the cross episode 2... 04-07-2023

The speaker starts by greeting everyone and mentioning some individuals in the audience. He then talks about his experience working at Ace Hardware and how he has turned it into a ministry to encourage and uplift others. He shares a story about his boss asking him to share a scripture with the team and how it impacted him. He also mentions his plans to hand out crosses and invite people to church. The speaker then addresses worries about the future and encourages listeners to trust in God and not get caught up in fear or propaganda. He shares a scripture from Philippians about being anxious for nothing and emphasizes the importance of focusing on positive and uplifting things. He encourages listeners to make connections with loved ones, pray for others, and listen to sermons before bed. The speaker concludes by reminding everyone of the significance of Good Friday and the hope that comes from being a follower of Christ. Good morning everybody. Good morning, good morning. Sorry I was looking down. Let's get that light a little higher. All right. Good morning, good morning. Miss LaVoie, it's good to see you this morning, sister. Good to see you. Ed, glad to see you here. I am happy to see you here, my friend. Praise God. Good morning, Jim. We're still going to, Jim, we're going to stick to the cross. The cross. That's, that's being good Friday. The cross. That'll be our title. The cross. Of course, we're going to be talking about condemnation, but good, the cross. Good morning, good morning. Thank you so much, Miss Foster. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Blessing us right from the very beginning. What a blessing. Good morning, good morning. Can you send a baby shout out for my cousin, Karina? She turns 25 today. Karina, 25 years today old. Say happy birthday. Matter of fact, hang on a second. Let's take that a little further. We're going to, let me, let me get Karina. Hey, hang on. Let's do a little further. K-R-I-N-A. K-R-I-N-A. All right. Let's give a shout on, on, on TikTok and do a post for it. Is that cool? I like your Mario mustache. Mario. Right? I have socks older than Karina. Hey man, this little boy, thank you so much. That's funny. That's funny. Miss Lacey, how are we doing? It's good to see you this morning. Love it. Love it. All right. First thing, guys, hang on a second. So as you all know, I've been working at Ace, Ace Hardware. And believe it or not, I enjoy it. I really do. But let me tell you why it's been so pleasant. It's a wonderful thing to work somewhere where people appreciate you. I'm sure we all can agree. Thank you so much. Where they appreciate you. That's anywhere. That's not just me. Miss Kim, good morning. Miss Cindy, good morning. It's just a good thing to be somewhere where people appreciate you. And Ace has been that for me. So very powerful. God has put in my mindset that Ace Hardware is a ministry for me. It's a ministry. That means that there are all kinds of people from all walks of life dealing with all kinds of things. And all I am trying to do is to be a light and to shine in darkness. And so I've just turned this into an opportunity to minister. So for eight hours a day, I come in with an attitude of gratitude. I have a smile on my face. I am encouraging each other. And it's really been super powerful. So one day I went to the the I met the owner of the organization. And basically he's like, we've got Pastor Paul here. Which I said, well, you know, I don't tell everybody that I'm a pastor. But okay. I go, I don't want people to act weird around. He goes, oh, no, no, I get it. But the manager, I went to him the other day. I said, hey, with your permission, I'd like to just take brief moments to encourage each person. And I've been doing it. I've been encouraging people like there's this guy named Dan. He's 78 years old. He works there. He works on the back wall, all the nuts and bolts. And I said, Dan, you know what? You bring so much value to this team. You bring so much value, your knowledge and understanding. He gets a little embarrassed about it, but he does. He brings incredible value. There's a young lady. Her name is Caitlin. She's 26 years old. She's one of the managers, but she's focused. I mean, she is a hard worker. She's focused. And I said, hey, you know, you're a good leader. She goes, oh, well, thank you. And then we talked about, you know, certain things that she has to deal with. But I have come to the conclusion, my job is to encourage. So I went to my boss the other day and said, I just want to be able to encourage people, if that's okay with you. So yesterday, we wear these little special headphones and we were able to talk to each other. Hey, a customer needs this, that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The public can't hear, but we all hear. So the boss gets on the headphone. He goes, Paul, do you have a scripture from the word of God for us all today? And I'm like, yeah. And it was for a slight moment, for about two seconds, I