Do not exalt yourself 03-06-23

All right, good morning, good morning, let me get this over, okay, all right. Good morning, everybody, good morning, good morning, Scott, good morning, good to see you this morning, let's put that back, that's way too close, a brick of faith, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, everybody, Miss Joy, good morning this morning, Ray, good to see you, sir, good morning, Miss Heidi, good, thank you so much, thank you, Miss Joy, already starting off the blessings of love, thank you, JT, good morning, my friend, good to see you this morning, good to see you, praise God, good morning, good morning, Jeff, good to see you, all right, you know, guys, I've been waking up in the morning, I usually drink coffee, I have been drinking, you can't see, I've been drinking warm water and lemon, so warm lemon juice, so morning, off to UCSF for two days of testing and procedures, prayers, please, Father God, I come in the name of Jesus, I pray that you would just bless this individual, that they would just, they've done the possible, Lord, Lord, but they lean on you to do the impossible, that you would bless them with recall, peace, understanding, that you'll watch over them, keep them, I ask this in the name of Jesus, amen, let me back up real quick, let me see something, hang on, wait a minute, let me look here, I have to look at that, this individual, morning, off to, for two days, testing and procedures, prayer, please, I was just there, I met with a doctor there, here, just in what, was that in, I think that was in December, no, maybe it was in January, I was just there, I was just there, it was interesting, when I walked in, I walked in and I was in the big corridor at UCSF, there's all those pictures of all the past deans and stuff, it was a pretty cool place, great doctors, Gary, I'm glad you're here, look what I got here, look what I got, Gary, a brother named Gary Gentile, he's right there, DC Gary G, Gary, these are my favorite pencils, y'all, if you've ever seen these pencils, how many of you heard, I've never heard of these pencils, look at that, I know it's black word, so it's called black wing, these things are nice, I will like highlight and stuff, Gary, I'm glad you're here, amen, good morning, good morning, but thank you, you said happy birthday, y'all, I'm 60 years old today, 60 years old, hey, well, I got a bunch of you on here right now, I want y'all to do me a favor, please, go to our church website, and it's Southern Ave, just the A-V-E, Missionary Baptist Church, all right, thank you, thank you, Southern Ave, A-V-E, Missionary Baptist Church, and I want you to do some things, I want you, and remember the website is still under construction, I've got to, I got to quit, I forget to say that, the website is still under construction, but then I want you to go to Southern Ave, Missionary Baptist Church, and I want you to scroll all the way to the bottom, and you can leave a review, now, the type of review I want you to leave is the one that you, unless you've been to the church, and some of you might have been, if you've been to the church, that's cool, but your review here will be, you know, I watched Pastor Paul on one of the platforms, and you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, if you could do that, that would be great, let me repeat it, that's Southern Ave, A-V-E, Missionary Baptist Church, that is our website, and so it's under construction, don't let me forget to tell you that, it's under construction, we've got some more things coming, where we're going to have you guys leave video reviews too, or of your testimony, but as for this, I want you to go into it, give it one star, three stars, hey, you know what, in this case, I see Pastor Paul on one of the platforms, and you know, he shares the gospel, and blah, blah, blah, whatever, whatever the Lord leads you to say, would you please do that, I woke up this morning, it was two or three new, thank you so much, there were two or three reviews there, but if you could do that, Brother JT Taylor, he's putting that together, once again, it's under construction, so you look at it, you're going to see some Latin, you're going to see some information that says volunteers, and good morning, lamb, and so, and lamb, you know, you're different, if you could go on our website, Southern Ave, A-V-E, Missionary Baptist Church, but you've been there, if you could give a review with regards to being there, the love, whatever God leads, I don't want to, I don't want to submit anything into your spirit, I want that to be organic and led by the Holy Spirit, so if you guys could do that for me, I would deeply appreciate it, once again, it is under construction, so you're going to see some Latin, you're going to see some pictures, and at the bottom, you'll see me and Miss Debbie, but if you could go ahead, and also, please, oh, and so boys, thank you for blessing us for our birthday, thank you so much, Miss Debbie, and I thank you so, so, so much, thank you so much, so as for the website, Southern Ave, Missionary Baptist Church, it's under construction, you'll see some Latin, you'll see some pictures, but there's going to be some more things coming up, too, also, sign up on our, our, what you want to call it, Jim, what would I call that, oh, yes, happy birthday, thank you so much, Jim, they can sign up on our what, our mailing list, get on our mailing list, go in there, put your, your email, your information, so that we can know a little about you, that we can, you know, partner in this, and it's, it's free, just sign up, and get in there, so that we can start creating this list, because what I hope to do is to send out collective group messages throughout the world, now, did you all hear what I said, not just the United States, but the world, I want to be able to send out from a small little church in Phoenix, Arizona, to our brothers and sisters in Africa, or England, or I should say, the UK, wherever that is, I want them to let them, let them know that we love them from Arizona, that we are doing a great work here, thank you so much, and we really want to do that, so go on our website, once again, Southern Avenue, yes, I'm in Arizona, Southern Ave Missionary Baptist Church, go on our website, once again, give us a review, because you watch the platform, the ministry on, you know, TikTok, if you've been to the church, please give that review, all right, testimonials are ready, so there you go, you can get on there, and give a testimonial, get registered, there you go, thank you, all right, everybody, yes, today is my birthday, I turned 60 years old at midnight last night, me and Miss Debbie sell our birthday, so hers is on the ninth, I mean, I'm sorry, hers is on the third, mine's on the the ninth, is when I started working my mind there, her birthday's on the third, mine's on the ninth, and we sell it on