Pastor Paul talks on Gods Plan For You
Transcription
A pastor in a church noticed three suspicious men with weapons and prayed over them, preventing a possible robbery. This incident highlights the power of prayer and the importance of being attentive to God's guidance. Prayer is a way to communicate with God and seek His plans for our welfare. God listens to our prayers and promises to be found by us when we seek Him with all our hearts. He has good plans for us and wants the best for our lives. We should prioritize prayer and trust in God's perfect plan, even if it goes against our own desires. God's will is greater than our own and He will provide for our needs. I wanted to read something to you. I'm not going to be on long this morning. I've got to pick up my daughter at the airport. She's coming in for our birthday. Ms. Debbie's on the 3rd. I'm the 6th. So she comes in, so I'm going to have to go pick her up. However, first thing I want to start with, did anybody see that video of the pastor in church while he's preaching? He's a retired police officer. Three gentlemen come in. The pastor realizes there's something wrong with them. I think he notices that there's a gun in there. They have vans, and they have weapons. Did you see where the pastor prayed over them? Basically, the pastor, through prayer, by divine interaction, saved the congregation from a possible robbery. Did anybody see that? I see one individual said, yes, amen. No, you have to see it. Oh, guys, you have to see it. It's incredible. It's all in footage because the service is live. They're filming it. The pastor comes over there, and he's asking, and I don't remember, so I'll paraphrase. He goes, excuse me, who invited you here? He goes, well, I want to know how you came here. Then he says, can we pray over you? Next thing you know, the whole church is praying over these three guys because the pastor noticed. But the pastor told him, he said, hey, I still have the anointing because he's a retired police officer. He said, I still have the anointing of a police officer. I know what you're up to. It was incredible. Folks, it was incredible, but my point is this, the power of prayer. These three young men came into this church to rob this church, and trust me, this happens. Not all the time, but it happens. When I was a kid, my father knew Aretha Franklin's father, and Pastor Franklin used to have to carry a gun in the pulpit for the pure fact that people would come in and rob the church. People would do this. So this pastor, back to the story, this pastor, by the anointing of God, by the power of God, by the Holy Spirit, had this servant picked up on him, and what did he do? He didn't fight him. He didn't argue with him. What did he do? Ultimately, he interacted with him. He communicated, and he prayed. Do you know that whole church was praying for them? That whole church was praying for them. Think about that. That could have been a story on the nightly news where people were shot in church, killed in church over the offering plate. But praise be to God. Praise be to God. Wow. That's incredible. What did this person say? Taxed churches don't rob them. Taxed churches don't rob them. Well, that's a subject I'm not even going to touch. I don't want to get into it. But the point of all of this is this. Praise be to God that God gives us the ability. Praise be to God that the Holy Spirit gave us power through the anointing. And you know what? This can be done or utilized with us. If we would just be attentive to the Word of God, if we would be attentive to the Holy Spirit, if we would keep our hearts in tune with what God is saying versus being, and I think one of the greatest tools of all the tools, one of the greatest tools by Satan is diverting our attention. We get so focused on so many different things that we do not focus on the goodness of God. We do not focus on what God is saying. We focus on what the news says. We focus on what we read and heard on TikTok. We focus on the events of the world that we forget to focus on what God says. I said again, I won't be on your lawn this morning, but I want to read something. Jeremiah, you know this verse. All of you have read it a thousand times. But I want to take you to Jeremiah 29.11. You know the verse, but I love how it flows. I love what it says. All right? 29.11, what does it say? For I know, God is speaking, for I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for your calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile. God had a plan for that pastor and that church. God has a plan for you. Look what it says. For I know the plans that I have for you. God says, I know the plans that I have for you. He's got a plan for you. But see, sometimes you get so distracted by the things of the world or the things that you've been addicted to or the things that cause you to stray away from the path. But God says, I know the plans that I have for you. There's a plan for your life. God has divinely appointed your path, and here's a plan. Now, don't get me wrong. There's free will, and I've talked about this, and you guys have got to grab this. There's God's perfect will and there's God's permissive will. Perfect will is the plan that God has for you. Abraham and Sarah. The perfect plan, God came to Abraham and said, Abraham, remember when we read it just the other day? He said, while he was talking to Abraham, he said, where's Sarah? He said, Sarah's in the tent. And he says, well, tell Sarah that next time I come back, this time next year, she shall be with child. The perfect plan is the child was going to be Isaac. Isaac was going to be the promised child, the child of the covenant, which was going to lead to Jesus. That was the perfect plan. But the permissive will of God is this. What did Abraham do? Abraham listened to Sarah, laid with his handmaiden. They had Ishmael. That was God's permissive will. God has a perfect plan, but if you, out of free will, choose to do something else, God's permissive will will allow you to do it, but it's not God's perfect plan. But if you listen to that scripture, for I know the plans that I have for you, we must desire God's perfect plan. And sometimes that perfect plan is not comfortable. Sometimes that perfect plan is not what we think it's going to be. Sometimes that perfect plan goes against what we planned, but it's still God's perfect plan. Thank you. It's God's perfect plan, and I would desire God's perfect plan over any plan any day because it's God's plan. And how many of you can look back and even when you chose God's permissive will, He permitted you to do something. He allowed you to free will and choose that. And even if it was for you, as you look back and say, why did I do that? How many of you can say, God still had me? God still had me, even though in His permissive will He allowed me to do that. He still watched over me. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Let's listen to what those plans are. Plans for your welfare. Plans that involve your best interest. Plans that involve the best interest of your family. Plans that are so perfect and so precision for our welfare. This is what God is about. He is interested. He is fascinated. He is captivated. He is in love with you so much that He wants the very best for you. Like a parent with a child. How many of you would do anything for your children? How many of you have slaved your fingers to the bone to take care of your family? How many of you have worked one, two, three jobs just to make ends meet, to make sure there was food on the table? How many of you, how many of you, I'm talking to you, have taken the smaller portion on your plate to make sure that your child had more? How many of you have worn the same jeans months in and days in and years in so that your kid could have a brand new pair of tennis shoes for school or something of that effect? How many of you? Because why? You had your child's best interest in mind. You had plans for good welfare for them, that they would be okay. You came to the conclusion, I didn't need that. I didn't need this. I want to make sure that my child is okay. Well, guess what? We serve a God that owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but he's concerned with our welfare. He doesn't have to work his finger to the bones. He doesn't have to minimize what he needs so that you can have. He's able to provide for you and I, and he's able, and he wants the best for us. And don't mistake the best based on what the world thinks is the best. Don't do that. Don't get yourself twisted. But he wants the best for you. Let me tell you something real quick. You all have been praying for me about something. I want you to hear me. You've been praying for me. What have you been praying for me about? I've asked you all to pray for me. Let me see something because I'm going to tell you right now. My best welfare, I'm going to give you a welfare story here. Welfare. Right there when I read that, Lord plans for welfare, not for calamity. What have you been praying for me? A job. Yes, Sister Kim, you already know. And what job in particular? What job in particular? There you go. A new job at Ace. I walked in yesterday at my interview at 10 o'clock. I met with the manager. He came out and then gone. We walked back in the office. And, you know, he interviewed me for about maybe 15 minutes. You know what we talked about? We talked about encouraging the younger generation. We talked about church. He looked down because literally you fill out an application there. He said, I noticed that you cannot be here on Sundays. Can you tell me why? I said, I'm in church. He says, I believe everybody should be in church on Sundays. I'm excited about that. I said, well, I'm going to let you know something. He said, what? I go, not only am I in church. I passed church that my father started in the 60s. He said, I love that. I said, but also I got to tell you something else. I go, I'm very vocal about my praise to God. I go, you might hear me say amen. You might hear me say hallelujah. He goes, I would love to hear it while you're here. And then he said, now watch this. Then he said, I noticed that you didn't put salary on here. I said, I didn't put salary on there because if I do, you would have said, well, we can't pay this gentleman what he used to pay. I go, I'm not looking to make what I used to make. I need to make something and I'm close to home. This is two miles away from my house, and I need my job to take care of me and my wife so I can support us. So what you pay is acceptable. He said, okay. He said, when can you start? I said, when do you want me to start? He said, how about tonight? I said, okay. Let me get back to what I'm reading here. See, God opened that door. Why? Because God is interested in my welfare. Now, a lot of this, and I'll be completely candid with you. When I consult, I consult for $75 an hour. I get paid $37.50 just to drive to the place or fly to the place. That means if I'm leaving my house, when I'm just in transport, that's $37.50 an hour. When I get to the destination in front of the place, I get $75 an hour. That's what I get for consulting. But see, I didn't need that. Because what? I wanted to get this job at Ace. It doesn't pay close to that, trust me. But my point is this. God has plans for me. He has plans for my welfare. He has plans for my best interest in mind. Most people would say, well, wait a minute. You're going to have the $75 an hour. Do not get twisted and think somehow that more money or more cars or more stuff is better. That's not so. But what you should say, if I make this a friend, make it either way. Do you get my drift? Do you get my drift? And I don't tell you that amount to be braggadocious. I'm trying to be transparent with you. But we read the verse again. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for your welfare and not for your calamity. I know for a fact that at Ace, number one, I've been given the green light to be a Christian. Number two, that God is going to take what I make there to provide. And of course, the blessings of people who bless this ministry, no ifs, ands, or buts. God will provide. Number three, and this will enable me to minister to people that I see on a day-to-day basis. Why? For I know the plans that I have for you, Paul Abram, declares the Lord. Plans for your welfare. That's why I gave you Ace. And not for your calamity, to give you a future and a hope. See, that's God. What about you? What is God doing in your life right now? What is God opening up? What is God providing? What is God blessing you with right now? And guess what? Are you thanking Him? Are you praising Him? Are you listening to Him? Are you being guided by Him? Joshua, it's so good to see you. Lamb, I see you too. Love you guys. A plan. Then you will call upon me. And come and pray to me. And I will listen to you. Think about it. The Lord says right there, He says right there, He says, and you will call on me. And you will come pray to me. And I will listen to you. I want you to think about that. The Creator of the heavens and the earth says, I will hear your prayer. The Creator. God Almighty, the Ancient of Days, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, God, Jehovah. Hears our prayers. Most importantly, though, in all of this, I want you to not miss this. He says, and you will pray to