Best Foot Forward
Pastor David T. Elms 2/15/2026
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42:52
Summary
Pastor David Elms challenges believers to move beyond casual or 'lukewarm' faith by practicing the discipline of respect, preparation, and biblical first principles. Using the imagery of 'putting your best foot forward,' he calls for a church body that prioritizes character over talent and sound doctrine over tradition.
Key points
- •The sermon uses the example of Shadur Sanders' draft fall to illustrate that talent alone is insufficient; character, respect, and 'putting your best foot forward' are essential.
- •Biblical worship requires an inward prescription of honor and preparation rather than mindlessly offering the 'sacrifice of fools' (Ecclesiastes 5:1).
- •The speaker emphasizes returning to the 'first principles' of the Bible, specifically the Apostolic doctrine of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38).
- •A healthy church community is built on accountability, where members are mindful of others' needs (the 'hot' and 'cold' water of Laodicea) rather than being self-indulgent or lukewarm.
Scripture
Character and Integrity
Apostolic Doctrine
Respect and Etiquette
Sacrificial Worship
Life application
Evaluate how you present yourself to God and others this week; remove distractions like metaphorical 'earbuds' to show genuine respect and preparation in your service and worship.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life have you been relying on talent while neglecting character and respect?
- What does it mean to you to 'watch your step' when entering the house of God?
- How can you move from being a 'taker' in the church to someone who prepares 'refreshment' or 'comfort' for others?
- Are there traditions in your life that you need to trade for the 'first principles' of Scripture?
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Full transcript
0:00But anyway, it's so good to be with all
0:00of you in the house of the Lord. Put
0:01your best foot forward. One of the most
0:04stunning events for all you sports
0:06observers and those who are not sports
0:07observers, let me share with you a story
0:10that just happened this last year. We
0:12have a fanat a fantastic chief here in
0:15Davyy, Chief Stephen Kinsey. He is a
0:18wonderful chief. I've had five chiefs
0:20and I've really enjoyed my time with
0:22this chief and the Lord's given us a
0:25special relationship and uh often times
0:28we'll talk with one another and my wife
0:30and his wife are friends. It's an honor
0:32to have that position. Uh he played
0:36football for Florida State University in
0:38the glory days of the seminals, which by
0:41the way, all of you Florida State fans,
0:42it's not going on right now. I don't
0:44know if you know that. I don't know if
0:46you're really aware that right now, this
0:48is the sign you make, not this. And for
0:51all of the attorneys I pastor in the
0:53church, this is not a sign we make.
0:57I'm so honored to pastor all of the
0:59universities in this place, doctors and
1:02lawyers, all of your want to be
1:04preachers. I'm just not going to let you
1:06up here. But anyway, it's a joy and a
1:09pleasure to work with Chief Steve
1:11Kinsey. One of his great stories that he
1:14shared with me was uh his appreciation
1:17and uh true true respect he had for
1:20Deion Sanders. He went to uh college
1:23with Deion Sanders and while Steve
1:25Kinsey who is a great athlete, I don't
1:27know if he is an athlete now, he can
1:28barely climb the stairs to get to his
1:30office. Chief, I love you. Um, but no,
1:34he he's perfectly in shape. He he told
1:37me he said one of the things he learned
1:39about uh Deion Sanders was that this was
1:42one of first of all one of the most
1:44gifted god-gifted athletes he had ever
1:47known. he said of the entire football
1:48team, no one had the giftedness and
1:52athleticism. It was truly uh uh so far
1:55above everyone else. And when you're on
1:58a team of unbelievable athletes, parade
2:00all-Americans, and yet one is that
2:03substantially better, it's just clear
2:06for everyone to know it. He said, "But
2:08what was so amazing about Deion Sanders
2:10was not that he was so gifted, uh, but
2:12that he had a respect for so many
2:15people." And Chief Kinsey, he's a white
2:18guy. Okay? I'm just saying this as a
2:20point of record. All right? And so, he's
2:22a white walk-on wide receiver. Those
2:25three words generally don't go together.
2:27All right? If you have a problem with
2:29that, see me after church. Uh but it's
2:31th those three words don't always fit at
2:34the highest level of of college
2:36football. And so Chief Kinsey though was
2:39that and he said his interaction with
2:42Deion Sanders made him have such a high
2:45appreciation for who he was because he
2:48would even come and color it cover him
2:50in practice. And he said his
2:52interactions with Dion back then it was
2:54neon Dion. He was so respectful and so
2:57kind. He treated him like a a a fellow a
3:01teammate and he always respected him
3:03even though for Dion covering Chief
3:05Kinsey was like going to sleep and
3:07waking up with his hand tie behind his
3:10back just to make it fair. Um it was
3:13amazing. The story I'm bringing to you
3:15is not about Dion. It's about his son
3:18last year at the NFL draft. Shadur
3:21Sanders is a very gifted, talented son
3:26of Dion Sanders. He's a superstar. In
3:29fact, time may reveal him to be one of
3:31the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but he
3:36had a college career that started at
3:38Jackson State University and then he
3:40left there and went with his father to
3:42Colorado where he played for the
3:44Buffaloos and took them to one of their
3:46best seasons ever. The problem that I
3:49want to present to you about Shadur is
3:51that when he went to the NFL combine to
3:55be considered to be drafted by the teams
3:58there at the the uh at at at the
4:02combine. Uh he treated it as if it
4:05wasn't all that important. While the
4:08sources remain anonymous, they are well
4:11substantiated by many sources that he
4:16came and executives of team said in
4:19their interviewing of Dion of Dion son
4:21Shadur. Some of them said it was the
4:24worst experience interview I ever had.
