Working the Harvest to Win
Pastor David T. Elms 3/17/2026
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47:30
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms encourages the church to focus on 'working the harvest' by cultivating a lifestyle of prayer that mirrors Jesus' joy, emphasizing that God rewards our labor and faithfulness rather than just numbers or outcomes.
Key points
- •Harvest is a spiritual process that requires an atmosphere of prayer and responsiveness.
- •The secret to Jesus' joy was retreating to the 'ivory palaces' of prayer to be saturated with the fragrance of heaven before facing the world's sorrows.
- •Success in the kingdom is measured by labor and effort, not by human-defined results or numbers.
- •The church must be a warm, prepared environment (like a home with lamps lit and music playing) where every guest feels expected and welcomed.
Scripture
Spiritual Harvest
Discipline of Prayer
Kingdom Success
Atmosphere and Fellowship
Life application
This week, prioritize a 'long while before day' moment of prayer to retreat into God's presence, ensuring your attitude and actions reflect the joy of heaven rather than the stress of the world.
Reflection questions
- Am I currently measuring my spiritual success by outward results or by my faithfulness to the labor God has given me?
- What 'fragrances' am I picking up from the people or media I linger with most?
- How can I actively help create an 'atmosphere of heaven' for others when I walk into the church service or my home?
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Full transcript
0:00>> I love being with you. Hallelujah.
0:00Now y'all are getting the full dose of
0:02beauty.
0:03>> Okay.
0:04Working
0:06the harvest to win. You know, here's the
0:10problem. I want to I want to explain the
0:11reason I'm a little more amped up is
0:14because on the way to church, my wife
0:15flirted with me. And here's it's it's
0:19it's got me a little disturbed. Uh
0:23here's what it means. on the way to
0:25church, she noticed I didn't have green
0:27on and she pinched me.
0:30I know what that is. She's wanting She's
0:33flirting with her husband and she didn't
0:36just pinch me a baby pinch. She pinched
0:38me a lot. I hope all of you wives don't
0:39flirt the same way my wife does. But uh
0:42she showed me she's got green on on the
0:44one of those skiers going down her
0:46sleeve has green on. I don't have any
0:49green on. I tried to find it in my
0:50socks, but she told me these socks
0:53didn't have any green in them. So, I
0:56apologize that I'm not truly Catholic uh
0:59or whatever it is that you're supposed
1:01to wear green on today. I really didn't
1:03even realize it was green day until
1:05later on. So, anyway, we we we love the
1:09Lord at the Cathedral of Pentecost. And
1:11we're in harvest month. Harvest month is
1:14a month where we're accentuating altar
1:17response, baptisms, the infilling of the
1:20Holy Ghost. We want more and more and
1:22more people receiving the Holy Ghost,
1:25speaking in other tongues. I want it.
1:27I'm desperate for it. I'm hungry for it.
1:30I need it to happen. Uh but I am also
1:33not needing it so badly that we're going
1:36to rush through to have premature
1:40births. Okay? So harvest is a process of
1:43fruit and there is no fruitfulness that
1:46happens in one day. But the difference
1:49in this last day is the Bible said that
1:52we will have as the home teams of this
1:54last month demonstrated an accelerated
1:57harvest. An accelerated harvest that
2:00means quicker than normal response
2:03times. People are going to come into
2:07fruitfulness. And I'm excited about that
2:10in our church. We're hungry for this. I
2:13want to pe pray people through to the
2:15Holy Ghost. I want more people feeling
2:18comfortable to come down to this altar
2:20and pray. I don't want one oldtimer in
2:23this church to feel comfortable not
2:25coming to the altar. I don't want one of
2:27you to feel comfortable like you just
2:29don't need to respond to the word. No,
2:32that's not who we are. It's not who
2:34we're ever going to be. We are not. And
2:37I don't want to call names, okay? Uh,
2:40I'm not going to call names, but there
2:42are some churches that are known for not
2:45coming to the front. And I'm not going
2:47to call those churches names, but you're
2:49not in one of those churches. Okay? I
2:52love the people that go to those
2:54churches. I love the people that attend
2:56those churches, but we are definitely
2:59not one of those churches. We are a
3:02Pentecostal
3:03apostolic church. That means when it's
3:06time for the prayer service at the end
3:08of a service, we go down because we need
3:12to either do one of two things. Pray
3:14with others or pray ourselves. There's
3:18nobody who's been filled with the Holy
3:20Ghost that is excused from coming and
3:23working in this altar. Either pray and
3:26create an atmosphere or pray with
3:29someone else and create an atmosphere.
3:32We must remember who we are. We were
3:35born in the fire and the smoke will not
3:38do. We're going to stay a church on
3:41fire. Nobody, unless you are unable
3:44physically, should feel comfortable not
3:47responding to the word of the Lord. And
3:50Tuesday night's one thing, but most
3:52especially on a Sunday, we need to have
3:55a current that comes from the back to
3:58the front where you walk to the church
4:01service. that if there's a current going
4:03any way, we know hell is going to create
4:06a current to that back door. And what
4:09the Holy Ghost believers have got to do
4:11is say, "I know that hell is trying to
4:14create a current to the back. And so,
4:16I'm going to let the people see that I
4:18know how to change the flow. Even though
4:22hell says go that way, heaven says come
4:25this way because healing happens up
4:28here. Miracles happen up here.
4:30Deliverance happens up here. Salvation
4:33happens up here. Prayer happens up here.
4:38I mean, the plans of our new facility.
