PURPOSE IN THE PRISON | Rev. Marissa Farrow | Allen Worship Experience

Thank you. [Music] Foreign. [Music] [Music] Everyone, this is the hour of worship, and we have come to celebrate our living King. Hallelujah! Come on, if you are thankful to the Lord for Him allowing you to see another day, come on, let's open up our mouths and give God all the glory, honor, and praise. Hallelujah! Today is a day of celebration, and we have come to celebrate 189 years. As a matter of fact, this is a celebration that's going to begin today and continue for the next couple of weeks. Amen. Come on, let's go before the Lord in prayer. Father, we adore You. We love You because You first loved us. And so, Father, we thank You for this opportunity to worship You in spirit and in truth. We thank You, O God, for the word that's going to go forth, for the praises of God that will be heard from this house in every house that is watching. God, we're praying right now that You would do something extraordinary. God, none of us came here expecting to leave the exact same way that we've come. We've come to hear a word from the Lord. We have come, Heavenly Father, to receive healing and deliverance and salvation and times and seasons of refreshing. So, God, as we celebrate the 189th Church anniversary of this house, God, we begin by giving You all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Come on, in Jesus' name, let's enter into worship right now. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the saints, He is worthy to be praised. Come on, Allen, and lift Your voice. Come on, and lift your voice. So grateful this morning. Hallelujah! Yeah, thank You, Lord. Yes, Lord. I will call upon the Lord. [Music] Foreign. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] The Lord. [Music] [Applause] The world. [Music] I will call upon them. [Music] [Music] Sometimes. [Applause] Myself. [Applause] That's not the father. Name of the Lord. Company. [Music] Foreign. [Music] To see. [Music] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm always. [Music] [Applause] I don't know the King of the Universe. [Music] Everybody. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] It's a celebration. [Music] Wow. [Music] [Applause] You think sorry Monday, Tuesday, you gotta go to people. [Music] Hallelujah, somebody shout Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Hallelujah to the only wise God. Hallelujah to the Sovereign God. Hallelujah to the One who has kept us. Come on and praise Him for being the God that has kept this church for 189 years. Come on and give God a Hallelujah. Oh, He's a good God. He's a wonderful God. Let's go before our God in prayer. Precious and holy and wonderful and magnificent and oh God, an even exciting God. We come before You, O Lord, because You, O Lord, are the One who reigns forevermore. There's none like You, Lord God. You are all-powerful. You are strong and mighty. You are the only wise God. You are the only Sovereign God. You remain constant and You cannot change. And we bless Your Holy Name today. You, O God, are Supreme. And we bless You. And we bow before You, O God. And we call on You, O God, and You answer us and tell us great things that we did not know. You're a wonder God who gave us Your word that we can learn of You, O God. We can learn of You and we can take up Your yoke and we can find rest for our souls. You are the God God that we love. You are the God that we adore. You are the Gods that we worship. And Father, as we bow in Your presence today, O Lord, You said to seek Your face. You said to ask and You will we will receive. Father, in the name of Jesus. So, Father, we ask in the name of Jesus that You sweep through this place, Lord God, and You begin to heal hearts, O God, broken hearts, O God. Yo, God, sweep through this place, O Lord, and touch us from the crown of our head to the soul of our feet. Sweep through the internet, O God. Oh God, sweep through the earth, O Lord. Come, O God, with Your power and Your might and raise up, O God, the sick, O God. Touch them by the power of Your Spirit. You are the God of all flesh and there's nothing too difficult for You. So, God, we thank You in advance for the miracles, for the signs and the wonders that shall take place. On this is our Father, in the precious name of Your Son Jesus Christ, who took the stripes so that we could be healed. And we thank You, Jesus. We thank You for bending over. We thank You, Jesus. We thank You for submitting, Heavenly Father. We thank You, Jesus, for the blood You shed for us. In Jesus' precious name, let the people of God shout out to the Lord with a voice of triumph. Shout out to the Lord with a voice of victory. Hallelujah. Thank You, Father. [Music] Foreign. [Music] Foreign. [Music] Thank you. [Music] When kingdom shall pass away, but there's nothing. [Music] Oh, oh. [Music] Okay. Foreign. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] Afternoon. [Music] Foreign. [Music] Shall all pass away. [Music] But there's something about that name. Won't you put your hands together in the sanctuary this 24th day of September, this very rainy day that the Lord has made, and we shall rejoice and to be glad in it. Come on, church, put your hands together. What a blessing. What a blessing. [Music] We are beginning, kicking off our 189th Church anniversary celebration, and we're doing it with our young people. Our Children's Choir, our young young people's choir is here, and they are going to minister to us on the direction of Brother Michael Pugh. They are here. Let's put your hands, uh, yeah, once you put your hands together now and receive them. Somebody clap your hands for the Lord. We come to praise the name of the Lord. This morning's song says, "Come Thou Almighty King, help us Thy name sustain." We come to play. We come to praise God's name. Did anybody come to praise the name of the Lord this morning? [Music] Let me see you. Come on, here we go. Come down. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Foreign. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Thank you. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Everybody. [Applause] Helper problems. [Applause] All right, come on, come on, let's go. [Applause] [Music] [Music] Starbucks. [Applause] Subscribe. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Everybody. Here we go. Everybody said. [Applause] Y'all have to learn to sing. [Applause] One more time. [Applause] We can't surprise. [Applause] Prayers. We've come to play. We come to praise. What did you come to do? What did Tacoma do? Hey, what did you come to do? We come to play. [Music] [Applause] Thank you. [Music] [Applause] [Music] What did you come to do? Y'all, let me hear y'all say. Come on, sir. We come to grow. We come to First, I woke up this morning, holding my right mind, put on my table, think I know He's able. I came to play them. I came to play. We come to pray. [Music] Foreign. We kicked off this 189th celebration with our children today because we need to make this statement that our children are not just the Church of tomorrow, they are the Church of today. Everybody say amen. Amen. Amen. You may go to your seats. We are so grateful and certainly we welcome all of you who pressed your way in all of this rain. Those of you who are joining us online for virtual worship, we thank God for you and we certainly pray that you will be blessed. Before we move further, we have Sister Abigail, Gabrielle, and Stephanie Foster who are going to come with a very brief presentation around our 189th anniversary. Come on, let's put our hands together and receive them now. Good morning, Greater Allen Cathedral. My name is Abigail Foster. I was told to speak about the legacy of the church, but I'm not sure what that word means. All I know is that my church is the best church ever. I love. I love coming to Sunday school every Sunday to learn about Jesus and to meet new friends. I also love my teachers. They are fun, kind, and loving. I started in a nursery with Linda. Business lent with Miss Linda. At first, I cried when my parents left me, but I soon got used to it and had an amazing time playing with the toys with other children. Here are some other things I love about my church. I enjoy being a member of the youth choir and I love singing in the sanctuary. I love doing Bedtime Stories on Zoom with my teachers. Being a part of the Easter and Christmas programs has always been great. My favorite role is being a dancer in the Easter play. VBS is always so much fun. I love doing crafts, Bible stories, games, and songs. I want to thank everybody that helped keep this church standing for 189 years. [Applause] Now I want to do my part to keep this church going so other children can enjoy their time at DAC. Thank you. [Applause] Good morning, church. My name is Gabrielle Foster. I've been going to the Greater Allen Cathedral for all 12 years of my life. I started. I started out in the Sunday school nursery and I've worked my way up to Yahweh Truth Seekers. Answer your question, Abigail. I guess he means the long impact of particular events or actions that took place in the past or of a person's life. And guess what? This church has an amazing legacy. [Applause] Like I said, like I said before, I've been going to this church for quite a while now with my sisters, Jasmine, Stephanie, and Abigail. And because of that, I've taken on many different things at my church, like being a junior usher, singing in the youth choir, helping out on Sunday Sundays as well as the Easter bake sale. So, as you can see, participation in my church is very important to me. Not only do I participate in many different organizations, but I also go to Sunday school. And not to brag, but the Sunday school staff is the best. To add, to add on to what I've done, done here at GAC, I was part of the Black Lives Matter protest back in 2020. It was very inspiring for me and it's taught me so many things as a young black girl. My sisters and I are truly honored to have a leader like Reverend Lane for our church. [Applause] It still astounds me how many things she has accomplished. Her being such a good leader inspires me to believe in myself and nothing is impossible with God. As I will continue to learn about the history of the church, I am so proud to be a member of this church and its legacy. Thank you. Good morning, church. For those who don't know me, my name is Stephanie Foster, and I've been going to the Greater Allen for 17 years, meaning my whole life. In the year 2006, I stood before this very altar receiving my dedication to the Lord. Truly, I don't remember a single detail of that day, hence I was a newborn. I am proud to say that I've grown an unbreakable family here at Allen. When it comes to my Sunday school teachers who have helped in the process of raising me, to the friends that I surround myself with, trust me, never a dull moment. Even the people who I barely know, but my parents know, pray for me. I used to find it hard to believe that a random stranger could so should could show so much compassion and love for someone who isn't their own. As I grew older, I became familiar with the term church family. They may not be your biological family, they may not even be close with you, but these are the people who will stand by you, hold you up, and encourage you to be your best. Thank you. It feels so surreal to have such a strong support system backing you up at all times. When you join this church, you aren't just here for the service, but you're here for the bonds that come with it. God has made this place a blessing for so many people. This church, the Greater Allen AME Cathedral of New York, has shown me this and so much more. I may not say it and I may not show it, but this is my family and I love it. As I'm wrapping up this speech because I was given a time limit, I would just like to say that this church is truly blessed from the very foundation of what it was to what it is now. If you look around, not everyone has this. Not everyone is this talented and excellent. We are beyond blessed to be standing here after 189 years. I'm gonna say it again, 189 years. Thank you, Greater Allen. Let the legacy continue. Amen. The Foster girls, let the legacy continue. Thank you so much. Amen. Uh, we're just so grateful for our young people and we're grateful for our Sunday school and our Ignite Youth Church. Amen. And we would that you would continue to pray for our children. Now, on next Sunday, we continue with our celebration. And I hope those of you who have been members of the church for more for 50 years or more, we'll go to the website and fill out the forms so that we can uh adequately and appropriately recognize you on next Sunday. Let the people of God say amen. And then on the second Sunday, we will wrap up our celebration with Bishop John Richard Bryant. Amen. He will be preaching both services. And of course, you will have two weeks to wash these shirts out and wear them again on the second Sunday. Please, everyone, wear your shirt again on the second Sunday. The Young Men's Rise of Passage Mentoring Program is registering for the upcoming season. Young men between the ages of 9 and 19 are encouraged to register. And they are also recruiting mentors. So if you would stop by the table in the North Annex area, they will be there to receive you. Friday Night Live Teen Edition resumes Friday, October 6th at 7 o'clock P.M. for our young people. Friday Night Live with Reverend Eddie Jordan, who by the way, will is not here today because he had an episode with his back like an old man. He's got, I'm sure he's watching, but please pray for him that he will be healed and delivered. By October 7th, uh, at 10 o'clock A.M. Amen. Chosen Men's Assembly, Saturday, October 7th, 10 o'clock. Reverend Carson is asking the men to come out. It is in person. It is in person. And so brothers, please come out, 10 o'clock A.M. here at the church. And of course, this is our men's season. And brothers, you are invited to attend the Men's Ministry Legacy Luncheon on Saturday, October 28th at 11:30 in the Cathedral Banquet Hall in honor of our Pastor Emeritus, the Reverend Dr. Floyd Harold Flake. Amen. The keynote speaker will be the Reverend Roderick Dwayne Belen. Amen. And proceeds from this event will support the their Bootstrapper Scholarship