4:28Another one said when he came he had
4:31poor body language. Some say that he
4:35disregarded teams he didn't like, that
4:38he left his earbuds in when he was
4:40talking to the chief executives. He
4:43imagined that since he was a high draft
4:45pick, and since he would be in the first
4:48top few rungs of the draft that there
4:51were certain teams he didn't even give
4:53the time of day when he had scheduled
4:55meetings with them, he didn't even show
4:57up. Some say this was they say he was
5:01arrogant, others said he was brash. Some
5:04teams that flew him in for a try out say
5:07that when he flew to their team and he
5:10started to do the try out that he just
5:13uh did it halfway. He wasn't even
5:15showing his skills. And so when the NFL
5:20draft happened, if you watched it, which
5:22if you did, God bless you. The story of
5:26the draft was the fall of Shadur
5:30Sanders. He thought he was going in the
5:33first few draft picks. He didn't go in
5:35the first few. He didn't go in the first
5:38round.
5:40>> He didn't go in the second round.
5:42>> He didn't go in the third round.
5:44>> He didn't go in the fifth round.
5:47>> If you don't know, the NFL draft round
5:49one starts on one day. A lot of people
5:52think, "I'll go to wherever they're
5:55having the draft. I'll be presented and
5:57I'll walk and get my day in the sunlight
5:59on day one."
6:01>> Day one passed. No draftiness should do.
6:05So, it was a big deal. Everybody talked
6:07about it. Well, certainly he'll go in
6:09round two and three because that's the
6:11second day of the draft. Second day of
6:13draft came and went. He was not drafted.
6:17It wasn't until the fifth round, the
6:21144th pick, that Shadurer Sanders was
6:25picked. He now plays for the Cleveland
6:27Browns. And listen, he's probably a
6:30wonderful kid. He's probably, like they
6:33say, the apple fall doesn't fall far
6:36from the tree. He's probably a good man
6:40like his daddy is. Probably. What I'm
6:43wanting to tell you is this. It's not
6:47because of any reason than the fact that
6:51he didn't put his best foot
6:55>> forward.
6:57In this hour, uh, social media doesn't
7:00train kids the class and the courtesies
7:04>> that must be taught to them by their
7:06parents.
7:07>> And some parents don't know them
7:09themselves. And so the children have to
7:11get them from someone else. the body
7:15language of respect, how to talk to
7:17people without earbuds in your ear, how
7:21to listen to people who's around you.
7:23Some kids don't even know that that is a
7:25the statement of disregard and
7:28disrespect. And some kids think, well,
7:31it's my respect. I don't care what you
7:33think about it, so get deal with it. and
7:35they haven't been taught by anybody in
7:38their life that they respect how to show
7:42the body language of respect. Maybe it's
7:45a bowed head. Maybe it's a measured
7:47voice. But it's all emblems of
7:50difference. How one presents themselves
7:54speaks of gratitude and appreciation.
7:57When one prepares and dresses nicely to
8:00come meet with you, it tells you that
8:03they respect you. If they do not bathe,
8:06if they smell, then all they think is
8:08that it's all about them and they
8:11disregard the fact that they might be in
8:14the presence of others. But when one has
8:16made themselves presentable and clean,
8:19they have combed their hair. They have
8:21adjusted their face. They are telling
8:23those around them, "I respect you. I'm
8:26preparing to meet you and you matter to
8:31me." Civilized conduct teaches these
8:34things. As a culture and a civilization
8:39diminishes to the baser menial type of
8:43living, then people won't care about
8:46deodorant, about how they present
8:47themselves, about how they dress, about
8:50how they speak, how they take care of
8:53their teeth. All these things show
8:55animals. Animals don't care about that.
8:58those things.
8:59>> Humanity does. We were made not just a
9:03little above the animals. We were made
9:07just a little below the angels. And as
9:10people vacasillate, yes, I'm about to
9:12preach.
9:16>> But what I'm doing right now is what our
9:18society needs to hear.
9:23>> They've got to understand it's not about
9:25you. Sometimes when someone has had a
9:28bad day, because they're so self uh
9:30indulgent, they think everyone around
9:32them ought to know how bad their day
9:35was. When you learn charm, when you
9:38learn class, when you learn how courtesy
9:41exists, then you could have the worst
9:43day in all the world, but you're not
9:45going to impose that on others just
9:48because your day is bad. You don't walk
9:51in the house and kick the dog because
9:53you had a bad day. You don't throw your
9:55brush at the cat because something went
9:58wrong. When you do that, you're
10:00following into the baser sort of living.
