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Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Applause] up [Applause] here. [Music] Heat. [Music] up. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Praise the Lord, everybody. Praise the Lord. We're delighted to see you today at the 76th uh year of Mississippi District United Pentecostal Church. And uh on behalf of our district superintendent, Brother David Tipton, and our district district secretary, Dennis Davis, we welcome you today. We're set to have a good time. Looking forward to the teaching and the preaching of the word of God. And um, I was thinking about everybody here has a heritage, and I enjoy hearing from you concerning your start with God. For some, you may not know all about your heritage, but you do have one. My wife and I was discussing this this morning that our grandchildren are seventh-generation Pentecostals. I had the privilege of knowing her great-grandmother who lived to be over 100 years old, and she was full of Holy Ghost, baptized in Jesus' name. And uh, my dad's ancestry is a little different. My dad was born in 1909, and uh, his parents, of course, was born in the 1800s, as well as my other grandparents. And I asked my dad, I said, "Dad, uh, tell me about our ancestry." He said, and he couldn't tell me about his dad because his dad died when he was four years old. He said, "But I can tell you about on my mother's side. She was, he was a McKay." I said, "A McKay?" He said, "You want me to tell you what he did for a living?" I said, "What did he do?" He said, "He made homebrew. That's what he did for a living." So, that's part of my ancestry there. And uh, I was thinking about that, but we're at the top of the state. Live one mile from the Tennessee line and 30 miles from the Alabama line. And that's unique country. There's others that did some of the similar things that my uh, great-grandpa did. And Brother Caesar Robinson, who I assisted for three and a half years, told me this story about uh, a man whose name was Joshua. And Joshua also, back younger, I think it may have been Alabama, I'm not sure, but uh, Joshua got caught making homebrew as well, and he had to go to court. And as is in a courtroom, he had to wait his turn. And finally, the judge called his name, Joshua. And he stepped forward from where he was seated. And the judge asked him as he was coming forward, he said, "Joshua, are you the, are you the one that made the sun stand still?" He said, "Oh no, sir. I, Joshua made the moonshine." So, we're glad you're here, and I'm glad to be here. And we open it up with just a little bit of humor. But I can tell you, regardless of what your heritage is or what your background is, that today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. Amen. If you'll stand with me, we're going to the Lord in prayer. We've got the First United Pentecostal Church of Jackson going to be singing worship, and then we'll be going in uh, to the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. Dear Jesus, we love you. Our Savior, our Lord, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. You're a hope. You're a help. You're the one that has guided us this far. You're the light that we need always in our life. And thank you, Lord, for the wonderful move of the Holy Ghost that we're experiencing. Thy own spirit guiding us and helping us to accomplish those things that you so desire. Bless every soul that's here today. I pray every heart be charged with the gift of your holy presence, and pray God that you would anoint and bless those who are participating singing today, and we look forward to all you've got planned. And everybody said, "Amen." In Jesus' name. All right, turn and greet somebody as these singers begin. [Music] I'll give thanks to you, Lord, and sing praise to your name, oh most high. I'll declare your love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night. For you, oh Lord, have made me glad. I will sing for joy at the works of your hands and rejoice in what you have done. I'll give thanks to you, Lord, to you, Lord, and sing praise to your name, oh most high. I'll declare your love in the morning and your faithfulness by night. For you, oh Lord, have made me glad. I will sing for joy at the works of your hands and rejoice in what you have done. And rejoice in what you have done. Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great might you? How great are your works? How great are you? Oh Lord, how great are your works? For you, you are great. Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great am I? Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great are? Oh Lord, how great are your works. You have made me glad. I trust in you, Lord, for I know that you're on my side. I can rest. I can rest. I won't be defeated. Lord, you are the strength of my life. For you, oh Lord, have made me glad. I will sing for joy at the works of your hands and rejoice in what you have done. And rejoice in what you have done. Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great am I? Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great are you? Oh Lord, how great are your works? For you have, you have made me. [Music] Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great, oh Lord, how great are your works? You're so good. Lord, how great are your works? For you have made, you have made me glad. You have, you have made me glad. You have gave me. [Applause] You have, you have, you have, you have made me glad. I, you have made me glad. You have, you have made me glad. You have made me glad. You have made me glad. Oh Lord. Oh Lord, how great are your works? Yes, Jesus. Oh Lord, how great are your works? Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great am I? Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great are you? Oh Lord, how great are your works? Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great and mighty are. Oh Lord, how great are your works? We thank you, Jesus. Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great and mighty. Oh Lord, how great are your works? Let's go higher. Oh Lord, how great are your works? How great are? Lord, how great are your works? We give you praise. Oh Lord, how great are your works? For so much. You have made me glad. You have made, you have made me. I found me. I found you. You have made me. [Music] [Applause] We just want to thank you today, Lord, for joy, for peace. Jesus, you are making life. [Music] Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. We worship you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We praise your name. [Music] We thank you, Jesus, God. We give you praise. [Music] I start to flee. All of the great [Music] for impossible. [Music] How did I start to believe you weren't sufficient for me? Why do I tell myself? You do miracles. You are more than able. [Music] You are more than able. [Music] You are more than able. [Music] You are more than able. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? [Music] You see all that I have. Oh, I've got my confidence back. See, I put my trust in the one who still does miracles, who do miracles. You are more than able. Yes, you are more than able. You are more than able. You are more than able. [Music] You are more than able. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Can you imagine with all of the faith in the room? What the Lord can. Hallelujah. What the Lord can do. And it's going to happen. Just the way you make it through. He's going to move. You're going to move. Can you imagine with all of the faith in the room what the Lord can do? What the Lord can do? It's going to happen. Let's set the wave maker through. He's going to move. He's going to move. Can you imagine with all of the faith in the room what the Lord can do? What the Lord can do? It's going to happen. Just let the way make it through. He's going to move. He's going to move. Anything is possible. Possible. Anything is possible. Possible. Anything is possible. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Anything is possible. Anything is possible. Anything is possible. Anything is possible. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Anything is possible. Anything is possible. [Music] Anything is possible. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? [Music] Does anyone believe that here this morning? Let's worship Him. Hallelujah. You are more than able. [Music] You are more than able. [Music] You are more than able. You are more than able. Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? [Music] Hallelujah. I said, let's clap our hands to the Lord Jesus. Let's lift our voices. Let's magnify the Master this morning. He is here to meet with us this week. He's here to touch hearts and lives. He's here to help us grow closer to Him. He's helped us to be better Christians. And he's helped to prepare us for the greatest revival this planet has ever experienced. How many of you believe that this morning? Amen. Praise God. You may be seated. Welcome to Camp Meeting 2025. It was 35 years ago I stepped on these campgrounds for the very first camp meeting I've ever attended. But I didn't come but with one thing on my mind. I was anticipating miracles. I'd heard about things that had taken place here. And I'd never been to camp meeting. But I come hungry and with anticipation of great things happening. You know what? 35 years later, I still come here today with a great anticipation of what God's going to do in the next three days and three nights. I come to be changed. How about you today? I come to see people receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Amen. I come to see people receive miracles. Pastors and evangelists and their wives receive refreshing and strength to go back and to set their cities on fire for God. Amen. And I've come to expecting saints of God to go back and say, "Pastor, we're with you. We're going to reach our cities for God." Amen. Well, it's an honor to bring our speaker to the floor this morning. He is no stranger to Pentecost and certainly no stranger to the Mississippi District. He's been here a number of times in our district. Has blessed us immensely each time. I'm reminded this morning when I was thinking about introducing our speaker, the Bible teaches us, "With all thy getting, get understanding." Understanding helps us know how to apply the word of God. And when we apply the word of God, it works. Amen. So, our speaker today, Brother Raymond Woodward, our Bible teacher, is a a man that knows how to break down the word of God where anybody can understand it and walk away enriched by the word of God. Amen. If you'll stand to your feet this morning, let's welcome Brother Raymond Woodward to the Mississippi District. Let's get behind him. Let's open our hearts, our spirits to receive the word of God today. Amen. [Music] Good morning, Mississippi District. This is the day that the Lord hath made. Anybody rejoicing and being glad in this wonderful day that we have together? I will not belabor the point or take your time, but suffice it to say, it's such an honor to be here in your wonderful district. I thank Brother Tipton and Brother Davis and the district board for the opportunity. Uh, what an honor it is to be with the other speakers that are here. Uh, a powerful, powerful word from Brother Adam Hunley last night. I want to be a fire dweller. I can tell you that and appreciate that word. And Brother Jones, looking forward to hearing him this morning. Um, we will get right to the word of the Lord. We're going to walk our way to a lot of scripture in this Bible class today. So, I won't keep you standing for a text, but I'd like you to keep standing for this. Would you lift up your hands and your voice one more time? Give a great, great praise to the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. I worship you. I worship you, Jesus. Would you lift up your voice higher than your hands and fill this tabernacle with His praise? Thank you, Jesus. I worship you, God. I love you, Jesus. I give you praise, Jesus. I give you praise, Jesus. Amen. You may be seated. It is beyond question that holiness is one of the central themes of the scripture. The word holy appears more than 600 times in the Bible, and more than 700 times when you include all its derivative words like holiness or sanctify or sanctification. You can't even make sense out of the Bible without understanding that our great God is holy. His holiness pervades his entire being. It shapes every one of his attributes. Yes, God is love, but his love is a holy love. His mercy is a holy mercy. His judgment is a holy judgment. Even his anger is a holy anger. And so above all else, brothers and sisters, our God is intent on having a holy people filled with his holy spirit, submitted to his holy word, and preparing themselves to live forever in his holy heaven. So if you call yourself a believer and you are neglecting holiness in your pursuit of the Lord Jesus, it's certainly not due to a lack of instruction or emphasis in scripture. The Bible makes it crystal clear that holiness is not an optional extra for a few hypersuper spiritual believers. Rather, holiness is the point of the Christian life. We are being sanctified, made into His image. So it is the distinguishing mark of every disciple as they grow. To say an unholy Christian, that's an oxymoron. That's a contradiction in terms. Because biblically speaking, holiness is a synonym for several words: withdrawal, apart, separate, distinct, different, and sanctified. That's the big Bible word. And so scripture teaches as disciples become sanctified, as they become holy, they will have visible good works. They will walk in good works. They will be rich in good works. They will be furnished with good works. They will show themselves a pattern of good works. They will be zealous of good works. They will maintain good works, and they will do good works that even sinners can observe. Finally, they will provoke one another to good works. One of the reasons that we gather and we preach and we teach, we sing, we pray, we worship, is we are provoking one another to good works because our service to the Lord is the core of who we are and what we do. And so the New Testament consistently teaches us that godliness requires some exertion, some effort on the part of the Christian. And these tasks are not easy or simple. They are lifelong. We must put to death the deeds of the flesh and everything that is earthly. We must fight the good fight. We must put off the old man and put on the new man. We must strive to enter the narrow gate. We must press toward the prize. We must run the race and discipline the body. Peter tells us in his second epistle, "We must be diligent to add several disciplines to our faith." Now, could I speak this morning to this great district even more plainly? The Bible teaches me that true holiness will be evidenced in my body, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my hands, my hair, my clothing, my thoughts, and my spirit. So quite frankly, holiness will affect every part of my life. I hope in this tabernacle this morning, somebody just said in their head, "That sounds hard." Good, because holiness is supposed to be impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of you. So it's good if you think, "Wow, that's quite a task. That's a little bit challenging. That's a wonderful thing." You just locked onto the principle that we are holy as He is holy. It's His holy spirit living in us that does the work. Just like speaking in tongues is a work of the spirit, you can't produce it from the flesh. True holiness is a work of the spirit. You can't produce it from your flesh. And that just makes you depend more on the Lord. And that's a wonderful thing. But what does it mean to be holy specifically? Well, when God told Israel to be holy in the book of Leviticus, He was telling them, "I want you to be distinct from all other nations by obeying specific standards that set you apart from everybody else." They were to be unique in their worship, their relationships, their appearance, their sexuality, their activities, their morals, their ethics, even their food, their clothing, and many other areas. Now, this is important to note that God didn't even give them a reason for many of these rules, only that He wanted the world around them to know that they belonged exclusively to Him. Now, as we transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we transition on some of the details of some of those commandments. What we do not transition on is the principle of separation from the things of the world. Hebrews 12:14, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." We read Acts chapter 2. It's ground zero for us, and it should be. But please note that the longest part of Peter's sermon, and with many other words, he was exhorting them to do something. He wasn't just preaching the new birth. That was how they got into the kingdom. But he was exhorting them, saying, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation." So even on the birthday of the church, the first day of church history, Peter wasn't just talking about salvation, he was introducing the concept of sanctification. And you may not know what he said. I don't know what he said on that day, but I have a hunch that he echoes some of it in his later writings. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 14, "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, but as He which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." Now, conversation, the Bible hasn't changed, but the English language has changed. 400 years ago, when the King James version was translated, conversation had a little bit different slant. Today, conversation is merely all the ways in which we talk to each other. But in King James parlance, conversation is all the ways in which we converse with the world and the people around us. So our modern equivalent would probably approach the word lifestyle. You need to be holy in all aspects of your lifestyle. Why? Because it is written, "Be ye holy." God says, "For I am holy." He says it again in chapter 2. "But you are a chosen generation. You are a royal priesthood. You are an holy nation. And yes, you are a peculiar people." I understand. I study. I know peculiar can mean rare and precious. But there's a reason the translators chose that word. You are peculiar to the world around you. They don't understand you. They don't identify with you. But that's okay because we're not trying to please them. We are endeavoring to please the God who has called us. Why would God make us different and distinct and apart from the world? Here's why: that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. That's why we're willing to be different. Oh my. He continues in 2 Peter chapter 3, "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, everything around us, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy lifestyle, conversation, and godliness?" And the Apostle Paul, he gets into the act. He alludes to holiness in some way in basically all of his epistles because Paul knew something. His ministry was primarily to pagan sinful Gentiles who were coming into the apostolic church. And Paul knew these Gentiles that have marinated in sin and sensuality for decades, they will not survive spiritually without a change on the inside and a change on the outside. Because you cannot maintain salvation long-term without embracing sanctification. Sanctification is a wall that God builds around your life, your heart, your spirit, your mind, your family, your home. You want to embrace it because it's the work of God. And so Paul jumps in and Paul hits it everywhere. Romans 12, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, and you don't get extra points for this. This is just your reasonable service. And here's how you do it. And be not conformed to this world. Do not let your culture press and force you into their mold of thinking, but instead be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. And when your mind changes, you will prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." He just jumps off the high diving board in Corinthians because that church, they had some problems in their culture that were trying to make their way into the church. 