WEBVTT 00:00:00.441 --> 00:00:02.950 and pick up your bibles and lift them up, wave them around. 00:00:02.950 --> 00:00:04.706 Make Jesus glad and the devil mad. 00:00:04.706 --> 00:00:07.086 Think we've already made him pretty mad. 00:00:07.086 --> 00:00:10.867 Praise the Lord Devil, get ready to get enraged. 00:00:10.867 --> 00:00:19.815 Just, you know we're gonna just hallelujah, come on, wave them around. 00:00:19.815 --> 00:00:23.583 No, I love to see that in the bibles Wave of bibles around. 00:00:23.583 --> 00:00:24.426 Glory to God. 00:00:24.426 --> 00:00:26.565 Let's say this again say have any father. 00:00:26.565 --> 00:00:29.466 I am so glad to be here. 00:00:29.466 --> 00:00:34.731 My heart is ready and receptive to Bible truth. 00:00:34.731 --> 00:00:38.450 It's Bible truth that my life is founded upon. 00:00:38.450 --> 00:00:53.933 I'm bringing forth fruit for the kingdom and for the glory of my heavenly father, because of your word and your Holy Spirit, in Jesus name, amen. 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.508 Turn your bibles to Hebrews, chapter 10, please. 00:00:56.508 --> 00:01:05.727 And just a little while later we'll all receive communion together. 00:01:05.727 --> 00:01:11.328 Celebrate our covenant, hebrews 10, verse 24. 00:01:11.328 --> 00:01:32.287 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. 00:01:32.287 --> 00:01:33.545 Do you see the day approaching? 00:01:33.545 --> 00:01:49.584 Yes, and then verse 35, cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which has great recompense of reward, for you have need of patience that, after you've done the will of God, you might receive the promise. 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:56.647 And so today I wanted to share a message entitled the power of encouragement. 00:01:56.647 --> 00:02:01.471 Let me read to you verse 25 out of the amplified. 00:02:01.471 --> 00:02:21.110 It says not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together as believers, as is the habit of some people, but admonishing, warning, urging and encouraging one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching. 00:02:21.110 --> 00:02:27.170 And so this year, 2023, is the year of God's power. 00:02:27.170 --> 00:02:39.507 We talked about that the beginning of the year and all through the year we've been speaking about God's power and it's many different phases and manifestations and today, the power of encouragement. 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:49.210 This message just goes very well with a couple of messages that I just finished on the overcomer, because we all have to overcome trouble. 00:02:49.210 --> 00:02:53.830 Everyone needs encouragement at one time or another. 00:02:53.830 --> 00:03:00.225 You know it's not a sin to be discouraged, it's a sin to stay discouraged. 00:03:00.225 --> 00:03:03.528 See, I wanna give you the way out of discouragement. 00:03:03.528 --> 00:03:04.705 See, that's what the devil does. 00:03:04.705 --> 00:03:07.549 The devil comes to bring discouragement. 00:03:07.549 --> 00:03:19.286 He wants to steal your courage and bring you into a place of hopelessness, if he can. 00:03:19.385 --> 00:03:22.843 Daniel 7.25 said the Antichrist. 00:03:22.843 --> 00:03:28.829 He doesn't use the word Antichrist, but it's really talking about the Antichrist, the last king that Daniel was prophesying about. 00:03:28.829 --> 00:03:32.207 He said he's gonna come to wear out the saints. 00:03:32.207 --> 00:03:46.108 Well, the Antichrist is not we don't know who that is yet, but the spirit of Antichrist has come to wear out the saints, to constantly harass us. 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:53.106 And I'm telling you, man, the battleground of the mind, I mean it's hot and heavy right now. 00:03:53.106 --> 00:03:56.709 We're assaulted on every side with bad news. 00:03:56.709 --> 00:03:59.786 I mean I can't even watch local news. 00:03:59.786 --> 00:04:03.969 They leak over and start trying to give us. 00:04:03.969 --> 00:04:11.769 You know one of them, a channel two the other night says oh, we've got a study from the University of Connecticut that global warming is hurting the cattle industry. 