Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Man well, first Baptist, it is time for the word Amen,
and we have an awesome, awesome woman of God here
today to bring that word.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Please turn your attention to the IMG.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Priscilla Shire is a wife and mom. First put a
Bible in her hand and a message in her heart,
and you'll see why thousands flock to her conferences and
dive into her Bible study series in books each year.
A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Priscilla holds a master's
degree in Biblical studies and considers it a privilege to
serve believers from every denomination and culture. Her ministry, Going
(00:44):
Beyond Ministries hosts Awaken, an outreach event in her hometown
designed to encourage and mobilize women locally. She is the
author of several books and has starred in various faith
based films, such as The War Room and her brand
new movie Overcomer, showing in theaters now. Priscilla has been
married to Jerry for twenty years. Between studying and writing,
(01:07):
she spends most of her time with her three growing boys.
Please welcome Priscilla Shire.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Thank you, good morning. So glad you're here. You can
take your seats.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
It's a privilege and a joy as always to be
with our family.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
We consider you to be our family. Even if you
don't claim us, we claim y'all.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
We love the First Baptist Church of Glenarden and this
is joy for us to be here. We flew in
yesterday and we walked off of the plane, Jerry and
I and walked out down the jet bridge and out
into the airport and ran right into my dad. He
was standing there about to board a flight to go
back home. He said that we're coming to First Baptist
Church of Glenarden.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
He was like, oh, man, I want to come.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
I was like, it's our turn, It's our turn. So
our whole family so much loves being with you. Myself,
my younger brother Anthony, and my husband, who I want
to make sure that you know, and I want to
introduce you to.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Him as well. My husband, Jerry Shire, as they said
of twenty years, is here.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
That's my man right there, and it's a privilege to
be under his fine authority this morning, to be able
to share God's word with you.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I will say this.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Every time I have the joy to be with you
as well, and that is that in his absence we
honor Pastor John Jenkins. We love him and his wife,
Miss Trina.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Their whole family.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
And I'm gonna tell y'all, while we honor them, we
honor them because they have integrity.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
It's important to me that you understand that the Lord
has entrusted you.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
To leaders that actually have integrity, that they really believe
this stuff, and that's a big deal. And so we're
grateful for them that they have shown us what a
healthy marriage looks like.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
They have sewn into the lives.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Of their own children, have not sacrificed that for church,
and we're grateful for that, and it has blessed and
informed our lives in so many ways, more than we
can count. And so it is a privilege to be
able to stand in this place this morning and hopefully
encourage you this morning. In God's word, Let's pray.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you
that it is alive.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
I thank you that it is living, an active and
sharper than any two edged sword. Lord, I pray in
these next few moments you would do what only you can.
Take this one little simple message, and would you divide
it several one thousand different ways so that every single
person under the sound of my voice today will no
they have heard the voice of God.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
Speak.
Speaker 6 (04:09):
Lord.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
We are your servants, and we are listening in Jesus's
mighty name. We pray Amen Amen. It was September in
the year two thousand and eight when a Category two
hurricane named Ike swept through the southern regions of our country.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Texas in particular was hit hard as one hundred ten
mile per hour winds just whipped through.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
In particular, a small town called Gilcrest, which is sort
of a seaside community of beachside.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Town where a lot of people go to retire.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
That community was hit very hard. The community boasted about
two hundred.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Homes or so.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Mostly those retired couples had gone there to enjoy their
latter years in some peace and respit in this beautiful,
serene ocean environment.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
And yet in two thousand and eight, the unex it happened.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Hurricane I came, and it swept through, and the aftermath
was devastating. In fact, those who visited the site afterwards
said that it was a complete shock to see this
now unrecognizable community, the once populated neighborhood with bright homes
and manicured lawndscapes, green lawns, and friendly sidewalks. Now the
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neighborhood didn't resemble anything similar to that any longer.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Now it was just like a swamp. It was muddy.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
There were only fragments left of what was the only
landmark that remained.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
There was one house that stood. Of the two hundred
that had been there, only one remained. Only one stood steady.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Only one continued to stand when the others had been
decimated by the storm. It's quite an odd and remarkable
and shocking site, isn't it to see one house that
has stayed standing?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
And it begs the what was it about.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
This house that made it stand when the storm took
the others down? And I suspect that as shocking as
it is for us to see these images, it really
is symbolic of the landscape of all of our lives.
Because the truth is the older and older that I get,
the more I realize that in the place where there
were supposed to be many people that said they would
(06:22):
stay the distance with me, that said they would continue,
that said they would be committed, that said they would
have consistency, that said they would have integrity, the truth
is the older I get the more I realize that
everybody's house ain't still standing, that there are actually only
a few who have remained, who have.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Gone the distance. Where are the saints who will remain?
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Where are the saints who will have houses that still
stand over.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
The long haul?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Where are the people that have decided come hell or
high water. I've made my decision that I will be
set fast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of
the Lord.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
How is it that the.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
People who are wont so strong that people who said
they would continue. Why is it that now we have
found that longevity is not something that we should expect,
But now it has become a rarity to see someone
who is consistent. These virtues are coming harder and harder
to come by, harder and harder to view in the
lives of the people who are around us. But I
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want a house that is still standing. I want a
house that weather's some storms and is still upright. When
Jerry and I and Anthony, when we are finished joining
you here today, we're going to drive over to Baltimore, because.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
That's where my people are from.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
My dad was raised right in the urban center of Baltimore.
My grandfather well into his ninety first year now is
still there.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And what I love so much about, other than the obvious.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Things, the tender moments that you have when you're visiting
your grandparents.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
What brings tears to my eyes when I think about
two Daddy, that's what we call him.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
When I think about two Daddy, what brings tears to
my eyes is that when we gather to him, he
will lay a hand on me, and he'll lay a
hand on Anthony, and he'll lay a hand on his
grand son in law, and he will gather.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Us to himself.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
He does it every single time, and he will speak
a word of blessing over us, and he will pray
over us, and he will.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Remind us of the hope.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
He has in Jesus.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
And he will tell us when we see him later
on tonight or tomorrow morning, about the word that he
preached over the flock of ten or fifteen that he
has stood in front of faithfully for the past five decades,
declaring the good news of Jesus Christ. What just gets
me about my grandfather is that he's got a house
of faith that is still standing after ninety one years.
(08:53):
I want to talk to you today about remaining in
a leaving culture. I want to encourage you, sisters and brothers,
to stay, to hang in there, to not.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Throw in the towel.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
I'm talking to the one who's right on the edge
where you're just.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
About to give up. You've decided that if the Lord.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Doesn't encourage you somehow today, that you're about to throw
in the towel on the assignment that he's given you.
That you're about to throw in the towel on the
marriage that he's planted you in. That you're about to
throw in the towel on the assignment in ministry or
the entrepreneurial endeavor.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Because it's just gotten.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Too difficult and the reins have been beating down too
heavily in your life. I flew over from Dallas, Texas
to tell you to stay, to make sure that your
house is still standing in a day where people are
drifting away, and spouses are leaving, and parents are giving up,
and dreamers are throwing in the towel on the dream
God has planted in their heart, where ministers are quitting.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
What they said was a calling.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
I came to encourage you to stay, and older I get,
the less impressed I am with the the easily famous,
the quickly notable, or applauded, the easily instagrammable. No, I'm
interested in faithfulness. I'm looking for longevity and consistency and
(10:17):
integrity that has weathered some storms. They may not be famous,
but they've remained. They may not be rich, but they've remained.
They may not be applauded, but they've remained.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
They may not have.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Best selling books or millions of followers on Facebook, but
they ain't concerned about that. They want to be steadfast
and immovable and always abounding in the.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Work of the Lord. They want to stay. So I
want to.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Encourage us today that we will have houses that, at
ninety one years old, are still standing, that we will
have some integrity, some legacy that we have left behind.
And listen, you gotta make that decision before the rains come,
because once the hurricane starts pelting your life, and by
the way it will once the rain starts falling, then
it's too late to build a firm foundation.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Contractors stop pouring concrete for a foundation once the skies
open up.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Because you can't wait till it rains to decide.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
You want a firm foundation.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
You've got to decide in good weather times.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Today is the day for us to choose that we.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Want to be people who stand, who stand the test
of time. And it is at least in part to
this end that John gave us not only his gospel
in the New.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Testament, but then three smaller books. They were letters, epistles
that were written.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Scholars say that this theme of remaining or standing, being
steadfast was actually a major theme on John's heart when
he gave us all of his writings. In fact, First, Second,
and Third John are what theologians call a remaining trifecta.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
They are called a staying tree.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
And the reason is because all throughout First, Second, and
Third John, he continues to bring up this idea of remaining,
of standing, of abiding. You'll see that word over and
over in his writing, of encouraging.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
People to go the distance. And so John.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Writes to that end, a passage of scripture that was
read to you before, I'm going to read it to
us again, First John, Chapter two. He writes, in verse twelve,
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins
are forgiven you for his namesake. He says in verse thirteen,
I'm writing to you, fathers, because you know him who
(12:37):
has been from the beginning. I am writing to you,
young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I
have written to you children, because you know the Father.