1 Corinthians 3, "Know ye not that you are the temple of God, and the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." You were not created to be a drug addict or an alcoholic. You were created to be a vessel filled with God's holy spirit. You are the temple of God. And let me tell you, when you get a bunch of temples together in a tabernacle, it's explosive in here because the Holy Ghost moves from vessel to vessel to vessel, from temple to temple to temple. Anything can happen when apostolic people get together. 2 Corinthians 7, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh." Someone say outside. "And spirit." Someone say inside. "We will perfect, mature, complete holiness in the fear of God." Paul just can't leave it alone. He knows how important sanctification is in that Gentile world. He's pulling people from the burning. He's pulling people from a sensual sex-oriented culture. He's pulling them into a brand new relationship with a holy God. He addresses it just about everywhere. Ephesians 1, "According as God has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world." Why? "That we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Ephesians 4, "That you put off concerning that former conversation, that old lifestyle. Put off that old man. Why? It is corrupt according to the deceitful lust. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." That's the battleground. And instead of wearing that old man, that old nature, that old mindset, that old bondage, "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Why is God interested in this? Because we're headed for a wedding to a holy Savior. Ephesians 5, "That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." Oh my. Huh? 1 Thessalonians 3, "To the end that He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness." There's a phrase for you to study out: unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. 1 Thessalonians 4, "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness." When we serve God, when we're part of the apostolic church, it's not the same old lifestyle dressed up in a religious garb that goes through ceremonies and rituals and tradition. He has not called us unto uncleanness, but He has called us unto holiness. Now, please take note of this. "He therefore that despiseth, despises what?" Despises holiness. "He therefore that despiseth, you're not despising man. You're not despising the voice of your pastor. You're not despising the voice of the elders. No, you are despising God because it's He who has given us His holy spirit." Oh my. So I don't despise holiness. I don't ignore holiness. I don't limit or minimize holiness. I embrace holiness. I need holiness. I love holiness. It is the work of God in the human heart after your salvation. And Jude. You, you got to cut Jude and James some slack. They grew up in a house with a perfect older half-brother named Jesus. And they don't play. Every morning of their life, Mary said to them, "Jesus always makes his bed." Every morning of their life. So when James and Jude write, they just pow. And so Jude, he jumps in and he absolutely rails against people who have forsaken the message of sanctification. He calls them filthy dreamers, brute beasts, clouds without water, trees without fruit. He compares them to Cain, Balaam, Korah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the fallen angels. He says they walk after their own ungodly lusts and they are mockers of the apostolic message. So he's not meaning any of that to be complimentary. And here's what he says. Jude, the first verse, three and verse four. "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, I wanted to write you an epistle about the new birth experience, the common salvation that we all share. But God redirected me. It was needful for me to write unto you. It was needful for me to exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith. You should earnestly contend for the truth, the conviction, the persuasion which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares. They were before of old ordained to this condemnation. They are quite frankly ungodly men. And here's why: they turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness." That is unrestricted living, unrestrained behavior, and unbridled lust. That is lasciviousness. He says they deny the only Lord God and they deny our Lord Jesus Christ. So if I could just tell you this morning in this Bible class, the subject of holiness is very serious in scripture. It is serious to God, and it is serious to the apostolic church. And that is why, unlike so much of so-called Christianity, we dare to stand in pulpits. Your pastor, that man of God that serves you every week and has conviction, we dare to stand in pulpits and address this subject once in a while because holiness is the subject that has the most to do with altering a disciple's lifestyle. Holiness is not just about your belief. It is about your behavior. So, I know it would be so much easier for your pastor to just follow the crowd and give it up and dial it back and dumb it down. It would be easier for that man of God that preaches to you every week to lower the bar and lessen the standards and drop all the distinctions. Unless we are trying to make disciples of Jesus Christ. If discipleship is the goal, then holiness becomes non-negotiable. Now, the world, the flesh, and the wiles of the devil, they will be your sworn enemies in this quest. However, the word and the spirit and yes, the foolishness of preaching, they are going to be our allies as we make disciples who please the Lord. So at its very root, holiness is a spatial term. It means separation. Simply put, when someone is holy, they are set apart. There is observable distance between them and someone else. I would be in this pulpit for about three more seconds if I stood up here today and said, "Yeah, we did a baptism the other day at home. We brought some people up to the front, lined them up, and took a cup of water and went." I'd be here for about three more seconds and it would be goodbye, Mississippi. Because Brother Tipton would be up here, you would never see him move so fast. Do you know why? Because he knows, and you know, that baptism has a definition. Brother Hunley mentioned this last night. Baptism has a definition. By definition, baptism means to put under the water, to immerse, to plunge, to dip under. So, baptism has a definition. We don't mess with that. Apostolic believers, brothers and sisters, holiness has a definition. You cannot be holy without being separate from something. And in this case, it is all of the culture of this world. We love the people of this world because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. But while we love the people of the world that we are trying to reach, what we do not love is that culture that would seek to pull us back to the world. And so we are separate. We stand apart. There is measurable distance and distinction between us and the things of the world. However, we are not distinct or different or apart from them to try to make them look unholy. If you are looking down on somebody, that is not holiness. That is hatefulness. So, we're not just distinct from the world just 'cause this is our little pet project. No, we are withdrawn from the things of the world so we can withdraw unto the Lord in the beauty of holiness. And that's why we do this. It's God's desire and it's His design. The theologians call it the Trihagon. It means thrice holy. Three times holy. And the Trihagon appears two times in the Bible. Once in the Old Testament in Isaiah 6, once in the New Testament in Revelation 4. Both times that phrase is spoken by angelic beings, and both times it occurs in a vision of the throne of God. The prophet Isaiah, he sees the six-winged seraphim flying around the throne. They are covering their faces and their feet in reverence. And the old prophet, he hears them cry one to another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory." And then the apostle John, some six centuries later, he hears the same beings echoing the same refrain. "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come." And John adds these words, "And they rest not day and night." In other words, they've been singing that refrain for all the endless ages of eternity. Which is to say, the closer you get to the throne of God, the more you're going to hear about holiness. Because by its definition, holiness is proximity to the throne. You want to get in God's presence, you can approach Him in His holiness. So the closer you get to the throne of God, the more His holiness will matter to you, and the more holy you will become. The closer you get to Jesus, the more this thing called sanctification is going to have an impact on your life. If the seraphim show reverence, then the saints should show reverence. If heavenly creatures cover themselves in honor