Guardians Of Family
Pastor David T. Elms 9/28/2025
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57:52
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms calls the church to be guardians of the family by embracing the biblical idiom of 'going out and coming in.' He encourages believers to witness boldly in a distracting world while maintaining a child-like heart of worship at home and in the sanctuary.
Key points
- •Building strong families is the essential foundation for a great church and a healthy nation.
- •Believers must adopt the biblical rhythm of 'going out' to witness for Christ and 'coming in' to worship in His presence.
- •Godly leadership and maturity involve recognizing one's vulnerability before God, much like Solomon who prayed as a little child.
- •A family is defined and sustained by holy covenants between a man, a woman, and God, not just by biological or cultural preference.
- •Consistent prayer for one's children and grandchildren can trigger a chain of divine events that spans generations and continents.
Scripture
Family Legacies
Spiritual Guardianship
Witnessing
Covenant Marriage
God's Sovereignty
Life application
This week, treat your time outside of the house as a specific mission to witness for Jesus, then intentionally return to your home or church to transform that experience into worship.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you been tempted to be a 'camouflaged Christian' instead of a bold witness when you go out?
- When you 'come in' to worship, are you bringing a child-like spirit or trying to impress God with your own strength?
- How does the story of the police officer and the drunkard change your perspective on the long-term impact of a single conversation about Jesus?
- What specific 'covenants' in your family life need the most protection and guardianship right now?
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Full transcript
0:00to talk about it just for a few minutes
0:00as we wrap up this month and I want to
0:01speak on the subject guardians of the
0:04family. You may be seated in Jesus name.
0:13This is my first time to preach this
0:15month since uh the very first month week
0:19of this month. And
0:21it is a very very highly focused thing
0:24at this church that the key to a good
0:28church is great families.
0:31That without the power of family,
0:35church will never be great. And it is
0:39because of the family that God put on
0:41this earth. We fight,
0:45we war,
0:47we run, we effort to make sure our
0:51families are safe. There are many causes
0:54in this world that are out to destroy
0:57family to destroy holy covenants, to
1:01destroy the value of promises, to
1:04destroy the things that we have in our
1:06houses that makes them a haven. And in
1:10the process of that, the only way I can
1:12propose for us to keep good families is
1:17not to send everyone through Financial
1:19Peace University, nor for you to go to
1:23the wonderful works of uh the family uh
1:28that Dr. Swindoll proposes or the focus
1:31on the family that comes from Colorado
1:33Springs and all of those wonderful tools
1:37that we do use. Family is a creation by
1:41God. It was made by God. His first
1:44creation was the bringing forward of a
1:47family. And then after the fallen away
1:50happened in the scripture, he proposed
1:52to save a man Abraham. He said, "You
1:57bring your family to seek a land whose
2:00builder and maker is God." And so
2:02Abraham left. And it was a a family that
2:05left. And then the family became a
2:07nation. And the nation became what we
2:11now know as Israel. But the learning of
2:14the process of building a family is very
2:18complex in this present age because
2:21we're not really aware of all of the
2:25distractions that are around us that we
2:27think are helps but really they're
2:30hindrances. And as we walk through this
2:33world, this world that I could have not
2:35imagined in my youth, this world that I
2:38could not have anticipated in the early
2:41days of my ministry, as we walk through
2:44it, I know this one thing. God is not
2:48caught off guard.
2:49>> God is not in trouble. God is not lost,
2:53nor is he confused with how to save this
2:58world. Amen.
2:59>> He chose to send his church to reach
3:03this generation. And so I'm blessed and
3:06honored to be a part of this body of
3:08believers who have come together to
3:11learn and walk in the ways of the Lord.
3:14For seven years, this nation of Israel
3:17was undefeated.
3:19Seven different nations they conquered.
3:2131 different kings they defeated. They
3:25conquered and were given by God 10,000
3:29miles of territory that they conquered.
3:32And this great little country, this land
3:35of Israel that was given by God, the
3:38Jews, through which salvation would
3:41come, it was ordered from the beginning
3:44of time that salvation would come by the
3:47Jews. And Jesus was born in the lineage
3:51of Abraham all the way down through
3:54David until Jesus came. And he came to
3:58save not just a nation, not just a
4:01region of the world, but he came to save
4:04the whole world. He came to reach
4:08everybody high and low. Whatever their
4:11culture, whatever their country,
4:12whatever their continent, he came to
4:15reach everybody. It was only when
4:18distractions hit Israel that they forgot
4:21their purpose on the earth. Uh Genesis
4:25the 12th chapter is the promise of God
4:27to Abraham. You through you shall all
4:32the nations of the world be blessed.
4:35They were called to be a blessing. The
4:39world wasn't sent to bless them. They
4:42were sent to bless the world. And the
4:45entirety of the Old Testament is the
4:47story of God trying to get his people
4:50back on track, to not be distracted from
4:53their purpose, to not get selfish and
4:56caught up in their own ways. That they
4:58would forget the foreigner and forget
5:01the stranger and forget the people to
5:03whom they were to be a blessing. They
5:06thought the world was supposed to bless
5:08them instead of them blessed the world.
5:11And so along came these 500 years of
5:15silence that were po postulated in our
5:18scripture in that little page, one page
5:22between your Old Testament and your New
5:24Testament. It symbolized many years of
5:27silence in which God decided, I will
5:31recalibrate this world. and instead of
5:35sending my family, I'm going to put on
5:38flesh and I'm going to go down amongst
5:41my family and try to reach them first.
5:44But when he could not reach them, he
5:47decided that he himself would turn and
5:50go to a cross and die and become the
5:54savior savior of the entire world. This
5:57nation that he loved had forsaken the
6:00ways of God. And so he said, "I will
6:03reach to whosoever
6:06will, they can come and drink freely
6:09from the waters of life." And so all
6:11this process of time, he's used the
6:15people of God, be they Jew or be they
6:18Gentile. It doesn't matter to God.
