But God Has Other Plans
Pastor David T. Elms 6/14/2026
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53:31
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores how God's plans for restoration override our past failures and near-deaths, calling the church to live as transformed ambassadors of a heavenly kingdom. Using the context of the Corinthian church, he emphasizes that being 'in Christ' requires a radical change in character and a commitment to the ministry of reconciliation.
Key points
- •Human survival is not a matter of luck or personal skill, but a result of God's active mercy and protection.
- •Church is not merely a social club or an obligation; it is a place for transformation and preparation for eternity.
- •Believers are called to live as 'new creatures,' which requires moving beyond religious labels to actual behavioral changes in attitudes, habits, and speech.
- •As ambassadors of Christ, Christians have a duty to protect the reputation of their brothers and sisters and to represent the goodness of God's kingdom to the world.
- •Reconciliation is a 'romantic' pursuit where God, though offended by our sin, was the first to reach out and bridge the gap through Jesus Christ.
Scripture
Transformation
Mercy
Identity in Christ
Reconciliation
Ambassadorship
Life application
This week, identify a 'trigger' for your personal anger or 'ugly' behavior and intentionally reposition it by choosing to respond with the fruit of the spirit instead of old habits.
Reflection questions
- Can you recall a specific moment in your past where you should have been 'consumed,' but the mercy of God preserved you?
- In what ways are you still acting like the 'old creature' rather than the 'new creature' Paul describes in 2 Corinthians?
- How can you better fulfill your role as an ambassador by speaking well of your church family when others are gossiping?
- Is there a 'great gulf' of pride between you and God, or you and a loved one, that needs a move of reconciliation today?
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Full transcript
0:00>> Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he
0:02is a new creature.
0:05Old things are passed away.
0:08Behold,
0:10all things are become new.
0:12And all things are of God, who hath
0:14reconciled us to himself by Jesus
0:17Christ, and hath given us the ministry
0:21of reconciliation.
0:24I want to speak for the next few moments
0:27on the subject, God
0:30has other plans.
0:32Turn to your neighbor and say, "But God
0:34has other plans."
0:37>> That's right. But God has other plans.
0:41I'm curious to know God's plans today.
0:45Amen. You may be seated in the presence
0:49of the Lord. It is a joy to see every
0:51one of you in the Lord's house with us
0:55today to hear the word of the Lord.
1:02One of the great duties of church is to
1:06help us
1:08realize while
1:11many things still occur around us, what
1:13is it that causes us to still be here?
1:17Why
1:19are we here today? You all are a
1:22churchgoing people and there's a reason
1:26why you're here on this Sunday morning.
1:28By now, there are many other things you
1:31could be doing and you don't have to be
1:35here, especially in South Florida. I
1:39know some places in America where the
1:41biggest building in town is the church.
1:45I know some of the best churches are in
1:48places with one flashing yellow light. I
1:51have preached at those churches. I will
1:54always remember preaching in Oak Mini,
1:56Oklahoma, where they had one flashing
1:59yellow light, but the church was one of
2:01those amazing hexagonal type of
2:05buildings. I remember preaching in
2:07Provin, Louisiana. I could name some
2:11towns where the most exciting thing
2:14going on is church. I can name towns
2:18where the owner of all the restaurants
2:21know when church gets out. One of the
2:25stunning things that I encountered when
2:28I first came to South Florida, the first
2:30time I ever came to preach here was in
2:34the month of February
2:38uh of the year of 1992.
2:42And I remember going to eat before
2:44church and there was no one dressed for
2:47church. I had been raised from at least
2:51eight until I was 18 in North Carolina,
2:54which in American's culture is known of
2:59as the Bible belt. Believe me, if you've
3:03ever lived in North Carolina, someday
3:05you're going to see people you're going
3:07to see people going to church. But in
3:11South Florida, even in 1992,
3:14I don't think I saw anyone dressed up to
3:17go to church. If today you went to
3:20Kristoff's Cafe or up the road to Vienna
3:23Cafe or all of these other places, what
3:27is that place you like, Winter? No, that
3:30place over there at Pimrook Falls.
3:33>> Lady Baker. If you go to Lady Baker, no
3:36free advertisement. They're gonna have
3:37they're going to have to pay me more
3:38money. But if you go to Lady Baker, you
3:41are going to encounter a lot of people
3:44that probably will not be as if they had
3:46been to church because South Florida is
3:49a different kind of place. There are a
3:52lot of things that you could be doing
3:55today other than being in church. But
3:59you are a churchgoing people. That's the
4:01reason you're here this morning. And I
4:04respect you for that. I'm going to be a
4:05churchgoing person all the days of my
4:08life. I've decided I want to go to
4:11church now so I don't have to go to
4:13church later. Because here's the truth.
4:16When you get to heaven, there is no more
4:19church. The Bible says that the John the
4:22Revelator went through the city and
4:23notice that there was no sanctuary
4:27there. But when we hear about the
4:30subject spoken of in hell, there will be
4:33preaching all the time in hell. So
4:36either you get to hear your preaching
4:37now or you get to hear your preaching in
4:40hell later, but I'm going to a place
4:43where there's no more church. Now, I
4:47know you wouldn't expect to hear that
4:48from a pastor thinking that I'm in the
4:51church business, but really I'm not in
4:53the church business. I'm in the Jesus
4:56business. And the reason I do church now
4:59is so that I don't have to pray later.
