The Contractor Building By Grace
Rev. Dr. Omar Williams Preached on 2/1/2026
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67:51
Summary
Rev. Dr. Omar Williams explores Ephesians 2 to show how God, as the master General Contractor, uses His infinite mercy to rebuild our 'structurally compromised' lives into masterpieces of grace.
Key points
- •Before Christ, every person is under 'management' that leads to structural failure, environmental toxicity, and zoning violations that place them in the path of judgment.
- •God acts as the Architect and General Contractor, utilizing a budget of infinite mercy and grace to rebuild what was condemned.
- •The reconstruction process (salvation) is a gift of God not earned by works, involving being made alive, being raised up to new authority, and being seated in heavenly places.
- •Believers are God's 'masterpiece' (poema), serving as both His workmanship and His mouthpiece to testify of His goodness.
- •The 'Certificate of Occupancy' for a believer has changed from 'condemned' or 'sinner' to 'holy,' 'masterpiece,' and 'temple of the living God.'
Scripture
Grace
Salvation
Spiritual Growth
Purpose
Restoration
Life application
Identify one 'toxic area' or old habit this week where you have been trying to self-renovate, and consciously surrender that specific area to the General Contractor (Holy Spirit) through prayer, trusting His grace to do the work you cannot do.
Reflection questions
- How does viewing your life as a 'condemned building' that God chose to save change your perspective on your past mistakes?
- In what ways have you seen your 'Certificate of Occupancy' change since you began following Christ?
- If your life is a poem (masterpiece) written by God, what is it currently saying to the world about His character?
- Why is it important to remember that God is working on us 'for the ages to come' rather than expecting instant perfection?
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Full transcript
0:00with us. Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 reading verses 8 and 9 Ephesians 2
0:02verses 8 and 9 from the New King James Version of God's holy word it
0:08reads like this for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not
0:14of yourselves it is a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast
0:20amen God bless you you may be seated in the presence of our good and
0:26our gracious God So just a couple of things to note.
0:32We had announced when we met in December, on December 14th, that, oh, by the
0:38way, greetings, everybody, in Jesus' name. Greetings, Shepherd Mother, God bless you, my wife, Pastor
0:44Chris, Lady Leah, all the leaders, all the saints, our guests, we greet you in
0:50Jesus' name. So we had discussed in December that we would launch our our
0:56financial stewardship initiative on the 8th well i found out that the 8th is super
1:01bowl sunday and apparently the saints don't want to be out on super bowl sunday
1:07they want to be somewhere watching their team play right so i'm not going to
1:13mess with you we are going to change the date so lady grace and the
1:19media team will be sending out a poll sometime this week look out for it
1:25uh giving us an option of two dates whether we'd rather meet on a
1:30saturday morning or sunday afternoon so when you see that poll please respond to
1:36it so that we could we can set a new date for the initiative
1:42i do believe that we can only be made smarter in how in our
1:48financial decisions through going through this program amen All right. Then secondly, it was
1:53not yet announced. It will be announced next week. But our Jennifer Stewart Award of
1:59Excellence Scholarship, it was announced today. Okay. All right. I didn't hear that. All right.
2:05So I'm not going to go over it again. But listen up for more information
2:10on that. If anybody's living in Port St. Lucie, I'll be preaching in Port St.
2:15Lucie this evening at 7 o'clock at Remnant Ecclesia Apostolic Church. So if you're living
2:19in the area and you'd like to come over, I think the service starts at
2:247 o'clock. Please feel free to come, but if you can, please pray for me.
2:28I need the prayers. Amen. All right, I want to continue the series that we
2:33have been doing. Since the start of this year the series under construction
2:39and I want to speak to us today from Ephesians 2 verses 1
2:45to 10 on the subject the contractor building by grace the contractor
2:51building by grace. Father, help us now. Make preaching easy by
2:56your word and your spirit. Save souls and heal hearts. In
3:02Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Many years ago in
3:081999, there was a show that I think was a little
3:13bit ahead of its time by Disney. It was called Smart
3:19House. Anybody remember that? Yes, smart house and I think
3:25they called it PAT, personal assistive technology. It was ahead
3:31of its time because at the time AI was not
3:36as prevalent as it is now. I raised that story
3:42because it was a house that was built by somebody.
3:48But as the story evolved, the house forgot that it was built.
3:54And if you watched the movie, if you haven't watched it, spoiler
4:00alert, once the house started acting up and wanting to control those
4:05who built it, of course, it collapsed in on itself. And
4:11I think that that's really good for us to hear. It's a
4:17good narrative. It's a warning. It's a cautionary tale that all of
4:22us whose lives are being built, that we acknowledge that we are
4:28not the ones building it. That somebody else has been working on
4:34our building. In fact, that is what Paul presents to us in Ephesians
4:402 verses 1 to 3. He wanted to remind the saints. He was writing to
4:46people who were already saved and he wanted to remind them. He said to them
4:52in verses 1 to 3, he said to them, and you he made alive.