to God, then it is not unreasonable that human beings should cover their bodies in reverence to God. If the angels can't stop talking about God's holiness, then I don't think the apostolic church should ever stop talking about God's holiness. I taught all of this so far to get to this word. However, turn to your neighbor, say, "However." There's a big difference between those that are growing into holiness and those that have rejected holiness. And if the apostolic church treats those two groups of people the same, we do a disservice to God and to them and to the very message of holiness. As we endeavor to make disciples, we always must remember that sanctification, holiness, is a process, and it takes an entire lifetime. Holiness begins with redemption and it ends with transformation. It begins with deliverance and it ends with discipleship. It begins with the new birth, but some sweet day it's going to end in the New Jerusalem. It begins at an altar. It ends at a throne. So just check yourself. If you're still breathing, God's still working on you. You're not finished yet. It's not just about them, the new baby believers and the new converts in your pews. It's about you, too. Holiness is a lifetime project that God does in our lives. So, no, there is no checklist in your Bible where you can check off, "Yeah, got that, got that, did that, grew that, wore that." There's no checklist in your Bible. Why? Because it's a lifestyle. It is a lifetime process. And God is continually working on each one of us. So here's your instruction: Keep going and keep growing in the wonderful things of God. We understand that new disciples grow in the grace of God. So pastors, preachers, and teachers, saints, leaders, we must allow time for them to grow. We must allow time for grace to teach them to walk separate from the world. So here's the big question: How much time should we give them? As much time as they need. That's how much time we should give them. I came to this room this morning to do a little battle with a self-imposed handicap that we are so concerned about what other preachers, other pastors, and other churches might think of our new believers that we put undue pressure on them to conform to policies before we let the grace of God do a work in their life. That is not got anything to do with that new believer. That has something to do with our ego. And we need to surrender that because it's more important that that precious baby believer make it to the New Jerusalem than it is that I please you or some other pastor across the state or across the district or across town. It's so much more important that I protect that new baby. And so this must inform our approach in every area of Christian living and in every area of church growth. If you come to our church, you will find people at every age and stage of their walk with God. Why? Because we are a family. And like any family, we love the older ones and we love the younger ones. We love those that are mature and those that are immature. We love those that are healthy and those that are sick. We love those that are in victory and those that are struggling. And if our physical family can do that, if we can honor each of our children even though this one didn't walk as soon as that one, and this one wasn't potty trained as quickly as that one, if we can do that to our kids and not toss them out of the family, surely we can do that in the great eternal family of God that we love every believer that God brings into our churches. Like every loving family, we love everybody where they are while still embracing everything God wants them to become. That's so very, very important. God's great family is not a dysfunctional family. We love every believer. But the point is, just like in your family, you want your 14-year-old to be more developed and mature than your four-year-old. The point is, we do want people to grow in their relationship with God. And their relationship with God, if I read scripture at all correctly, it will include holiness. So, I want to leave you this morning in my remaining time with some principles that might be helpful to you as you help your pastor disciple those who are following us as we follow Christ. First of all, don't expect practices without explaining principles. Don't tell them what to do and never tell them why we do it. Saints of God, the worst answer you can give to anybody on this earth when they ask about your holiness lifestyle is, "Why do you do that?" And you say, "Well, because my church, it demands it. Because my pastor expects it." That is the worst, lame answer in the world. Get your face into the word of God and figure out why we get to walk with the Lord in the beauty of holiness. It's a mighty different answer when you say, "God convicted me of that. The word of God I was reading in the Bible, and here's what it says." That's a mighty different answer. And they will understand that, even if they don't agree with it. So don't tell them what without ever explaining why. I understand that not every holiness standard is based on a direct prohibition. There is not a thou shalt not in the word of God for everything that we need to avoid. It would be a much longer Bible. There are a lot of things that we need to avoid and we need to stay away from. And the Bible doesn't always give us a thou shalt not. For example, there is no verse in the scripture, Old or New Testament, that says, "Thou shalt not look at pornography on the internet." It's not there. Believe me, if it's there, your pastor's going to preach the fire out of that verse sometime. But it's not. But I'll tell you what is there. There's a whole lot of principles in the word of God. "I will set no evil thing before mine eyes." "I have made a covenant with mine eyes." "Whatsoever things are good and pure." "If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things." "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." So if your pastor stands in your pulpit this Sunday and he actually has the courage to preach about us staying away from the things of the world, you don't need to resist that. You don't need to wonder about it. You need to get there in the trenches with them. And you need to be an example of the believers. Pastor, help me protect my mind. Help me protect my marriage. Help me protect my kids. You want to thank God that your pastor does what Paul did. Paul said, "This speak I, not the Lord." "I've been talking to Jesus and here's what I feel to say." That's your pastor's job. And you need to thank God for that man of God. By the way, since I'm here, you're not responsible to submit your life to some Canadian guy that flies in for three or four days, but you are responsible to submit yourself to that dedicated man of God that stands in your church every Sunday and every midweek and teaches and preaches to you. You need to thank God for your pastor every day. Secondly, holiness is better caught than taught. That's where you come in. You know who you are? You are the older brothers and sisters in the family of God. We have two kids. We have five grandkids. And the younger ones learn from the older ones. If you've never had that experience, just take it from me. They imitate. They, they, they go around. They, they watch like a hawk and and they learn from the older siblings in the family. That's how this is supposed to work. How does a new believer who's lived in sin for 20 or 30 or 40 years, how in the world do they come out of that lifestyle and all of this is brand new to them, and now we're expecting them to know all this stuff? How do they learn how to worship? They learn by watching you. How do they learn how to pray? They learn by watching you. How do they learn to give? By watching you. How do they learn to respond to preaching? By watching you. How do they learn that they need to get in the altar every chance they get? By watching you. So, be a good older brother or older sister and say, "Follow me as I follow Christ." If you live for Jesus like I'm living for Jesus, you're going to make it and you're going to make heaven your home. My goodness. So, holiness is better caught than taught. But if it is never taught, then eventually it will be fought. So you thank God when your pastor has the courage to talk about it. Thirdly, your direction, not your current position, is what determines your destination. Don't you ever get a smug spirit in you to look at some believer that's back here on the road to godliness and because they haven't caught up with you yet, you think, "What's wrong with them? They need to get with the program. They, they need to submit and they need to do that and they need to not do this." We need to be very careful. We're all on the same road. The church would be better served not by you looking smugly over your shoulder and disdaining them. The church would be better served by you putting your arm around them and saying, "You know what? I used to struggle with that. We, I had a friend in this church that used to struggle with that. You're doing just great. Just keep walking." Because it's not where they are today that determines their destination. It's their direction that determines their, determines their destination. So, if we can all just keep walking and keep growing, we're going to be just fine in the name of Jesus. So don't you dare compare yourself to somebody else because you'll either become discouraged or you'll become proud. Compare yourself to God's word. And don't you dare criticize another believer because you have no idea where they started from or how far the Lord has already brought them. So don't you get a critical spirit. I have spent much of my ministry trying to shut down the local detachment of the Pentecostal police. They