When God Smiles
Pastor David T. Elms 7/13/2025
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42:48
Summary
Pastor Elms explores the joy and laughter of Jesus, specifically focusing on how God's smile reveals His desire to bless everyone regardless of their background or past. Using the story of the Canaanite woman, the sermon highlights how faith can 'checkmate' tradition and unlock the generous, smiling heart of God.
Key points
- •Many people view God through an unbalanced lens of austerity and judgment, but scripture and the character of Christ reveal a God of deep joy and humor.
- •The account of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15) shows Jesus shifting from the 'exclusive' social order of the day to a radical inclusion based on faith.
- •The silence or 'harsh' words of Jesus in the face of the woman's plea were not meant to demean her, but likely involved a 'twinkle in His eye' as He prepared to reward her great faith.
- •A smile is a disarming and empowering gift; God smiles over His creation and expresses divine joy when His children find deliverance and restoration.
- •Jesus is not restricted by human resumes or heritage; His grace and miracles are available to anyone who approaches Him with honest desperation.
Scripture
Faith
Joy
Mercy
Divine Nature
Life application
This week, trade the image of a scowling God for the image of a smiling Savior. Approach your challenges with the 'boldness of the Canaanite woman,' knowing that God delights in answering the faith of those who refuse to be turned away.
Reflection questions
- Which image of Jesus do you find easier to relate to: the 'Man of Sorrows' or the laughing Liberator? Why?
- How does the idea of God smiling at you change the way you approach Him in prayer?
- In what ways have you allowed 'exclusive' thinking to limit who you believe God wants to bless?
- What 'crumbs' of faith are you currently holding onto that you need God to turn into a full table of blessing?
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Full transcript
0:00I think it's more like Christ when you
0:00make others feel better. Uh and so with
0:00that I want to go to the word of the
0:01Lord today and preach to you on the
0:03subject when God smiles.
0:07When God smiles. You may be seated in
0:10Jesus name.
0:17Max Mcato in his 2023 book that he just
0:22put out entitled He Gets Us
0:25recounts a story of receiving a portrait
0:28of Jesus laughing
0:31as a gift from an unnamed Episcopal
0:34priest. Lado hung the gifted portrait
0:39over his desk in his office.
0:42The picture you're seeing here is the
0:45picture that he was given. It is a
0:48sketch showing Jesus with his head
0:51thrown back,
0:53mouth wide open, laughing with a sparkle
0:58on his eyes, and appearing to roar
1:02with delight.
1:05This is a depiction of Jesus
1:08that the priest told him that he gives
1:13away to anyone who might be too inclined
1:18to take God
1:20too seriously.
1:24Now I disagree with the idea that you
1:26can take God too seriously.
1:29But I do agree with the fact that so
1:32many people's revelation of the Lord is
1:36so austere and harsh and tough and
1:42judging that they have an unbalanced
1:47revelation
1:49of who Jesus really is.
1:52>> We talk about how I want to be like
1:54Jesus. I want to be like Jesus. And yet
1:57I think many times the laughing Jesus is
2:00a Jesus that too few people have seen.
2:04This was made by a Canadian artist
2:06Willis Wheatley and it was entitled
2:09Jesus Christ liberator. It was uh
2:13pencled in 1973.
2:16Initially, it was controversial
2:19because there were those theologians
2:23who viewed it as irreverent,
2:26as if the Lord could never have this
2:29kind of a moment. In 2,000 years of
2:32Christian art, few paintings and few
2:35artwork has ever shown Jesus laughing.
2:39In fact, if you go through the entire
2:41repertoire of Christian art, you will
2:45see very very few. Most of the paintings
2:48are of a somber, unsmiling depiction of
2:51Jesus. We know that he was a man of
2:53suffering. We know he was acquainted
2:56with grief. We know that there were
2:58times of heaviness and times of weeping
3:01until it was, as it were, great drops of
3:03blood fell from his brow. And yet I come
3:07to tell you today that if that is only
3:10the your only understanding of who Jesus
3:13is, the Bible says in the book of
3:16Hebrews that he endured the cross
3:18despising the shame, but he did it
3:21because of the joy set before him.
3:27>> The idea that uh there is no time that
3:30the Lord could laugh must be changed.
3:33Ecclesiastes 3 says that there is a time
3:36and a season for everything. And among
3:39those depictions that are
3:40juxtapositioned besides each other,
3:43there is a time to weep and there is a
3:47time to laugh.
3:49>> Does Jesus have joy?