5:03When we hear the stories of those in
5:05hell, they're continually trying to
5:08reach through evangelistic efforts the
5:11people that are not there yet. The rich
5:14man said, "Please go tell my brothers
5:17not to come to this place." The rich man
5:20was always appealing for God to work on
5:23his behalf. So, I've made my decision. I
5:27want to make my appeal to God now so
5:30that later on he and I will be sitting
5:32around the cool sea drinking some
5:35lemonade. Because I won't always go to
5:38church. I'm going to be a churchgoing
5:40person now. So, I'm not a church p going
5:44person later. I know you haven't heard
5:46it like that before, but I'm just
5:48telling you, if you're not a prayer
5:50warrior now, you will be a prayer
5:53warrior later. If you're not a believer
5:55in reaching the lost now, you will
5:57believe in reaching the lost later. If
6:00you don't believe in hearing what God
6:02has to say now, you will want to hear
6:06what God has to say later. And so that's
6:09that's one reason why I'm thankful that
6:12you all are a churchgoing people. Why
6:16are we a churchgoing people? Why are we
6:19here? Is it because of the various
6:22reasons that many people offer why they
6:24go to church? Is it because you feel
6:27peer pressure to go to church? Is it
6:29because you have somebody that you like
6:31that attends church? Is it that somebody
6:34that can help you get a job that goes to
6:36church? Is church a social event that
6:40you're glad to be a part of? Because I
6:43think as a man, and I've never been a
6:45woman, but as for those of you that are
6:47women, you ought to have a good reason
6:51to go to church other than the frivolous
6:54reasons that do cover many of the things
6:57that we're involved in. Why are we a
7:01churchgoing people? Well, one reason I'm
7:04here, and I think there's others that
7:06might agree with me, it's because if it
7:09were not for the mercies of the Lord, I
7:12don't think I would be alive right now.
7:14>> I can't speak for everyone, but I know
7:17how many times had it not been for
7:20somebody who prayed for me, I ought to
7:22be dead. I should have died on
7:24Interstate 95 just south of Washington
7:27DC. I should have I should have died on
7:29inter on a highway 49 in North Carolina.
7:32I should have when that 18-wheeler come
7:35across the road. I should have died at
7:37the corner of Triion Boulevard and there
7:40at Central Boulevard in Charlotte when I
7:43was a young man driving home from work.
7:46I should have died. And many of you know
7:49times in your life that I'm not even
7:52saying you were prayed up. I I I'm not
7:54even saying you were right with God. I'm
7:56just saying, you know, there was the
7:59hand of mercy that was extended to you.
8:03Somebody was praying for you. You may
8:06not have been living right, but God
8:08showed mercy upon you. The children of
8:11Israel in Lamentations the third chapter
8:14said that they recalled all the times
8:17they could have died and they said,
8:19"It's of the Lord's mercies that we are
8:22not consumed."
8:24and great is the faithfulness of our
8:27God. I'm not being spiritual when I tell
8:30you had it not been for the Lord's
8:33mercy, I would be dead. I have in my
8:36work with the police department stood
8:38over enough carcasses. People who were
8:41once alive, but now they were not there
8:43any longer. It was just their body. To
8:46know it will blow your mind how quick
8:49and easy it is for this body to fly
8:52away. I know we think we're great at
8:55living because that's all we've ever
8:57known. But the dead are silent. And if
8:59the dead could speak today, they could
9:01tell you how quick and how easy it is to
9:06be killed. We are fragile creatures. So
9:10I want the whole church to hear me today
9:12when I tell you the Lord is the reason
9:15I'm still here. So when I praise the
9:18Lord today, it's not because I'm so
9:20spiritual. It's not because I'm so holy.
9:24It's not because I'm so great of a man.
9:26It's because I know had it not been for
9:30the Lord saving me, I would have left
9:32this earth when I was 17 years old. Had
9:35it not been for the Lord who saved me, I
9:38would have died when I was seven years
9:40old. I could go time after time after
9:42time when I fell, when I fell on my
9:45head, when I did something ignorant,
9:47when I did something stupid. I could be
9:50gone. But God is not through with me
9:54yet. The songwriter said, "Please be
9:58patient with me. God is not through with
10:01me yet, but when God gets through with
10:04me, I shall come forth with pure gold."
10:08I'm shouting over all of you guys today.
10:11I don't know how good you're doing. I
10:13don't know how bad you're doing, but I
10:15know you're doing. And the reason you're
10:17here today is because God is not
10:21finished with you yet. The reason you're
10:24still breathing is because God is a good
10:28God. Had it not been for the Lord who
10:31was on our side. I want the devil to
10:34know. But God has other plans. When he
10:37told me I ought to be finished, but God
10:40had other plans. when he came in to
10:42attack me. God has other plans.
10:47Somebody said, "When I look back over my
10:49life
10:51>> and I think things over, I can truly say
10:55that I've been blessed. I've got a
10:58testimony. I could have died. I should
11:01have died. The enemy was ready for me to
11:04die. The devil tried to kill me. The
11:07devil tried to trap me. Some traps I
11:10made for myself, I was delivered from
11:13them.
11:14I don't know if anybody else has that
11:16testimony, but some things I did and I
11:19should have been trapped. I did some
11:21things that were not smart, but somebody
11:25outside of me prayed for me. And when I
11:29should have been down in that trap, the
11:32snare could not hold me because God
11:35said, "I'm not done with you. You might
11:38not know who you are to me, but
11:45I'm only still here because of two
11:48words. But God.
11:51But God. Ephesians says it like this.
11:54But God who is rich in mercy.
11:58Woo. I'm thanking God for his mercy
12:00right now. It's still amazing grace to
12:03me. It's still his good mercy for me.
12:06Brother Lynworth got stuck on that part
12:08about the blood, the working blood.
12:11Thank God for the blood that washes
12:14white as snow. I should have lost
12:16everything, but God. I should have lost
12:20my mind, but God held me together. I
12:23could have taken my own life, but God
12:26saw and stepped in and did something.
12:29And nobody else knows what I was
12:31planning on, but God knew. And he
12:34stepped in. The enemy couldn't kill me
12:37because God's hand was on me. When he
12:39tried to destroy me, I'm still standing
12:43because God said he's not through with
12:45me yet.
12:47God had other plans. Nudge your neighbor
12:49and say, "But God has other plans."