4:40We've got about 25 ft between here and
4:44the front row. And if I listen to some
4:46Pentecostals in this modern era talk, we
4:49might as well just bring the chairs all
4:51the way up here because there's nothing
4:53that the pastor can say that will get
4:55them to come out of their seat to up
4:57here. And so we need to change the
5:00architecture of our church. Don't make
5:02it so you have a big dance area and a
5:05big fellowship area and a big prayer
5:07area. No. Since they're not going to
5:09come and they still think they're
5:11Pentecostal, then we might as well just
5:13go ahead and move the rows all the way
5:15up here to the front. If it's going to
5:17be some Pentecostals, but none of those
5:19Pentecostals attend the Cathedral of
5:21Pentecost because here's what we're
5:22going to do. When the current says go
5:24away from the altar, the people of God
5:27say, "I'm going to the altar." I'm going
5:30to respond.
5:34>> And I'm not going to respond because the
5:36pastor is up there saying, "I wish
5:39somebody would come to the altar.
5:43>> I told you I'm never going to be a
5:45rancher. I'm going to just sing. I'm not
5:48ever going to crack whips." He didn't
5:50call preachers to be ranchers. He called
5:53preachers to be shepherds. And a
5:55shepherd leads from the front singing.
5:57He doesn't drive from the back popping
6:00whip. No, no, no. That's what ranchers
6:02do. We are modeling a sheepfold. My
6:06sheep know my voice and they follow me.
6:11There will always be some goats in the
6:13house of God, but I'm not going to be
6:16numbered with the goats. Count me out.
6:19Don't ever be confused whether or not
6:22I'm a sheep or I'm one of the goats. No,
6:25the house is made for the sheep.
6:29And the worship has got to be
6:32electrifying. The worship has got to be
6:34observable. The worship has got to be in
6:38contagious, I should say. It's got to be
6:40something that when guests come, they
6:42feel it, they just don't see it. That
6:44it's something that comes down around
6:46them like a great rainstorm. And the
6:49fellowship has got to be like that. Meet
6:51and greet should not be stodgy. Meet and
6:53greet means I'm finding somebody that's
6:56in a broken condition because I was once
6:59where they are. And right now they're
7:01not sure there's any hope in the middle
7:03of their mess. And I want to walk up,
7:05shake their hand in a thousand ways. I'm
7:08telling them with my smile, with my
7:10handshake in my eyes, I was you. And I'm
7:13telling you, you can be me because the
7:16Lord delivers. The Lord sets free. The
7:19Lord stands people back up. There is no
7:22addiction of this world that is more
7:25powerful than my God. You know, they say
7:28that it's harder to get stop smoking
7:30than it is to stop taking cocaine.
7:33That's what I've heard. I've heard
7:34scientifically because of the tar base
7:37in nicotine that it's harder to get out
7:39of your system than that it is crack
7:41cocaine. I haven't asked the latest
7:43technology and spa science on that, but
7:46I'm telling you, if the hardest thing to
7:48get free from whatever that drug is, if
7:50it's heroin, if it's cocaine, if it's
7:53crack, if it's meth, if if it's if it's
7:56uh uh what's these um uh Xanax, what's
7:59the other uh ones that Pentecostal
8:02people use?
8:05>> Aderall.
8:07My doll. No, that's not right. Uh, I
8:11don't have all my my my my
8:15drugs around. That was But listen, God
8:24hydrocodone,
8:27>> oxycottton.
8:29All you drug addicts got to help me. You
8:31know,
8:33you know,
8:36>> coffee.
8:37>> Coffee.
8:41Listen, God delivers.
8:44>> We're not to be subject to any chemical.
8:47>> We're not to be subject to sugar.
8:50>> I said it.
8:52>> Sugar, any chemical. None of it is to
8:55have rain or rule over us. We've got,
8:58the Bible even calls it like this. There
9:00are some people whose God is their
9:03>> belly.
9:04>> Now, that's not just talking about food
9:06because that's talking about the lust of
9:07the eye. the lust of the flesh and the
9:10pride of life that's coming out of the
9:12innermost soul. And the Lord will
9:14deliver us from them all.
9:18>> There's freedom in this house. There's
9:20deliverance in this house. There's hope
9:22in this house.
9:25>> Hallelujah. And uh and so our church is
9:29full of fellowship. It's full of
9:31worship. It's full of fun. It's full of
9:33joy. And uh it's full of togetherness.
9:37And it will always be that way. It has
9:39been ever since I've been pastor here.
9:41Even since even when we had attacks on
9:44the congregation in various times, it's
9:46amazing how the Lord excises pockets
9:50that the enemy tries to plant that work
9:52as an alliance against the unity of this
9:55house. I can't tell you of a time where
9:57there hasn't been one or two people that
9:59have been in my spirit that the enemy
10:01was trying to say, "See there, they're
10:03going to find a new grip." And all I
10:06know is I just keep preaching love,
10:08preaching power, and little by little,
10:10the Lord, he is the gardener. He comes
10:13along and he clears the house and
10:15restores and rebuilds and renews because
10:17it's a God that of heaven. It's the God
10:20of heaven that builds the house.