10:03As you learn how to treat others, you do
10:07so by respecting them. And you don't
10:11handle others clumsily. You apologize
10:14for something. You say, "Excuse me, for
10:17something." If you observe that you're
10:19not smelling appropriately, you go home.
10:22All of us can smell. That's the reason
10:24there's showers invented. Isn't it an
10:26amazing invention? You go home, you
10:29clean up, you wash your clothes, and you
10:32smell better. Not because you care about
10:35just yourself, but because you care that
10:38I'm going to be around others today.
10:40That's good preaching, Brother Elms.
10:45>> When people don't know how to do this,
10:48it testifies of a brokenness within
10:51them. either they're mentally broken or
10:54their emotions are broken. This is the
10:57difference between IQ and EQ. EQ is
11:01intelligent quotient. IQ is or EQ is
11:06emotional quotient. Let me rephrase
11:08that.
11:09EQ is in is emotional
11:13quotient. IQ is intelligent quotient. I
11:17have known people that are very
11:19intelligent, but they don't get around
11:22people others very well because they
11:25don't have a clue that the world's not
11:27just about them.
11:28>> They think it's all about them
11:30>> and so they're not going to get the good
11:32job. They won't get the promotion and
11:34they'll wonder why in the world they sat
11:35there till the fifth round and not got
11:37drafted.
11:39>> Because they have very low EQ. They may
11:43have an amazing IQ,
11:46but their EQ, their intelligence might
11:48be phenomenal, but they don't know how
11:51to work with others.
11:54>> There are things that are amazingly
11:56taught in kindergarten. In fact, a
11:58phenomenal book maybe I recommend is
12:00that everything great I I ever needed to
12:03know, I learned in kindergarten.
12:05>> And one of the chapters is how to play
12:08in the sandbox with others.
12:11If you don't learn these, the rest of
12:13your life you're going to go around with
12:15this great confusion. WHAT'S WRONG WITH
12:18EVERYONE ELSE?
12:21>> That's right.
12:23>> And so you learn how to not be clumsy
12:28in groups.
12:30You learn that if I'm broken, I need to
12:33get healed.
12:35And you get healed by getting around
12:37healthy people and listening
12:42>> and changing
12:44and adjusting how to blend. Your eyes
12:49should not stare at people, nor should
12:52you evade people with your eyes. There's
12:55a balance. this dance of communion,
12:58learning how to work with others,
13:01learning how to play fair, learning how
13:05to lose
13:07with class.
13:12>> There are people who hand out courteous
13:15pauses
13:16and there are those who trample over
13:19whatever invisible boundaries are
13:22present in a room. When you walk up to
13:25people and you say with charm, "How do
13:27you do?" Doesn't mean you really care
13:30how they're doing.
13:31>> It just means somebody in your law life
13:34taught you how to have charm, how to
13:37have class,
13:39>> how to be a good neighbor
13:41>> and show that the world is not all about
13:44me.
13:45>> And so today, I'm going to diminish me
13:48>> so that I can let you know you matter to
13:51me. Right.
13:53>> I'm pleased to meet you. What seems so
13:56small and there are some who say that
13:58this is a relic of yestery year that
14:01this should not continue to be practiced
14:05that we're in a casual revolution. So
14:07there's no need to dress up for people.
14:10Well, when you dress up for somebody,
14:12you're telling them, "I respect you. I
14:16prepared for you. I knew you were going
14:20to be special." And so since I was going
14:22to meet you, I was ready to meet you.
14:25>> All right.
14:26>> Yes.
14:27>> These are safeguards
14:30of appreciation
14:32and acknowledgment of one another's
14:34humanity. And Shadurer Saunders, while
14:37he may end up being a Hall of Fame
14:40quarterback, had a strong message sent
14:43to him.
14:44You will be passed over. Some say it was
14:46because there was prejudice in the draft
14:49until they opened up their brain and
14:50looked at how many people of color were
14:52drafted first.
14:55>> The first three picks were people of
14:57color. So it had nothing to do with your
14:59skin color should do.
15:01>> Nor did it have the fact that you're the
15:03son of an amazing man. It was the fact
15:05that you did not have a clue that you're
15:08to respect people that are beneath you
15:10and you're to respect people that are
15:12above you. and you may not have it
15:14figured out who is above you and who is
15:17beneath you. And so this is why the
15:19house of God is established to teach
15:22people not just how to get the Holy
15:23Ghost, not just how to get baptized in
15:26the name of Jesus Christ, but also to
15:28teach people how to be great citizens
15:30and a part of a community of believers
15:32where we don't stand as a bunch of
15:34mavericks in the house, but we come
15:36together as a body fitly joined
15:39together. When one part weeps, the other
15:42part weeps. When one side rejoices, the
15:45other side rejoices. You don't walk in
15:47and say, "Because I'm having a happy
15:49day, no one else has a chance to be
15:51sad." No, you feel your way through.