the sixth, we celebrate our birthdays three days, and so I, man, I love it, yes, Southern Avenue Missionary Baptist Church, that's the name of the church, if you want to find us, that's how you look for us, but if you're looking for it on the website, we shorten that Avenue to Ave, A-V-E, so cool, yeah, 60 years old, guys, I tell you what, just yesterday, I was, you know, 18 years old, hanging out with my buddies, it was just yesterday that I remembered just being in high school or college, and the time goes just like that, and man, what a blessing to make 60 years old, what a, what a blessing, it looks like it's going to be a great sight, oh, well, JT, that's the guy, Jim Taylor, but what a blessing to make 60 years old, I used to be young, I think 60 was old, now that I'm 60, I look back and I said, where did the time go, you know, I feel good, I'm starting to minimize my coffee, I'm drinking in the morning water and lemon, I'm going to try to keep that up as long as possible, I'm definitely going to try to eat better, I do that every year, and I end up messing up, grabbing a burger and fries eventually, but I'm going to try to, and just, I want to do the possible while God does the impossible, so yes, a birthday, man, you know, I'm so blessed, so blessed to see another year, but hey, you know what, enough about me, enough about me, I got to share something with you all real quick, we've read this before, but I preached about it yesterday, and we had an incredible, an incredible service yesterday, I mean, the Holy Spirit was present, and God really did something powerful at church yesterday, and folks, that's one thing I'm excited about our church, we are a small group, I know I get messages all the time, I'm going to, you know, visit or I'm going to come see you, and how did the things go on the job interview? You know what, let me answer questions before I get started, so I went in the job interview at ACE, and long story short, we didn't even really talk about, we didn't really talk about the job, we talked about, you know, how people work, their work ethics, this, that, so on and so forth, family, and then before the interview, at the end of the so-called interview, he's like, hey, when could you start? I'm like, when do you want me to start? And so he said, the 9th, and I said, I'm in, so he gave it to me right there on the spot, so, you know, I tell you guys this, it's, you know, historically, I've been in the medical field, I've consulted, I've made, I've been blessed to make an enormous amount of money before I retired, even in consulting, I was, you know, just here recently, I, my consulting gig paid $75 an hour, well, this particular job does not even come close to that, but that's, that's not what I'm trying to, that's not the point I'm trying to get to, I am looking forward to driving two miles away, I'm looking forward to working with some super friendly people, and I'm looking forward to meeting the public, meeting, I could have did that in my old job, don't get me wrong, but really meeting customers, and, and you know the world today, people are angry, they're upset, they're depressed, they're, you know, they're high-strung, they're, there are a lot of things, but I am really looking forward to getting out there in public, meeting people face-to-face, and if necessary, use words, but I'm going to share the gospel continuously every day with my actions, my attitude, and we talked about what the Christian worker looks like, if you remember, but I'm looking forward to just helping people to see the light of Christ in the actions that God does through me. Remember, Jesus Christ went to the cross for forgiveness, but he lives within for deliverance. I'm, I'm, I'm excited, so thank you for asking, I did get the gig, and, and I'm excited to be there, matter of fact, the manager even said to me, I said, now I'm going to be very transparent with you, he goes, I want you to be you, I said, now me as an amen and hallelujah, I go, I don't say it too loud, but I'll say it, he said, please don't change that, so I'm, I'm, I'm excited, okay, all right, the Bible is over, and the babies read minds from around the world, judgment day is now, okay, so many will bless, so many will be blessed, I'm off, have a blessed day, Tarah 6, hey, good to see you, have a wonderful day, bless you, have a great day, I'm shopping in Ace now, that store will be blessed, I love Ace, Ace is the place with a hard work, helpful man, yeah, so Ace in Arizona on power, so if you're ever in Arizona, you want to come, well, come by the church, but if you want to come by Ace, we'll be there, amen, all right, let's get started, church yesterday, guys, beautiful, we had a beautiful service, turn your Bible, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, we read this before, but we're going to read it again, because I got to, I got to connect some things to it, go for it, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, give you a moment to sit there, okay, get there, all right, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, let's pray real quick, Father God, thank you, thank you for allowing me to see another day, thank you for allowing me to turn 60, thank you for the many blessings that you bestowed on me, Lord, Lord, I pray that you would just bless us as we read your word, that you would bless us, Father God, that we would open up our hearts and allow the word to renew our mind, Father God, we thank you, we praise you, we honor you, we lift you up in the name of Jesus, amen, all right, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, we know the author's Paul, and Paul at the beginning from, let's see, verse 1, chapter 12, verse 1 to verse 6, Paul talks about that the Lord takes him to a third heaven, Paul talks about the third heaven, meaning the throne room of grace, the throne room of God, and Paul is letting us know that he saw things, he heard things that just were unexplainable, he didn't have the words to express what he saw, and so, but in that he says, but you know what, God did something, or I should say that God allowed me to see this with this revelation, I didn't want to get full of myself, and then we pick up on verse 7, watch this, because, and we're in 12-7, because of this surpassing greatness of the revelation, for this revelation, or I should say, let me start from the beginning, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, did you get that, did you guys get that, Paul says because I got this incredible revelation, because I went to the third heaven, he says in verse 7, he says, this surpassing greatness of the revelation, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, now we don't know, and I've repeated this before, and we've gone over this before, but I need to take you somewhere, but I need to lay the foundation of what I'm going to speak about right now, we don't know what