Dedications That Defy Hell
Pastor David T. Elms 6/15/2025
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47:33
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms encourages men to bring their 'dedications that defy hell' to the altar, emphasizing that God values sincere devotion and solemn pledges even amidst a believer's shortcomings and unfinished revival.
Key points
- •God celebrates and records our acts of dedication even when our walk with Him is imperfect or incomplete.
- •True worship in the apostolic tradition is participation, not presentation- it requires stepping onto the 'battlefield' of praise regardless of personal circumstances.
- •The enemy uses the 'boredom' of religious tradition to discourage believers, yet the core essentials of worship and prayer are non-negotiable and timeless.
- •A father's spiritual legacy is built through consistent devotion and the 'votive' gifts (solemn pledges) he brings to the house of God.
- •Consecration is a journey, not a destination; one should not wait for perfection to offer God their best devotion.
Scripture
Spiritual Legacy
Fatherhood
Perseverance
Consecration
Redemption
Life application
This week, identify one area of your life where you feel like a 'work in progress' and intentionally offer a specific act of praise or service in that area, refusing to let perceived failures keep you from the house of God or your spiritual duties.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you let the feeling of being an 'unfinished product' hinder your worship or leadership?
- How does the story of King Asa change your perspective on God's grace toward leaders with shortcomings?
- What specific 'dedications' did you see in the generation before you that you are called to carry forward?
- Why do you think the enemy tries to convince us that church must constantly change its essence to remain relevant?
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Full transcript
0:00back in the day.
0:00Lord have mercy. Well, thank you, Lord,
0:01for your help today. Thank you for
0:03helping me break this word uh into a
0:06measure that is completely uh uh
0:09understandable and uh deliverable and
0:13empowering to this house. For certainly
0:17I cannot do it without you. You are the
0:19strength of my calling. You are the only
0:22reason why these are not mere words that
0:25are going forward. Oh Lord, I I'm not in
0:28the poetry business. I'm not in the
0:30literature business, oh Lord. But I
0:32bring the holy word of God that's
0:35anointed. And the amazing thing about
0:37your calling, Lord, is that spooky
0:40things happen in the hearts of people
0:42while I'm preaching. And when I say
0:44spooky, Lord, I'm not talking about
0:45Halloween. I'm talking about the
0:47realization that maybe God knows exactly
0:50what people have fought this past week.
0:53That your word somehow gets right in
0:56next to them and they realize that that
0:59preacher doesn't have a clue what he's
1:01saying. But what he just said was a
1:04direct and clear and present word to
1:07exactly the things that I've thought in
1:09this past week. Oh Lord, if it's happen
1:12stance, then I want to quit the
1:14ministry. If it's lucky, then I don't
1:16give a flip about pre being a preacher
1:18another day. Oh Lord, I'm not here to
1:20create a social club. I'm not in this
1:23place because I need a job. I'm not here
1:25because church is the only bum place I
1:27can be. No, I'm here because it is the
1:30most elegant calling, holy present
1:34reality that's not just now, but it's
1:37forever more. And because your word is
1:40true, and because your prophecy is
1:42strong, and because your future is
1:44unstoppable, and because your anointing
1:47breaks every fedter, and because your
1:50power sets men free, and because the
1:53promise of God is yes and amen, I stand
1:57in this place today and declare your
1:59word over these people in the precious
2:01name of Jesus Christ. And everybody
2:04said, "Amen." Amen. I didn't know that
2:06prayer was going to turn into all that.
2:09Good night. Let me see if I read it just
2:11right.
2:13You may be seated in Jesus name.
2:16I'm going to speak for the next few
2:18moments on dedications
2:20that defy hell.
2:23Dedications that defy hell. I've been in
2:27the church many years. In fact, I've
2:28been in the church all of my life. I
2:31have been perfect. There have been
2:33moments where I strayed. But it was
2:35moments, not days. And it certainly
2:38wasn't weeks. And in those moments that
2:41I strayed, I don't think there's ever
2:43been a whole day where I could say I was
2:47away from the Lord. Even the times that
2:49I did things that I would not be proud
2:51of, it's the power of the Lord that
2:53would come up knocking on my heart and
2:56and the Lord would just work on me. And
2:59I can't ever say I looked at the Lord
3:01and said, you know, that's enough. Get
3:03away. No, it was always a hunger to try
3:06to be right with God. And I thank the
3:09Lord for that. But being around the
3:11church all these years, uh there has
3:13always been an assumption in and around
3:17the church, not necessarily in it, but
3:18around the church that it's hard for the
3:21next generation to appreciate what the
3:24former generations did. In fact, many
3:27churches bring in demographic experts to
3:30try to reformat what they call the
3:33church practices enabling uh supposedly
3:38they project the ability to transfer
3:41church to the next demographic. And
3:44there is an assumption that I believe is
3:47propagated from hell that assumes that
3:50the new generation will never buy into
3:52the way church has been. And if you've
3:56ever been a backslider, and I thank the
3:58Lord, we have some former backsliders in
4:00this church, you know, the enemy talking
4:03to you when you went out of the church
4:05would tell you, see, they're doing the
4:06same old thing every time you go back.
