He didn't give me a face. He didn't describe your identity, but I'll just tell you, amen, he's after you, dude. He's after you. There's a lifeline available to us. We have a word that if followed will save us. And not just here, but for eternity. Amen. And there is a plan. I really feel I I the Lord is talking to me that there's somebody in an isolated place. And you send out the signal, but it doesn't seem like anybody's responding. The preacher just come along to tell you he's already paid the price. He's declared his purpose. And you just need to know he has a plan. Would you just turn and just say it soever quietly to your brother, but say he has a plan for you. His plan, gentlemen, is to save us. To rescue us from destruction and death. I don't know what you're involved in. But I'll tell you, if you're playing play in the enemy's camp, it's not very productive. In its end, it's death. But there is a way of life that you have to be engaged in. Focused upon. He not only wants to redeem us in the present tense, but for eternity. You know, I I'm getting older and I understand there are present coverages. And when the state we're talking about seasons of life, you know, you can buy life insurance that's cheap while you're young. But recently my life my life insurance guy showed up and said, "Mhm, getting older. We got to do We got to do some changing to your your policy." What are you talking about? Well, it gets more expensive as you age. I I'm not making the money. The insurance companies are the ones making the money. You know, you you you make the investment or you you know, they drop you all together because earthly coverages don't reach out into the infinite. Doesn't have dividends after the grave. But Christ has an eternal plan. Mhm. There's a word in the Bible that interests me. And I'm hurrying. But it's the word uttermost. I I don't think I fully understand it. It's It's usually used in the context of geography. The uttermost parts of the earth or the uttermost parts of the sea. Those those four astronauts that took a ride around the moon in the spring, April the 1st, 252,000 mi from the earth. They became familiar with what I would call the uttermost. And as they were interviewing them they all I thought it was so It was a common denominator of all their responses. I'm so glad I live on the earth. Yeah. But but the writer of Hebrews, of which I I I believe is the great apostle Paul, is preaching Jesus in this letter. And I just I just want to read this. Hopefully you can grasp how it's affecting me. But Hebrews 7, but this man, verse 24, this man because he continueth ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. And gentlemen, there's not much you can invest in in this earthly that continueth ever and is unchangeable. Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins and then for the people's. Oh, this this is a different situation. For this he did once when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity, but the word of the oath which was since the law maketh the son who is consecrated forevermore. What are you saying, Brother Chris? Well, uttermost here is not seen in the context of a place as it is a context of time. He continueth ever and he's able to save us to the uttermost. He's the one that's consecrated for evermore. Sir, his plan is an uttermost plan. I don't know when you showed up this weekend what your plan is, but I'll just tell you he has a plan that is the uttermost plan. It's a forever plan. It's an eternal plan. And and I'm winding up, but here's here's the point and you've got to get this. You got to get this. I'm not going to do an altar call. You bring it back tonight. Brother Jay's going to preach Brother Jay Carney's going to preach a great message and challenge us. But I want this to germinate in our spirits. His plan involves us.
It It includes not just what he has designed to do, but it includes our participation. I want to provoke some gentlemen that you're already know when I when I said it's a personal message, he's after you. I just want to follow that up with it involves you. Don't just sit there on your laurels and say, "Well, he's after me." But realize we're talking about eternal things here. We're talking about a plan that will forever redeem us and save us. THE PARABLE IS REVEALING. Of course, the chief shepherd has a PURPOSE IN SAVING EVERY LOST SHEEP. BUT LISTEN TO THE SHEPHERD. LOOK WHAT HE SAYS, "REJOICE with me, FOR I HAVE FOUND MY SHEEP WHICH WAS LOST. AND I SAY UNTO YOU THAT LIKEWISE JOY SHALL BE IN HEAVEN OVER ONE SINNER THAT REPENTETH MORE THAN OVER 99 just persons which need no repentance." The shepherd is looking for you, and the shepherd has even offered a way of escape for you. God is faithful and will make a way of escape for us. And then the word of God comes right back and says, "But how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" And although he will go to great price and has the purpose to rescue every one of us, his plan for our salvation involves us. Likewise joy will be in heaven over one sinner. I'm talking to somebody right now in this house. I I don't know what you're doing in your private time. I don't know what habits you've adopted that are nothing like Philippians 4 and 8. Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely. Just full of virtue and good report. These are the things we're to think on. I'm telling somebody, he's after you. His grace is reaching FOR US. THE PRICE IS EXPENDED. THE PURPOSE IS DECLARED. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS engage in his PLAN TO SAVE ME. SOMEBODY JUST TAP YOURSELF ON the chest. He wants to save me. He wants to save me. His plan, sir, for your extraction out of the enemy's hand involves you.