4:58who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the
5:03course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
5:09spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once
5:15conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh. fulfilling the desires of the
5:20flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of
5:26wrath such as ours. Applying some construction, some building technology themes to
5:32this particular text. Verses 1 to 3 explains to us the site
5:38assessment. When the one who built the building of your life, when
5:44he came around to assess The building that you were before he saved
5:50you, before he got involved, before his hand came into your life. When he came
5:55to assess the site that you were when you were under different management. This is
6:01verses 1 to 3. When he came to do his assessment along with his architect
6:07and the general contractor. When he came around to do the assessment, it was not
6:13a beautiful picture at all. In fact, verses 1 to 3 delivers a brutal
6:19assessment of the human soul before Christ started working on us. Yes, do me a
6:24favor, look at your neighbor and say, you see all of this? Come on, look
6:30at it, give him an attitude. You see all of this? It wasn't this way
6:35before Jesus came into my life. Come on, you ought to tell him. It wasn't
6:41this way before God put his hand on me. you should have seen me when
6:47i was under different management and you would understand why i shout the way i
6:52shout now it was a it was a it was a brutal assessment in these
6:57verses he he pointed out in verse one he pointed out that there was structural
7:02failure there was structural failure in the building of my life he calls it he
7:08describes it as dead in trespasses and in sins. I was dead. I thought
7:13I was alive, but I was dead. I thought I had it together, but
7:19I was dead. Beautiful, but dead in trespassing and sin. Brilliant, but dead in
7:25trespass. Wealthy, but dead in trespasses and in sin. In fact, this was not
7:31a building project that just needed minor repairs and minor
7:37renovation. No, this was a property that was structurally condemned.
7:42Those looking on thought to themselves that this building cannot
7:48be saved. Not only was I structurally compromised and we were structurally compromised
7:54dead in sin. That means we were separated from the Lord who made
8:00us. We were separated from the only source of abundant life. Dead in
8:06trespasses and in sins. But not only that, but I was exposed to
8:12environmental hazards. I was living in the course of this world, verse 2,
8:18under the control of the prince of the power of the air. So not
8:23only was the site structurally compromised, but the very environment in which I was
8:29was contaminated and toxic. There was toxic waste around me albert barnes looking
8:35at this said i was living in conformity with the customs and the
8:41manners of this world unquote not only was i broken inside by my
8:47own fallen nature being structurally compromised But I was living according to what I
8:53knew, what I saw around me. I saw them smoke, so I smoked too. I
8:58saw them drinking till they were drunk, I did the same thing too. I saw
9:04them partying, I did the same thing too. Yeah, we were in a mode of
9:09toxicity in our lives. To make matters worse. So we were structurally
9:15compromised. We had environmental hazards. But then he found also zoning violations. He
9:21found that we were not living in the right place. For what he
9:27intended for our lives, we were in the wrong zone. We were living
9:33in the zone marked children of wrath. That's verse 3. Because children of
9:39wrath are those who are abused. abusing themselves as scriptures puts it put it
9:45they are abusing themselves they are out of the connection with God out
9:51of sync with God and therefore out of line with their purpose and
9:56they were on a path that was subject to experiencing the judgment and
10:02the wrath of God for their sins let me tell you you see all
10:08of this now but before the GC put his hand on me the report was
10:14I was in a very bad way can anybody testify right now that I was
10:19structurally compromised there were environmental hazards I was toxic my behavior was toxic the words
10:25I used that were toxic I was among the children of wrath like everybody else
10:31and the architect looked at my life when when every sensibility pointed to the fact
10:37that all that needed to happen was for that dilapidated building of my life to
10:43be torn down The architect looked and said, I know, hold on
10:49a minute, the report is bad. Yes, it is. They're structurally compromised. Yes, they are
10:55toxic. Yes, they are walking according to the path of judgment and destruction. Yes, they
11:01are doing everything that makes them unsuitable for the plan I have for them. But
11:07give them another chance give me another chance to do a work in this life
11:12i feel the holy ghost in here he decided that i gotta tear that old
11:17building down but i'm not tearing it down to condemn the property i'm tearing it
11:22down so i can build something brand new in that life i feel i feel
11:28happy in this house that jesus looked at me and said i can build something
11:33in him He's looking at you right now. The world might be writing you
11:39off. Satan is saying to him, don't you see that nothing good is in that
11:44person? They are structurally compromised. They are too toxic. Their words, their minds, everything they
11:50think is just evil and nasty. They are just fit for judgment and destruction. And
11:56Jesus said, yes, you are right, but give me another chance because I I can
12:01do something with that life. Is there anybody that's glad for that in the house
12:07today? And so yeah, mercy said no, I don't want to let him go. I
12:12feel the Holy Ghost in here. And so the Lord said, let's get into
12:18the conceptual phase. Let's get into the conceptual phase. So yes, this is
12:24the assessment. The building is dilapidated. The building is worthy of destruction. But
12:29let me just get into a kind of a consortium and begin to
12:35devise a plan for how I will reconstruct this life out of the
12:41rubble that now exists. He got into the conceptual phase and the Bible says in
12:47verses 4 to 7, but God, hallelujah, somebody shout but God. Yeah, I love that.
12:52Whenever you see but God, it means that there is about to be a turnaround.