that thorn was, some have speculated that, you know, it was a chronic illness, it was a deformity, it was something, but whatever it is, it caused discomfort, whatever it is, it caused him a discomfort, where to the point it was noticeable, he felt it day in day out, and he says that it was a thorn that was given, he says that this thorn was to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of satan to torment me, and I repeat, to keep me from exalting myself, you know, I appreciate the apostle Paul, I respect the apostle Paul, and to be very transparent, I'm named after him, but he is my favorite apostle, and the reason why, not to mention that he wrote a good majority of the New Testament, not to mention that he was an intellect beyond imagination, I mean, I'm sure that his contemporary credentials would rival any theologian that has attended the most intense seminary, he knew the law, he understood the law, he studied under the feet of Gamaliel, he grew up in Tarsus, a university town, I'm sure Paul could have went to different places and saw some Greek philosophers on one corner speaking Latin, or even Koenig Greek, he could have easily gone to another corner and seen the Roman philosophers in their area, and he was probably this individual, but on all of that, he was a true Jew, he understood the Old Testament, he understood the law, and he was deep, but when, if you remember the book of Acts, now wait a minute, let's real quick, let's get a reference point, let's go back to the book of Acts, let's go back to the book of Acts, chapter 7, the book of Acts chapter 7, if you remember chapter 6, Stephen was chosen to, if you will, share the gospel, Stephen was, well, he was chosen to attend to tables, remember that the apostles were voicing a concern that they were being overwhelmed, so now they selected some gentlemen to serve tables, so Stephen basically was a server for the kingdom of God, but if you look in chapter 7, it says, verse 1, the high priest said, are these things so? Why? Because now they're accusing Stephen, the wicked men of the area, accusing Stephen of speaking against the law, speaking against Moses, and he said, hear me, brethren, this is Stephen talking in verse 272 in Acts, he says, and hear me, brethren and fathers, the God of glory appeared to our fathers Abraham, and when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, he said to him, leave your country, and Stephen goes on to break down the entry point of Abraham all the way to Jesus Christ, he breaks down the gospel, he chronologically breaks it down to the religious elite, because remember, the city that he was in, they were coming against Stephen because Stephen was sharing the gospel, now let's fast track a bit, let's go to Acts 7, starting with voice, you guys have got to excuse me this morning, I've had my coffee, I'm trying to detox, man, my mind is clear, but I'm just a lot of energy, so in the book of Acts, chapter 7, as we fast track, let's go to verse 57, right, so here we go, Stephen put to death, it says in 57, but they cried out with a loud voice and covered their ears and rushed him with one impulse, let's stop right there, so now the religious elite, the people of the town, the people of the synagogue don't want to hear what he has to say about Jesus, they don't want to hear what he has to say about the gospel, and now they have carried him outside of the town, they have rushed him, and when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and watch this, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul, wait a minute, now we're talking about Paul, remember his name used to be Saul, but while they're going to stone Stephen, and they are going to stone Stephen, he's preached the gospel, he has told them from Abraham to Jesus, how Jesus came into the picture out of the lineage where he came from, and now they're upset, they don't want to accept the truth, and now they take him outside the city, and they stone him, now remember in the country, or I should say in Israel, or in that region, judgment was immediate, and it was by stoning, so people would take up rocks, and they would literally stone the person to death right there, but I want you to hear who was standing there witnessing this stoning, and I repeat, but they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears, that means the listeners, the religious elite, people of the synagogue, and they cried out, and covered their ears, and rushed at him with one impulse, and when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul, this would be eventually the apostle Paul, he was there, he condoned the stoning of Stephen, he persecuted the church, watch this, they went on stoning Stephen as he called out, now Stephen called out on the Lord, and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord do not hold this sin against him, having said this, he fell asleep, meaning he died right there on the spot, chapter 8, verse 1, Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him, meaning Jesus, to death, Saul, and that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea, Samaria, except the apostles, some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud laminations over him, but Saul began to, began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison, think about it, this is Paul, who was previously Saul, now let's jump back to 2nd Corinthians, let's jump back to 2nd Corinthians, Paul understood grace, Paul understood what he had done to the church, he understood, he stood there and held the cloaks of those men that were stoning Stephen, he incarcerated men and women for their beliefs, and he understood grace, but here in 2nd Corinthians, Paul is saying that the revelation I was, that I received, the revelation that God had given me, the ability to comprehend the word of God as Paul, not Saul, because Saul had good, his intentions, his zeal was there, but it wasn't on the right thing, have you ever met people that have incredible zeal, but it's not on the right thing, have you met a religious person, they are so religious, they are so dogmatic, they are so committed, but it's not the right thing, that was Paul, when he was Saul, but now he says right here, he says, because of the surpassing, verse 7, 2nd Corinthians 12, 7, thank you Lambriel for putting those verses there, 2nd Corinthians 12, 7, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me, to keep me from exalting myself, concerning this I implore the Lord three times, that it might leave me alone, verse 9, and he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness, we'll stay right there, so right there folks, listen to that, listen to that, Paul in his intellectual ability, understanding the word of God, receives the powerful revelation, is now telling us, so that he does not exalt himself, lift himself, put himself before God, God gives him something, a