Bruised Reeds & Smoking Flax
Pastor David T. Elms 3/1/2026
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49:49
Summary
Pastor David Elms explores the profound mercy of Jesus as the Messiah who refuses to discard the broken or extinguish the weary, drawing from the metaphors of the bruised reed and smoking flax. Amidst reflections on global conflict and personal trials, the message serves as a call to humble oneself, seek spiritual refilling, and trust in God's restorative power.
Key points
- •In the kingdom of God, wisdom is the application of knowledge through the understanding the Lord provides.
- •God established government and authority to protect the vulnerable and restrain evil; righteousness must be prioritized even above peace.
- •A 'bruised reed' and 'smoking flax' are metaphors for people who are broken by life, generational curses, or their own mistakes, or whose spiritual fire has dwindled to a smolder.
- •Jesus is a compassionate Messiah who does not discard the broken or extinguish those whose oil has run low; he seeks to restore their music and their light.
- •Believers must guard against bitterness and the 'stench' of a smoldering spirit by refusing to let 'church hurt' or personal offenses exhaust their spiritual oil.
Scripture
Healing and Restoration
Justice and Righteousness
Spiritual Warfare
Mercy of God
Life application
Identify a 'bruise' or area of bitterness in your life this week and, instead of seeking personal vengeance, surrender it to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to refill your vessel with the oil of the Holy Spirit.
Reflection questions
- What 'bruises' from your past or family history have threatened to steal your song or your purpose?
- Pastor Elms noted that righteousness is more important than peace. How do you distinguish between legitimate anger against evil and sinful personal wrath?
- Is your spiritual lamp burning bright with oil, or has it become a 'smoking flax'-acrid and smoldering due to neglect or bitterness?
- How does the image of Jesus holding a reed as a scepter change your perspective on how He views your own weaknesses?
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Full transcript
0:00deal with it. You know, that's what real
0:00men do. Amen. Praise the Lord. Well, in
0:02the kingdom of God,
0:07there's so much to learn about how to
0:09live life.
0:12And at the house of God, we come here to
0:15get not just knowledge and not just
0:18sermons, but we come here to get wisdom.
0:22And wisdom takes knowledge and it mixes
0:26it together and fills it with the
0:30understanding that the Lord has for us.
0:33America
0:35went to war yesterday.
0:38And in my lifetime,
0:43in my lifetime, I believe there have
0:45been
0:47only two times we've gone, well, three
0:50times we've gone to war, although Desert
0:54Storm and Desert Shield and all of that
0:56was one time.
0:59Unless I have it wrong. We were in
1:01Vietnam when I was born in ' 66.
1:04We were trying to get out of Vietnam.
1:07Then through the 70s, I don't I don't
1:10want to disrespect if anybody can think.
1:12Were we at war in the 70s any? I don't
1:14think there was any war in the 70s. I
1:17don't think there was any war in the
1:1980s. That's when the wall came down in
1:21Berlin in the 80s.
1:24It was in the 90s where we went to the
1:27Afghanistan. No,
1:29>> Iraq.
1:30>> Iraq. That's what it was. It was over uh
1:33Saddam Hussein. So there's this is the
1:35third then I I don't want to mix the
1:38Desert Storm, Desert Shield from the
1:41Afghanistan war that was a response to
1:44911. So in my life, all you that are
1:47paying attention, do I have this
1:48accurate? Is this the third time we've
1:51gone to Most of y'all aren't as old as
1:53me and my wife's never known a year that
1:56we've gone to war. She's that young, but
1:59no, this is the third time in my life
2:01that we've gone to war.
2:04And our wars in my lifetime
2:08have never been against as formidable a
2:12nation
2:14as what this is that we're attacking
2:16right now. Okay. Iraq was a formidable
2:20formidable nation, but Iraq is not Iran
2:23if you know the geography and the nation
2:27of that. Afghanistan was more a a proxy
2:31war. And I'm not diminishing any of
2:33them, but it was it was a a war chasing
2:37not a nation state, but this terrorism
2:41kind of thing.
2:43I I'm saying this because
2:46my heart is trembling a little bit about
2:49what's going on right now.
2:52>> And if you have any hottiness in you
2:55about this moment, I'm asking you please
2:58to reconfigure your heart to a humility
3:03>> because you never know what's going to
3:06happen with war.
3:08Don't imagine that you know how it's
3:11going to end out.
3:13>> And I don't want anybody getting killed
3:16and I don't want any anybody dying.
3:19There are causes of evil in this world
3:21that the Lord has given the government
3:24the authority to remove by force to the
3:29point of killing. And if you know your
3:32Bible, most which this most of this
3:33generation doesn't, but the Bible tells
3:37us that he hath not given the
3:39government, which is the king, the sword
3:42in vain.
3:44>> Which that's old language, which means
3:46they have guns and they have the right
3:48to use their guns to stop evil.
3:53>> Evil is when one prays on another.
3:58>> When one harms Another
4:01>> when people are harming other people,
4:05it is the role of government to come
4:08>> loaded to kill and to remove that which
4:11is harming others.
4:14>> That's the Bible. Now, there's a lot of
4:16people that have reconfigured what
4:18Christianity means and they've made
4:19Christianity what this Bible has not
4:22made it.
4:23>> Okay? Amen.
4:25>> So just because people bear arms doesn't
4:27mean they're not a biblical force.
4:31>> I know there are people that there's the
4:33right to not bear arms and we respect
4:35that
4:36>> because we are not wired to kill people.
4:40You are not wired to kill people.
4:43>> If you deal with anyone who's ever had
4:45to kill someone, their psyche will
4:48suffer the rest of their life unless
4:51they're a psychological case. Nobody is
4:55made to kill people. But there are times
4:58in the Bible that we are to protect,
5:01defend, and snuff out evil.