4:09It's just you could wake up and look at
4:11the hand on the clock at the house and
4:13know what's happening in that church.
4:16And so all of those processes, uh,
4:19hallelujah,
4:21I love you, too.
4:23I don't know what that was, but I've got
4:25a very powerful man over here to take
4:27care of it. Uh, and so, you know, but
4:30those am I making any sense right now? I
4:34want to make sense. All of these things
4:37are that, you know, it somehow you've
4:39got to at least say church has stayed in
4:42this this wheelhouse of boredom, uh,
4:45this place of of of anticipation, the
4:49same old same old things. And yet the
4:51enemy when he will apply that to the
4:54church, he does not apply that to the
4:57world in the same measure. You know, if
4:59you if you've ever been around the
5:01different structures that are in this
5:03world, they have their commonalities
5:05just as much. I'm glad that the Florida
5:08Panthers seem to be on the way to win a
5:11a a hockey um Stanley Cup. Don't assume
5:15anything. Don't get too hyped yet. Uh
5:17you know what I mean? But I would
5:18appreciate them to win again. You know,
5:20I like winning more than losing. If I
5:22feel like they're going to lose, I'll
5:23just go away. You know, they can lose
5:25all by themselves. I'm that kind of fan.
5:27Okay. But if they got a win happening,
5:29then I'll just, you know, jump on board
5:31because at 58, I've lost enough in my
5:34life. All right? Those guys, I used to
5:36be all worried about salary caps. I used
5:39to be so worried about who's signing for
5:41what. I used to be so worried about the
5:44building of a stadium until I realized
5:46those guys after a loss are driving away
5:48in their Lamborghinis and going to their
5:5010 million 10,000 square foot home and
5:52they're just happy as could be shaking
5:54hands at the end and I'm the only one
5:55sitting there bummed out. I said fooly
5:58on that. I'm not going to do that
6:00anymore. I'm just going to let them go
6:02ahead and lose by themselves because as
6:05soon as they're they're going to lose,
6:06I'll just move on my way. But I do
6:09appreciate some wins. But you know what?
6:12You could go to a hockey game now and
6:13have been to the hockey game in the 20s
6:15and it's the same hockey game. Maybe a
6:18little more fighting back then, a little
6:19more teeth out, but you know, it's it's
6:22it's changed. Not a lot an awful lot.
6:26But when you come to church, isn't it
6:27something how the devil says, see there,
6:29it's the same thing. They're going to
6:30open with three songs there. Now, we
6:32used to have testimony service, and
6:34thank God we've adjusted for that
6:36because the devil seemed to get more
6:37praise than the Lord on some of those
6:39testimonies I grew up with.
6:42They would talk about how bad the devil
6:43was, and they'd say, "Praise his holy
6:45name." And
6:47who you talking about?
6:52But we still I still love testimony
6:54prayer meeting when we have it. I love
6:57it. We devote an hour once a month, Lord
7:00willing. Well, not once a month, an
7:01hour, quarterly to uh to testimonies.
7:04And but you know, that's what home teams
7:06are all about. Home teams are about you
7:08speaking a testimony throughout that
7:11process in a manner that it's
7:13conversational. But all of those things,
7:15there's this assumption that everything
7:17must change and that uh the the dress of
7:21the church has got to change, the songs
7:22of the church have got to change, the
7:24style of the church has got to change,
7:26the setup of the church have got to
7:28change. And I will admit there has been
7:31some things that have changed through
7:33the years. So it's not stale, but
7:36overall the core and the essence of what
7:39makes the church the church, it is
7:42non-negotiable.
7:43That there's got to be worship and
7:46praise in every church service. That the
7:49worship cannot be presentation style.
7:51Not in an apostolic church. It must be
7:54participation.
7:56It cannot be just there for observation.
7:59You've got to step in and get on the
8:01battlefield of worship and join heart in
8:05heart and soul in soul and fight to
8:08praise the Lord. And uh so all of those
8:11things have handed down and yes, in
8:14spite of the day now that you in that
8:16you know supposedly preachers have more
8:19props now than they've ever had and I've
8:21got the temptation to get more props.
8:23I've thought about driving a Harley and
8:25uh and just going across the front. I
8:27figured that might help the anointing
8:28some, you know. Uh but brother Jamie
8:31would never let me use his Harley, so I
8:33I didn't know what to do about it. Uh
8:35but you know, the I'm not anti-prop.
8:39I'm just telling you all the uh things
8:42that try to get people to commit
8:45themselves to the Lord do not change.
