Ready For Revival
Pastor David T. Elms 1/13/2026
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Summary
Pastor David T. Elms calls the congregation to prepare for an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit by shifting focus away from worldly distractions and towards deep, sacrificial consecration that honors God's presence.
Key points
- •Revival is not just a hope for the future but a current activation of personal, public, and collective spiritual awakening.
- •To be ready for revival, believers must practice the 'Let Them' principle: choosing not to be infected by others' chaos, drama, or carnality, and instead focusing on their divine assignment.
- •True value in the kingdom of God is found in things that endure the fire (gold, silver, precious stones) rather than temporary religious activity (wood, hay, stubble).
- •Giving is a key indicator of revival readiness; not because God needs our resources, but because sacrifice reflects a heart that values presence over performance.
- •Perspective matters: It is not where you are in one year that defines your walk, but the consistent faithfulness shown over ten years or more.
Scripture
Revival
Consecration
Sacrificial Giving
Spiritual Focus
Eternal Perspective
Life application
Practice the 'Let Them' principle this week by identifying one external distraction or person's drama that regularly steals your peace, and consciously choose to 'let them' be while you focus on your personal prayer and consecration.
Reflection questions
- Am I building my life with 'wood, hay, and stubble' (temporary church activities) or 'gold, silver, and precious stones' (eternal Kingdom values)?
- When I give, am I doing it to meet a budget need or as a memorial sacrifice to show God I value His presence above all?
- Where do I see myself in ten years, and how is my current consecration preparing me for that future?
- What weights or entanglements am I allowing to pull my eyes off the target of revival?
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Full transcript
0:00don't know. [music] Well, let's go to
0:00the word of God because I I got to speak
0:01tonight. All right, you ready? Psalm 50.
0:05We're going to be reading the two
0:08destinies that the Lord is writing to in
0:10this Psalm of Asaf.
0:14Verse seven. Here, oh my people, and I
0:17will speak, oh Israel, and I will
0:19testify against thee. I am God, even thy
0:23God. I will not reprove thee for thy
0:26sacrifices or thy burnt offerings to
0:30have been continually before me. I will
0:33not I will take no bulock out of thy
0:35house. I will take everybody say take
0:40>> I will take no bulock out of thy house
0:43and uh nor hegoats out of thy fold. For
0:48every beast of the forest is mine, and
0:51the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know
0:54all the fowls of the mountains and the
0:56wild beasts of the field are mine. If I
1:00were hungry, I would not tell thee. He's
1:03talking to the righteous.
1:06And notice he said he would not take.
1:10I would not take it. I know all the
1:12fowls of the mountains and the wild
1:15beasts of the field are mine. If I were
1:18hungry, I would not tell thee, for the
1:21world is mine, and the fullness thereof.
1:24Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink
1:27the blood of goats? Offer unto God
1:30thanksgiving
1:32and pay. Everybody say pay.
1:35>> Pay thy vows unto the most high. And
1:38call upon me in the day of trouble, and
1:42I will deliver thee, and thou shalt
1:44glorify me. But unto the wicked, God
1:49saith,
1:51What hast thou to do or do? What hast
1:56thou to do to declare my statutes? Or
2:00that thou shouldest take my covenant in
2:02thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest
2:05instruction, and castst my words behind
2:08thee, when thou sawest a thief, then
2:12thou consentest with him, and hast been
2:15a partaker with adulterers. Thou givest
2:19thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frame
2:23deceit. Thou sitest and speakest against
2:26thy brother. Thou slanderest thine own
2:29mother's son. These things thou hast
2:32done, and I kept silence. Thou
2:36thoughtest that I was allto together,
2:39such and one as thyself, but I will
2:42reprove thee, and set them in order
2:46before thine eyes. A couple things just
2:50to point out. the whole section when he
2:53was talking to his people, it's talking
2:56about the offering of sacrifices.
2:59He said he would not take it. You could
3:03only give it. And then when it got to
3:05the wicked, he addresses the words of
3:09their mouth. In other words, it wasn't
3:11about sacrifices. His people were all
3:14about the sacrifices. The wicked were
3:17all about talking. We're going to break
3:20that down. Lord Jesus, help your word be
3:22dispatched to your people. I am not here
3:25to take time in their busy schedules.
3:27I'm here to dispatch the word of God
3:30that has been delivered to me. In the
3:32name of Jesus Christ, anoint our ears to
3:35hear the declared and anointed word of
3:39God. Let it be in our spirits forever
3:42established in Jesus name I pray. Amen.
3:46Amen. Everybody turn to your neighbor
3:49and say, "Ready for revival."
3:51>> Ready for revival.
3:52>> Ready for revival. You may be seated in
3:56Jesus name.
3:58>> Amen.
4:00Amen. Hallelujah.
4:05So good to see all of y'all and be with
4:07you each tonight. Uh this month we have
4:11been in revival and we have been seeking
4:14to have revival. That is going to be our
4:17theme for the entirety of 2026.
4:21And we are going to see an outpouring
4:23that our minds has never ever imagined
4:26before. We're going to see personal
4:28revival. We're going to see public
4:30revival. We're going to see collective
4:32revival. We're going to see South
4:34Florida revival. We're going to see it
4:37in our church. And we're going to
4:38rejoice about it when it's in other
4:40churches. We're going to be a part of
4:42other churches having revival and other
4:45churches are going to share in our
4:48revival. In living this life, each of us
4:51grapple with entanglements that grab for
4:55our attention. All of us face it. And
4:59that's the reason generally at the
5:01beginning of the year people try to make
5:03a a reestablishing of goals of
5:05directives of things with which they're
5:08going to pursue. If you've ever met with
5:11me, I'll often talk to people in the
5:14terms of what are you doing right now?
5:17What is your plan? And then I want you
5:20to tell me a plan. And if you've come
5:22back to meet with me, you'll notice that
5:24I will remind you of the plan that you
5:28told me you made because I've always
5:31believed you make a plan and then you
5:35work that plan. And in living this life,
5:39there are continual entanglements that
5:42come and grapple with us. We also have
5:46to feel the pull of connections in our
5:50lives. And some connections will enhance
5:53our steps. Other connections do not make
5:56us better people. So, we're always
5:59assessing what is going to make us be
6:02everything God called us to be. One
6:06chooses what to believe and where to
6:09place their anticipations.
