Transcription
Amen. How many are ready for the word of the Lord tonight? Today's a special day. We're going to be talking about that a little bit more. But before we do that, we're going to have the word of the Lord. This morning was a great, great move of the Holy Ghost. And brother Prao is no stranger to Durham, North Carolina. He has preached conferences here. He has preached revivals. And he's here with us again tonight.
Before he comes, I will admit, I will announce that after service, there will be, um, refreshments in the gymnasium. We're going to be fellowshipping down there, and I'm going to be having a little bit of a family meeting following this message, and we're going to have a good time together as a church family. But before all of that, brother Prao, we love you. We appreciate you. Let's stand in the presence of God. Let's give the Lord a hand clap of thanksgiving. Brother Prao, come preach to us this night. God bless you.
Thank you, brother. Let's give the Lord a great big hand clap of [Music] praise. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost in this house. Hallelujah. Praise God. Praise God. If you have your Bibles, the book of Luke, the 14th chapter. And as you're opening there, let me just say once again how much of an honor and a privilege it is to be here. And, uh, I also want to say how much I love and appreciate your pastor. Uh, he has been a good friend to me and, uh, an excellent role model. Praise God. And, uh, can't say how much I love and appreciate Bishop Godair. Amen. Through the years, he's also been just a great role model and example, amen, of how to build a church. Praise God. And so I've, uh, I have feasted, uh, on many, many, many, many Bishop Goodair tapes. Praise God. Some of y'all don't know what tapes are. Praise God. Some, some of y'all thinking talking about that round thing. Praise God. That sticks to stuff. But, uh, we used to feast on some Brother Goat Air tapes and go out there and do outreach, teach Bible studies, knock doors, and bring them into the house of the Lord. Praise God. How many love the word of God? Amen. Amen.
Let's, uh, let's get started. Book of Luke chapter 14 and verse number 27. A very familiar passage of scripture, and, uh, we're going to read a few verses and then we'll get right into the preaching. The scripture says, "And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, everyone say a tower. Which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost? Whether he have sufficient to finish it, lest happily after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'" And with the help of the Holy Ghost, I want to talk to you today about the hidden costs. The hidden costs. Can we say that together? The hidden costs.
Let's put our Bibles down. Let's pray. Jesus, we thank you for your word. Your word is powerful and it is anointed. Lord, I pray that you would touch me tonight to preach. I pray God that a special anointing would come over my life right now for the sole purpose of edifying, encouraging, strengthening, unifying your precious people. I pray God that every word that comes out of my mouth would be full of faith. I pray God in the name of Jesus that people would be saved, that people would receive the Holy Ghost. I pray God in the name of Jesus that there would be a mighty touch of your spirit in Jesus' name. And everyone said, "Amen."
Give the Lord a great big hand clap of praise. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Hallelujah. Amen. You may be seated.
The anointing that was on the life of Jesus attracted people. But what was perhaps most unique about that attraction to the anointing of Jesus is that it attracted people from all different kinds of walks of life. What happened often, however, when Jesus began to preach and teach is that everybody from his friends to his enemies to his fnemies showed up. And as you read the gospels, you can tell that there is a period of time in which Jesus tolerates this. He accepts this as a reality. But then as his ministry begins to unfold and it goes past the year mark, the two-year mark and nearing the final year, he begins to have to weed out people. He begins to have to figure out who's really going to be there for the long run. And so what he does is something that we can all learn from. He becomes highly articulate with his speech. He becomes very refined in the way he delivers his message. Matthew chapter 13 says that he would not speak to people without a parable. Without a parable. Parables had a fascinating ability to weed people out. I remember several years ago taking a Hebrew class. I was pretty much the only Gentile in the classroom. But we were going through the parables of, that's another story. But there, there was, there was a group of parables that we were studying out of the Old Testament. And I remember a very highly educated man stood up and he said, "I don't understand why God has to talk to us like we're children." Parables offend the intellectual because who in their right mind would imagine that God would describe his cosmic power and kingdom with stories, not fables, not fairy tales, but parables. Parables. Who would have ever thought that God would compare his kingdom to a woman looking for a coin or a man that loses one of his sons? Who would have ever thought that God would speak of the church as a vineyard or a flock of sheep? And a lot of people don't like that. A lot of people get offended. A lot of people think that it's way below their educational level. But Jesus was okay with that. He himself induced that. He made that happen. And he spoke in parables in order to make sure that he only got the very best of the best. The very best of the best. The best of the best weren't always perfect. In fact, none of them were. But Jesus got the best of the best.