12:57Has anybody ever had a but God that can make you just lift your hand
13:03and just worship him in the house? I was condemned. I was worthy. But God.
13:10but God, but God, but God, hallelujah, but God, but God who is rich in
13:15mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were
13:21dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you've been saved and
13:26raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus
13:31that in the ages to come he might show the riches of his grace and
13:37his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Yes, the assessment was brutal. Yes, it
13:43was negative. I'm structurally compromised. There is toxicity, toxic air and toxic waste all
13:49around me. I'm on the course. I'm located in the wrong zone. I'm in
13:55the zone where I am on the path, a collision course with divine judgment
14:00and divine wrath. But But God said, don't do anything yet. Don't cast them away
14:06yet. Don't throw them away. Give me an opportunity just to conceive of what I
14:12can do with that life. Let me conceive what I can do with that life.
14:17And he said, let me consider, do I have the budget? Do I have the
14:23budget? Because you know, when you're going to build any kind of building, you want
14:28to make sure that you have the budget. Can I raise the money that is
14:32needed to make the work possible that I am saying to do? And here is
14:37the deal. He had the money. The Bible said that God was rich in mercy.
14:42Verse 4. God knew that I did not need a billion dollars to be repaired.
14:47A billion dollars could not... make me better am I talking to anybody here yeah
14:52a million dollars could not make me better you know they say money doesn't change
14:57you money only makes you more of what you already were so so a billion
15:02dollar couldn't do the work that needed to be done in my life but God
15:07who is rich in mercy God said I have enough mercy I have enough love
15:13I have enough grace for God so loved the world that he gave his only
15:18begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life let
15:23me tell you this it doesn't matter where you are what the report is on
15:29you what you did this week what you did last night how messed up you
15:34feel how condemned the devil might be telling you that you are right now in
15:40this house I hear God saying I have the budget to make something new out
15:45of your life. I have the budget to get to working on your building. I
15:50have enough mercy for every sin that you've ever committed. In fact we are sinner
15:55bound. Grace did much more about where there is damage in your soul and in
16:01your life. I have enough grace to make your life a better place. Is there
16:06anybody that's glad that God has not ran out of grace? And as long as
16:11God doesn't run out of grace, my building is going to get better. somebody
16:17shout hallelujah in this place he has enough mercy he has enough compassion he has
16:23enough grace not only to start the work but to finish the work he's able
16:28to not only start the work but he's able to finish the work he can
16:34see it through to its completion the scope of work the scope of work what
16:39does the work entail in the conceptual phase the lord said i want to do
16:44three things in their life between verses five and six number one i want to
16:49make them alive they were dead in trespasses and in sins. So first thing I
16:54want to do is I want to make them alive by the Holy Ghost in
16:59their life. Number two, I want to raise them up. I am going to change
17:03them from the era code in which they were living because this building I'm trying
17:08to build, uh, can't flourish if they're still hanging out in the strip club am
17:12I talking to anybody in this house come here come here don't shy away lean
17:16in here it can't flourish if they're still hanging out in the wrong company and
17:20and still going to the wrong parties am I talking to anybody in this place
17:25I've got I've got to raise them up. Is there anybody here that your life
17:30has gotten a raise? God has lifted you from where you used to be and
17:36he has placed you in a new position in your life. I feel better now
17:42because God raised me up. Somebody shout he raised me up. He raised
17:48me up. My walls were collapsing but he raised me up. I was falling apart
17:53but he raised me up. My self-esteem was on the floor but he raised me
17:58up. I feel the Holy Ghost in here. My sense of dignity had so died
18:03but he raised me up. Is there anybody in this place that God raised you
18:08up in this house? He raised me up. He raised me up. But then he
18:14seated us. He seated us. So whereas we were subject, we were subject to the
18:20prince of the power of the air, he now seated us in Christ. When we
18:25go back to chapter 1, we realize that Christ was raised up, sitting in power.
18:31Christ has power over every demon, over every devil, over every disease, even over every
18:37disease. He has power over all of these things. And so when he raised us
18:43up and make us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, you must understand
18:48what this means. It now means that whereas the devil had the right to just
18:54turn your door all hour of the night, he has now raised you up. You
19:00now walk with some authority over the plans of Satan. You can say, devil I'm
19:06on the new management don't you dare think you can just walk up in this
19:11house at any time you want to the Lord rebuked you get out of here
19:15am I talking to anybody here I'm on the new man my soul is now
19:20being managed by the power of God God you can't come up in here like
19:25you want to you can't just come up in my mind and make me think
19:29and do all kind of craziness because I am raised up am I talking to
19:34anybody here when God raises you up he raised up my thoughts he raised up
19:38my emotion he raised up even who I like am I talking to I feel
19:43like preaching in here I'm not just gonna fall in love with any old person
19:47who is not going where I'm going I'm I'm raised up now Lord I feel
19:52you in this place you ought to tell that person I mean that that's what
19:57used to happen in the past but I'm raised up now God has elevated me
20:02shout a praise in this place He raised us up. He raised us up. Somebody
20:08asked him, so yes, so you have the budget. You're rich in mercy. The scope
20:13of work is there. You are to revive and elevate, make a life, raise up
20:17and seat them. But somebody says, what's the schedule? What's the master schedule? How long
20:22is this work supposed to take of renovating and rebuilding and reconstructing this house? Verse
20:277 gives the answer, for the ages to come. Hallelujah. For the ages to come.