me. Prayer is important. You know what prayer does? Well, prayer is communication with our Creator. It's prayer. And you know, prayer is a supernatural way. It's a natural action. It's a natural action. In the natural, we can pray. But when we pray in the spirit, it's a supernatural way that you call upon the name of God. And this is why the Bible says, we may boldly go before the throne of grace. In what? Prayer. I just glanced. Somebody said, how does one pray? How do you talk? You speak to God. You pray to God. And let me give you a secret hint. When you pray, start off every prayer by exalting and glorifying Him. God, I want to thank you for waking me up this morning. For Lord, you are a great God. You are my Father. You are the Alpha, the Omega. God, I just praise your holy name as you gave me access before the throne of grace. For Father God, I just, and you just exalt Him. If you start off your prayer by exalting God and lifting Him up, we said that yesterday, glorifying God. If you will glorify God in the starting of your prayer, my, my, my, you will find yourself in the power of the anointing in your prayer closet. Prayer. He says, if you, He says, then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. What do I pray about? Well, let's just pray without ceasing, but you need to pray about everything. I got to Ace yesterday. I prayed before I walked in. I stood right there in front of Ace. Lord, I said, thank you, Lord, for Lord, you have never let me down. God, I pray that in the name of Jesus, that your will, that you will give me this job at Ace, Father God, that you would open that door, Father God, that I could just go in here and that this would be my, my, my place of employment. Father, that your will, I pray that the manager will have favor on me, that the people have favor on me. That, Lord, I just pray. That's what I prayed before I walked in. As I was walking in the parking lot, I had my eyes closed enough where they were, where I was like this, but not enough where I would trip. And what was I doing? Praying. The Lord says, then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. First thing, you will seek me. Did you hear that? When you start praying and you're sincere about your prayer, he says, you will seek me and find me. Some of you ask, Pastor Paul, how do I get close to the God? Start seeking him. But I pray every night, keep praying. Keep praying. Keep praying. I believe the saints in the days of Jesus understood that prayer. I believe the saints within the scripture from Old Testament to New understood what it was to pray. And not these little popcorn prayers that we do where we just go through the motions. I know they devoted time in their prayer. I tell you for a fact, my father, my father's study at home was next door to my room. And I would hear him in his room. I would come home from school or football practice or something and I would go take a shower and he would be in his office when I got home. I would go into the shower, do my thing, come back to my room and my father would still be in his office praying. And I'm sure he was praying about the church, the midline. I believe he was praying about everything. And this wasn't a one time deal. This was continuous prayer. And that's when I was a boy. But when I became a man, I would call my father up. I said, Daddy, what you doing? He said, I'm praying. Because why? He knew where his hope came from. But back to the scripture, he was seeking God and he would find God. And it was when I noticed that his prayers were always being answered, always. But I knew even when he was older and he lost my mother. He was so grieved in his spirit. His heart was so lost without my mother. He would get this anointing and this power from his prayer. Because he would seek God even more. Prayer. Prayer. I'm going to see what my brother's got for us here. It's probably, how does one pray? My brother said Matthew 6. When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their own reward in full. But when you pray, go into your inner room. Close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do. For they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them. For your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Amen. For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Prayer. Now Father, pray. Why? Because the Lord would hear him. That applies for you and I who call upon the name of the Lord. Watch what he says. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Did you hear that? You will find the Lord when you search for him with all of your heart. We're talking about the heart. We're not talking about the cardiovascular system heart. But we're talking about the seat of consciousness. The ability to reason. The soul. The mind. But when you put that complete focus on God. When you look at that again, he says, when you seek me and search for me with all of your heart. When you put your complete focus in your prayer. Not worried about the events of the world. Not worried about the circumstance. Not worried about this and that. But when you put your complete mind, body and soul in that prayer. Watch what happens. He says, I will find, I will be found by you. Declares the Lord. I will restore your fortunes. And I will gather you from the nations and from all the places where I have driven you. Declares the Lord. And I will bring you back to a place from where I sent you into exile. So we know the end part. The context is he's referencing the dispersion of the children of Israel. But in a personal context. The principle of the prayer. The principle of what God is saying. The principle of what he is implying that I have you in my best interest. Back to the preacher, the pastor, the church when they were going to rob it. God had the best interest of that church and that ministry. And God allowed that particular church, that particular pastor, those particular members. God allowed that church to be potentially robbed. And on footage, the power of prayer prevailed. Where prayer created this invisible veil. This hedge of protection. That power of prayer changed the heart of those three young men who intended to come in that church to rob it. And by all means necessary, I believe they were going to do what they wanted to do. But the power of prayer, based on that scripture, God heard their cries. And watch this, not only did they defuse a situation that could have been incredibly amazing. And bad and sad and wrong. But in the power of prayer, those three young men appeared to me to be convicted. Those three young men, through the power of prayer. And if you see the video, look for it. If you get a chance, look for it. If I can find