10:22>> I remember when our young people had a
10:24season where Beef Brady's was an every
10:28night after church event and they would
10:30go to Beef Brady's right here in that
10:32back room. I some of y'all are too
10:34young. You don't remember back when we
10:35owned we had a BFO Brady's. We might as
10:38well have owned it. We were best friends
10:39with the owner. He would clear out that
10:41whole backroom and those kids would
10:43stuff themselves in there like sardines
10:46in a can and they would go around. I
10:48don't know how they got out of there
10:50with with all the joy they had. What was
10:52that all about? Well, it's just the
10:54fellowship of the people of God. And
10:56churches go through seasons. Don't think
10:58because uh we're going through a season
11:00right now. There's not as many young
11:02people and all that. Oh, it's a bad
11:04season. No, it's not. Every season's a
11:06good season. Every season. I'm not God
11:08is not in trouble. I want you to know
11:11something. God is not in trouble. He's
11:14doing mighty good. He's fine all the
11:17time. There's no time when he wakes up
11:20and rings his hand and says, "Oh, my
11:22church, my church." He's never woken up
11:25under stress. Never. Not one time.
11:28Remember, I mean, we just had a lock in.
11:30And bless God, I I don't think if I I
11:33maybe I visited a lock in. How long did
11:34you stay at the lockin Friday night,
11:36babe? I don't know. You didn't stay too
11:39long because we had guests at our house.
11:42That's exactly right. But they they have
11:45this thing called Ry's Pancakes. Where's
11:47Brother Ramos? Is he here tonight? Is
11:49Brother Randy in the house? All right.
11:52Uh he he makes these pancakes and uh
11:55it's a pretty big deal. I just think
11:57it's a coma inducing end to the night.
12:01If you eat enough pancakes, you will
12:03sleep all day. I mean, I met people on
12:06Sunday who slept all day on Saturday and
12:08they walked in said, "Lord,
12:10you had 24 hours." But you know how it
12:13is. But that's a special thing. Uh, I
12:16want you to know, brother, I've said
12:18this many times before, brother uh Ellis
12:21Meyers, at his uh uh at his 80th
12:24birthday party, I went to it and I stood
12:26beside him and I looked at a young
12:28couple with a baby, which by the way,
12:29didn't Johnny get he you ate your
12:31Cheerios last night or something because
12:33you were singing tonight. I'm telling
12:35you that you you were singing. I mean,
12:38you hit some notes that you don't
12:39normally get up to. Uh, but I appreciate
12:42that, Johnny. We got some singers in
12:44this church.
12:46We got the kind of singers other
12:47churches try to poach. That's what we
12:50got. We got and we're getting more
12:53because the Lord is not smiling on this
12:55house. But but he I looked over at a
12:58young couple with babies and I saw Have
13:01y'all ever walked through the back and
13:02saw our our lineup of the the baby uh
13:07limousines?
13:08>> I I I mean we got rows of of baby
13:12limousines set up back there. And I'm
13:14saying it's not enough. We got to have
13:15more. Uh, bring it on, brother. Bring it
13:18on. Bring on the babies. Bring them on.
13:22But brother Myers looked over at me and
13:24he he said, I said, "Those were the good
13:27old days." Back thinking about when my
13:28kids were little. And he gave me just
13:31about three minutes. I forgot that I had
13:33said that to him. And he leaned over to
13:35me and he said, "Brother Elms, I want to
13:36tell you something." He said, "These are
13:39the good old days." I didn't know he
13:41knew rock and roll songs, but it was
13:44true because now I realize it's not a
13:47song. Every moment that you're living
13:50in, if you don't understand what God's
13:53trying to tell you is this moment, now
13:56is the day of salvation. Salvation is
13:59joy. Salvation is peace. Salvation is
14:02hope. Salvation is fun. Salvation is
14:05happiness. Salvation is deliverance. Now
14:08is the day of salvation. Not yesterday,
14:12not tomorrow. Today is the good old
14:15days. Right now is a good good day.
14:19>> It's a good good day.
14:21Hallelujah.
14:23Hallelujah.
14:26Family month around here. Don't take it
14:28for granted, folks. These are the good
14:30old days. Easter's coming up. We're
14:33going to have an Easter choir. Don't
14:35take it for granted. Don't come seeing,
14:37well, let's see if the decor this year
14:39is like previous years. No, these are
14:42the good old days. I I I I'm I'm
14:44preaching a sermon on that family day
14:46that I I have to do some work for, and I
14:48was going through all my home teams to
14:50grab pictures of everywhere I've done a
14:52home team from. And and when I was going
14:54through it, I saw so many different of
14:57the amazing backdrops that we've had for
15:00family month and for Easter and for
15:03Christmas. I'm just blown away as I
15:05watch them all go through and see all
15:07this stuff as I'm trying to get prepared
15:09for this message. And I I it just moved
15:12my heart and the Holy Ghost reminding me
15:14that these are the good old right now is
15:18the best day of your life. Today you
15:21need to wake up and say, "No, not
15:23yesterday. Those were great days. Not
15:26tomorrow. Those will be great days right
15:29now. I'm glad this side is getting it. I
15:31don't know what's happening over here,
15:32but this is the good day. These are the
15:36good days. This is the time of the Lord.
15:40This is the day of salvation.
15:45>> I wouldn't know how to live without the
15:46church. Easter choir practice is coming
15:49up. Enjoy it.
15:51>> We're having a good Friday. A Friday
15:53night communion next week. I think it's
15:56next week. Is it next week? It's two
15:57weeks. A Good Friday. It's the week the
16:00Friday before Easter. That's going to be
16:02an amazing service. You don't want to
16:04miss it. That will be a good old day.
16:07Right now, this night is a good old day.
16:10I come I I want to give you everything I
16:14got because these are the best days of
16:17our lives.
16:19Family month pre-ervice prayer tonight.
16:22My Lord, I I love this pre-ervice
16:24playing. Sister Elms, you get on that
16:26thing and start playing. And I don't
16:28know what it moves me to another realm.