5:05>> And evil is when one goes and spreads
5:09torment pain
5:12>> destruction on others.
5:14>> So if someone comes into my house, I
5:17will kill them.
5:20>> If I have to, I will kill them.
5:23Because if they're coming to render harm
5:27to my family, it is my Christian
5:30obligation
5:32>> to protect and defend.
5:35>> That is my Christian Jesus obligation.
5:41So, I know there's a lot of preachers
5:43out there that are preaching false
5:45doctrine,
5:46>> false religion. They have twisted this
5:48Bible to mean things it never meant. And
5:52they can twist this thing to make you
5:54think that if people steal from others
5:56that that's not evil. The Bible is more
5:59tough on thieves
6:02>> than it is on many other people in the
6:04Bible. Because the the way the Bible
6:07looks at stealing is whatever amount of
6:10time that person had to work to buy the
6:14thing that they that you stole from
6:16them,
6:18>> you literally murder that amount of
6:20their life.
6:22So if they worked 10 hours to purchase
6:25the thing that you stole from them, you
6:29have murdered them for 10 hours.
6:32>> This is the reason the Bible is so clear
6:34that you pay restoration,
6:37but you don't just restore what you took
6:39from them,
6:40>> you give back extra.
6:43>> All right. American government's wrong.
6:45They say you can steal up to 800 and not
6:46get arrested. That's not what the Bible
6:48says.
6:50>> Okay? So, we're going to stay in the
6:53Bible no matter what the laws of America
6:56say
6:58>> because we've got to build our life on
7:01not sinking sand, but wisdom from the
7:03Lord.
7:05>> So, thieves are not to be tolerated.
7:07Thieves are evil.
7:09>> You don't feel sorry for thieves. You
7:11lock them up.
7:13>> And you get them to pay back what they
7:15took plus.
7:17>> That's right.
7:18And so this is just understanding a
7:21simple understanding of the scripture.
7:23>> And when you get exposed to people who
7:26want to twist this Bible to their own
7:28destruction,
7:30>> then they'll start excusing all kinds of
7:33force forms of evil
7:35>> that is predatory taking advantage of
7:38others.
7:40>> And the Bible speaks very clear with
7:42regard to sin and evil. Sin is personal
7:46failure.
7:47I slipped. I failed. It was something
7:50that I shouldn't have done, but it
7:52wasn't harming others. It was just me
7:55indulging into selfishness.
7:57>> Okay? And so, there's several sins.
8:00Adultery is a sin. It can be evil, but
8:03generally it's a two-part thing. All
8:05right? That's a sin. Evil is rape.
8:09>> Evil is when you harm the other, not
8:12just you fell with another.
8:15And we've got to understand what is sin
8:18>> and what is evil.
8:21>> We can't recategorize because they're
8:24children
8:25>> that because someone has a propensity to
8:28children
8:29>> that we just write it off and say,
8:30"Well, it's natural." No, it's evil.
8:35>> And when it's evil,
8:37you lock evil up. You punish evil. The
8:42Bible said, "Lead me not into
8:44temptation," that's sin.
8:47>> "But deliver us from all."
8:50>> In other words, when you're dealing with
8:51evil, you probably won't have the
8:53ability to get out of it yourself
8:55because you're already the victim. And
8:57that's the reason we have police forces,
8:59we've got government, we have armies,
9:02and we do declare war. Because when
9:04evil's happening, that means we're
9:06propagating terror
9:09>> and destroying others.
9:12And that's why we will not have it in
9:13our neighborhoods.
9:15>> We will not have it in our church.
9:17>> We will not have it in our community.
9:19And the government has the right to not
9:21bear the sword in vain.
9:24>> Policemen can kill people
9:27>> and they're still right with God.
9:30>> Because evil is when I take advantage of
9:34you
9:35>> because I'm stronger than you
9:37>> and you have no part in that process.
9:40and we are here to snuff out and shut
9:43down evil.
9:46>> With that as my premise,
9:49>> I'm praying that this war does not
9:51metastasize into more than what we
9:54figured.
9:56>> So, let's pray for our leaders.
9:59>> Let's pray for our war fighters.
10:03>> If you have any knowledge of history,
10:04you know there has been evil propagated
10:06from Iran. And it's not just a CIA
10:09report, okay? My nephew is in Israel
10:11right now, working in Jordan,
10:14>> okay? This is an evil against Jordanians
10:16as much as it is the Jews.
10:19>> And this process of being educated in
10:22the knowledge of this evil, it's good to
10:25shut down evil. But let's also pray that
10:29we can shut it down quicker so we can
10:31get to mercy and get to peace and stop
10:35the shooting because every police
10:37officer I know doesn't ever want to
10:40shoot his gun.
10:41>> I've been to several walkouts and one of
10:43the greatest thinks giving that I've
10:46ever heard from a police officer is he
10:48said I was able to go my whole career my
10:50whole career and never discharge my
10:53weapon.
10:54>> That's amazing. That is amazing. And
10:57they looked at it like the greatest
10:59triumph because they every day called to
11:02situations that it is bad.
11:07>> Police never show up just because they
11:09wanted to.
11:11>> People they get mad at the cops that
11:13they're there and you'd stop and think,
11:14do you know why they're there?
11:15>> They weren't walking by trying to beat
11:18somebody up. They got called there
11:20because somebody was getting hurt.
11:22And uh and yes, police officers can be
11:25wrong. Okay, they absolutely can. And
11:27I'm a chaplain for a police department,
11:29and I've got some police officers that
11:31need some prayer.