It's so important to him. He almost repeats himself verbatim.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
In verse fourteen. He says, I've written.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
To you, fathers, because you know him who has been
from the beginning. I've written to you, young men, because
you are strong and the word of.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
And then I want to cap that off by reading
verse twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
He says in verse twenty eight.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
And now, little children, here's our word remain in him, abide,
And he says, here's why, so that when he appears,
you can have some confidence and not shrink away from
him in.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Shame at his coming. He says, the reason why you
want your house still standing.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
The reason why you want to remain, the reason why
you want to have some longevity and legacy and be
steadfast in the assignment that the Lord has given you.
The reason why, he says, is because Jesus is coming,
Brothers and sisters. Jesus is coming that sooner than we think.
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The trump is gonna sound, and the sky is gonna split,
and we're going to see once and for all our
savior face to face. And when I see him, he's
not going out ask.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Me how many Instagram followers I had.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
When I see him, he's not going to concern himself
with how many books I.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Sold her who followed me or didn't follow me on Twitter.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
What he's gonna ask me is did I know his
son Jesus Christ?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
And then he's gonna want to know did I stay.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
He's gonna check to see if my house is still standing.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
He's gonna look into my.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Life and yours to decide.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Whether or not we have used the time, the talents,
and the treasure over the long haul to continually honor him.
And I don't know about y'all, but when I see
him face to.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Face, I am looking for well done. That's what I'm asking.
And so John writes to all of us.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
He says little children, over and over again, little children,
Little children. In the English language, it's translated little children throughout,
but it's actually coming from two different root words. The
first root word in the Greek language that Paul would
have used. We find in our book and verses of
the passage I just read verse twelve and verse twenty
(15:10):
eight is one word that he uses that has translated
little children. This particular particular word in the original language
has no reference to age. There is no reference to
maturity level. It has nothing to do with a stage
of life that you are in. It speaks only to relationship.
He says, you're a little child simply because you have
(15:31):
a relationship to a father.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
So he uses the word that it means. It doesn't
matter if you're a teenager in the room. It doesn't
matter if you're in your fifties in the room. It
doesn't matter if you're in your eighties or nineties in
the room. It doesn't matter if you're a toddler in
the room. He says, I'm writing to all y'all little children.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
He was from Texas.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
All y'all, little children, He says, I am writing to you,
and he says. The reason why I'm writing this letter.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
To all y'all, he says, because your sins all need
to be forgiven.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
In other words, it doesn't matter how much success you've achieved.
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
How much attention or applause you have garnered. On the
flip side, it also doesn't matter how deep.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
The pity of sin or rebellion you may have gotten
to yourself into. At the cross, we all come level.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
We all need a daddy, and we all need his forgiveness.
So he sets us straight right on the outset. He
wants to make sure that everybody in the building knows.
This message is not for the person you're sitting next to.
This message is for you, he says, I'm writing to
all of you little children. He says, you need to
(16:39):
know you have a father. You need to stay under
his covering. The only way you're going to continue to
have any longevity and any sense of stability when the
reins hit you is if you know you are not God.
There is a God, and you are not him. There
is a perfect one, and you are not him. Stay covered,
Stay in relationship to this Daddy that you have.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I remember we have three sons, but when.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Our oldest two were really little, they were five and three,
we were at one of our Christmas times and we
were sitting around the Christmas tree getting ready to dive
into the few gifts that I bought my kids. I
had this before they were too old to know any better.
Jerry and I bought all their gifts from the dollar store.
We would go to the dollar store. We would grab
a couple things mm hmm, and listen. I was the
kind of mother that if I bought them a gift
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that had parts to it, like a bow and arrows,
well I would open up the package and wrap the bow,
wrap this one arrow right here, so I'd spread it
out in front of them. They thought they had a
whole lot of stuff, but they didn't. It was just
a couple things from the dollar store. And I remember
before we would dive into the gifts. Still to this day,
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Jerry will do it. He'll just say to the boys, listen,
whose birthday is it really today? And he said that
the boys were five and three, whose birthday is it really?
Jackson are oldest said, it's Jesus' birthday. His younger brother,
three years old at the time, heard his bay it's
Jesus' birthday and saw the gifts in front of him.
He looked up with wide innocent eyes and said, am
(18:06):
I Jesus. We spent all of Christmas Day just trying
to convince my boy that he was not God. That
the truth be told, you know, sometimes out of the
mouths of babes, because if the truth be told, sometimes
(18:28):
we think we Jesus, we think we God.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
And the reason why I know.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
That I sometimes think I'm God is because I keep
stepping into margin that should be reserved for him. I
keep forgetting that I'm a child who has the father
that I.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Need, covering that I've got a.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
State surrender to and in alignment with my daddy. So
John says, would you remember the only way to keep
your house in check is if you've got a firm
foundation rooted in the fact that there is a.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
God and you are not him.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
But I love John's writing so much because he also
does acknowledge that when we remain, we will go through seasons,
we'll go through growth. Did you notice that he says, I'm.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Writing to you little children. Then he says I'm writing
to you.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Young men, that's adolescents, teenagers. Then he says I'm writing
to you parents' fathers. He says I'm writing to you.
Do you notice that he takes you through stages. He
acknowledges the fact that as you remain, you're gonna have
to walk through some things, that growth is going to
have to be required, that you're gonna mature one stage
to the next, and you need to give yourself a break,
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because every single stage of your growth is necessary to
the next.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
So he says, I'm writing to you in each stage. Remain, children,
while you're there. Remain. I'm writing to you in your
teenage years.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
While you're there. Don't discount the importance of this stage.
Remain while you're there.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I'm writing to you, fathers.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
If you're in the season of parenting, he says, I'm
writing to you as you pour into the life of
the next generation. Every stage to making sure your house.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Is still is still intact.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
So I figured for just a few moments, we could
go through the stages, find ourselves in each of these
stages of remaining and being steadfast. If we walk backwards
up through verse thirteen, you find the stages laid out.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
At the bottom of verse thirteen, he says, I am
writing to.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
You children, and he says, here's why I'm writing to you,
because you know the father. He says, here's why I'm
writing to you, little children.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And by the way, way, this is the other.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
Original word that is used to actually describe an infant.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
It's used to actually describe a baby.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
Who is not able to sustain itself or care for
itself or provide for himself.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
He says, I'm writing to you who are in the
infancy stage of some area of your life, like you
just got.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Married, or you just started that job, or you've just
started to put feet to that dream that God has
put in your heart, or you've just started to build
that ministry. I am writing to you who have just
come to know the Lord, or you've just recommitted your
life to the Lord, and you're in a fledgling.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Stage, he says.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
I'm writing to.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
You who are infants in the room. He says, I'm
writing to you because this is what you need to know.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
This whole goal of the stage of your journey is about.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
He says, here's what you're supposed to do when you're
an infant. Come to know the Father. He says, that's
your whole job. Come to know the Father.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Don't skip this stage, don't rush what rush through this stage.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
He says. Your goal has to be to do what
babies do. Babies receive. They have no other.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Option but to depend on their parent to feed them
and change them and care for them.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
They are subject to the devotion of somebody else.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
He says, you need to know what it feels like
to snuggle up with your father. You need to know
what it feels like to have Kim love you. You
need to know what it feels like to begin to
decid this. Learned what the voice of your God sounds like,
and you.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Need to know what his character is.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Your whole job in this stage should just be to
get to know the.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
One who loves you the most.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
We took the boy the boys a couple of years ago.
We took them to Cape Town, South Africa. I was
homeschooling them at the time, so I planned in advance
for us to go there. I knew we were going,
so I planned their studies around it. One of the
things we studied were some animals that are indigenous to
that area. So when we got to Cape Town, took
the boys on a safari to hopefully see them, and
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we saw lots of animals that we had never seen before.
But we also saw a herd of zebra, and I
remember thinking when we saw the zebra, I remember thinking,
I hope they move on quickly because we can see
those in the States, but know the guide to stop
for just a few moments, and he said, you know
what's interesting about this herd? He said, there's a foal
right there, a baby zebra. He said, I haven't seen
the baby for at least two or three weeks. And
(22:53):
he says, here's why, He said, did you know that
the stripes on a zebra are as individual and unique
as fingerprints are in this room that you can't tell
by the naked eye, but actually, particularly right in the
middle of the forehead, the configuration of the stripes is
so unique that they are distinct one zebra from another,
completely distinct. So he said, when a baby is born,
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the mother will take the baby aside, away from all
the other stripes. For the first two or three weeks
of its life. She will nest and nestle with that
baby for the purpose of making sure that that baby
gets to know her stripes. So about the time she
brings the baby back to all the other stripes, the
baby will never be confused about which configuration of stripes.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Belongs to the one who loves them the most.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
The reason why when you're in a fledgling stage in
some area of your life, the reason why you gotta
come aside with your daddy is so that you can
get a good look at his stripes.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
It's by his stripe.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
Since you are healed, you've gotta make it your business
to come to know your father.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
A culture that is going to try to water.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Down who your God is, and you need to have
enough surety in the foundation of your.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
House that when they try to tell you who he is,
you can.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
Say, that's not who my God is, because I know
who he was. I've gotten to know who my father is.