15:54>> It's called discernment.
15:56>> When a day is piled high with
15:58difficulty, the question resides, who
16:00withers in THAT DAY? WHO RISES TO MEET
16:03THE DAY? IT'S AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. Ben
16:06Benjamin Dizraeli said that the two most
16:08important things to learn is when one
16:11should seize an opportunity and when one
16:14should forego an advantage.
16:17>> Think about that. When every opportunity
16:20doesn't need to be seized.
16:23My father-in-law said it like this. He
16:25said, "David, remember everything you
16:27say yes to is a no to something else.
16:31And until you know what the no is to,
16:35don't say the yes.
16:38>> Everybody's walking around, yeah, I'll
16:39do that. Yeah, I'll do that. Okay. Who
16:41what did you just say no to? Oh, I've
16:43got a bunch of yeses in my life. Like,
16:44no, you don't. You've got the same
16:46amount of time everyone else does.
16:48>> So, until you figure out the no, DON'T
16:50SAY THE YES.
16:52>> How does this have to do with our
16:53serving of the Lord? Well, our text
16:57Ecclesiastes 5, Ecclesiastes 5:1, it was
16:59written by some by Solomon, the wisest
17:02man that they say ever lived. Of course,
17:04Jesus even sanctioned that. I don't know
17:06how wise he was with uh 700 wives and
17:09300 concubines or whatever it was. 800
17:12wives. Uh more than one's too many for
17:14me. I still have my first wife.
17:18I haven't traded her yet in yet. I I was
17:20going to Target to see if they would
17:22accept her the other day, but she was in
17:24the back shopping. Who knew?
17:27>> No, it's not Target for her. For her,
17:29it's Tar. Okay.
17:32No, she shops at Tar.
17:35>> I don't even want to walk through their
17:36door. Uh, keep thy foot, it says, when
17:40thou goest to the house of God.
17:43And be more ready to hear than to give
17:46the sacrifice of fools. Imagine that
17:50somebody here today gave the sacrifice
17:52of a fool. Oh, nobody here.
17:56But what is the sacrifice of a fool? The
17:59sacrifice of a fool when you see it here
18:01is somebody who came into the presence
18:03of the Lord halfhazardly,
18:06without thought, without introspection.
18:09They were going through the motion. They
18:11were pretending as if they could fool
18:13God because they were trying to leverage
18:15their way into heaven. And the Bible
18:19said when you take God so lightly as if
18:22he's just your homeboy, as if he's just
18:25your bellhop, as if he's just your
18:27valet, or if God's just your holy
18:30concierge, then you offer the sacrifice
18:34of a fool.
18:37And the Bible says, "Beware
18:41to keep thy foot when you go
18:46>> into the house of the Lord." Among the
18:48Romans, the architecture of the the the
18:50the temples had a special interesting
18:55point that was part of the structure.
18:58There was certain architects that
19:00determined that every entrance to the
19:02temple had to have steps that were
19:04oddnumbered because it was a
19:07prescription of the heart that whenever
19:09you went forward and you were trying to
19:12do your best foot that your best foot
19:15would always be your right foot. And so
19:17they determined that your first step
19:19would be right foot. But every count
19:21would either be three steps,
19:25five steps, seven steps. It would always
19:29be an odd number so that you started up
19:33the stairs and yet when you entered it
19:37was still with your right foot. Now,
19:39some may think that this just is some
19:41arithmetic theology or a cosmic ri
19:44rhythm or some sacred choreography that
19:47you just start righted. Did you know
19:49right in Latin is dexter?
19:52That's where we get our word dexterious.
19:54Dex dexter is is the right. The left in
19:57Latin is
20:00sinister.
20:02I'm not calling you left-handed people
20:04bad things right now. I'm just going to
20:05move right on.
20:08But that's the reason when you swear or
20:10you affirm, you do it with your right
20:12hand on the Bible. IT GOES WAY BACK INTO
20:15the culture of this world that
20:17right-handed is for oaths. Worship was
20:20an opportunity according to the
20:22architecture of of the world was an
20:25opportunity where the stone and your
20:27stride would agree together that when it
20:29came to your time of salvation that
20:32doing your right foot forward or your
20:35best foot forward was very important.
20:38>> Now this is in the history of the world.
20:41The Bible doesn't say it has to be right
20:43foot, BUT THE BIBLE DOES SAY YOU BETTER
20:47MIND YOUR STEP.
20:49>> It says, "DO WATCH YOUR FEET AND HOW
20:53THEY go into the house of the Lord."
20:55Moses drew near the burning bush. And
20:57when he did, he saw the burning bush.
20:59And the Lord's voice came out of it and
21:00said, "Moses, take your
21:04>> I've got some Bible readers in this
21:06house. What was he supposed to take off?
21:09>> Your shoes. take your shoes off because
21:12you're standing on.
21:15>> There's something about having nothing
21:18between you and the sacred.