it, I'll duet it. But you look at it, you see the pastor, you see his deacons. They've got him surrounded. The deacons and the pastor, they're probably about five or six feet apart. They're surrounded. Not in a circle of wagons kind of action. But they're surrounded and put in a hedge of protection that they may pray. It was incredible. My wife sent it to me. It was incredible. Let me close with this. And I will answer a couple questions. I remember I said I can't be out too long because I've got to go to the airport to pick up my daughter. I'm excited to see that kiddo. God has a plan for your life. God has a plan for your life. Don't. Don't stop praying. Don't stop calling up on the name of the Lord. You might have been praying for a minute. You might have been reaching to God. You've been on your knees every day about maybe that child. As for you, you meant evil against me. But God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people. Ooh, Joshua. Amen. Pray with purpose. Keep praying. Even if your prayer has not been answered, know that God hears your prayers. Be continuously in prayer. Speak to your father. Let him know your concerns, what you're dealing with. Some might say, well, why? If he already knows. It's not that he does not know. The point is that you're taking your situation, your circumstance, your problem, your issues, and you are taking them to the throne of grace and faith. Because you know your father hears your cries. Prayer. And all you have to do is talk to your father. You ever been mad at your spouse? Yeah. And you won't talk to each other? I mean, you've been mad at your spouse. You know you've got that little spat and you're not talking to each other. Hmm? Come on. Anybody had that? Yes. You know, you go a week, two weeks. Ooh, don't go that long. That's scary. But you know how after a couple days you're not talking to each other? Here's the person right here at Brick for Faith. He said 38 years. You know how you feel first day you're not talking to each other, walking by each other. Second day you walk by, don't even look at each other. And then all of a sudden you're like, man, I can't keep this up. I've got to talk to you. You've got to talk to me. That's the same with God. He wants to talk to you. He wants to talk to you. That's the same way. That's all prayer is, communication. He wants to talk. Don't go, as a believer in Christ, go day in and day out and not get on your knees and pray. Now, am I saying you've got to be on your knees to pray? No. You can be praying while you're driving. You can be praying while you're in the parking lot in front of the Ace. You can be praying anywhere, any place. But don't miss an opportunity to pray and continuously pray. Brother Nate, thank you so much. Don't miss an opportunity to pray. You can continuously pray. There's no legalistic number that I use to pray. I don't point a certain direction and pray five times a day, but you can trust in me. I pray. Thank you. Thank you so much, everybody. I pray. My family, my wife, my children, I pray once again. I reiterate. Someone said, well, it's good that you want to work. Some people, not me, I'd rather work. I prayed. I was in the parking lot. I prayed, Lord, if it's your will, let me allow that. Let me have this job. It was incredible. It was incredible. Even the lady at the cash register, because when you walk in, there's a cash register, there's checkouts right there. The lady seen me, she goes, oh, you're here? I said, yeah. I said, I got an appointment with God. She goes, good. God was showing favor. What was my prayer? Lord, allow the people to have favor on me. Allow the people to have favor on me. No, don't get me wrong. Hear me out. Hear me out. Hear me out right now, because I need to get real with you. Okay? Don't think. Could you pray it? God is going to give it to you all the time. All right? Don't think all the time. There are people that have been praying that God has taken away an illness, and they are still struggling with the illness. And in some cases, it has minimized their prayer, but in some cases, they have amped up even more prayer. But know that God is not going to always give you what you pray about. What example do I have? The Apostle Paul. We read it the other day. What was Paul praying for? Do you all remember? What was Paul praying for? He said, I did it in the King James thrice, which means three times. What was Paul praying for? Anybody remember? See if anybody is listening. God's will, not mine. There you go. Come on, somebody. That's right. His will be done. There you go. But what was Paul praying for? Amen. A thorn. Now, we don't know what that thorn was. We're not sure, but we know there was something that was causing him pain. There was something causing him discomfort. Thank you. Thank you. There was something. And Paul said, I prayed to the Lord three times. And what was the Lord's response to Paul? Anybody tell me. What was the Lord's response to Paul? Anybody. What did God say? Did he say, oh, we'll take it away from you right now, Paul. You're healed in the name of Jesus right now, Paul. What was said? There, look at Lambriel. My grace is sufficient for you. Christian man, Christian woman, when you pray, if your prayer hasn't been answered, your prayer was answered in the first place because you were given God's grace, and God's grace is sufficient. God's unmerited favor. Meaning, if God brought you to it, he'll carry you through it. And that does not always mean that he will take that from you, but that his will is being done. Is that it right there? No? Or hold on. That's it. So let's not shake our fist at God. You haven't answered my prayers. I'm a faithful Christian. I'm a committed prayer warrior. I do all my prayers. I'm a committed prayer warrior. I do all the things I do. I'm a deacon. I'm a pastor. I'm a, no. Let your will, not my will, let your will be done. And if you'll do that, once again, Jeremiah 29.11, if you would do that, you'll be okay. All right, let me, Brother Brian, good to see you. Let me answer any questions here this morning that I can't. Like I said, my daughter's coming in, and I'm excited. She's coming in from Oregon. As a matter of fact, Kiana and Nigel, they're all going to be at the house tonight, my future daughter-in-law. And you know Miss Debbie, like I said, her birthday is on the 3rd, mine is the 6th. So you know we celebrate our birthday the whole time. So absolutely. So I'm excited. Brother Jake, Jim said it's going to be tough because, man, I'm going to be busy. But, man, Jim, I appreciate you. You don't know. Joshua, man, thank you for bringing those scriptures up. Amen. Thank you for bringing those scriptures