20:33In other words, this is not a sprint of a project. This is a marathon
20:38of a project. That is to say, you won't get to being to the place
20:43of the pristine excellence that God has for you overnight yeah but you'll get there
20:48little by little so right now you may not be exactly where God needs you
20:54yet but how many want to thank God that though I am not where he
20:59needs me yet I am not where I used to be before yeah yeah I'm
21:04not where I used to be before why don't you nudge your neighbor gently say
21:09hey neighbor just just be patient with me because god said he is working on
21:15me for all the ages to come it is gonna take some time before i
21:20get my wings it is gonna take some time before i get perfect but if
21:25you just hold on and just give me a little time god is working on
21:30me and i'm gonna get better better better better better somebody shout glory in this
21:36place if you believe it in this house Yes, yes, yes. He is going to
21:41work on me from time into eternity. God is committed to working in your life.
21:46Come on, Zion. Don't give up on yourself. You may have made a mistake, made
21:52an error. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have made some dumb decision. We have all had
21:57some of those decision, but I want to thank God in this house that he's
22:02not just a God. of a second chance but he's the God of another chance
22:07because here's the deal I got through my second chance I lost time ago I
22:13would have to go all the way back to the 1990s to find where God
22:18gave me a second chance but I'm so glad that every day he gives me
22:23another chance he allows me to wake up every morning to brand-new mercies is there
22:28anybody in this house that want to thank God that he is a God of
22:33another chance as long as I'm alive and as long as I can reach out
22:37to God he's a God of another chance Somebody give the Lord a praise
22:43in this place. So the conceptual phase, but then the conceptual phase gave way to
22:49the construction phase. Amen. Point number two, the construction phase, verses eight and nine. For
22:55by grace you have been saved through faith and not of unbelief. ourselves, yourselves. It
23:00is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast. We are we're
23:06now in the construction phase. He is he now moved from conceiving the design to
23:11now working the design and here is the deal. He is working on me through
23:17grace. The general contractor that God has put over the work that he's doing in
23:22my life is a general contractor called grace. Somebody holler grace. yeah grace grace
23:28according to the topical lexicon it is the steadfast love everybody said the steadfast
23:34love yeah yeah in the old king james they call it the loving kindness
23:40of god it is it is the loving the love of god that makes
23:46god perpetually kind to me it is uh uh it is the kind of
23:51love that is covenant love it is the unchanging love it is the love that
23:56is stronger than the laws of the Medes and Persians you know the laws of
24:01the Medes and Persians could not be altered so to this love that God has
24:06for us this grace of God cannot be changed God has decided that as long
24:11as you are alive I will give you my unmerited favor but not only that
24:17I'll give you my transformative power to be at work in your life you are
24:22under the management of the grace of God and the Bible says that grace is
24:27the great teacher that God has placed in our life the word therefore for grace
24:32being the teacher grace teaches us is the word padeo which is the term that
24:37is used for parents who are trying to teach and to train their small babies
24:42and you know how difficult it is to get the small ones to do the
24:47right thing you will tell them don't walk right there and they'll walk there the
24:51next day they look right in your face and walk there and you will have
24:56to tell them again tomorrow and the next day I feel the Holy Ghost in
25:01here is there anybody in here that is glad that grace just keeps on telling
25:05you over and over and over and over again as long as you are alive
25:10God says I am committed to working out the kings that are in your life
25:15because you're under the management of the grace of God yeah there will be a
25:20day when judgment will come but until then you've got the grace of God I'm
25:25not your neighbor say neighbor you're under the management of grace work with the grace
25:30of God allow God's grace to train you and to teach you until it makes
25:35you better than you were before shout glory in this place Yeah, so we are
25:40under the management of grace. Grace is a general contractor. But then he talks about
25:45in verse, the last part of verse 8, the labor force, the labor force. So
25:50grace is a general contractor that is determined to ensure the building is good. But
25:55there is a labor force. There's a workforce now. You know the workmen who are
25:59working under the general contractor. Yeah, the day by day. That is... called faith everybody
26:05how the faith yeah it is called faith and faith and faith is awakened
26:10within us by the grace of God the power of God's grace comes to
26:16awaken faith within us so by grace you are saved through faith grace when
26:22grace comes to us Thomas groom says that the sinner paralyzed by sins can
26:28do nothing by or of self to save self but once God's mercy and grace
26:34is revealed it enables belief the capacity to respond to God unquote that is to
26:39say yes I was dead in my trespasses and in my sins yes I could
26:45not do anything to save myself I tried making the sign of the cross I
26:49tried helping the young the old lady across the street I tried doing good works
26:54but I found out that none of those good works could save me I even
26:58went and confessed to the priest in his booth but that couldn't save me am
27:03I talking to anybody in this place but thank When God, when the grace of
27:08God appeared to me, it awakened faith within my soul. I feel the Holy Ghost
27:14and now I'm operating not on works but on faith. Faith, brothers and sisters, when
27:20I believe God, faith begins to do some work in my life. When I believe
27:25God, faith made me repent of my sins. Faith made me ball out to God
27:31and say, God, I know what the report says about me, but whose report am