11:32>> But overall, the vast majority of them
11:35have one of the toughest jobs in all the
11:37world,
11:38>> going in the middle of a mess and trying
11:40to bring peace.
11:42>> So, we need to pray for our leaders. We
11:44need to pray for our police officers. We
11:46need to pray for the peace of this
11:47nation.
11:48>> Don't believe all the social media
11:50that's out right now. the first several
11:53uh days of a war, there are our enemies
11:55that are propagating all kinds of
11:58fuamenting of hate and and uh anger and
12:01lies and all this stuff to bring dis uh
12:05uh to break peace among America. Just
12:07stop and pray and say, "Lord, I want
12:10your wisdom and your justice because our
12:12war fighters are going to get it wrong.
12:14Their war fighters are going to get it
12:16wrong. They call it the fog of war for a
12:18reason. Yeah,
12:19>> it's the fog of war. It's not always
12:22perfect, but but the overarching cause
12:25makes the imperfect happen. That's why
12:28we want diplomacy and peace. Peace
12:31first.
12:32>> I want peace before war, but I want
12:35right more than peace.
12:38>> Let me say it again. I want peace more
12:40than I want war,
12:42>> but I want righteousness more than I
12:45want peace.
12:46>> There's times that you fight
12:49and it's righteous
12:51>> because righteousness cannot wink at
12:54evil and let it go on
12:57>> and say there's evil there. I'm just
12:59going to pretend like it's not
13:00happening.
13:02>> There's a child being hurt, I'm just
13:03going to act like somebody else can take
13:05care of it. No.
13:07>> If it comes to you that a child is being
13:09hurt in the name of the Lord Jesus
13:12Christ, stop the evil.
13:17This isn't normal preaching, is it?
13:20>> And none of it's in my notes.
13:23>> But ladies and gentlemen, we want to be
13:25good citizens and we want peace on this
13:27earth. But the true justice will not
13:29reign until Jesus comes.
13:32>> You won't find justice from any nation.
13:34And I praise God for America. This is in
13:36my opinion the best nation in the world.
13:38And I can compare it with the histories
13:39of all the others.
13:41>> But after that, it still has its
13:43terrors.
13:45It still has its uh its scabs and its
13:48ugly points. And so what we do is we
13:50come to the culture of the cross and
13:52know that he's going to come and he's
13:55going to bring every high place down.
13:57>> He's going to get every low place and
13:58lift them up. The crooked places are
14:00going to be made straight and they are
14:02going to turn the their swords into
14:05plowshares.
14:07>> This is what the Bible says
14:09prophetically. Here's the other thing I
14:11want you to pay attention to. Don't get
14:13caught up on the narrative of different
14:16political parties. I want you to hear
14:18everything that you have that comes from
14:20this war and stop and say, "Here's what
14:22the Bible says is going to happen." When
14:24they say, "Peace, peace." Then comes
14:27sudden destruction.
14:28>> And I love the board of peace. I love
14:30the idea that we might can get an
14:32Abraham Accord. I love all of that
14:34stuff. I want there to be peace in the
14:36Middle East. But when I hear that, I
14:38have two ears to hear. One ear is,
14:40"Lord, let us have peace. If it's not
14:43your time, let us have peace." But
14:44there's another ear that's always saying
14:46in my heart, I know the Bible's right.
14:49And the Bible says that Gog and Mog,
14:51which is Russia, is going to come down
14:53and they're going to link up with Iran.
14:55And they're going to come down and
14:56they're going to come across the river
14:58Euphrates.
15:01>> All these things are real and they're
15:02still there and it hasn't happened yet.
15:04They're going to come down and they're
15:05going to attack Israel and the nations
15:08of the world are going to join them
15:10against the nation of Israel.
15:13>> Now listen, that doesn't mean just
15:14because the Lord is fighting for Israel
15:17that all of the Israeli government did
15:20the right things. No,
15:22>> don't conflate the Israeli government
15:24with God's people. Right?
15:26>> Don't don't get confused with that
15:28because every president we've ever had
15:31has made mistakes and every president
15:33that Israel has ever had made mistakes.
15:36>> So, we're not getting caught up in the
15:38political hubbub that's going on right
15:41now about well, do the Jews get to get
15:44by with anything? No, they don't.
15:47Nor is God going to ignore his people on
15:50that day when Gog and Magog, which is
15:52which is modern day Russia, they're
15:54going to come down out over the river
15:57Euphrates. They're going to join with
15:59Persia, which is Iran. They're going to
16:01join with Iraq, and they're going to
16:03come and attack the nation of Israel.
16:05And that's when God's coming out of the
16:07sky,
16:08>> and he's going to take care of his
16:11people.
16:12>> Now, are all Israelis God's people?
16:16>> No.
16:17Just like all apostolics.
16:20>> By name,
16:24>> I'm making a lot of sense right now.
16:27>> Everybody who says they're an apostolic
16:29and knows how to amen in apostolic
16:31church, they're not going to fly when
16:32the trumpet sounds.
16:34>> Because there's a lot more to this thing
16:35than just looking the part.
16:37>> That's right.
16:38>> There's got to be something going on in
16:39your heart. You've got to be a peace
16:41seeker. You've got to be somebody who
16:43worships the King of Kings and the Lord
16:45of Lords. and you do it day in and day
16:47out. You're not a a hypocrite. You're
16:49not doing things on one side hiding and
16:51on the other side acting one part. No,
16:53no, no. Everybody who says they're a
16:55child of God is not a child of God. And
16:58everybody born of the tribes of Israel
17:01is not of the people of God.
17:04>> But on that day, he's going to come
17:06back. I'm telling you, it's still going
17:07to happen.
17:09>> Mark it down.