3:52When would it have been possible that
3:55Jesus had this kind of an expression?
3:59Psalm the 2 Psalm verse four says that
4:02when God laughs, he's going to laugh at
4:04earthly rulers, the oppressions of
4:07empire and the the when the elite try to
4:11walk on the common that God will laugh
4:14at that moment that he would also
4:17welcome insiders but he also welcomes
4:20outsiders and he said that whosoever
4:23will let him come unto him. I know it's
4:27not easy to envision Jesus laughing or
4:30smiling. The sermon about a laughing God
4:34uh seems to be very rare and uncommon.
4:37In fact, the laughing God that many of
4:40us are acquainted with is found in
4:42Proverbs 1:26 when judgment comes and
4:45those who have mocked him and those who
4:47have belittled him and those who have
4:49made him seem like he was unimportant
4:51and uninteresting and completely not
4:54worthy of their time. He says in Psalm
4:57126, I will also I also will laugh at
5:00your calamity and will mock when your
5:03fear cometh. And so this weeping God,
5:06this judging God, this austere God is
5:10the one that so many people have in
5:12their mind's eye. And I want to be very
5:15clear with you today. I'm not trying to
5:17turn God into a joker. I am not trying
5:20at all to say that the Lord himself
5:23doesn't understand the weight of the
5:25world and the burdens that come by those
5:28of us who want to serve him well. But I
5:32also want to say there's got to be a
5:34balance on the other side.
5:37And I'm going to work on that balance
5:40today because I want you to hold up just
5:43a minute before you have the Lord
5:45without a smile on his face. When God
5:48created the earth, when he stretched the
5:51the north over the empty place and hung
5:54the world upon nothing, do you think he
5:57did all of that without a smile? When he
6:00stretched the neck of the giraffe up
6:02tall and he padded the hippopotamus to
6:05be extra wide. When he watched the
6:07running of an ostrich and he saw all of
6:11the wiggle of a caterpillar. Do you
6:13think the Lord didn't smile? Do you
6:17think when he made the pine tree point
6:19its finger to the sky and caused the
6:22waves to clap their hands in glee over
6:25creation's glad song? When he watched
6:28the hummingbird hover over the nectar
6:31and the honeybee buzz over the
6:33sweetness, do you think he didn't smile?
6:36I'm sure that when God made the
6:39tentacles of eight on the octopus had to
6:42bring a smile to his face. Jesus was a
6:46man of sorrows and he was acquainted
6:48with grief. The Bible though tells us
6:50that he was a very humble man and was
6:54tempted in all points like as we. But it
6:57also says that he was a man of all
7:00passions just like we are. Laughter
7:04aligns with the divine joy of God. Humor
7:08stems from love. love comes. And when
7:12love comes, smiles show up. When love
7:15happens, you I I I love playing a game
7:18with my kids when they were little. I
7:20don't know if I could still beat them or
7:21not, but when my kids I had a special
7:25power over all my children, every one of
7:27them. And we had a game to see how long
7:31they could keep from smiling. I'm
7:33telling you, it didn't matter who they
7:35were or how long I could look at them.
7:38All right, the smile again. It's time
7:40for the smile game. No smiling aloud.
7:43All right, line up, get in front of me,
7:47and here it goes. And before you know
7:49it, I just walk up and I just, you know,
7:51sometimes I'd flare my nostrils or, you
7:54know, sometimes I just make a one little
7:57move or I just look at them real close
7:58and just
8:01see.
8:03Here's the thing. If you've been
8:04traumatized by people, if you've been
8:07hurt by people, if you've been wounded
8:09by people, you can find the absence of a
8:12smile is very easy.
8:15>> It's so easy not to smile when people
8:19who have misused you and manipulated you
8:21and forgotten you and and disregarded
8:24you, when they show up, it's so easy.
8:27Sometimes you will put a smile on, but
8:29that's all muscle
8:32>> because of how they impacted you. But
8:35when it's love, you can't.
8:40>> I don't think you can stop it. I mean, I
8:44And I know I I betrayed the room so much
8:47easy. My mother and father, we used to
8:49play rook. Now, I know some of y'all
8:52think playing cards means playing cards.
8:54Well, there are playing cards that are
8:56not the kind you play poker with. I
8:59played Uno and I played Yatsi and I
9:02played Rook and those were the games.
9:05But, you know, if you ever get those
9:07cards, part of learning this as a child
9:10is learning how to disguise your face.
9:14And they call it, I guess, a poker face.
9:16And, you know, the ability to hide
9:19whatever you're holding. Uh but uh to
9:22this day I struggle with this situation.