21:21>> There's always people who come to church
21:23and they try to keep something between
21:24them and the preacher. When people are a
21:26little upset at me, they play all kinds
21:28of games. They sit behind a head. It's
21:30so fun to pay the pastor of the church.
21:31It's so awesome when people are trying
21:33to passive aggressive hurt me or bother
21:35me or somehow, you know, they they
21:37they've had to go through something.
21:38They'll hide behind somebody's head and
21:40they'll see everybody else, but I can't
21:41see their face. It's awesome. I know
21:44what they're doing. I see it. It's they
21:46just on purpose, you know? They they
21:48their neck. It's amazing how double
21:50jointed a neck can be when somebody's
21:52trying to punish the pullpit because I'm
21:53getting too close to them.
21:56>> Here's the thing. ALL THE GAMES PEOPLE
21:58PLAY, GOD'S NOT PLAYING.
22:02AND SO ALL THIS PROCESS OF HOW I
22:04APPROACH THE LORD, IT HAS TO DO WITH AN
22:06INWARD PRESCRIPTION THAN AN OUTWARD
22:09PERSECUTION OR A PROSECUTION. I am not
22:12God's attorney prosecuting the people of
22:15God because you haven't worshiped
22:17correctly. No, I'm here to tell you as
22:19an alchemist OF THE HOLY GHOST TO TELL
22:21YOU COME AND GIVE YOUR BEST TO HIM. WHEN
22:24YOU worship him, do it from the inward
22:26of the heart. Do it from the mind and be
22:29thoughtful IN YOUR PRAISE. DON'T JUST
22:31OFFER HIM WORDS THAT YOU'RE NOT THINKING
22:33ABOUT. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO
22:35HIM. DON'T repeat after me a prayer. In
22:38just a moment, we're going to open this
22:40altar. And when you come to this altar,
22:42here's what I'm ASKING YOU TO DO. THAT
22:43YOU COME UP HERE AND YOU SAY, "LORD, I
22:46want to be honest with you. I want to be
22:49transparent with you. I want to come and
22:52say, I HAVE NOT BEEN baptized in your
22:55name. What do I need to go through in my
22:58mind to get me to the place where I'm
23:01willing TO BE BAPTIZED AS YOUR BIBLE
23:03SAYS OUGHT TO BE?
23:06>> Some of you haven't been baptized in
23:07Jesus name yet. You've been baptized in
23:10the title Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
23:12And you're a wonderful person because of
23:13that. But you'll never find that in the
23:15Bible. Right.
23:17>> And a lot of preachers get up and tell
23:19you because that's the way Matthew
23:2128:19, be baptized in the name of the
23:24Father and of the Son and of the Holy
23:26Ghost.
23:27>> That's a wonderful verse.
23:28>> What does it say? Be baptized how?
23:31>> In the name.
23:32>> In the name.
23:33>> Is Father a name?
23:36>> Is Son a name?
23:37>> No.
23:38>> Is Holy Ghost a name?
23:40>> Or Holy Spirit a name?
23:42>> No. None of those are names. I pastor a
23:44brilliant congregation. And you learned
23:45this in English class.
23:48>> What is the name?
23:50>> Jesus.
23:51>> That's the reason when you go TO THE
23:52BOOK OF ACTS, THE BIBLE SAYS Peter
23:54standing with the 11 said, "Repent and
23:57be baptized every every one of you in
24:01the name of Jesus Christ for the
24:04remission of your sins." And as a
24:07church, we don't preach just go about it
24:10halfaphazardly and feel good. Come to
24:12church and and like the preacher. I hope
24:15that works out uh like the preacher and
24:17and and and and do ALL THE KIND THINGS
24:20WITH THE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH. I
24:22HOPE YOU DO THOSE THINGS, BUT WE'RE NOT
24:24HERE TO EMOTIONALLY GIVE YOU some good
24:27buzz.
24:29>> That's right.
24:31>> We are here to give you sound counsel,
24:35strong doctrine, certain preaching based
24:38on biblical principles.
24:41In the book of in the world of
24:43engineering they call it first
24:44principles. You know whenever you're
24:45designing something doing something
24:46you're supposed to go back to first
24:48principles because between first
24:50principles and where it goes are a lot
24:51of theories and those will get destroyed
24:54because theories get you off track. You
24:56got to go back to the basic beginning of
24:58first principles.
25:00>> My uncle I I worked as a construction uh
25:03building custom houses for my uncle
25:04Lawrence and it was a wonderful summer.
25:06It was a great deal. I pretended like I
25:08was a great construction worker. I'm
25:10not.
25:12But this this index finger right here
25:14will tell you what a claw hammer will do
25:15to a a nail for the rest of your life.