I know that in Genesis.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
He is the breath of life.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I know that in Exodus he is the passover Lamb.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
I've seen that in Leviticus he is our high priest,
and in Numbers he's the fire by night.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
In Deuteronomy, I saw that he was Israel's guide and Joshua.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
He's Salvation's choice and judges. He is Israel's guard and Ruth.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
I saw him as the kinsman, redeemer, and first and
second Samuel, he's a trusted prophet.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
In Kings and Chronicles. I saw he's sovereigned.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
In Ezra, he's a true and faithful scribe.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
In Neemiah, he's the God who.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Rebuilds walls and he rebuilds lives in estra, I see
that he's Mordecai's courage. In job he's the timeless redeemer,
and so I saw He's my morning song.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
In Proverbs, he is my wisdom.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
In Ecclesiastes, he's a time in a season. In Song
of Solomon, he's the lover's dream. In Isaiah, he's the
prince of peace. In Jeremiah, he's the weeping prophet. In Lamentations,
he's the call from Sin. In Ezekiel, he's the cry
for Israel. And Daniel, he's the stranger in the fire
in Hoseiah, he's the forever faithful.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
In Joel, he's the spirit's power.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
In Amos, he's the strong arms that carry In Obadiah,
he's the Lord, our savior.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
In Jonah, he's the great missionary. In Micah, he's the
promise of peace. In Nahem, he's our strength and shield.
In Rebecca and zeph Andiah, he brings revival. In Haggai,
he restores that which was lost. In Zachariah, he is
our fountain. And in Malachi he's the Son of.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Righteousness, rising with healing in his wings.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
And that's just who he is in the Old Testament.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Amen, Amen, Because.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
If you flip over a couple pages, and if you
wait about four hundred years, then you'll see.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John he's no longer just God.
Now he's your Messiah.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
In the spirit filled Book of Acts, he's the raining
fire from Heaven. In Romans, he's the grace of God. Corinthians,
he's the power of Love. Galatians, he's freedom from the
curse of sin. In Corinthians, he's the power of Love.
In Galatians and Ephesians, he's our glorious treasure. In Philippians,
he's the servant's hearts. In Colossians, he's God and the Trinity.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
In Thessalonians, he's our King.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
In Timothy, Titus and Fileihman, he's our mediator and our
faithful pastor. In Hebrews, he's the everlasting courage. In James,
he's the one who will hear you when you are sick.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
In First and Second Peter, he is our faithful shepherd.
And John and Jude, he's the lover coming for his bride.
And in the Revelation in the very end.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
When it's all over and said and done, he was
and is and will always be the first, the last,
the beginning, and the end.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Amen amen.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Sehn says, you gotta know who your daddy is. You
got to press in and know who your daddy is
so that when the culture tries to water down our God,
you can step back and say that's not my God,
because I have taken.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Time to know who he is.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Pediatricians will often tell mothers with their new babies, listen,
resist the temptation to stand them up on their feet
and bounce them too quickly on their actual legs because.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Their bones are still soft.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
So if they put too much undue weight on those
bones too soon, they may actually walk with a twist
or with a limp their entire life because they were
ready for all that weight. And I think we have unfortunately,
we got a generation.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Of Christians who are trying to grow up too soon.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
They are skipping this stage of just getting to know
who their daddy is.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
They are already trying to disciple people and preach to people.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
You know, you just need to sit back and get
to know your father.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Don't walk. Don't walk before you're ready.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
That pressure can make you limp for the rest of
your life. So if you're in the fledgling stage in
some area of your life. Just remain there until he
releases you, because you don't need a firm foundation. And
the reason why is because you are going to graduate.
John says in verse thirteen, to become young men. The
(29:00):
original word means adolescence. This is puberty, this is teenage years.
He says, you're gonna need some fortification because here's how
you know when you're a teenager, he says. In verse thirteen,
he says you have overcome the evil one.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
He reiterates it in verse fourteen, and he says you
are strong.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
He says, this is when you get some muscle on
your spiritual bones. My boys are now The picture they
showed you earlier was a pretty old picture. My boys
are now the oldest two or six foot two inch
tall giants, and they walk around my house with this big,
deep voice, Mam, I need a sandwich. Then they always
(29:42):
got their shirts off. These days, there's muscles everywhere and
all This definition is just nasty. Its gross, it's nasty.
Speaker 5 (29:52):
So they're towering over me and.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
I'm still trying to be the boss, but it's kind
of weird. Go clean your room and they're up there,
you know. But they just got all this girth of them.
Now their muscles are showing. Their dad has been real
engaged in their sports life because they have been sportsmen
from the time they were pretty young. They love sports,
and so he's been very careful with their coaches and
people who are training them about what they would and
(30:15):
would not do. He would not allow them until just
the last year or so. My oldest is getting ready
to be seventeen, My middle is fifteen now, and Jude,
our youngest, is now eleven years old. But with my
oldest two he would not let their coaches or anybody
allow them to lift weights until just in the past
year and a half or so. They did push ups,
they did lots of other resistance things, but they did
(30:37):
not lift weights until in the last year.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Now.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
They have been strong for a lot of years. They've
been able to pretty much hurl me over their shoulders,
throw me on the college we've wrestled together. They are strong,
but it's not until the past year that I have
seen the strength that was always in them start to
take shape on.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
The outside of them.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
It was there, but we just couldn't see it until
we added resistance. John says, you know when you're in
the teenage season of your journey.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
When there's some.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Weight on you, you feel like you just can't lift,
when there's something on you that honestly you'd rather pass
off to somebody else because that those squats.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
You just can't squat all that weight, so it seems
to you.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
He says, remain during infancy, but also be steadfast and
remain during the adolescence, because this is when you get
some muscle.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
On your spiritual bones.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
This is when you get some scaffolding in your house
that will be able to restrain and resist when there
is a hurricane that comes flying through. This is when
the fortification that is in you by the spirit of
God begins to take shape on the outside of you,
and you're able to see the spiritual muscle that is
rightfully yours as an adoptive daughter or son of the
(31:51):
Most High God. He says, remain during the resistance that
weight that is on you.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Keep on lifting. It says, that's how you gonna get
some muscle. That struggle that you're having in your marriage,
or in your finances, or on your.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Job, that issue that you're having relationally.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Would you know.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
That sometimes it's the enemy, but sometimes it's.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
God allowing you to go through some stuff so that
He can have a body of believers who have some muscle.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Infancy is for intimacy with God. But adolescence what it's
for is for a cruing power and a cruing strength
and getting fortified so that when the rains pelt you,
when they hit you, you do.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Not easily topple over.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
And so if you find that there is weight on
you right now, remain through the resistance.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Stay steady, sis, Stay steady, brother.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Don't throw in the towel right now at this stage
and your marriage or raising those kids, or pressing into
the ministry God has set before you, or the job
that He's asked you to build, the book that you've.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Been writing, the thing that you've.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
Been cult maiden, don't give up now. This is where
your muscle comes. This is when you get fortification.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Stay remain when everybody.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Else falls away, because this is the time when they
fall away, when stuff gets tough, when there's weight on people,
that's when you see folks going by the wayside. They
don't they're not they're not able to recognize that the
Almighty Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God, lives
in you to do what you cannot do in your
own strength and power to help you resist under the pressure.
(33:33):
It's God's own spirit that will help you be steadfast
and immovable and always abounding on the work of the Lord.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Stay remain during the resistance.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
And the reason why you need to remain through infancy
and then remain through adolescence.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Is because John Wrights. We need some fathers, some spiritual mothers.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
What happened to the days where we came to church
and everybody wasn't a millennial? What happened to the days
where you came into the House of God and there
were some mothers in the house, There were some spiritual fathers.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
In the house.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Some folks like my granddaddy who'd been walking the thing
for a while, who'd been with his wife and has
raised his children, and is looking at his grandchildren and
his great grandchildren, and is able to see decades history
of the faithfulness of God. Who is able to say,
I can tell you something I prayed in nineteen fifty
that God has answered.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
In twenty nineteen.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
We need some saints who have walked the road for
a little while, some people that have a testimony. Do
you understand that you and me are the ones that
are gonna have a testimony.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
We're the ones.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
If we'll just hang in there, we'll be steadfast through
this struggle.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
That we're having right now.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
I'm having one in my life, you're having one in
your lives. I can just stay steadfast long enough. There
is a day that's coming where we're gonna sit in
this room and there's gonna be somebody in their twenties
looking at us in hopes that we will share with
them a story about the goodness of God. Please notice
(35:20):
that John doesn't say adults.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
He says parents.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
The implication is that there are people who are not
just adults, but people who have as their mission to
pour into the lives of somebody else, people that have
their eyes open to see there's somebody counting on me.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Do you know there are.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Sons and daughters, grandchildren in the House of God that
are counting on.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Us to have houses that still stand.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
They're counting on us to have a view of what
it looks like to honor God.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Not just in one decade, not just for one year.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Not just for the season when it was when it
was convenient for us to honor God. But no we
stayed the past, not perfectly, but purpose and intentionally. We
kept setting our God before us. We focused our eyes
on Jesus, who was the author and the finisher of
our faith. John says, this is what fathers do. He said,
(36:16):
they know the one who was from the beginning. He's
talking about Jesus. He says, this is what fathers do.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
They pass on not just a general view of religion.
They pass on Jesus.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
He says that these are the ones who have not
just come to know a program or a platform, not
a religion, not just a routine.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
These are the ones that have come to know Jesus.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Not just in theory, not just in a Christmas Nativity scene,
not just through the testimonies of other people.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
No, they have lived long.