Fund. You can register online at www.allencathedral.org. GAC men, let the people of God say Amen. Well, it is giving time at the Cathedral. It is giving time at the Cathedral. And okay, I'm glad you're excited. Won't you please give? Amen. We are in the midst of our mortgage elimination drive, too. So we hope that you will continue to give over and above, uh, on that special line that says mortgage elimination. Uh, when we talk about legacy, certainly we would like to be able to secure this legacy, not that we've ever missed a mortgage payment. In fact, we have paid over and above, but we want you to, and we want to continue to do that. Let the people of God say Amen. Those of you who are viewing virtually, you see the giving platforms on the screen. And even here in the sanctuary, I think you know, we all know now how to give virtually. But if you don't, if you're giving in person, and that's a great thing, if you're giving in person, won't you please hold your gifts until the end of the service, and the ushers will be in place to receive them. Now, we were very, uh, specific about wanting our young people to participate. And so we're going to have our Allen Liturgical Dance Ministry. The children come. After they minister, we will have our sermonic selection, and then the Reverend Marissa Renee Farrow will be our preacher for today. Amen. [Music] Glory by the Lord. Take it. Break to everybody. [Applause] Foreign. Things. Foreign. [Music] [Music] Foreign. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hallelujah! Hallelujah! [Music] My life. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] Come on. [Music] Come on, everybody. [Music] Come on, everybody. Glorify the Lord. Clap your hands and glorify. Get your hands. Glorify. Everybody. Glorify the Lord. [Music] Hey. Glorified. Glorified. [Music] [Music] [Applause] We are celebrating 189 years of our faithfulness to this community, and we're also celebrating 189 years of God's faithfulness to us. How many of y'all can testify that God is faithful? Every hand should be up. [Music] [Music] Come on and say faithful, faithful, faithful. Everybody say faithful, faithful, faithful. Faithfulness. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] If you know God to be faithful, please. [Applause] [Music] [Music] Glorious. [Music] [Music] Everything is faithful. Faithful. Please. [Music] [Music] [Music] Jesus. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Come up with those hands together. [Music] Everybody. Can I stay? Rejoice. [Music] [Music] [Music] Yes. [Applause] [Music] With our rejoice. Oh my God. Hallelujah. Yeah. [Music] Oh, come on. Anybody know that you shall recover everything that the enemy stole from you? I dare somebody give God glory in advance. Come on, like you know that the devil lost again. Anybody grateful for it on this morning? Hallelujah! We give glory, we give honor, we give praise to the Spirit of the Living God that is in this place. Amen. I don't know about you, but I was glad when they said unto me, "Come, and let us go into the house of the Lord." Anybody grateful for just one more chance to be in the presence of the Almighty God? We give Him glory, we give Him honor, and we give Him praise this morning. While we thank God for His presence, the day, we thank God for our great Senior Pastor. Would you help me to honor God for the Reverend Dr. Elaine McCollins Flake? Hallelujah! Amen. What a, what a pioneer. Amen. It's such an awesome, awesome task. Amen. To be able to lead young black women. Amen. I was just so overwhelmed and honored by that. Amen. And I'm just so glad to see that her legacy is still living. Amen. And breathing and thriving in this church. We give glory, honor, and praise to each and every one of you, my Father's children. Amen. For your press through this rain on this morning. Look at you, Allen. Amen. You showed up in great number, and we give God glory. And I'm excited about it because that means that y'all came to have church today. Hallelujah! Amen. I'm looking forward to it. Grab your Bibles. Go with me to the book of Philippians, chapter four. I'm reading verse 11 through 13 today from the Amplified version of scripture. And it is a familiar passage of scripture. Philippians, chapter number four, I'm reading verse 11 through 13 from the Amplified version of scripture. And when it is that you have it, I would that you signify by shouting, Amen. Amen. For those of you who are watching on our online church, y'all just holler back at me and say, "I'm in the word." I'm in the word. I'm in the word. Philippians, chapter four, verse 11 through 13, from the Amplified version reads like this. Paul says, "Not that I speak from any personal need, for I have learned to be content and self-sufficient through Christ, satisfied to the point where I'm not disturbed, nor am I uneasy. He says, regardless of my circumstance, I know how to get along and live humbly in difficult times, and I also know how to enjoy abundance and live in prosperity in any and every circumstance. I have learned that the secret to facing life, whether well-fed or going hungry, whether having an abundance or having a need, that I can do all things through Him who strengthens me to fulfill His purpose. I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace." Would you bow your heads for word of prayer? Gracious God, our Eternal Father, it is once more and again that we Your humble servants come before You, holding in Your righteous name, God. Today, before we ask You for anything, we want to take the time to thank You for everything. We thank You for Your goodness. We thank You for Your kindness. And Father, today, we thank You for Your mercy. Now, I pray that You would infect and indeed hide me behind the shadows of Your cross, that the people may only hear, see, and know that You are in me. I pray now that You would help me to preach to the end that sinners are saved, lives are changed, and the body of Christ is edified. And now, God, we ask for two things: a word that is precise and right. In Jesus' name, let the people of God shout Amen, Amen, and Amen. On your way to your seat, won't you help me announce my shamanic? Don't turn to somebody beside you, tell them, "Neighbor, there's purpose in the prison. There is purpose in the prison." You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Uh, my brothers and my sisters, as we pause and give consideration to the climate of our current culture, I believe that many of us who love God, who go to church, and who seek to do the will of God, can attest to this ongoing truth that at some point in our lives, we have all experienced the pain of personal prisons. Whether it is a prison of your own personal predicament, your interpersonal predicament, your family crisis, your mental unrest, your past experiences, or even your current experiences, the reality is that you can be in God and still wrestle with being in a prison. In fact, there are many, and there may very well be somebody here today who is watching online or somebody who's sitting in this sanctuary saying, "Preacher, you're already talking to me because I know what it is to feel like I