thorn in the flesh, why? To keep him dependent on the Lord. Let's stop right there. Do you know the Lord wants you and I to be completely dependent on Him? Do you know that the Lord wants you and I, you and I, not just me, but all of us, there's 187 of you, hear me out right now, the Lord wants you to be completely dependent on Him. See, some of you have been taught you're independent. My father used to tell her growing up, and I cringe every time I hear this, and I know why he did it, my father-in-law used to tell my wife growing up, you take care of yourself, Miha, you don't need a man, you take care of yourself, and he was putting this, and I know why he did it, I'm not judging him, I know why he did it, but that mindset, when we tell our children that, that mindset is telling them that you do not need anyone, that you are able to take care of yourself, and that within itself is a dangerous teaching, because the Word of God teaches us that we need to be, what? Dependent on God in the name of Jesus. Paul had the gift of intellect, Paul had the ability to articulate, Paul had the ability to to navigate when it came to the world at that time, but God gave him this thorn that he would never exalt himself, that he would be completely dependent on God, and that last part which says, for my grace is sufficient, grace, we talked about this, that unmerited favor, my grace is sufficient, okay, let's ask ourselves this, let me take a sip here, sufficient for what? You might be going through a health issue right now, the doctors have told you something that seems impossible to overcome, God's grace is sufficient, you might be dealing with some financial issues right now, you might be in a position where you are unable to take care of your family, God's grace is sufficient, you might be going through a relationship issue, you might be saying right now, I don't even know if my marriage is going to make it the next day, God's grace is sufficient, you might have been, if you will, to some degree separated with regards to a relationship with that child, or children, or parent, vice versa, meaning you haven't spoken to your child, or the child hasn't spoken to the parent, hasn't spoken to the parent, and you, there might be this divide that you don't know, you're praying every day, Lord, let me see that parent, let me see that child, let me see that sibling one more time before anything happens, God's grace is sufficient, you might be working for a company, you don't know if you're going to have your job, not due to the fact anything you've done, maybe the company is about to sell, maybe they're about to downsize, but God's grace is sufficient, so we get back to what Paul says, he says right there, he says, I've prayed to the Lord three times, not once, not twice, but three times, Lord, take this pain, and we don't know, and I reiterate, we do not know, and we will not know what this thorn was, and I think it's open for interpretation so that it may apply to you, because if it was something in particular, you would say, well, I don't have that, but if it's open for interpretation, you can say, I can relate to that, so this thorn is placed in the side, but the point it is placed there, number one, so that Paul does not exalt himself, but number two, that he's completely dependent on God, completely dependent on God, why? Because God says, for my grace is sufficient, he says it right there, let me read it again, he says right there in verse nine, and he said to me, my grace is sufficient, watch this, for you, for my power is perfected in weakness, see, now this is where I'm gonna take you, for God's power is perfected, you ever say anything is not perfect, have you ever said, no one's perfect, nothing's perfect, God's power is perfected in your weakness, and when you have a complete dependency on the Lord, I know I was talking to a young man the other day, he said, I had to call him out, he said, you know, and he was joking, he said, you know, if I live, if I'm still here, and I get what we're saying, because tomorrow's not promised, but he said it in a joking way, and I said, I want you to quit that, I want you to quit that, now he goes, well, you understand, I've got a lot of health problems, but you gotta remember, you might have a lot of health problems, but remember that in my weakness, God's, it said right there, it said, in my weakness, God's power is perfected, in my sickness, God's power is perfected, in my depression, God's power is perfected, I met a preacher the other day, and he said, you know, I wrestle with depression, y'all gonna get this, you're gonna get this, you need to pass this, we got 182, people need to hear this right now, you need to hear this right now, and the Lord said in the verse, and he said to me, my grace is sufficient for my power is perfected in weakness, I met this minister the other day, and he says, I have wrestled with depression, and I remember as he looked at me, he said it, and I could read in his eyes, I'm telling you this, brother, because I love you, but don't judge me, he was saying it, he didn't say it, but I could read it, I'm telling you, brother, because I love you, but don't judge me, and I wasn't judging him, because God was putting something on me, and he said, I deal with battles of depression, he goes, and I said, well, when did you, when did you start realizing that you were wrestling with depression, watch this, watch this, he said, he said, I remember in high school, he goes, it got really bad, he said, in high school, really bad, he said, and it was to the point that my parents had to put me on some type of medication, I said, okay, he says, but as I've grown older, and he's in his 40s now, he says, as I've grown older, I don't have to use the medications, I know what triggers it off, I know what causes me, he goes, but I still wrestle with depression, watch this, and then we both agreed, watch this, and he said to me, after Paul asked the Lord three times, take this from me, and he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness, I told this minister, it is you admitting that your weakness, come on, is the depression, and in the depression, watch this, watch this, watch this, it's, God is, power has been perfected, because now God has acknowledged that you've acknowledged your weakness, it is being perfected, and God is using you, because you know why, for God's grace is sufficient, because it's only God's grace that would get this minister through, it's only God's grace that allowed him to preach the word, it's only God's grace that he was able to say that, because why, I repeat, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness, you know what, I got to do something real quick, I got to highlight this, so I quit, I looked down, I got a few things underlined, but I want to make sure I highlight this, hang on, hang on, hang on, all right, see, folks, you