up. So what do we got? You prayed for me the other day about vaping, and it helped me tremendously. You know what? Thank you. But that was God. We're working. You need to quit vaping. Stop vaping. You don't need that. Your body does not need that. My son used to vape. You know, I tried to tell him he would listen. Oh, that's another thing. Listen, hear me out. Hear me out, y'all. Hear me out. How many of you got some kids out there that won't listen? Let me know. Anybody got some kids that don't listen? You're trying to tell them what to do and they won't listen. Happy birthday. Thank you so much. Huh? Lord willing. Anybody got any kids that don't listen? I'm going to give you some advice. God was working. Me? Okay, me. Anybody else? There you go. Oh, you're right. Great. Okay. Yeah, my 2-year-old. Yes, yes, yes, yes. All right. This helps when they're 2, and this will help even when they're 32. Let me tell you what to do with your kids if they don't listen. Take their behinds and drop them off at the throne of grace. I'm giving you some parenting advice. Take your kids and drop their behinds at the throne of grace. Now, y'all, I'm talking old school there, behinds. You know what I mean by behind, right? I know some of y'all. Take their butts, take their behinds, take their rear, and drop them off at the life care center at the throne of grace. Drop them off. Leave them there. Don't pick them up. Don't even let them know. You don't have to tell them. Say, I'm dropping you off at the life center. They might not know it, but you're going to put them there. What do I mean? You're praying for them. What did you say? If God gave it to you, he will carry you through it? No, no, no. If God brought you to it, he will carry you through it. All right. Take them kids, drop them off at the life center, the throne of grace, and leave them there. You don't need to tell them. Leave them there. And then what you do when you leave them there, you continue to say, Lord, those are your kids. You ever do that? If you've got grandkids, you know what I'm talking about. If you've got grandkids, you say, hey, you need to come back and get your kids, because they're your kids. I'm just here to spoil them and baby them. But you come get your kids. What else would you do? God, these are your kids. They're yours. And even though you gave them to me, you blessed them, they came from my womb or they came from my seed. They're your kids. And, Lord, I pray that you will watch over them, that you will straighten them up, that you will keep them, that you will bless them. See, all my kids don't know. I've left them. I've left them. I've abandoned them to God. I know it sounds like bad parenting or a bad parenting saying, but listen to what I'm saying. I've abandoned them and left them at the Life Care Center. I've left them with God. God's got them. You want to know why? Because God knows their heart. He knows their thoughts. He knows the plans that he has for them. He knows everything about them. See, I'm limited. I'm limited. And I've left them there. And let God deal with them. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm there if they need my advice. I'm there to counsel them. I'm there to instruct them. But there's a point in time when I transition from daddy to dad. See, daddy is when I can control them. When I transition to dad, then I've got a different scenario. I can't do, I can't control them like I used to. But I know who can take care of them. I know who can deal with them. If you would do that, why isn't that advice good? You're looking at the product of that advice. My parents, when I graduated high school, I have nothing to say to my parents. Nothing. I just didn't. You know, I found out I was adopted at 16. I emotionally shut down. I just didn't have time for my parents anymore. And when I graduated, I left. I got out. But my parents were hurt. My parents were hurt. I know they were. And so when I left, they immediately, I know they started praying for me. I know they, there were things that happened in the course of my life when I was not around my parents. I wasn't home. I was making my own decisions. I was, you know, the first thing I started was I started college. And then I dropped out of college and went into the military. My plan was to go into the military in the first place. But, you know, I wanted to go play some sports over there at the local college. I dropped out, went into the military. I did my own thing. And things that I had been involved in and done and this and that, I know God had dropped me off at the Life Care Center. As I look back now, folks, I shouldn't be here. I should be dead. But my mom and dad dropped me off at the Life Care Center. And don't mistake what I'm saying. The Life Care Center to me is a throne of grace. They dropped me off at the Life Care Center. And trust you me, at 36 years old, I got my faith, my personal faith in Jesus Christ. So, for you all, drop them kids off at the Life Center, even if they're two years old. You can control them. You still got a grip on them. And God is ultimately in control. Be good stewards. Watch over them, baby. You still got them. But if they're going to get AIDS, I'm going to take you to the authority. I'm going to take you to the authority. I'm going to leave you there. And when I leave you there, you're going to be dealt with. Boom. Somebody said, Ms. Miami said, how did the job interview go? Ms. Miami, I'm going to tell you right now. It wasn't an interview. It was a social call. The dude, my boss's name is Don, cool as nobody's business. We were on the same page. And really, he's like, here's the crazy thing. He asked me, this was right at the beginning of the conversation. He's looking at my application. He goes, would you be interested in a leadership role? And I leaned back and I was like, man, I'm not trying to do anything. And this is going to sound bad. I don't want to do anything I got to think. Folks, I'm not looking to be. I've done that. I've been in ORs. I've had to talk that talk with physicians. I had to lecture and I had to speak. I had to really have my game together because you're going to have doctors going, you know, things at me and I have to be able to respond in an intellectual way. I'm not looking for that job. So when he said, would you be interested in a leadership position, I was like. And so God gave me. I said, well, I'll tell you what. I looked around and I said, once I have mastered the job and I understand it 100%, absolutely I'll be more than happy. But more than that, I go, I will take a leadership role unofficially. Because most people that are working there are younger people. They look like kids in