am trapped by the transition, editions, and the transactions of life." I believe that there is somebody who is seated in this sanctuary who can identify with the feelings of limited ability to break past the weight of some of the spaces and seasons in your life. And while these types of experiences aren't always about physical weight, what I want to suggest is that mental prisons can be almost as damaging and draining than the physical ones. I believe that some people get up every day and go to work and feel like they are living in prisons. There are people who are attached to relationships that they know that they need to get out of because they feel like prisons. There are, in fact, people who are attached to seasons of stagnancy that feel like prison. Some people deal with financial disparity and it feels like a prison. There are some health crises that you may not be able to get around down, and the weight of that feels like an emotional prison. Some people battle with secret addictions, and the guilt of them feels like personal prisons. And if nothing else, there are situations that are beyond our control that can even feel like prisons. And the weight of that type of bondage, if not managed properly, can become a real burden to your soul and your spiritual relationship. But what I want to suggest to you today is that for believers, often the difficulty in seasons like this is not always solely about what you're facing as much as it is why you're facing it. Because the all-consuming question for Christians is, "Why do those who are sold out for God suffer in the first place?" Have you ever felt yourself in a season of your life raising the question, "Why do those who serve God suffer?" Through the ages and generations, I believe that those who serve God yet suffer long have always borne the burden of trying to remain faithful to God when it feels like your faith is constantly under fire. And even more than that, the difficult truth to swallow is that faith is not meant to be easy, but faith is meant to be tried in order to produce out of us a greater anointing, a greater strength, a greater love, and a greater endurance. But the problem with most people is that when we are facing the pain of the prison, it is hard to find purpose in the prison. Because seeing purpose in the pain requires us to adopt a mind shift that helps us to believe that prisons are not designed to kill us, but correct us. Understand that moments of difficulty in God are not designed to frustrate you, but they are in fact designed to fill you into the greatness that is inside of you. Oh, but church, what I have discovered is that the reason we find so many easily extinguishable Christians in this day is because we view trouble as a failure on God's part rather than the field that He is trying to create in us for the fire that He wants to use to keep us going. Understand that to be on fire for God means that we have developed a rigorous and unwavering passion for the fulfillment and the pursuit of the purpose that God has placed in our lives. But what you must understand is that there can be no fire inside of You without fuel or friction around you to ignite it. See, understand, to ignite a thing would indicate that a call according to the laws of chemistry, fuel and oxygen react to cause spontaneous combustion. And if one were to light a match, it is the acceleration of friction that prevents heat from escaping and causes the production of a flame. In other words, church, if you want to produce a fire on the inside of you, you cannot see production without their first being a provoking. And this is where I believe that the believers get lost. Because people miss out that in order to get the fire, will mean that you will have to learn how to coexist with your conflict. In other words, church, to coexist with our conflict means that there will be times in our lives when we will have to embrace the friction around us in order to defeat the frustration within us. Because frustrated faith is what the enemy seeks to do to you. Fresh frustration in your faith is what the enemy seeks to put in your spirit. Frustration of your faith is what the enemy seeks to use to distract you and deter you and ultimately cause you to self-destruct. Don't you know that a frustrated faith will lead to faulty actions and faulty living? But a faith that is developed in the fire, learning how to embrace the friction, can become fortified as pure gold. See, I believe that most people who come to church in 2023 want the fire of God, but we don't want to welcome the friction of life. I'm talking about the friction of abuse and the friction of hurt, the friction of rejection and the friction of abandonment, the friction of family dysfunction and broke days and hard days and painful days. Most people try to ignore the friction of life and they avoid the friction of life. Many people try to suppress the friction of life. When the reality is that to carry a fire for God means that I have learned how to live with the friction. And so you got people who want glory without going through some grief. And you've got people who want success without having to go through the study. You got people who want to have community without having content. You've got people who want to have platform without having processed. But whenever God has ignited a fire in your life, if you don't reframe your understanding of how God ignites you, you will end up running from what you should be running to. Because the reality is, church, that the igniting of the power and the oil that's on the inside of you is really God using your troubles and your trials to combust you into triumph. And we know that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord. So understand that the fire being stirred in you is forged and fueled not just in the glory, but in the gloom of life. And too often, I find people who want to control and attach themselves to moments of glory, but then they go home and get frustrated when it seems like the glory has run out when you are facing the realities of the friction around you. But what I've come to suggest to you is that the friction in your life is just as necessary as the fire in your soul. That the pain is just as necessary as the production. That the hurt is just as necessary as the happiness. That the tears are just as necessary as the joy. Because the way that God fills the fire on the inside of us is not just in the things that we glory in, but also in the things that we suffer through. Church, essentially, what I'm trying to get you to understand is that you cannot separate the necessity of God's will from the difficult quality of God's will. Because sometimes God's will is just as difficult as it is necessary. Come here, David. He said, "It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn the statuettes of the Lord." Learning the statutes of God is the fire, but going through the affliction is the fueling of God. But too often, I find that the fire we carry becomes smothered in places of suffering. Too often, we want God to use us, but we shy away from the fanning of the flames. We want God to platform us, but we doubt