Speaker 4 (36:51):
Enough, they have remained long enough, They have walked with
them long enough to tell the story about the one
who is from the beginning, Jesus. In a world and
in a culture, and in a day and age that
has sought to water down the Gospel, in a culture
that seeks to generalize God so that he is one
of many gods, not a singular, unmatched entity without comparison
(37:13):
and with no counterparts.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
We need some Christians who have.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
Walked the road long.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Enough, and who have enough years with God underneath their belts, who.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Have tried him, and.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
They've seen for themselves that our one true God still
has a specific name, and whether or not it is
politically correct makes no difference to us, because we have
no problem standing in front of kings and queens, or
in front of light people and saying the name that
is above every name, the name had which demon strengthful,
(37:42):
the name that could they every name about, and every
time will confess that the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Somebody say, Jesus Christ.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
He is the one who was from the beginning. He
is still the chief cornerstone. He is still the lily
of the valley, is the bright morning star.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
He is still the one of whom prophets folks. He
is still the one.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
That was crucified on Calvary, and he is still the
one that on the third day was raised up.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
And who is now seated at the right hand of
the Father full of grace and truth. His name is.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
Jesus, and we got to remain because he's coming.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Listen to me, y'all, the same, no joke.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
I'm saying, he for real coming, So stay, remain, don't
(38:51):
quit yet, don't.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
Throw in the towel yet.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Have some integrity, have some character. Ask the Holy Spirit
to give us some resilience so that we can.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Have some houses that still stand.
Speaker 4 (39:13):
If you are in this room and you're just about
to throw in the towel, there is an area of
your life where you know dog gone good and well.
If God doesn't step in, you're just about to throw
in the towel. You're just about to turn your back
on following him, or turn your back on something you
know He has a signed to you. Because things are
tough right now. When you want to have a house
(39:34):
that still stands, you want today to flip.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
The script in the story of your life.
Speaker 4 (39:38):
If you need prayer in that regard, would you please
just race down to the altar.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
I cannot wait to.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
Stand with you and agree with you in prayer that
we're gonna have houses that still stand, that we're gonna
remain in a leaving culture.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Is there anybody that needs prayer? I will wait for you.
Is there a couple it's your house to still stand?
Race down for the altar.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Don't quit, sis, remain, stay h We're gonna stay I've
(40:35):
decided I'm staying. Staying, We're gonna remain when everybody else
turns back.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
We've decided we're following Jesus.
Speaker 5 (40:48):
We're gonna stay.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
I want you while those that are still coming are coming.
Y'all come on as they come. Listen, you know what
your thing is where you're about to throw in the towel.
Would you, just before the Lord quietly in your heart,
before I pray over us, would you just say, just
be honest with him. Lord, I don't want to do this.
Speaker 5 (41:22):
I can't do this.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
I'm tired of doing this.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
I've been praying about this a long time.
Speaker 5 (41:27):
You haven't changed this.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Would you just talk to the Lord about it?
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Just confess to him the reality of how you're feeling
in this moment. Authenticity doesn't scare him. Lord Jesus, I
lift up my brothers and sisters, and I pray right
now in the name of Jesus Christ, that you would
lift discouragement off of their shoulders. For every single one, Father,
(41:54):
who has tears falling down from their eyes, I can
see them right now. I pray right now you would
dry those tears in Jesus as just proof Father that
you were with them, that you see them, that you
were for them, you are not against them. You will
never leave them nor for Saketom, no matter what season
of maturity therein, you will never leave them north for
sake you see them.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Father, thank you that you see us as a loving father.
Your grace is sufficient for us.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
Lord, thank you for the deep, wide open spaces of
your grace.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
So, Father, I pray you and.
Speaker 4 (42:26):
Lift discouragement, and would you replace it literally with a
supernatural encouragement.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
Right now in Jesus' name.
Speaker 4 (42:33):
Help them to feel a joy in this that they've
not felt before.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
Help them to feel an assurance in this that they've
not felt before.
Speaker 4 (42:40):
Father, I pray that whatever assignment the enemy has against
my brothers and sisters, to cut them off at the past,
to take their house down, to keep them from finishing well,
I pray that that assignment would be canceled right now
in Jesus' name. And buy a floodshet on Calvary. And then, Father,
I pray for some spear muscle. I pray right now
(43:02):
Jesus you would give us some backbone. Father, help the
rain to be no match Lord for the spiritual.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
Fiber that you're gonna give us.
Speaker 4 (43:10):
In Jesus' name, Lord, we're committing by your spirit to stay.
It ain't gonna be easy, but we're gonna stay. It's
not gonna be convenient sometimes, but we're gonna stay.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Lord.
Speaker 4 (43:21):
I pray for the marriages that are on the brink,
snap them back from the brink. Right now in Jesus' name.
I pray for the single mother that is on the brink, Lord,
helper to be steadfast in Jesus's name, I pray Lord
for the son or daughter, the teenager who's just about
to go with the peer pressure that surrounds them and
not stand in integrity.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
For you, I pray right.
Speaker 4 (43:43):
Now in Jesus' name, you would fortify them.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Father, I pray for any addiction, any sin, any heaven, any.
Speaker 4 (43:50):
Lifestyle that's gonna take our house down. I pray right
now in Jesus name, you would loosen those shackles over
our lives.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Set us free.
Speaker 4 (43:59):
Father, we can walk in holness and integrity and in advance. Father,
already looking forward to the finish line.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
We thank you that wouldn't you come.
Speaker 4 (44:09):
We're gonna hear well done, good and faithful.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
Servants in Jesus snake in Jesus snake. Everybody agreed and said, Amen,
why no? Why now is it jday?
Speaker 6 (44:33):
Is suday im.
Speaker 5 (44:46):
A?
Speaker 6 (44:47):
This moent ju come whoa. I won't go back. I
won't go back. Chang go back, whey you to be
(45:15):
for your presence stage. Oh, I won't go back. I
won't go changle levens.
Speaker 5 (45:31):
Up. Change.
Speaker 7 (45:36):
Let's get put our hands together to get a lord
of hand and praise. Amen.
Speaker 2 (45:41):
Wow, were we not fed?
Speaker 7 (45:44):
Where we're not blessed, where we're not in carriage, where
we're not strengthened?
Speaker 2 (45:49):
Did not God speak to our hearts?
Speaker 7 (45:51):
Somebody? All the same man? Right there? Amen? Amen, remain standing.
I am Pastor Dwayne Dickens. I'm honored to serve here
as a special assistance to our senior pastor, Passor John Jenkins. Well,
as you all know, God spoke to us today. He
(46:13):
spoke to us, Amen, and I know that it's not
by accident that you are here. God orchestrated that the
Woman of God would be here to present and to
share passionately that message for us today. We're living in
(46:38):
trying times, we're looking for in need. Believe it's to
having done all the scripture says, stand and some of
us have been challenged this week beyond measure. We will
call a few of us to the hospital with a
very very serious illness of one of our dead members
(47:06):
was nearly at death's door. And as we assembled and
we prayed, and we prayed, and it was crying and
gathering when we prayed. Right there at the elevator, I
led the prayer, and we knew that if we stilled
on God's word, what God could do. While the doctors
(47:28):
called the family together. That family together, we believed the
report of the Lord. And today I hide five somebody
downstairs and I said this, and I want you to
do this.
Speaker 2 (47:40):
I said, won't he do it? Turn to your neighbors,
say won't he do it? Won't he do it?
Speaker 5 (47:44):
Won't he do it?
Speaker 7 (47:45):
Won't he do it? Crazy? We're about to go. I
know where we're going a little over. But here's what
I want you to do. If you're here today and
you never accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and your Lord,
(48:06):
today is a good day for you to come forward.
He wants to receive you as his child and to
nurture you and to pour into you and to love
on you and to make you who he wants you
to be. You're not here by accidents, so we want
you to come. If you're here today, and maybe you're backslitten,
maybe you're no longer in that relationship with God that
you used to be in, but He wants to bring
(48:29):
you back. If you want to come back to him,
we want you to come. Maybe you're here today and
maybe you're unsure. You're just unsure, you have questions, you're doubting,
and you're just not sure. I don't know which wears up,
which wears down, which way to go? But today you
want to be sure. We want you to come. Finally,
if you're here and you're looking for a church home,
(48:51):
First Baptist Church of Glenarden is a great church to
call your home. Somebody say Amen, Amen, Amen. So if
you fall in any of those categories, why this wonderful
music ministry renders a selection. I know God speaking to
your heart. I've been preaching over thirty five years. I
(49:11):
know passing over thirty five years. I know that God
is speaking to your heart. We're not gonna be label
the point, but would you come? Amen?
Speaker 2 (49:19):
That's the song is rendered. Amen.
Speaker 6 (49:24):
Why God is Jesus, there they are.
Speaker 7 (49:31):
There, There are news dollars speaking. What's your pay?
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Christ? In your life?
Speaker 4 (49:38):
You say what you call it.
Speaker 6 (49:40):
I have wait all this moments you come in past,
get a carr, put your hands together.
Speaker 2 (49:56):
Let's Fay puts.
Speaker 1 (49:57):
Your vans together.
Speaker 6 (49:58):
Come on now, I don't Ca bad Oh, can't go
back to the ways to be before your presence Cake
Chertree f B.
Speaker 2 (50:26):
For your presence.