6:21There's people that are Jewish that
6:23serve the Lord today. There are many
6:25like myself who are not Jewish, but we
6:28serve the Lord today because he turned
6:31from just going the way of a specific
6:34family to create a new family. It would
6:38be the family of God. People who chose
6:41to make him lord of all and king of all.
6:44And of course, the story of Israel is a
6:47beautiful story. And of course the
6:50coming of Jesus is the most beautiful
6:52story of all. In the story of learning
6:56about Jesus, we go to the Old Testament
6:58though to help us have patterns by way
7:02which we can reach our our destination
7:05and to keep our family together. And one
7:08of those ways is to s to look at the
7:11subtleties through scripture that are
7:13hints and guidelines and and way points
7:16for us to choose how to govern our own
7:19life, our own family, our own
7:21relationships. And so I bring for your
7:24consideration today the story of a
7:27pattern that's found throughout
7:30scripture. It's first found when Moses
7:32prays for the nation of Israel and he
7:35has led them out of Egypt and he's
7:37leading them all the way to the borders
7:40of Canaan land. He was not allowed to
7:43cross over. But he prayed. He said in
7:45Numbers 27 to for the a leader to lead
7:48the family of God. He said, "I'm praying
7:51that you may may send a man which may go
7:54out before them and which may go in
7:57before them, which may lead them out and
8:01may lead bring them in." You can notice
8:04a pattern here. He said, "I need a man
8:07that will lead them out and another man
8:10and that same man know how to bring them
8:13in." Joshua was the man that was chosen
8:16by God of that one. And the Lord said of
8:19Joshua that he taught them how to go out
8:23and he taught them how to come in.
8:26Joshua had a partner in the battle there
8:30of 10 spies. 12 spies sent out. 10 that
8:34did not believe, two that believed.
8:37Joshua and Caleb believed the way of
8:40God. So Joshua led Israel because he
8:44knew how to go out and he knew how to
8:48come in. Moses prayed for a leader that
8:51would know how to go out and one that
8:54would know how to come in. Stay with me
8:56as I lay my foundation. Caleb was the
8:59partner of Joshua in that. And he prayed
9:01in Joshua 14:11. He said, "I am headed
9:05towards the mountains of our enemies,
9:08and I am going to conquer the tough
9:10mountains where the giants are." But he
9:13said, "I am as strong this day as I was
9:16in the day that Moses sent me. As my
9:20strength was then, even so is my
9:23strength now for war, both to go out and
9:29to come in." I hope you're seeing a
9:31pattern. Moses prayed for somebody to
9:34know how to go out and somebody to come
9:36in. Joshua when he led the people, he
9:38led them out and he led them in. Caleb
9:42prayed and he said, "Oh Lord, restore my
9:45strength as it was when I was young that
9:47I may go for war both to know how to go
9:51out and how to come in." The psalmist
9:55continued this flow in Psalm 121 verse8
10:00when he was singing a promise over God's
10:02people. He said, "The Lord shall
10:05preserve thy going out and thy coming in
10:10from this time forth even forever more."
10:14So you see a tone, a tune, a certain
10:19sound that's more than just two words
10:23cobbled together. God's people need to
10:25know how to go out and they've got to
10:28know how to come in. And the song of the
10:31psalmist was that they would do it from
10:34this time forward, even forever more.
10:37This brings us to our text. Solomon,
10:40there was no king like him. Jesus
10:42himself said, "Greater than Solomon,
10:45there never has been, but there is one
10:47here now." He said, "Solomon spoke in
10:50wisdom and he spoke in understanding."
10:53You read in your text the prayer of
10:56Solomon. How Solomon said, "Oh Lord,
10:59this is such great people. I'm unworthy
11:02to lead them." He said, "Oh Lord," this
11:04is first kings 3:7, "Thou hast made thy
11:08servant king instead of David my
11:12father." He said, "I am but a little
11:14child." Now, obviously, he wasn't a
11:17little child. He was king now, but he
11:21was praying his own disposition.
11:24Oh Lord, let me never forget the child
11:26in me.
11:28Let me never forget that even though I'm
11:30now 59 years old with four kids and four
11:34grandkids and 12 more to come
11:44and I know this there's only one person
11:46in this church that's allowed to call me
11:48this. Now watch all of you start call me
11:50no.
11:52Sister Lynn White, she calls me what I
11:55was called when I was a little boy. Davy
11:58Gravy.
11:59That's who I was. That's who I am. I
12:02will never cease being Davy Gravy. Here,
12:04I'm pastor. When I travel, I'm men's
12:07director or I'm president or whatever
12:10the title is of that time. But I will
12:12always remember that before his
12:15presence.
12:20>> I am still but a lad.
12:25I have nothing to impress him with.
12:28>> I have nothing to wow God with.
12:32>> I have no praise that's worthy of his
12:35goodness.
12:36>> There's no words I can say that are
12:38adequate to describe his goodness to me.
12:42This morning when I began to pray early
12:44before the sun, I said, "Oh Lord, I
12:47don't even think I have an adequate
12:48prayer to pray as I approach you. I just
12:51want you to know that you are great and
12:54greatly to be praised. Will you accept
12:58the prayer of this little child? And
13:02that Solomon said it, "Oh Lord my God,
13:04thou hast made thy servant king instead
13:07of David my father. I am but a little
13:11child." And here was his vulnerability.
13:15I know not how to go out
13:20or to come in.
13:22This rhythm is it's unique. It's not
13:25often emphasized. It sounds like maybe
13:28you're just plucking it out to say
13:30something little, but deeper than that,
13:32it's not just an a way of life. Uh it's
13:36it's deeper than that. It is 14 times
13:39put in the King James version where that
13:42same rhythm is mentioned. Go out comes
13:46before coming in. That when you come to
13:49serve the Lord, you got to learn to go
13:52out and then to come in. If you are a
13:55literary expert, you'll recognize the
13:57perspective is important. The
13:59perspective is the perspective of home.