12:53>> Ah, you know why the enemy couldn't kill
12:54you? God has other plans. You know
12:57reason you're not in a casket yet? God
13:00has other plans. You don't know what
13:02those plans are, but you ought to praise
13:04him right now because God is not
13:07finished with you yet. You may not have
13:09a clue the blessing he's got coming at
13:11you, but I've come to tell you today,
13:13but God is not finished.
13:16>> No. Hallelujah.
13:21>> John 14 said, "I'm going away to prepare
13:24a place for you that where I am, there
13:27you may be also. No demon in hell can
13:31keep me from the place he's preparing.
13:33No enemy in your life can keep you from
13:36the place that God's preparing. No
13:38trial, no tribulation, no demonic force
13:42can keep you out of the place that God's
13:45preparing for you if you decide that you
13:49want to be of the Lord's.
13:51Paul declares that the suffering of this
13:53present age is not worthy to be compared
13:57to the glory which shall be revealed in
14:00us. I'm saying eyes have not seen. My
14:03eyes haven't seen. My ears have not
14:05heard. Brother brother brother Easter
14:07preached last Friday night and I've told
14:09you this already but last Friday night
14:12he preached about a vision of heaven
14:14that has moved me all week. I thought I
14:16have seen all imaginations of heaven.
14:19But he started describing how we would
14:21all be in heaven and there there would
14:24be 30 minutes of silence and then we
14:26would all be rejoicing. And about that
14:28time each of our own personal angels are
14:32going to bring us in a pre precious
14:35presentation our crowns and whoever
14:38we're talking to our angels going to
14:41interrupt us and start saying I would
14:43like to present to you your crown. And
14:46on that crown, he said that angel's
14:49going to start describing jewels that
14:51you did not know you had earned. Prayers
14:54that you prayed that you didn't know
14:57what you were praying for, but because
14:59you were willing to pray, that you got
15:01credit for doing a work that you had no
15:04clue you had done. Now, I sat there and
15:06thought, you know, I've imagined a lot
15:07of good things, but I have never
15:10imagined the day my angel goes and tells
15:12me the story behind every jewel on my
15:16crown. And then he said about that time,
15:18and you remember brother Easter walking
15:20back up here and saying the Lord was
15:22about to walk through the doors and he
15:24said "Presenting."
15:26And he went down alpha and omega,
15:28beginning and end. If you weren't here
15:29last Friday night, you missed it. I
15:31can't do it as good as brother Easter.
15:33beginning and end, first and the last,
15:35put the lights out and everything. Ah,
15:37God can do all of these things. And then
15:41the Lord walks out and about that time,
15:43he said, "Our crown, we're going to
15:45realize we don't deserve this crown. We
15:48didn't earn this crown. There's jewels
15:50on that crown I didn't pay for. There's
15:53blessings on that crown I didn't even
15:55know I deserved." And about that time,
15:57the Lord's going to walk out and they're
15:59going to say, we're going to say, "We're
16:01not worthy of this crown." And about
16:03that time, that angel's going to say,
16:05"No man is worthy, but unto him who is
16:09worthy be all glory and honor and
16:13praise, and we're going to take our
16:15crown, and we're going to run up and put
16:17him at his feet because we know it was
16:20not our goodness that we're here. It
16:22wasn't because of how I danced I made
16:24it. It wasn't because of how I prayed, I
16:27made it. It wasn't because of how I
16:29worship I made it. No, all of those
16:31things made a part, but the reason I
16:34made it. It's because God
16:38ah,
16:40if heaven is better than the place on
16:43this earth, then why don't we just go on
16:45to heaven? You know, I've joked with
16:47people before I baptized them. In fact,
16:49I baptized somebody last Friday night,
16:51and I joked, I said, "Well, I'm just I
16:53just hold your nose. I'm going to hold
16:55you down about five minutes and you'll
16:56go straight to heaven.
16:58You know, that's that that's pretty
17:00vulnerable when you're the one about to
17:01get baptized. I didn't know that was
17:04part of this thing. But honestly, you
17:06know, I've thought if they get the Holy
17:08Ghost and they get baptized, let's just
17:09take them out. They'll definitely go to
17:13heaven.
17:16I mean, they do call it an axe and 248s.
17:23I I just I just Why are we still here
17:28after we've gotten the Holy Ghost,
17:29baptized in Jesus' name, repented of our
17:32sins? What in the world are we still
17:34doing?
17:35>> The Apostle Paul is helping us in our
17:37text with this. And he is trying to make
17:40it very clear that there's things that
17:43are assigned to you after you become a
17:46followers of a follower of Jesus. Paul
17:49tells us that he had established the
17:51church that the church in Corinth had a
17:55lot of problems. You Bible readers know
17:57it was filled with clicks. It was filled
18:00with problems. It was filled with with
18:02prejudices. It had tensions in it. It
18:05had adulteries and fornications. It had
18:09incest in it. When I say in it, I'm not
18:12talking about people visiting the church
18:13just Sunday mornings. I'm talking about
18:15back then. We didn't have visitors in
18:17the church. Back then, if you went to
18:19church, you were persecuted. You were uh
18:22things that you didn't just show up at
18:24church because it was a cool place to
18:26go. And that he was writing to the
18:28church at Corenth. And he was saying
18:31there's some of you Holy Ghost tongue
18:33talking Jesus name baptized people that
18:36are in incest.
18:38Now, I know you don't believe that, but
18:40if you really knew your Bible, that's
18:42exactly what he was saying.
18:44There's some of you living in
18:46fornication. You're in the church and
18:48you're living wrong. And so he was
18:50saying, "We have got to straighten this
18:53out of us because that's not who we
18:56are." And he starts compelling them to
18:59realize if any man is in Christ, he is a
19:02new creature. Now, if that was true, as
19:05some people teach it, that all you got
19:07to do is confess with your mouth and
19:08believe in your heart. And now this
19:10verse is absolutely yours. Since you're
19:12in Christ, you are a new creature. Then
19:14they would not have any of this sin
19:16going on in the church in Corinth.
19:19It's just common sense. They're in the
19:22church, but they've got sin going on.