8:48You cannot have a better show. You can't
8:51have a better screen. You can't have
8:53more colored lights. You can't have a
8:55constant smoke machine going. You can't
8:57have dark lights, bright lights. You
9:00can't have change windows and change
9:03setups and all the things that we do
9:05utilize here and make people want to
9:08serve the Lord. You either decide you
9:10want to serve him or you decide you want
9:13to not serve him. And you will make that
9:16decision and you're the one who's got to
9:19do the things that make you
9:24child of God. Now, I'm talking about
9:26dedications that defy hell today.
9:29In our text, it's an interesting text.
9:32It's a text about Asa. He was a king of
9:35Israel. And he had found some things
9:39that his father had dedicated to the
9:42Lord in the house of God, which Gay,
9:44it's so good to see you and Caitlyn
9:46here. We're glad to always have y'all at
9:48the Cathedral of Pentecost. Amen. He's
9:52all proud to be back there with the
9:53daddy walking around all puffed up and
9:56everything. Uh although he walked that
9:59way a lot when he was here too anyway.
10:01No, I love G. But he's got a reason to
10:04be thankful. Um but you know th this
10:07this Asa had found
10:10things that his father had celebrated.
10:13He found instruments that his father had
10:16dedicated.
10:18And he finds that not only was it good
10:20for his father to have done dedications
10:24of these ingredients, but he also finds
10:27that they fit his own celebration. And
10:31so our text tells about Asa and then it
10:34gets to this interesting part where it
10:37says that he brought the same gifts that
10:40his father had dedicated and that he had
10:44dedicated. And uh it's interesting
10:47though because as we go through this, we
10:50learn about Asa. Now to our Bible
10:52readers in the church, I'm not going to
10:54take the time to give you a complete
10:57biography of Asa. But the thing that's
10:59interesting about Asa in your Bible is
11:02that this guy, while he had tremendous
11:05things said about him, even in our text,
11:08it tells of shortfalls that he lived in.
11:12He it tells that he did not remove the
11:15high places to other gods. It tells of
11:18things that he did with regard to his
11:20mother. It tells of the celebrations
11:22that he had with his father or his
11:24grandmother. If you see the bigger
11:27narrative, Asa was not all that
11:30wonderful as a king. The Bible says he
11:33his heart was always right toward the
11:36Lord. But even though his heart was
11:38right, he didn't always do the things
11:41that you ought to be proud of to do for
11:44the Lord. And when you get the story
11:46about his daddy, his daddy had made
11:49these dedications to the Lord, it sounds
11:52wonderful. But you Bible readers know
11:55that Asa's daddy also had some problems.
11:59He had a lot of negative things reported
12:01about him. So it's curious to me. I've
12:04brought to your hearing the story of two
12:07men that the more you learn about them,
12:09I could do like sometimes that we're all
12:11guilty of is read one good scripture
12:13about them and tell and everybody go
12:15away thinking Asa's really got it like
12:17that. But if you read the whole text,
12:20Asa really doesn't have it like that.
12:22Asa had a good heart. Asa did some good
12:24things. But Asa has some problems and
12:28they abide. It's not just problems from
12:30his youth. He had problems where he fell
12:32short of the mark when he was older. And
12:35so it's stunning to me when we get this
12:38scripture report on Asa. The Bible knows
12:42how to tell us the stories of God's
12:45people and Asa is reported on him. It
12:49says here we want you to know that in
12:52spite of all these shortcomings
12:54shortcomings there are dedications that
12:57Asa made. In spite of all of his daddy's
13:01shortfallings,
13:03his daddy made dedications. But they
13:06didn't just make them outside. They
13:08walked into the house of the Lord and
13:11made dedications in the house of the
13:14Lord. So in shortcomings and in the
13:17middle of uh uh uh situations we'll just
13:20call them amidst the fabric of failures
13:23he brought the things which had his
13:26father had dedicated and he dedicated
13:29and Chronicles tells us the whole story
13:31but it uses a different word than
13:33dedications. The Bible says in first 2
13:36Chronicles 15:18 he brought and you
13:38still with me? Got to lay my foundation.
13:41He brought into the house of God the
13:44votive gifts of his father and his own
13:49votive gifts. Now votive is an
13:50interesting word. It's not one where is
13:52a a acquainted with. But votive is a
13:55concept that's loaded with meaning. It
13:58is part human intention and part
14:01heavenly commitment. It's a vow. It's a
14:04vow that's initiated by the man, but
14:08it's about the heavenlies. It's a vote
14:11of consecration, a solemn pledge. It was
14:14not a casual g gesture. It wasn't
14:17something that he just kind of went
14:18about. It was a formal wrapping of his
14:21hands around the fact that I have
14:24something that I want to offer to the
14:26Lord. A deliberate devotion, a tangible,
14:31observable expression of a heart that
14:34the man has oriented or shall we say
14:38reoriented.
14:40A man that's got mess in his life, but
14:42he reorients himself to a dedication. He
14:46has been in the middle of some
14:48situations, but he has turned himself
14:52towards something higher. It there there
14:55may still be situations in his life.
14:58There might even be fallings and
15:00failures in his future, but there's a
15:02season, a moment, a purposeful measure
15:06when he decides, I'm going to do
15:08something. I'm going to say some words.