25:18Right there. I hit that baby so hard
25:20with a claw hammer. Do y'all know what a
25:22claw hammer is? A claw hammer's got
25:25those little points on the head. It's
25:26not one of those flat nice little
25:28hammers. Claw hammer has points on the
25:30head of it. And the the the Anyway,
25:34it's heavier. It's bigger. and you you
25:37work with that. Back in the day before
25:39there were nail guns, I know we have a
25:41nail gun generation or screw gun
25:43generation. Nowadays the 2x4s are just
25:46metal studs. Back then it was real 2x4s
25:48and I had to build the walls. And so he
25:50would tell me, "Build the walls, put
25:52down the top, put the top plates on the
25:53bottom plate, lay them down, and build
25:55me an eightft wall." And so I had to
25:57build them a wall. And he told me, he
25:58said, "David, the one thing you need to
26:00understand when you're building those
26:01things is get you one 2x4 that's exactly
26:048 feet, cut it, and use that all day
26:07long." He said, "That 2x4 is holy."
26:13Holy. I'm out here trying to make a
26:15living. You're telling me it's holy? He
26:18said, "If you'll use that board all day
26:20long, you'll have solid, steady board
26:22walls. But if you just cut one and then
26:25use it and then cut another one, use it
26:26and cut another one and use it, he said,
26:28you will not have a consistency through
26:30your entire day, the quickest thing is
26:32just keep the board there instead of
26:34pulling out the tape every time. Just
26:36put the board on and draw and go.
26:39>> And so what the point was is you got to
26:41go back to first principles.
26:44>> This is why this church doesn't promote
26:46the doctrine of a senod or a council or
26:50even a manmade organization. I only have
26:53one place to appeal my preaching right
26:56there. The word of God. Don't ask me to
26:58go see what Dave Bernard wrote his book,
27:00the the the the third iteration of the
27:03book, the version five. I don't I love
27:05the man. He's great and there's a lot of
27:07wonderful people in this world and
27:08they're wonderful with their devotion
27:10and their consecration. I'm not
27:12diminishing THEM, BUT I CAN GO BACK TO
27:14FIRST PRINCIPLES. The reason we say
27:16we're an apostolic church is because I'm
27:18not preaching the doctrine of my daddy.
27:20It's truth over tradition.
27:23>> It's truth over tradition. For years,
27:27THEY DID NOT LET US HAVE ACCESS TO THIS
27:29BOOK. THEY CALLED IT THE DARK AGES. THE
27:32ONLY PERSON IN TOWN WHO COULD READ WAS
27:33THE PREACHER, AND HE WOULD NOT TEACH
27:35OTHERS how to read. He was just there
27:37and help. And in the dark ages, they
27:39kept a lot of people in DARK, AND A LOT
27:41OF DOCTRINES POPPED OUT OF THOSE AGES
27:43that are flawed, and they cannot be
27:44validated by the word of God. And what
27:46has happened with time? People have
27:48adjusted closer back to the book because
27:51they realized there was a darkness that
27:53was per permeating the pull pit. I said
27:55it right. It was filling the pull pit
27:57that was keeping the people in
27:59illiteracy.
28:01>> I want you to stand on the knowledge of
28:04the word of God. DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR
28:08IT. You build your LIFE ON THIS BOOK.
28:11DON'T SAY, "WELL, Pastor Elm said it."
28:15>> That means nothing in heaven. Right.
28:18>> If you think you can quote me to the
28:20Lord, I'm going to be ducking. That's
28:22the first thing. When you start saying,
28:23"Well pastor."
28:27>> No, no, no. We're in the building of
28:30preparing, building people up into a
28:33knowledge, the fullness of the knowledge
28:35of the ways of the Lord.
28:38>> And so here we do this in the house of
28:40God. We approach with a seriousness. We
28:44don't bring the sacrifice of fools.
28:47That's a three uh worded phrase. That's
28:49pretty frightening, isn't it? Imagine
28:51that. That I've offered a sacrifice of a
28:54fool. Imagine that. What What What if
28:56What if you had to say that today?
28:58>> Nobody in this house would like to say
29:00that, would you? I I gave the sacrifice
29:03of a fool today.
29:04>> That meant it cost something. That meant
29:06it was something that was there, but it
29:08was a foolish Why? because they
29:10halfheartedly
29:12thought God was on their quick call
29:14button and that he was just somebody's
29:17bellhop when really he's God and that's
29:20the reason said the Bible said don't
29:22make a vow in fact it goes on to say
29:24watch your step when you enter God's
29:26house enter to learn this is the message
29:29our text in the message that's far
29:31better than mindlessly offering a
29:33sacrifice doing more harm than good
29:37mindlessly OFFERING A SACRIFICE
29:39THAT DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD. Don't
29:41shoot off your mouth. Speak or speak
29:43before you think. Don't be too quick to
29:45tell God what you think he wants to
29:48hear.
29:49>> God's in charge, not you. THE LESS YOU
29:51SPEAK, THE BETTER. Overwork makes for
29:54restless sleep. Overtalking shows you up
29:58as a fool. When you tell God you'll do
30:01something, DO IT NOW.
30:03>> GOD takes no pleasure in foolish gabble.
30:06Vow it than do it. Far better not to vow
30:08in the first place than to vow and not
30:10pay up. Don't let your mouth make you a
30:13total sinner. When called to account,
30:16you plead ignorance. But if you shrug
30:19off your ignorance and say, "I didn't
30:21mean it." Does God let you off the hook?