19:24Hallelujah. I feel like Paul. The light
19:26just came back on. Blinded by the light.
19:31And so, here's the thing. Paul's trying
19:34to teach them. He's really trying to
19:36parent them. And some of them have
19:38gotten so bitter about it that they
19:41resisted him openly and they told him,
19:43"We don't even think you're a man of
19:45God." And Paul's saying, "I established
19:48you. I made this church be birthed by
19:52the power of the Lord. I'm the one who
19:54established this church, and yet some of
19:57you are openly destroying my
20:00reputation." And so Paul said, "I speak
20:02as a fool." And he began to go down all
20:04the accomplishments that he had done to
20:07let them know I am a man after God's
20:10heart. I've got all the chops, all the
20:12credentials. But above that, you've got
20:15to understand you've got a problem in
20:17you. Be ye transformed. If any man,
20:23that's the big if. If any man be in
20:27Christ, not in the church, in Christ.
20:30You can be in the church and not be in
20:32Christ. You can be in the choir and not
20:35be in Christ. You can be in the platform
20:38musicians and you cannot be in Christ. I
20:40even know some preachers who are in the
20:42pullpit and they're not in Christ.
20:46>> What are you talking about? Well, I'm
20:48teaching you as Paul was trying to teach
20:50that there are ways that you are to
20:53conduct yourself when you're a child of
20:55God. Now, I'm a parent of four kids.
20:58They're not kids anymore. They're all
21:00grown adults. But there's a thing that
21:03happens when you're a parent that you
21:06need to do. If you're a good parent, if
21:08you're a good parent, you will teach
21:10your children manners. If you're not a
21:13good parent, you will ignore manners.
21:15But the more base a nature a nation and
21:19a culture gets, the more people don't
21:22care about propriety, manners, being
21:26kind, being considerate. The baser
21:29nature, the base heathen is what we call
21:32it. The heathenistic culture doesn't
21:35care how they act around others. Manners
21:39teaches your kids when you sit down at a
21:41meal, you don't just eat and gobble up
21:44food because there's food and there's
21:46you. You wait on others. You teach
21:49people to wait. Manners is teaching you
21:52to deny yourself because of a
21:55consideration for others. uh the
21:58whenever a a society gets very base
22:01that's when they'll do things that are
22:02not proper in manners and places that it
22:06is has it's it's improper because it
22:09considers others. A dog will just go out
22:11and go to the bathroom in front of you
22:12and not even think a thing about it.
22:14They'll even smile at you while they're
22:15doing it, you know. Uh but and there's
22:18some people that are so base in their
22:21choosing to live. This is what drugs
22:23will do to you. This is what you will be
22:25reduced to just above animal living or
22:29even animal living. The same thing with
22:31relations. People will do relations in
22:33front of others because not not some
22:35expression of freedom. It's an
22:37expression of the lack of understanding
22:39of propriety and manners. What is this?
22:42This is a heathenistic
22:45moving of our society. And this is where
22:48as a church you teach manners and prop
22:52proper things to people about how to
22:54conduct themselves. And Paul was dealing
22:56with incest in the church. Now I don't
23:00want to talk about it openly, but since
23:01it's in the Bible, we're going to talk
23:03about it. And he said, "You are acting
23:06as if this is okay. If I just ignore and
23:10go about my p my way, I'll just let them
23:13be handled." He said, "No. in God's
23:15house. You got to understand if any man
23:18be in Christ, he is a new creature. This
23:22might be acceptable in Corinth. And if
23:24you historians know anything about
23:26Corinth, it was a base city that was
23:29expression had great expressions of of
23:33impropriy. And he was saying in Corinth,
23:36maybe this is acceptable, but in the
23:38house of God, if any man be in Christ,
23:42he is a new creature. Old things passed
23:45away. Behold, all things become new. He
23:50was saying this in second Corinthians
23:52because in first Corinthians they were
23:55acting improper. Now some people take
23:58this verse, pull it out of context and
24:00say, "Oh, you accepted the Lord. You're
24:02already a new creature." Well, if you
24:05act a fool, you're not a new creature.
24:07The Bible says, "Be not conformed to
24:10this world,
24:11but be ye transformed by what?"
24:16>> The renewing of your mind. You may think
24:19worship at church is improper. But we've
24:23got to tell you, worship is what happens
24:26at church. How do you get to understand
24:29that? By getting in your word and having
24:31a renewing of your mind. And before
24:34long, you'll be a worshipper. because
24:36you've got your mind renewed and you
24:38realize I'm going to praise the Lord.
24:41Let everything that hath breath praise
24:43the Lord since he enjoys he enjoys his
24:47people dancing. You will dance in the
24:49presence of the Lord. You will praise
24:51him with oh lift up your hands all you
24:53people and shout unto God with the voice
24:56of triumph. Why will you start doing
24:58that at church? because you renew your
25:01mind to be conformed not to this world
25:05but to the word of God. Be not conformed
25:08to this world, but be ye transformed by
25:12the renewing of your mind.
25:15And Paul was walking between two forms
25:17of chaos. He was walking between sin on
25:20one hand and condemnation on the other.
25:24He had dealt with this church. They put
25:26out the one man who had been in incest
25:29and did not allow him to be in the
25:31church, but he corrected. He got out of
25:33it. And Paul said, "Hey, accept him
25:36back." Why? We're not in the
25:39condemnation business either. So, I know
25:42none of y'all have been that silly.
25:44Thank God. But I'm telling you
25:46something. This church is in the
25:48restoration business. We're in the
25:50business of realizing had it not been
25:53for the Lord who was on our side, let
25:57all the church say, had it not been for
26:00the Lord who was on our side. And so
26:04Paul was trying to demonstrate three
26:06things that I see here very plainly.
26:09One, he was calling the church to
26:11demonstrate transformation.