15:10I'm going to make some motions. I'm
15:12going to make some actions that
15:14transcend my realities. And I vow that I
15:19will orient myself toward the heavens.
15:23The inclusion of his father is curious.
15:26His father had not been very stellar. In
15:29fact, he himself, Asa, remembered things
15:33about his daddy that wasn't worth
15:36talking about. Uh, in fact, if he
15:39started out to do a revival work in the
15:41country, he stopped far short of the
15:45revival. His revival never got wound up.
15:49Asa's daddy had some loose ends in Oh,
15:53I'm feel the Holy Ghost. He had some
15:56loose ends in his walk with God. And yet
15:59Asa decides, I have some dedications
16:03that I'm going to make to the Lord. And
16:06I'm going to go get my father's
16:09dedications.
16:11I know daddy's not a finished product.
16:14And I know my daddy's not got it all
16:16figured out. And I know my daddy's
16:18revival may not even be started like it
16:21should be started. But it doesn't
16:23matter. The scripture tells us that the
16:26dedications of Asa's father and the
16:29dedications of Asa is re remembered and
16:33celebrated. So my question is what is
16:35the scripture saying to us? The
16:37scripture is saying to us that no matter
16:40what hell claims about us that the
16:44dedications that you make to the Lord
16:48will never be forgotten. Your revival
16:51may not be complete, but your
16:54dedications will be remembered. You may
16:57not have all your situations situated,
17:01but your dedications are going to be
17:03written down in scripture. Asa makes
17:07blunders again after this time of
17:09dedication. I can't even believe that
17:11the Bible writer would talk about Asa in
17:14such a positive mark to say yet his
17:17heart was the Old Testament. I mean the
17:20old Bible, the King James says his heart
17:22was perfect toward the Lord. The sacred
17:25acts though, in spite of the wonderings
17:28and the shortfalls and the situations,
17:31the sacred acts will be celebrated.
17:36This is my first Father's Day without my
17:37father. And uh it's interesting all the
17:41feelings I got going through me. I don't
17:43know how to explain them, but I'm not
17:45going to put any drama on you. But you
17:48know, it's interesting going through
17:49this Father's Day without my father. I
17:51never ever had to see my daddy drugged
17:53to church. I never had to see my dad get
17:57convinced by mama, you need to go today.
17:59Never. I never saw that. I never ever
18:02saw anybody have to leave the church to
18:04come by and talk to my daddy about
18:07needing to pray. I never saw my dad
18:10pretend to be sick and miss church when
18:15everybody in the house knew he really
18:16wasn't sick, but it sounded good right
18:18then. Your kids are watching you, y'all.
18:21They know when you're pretending to be
18:22sick. Uh I knew when if my mom and dad
18:25pretended to be sick. Uh but I never saw
18:28my dad who graduated from San Diego
18:30State University. I never saw him stay
18:32home to do his university work. It could
18:35always be done, but it could be done in
18:39the midst of also being faithful to the
18:41house of God. In fact, he told me church
18:45was far more important than university.
18:48That he appreciated his degree, but not
18:51anything coming from San Diego State
18:53University was going to turn his mortal
18:56body into an immortal body. He never
18:59confused his tests and his thesis with
19:02his praise. He never sandbagged in his
19:06service to the Lord. I never heard my
19:08dad preach and say things about himself
19:11being better than what as a son I w I
19:15witnessed him being. Uh he never ever
19:18gave an antique devotion to the Lord.
19:21I'm I'm bragging on my dad a little bit
19:23right now, but I never saw my dad give a
19:26tired praise to the Lord. It was always
19:29there were times he was tired and he
19:31praised. I'll always remember when he
19:33went and worked and uh got uh messed up
19:36because he mistook uh kudu ivy as with
19:41poison ivy and he thought he was pulling
19:43out kazoo kudzu I think is what it's
19:46called. It's everywhere up in North
19:47Carolina. It's taken over. Uh but it was
19:51poison ivy that he was pulling and I and
19:53his his face swelled up so much. But
19:55man, if ever there was a time for daddy
19:57to stay home from church, he should have
20:00stayed home that day. But he put on
20:02sunglasses and I thought my dad and and
20:07Don King were the same.
20:10I said, "My dad would have been a great
20:13wrestling." We had Ric Flair living just
20:15down the road. He shopped at the Harris
20:17ter where we shopped. And uh I thought
20:19my daddy could have been Ric Flair's
20:21manager that day. But he went to the
20:24house of the Lord with his sunglasses on
20:26because there was something in him that
20:28said,
20:31I'm going to praise the Lord any way
20:33that I can.
20:35Some of you folks know what I'm talking
20:37about. It's not just my daddy. Some of
20:39you knew people like that when you were
20:41growing up. You couldn't pull them from
20:43the house of God. You couldn't
20:45discourage them enough to keep them away
20:47from the house of God.