16:29I'm like saying I don't even want to
16:31stop and go get wired up. Just let me
16:33stay up here and pray because there's a
16:34flow. There's a flow. I walked through
16:36the house. I walked in the house. I was
16:38here on time. Sister Annie and Sister
16:40Vyus. I just want to let you know I was
16:41here. But I I got stopped between there.
16:43But I'm telling you what, they were
16:45already in hot Holy Ghost prayer when
16:48that door opened. I I I walked through
16:50it at 7:04. at 704 power, prayer,
16:54pleading the these are the good days.
16:57You if you're missing it, I'm asking you
16:59to wake up and get back a part of it.
17:02Let your voice be in the choir of the
17:04Lord. Don't push it off and say, "Well,
17:06I'd rather sit at McDonald's another 20
17:08minutes or I'd rather go through
17:10Starbucks and sit in their parking lot
17:12another five minutes." No. go ahead and
17:15get through it and get on to the house
17:16of God because these are the good days
17:20of the Lord. These are the good days. I
17:24wouldn't know how to live without the
17:25church. There have never been a week go
17:27by that I haven't earnestly been in his
17:29presence and sought his face. This last
17:32week was my 3,14th
17:34week alive. And I have averaged three
17:37services a week. All my life except for
17:40five years. I averaged five services a
17:42week. That's not counting the camps that
17:44I've preached and I've run and all of
17:46that. That means all told I have been to
17:49at least 8,557
17:52church services. I've got my master's
17:54degree in and in and theology and uh uh
17:58I should say ministry studies. Uh and
18:01and that took me 3,240
18:04days of school to get to that point to
18:07get my master's degree. What I'm saying
18:09is I've been in a church far more than
18:11double the days I've ever been in
18:13school. And school might prepare me a
18:16little bit for the now, but when I walk
18:18into the house of God, I'm not just
18:20marking time. I'm laying up in heaven
18:23the understanding that when heaven opens
18:25its doors, I'll be ready for it. We're
18:28going to have church in a manner that
18:30prepares you for the day you walk
18:32through the pearly gates. You're not
18:33going to walk in that door out of this
18:35church and for the first time ever you
18:38dance on the streets of gold. No, you
18:40better start practicing right now. If
18:42you've not learned how to dance in his
18:44presence, you better practice. You
18:47better get it down right now. You need
18:49to learn how. Because when you get to
18:52heaven, I don't want to be shocked
18:54seeing you move in ways I never saw you.
18:57No, I want to see you now because I
19:00already know I have heaven. Heaven.
19:03Heaven for me. Heaven for me. That's
19:07what I've got. I've got it. I know about
19:09church. I was glad when they said unto
19:12me, "Let us go into the house of the
19:15Lord." If they want to criticize how we
19:17have church, have fun. But when you go
19:20to church as much as we go to church,
19:22I'm not going to a dead church. I'm not
19:24going to a stodgy church. I'm not going
19:26to a stuckup church. Not going to a
19:28church that doesn't have fun. Not going
19:30to a church that doesn't know how to
19:31laugh with each other and sometimes at
19:33each other. Not going to do it. Life's
19:35too short. I'm going to laugh at you and
19:37I don't mind you laughing at me. I know
19:39this. He washed me. He saved me. He
19:43baptized me. It's his mercy that has
19:45brought me this far. And I'm excited to
19:48be in the family of God.
19:53Oh yes. Oh yes, I am. Uh the Pharisees
19:57and the scribes never liked the worship
19:59that surrounded Jesus. They thought it
20:01ought to be much more calm. They thought
20:03they shouldn't worship like that. And my
20:06my son quoted it Sunday. He the Lord
20:09told him just a very factual thing. He
20:12wasn't mad. He wasn't loud. He just
20:15looked at him and said, "Uh, if these
20:17hold their peace and the stones are
20:20going to cry." I can't say it as calm as
20:23Jesus did. If these hold their peace,
20:26the stones will cry out. Uh that's why
20:30on the day of Pentecost, they were
20:32criticized. They looked at them and they
20:34mocked them. They had received the Holy
20:36Ghost and they said, "That's that's over
20:37the top." And some said, "These men are
20:40drunk. Nobody normal in their right mind
20:43acts like this. H they're drunk." And
20:46the prophet said they would act like
20:47they were drunk, but not with wine. They
20:50would stagger, but they would not
20:52stagger with strong drink. The Holy
20:55Ghost would move them to the very core
20:58of their being. The church is a lively
21:01place. It's great being in the church.
21:04I'm so glad that I'm a part of the
21:07family of God, washed in the fountain,
21:12cleansed by his blood,
21:15joint hes with Jesus as we travel this
21:20sad old word. I'm so glad I'm a part of
21:26the family of God. You know why my kids
21:30sing so much? They're still trying to be
21:31like their daddy.
21:35I'm glad to be a part of the family of
21:37God.
21:38>> There's no better family than this
21:40family.
21:42There's nobody that'll love you like
21:44God's people. Have you ever had one of
21:46God's people get a hold of you in the
21:48altar and you could tell they had a
21:49burden for you? Oh my lord.
21:53Have you ever had that happen to you?
21:56Where you've been in an altar and
21:57somebody had a burden for you and they
21:59had more of a burden for you than you
22:01had for yourself, but you could tell
22:04something was going on in the Holy Ghost
22:06and they got a hold of you and they
22:08wouldn't let you go. When was the last
22:09time you grabbed somebody like that?