26:14You have got to let the world know that
26:17this church is not a place that just
26:19arranges the furniture and gives you a
26:22renewal or a renovation project. No, the
26:26church is not a nice add-on to your
26:28life. The church becomes uh the the pro
26:32the carrier of the Lord most high and he
26:35is lord of all. You become a new
26:39creature when you come to serve the
26:43Lord. The world is sick of people that
26:46have a religion that just rearranges the
26:49furniture but never transforms
26:51themsself. They come to church and they
26:53leave just as mean as they came to
26:56church. The addictions they had coming
26:58to church, they still have the same
27:00addictions when they leave church. The
27:02anger problem they had when they came to
27:04church, they still rage when the same
27:06button is push pushed when they leave
27:08the church. The same shame they had when
27:10they came to church, they have the same
27:12shame when they leave the church. That
27:14is an identity projected on you by the
27:17devil. But it has no grip in the house
27:20of God because he said, "Behold, you are
27:24a new creature if you're in Christ.
27:26Behold, every man is a new creature. Old
27:29things are passed away." Oh yes. Oh yes.
27:32All things become new.
27:35Paul knew about change. He was the one
27:38who experienced great change. And
27:40because of that, there's stuff in us
27:42that we've got to get changed out of us.
27:45Attitudes you brought to church, you got
27:47to leave church with. You got to find a
27:49new source of joy. If your joy is stolen
27:52by what comes across the headlines of
27:54the newspaper, you got to get another
27:56source of joy. If who you work with has
27:58the power to steal your joy, you got to
28:01find a new source of joy. The Bible said
28:04that the joy of the Lord is your
28:07strength.
28:09>> I hate injustice, but just because
28:13there's injustice cannot steal my joy.
28:16>> I hate things that are going wrong in
28:19this world. But because it's going wrong
28:21in this world doesn't steal my joy. I
28:24love that story about that bishop that
28:27went to Washington and all they did, you
28:30know, all Washington is good at is
28:31telling you what's all wrong. Okay,
28:34believe you me, it doesn't matter what
28:36party is in. The other party has a
28:39professional megaphone to tell you where
28:42they're getting it wrong. And this
28:44bishop had gone to that thing and people
28:47had gone to the platform and said how
28:49things were so bad over here and so bad
28:52over there and this was going wrong in
28:55the north and this was doing wrong in
28:57the south and they have this problem in
28:59the west and have you heard about the
29:01issues in the east and he had had all he
29:03could take and he walked up to that
29:05podium when it was his turn to speak and
29:08he said I've heard about all the
29:11problems and he went down the list of
29:12the things heard heard and he said, "But
29:15I want this congregation to know
29:17something. God is not in trouble."
29:23>> I love that so much because you can get
29:26depressed hearing from whatever you hear
29:29from, but if you'll go in the presence
29:31of the Lord a little while, you'll
29:33realize that God's doing just fine. He
29:36is on the throne. He reigns forever
29:39more. He is good all the time. all the
29:43time. God is good.
29:48I'm not saying put your head in the sand
29:51and ignore problems, but don't let those
29:54problems take your joy.
29:58>> You've got to have your home to be a
30:00haven. If your home is not a haven, then
30:03it'll just be roing and roing with anger
30:06and rage and frustration. And all we
30:09talk about is how bad it is. And listen,
30:12the honeybees are so excited about
30:15making honey today. Nothing that
30:17happened on this earth is going to
30:19discourage them from making honey. I
30:21walked through my mother's rose garden
30:23yesterday before I left Charlotte. And I
30:26walked through and I smelled every rose.
30:28And I told my mother, I said, "Mom, I
30:31know a bunch of problems going on, but
30:33they haven't discouraged this rose from
30:36making amazing fragrance. The Bible
30:39said, "Whatsoever is good, whatsoever is
30:41just, whatsoever is perfect, if there be
30:44any virtue, if there be any praise,
30:46think on these things."
30:50It's time for you to turn on the joy
30:52juice. I'm not talking about alcohol.
30:55I'm talking about getting in the
30:56presence of he who reigns forever more.
31:00His rapture machine is doing just fine.
31:03He's still a healer. He's still a
31:05deliverer. He still holds people. He
31:08still lifts up the the hanging head. He
31:11still strengthens the feeble knee.
31:15Oh yes.
31:18My kids tell me about songs that are my
31:20favorite. And I was going through one
31:22the other day and I said, I like
31:25singing, "The joy of the Lord is my
31:28strength. The joy of the Lord is my
31:32strength." I've just changed keys two
31:34times. All you gifted musicians, please
31:37forgive me. But my my son Ethan told me,
31:41he said, "David, I mean, Dad, that
31:42wasn't your favorite verse." He said,
31:45"Your favorite verse was, the devil
31:47doesn't like it." Ha ha ha. The devil
31:51doesn't like it.
31:53The devil doesn't like it.
31:57The joy of the Lord is my strength. The
32:01devil doesn't want you to have joy.
32:03>> He doesn't want you to have peace. He
32:05wants your kids to only know strife all
32:07the time. He doesn't want them to
32:09realize that victory is in the house. He
32:12doesn't want you to know that it doesn't
32:13matter who come against you, you're
32:15going to win. That since God is for you,
32:19nobody can be against you. You can lock
32:22me up, but I'm still free. You can put
32:25me down, but I'm still free.
32:30I was up at a television channel
32:32recently and they were they had asked my
32:35wife and daughter to sing and they made
32:37an advertisement out of us. And so when
32:39we were done there was one guy who sang
32:42a spiritual about down by the riverside.
32:45And then my wife and daughter sang
32:47another song that was a spiritual. And
32:48when it was my turn to speak I just
32:51said, you know, we have been to the
32:55brush harbors and the hush harbors. The
32:58brush arbors were where the white folk
33:00who believed in Jesus name baptism and
33:03tongue-alking were cast out of town and
33:06they had to go outside of town and build
33:09little shacks and put brushes on the top
33:12of them because to get the Holy Ghost
33:14there. Rotten tomatoes were thrown at
33:16you. And listen, that's the way my
33:19heritage is. My grandmother was a bapt I
33:21mean a Methodist woman. She had a
33:23downtown church and a beautiful
33:25building. And when she got filled with
33:27the Holy Ghost, they cast her out of
33:28that church and she had to go to a
33:30church down next to the railroad tracks.