17:11>> Go ahead, go fill your drop downs on
17:13your phone. But it's going to happen.
17:15He's going to come back and he's going
17:17to have his church with him. And every
17:20crooked thing is going to be made
17:21straight. Everything that's done in
17:23secret, whether it's the CIA, the Secret
17:25Service, the Epstein files, everything
17:28Putin's doing, everything Netanyahu is
17:31doing, and everything Tucker Carlson's
17:33doing, and everything Candace Owens is
17:35doing, and everything that Gavin
17:37Newsome's doing, and everything Camala
17:39Harris is doing, everything David Ell is
17:42doing. It's done in private. It's going
17:44to be made open.
17:50>> This is the PR message. I may not even
17:52get to my notes. This is the message.
17:55This is why we have church. Not because
17:57we're great people, but we serve a great
18:00God. This is why when I'm done
18:02preaching, I give you a chance to pray.
18:06Because you need to pray. Whether you
18:07know it or not.
18:10>> I need to pray. Yeah.
18:13>> You know who what the Lord said? If my
18:15people,
18:17>> which means he knows there are going to
18:18be some people who think there are his
18:21people, but they won't humble themselves
18:24and pray.
18:25>> They just show up.
18:27>> They just show up and they just come and
18:29say, "Well, I know all the quotes and I
18:31know the actions and I know the words
18:33and I've done checked the boxes. I've
18:34already checked the boxes." And no, he
18:37said, "If my people
18:39>> which are called by my name," that's
18:40when we baptize next Sunday, everybody's
18:43going down in the name of Jesus.
18:45>> That's the reason if you haven't been
18:46baptized in Jesus name, you need to be
18:50baptized again. You need to get his name
18:53on you. If my people which are called by
18:57my name will humble themselves.
19:00>> The reason some people don't pray is
19:03because they're too hotty.
19:05You won't pray if you don't know how to
19:08humble yourself.
19:10>> So, he puts it in this order. And I
19:11don't know why God has put this in my
19:13spirit the last month. I haven't even
19:15preached a sermon on it. I think I
19:16preached 20 on it. But if my people will
19:19humble themselves, the first tough part
19:22of going to praying is humbling
19:25yourself.
19:26>> Well, I don't need it. I can do it
19:29without showing it.
19:30>> No. Go ahead with your hottiness. You
19:33can go to hell with your hardiness, too.
19:35>> If my people,
19:37>> which are called by my name, will humble
19:40themselves.
19:42>> Listen, I'm a dude, y'all. I can't
19:44believe God called me a pastor. I didn't
19:46want to be a preacher. I didn't grow up
19:48wanting to be a preacher.
19:50And and yet, when he called me, I fought
19:52it. I thought it. I fought it. I'm not
19:53special because I needed to do what he
19:55wanted me to do. But when I did it, he
19:57didn't ask me to turn in my man card.
19:59I'm still a man on this earth and there
20:03are some things that I have some pride
20:05in me.
20:06>> Don't ask Melanie about it.
20:08>> She will tell you I'm a proud joker.
20:12I've got a pride situation in me. And
20:15all pride's not bad. Some of it's just
20:17dignity.
20:19>> I'm nobody's pushover.
20:22>> Some days I would rather fight than
20:23stand there. I would get more joy
20:25getting beat up than standing there
20:27doing nothing. Yeah,
20:29>> there are some causes. Even if I knew I
20:31was going to lose, I would have more
20:33pleasure losing that fight than I would
20:37standing by and not doing something.
20:39That kind of pride is in me.
20:41>> There are causes that I'm going to get
20:44in your face about.
20:47>> Right now, I'm kind of in one of them.
20:49Okay.
20:52>> There are causes
20:54worth breathing breath about.
20:58There are causes. The reason I cut my
21:01steaks.
21:04>> And I had protein in my coffee this
21:07morning.
21:11>> There's a reason I do that. Because
21:13whatever the day may bring, I want to
21:15rise to meet that.
21:18>> I want my kids to know their dad's a
21:20dude.
21:22>> I want my sons to grow up to be men that
21:25are strong as oxen. That's what the
21:27Bible said. That your children, that
21:29your daughters grow up after the
21:31similitude of a palace, but that your
21:33sons are strong as oxen. That's Bible.
21:37The men in this church, you're to be
21:39strong as oxen. I don't know. I don't
21:41want any men fashioned after the
21:44similitude of a palace.
21:48>> Don't be walking in here sacheing like
21:50you were made like a palace. You're a
21:52lug of block of wood.
21:58The Lord said God's men, the sons of the
22:01Lord, will be like strong as oxen, but
22:04his daughters will be fashion fashioned
22:06after the sim, I love these words, after
22:08the similitude of a palace.
22:11>> Woo! Well, when you understand that
22:15God's coming back,
22:17>> when you understand we need his help,
22:20>> when you understand a lot of this
22:21nation's going to put their their their
22:25trust on a golden dome and on
22:29>> tomahawk missiles
22:31>> and upon F-22 technology. I love all
22:35that stuff. I mean, I love technology,
22:37but ladies and gentlemen, my hope cannot
22:40be built on the fact that I got the
22:42right Ruger in my holster. I got to
22:45build my hope on a wisdom that is not
22:48from this earth, but a wisdom that is
22:51brought down from the Almighty to the
22:53people he made and gave them purpose to
22:56live in this world. And when I look my
22:59grandsons in the eye and when I look my
23:02granddaughters in the eye and I hold
23:05them, I'm not just touchy feely. It's
23:10not just some touchy feely. I get to
23:12hold them and cuddle them like they're
23:14my teddy bear. No, there's a cause. They
23:17were put on this earth. My little Bowden
23:20that I dedicated today, he walks up to a
23:23piano and I got video of him. He can't
23:26reach it. He can't even reach that
23:28piano, but he's already walking up to it
23:31looking around. And he doesn't just hit
23:33it like it's a drum. He's got his pinky
23:36finger working. He's got this thing.