was like, did he just do that? All the places I've worked, all the people I've been around, non-Christian organization, are non-religious. Excuse me. I've never had a boss ask me, do you have a scripture or can you pray? And I said, absolutely. So over the microphone, I pressed the button. I said, for a man who loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. And I cut the microphone off. And for about a second, it was silence. And all of a sudden, the boss responds. He goes, great scripture. And he says, I want all of you to know, I love you guys. Guys, my mind was blown. I have never, in all my years of working, had any manager, boss, or a superior, or someone in leadership. Now I've had side conversations with people in leadership, one-to-one, but I've never heard anybody just broadcast and say, would you pray or would you share a scripture? I went into his office. I said, dude, you just made it in my TikTok. You made it in my sermon notes. You made it to my TikTok live. I go, that, my friend, was powerful. He goes, really? He says, Paul, I want you to do that more often. I want you to share words of encouragement. If you would just do that for us. And I was amazed that he, and I'm reading what you're saying, Ms. Lucy, usually they go out of their way to keep it out of the workplace. That's right. But you know what it is? I believe it's the culture. The owner is a Catholic family, but they're very intense in their Catholic faith. The manager, he's Mormon. There are a lot of young people. There are some older people here, but I believe that God is creating an incredible opportunity for me to share the gospel. One of the things that I showed you guys yesterday, I have these cute little crosses. And what I'm going to start doing as God leads me, I'm going to start just saying, hey, you know what? I'd like to invite you to church on Sunday. Just give them a little cross, a little token. Matter of fact, on the paperwork that's in there, let me show it to you. Hang on. These are the little crosses. But in the paperwork, it's the Lord's prayer. And so if I could get it open, it's childproof. So it says the Lord's prayer. And basically this little piece of paper comes in here. And basically it's the Lord's prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us our daily bread and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever. Amen. So this and this, as the Lord leads me, I'm going to start handing them out at work and inviting people to church. Also, maybe we can do, I don't know, a Bible study there. But folks, I just went to Ace just to make enough money to pay my bills. Little did I know that God was going to use me. And you know, it's funny, a friend of mine named Bo has encouraged me even in this process. He worked with me in corporate America. He's like, hey, this is an opportunity. I remember him saying that this is an opportunity. This is, it might not be forever, it's temporary, but it's an opportunity and how God is going to use you there. And I agree with him. I believed in that. But did I realize how impactful that working at Ace was going to be for me and having this ability. And here's the great thing. Everyone's open to hear what I have to say. I should reward that, what God has to say through me. They're all open. It's beautiful, folks. It's powerful. So please keep that in prayer. It's, oh, my, my, my. I'm a Christian, but I haven't been overly involved in religion, but I really enjoy your lives. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Hey, another thing. I came home last night, Miss Debbie, she wasn't worried, but she had some concerns. Let me share what she said. She said, do you know the whole banking system is about to be flipped around as of Monday? I said, what are you talking about? She goes, the whole banking system is going to really be turned upside down and we're going to transition from paper to digital. And I said, what? And she said, yeah, she says, you know, this, that's on, et cetera. And I said, well, what do you think? She goes, what can you do? And I said, right. She goes, what can you do? And I said, you're absolutely on point. What can you do? But some of you might be worried. Some of you might be worried on this good Friday. You might be worried about the future. You might be worried about certain events taking place in the world, but you know what? Let me give you a scripture. Philippians, you know where I'm going to go, but I want to take you there. Philippians chapter four, let's read six and seven. Philippians chapter four, uh, uh, uh, six and seven. You know what? We'll, we'll, we'll use five for the ace guy and any of you, but we'll also emphasize on six and seven. Let me take a sip. For those of you that are dealing with anxiety or you're worried, or you're looking at the news and you, you, you just like, wow, what is going on? The world is changing right in front of me. And so here we go. Be anxious. Oh, let's read verse five. Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. That's for ace. That's for any of us that work anywhere. All right, but let's keep reading six and seven. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Wow. Verse seven and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I think a brings it home. Eight brings it home. Finally, brother, whatever's true, whatever's honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, uh, reputation. If there are any excellence in, if anything worthy of praise dwell on these things. So miss Debbie was absolutely right. What can we do if they want to transition from a cash society to a digital society? What can we do if they want to do a B or C, what can we really do? But what we can do that is the most powerful thing in your life that you can do. And I can do that. We can do is right there. Be anxious for nothing. We can't be anxious. Folks, things are going to progress. They're, they, they're, they, they are going to move forward. And all of this is leading to the coming of Jesus. Now I say it every day and I'm not sure when he's coming. I don't know the time or the day, but my friends, my brothers, my sisters, I see the indications that we all see. I'm so sorry. Philippians chapter four, we're reading five, six, and seven Philippians chapter four, five, six, and seven. All of these events are leading to the coming of Christ. I am going to say this and I will keep on saying this. This, my friends is a beautiful time to be a follower of Christ, a Christian. Do not operate in the spirit of fear. Don't get shook. Don't get overly concerned. Christ is on the throne. This is good Friday. It's good to us as Christians because we know this is the defining moment, uh, the world has been exposed to. Christ went to the cross for you and I. And because we've accepted him and we believe in him and our faith is in him, we are in his family. We've been adopted and we will not suffer the wrath that comes upon this world. But in our time, let's not let the news events or are the news that comes down the pipeline to discourage us or to create a spirit of fear. But I want you to know as a Christian that there is a hedge of protection around you, that you are a child of God, that you belong to a kingdom, that you, thank you, that you are passing through and in route as you pass through this thing we call life, make sure that you touch everyone. You make contact with everyone that you encounter back to, I think what Jim said, we are influencers and we can influence people in fear or depression or anxiety also. So let us not get caught up in the news, but let's get caught up in the good news that Jesus Christ is coming soon. I read again, started in Philippians 4 verse 5. First, let your gentle spirit be known to all men. That's the influence. Let that gentle spirit be known. When, when, when the news comes down the pipeline, A, B or C, don't let it affect you. Don't let it cause you to get stirred up. Don't let that be the center of your conversation over dinner and evening. Praise God, give him glory. Thank him for the blessings that you have. If you have your health, thank you, Lord. If you have a beautiful family, thank you, Lord. If you have a home shelter of any kind, thank you, Lord. Don't get caught up in the things that, that the world is dishing out to you, but stand on the word of God. What does it say in verse 6? Be anxious for nothing. Don't be, don't be, don't be worried. Don't be worried. Ms. Debbie, once again, I came home and what did she say? What can we do? You can't do anything. Mr. Biden and, and, and, and, and world leaders, they're going to do what they're going to do. But what, what, what must we do? Keep them in prayer. Keep them in prayer. God is in charge. God has got it, but be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication. Make the Lord, make known to the Lord what you're dealing with. Yes. Bless your neighborhood. Bless your community. Bless your block. Bless your neighbor. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Bless each other. Don't get concerned with what's going on. See, let me, let me share something with you real quick. In every military, or I should say world powers, when they deal with each other, especially with their military, they love putting out propaganda. What they do is with that propaganda, it causes the, the, the, the troops to rethink what is going on. They, they, it causes them to take their focus off the mission. It causes them to have a internal morale negativity event. See what Satan's doing through the news is trying to put out that propaganda, trying to spread that propaganda to cause you to think that, Oh no, we're, we're, we're in trouble. What are we going to do? What's going to happen? Oh my Lord. And, and, and, and in causing you to lose sleep and anxiety and, and, and, and all that goes with it, but you don't have to do, you don't have to worry about that. Don't, don't fall into the trap of propaganda. Don't, don't get caught up in consume. Now. I'm not saying don't watch the news, but don't spend