9:25My wife, she has some secret things. She
9:28doesn't even want to play with me
9:29because I I can't hardly hide it very
9:31well. I'm getting better the more and
9:33more I try. But when I was a kid, if for
9:36somehow when those cards were passed
9:38out, the rook is a raven. It's a black
9:41raven card. And when you get it, it says
9:44rook on the top. And the rook is like a
9:46wild draw for an uno. The rook can be
9:49anything. And the rook is always the
9:51trump card. And and it doesn't matter
9:54what color, yellow, green, red, or
9:57black. It doesn't matter what color.
9:59Whatever is trump, the rook is the
10:01premere card to hold. And I'm telling
10:04you, when I first started playing TR
10:07rook,
10:10I have to fight myself even now.
10:19Why? What's going on? I I'm just It's
10:22just just It's a mess.
10:25I'll turn it over
10:28and I can't hardly stop it. I want to
10:31smile, you know?
10:37Okay, who's got it? Or we play sevens,
10:41which is a an amazing car game you can
10:43play with playing cards. And you just
10:45got to line sevens up and everything
10:47goes off the seven. And and the start is
10:49always the black seven. Whoever has the
10:51black seven has the starting card. And
10:54everybody's feels like you got favor if
10:57you got the black seven. And so we wait
10:59on or if you play golf. How many play
11:01golf? These are all card games. And me
11:03and my family, we play card games. You
11:05know, uh golf is a is a game of cards.
11:08And if you get that that uh hole in one
11:11card, boy, you like that one. That hole
11:13in one card. Woo! I got that card. Well,
11:16all of this smiles come from joy. Is
11:21glee a proper word to use? A a joy,
11:25gladness,
11:26hope,
11:28power. A smile is a disarming and
11:32empowering event. Uh well, here we are.
11:36And I want you to know that since humor
11:38stems from love and a smile can heal a
11:41broken heart and can transform a
11:44circumstance and a and a discussion,
11:47then I want to tell you the Lord, he
11:50smiles too. And so in our text, we read
11:54one of the most conflicting moments in
11:56scripture that many people have a
11:58trouble working with. Matthew 15.
12:01Because there are a few items here that
12:04are stunning what Jesus says. When this
12:08woman who has had a problem, the problem
12:10wasn't hers. The problem was her
12:12daughter was afflicted. And this w this
12:15daughter was afflicted very badly with
12:17unclean spirits, with demons, with
12:20oppressions, or if we put it in modern
12:22day language, with anxiety, with fear,
12:25with all kinds of fretting and
12:27nervousness, potential self harm being
12:30involved. uh all of these things and so
12:32she comes on the behalf of her daughter
12:34to reach the Lord and she comes to him
12:37and wants his help. But as you read it
12:41closely, it's just one of these amazing
12:44amazing verses that the Lord gives us
12:47when he says here uh Jesus went thence
12:50and departed from the coast of Ty and
12:53Siden. Behold, a woman of Canaan. Now, I
12:56want you to know a woman of Canaan
12:59immediately means she's not Jewish.
13:02She's not invited to the club. She's not
13:05allowed in the temple except in the
13:07court on the outside. She is immediately
13:11ostracized among the people group of
13:14Jesus's home family. She was not of the
13:18household of Israel. She was of Canaan.
13:22Now you and I look at that as just a
13:24geological national moment. But in that
13:26day, this was a huge deal. And she comes
13:29up out of the crowd uh and the same
13:34coast and cried unto Jesus, saying,
13:38"Have mercy on me, oh Lord, thou son of
13:41David. My daughter is grievously vexed
13:45with the devil." I don't know what goes
13:48in the two words, grievously vexed.
13:51But ladies and gentlemen, those are two
13:53things that you don't want to have.
13:57Uh, you know, when life is young and
13:59easy,
14:00you don't really know what these things
14:02mean. But I know some people that have
14:04been pastored that I've pastored that
14:06when life was young for them, they were
14:08grievously vexed because of the weights
14:11of abandon and sin and trauma and and
14:14alcoholism in the home. They had to
14:16cover for a father. They had to cover
14:19for a mother because this person was so
14:22under the influence. My brother-in-law's
14:24father was such a thief that my
14:26brother-in-law was so embarrassed by his
14:29own father. When his father offered to
14:31help him with something, he said, "No,
14:33daddy. I love you, but I don't want it."