22:12Somebody that the Lord laid on your
22:13heart and you just decided, I'm going to
22:16go down. I'm going to link up in the
22:17Holy Ghost uh and I'm going to pray
22:19through until something happens. That's
22:22the family of God that's breaking
22:25through. When you know a mama's going
22:27through something and you know she's
22:28going through it, some other mother
22:30needs to walk over, grab her arm and
22:33start praying one with another two as
22:36touching any one thing. Uh they shall
22:38have power with God. Uh it's the church.
22:41It's the church in the book of
22:43Revelation.
22:44Uh, it's built on a rock. It's got a
22:47sure foundation. It's been through the
22:49flood and it's been through the fire.
22:51And one of these days, the church is
22:54going to move up higher. It's the church
22:58triumphant, oh Lord. And it's built by
23:01the hand of the Lord. It's not built by
23:04a building. It's not built by location.
23:06It's not built by a song. It's not built
23:09by a band. It's not built by
23:11presentation. It's not built by a
23:13preacher. The Lord is building you. The
23:17Lord is making you. The Lord is framing
23:21you.
23:28Our text, it's about Jesus.
23:32They're describing Jesus. Thou lovest
23:35righteousness and hatest wickedness.
23:38Therefore, God, thy God, thy God. Yeah.
23:42Jesus the man, he was God in the flesh,
23:45but he wasn't all God. He was all God.
23:48All God was was not there because Jesus
23:51could only be one place at a time. You
23:53understand? He never walked in Miami.
23:56Jesus never made it to America. No, he
23:59never did. God's omniresent.
24:03Jesus could only be one place at a time.
24:05And that's the reason when he would pray
24:08like in the garden of Gethsemane,
24:10"Father, if it be possible at this pass
24:12from me. It's this location bound flesh
24:17born only begotten of the father saying
24:20I'm weak in this flesh if it's possible
24:23for there to be any other way.
24:25Nevertheless, not the way of my flesh,
24:29thy will be done, oh Lord. And so this
24:32is described in him. You love
24:33righteousness and hatest wickedness.
24:35Therefore God thy God hath anointed thee
24:37with the oil of gladness above thy
24:39fellows. All thy garments smell of myrr
24:41and allows and cassian out of the out of
24:44the ivory palaces whereby they have made
24:48thee glad. Here it is in verse seven.
24:51Everyone is happy. It's an amazing
24:54event. They're all happy. Uh but the
25:00happiest one in the room is Jesus.
25:05I just married a couple from the police
25:07department last Thursday and there's a
25:11wonderful venue up in Pmpo I'd never
25:13been at. It's near airport. It's made
25:15for weddings. It's there. The backdrop
25:18has this amazing golf course behind it.
25:21And so I'm up there with the groom, a
25:23police officer, and his brides walking
25:25down with her dad. And I'm telling you,
25:28they've got they had these rose petals
25:31that they forgot to give out. So
25:33somebody to jump and be usher at the
25:35last minute. He's running around trying
25:37to get everybody rose pedals. I'm
25:39standing up there acting like all this
25:41is a part of the plan. But this guy
25:44standing beside me, I love him. I've
25:46done a few ride alongs with him. Great
25:48officer and Davy, but uh I don't think
25:51anybody in the room was happier than
25:53him. He just There couldn't have been
25:56anything that went wrong in that in the
25:59that service. No, he was excited.
26:02Hallelujah. He was glad he'd be getting
26:05married. And yet the description of the
26:07Lord is he's the happiest one of all.
26:10Can you imagine that? As happy as we are
26:13about the day when he comes, he's going
26:15to be happier than we are.
26:25I just can't imagine as happy as I am of
26:28streets of golden walls of Jasper that
26:31the Lord is the one leaning forward.
26:35I can't wait to show you. I can't wait.
26:39So excited. I hasn't seen and ear hasn't
26:42heard. It's not even entered your mind.
26:46He's the happiest. He has the joy and
26:48gladness above all those in the room. Of
26:52all his he I know he's despised and
26:54rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted
26:56with grief. I know he was beaten with a
26:58cat of nine tales and he endured the
26:59cross despising the chain. But why did
27:02he do it? Because the Bible said because
27:04there was some joy
27:06down underneath. All of that was more
27:09joy than the burden of this shame. More
27:13joy than the pain of the cat of
27:15ninetails. More joy than the crown of
27:18thorns. More joy than the mocking and
27:21the spitting and the plucking of his
27:23beard. More joy. He looked down at you
27:26in 2026.
27:29And he had so much more joy than what
27:31you could ever understand for the day
27:34that he has prepared everything. He's
27:37done it all for his bride of his earthly
27:40ministry. He was never depressed. You
27:43can't ever find him despondent. No, he
27:45wept over Jerusalem and he wept at the
27:48tomb of Lazarus. Those were the only
27:50times that we really see him weeping.
27:53And it wasn't weeping because he was
27:55depressed. He just was weeping because
27:58Jerusalem, they didn't get it. I You
28:01never understood just how much joy you
28:04would have gotten from me. I would have.
28:09Hold Jerus.
28:10I would have, but you would not. Uh, he
28:15said, "The foxes have hold and the birds
28:18of the air have nests. Son of man has
28:20nowhere to lay his head." But he never
28:22plays the victim card, does he? You ever
28:24hear them play? Well, it's really hard.
28:26You ever hear him wake up and talk to
28:28his disciples, man, sometimes I'll meet
28:30with somebody and it's like two two or
28:32three sentences in, they'll let me know,
28:34man, it's hard. Boy, it's hard.
28:38And I just want to say, yeah,
28:39everybody's got it hard.
28:42Why is your hard more than another hard?