your precious time watching the news. Don't spend all, excuse me, all your precious time watching the news, because all that is, is propaganda to cause you to get overly consumed about things that are completely out of your control, but you know what you can control. How about getting up and going into the next room and telling your spouse, you know, I appreciate you. I love you. You can control that. How about, uh, uh, going into the kid's room and let them know, you know what? I'm, I'm not, not have told you this, but I'm really proud of you. I really love you. How about sitting down with your family and having some conversations with them and said, Hey, how was your day? What do you, what do you, what are you wrestling with? What are you struggling with? What are you dealing with? I mean, having heartfelt conversations with your loved ones, looking in their eye and really getting a feel for what they are going through, what they're dealing with. You'd be amazed. You can control that. You can turn that TV off. You can turn that news off and you can literally make some incredible connections and influence. There we go. Being an influencer within your household. What about picking up the phone, checking on some folks at the church? What about, what about checking on your pastor? You folks, I had a young man call me yesterday and he lost his mother and I don't, I don't know him on a personal note. We've been introduced to each other through, uh, Ricky, uh, you know, the young man I mentor here in our church. And he, he, the gentleman called me up and he lost his mother and he wanted prayer. Now you're going to pray for anybody that calls, right? That's what we're called to do, right? He's following the scripture. You know, he wanted that peace that surpasses understanding. So he called me up and, and I was busy about to do something. And so with that being said, I was like, Oh man, I really want to get this done. But you know, this is, this is, this is the kingdom work. This is what I'm supposed to do. So I called him up and I tell you what, folks, he prayed over me. He prayed over me and I felt the power and the, and the, and the anointing and all that comes with it. When he prayed, my spirit was just leaping with joy. He prayed for the ministry. He prayed for the health of myself and my wife. He prayed for the church. He prayed that revival start, not, not a fake revival, but a real revival that would start in our ministry. He prayed that, that, that workers would come. He prayed that, that the workers not only would be there, but they would, they would go above and beyond. He prayed and folks, when he got done praying and it was interesting, his prayer started out by honoring God, praise God. And his prayer transitioned into himself with regards to what he was going through. And you could hear in his voice, how melancholy he was when it came to his prayer to himself, which is understandable. But when he transitioned to pray over me, it went from here to here. And his prayer was incredibly powerful. My point to you is this, don't get overly consumed with the events and the propaganda of the world. If Satan can take your focus off what the word of God says, you will operate in the spirit of defeatism. However, if we would take the time to pray for each other, just like this young man, he called for prayer, but he reciprocated the prayer. And now the, the, the, the feeling through the Holy spirit through that prayer, my, my, my is unexplainable. Matter of fact, watch this verse seven in Philippians 4, 7, and the peace of God was surpasses comprehension or understanding the peace of God was on me. And while analytically or from a, uh, uh, an intelligible concept, I could understand where that piece came from. It came from God, but I was amazed how in one moment I was overly concerned with getting my yard done to the next moment to God gave me a piece that surpasses understanding. And I was there like, I needed that prayer. I want to thank you for that prayer. And that's what I mean, folks. If we, uh, good morning, Ray. If we would keep each other in prayer, pray for your pastor, pray for your ministers, pray for your family, pray for your neighbors, my friends, we can really make a difference in each other's lives. So I repeat, let's put down the remote control. Let's put on some gospel music, some good old Christian music, even if it's old school, or if it's more contemporary, and let's let that be in the background. How about when you go to bed? Let me, let me throw this out there to you. I did it the other night. Miss Debbie's like, wow. But I love putting on, uh, uh, sermons when we go to sleep. And I play that on my iPhone. And what I'll do is I get one of those speakers with the Bluetooth technology, and we'll just listen to a sermon as we, as we go to sleep, we're listening to a sermon. We're listening to the word of God. Do you know how amazing that is to go to bed, listening to the word of God? Do you know subconsciously as you transition from going