6:12And you've got to keep an eye on the
6:14target. If you get your eye off the
6:16target, you'll meander. Those of you who
6:19like me had to mow grass growing up, I
6:22had to mow a lot of grass. And in the
6:25grow mowing of grass, I did not have a
6:27riding lawnmower. And in our yard at
6:304631 Carriage Drive, uh I had a long
6:34stretches where that 33 inch Briggs and
6:37Stratton would mow the grass. And one of
6:40the aims was to make sure that the lines
6:44were not crooked. Every once in a while
6:46I felt fancy and I would mow my grass in
6:49diagonal lines, but other times that was
6:53fancy weeks. Other times I would just
6:56make sure it was straight. Uh and then
6:59that that that requires some artwork,
7:01but it also requires if you're going to
7:03have it nice and even uh and for
7:06unfortunately uh well or fortunately I
7:09should say I married a woman um that
7:12likes the vacuum cleaner to have
7:15straight lines and she gets twitches if
7:18for some reason the vacuum cleaner lines
7:22on the carpet don't have symmetry and
7:24the similitude of order. Uh so that is
7:28my um blessed blessing. [snorts] Um but
7:32in life you've got to know if you're
7:34going to have straight lines, especially
7:36mowing grass, that's my world, or
7:38nowadays mo uh vacuuming at times. Uh
7:42you've got to have a point in front of
7:44you. You don't look down at the mower.
7:48You look where you've got to go and you
7:50just walk to the point in front of you.
7:53If you just down and go and mow the line
7:56where the mower went, I can promise you
7:59your lines will be so messed up in
8:02little to no time because by measuring
8:06according to the line you just laid,
8:08you're going to get way off track. But
8:10if you'll put your eyes all the way to
8:13the other end of the lawn and just mow
8:15straight toward that, then you will have
8:18perfectly straight lines. It's such
8:21wisdom that I dispatch to you guys.
8:25Well, in life, you've got to do that
8:27with your own existence. One of the
8:29questions I ask is, what do you intend
8:31to be five years from now? You're going
8:34to be 10 years older than this someday.
8:38What are the things that you want to
8:40have checked on the box of your life 10
8:43years from now? One of the greatest
8:45gifts my dad gave me was when I was home
8:47Bible school between semester between
8:50years and one of my dear friends was
8:52preaching everywhere evangelizing and I
8:55was a preacher too but I had nowhere to
8:57preach. So you know what I did all
8:59summer? I painted apartments and clean
9:01carpets with steam and that's how I did
9:04it. I'll always love the remembrance of
9:06eating lunch at the Chinese buffet and
9:09then going from apartment complex to
9:11apartment complex, painting apartments
9:14for turnkey purposes. I did it all
9:17summer. Man, it was great. But I was so
9:20depressed because I thought I was called
9:22of God. I thought he had certainly put
9:25his voice upon me. I knew that my
9:28consecration to him was genuine and
9:30real. In fact, please pardon my
9:32carnality, but my full my whole year at
9:35Bible college in my dorm, there was two
9:39of us that got up every morning to pray.
9:43Please pardon my carnality,
9:46>> but some of my friends didn't pray.
9:51>> Yet that whole summer, THEY WERE FILLED
9:53WITH REVIVAL, AND I HAD NONE.
9:56IT DIDN'T feel just. It didn't feel like
9:58I was heard of God. And I went and got
10:01off the phone with him and he was
10:02telling me all the joyous things that he
10:04was doing. And here I was working and I
10:07got off the phone and my dad could read
10:09it. He was the foreign missions director
10:11of North Carolina and he had been
10:12calling pastors to get missionaries to
10:15come in that green chair over there. And
10:18uh he just had it quiet for a minute and
10:20he stopped folded his little scheduling
10:23book said, "David, let me tell you
10:25something. When I was at Western
10:28Apostolic Bible College, there were
10:31several men that were dynamic speakers,
10:34anointed preachers. They could speak and
10:37people would get on their feet. They
10:39could testify and wonderful things would
10:41happen. And he said at Bible school,
10:44everybody thought schedule them. They
10:47were preaching every weekend. And I I
10:49just worked going through Bible college.
10:52He said, "But now as I look back, the
10:55foreign missions director of North
10:56Carolina, having been the youth
10:58president of North Carolina, I know the
11:01names of those people, some of them have
11:03fallen into adultery. They're no longer
11:05in the church. Others of them are no
11:08longer even believing God." And he had a
11:11a yearbook and he could show me them.
11:13Sadly, I've got the same story. Some of
11:16the greatest, most talented people could
11:18not make the race. And daddy told me
11:21this. He said, "Son, it's not where you
11:24are in one year that matters. It's where
11:26you are in 10 years." And from that day,
11:30I began marking time and knowing the
11:33measure of my days. And every year until
11:37my daddy flew to heaven, I would call
11:39him in the 10-year mark and give him an
11:42update of where that son who couldn't
11:45get a place to preach, who all he did
11:48was paint apartments all summer long and
11:51rejoiced that his friends were very
11:53busy, but nobody wanted me.
11:57Don't feel sorry for me. Sometimes your
12:01hardest time is your greatest
12:03preparation.
12:05If you stop appreciating the TIMES WHEN
12:08YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THE MOST
12:10DIFFICULT TIME IN YOUR LIFE, THEN
12:13THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE
12:15TO HANDLE IT WHEN THE BLESSING OF GOD
12:18BEGINS TO POUR OVER YOU. And then when
12:21it pours over you, if you forget THOSE
12:25DAYS, YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE PART OF YOUR
12:28VALUE.
12:30YOU'VE GOT TO get your eye on the goal
12:32and keep your eye focused forward
12:35because if you're going to be READY FOR
12:37REVIVAL, YOU'VE GOT TO FIRST OF ALL
12:39APPRECIATE THE CONSECRATION.
12:43>> The ancient myth of Cephus, he was
12:46eternally pushing his boulder uphill. He
12:49would push it up until it got almost to
12:52the top and it would roll and watch it
12:54roll back down. It was a futile exertion
12:58of will against the unyielding forces of
13:01time. As if all there ever was was a
13:04grind and a press and voices calling you
13:07to climb the hill and expending your
13:10energies and adding to all of that with
13:13some kind of vain hope added to your
13:16cause only till you roll back down the
13:19hill again. I shall remember I shall
13:23always remember the day on a Tuesday
13:25night just like this when the twin
13:28towers came down in 911 September 11th.
13:33Yes, brother Hood was here for a
13:34revival. We were at my house and we
13:38watched as those towers fell. We came
13:40and had church here. We talked about
13:43what it means. I will always remember
13:45when George Bush, the president at that
13:47time, George W. finally flew to New York
13:50City and stood on the pile of the rubble
13:52of those Twin Towers and spoke into a
13:55bullhorn and said, "Don't worry, we will
14:00be back." And all of us who had angst
14:03against New York and New York who had
14:06angst against the common people of the
14:08world and they thought of the flyover
14:10territory, there was a miracle that
14:12happened with that prejudice that New
14:14York walked in. It melted away as people
14:17from the flyover territory would drive
14:20to New York and help pull them out of
14:22the rubble and fire departments came
14:24from all over the world and a
14:25reunification of joy and gladness and
14:28one cause and one purpose swept over
14:31this nation. I remember driving to this
14:34church to work when there wasn't a plane
14:36in the sky. Not one sound of an
14:39airplane. Fort Lauderdale airport was
14:41shut down and nothing could get into the
14:43sky. An eerie silence came and I
14:47remember thinking after George Bush came
14:50off that rubble thinking the hope of the
14:53world is not the United States. THE HOPE
14:56OF THE WORLD is not Twin Towers. The
14:58hope of the world, the only hope in this
15:01world is the church of the LIVING GOD.