14:02It's not one that's just coming into
14:05home. It's not one that's just
14:07discovering home. It's one that is in
14:10the safe place. They are part of the
14:14haven of hope. They are positioned in a
14:17place where it seemed to be safe. And
14:20the Lord saying when you're in that
14:23spot, you need to learn two things.
14:26You've got to learn how to go out and
14:29how to come in. It is a Jewish idiom.
14:32It's taken from two Hebrew words. Yatsa,
14:35which means to go out, and bow, which
14:38means to come in. And every time that
14:41idiom idiom is used in Hebrew, it is
14:44this idea of going out
14:48and coming in. It has to do with leading
14:51people. You got to learn how to go out
14:54and how to come in. It's how to advance
14:57in maturity and advance in leadership
14:59and advance in being successful. You've
15:02got to learn how to go out and learn how
15:05to come in. I know life is crazy. You
15:08know, we're always sitting around
15:09saying, "Where are we going?" You know,
15:12you sit around the house very long. You
15:13say, "You got to go out. Got to go out.
15:15Let's go out. Hurry. Come on. I want to
15:17go out." So, you get your go out clothes
15:19on. You put your go out hairo on. You
15:22get your go out shoes on and you go out
15:25and it's out. When you're out there, you
15:27look around. You say, "Wow, here we are.
15:29We're out. This is what everybody was
15:31talking about. We're in the out place
15:34with my out clothes." And the thing
15:36about it is that's been very interesting
15:38about getting out is you won't be out
15:40very long until you get that feeling
15:42that we're all going to get. It's that
15:44feeling is I got to get back.
15:48I went out, but let me get back. It's
15:51one of the funniest bits that I've ever
15:53seen Seinfeld do is the going out and
15:57the hurrying back in. Let me back. We go
16:00out and as soon as we're out, we're out.
16:03I get on a plane. Yesterday I was
16:04boarding a plane and everybody's
16:06fighting for the line and you know they
16:08got all these group numbers and you got
16:09to be standing by the gate about three
16:12groups before it's your turn to go and
16:14you're afraid you might be at the back
16:16end of your group. Why? Everybody's
16:19saying we got to get in
16:22and then as soon as you get off the
16:23flight it's a fight to get off.
16:30Well, what is the truth that I'm wanting
16:33to give to this house today? We're
16:35trying to build great families. The Lord
16:37has helped me and my wife with our four
16:40children and he's blessing us with the
16:43four grandchildren. In fact, if you wa
16:45were watching us during worship, we were
16:47supposed to be worshiping the Lord most
16:49of the worship service, and we were
16:51supposed to be listening to the mic uh
16:53most of the announcement time, but this
16:56was the first time we saw our
16:57grandchildren for about four weeks or
17:01three weeks, whatever the count is. It
17:02feels like once again, 20 months. Uh,
17:05but I just had to get my hands on my
17:08grandbabies because they forgot Pop
17:10Pop's voice and they need to know Pop.
17:13So I grabbed my grandson and uh little
17:16Bowden Valentine. He heard Pop Pop sing
17:19Pop Pop song because y'all thought y'all
17:22were singing one song. I was singing
17:24Popup Loves Bo.
17:27He was more interested in my song than
17:29all y'all's songs.
17:34Raising a family in this hour is tougher
17:38than any time in my life. I'm not saying
17:41any time in the world. I'm not one of
17:43these doom pro doom days doomsday
17:46prophets that always sees the bad. I
17:49think this is the best time in the world
17:51ever to live. I think this is the most
17:54amazing time ever to have lived. If I
17:56could choose any time to live in in all
17:59of history I would choose right now. We
18:02have things better than we've ever had
18:04them before. We're sitting here in air
18:06conditioning. Did y'all know air
18:08conditioning was invented in Pensacola?
18:10and they would stick a fan in front of
18:12an ice block and they called that air
18:14conditioning. What would y'all do if we
18:16didn't have air conditioning today?
18:20I mean, there would be fewer people
18:22living in South Florida. I can promise
18:24you that.
18:27We've got cell phones. We got cellular
18:29devices. We can FaceTime. We can zoom.
18:33We can fly. We can run. We can sleep
18:36more than we've ever slept before.
18:40And I know I know people point out the
18:43bad, but life is pretty good. I'm not
18:46going to be running around always
18:47pointing out the bad. There's always
18:50been evil men. But the Bible says in the
18:53last days, evil men shall, the old Bible
18:56term is wax worse and worse. It means
18:59they're going to get more terrifying and
19:01more terrifying and more terrifying. I
19:05don't know how terrified one can be, but
19:08the Bible says in the last days, Satan
19:10is going to come down with great wrath,
19:13knowing he hath but a short time. And
19:17so, the two things that the Lord has
19:19wanted his people to learn all through
19:21time is how to go out and how to come
19:24in. What do we do as the people of God
19:27when we go out? Well, we may think we're
19:30supposed to go out to work and go out to
19:32shop. Well, nowadays you don't even have
19:34to do that. You know, Publix will
19:36deliver to the house. I don't know if
19:37y'all knew that. My wife discovered
19:39this.
19:42I mean, GrubHub comes home. Food Door
19:46Dash comes home. I think the gate at the
19:49at the at the apartment complex has more
19:51people Door Dashing than people living
19:54there.
19:56I don't know if you highly ranked people
19:58in our church that are guard gates
20:01operators understand it, but I would
20:03love to see the statistic of all the
20:06deliveries that are coming through the
20:08guard gates of our apartment complexes.
20:12And so all of these things have changed.
20:14But what is it that the Lord wants his
20:17people to know that in this hour that
20:19we're living in when there are so many
20:21things that are distracting?
20:24So many causes that are worth living
20:26for, but they're not the main cause. The
20:31Lord wants us to never forget that our
20:33duty is to go out to witness.