33:32Okay, this is this is our this is a
33:34white man's story. The black man has a
33:37different story of that day. They didn't
33:38have brush harbors as much as they had
33:40what was called as hush harbors. They
33:43had to go down by the river where the
33:45sound of the river would cover the sound
33:48of their worship and the water helped
33:51silence it. And so they were persecuted
33:53in a rough, terrible way just as much.
33:56But let me tell you, whether you came
33:58from a hush harbor or a brush harbor,
34:01the way of Jesus has always been mocked
34:04and belittled and made fun of and
34:07written off and ex and said, "You guys
34:09are crazy. They mock us. They make fun
34:12of us." But let me tell you what we're
34:14going to do. Those in Iran today that
34:17are filled with the Holy Ghost, they've
34:19got the joy of the Lord. Those in China
34:21today that are serving God with carpet
34:24all around, they got the joy of the
34:26Lord. Those that are worshiping down in
34:28Brazil today got the joy of the Lord.
34:30And whether you know it or not, there's
34:33a church in North Korea that they are
34:36praising and magnified and worshiping
34:39God because it doesn't matter if you're
34:41celebrated or if you're persecuted. God
34:45is God and he will never change.
34:52Oh, we used to sing. He's God on the
34:54platform. He's God back at the door.
34:58He's God in the amen corner. He's God
35:01forever more. I know God is God and God
35:05will never change. I know God is God and
35:09Jesus is his name. And they wrote new
35:12verses everywhere you were. But I was in
35:13North Carolina so they wrote this verse.
35:16He's God in California.
35:19He's God in Tennessee. He's God in North
35:22Carolina. He's God all over me. But when
35:26I evangelized, I realized that that
35:28verse was written different in every
35:31state where you lived. Because I want to
35:33proclaim to you, if you're a worshipper,
35:36the world will misunderstand you. If
35:38you're a prayer warrior, they'll need
35:40you in time of trouble. And they'll
35:42belittle you when the time of normaly is
35:45around. They won't even say, "I'm
35:47praying for you." They'll just say, "My
35:49thoughts are with you." But I don't care
35:51what the world says. I know the reason
35:54I'm here is because God transformed me.
35:59H brought me a mighty long way.
36:05There's attitudes that I had to fight.
36:08Uh I hate to say, there's attitudes I
36:12still have to fight. There's habits that
36:15try to sneak up on me. I've been living
36:17for God for a long time. There's no
36:20once- saved always saved.
36:23>> Your oil in your vessel can be full or
36:26it can be going out. Your lamp can be
36:29lit or you can have had the Holy Ghost
36:32baptized in Jesus' name and your lamp
36:35going out because you're not just once
36:38saved, always saved. You got to work on
36:41your attitudes. You got to guard your
36:44habits. You got to guard yourself from
36:47people.
36:48The enemy will put people in your life.
36:51They'll put a temptation in your life.
36:54They'll put somebody who doesn't even
36:56know they're being used by the devil to
36:58destroy you and take you down. And then
37:01there's desires that'll sneak back up in
37:03you. And the Bible say you got to be
37:05changed. You are transformed. How? By
37:08the renewing of your mind. Maybe you
37:11haven't praised the Lord like you ought
37:13to, but you can still renew your mind
37:16and say, "I'm going to be a worshipper
37:19because I'm going to change my mind."
37:23The me you the the me you see is not the
37:27me I used to be.
37:30>> But the me you see is not the me I'm
37:33going to be.
37:35>> He's still working on me to make me what
37:38I ought to be. It took him just a week
37:40to make the moon and the stars, the sun
37:43and the earth, Jupiter and Mars. How
37:46loving and patient he must be. He's
37:49still working on me. If any man be in
37:52Christ, if if if nudge your neighbor and
37:56say, "If if any man be in Christ, it
37:59might be that you're not in Christ right
38:01now." I know they say, "Well, you got
38:03the Holy Ghost. You're in Christ." Oh,
38:05are you? Because I've had some days I
38:07wasn't doing so good and I had the Holy
38:10Ghost. I was baptized in the name and I
38:14wasn't doing so good. My attitudes
38:16disappointed me. Have you ever woke up
38:19and got disappointed in yourself?
38:22I can't believe I did that. This is the
38:25thing about God. When you leave church,
38:27you shouldn't leave as mean as you came.
38:30When you leave church, you shouldn't
38:31leave as nasty as you came. You ought to
38:34be repositioning that trigger that's in
38:37you that makes you ugly like that. You
38:39ought to say, "You don't have access to
38:41my ugly. I'm going to move my ugly to
38:44where you can't get to it because you
38:46can't steal my joy.
38:48>> I'm not going to be cussing like I
38:50always did.
38:52If any man be in Christ, when are you
38:55going to be changed?"
38:57I know some people who say they're in
38:59Christ, but you just get them in the
39:00right situation, you'll see how in
39:02Christ they are.
39:03uh they're not that much in Christ, but
39:06they claim like they're in Christ. No,
39:08if any man be in Christ. And that's the
39:11reason the last verse says we might be
39:13in Christ. That word might is there for
39:16us. So God wants us to live transformed.
39:19He also wants us to understand that we
39:21are an ambassador for him. The Bible
39:23says, "And we are ambassadors of
39:25Christ." Musicians come. I'm closing. We
39:28are called to represent the Lord. He who
39:31created you without you will not save
39:35you without you.
39:39I want to say that again. This goes way
39:41back to an old guy named Augustine of
39:44Hippo. That doesn't mean he's a
39:46hippopotamus, but he said, "He who
39:49created you without you will not save
39:54you without you." Somebody said, "I was
39:58saved." Well, where's the evidence that
40:00you're saved? Because if you're not
40:02being transformed, there's no evidence.