usually have a flashing red light perched at top their hairdo and they pull over new believers in the lobby and they write them a ticket. "You should be doing this by now, and you shouldn't be wearing that, and you should be wearing this, and what about that, and what about this?" That is not your job in Jesus' name. That is their job, God's job, and pastor's job. That's not your job. Here's your job: Be an example of the believers. See, the attitude of those people is, "Well, bless God. I had to do this, so you have to do it." That's not holiness. That's dysfunction. That's what that is. I thank God for saints that just love serving Jesus, and anything they can do to please Him, that's what they want to do. Number four, holiness is whatever makes righteousness look normal and sin look strange. That's what holiness is. Worldliness is whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange. So, I want to say to any younger believers that are in this room, any of our young people, the great young people that filled this altar in worship last night, let me tell you, anything that makes you question scripture or sympathize with sin or imitate the world or distance yourself from the church, you need to eliminate that from your life immediately because that is what worldliness is. It makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange. Number five, the Holy Ghost doesn't just restrain the flesh. No, it retrains the flesh. It puts new desires in you. Paul taught in Romans 6, read it sometime and notice the word "yield." Yield, yield, yield, yield. It's over and over. Here's what he says: When you were in sin, you yielded the members of your body to sin and uncleanness and unrighteousness, and you just yielded. You yielded yourself right into addiction. You yielded yourself right into alcoholism. You yielded yourself right into all kinds of mess is what you did. And it just became easier every time you came back and sin came around. It became easier and easier to yield yourself. Now that you're a child of God, the process hasn't changed. It's just in a different direction. So, yield yourself to holiness and godliness and righteousness. Don't fight. Don't argue. Just try yielding. Because here's what I know: the first time you yielded to sin, there was a little resistance. The second time, less so. And the further you yielded, the easier sin became. Let me tell you, new believer, if you'll just yield to the work of the Holy Ghost, it'll be easier the next time and easier the next time and easier the next time. And here's what you're going to find out: the same way you woke up one day and you were an addict, someday you're going to wake up and you're going to look back and say, "Look how far the Lord has brought me. This is becoming a joy." Oh, here's a principle for you: You don't have to understand completely to begin obeying immediately. Especially when it comes to significant Bible issues like salvation or sanctification. What, what I mean is, we, we don't say you have to understand everything about baptism before we'll baptize you. I don't know about you, I was baptized when I was 12 years old. I did not understand all the theology of baptism when I was baptized. I, I didn't know all the wonderful things that I've learned since. But every time I learn something about baptism, I just say, "Well, praise God. That happened in my life when I was 12 years old." You don't have to understand everything about the new birth. You just have to have a heart that wants to obey God. All I knew when I was baptized in Jesus' name at the age of 12 is that my pastor told me if I would be baptized in Jesus' name, God would wash away my sins. Quite frankly, I didn't have a whole laundry list of sins when I was 12. But the sincerity of my heart said, "Jesus, if this is Your word, I want to obey it because I want that experience." I didn't understand completely, but thank God, I obeyed immediately. Let me tell you, if you see anything in the word of God, you don't have to have a three-year course of theology. What you need is an obedient.
heart, and you'll be blessed by obeying immediately. So, let me close.
Her name, um, her name is Alicia. She came to our church years back now. Um, she was a, a, a party girl at the local college in our town. That precious little girl had been used and abused and misused by so many people in her life. And she came to our church.
Our relationship with Alicia started when she called the church one day, and I happened to be in the office and pick up the phone. And she said, "Is this Pastor Raymond?" And I said, "Yes, it is." And she said, "Good." She said, "I've got a question for you." She said, "I just recently started attending a church in your town, but I've been watching your church online, and it seems to me that your church is a little more lively than my church." I said, "That's probably true, Alicia." She said, "Could I come to your church?" I said, "Of course you can come to our church."
And so she came, sharp, smart young lady. And, uh, it wasn't two months, I don't think. She shows up in the office one night with a question. She said, "Uh, Pastor Raymond, um, I've got a question." Okay, shoot. She said, "Do I have to wear a skirt to come here? Because I don't have a skirt. I've never worn a skirt. There's no skirts in my closet, but I noticed that everybody around here, all the ladies wear skirts. And so I, I don't know what it is to wear a skirt. I've never purchased a skirt. I don't even know where you get skirts. I don't have any skirts in my closet. Do I have to wear a skirt to come here?"
And I said to Alicia the same thing I've said to every new believer over four plus decades of ministry. No, you don't have to wear a certain garment to come here. But Alicia, here's some scriptures. Take these scriptures and read them and pray about them. And here's what I said, and I've said it the same way for more than four decades. And when Jesus talks to you about this, come on back in and we'll talk again.
It wasn't another couple of months, and she shows up in my office one night after church and she says, she said, "Notice anything?" I said, "New glasses?" "No." "New hair?" "No." I said, "Oh, Alicia, you're wearing a dress. That's beautiful. That looks nice on you." She said, "Yes, and I am going to write a book and it's going to be called 'Skirt Adventures'." She said, "Pastor Raymond, did you know that you can't run upstairs in a full skirt?" I said, "I've never thought about that, Alicia." She said, "And did you know that you have to be very careful shutting a car door when you've got a full skirt?" I said, "I didn't realize that either." She said, "But don't you worry, Pastor Raymond. Although I ripped the whole side out of my skirt, I had duct tape in the glove compartment and I fixed it. So I was modest."
If my memory serves correctly, the reason the reason she ripped the side out of her skirt is she was pulled over on the way to church because she was so excited to get to a big youth event that we were hosting. And, and so when the policeman pulled her over, she was listening to Christian music and she was worshiping. She wasn't thinking about her speed. Um, he pulled her over and was going to write her a ticket, and, and she didn't have money to pay that ticket. And so she was a little worried about that. So she, don't ever do this, by the way. Uh, you might get away with this in Canada. Do not try this here. While the police officer is heading back toward the car to write her ticket, she jumps out of the car and she, um, she starts dancing on the pavement with her hands in the air, worshiping the Lord. And the police officer said, "What in the world?" She said, "I'm on my way to church and I'm just getting warmed up, and whether you write me a ticket or not, I'm just going to go to church and worship God." He gave her the ticket but didn't charge her. He put a big X through it.
The reason we knew about that story is that night we got an offering. It was the amount of the ticket, all these bills rolled up in the ticket. She put it in as a sacrifice unto the Lord. When Alicia walked out of my office that night with that beautiful dress on and that humble, sincere heart, as soon as she shut the door, I said out loud to Jesus, "And that's the way it's supposed to be. They don't get it out of coercion or force or or or some kind of force or shame or guilt or nagging or pressure. They do it to please the Lord, the same way you and I did it to please the Lord. Don't put a burden on them that you couldn't even bear. Let them grow. Let those babies grow up and please God, and you be the example."
You know where Alicia is today? She's in Paris, France. She married a national and they're doing missions work in France. She sent us a note last week. They've been assigned to go into a new area of Paris under the direction of their pastor and they're starting a brand new church. That's where she is tonight. That's how holiness is supposed to work. Let people grow into it. Let people love it. Let people embrace it. And let God do a work in their heart.
Stand with me. Thank you for the extra five minutes. And I apologize. Let me give you this last principle. Apostolic people in this wonderful district of Mississippi. You've been on the way for many, many years. Some of you, let me tell you what we need in the year 2025. We don't just need more standards of holiness. We need a spirit of holiness to endure us. We need a spirit of holiness to touch our homes and our marriages and our teenagers and our children and our churches and our music teams and our pastors and our preachers and our saints. We don't just need to police the standards. We need to hunger for a spirit of holiness because it protects us.