His power in the middle of those pains. We want God to anoint us, but we disqualify ourselves because of the things that we wrestle with. We want God to get the glory out of us, but we want to detach ourselves from the struggle that we have to go through to get there. And I know it to be so because what I have found, church, is that the enemy glories in isolation. And so the trick of the enemy is to get you to believe that friction is a failure when the reality is that friction is just the fuel that God is using to keep the fire burning on the inside of you. And today, I have come to stand firm in the spirit of the Apostle Paul, who says, "I have learned how to be content in whatever state I find myself because I've learned how to abase and abound." Paul says, "I've learned how to live with nothing and everything. I have been in a place of humility, and I've been in one of great access." And he finds out that the resolve and the balance between being up and being down is that I've learned that I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength to do it. Can I tell you, church, how Paul reshapes our faith today? Because Paul is a man who understands how to harness the power of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Paul understands that it is just as much God at work in my life when I'm up as it is when I'm down. Paul is actually says, "I'm fine in whatever state I find myself in." Can I tell you, to be satisfied in spite of your circumstance would indicate that Paul has learned how to lean into the tensions of his life? That essentially he owns moments of success just as much as he's willing to own moments of suffering. He says, "I'm good with whatever comes because I discovered that the strength to do all things that comes from my ability to learn how to be content in all things." And I have come today to tell somebody that if you want to maintain the passion and the fire of God that's on the inside of you, you've got to leave here knowing that whatever friction has been going on around you is not a failure on your part, nor on the part of God, but it's the fuel that you need to keep on going. Y'all, you've got to learn how to coexist with the conflict of frictions. But understand that living with the frictions does not mean that you're dying to it, but it also doesn't mean that you're dying from it. You've got to learn how to live with everything that has happened to you. You've got to learn how to harness the power of the good days, the bad days, the ugly days, the up days, the down days, knowing that they're all working together to create in you the strength that you need for the place that God has for you. In other words, you got to learn how to live with the lies and the love. You've got to learn how to live with the mistake and the money. You've got to learn how to live with the heartbreak and the happiness. You've got to learn how to live with the rejection and the peace. And the challenge is that too many of us have made choices about how to live with the friction that has caused us to break down rather than break through. The problem now is that often your friction will put you at a crossroads of having to make a choice to die to it or to move on from it. And can I tell you that there is danger in living in the linger just as much as there is in dying to your situation? And some of us have been walking around here lingering between breaking down and breaking through. And God says today, you got to make a choice about what you're going to do with what has happened to you. Are you going to sit at this crossroads crying about what went wrong? Or are you going to pick up the spirit of Paul, who said, "Forgetting those things which are behind me, I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling which is in Christ Jesus"? In other words, church, you got to make peace with your pain and your problems because lingering in it is a trick of the enemy that leads to frustration. And one thing I do know is that if the enemy knows that your friction is frustrating to you, he doesn't even have to manipulate much around you because he will frustrate you enough to cause you to self-sabotage your own fire. But I've come today to rebuke the spirit of self-sabotage over your life. What happened to you is not the end of your story. You are bigger than what you've been through, and greater is He that is on the inside of you than he that is around you. Don't you know that the enemy can't put your fire out? Don't you know that there is no battle in this life that can undo the greatness God has put inside of you? But the greatest tactic of the enemy is to cause you to burn out because of the burdens in your life. But I came to tell you that this is not failure, this is fuel for the fire. In fact, won't you just touch somebody beside you and tell them, "Neighbor, this is just fuel for your fire"? Oh, essentially, church, I've come today to challenge you that if you want to keep the fire burning, you've got to let go of the fear of the friction. Because friction is not present in your life to bury you, but it is present to keep the fire burning on the inside of you. And church, there are many witnesses in the Bible that when you learn how to manage the friction of your story, that God will use that friction to create in you an everlasting fire that cannot be put out. There are many witnesses in the Bible that prove to us that when you learn how to manage the friction, you will stop being being frustrated by the things around you and simply know that God is fueling your story all the more. Come here, Peter. He said, "It was good because after I suffered a while, it was the Lord that strengthened, established, and perfected me." The friction was in the suffering, but the fire was in the forever establishment. James said, "Count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing that the triangle of your faith worketh patience." Temptation might have been the friction, but it was the fuel you needed to have a greater level of patience in your life. Maybe you like the way Paul said it when he said that "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us." Suffering might have been your friction, but I came to tell you that glory is going to be your fire. In fact, I wish you would pass it up and down your row and tell somebody, "Neighbor, this is gonna end in more glory." All church, Paul is a great witness of what it means to lean into the friction of your life. He understands that you cannot allow the frictions of your life to become a liability, but they have to become lessons. And so the relevant question becomes, "Preacher, how do you own the frictions of your life? How do I take dominion over that which seems to be trying to dominate me?" Well, Paul understood it in his suffering when he writes this letter to the church at Philippi. And while there are many instances in which the Pauline Epistles reflect Paul's ownership over his suffering, while Paul is writing this particular missing, he is up against the most friction that anybody could be up against. But this letter to the church at Philippi is said to be written somewhere between the five and