20:37He said, "When you come unto me, I will
20:40make you my witnesses." that when you go
20:44out into this world, there are a
20:45thousand good causes you can get caught
20:48up in. But there's no cause more
20:50important than the cause of witnessing
20:54about the power and transformative
20:57ability of Jesus Christ. That Jesus
21:01Christ changes lives. He changes homes.
21:05He changes hearts. that those people who
21:08used to be addicted to all kinds of
21:11bondages are set free by the power of
21:15Jesus Christ. That marriages that are on
21:18the rocks get put into tranquil places
21:22by the power of Jesus Christ. that
21:26people that are driven by temper and
21:28wrath and anger come to this house and
21:31find that the Lord has their back and
21:33they don't have to fight all their own
21:35battles because he holds us in the palm
21:39of his hand. And so we don't have to go
21:41out to fight for ourselves.
21:44We go out to tell them about Jesus.
21:49Ye are the light of the world. If the
21:51light has lost its light, what good is
21:55it? You're not to be a candle that's put
21:57under a bushel. I am I am for many
22:00wonderful causes on this earth, but none
22:03of them have the power to hijack the
22:06message of Jesus Christ from my mouth. I
22:10want there to be clean water in Africa.
22:12But if we're putting clean water in
22:14Africa and not telling them about Jesus,
22:17you're just giving them water to live a
22:19heathen life that's going to take them
22:21to the same place.
22:24>> Every message you ought to preach has
22:26got to be the the message of Jesus
22:28Christ because he said, "When you come
22:30unto me, you will be my witnesses."
22:35And what do we do? We tell them the
22:37gospel of Jesus Christ.
22:39>> It doesn't matter if they don't want to
22:40hear it. Tell them the gospel of Jesus
22:43Christ. Do it with patience. Do it with
22:45love. Do it without violence. But tell
22:48them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Go ye
22:51therefore into all the world, teaching
22:54them to observe all things whatsoever I
22:57have commanded you, baptizing them in
22:59the name of the Father and of the Son
23:02and of the Holy Ghost. What is the name
23:04of the Father?
23:05>> Jesus.
23:06>> Jesus said, "I have come in my father's
23:09name." What is the name of the son?
23:11>> Jesus.
23:12>> Jesus is the son, the lamb of God that
23:15was slain. That what is the name of the
23:17holy ghost?
23:19>> Jesus is the name of the holy ghost
23:21baptizing them in every name. Or that is
23:24the only name under heaven given among
23:27men whereby we must be saved.
23:34You can't cast out a devil saying I
23:36rebuke you in the name of the father.
23:41I was on the on the on the in in
23:43downtown St. Louis on Friday night. It
23:45was the last night of general
23:46conference. And as we stood there, there
23:48were two or three prostitutes just
23:50across the street. This is downtown St.
23:52Louis. It's rough, folks. And that's
23:54where we were. I didn't rent a car, so
23:56we Ubered or walked. And uh we were
23:58standing on the street corner coming out
24:00of the hotel where we had eaten. And as
24:02we stood there, a car comes zooming up
24:05before us and the front bumper was
24:07hanging off. And the guy pulled over and
24:09I had who? It was you and who else? It
24:12was Austin was there and and we were
24:15about to walk and Barrett, my nephew, we
24:18were about to walk to my nephew's car
24:19which had been parked two blocks away.
24:21And this car pulled up and the gentleman
24:24rolled down his window and he just
24:26looking a little wild and he he he said,
24:28"Uh, where's the directions to some
24:30bridge?" And he mentioned a bridge. And
24:32I just looked down. I grinned at him. I
24:34said, "Sir, I'm from Miami.
24:39I don't know where any of the bridges
24:41are in St. Louis.
24:44He rolled up the window and slammed on
24:46the gas and I realized this doesn't look
24:50like a good situation. The front bumper
24:53was literally torn off the car, which I
24:55didn't know what kind of car it was when
24:57it pulled up. When he gunned it to
24:59leave, I looked up. It was one of these
25:01$150,000 BM BMWs. And I thought, what
25:06did you just do for me, Lord?
25:09What time was it about 11 o'clock, 12
25:11o'clock downtown St. Louis? And I
25:14thought, Lord have mercy. What in the
25:16world just happened right now? Because
25:18it looked a lot like a car jacking to
25:21me. Maybe it wasn't. I don't want to
25:23assume it was, except for that bumper
25:25that was literally the wires were
25:27hanging and clinging. And I thought,
25:29Lord, what have you just saved me from?
25:32There are dangers in our world right
25:34now. You generally know where the
25:37dangerous places are and hopefully you
25:39don't have to go to them very often. But
25:41in this hour, it is dangerous anytime
25:44you stand up for Jesus.
25:47>> When you stand up for Jesus, the enemy
25:50hates you.
25:51>> The devil doesn't want us to preach
25:53about Jesus. He would rather you talk
25:56about politics than Jesus. He would
25:58rather you talk about a lot of things
26:00than Jesus. But when you stand up and
26:02say there is only one hope for this
26:04world, the hope is Jesus Christ. When
26:08you stand up for Jesus, that's when the
26:11world can't take it.
26:16You tell them the gospel of Jesus
26:17Christ. It wasn't given to angels to
26:20tell about Jesus. It was given to you
26:22and me to talk about Jesus. You say,
26:25"Well, I'm not powerful enough." He
26:27didn't call you to be powerful. He
26:28called you to be a witness. He didn't
26:30call you to be intelligent and brilliant
26:32and bright and smart as the smartest. He
26:35called you to tell about Jesus. And when
26:37we go into this world, the one thing we
26:40better remember, when you go out of
26:41these doors, you are on task. You can't
26:44go out and blend. You're not supposed to
26:47go out there and and fit in. You're not
26:49supposed to go out there and just
26:50disappear. You're not supposed to walk
26:52in a room and walk out of a room and
26:54nobody knows you were even there. He
26:56didn't call you to be camouflaged
26:58Christians. He called you to step out
27:00and say there's hope and his name is
27:03Jesus Christ and he will set you free.