college, maybe high school, but I know for sure college. And so with that, how long has it gone on the channel for? She'll be here, I don't know, I think about three or four days. I'm not sure. Don't worry, you and I will get time between that, but today will be a tough one too. However, back to the story. I said, let me master this and I will do it. But I told him, I said, I will take a leadership role in the first place just for the pure fact that I want to mentor young people. So, yeah, it was a good interview. Thank you. And he gave it to me. I was like, man, I walked in that parking lot and I just thought, thank you, Jesus. God, I thank you. And it's funny. I believed in the first place God was going to give me. I just didn't know how long it was going to take. So there you go. How to remove the spirit of social anxiety. The spirit of social anxiety, all I can say with that is there's just, you know, it's like surfing. You're on your board and that wave takes you if you're ready or not. So much anxiety will liken that to the surf. There's so much anxiety that wave will take you. But what you've got to do is you've got to be ready. So what do you do? You're on your surfboard. You start paddling. You get your momentum going. Then you jump on the board. You know, you pop up on the board and get into your stance. Well, folks, don't get caught up in the wave of anxiety of society. Be ready. Be ready. Be in your prayer. Be prepared. Don't get caught up in that. Once again, we've got to get back to the original subject. Be continuously in your prayer about this. Social anxiety is there. Why? But let me share something with you, though, and I think this is something we're missing as Christians, okay? I want you to hear this. 194 of you on. Let me open this blind. But I've got something very special for you. I know this for a fact, and God is bringing me evidence every day on this. Let me give you a nugget. Hang on. Real quick, quick question. I ask this all the time, but I've got to ask it again. How many of you can see the chaos in the world? Is it evident to you that you can see the chaos in the world? How many of you see it? Just the chaos and the mess and the distress. How many of you see it? How many? Yes. There's one, two, three, four, five. Okay. All right. Good. So this is going to support my theory. If you see it as a believer, don't you think people who do not believe see the same thing? This season is a wonderful opportunity for us as Christians. While I do know some Christians suffer anxiety, you have a resource. While some Christians do suffer anxiety, you know that, okay, let me call upon Josh or Lamb or go over here to Brian or Mercy and all my folks, my people, and say, will you pray for me? You know that. When you get a collective group of people praying, all of a sudden you feel the power of God. Society is for the betterment of us as believers. Why? Because it enables an opportunity for you and I to minister to people. You possess the answers. You possess the answer. This is not any surprise to you. Don't get me wrong. It's not that you're comfortable with all this craziness going on, but you're not surprised. Every Christian, every Christian on here will agree. I believe we're in the end times. Why? Because every, I mean, you don't need to be a theologian, but every sermon you've heard, everything you've read, you said, I got heads up. I knew it would be just like, it would be just like I fly over there to go see Ray in the middle of winter. Ray said, Paul, I'm going to tell you right now, right now, when you come over here, it's going to be cold. I said, okay. He said, so dress accordingly. I said, okay. So what happens is I get my thermals. I get my, I fly over there. Ray takes me to the airport and it's cold, but I'm prepared. It's cold. I'm still feeling the effects of the cold, but I'm prepared. Right? Versus someone else flies in, Ray didn't tell them anything. They come over there with a pair of shorts on at the same time. And all of a sudden they're like, it's cold. And they're not prepared. See, we as Christians are prepared. But guess what? The person who went over there with a pair of shorts and a tank top, what if Ray was waiting at the airport with a big old warm jacket, some thermals, some clothes, whatever the case may be? To what? Give to them because they're cold. Do you get where I'm going? This right now is an incredible season for the Christians. Don't get so worked up by what you see. This is an incredible season for the Christian to share the gospel. And God has proven that. My wife's cousin came over just yesterday and said her brother, who is a die-hard atheist, is looking at the world, is looking at the world and saying something's going on. And he's reading his Bible. He's an atheist. And because his atheism doesn't offer a solution, he's going to the Life Care Center instruction book and he's looking. And now what will happen is God will bring along his side some folks that are rich in the word to explain to them that God has got you. So right now, don't declare social anxiety. Declare the ability, because of social anxiety, to talk to some folks about Jesus. This is a great time, folks. This is a great time. Now, don't get me wrong. Many of us look at each other all the time like, are you serious? Is that really going on? Are balloons going over and government? Don't get me wrong. It's easy to get caught up in that wave of mess, but get on the board. Get on the surfboard. Ride that wave. This is an epic wave. This is a divine wave. I know some of you don't surf, but you get my drift. This is an epic wave. Ride this wave. This is beautiful. This is a great time to minister to people. This is a great time to get into your word. This is a great time to pray for people. People will receive that. Not everybody. Not everybody. But people right now are so open to receive that, because they're lost. They're hopeless. They're dealing with anxiety and all kinds of social disorders. Somebody said the other day, customers aren't like they used to be. I know. Trust me. And the hospitals are out. And the markets are out. People are rude. So I'm going to be in the mission field. And you can guarantee you, if you're in the right time, in the right place, in the right space, in your life, in the world today, it's a good time, a great time to be a Christian. And that, once again, that doesn't mean that everything is going your way. That means it's a great time to honor God, to serve God. The greatest. I have found the greatest. How can I put it? There's been some great events in my life. My marriage to Miss Debbie, a great event. The birth of my children, great events. Those earthly