20:50His devotion was never just quaint. It
20:53was never just social. It was always
20:55real. So, what am I saying as I wrap
20:59this towards a public prayer that all
21:03homebuilders and home maker men, I'm
21:07going to have you join with me and pray.
21:09And that includes some of you that
21:11because of life have not had that
21:13opportunity to have children, but your
21:14great uncles and your brothers and your
21:17people who want to make a city into a
21:20place for God. Uh, what am I saying? I
21:24am not preaching today to the people
21:28like my daddy.
21:34Yes, I wish I could pastor
21:3810,000 of my daddies.
21:42He was brother Gay's dream as a saint of
21:46the most high God. Whatever needed to be
21:49done, daddy was there to do it. Drive
21:51the bus, he drove it. run the street
21:53service downtown San Diego. He was the
21:55street meeting coordinator, fixed the
21:57bus. He got on the flat thing with
21:59wheels on it. I thought it was a
22:00go-kart, but dad knew it worked for
22:02other reasons. And uh watched my dad
22:06lead songs, come and sit beside me, work
22:08for God, go to prayer meeting. That was
22:10my daddy. But I'm not preaching to the
22:13men who have your situations situated
22:17and your setbacks and shortcomings all
22:22settled. No. In the midst of confusions
22:26and conflicts, I've come to celebrate
22:29the fact that the Bible told us about a
22:33king who had shortcomings,
22:36who had a daddy who didn't measure up
22:39very good. But the Bible said, I'm going
22:42to remember the fact that those men made
22:45dedications to the Lord. And we're going
22:48to write it down and say, he brought the
22:51dedication to the house of the Lord. I
22:54get tired of Hollywood beating up on
22:57fathers. I get sick of the media
22:59projecting an esteeming a exceedingly
23:02low estimate of fathers. Every time they
23:05present a father, it's one who cannot
23:08restrain his own lusts. It's every time
23:11they res show a father, it's one who
23:13cannot reject his own selfishness. They
23:16present him too often as one who lies to
23:19get promotions and is thoughtless with
23:21regard to how he operates and moves in
23:24his family world, only choosing
23:26indulgence over things of sacrifice. The
23:30devil wants us to forget that redemption
23:34is of God. And that in this house when
23:37men come to bring their dedications and
23:39their consecrations, you may not have
23:42all your walk with God lined out line
23:45upon line and precept upon precept, but
23:49it doesn't matter to God because he
23:51anticipates your redemption. And he
23:54already writes down the fact they were
23:57offering to me a praise. They were given
24:00to me a a gift of the goodness of their
24:03heart. They were reconciling unto me
24:07because God knows that goodness wins.
24:11Them that come to God, the Bible said,
24:13must believe that he is and that he is a
24:17what? A rewarder. Everybody shout
24:21rewarder.
24:22Shout rewarder.
24:24Shout he wants to reward me. He is a
24:28rewarder of them that diligently seek
24:30him. It didn't say he's a rewarder of
24:33those that got their situation situated.
24:35He said if you'll show up and offer to
24:38him a dedication that he's a rewarder.
24:41He didn't say if you're perfect and
24:43you've got it all right. He said if Asa
24:46shows up with a dedication, I know he's
24:49got problems yesterday and I know he's
24:51going to have problems tomorrow, but I
24:53want to put it down in the book. He
24:56brought his dedications and he brought
24:58the dedications of his father and he
25:01offered them in the house of the Lord.
25:05The devil wants us to forget that God is
25:07a God of redemption. I am not where I
25:10want to be, but I also am not where I
25:13used to be. Goodness is going to win
25:17because here is where I am. It may not
25:20be what I thought I'd be, but I know
25:22that he is still a rewarder if I'll just
25:25bring my dedications to him if I offer
25:28to him my praise and my prayer. Now, I
25:31know there's people that are low lives
25:33in their mind. Yeah, I called them low
25:35lives. I'm just not pointing at who they
25:38are. Okay? I know they're low lives
25:40that'll think that I'm sanctioning
25:42slackness today. There is nothing I am
25:45doing less. I'm not sanctioned
25:47slackness. I'm just preaching the word
25:50of God. There's some that will always be
25:52around the church who always try to give
25:55God a lesser offering and they expect
25:58God to understand as if they have it
26:00harder than everybody else. And they
26:02explain away their lack of giving and
26:05praise and prayer and consecration. They
26:08explain it away. They'll always be
26:10around the church. I'm not talking about
26:12them. God will handle them. But I report
26:15to you that the reconstruction of God's
26:19men is everywhere. Men who are here
26:22because they're positive about being in
26:25church. They're here because they
26:27believe praise makes a difference. They
26:30are here right now. Some of them are in
26:32the middle of a situation and they
26:35haven't figured it out. They don't know
26:37where it came from. They know that part
26:39of it's their fault and they're not even
26:41sure that tomorrow they're going to do
26:43the correct thing. But one thing they
26:45know is it's Father's Day 2025 and they
26:48brought their dedication. Preach,
26:51preacher. They brought their dedication
26:53to the house of the Lord. And they going
26:56to lift up their hands and say, "Lord, I
27:00know you're the reconciler.