14:35Because he knew his dad would go steal
14:37it. I'm talking about being grievously
14:39vexed. Some of y'all know what I'm
14:41talking about. I don't need a large amen
14:44or a big head nod to know grievously
14:47vexed is a tough spot to be in.
14:50>> But he answered her not a word. Now that
14:52flumxes us. That troubles us right
14:55there. I I I'm bothered by the fact that
14:57he's putting the ignore on her. And his
15:00disciples came and besought him, saying,
15:03"Uh, we've got to do something about
15:05this woman. She's out there making
15:06noise. She's coming. Please, Lord, send
15:09her away.
15:12for she crith after us. But he answered
15:17and said, he's saying to his disciples,
15:20now notice this. He answered and said, I
15:23am not
15:25sent but unto the lost sheep of the
15:28house of Israel. Now, automatically it
15:31feels kind of tough. Are you with me?
15:33I'm not sent to her. She's a woman from
15:37Canaan. I'm sent to Israel. Then came
15:41she
15:43and worshiped him.
15:49You know, when you're desperate, like
15:50Sister Crystal said, you get bold.
15:55>> This was about her baby.
15:59>> She knew two things. She knew she her
16:01daughter had problems and she knew that
16:05Jesus had power.
16:08So she came,
16:10oh Lord, and worshiped him saying,
16:15"Lord, help me."
16:18Does anybody have that in your spirit
16:19today?
16:22Does anybody here that have a Lord help
16:25me down in your soul?
16:29This is why we always and will continue
16:31having an open service for prayer at the
16:33conclusion of every service because we
16:36don't want to have the the assumption
16:38that there's no Lord help you coming
16:42forth. She said, "Lord, help me." But he
16:46answered and said,
16:48"It is not meat to take children's
16:51bread, cast it unto dogs."
16:54It's another thing that is tough for me
16:57to hear. It's tough for me to read. It's
17:00tough for me to represent in this
17:02postmodern age of supposed correctness.
17:07>> But I'm going to believe the Bible over
17:08my um sweet heart.
17:13We cannot undo the way things were.
17:15Sometimes it was ugly in our past.
17:17Instead of acting like it wasn't there,
17:19why not just say, "I'm better now.
17:22>> I'm growing. I'm learning.
17:25I I I understand what was, but I'm not
17:27going to be that going forward.
17:30>> But here's Jesus, perfect. He was
17:32without sin. So, this qualifies
17:35underneath the phrase that he's without
17:37sin. The stumbling to my spirit.
17:42But she said, "Truth, Lord."
17:51Now, if this is your first time to
17:52church and you don't know anything about
17:53the Bible, you're having a hard time
17:55swallowing right now.
17:58>> Honestly,
17:59because this is a different kind of
18:01response than what people would expect.
18:03And this is why some people say, "I
18:05don't want anything to do with the
18:06Bible." Why? Because they look at
18:08through it through the modern age
18:09instead of and they're illiterate with
18:11regard to truth and life and history.
18:13All they do is live in this primadana
18:15existence of fakeries.
18:18>> The world has trouble in it and there's
18:21answers to trouble, but we got to
18:23acknowledge there's trouble here. How
18:25can we get to it?
18:27>> And she said, "Truth, Lord, yet the dogs
18:31eat of the crumbs which fall from the
18:35master's table."
18:38Then Jesus and answered
18:41and said unto her, "Oh woman,
18:46oh woman,
18:49now I don't know about you, but in my
18:52heart, I'm seeing right here,
18:55Jesus
18:57has a smile."
19:03Oh woman,
19:06great is your faith.
19:09In other words, checkmate. You got me.
19:15Life causes us to wander through the
19:17back roads between faith and anger.
19:20All of us have times that we're angry
19:22with the situation. If you don't admit
19:25it, that's okay. But I know better. We
19:28all wrestle with why is that happening?
19:30and why did that happen to them and why
19:31is this happening to me? And you got to
19:33walk these back roads and there are
19:35always along the way moments when it
19:39shocks you that a joy is present in the
19:41middle of it all. And I am convinced
19:44that this text reveals the joy of a
19:47redirection that Jesus knew what he was
19:50doing. He quietly was rejecting the
19:54world's pecking order. He starts by
19:57acknowledging the exclusivities that the
20:00world have lived in. They they've lived
20:03in these exclusivities. You can see
20:05Jesus. Now remember who he is. He's both
20:08the royal son of David. He's the seed of
20:10Abraham. He's of the tribe of Judah. He
20:12was born of a virgin mother. He was of
20:14the town of Bethlehem. They called him
20:16Emmanuel. An angel named him and they
20:19said he's a priest after the order of
20:21Melzdc. He has a resume to blow us away.