Speaker 3 (50:28):
Flame
Man well, first Baptist, it is time for the word Amen,
and we have an awesome, awesome woman of God here
today to bring that word.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Please turn your attention to the IMG.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Priscilla Shire is a wife and mom. First put a
Bible in her hand and a message in her heart,
and you'll see why thousands flock to her conferences and
dive into her Bible study series in books each year.
A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Priscilla holds a master's
degree in Biblical studies and considers it a privilege to
serve believers from every denomination and culture. Her ministry, Going
(00:44):
Beyond Ministries hosts Awaken, an outreach event in her hometown
designed to encourage and mobilize women locally. She is the
author of several books and has starred in various faith
based films, such as The War Room and her brand
new movie Overcomer, showing in theaters now. Priscilla has been
married to Jerry for twenty years. Between studying and writing,
(01:07):
she spends most of her time with her three growing boys.
Please welcome Priscilla Shire.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Thank you, good morning. So glad you're here. You can
take your seats.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
It's a privilege and a joy as always to be
with our family.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
We consider you to be our family. Even if you
don't claim us, we claim y'all.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
We love the First Baptist Church of Glenarden and this
is joy for us to be here. We flew in
yesterday and we walked off of the plane, Jerry and
I and walked out down the jet bridge and out
into the airport and ran right into my dad. He
was standing there about to board a flight to go
back home. He said that we're coming to First Baptist
Church of Glenarden.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
He was like, oh, man, I want to come.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
I was like, it's our turn, It's our turn. So
our whole family so much loves being with you. Myself,
my younger brother Anthony, and my husband, who I want
to make sure that you know, and I want to
introduce you to.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Him as well. My husband, Jerry Shire, as they said
of twenty years, is here.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
That's my man right there, and it's a privilege to
be under his fine authority this morning, to be able
to share God's word with you.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I will say this.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Every time I have the joy to be with you
as well, and that is that in his absence we
honor Pastor John Jenkins. We love him and his wife,
Miss Trina.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Their whole family.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
And I'm gonna tell y'all, while we honor them, we
honor them because they have integrity.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
It's important to me that you understand that the Lord
has entrusted you.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
To leaders that actually have integrity, that they really believe
this stuff, and that's a big deal. And so we're
grateful for them that they have shown us what a
healthy marriage looks like.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
They have sewn into the lives.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Of their own children, have not sacrificed that for church,
and we're grateful for that, and it has blessed and
informed our lives in so many ways, more than we
can count. And so it is a privilege to be
able to stand in this place this morning and hopefully
encourage you this morning. In God's word, Let's pray.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you
that it is alive.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
I thank you that it is living, an active and
sharper than any two edged sword. Lord, I pray in
these next few moments you would do what only you can.
Take this one little simple message, and would you divide
it several one thousand different ways so that every single
person under the sound of my voice today will no
they have heard the voice of God.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
Speak.
Speaker 6 (04:09):
Lord.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
We are your servants, and we are listening in Jesus's
mighty name. We pray Amen Amen. It was September in
the year two thousand and eight when a Category two
hurricane named Ike swept through the southern regions of our country.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Texas in particular was hit hard as one hundred ten
mile per hour winds just whipped through.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
In particular, a small town called Gilcrest, which is sort
of a seaside community of beachside.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Town where a lot of people go to retire.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
That community was hit very hard. The community boasted about
two hundred.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Homes or so.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Mostly those retired couples had gone there to enjoy their
latter years in some peace and respit in this beautiful,
serene ocean environment.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
And yet in two thousand and eight, the unex it happened.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Hurricane I came, and it swept through, and the aftermath
was devastating. In fact, those who visited the site afterwards
said that it was a complete shock to see this
now unrecognizable community, the once populated neighborhood with bright homes
and manicured lawndscapes, green lawns, and friendly sidewalks. Now the
(05:23):
neighborhood didn't resemble anything similar to that any longer.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Now it was just like a swamp. It was muddy.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
There were only fragments left of what was the only
landmark that remained.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
There was one house that stood. Of the two hundred
that had been there, only one remained. Only one stood steady.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Only one continued to stand when the others had been
decimated by the storm. It's quite an odd and remarkable
and shocking site, isn't it to see one house that
has stayed standing?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
And it begs the what was it about.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
This house that made it stand when the storm took
the others down? And I suspect that as shocking as
it is for us to see these images, it really
is symbolic of the landscape of all of our lives.
Because the truth is the older and older that I get,
the more I realize that in the place where there
were supposed to be many people that said they would
(06:22):
stay the distance with me, that said they would continue,
that said they would be committed, that said they would
have consistency, that said they would have integrity, the truth
is the older I get the more I realize that
everybody's house ain't still standing, that there are actually only
a few who have remained, who have.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Gone the distance. Where are the saints who will remain?
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Where are the saints who will have houses that still
stand over.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
The long haul?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Where are the people that have decided come hell or
high water. I've made my decision that I will be
set fast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of
the Lord.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
How is it that the.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
People who are wont so strong that people who said
they would continue. Why is it that now we have
found that longevity is not something that we should expect,
But now it has become a rarity to see someone
who is consistent. These virtues are coming harder and harder
to come by, harder and harder to view in the
lives of the people who are around us. But I
(07:26):
want a house that is still standing. I want a
house that weather's some storms and is still upright. When
Jerry and I and Anthony, when we are finished joining
you here today, we're going to drive over to Baltimore, because.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
That's where my people are from.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
My dad was raised right in the urban center of Baltimore.
My grandfather well into his ninety first year now is
still there.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And what I love so much about, other than the obvious.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Things, the tender moments that you have when you're visiting
your grandparents.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
What brings tears to my eyes when I think about
two Daddy, that's what we call him.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
When I think about two Daddy, what brings tears to
my eyes is that when we gather to him, he
will lay a hand on me, and he'll lay a
hand on Anthony, and he'll lay a hand on his
grand son in law, and he will gather.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Us to himself.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
He does it every single time, and he will speak
a word of blessing over us, and he will pray
over us, and he will.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Remind us of the hope.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
He has in Jesus.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
And he will tell us when we see him later
on tonight or tomorrow morning, about the word that he
preached over the flock of ten or fifteen that he
has stood in front of faithfully for the past five decades,
declaring the good news of Jesus Christ. What just gets
me about my grandfather is that he's got a house
of faith that is still standing after ninety one years.
(08:53):
I want to talk to you today about remaining in
a leaving culture. I want to encourage you, sisters and brothers,
to stay, to hang in there, to not.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Throw in the towel.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
I'm talking to the one who's right on the edge
where you're just.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
About to give up. You've decided that if the Lord.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Doesn't encourage you somehow today, that you're about to throw
in the towel on the assignment that he's given you.
That you're about to throw in the towel on the
marriage that he's planted you in. That you're about to
throw in the towel on the assignment in ministry or
the entrepreneurial endeavor.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Because it's just gotten.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Too difficult and the reins have been beating down too
heavily in your life. I flew over from Dallas, Texas
to tell you to stay, to make sure that your
house is still standing in a day where people are
drifting away, and spouses are leaving, and parents are giving up,
and dreamers are throwing in the towel on the dream
God has planted in their heart, where ministers are quitting.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
What they said was a calling.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
I came to encourage you to stay, and older I get,
the less impressed I am with the the easily famous,
the quickly notable, or applauded, the easily instagrammable. No, I'm
interested in faithfulness. I'm looking for longevity and consistency and
(10:17):
integrity that has weathered some storms. They may not be famous,
but they've remained. They may not be rich, but they've remained.
They may not be applauded, but they've remained.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
They may not have.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Best selling books or millions of followers on Facebook, but
they ain't concerned about that. They want to be steadfast
and immovable and always abounding in the.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Work of the Lord. They want to stay. So I
want to.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Encourage us today that we will have houses that, at
ninety one years old, are still standing, that we will
have some integrity, some legacy that we have left behind.
And listen, you gotta make that decision before the rains come,
because once the hurricane starts pelting your life, and by
the way it will once the rain starts falling, then
it's too late to build a firm foundation.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Contractors stop pouring concrete for a foundation once the skies
open up.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Because you can't wait till it rains to decide.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
You want a firm foundation.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
You've got to decide in good weather times.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Today is the day for us to choose that we.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Want to be people who stand, who stand the test
of time. And it is at least in part to
this end that John gave us not only his gospel
in the New.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Testament, but then three smaller books. They were letters, epistles
that were written.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Scholars say that this theme of remaining or standing, being
steadfast was actually a major theme on John's heart when
he gave us all of his writings. In fact, First, Second,
and Third John are what theologians call a remaining trifecta.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
They are called a staying tree.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
And the reason is because all throughout First, Second, and
Third John, he continues to bring up this idea of remaining,
of standing, of abiding. You'll see that word over and
over in his writing, of encouraging.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
People to go the distance. And so John.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Writes to that end, a passage of scripture that was
read to you before, I'm going to read it to
us again, First John, Chapter two. He writes, in verse twelve,
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins
are forgiven you for his namesake. He says in verse thirteen,
I'm writing to you, fathers, because you know him who
(12:37):
has been from the beginning. I am writing to you,
young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I
have written to you children, because you know the Father.