00:04:11.769 --> 00:04:14.788 I said what does Connecticut know about cows? 00:04:14.788 --> 00:04:15.890 They don't know anything. 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:17.305 This is Texas, you dummy. 00:04:17.305 --> 00:04:20.886 Global warming doesn't exist. 00:04:20.886 --> 00:04:22.144 No such thing as that. 00:04:22.144 --> 00:04:25.310 Oh, the temperature of the earth has increased. 00:04:25.310 --> 00:04:26.887 No, it's a lie, you fool. 00:04:26.887 --> 00:04:27.783 What are you doing? 00:04:27.783 --> 00:04:29.007 This is Houston. 00:04:29.007 --> 00:04:30.526 Why don't you stick with all the? 00:04:30.526 --> 00:04:32.706 You wanna talk about the bad news? 00:04:32.706 --> 00:04:33.262 Talk about it. 00:04:33.262 --> 00:04:34.165 What's happening right here? 00:04:34.165 --> 00:04:37.305 See, they don't wanna talk about what's happening right here, because we're fixing to have an election. 00:04:37.305 --> 00:04:42.350 And all you people living in the city of Houston? 00:04:42.350 --> 00:04:45.605 Well, let me tell you there's no Democrats that are any good. 00:04:45.605 --> 00:04:47.211 Okay, whit Myers? 00:04:47.211 --> 00:04:57.141 You know that guy's a liberal, he talks a good game, he's a. 00:04:57.141 --> 00:04:59.127 You know, they're all silver tongue devils, aren't they? 00:04:59.127 --> 00:05:05.949 I mean remember Obama and all the things he said when he was running for president. 00:05:05.949 --> 00:05:09.565 I stood right here in 19,. 00:05:09.565 --> 00:05:15.000 Whatever it was no, it was 2007, 2007. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.172 I'll start to say 1997, no, 10 years later, 2007. 00:05:19.172 --> 00:05:24.624 He was running for president and I said you know, you can't be for him, he's a Muslim plant. 00:05:24.624 --> 00:05:27.526 I had people get up and leave the church. 00:05:27.526 --> 00:05:33.310 Right in the middle of when I said it, they stood up and marched out. 00:05:33.310 --> 00:05:37.050 How dare he talk about my chosen candidate? 00:05:37.050 --> 00:05:39.107 See, they're more Democrat than they are Christian. 00:05:39.107 --> 00:05:47.901 I think it's pretty well proven whose side he's on, all right. 00:05:47.961 --> 00:05:52.711 So discourage means to fall into fear and hopelessness. 00:05:52.711 --> 00:05:58.266 And if you allow hopelessness very long, there's nothing for you know, our faith is a substance of things. 00:05:58.266 --> 00:05:59.062 Hope. 00:05:59.062 --> 00:06:04.290 For when you lose hope, you don't have anything for your weapon of mass destruction. 00:06:04.290 --> 00:06:07.129 Remember, our faith is a weapon of mass destruction. 00:06:07.129 --> 00:06:08.865 We talked about that the last two weeks. 00:06:08.865 --> 00:06:15.165 And when you get hopeless now, you don't have anything for your faith to give substance to. 00:06:15.165 --> 00:06:18.168 No wonder the devil's trying to steal your courage. 00:06:18.168 --> 00:06:21.326 No wonder he's trying to get you into fear. 00:06:21.326 --> 00:06:27.925 And so you know he wants to wear us out, he wants us to draw back. 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:32.591 Look here it says in verse Hebrews 10, 38. 00:06:32.591 --> 00:06:37.107 Now, the just shall live by faith, see, not by what it seems like. 00:06:37.107 --> 00:06:39.504 You live by faith. 00:06:39.504 --> 00:06:40.946 You don't live by how it feels. 00:06:40.946 --> 00:06:42.245 You don't live by emotions. 00:06:42.245 --> 00:06:43.264 That's what most people do. 00:06:43.264 --> 00:06:44.786 Most people live on emotions. 00:06:44.786 --> 00:06:47.064 Most people live, you know. 00:06:47.064 --> 00:06:50.309 If they're in a good mood one day, well, everything's fine. 00:06:50.309 --> 00:06:53.168 They're bad mood next day, well, everything, I'm depressed. 00:06:53.168 --> 00:06:53.908 And you know it. 00:06:53.908 --> 00:06:54.740 Just go with the flow. 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:58.149 They're just like waves of the sea. 00:06:58.149 --> 00:07:06.468 No, the just shall live by the faith, and if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 00:07:06.579 --> 00:07:11.043 Well, this is the writer of the book of Hebrews, which I believe is Paul. 00:07:11.043 --> 00:07:13.666 I can't prove it, but I believe it is. 00:07:13.666 --> 00:07:17.708 It's got a lot of the same language and same revelation that he has in the other epistles. 