15:04AH, THE UNITED STATES IS NOT THE HOPE of
15:07the world.
15:09>> [applause]
15:10>> This is the frustrating thing I have and
15:12I know I've got to be careful when I say
15:14it because I was born in the United
15:16States. I've been an American, but I
15:19have traveled a lot in the world and I
15:21know how much of the world thinks the
15:23answer to the world is living in the
15:24United States. That people are clawing
15:27and crying and trying to get here. And I
15:30want to proclaim to you that this is not
15:32the hope of the world. The hope of the
15:34world is the church of the living God.
15:37Because if you don't have Jesus in your
15:39heart, THEN YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY
15:41[screaming] HOPE THAT LASTS ANY longer
15:44than just time.
15:47There's a book entitled Let Them by Mel
15:50Robbins, which urges leaders to step
15:53away from the sif cisifanian
15:56grind. that grind of just thinking,
15:59"I've always got to push the rock up the
16:02hill to speak two transformative words."
16:07Let them Let them drift if they choose.
16:12Let them get off track if they choose.
16:15Let them become enamored with politics
16:18if they choose. Let them get upset with
16:22immigration if they choose. Let them
16:24choose abortion if they choose. let
16:27them. Because if the point is is not
16:31that you don't care, it's that you can
16:34lose the purpose of your DIVINE
16:36ASSIGNMENT, PICKING UP EVERYBODY ELSE'S
16:39BUCKET of worries when what you ought to
16:41do is realize God made your feet for
16:44walking. He made your smile for loving.
16:47He made your hands for healing. He made
16:50your mind for blessing. And instead of
16:52chasing EVERY OTHER CAUSE, WHY DON'T YOU
16:54JUST TOUCH THE PEOPLE WITHIN YOUR
16:56SPHERE [cheering]
16:58let them, if they want to chase all
17:00these things that will get them off. Let
17:03them harbor misguided opinions if they
17:06do. And if they choose to, don't cause
17:09it to bring chaos in your heart just
17:12because they are so caught up with it.
17:15Listen to them, work with them, talk to
17:18them. But when you leave that day, lay
17:20down ALL OF THE CHAOS THAT THEY'VE TRIED
17:23TO HEAP IN YOUR BUCKET and pick up the
17:26divine PURPOSE THAT GOD PUT IN YOUR
17:28HEART AND REALIZE THAT THE ANSWER TO THE
17:31WORLD IS JESUS.
17:33[applause]
17:36Let them, if they want to wallow in
17:38their own drama, let them do it. Don't
17:42let their drama infect you.
17:45>> Let them do what they're choosing to do
17:48without dragging you into their abyss.
17:52It's a profound self-liberation, a
17:54deliberate choice to focus on the focus
17:57the beam of your days towards the places
18:00where true power resides. You can chase
18:03so many things that don't matter. In
18:06fact, I had an amazing meeting with
18:08brother Torres and we were talking and I
18:10talked about how in a great house there
18:13are how there are vessels of wood, hay,
18:16and stubble and there are vessels of
18:18gold, silver, and precious stone. It's
18:21talking about the church of the living
18:23God. And we can all get chasing things
18:26and in our own definition, we think it's
18:28important. But I'll tell you what we're
18:30going to find out. There are going to be
18:32some people saved and all they were was
18:35stubble and they thought it was
18:36important and they thought it was
18:38powerful and they thought it was worth
18:40all their time. But when they get to
18:42heaven, the Bible says though they were
18:45saved, they will suffer loss. In other
18:48words, it's going to be put by the trial
18:50of the fire of eternity. And if
18:53everything you put your energies toward
18:56was the the thing that did not matter
18:58for eternity, though you are saved, that
19:02stubble's going to burn up. Some people
19:04have hay. Hay burns longer than stubble.
19:08It takes a little while longer to be
19:10consumed, but the fire of eternity is
19:12going to burn up the hay. Some people
19:15come to church and they work on wood
19:17cutting and THEY'VE GOT BEAUTIFUL LOGS
19:20THAT THEY'VE WORKED ON and they want the
19:22the world to know I haven't wasted MY
19:24TIME. LOOK, I WORK SO LONG SHAVING AND
19:28CARVING THIS beautiful log. And the
19:30Bible says if it doesn't bear the cause
19:33of eternity, it might be something, but
19:36when you get to heaven, it's going to be
19:38burned up. And God's going to have to
19:41wipe some tears from some eyes because
19:43they thought church drama was the
19:46KINGDOM OR CHURCH POLITICS WAS THE
19:48kingdom or church advancement in
19:51position was the kingdom when all the
19:54time it had to be gold or silver or
19:57precious stone. THE THINGS THAT MAKE THE
19:59FIRE GO THROUGH IT AND it endures the
20:03test of time. I want the Lord to help us
20:06right now to know that this church is
20:09built on the fact that there's a revival
20:12coming and it's already here. God's been
20:15building it and crafting IT AND HE'S
20:17ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON THE BEHALF OF IT
20:20AND IT'S going to blow our minds. And
20:22when WE GET IT, IT'S GOING TO BE BECAUSE
20:25WHEN the wood and the HAY AND THE
20:28STUBBLE SHOW UP, WE'RE GOING TO SEE IT.
20:31BUT WE'RE GOING TO SAY, "WAIT JUST A
20:33MINUTE. IS THAT eternal or is it not? IS
20:36IT ETERNAL OR IS IT NOT?" And we're
20:39going to say, "Lord, keep my focus."
20:41Good people do all THESE SIX OPTIONS.
20:44ALL OF THEM ARE going to go to heaven.
20:46All of them are going to GET A MANSION.
20:48ALL OF THEM ARE GOING TO LIVE FOREVER.
20:50All of them ARE GOING TO SIT by the
20:52river and the crystal sea of glass. All
20:54of them, though they are saved. Oh Lord,
20:57I'm praying right now that this church
20:59understands that there is a timeless
21:02truth and a majestic manifesto. There is
21:05an incessant drive of the Holy Ghost to
21:08bring revival. Revival to backsliders.
21:12Revival to the lost. Revival to the
21:14undone. Revival to the rich. Revival to
21:17the poor. Revival to every creed and
21:20culture.
21:22>> The exhausted parent seizing
21:26to micromanage their child's choices.
21:30You need to stop.
21:33>> Let them. The belleaguered professional
21:37detaching from office politics.