events have been beautiful things. But the greatest events is when I became a born-again believer and found my faith. When I do the will of my Father. When I serve God Almighty. Those have eternal. Those small events have eternal circumstances. And I just love that we have an opportunity given by God that we may win souls, that we may share, that we may love, that we may do all these things. Yes, deep impact. That we can have an impact for eternity. That's where it's at, folks. That's the exciting part. So don't get caught up in the social anxiety. Look at it for the social opportunity to make an impact on the lives of people. And TikTok can disappear tomorrow. Unless we got that YouTube list going and our brother Jim Taylor there has got everything else going with regards to social media, you cannot see me again. But the impact that we're making on each other on a day-to-day basis, just dealing with people, that's where it's at. So that was a long, you know, your question is how do you deal with social anxiety. I'm sorry, that was a long response to that, you know, which could have been a short answer. But this is a great time to be a Christian, bottom line. Hey, Jim, that's an e-book. And then Josh, I think we got to put a picture on that. It's a great time to be a Christian. It's a great time. It's a wonderful time to be a believer in Christ, a follower of Christ. So there we go. Pastor Paul, how do you deal with health anxiety? I don't have anxiety, but I know some people do. And I just have to keep taking you back to what I keep saying. It's that prayer, that faith, that trusting in God. Because anxiety within itself, I mean, somebody give me, and I'm asking, this is a legitimate question. I'm not asking to drill you. What is anxiety? What is anxiety? Because the Bible says be anxious for nothing but everything in prayer. What is anxiety? Fear, fear, that's anxiety. The Bible says be anxious for nothing. Well, we have to, you know, internal fear, that's where we have to take that anxiety. Hiding, we have to, you know, any stronghold that exalts itself against the Word of God, we've got to bring that into captivity, and we've got to, if you will, symbolically speaking, encapsulate that, place it at the throne of grace and say, God, you got this. And be anxious for nothing, knowing that God has got this. You know, I've been blessed to be very, Miss Debbie can pick up when I'm concerned with something. But for the most part, there's not too much that I get, God has got it. Now, I might mull over it for a minute. You know, something's happened, and I'm like, you know, sort of, well, when this company called, the original company called and said, we don't need your consulting. We don't need your consulting. Mulled that over, what could I have done different? What happened? Why did they make this decision? And I remember mulling that over. And I wrestled with it for about a day or so. I wrestled with it. Miss Debbie said, are you okay? Are you okay? And I had to get to the point where I said, okay, God. You opened the door and got me there. You got me in there. Now you've closed the door that I can't get back in there. And then that's when, all of a sudden, I'm getting a phone call that the roof's going to be getting done, the church is going to be painted, a friend of mine says, we want to put a sign up. JT said, I want to do the computer system. All of a sudden, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Boom, boom, boom. Man, we were really dependent on that finding. And even with this, with ACE, I won't make as much, not even close. Matter of fact, to some degree, when I was paying in tax, this is what I'll be making. But there's no anxiety because I know God can take a little and make a lot. I got 2.2 miles away. Bet you I'll get my golf cart, put some batteries in it and be driving my golf cart over there. Bet you I will. Maybe not in the summer when it's hot, but I will. But anxiety is one of those things that you've got to bring that into captivity, that stronghold that exalts itself. Thank you so much, Brother James. Bring that into captivity and say, no, no, no. I don't have the spirit of fear, but of love and sound mind. I'm not going to be caught up in fear, anxious. Anxiety has no place here. I'm not going to deal with that. Once again, you wrestle with it. But let that go. Don't let that very thing. Also, let me tell you this. Your spouse can encourage you. Make sure your fellow Christian friends can encourage you. Because sometimes things can get pretty heavy. Emotionally they can get pretty heavy and it's hard to carry. But what does the Bible say? I am sharp as iron. If your prayers are stronger than one, three is even better. Right? With the crew, there's prayer requests going in all the time. All the time. I look at them. I don't always respond, but I'm praying. You know, someone's grandmother in the hospital. You know, someone's child is sick. The list goes on. And praying. But it is, and I repeat, a great time. A great time to be a Christian. That's just one man's opinion. So be anxious for nothing, but all things in prayer. Praying continuously. That's what we need to do. That's where I can help. Brother James, you know what? I'm not following Brother James, but he's got a cool look. Christian, conservative, husband, father, and proud American. Look, Brother James, you've got to like that. He's a Christian, conservative, husband, father, and a proud American. That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking about. That's right. Why is it a great time? People are seeking truth. What does Pontius Pilate say? What is truth? What is truth? He was talking to Jesus. He said, What is truth? That's the question of all lifetime. What is truth? Paul said, Decide it without truth. Without word is truth. The word of God is truth. People need the truth. That is truth. And people need it. They want it. They desire it. Their hearts are opening. Because you've got to remember, when things are good, ain't nobody interested in God. Thank you, Brother. When things are good, let's be honest. Let's be honest. When things are good, even as a Christian, when things are good, you've got a little money in your bank. Your health is there. Your children are intact. Your relationship with your spouse is intact. You've got a nice place. You've got a nice car. You don't pray as much. Let's be real. You don't pray as much. Why? Because things are good. Even though you should be praying. And if you ain't praying, you should be praying for someone. If you're not praying for yourself, you should be praying for someone. But we don't. That's just how we get. When things are good, we don't pray. But