Would you lift up your hands as we close Bible class this morning? We're about to transition into a wonderful morning service, and Jesus is here by the power of his spirit. But would you lift up your voice, not so much in worship, but in prayer, and would you say, "God, baptize me with your Holy Spirit. A spirit of holiness." Oh, lift up your voice. We're not doing the two-minute transition here. This is real prayer. Pray. God, put a spirit of holiness around me and around my home, around my marriage, around my children. Put a spirit of holiness around me. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Would you reach over, take the hand of somebody standing beside you, lift every hand that we can, and lift every voice and pray that God would touch this great Mississippi district with a spirit of holiness in an ungodly age. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
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Thank you.
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Falling down in worship to sing the song of ages. All
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Who will sing a song of ages to the name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions, your name stands above them all. And the angels cry, "Holy." All creation cries, "Holy." You are lifted high. Holy, holy forever. If you've been forgiven, and if you've been redeemed, sing the song forever to the Lamb. And if you walk with freedom, and if you bear His name, we'll sing the song forever to the Lamb. We'll sing a song forever. And amen. And the angels cry, "Holy." All creation cries, "Holy." You are lifted high.
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Holy, holy forever.
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Hear your people sing. Holy to the King of Kings. Holy, you will always be holy. Holy forever.
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Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. Above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All glory and dominion, your name stands above. The angels rise. All creation rise. We cry holy, holy. You are lifted high. Holy, holy forever. Your people sing. Holy to the King of Kings. Holy, you will always be. Holy, holy forever.
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You will always be holy, holy forever. Hallelujah. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. We worship you, Lord. Thank you.
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Hallelujah. When I think about where I've been, oh, the kid I was living in, how hard he fought to love me. Redemption is my soul. I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His goodness and all He's done. I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His mercy. I can't outrun. And I will testify with my hands lifted high. I'll sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. When I look at where I am now, oh, I see how He brought me out. His grace that now defines me. Here's what rewrites my story. This is my testimony. I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His goodness and all He's done. I will sing. I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His mercy. I cannot run. I will testify with my hands lifted high. I'll sing. I'll sing about Jesus. We're going to sing about You, Lord.
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He brought me out of my sorrow. Brought me out of my shame. He brought me out of my mourning. I'm dancing again. He brought me out of my worry. He brought me out of my pain. He brought me out of my sadness. I'm laughing again. He brought me out of my sorrow. Brought me out of my shame. He brought me out of my mourning. I'm dancing again. He brought me out of my worry. Brought me out of my pain. He brought me out of my sadness. I'm laughing again. He brought me out of my darkness. Broke me out of my chains. He brought me out of depression. I'm shouting again. And I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His goodness and all He's done. I will sing. I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His mercy. I can outrun. I will sing. I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His goodness and all He's done. I will sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Sing about His mercy. I can outrun. I will testify with my hands lifted high. He brought me out of my sorrow. Brought me out of my shame. He brought me out of my mourning. I'm dancing again. He brought me out of my worry. Brought me out of my pain. He brought me out of my sadness. I'm laughing. He brought me out. He brought me out of my sorrow. Brought me out of my brought me out. He brought me out of my mourning. I'm dancing again. He brought me out of my worry. Brought me out of my pain. He brought me out of my sadness. I'm laughing again. He broke me out of my darkness. Broke me out of my chains. He brought me out of depression. I shout it again. He brought me out of the my set my foot on the rock. Yeah. He gave me freedom and a song to sing. I sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Yeah. He brought me out. He brought me out of the my reg. Set my foot on a rock. Yeah. He gave me freedom and a song to sing. Sing. I'll sing about Jesus. Yeah. I'll sing about Jesus. I'll sing about I'll sing about Jesus. I'll sing about Jesus.
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I'll sing about Jesus. I'll shout about Jesus. Shout about Jesus. Jesus about Jesus. I shout about Jesus. I shout about Jesus. I shout about Jesus. Jesus. I dance about Jesus. I dance about Jesus. I dance about Jesus. I'll dance about Jesus. I'll sing about Jesus. I'll sing about Jesus. I'll sing about Jesus. I'll sing about Jesus. Hallelujah. Come on. Do you have a testimony in this house today? Has God been good to you? Do you have something you can sing about? Do you have something you can dance about? Oh yes. I'm going to sing of the goodness of God. I'll sing about Jesus. I'll sing about Jesus. I'll sing about Jesus.
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Hallelujah. Come on. Aren't you glad He brought you out? Come on, somebody. Let's celebrate. Come on. Celebrate the fact that He brought you out of darkness into this marvelous light. Hallelujah. Come on. I come to praise Him today. Anybody come to celebrate? Hallelujah. Thank God. Amen. I'm not going back to a world. I came out of it and I'm on my way to glory. Anybody shouting about the fact of what Jesus has done in your life? Woo. Hallelujah. We celebrate the power of God today and all that He is going to do. Hallelujah. I want to remind you children's church is going on upstairs right now. So if you have children in the auditorium, please make your way. And how many here enjoyed the teaching of the word of God? Woo! I'm telling you, I believe I believe that a thousand percent. Praise God. Because the truth is, a bell is not a bell till it's rung. And a song is not a song till it's sung. And love was never put in your heart to stay because love is only love when it's given away. So I know what brought me here. The love of God that constrains us. I'm going to bring to this pulpit a man of God. He and I out of the same church, a church that never ran over 120. But out of that one church came between 38 to 40 preachers. Reverend A.E. Carney was our pastor. A man who knew how to love and he imparted that love. Amen. Brother Jones and I were just young teenagers in that church. I was a wild rock drummer, but when God filled me with the Holy Ghost, I know my drums got it because I beat the devil out of them. Praise God. And I'm just here to tell you, he's a man of God that I've watched his life. I've seen the hand of God on him. He said, "I was sitting at a general board meeting and three men there on that general board were from Stateline Church." Amen. Brother Jay Carney, Brother Jiren, that ought to make us all godly proud. Your dad and the legacy of Stateline lives on in the kingdom. And I'm bringing a man of God to the pulpit that is no stranger to Mississippi. I want you to give him a Holy Ghost. And Mississippi, welcome right now. Brother Jerry Jones, God bless you.