21:41You need to let them. The heartbroken
21:44lover releasing the grip on the wayward
21:47partner. You need to let them. You have
21:51purpose sewn up in you that God put
21:54there that didn't come from your husband
21:59and it did not come from your wife. And
22:02I know we're married until the Lord
22:04comes and then we we we will know as we
22:07are known. But there's some people that
22:09have blamed the one they're married to
22:11for their lack of true revival. When God
22:14is saying let them. If they want to be
22:17carnal and play church and ignore real
22:20consecration, let them. If they want to
22:23just talk a big game when THEY COME TO
22:25CHURCH, BUT walk an ugly road when they
22:27go home, let them. that you can't let it
22:30change and spoil your divine assignment
22:33because every one of you are fearfully
22:36and wonderfully and spectacularly made.
22:40UH YOU HAVE BEEN CRAFTED BY THE HAND OF
22:42GOD. YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED BY DIVINE
22:45PURPOSE. YOU HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THIS
22:47HOUSE AND IN SOUTH FLORIDA [screaming]
22:49FOR A FIRE TO BE IN YOUR HAND THAT SHOWS
22:52THIS CITY THERE IS HOPE.
22:55[applause and cheering]
22:58We've got to build a resistance against
23:01the slings and the arrows of everyday
23:04indignities
23:05that will come our way and try to get us
23:08out of kilter, try to steal us of our
23:11joy, try to pull us out of alignment of
23:15our purpose. We got to recalibrate
23:18are the the imperatives of our choices.
23:21In other words, clean your own room.
23:28I share a room with my wife and she
23:30cleans it.
23:32But you know what I'm talking about
23:34spiritually.
23:36Clean your own room. You can get so
23:40upset at things you encounter and see
23:43that it can get you absolutely out of
23:45balance.
23:46>> Let them If they don't want to worship,
23:50let them not worship. If you're the only
23:52one praying, let them not pray. Because
23:56the other two words of let them is let
23:59me. The Bible said, "Let the redeemed of
24:02the Lord say so. Let me praise him. Let
24:07me consecrate. Let me push AWAY FROM THE
24:10PLATE. LET me look at the lost. LET ME
24:14TEACH A BIBLE STUDY. LET ME be loyal
24:17when others are not being loyal. LET ME
24:19HAVE INTEGRITY WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE NOT
24:22HARDLY ANYONE IS WALKING IN INTEGRITY.
24:24NOT just let them, but let me have
24:27communion because I am not preaching let
24:31me be.
24:33I'm saying let me consecrate.
24:38Let me see the good. Oh, the devil wants
24:42us all gifted at seeing the bad. Do you
24:44know it doesn't require anything special
24:46to see the bad? Are you aware that your
24:49eyes are naturally drawn to see the bad?
24:52Are you aware you can walk into the
24:54church house and in the first three
24:56minutes see something that absolutely
24:58rubs you the wrong way? Did you not
25:01think that was a scheme of hell getting
25:03you and letting you see who wasn't there
25:05or who was there and their attitude is
25:08showing everywhere and you already saw
25:10the drama in the parking lot. Let them.
25:13But when you get in the house of God,
25:15let me see the good. Let me STAND IN THE
25:18SANCTUARY. LET ME BE A WORSHIPPER. LET
25:21ME BE A GIVER UNTO THE CAUSE OF GOD.
25:26I'm not asking one to gloss over the
25:29multiplexes of this world, the
25:31complexities around us. I'm not trying
25:34to gloss over the fact that some of you
25:36have a predatory boss or you live in a
25:39toxic family environment. I'm not trying
25:41to gloss over the fact that your life
25:44has some crazy up in it. I'm not
25:46sanctioning passivity, but I'm choosing
25:50action, but not the action that hell
25:52wants you to take. Some people are
25:53saying, "Well, I'm really working hard."
25:55You know what you're working on? Wood,
25:57hay, and stubble.
26:00>> I don't WANT TO WORK ON WOOD, HAY, AND
26:02STUBBLE. I'M IN THE CHURCH. I'LL BE
26:03SAVED, BUT I DON'T WANT WOOD, HAY, AND
26:05STUBBLE. LET ME be focused on the things
26:08that are gold and silver and precious
26:11stone.
26:14We are beginning this month of
26:15consecration. And I I bring this word of
26:18God to you tonight on one of the most
26:20shocking things my mentor told me when I
26:23began to pastor this church. We were
26:25driving. We had just bought a Elorado
26:28Cadillac with all of our savings from
26:31that album. And I listen, it's I'm
26:34trying to impress the people. Uh we
26:36bought it at the auction. We took all
26:39$5,600 that was in what was it? $4,500.
26:43I appreciate your correction there,
26:45Sister Elms. $4,500
26:48that we had saved from the sale of her
26:50album. Uh and I sang one song, one solo
26:54on the album, and that's what sold it,
26:55I'm sure. Then came Jesus. It was a hit,
26:59at least in my own head. Uh and uh
27:03Brother Ronald Abbott took us to the
27:06auction. My truck had blown up in what?
27:08In uh what is what is it?
27:11>> Buttonwillow, California. Yes. Right
27:13outside brother Davis church in weed
27:15patch. Uhhuh. Right over the grapevine
27:19there in Buttonwillow, California. My my
27:22F250 3/4tonon
27:25Ford blew up and every report I got was
27:29worse. I knew it couldn't even move off
27:31the lot. I never even took another mile
27:33in that truck, did we? And uh and we
27:36went and we bought that Elor Dorado.
27:38Brother Abbott looked at it and said,
27:39"David, you're pastoring. You need at
27:41least let the people think you've got
27:42something together." And so he he said,
27:45"This is we can get this Elorado there.
27:48Everything's good about it except the
27:50computer." And he said, "You don't need
27:52a computer to drive the car. Everything
27:54works." So nobody knew the computer it
27:56was out. It was all burgundy. But we
27:58decided to add a little silver at the
28:00bottom part. And we painted a little
28:02two-tone in our El Dorado. And we drove
28:05from California.
28:07The seats. Why do you want to tell about
28:09the seats?
28:11>> Seeds were so cracked
28:14>> that they would they would snag my
28:16wife's nylons.
28:20>> Okay.
28:24>> All right.
28:28We're live and on on on the internet.
28:31We're not on the internet.
28:34>> Oh, we took this month off. Good.
28:36Hallelujah. We're offline.
28:38>> Are you running in anyway?
28:41>> We're live. See there? I thought we took
28:43it off. So, we're live. I love all y'all
28:45online. See what you miss when you're in
28:47the not in the house. [laughter]
28:53Somebody's not following directions. Our
28:56executive pastor will be answering for
28:57this in just a little while. [laughter]
29:00Brother Sean Hixon called on the carpet.
29:04Listen to me. Listen to me. And I drove
29:07and Brother Harold said, "Well, if
29:08you're going through here, you and
29:10Melanie have got to stop and preach for
29:11us." We pulled that U-Haul trailer, that
29:14little Eldorado is this way all the way
29:17here. And we pulled that U-Haul trailer
29:20and we got it, Brother Harolds. And he
29:22told me, he said, "David, I want to tell
29:23you this." He said, "I know where you're
29:26going doesn't have any real money." And
29:29of course, that's another part of the
29:31story that we won't talk about, but God
29:33is the provider. Uh but you know, he
29:36said, "You'll know you're ready for
29:38revival by the giving of the people.