to sleep to REM? Could you imagine how that enters into your subconscious and that stays within there? I love that. I love that. And that's the things that we do. But let's shut down the TV. Let's focus on encouraging each other. Let's, let's encourage each other in prayer. Let's make sure that we don't miss an opportunity to pray over each other and, and speak kind words. You know, words are important. I don't know if y'all know that, you know, just for the sake of it. I was going to talk about condemnation this morning, but I, uh, I think this is powerful, but you know what? Let's, let's look at the book of James. Let's go to the book of James. I think James hits some points here that we really need to take a look at here. Let's see. Oh, my, my, my. What? Hang on a second. Let me see something. Let me see something. If you don't mind. Oh, I don't really suffer from allergies too much, but when they do hit me, they hit me. So if you hear me sniffling, please forgive me. Please forgive me. All right. Hang on. Let's go to the book of James. All right. Thank you for your patience. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. This card in the way here. I don't know why. All right, here we go. Let's, let's look at the book of James. And I think we want to get over there to chapter three, the book of James chapter three. Are we there? Book of James chapter three. Let me know. Let not many of you become teachers, my brother, knowing that as a teacher, let not many of you become teachers, my brother, knowing that as such, we will incur a stricter judgment. We're going to see why. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man able to bridle his whole body as well. We're going to see how he bridles it or how she bridles it. Now, if we put the bits into the horse's mouth, so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Verse four. Look at the ships also. They, though they are so great and are driven by the wind, strong winds. They are still directed by a very small rudder, whatever the inclination of the pilot desires. Verse five. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts great things. You know, the tongue, how powerful we have two ears to hear. We have two eyes to see. We have two nostrils to breathe, but we have one mouth and that's more than enough. As a matter of fact, for some of you, your mouth gets you in a lot of trouble. Am I being honest? Let's be very sincere. Let's examine ourselves. How many would agree, sometimes my mouth gets me in trouble? Anybody want to agree with that? Amen. Jim, I thank you for the honesty. I appreciate it. Anybody else want to be honest? Sometimes, oh, look at, look at this little voice. Me, I agree all the time. Most of the time. Amen. Well, let's be honest. We have two ears to hear. We have two eyes to see. We have two nostrils to take in the oxygen. We can use our mouth too, but the mouth, we only have one and that's all we need because I have found that my mouth, my tongue is very powerful. It can say things that shouldn't have been said, but it also can say some things that needed to be said. It can encourage. It can love. It can, it can share incredible fruit. Have you ever had a bad day and someone say, you know what? I'm so glad to see you today. You made my day. And those few words just turn the situation around. You ever had that happen? Or how about Ms. Debbie will come out and she'll be looking cute as a button. I said, oh my gosh, look at my baby. You look so cute. And you know what she'll tell me? She's, you know what? I wasn't feeling good about myself, but you saying that just made me feel good. Notice there's power in what we say, how we say it, when we say it, what we say this power. But if you read that scripture in the book of James chapter three, he says, you can control a horse by putting a bit in its mouth. You can direct that beast, whatever way you want to go. You can take a ship, a big vessel. I was on at that time, one of the biggest vessels on the ocean, USS Carl Vinson. And that thing turned on a dime, but in here it says a big ship with a small rudder. Watch what it says in that next part though. Verse five. So also the tongue is a small part of the body and yet it boasts of great things. Your tongue is powerful. Look what it says in verse six. And the tongue is a fire, a very world of iniquity. Remember we talked about iniquity yesterday. We said iniquity meant to be twisted. It's off, it's unbalanced, it's perversion. Remember iniquity? It's full of iniquity, the tongue. It can be perverted. It can be off balance. It can be unequal. It's full of wickedness. It's full of evil. We're talking about the tongue folks. We're not talking about the hands or the eyes or the ears. Now those can, those definitely can receive iniquity, but the tongue can put out iniquity. Look what it says in the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity. The tongue is set among our members as which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of our life. And it is set