20:26And here he is echoing an old bias. This
20:31bias was I'm not sent but to this
20:34exclusive group. In other words, he was
20:37acknowledging an old bias and an old
20:40prejudice that was in the people of God.
20:43He called Gentiles dogs. I can see him
20:47pulling them in. He called Gentiles
20:49dogs. In other words, he's got all of
20:52their Jewish biases saying, "Woo, we
20:55finally got it out of them. We finally
20:57got them to admit we're an insider
21:00group. We finally got Jesus to admit it
21:03out loud. We're the special apostolic."
21:06Uh, people ought to know who we are
21:09because we're a group that's on a
21:11different level. And so, I can see them
21:14pulling in the boys. He said, "I'm not
21:16sent but to the dog but the lost sheep
21:18of the house of Israel. I won't give.
21:20And that sometimes that spirit gets in
21:22people. But he knew what he was about to
21:25do. That's the thing that I want to tell
21:27you. He knew what was coming on. He
21:30knows what all it is. He's about to flip
21:32the script on them. He's about to turn
21:35over their tables. He's about to shake
21:38up their status quo. They thought it was
21:42just for certain ones that were
21:44qualified. In in Israel, though, he
21:46says, "All right. In all of Israel." So,
21:49he's pulling them in. He's pulling in
21:51all these exclusive insiders who could
21:54name their tribe of what part of Israel
21:56they were part of, where they were born,
21:58who they're connected to. They've got
22:00all this resume. And by the way, ladies
22:02and gentlemen, if I want to go down that
22:04road, I got one of those kind of
22:05resumes. I could throw it all down and
22:08put it out there and it means a lot on
22:10the insider of apostolic world means.
22:13But what I want us to understand is the
22:16Lord doesn't doesn't live on resumes.
22:20He's not disregarding your heritage.
22:22He's not disrespecting where you came
22:24from. He's not laying aside the price
22:27your parents paid to get you here. But
22:29at the end of the day, he wants you to
22:31know, I love everybody. I want to reach
22:35everybody. I want you to know I came for
22:40the whole world.
22:43[Applause]
22:45He said, "In all of the insiders, I have
22:49not found so great faith in all of
22:52Israel." So to his disciples, he is
22:55rewriting the rules. Many people reserve
22:57their gifts for those who can
22:59reciprocate. Many times we say, "Well,
23:02I'll help someone out, but you know
23:03what? Somewhere down the road, they'll
23:05help me out." And we're kind of picky
23:07and choosy on who we want to hand out
23:09our gifts to. But Jesus, he doesn't live
23:12like that. He doesn't bless like that.
23:15He blesses people that you have ought
23:17against. He doesn't walk up to me and
23:19say, "All right, who do I get to bless
23:21today?" He is a God who's not chained
23:24and off the leash. He's untamed. He
23:27loves everybody just the same. He loves
23:31the drunk just as much as he loves me.
23:33He loves the crack dick just as much as
23:35he loves you. He loves all of us just
23:38the same. And he came to bless the whole
23:41world. But he came beyond that to save
23:45to the uttermost them that come to him.
23:49Jesus blesses beyond boundaries. To
23:52Israel, he blesses them. To the enemies
23:54of Israel, he blesses them. This was the
23:57problem that Jonah had. Jonah did not
24:00like Nineveh. And if you got down to the
24:03nitty-gritty, Nineveh had mocked the
24:05Israelites. Nineveh was a city that
24:08belittled the Jews every chance they
24:10get. They they could get. They would
24:12make fun of the Jews. They would mock
24:14the Jews. They would say, "We don't like
24:16the Jews." When Jews tried to walk in
24:17their city, they would put them through
24:19all kinds of trouble at passport
24:20control. They were always pressing
24:22against the Jews. And when Jonah heard,
24:25"Go preach at Nineveh." He said, "I'd
24:28rather take a trip.
24:31>> I'm not going to Nineveh. How can you
24:34bless people that mock your people?
24:39>> And the Lord said, "Okay, take that
24:41trip. I'll have the first submarine wide
24:44waiting for you. I will send a little
24:47storm and a great fish, and you'll get
24:50to ride to the bottom of the sea, and
24:52there you'll have a change of heart."
24:54And when Jonah finally got back to
24:56Nineveh, it is one of the least
24:58inspiring uh short sermons you'll ever
25:01read. Y'all all wish I preached the
25:03Nineveh sermon on Sunday morning here
25:06because it took him all of just a few
25:07days. But he had to walk the whole city.