Don't let men's conference pass. Don't let weeks and months and years pass and you still sit confined behind enemy's lines just waiting on your demise. There is a rescue mission in full detail right now. The price, the purpose, the plan is afforded us. Amen. These are the words of the senior military advisor that rings in my ears. The most important contributors for a rescue like this to be successful successful is their will to survive, their will to evade, and their will to recover is everything. And in the case in this case, this pilot's absolute commitment to surviving made much of our efforts possible. I fear there are too many hiding out in the enemy's camps and behind enemy lines and just waiting on God to blast you with some miracle extraction without you doing everything you know in your power to do to get engaged in the recovery. Let's stand. We got to remember each one of us have to be involved in the plan. And here's the thing, sir. You might have to crawl injured and bleeding, but get to where you need to get for him to save you. Your Your ego, some of that stuff that gets in your way, might have to be laid on the altar and said, "This stuff don't matter so much in the bigger scheme of things." You You might have to go through some tough nights, but it's okay. THERE'S ONE GREATER THAT'S IN SEARCH OF YOU. YOU GOT TO HAVE that confidence. I want to say this. Our US airmen have a manual that they follow for times like these, and I'm sure there's some in the house that could share it with us more adequately and more precisely, but it's it's called SEER training. Survival, evasion, resistance, and escape. And it's an extremely demanding role that combines advanced survival skills, teaching ability, and the mental toughness required. We have a manual. I hope this is okay. It's preserved. It's prepared for us. And gentlemen, in this hour that we're living, with the enemy's encroaching on the very elect, we need to be well versed in what the plan is. That the prize and the purpose be not in vain. How many wants to be engaged in the plan until we're extracted out of here? Here's what I want to do. I I know it's lunchtime. It's 5:00 after 12:00. I've been very mindful. Probably mutilated the message, but I I really feel like God's helping us. Here's Here's what I want us to I want you to find a place whether it's right in your seat, just turn around, and if you want to kneel, I think you can repent. You can die. People die all kinds of ways. So, even where you're standing, I think sometimes posture's important. But would you take a moment and just get personal with God? We're going to go eat lunch. We're going to have fun, but will you really just I acknowledge that he has he's paid the price. He He has a purpose, and God, I want to get engaged in your plan. I'm not here at this men's conference just trying to hide among the stuff, but Lord, I think you're after me. I think you desire me. Somebody ought to just begin your prayer by thanking him for the price afforded us to save us. It's It's not just a great love story, it's the greatest story ever penned, ever understood of men. That he so loved us that he gave. Father, I I know you're searching. I I feel the conviction. I feel the call of voice to my life. God, I those things that are in my heart that are not pleasing to you, I lay them on the altar today. God, forgive us of every sin. Any iniquity. Lord, I want to be engaged in the greatest extraction ever known to humanity. Father, you're coming soon for a people that have made themselves ready, and we we prepare our hearts.
So many times, Lord, we're we're lost behind enemy's lines. Sometimes it seems hopeless, Lord, this life pursuit. Sometimes, Father, we feel so isolated and as men, God, by ourselves. But oh, Lord, help us to realize there's a company of angels. Help us to realize there's a heavenly host. And help us to realize the God of the universe is after me. You're after us. Oh God, you're pursuing us. You leave the 99, Lord, you you go after the one. That's who you are. That's what you do. I'm praying for you, sir. That weight or that sin that the Lord has been dealing with you about, he's just trying to prepare you for your extraction. His grace is reaching further than we can imagine or understand. I'm talking to some seasoned saint that there's things that you've held in your heart for a long time, and yet you still hear that small voice that would speak to you, require of you to position yourself more rightly that you could be engaged in his mission, his purpose. Forgive us, Father, for our sin. Lead us, Lord, in the path of life and of everlasting. I pray over these men of Maryland. I pray over these wage earners, God, these husbands, these young men, God, I pray. Leaders, God, and ministries that are represented here. Let us not be overwhelmed or consumed by the enemy's devices. Let's stay engaged, Father, in your redemptive plan for our lives. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. I want you to stand now. Thank you for taking a moment just bearing your heart to the Lord. Again, much of the story is classified. And I'm sort of looking yearning for a release of the more deeper story. The one thing I do know that's come out in little excerpts is this colonel was grossly wounded. But he had learned with study of his manual that to make a better percentage of him getting extracted was he needed to get to a higher elevation. And so even though grossly wounded and the enemy all around dude 44 Bravo began to climb. Gentlemen, I know sometimes life hurts and it it's not fair. It hits us hard. But he has a plan. And you got to stick to the plan. I'm telling you he that shall come will come. So take the remainder of this weekend. I know we're here. The social element is so important in the church. Fellowship, connecting. But make sure you take adequate time to do some climbing, positioning on the thing that really matters. That's your salvation, your rescue, your extraction from behind enemy lines. Amen. I want you just to bow your heads as Brother Staten comes, close us out every feels. We just pray the prayer, "Father, let me receive this this word into my spirit." What we've heard today, challenge already today, Father, in your name. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Can we thank the Lord for his mercy? Can we thank him that he's still seeking? Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord, that you didn't give up, that you haven't given up, that you'll never give up. Hallelujah. As long as there's breath in our bodies, you'll never give up. Blood is still flowing from Calvary. It still reaches to the highest mountain, and it still flows to the lowest valley. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. What a wonderful story using the cost of a military mission to rescue one man. I thought as Brother I thought you were going to use it, Brother Thornton, thought there you said that it was when that man stood up and stretched that they said, "Let's get him. He's ready to be rescued now." It's It's when he stood up and stretched. But listen, I know we can to the 99 here today, that message was okay, but there's one. There's one. And And we're not just talking and it's not Well, I'm not addicted to pornography. What that brother came in earlier said, I don't need to stop by his booth. But if you're not living your spiritual abundance, He came that you could have abundant life. And if you're not if you're not full of joy, if you're not living in peace, if if you can look back and say my spiritual life was better than it is now, then you're behind enemy lines. And Jesus is looking for you. This isn't just for the sinner who's bound by layers of addiction. It's for those of you that can look back and say my spiritual yesterdays are better than my spiritual today's. Then you've lost your way. And Jesus came looking for you today. Thursday morning, I woke up early in the morning. I felt like the I was thinking of all the stuff that had to get done. Brother Garland, I felt like the Lord told me, "I'm going to be speaking to you this week. Don't get so busy in doing that you aren't listening." So my ears are tuned. Every word that's being spoken, I'm listening because somewhere in this week God has a word for me. And I pray that that's your posture right now. Lord, I Oh, I think brother I think the Lord was talking that brother over there. No, Lord, was that for me? Was that for me? Was that for me? I don't want to be lost. Amen. Amen. What a tremendous word, especially for that one.