27:36I going to believe? I'm going to believe the report of the Lord. I feel
27:41the Holy Ghost in here. I believe your report that says you are able to
27:46take dilapidated buildings like me and make them into something wonderful and something good. I
27:51repented by faith and God forgave me. I went down to the water calling upon
27:55the name of Jesus by faith I didn't see the blood in the water but
28:00I went by faith and when I went down in the water calling upon the
28:04name of Jesus he washed my sins away can anybody remember that day in that
28:08hour Yeah. When you came up out of the watery grave and you came up
28:13knowing that your sins have been washed away, you didn't see it, but you believed
28:18it because faith is working inside your heart. I walked down to an old fashioned
28:22altar and they told me if you will just call on Jesus he'll fill you
28:27with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues yeah well the
28:31Holy Ghost came to me in 1991 I spoke in tongues when the Holy Ghost
28:35came I was a little boy but I spoke in tongues as he filled me
28:40I didn't know what I was speaking but I spoke in tongues because I knew
28:44that God knew what I was saying that was faith am I talking to anybody
28:49and since that day until now I stay in the word of God because every
28:53Every day I'm in the word, I feel the Holy Ghost. Faith comes by hearing
28:58and hearing the word of God. Faith is working in my life. Would you just
29:02nudge a neighbor right quick and say, "Neighbor, I'm just walking on faith." Yeah, yeah.
29:07I'm not doing this because I feel perfect, but I'm doing this by faith. I
29:12believe what God says about me. I believe that God said he can raise me
29:17up. that God said he can turn me around I'm here by the faith of
29:21God tapping into the grace of God somebody shot glory in this place I feel
29:25the Holy Ghost in here and if that was not enough the materials that are
29:30supplied is a gift of God he gave you me he gave me the Holy
29:34Ghost y'all is there anybody that has the Holy Ghost in him somebody shot I
29:38got the gift I got the gift I got the gift yeah I didn't have
29:42to go up by the material he gave them to me as a gift he
29:47gave me the gift of salvation in the gift of the Holy Ghost he had
29:51to go to a cross to get it but he went there for me he
29:56had to go down to the grave but he went there for me and he
30:00came back and he led captivity captive and he gave me the gift of the
30:04Holy Ghost he poured out the Holy Ghost upon me is there anybody here that
30:09has the Holy Ghost yeah and he said you shall receive power when the
30:14holy ghost comes upon you power dunamis we always sometimes tend to look at
30:20dunamis as something external but dunamis in its primary application is really an inherent
30:26power somebody shout inherent yeah say it's inherent power yeah yeah say neighbor come
30:32on look that neighbor in the face and say neighbor it's It's in power that
30:37is working inside me. Come on, tell him. It's power working inside me. Why? Because
30:42I got some things inside of me. If you could see the things that come
30:47up in my heart, shepherd mother, if you could know the thoughts I struggle with
30:51sometimes, if you You could know the desires and the app. Come on. Am I
30:56talking to anybody real in this house? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got the
31:00dress right on the outside. Yeah, the head is on properly and the jacket looks
31:05pristine. But if you could see what's going on in my mind sometimes, but lift
31:09your hand in the house and say, thank God. for giving me power on the
31:14inside yeah yeah yeah yeah he has given me power on the inside I feel
31:19the Holy Ghost in here because if I did everything I thought about you would
31:24want you would not even want to associate with me if I did everything I
31:29felt you wouldn't have nothing to do with me but thank God for power come
31:34on somebody rejoice in here thank God for power in the Holy Ghost for
31:40power over my flesh for power over my carnal desires for power over my
31:45mind for power in the spirit thank for the power that he gave me
31:51inside of me so that he can do something wonderful in me somebody shot glory
31:57in here yeah yeah yeah look at that neighbor one more time look at the
32:02neighbor another time and say neighbor you see all of this is because of the
32:07power that is in me is because grace is working outside of me and faith
32:12and the power of the Holy Ghost is holding me together shout glory in here
32:18I feel them in this place let me close let me close so there is
32:23a conceptual phase there's a construction phase but then lastly there is a close out
32:28phase everybody holler the close out phase This is where the builder, the general
32:34contractor now turns the building over. Before he does that there has
32:40to be an inspection. Here it is in verse 10. For we
32:45are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God
32:51prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. look at where we're
32:57coming from we're coming from being condemned on all the condemned building ah that old
33:02song that says i i was an old rejected relic on the auction block of
33:08life yeah yeah yeah they were ready to throw me away but the but the
33:13the engineer said who will take him and there was one at the back I
33:19feel the Holy Ghost here there was one that had nail scars in his hand
33:24there was one that was coming through 42 burning generations I feel him in here
33:29there was one that showed up as redeeming there was one that showed up as
33:34Abel's vindicator there was one that showed up as Gideon's battle axe there was one
33:39that was Jeremiah's fire I feel him in here today there was one who was
33:44Ezekiel's wheel in the middle of the wheel he showed up at the back he
33:49was coming out of the fiery furnace of the Hebrew boys he was coming from
33:54the lion's den of Daniel he was coming from death hell in the grave but
33:58he raised his hand at the back raid his little paddle at the He said,
34:02"I will have him because I have enough mercy and grace and
34:08love to make something beautiful, something good." Can anybody raise your voice
34:14in here today and shout it in here? Say something beautiful.