28:44You're playing the victim instead of the
28:46victor. It's hard. I know it's hard, but
28:48you got to get off how hard it is and
28:50understand where your power is because
28:52greater
28:55greater.
28:57That's what the Bible says, greater.
29:00How is it that the man of sorrows could
29:02be so happy? It's a principle that's
29:04often overlooked. And if there was a
29:05book of the principles of happiness
29:07written, this chapter would have been
29:09forgotten. This chapter that I'm hoping
29:11to get through to you tonight. This
29:14chapter would left out. He's a man of
29:16sorrows and of grief. Yet he's always
29:18happy. How is it? Because the Bible
29:21tells us in verse eight, "All thy
29:23garments smell of myrr and allows and
29:26cassia. Out of the ivory palaces whereby
29:31they have made thee glad." It's a
29:34metaphor, but it's more than a metaphor.
29:36It was the heaven that he had made. The
29:40ivory palaces are the words of eternal
29:43glory and the bliss and the tranquility
29:46of a sea of glass. That place that he's
29:48prepared for his bride. And that was
29:52where he got his fragrance from. All thy
29:55garments smell of myrr and alows and
29:58cassas out not of out of the earth. Not
30:01out out of uh essential oils. No, out of
30:04the ivory. Somebody he has gone up into
30:08heaven in his prayer and in his praise.
30:11It's the secret of Jesus. He came every
30:14day from the ivory palaces. He would get
30:17up a long while before the day. What was
30:19he doing? He was going to walk the ivory
30:21palaces to have his heart rearranged and
30:24his mind readadjusted. He came from the
30:28place of the eternal early to pray his
30:31garments would be saturated with the
30:33fragrances of the heavenly bulah land.
30:36He would go and find out the reason why
30:39he had done it all. This is why he was
30:41never depressed. This was why he was
30:43never despondent because he knew who he
30:46was and where he came from. You know, in
30:50this old world, there are fragrances
30:53that'll get stuck on you. There are
30:55smells that attach to you, and they
30:58marked you. In fact, I remember years
31:01ago, there was one man, I was preaching
31:03a revival in Texas, and the pastor had
31:06been used quite a bit in the gifts of
31:08the spirit. And uh he was telling me, he
31:12said, "That man has the de demon of
31:14nicotine on him." And I thought, okay, I
31:17know nicotine is a demon, but I didn't
31:19know it was a real demon. And he said,
31:23uh, the demon of nicotine has a more
31:26than normal acid smell of nicotine. Said
31:32there is a normal smell, but if you ever
31:34encounter that spirit world, there will
31:37be fragrances that come and they attach
31:40themselves to these moments. This is why
31:42if you've ever trafficked in the
31:44supernatural world, I'm talking about
31:46the dark side, they call themselves
31:48angels of light, but they're of their
31:49father, Lucifer, okay? There will always
31:52be fragrances. I've never been to see a
31:55palm reader, but you won't walk in, to
31:57my knowledge, to see a palm reader
31:59without there being an involvement of
32:01some sort of incense, an atmosphere
32:04creation because they know it's all
32:08attached. You are one being. You are
32:11more spirit than you are body. You can
32:14take vitamins in the morning for your
32:16body. But if you don't understand
32:18vitamins for your spirit, you can have a
32:21healthy body and a broken spirit because
32:23you haven't understood that you need to
32:25get in the ivory palaces and you need to
32:27get the smell of cassia and of myrr and
32:30the alows and the fragrance that come
32:32from the ivory palaces. The Bible said
32:36this uh that when Jesus walked the dusty
32:38streets of Galilee, he could always
32:41sense things. It was smells that changed
32:44him. When you read about the b the
32:46rainbow in the sky, when he put it
32:48there, the Bible said he smelled the
32:51sweet savor of their sacrifice. And when
32:55he smelled it, it changed him. He said,
32:58"I'll never destroy the world like that
33:00again." If you understand the layout of
33:02the tabernacle, there's the smell of
33:04burning flesh at the front. But before
33:06you enter into the Holy of Holies,
33:08there's an altar of incense where the
33:10whole atmosphere is lit up. And you know
33:12what the book of Revelation tells us
33:14that is? It's not literal incense. It's
33:16the prayers of the saints.
33:22You create atmosphere. You create
33:25atmosphere. It's the way life ought to
33:27be. You got to live in the ivory
33:29palaces. If you find yourself depressed,
33:31somebody needs to ask you, who have you
33:33been walking with? What atmosphere have
33:36you been walking in? If you wake up and
33:38feel like a failure, I want to know, who
33:40have you been sitting around with?
33:42Because I promise you, it's not the
33:44fragrance of the ivory palaces.
33:47Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter
33:49and John in Acts 4, they perceived that
33:52they were unlearned and ignorant men.
33:55Then they marveled because they took
33:58knowledge of them that they had been
34:00with Jesus. They perceived one thing but
34:04they marveled over another. The world
34:08perceives something. They get things
34:10that are marvelous. Marvelous
34:14is marvelous. Your garments will emanate
34:18the fragrance of where you walk. What
34:21you think, who you linger with. You want
34:24to linger with the people of doubt,
34:26you'll smell like it. You want to linger
34:28with the gossipers, you'll smell like
34:31it. You want to linger with the church
34:33spplitters, you'll smell like it. Who do
34:35you want to linger with? Do you want to
34:37linger with those who know God wins,
34:40that the kingdom reigns? Jesus was
34:44working the harvest. And he said, "Look
34:47upon the harvest. See that they are
34:49white already to harvest." Don't say
34:52it's four months. And so I'm closing.