00:07:17.708 --> 00:07:23.187 But regardless, that writer, whoever it was, was inspired by the Holy Ghost. 00:07:23.187 --> 00:07:27.170 You can bet that God is not pleased when we what draw back. 00:07:27.170 --> 00:07:30.540 So now, when you look up, draw back. 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:31.884 See, it's good to study your Bible. 00:07:31.884 --> 00:07:33.723 You can read it. 00:07:33.803 --> 00:07:54.845 But you know, sometimes you need to just break out your concordance and find out what the word means, because, as I pointed out endlessly, the King James or any English version of the Bible is not gonna capture the Greek or the Hebrew, either one the Old Testament same way, there are Hebrew words for which there's no English words. 00:07:54.845 --> 00:07:57.485 There are Greek words for which there are no English words. 00:07:57.485 --> 00:07:59.009 So they do the best they can. 00:07:59.009 --> 00:08:05.812 So they use the word drawback, but really, what that means is you shrink back and quit speaking the truth. 00:08:05.812 --> 00:08:08.524 This is what the devil's trying to do. 00:08:08.524 --> 00:08:11.355 He's trying to get the church to shut up. 00:08:11.355 --> 00:08:16.345 Don't talk about politics, don't talk about the truth. 00:08:16.345 --> 00:08:18.004 Don't talk about what's going on. 00:08:18.004 --> 00:08:19.596 No, just don't. 00:08:19.596 --> 00:08:19.858 No. 00:08:19.858 --> 00:08:20.764 People are leaving the church. 00:08:20.764 --> 00:08:21.990 Well, let them leave. 00:08:23.994 --> 00:08:25.305 I'm not here to entertain anybody. 00:08:25.305 --> 00:08:27.713 I'm here to share the truth of the Word of God. 00:08:27.713 --> 00:08:38.231 I'm held to the standard of watching after your souls as one that will give an account. 00:08:38.231 --> 00:08:41.573 I will give an account for my ministry one day. 00:08:41.573 --> 00:08:42.509 You won't. 00:08:42.509 --> 00:08:42.951 I will. 00:08:42.951 --> 00:08:45.220 Watching over your souls. 00:08:45.220 --> 00:08:45.664 What does that mean? 00:08:45.664 --> 00:08:51.585 Well, watching after your way of thinking, in other words, informing your way of thinking, giving you a biblical worldview. 00:08:51.585 --> 00:09:05.673 Most Christians don't have one, because they've never really heard the biblical worldview, because they're sitting under a bunch of pansies that are too weak to say what the truth is. 00:09:05.673 --> 00:09:07.559 Well, I just don't agree. 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:09.751 Well, you don't have to agree if you don't agree. 00:09:09.751 --> 00:09:14.932 The thing is, if you keep disagreeing with me long enough, you might as well leave anyway. 00:09:14.932 --> 00:09:20.336 But if you've got the Holy Ghost on the inside, he will witness to the truth. 00:09:22.250 --> 00:09:26.361 I like what brother Osteen used to say you know, if I'm rubbing the cats further wrong way, let the cat turn around. 00:09:26.361 --> 00:09:28.043 No, the devil wants us to draw back. 00:09:28.043 --> 00:09:29.581 He wants us to shut up. 00:09:29.581 --> 00:09:31.504 He wants us to crawl in our little hole. 00:09:31.504 --> 00:09:32.691 We're going through. 00:09:32.691 --> 00:09:33.153 We're discouraged. 00:09:33.153 --> 00:09:35.184 I'm going to stay home from church. 00:09:35.184 --> 00:09:36.620 That's the opposite of what you're saying. 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:39.024 You're saying you're going to stay home from church. 00:09:39.024 --> 00:09:41.144 You're saying you're going to stay home from church. 00:09:41.144 --> 00:09:43.365 You're saying you're going to stay home from church. 00:09:43.365 --> 00:09:45.673 That's the opposite of what you should do. 00:09:45.673 --> 00:09:47.370 You're going through a battle. 00:09:47.370 --> 00:09:48.735 You ought to be right here. 00:09:48.735 --> 00:09:52.674 This is, I'm telling you, this is the best place to be. 00:09:54.149 --> 00:10:03.784 So I've got three sources of encouragement for you today that you know about, but I'm going to go over them and give them to you, because we all go through things. 00:10:03.784 --> 00:10:07.971 It's not about being ashamed of being discouraged. 