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Praise God. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Let's worship the Lord right now. Let's thank Him for what we've heard this morning. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What holiness is, what holiness does. And of course, the most amazing thing is, it is within reach of all of us by the grace of God, by the mercies of God. Thank you, Brother Woodward. What an incredible lesson. What a joy to be in Mississippi again where people know how to talk. Where the air is clean and the sun is bright and the water is out of a well, and it's so good to be back home, state of my birth. What a joy. Thank you, Brother Tipton, Brother Davis, District Board for this great privilege. And what a joy to be part of the team this year. I so appreciate Brother Woodward, one of my very favorite Bible teachers, and what an incredible insight into God's word. We love and appreciate Brother Woodward, and of course, Brother Hunley, Brother Iran. Just a joy to be here. And it's a great honor to stand in this pulpit in this building in this place and to think of the wonderful men and women who through decades loved this place, gave to this place time and energy and prayers and resources so that we have the privilege of being in this on this campground and in this tabernacle. Philippians chapter 3, verse 12. I think I'll just read the one verse there. Philippians chapter 3 and verse number 12. These are the words of a man who wrote nearly two-thirds of the New Testament. A man who was stoned, I believe, to death. Caught up into the third heaven, saw things he was forbidden to tell us about. A man who, as he said, born out of time, the only one that I know of that Jesus himself converted, knocked him off a donkey, blinded him, and then sent him to a preacher. And these are his words: "Not as though I had already arrived, attained, either were already perfect. But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that, for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." And what I want to preach for a brief time this morning, I want to get a hold of what has a hold of me. Lord, thank you for this Your word. Thank you for its truth and power, its transformational effect in human lives. Touch us today, I pray. Let Your word live through Your Spirit in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you so much. Please be seated.
Jacob is in real trouble. He is simply trying to go home because he has been called by God to do so. He's gathered his four wives, dozen sons, several daughters, servants, herds, flocks, and he is headed back home. He's just escaped the anger of his scheming, lying father-in-law. Laban met him and his anger when Laban overtook Jacob and only was spared because God warned Laban in a dream, "You better leave Jacob alone. He's doing what I called him to do." But hardly have they rejoiced over deliverance from Laban. Then word arrives that Esau, that brother, that two decades ago Jacob lied about and to and received his birthright instead of Jacob's. Esau is coming. He has an army with him, hundreds of men. Jacob has no army. He has no defense. This cannot work out well. Jacob knows it is death for him and for his entire family. He does all he can do. He divides his family in two. He sends half one way and half the other. Flocks and herds, uh, divided and sent in two parties. If Esau falls on one and destroys them, perhaps half of my family can escape with their lives. But Jacob knows this is not enough. So he humbles himself alone. In the middle of the night, he finds himself kneeling in the sand beside a creek. And there he begins to pray. He knows he can't survive this without a divine intervention, without a miracle from God. Jacob's story ends here. And in the darkness beside that little creek, Jacob asks God to send help and a hand falls on his shoulder.
Now, we can be a little critical of Jacob, but I think if we're honest, we'd have to admit we'd do what he did. When that hand falls on his shoulder, now he's just been praying for God to show up and deliver him. And when someone shows up, he says, "It's Esau's men. It's someone here to destroy me, to kill me." And he leaps to his feet and he starts to escape. He's going to flee. He's going to run away. And an incredible thing happens. Jacob would have run from the man in the darkness, but the man reaches out and gets a hold of Jacob. Jacob starts fighting against this one holding on to him. Jacob doesn't understand that the answer to his prayer is the very one he is trying to flee from. But that one is not put off by Jacob's lack of understanding and lack of faith. Instead, he just gets a tighter grip on Jacob. "I'm not going to let you go. I'm here to answer your prayer and I'm going to hold on to you."
This is exactly what Paul is describing in this beautiful verse, uh, from Philippians. He says, "I have been apprehended by God." The word translated apprehended here means gripped, seized, held on to. I don't know about you, but I'm so glad that God gets a hold of us. God hangs on when we throw up our hands, uh, and are not able to move forward. He doesn't abandon us. Uh, he doesn't leave us to our fate. Uh, he gets a grip on us, uh, and says, "I'm not going to let you go." I'm, I want to preach to somebody real quick. I know things are tough. I know you're going through some trouble, and I know the enemy has whispered in your ear, "God has forgotten you. God has abandoned you. Uh, you've done something and God has let you go." I've come to tell you that's not true at all. God is hanging on to you. Uh, He's not going to abandon you. Uh, He's not going to forsake you. Uh, "I will go with you." Uh, He's got His hands on your heart, His hands in your hands. Uh, and God will hold you when you cannot hold Him. God hangs on to us.
You know, we, we love this imagery and we should. It's a, it's a biblical imagery that God is on our side, that God fights for us, that God never abandons us. If you walk away from Him, you will not walk away easily. He will send saints and pastors. Uh, He will send events, uh, and situations. Uh, He'll let you hear songs, uh, to remind you of His love and of His compassion. God has got His hands, uh, on your life and He's not going to let you go. We used to sing about this scriptural truth. "Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning. I'm leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms." Few years later, Bill Gaither comes along. "So let the storm rage high, the dark clouds rise. They won't worry me, for I'm sheltered safe within the arms of God." We know what kept us going. We know how we got here. We know why we still love Him. Not because we're good, not because we're strong, not because we're spiritual, but because He got a grip on us, uh, and He would not let us go. No matter how bad the storm, no matter how dark the night, He would not let us go.
Lately, a different imagery has become our favorite. Instead of God just hanging on to us, we have another scriptural image that we love, and that is Him coming to find us. If we wander, if we lose hope, if somehow we get separated from the flock and we're yonder on the hillside alone and prey to every horrible attack, we're not going to be there long. And the Shepherd is going to leave the 99. He's going to make them safe in the fold. But then He's going to spend the night, uh, scouring the hillside, looking for that one lost sheep, uh, and when He finds us, uh, He puts us on His shoulders, uh, and He brings us back home. That's the God that we serve. Uh, that's the God that even if we escape His grip, He is not going to give up on us. Uh, He'll come find us. Uh, the prodigal son didn't make it all the way home until the father went running to meet him and throw his arms around him. "Welcome home." I, I don't know about you, but I, I find incredible, incredible comfort. His goodness is running after me. His mercy is not only fresh, new every morning, but that mercy makes its way into my despair, into my failure, into my struggle, into my confusion. And that mercy gets a grip, gets a hold on me, and carries me back home. There's not a soul here today from the most senior elder to the newest convert that has not felt those arms of love reach around us and get a hold of us.
But Paul went further. He described this grace, this mercy of God that has apprehended us not once, but again and again and again. That has held on when we had nothing to hold on to ourselves. No strength left. He got a hold of us, and we're only here because of that. But Paul, this great man of God, this man whom even secular historians often rank as the third most influential human being who ever lived. This man said, "I hunger after some things that I may know Him, that I, Paul, this incredible life-changing world-changing preacher, that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the suffering of His fellowship of His suffering." He said, "I haven't arrived. I haven't attained. I am not perfect. But this one thing I do: I forget my mistakes. I forget my failures. I forget my weaknesses. And I press on toward the high calling of the of the high calling of Christ, uh, that God would be manifested in me." But here is his highest hunger. He says, "That I may apprehend this thing that has so many times apprehended me. I want to be the one holding on." Don't get me wrong. Thank God for rescue, but there must come a time where we quit being the ones needing to be rescued. And we need to be the ones that get a hold on Him and say, "Go after them. I'm all right. I'm going to make it through this. Uh, I'm not going to lose my faith. I'm going to believe in You regardless. I'll be in church. I'll be worshiping You. I'll be in the prayer room. I'll be dancing in the aisle. I'm gonna get a hold of this thing that has held on to me."