23:39He'll go up here like that. He can't
23:41even reach it. And then he'll stand
23:42there and go.
23:47He's already singing and playing.
23:51I said he's all wrecked.
23:55>> You better not get too close to him
23:57because right now he's learning
23:58everything with teeth.
24:03>> Everything he can get his teeth to. He's
24:04got
24:07>> But there's a cause that boy was put on
24:09this earth.
24:10>> Every one of these babies were born here
24:12today. Not to collect paychecks,
24:15>> not to just go to work and go get a
24:18popsicle and get you a push-ups.
24:23>> Man, I like push-ups.
24:27I used to do 20 of them, but now since I
24:29got a credit card, I can get a lot more
24:31than 20.
24:34Give me a whole case of push-ups.
24:37Do y'all know what a push-up is?
24:40It's an orange popsicle.
24:43>> See, y'all are all too young. You're so
24:46young. You don't even Do they make them
24:47anymore?
24:53>> Is this all right,
24:55>> Dorothy? Is this okay?
24:58>> I mean,
25:01Lord, help this war to stop,
25:03>> but Lord, help righteousness come on
25:05this earth.
25:07Lord, send revival.
25:09>> He's going to send harvest.
25:11>> You know why people are going to come
25:13running to the Lord? Because they're
25:14going to wake up and see bombs and
25:15missiles flying
25:16>> and they're going to say, "There's more
25:18to this thing than just figuring out
25:19AI."
25:21>> There's more than this to this thing
25:22than figuring out open claw.
25:25>> There's more to this thing than just
25:26figuring out how I can get more from the
25:28big beautiful bill.
25:30>> How many's got your taxes back already?
25:33>> One, two, Johnny. Oh my lord. I need a
25:35loan. You need a loan job. Look, there's
25:37another one. Okay, y'all have filed
25:40quick. Good night. I don't want to get
25:43audited, so I wait.
25:46No.
25:49What is all of this for? There's a
25:51cause, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not
25:54living on this earth to just be a grease
25:55spot on the earth that somehow left a
25:59little tricycle for my children. No. God
26:02put us on this earth because we're all
26:04gonna live forever somewhere.
26:06>> And when we live forever somewhere, we
26:08got to live understanding there's a
26:11reason why I'm here. There's a reason
26:13why I have a job where I have a job.
26:15There's a reason why that person works
26:16next to me. They may feel like they're a
26:19spur under my saddle. They may feel like
26:21they're always a problem, but there's a
26:23reason I'm here. Do I see it more than
26:25just through the eyes of my own comfort?
26:27Do I see my neighbors? There might be
26:30always a problem that you might have
26:32neighbors that are always a problem.
26:34I've got some problem neighbor right
26:37now.
26:38My lord, all of this is online.
26:45I've got the same neighbors I've had for
26:47many years. Sister Bridget, are you
26:49still here? She was here for the first
26:51service. Is she still here? No, she's
26:54gone home. Okay. Sister Bridget was my
26:56next door neighbor and she would know.
26:58She and I could talk a language y'all
26:59wouldn't know, but we've got our trash.
27:03We have we got a trash police in our
27:05neighborhood and you can only take them
27:06out at certain time and all of that, but
27:09there's a spot at my house by the trash
27:11where there's a neighbor, when I say
27:13neighbor, it's not next door neighbor.
27:16>> All my next door neighbors are good
27:17people. I got a neighbor that decides
27:21that their dog likes the spot next to my
27:25trash
27:27and
27:29they decided that their dog can take
27:31care of the stuff and they don't need to
27:33clean up after their dog. So when I go
27:36to take my trash out, I've got an extra
27:39duty.
27:42I got to watch where I step. So, I got
27:45in league with my next door neighbor and
27:48she said, "Well, you don't have to do
27:49it, David. I will." She said, "But I'm
27:52going to go get a sign and we're going
27:53to put it down right there. So, when you
27:56come to my house, there's a sign right
27:59next to my trash can that says, "Please
28:02be neighborly
28:04>> and pick up after your pet."
28:08>> Well, guess what?
28:19Pastor's about to buy a taser.
28:29Listen, listen. Linda, listen. Listen.
28:34I will say there was a little
28:36advancement on this thing because I went
28:38to take my trash out and you know I like
28:41to lift the lid to check out what's in
28:43my trash can. This neighbor feels like
28:46not only if they're not going to pick up
28:49after the dog if they go the extra mile
28:50to pick up
28:53that my trash can is where they get to
28:56put it.
29:00>> Lord work on me.
29:03I guess it is a trash can.
29:07It's just not your trash can.
29:10Y'all keep praying for the pastor. I
29:12can't believe the Lord's still working
29:14on me. Listen, if I tell you you can use
29:17my trash can, you can do it. Brother
29:20Ray, if I tell you, sir, it's okay to
29:23use my trash land, then it'll be all
29:26right. Do it. But if your sweet wife, I
29:30love her, but if Annie just shows up and
29:33starts putting y'all's trash in my can,
29:36I'm gonna have to chat with the chit
29:40chitchat, I should say. I'm going to
29:43chitchat with her and say, "How long
29:47will this go on?"
29:51>> Why? Because we live in the real world,
29:54ladies and gentlemen. Yes.
29:55>> And when you live in the real world,
29:57you've got to walk holy and acceptable.
30:00That but that doesn't mean you you you
30:02trade in your right to be a citizen in
30:04the earth.