25:09So he walked and preached the same
25:11thing. And when it was all done, he went
25:12and sat on the hill waiting for God to
25:17show all these outsiders,
25:20I don't love you. You have been seen in
25:24my eyes mocking my people. And when all
25:27of a sudden God has mercy on Israel,
25:31Jonah starts throwing a fit because he
25:34says, "I knew you were going to do it.
25:36I'm so upset. All it took for them was
25:40to say, "Help us, Lord. We need you."
25:44And you turned around and you acted like
25:46they hadn't done any of that stuff. I've
25:49come to tell you, the Lord smiles when
25:51he sees anybody coming back around. when
25:54he sees him walk through the door, he
25:57can't help himself. He just has a smile
26:00come up deep on the inside of him.
26:06Now, when you read about this story from
26:07the commentaries, they've given about
26:09three different ways to describe it.
26:12Some suppose that Jesus was being
26:14hateful, rude, or disrespecting her.
26:16Commentators give three options. One was
26:19that Jesus was trapped and that uh
26:21because he was trapped at this moment.
26:23He had to say these kind of things. But
26:25you and I know he wasn't trapped. He
26:27also healed a Samaritan. He also healed
26:30a centurion. And if you don't know the
26:32dynamics of that day, centurions were
26:34looked at as the enemy by the Jews.
26:37Centurions wore the uniform of the
26:39enemy. It wasn't like everybody is
26:41sitting around saying, "Wow, there's a
26:42centurion walking by right now." No,
26:45there was a disdain in Israel for the
26:47centurions. And yet a centurion came to
26:49Jesus and what does he do? He smiles.
26:55>> I don't know if he shook his head like I
26:57just did.
27:01>> The most popular theory that
27:02commentaries say is that the Lord was
27:04testing the woman to be sure she was
27:07spiritually uh uh being authentic.
27:10Scripturally, even people if they ask
27:13imperfectly, the Bible gave them
27:15answers. So, we know it wasn't a test to
27:18her. The man who had compassion on
27:205,000, remember, he the Bible says he
27:23fed all of them because some of them
27:25were going to faint on their way home.
27:28In other words, this is the disposition.
27:31This is the attitude. This is the way
27:34Jesus is. He did weep over Lazarus. He
27:37did weep over the grave of Lazarus. He
27:39did weep over Jerusalem, but I want you
27:42to know that the Lord also has a lot of
27:45moments that just the corner of his
27:47mouth
27:50starts turning up.
27:53He saw some of y'all walk into church
27:54this morning.
28:00>> When when you walked through the door,
28:03the Lord went
28:23because he smiles
28:26over his people. This gentleman's
28:28coming. This last week I was doing uh
28:31first responders brunch. Lieutenant
28:33Patty Raven was there as our she's our
28:36liaison between the hard side of
28:39policing and me the soft side of
28:42policing. Um but I happened to get a
28:47call as I sat at my table and I knew I
28:50would be summoned in just a moment but
28:52it was a call from uh my grandson.
28:57It wasn't just a phone call, it was a
28:58FaceTime.
29:04I know y'all are all important.
29:07I love y'all all.
29:09But this morning, I got to hold Bowden
29:11for the first time in church today.
29:14Listen. Listen. Leave me be. Let me be.
29:18But he heard one of the richest
29:20baritones he'll ever hear in his life.
29:23Sing the glad song of the Lord to him.
29:28I sang to him. And you know what? He's
29:31not like a lot of you. He went straight
29:33to sleep.
29:40But I thought, I better take this. And
29:42all of a sudden, all I see is River's
29:45face right here.
29:49Pop pop pop.
29:52Well, hello, River. Pull the phone back
29:54a little bit.
29:56I had my first karate class.
30:01Watch how fast I kick.
30:05And it was just a flash. He was saying,
30:08"Ha,
30:10hia."
30:13>> Ladies and gentlemen, I tried not to
30:16show out with all of those high,
30:18powerful police officers around me. I
30:22tried to act like my heart wasn't
30:24melting.
30:26But I I'm telling you right now,
30:29>> the smile that was unstoppable
30:33began to come across my face.
30:36Now, is his kick powerful?
30:53I hear a bunch of feminine voices
30:55talking, but no, it's not.
31:00>> All you women, you're not going to
31:01feminize me. No, it's not. It's not
31:03powerful. It's the weakest little thing
31:05in all the world.
31:09I ain't going soft. I ain't doing it.