It's so important to him. He almost repeats himself verbatim.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
In verse fourteen. He says, I've written.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
To you, fathers, because you know him who has been
from the beginning. I've written to you, young men, because
you are strong and the word of.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
And then I want to cap that off by reading
verse twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
He says in verse twenty eight.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
And now, little children, here's our word remain in him, abide,
And he says, here's why, so that when he appears,
you can have some confidence and not shrink away from
him in.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Shame at his coming. He says, the reason why you
want your house still standing.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
The reason why you want to remain, the reason why
you want to have some longevity and legacy and be
steadfast in the assignment that the Lord has given you.
The reason why, he says, is because Jesus is coming,
Brothers and sisters. Jesus is coming that sooner than we think.
(13:51):
The trump is gonna sound, and the sky is gonna split,
and we're going to see once and for all our
savior face to face. And when I see him, he's
not going out ask.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Me how many Instagram followers I had.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
When I see him, he's not going to concern himself
with how many books I.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Sold her who followed me or didn't follow me on Twitter.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
What he's gonna ask me is did I know his
son Jesus Christ?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
And then he's gonna want to know did I stay.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
He's gonna check to see if my house is still standing.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
He's gonna look into my.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Life and yours to decide.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Whether or not we have used the time, the talents,
and the treasure over the long haul to continually honor him.
And I don't know about y'all, but when I see
him face to.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Face, I am looking for well done. That's what I'm asking.
And so John writes to all of us.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
He says little children, over and over again, little children,
Little children. In the English language, it's translated little children throughout,
but it's actually coming from two different root words. The
first root word in the Greek language that Paul would
have used. We find in our book and verses of
the passage I just read verse twelve and verse twenty
(15:10):
eight is one word that he uses that has translated
little children. This particular particular word in the original language
has no reference to age. There is no reference to
maturity level. It has nothing to do with a stage
of life that you are in. It speaks only to relationship.
He says, you're a little child simply because you have
(15:31):
a relationship to a father.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
So he uses the word that it means. It doesn't
matter if you're a teenager in the room. It doesn't
matter if you're in your fifties in the room. It
doesn't matter if you're in your eighties or nineties in
the room. It doesn't matter if you're a toddler in
the room. He says, I'm writing to all y'all little children.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
He was from Texas.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
All y'all, little children, He says, I am writing to you,
and he says. The reason why I'm writing this letter.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
To all y'all, he says, because your sins all need
to be forgiven.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
In other words, it doesn't matter how much success you've achieved.
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
How much attention or applause you have garnered. On the
flip side, it also doesn't matter how deep.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
The pity of sin or rebellion you may have gotten
to yourself into. At the cross, we all come level.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
We all need a daddy, and we all need his forgiveness.
So he sets us straight right on the outset. He
wants to make sure that everybody in the building knows.
This message is not for the person you're sitting next to.
This message is for you, he says, I'm writing to
all of you little children. He says, you need to
(16:39):
know you have a father. You need to stay under
his covering. The only way you're going to continue to
have any longevity and any sense of stability when the
reins hit you is if you know you are not God.
There is a God, and you are not him. There
is a perfect one, and you are not him. Stay covered,
Stay in relationship to this Daddy that you have.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I remember we have three sons, but when.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Our oldest two were really little, they were five and three,
we were at one of our Christmas times and we
were sitting around the Christmas tree getting ready to dive
into the few gifts that I bought my kids. I
had this before they were too old to know any better.
Jerry and I bought all their gifts from the dollar store.
We would go to the dollar store. We would grab
a couple things mm hmm, and listen. I was the
kind of mother that if I bought them a gift
(17:25):
that had parts to it, like a bow and arrows,
well I would open up the package and wrap the bow,
wrap this one arrow right here, so I'd spread it
out in front of them. They thought they had a
whole lot of stuff, but they didn't. It was just
a couple things from the dollar store. And I remember
before we would dive into the gifts. Still to this day,
(17:45):
Jerry will do it. He'll just say to the boys, listen,
whose birthday is it really today? And he said that
the boys were five and three, whose birthday is it really?
Jackson are oldest said, it's Jesus' birthday. His younger brother,
three years old at the time, heard his bay it's
Jesus' birthday and saw the gifts in front of him.
He looked up with wide innocent eyes and said, am
(18:06):
I Jesus. We spent all of Christmas Day just trying
to convince my boy that he was not God. That
the truth be told, you know, sometimes out of the
mouths of babes, because if the truth be told, sometimes
(18:28):
we think we Jesus, we think we God.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
And the reason why I know.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
That I sometimes think I'm God is because I keep
stepping into margin that should be reserved for him. I
keep forgetting that I'm a child who has the father
that I.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Need, covering that I've got a.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
State surrender to and in alignment with my daddy. So
John says, would you remember the only way to keep
your house in check is if you've got a firm
foundation rooted in the fact that there is a.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
God and you are not him.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
But I love John's writing so much because he also
does acknowledge that when we remain, we will go through seasons,
we'll go through growth. Did you notice that he says, I'm.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Writing to you little children. Then he says I'm writing
to you.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Young men, that's adolescents, teenagers. Then he says I'm writing
to you parents' fathers. He says I'm writing to you.
Do you notice that he takes you through stages. He
acknowledges the fact that as you remain, you're gonna have
to walk through some things, that growth is going to
have to be required, that you're gonna mature one stage
to the next, and you need to give yourself a break,
(19:34):
because every single stage of your growth is necessary to
the next.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
So he says, I'm writing to you in each stage. Remain, children,
while you're there. Remain. I'm writing to you in your
teenage years.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
While you're there. Don't discount the importance of this stage.
Remain while you're there.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I'm writing to you, fathers.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
If you're in the season of parenting, he says, I'm
writing to you as you pour into the life of
the next generation. Every stage to making sure your house.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Is still is still intact.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
So I figured for just a few moments, we could
go through the stages, find ourselves in each of these
stages of remaining and being steadfast. If we walk backwards
up through verse thirteen, you find the stages laid out.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
At the bottom of verse thirteen, he says, I am
writing to.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
You children, and he says, here's why I'm writing to you,
because you know the father. He says, here's why I'm
writing to you, little children.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And by the way, way, this is the other.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
Original word that is used to actually describe an infant.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
It's used to actually describe a baby.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
Who is not able to sustain itself or care for
itself or provide for himself.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
He says, I'm writing to you who are in the
infancy stage of some area of your life, like you
just got.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Married, or you just started that job, or you've just
started to put feet to that dream that God has
put in your heart, or you've just started to build
that ministry. I am writing to you who have just
come to know the Lord, or you've just recommitted your
life to the Lord, and you're in a fledgling.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Stage, he says.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
I'm writing to.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
You who are infants in the room. He says, I'm
writing to you because this is what you need to know.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
This whole goal of the stage of your journey is about.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
He says, here's what you're supposed to do when you're
an infant. Come to know the Father. He says, that's
your whole job. Come to know the Father.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Don't skip this stage, don't rush what rush through this stage.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
He says. Your goal has to be to do what
babies do. Babies receive. They have no other.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Option but to depend on their parent to feed them
and change them and care for them.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
They are subject to the devotion of somebody else.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
He says, you need to know what it feels like
to snuggle up with your father. You need to know
what it feels like to have Kim love you. You
need to know what it feels like to begin to
decid this. Learned what the voice of your God sounds like,
and you.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Need to know what his character is.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Your whole job in this stage should just be to
get to know the.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
One who loves you the most.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
We took the boy the boys a couple of years ago.
We took them to Cape Town, South Africa. I was
homeschooling them at the time, so I planned in advance
for us to go there. I knew we were going,
so I planned their studies around it. One of the
things we studied were some animals that are indigenous to
that area. So when we got to Cape Town, took
the boys on a safari to hopefully see them, and
(22:32):
we saw lots of animals that we had never seen before.
But we also saw a herd of zebra, and I
remember thinking when we saw the zebra, I remember thinking,
I hope they move on quickly because we can see
those in the States, but know the guide to stop
for just a few moments, and he said, you know
what's interesting about this herd? He said, there's a foal
right there, a baby zebra. He said, I haven't seen
the baby for at least two or three weeks. And
(22:53):
he says, here's why, He said, did you know that
the stripes on a zebra are as individual and unique
as fingerprints are in this room that you can't tell
by the naked eye, but actually, particularly right in the
middle of the forehead, the configuration of the stripes is
so unique that they are distinct one zebra from another,
completely distinct. So he said, when a baby is born,
(23:14):
the mother will take the baby aside, away from all
the other stripes. For the first two or three weeks
of its life. She will nest and nestle with that
baby for the purpose of making sure that that baby
gets to know her stripes. So about the time she
brings the baby back to all the other stripes, the
baby will never be confused about which configuration of stripes.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Belongs to the one who loves them the most.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
The reason why when you're in a fledgling stage in
some area of your life, the reason why you gotta
come aside with your daddy is so that you can
get a good look at his stripes.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
It's by his stripe.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
Since you are healed, you've gotta make it your business
to come to know your father.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
A culture that is going to try to water.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Down who your God is, and you need to have
enough surety in the foundation of your.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
House that when they try to tell you who he is,
you can.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
Say, that's not who my God is, because I know
who he was. I've gotten to know who my father is.