40:05Even if people talk in tonesues, and you
40:07know, we look for people to talk in
40:08tonesues when they receive the Holy
40:10Ghost. We always say one word. If you're
40:12if you're a apostolic, you know what
40:14that word is. What is what sign is it
40:16when you get the Holy Ghost?
40:20That's a trick question, I guess.
40:23>> Initial.
40:25>> Everybody say it's the initial sign.
40:28That's an important word.
40:30>> We will seek for you to get the Holy
40:32Ghost. But don't act like you're done
40:33when you talk in tonesues. That's the
40:35initial sign. The evidence is the fruit
40:38of the spirit in your life. That's the
40:41evidence. It's not you can talk in
40:43tonesues. The devil can talk in
40:45tonesues.
40:47That's just an initial sign that
40:49happened on the day of Pentecost. But
40:51that's not the final evidence. Don't
40:53come talking in tonesues here and
40:55cussing me out out there. Don't come
40:58talking in tongues in here and gossiping
41:01and backbiting out there. Don't come
41:03talking in tongues out here and then
41:05killing your neighbor out there. Be ye
41:08kind one to another, tenderhearted,
41:11forgiving one another, even as God for
41:13Christ's sake.
41:18You know what an ambassador means? An
41:20ambassador sent to do two things in a
41:23nation. The weaker one is this. The
41:25weaker one is to protect the citizens of
41:28the country that live in that other
41:29country. So if you go to a country and
41:32live there a little while, brother Marty
41:33did work in Israel for a while and there
41:35he was going between Israel and Jordan
41:37and doing a lot of work. If he got in
41:39trouble, the person he had to reach out
41:41to would be the ambassador. He would
41:44have to get to the ambassador. If you go
41:46overseas and have anything bad happen to
41:48you, I'm telling you right now, look for
41:50the American embassy because the the the
41:53the
41:54ambassador's job is to look out for the
41:57citizens of his home country. So, so if
42:02you know somebody's talking bad about
42:03your brothers and sisters,
42:06you need to stop it.
42:09The best way to stop it is not by
42:11saying, "Shut up."
42:13The best way to stop it is by saying
42:15something good about them. Have you ever
42:18seen them pray?
42:20They are great prayer warriors. Have you
42:22seen how they love their mama? They
42:25really love their mom. That's you don't
42:27fight evil with evil. You overcome evil
42:29with what? Good. So you hear people
42:33talking bad about someone else in the
42:34church. Walk up and start telling the
42:36good about that person in the church.
42:39What is this? This is what ambassadors
42:41do. But the greatest role of an
42:43ambassador is to represent
42:47the country in the land where he's at in
42:51a positive manner. You woo that country.
42:55You don't walk through acting like I own
42:57this place. No, you don't go through
43:00braggados.
43:01And this is what reason President Trump
43:03needs to go to the altar. I'm telling
43:05you right now, he he needs to be
43:06baptized in Jesus name. I'm praying. and
43:08I want to lay hands on him and baptize
43:10him because you got to get some
43:11humility. That's what the kingdom of God
43:13is about. It's it's about humility. It's
43:16about being humble. It's about appealing
43:19to be people, being kind. Be kind one to
43:22another. Now, I I never picked on
43:24President Biden like that. So, Lord,
43:27forgive me. I'm going to pick on all of
43:28them the same.
43:31Here's my point. Ambassadors are
43:34representatives.
43:36The embassies are beautiful places. If
43:39you were an ambassador ambassador and
43:40you went to that country and you just
43:42sat around in that embassy and did
43:44nothing because it's like a mansion, you
43:46aren't doing your job.
43:48If God has blessed you so much that
43:50you've got the job to dream of, the kids
43:53to dream of, the neighbors to dream of,
43:55are you doing your job if you just go
43:57from church to the ambassador's
43:59residence? No. You need to get out
44:02amongst them, among the world, and
44:05represent the goodness of your kingdom
44:07to them.
44:09That's why I love those who hate me. I
44:13represent one who sent me. That's why I
44:16pray for those who despitefully use me
44:18and persecute me. Because I represent
44:21somebody other than me. That's why I
44:23bite my tongue when I'd rather cuss you
44:25out
44:28because I represent somebody other than
44:30myself. Ambassadors represent a kingdom
44:33that's not here. Yeah. It's from another
44:36place. So, you got to not only show that
44:39there's change and be ambassadors, but
44:41finally, he gave us the ministry of
44:43reconciliation. Now, I know you uh CPAs
44:46in this place, when I say reconcile, I
44:49know Sister Susan gets a twitch over
44:51here. She reconciled the books for Fort
44:53Lauderdale. You know, they're about to
44:55get audited. I don't know if you know
44:56that. They've been needing it a long
44:58time. You know, you know, but I'm not
45:00going to go there.
45:02Uh, and so that all this she gets a
45:05twitch when you say reconcile. They get
45:06all happy. Sister Pam, she can't help
45:08herself. You say reconcile, she starts
45:10dancing in the office. But listen, the
45:13And she was she worked for who did you
45:15work for?
45:17You worked for yourself and then you
45:20were a subcontractor for what tax agency
45:22was that?
45:24H&R Block. Woo.
45:27There you go.
45:29Here's the thing. There's another
45:31meaning of reconcile. That's awesome.
45:35It's a romantic word.
45:39You ever been in a fuss with the one you
45:40love
45:45and you reconcile?
45:48Oh glory.
45:51Oh, thank you. You ever been in a fuss
45:57and all of a sudden you decide
46:01fuss is over?
46:04Thank you, Jesus.
46:09To reconcile means you seek favor.
46:14You know, when y'all aren't talking and
46:18your friends know it
46:20and they're just wishing y'all would get
46:22back together. So, because you're so
46:23much fun when you're together, but
46:27they're fussing. It's like a busy bee.
46:29The girls get with the girls and
46:33the guys look at the guy and grunt.