27:07[Applause]
27:10You go out to witness, but then you must
27:13come in. And when you come back in the
27:15house, there's only one thing you're
27:17supposed to do. You're supposed to come
27:19in to worship. You go out to witness.
27:23You come in to worship. Lord, help the
27:25Cathedral of Pentecost. No matter what's
27:28going on in our world, in the eb and
27:31flow of our day, let us never be
27:33distracted from the truth. We've got to
27:36go out to witness. We've got to come
27:38into worship. Demons will try to
27:41intimidate you. They'll have people
27:43dressed up in ways that seem frightening
27:45to you. If you go in the power of your
27:47own culture, maybe you should be
27:49intimidated. But if you go in the power
27:52of the Holy Ghost, it doesn't matter who
27:54stands in front of you. You need to
27:56stand in front of him and say, "Jesus
27:58came to give you hope. Jesus came to
28:01give you life. Jesus came to make a
28:04difference in your world." And he'll
28:06change your world.
28:08>> It's a message that hell hates. It's a
28:11message of love. It's a message of
28:13consecration. It's a message of
28:15covenant. I said it right. That's not an
28:17old word. It's a new word. The is our
28:21word. Covenant. The devil wants us to
28:23forget the covenants of the Lord. He
28:26wants us to forget that we're supposed
28:27to walk in covenant with Jesus Christ.
28:30He wants us to forget that marriage is a
28:33man and a woman who have entered into
28:36covenant. It's not just a male and a
28:38woman, a female. No, you can't have a
28:40family with just a male and a female.
28:43Because the only way there as a family
28:45that's created is by covenant. And it's
28:48the power of God that brings a man and a
28:51woman together that turns it into a holy
28:54thing. And if they don't like me because
28:57I preach that the only godly marriage is
29:00between a man and a woman, then I'll
29:02stand up and love them. But I'm not
29:04going to change. I'm not going to
29:06change. Not one moment, not one iota. I
29:11don't care what happens. I'm going to
29:13preach the truth of the word of God.
29:16Come what may.
29:23I will preach that homosexuality
29:26is an addition of love, but it is not
29:29godly love. It is not godly sanctioned
29:32and it's not sanctioned in this book.
29:34Adultery is not godly love. It's not
29:37sanctioned. It's not sanctioned in this
29:39book. Fornication is not of God. It's
29:43not sanctioned and it's not sanctioned
29:45in this book. I'm going to preach it
29:47till I die. Sin will never enter heaven.
29:55We come into this house to worship. We
29:58don't come in this house to push
30:00political agendas. You know how
30:02difficult it is to be a white man
30:05pastoring in this world that we're
30:07living in right now. Y'all are pastored
30:09by me. It's all that I can be. But I
30:12thank God for everybody in this church
30:15that doesn't see color. They see love.
30:18They see people. They see souls. It
30:21doesn't matter what culture you come
30:24from. You were called to live for God.
30:30That's what hell hates.
30:34Hell hates this church. It it hates that
30:38you worship with me and I worship with
30:41you. And we've got every culture in the
30:44world standing in this house saying, "I
30:47love you. You love me. We're a happy
30:52family.
30:53[Applause]
31:01I have preached preventive messages. I
31:04don't like preaching reactive sermons. I
31:07like preaching proactive sermons. And I
31:09preached before the election that we're
31:11going to love each other when this
31:12thing's done. All of you don't vote for
31:15me, but vote well whatever. Maybe that,
31:17too. All of you don't vote like me. But
31:20I'll tell you what's more important than
31:22what's going on in Washington. What's
31:24going on your soul is matters a lot more
31:26than that. Washington has always let us
31:29down. It doesn't matter which party is
31:32there. And I've lived a long time,
31:34folks. I can tell you my first vote and
31:37my last vote. But what I vote for in
31:39Washington doesn't come close to what I
31:43vote for when I say Jesus is Lord.
31:54And no, I'm not being politically
31:56correct.
31:57No, I'm not. I will not be politically
32:00correct, but I'm not going to preach
32:03programs
32:05of political parties. I'm gonna preach
32:08what this nation was established on in
32:10its very beginning. And if you don't
32:12know it, go become a little bit of a
32:14historian, bigger than yesterday's tick
32:16tock, because this nation is upon God.
32:20It was my creator that gave us
32:22inalienable rights. And it's not the
32:24gospel of America that I'm preaching. I
32:27want to tell you it's the gospel of
32:28Jesus Christ that I'm preaching because
32:30America needs Jesus.
32:39[Applause]
32:40And when we come into this house, don't
32:42let people's t-shirts
32:45scare you off.
32:48I know there's a lot of hatred going
32:50around right now, and I don't even want
32:53to talk about it because it's not new.
32:56It's just fresh.
32:59>> And people put on shirts that are
33:01supposed to send you a message, stay out
33:03of my way. And they will include all
33:06kinds of vile words of profanity.
33:10But you know what I want to do when I
33:12see something like that? I want to walk
33:14up and smile at him and ask him, "How
33:17are you doing today?"
33:19>> God bless you. Every time I feel a
33:21trembling of fear in my heart, like I
33:24did that gentleman who drove up and
33:25rolled down his window, instead of
33:27letting fear dictate my response, I
33:31don't walk in the power of my own
33:33strength. I walk in the power of the
33:35Holy Ghost that is in me. I don't come
33:37here to worship so that I'm weak when I
33:40go out there. My strength in this house
33:43must translate out there. So he said,
33:47"Church, I want to teach you. You got to
33:50learn how to go out.
33:52>> If all we do is sit in here and shout
33:54and be happy with our kids running
33:56around, and if you'll stay long enough
33:58after church, you'll see a bunch of kids
34:01running around and playing in probably a
34:04manner that you think is a little bit
34:06too far. But we celebrate our kids play
34:09together, run together, worship
34:12together, learn about Mario getting the
34:14Holy Ghost together.