34:53Sister MS, come. I have three important
34:55points that you need to listen to. Three
34:58quick points you need to listen to. The
35:01three instructions regarding our months
35:04of harvest. And we're in one right now.
35:07And we've got three three more after
35:09this month. Three more months of
35:10harvest. We'll never stop harvesting in
35:12consecration next week. We'll never stop
35:14start harvesting in the month of
35:16preparation. But we're having four
35:18months where it's really focused on
35:20harvest. But here's the first thing you
35:23better listen to. Are you ready?
35:29Measure your goals
35:32by effort and not results.
35:42The devil beat the snot out of us with
35:45results.
35:47I've had men look at us and say, "You
35:49guys aren't touching the earth.
35:51Look at your number. They took that 10
35:53million number we got Sunday and they
35:55said they're not doing much. They've got
35:57a point, but I'm not the builder of the
36:00church.
36:02I want to give you scripture to back
36:04this because people will constantly show
36:06up and say, "Well, what's the results?"
36:08You need to tell them when they say
36:10that, "Get back in the Bible." Here's
36:12what the Bible says. 1 Corinthians 3:8.
36:15Now he that plantth and waterth are one,
36:20and every man shall receive his own rec
36:24reward according
36:27to his own labor.
36:31Not according to his results,
36:34according to his labor.
36:38It says this in the ESV, one plants and
36:41there's one who waters. They have one
36:44purpose
36:45and they will each be re rewarded
36:49according to their own labor.
36:54Matthew 16:27, for the Son of Man is
36:56going to come in his father's glory with
36:58his angels, and then he will reward each
37:01person according to what they have
37:05done.
37:07That's their labor,
37:09not their results,
37:12their labor.
37:14Revelation 22:12, Jesus is speaking.
37:16Look, I am coming soon. My reward is
37:20with me, and I will give to each person
37:24according to what they have done.
37:29Your results are not what's measured.
37:32It's your effort. That's what's
37:35measured.
37:37In all thy ways, acknowledge him and he
37:41shall direct that path. He knows the
37:43soil you're working in. He knows the
37:46field you're working in. Some fields
37:49produce much and some fields produce
37:52less.
37:54But the labor is where we're judged. So
37:57point number one, measure your goals by
38:01effort and not results. Number two,
38:04don't fantasize about the results.
38:09Celebrate
38:10the effort.
38:15Celebrate
38:17the effort. I know I know some people
38:19don't like what I'm saying right now,
38:20but I'm I'm going to take you straight
38:22back to the word. You know, people
38:24imagine who they're going to marry and
38:27they get in their mind, "Oh boy, if I
38:29marry him,
38:33he is my dream boat.
38:39Few months, you're going to watch that
38:41boat sink.
38:47You're going to wake up and realize his
38:49breath stinks in the morning, his feet
38:50stink at night, and your dream boat has
38:55sunk.
38:59You shouldn't study what kind of husband
39:01you want. You ought to study what kind
39:03of wife you're going to be.
39:06Now, that was to the women. So, let me
39:08preach to the men for a minute. See if
39:09they respond as fast as the women did.
39:12>> Amen. You shouldn't go around studying
39:14what kind of wife you want as much as
39:16you ought to study what kind of man
39:18you're going to be.
39:22>> I even heard women amen that part, too.
39:29Stop thinking about what you thought it
39:31was going to be and start thinking about
39:32what you're going to be.
39:36LXM, you know, you get an LXM, you get
39:39exposed to the microphone, you get
39:41exposed to the
39:42get exposed to the platform. And listen,
39:45it's risky letting people up here
39:46because it's amazing how many people all
39:48of a sudden they get a mic and they
39:49think, "Boy, I've got sermons to preach.
39:52You're not the preacher.
39:54You're there to make announcements."
39:57But it's amazing how they get that mic
39:58and think, "Oh, I got a new word from
39:59the Lord."
40:02Some people, even leaders, leaders, it's
40:04hard pastoring a church. Some leaders,
40:06they want everybody to follow them. But
40:08then you say, "Who are you following?"
40:10They're nowhere to be found.
40:13>> Oh, then they wonder why people aren't
40:15following them. Some young men think
40:17they can go off and pastor a church and
40:19they can see everybody, boy, when I
40:20preach it's all going to be like this.
40:21And they forget there's people in that
40:23church.
40:25And with people come opinions
40:27and all those opinions don't agree with
40:29you. And all those opinions don't think
40:31that you're that good of a preacher. And
40:34some of those opinions want to know how
40:35much money have you ever saved in your
40:36life? Have you ever owned a home? If you
40:39haven't owned a home, how do you think
40:40you can pastor me? And all those
40:42opinions start coming out. And these are
40:45thoughts that we thought a dream and a
40:46vision can fix. No, there's a whole lot
40:50more to this thing than just showing up
40:51with the fancy phrase.
40:54This is why the Bible said, "See that it
40:56not be a novice."
40:59This is the reason it's good. It's
41:00better for a man to be married when he
41:02becomes a pastor. Because there's things
41:04you learn
41:06from that.
41:08Not mine, yours.
41:13I I had a meeting with the chief
41:15recently and we were talking about a
41:16situation
41:18and we were bringing a chaplain on. He
41:21said, "Well, the only problem is he
41:23doesn't have a wife in his life to be
41:24able to straighten him out."
41:27And I laughed. I said, "Well, that's a
41:28part of that system. It is what it is.
41:34There's something about understanding
41:36how to walk through life and know that
41:39it all prepares you for greatness.