30:06>> When there's a cause, you stand for the
30:08cause. There's nothing wrong with being
30:10angry as long as you sin not.
30:13>> People look at Christians, you can't get
30:15angry. You're a Christian. What?
30:18What?
30:20What?
30:24My Bible tells me to be angry and sin
30:27not.
30:30>> Sin not.
30:36>> I'm not advocating violence.
30:42>> You know the Lord said turn the other
30:44cheek.
30:46I want you to notice it's singular.
30:50>> Some of y'all need to read your Bible.
30:52That only says one.
30:54Hit me here,
30:56I'm going to breathe.
30:58Hit me there, it's on like Donkey Kong.
31:05I'm just having fun. But you guys, we
31:07live in the real world.
31:09>> And the God we serve is a merciful,
31:14>> glorious,
31:16>> kind.
31:18See, our text is in Matthew. in Matthew,
31:21if you know anything about him, he was a
31:23tax collector.
31:25>> Now, we've got some tax collectors in
31:27this church. I'm not going to call their
31:29names.
31:31Got some folk who work for the IRS in
31:33this church. God bless them.
31:36I'm not going to call their names.
31:39I'm not going to give out their
31:40initials Elsie.
31:43No, we're not going to do it. But
31:47in that day, you collected taxes for
31:50Caesar.
31:52And many times the tax collectors would
31:55steal a lot like the tax collectors
31:58today.
32:02Don't get me started.
32:05But they would seriously
32:07>> they would take administrative fees.
32:12You ever you ever driven somebody's car
32:14and you gave them enough money for the
32:16gas and then you gave them money for
32:17administrative fees? You throw in extra.
32:21This is just for administrative fees.
32:22You ought to try it. It's a good way to
32:24do it. You know, I love you. Thanks for
32:26your car. Here's the gas money and
32:28here's extra for administration fees.
32:31But that's something volunteering.
32:33Matthew was a tax collector. So the
32:35culture of his nation looked at him as a
32:39traitor, a turncoat, and somebody to be
32:42despised.
32:44And in all the gospel stories, there's
32:46only this one gospel that tells that
32:50Jesus said this. Jesus said that as
32:54Messiah, I will be the Messiah will not
32:59break the bruised reed nor quench the
33:04smoking flax.
33:07>> Fancy words. It's a metaphor, but it
33:09means something very amazing. And in the
33:12Old Testament was written in the book of
33:13Isaiah prophecy about the Messiah
33:15coming. Now, what is it about these two
33:18word pictures that is stunning? Number
33:21one is back then they didn't have
33:23electricity. So their light was provided
33:25by candles and they would have a pottery
33:28candle and in there instead of a wick
33:31they had flax that as long as there was
33:33oil in the vessel there was fuel to
33:36bring the flame to the place and many
33:39times the oil would give off a
33:40fragrance. So it was something like an
33:42essential oil. You like the eucalyptus
33:45smell, you put that in your oil and had
33:47eucalyptus at your house. Okay. But when
33:51the oil ran out, the wick would become a
33:54smoldering fire which become a toxic
33:57smelling acrid smell that was not easy
34:02to be around. And so most people when
34:05the when the wick got the fire was out,
34:07they would just snuff the fire out, pull
34:10it out, replace it with a new wick, put
34:12fresh oil in it, and go forward. But the
34:15Lord said, "I'm not going to put out the
34:18smoldering
34:20wick."
34:22What does this mean? He also said, "I
34:25will not break the bruised reed." Now,
34:29what does that mean? Here's the thing.
34:31In that day, the bruised reed had many
34:33purposes in where is where Israel was.
34:35One purpose was they would take bruised
34:37they would take reads and form them into
34:39writing instruments. And that was one of
34:41the ways they would become scribes.
34:43Second thing they would do with the
34:44reads was they would take a reed, cut it
34:46off, put purposeful holes in it and it
34:49could become a pipe whereby music was
34:51made. Another reason they would take a
34:53reed, they would take them and cure them
34:55just so and they would be arrows that
34:56would fly. Other reasons read would be
34:58used was maybe a a measurement device.
35:01They would take it. But if a reed was
35:03bruised, it lost its authenticity as a
35:07writing instrument. music could not be
35:09made from a bruised reed because the the
35:12constancy of the reed was now softened
35:15and broken and misconfigured and so it
35:18couldn't be used for that. But the Lord
35:20said when others are throwing away
35:22bruised reads, I'm not going to throw
35:25them away.
35:26>> Now, what does that mean to do with you
35:28and me? Here's the the the bottom line
35:30is this. Life is very interesting and
35:35life can be very cruel and we all get in
35:39places where we are bruised by
35:42circumstances or our fire goes out for
35:46the right causes and those moments are
35:50not admirable nor are they great. How
35:52are people bruised? People can be
35:55bruised by their family. Family
35:57generational curses come come down on
35:59you. You had a ch a parent that
36:01abandoned you and you would sit out on
36:03the car on the curb of the street
36:05waiting for them to come on your
36:06birthday and they never showed up and
36:08it's marked you for life. Your dad
36:11promised you he would do something and
36:12he never came through for you and the
36:14whole rest of your life you feel that
36:16loss. Or maybe it was a mother who was
36:19bound by alcohol and you were the parent
36:21in the house. You put her to bed. you
36:24would make sure she was in bed, okay?
36:26Because she was so sloppy drunk that you
36:28she didn't even know what she was doing.
36:30I've pastored people that put their own
36:32mother to bed and when she woke up, she
36:34would come beating on her son because of
36:37the the the travesty of alcoholism had
36:41so ravaged her. It's no telling all the
36:44ways someone can be bruised. Maybe it's
36:46an abuse situation that has happened in
36:48your family and you think you've got it
36:50whipped. You've got a seven-point plan
36:52where you can act like it didn't happen
36:54to you. And yet, here's what will happen
36:56in life. You'll find out that that
36:59generational curse can sneak up on you.