34:18But we go out to witness and we come in
34:21to worship. The enemy's coming with
34:23great wrath. The Charlie Kirk murder is
34:27so terrifying.
34:30It's so sick. The fact that you're going
34:33to kill somebody for words they say.
34:36It's ridiculous. I don't care which side
34:38of the spectrum you're on. That is evil.
34:42>> But it's not new. They killed Abraham
34:46Lincoln for the words he said to shut
34:48down or bring about the shut down the
34:51civil war and bring some kind. They
34:53killed men throughout all of history for
34:55things they said. And it will not stop
34:58with the last one. God help. God forbid.
35:02I don't want it to happen. It could be
35:04me next. But I don't say that glib. I
35:07don't say it with with
35:09light-heartedness. I'm just telling you,
35:11if you read Fox's Book of Martyrs, they
35:13killed those people because they would
35:15not recant from the message of Jesus
35:18Christ. If you'll stop saying it, we'll
35:21let you live. If you'll stop preaching
35:23it, we'll let you live. John Bunan was
35:26the author of Pilgrim's Progress, which
35:28is an archaic book. I know this
35:29generation may not know much about it,
35:31but it's a rich book of power and
35:34literature. and he sat in that Bedford
35:36jail and they said, "If you'll stop
35:38preaching the way you're preaching,"
35:40because he was preaching about life
35:42change. The Church of England was so
35:44filled with debauchery and drunkenness
35:46and all kinds of sickness. It was strata
35:49and status. And when he started
35:51preaching, John Bunan, they said they
35:54took his church from him. So, he went to
35:56the only plot of ground that he owned
35:58and stood on his daddy's grave. And he
36:00preached in that town that was so filled
36:03with drunkenness. And ladies and
36:04gentlemen, we're living in a world right
36:06now that if we're not careful, they will
36:08take us to a place we don't want to be.
36:11When they're assigning all these drugs
36:13that change your mind, all these SSR
36:17eyes that are out to cut your emotions
36:21in half. Ladies and gentlemen, they're
36:23trying to take us into a place that is
36:26not of God. It is not of God. I I'm
36:29going to preach it till I die. It is not
36:32of God. It is not of God. I'm not saying
36:35they can't at some time be helpful. But
36:37when we've given our kids video games to
36:41play all their growing up years and then
36:44all they learn how to do is get likes
36:46and swipes and suppose that that brings
36:50communion when all it brings is
36:52isolation. When they have confused
36:54pixels with relationships. when they
36:57have fallen for porn and so they think
37:00they know how to fall in love. Ladies
37:02and gentlemen, if ever the church was
37:04needed, it's needed now. It's needed
37:09now. It's needed now.
37:18They sit on their phones and they're
37:20spectators of life. Instead of living
37:22life, instead of being human beings,
37:25they're human watchers. The society that
37:28promises connection but delivers
37:30isolation. Chasing clicks instead of
37:33courage because I can win at a video
37:36game. It means I'm brave. No, pixels
37:39will never take the place of purpose. To
37:42rise to meet the day. Stride out and let
37:45your feet fill the grass. look at
37:47somebody in the eye and give them a hug
37:49and tell them together we can make it.
37:52They give dopamine deliveries that
37:55presents highs to kids and AI is only
37:59going to increase the challenge. I don't
38:02know what tomorrow's going to look like.
38:05I've preached about AI in this pull pit
38:08and I am not against it. I'm not coming
38:11against it. It might end up being the
38:12mark of the beast, but until it's clear
38:14it's the mark of the beast, I want you
38:16to embrace it so at least you know the
38:18ecosystem we're entering in. Learn about
38:21it. Learn how to give good prompts.
38:23Learn how for it to enhance your job and
38:26make you a better employee and help you
38:29solve problems. It's a good thing. But
38:31folks, AI is only going to increase the
38:34challenge of humanity, loving humanity,
38:38giving us momentary happiness, but no
38:41lasting joy. Did you see us worship in
38:44this house today and people started
38:47hopping and people started smiling? The
38:50devil's given spiritual SSR eyes to the
38:53church for too long to where you're not
38:56supposed to let your true joy out at
38:58church. You're not supposed to cry real
39:00tears at church. No, no, no. Not at this
39:03church. We're not cutting off our highs
39:05and eliminating our lows until we don't
39:07have a soul. No. I'm a human being. I'm
39:11not a robot. And I'm going to rejoice in
39:13the Lord always.
39:15I said always. I'm going to rejoice. You
39:19can't steal my joy. You're not going to
39:21take our dance. You're not going to
39:23steal our song. You're not going to take
39:25our love.
39:32If they martyr one of us, the next one
39:35will step up.
39:36>> If they marty the next one, the next one
39:39will step up. Because you can't stop
39:41this kingdom.
39:42>> It's not built on man's power. It's not
39:46built on man's joy. This is
39:48supernatural. When you close your eyes
39:51and begin to pray, something happens in
39:54your soul and you cannot deny it.
39:58You cannot deny it. It gets down inside
40:01of you. You may run, but you can't hide
40:05because God loves you like that.
40:10>> He loves He loved you when you were
40:12little. He loved you when you were
40:13growing up. He was there when you went
40:15through your first breakup. He was there
40:18when you lost your first puppy love. He
40:20was there when you went through your
40:21first car wreck. He was there the first
40:23time you ought to be dead.
40:29All of you have one of those stories.
40:32You know, had it not been for the grace
40:34of God, you wouldn't be here right now.
40:43And I'm closing, but the Bible says
40:46there's going to be all that who live
40:48godly in Christ Jesus. This is 2 Timothy
40:513. All who live godly in Christ Jesus
40:53shall suffer persecution,
40:56but evil men and seducers shall wax
40:58worse and worse,
41:00being deceived and deceiving.