might be going through something, you might be dealing with something, that God can take that thing, God can take that situation, and his grace is sufficient to get you through, because we all have stuff, we all have mess, we all have distress, we all dealing with something, each one of us, each one of us, I don't, you all don't have to tell me, tell God, but he knows, and you have been struggling with this, you have been dealing with this, but look at that, once again, God's grace is sufficient, for his power is perfected in your weakness, if you're struggling with health problems, know that God's grace can get you through, now, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, that doesn't mean that God's going to heal you all the time, but God's grace is sufficient to get you through, that doesn't mean God is going to restore what you've been asking, but God's grace is sufficient to get you through, that doesn't mean that you're going to transition overnight from one job to another, and all this money is going to pour in, but God's grace is sufficient to get you through, do you get my drift? God's grace is sufficient in every circumstance that comes our way, this is why we end our prayer, let your will be done, and even Jesus said that, let your will be done, for Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane asked, let thy cup be taken away, but let your will be done, see these prosperity ministries out here will teach you that if you name it and claim it, if you do this and do that and so on, no, that is a lie from the depths of hell, God is sovereign, and he is not a puppet, and we are not puppeteers, his grace is sufficient to carry us through, carry us through any circumstance and situation that we go through and quit, I can manifest this, there's no such thing, I do believe in optimism, I do believe, I even say things, I don't, I don't, I used to have an old Datsun truck, I used to have an old Datsun truck, it didn't look like much, but it got me where I needed to go, and if somebody ever walked and said, is this thing going to make it? I wouldn't even let that negativity be around me, I do believe there's power in the tongue, however, I don't believe that we can manifest what is that is in God, all right, we're going to come back to this, because I want to show you something else, if you don't mind, turn your Bibles to the left a bit, all right, turn your Bibles, turn your Bibles to 2nd Chronicles, 2nd Chronicles 32 31, 2nd Chronicles 32 31, please, 2nd Chronicles 32 31, 2nd Chronicles 32 31, I want you to hear this verse, 2nd Chronicles 32 31, even in the matter of the invoice of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone, only to test him that he might know all that was in his heart, we are talking about King Hezekiah, let me read the verse again, he is going to come under attack, he is going to be, if you will, the enemies of God, the enemies of the country are going to come at him, but look what it says, God left him alone, only to test him that he might know all that was in his heart, watch this, God is all-knowing, he knows what's in your heart, but what God will do, he will assist you to self-evaluate yourself, let me repeat that, God will assist you and I to evaluate ourselves when it comes to our faith, do you hear what I'm saying, God will allow you to go through something, to endure something, to experience something that you can evaluate what's in your heart with regards to your faith, let me tell you a story, we have a young lady in our church named Stephanie, Stephanie is 40 years old, she's been loyal to our ministry from day one with me, she grew up, was baptized by my father, she was literally as a baby in our church and now she's in our praise she's in our praise and worship, she has a wonderful husband named Siobhan, she's got two beautiful kids, she's got a big family, her grandmother's at church all the time and she is just a beautiful person, well at the beginning of the year, January, the first Sunday of January, and Lambriel you know who Stephanie is, Stephanie and Siobhan and their two babies, at the beginning of the year, first Sunday of the year, she was missing in church and I was quite surprised because I didn't get a phone call and I was a little worried and then the following Sunday, her husband reached out and said, hey we won't be at church, Stephanie's under the weather, flu, I said okay, well the following Sunday after that, the third Sunday of the month, Stephanie shows up at church with her beautiful family and every beginning of church, we all go around and hug each other, when it got time, oh and my matter of fact, she was up in the choir stand and she was singing, everything was normal and when I went to go hug her, she hugged me with a hug that was just unbreakable, she gripped and she hugged me like, and I treat her like my daughter, she hugged me like I hug Kiana, she hugged me and she was crying like nobody's business and I was, what's wrong, what's wrong, but it was the beginning of church, I couldn't, you know talk at that moment and so after church, she came to me and Miss Debbie and she said, I was in the hospital for seven days, I said what, she said, I went to the hospital with flu-like symptoms, all right, flu-like symptoms and she goes, I didn't think much of it, Pastor Paul and the crazy thing about that and I'll tell you in a minute, I don't want to get off story here, she goes, I went to the hospital, flu-like symptoms, I didn't think about it much, she goes, when I'm at the hospital for two days, they're running tests, they're giving me saline, I think I'm, I was, I thought I was dehydrated and she goes, when the doctor came in and said, we're afraid to tell you that your kidneys are failing and you're going to need dialysis as soon as possible. This is a loyal Christian woman, she devotes her time and efforts to the ministry with emphasis on Miss Debbie and myself, she's grown up in the church, she's been in our building from day one, she was in the old building, she has two kids, both in grade school, she has a devoted loving husband, she gives all that she has, she blesses the ministry, she sings and prays in worship, she has been a mediator when things have gone down, she's been a communicator when things needed to be communicated, she's been loyal to the soil and she gets word from the doctors, her kidneys are failing and she's going to need dialysis. Now this hit me different because that was my profession, I worked many years and it has been, I have been an advocate for people with renal failure, kidney failure, I have been in surgery with physicians, I've trained doctors to put in access related issues, overseeing 50, this hit me different because dialysis means three days a week, three to four hours a day, every day for the rest of your life until two things happen, either you get a transplant or