on fire by what? Hell, the tongue. Let's use the other side of the spectrum. You ever had anybody say something to you that really hurt you? Have you ever had anybody that diminished or degraded you? Maybe they said something to the effect that, hey, you're, you're too this, you're too ugly, you're not smart, you're too big, you're too short, you're too tall, you're too, whatever the case may be. And the power of their tongue cut deep. My father used to say that, you know, you could get in a knife battle and get cut and that cut will heal. You can get in a verbal You can get in a verbal argument and those scars never heal because they cut deep. The tongue is powerful friends, and we got to be careful what we say and how we say it. So when you were out and about, use your tongue, your ability to encourage people, to pray over people, to love on people. This is, this is, this is what we should do because we're getting back to the whole point of not being concerned when the negative news is out there. When we hear the events taking place, that doesn't mean I want you to stick your head in the sand. But what I want you to do is to use your time wisely. What does the Bible say, redeeming the time while the days are evil, meaning use your time wisely. And I think the power of your tongue and interacting and talking and encouraging is power within itself. James talks about that tongue. So bottom line is this, let's not get overly consumed with the world. Let's not get overly consumed with the news coming down the pipeline. This is why there's better news. There's good news. For today is Good Friday. Now, why do we call it good? Well, this is the defining moment for every Christian. We know that Jesus Christ is going to go to the cross. We know that he gave his life on the cross as the sacrifice, as the substitute for you and I. We know that we looked at our scriptures that we were condemned and we were in a state of condemnation, that we in the state that we're in should be separated from God for eternity. But because of what Jesus has done, is doing, will do, we are saved because we have put our faith and trust in him. But here's the second part of the good news. They put him in a grave, a tomb, a tomb that not belonged to him, but was borrowed. But it wasn't long term because he wasn't going to need it long term. But they put him in a tomb. They rolled a stone in front of it. They put guards in front of it so that no one could steal the body. But it didn't need to be stolen because he had promised that he would resurrect on the third day. Well, when they looked in the tomb, the tomb was empty. He wasn't there. He had risen. And that is the good news that death and the grave could not hold Jesus. That same promise has been given to you and I, that eventually we will die. We will take that last breath. Our heart will stop. The doctors will come in and they will declare us dead. But in all reality, we transitioned from life to death to eternal life. We shall have eternity with Jesus Christ. And folks, I can get teary eyed by thinking about my name being written in the book of life. When you think about your name, when you accepted Jesus, we had our friend Ed here just the other day. He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior right here on the south. Do you know at that very moment that he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, that his name, your names, my name is written in the book of life? It's funny. They don't know my name down at the state capitol in Arizona. They don't know my name over there in Washington, D.C. There's a lot of places they don't know me. But do you know that my name, your name, if we have Jesus, is written in the book of life? My name. When I think about that, folks, when I think about that I'm adopted in the family of God, that makes me want to cry. Because he loved me enough that he went to the cross. Now I make it personal. He went to the cross for me. Someone said, can you lose salvation? Let me explain what I believe about losing salvation. I do not believe that a Christian man or woman can lose their salvation. Let me explain. Salvation is God's. It's his. You are unable to lose what belongs to him. It's his. However, what is the only way that we may be able to please God? Through faith. Through faith. The Bible is quite clear in Hebrews, without faith it's impossible to please God. So, if your faith somehow dissipates, disappears, or leaves, then you have a problem with regards to God's salvation. But let me explain something. A true follower of Christ does not lose their faith. They will not lose their faith. Now, they might go through some trials and tribulations, but they will not lose their faith. Real quick. Hang on just a second. Real quick. 