27:02You're the rebuilder. You're the
27:04redeemer."
27:07I know there's people that have not
27:09served God because the devil tells you
27:11you got to have it all figured out
27:13before you can stand for Jesus. But I'm
27:15telling you, the devil is a liar. You
27:17don't have to have it all figured it out
27:19figured out. In the middle of your
27:21confusion, you can still serve the Lord
27:24in the middle of your conflicts. When my
27:26rebuild is not yet complete and my
27:29revival hasn't even really started, I'm
27:31still in the house of the Lord saying,
27:33"I dedicate what I've got. It may not be
27:37what I wish it was. It may not be what
27:39I'm going to have, but I give you what
27:42I've got right now while my revival is
27:45still in progress.
27:48I don't know when the buttermilk becomes
27:50butter,
27:54but it's going to get there. I don't
27:56know the exact me moment a caterpillar
27:59becomes a butterfly,
28:01but it's going to happen. I can't tell
28:03you when rain becomes a rainbow,
28:07but I'm always looking at a storm. I
28:10don't know when a spark becomes a flame
28:13or when a flame becomes a fire. I just
28:16know that if I got any spark in me, I'm
28:19going to give the Lord the dedications
28:21that I can hold. I can't pinpoint when
28:25my sons became men. I don't know. I
28:29walked with them as a dead the best I
28:31could, but I wouldn't wish for any two
28:33men in all the world to pray for me if
28:36I'm in the battle valley as my two sons
28:39would pray for me, as my daughters would
28:42pray for me. I don't know when they
28:44became women. To me, they're still
28:47little girls. But if it came time to
28:49pray, give me my daughters because they
28:52become women of God, somewhere the spark
28:56became a flame. And then somehow the
29:00flame became a fire. I don't know how to
29:04explain it, but I can tell you bring
29:08your consecrations.
29:09[Applause]
29:17Bring them. Bring them. Bring them. In
29:21the middle of your not understanding,
29:23bring them.
29:26[Applause]
29:31I had two grandchildren this last two
29:33weeks.
29:35I hate to tell you this.
29:38I really do.
29:41I discovered that they can't walk, talk,
29:44and they don't have any teeth.
29:47People are saying they're perfect. I
29:48don't understand it.
29:54Somewhere
29:55they're going to be men and women of
29:57God.
29:59I went down and we had big old family
30:01gathering with the babies
30:03and River run up to Pop Pop. River is my
30:05firstborn grandson. If you don't know,
30:07he's all of four.
30:10And I've had a tradition since the day
30:12he was born. I wrestle with my grandson.
30:16I grab him and I'll roll over on the
30:19carpet.
30:21I growl like a lion.
30:25I'll flip him around.
30:33That's how it started.
30:37So he run up to me four days ago and I
30:40grabbed him and I have certain positions
30:42that I like to put them up in my
30:44pinkies, get right in his side right
30:46there so the doctor can make a little
30:48tickle inspection
30:51and he'll scream, you know, just enough
30:55before I, you know, I'm not going to
30:56torture him, but all of that. Can you
31:01believe this is what he said this week?
31:04He came up to me and we were wrestling.
31:07I had him down and I was
31:11and he said, "Stop."
31:13I said, "What?" He said, "Pop pop,
31:17can we really wrestle this time?"
31:29He's ready.
31:34would to God I had some four years olds
31:36in this church that when the devil
31:39showed up on your store, you're not a
31:42finished product. You don't have it all
31:44figured out, but you look to heaven and
31:47say, "Lord, I'm really ready. I'm going
31:50to push back. I'm going to fight. I know
31:53my strength. I may not have it all
31:56figured out, but I'm going to give you
31:58what I got. I'm going to praise him
32:00every way that I can.
32:06Listen, give me the word. I spent all my
32:09life trying to figure this out. I got my
32:11master's degree studying in this thing.
32:13Let me tell you, I don't know how it all
32:14is going to work out. And yet, give me
32:17the word. I can't explain what
32:19tomorrow's going to be, but give me the
32:20word. Give me prayer. Sometimes I don't
32:23even know right words to say. But it
32:25doesn't matter if I'm stumbling,
32:27bumbling, or if I sound like a silver
32:29tonged angel. Give me prayer. Give me
32:32worship. Sometimes my back aches, my
32:34hands hurt, my right shoulder blade
32:36doesn't want to lift very high, but give
32:38me worship. It may not be perfect, but
32:41I'm going to give him what I got. I'm
32:44ready to really wrestle now. I'm ready
32:47to really praise now. I'm ready to
32:50really stand now. I'm ready for reals
32:55love.
32:58Sister Elm's come. I'm done. Asa
33:03dedicated
33:05dedicated.
33:08Dedication is when human aspiration
33:11intersects with heavenly hope. And he
33:14brought the things that his father had
33:16dedicated.