41:43In all my ways, acknowledge him. I I
41:45went to Vienna Cafe. I like to take my
41:46guests there. And uh I went there and we
41:49had a table that wobbled. And I was so
41:52impressed by the waiter because it's so
41:54abnormal. I'm telling you, if I get a
41:57table that wobbles, I'm immediately like
41:59saying, "Oh man, do we need to change
42:00this table? I can't stand. I'm going to
42:03be hitting my doing that and he's going
42:05to come down and something's bad's going
42:07to happen. That waiter walked up and as
42:10soon as he saw that I had a wobbly
42:11table, he had a plan. As soon as he saw
42:15it, he said, "Listen, give me one
42:18second. It'll be fixed." He already had
42:21a plan for a table. Some people walk up
42:24and say, "I can't believe that's a bad
42:25table. This owner, if he was a better
42:26owner, he had bad buy better quality
42:28tables.
42:30Can't believe a place of this quality
42:33has a table like that. But let me tell
42:36you something. You ought to fix it when
42:39you got joy. You know God's got enough
42:42and I'm here. I'm in the ministry of
42:44miscellaneous. That's the only ministry
42:47that anybody ever needs to get in. The
42:49ministry of miscellaneous. Whatever's
42:52needed, that's where I'm ready. All of
42:54you business owner in this place, that's
42:55who you want to hire. All you bosses in
42:58this place, that's what you wish you had
42:59more of. You wish you had more employees
43:01instead of showing up and say, "Well, is
43:03that kind of stuff this place has?" They
43:05said, "No, I fix that stuff. That's the
43:07reason I'm here. I fix I have the
43:09ministry of miscellaneous. What are you
43:11talking about?" Because God's got it
43:13right now. The world doesn't know how
43:15wealthy he is. The world doesn't know
43:17how excellent he is. So, until then, we
43:19have the the equipment we have. We've
43:21got the facility we have. And right now,
43:23he's seeing who will make the most of a
43:26bad situation. I know we think this is
43:29pretty good, but it's bad compared to
43:30what the angels know we have coming to
43:32our coming our way.
43:34>> Yes.
43:34>> And so, point number one, measure your
43:37goals by efforts, not results. Point
43:40number two, don't fantasize about the
43:42results. Celebrate the effort. And point
43:45number three, don't determine success by
43:47numbers.
43:49Reward yourself according to your labor.
43:53I did my best. I did my best.
43:57If you Sunday school teachers have two
43:59kids out there, do your best. If you
44:01have 2,000 kids, do your best. It
44:04doesn't matter if you have zero or tons.
44:08Do your best. Celebrate the effort.
44:10Don't celebrate what you think is the
44:12measure of results. Go to work. Be
44:15excellent. Create atmosphere. My mother,
44:18when I would come home, shall we stand
44:19from school? My mom, such an awesome
44:22mama. Such an awesome mom. Her mother
44:24worked. And my my my grandma was never
44:27home when my mom got home from school.
44:29And so my mother determined if she could
44:32when her kids got home, they would never
44:35come home to a cold house. And I'm
44:38telling you, I reaped the benefits of my
44:40mother's burdens. My mother came home to
44:43a cold house. But when I walked through
44:45the door, it didn't matter what was
44:47going on. I walked home from school in
44:49in junior high all the way. I rode bus
44:52Winston 61 through elementary school.
44:54But in junior high, I walked home from
44:56Eastway Junior High School, through the
44:58graveyard, past the Circle K, which I
45:00could never afford to buy a slurpee. I
45:02need to stop and buy a slurpee tomorrow
45:04just because of that. Uh, sometimes I
45:06buy a slurpee just because now I can
45:08afford it because I could never go in
45:10with my friends and buy a bubble yum and
45:11a slurpee.
45:12>> Y'all don't know about great bubble yum.
45:14Y'all are too young. Brother, when that
45:16was invented,
45:18>> I see
45:19>> you were at the top of the top. if you
45:21could get purple bubble yum
45:24and uh but I couldn't afford it. I had
45:26to walk on by. But when I walked through
45:28the house, mom would have Merl Yu
45:30playing. This was back when it was LPS
45:32and they only would go like 25 minutes
45:34per side and she was on like song number
45:36two. That meant mom saw that clock. She
45:39knew when I was coming and she had put
45:41that record down and started that music.
45:44The candle would be lit. Everything the
45:46lamps would be lit. You know you when
45:48you light lamps, you're getting guests.
45:49She would write light those little corny
45:51lamps to when I would walk through the
45:53door and I didn't even know what it was
45:55happening. But as I got older, I
45:56realized what mama had done all those
45:58years.
46:02Forgive me, Lord. I want this church to
46:05be a place that no matter who walks
46:07through the door, you know, this
46:08preacher has lit a lamp and I've put on
46:12some music and Sister Elms has prepared
46:14some songs and the singers are ready for
46:17you. and those those greeters. You ask
46:18those LXMERS, they learned about it
46:20yesterday and the last week. What what
46:22what's got to go through their mind when
46:24they're standing that front door. It's a
46:25secret. We can't let it out. We can't
46:27tell you what's going through their
46:28mind. But I'm telling you something.
46:30We're we're doing more than Tomb
46:31Bodette. We're doing more than leaving a
46:33light on for you, brother, because this
46:35is the the the scent of my Cassia and
46:39the the taste and the smell of also that
46:42beautiful fragrance from the ivory
46:45palaces. Come down. Oh yes. Oh yes.
47:01All my life
47:03you have been faithful.
47:09All my life
47:11you have been so so good.
47:18Every breath that I am able,
47:24I will sing
47:27of the goodness
47:29of God.