I know that in Genesis.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
He is the breath of life.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I know that in Exodus he is the passover Lamb.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
I've seen that in Leviticus he is our high priest,
and in Numbers he's the fire by night.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
In Deuteronomy, I saw that he was Israel's guide and Joshua.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
He's Salvation's choice and judges. He is Israel's guard and Ruth.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
I saw him as the kinsman, redeemer, and first and
second Samuel, he's a trusted prophet.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
In Kings and Chronicles. I saw he's sovereigned.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
In Ezra, he's a true and faithful scribe.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
In Neemiah, he's the God who.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Rebuilds walls and he rebuilds lives in estra, I see
that he's Mordecai's courage. In job he's the timeless redeemer,
and so I saw He's my morning song.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
In Proverbs, he is my wisdom.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
In Ecclesiastes, he's a time in a season. In Song
of Solomon, he's the lover's dream. In Isaiah, he's the
prince of peace. In Jeremiah, he's the weeping prophet. In Lamentations,
he's the call from Sin. In Ezekiel, he's the cry
for Israel. And Daniel, he's the stranger in the fire
in Hoseiah, he's the forever faithful.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
In Joel, he's the spirit's power.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
In Amos, he's the strong arms that carry In Obadiah,
he's the Lord, our savior.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
In Jonah, he's the great missionary. In Micah, he's the
promise of peace. In Nahem, he's our strength and shield.
In Rebecca and zeph Andiah, he brings revival. In Haggai,
he restores that which was lost. In Zachariah, he is
our fountain. And in Malachi he's the Son of.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Righteousness, rising with healing in his wings.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
And that's just who he is in the Old Testament.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Amen, Amen, Because.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
If you flip over a couple pages, and if you
wait about four hundred years, then you'll see.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John he's no longer just God.
Now he's your Messiah.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
In the spirit filled Book of Acts, he's the raining
fire from Heaven. In Romans, he's the grace of God. Corinthians,
he's the power of Love. Galatians, he's freedom from the
curse of sin. In Corinthians, he's the power of Love.
In Galatians and Ephesians, he's our glorious treasure. In Philippians,
he's the servant's hearts. In Colossians, he's God and the Trinity.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
In Thessalonians, he's our King.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
In Timothy, Titus and Fileihman, he's our mediator and our
faithful pastor. In Hebrews, he's the everlasting courage. In James,
he's the one who will hear you when you are sick.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
In First and Second Peter, he is our faithful shepherd.
And John and Jude, he's the lover coming for his bride.
And in the Revelation in the very end.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
When it's all over and said and done, he was
and is and will always be the first, the last,
the beginning, and the end.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Amen amen.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Sehn says, you gotta know who your daddy is. You
got to press in and know who your daddy is
so that when the culture tries to water down our God,
you can step back and say that's not my God,
because I have taken.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Time to know who he is.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Pediatricians will often tell mothers with their new babies, listen,
resist the temptation to stand them up on their feet
and bounce them too quickly on their actual legs because.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Their bones are still soft.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
So if they put too much undue weight on those
bones too soon, they may actually walk with a twist
or with a limp their entire life because they were
ready for all that weight. And I think we have unfortunately,
we got a generation.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Of Christians who are trying to grow up too soon.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
They are skipping this stage of just getting to know
who their daddy is.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
They are already trying to disciple people and preach to people.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
You know, you just need to sit back and get
to know your father.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Don't walk. Don't walk before you're ready.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
That pressure can make you limp for the rest of
your life. So if you're in the fledgling stage in
some area of your life. Just remain there until he
releases you, because you don't need a firm foundation. And
the reason why is because you are going to graduate.
John says in verse thirteen, to become young men. The
(29:00):
original word means adolescence. This is puberty, this is teenage years.
He says, you're gonna need some fortification because here's how
you know when you're a teenager, he says. In verse thirteen,
he says you have overcome the evil one.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
He reiterates it in verse fourteen, and he says you
are strong.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
He says, this is when you get some muscle on
your spiritual bones. My boys are now The picture they
showed you earlier was a pretty old picture. My boys
are now the oldest two or six foot two inch
tall giants, and they walk around my house with this big,
deep voice, Mam, I need a sandwich. Then they always
(29:42):
got their shirts off. These days, there's muscles everywhere and
all This definition is just nasty. Its gross, it's nasty.
Speaker 5 (29:52):
So they're towering over me and.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
I'm still trying to be the boss, but it's kind
of weird. Go clean your room and they're up there,
you know. But they just got all this girth of them.
Now their muscles are showing. Their dad has been real
engaged in their sports life because they have been sportsmen
from the time they were pretty young. They love sports,
and so he's been very careful with their coaches and
people who are training them about what they would and
(30:15):
would not do. He would not allow them until just
the last year or so. My oldest is getting ready
to be seventeen, My middle is fifteen now, and Jude,
our youngest, is now eleven years old. But with my
oldest two he would not let their coaches or anybody
allow them to lift weights until just in the past
year and a half or so. They did push ups,
they did lots of other resistance things, but they did
(30:37):
not lift weights until in the last year.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Now.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
They have been strong for a lot of years. They've
been able to pretty much hurl me over their shoulders,
throw me on the college we've wrestled together. They are strong,
but it's not until the past year that I have
seen the strength that was always in them start to
take shape on.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
The outside of them.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
It was there, but we just couldn't see it until
we added resistance. John says, you know when you're in
the teenage season of your journey.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
When there's some.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Weight on you, you feel like you just can't lift,
when there's something on you that honestly you'd rather pass
off to somebody else because that those squats.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
You just can't squat all that weight, so it seems
to you.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
He says, remain during infancy, but also be steadfast and
remain during the adolescence, because this is when you get
some muscle.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
On your spiritual bones.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
This is when you get some scaffolding in your house
that will be able to restrain and resist when there
is a hurricane that comes flying through. This is when
the fortification that is in you by the spirit of
God begins to take shape on the outside of you,
and you're able to see the spiritual muscle that is
rightfully yours as an adoptive daughter or son of the
(31:51):
Most High God. He says, remain during the resistance that
weight that is on you.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Keep on lifting. It says, that's how you gonna get
some muscle. That struggle that you're having in your marriage,
or in your finances, or on your.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Job, that issue that you're having relationally.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Would you know.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
That sometimes it's the enemy, but sometimes it's.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
God allowing you to go through some stuff so that
He can have a body of believers who have some muscle.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Infancy is for intimacy with God. But adolescence what it's
for is for a cruing power and a cruing strength
and getting fortified so that when the rains pelt you,
when they hit you, you do.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Not easily topple over.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
And so if you find that there is weight on
you right now, remain through the resistance.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Stay steady, sis, Stay steady, brother.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Don't throw in the towel right now at this stage
and your marriage or raising those kids, or pressing into
the ministry God has set before you, or the job
that He's asked you to build, the book that you've.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Been writing, the thing that you've.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
Been cult maiden, don't give up now. This is where
your muscle comes. This is when you get fortification.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Stay remain when everybody.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Else falls away, because this is the time when they
fall away, when stuff gets tough, when there's weight on people,
that's when you see folks going by the wayside. They
don't they're not they're not able to recognize that the
Almighty Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God, lives
in you to do what you cannot do in your
own strength and power to help you resist under the pressure.
(33:33):
It's God's own spirit that will help you be steadfast
and immovable and always abounding on the work of the Lord.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Stay remain during the resistance.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
And the reason why you need to remain through infancy
and then remain through adolescence.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Is because John Wrights. We need some fathers, some spiritual mothers.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
What happened to the days where we came to church
and everybody wasn't a millennial? What happened to the days
where you came into the House of God and there
were some mothers in the house, There were some spiritual fathers.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
In the house.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Some folks like my granddaddy who'd been walking the thing
for a while, who'd been with his wife and has
raised his children, and is looking at his grandchildren and
his great grandchildren, and is able to see decades history
of the faithfulness of God. Who is able to say,
I can tell you something I prayed in nineteen fifty
that God has answered.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
In twenty nineteen.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
We need some saints who have walked the road for
a little while, some people that have a testimony. Do
you understand that you and me are the ones that
are gonna have a testimony.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
We're the ones.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
If we'll just hang in there, we'll be steadfast through
this struggle.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
That we're having right now.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
I'm having one in my life, you're having one in
your lives. I can just stay steadfast long enough. There
is a day that's coming where we're gonna sit in
this room and there's gonna be somebody in their twenties
looking at us in hopes that we will share with
them a story about the goodness of God. Please notice
(35:20):
that John doesn't say adults.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
He says parents.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
The implication is that there are people who are not
just adults, but people who have as their mission to
pour into the lives of somebody else, people that have
their eyes open to see there's somebody counting on me.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Do you know there are.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Sons and daughters, grandchildren in the House of God that
are counting on.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Us to have houses that still stand.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
They're counting on us to have a view of what
it looks like to honor God.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Not just in one decade, not just for one year.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Not just for the season when it was when it
was convenient for us to honor God. But no we
stayed the past, not perfectly, but purpose and intentionally. We
kept setting our God before us. We focused our eyes
on Jesus, who was the author and the finisher of
our faith. John says, this is what fathers do. He said,
(36:16):
they know the one who was from the beginning. He's
talking about Jesus. He says, this is what fathers do.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
They pass on not just a general view of religion.
They pass on Jesus.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
He says that these are the ones who have not
just come to know a program or a platform, not
a religion, not just a routine.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
These are the ones that have come to know Jesus.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Not just in theory, not just in a Christmas Nativity scene,
not just through the testimonies of other people.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
No, they have lived long.