you die and she's sitting in a hospital room wrestling with news that her kidneys are failing and the interesting thing about this for her, she's familiar with this because her uncle lost his kidney and his brother donated a kidney and so she's sitting in the hospital room with this news, wrestling with this news and she gave her testimony at church Sunday and she said, as I sat there I asked myself why and then she said, but the next question that came out of her mouth is, Lord please, please, please don't let this happen to me, please do not let me die, please do not and she said, she started thinking about, watch this, watch this, watch it, she started thinking about something that happened to her when she was three years old, her mother, Monica, I knew her mother, Monica would have been the same age as me, me and Monica grew up in church together, her mother Monica went home to be with the Lord when Stephanie was three years old and she started reflecting back to losing her mother at a young age and now she started saying, please Lord, don't take me because I do not want my little boy and little girl to go through what I went through, please Lord, spare me, have mercy and grace on me. Second Chronicles, once again, Second Chronicles 32, 31, God left him alone only to test him that he might know all that was in his heart. God will test you to let you evaluate yourself and examine yourself with regards to your faith. It's a test. God was testing Stephanie. God was testing Stephanie. Now, God is all-knowing. He knows what's in your heart. Don't get this twisted. God knows what's in your heart. He knows where your faith is at, but he assists you in that self-evaluation to understand where you are in your circumstance. Like King Hezekiah, and I repeat, God left him alone only to test him that he might know all that was in his heart. Stephanie said that the first hospital she was at, two days, they didn't have a nephrologist on board, so they had to ship her to another hospital. She was there for five days. She even, while in the hospital, coded, because what they did is they gave her blood pressure medicine, six pills, and they made her blood pressure drop. All of a sudden, full-blown code, where they had to bum-rush her room. Why? Because she was about to flatline. Because she was about to flatline. But God showed her grace and mercy. But she said something powerful yesterday in church. Now, here is the test. Here's what happened. You ready? She said, when I was alone and my husband was at home with the kids, she said, I had to fight my thoughts in my head. So Satan kept whispering fear in my head. And she goes, and I kept telling myself, we don't have the spirit of fear, but love and sound mind. She kept saying, and Pastor Paul sent me this verse, for my grace is sufficient. And she said in her hospital bed, she started lifting up her hands and she started singing unto the Lord. I want you to imagine that. I want you to imagine you are a nurse at the nurse's station. You have a 40-year-old patient. You've been empathetic about her. You understand she's a mother. She's a wife. You understand that she's in bad shape. She has kidney failure. You at the nurse's station, you're all talking about it. Your hearts are heavy, and you walk by her room, and this young lady's got her hands in the bed. She's lifting up, tears coming out of her eyes, and she's giving honor and praise to God and the circumstances she's in. Because God was assisting her to examine her faith. What does failure look like in faith? I've seen it. Failure in faith looks like this. You're taking your circumstance, you're taking your situation, and you're balling your fist, and you're asking God, why me? Why me? I do so much for you, God. I'm in the praise and worship. I preach the word. I do everything and volunteer at the church. Why are you doing this to me? You owe me, God. And there's no peace. That is a fail of faith. But not Stephanie. Stephanie passed with flying colors. She had a piece, and she did one thing. Watch this. She took all of it. The two days in the hospital the first time, then transporting into another hospital. Even when they need to get a biopsy, they have to even when they need to get a biopsy, they had to transfer to another hospital to have a biopsy team there. And all of that, she took all of that, and she put that at the throne of grace and left it there. And she lifted up her hands and said, I cannot do anything about this. I'm going to hit this head on, for God is greater than my circumstance. I'm going to trust in him, and I don't care what the devil says. She's been in, and I looked at the church on Sunday. I said, now, as you, and she was in front of the church talking about this. I looked at the church. I said, did any of you realize, watch this, watch this, watch this, watch this. I said, did any of you realize that she was going through this as she's doing praise and worship, and everybody in the church was like, I said, because you are seeing the grace of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit on her life. Some people, no, don't get me wrong, some people, you'll know something's wrong. Some people, you know, because they'll be complaining against the Lord. Some people will, and I'm not judging folks, I get it. We get angry, things happen. But some people, you can tell there's something going on in their life, and that they are, that something has been disrupted, and their faith is lacking. But Stephanie, you couldn't see it. She got up there on praise and worship, and she sang her heart out. She cried like a baby, and the congregation, I wish y'all would have been in church Sunday. The congregation, everybody in the room was crying. Everybody in the room was crying. You want to know why? You want to know why? She passed the test. Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. This is for y'all right now. This is for y'all right now, because you got to understand this. See, you and I are going to be faced with some tragedy at some time. It might be, it might be the tragedy of losing a parent. It might be the tragedy of financial ruin, or health issues, or whatever that is. We are going to endure some mess. It's going to happen. I know, I know, we want everything to be okay. We want everything to be perfect. We want everything to be, you know, smooth. We want everything easy. But that's not life, because life brings hardship. Life brings pain. Life will bring events that will just... But watch this. That's God's way of assisting you to evaluate your faith. But here, after Stephanie got done talking, I read this to her. Watch this. 1210, 2 Corinthians 1210. I want you to hear this. Y'all hear this. This is, all this is pointing to this. Therefore, Paul says, therefore, I am well content with weakness. See, there was a point when See, there was a point when Stephanie became content with