33:18And he brought the things that he had
33:20dedicated. I'm talking about dedications
33:22that defy hell. Your very presence on
33:26Father's Day in this house tell me
33:29you're in for the fight.
33:31So it requires fervor.
33:33I feel fervor in this house. So the
33:36fight requires strategy.
33:39I've got some stratisticians
33:42uh in or strategicians
33:44or strategery
33:46in the house.
33:49Does it require a will to reshape my
33:53responses?
33:56Might respond wrong once, twice,
34:00but I'm going to reshape that response
34:03because here's my worship, Lord. We're
34:05in the broadcasting of holiness
34:08business. We're in the publishing of
34:11praise
34:13business.
34:14were devoted souls
34:17in a selfish world.
34:19England is filled and known for its
34:21gardens. They're known as the royal
34:24parks.
34:25One of the most beautiful parks is
34:29Kensington
34:30Gardens.
34:32Kizzington Gardens
34:34was known for its beautiful landscape,
34:38large pines. In fact, poets wrote of
34:42their beauty.
34:43The tall scotch pine trees
34:47began to die.
34:49And after much research,
34:52they discovered the reason they were
34:54dying was because of a misplaced zeal
34:57for tidiness.
35:00The landscape managers
35:02decided that they wanted the ground
35:04around those scotch pines to be really
35:08clean and raked.
35:10And after they brought in those
35:12horiculturists
35:14and arborists who knew what it took to
35:17make a healthy tree, they looked and saw
35:21that the roots of the pine tree need the
35:25piny blanket that covers them to comfort
35:29and keep the roots. And so in 2004,
35:36the Royal Parks of Britain
35:40formalized a tree strategy
35:43that we will not pursue the perfect
35:47tidiness
35:48over protecting the roots.
35:52Some things the roots need to be
35:55healthy.
35:56The devil knows that your praise will be
35:59shut down if you think you have to be
36:00perfect before you give it. He knows
36:04your worship will be stopped if you've
36:07got to have all the answers to the
36:09quandies in your mind before you give
36:12your worship. And here's what the Bible
36:14tells me in our text on this Father's
36:17Day. If you're in the middle of
36:19situations and you just don't know the
36:21answer, solutions seem to be gone and
36:25you still might be falling short, it's
36:28still a good time to give God your
36:32devotion.
36:35Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are
36:38true, whatsoever things are honest,
36:42whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
36:45things are pure, whatsoever things are
36:47lovely, says the Bible writer,
36:49whatsoever things are of good report, if
36:52there be any virtue, and if there be any
36:55praise, think on these things. I am not
37:00preaching optimism today. I'm preaching
37:03the word of God. The Bible tells me of
37:06the increase of his government and peace
37:10there shall be no end. I'm going to be
37:13better tomorrow than I am today. I'll
37:17understand it better by and by. But on
37:20the in between, my consecration is a
37:23journey. It is not a destination. The
37:25devil wants me to think that my
37:27consecration is some condition I'll get
37:30over. That it's not real. that
37:32consecration will soon pass, that
37:35consecration is founded on fraud. But I
37:38want to tell you what David said. He
37:40said, "I have been young, but now I'm
37:44old. And there's two things I got to
37:48tell you. When I was young, I saw it.
37:53But now that I'm old, I can tell you for
37:58a fact two things I got to tell you.
38:02First, I've never
38:05seen the righteous forsaken.
38:08They weren't always perfect, but they
38:11were forgiven. They weren't always
38:14walking in clarity, but they wanted the
38:18Lord. And I've never seen the righteous
38:22forsaken.
38:25But
38:27the second thing I want to tell you, not
38:30only are they not forsaken,
38:33but they're generation
38:36to generation
38:38to generation
38:40because some father decided
38:43that he was going to send up some
38:45praise.
38:47He was going to give God his devotion.
38:50He was going to give God his love.
38:55I've never
38:57seen his seed begging bread. Begging his
39:01grandkids for bread.
39:05Hallelujah.
39:08Now I'm going to open this altar.
39:09Everybody stand.
39:11You know what I did? I gave you a heads
39:13up.
39:14I told you to get your courage up.
39:19I know everybody that's about to walk up
39:21here can't walk in my daddy's footsteps.
39:27I know some are going to walk up here
39:28that you might know some stuff on. I
39:31know some are going to walk up here that
39:34don't have all their situations
39:35situated.
39:37Some are going to walk up here that the
39:40revival of their life has not even
39:42really got started,
39:44but
39:46they're going to pack up some
39:47dedications
39:49like Asa and they're going to go get the
39:52remembrances
39:54of their father who was filled with
39:56flaws and they're going to bring his
39:59dedications
40:00and they're going to walk up here and
40:03remember we
40:06Get back up.
40:12A just man
40:14fallth
40:16seven times
40:18but riseth up again. Every home builder,
40:23every father,
40:25every man who will. I invite you to come
40:28and stand as close as you can around
40:30this altar. Come up here. Get close. Get
40:33close. I love seeing all the men for
40:36time of healing today. That was awesome.