Speaker 4 (36:51):
Enough, they have remained long enough, They have walked with
them long enough to tell the story about the one
who is from the beginning, Jesus. In a world and
in a culture, and in a day and age that
has sought to water down the Gospel, in a culture
that seeks to generalize God so that he is one
of many gods, not a singular, unmatched entity without comparison
(37:13):
and with no counterparts.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
We need some Christians who have.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
Walked the road long.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Enough, and who have enough years with God underneath their belts, who.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Have tried him, and.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
They've seen for themselves that our one true God still
has a specific name, and whether or not it is
politically correct makes no difference to us, because we have
no problem standing in front of kings and queens, or
in front of light people and saying the name that
is above every name, the name had which demon strengthful,
(37:42):
the name that could they every name about, and every
time will confess that the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
Somebody say, Jesus Christ.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
He is the one who was from the beginning. He
is still the chief cornerstone. He is still the lily
of the valley, is the bright morning star.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
He is still the one of whom prophets folks. He
is still the one.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
That was crucified on Calvary, and he is still the
one that on the third day was raised up.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
And who is now seated at the right hand of
the Father full of grace and truth. His name is.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
Jesus, and we got to remain because he's coming.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Listen to me, y'all, the same, no joke.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
I'm saying, he for real coming, So stay, remain, don't
(38:51):
quit yet, don't.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
Throw in the towel yet.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Have some integrity, have some character. Ask the Holy Spirit
to give us some resilience so that we can.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Have some houses that still stand.
Speaker 4 (39:13):
If you are in this room and you're just about
to throw in the towel, there is an area of
your life where you know dog gone good and well.
If God doesn't step in, you're just about to throw
in the towel. You're just about to turn your back
on following him, or turn your back on something you
know He has a signed to you. Because things are
tough right now. When you want to have a house
(39:34):
that still stands, you want today to flip.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
The script in the story of your life.
Speaker 4 (39:38):
If you need prayer in that regard, would you please
just race down to the altar.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
I cannot wait to.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
Stand with you and agree with you in prayer that
we're gonna have houses that still stand, that we're gonna
remain in a leaving culture.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Is there anybody that needs prayer? I will wait for you.
Is there a couple it's your house to still stand?
Race down for the altar.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Don't quit, sis, remain, stay h We're gonna stay I've
(40:35):
decided I'm staying. Staying, We're gonna remain when everybody else
turns back.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
We've decided we're following Jesus.
Speaker 5 (40:48):
We're gonna stay.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
I want you while those that are still coming are coming.
Y'all come on as they come. Listen, you know what
your thing is where you're about to throw in the towel.
Would you, just before the Lord quietly in your heart,
before I pray over us, would you just say, just
be honest with him. Lord, I don't want to do this.
Speaker 5 (41:22):
I can't do this.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
I'm tired of doing this.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
I've been praying about this a long time.
Speaker 5 (41:27):
You haven't changed this.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Would you just talk to the Lord about it?
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Just confess to him the reality of how you're feeling
in this moment. Authenticity doesn't scare him. Lord Jesus, I
lift up my brothers and sisters, and I pray right
now in the name of Jesus Christ, that you would
lift discouragement off of their shoulders. For every single one, Father,
(41:54):
who has tears falling down from their eyes, I can
see them right now. I pray right now you would
dry those tears in Jesus as just proof Father that
you were with them, that you see them, that you
were for them, you are not against them. You will
never leave them nor for Saketom, no matter what season
of maturity therein, you will never leave them north for
sake you see them.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Father, thank you that you see us as a loving father.
Your grace is sufficient for us.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
Lord, thank you for the deep, wide open spaces of
your grace.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
So, Father, I pray you and.
Speaker 4 (42:26):
Lift discouragement, and would you replace it literally with a
supernatural encouragement.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
Right now in Jesus' name.
Speaker 4 (42:33):
Help them to feel a joy in this that they've
not felt before.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
Help them to feel an assurance in this that they've
not felt before.
Speaker 4 (42:40):
Father, I pray that whatever assignment the enemy has against
my brothers and sisters, to cut them off at the past,
to take their house down, to keep them from finishing well,
I pray that that assignment would be canceled right now
in Jesus' name. And buy a floodshet on Calvary. And then, Father,
I pray for some spear muscle. I pray right now
(43:02):
Jesus you would give us some backbone. Father, help the
rain to be no match Lord for the spiritual.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
Fiber that you're gonna give us.
Speaker 4 (43:10):
In Jesus' name, Lord, we're committing by your spirit to stay.
It ain't gonna be easy, but we're gonna stay. It's
not gonna be convenient sometimes, but we're gonna stay.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Lord.
Speaker 4 (43:21):
I pray for the marriages that are on the brink,
snap them back from the brink. Right now in Jesus' name.
I pray for the single mother that is on the brink, Lord,
helper to be steadfast in Jesus's name, I pray Lord
for the son or daughter, the teenager who's just about
to go with the peer pressure that surrounds them and
not stand in integrity.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
For you, I pray right.
Speaker 4 (43:43):
Now in Jesus' name, you would fortify them.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Father, I pray for any addiction, any sin, any heaven, any.
Speaker 4 (43:50):
Lifestyle that's gonna take our house down. I pray right
now in Jesus name, you would loosen those shackles over
our lives.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Set us free.
Speaker 4 (43:59):
Father, we can walk in holness and integrity and in advance. Father,
already looking forward to the finish line.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
We thank you that wouldn't you come.
Speaker 4 (44:09):
We're gonna hear well done, good and faithful.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
Servants in Jesus snake in Jesus snake. Everybody agreed and said, Amen,
why no? Why now is it jday?
Speaker 6 (44:33):
Is suday im.
Speaker 5 (44:46):
A?
Speaker 6 (44:47):
This moent ju come whoa. I won't go back. I
won't go back. Chang go back, whey you to be
(45:15):
for your presence stage. Oh, I won't go back. I
won't go changle levens.
Speaker 5 (45:31):
Up. Change.
Speaker 7 (45:36):
Let's get put our hands together to get a lord
of hand and praise. Amen.
Speaker 2 (45:41):
Wow, were we not fed?
Speaker 7 (45:44):
Where we're not blessed, where we're not in carriage, where
we're not strengthened?
Speaker 2 (45:49):
Did not God speak to our hearts?
Speaker 7 (45:51):
Somebody? All the same man? Right there? Amen? Amen, remain standing.
I am Pastor Dwayne Dickens. I'm honored to serve here
as a special assistance to our senior pastor, Passor John Jenkins. Well,
as you all know, God spoke to us today. He
(46:13):
spoke to us, Amen, and I know that it's not
by accident that you are here. God orchestrated that the
Woman of God would be here to present and to
share passionately that message for us today. We're living in
(46:38):
trying times, we're looking for in need. Believe it's to
having done all the scripture says, stand and some of
us have been challenged this week beyond measure. We will
call a few of us to the hospital with a
very very serious illness of one of our dead members
(47:06):
was nearly at death's door. And as we assembled and
we prayed, and we prayed, and it was crying and
gathering when we prayed. Right there at the elevator, I
led the prayer, and we knew that if we stilled
on God's word, what God could do. While the doctors
(47:28):
called the family together. That family together, we believed the
report of the Lord. And today I hide five somebody
downstairs and I said this, and I want you to
do this.
Speaker 2 (47:40):
I said, won't he do it? Turn to your neighbors,
say won't he do it? Won't he do it?
Speaker 5 (47:44):
Won't he do it?
Speaker 7 (47:45):
Won't he do it? Crazy? We're about to go. I
know where we're going a little over. But here's what
I want you to do. If you're here today and
you never accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and your Lord,
(48:06):
today is a good day for you to come forward.
He wants to receive you as his child and to
nurture you and to pour into you and to love
on you and to make you who he wants you
to be. You're not here by accidents, so we want
you to come. If you're here today, and maybe you're backslitten,
maybe you're no longer in that relationship with God that
you used to be in, but He wants to bring
(48:29):
you back. If you want to come back to him,
we want you to come. Maybe you're here today and
maybe you're unsure. You're just unsure, you have questions, you're doubting,
and you're just not sure. I don't know which wears up,
which wears down, which way to go? But today you
want to be sure. We want you to come. Finally,
if you're here and you're looking for a church home,
(48:51):
First Baptist Church of Glenarden is a great church to
call your home. Somebody say Amen, Amen, Amen. So if
you fall in any of those categories, why this wonderful
music ministry renders a selection. I know God speaking to
your heart. I've been preaching over thirty five years. I
(49:11):
know passing over thirty five years. I know that God
is speaking to your heart. We're not gonna be label
the point, but would you come? Amen?
Speaker 2 (49:19):
That's the song is rendered. Amen.
Speaker 6 (49:24):
Why God is Jesus, there they are.
Speaker 7 (49:31):
There, There are news dollars speaking. What's your pay?
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Christ? In your life?
Speaker 4 (49:38):
You say what you call it.
Speaker 6 (49:40):
I have wait all this moments you come in past,
get a carr, put your hands together.
Speaker 2 (49:56):
Let's Fay puts.
Speaker 1 (49:57):
Your vans together.
Speaker 6 (49:58):
Come on now, I don't Ca bad Oh, can't go
back to the ways to be before your presence Cake
Chertree f B.
Speaker 2 (50:26):
For your presence.
Speaker 3 (50:28):
Flame
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