34:19Come on, say it like you know it. Say
34:25something beautiful, something good. All of my confusions, Jesus
34:30understood because all I had to offer to him
34:36was my brokenness, my strife, my toxicity, my dirty
34:41words, my bad relationships. But Jesus made something beautiful
34:47out of me. out of my life I feel the Holy Ghost in here does
34:53anybody feel like they're spinning around one time and say look what Jesus did when
34:58he washed me yeah yeah yeah yeah I'm a building by grace look what he
35:04did when he washed me when he washed me in the blood of the lamb
35:10I'm saved Somebody shout I'm saved in here shout I'm saved in
35:15here shout I'm saved in here tell that neighbor say neighbor say neighbor
35:21come on tell the neighbor say neighbor I'm God's masterpiece I'm God's masterpiece
35:27the language here borrows from Genesis chapter 1 after God created everything he
35:33looked at it and said it is good but when he created Adam
35:39and Eve he looked at them and said that's very good well let me tell
35:43you that's what Paul is saying here when he was finished working on my life
35:48when he turned me around when he took my my bad habits and said no
35:52no let me turn that one around when he took my dirty words and he
35:57began to change them and to give me some right words and when he got
36:01done with my life when he washed me in the blood when he filled me
36:05with the Holy Ghost when he sanctified me by the Spirit I feel him in
36:10here he looked at me and put a stamp on me and say you are
36:14very good I feel the Holy Ghost in here I look good and I feel
36:19good because God god has been working on me somebody shouted in
36:24here said god is working on me to make me what i
36:30ought to be and i'm getting better better better better better if
36:36you believe it glory I feel the Holy Ghost in here. I'm
36:42God's masterpiece. The word there is poema. It means not only am I the masterpiece,
36:47but I'm also the mouthpiece of God. That is to say, when you look at
36:53my design now, I testify of the goodness of the Lord. When you look at
36:58who I am now, when you compare the before and after picture, you see the
37:03change that God has brought in my life and that change, my new new windows,
37:09my new words, my new habits are a poem of the goodness of
37:14God. I'm testifying of how good God has been. Can I say it
37:20in here? Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Don't be afraid
37:26to tell your testimony. Come on, Zion. Don't be afraid to talk about about
37:32oh good cut a spin don't be afraid to say like David
37:37did my soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit praise His
37:43name come taste and see that the Lord He is good I
37:49feel the Holy Ghost in here. I feel the Holy Ghost in
37:55here But can I close now when he said to you you
38:00are my masterpiece I hear him saying you are now certified I
38:06now change your certificate of occupancy. I feel the Holy Ghost in
38:12here my god in 2023 i began to work with bishop stewart and lady michelle
38:17in changing the certificate of occupancy for this side of the building because you see
38:23before we bought it it was some kind of it was a part of a
38:28street mall That's what it was. That was the old certificate of occupancy. But now
38:33that we have come on in here and we have brought our own touch in
38:38this building, I feel God in here. We brought something new in here. We brought
38:43Dr. Sharp and the staff in here. Am I talking to anybody in here? We
38:48brought some students in here and we're doing some good works in the building. The
38:53certificate of occupancy can no longer say street mall. It now has to say school
38:58am I talking to anybody here come here for a second I feel the Holy
39:03Ghost in here stop anything answering the names that they used to call you in
39:09the past because you are not that anymore you might have been that
39:15some years ago but God has changed your certificate of occupancy these days
39:20he calls me holy these days he calls me the head another tail
39:26these days he called me the lender another borrower these days he said
39:32I'm more than a conqueror if you believe it in here shout glory
39:38shout glory he says I am the temple of the living God
39:44if you believe it shout I am the temple Let me
39:50close in here. Let me close in here. He said, now you're full of good
39:55works. You're full of good works. You didn't have to do good works to be
39:59saved. But when I save you, you're going to do good works. Let me tell
40:04you a story. I came to find out that Nazareth was such a bad place
40:09by the time Jesus got there that Nazareth and good were not found
40:15in the same sentence in fact there are only two times in the
40:2166 books of the Bible there are only two times in over several
40:27thousand verses that Nazareth and good are found in the same sentence the
40:32first time it was a question can anything good out of Nazareth come
40:38here for a second let me reply that to you and I when our building
40:44was condemned when our structures were compromised when we were toxic and nobody wanted to
40:50be around us the devil went to God and he said to God can anything
40:56good come out of Bianca I feel like preaching in this place he went to
41:01God and said Can anything good come out of Marquis? Well, well,
41:07don't write me off just yet because there is another time
41:13that good and Nazareth are in the same sentence. Here it
41:18is. It's Acts 10. and about somewhere about verses 30 to 38 but
41:24it said that Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good things why because
41:30God was with him come here Zion come here Zion you oughta slap
41:35somebody high five and tell them my story has changed now I can
41:41do good things now because God is with me because God is inside
41:47of me feel the Holy Ghost in here I'm changed and I
41:53know I am I'm a new creation I'm a brand new
41:58person all things are passed away and all things all things
42:04have become new my hands new my life new all of
42:09this new because God is working on me yes somebody lift your
42:15hand in here I'm super lift your hand in here lift your hand
42:21in here what would you do if your hand in here rejoice in
42:27the house lift your hand in here rejoice in the house amazing grace
42:33How sweet the sound. Rejoice in here. Come on, rejoice. Amazing grace.