29:44You talking about throwing me for a
29:46loop?"
29:48I thought, "Now that's absolutely not
29:51what I expected here."
29:53He said, "No,
29:55their sacrifice will show up in giving,
29:59and you'll know they're ready by the
30:01giving." When we read our text, when God
30:04was addressing the righteous, everything
30:07was about a sacrifice. He said, "I would
30:10not take a bull from you. It's not that
30:13you couldn't give him a bull of
30:14sacrifice." He was saying, "I won't take
30:16it from you." He said, "I wouldn't take
30:19a lamb from you." He said, 'If I were
30:21hungry, I wouldn't come to you. And
30:24everything was about giving. Now, this
30:26is a giving church. It's a very generous
30:30church, a very giving church. When I
30:32start talking about what we're going to
30:33do on the last Sunday of this month,
30:35there are people in this church and and
30:37it blows some pastor's mind. But there
30:39are people in this church right now that
30:41are already deep in prayer, seeking God
30:44to know, Lord, I don't want to just give
30:46a portion. I want to give a memorial
30:48portion. What is the memorial portion
30:52that you would require? SO WHY AM I
30:54TALKING ABOUT GIVING? Because my mentor
30:56hit me when I was coming to a church
30:58that didn't have anything. Nothing. They
31:02owned not a square inch of dirt. Well,
31:04let me say what they owned. Wood pews
31:06and they owned an organ and they owned a
31:09PV sound system and it's that organ
31:11right there. That's the organ they own.
31:13So it bless God, we still own it.
31:14Hallelujah. Amen. But there was no money
31:17in the bank. And it was a miracle that
31:19Sister Kathy would come up with a bunch
31:21of money or brother Greg would come up
31:23with a bunch of money or sister Leonard
31:26would come up with some bunch of money.
31:27We're talking about the top three givers
31:28in the church. Okay? That was the that
31:30was the church back then. I'm so honored
31:32to still pastor those people. It's
31:34unbelievable that after all these years,
31:36they still want to hear me preach. But I
31:38want to tell you something. IT WAS
31:40MIRACLES THAT EVEN PAID THE lease
31:42payment. And the first negotiation with
31:44that lady who ran that that warehouse
31:48district, she drove up in a red Porsche
31:50and I thought the Holy Ghost was going
31:52to help me with those negotiations. I
31:54thought she hadn't seen an elm smile
31:55yet. I thought the Holy Ghost was going
31:57to put sweetness in the nectar in my
31:59hands and I would have a very favorable
32:02negotiation for the next one. I'm
32:04telling you, when that woman drove away
32:06for those negotiations, I feel like I
32:08had been searched by every police
32:10officer in Miami Dade County and I had
32:13been robbed and every pocket was turned
32:14upside down. I lost every negotiation I
32:17had with that lady. It was terrible.
32:22But it was still God saying, "You'll
32:24know you're ready for revival because of
32:28their giving." So why am I saying this
32:30to a giving church? Because it's not
32:32that you will not give. IT'S THAT THE
32:35HOLY GHOST WANTS to recalibrate the why
32:38we do what we do. Because he's sitting
32:41here saying, "I own all the cattle on a
32:44thousand hills. I don't need a bulock. I
32:47HAVE EVERY LAMB AND ALL THE FLOCKS IN
32:49THE WILD. I know every bird that flies
32:52in my sky. If I were hungry, I wouldn't
32:56ask you. IF I WERE THIRSTY, I WOULDN'T
32:58come to you to get a drink." Who is he
33:00TALKING TO? HE WAS TALKING TO HIS
33:02PEOPLE. YOU KNOW WHY he was saying that
33:04to them? Because he was saying to the
33:06righteous, "When you come to me and out
33:09of the bottom of your own heart, you
33:11said, I know you don't need my stuff. I
33:14know I'm coming. I know that I think the
33:16church needs it, but I'm not giving it
33:18because the church needs it. I'm giving
33:20it to him who doesn't need any of my
33:22stuff. YOU'VE GOT THE CATTLE ON A
33:24thousand hills. YOU'VE GOT EVERY BIRD IN
33:26THE SKY TO FLY. YOU WOULDN'T COME TO MY
33:29HOUSE IF YOU WERE HUNGRY. BUT it doesn't
33:31matter if you're hungry or not, Lord.
33:34I'm going to set my table for you. And
33:36I'm going to bring water for you. And I
33:39KNOW YOU WOULDN'T TAKE A BULLET FROM ME,
33:41BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER. I'M NOT COMING
33:44BECAUSE YOU NEED IT. I'M COMING BECAUSE
33:46I just want to be with you. And I'll let
33:48a bullet come before you. And so when
33:50you give FOR REVIVAL'S SAKE, IT'S
33:53SHOWING THE LORD. IT'S NOT ABOUT
33:55[screaming] ME GETTING. IT'S ABOUT ABOUT
33:57ME understanding my divine purpose to be
34:01with you.
34:02>> And then he goes to describe the wicked.
34:05And all of it is just words.
34:08Words. Isn't it something? The whole
34:10first portion is about sacrifices. If I
34:13were hungry, will I eat flesh of bulls
34:16or drink the blood of goats? No. But
34:18offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy
34:22vows. The power of your vows is in
34:25strengthened by your giving. I didn't
34:28write this Bible, y'all. And so when it
34:31comes to the wicked, what hast thou to
34:34do to declare my statutes? Oh, this is
34:37all about talking that thou should take
34:40my covenant in thy mouth. Oh, these
34:42people must known the covenant of God,
34:44but they didn't care anything about
34:45sacrifices. See, thou hatest
34:47instruction, and casteth my words behind
34:49thee. When thou sawest a thief, thou
34:51consentest with him. You're talking with
34:53other thiefs, other people who steal,
34:56other people who take. You're consented
34:58with a thief, and hast been partaker
35:00with adulterers. People that don't care
35:02about the covenant of of of consecration
35:05one to another. They just want to have
35:07all the relations with none of the
35:09consecration, all of the fun, with none
35:11of the price, all of the blessedness of
35:14the pleasure, without any of the
35:16pressure and the pushing of the
35:18responsibility. Oh, the Lord said, uh,
35:20you've just been partakers with
35:22adulterers. Thou has given thy mouth to
35:24evil, and thy tongue, once again, it's
35:26talking. Thy tongue framest deceit. Thou
35:29sittest and speakest against thy
35:32brother. So you know everyone who seems
35:34to be getting by with whatever you know
35:36and talk about the other people in the
35:38church, how they're doing this and that.
35:40Listen, I want you to know the Lord's
35:41saying, keep your focus. If you think,
35:44you know, people are getting by with a
35:46less lesser sacrifice, let them.