46:36They're fussing and everybody who's a
46:39real friend is trying to fix this thing.
46:42So the guy who was real good friends
46:44with the guy Brother Hood did it for me
46:47with my wife, she's not here today. But
46:49when she told me there was never a
46:51chance to be my wife or or even date. I
46:54was asking just for her to date me. And
46:56I said on my 21st birthday, I told her,
46:59I said, Melanie, could I ever be your
47:01boyfriend? And she said, never.
47:06She's not here to defend herself.
47:09She told me never. But here's what Danny
47:12Hood, he was my roommate then. I
47:15realized my heart was too far gone. So I
47:17had to get it pulled back. So I told
47:19Melanie, "Leave me alone. Don't talk to
47:20me. I'm going to find everything ugly
47:22about you until I fall out of love with
47:24you. Everything ugly about you I will
47:26stare at until I get my heart back." Oh
47:29my lord. She started making herself so
47:32beautiful. It was ridiculous.
47:35But I I was dead serious. I was dead
47:38serious. I had to get my heart back.
47:39None of you guys know what I'm talking
47:41about. You're You need to let your wife
47:42know how much she has your heart. Good
47:45night. We get sick of love. Not sick of
47:48it. We're sick because of it. I mean, us
47:51men, we get hurting in our very gut. You
47:54women think you know how to love. You
47:56don't know how to love like a man.
47:58We love like a man.
48:01That's power love.
48:04That's the way I love. Man, I hurt.
48:07Danny heard. And Melanie went to
48:09practice in the piano room. And he
48:11walked in. He had never gone to the
48:13practice room with her. Now, listen.
48:15There's some guy friends you don't want
48:17to do this for you.
48:21>> I have two guys I'll never forget that
48:24said they were my friend, but when they
48:25heard me and Melanie was kind of
48:27fussing, they tried to bust the move.
48:32Glory. Am I preaching right now? I don't
48:34know.
48:35I don't know. I don't know if I'm
48:38preaching right now.
48:41Bam.
48:44I know. I wrote it down. It's down,
48:47baby. I don't have a sea of
48:48forgetfulness.
48:50It's written down.
48:55But Brother Hood went and asked her,
48:56said "Melanie
48:58is it really never?" Here's the
49:00question. When you're fussing, who's
49:02going to be the first one to pick up the
49:03phone?
49:05Babe, I love you.
49:08Who's going to be the first one to slide
49:10that hand across the gulf
49:14fixed in between?
49:16You know, it's only about 4 in, but
49:18brother, when you're fussing, that is a
49:20great gulf fixed in between. You know
49:24what I'm talking about. I am not
49:25reaching over there. I can lean this way
49:27while I drive.
49:32You got to turn left and it's like you
49:33get a crick in your neck just trying to
49:35see that rearview mirror.
49:41Who's going to reconcile?
49:43Who's going to be the first one to say,
49:48"I'm sorry."
49:50I tell you who it was in the Bible
49:53while
49:55we were yet sinners.
49:58Yeah, that sorry old you.
50:01That you that's a mess. That gossiping
50:04you. That hating on everybody you.
50:08That big old ogre you. That complaining
50:12you. That finding the stinking everyday
50:15you. That you.
50:18While we were yet sinners,
50:23somebody said, "He looked beyond my
50:25fault
50:27and he saw my need."
50:30All over this building, there's people
50:34that have little things between you and
50:36the Lord.
50:38Some of you haven't gotten the Holy
50:39Ghost yet because you're not sure you're
50:41worthy. I'm going to open the altar to
50:44you and tell you, he's already trying.
50:46He's He's already trying. The reason
50:50you're still here is because he doesn't
50:52see the stinky you, the smelly you, the
50:55nasty you, the ugly you, the angry you,
50:58the attitude you. He doesn't see it.
51:01You're doing everything you can to show
51:03him, I'm mad because you did this. I'm
51:06angry because I didn't get that raise.
51:09I'm frustrated because I had to bury
51:11them. I'm mad because of this situation
51:15not working out. That situation fell
51:17through. Had to file bankruptcy. I'm
51:21ticked off. No, no, no. He looked beside
51:24that and through that and over that and
51:27said, "I made you and I made you
51:31beautiful and I made you perfect. I made
51:34you holy." Stand with me right now. I'm
51:36about to open this altar and somebody's
51:39got to understand he's wanting to
51:40reconcile. He's wanting to reconcile.
51:43He's given that to the church. the
51:45ministry of reconciliation to tell you
51:48you are just right where he wants you.
51:51You're not too far away. You're close
51:54enough. His arm will reach to where you
51:57are and wrap it all around you and lift
52:01you up and restore you. Your nasty ways,
52:05he's already gone beyond them. All you
52:07got to do is say, "Lord, forgive me.
52:10Forgive me. That's not who I want to be.
52:13That's not what I want to be. I want to
52:15be a man of God. I want to be a woman of
52:18God. I want to be a child of God. I want
52:21to be a godly father. I want to be a
52:24godly husband. I want to be a godly
52:27grandfather. I want my grandchildren to
52:30know when they come to me, I'm not just
52:32a strong man, but I'm also a spiritual
52:35man. I want my grandchildren to know I'm
52:38quick to pray. I'm quick to believe God.
52:42I'm quick to give him a Bible verse. Oh
52:45Lord, move on us today. I don't want to
52:48be conformed to this old carnal world.
52:52This is the Holy Ghost reaching for
52:54somebody here today. Somebody needs to
52:57reconcile back to God.
53:01While you're still stubborn, he's loving
53:04on you. Will you come? Will you come to
53:08his altar? Will you come and say, "Lord,
53:11I want to be reconciled.
53:13I'm tired of the fuss. I'm tired of
53:16standing in my own pride. I'm tired of
53:19trying to twist away from you because
53:22this didn't go that way and that didn't
53:24go my way and I got forgotten over there
53:28and somebody who didn't remember me over
53:30here. Oh Lord, I want to reconcile.