a half year span that Paul spent in his second imprisonment for the book of Acts, thought between chapters 21 and 28, that Paul was in prison and passed from court to court to defend himself because of the conviction about the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Church, what I need you to understand is that Paul is not just facing imprisonment of the mind. This is not just figurative suffering, but Paul is literally in jail defending himself from execution on charges that are illegitimate. He wasn't in prison because he was a liar. He wasn't in prison because he did anything wrong, but he was in prison because people didn't believe what it was that he believed. Ain't it strange that much like Paul, some of us have often faced persecution because people don't believe what we believe? Isn't it funny that most of the persecution that comes our way is because people doubt the power of God that's at work in our lives? Have you ever been in a season where it felt like people wanted to oppress you because you were standing firm on the power of God in your life? Yo, that's where Paul is. He's under the persecution of enemy forces because he had faith in God. Have you ever felt like your faith was the reason for your trial? Have you ever felt like your belief in God was the reason you were facing your burdens? And can I tell you, it's not because God wants you to feel insignificant? It's not because God has forgotten about you, but what I do know is that faith without works is dead. And sometimes you got to do the work to hold on to your thing. Your Paul is fighting enemy forces. He is up against the enemy that wants to destroy his testimony. He is up against enemies who want him to retract his belief in God. Can I tell you that the only reason the devil is after you is because he wants you to come down off of this high horse about to believing that God is able to deliver you from anything? Can I tell you that the only reason the enemy is after you is because he doesn't like your confession? Can I tell you that the only reason the devil don't like you is because you got a nerve to believe that no weapon that is formed against you shall be able to prosper? Can I tell you the only reason the devil don't like you is because in the middle of this sickness, you refuse to bow over, but you kept on repeating that by His stripes I am healed? Why would you give over to an enemy that wants you to retract your statement about the power of God that's at work in you? That's where Paul is, church. Because Paul is fighting for the faith. He is contending for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yo, the Bible tells us that his arrest had been prophesied in Acts chapter 21, but then it also says that by the time he gets to Acts chapter 22, that Paul has been beaten by a crowd. I don't know about you, but it sounds like Paul is facing some friction. And after Paul got beaten by the crowd, he then had to stand before the Council of the Sanhedrin, where the priests ordered him to be struck in the mouth. I don't know what you see, but it sounds like Paul is facing some friction. But y'all, in the middle of all that, the Bible says that Paul says, "The Lord stood by me and told me to be brave because the same testimony you gave about me in Jerusalem is the same testimony I need you to stand on in Rome." Meaning Paul was going through the frictions of life, but he was able to be assured that the same God that kept him in Jerusalem would make sure he made it to declare the word in Rome. Can I tell you that when God's got a plan for your life, there ain't no power in this world that can hinder the plan of God? And so Paul is standing firm on the fact that God's got a purpose in the prison. Y'all, cannot tell you that after all of this, Paul was still up against the friction because your 40 men had conspired to go on a hunger strike until they were able to get to Paul. Ain't it something when the enemy don't like you to the point where he would hurt himself just to get to you? But your Paul is going through the friction. But even after God removed all of that, the pride against Paul's light didn't end because after which he was handed over to the prince of Caesarea, and he was there to stand before Felix. And the Bible says Felix, the great, wasn't able to validate the charges against him. So instead of letting him go, make Paul spend two more years sitting in this very prison. It sounds like Paul is facing the friction. But y'all, when Felix couldn't charge Paul, they handed him over to Festus. And when Festus couldn't find anything wrong, they handed him over to Agrippa. And when Agrippa couldn't find anything wrong, they passed him from court to court, but they still couldn't validate that Paul had done any wrong. And still in chapter 26, Paul testifies before Agrippa. He says, "I have help from God to this very day." Meaning Paul is standing firm while he's facing the friction. Yo, after this, Paul ends up on a ship that's sailing to Rome to stand before Caesar. But y'all, in the end, he would end up on the sea for 14 days. And the Bible says a great wind came, and it wasn't an ordinary everywhere, but it was a wind called your Euroclydon. And your Euroclydon broke up the that the men were on. And so all of the prisoners made it to shore, and they ended up on the island of Malta. But can I tell you what happened at Malta? Because there Paul would be bitten by a snake. And when the snake that bit him should have killed him, the Bible says Paul just shook the snake off. And the men who were standing around looked at Paul in amazement and said, "Surely he's a man of God." In all the words, you're all the friction that has been producing testimony and the friction has been producing a reputation. It was the friction that gave those around Paul an opportunity to see that he's not lying about this God that he's preaching about. It was the friction of his story that gave people the chance to see that Paul was living with a God who wasn't absent from him, but one that was walking with him, and one that was talking with him, and one that was telling him that he must be his very own. Y'all, in the middle of all the frustration and in the middle of all the friction, Paul says that the chains that I'm in have got to be changed for kingdom advancement. He says, "But in spite of everything, I have learned how to be satisfied to the point where I'm not disturbed, nor am I uneasy, because I've learned how to live with whatever comes." He says, "I'm the secret to life, it's understanding that no matter what comes and no matter what goes, it was the pain of the story and the promise of the story that taught me I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." It was Paul's ability to live with the friction that gave him the endurance that it needed to stand. It was Paul's friction that allowed him to understand that there's purpose in the prison. It was Paul's friction that allowed him to experience that the God who was beside him would never leave him, notice, take him. And I came to tell somebody that just like Paul, you might be facing prisons right now, but there is purpose in