the weakness. My kidneys have failed. There is no positive information on the horizon. I am completely dependent on God. But I'm going to be okay. I'm content with my weakness, with insults, with distress, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake. This is why she was lifted up her hand and said, Lord, I, she said she was singing in her, and singing. That means there were people in earshot that were hearing God get all the glory. When this young lady at 40 years old, with a husband and two little kids, dealing with the fact that she lost her mother at three, and that her kidneys are failing. God was getting the glory. Watch this, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, watch this, for when I am weak, oh my, my, my, my, my, then I'm strong. That's the combination of it all. For when I am weak, I am made strong. Because why? Because why? I am dependent on the Lord. I get it. You might be in a very intense battle right now. You might be struggling with your faith right now. Satan might be whispering every negative thing that can be possibly said in your ear right now. But I want you to stand on the word. I want you to praise the Lord. I want you to say to yourself in my weakness, the Lord makes me strong. For his grace is sufficient to get me through. For his grace is perfected in my weakness. For this is the defining moment and the breakthrough moment that God is going to get to me. And Satan, get behind me, because I don't got time for you. I'm going to praise God in this. And whatever God decides to do, I'm okay with that. I am okay with that. Yes, others, and that, that, that, that, that, right there, buddy, you said something deep. See, Paul dealing with the thorn, I am sure, was known by the other apostles, the other disciples. I'm sure Timothy, the protege of Paul, understood this thorn, this pain, whatever that is that buffeted. But also Timothy knew that even though Paul was dealing with this physical issue, Paul proclaimed the gospel. Even though Paul was crippled by this, this, this, whatever it might be that he prayed three times, that, that, that, that, that the onlookers, the witnesses, the individuals that would work by his side said, even though he is in that situation, that circumstance, he declares the gospel in season and out. He proclaims the cross. Even as he is hurting, he says, the preaching of the cross is foolishness to some, but not to me. I like that because iron sharpens iron. And because of Stephanie's situation and her circumstance and her attitude of gratitude, not only did she pass the test, she looks at God and says, God, you will provide the kidney that I need because my faith is in you. Now, where did she get that thought from? Where did she get that from? She was thinking about Abraham when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. And as Isaac and Abraham pulled up to Mount Moriah, Abraham looked at the two other men that were with him and said, we will be back. And if you go to the book of Hebrews, Abraham was going to sacrifice his son because he knew God could raise him from the dead. Why? Abraham had never seen it before, but he knew his God. Abraham wasn't sure how it was all going to work out, but he understood who God was. And the same way, Stephanie is saying, God, I know you are able. She's not speaking it into existence. She's speaking to God. She knows God is able. See, that's the difference. God, you are able. So, she even told me, she said, Pastor, I'm not. She's on. Oh, last Wednesday, she got her PD, peritoneal dialysis catheter placed in her abdomen area. She's going to do home dialysis. She'll probably be starting that here in the next couple of weeks. But you know what she said? I'm not going to be on that too long. I said, well, excuse me, I'm not going to be on that too long because God is going to be able to provide me with a kidney. Why? Joshua said it. Joshua said it. Why? He's able. And that's one of the songs, my favorite song, is she sings that up in the praise. He's able. He's able. But folks, let me, let me, let me shut this portion down with this 735. Whatever you're going through, whatever you are doing, whatever you're dealing with, whatever the circumstance, whatever your situation, he's able. Today, I turned 60 years old and I can boldly tell you with all sincerity, God is able. He's never lost a battle. He's never lost a person. He can restore. He can do. There's nothing. And God said it. And he said it before. Is there anything impossible for God? No. No. I know some of you say, well, God can't lie. Well, we're not talking about that. We know God can't lie. But when it comes to restoring that relationship, when it comes to healing, when it comes to repairing, when it comes to deliverance, when it comes to the victory, God is able. I don't care if you've been a drug addict for a hundred years. God is able. I don't care if your marriage has fallen apart. God is able to restore. I don't care if that relationship that you had with the family has been devastated and destroyed. God is able to restore. He's able to heal. He's able to repair. He's able to what? Give you that breakthrough. He's able. But you got to pass the test. Praise him when things aren't so good. Thank you so much. Praise him when the money's not coming in anymore. Praise him when the marriage has fallen apart. Praise him when the kids have just left and not calling you back. Praise him in every circumstance. Maybe the job is acting crazy and they sent you on your way. Praise him. He's able. He's able. All right, everybody. Amen. I hope that blessed some of y'all. If any new folks are on here, please go to our church website, Southern Ave, not the Avenue, but A-B-E, Southern Ave Missionary Baptist Church. Go on the website. I want you to register because now I can stay in contact with you. If TikTok goes south, we'll be able to contact you and send information out to you. Okay, now let me warn you. JT and I have been working on the website. JT's been working on the website. I've just been listening. You're going to read some of it. Some of it's in Latin. That won't always be there. It's under construction. It's progressively going the right way. I need to request her. Oh, somebody needs prayer requests. What's going on, sister? Redbird5, what's going on? Okay, I'm going to keep talking about it. I'm going to look down here. If I miss it, y'all remind me what was requested. Southern Ave, A-B-E, Southern Ave Missionary Baptist Church. Go on there and I want you to register one thing. Then I want you guys to give us some testimonies. If you've watched on TikTok, if you have a personal testimony of what God has done, please go on there. Let us know. Maybe you've gotten blessed over the years with regards to watching these TikToks. Please go on there. Register. Give us a review. Leave a review. Honest review. If you think we're one star on TikTok, give us the one star. That's fine. You're just being honest with it. Now, I'll tell you, if it is a one star, I hope Jim can take it off because I would be bummed out. It is what it is. With that being said, the website's evolving. I want you to register so we can keep in contact, so we can send out information. Amen. Please do that. Southern Ave, A-B-E, Missionary Baptist Church. All right. Yes, it's my birthday today. I'm 60 years old. Praise be to God to get 60. Do you know I didn't think I was going to live past 37? 