31:10Men, don't do it. Don't go soft.
31:18But in my heart,
31:21I saw what makes greatness.
31:25I saw it's already there.
31:29Is it there? No.
31:32But I saw it and I said,
31:36"Man, that's a powerful kick."
31:41I mean,
31:45he's going to encounter moments where
31:47weakness is going to overwhelm him, and
31:49he's going to know this is too big for
31:51me. And he may even crumble and cry.
31:55And uh all of us men have just don't
31:59raise your hand, guys. Don't admit to
32:00it.
32:05Let me tell you something about Jesus.
32:08He looks at you
32:10Not with the judging scowl,
32:13but with all the hope of watching a
32:16child
32:18come back to dreams and visions and hope
32:23and peace.
32:26Napoleon, now this is a story I tried to
32:28vet it. I'm not sure, you know, it's not
32:30in the science books, but it is ve
32:32definitely an antidote.
32:34Napoleon hit a moment before his
32:37military that apparently his horse had
32:42got away with him. He had this gray
32:43horse that he really liked and it got
32:45away from him. But a a a private, just a
32:49beginner in the military, immediately
32:51jumped on his horse and ran and got the
32:54horse and brought it back and presented
32:56it to Napoleon and said, "Here,
33:00my emperor, here's your horse."
33:03And as soon as he did that, the story
33:07tells us that Napoleon said, "Thank you,
33:10captain."
33:13And the man without even batting an eye,
33:17said, "You're welcome."
33:20And he left, went and got his things out
33:23of the common private dorm and moved
33:27into the officer's quarters.
33:30He went to the quartermaster
33:32said, "I need my captain's clothes." And
33:36they were traded in. And all of a
33:38sudden, he became something more because
33:42of one word from Napoleon.
33:47Thank you, Captain.
33:50Because when some people speak,
33:53everything changes.
33:55And when Jesus gets in your life, you
33:58know, we the power of the Holy Ghost,
34:00all that is is Jesus in you, the hope of
34:03glory. The Bible says that's the
34:05entirety of the Bible. Christ in you,
34:08the hope of glory. When you get Jesus,
34:12you understand no matter what weapon
34:15comes against me to destroy me, it
34:18cannot prosper because I'm not just
34:21representing me anymore. I have become
34:25the son of God. And the apostle said,
34:28"It does not yet appear." What? We know
34:30that. But we know that. What? It does
34:33not appear what we shall be. But we know
34:35that when he shall appear, we shall be
34:40like him. In other words, all you see is
34:43me right now. But when the Lord comes
34:46back, you're going to see so much more
34:48than just a man in weakness behind a
34:51pull pit reaching for your soul. All of
34:54a sudden, you're going to realize that
34:56every sermon mattered for eternity.
34:58Every prayer was remembered. Every
35:01praise mattered. Every time you gave the
35:04sacrifice of praise to the Lord, every
35:07dime you gave, every time you gave of
35:09your time, it mattered all of a sudden
35:13because he showed up.
35:16>> He smiles every time he delivers
35:19somebody. I talked to a man yes this
35:21last week who told me he said I was an
35:23alcoholic. He said, "And the worst part
35:26though was I couldn't get over smoking
35:29because I made a joke with him at at
35:31camp meeting. I literally turned around
35:33and I just made a joke about how well
35:36they were asking us something about
35:38growing stuff and I told them I said so
35:39you've been growing tobacco and my my
35:42wife she you know she feels like she's
35:44got to cover for every joke that I make
35:47you know she's she's my interpreter and
35:52I said well I grew up on Tobacco Road
35:55North Carolina you know everybody's
35:56growing tobacco up there you know that's
35:58the reason it's Winston and Salem and
36:00you know of course who I don't I don't
36:01know. But
36:04and so uh and so here she said and so he
36:08tapped me on the shoulder. He said, "You
36:10know, the Lord delivered me from
36:11tobacco.
36:16The preacher's looking good right now."
36:20I said, "You know, I heard tobacco is
36:21harder to get rid of than cocaine
36:23because of the tar that gets in you." I
36:26said, "How did it happen for you? Was it
36:28gradual or was it immediate?" He said,
36:32"Brother Elms, it was one day I went to
36:36church and I said,"Lord,
36:38I need delivered. I've tried everything
36:41I can to get rid of this tobacco,
36:44nicarette, gum, patches, everything to
36:47get rid of it. I need to be delivered
36:50today." He said, "On my way home from
36:54church, I got sick as a dog."
36:59He said, "I got so sick I couldn't
37:01hardly eat anything, nor could I drink."