In our scripture reading tonight, Jesus begins to talk about a tower. This too is a parable. What's important to note about this parable is that Jesus is now talking about a military piece of real estate. This tower is a military product. He is not talking about a water tower. He's not talking about a wind tower. He is talking about a tower that somebody builds as a defense against their enemies. Jesus in so many words tells us, "You better sit down and budget what it's going to cost you to build a tower that will act as a place of refuge and defense against the enemies of your soul." Those listening to Jesus on that day understood that there was actually two costs associated with this tower. One was the cost of building. The other was the cost of battle. The tower is a military defense. And like all other military equipment, it's expensive. But the cost of not having it might cost you your life. Make no mistake about it. Jesus is encouraging all of us to have a defense budget. When he says to sit down and count the cost, he's not saying it's okay if you find out that you can't afford it and so you back off. What he's actually saying is the exact opposite. What he is telling us is you better budget it in and then get it done. Oh, come on, somebody. You better budget it in and then get it done because you have enemies. There are forces, there are powers that are trying to wipe out your family. There are forces and there are powers that are working against your marriage. There are forces and there are powers and there are entities both in the flesh and in the spirit that mean you no good. They don't want to just hurt you. They want to annihilate you. They don't want to just damage you. They want to decimate you. And so you better sit down and count the cost and then make it happen. Oh, somebody give God some praise. Amen.
50 years ago this week, the God family counted the cost and came to Durham to build a tower. Every Bible study and every bus route was a brick that helped build this mighty fortress. Amen. First Pentecostal Church of Durham, Amen, has for 50 years, Amen, been building a place where families can run to and find safety and salvation in time of need. Hey, I'm telling you what we're feeling right here. Amen. Hallelujah. Is a result of some good tower building. Amen. And it wouldn't be here if there wasn't a family that said, "You know what? We've counted the cost. We're ready to go." Amen. Hallelujah. It wouldn't be. Come on. This thing didn't just magically appear. Amen. This thing didn't just show up one day. Amen. There was a man. There was a woman. There was children, amen, hallelujah, that said, "You know what? We're going to go ahead and lay it down brick by brick." Amen. We're going to go ahead and build this tower because there's people in the city of Durham that need God. There's people in the city of Oh, come on, somebody. Hallelujah. I'm talking about I'm talking about building the tower of God. Uh, building a fortress of truth, a refuge, and a safety and a sound. Come on, somebody. No, no, no. [Applause] Oh, somebody give God some praise right now. I feel the Holy Ghost moving in this house. Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
But tonight I want to preach to you about the hidden cost of this tower. Since the day Jesus spoke this parable, we have always understood that following him and doing his will will come at a cost. Since the day Jesus spoke this parable, we have always understood that it was a cost someone had to pay. Towers aren't free. They don't just give them away. The devil doesn't just fold his hands and say, "I'm going to let you build," Amen, a refuge for the people of God. That's not how this happens. Uh, somebody's got to pay a price. Somebody's got to Come on, somebody. Somebody's got to pay a price. That price can't be outsourced. Uh, nobody can pay it for you. Uh, you've got to pay it. Uh, you've got to lay it down. Uh, you, you have to assume responsibility. You have to take charge of the cost. Uh, you have to own it. Uh, it's not just Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah.
But I want to talk to you about the hidden cost because what's not so obvious is that once the tower is built, it's going to cost, amen, something to stay in it. Amen. Once the tower is built, once the safety and the refuge for the people of God is built, it's going to cost something to stay in it. A lot of people, amen, are glad that somebody paid a price, but a lot of people are not ready for the price they have to pay to stay in the tower. Amen. This is not a price that someone else can pay for us. Uh, amen. Hallelujah. We can't count, uh, Amen, how much it's going to cost, Amen, our church. Amen. To have a church. Uh, we can't cost, uh, Amen, how much it's going to cost our church to keep us in the church. Uh, amen. These are prices we have to pay. Amen. We can't count, uh, how much it's going to cost our parents, uh, to keep us in church. Uh, we can't count how much it's going to cost our spouse to keep us in church. Uh, amen. These are costs we have to pay. Amen. Hallelujah. The price for the tower has already been paid. Uh, but the price to stay in the tower, that's up to you and me. Amen. Hallelujah. Young people, your parents can't pay this price for you. Uh, amen. Young married, uh, amen, your pastor can't pay this price for you. Uh, you're going to have to pay this price. Amen. You. Oh, [Applause] hallelujah. Amen.