35:49If you think you know people that seem
35:51to be slip sliding through church and it
35:53doesn't seem like they're being
35:54penalized, let them.
35:56>> All right.
35:56>> Do you think God doesn't see it? Let
35:59them. You keep your focus. Cathedral, I
36:02beg you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
36:04all of you great givers, stay a great
36:06giver. But don't give because you're
36:08trying to get. Give because you want to
36:11be in his presence.
36:16For
36:17when the Lord spoke, he said, "Lay up
36:21not for yourself treasures on earth,
36:24>> where moth and rust doth corrupt, but
36:28lay up treasures in heaven." The summer
36:31of 1984,
36:33I was really extra consecrating myself
36:36to the Lord. I wish that I could tell
36:40you that the school year of 85, I was a
36:43good guy. I mean, I was a good guy,
36:46don't get me wrong, but I had some that
36:49summer of 84, I consecrated so much. I
36:52went to the church every morning to
36:54pray. I prayed with Andre Wright. He was
36:56a black brother in our church in
36:58Charlotte, and his family put him
37:01through a lot of lot of problems because
37:03he was a black man attending a white
37:05man's church. And in Charlotte in 1985,
37:08that was the South. That was a real
37:10pain. But Andre was one of my main men.
37:15And Andre and I would pray together. I
37:18wanted to see an angel so bad. I would
37:21squeeze my eyes and try to see one. And
37:24you know, I'd pray and and moan and try
37:26to see one. I never saw an angel. But uh
37:29and so but that year our church was
37:32trying to do a fundraiser to build the
37:34church that they're in right now that my
37:36brother pastors and uh that summer I was
37:39sitting on the drums when my dad was
37:41raising the funds and he was having
37:43people raise and make their commitments
37:45out loud and who will commit. My dad, if
37:48you ever knew him, you know this isn't a
37:50salesman. He he's not a manipulator. He
37:53doesn't play fast and loose with words
37:55to raise an offering. No, no, no. He was
37:57all in. And I'd watched him my whole
38:00life. My mother and father give
38:02everything. And so I was sitting on the
38:03drums over here. Listen to me tell a
38:07little sad story about myself, okay?
38:08Please forgive me. But I I sat over
38:11there and I was working at Protector
38:12Safety and uh this was um the year there
38:16I was a shipping manager and I made um
38:19$3.85
38:21an hour. Um, and that was big money
38:24because minimum wage was 335. And so 385
38:28I I had had several raises to get to
38:31385. And I sat on those drums and my dad
38:35had pledged $1,000. I didn't know how in
38:38the world my dad was going to give
38:39$1,000, but I knew my take-home every
38:43week was about $154.
38:45And I sat down on those drums while
38:48those people were giving. Brother Rick
38:50Mendoza, he was he worked for uh
38:53Commodore Computers back then or
38:54Burroughs and he was another one. He
38:56gave a thousand. And I was sitting there
38:58and there was 500 300.
39:02And I sat there and I said, "You know
39:03what? I can work all summer." And I I'll
39:07make $1,500 this summer. I'm going to
39:10give a thousand. And I sat there and
39:12thought about it.
39:13>> Looked around. I was still sitting on
39:15those drums. And y'all, I cry easy.
39:18Okay, you ought to know that by now. But
39:20I was sitting there and I remember
39:22raising my hand and I said, "I'll give a
39:26$1,000." And I started sobbing and
39:29crying. How embarrassing.
39:31Good night.
39:34I mean, one of three. My dad gave a
39:36thousand. Rick Mendoza, who worked for
39:38the computer company, gave a thousand.
39:40David Timothy, working for Protect
39:43Protector Safety at at 385 an hour. I
39:47knew I would have some leftover money. I
39:49would have $500 and my little Monza
39:52payment. I didn't have the Monza yet. I
39:54I I I was driving mom and dad's car, so
39:56I didn't need a lot of extra money. So,
39:58I knew I could give that f that $1,000.
40:04I think back to that consecration and
40:06think, Elms, what were you doing?
40:11Well, somewhere you believe or you
40:14don't. that you really do lay up
40:17treasures in heaven and that the only
40:19way to get it there is you give it to
40:21the kingdom of God. Now, my wife is a
40:24very, very generous woman and sister
40:28Susan, she knows our giving. Sister Pam
40:31knows our giving. I don't go announcing
40:34people's giving, but they both know. Uh,
40:36if you want to know, don't you dare dare
40:38tell them how much. Okay? I don't want
40:40this church to know. No, I'm joking. But
40:43they know we sacrifice and we give and
40:45we give faithfully. And I've got to
40:47commend my special wife because she is
40:49watchful after that like a bulldog. If
40:52I'm telling you, she'll run me down if
40:54she thinks I got some money sitting
40:55around that hadn't been tithed on. Uh
40:59and and it's just it's just the way in
41:01my life. But here's the point. There's
41:03really only one official way in the
41:05scripture to get the money to God, and
41:07it's not giving it to St. Jude's. And we
41:09give money to St. Jude. We give money to
41:13wounded warriors. I don't know about
41:14y'all. This is just me and Melanie. We
41:16give money every month to wounded
41:17warriors. And we give money. What is
41:20that other one?
41:23>> I didn't know we were given to that. You
41:25didn't ask permission for that.
41:27>> She gives to our rescue. I don't. Is
41:29that for dogs?
41:32>> Oh, that's Doctors Without Borders.
41:34>> That's not for dogs, is it?
41:36>> Wood handst.
41:39>> Is that That's human trafficking.
41:41Okay. Our rescue. We give to that
41:43>> operation. Operation. You You gonna get
41:46it right? Are you gonna get it right?
41:48>> Operation Rescue.
41:49>> Operation Rescue. Yeah.
41:51>> Okay. And the other thing we've given to
41:53for years is Ronald McDonald House. It's
41:56amazing how much a happy meal goes to
41:57Ronald McDonald.
42:01I'm joking with that one.
42:04But you know what? Generosity is one of
42:07my life's mission statements. In fact,
42:09when I wrote my life mission statement,
42:11it says, "I am to be a generous
42:14principle ordered man of communion with
42:15my God." And it goes on to say, "Living
42:18in the self-guarded atmosphere that this
42:20life is but a means to an eternal end.
42:23When I give to the Lord, I don't know
42:26about the Ronald McDonald House, and I
42:27don't know about St. Jude's Children's
42:29Hospital. And I don't know if if because
42:32we give to doctors without borders and
42:34wounded warriors if that's wood, hay,
42:36and stubble or somewhere that will be
42:38counted. But I know when I bring it to
42:41the storehouse of the house of God, I
42:44know the Lord told his disciples, "Watch
42:47that woman who gave two might. She has
42:49given her all and all these others have
42:52given of their plenty." And he said,
42:54"This is how you get it to the other
42:56side. I want to be known as a generous
43:00man. I want to be a giver. I want my
43:03kids to know dad was a giver. I WANT MY
43:06WIFE TO know I'm a giver. I want my
43:09parents to know I'm a giver. I want my
43:11brother and sister to know I'm a giver.