41:04But Paul told Timothy, "Continue in the
41:06things thou hast learned and been
41:08assured of." I'm closing with two
41:11stories from my life. The first one
41:13happened this last week in St. Louis at
41:16a general conference at the convention
41:17center downtown St. Le in 1989
41:22is when this sweet thing right here
41:26walked the aisle to accept my kiss at
41:29the end of the ceremony.
41:31>> There was a ceremony. I was waiting for
41:33the kiss.
41:37That was 1989.
41:39When we got married, we made a vow.
41:41Obviously, we dreamed of children. We've
41:43got five kids, but one didn't live. And
41:46so, we've got four that's here. One's
41:49already preceded in heaven. Austin, you
41:51got an old older sibling. Okay. But when
41:55we got married, we wanted children. We
41:58didn't know it was going to be four.
41:59There was going to be three on plan. And
42:02then Ethan decided he was coming no
42:03matter what.
42:08But I began to pray in 1989. I just, you
42:12know, I'd gone through college.
42:14You know, you know my story. I don't
42:16need to tell it all. there at North
42:17Carolina State where my biblical
42:19professor was an atheist. All you know
42:22the encounter, you all have all these
42:23stories too that you go through when
42:26you're trying to preserve your faith.
42:29Some of you are fighting for it right
42:31now.
42:33Fight.
42:35I prayed for my kids back then.
42:39I said, "Lord, I want your hand upon my
42:41children.
42:43I want you to watch over them." And I
42:45pray started praying for my kids mates
42:50when I started praying for my kids. Call
42:52me crazy. It's just what I did. I'm
42:54praying for all my grandkids mates right
42:56now. I'm telling you. And uh in 1989, a
43:02man named Ricardo Gonzalez
43:06was a police officer
43:08in Oregon
43:11and he was doing his duty, but he was on
43:13fire for God also.
43:15He was a police officer that had to do
43:17what he did tough. I just saw him last
43:21week. He still would take us all down.
43:24Ricardo Gonzalez
43:27picked up a man who was going through
43:30public intoxication.
43:32I think it was a DUI.
43:35Anyway, he pulled him over
43:38and he hooked him and booked him as Rick
43:41told me this week. said, "Yeah, 1989, I
43:44hooked him and booked him." He said,
43:46"But my heart was moved for this man."
43:49And so, while he was in the back of my
43:52cruiser, I had what was called a captive
43:54audience,
43:56[Music]
44:00he said. And while we were on our way to
44:02the station, I told him, he said, I
44:04said, "Sir, I know the bottle helps a
44:07little bit, but it doesn't help a lot.
44:11What you need is Jesus.
44:16>> So that man in his drunken condition
44:18went down to the police station, was
44:20booked, went through that process.
44:28It changed his life.
44:30That man went and found Jesus,
44:33gave his life to the Lord in Oregon,
44:37accepted a call to go to Mexico City and
44:40work as a missionary down there among
44:43his people.
44:46He worked down there.
44:48He had some children.
44:52Rick Gonzalez in 1996
44:54said, "I can't be a police officer
44:56anymore. I've got to be a preacher.
45:00So he went and met the board, got his
45:02license, said, "I'm not going where it's
45:04easy. I'm going where it's hard." So he
45:07went to Chicago, Illinois, and built a
45:11church. Right now it's the International
45:13Christian Fellowship,
45:15pastored by he's the bishop now, Bishop
45:17Rick. It's just RIC, but don't be
45:20confused. That's Ricardo
45:24Gonzalez.
45:26Well, 1996 he had to meet the general
45:30board about going to Chicago. The Metro
45:34missions program had just started in our
45:36organization. And my father was the head
45:39of the Metro Missions department. They
45:41decided that we're going to send two
45:43men, but we're going to send them to
45:46places that are not easy. So, my dad
45:48found two men of God, one for Boston and
45:52one for Chicago. And the man that my dad
45:55found to approve to go to Chicago was
45:58Rick Gonzalez.
46:01Well, Rick Gonzalez
46:03won that drunk
46:06who raised his family in the ways of the
46:08Lord.
46:101996
46:12he went to Chicago.
46:141996
46:16my second child was born.
46:20Scarlett Olivia.
46:24While that preacher that was a drunk,
46:28that man that was a drunk went to
46:29Mexico, his children grew up. You can
46:32show the picture. That drunk's son that
46:37Rick Gonzalez
46:39had. You have the picture, brother, or
46:43do you have the picture up there? That
46:45drunk son that got saved the year I got
46:49married.
46:50That drunk son
46:52met my daughter.
46:55My daughter met
46:58[Music]
47:01the man who was the son of a drunk who
47:06was saved by Rick Gonzalez who was open
47:08to Chicago by my daddy.
47:10Now I know this so complicated it seems
47:12too unreal.
47:14But you see my grandbaby girl right
47:16there?
47:18That's the son of a drunk.
47:21That's the daughter of a man whose dad
47:23ran the whole metro missions department.
47:26When I prayed in 1989,
47:29God who knows all things.
47:33went and got a police officer in Oregon
47:35to arrest a drunk and said, "Preach to
47:39him while he's in the back of your car
47:42because he's going to have a son that's
47:44going to be the answer to David Elms's
47:47prayers." And now they're building a
47:49church in South Miami.
47:54[Music]
47:56And my granddaughter is going to grow up
47:59not among the big realms of big
48:02churches, but laboring on home missions.
48:06Both her mom and dad are working 40 and
48:0850 hours every week and they're still
48:10trying to build a church. I'm telling
48:13you, when you learn how to go out to
48:16witness,
48:18no matter where you're at, if you go out
48:20and remember, why am I out here?
48:23I'm not out here to put on a turtle
48:25shell and survive and hide from all the
48:28scary people and stay in my little group
48:30and stay in my spot and no, you are sent
48:34as lights out into this world as sheep
48:38into the midst of wolves. But do not be
48:41afraid. When the wolves show up, you
48:44have a shepherd.
48:46[Music]
48:56Come on, handsome.
48:59Sleepy sleepy sleepy.