I'm telling you right now, one of the most horrible things I've seen in these last days, and it doesn't matter the age of the person, praise God, but one of the most horrible things I've seen in these last days is people are counting how much it's going to cost someone else to keep them in church. How much it's going to cost their parents to keep them in church. Uh, how much it's going to cost, Amen, their spouse to keep them in church. Listen, we got to get over that hump. Uh, we got to get over that hill. Uh, nobody should have to beg us to come to church. Uh, nobody should have to beg us to go to outreach. Uh, nobody should have to beg us, Amen, Hallelujah, to volunteer, uh, Amen, to lay out chairs or to teach a Sunday school class. Uh, Amen. We ought to be ready to count the cost and pay it. Uh, amen. Hallelujah. Cuz we can't afford not to. Amen. Hallelujah. I'm glad somebody paid the price. Uh, but I want to pay something, too. Uh, I want in on this. I want in on this because where my treasure is, uh, there will my heart be also. I want my heart right here. And so I got to put my treasure right here. I want my Oh, Jesus. Oh, somebody give God some praise right now. Oh, let's lift our hands and pray just for one moment. [Applause] Hallelujah. Praise God. Praise God. [Applause]
I'm not going to preach long. I don't think I have to. The Holy Ghost is here right now. Hallelujah. Amen. This is a good service to pay the price. This is a good service. Amen. Hallelujah. This is a good service to get committed to paying the price. Uh, amen. This is a good service to come to the conviction. Amen. That I have to pay this, uh, because I can't afford not to. Uh, I can't afford to go back out into the world. Uh, I can't afford to end up in divorce. Uh, I can't afford to have another child out of church. Uh, I can't afford to have another child backslide. I cannot afford, Amen, to go back to depression. I can't afford, Amen, to take another pill of Xanax. I can't afford, Amen, to shoot up heroin again. I can't afford to go back to jail again. Amen. I'm here. I'm staying and I'm paying. I'm here and nobody, nobody can pay this for me. Uh, I'm reaching deep in my soul. I'm reaching deep in my heart. I'm reaching deep in my pocket. I'm reaching deep in my time. Uh, I'm reaching deep into my talents. Uh, I'm reaching deep into my treasure. And I'm fixing to pay the price that only I could pay to stay. That only I. Let's praise him. [Applause] Oh, come on. Come on. The Holy [Applause] Ghost.
The Bible says that Joshua started handing out territory to the tribes of Israel. Everybody was getting their their land on. But then Joshua's contemporary, a man just as old as him, Caleb pipes up, cuz he didn't like what he saw because the way they were distributing land was with a lot, right? A lot's like dice. It's a game of chance. And Caleb said, "You know what? This next stage and phase in my family's life can't be left to chance." He told Joshua, he said, "I'm not going by chance. I'm going by the word." And he began to quote a promise that God made him in Deuteronomy 1:36. And he said, "I'm just as strong today as I was back then. Don't throw no dice for me. I'm not going to leave this up to chance. I'm going to, I'm going to walk according to God's word." Amen. I don't know. I don't know what Joshua thought, but he must have thought, "My goodness, he is old as me." Amen. He looking as busted as me, but he's got more strength than me. Uh, this man got something in him. You know what he had? He had a commitment. He had a drive. He said, "I'm glad God got me to the Caleb was saying, "I'm glad God got me to the promised land." Uh, but what's left, that's up to me. Uh, what I got to do next, that's up to me. Uh, and I'm going to scale that mountain. Uh, by the grace of God. Uh, I'm going to plant those fields. Uh, by the grace of God got me here, but I'm God got me here, but I'mma be doing the work it takes to stay here. I'm going to be paying the price to Oh, hallelujah. Oh, somebody praise him right [Applause] now. Yeah.