43:13I want my nephews and nieces to know I'm
43:15a giver. I WANT MANY CAUSES TO KNOW I'M
43:18a giver. BUT THE GREATEST CAUSE OF GOD
43:21THAT I CAN take real money and put it
43:24towards on this earth is the church of
43:27the living God who is built on one
43:29purpose. GET THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
43:33to this world in a loving, merciful,
43:36pure and holy way.
43:41[applause]
43:45>> I'm finished.
43:47God wants to bless us.
43:49He's going to bless us. Remember when
43:52Elijah was without food and God told him
43:54to go to the widow's house and she was
43:57to her last bit of meal and the prophet
44:01told that widow make me a cake and she
44:06said, "But sir, I have just two sticks
44:10and one last little bit of meal and I
44:14was going to make it for my son and I
44:17and we were going to die." You know what
44:20Elijah said to that woman? Make that
44:23cake for me. I don't know if I'm
44:28>> a good enough man to say what Elijah
44:31said to that woman. If I knew that some
44:34woman and her son was about to eat their
44:36last meal, I don't know if I'm a good
44:39enough man of God to trust the Lord so
44:44much to say, you may not know who I am,
44:48but I know who I am. And so I'm telling
44:51you, make that cake for me. And when she
44:55made that cake for him, you know the
44:57story. Elijah told that woman, he said,
45:01"Because you have obeyed the word of the
45:03Lord, your oil
45:07shall never go out and the meal shall
45:11never go out." And from that day forward
45:14through the rest of the famine, her and
45:16her son lived. But that wasn't all.
45:20There was a deliverance that she would
45:21need after her deliverance because the
45:24Bible tells the story of a day when
45:26Elijah came back and the son that she
45:29loved so much had died that day and she
45:33came to the prophet and said, "Oh,
45:36prophet, I fed you and we GOT MEAL FOR
45:40MY SON. WE got oil for me and my boy and
45:43we're doing fine." But I didn't know I
45:46would need more than meal and oil for
45:48whatever it is that has taken my son.
45:51IT'S MORE THAN I EVER thought I would
45:53need. What about my boy? And Elijah, the
45:57man of God, said, "Let me go in." And he
46:00stretched himself over that boy of hers
46:03three times and said, "Live." And on the
46:07third time, when he stretched over that
46:09son, that son rose up and lived. From
46:12that day forward, I preach Sunday and I
46:15preach tonight. There's a deliverance
46:17that you've receiving that is on its way
46:19to you. But there's also a deliverance
46:21you're going to need after your
46:23deliverance. And for the deliverance
46:25after your deliverance, GOD'S ALREADY
46:27GOT THAT FIGURED OUT FOR YOU.
46:32[applause]
46:35>> Sister Elm's come.
46:38Frank C. Mars got polio as a child.
46:43Because of his polio, he couldn't play
46:45like normal boys outside.
46:47And so his mother taught him how to hand
46:50dip chocolate in her kitchen. And in his
46:54poverty,
46:55he loved the idea that he learned how to
46:58work with chocolate. But when he was
47:01broke and poor, he started thinking, you
47:03know what? If I can make candy, I'll
47:06help and maybe I can break out. And
47:09along the way, while he was riding home
47:11in a wagon, this was back when he did
47:14not have any money. He was in a
47:15horsedrawn carriage, he made a vow to
47:18God. He said, "No matter whatever I do,
47:22I will tithe on every pent penny that I
47:25receive, and I will be generous beyond
47:29my tithe all of my life." His first big
47:33payday he went. And on his way, he told
47:36the Lord, "God, now that I just got a
47:39big payday, I want you to know that what
47:42I said when I had nothing, I will
47:45remember now that I've got my first
47:47payday." He drove his wagon to his
47:50pastor, and he paid his tithes to his
47:52pastor. And he determined, not only will
47:55I give of my tithes, but I'm going to
47:57give charitable beyond all of that.
48:01He would not give though from the
48:03leftovers. He determined he would always
48:06give from the top. He would always give
48:10first when he had gotten it, no matter
48:13what.
48:15Every time you eat a Milky Way,
48:18every time you eat a Snickers,
48:20every time you get a bag of M&M's,
48:24every day you eat Skittles,
48:26every time you enjoy the twist of
48:28Starburst, it all came from a man who
48:32determined he would give [music]
48:35every dime on every dollar. and he would
48:39do it first, not because the Lord needed
48:43his stuff, but because he wanted to have
48:47the things of God.
48:50Yesterday, I took LXM to the Holocaust
48:54Museum at
48:58Nova Southeastern. It is an al
49:01pilgrimage for LXM to go. and they have
49:06about four different people that they
49:08have specially interviewed who were
49:10survivors of the Holocaust and you can
49:14ask them very poignant questions and
49:17they sit in front of you and it's really
49:19a sobering
49:21stabilizing thing and when I went there
49:24I told all the Alex members I said okay
49:26we've got to go and we've got to
49:28understand horrible things are happening
49:30in the world right now like the
49:31Holocaust right now in Africa right now
49:34the Holocaust is happening. But because
49:36the American news media, both the
49:39conservative and the liberal, don't
49:41care.
49:42Did you hear what I just said? We're
49:45apostolics. We're not conservative and
49:48we're not liberal. We're apostolic
49:53because it doesn't matter. They're not
49:54that interested in the Africa story. Oh,
49:56if it was in the Middle East, everybody
49:58would be telling it. But they're not
49:59interested in the Africa story. There's
50:02some who are not interested in this
50:03China story. You like your Apple phone?
50:06Yeah. Think what Apple thinks of the
50:09sacrifice and the pain and suffering
50:11that's going on in China. I'm not saying
50:14get rid of your Apple. BUT THAT'S THE
50:15REASON I'M NOT A FAN OF THE things on
50:17THIS EARTH. I'M A FAN OF THE THINGS OF
50:19GOD.
50:21And I've got Apple phone, Apple
50:23computer, Apple Watch. I'm Apple. My
50:26point is this. We are to not let the the
50:30distractions of this day take us off
50:34track for the true reason we're on this
50:37earth.
50:39>> So we started by watching a man who was
50:41a Jewish American who was a part of a
50:43division that fought through Europe, but
50:45he was there as they walked into
50:47Ashwitz. And he was the only one who
50:49knew a little bit of Jewishness or
50:51Hebrew [music] or Yiddish. And uh he
50:54didn't know hardly any. And he was
50:55saying, "I I didn't know anything. I
50:56just know a little bit. And he said, "A
50:58little bit." And all of a sudden, the
51:00people who were Jewish there in that uh
51:03camp, he said they began to come out and
51:05he told the story. And then we heard the
51:08story of another woman who knew Anne
51:09Frank when she was there and she's
51:11telling us about and there was so much
51:13there. And you could spend hours in that
51:15little three room presentation space at
51:18Nova Southeastern in the Allen Sherman
51:21Library on the second floor.