49:01This is my grandson.
49:04This is Bowden
49:06Valentine Elms.
49:10Sleep, baby. Go see.
49:14Listen, listen. Listen. I don't know
49:16what tomorrow's going to hold.
49:19If you look at the old lullabibis,
49:22they're not really.
49:26They're not really all that nice.
49:30I mean, they
49:32they have pretty stark stories,
49:37you know. Ring around the rosy pocket
49:40full of posy ashes. Ashes.
49:43That's about the plague.
49:47London Bridge is falling down. Falling
49:49down. It's about sickness.
49:54Hush little baby, don't say a word.
49:58Mama's going to buy you a bo mocking
50:00bird. If that mocking bird won't sing,
50:04mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.
50:07And if that diamond ring turns brass,
50:10mama's going to buy I'm getting
50:12depressed.
50:15[Music]
50:17going to buy you a looking glass. If
50:20that looking glass gets broke, mama's
50:23going to buy you a billy goat. If that
50:26billy goat won't pull, mama's going to
50:29buy you a cart and a bull. And if that
50:32cart and bull turns over, mama's going
50:34to buy you a dog named Rover. If that
50:37dog named Rover won't bark, mama's going
50:40to buy you a horse in a cart. And if
50:43that horse and cart fall down,
50:47you'll still be the sweetest little baby
50:49in town.
50:52Who sings that?
50:56[Music]
51:00My daughter-in-law is the curriculum was
51:02the curriculum coordinator. What was the
51:03name? Should I tell the name of your
51:05school?
51:07Imagine
51:08for plant imagine plantation was the
51:10name of it. They can't hardly run
51:13without her. Even the principal leans on
51:16her curriculum coordinator. You walk
51:18with her through that school, she's a
51:20superstar.
51:21[Music]
51:23But my grandson, River, hasn't even been
51:25put in school yet, and he's almost five.
51:29Four, almost five.
51:35Why isn't my grandson in school yet?
51:40Let me tell you why.
51:43Number one, he's too smart. Melly said
51:44it right. He's too smart. He's too smart
51:47for school.
51:50>> I'm about to close. Please forgive me.
51:52It's the last sermon of the month.
51:56I do want to have prayer. But
52:00what are they going to get at school?
52:04I went to public school my whole life.
52:06Graduated from Garinger High School,
52:11went to NC State public secular
52:13university.
52:15Graduated from Evangel for my master's
52:16degree. Pat me on the back. I can't
52:19reach myself.
52:20[Music]
52:24But this right here is not a game.
52:28>> This is my life.
52:34What kind of world are my grandkids
52:36going to have?
52:38There's a lot of fear that'll knock on
52:40your door.
52:41>> None of us know what AI is going to do
52:43to this. Maybe it'll help us keep them
52:44at home and teach them, but they still
52:46need interaction because pixels will
52:48never take the place of purpose.
52:51>> Purpose comes from relationships. You
52:54learn you live for others, not for
52:55yourself.
52:58Rock. Aby, baby.
53:02in the treetop.
53:06When the wind blows,
53:10the cradle will rock.
53:15When the bow breaks,
53:19the cradle
53:21will fall
53:23and down will come. Baby
53:28cradle
53:30and
53:39de
53:40[Music]
53:46[Music]
53:49ray
53:51do
53:53kilo do
53:57had listening to sound of music lately
53:59No rea
54:05do reo.
54:07[Music]
54:10Why will we always have family month at
54:12the cathedral?
54:14Why will we always have a month of
54:16dressing up crazy and acting like kids
54:20when there's millionaires in this house,
54:23great career professionals, executives
54:26in the east suite, wonderful physicians
54:29and doctors and lawyers in this house?
54:32Why will we do this? Because all of that
54:35stuff,
54:37it doesn't take care of the soul.
54:42So, I can still sing the song, but I've
54:44got a new addition for you. Rock a by
54:50baby
54:52in the treetop.
54:56When the wind blows,
55:00the cradle
55:03will rock.
55:06Oh, night may come
55:10and shadows
55:12get tall.
55:15If you have Jesus,
55:19you will not fall.
55:22[Music]
55:24Rock abide
55:28in the tree. Stand and sing it with me.
55:32When the wind blows,
55:36the cradle will rock.
55:41Though the night come
55:45and shadows grow tall,
55:50if you have Jesus,
55:54you will not fall.
55:58If you don't have the baptism of the
56:00Holy Ghost today, you need Jesus in your
56:03heart. If you haven't been baptized by
56:06immersion in the name of Jesus Christ,
56:09I'm telling you, the only hope of the
56:11Lord is to be born of the water and of
56:14the spirit.
56:16Repent of your sin. Sin is not
56:19acceptable here, but it's where we bring
56:22our sin. If you're living here and
56:25you're staying in sin, I rebuke you
56:28openly. There is no sin that will be
56:31acceptable. This is a place where
56:33transformation happens. Where your
56:36burdens must be laid down and your hands
56:39must be set free. And your prayers have
56:42got to come from the bottom of your
56:43heart. And you're not pretending, but
56:46you're saying, "I need a power
56:48that's bigger than what I have from my
56:50bank account. bigger than I have for my
56:53profession, greater than all my lawyers
56:56and doctors and judge friends. It's got
56:59to be a power that's transformative
57:03in Jesus name. I don't know where you
57:06are right now, but you got to learn how
57:09to go out and be a witness and come in
57:13and be a worshipper. If you want some
57:16transformation in your hand, why don't
57:18you come to this altar this morning? If
57:21you want to just bring your heart and
57:22say, "Lord, I don't have it all figured
57:25out, but I'm bringing me a little child
57:29before your throne right now. I'm coming
57:32before you even though I don't know what
57:34tomorrow holds." This is our custom at
57:37the cathedral. We have a prayer service
57:40at the end of every church service. Why
57:43don't you join with us? Come and bring
57:45your prayers.
57:47Bring your prayers.