40:40Hallelujah.
40:42Come on. I'm not presenting religious
40:44calculus today. I'm not even needing
40:45finished products. I'm not even needing
40:48men that's got it all figured out. I'm
40:51just needing men who are willing to say,
40:53"Lord, in the middle of my stuff, I want
40:57you to know there's a reason why I've
40:59come to your house.
41:06Now, men, I'm going to give you words to
41:08say.
41:09I've written out a prayer.
41:13At the end of us praying this prayer,
41:17I'm going to ask you to in comfort,
41:21grab a brother by the hand and pray of
41:24your own words. But first, I want you to
41:27pray this prayer with me.
41:35Hell hates this right now.
41:39Hell wants to keep you on its ranch.
41:43Hell wants to drive you like a rancher.
41:45The Lord wants to lead you like a
41:46shepherd.
41:48Hell wants to drive you with the whip of
41:50fear. Heaven wants to lead you with the
41:52song of hope.
41:57Are you ready to pray with me?
42:00I'll say it, then you say it.
42:05Even if you don't understand it, say it
42:08in faith.
42:11Say it in faith.
42:13I stand boldly. I stand.
42:18I stand boldly I stand boldly in the
42:22authority of God's word.
42:24God's word.
42:26Declaring his promises.
42:30over my family. over my family. Over my
42:34calling. Over my calling. Over my
42:38career. Over my career.
42:41Over my wife. Over my life.
42:45And over my inspirations.
42:49I rebuke the enemy. I rebuke the enemy.
42:53I rebuke the enemy. I rebuke the enemy.
42:57I resist the devil. I resist the devil.
43:00The curse is broken. The curse is
43:02broken. My home thrives. My home
43:05thrives. Under an open heaven. Under
43:08open heaven. You pour out. You pour out
43:11uncontainable blessings. Untainable
43:14blessings. Over my home. Over my home.
43:17My children. My children. My wife. My
43:21wife. My loved ones. My loved ones are
43:24saved.
43:25Walking close to you. Walking close to
43:28you. I'm called to purpose. I'm called
43:31to purpose. My hands are blessed. My
43:35hands are blessed. All I do prospers.
43:38All prosper. Hallelujah. As a priest. As
43:42a priest. As a priest. As a priest.
43:48As a priest. As a priest, I lead my
43:52home. I leave my home with wisdom with
43:55wisdom and courage.
43:58My career aligns with your divine
44:01assignment.
44:04Yes.
44:05You open doors no man can shut. You open
44:08doors no man. I am blessed going in. I
44:12am blessed going in. I'm blessed going
44:14out. I'm blessed going out. My work
44:17produces outcomes.
44:21that blesses the earth
44:24glorifies your name. glorifies your
44:26name. I declare provision I declare
44:29provision and increase
44:32my business my business my endeavors my
44:36endeavor flourish under your favor
44:38flourish under your favor flourish under
44:41your favor flourish under your favor
44:43flourish under your favor flourish your
44:45favor I honor my wife I honor my wife my
44:49companion in your grace
44:52declaring strength over heresus
44:55wisdom over her. Joy over her. Yes, God.
45:00She's clothed in dignity.
45:03She's radiant with your love.
45:07Her hand prospers.
45:10I cherish her.
45:12As Christ loves the church, as Christ
45:15loves the church. Last paragraph.
45:19Last paragraph.
45:21But then it's it's so important. I want
45:23hell to hear you say this.
45:27I want you to say it with authority.
45:31That doesn't mean it has to be loud, but
45:32it's got to have authority. A lot of
45:34times authority involves volume.
45:38Your spirit ignites me.
45:43To dream big. Yes.
45:46To act boldly. To act boldly. To trust
45:50fully. To trust fully. And I prophesy. I
45:55prophesy, yes, I prophesy
45:59that all I touch all I touch prospers in
46:03Jesus name.
46:05My family is blessed.
46:09My calling is fulfilled.
46:12My career is fruitful. My career is my
46:16wife is cherished. My wife is my
46:19inspirations are on fire. I
46:23with your spirit. With your spirit. I
46:27walk in victory. I walk in victory. I
46:30walk in favor. I walk in favor. And I
46:34walk in overflow.
46:37In the name of Jesus Christ.
46:41Now, grab your brother. Ladies, if you
46:43want to come forward, you're welcome to
46:45join us. Let's pray one with another
46:48just for a few moments here this
46:50morning. Oh, we need each other. You
46:53don't know how bad we need each other.
46:55You don't know how bad we need each
46:57other. You don't know how bad we need
47:00each other.
47:04[Music]
47:06Prophesy.
47:08Prophesy
47:10in the middle of your chaos.
47:12Prophesy
47:14in the middle of your struggle. Prophesy
47:18in the middle of your setback.
47:20prophesy.
47:24That's it, man. That's it, man. I love
47:27what I see.
47:29I love what I see. I love what I feel.