51:25But there was one question that was
51:27asked of this woman
51:30who had been in Awitz.
51:34Do you believe in God?
51:39She stops and pauses.
51:42She said, "Well,
51:44that's a complicated question."
51:48She said, "I'll tell you. Before I went
51:51to Awitz, I always knew that we were the
51:53people who God had delivered from Egypt.
51:56I had heard all the stories about
51:58Passover and Elijah eating at our table.
52:03She said, "But when I went to Awitz,
52:05everything I saw, I knew there was no
52:08God." She said, "I [music] was an
52:12atheist."
52:16She said, "But when I got out of
52:18Ashwitz,
52:21I had problems bearing children."
52:24And so I went to the doctor and the
52:27doctor said, "Well, we'll try this one
52:28thing, but it'll really be something
52:31very special if you're able." And she
52:34said, "Wasn't very long." She said, "I
52:37conceived a child." And I knew it was a
52:41miracle.
52:43She said, "So I started opening my mind
52:46I looked at science and I looked at
52:48creation and I realized all of this
52:51isn't so finely tuned without there
52:53being a creator making it so perfect.
52:57I would watch the flowers bloom and the
53:00bees take their nectar to the honey and
53:03I realized there had to be more. And she
53:05said, I I realized that misery makes
53:10atheists.
53:12And when all I knew was misery, no
53:16wonder I was an atheist. But after I got
53:19out,
53:21I realized that so many people
53:25had been giving of their all to come and
53:29get us.
53:34That now
53:37she said,
53:40"Yeah, there's probably
53:44If you ever go to the Holocaust Museum
53:46in Jerusalem,
53:49they're all sobering and everybody ought
53:51to do it.
53:53Get some happy music to play that night
53:55though because it's heavy.
54:00But in Jerusalem, after you go through
54:02and see all of the true documented
54:04stories and sto
54:11heaviness, [music] there is a circular
54:14path, it's got stones everywhere.
54:18And in Israel, instead of putting
54:20flowers on graves, they put stones on
54:23graves.
54:25A stone is a memorial.
54:29In America, we think of flowers memorial
54:31there. It's a stone. Flowers don't grow
54:33plenteous there. Oh, it the desert's
54:36going to blossom like the rose, but it's
54:39not there yet. So, they can't just pick
54:42a flower and put it on, but they can
54:43grab a stone and put it. So, it's a a
54:47garden of stones, but throughout the
54:49stones are candles stuck at it. And
54:53there is an eternal flame that they have
54:56at the very end of the Holocaust
55:00that is there for you to realize.
55:03There will always be a light. No matter
55:08how terrible things get,
55:13someone is always fighting to get the
55:18light to you.
55:23The old-timers would say, "There shall
55:26be light in the [music] evening time,
55:29the path to glory,
55:32you will surely find."
55:35It is the [music] waterway.
55:38It is the light today.
55:41Baptized
55:43in Jesus
55:45name.
55:48Young and old,
55:50repent of all your sins
55:55and the [music] Holy
55:58Ghost will enter in.
56:06Meanime has come
56:09and [snorts] it's a fact that God and
56:12Christ are one.
56:16There shall be light
56:19in the [singing] evening time.
56:23The path to glory
56:26[music] you will surely find.
56:30Oh, it's the water way.
56:33It is the light today. [singing]
56:37Baptize
56:39in Jesus
56:41name.
56:43[singing] Young and old,
56:46repent of all your sin
56:50and [music and singing] the Holy Ghost
56:53will enter in.
56:56Oh, [music and singing]
56:58evening
57:00time has come
57:03and it's a fact that God and Christ.
57:08Shall we stand?
57:10You know why we're going to give? so
57:13that a house can be built. You know why?
57:16The last Sunday of this month, we're
57:17going to consecrate. Some of you, this
57:19is the first time you've even thought
57:20those thoughts because you're newcomers
57:22and new converts and you you you're not
57:24used to this this [music] custom of
57:26giving from a sacrificial place. Not
57:28from plenty, but from sacrifice. Listen,
57:31God will help you get there, okay?
57:34Because the Lord says, "I would not dare
57:36take a bullet from you if you're going
57:39to not give cheerfully. If you're going
57:41to give begrudgingly, now listen, David
57:43Elms will take it for the Cathedral OF
57:45PENTECOST, BUT GOD WON'T.
57:49I say that, [music] I hope you
57:50understand my heart because money given
57:53begrudgingly and money given with
57:55pleasure, it all spins building a house.
57:59My point is to you that it's not the
58:02amount.
58:04You're the one who knows if it's a
58:06sacrifice.
58:07You're the one who knows where it's
58:09from. THAT WOMAN GAVE TWO MICS. IT WAS
58:11LIKE TWO PENNIES. AND THE LORD SAID TO
58:14his disciples, "Watch that lady."
58:17Because all those people who gave sacks
58:20of gold, they gave from their plenty,
58:23and she has given of her all. Why?
58:26Because if I needed a bulock, I wouldn't
58:28come and get it from you. If I was
58:30hungry, I wouldn't ask for anything out
58:32of your pantry. I've got all the birds
58:34and all the skies. They're all mine. I
58:37COULD EAT FEEASANTS every night.
58:40But if you want to be with me, if you
58:43want to offer to him something that
58:46costs,
58:48then you've got to understand [music]
58:50the motive in the offering.
58:53Johnny Peril, mentor of mine,
58:59who now sits in heavenly places.
59:02I hope I did it okay because I've
59:05reminded the church what you told me in
59:081992
59:10that January driving through Bridge
59:12City. You'll know they're ready for
59:16revival because of their giving
59:20in Jesus name. We offer to you our
59:24highest praise. I'm opening this altar.
59:28This isn't an offering night. No, I'm
59:30[music] not taking an offering. I'm
59:32wanting us to recalibrate what is gold,
59:35silver, and precious stone, what is
59:38wood, hay, and stubble. And let's
59:41[music] bring our hearts and lay them
59:44down before his throne as we reconsider
59:48what it is that I want to be a part of.
59:51I'm going to let them choose to be
59:54caught up in all the frivolous things
59:57that [music] this world would chase
59:58after. I'm going to let them be bound
60:02down by bitterness. I'm going to let
60:05them chase the politics of their own
60:07[music] choosing. I'm going to let them
60:10decide whether or not that this the the
60:13the the the government is what they are
60:16excited about. I'm going to let them
60:19choose whether or not they're going to
60:20chase Wall Street or or or Fifth Avenue
60:25or they're going to chase uh Washington
60:28DC or they're going to chase [music]
60:30NATO or they're going to chase
60:32communism. I'm going to let them because
60:34the only thing I'm chasing, the only one
60:37I'm chasing, I'm [music] chasing the
60:40Lord most high. I'm after you, Jesus. I