30:24Look, it's worse than a bad dream. God
30:26has had enough.
30:30>> Nudge your neighbor and say, "What if
30:31God has had enough?"
30:34>> What? What?
30:37Listen, sister Elms, come. I'm going to
30:40land this plane.
30:42Listen listen listen.
30:45>> Have you ever had a parent that say,
30:47"I've had it."
30:53>> Now, I know none of y'all's parents
30:54believed in the belt,
30:55>> but my mom and dad believed in the belt,
30:57and I'm so thankful they did.
31:00>> I needed a lot more than I got. Okay,
31:03>> I know there's some people that abuse
31:05has really happened in their life
31:06because people disciplined out of anger
31:09and temper and selfishness. And so I
31:12will never support that. But true love
31:14guides.
31:16>> True love guides.
31:19>> Well,
31:23you don't know what's behind this lap.
31:26When my mama said, "I've had it."
31:30>> Woo!
31:33I mean, this ear was subject to being
31:35elongated.
31:38>> This lobe, I'm surprised it had the
31:40ability to recover. I mean, this lobe
31:43right here, it's amazing. They they do
31:45this to horses, but my mother did it to
31:48me.
31:50It's amazing the respect I gave her.
31:52Now, all of you educated people who
31:55think you're above all that, go show me
31:56your kids in a few days.
31:59No, I'm just saying be kind one to
32:01another. Sometimes kind means
32:04adjustment.
32:05>> That's right.
32:07>> I'm not going to fall prey to the mood
32:09and trend of a modern day who doesn't
32:12know how to make people whole.
32:14>> No, I'm going to stand on the book.
32:17>> The book. The book. This book. Love
32:22guide.
32:23Fathers, provoke not your children unto
32:27wrath.
32:28>> What does that mean? This sounds like a
32:30parenting seminar.
32:33>> Means fathers, don't walk in like you're
32:35the big bad wolf and because you're the
32:37father and the head of the house that
32:39they all have to bend around you.
32:41>> No, that's not what it's talking about.
32:44Provoke not them not to wrath. You as
32:46the leader have got to walk in and
32:48discern the room and say, "Okay, today
32:52something different's going to happen.
32:54I'm not going to always discipline the
32:56same way because I am sensitive to the
32:59spirit and the place and the space my
33:01child is in. Sometimes it doesn't need
33:04law. Sometimes all they need is mercy.
33:07>> Sometimes they just need a lot of grace.
33:09And sometimes they need the belt."
33:14>> What am I saying? I'm saying you're
33:17loving by guiding and guarding.
33:23And this is what putting your best foot
33:25forward is all about. When we open the
33:31back to the ministry fair, we're opening
33:34it for people who want to be a part of
33:37making this community a place of
33:39kindness and hope, promise,
33:44love,
33:45grace,
33:47righteous judgment.
33:50I know some quote that scripture, judge
33:52not that you be not judged. And then
33:54they act like the Bible means that so
33:56that you don't judge anybody. That's not
33:59That's not accurate. They're plucking a
34:01Bible verse out to make themselves get
34:04by with whatever they want. No. No. You
34:06got to look at it accurately.
34:08You got to know them that labor among
34:10you. You got to know them by their
34:12fruits.
34:14>> You've got to move remove yourself from
34:16those that are walking in unfruitful
34:19works of ungodliness.
34:21There are times scripturally that people
34:23were marked publicly
34:25and asked to leave the church and said,
34:28"You're not welcome to come back." And
34:31the Bible says that they turned their
34:33soul over to the devil.
34:39>> When was the last time you saw that done
34:40at church?
34:43You're not going to see it today. Sorry,
34:48but it's in the Bible.
34:52What we do is we lovingly see the fruits
34:57of people's lives. And that's the reason
34:59we have altar services. This is the
35:02reason we get involved with ministry
35:04because we're trying to make a
35:06difference. And the only way is to be
35:08accountable one to another. The only way
35:12you want me to be accountable to you,
35:15the only way you want to be accountable
35:17to me is if we
35:20are accountable
35:27to the Lord.
35:29For it is he that hath made us,
35:34and not we ourselves.
35:37We are
35:39his people.
35:41See this picture?
35:43I love this picture.
35:45I made this picture.
35:48I almost signed it DTE,
35:51but it was AI, so it wasn't all that
35:53good.
35:55But I just typed in that I want a
35:57picture of happy families going to the
35:59second temple period of Jerusalem.
36:04Why? Because it was about going
36:08to the place of redemption
36:11with your family, with your friends,
36:15with your loved ones, considering them.
36:19Them considering you knowing I want to
36:23be involved. I don't just show up to
36:25take. I'm not a taker.
36:28I maybe once was, but now my prayers
36:34have transitioned me to being a giver
36:38and I want to give my best to you.
36:41Now, there's some ministries like our
36:43platform ministry.