when things get tough, 9-11, churches were full. You couldn't beat people out of church. But when things started going down here, what happened? People left the church. But when things get tough, all of a sudden, people are like, they're not questioning God then. When things get tough, they don't, well, you know, how do you know the Bible's real? They're open. But you and I have to be ready. Soldiers, it's time to get ready. It's time to get ready. So it's a great time because the harvest is ready. People are ready to hear what you've got to say. This individual said, my husband wants to leave the marriage and I have surrendered it all, but my heart still hurts. Amen. That doesn't mean your heart won't hurt. But what you did, the key thing you did there is you surrendered. Leave him just like the kids. Leave his behind at the throne of grace. And your heart will hurt. But God has got him. Let God deal with him. God can spank him way. You can't spank him. He's grown. You can't do it, but God can spank him. So I'm sorry that you're going through that. But know this. God is able. Know this. Oh, yeah, that person said right there, we talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk. Amen. My father was a hardened atheist. He sought Christ with his whole heart on his deathbed. Amen. Amen. See, that's my point. This is a great time to be a Christian. This is a great time. People are listening and ready to hear. All you need to do is do your J-O-B and share your faith. And if you don't know it, and that's another thing, folks, some of you want to say, well, you know, Pastor Paul, I really don't know enough. You will never know enough because, trust me, there will be people out there that will throw questions at you that will just have you scratching your head. But if you do know, share. Invite them to your church. Invite them to a Bible study. Even in this, guys, if you've got somebody, hey, listen to this guy who looks like Dr. Seedy on TikTok in the morning. Listen to him. I'm being funny because everybody calls me Dr. Seedy. Or you might have another preacher or pastor. It doesn't necessarily have to be me. But invite people to your church. Invite them to a prayer meeting. I don't know enough. But you can sit and what you do know and what you have read, you can take them right there. And that's another thing. Go to the Book of Romans. Look at Chapter 10. Go to Psalm 51. You don't have to explain the theology. Just say, look what this says. Wow, this is what I believe in. So don't sit back and say, well, I don't know enough. No, that's irrelevant. You'll never know enough. Who cares if they stump you? Who cares? It happens to me all the time. People are like, well, I've made a video. Why do good things happen? Why do bad things happen to good people? I don't know. I mean, I can give you a lot of intellectual responses to somehow bandaid that. But in all reality, I don't know. I don't know. And I will tell somebody, I don't know. I can't explain that. And it just happened to me the other day. A young man reached out to me. His name is Sam. He reached out to me and said, my brother's been in a wheelchair his whole life. I went over there. My brother was lying on the floor for an hour. He had burned himself. He's in the hospital right now, the burn unit. And he looked at me and said, Pastor Paul, why are all these bad things happening to my brother? And he's a good person. He's a Christian. And I said, I don't know. But I said, but praise God, you found him before he died there. Because he could have went days and no one knows. He said, well, I didn't think of it that way. I said, but I don't know. There's nothing wrong to tell people I don't know. But what I do know, that God has blessed me. He has changed me. I do know as I read his word that this is true. Well, how do you know it's true? You can go on all the theological debates. Like I saw a Christian guy on Alive the other day. And the guy was like, how do you know that the Bible is real? Well, okay. What about the 6,000 manuscripts that support the Bible is real? What about the eyewitnesses? What about even external historical writers declare that Jesus was real? What about the calendar? What year are we in? 2023? What happened 2,000 years ago? 2,023 years ago, something happened. But I don't need all the prophecies and the miracles. What about Israel? The formation of Israel. And how interesting that Israel comes out of whom? Abraham originally. Yeah, of course, we get to Isaac, and Isaac we get to Jacob. But what was Jacob's name? What was Jacob's name? What was Jacob's name? What did it change to from Jacob to what? Anybody? What was Jacob's name? What would it change to? Anybody? Anybody? What was Jacob's name? What did it change to? Israel. Look at Lambert. I ain't playing this morning. Ooh, Lambert coming from bringing her A game this morning. Israel. That was his name. And out of Israel came what? The 12 tribes. And out of the 12 tribes. And guess what? Where is Israel today? It's a country that reformed in the 40s. That was exiled. Uh-oh, now it's sort of interesting about that verse. He talked about dispersion. I'm bringing you back. And folks say, you don't need to know enough. There's such just don't say I don't know. There's too much around you guys. There's too much around you. You don't need to know everything. But it's a great time to be a Christian. And then guess what? They do ask you something. Watch this, watch this. The airport pastor, your daughter. Okay. Hang on. Boom. You know that's going to be a follow-back. Hang on. Your request to follow this private account. Okay. Thank you. I try to follow you, but it wouldn't let me do it. But thank you. All right, Israel, let me pray because I've got to get out of here. It's a great time to witness. Just do it. You don't need to know everything. The person will see the sincerity and how much you care. They'll love that. Father God, we thank you. We praise you. We honor you. We lift you up, Lord. We just thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. Thank you for the word. Thank you for the blessings. Lord, we thank you for all that you do for us. We thank you for your grace and mercy. And, Lord, I pray that you empower each listener to know these are great times to witness, to minister, to love, to show people Jesus Christ, Father. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, God. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. All right, everybody. God bless you. Have a great day. Let the Lord use you. Let the Lord use you. And, Lord willing, hear what I said. Lord willing, I will see you tomorrow at 0630. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.