What if? What if every service didn't have to be a rescue for us? What if every sermon didn't have to be addressed to our needs and our struggles? What if every move of God didn't have to drag us out of the pit, out of the depth, out of our sorrow, and out of our struggle and out of our doubt? What if there could come a time that we walk in and instead of needing, we're giving? Instead of listening for what I need to hear, we're shouting when the preacher preaches what somebody else desperately needs? What would happen if we quit barely making it from Sunday to Sunday and we live victoriously no matter what's happening, no matter what's going on? What if we got a hold of what's been holding on to us? What if we settled some things? Here at Mississippi Camp, what if we went home with our minds made up? "I'm a one God, apostolic, tongue-talking, born-again believer in the liberating power of Jesus' name. I believe in holiness. I believe in living right." What if we just settled it and there was no more question? There was no more doubt. There was no more pushback. What if we just settled it? "This is what I am. This is what I will be. The day I draw my last breath, I'll still be a one God, Jesus name, apostolic."
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I don't want to overwork this, but I want to work this a little bit. What if we got a hold of this like He's been holding on to us? What if we got such a grip on Him that there was no wandering out on the hillsides? There was no more visiting the far country. What if we got such a grip on Him that I don't care what that idiot on the internet has to say? I don't care what that new flashy false doctrine that's getting so much attention has to proclaim. I know who I am. I know who saved me. I know who brought me out of the world. I know who kept me in the church. And I've got a grip on Him. And I'm going to hold on regardless of what happens in my life. No weapon formed against me will prosper. Not just because He's holding on to me, but because I'm holding on to Him. Sooner or later, my friends, and I know there's good folk here that are just starting this journey, but I'm also preaching to people that's been around a while. Sooner or later, we got to settle into this thing. Sooner or later, we have to dig in, get a hold, and quit needing rescue and start becoming men and women of God.
I don't know exactly what point. Obviously, the struggle had gone on for some time. The night is far spent. Jacob has expended an incredible amount of energy trying to break away from the answer to his prayers, trying to get away from the man that met him at the creek. It reached a point where Jacob was so determined to break free of the one holding on to him that that man touched the sinew of Jacob's thigh, the strongest muscle in the body, that it caused that tendon, that sinew to shrink. And Jacob was crippled by this man trying to get him from what the Bible would call opposing himself, working against his own self-interest, and quit trying to get away. And finally the man, and, and this takes an extreme situation, but finally the man said, "Okay, if you want to go, go." And something changed. Maybe it occurred to Jacob, "Man, this guy's something. I'm, I'm pretty strong, but he's held on to me all through this night of fear and doubt and struggle. If he wanted to kill me, I'd have been dead a long time ago." And it suddenly breaks through to Jacob. He's not against me. He's for me. And the man says, "Go." And the fight turns entirely backward. And the one who had been working against his own best interest, trying to break free of the one who was there to answer his prayers. And the one who had held him let him go. And thank God Jacob realizes and reaches out and gets a hold of him and says, "You may not be holding on to me, but now I am going to hold on to you." And that man tries to break free, and the battle goes on, but this time Jacob says, "I'm not going to let you go until you bless me." Oh, I wish somebody here at Mississippi Camp would get a hold of God like we never have before. And you'll say, "God, I'm never going to let go. I want Your blessing. I want Your power in my life. I have unsaved family. I have friends I want to bring to God. I need Your blessing. And I won't quit until I get it. I'll not let You go until You bless me." And here at the moment that fleeing becomes clinging, that an attempt to rescue becomes a revelation and revolution of a life. I am holding on to what has held on to me. And it was at that moment that Jacob got a new name from cheater, liar, suppler, one who takes what is not his, unworthy to receive. Jacob becomes Israel, a son of the King, a prince of God. I tell you, there is another transformation about to happen in somebody's life at Mississippi Camp Meeting. A transformation to a whole new dimension of power with God. Somebody's going home with a brand new name. No more defeated, no more weak, no more overwhelmed, no more depressed, no more fearful, no more doubting, but a child of God ready to conquer, to overcome, to endure hardness. Uh, someone who changes not only their own name but those around them. He gets a new walk. Yes, it will be with a limp. But that limping walk carries him across the creek where he meets his family. And he says, "I met Him. I saw Him. I saw God face to face and I'm still alive." Maybe he should have said, "For the first time, I am alive. No longer trying to make my way by myself. No longer searching and longing for what I could never attain. But now I am a prince of God."
Stand with me, please. And not only was Jacob changed when he got a hold of that which had been holding on to him, but his circumstances changed. Oh yeah, Esau is still coming with his 400 soldiers. But when they meet, instead of the flashing of swords and the spilling of blood, they become brothers again. They throw their arms around each other and his enemy forgives. And one who sought his life becomes family again. Circumstances are going to change when we get a hold of what's been holding on to us. Brother Woodward taught it so powerfully. When we submit, sell out. When we forget trying to second guess and reason our way, but we simply get a hold of this thing. When it becomes a lifestyle, when it gets down into the fiber of our being, when a walk with God is not show and it's not to please others, but it becomes a true relationship with the eternal God. When prayer is not just something we do when it's called, but it's it gets into our thought process. It gets into the flow of our mental capacity where we find ourselves communicating with God in the course. That's how we fulfill that scripture. Pray without ceasing. You do it because it's so much part of you. It's something that fills you without even thinking about it. You're praising and you're praying because you've got a hold of this thing as well as it holding on to you.
They're going to begin to worship. And I'm wondering if you are hungry, in spite of all the good you've done, of all the accomplishments, but like Paul, you know there's still more. You want to know Him. You want to press toward the mark of the high calling of God. You want to get a hold of this thing. You want to be hidden in Christ and found in Christ. "The life that I live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Maybe you'd like to come just for a little while. I know it's lunchtime, but maybe you'd like to come. I want to get a hold of this thing. Tired of splashing in the shallows and living on the edges. I'm tired of being the one always in need of rescue, barely limping from Sunday to Sunday. I want to get a hold of what this, what this majestic, powerful presence of God. I want to settle some issues. I want to decide some things. I don't want to be blown about with every wind of doctrine. I want to know who I am and what I believe. I want to get a hold of what's been holding on to me. Maybe reach out to someone right beside you and let's, let's pray one with another right now in the name of Jesus. We thank You, Savior. We praise Your name, Lord. We glorify You. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
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I thank You for rescue. I thank You for holding on to me when my foot almost slipped.
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I thank You for meeting me in the house of God. When I was struggling, when I was confused, when I was hurt and grieved. I thank You for holding on to me. But oh Jesus, I hunger to get a hold of You.
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The hem of Your garment is enough. The touch of Your hand.
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But I want to get a grip and never let go.
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I want to quit looking at what might have been, of decisions I might have taken. I want to settle it. I am Yours. I'm Your child. I'm Your son. I'm Your daughter. I'm Yours. I want to get a hold of You. Would You do that right now? Only You can. Only You can settle it. Only You can decide it. This is what I am. This is what I'll always be in Jesus' name.
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All my life You have been faithful.
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All my life You have been so, so good.
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With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. Sing. All my life, all my life, You have been faithful.
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All my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.
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Your goodness is running after. It's running after me.
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Your goodness is running after. It's running after me. With my life laid down, I surrender now. I give You everything. Your goodness is running after. It's running after me.