37:02And the thing that you vowed you would
37:04never do,
37:06you find yourself caught in that same
37:09trap. You promised yourself you would
37:12never do that to your children. And one
37:15day something went sideways with you at
37:17work. and you got home and forgot the
37:19vow of what you would never do at your
37:21children. And you wake up and realize,
37:23I'm doing exactly what I said I would
37:25never do. Why? Because you're bruised.
37:29>> And the bruise doesn't heal.
37:31>> Your music is gone. Sometimes we're
37:34bruised because we ourselves make silly
37:37or can I say stupid those stupid
37:40decisions and those bruises. We step
37:43into it. We made that decision. We got
37:45in that place and it's our fault. And
37:47we're not going to blame anyone else.
37:50>> We've got B1 bombers flying today, but
37:53we got A1 sinners in here right now.
37:57>> God made us to be temples. He didn't
37:59make us to be terrors.
38:02>> He made us to be priests,
38:05>> not to be selfish sinners.
38:08>> And so here we come and we're bruised
38:10because of our own silliness. Here's the
38:12thing I love about the Lord. He's not
38:14always out to try to find faults.
38:16Remember when they had Jesus, a boy that
38:19was bl uh uh blind, and they brought him
38:22to the temple and the the Lord healed
38:24him of his blindness, but the Pharisees
38:25were upset about him healing them. And
38:28so they brought him to Jesus, and the
38:29disciples were trying to say, "Whose
38:31fault was it that he was blind?" So they
38:34started interviewing the boy, "Tell us,
38:36was it your fault or was it your
38:37parents' fault?" And the boy said this
38:39in scripture. He said, "I don't know
38:42about all that. All I know is I once was
38:44blind.
38:47>> We got to get out of the faultf finding
38:50business
38:51>> and get in the business of the answer
38:53getting business instead of constantly
38:56playing like we're the judge and the
38:58persecutor and the prosecutor. We need
39:01to look at the Lord who were was brought
39:03the woman in the who was caught in the
39:05very act of adultery. And they threw her
39:07at his feet and they said, "Jesus, the
39:10law says to stone her." And the Lord
39:13just kneels down and starts writing in
39:15the sand. And he looks up and he said,
39:17"You that are without sin, let him cast
39:22the first stone."
39:24>> And he went back to writing. And after a
39:27while, he looked up and everybody was
39:29gone but him and the woman. And he
39:31said,"Woman, where are thine accusers?"
39:33She was guilty.
39:36>> By the way, I don't know where the dude
39:37was. He should have been there, too.
39:41>> Both were guilty.
39:43>> But was the Lord out to try to find
39:45whose fault it was? She played a part in
39:48it.
39:49>> She wasn't completely innocent in this
39:51story.
39:52The Lord didn't sit her down for a great
39:54little thesis on how to not do it
39:56tomorrow.
39:58>> He said, "Hey,
40:00where are your condemners? Those who
40:02accuse you." She said, "They're not." He
40:04said, "Neither do I condemn thee." He
40:08had a right to condemn her. She was cut
40:10in the act. But here's the Lord. He will
40:12not take a bruised one and say, "You're
40:15no good to me. You can come into this
40:18house knowing you've got bruises. You've
40:20got generational curses. Some of it's
40:23your fault. Some of it you deserve what
40:26you're getting. But the Lord says, "Come
40:28unto me all you that are weary and are
40:31heavy laden. Some of you are tired with
40:33others. Some of you are tired of
40:35yourself." He didn't ask what you were
40:36tired of. He said, "If you're tired of
40:39it, why don't you just come to me? I'm
40:41not going to throw you out just because
40:44you're tired of it. Come unto me, all
40:46you that are weary and heavy laden. and
40:49I will give you rest.
40:54>> You don't have to be bruised. You don't
40:57have to have lost your music. You don't
40:59have to have lost your song. I'm the one
41:02who will come and help you. Some of you
41:04are bruised. Not just by family or by
41:06yourself, but something happened in the
41:09things around you. And you have reason
41:11to be bitter.
41:12>> You have reason to be angry.
41:15>> You have reason. All right.
41:17>> Oh my lord. I've got things in my
41:20family. I know that's family curse, but
41:23there are things not in my immediate
41:25family, but my extended family that just
41:27would blow your brain. You just want to
41:30fight. And yet, you see how hell tries
41:33to make that keep going from generation
41:36>> to generation. It's the reason when I
41:38dedicated these babies today, I wanted
41:41to read what the Lord said. He said,
41:42"I'll put my covenant in your mouth, and
41:45I'm also going to put my covenant in
41:47your seed, your children's mouth, and
41:49I'm going to put my covenant in your
41:50children's children's mouth. And here I
41:53am, a grandfather, but I want to stand
41:55on the word and say, "Hell's going to
41:57try to bruise you, and hell's going to
42:00try to beat you, but heaven's going to
42:02stand up and say, I will not break the
42:05bruised read. I will not quench the
42:07smoking flax." Sister Elms, come. What
42:10is a smoking flax? Well, it's a it's
42:13it's a lamp that had oil in it and now
42:18the oil's gone.
42:20>> People that have lived for God, the
42:22Bible refers to us as lamps of the Lord.
42:25>> It tells us about the five wise and the
42:27five foolish virgins. Some had oil in
42:30their lamp when the bridegroom came and
42:33others had no oil in their lamp. And
42:35they said they were good people, but
42:38they had let the oil go out. They were
42:41qualified. They had kept themselves.