The middle of the friction because he is the god who uses everything to teach us how to be steadfast in the middle of it all. He's the god of the pain and the god of the power. He's the god of the suffering and the god of success. He's the god of the trial and the god of the testimony. He's the god of the Joshua and the god of the turnover. He's the god of the trouble and the god of the treasure. He's the god of rejection and the god of Resurrection. He's the god of the accident and the god of acceleration. He's the god of sinnness and the god of saving.

And that's why I've learned how to be continued because he has built a reputation that it all thinks he is still God, that he will not fail, and he's always coming through. Is there anybody here that knows that he's God in the good times and these gods in the bad times? His Gods when I'm up and he's the same God when I'm down. That's what Paul said, that I have learned how to be content with God because learning comes from experience and every experience has. Because you do remember that this is not Paul's first time in prison, but the Bible says that Paul's silence were locked up before, and then midnight they opened up their mouth and they begin to praise and the prison doors blew open. Can I tell you the only reason I that is able now? It's because I learned what he could do then. The only reason I can stand now is because I've seen them do it before.

Good evening, y'all. May the Lord God bless your real good until I see you again on next Sunday. But on my way out of here, would you grasp somebody, grab about the hand and tell them name I because I know what he's able to do. I'm gonna stand on the word of God. That's what Dave is saying that with guns I have learned that I can run through truth. It's your experience that gives you strength. It's trouble that gives you testimony. Is there anybody that knows that God is able to keep you up, no matter how tall the prison you're in? Is there anybody that knows that this purpose in your pain, this testimony in your tears? So whatever you do, God will. God will. He'll take care of you. He'll keep on showing up. He won't let you down. He will not fail. If you believe it, say yes.

[Music] The Thunder, let's stop it on the inside. Said, hold on. I said, hold on, hold on, hold on. Do the cheers.

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] Hold on. I know you're hurting.

[Music] But yeah.

[Music] Purpose.

[Music] [Music] It's not prison, so harder.

[Music] [Music] I gotta go.

[Music] I've seen him do it.

[Music] That's how I learned.

[Music] [Applause] Standing all over the sanctuary. God and the same goal who was with me in Jerusalem gonna see me the wrong. Listen, somebody might have come here in a prison, but I just need a few intercepts to just wave it up and down your road. You are released. Hallelujah. No more frustration over the friction. Come on here. I'm learning how to coexist with my conflict. Come on here. Oh, cause the same God who brought me to it is the same God who gonna see me through it. That's all I really come to tell you today. That there is purpose in every point of your life. The friction is necessary because it's fuel for your fire. So father, create in us a clean heart today. Oh, and renew within us a right spirit. Help us to see the purpose in our prisons today. There may be somebody here who came here in a prison. Maybe it's been the prison of your family, the prison of your own heart, your prison of your job, the prison of your money. Whatever it is today, I came to tell you that this is not a sign of failure from God. This is not a sign of failure on your behalf, but this is God working in every part of your story to create an understanding in you about how to trust him all the more. Oh, for grace to trust him more.

I want to make an appeal today to three different types of individuals. The first one is the person who says, preach, I've never accepted the Lord Jesus as my savior. If this is you today, when I get to the number three, the church is going to start clapping, the choir is going to start singing. I want you to start walking. The second individual is the person who says, preacher, I've been saved before, but the friction of my life has withdrawn me so far from God that today I know I need to make a decision about leaving the linger. I need to come out of that crossroad to breaking down and breaking through, and I need to make a decision today that this is my day of breakthrough.