42:38How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once
42:44was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I
42:50see. It was grace that taught me. brought my heart to fear and grace
42:56my fear relieved how precious did the grace appear the hour that I first believed
43:02so here's what I'm gonna do now I'm gonna lift my hand in the house
43:07I feel the Holy Ghost in here back in the day our four parents while
43:13they were in slavery they would lift their hands they may not may never
43:19known the whole song but they knew the tune
43:25and they would lift their hands and their voices
43:31and they would say praise god praise god praise
43:36god praise god come on come on
43:41Praise God!
43:46Praise God!
43:51Praise God!
43:56Praise God!
44:01Praise God!
44:06come on
44:11the altar
44:15is open
44:20if you
44:25need him
44:29praise God
44:34Praise God! Praise
44:39God! Praise God!
44:44Praise God! Praise
44:50God! Praise God!
44:55Praise God! Praise
45:00God! Praise God!
45:07Hallelujah the
45:11altar is
45:16open if
45:20you need
45:24the Holy
45:29Ghost If you need God working on your building,
45:34if you need God working on your building, come on up here. If you need,
45:40don't leave yet anybody. We have the Lord's Supper in a little bit. But if
45:45you need the Holy Ghost, come on up here today. God can work on you.
45:50You may feel condemned. God can work on
45:56you he can make something new
46:01out of your life one person
46:07got baptized already today he can
46:12do something new in your life
46:18praise God praise God
46:22we got one
46:28in the altar
46:33somebody needs to
46:39pray with her
46:45praise god Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
46:50God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
46:52Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
46:53God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
46:55Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
46:56God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
46:58Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
46:59God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
47:01Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
47:03God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
47:04Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
47:06God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
47:07Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
47:09God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
47:10Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
47:12God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.
47:13Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise
47:15God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. praise God.
47:16praise God. praise God. praise God. praise God. praise God. praise God. praise God. praise
47:18God. praise God. praise God. praise God. praise God. praise God. praise God.
47:20today
47:55Praise God Praise
48:00God Praise God
48:05Praise God Praise
48:10God Praise God
48:15Praise God Praise
48:21God Praise Him
48:26Praise Him
48:30praise
48:33Jesus
48:36bless
48:39the
48:42Savior
48:45come
48:49on
48:52and
48:55praise
48:58them
49:01Jesus
49:04blessed
49:08Savior
49:11until
49:14the
49:17goal
49:20the
49:26going
49:31down
49:37he's
49:42worthy
49:48glory
50:02glory
50:16Oh
50:34deliverer
50:51Jesus
51:15Jesus
51:32let's
51:36say
51:40from
51:44the
51:48rising
51:52he's
51:55worthy
51:59Jesus
52:20yes
52:37given glory
52:42Jesus Jesus
52:46Oh he's
52:50worthy for
52:55God
52:57yes
53:24Jesus
53:33he's worthy he's worthy to be worthy Jesus blessed
53:39Savior Jesus Jesus blessed Savior blessed Savior he's worthy
53:44he's worthy to be worthy one last time Jesus
53:50Jesus blessed Savior blessed Savior oh he's worthy he's
53:56worthy to be worthy to be
54:00let's praise
54:04him let's
54:08praise him
54:13let's
54:16raise
54:20it
54:23yes
54:26Fraser
54:30Fraser
54:33Fraser
54:36Fraser hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
54:42jesus blessed savior he is worthy he is worthy he
54:47is worthy he is worthy to be praised don't leave
54:53yet we're gonna have the lord's supper in a little
54:58bit in a minute here for anybody here that you
55:04don't yet have the holy spirit you may feel like
55:09you are living in a place of condemnation but
55:15the work that God's grace has done in our lives. He can do it in
55:21your life too. Yes, He can. Yes, He can. He can take broken down constructions
55:26and He can turn them into brand new buildings to the glory and the honor
55:31of His name. He can save your life and turn you around. And if He
55:36has already saved you, if He is right now working in you, making something new
55:42in your life, He said, "I saved you not just to look pretty, I saved
55:47you for good works. If you have not yet discovered what the good works are
55:52that God wants to do through your particular life, ask him this week. Ask God
55:57to show you the good works he wants you to do. But he has saved
56:02you for good works. And if you're not yet saved, he wants to save you
56:07so he can do some good works in your life. Let's lift those hands one
56:13more time. I want to ask the elders those who want to who can
56:18sit you may sit I'm going to ask the elders elders could you come could
56:24you take the emblems and while we're seated just give the emblems to the saints
56:29we're gonna we're gonna partake of the Lord's Supper in a little bit hallelujah thank
56:35you Lord we're gonna share the Lord's Supper in a minute here elders will you
56:40take the emblems and give them while we sing mercy if you know it's true
56:46sing it in this house yes mercy yes
56:51it did yes
56:56it is rewrote
57:01i should have
57:06fallen i should
57:11have fallen my
57:16soul
57:18let's
57:25sing
57:32it
57:38again
57:45mercy
57:53Cast down. Oh, but
57:58mercy. Rerolled. Rerolled my
58:04life. For years I
58:10traveled. A road all
58:16wrong. My heart had
58:22lost its joy.