95 followers. Mr. Kevin, I see you going across my screen. Is there anything that I can, I should not pay attention to this, but I see you coming across my screen with some interesting statements. Friend, do you have anything to say that you like, on my knees? On my knees? I'm not sure what that means. Mr. Kevin, do you have anything that you need to say? Because you're bringing nothing to the table of value. And if there's something that you want to say or get off your chest, please do. Can you read for me, please, a few minutes? Read what, friend? I'm going to just look at your, read what, friend? Well, we were just reading the Bible. It's an interesting conversation. I'm having problems with my faith sometimes. Okay. Here we go. I'm sorry. I should have got off topic. I have been reading, but we're covering some stuff here that I really want to talk about. However, I lost my train of thought there. What was I talking about? I should have stayed focused. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. What was I talking about? Please, anybody? I should have stayed. He may be struggling with addiction. Pastor Paul, you got a little upset. I did, and I shouldn't have. I did. And thank you. Losing faith in salvation. Thank you so much. So, our faith, a true believer, and when one of you says, I'm struggling with my faith, I want you to be very real. Are you really struggling with your faith and belief in God? Or are you struggling with the circumstances that you're enduring? Because I have, over the years, including myself, those around me, I've never seen anyone deny who God is. I've never seen anyone deny who Jesus is. I've seen them get discouraged because of the events they are going through. But I've never seen them lose their faith in God. They might have questioned the events, the circumstances, but they still trusted and believed in the Lord. So, my point is this. Salvation belongs to the Lord. It is. We cannot lose what we do not possess or own. But when we lack the faith, then that's when we find, or we do not have faith, it is impossible to please God. And then that's when you find yourself in a situation. So, if a person says today, I lost my faith in God, then guess what? Then you do not have a relationship with God. Does that make sense? So, when people say you can lose your salvation, they're saying it wrong. You can't lose that. That's not yours to possess. But your faith, in its lacking, cannot please God. And that, within itself, is the problem. Though, a true follower of Christ will not lose their faith. A true follower of the Lord will not lose their faith. We'll leave that there. I hope that helped. All right, folks, it is 7-12, and I must get going because I've got to get ready. I apologize. I wasn't angry. I just see things that people say, and I just, I get a little concerned for their souls. And so, is it me? Understanding, I can't, but I've been asking. But I get a little upset, and I'm so sorry. I apologize. Please forgive me. Please forgive me. However, with all that being said, folks, I want you to go out in the course of your day. I want you to be used by God in a powerful way. Use your words wisely. Do not allow Satan to disturb you. Don't get caught up. Just, I did it right there, by myself. I was, got distracted, and lost my train of thought. And that's a perfect example, what happens to us when we watch the news or listen to negative information. You have to stay focused on God. You have to stay focused on God. All right, today's Friday. I won't see you the whole weekend. I won't be back on until Monday morning. Let me pray real quick. Please go on our website, the Facebook, or not the Facebook, please remember the church website. Go ahead and get registered. I want to make sure that we build that registration so that we can continue to sustain contact. So whatever happens with TikTok or whatever platform, that you know what's going on in Arizona with Pastor Paul and the ministry and the church. So please go on there and get registered if you could. All right, let me pray real quick. Father God, we thank you. We praise you. We honor you. We lift you up, Lord, for you are worthy of our prayer. And Father, I just ask for your forgiveness. I was distracted. The very thing I spoke of, Lord, I pray that you would forgive me. I got distracted. I lost my focus and acted out. Lord, forgive me for that. And Lord, I pray for anyone and everyone who is asking for prayer. Whatever that situation is, Lord, you know. You know the circumstance. And Lord, we take those events, those circumstances, those situations, those individuals, and we put them at the throne of grace. So Lord, you've given us bold access through your son, Jesus, and we don't take it for granted. Father, we just thank you. And Lord, I pray that as we go out to our jobs or take care of our responsibilities, Lord, I pray that you are with us, that the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit be on us, within us, and around us, that we can display the glory of God through our actions and our responses. Father, we just thank you. And we praise you. And we ask all this in the name of Jesus. And we all say, Amen. All right, everybody. God bless you. Have a beautiful day. And let the Lord bless you. I choose love.