36. You know, I thought at five years old, I had came to a conclusion I was going to do two things at five. Number one, that I would preach and teach to the masses. Now, psychologically, you know what I thought? Well, I was five years old. You do the math. At five years old, it was 1968. In the 60s, what, in the 60s, now I'm going, as I think back, psychology and why I thought at five years old that I was going to be this teacher that taught to the masses. At five years old, in 1968, but psychology wise, what was going on in the world in the 60s that I thought I would do that? Anybody can even guess? I mean, that's a pretty broad. Repeat, Southern Ave, Missionary Baptist Church. That's A-B-E. We don't put the whole avenue. So, A-B-E. So, Southern Ave, Missionary Baptist Church. And if you could go on there and war, amen, Vietnam War was going on, assassinations. Remember who was assassinated? You had the civil rights movement. You had Martin Luther. You had Malcolm X. You had the Kennedy brothers. And so, me, I think subconsciously, at five years old, I just saw that. My dad talked about it, who my father was, you know, because my father was involved in the civil rights movement in Arizona. I just aspired. I thought I was going to do that. That's the number one. That's the number one thing I thought at five years old. Number two, I thought at five years old that I was going to die at 36 years old. I'm telling you, I thought for sure at 36 years old, I would die. I lived my life from the age of 18 until 36. I lived my life as if I was going to die at 36 years old. Surfing, doing crazy stuff, surfing, doing crazy stuff, jumping out of crazy stuff, shooting, you name it. I lived my life that I was going to die at 36 years old, because at five years old, I figured I'm going to grow up to be this, you know, speaker of masses, and I'm going to speak to people, and I'm going to die at 36 years old. But as I became an adult, I started thinking back. I'm like, oh, I just thought that way because I was, you know, my father and what was going on in the world. But I still thought, I haven't, you know, I'm just a regular guy. I don't speak to people. I don't speak to, you know, a group of people. I'm not going to pastor a church. I remember being in my 20s and 30s thinking that, never thinking anything else, but I was on my surfboard. I was about 35 at this time, and I was on my surfboard, and me and Miss Debbie were financially just going in the dumps. We were literally homeless, living in a camper up and down the beach, and I literally, at 35, started talking to the Lord, and guess what? I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at 36 years old, so I died. Y'all didn't get that, did you? I died to the world at 36 years old, and the Lord lives within me. Watch this. I'm going to give you the verse that supports what I'm saying here. Hang on. Hang on. I don't think y'all got me. I don't think you got me there. Watch this. Hang on. Oh, my, my, my, my, my, my, my. Oh, I hope I can find it. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, so at 36 years old, I died, and Christ lives, and I live by faith in him, so I did. Now, though, remember the first part I said five years old? I thought I was going to speak to the masses. I thought I was going to do this and do that. Hi, my name is Pastor Paul. I'm on TikTok. It's God. It's God. So, wow. I love it. I love it. Amen. Well, y'all, I just praise God for you. Missile Voice, I want to thank you again for blessing the ministry. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for our birthdays. I appreciate that. All of you. Bo La Tourette, if you're listening, I want to thank you, brother. Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about a friend of mine named Bo La Tourette. It's a great story. Where is that verse? Galatians 320? Is that Galatians? Help me out here, guys. You know I need some help sometimes. I need to get by with a little help from my friends. I think that was Galatians 320. Let me make sure. Galatians. Oh, I'm sorry. 220. Galatians 220. Galatians 220. Tomorrow, I want to talk about a friend of mine named Bo. Bo has been a blessing in my life. But I want to tell y'all how I met Bo. And do you know Bo is probably listening right now. Bo has been a blessing to my family. My family. To my family. Not just to me, but my whole family. And it was an encounter that took place a few years ago that has made us friends today. So tomorrow, I'll talk about that. So, folks, thank you. Thank you for all the happy birthday wishes. Please, once again, go on our website. Because if I don't do this, JT will get me. Go on our website. It's under construction. So if you see some Latin, if you see pictures, different random pictures, you'll see me and Miss Debbie at the very bottom. But please go on our website. It's under construction. And see, because yesterday, while I was praying, I said that all of a sudden. When? Because yesterday, while I was praying, I said that all of a sudden. You said what? Just got number three, gift or badge. Oh, thank you so much. Thank you. Happy birthday. March, baby. Yep. Did you start at Asia? I started on 9th. I'll be there at 0830 with my little vest on. Yep. Thank you. Thank you. Is that Shalanda's? Shalanda's. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Happy birthday again. Love and hugs to you and Miss Debbie. Thank you so much. We received that. The verse you just said? Yes. What about it? Galatians. Galatians 220. I love you all. Stay in prayer. Stay in God's word and meditate that we may be ready for the battle. Amen. Happy birthday, pastor. Have a blessed day. Kim, thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you so much. Let's see. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I said it right. Praise God. Roof update. Thank you. Roof is going to be starting tomorrow morning. So they're going to be out there tomorrow morning. Thank you, Josh. I can't do a live here. I'm going to be on the roof. So I will do a live from the roof. Is that good, everybody? I'm so sorry. Thank you, Josh. I can't do a live here. I'm going to be at the church. They're going to be there. Did you get your job? Yes. Asia, I did it. They hired me. So I started on the 9th. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. Woo-hoo. 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