37:05He said, "I was so sick I could just lay
37:07in my bed and for three days I was
37:09sick." He said, "But when I got well, I
37:13thought, oh man, I can enjoy a
37:16cigarette." He said, "But as soon as I
37:19thought the thought,
37:22now this makes the Lord smile."
37:25He said, "As soon as I thought the
37:27thought, my soul turned."
37:31Said "No
37:34never again." He said, "I've never
37:36touched one since." He said, "It's been
37:38two years since I've been delivered."
37:41[Applause]
37:45What do you think he began to do when he
37:47was writing in the sand with the woman
37:48caught in the act of adultery?
37:51Do you think his face was all mean?
37:57I think he was riding and as they begin
37:59to walk away, he just kind of went
38:07and I believe when he looked at the
38:08woman and said, "Woman,
38:11where are your accusers?"
38:15I don't think he had this firm, grim
38:18face.
38:20I think he had this smile. And she said,
38:25They're all gone. Only you here. And all
38:29of a sudden, whatever smile he had
38:30doubled.
38:33And he said, "Neither
38:35do I condemn thee.
38:38Go and sin no more."
38:41He smiled when the man who was infirmed
38:43for 38 years was healed and ran away. He
38:46smiles. When the prodigal comes home
38:49after going to the far country and
38:51eating the pig's food, he smiled when he
38:54took that man and told the story about
38:56the man who had a splinter in his eye.
38:59But a man walked up and I guarantee you
39:01he probably stopped and smiled. He said
39:04he had a log in his eye.
39:08We have made him so somber we forget the
39:10sweetness
39:12of the Lord.
39:14I imagine when he was walking up and
39:15Nicodemus is up in the tree and out of
39:18the corner of his eye he he sees him up
39:20there and I imagine he was like me with
39:22the rook. He probably said
39:35I mean have you ever walked in the house
39:37and your child's trying to play hideand
39:38go seek and everything's showing except
39:40their eyes?
39:44I mean, this is so fun.
39:48Let's play our music.
39:51Let's do it.
39:54Jesus
39:56came to this house today with this smile
40:00in his heart because somebody
40:04is on the edge of a deliverance that he
40:06prepared for you.
40:09He's got a blessing for you that he
40:11can't wait to give to you. Have you ever
40:13bought somebody a great gift at
40:14Christmas and you kind of couldn't find
40:16it, but you know it's so amazing? It's
40:18like, "Okay, we got one more gift. One
40:21more gift. Where's it at? We're done.
40:25No, we're not done."
40:29You mas know what I'm talking about. No,
40:32we're not done. We got another one.
40:34Where is it at? Okay. Where is it at?
40:37All right. All right, I've wrapped 50
40:38presents today. I'm trying to think
40:40where was it at? Okay, it's not over.
40:47Shall we stand? I'm opening this altar
40:50to people who want to know the most
40:52joyous God in all the world because he
40:56smiles over you. He wants to make you
41:01brand new. He's got gifts to give to you
41:04that you have no clue about. If you'll
41:07just come to him when he sees that first
41:10step that you've climbed your sycamore
41:12tree or you worshiped him and you didn't
41:15know what he had for you or you just
41:16came to and said, "Lord, I don't know
41:19what all the gifts are. They keep
41:21talking about these gifts, but I'm here
41:23to praise you for whatever they are. Why
41:26don't you let him smile over you? Our
41:30altar come altar workers are coming to
41:32pray with each and every one of us and
41:34to gather around this altar to help
41:36create an atmosphere of safety and
41:38strength. But I want you to know God is
41:41smiling right now. I don't know why he's
41:44smiling. I don't know who he's smiling
41:47over. I don't know what he's got in his
41:49mind. I don't know the gifts that he's
41:51prepared for you. But the enemy wants
41:54you to think he's done with gifts and
41:56he's out of options and that he's run
41:59out of enough. That he's used it all up.
42:03That his wallet is empty. That his bank
42:05account is dry. That he has no more
42:07miracles to offer. He doesn't have any
42:10more doors to open. And I've come to
42:12pray to remind you he's smiling right
42:15now to do the unexpected,
42:18the miraculous, the giftedness of God.
42:22It is in plenty. It is generous. It is
42:25beyond our wildest imaginations. Why
42:28don't you come and talk to him a little
42:30while today about his goodness toward
42:34the children of men? Let's turn this
42:37place into a house of celebrating the
42:41giver of every good
42:45>> and every perfect
42:47>> gift.