42:44They were pure in their purpose. They
42:46knew where he was coming to. They were
42:49in the place where he was coming to, but
42:51they did not have oil. I'm preaching to
42:54somebody here right now that you know
42:56the way of God. You have known the way
42:58of God for years. You have sought his
43:01face. You've had a relationship with
43:03your Bible, but something happened.
43:05Whether it's politics, what they call
43:08church hurt, which you know, church hurt
43:11rhymes. And so I I don't know what to
43:13call world hurt, but world hurts just as
43:15bad as church hurt. You're going to get
43:16hurt somewhere. You might as well pick
43:18your spot. You know, they say either you
43:20go to heaven with the hypocrites or you
43:22go to hell with them. So you got you're
43:23gonna be with them one way or another.
43:25I'd rather be with the hypocrites now.
43:28>> Okay. So whatever it is, you have a
43:31reason, a reason to let your oil go
43:35down. You have a hard time praying. You
43:38have a hard time worshiping. That person
43:41still walked through the doors of the
43:43church and doesn't anybody know what
43:46they did. And you try to fight between
43:49wisdom and action and not tell anything.
43:53And you think they're supposed to read
43:54between the lines and they know what
43:56they did.
43:58Anybody
44:03ever felt that way?
44:05They know what they did.
44:09That's what I'm saying.
44:12It may be done
44:15and they may not fix it.
44:19They may not fix it.
44:21But when it comes between here and
44:23there,
44:25there's no reason to neglect the oil.
44:31Some of you came to America from another
44:34country. You are more spiritual over
44:37there than you are here.
44:40Why?
44:43Well, I I I I can get time and a half
44:44working. You can go to hell for time and
44:47a half, too.
44:51It doesn't matter who you are here. This
44:55isn't heaven. You can go to hell faster
44:58from the United States than you can from
44:59any other nation.
45:02Stay on your knees.
45:05Fill the vessel in your heart. Come to
45:08the Lord and say, "Oh God, I don't want
45:10to forget the reason why you're my
45:12everything.
45:13I don't want to forget the reason why I
45:15used to pray.
45:17I don't want to forget the reason why I
45:19need you.
45:21Oh, you can get a stinking spirit. You
45:25can be a smoldering wick that's smoking
45:28and all you are is you smell like toxic.
45:32Nobody wants to get around that.
45:35But you can have it changed because
45:37while I may not have the patience to
45:40stay around the stench,
45:42the Lord said he wouldn't put you out.
45:47A smoking flax
45:50I will not quench.
45:53A bruised reed I will not break. And
45:57when he went to the cross they mocked
45:59him. They made fun of him.
46:03They put a crown of thorns on his head.
46:07They put a sign on the top of his cross
46:09that said Jesus King of the Jews. They
46:13put a purple garment on his raw back.
46:17And somebody said, "Well, the king has
46:18his robe and the king has his crown. The
46:23king needs a scepter." And they ran and
46:26pulled a reed from the side of a
46:31bankment and stuffed it in his hand. How
46:35little did they know that he was saying,
46:39"This is my kind of scepter."
46:41a bruised reed
46:43I will not break. I don't know where you
46:46are right now. I don't know what kind of
46:48bruise you have or what kind of
46:49brokenness you're living with. I don't
46:51know what kind of embarrassing situation
46:54you've been bitter about. I don't
46:57understand what has caused you to stop
46:59worshiping and stop praying like you
47:02know. You've gotten bitter and now your
47:04Bible's not a good option for you
47:06because you're bitter over somebody in
47:09the church that did you dirty. But I
47:11want to tell you, it's not too late to
47:15get your oil refilled. It doesn't mean
47:20that situation will change. God will
47:22have to solve it. He said, "Vengeance is
47:25mine, saith the Lord. I will repay." Oh,
47:30that's one of the hardest verses in the
47:32Bible. When you have somebody do you
47:34wrong, you want to let them know you're
47:36not stupid.
47:39You You know what they did. I I had in
47:43this altar, one guy dating another girl
47:47in this altar, another guy came on this
47:52side of that girl. And while they were
47:54praying, this one started flirting and
47:58he stole the girlfriend from this guy in
48:03the altar while he was praying.
48:08The altar is a dangerous place.
48:15Can you believe that happened at church?
48:18I didn't come to give you knowledge. I
48:20came to give you wisdom.
48:24Because somehow you have to stop and
48:25say, "Hey, my steps are ordered of the
48:29Lord and I'm hurting down here. That
48:32didn't feel good. I know how to kick
48:34back when I get kicked." But he said,
48:37"Vengeance belongs to him. So, I'm going
48:39to stand here and I'm going to be godly.
48:42And I'm not going to let bitterness
48:44steal my praise. I'm not going to let
48:47anger steal my worship. I'm not going to
48:49let my oil get low because there's some
48:52silly in the house of God. I'm going to
48:55come back in his presence and lift up
48:57holy hands without wrath and without
49:00doubting and say, "Cure. Cure me, Lord.
49:04Wash me, Lord. Wash me, Lord. Cleanse
49:07me, Lord. Keep me, Lord. Let me be holy
49:11like you." Shall we stand? I'm opening
49:14this altar right now for people who've
49:17been bruised. Maybe you've let your oil
49:20get low. Maybe you've encountered one of
49:23these circumstances and you know you've
49:26been walking with a limp. I want you to
49:28limp right up to this altar in Jesus'
49:31name and talk to your king because he's
49:35not going to turn you away because
49:37you've got bruises. He's not looking to
49:39find whose fault it was. He's not
49:42looking to try to catch somebody. He's
49:45just saying, "I won't break the bruised
49:47breath. I'm not going to leave you.