[Music] I'm talking to people who says, I've allowed the friction of my story to pull me away for my relationship with God, but I know that it should fuel me closer to the altar. And today, I'm talking to you. When I get to the number three, church is going to start clapping, while gonna start singing. I need you to start walking. The third individual is the person who says, I do not have a church home, and I know I need to be somewhere connected to people who are praying, praising, worshiping, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to help me to learn how to coexist with my conflicts. I need to be surrounded by the word that keeps me grounded in the middle of my prison. Hey, this is you today. When I get to the number three, church gonna start clapping. You're gonna start walking. If you're online today, when I get to the number three, you can just drop it in the comment section. Follow the promise on the screen, and today you can be saved. Y'all ready? One, two, three. Come on, Adam. Let's praise. If you're hearing, you want to be saved. If you're here and you need to make a decision today. If you're here and you need to stop allowing the interview to frustrate you because of the friction. If you're in the balcony, come on, start walking. We see you. Come on. There are ministers here ready to minister to your knee. Come on, everybody. Let's praise. Let's praise. They're coming. They're coming. They're coming. Come on, live triple. If you're in the balcony, we're waiting for you. If you're online, we're praising God for you. Come on, bring your whole family. If you know that this is the season where you need to tell the enemy of frustration no more, in the name of Jesus. Come on, come on, my sister. Where are you? I see you. That's something. They're coming. They're coming. Come on, no more, no more frustration on your job. No more frustration in your face. Come on, declare today that the Lord is giving you a new understanding. Come on, somebody. Come on. They're walking. They're walking. They're walking. They're walking. Come on, you still got time to come. Come on. Creating me.

[Music] [Music] That's enough.

[Music] No, no.

[Music] Yeah. Glory to God. Come on. That's our declaration today. God, create within us a clean heart so that we can worship you truly in spirit and in truth. The doors of the church have already been opened. Hallelujah. And listen, we would love to invite you first and foremost into the body of Christ, and then second of all, we would love to have you as a part of our church family. Amen. You can declare that on the 189th birthday of this church that you decided to unite with us. Amen. For however many years the Lord has in front of us. Amen. Glory to his name. Listen, even after the closing blessing has been given, we do want you to know that it is not too late for you to give your heart to the Lord or to unite with our church family. And so we would invite you into our chapel area. If you desire further prayer, Our discipleship Ministry team is is there and they are there ready and willing to lead you into your next steps. Amen. Glory to his name. Come on, let's just celebrate Jesus for the word that's come forth. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Let's go before the Lord in prayer. And even before we do that, remember on your way out, you have the opportunity to lead your gifts at the door. There will be officers there. We also want to remind you that in this season of 189 years, we uh half-assed and would love and encourage you to give 189 seed offering. Amen. Above your regular tithes and offerings. Amen. Hallelujah. Let's go before the Lord. Father, we thank you and we honor your presence in this place. You have been faithful down through the years, and we know God that you are true to your word, that you will never leave us and never forsake us. Walk with us, oh God. Lead us and guide us through all of the trials of life so that indeed we can walk into the triumph of the triumphant future that you have set before us. It's in Jesus mighty name that we pray. And we answer. Get all. Come on, everyone. Declare. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. God bless you.

[Music] Bible study for young adults is held on Mondays at 7 p.m. Stream live on our Facebook page. Men's Bible study is held on Thursdays at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Visit the website for more details. Marriage enrichment Bible study and fellowship happens every Saturday at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Visit the website for more details. Join us for worship as we continue celebrating our 189th Church anniversary, October 1st and October 8th. If you have been a member for over 50 consecutive years, we want to honor you to be acknowledged. Fill out the form on our website, www.allencathedral.org/189years. We will culminate the celebration on October 8th with Bishop John Bryant. October 1st is Domestic Violence Awareness Sunday. Join us for worship and wear a touch of purple to help us bring awareness to this cause. All teens are invited to Friday Night Live, a night of games, food, fellowship, and fun, returning Friday, October 6th, and every first Friday during the school year at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral. Registration is open for our Young Men's Rights of Passage mentoring program. All young men between the ages of 9 and 19 are encouraged to apply. Visit the website for more information. Calling all men to Chosen Men's Assembly, Saturday, October 7th at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral. As we continue courageous conversations, Ministry is sponsoring a legacy luncheon on October 28th at 11:30 a.m. in the Cathedral Banquet Hall. Join us for delicious cuisine, great fellowship, and live music. The keynote speaker will be Reverend Roderick Bielen. Visit our website for ticketing and additional information. All proceeds will go towards the Bootstrapper Scholarship Fund. For more information regarding our virtual, hybrid, and on-site events, please visit our website at www.allencathedral.org.

[Music] Thank you for worshiping with us today. We invite you to stay connected with us on our website at allencathedral.org and across our social platforms, including our YouTube channel, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. Give tithes and offerings on our website and mobile app, which can be downloaded from the iTunes Store and Google Play. Visit our website and listen to our daily prayers, watch Bible studies, see featured videos, and more on our mobile app and the church website. Subscribe to receive our weekly digital event calendar and text alerts by going to the church website at allencathedral.org and follow the prompts to subscribe. You are invited to join us on our live prayer line week lines at 8 p.m.s 8:20 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., where you will hear from Pastor Elaine Flick and friends. The dialing details are available on our website. Again, we are so grateful for the opportunity to worship with you today. Our church doors are open. We love to worship with you in person Sundays at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. There is a seat for you, so join us. We continue to keep your safety and health in mind, so stay connected throughout the week, and we look forward to worshiping with you again next week. To God be the glory.

[Music]