58:26and it's all but
58:32grace he placed me
58:38right where I when
58:43mercy we wrote my
58:49sing with me mercy
58:54mercy yes
59:00Lord
59:04mercy
59:07yes
59:11I
59:14should
59:18have
59:21fallen I
59:26should have fallen one
59:32more time I should
59:37I should have fallen
59:43my soul cast out
59:48but mercy rewrote rewrote
59:54my life Thank
59:59God for His grace and His mercy that rewrote our lives.
60:05Hallelujah. Mercy rewrote our lives. I should have fallen. My soul
60:11should have been cast away a long time ago. He should
60:17have destroyed the building, but instead He said, "Let me rebuild
60:23it." Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.
60:29As we get ready to partake of the Lord's Supper,
60:35The emblems that celebrate the redemptive work of the Lord on our behalf.
60:41We thank God for his grace and his mercy today. We just came
60:47out of 21 days of fasting. But I want to say this to
60:52us. I thank God for the fasting and we should. But if we
60:58think that it's just the fasting that makes us quote unquote worthy, then
61:03we're wrong. It's the grace of God. It's the mercy of God.
61:09No amount of prayers that we could pray and we must pray we should pray
61:15we should fast but no amount of prayer or fasting that we could do could
61:20make our own lives right by ourselves but God's grace and God's mercy. So the
61:26Bible said in verse 29 of 1st Corinthians 11 that we should not eat in
61:32an unworthy manner. When I was growing up they said that I shouldn't eat it
61:37if I am not worthy. But as I studied this text a
61:43little closer, Dr. Sharp, unworthy here is not an adjective. That means it is
61:49not describing a noun. So it's not describing me. It's not describing my state
61:54of worthiness because God knows I could scrub my soul with all the bleach
62:00I could find. I could not make, none of us would be worthy if
62:06that is the case. But the unworthy is an adverb. It describes the manner
62:12of eating. That is to say, We shouldn't eat this without a significant
62:18sense of respect for what God did for us at the cross of Calvary.
62:23Why don't you take, before we eat, why don't you take about a few
62:29seconds and just thank God for his dying for us. Thank God for his
62:34shed blood. Thank God that his blood is able to wash us and make
62:40us clean. Even right now, in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you for
62:46the cleansing blood. a crimson stream I see I see.
62:51I plunge and oh it cleanseth me. Hallelujah. Oh I
62:57respect and reverence your sacrifice on my behalf on our
63:03behalf. Thank you Lord. Thank you that as we eat
63:09today you're going to be healing sick bodies. Thank
63:14you that as we eat today, you're
63:20going to be fixing issues in our
63:25minds and in our hearts. Thank you.
63:31Thank you, Lord. Now I want you
63:36to open the top of your cup.
63:42Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.
63:47Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. I
63:53want you to hold the bread in your hand if you've managed to take
63:59the wafer out. Hold the wafer in your hand. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord.
64:05For I received from the Lord that which I also deliver to you, that
64:11the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread.
64:16And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat. This
64:22is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance
64:28of me. Why don't you eat this in honor of
64:34the Lord right now? Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Thank you
64:39for your shed blood. Thank you for your broken body.
64:45Thank you that you're wounded for my transgression. You were
64:50bruised for my iniquity. The chastisement of my peace was
64:56upon you. Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to
65:01God. And by your stripes, There is healing in
65:07this house right now. There is healing in this house
65:13right now. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. If you could open, if
65:19you could open the cup, if you could open the
65:25cup. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. In the same manner, he
65:31also took the cup after supper saying, this cup is
65:37a new covenant in my blood. This do
65:43as often as you drink it in remembrance
65:48of me. For as often as you eat
65:54this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim
65:59the Lord's death until he comes. Let's drink
66:05in the name of the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
66:10There is healing in his hands for you.
66:16Claim it right now. Reach out and know.
66:21Yes. There's healing power flowing.
66:27Bring all your broken pieces
66:32to the one whose love
66:38can make you new. There
66:43is healing in his hands
66:49for you. we're going to sing this two
66:54more times grab a hold of the healing power of god for your
67:00mind for your body for your marriage wherever it is needed in his
67:06hand yes yes for you yes sir hallelujah reach out and know reach
67:12out and there's healing power healing power flow
67:18Right now. Bring all your broken pieces
67:23to the one whose love can make
67:28you new. There's healing in his hands
67:34for you. One more time. One last
67:39time before we go. There is healing.
67:44There is healing in his hands for
67:50you.