Hey, I'm not going to lie to you. I used to look at the good elders like brother God, Elder Irish, and I used to think, man, how do you get to that point where you're still serving God that late in life? Yeah. I just couldn't, you know. Let me just say this. This is not part of the message. This is free 999. One of the worst things that happens to you when you're in the world, Amen, is you lose vision. You have no way of imagining a future. And nothing could be more dangerous because when you can't imagine a future, you have no goals. You have no plans. You have no drive. You're just, you're just living by the lot. You're just out there shooting dice on Monday, shooting dice on Tuesday. You're just out there hoping for snake eyes. You're just out there hoping for deuces and sixes. You got to come out of that and you got to say, "I'm opening up my Bible in Genesis and I'm reading all the way to Revelation. I'm not going to just open the Bible and think God's going to talk to me out of some random verse. I'm getting rid of the lot and I'm gonna." Oh, come on. I'm telling [Applause] you somewhere. You got to get in the word. You got to get a system going. And you got to stay committed. Uh, and you got to be punctual and articulate. Amen. And you have to be consistent. Amen. And you got to get it in your mind. Uh, and you got to get it in your heart. Uh, and you got to go through a Bible study and you got to know the word. Uh, you don't make it by chance. Uh, you make Come on, somebody. [Applause] Hallelujah. Oh, let's praise him. I'm almost done preaching. But I feel the [Applause] Holy. Oh, let's magnify him. Let's lift our hands. Oh, hallelujah. I wish somebody just throw the lots right now. I wish somebody would just throw the lot away. Hallelujah. And say, "Well, come on, Jesus. Oh, [Applause] no. Woo." Oh, let's just pray. I'm, I, I feel the Holy Ghost really getting into somebody's spirit right now. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I pray that in the next few seconds you'd see yourself as a gray-haired saint raising your grandchildren. Uh, amen. I pray that in the next few seconds you'd start getting a plan downloaded into your spirit about the rest of your life. Uh, I pray that God give you your vision back. Uh, because where there is no vision, uh, the people perish. Uh, where there is no vision, the people cast off constraint. And I feel like just, I feel like tonight is a good night to get a vision about the future, a vision about your marriage, a vision. I pray that in the next few minutes, uh, you can close your eyes, lift your hands, uh, and see your son walking across the graduation stage. Uh, amen. Hallelujah. Capping down. Amen. Flipping the tassel. I pray that in the next few minutes, [Applause] Come on. Pray, pray, pray, pray. [Applause] [Applause] Woo! I pray that in the next few minutes you see yourself writing the last check to that debt. I pray that in the last few seconds, Amen. I pray that in the next few seconds, uh, Amen, you would see yourself, uh, getting off heroin, getting off fentanyl, getting off crack. I pray that in the next few minutes, uh, you'd see yourself getting rid of the bottle, getting rid of the weed, getting rid Come in the next few minutes, uh, you see yourself married with children, happy, blessing God, blessing the church. Uh, amen. Come on. Come on. I pray that in the next few minutes, uh, you see yourself free from depression. I pray that in the [Applause] [Music] [Applause] next Come on. Come on. He running cuz he's seeing something. He's seeing something. Amen. Hallelujah. Cuz when you get a vision, it makes you want to run. When you get a vision, it makes you want to run. It makes you want to tell someone. It makes you want to shout. Come on. [Applause] Hey, praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Oh Jesus. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's some people wondering, "What's he going to say next?" You know what I'm going to say next? Quit wondering what I'm going to say next. Lift up your hands until God gives you a bright vision of your future. Get [Applause] Hey [Applause] [Applause] yo, no don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do don't do I need somebody to pray for this woman right here. I need somebody to pray for this woman right here. He told that's it. Sister, please just join with her. Join with her. Come on. In the name of Jesus, I pray for a new vision, a new picture of the future, a new understanding of where you will be next. Come on. Come on. Don't let the devil write the book. Don't let the devil write the chapter. Don't let your past tell you what your future's going to be like. Let God speak to you wondrous things. Let God speak to you. [Applause] Amazing. [Applause] Yeah. Woo. [Applause] [Applause] Oh my god. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Jesus, [Applause] Jesus, Lord, I pray God in Jesus name, for a vision, for an understanding, oh God, in the name of Jesus, [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] Jesus. Shut up. [Applause] [Applause] Watch out. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] up. Oh my god. [Applause] Everybody [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Hallelujah. [Applause] [Applause] [Music] I need somebody to pray for that lady right there. Ma'am, can you pray for her? Hallelujah. Lift up your hands, sister. Lift up your hands. In the name of Jesus, I pray for a vision of what God can do, of what God can do, of in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, uh, we cast out, cast down, break down. Amen. Every, we cancel every attack of the enemy in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray for a vision, for an understanding in Jesus [Applause] name. Hallelujah. Woo. He told No, no, no, no, no, no, no. [Applause] [Applause] I pray in the name of Jesus that God would destroy, break down every negative image that's been placed on you by friends, by family, by this world, by its systems. I pray God would tear it out of your mind. And I pray in the name of Jesus that God would start giving you a new vision, a new image, a new understanding of who you are in him, of who he is in you, of what is possible. Now that you and him are together, now that you and him are working on the family, now that you and him are working on the job. Uh, now that you and him are working on the debt. Uh, now that you and him are working on the diabetes, in the sickle cell. Now that you and him are working on this cancer, now that you and him are working on this depression. Uh, now that you and him are working on this jail record. Uh, now that you and him are working on this backslid spirit. Uh, I pray in the name of Jesus, uh, I curse, uh, every demonic voice, uh, that has been talking to you, uh, in Jesus' name. Uh, I cancel it out. Uh, I command it to keep silent. Uh, I command it to be quiet, uh, in Jesus' name. Uh, and I pray that for the next few seconds, uh, you would see what God can do, uh, in your life, uh, in your mind, uh, in your body, uh, in your home. In Tamosu. Hallelujah.