36:45You're not able to be on the platform
36:46unless you're a faithful tithe payer.
36:49And we also have standards of dress and
36:52apparel that you can't get on the
36:54platform if you don't have those
36:56standards. But there are many ministry
36:59perceptions that if you're not to that
37:01place, but you love this community of
37:03believers and you love this people, that
37:06you can be involved in loving this
37:08community, there are teams that you can
37:11shake hands and greet people and be a
37:13part of making this place a winning
37:15house. Because if you think we are where
37:19we're going to be,
37:23you're mistaken.
37:27I close with this. Leodysa is a big word
37:30that if you're not familiar with your
37:31Bible, you don't know what it means. But
37:33Leodysa was a city that was written a
37:37letter to in the book of Revelation.
37:39There were seven
37:41cities of Asia Minor that had letters.
37:45They all had churches in them. And Leo
37:48was a church that there was not one
37:50blessing told to it.
37:52But the Bible said, "You have left
37:57your first love."
38:00And here's how it was presented.
38:03The Bible said, "You're neither cold nor
38:07hot." We're talking about water, water
38:10supply. You're neither cold nor hot, but
38:12you're lukewarm.
38:15And since you're lukewarm,
38:18I'm gonna listen to this word picture
38:20the Lord puts in his Bible. Maybe if I
38:23wrote the Bible, I wouldn't say it like
38:24this, okay? But I didn't get to write
38:26the Bible.
38:29He said, "Because you're
38:32not cold or hot, you're lukewarm.
38:35I will spew you out of my mouth."
38:40Listen, when I really get mad, I want to
38:42spit.
38:44Listen, if I do that to you,
38:47it's about as bad as it gets with elms.
38:49That's about as bad as it get. If I look
38:51at you and go,
38:55I mean, you know, you have gotten in a
38:57bad spot. Justin does it to me all the
39:00time. It's the boss. But
39:06am I am I being fair right now? Is this
39:09a fair description?
39:11wouldn't spew you out of the mouth. Kind
39:14kind of be a pretty hard insult.
39:17And we're about to pray. Some of you all
39:20can't wait to get this altar and I'm
39:21can't wait to open it for you because
39:22you're you're honest with your own self.
39:25You're not you're not playing today.
39:27You're serious.
39:29Here's what the Lord was saying.
39:31Leodysia was a literal place in
39:35the area of Ephesus and Turkey around
39:38that area.
39:40And their water supply
39:43came from different places. And so one
39:47place was hot springs and one place was
39:50colder. When it came together, their
39:53water supply, if it was blended, would
39:56become lukewarm.
39:58And yet lukewarm water was never looked
40:00at as an effective use of water.
40:05Cold water was always presented
40:08historically as refreshing,
40:11as enlivening.
40:13You know, you heard of the cold plunge.
40:15We got about three people in church that
40:17do it.
40:19But back in the days of Rome, it was
40:21part of really the Roman bads. All of
40:24them would go do a cold plunge. You
40:26lived in Rome back then. There was
40:28everybody in the morning would go to the
40:30Roman baths and there they had these
40:31three compartments of different
40:34temperatures, but the last one was the
40:36cold plunge and they thought that's made
40:38that made you great. The cold was a part
40:41of refreshing.
40:44The hot water was always looked at as
40:47medicinal,
40:49as comfort. It's the reason when you
40:52wake up, it doesn't matter where you go,
40:53something hot is going to be waiting for
40:55you. Because those who care give you hot
40:57tea or hot coffee. Except my wife, she's
41:00not allowed to have hot coffee. She's
41:02too young.
41:06Am I making sense right now?
41:10>> To keep water cold
41:13meant somebody had to prepare it. They
41:16had to have a place of storage that was
41:18built below level of the ground to keep
41:22it cool.
41:24To keep water hot meant somebody was
41:27gathering fuel, somebody was feeding a
41:29fire. And that what the Lord was saying
41:33was, "You guys are having church,
41:36but there's nobody showing up with
41:37anything that's prepared. You think
41:41you're cute enough to walk in looking
41:43like you look
41:45and that's good enough for me, but you
41:48haven't prepared any comfort for anybody
41:50who might be coming that is in a place
41:53that needs some help, some care. You
41:57just think showing up looking good was
41:59enough. You none of you came with
42:01anything cold that someone exhausted
42:04might be coming to the house of God. So
42:07you thought just coming with your
42:09cologne on was enough. And he said
42:12because you're not preparing for others.
42:16Nowhere in your mind do you think maybe
42:19somebody will need something other than
42:21just what I want. Maybe somebody will
42:24need something prepared that's cool or
42:26maybe somebody will prepare something
42:28that's warm. in the Cathedral of
42:31Pentecost. As we all stand together
42:33right now, I'm inviting you to come
42:37>> to say, "Oh Lord, I don't want to be one
42:39of those who thinks it's just all about
42:44me."
42:45If you don't have the Holy Ghost, you
42:47need that because I promise you, you're
42:49not as good as you think you are by
42:50yourself. You need the Holy Ghost. You