00:10:07.971 --> 00:10:09.524 It's being ashamed to stay in that way. 00:10:09.524 --> 00:10:11.245 You don't have to stay that way. 00:10:11.245 --> 00:10:14.816 It's dangerous to stay discouraged. 00:10:14.816 --> 00:10:23.273 I said it's dangerous, and so you're just opening the door for Satan to do worse. 00:10:23.273 --> 00:10:25.477 Amen. 00:10:26.749 --> 00:10:28.644 So three sources of encouragement. 00:10:28.644 --> 00:10:41.664 First of all, of course, it's just kind of plain God's word and two ideas hearing it preached and then receiving a Ramah word. 00:10:41.664 --> 00:10:46.883 The logos is wonderful, but your faith is built on Ramah, god breathed word. 00:10:46.883 --> 00:10:48.585 It's a revelation. 00:10:48.585 --> 00:11:06.702 When you come in this building, there is an atmosphere like none other for you to receive an encouraging word that will strengthen you, that will give you something to say back to this trouble that is coming against you. 00:11:06.722 --> 00:11:07.365 We all have trouble. 00:11:07.365 --> 00:11:09.336 Jesus said in the world. 00:11:09.336 --> 00:11:13.255 You shall have tribulation, but be of good courage. 00:11:13.255 --> 00:11:16.634 I've overcome the world. 00:11:16.634 --> 00:11:23.365 So he over in the Amplified, says I deprived it of its power to harm you. 00:11:23.365 --> 00:11:35.784 I defeated it for you See how, what a waste it is for trouble to allow trouble to afflict us to such a degree that we get down, down, down. 00:11:35.784 --> 00:11:37.804 All we can do is have a pity party. 00:11:37.804 --> 00:11:46.071 No, come on, I mean, if you're prone to having pity parties, I challenge you. 00:11:46.071 --> 00:11:48.999 It's a habit can be broken. 00:11:50.126 --> 00:11:50.860 Get you a timer. 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:53.164 I got an Apple Watch, got a timer on it. 00:11:53.164 --> 00:11:54.717 Your phone's got a timer on it. 00:11:54.717 --> 00:12:18.524 Set the thing at first, set it for 60 seconds and give yourself 60 seconds to have a meltdown pity party, and then, when the thing goes, then you stop it and after you've done that a while, then move it to 30 seconds and pretty soon you won't need a timer because you won't ever even enter into a pity party. 00:12:18.524 --> 00:12:23.691 You will have cured yourself from ever indulging your emotions like that. 00:12:23.691 --> 00:12:26.197 Glory to God. 00:12:26.197 --> 00:12:29.953 There's an atmosphere. 00:12:29.953 --> 00:12:32.921 You know Psalm 73, 17,. 00:12:32.921 --> 00:12:38.708 When I came into the same sanctuary of God, then I understood and I mean, it's just. 00:12:38.708 --> 00:12:44.277 It's just, this morning is just pregnant with encouragement. 00:12:44.277 --> 00:12:46.985 You're going through something. 00:12:46.985 --> 00:12:47.730 I'm telling you. 00:12:47.730 --> 00:12:49.345 This message is gonna build you up. 00:12:49.345 --> 00:12:55.109 This message is gonna put steel in your spine where you'll stand up against it. 00:12:57.995 --> 00:13:01.408 Lord of God, you know Joshua. 00:13:01.408 --> 00:13:06.034 When he took over, you know, for Moses he'd served Moses 40 years. 00:13:06.034 --> 00:13:07.455 He'd been around those people, man. 00:13:07.455 --> 00:13:09.361 I mean he knew the Jews people. 00:13:09.361 --> 00:13:15.154 He was in the youth minister for the longest time, see, because all the older ones died in the wilderness and so he had to minister him. 00:13:15.154 --> 00:13:20.595 And you know they had to minister to the younger crowd and he watched them grow up. 00:13:20.595 --> 00:13:21.440 Now he's. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:23.532 You know he's Moses. 00:13:23.532 --> 00:13:24.115 My servant is dead. 00:13:24.115 --> 00:13:25.499 Now, therefore, rise. 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:37.429 You know Joshua, chapter one, and in the first nine verses of Joshua, chapter one, god told Joshua to be strong and very courageous. 00:13:37.429 --> 00:13:40.341 Well, how's he gonna do that? 00:13:40.341 --> 00:13:43.465 You meditate in my word day and night. 00:13:43.465 --> 00:13:47.547 Meditate in my word. 00:13:47.547 --> 00:13:48.414 You know God's word. 00:13:48.414 --> 00:13:52.720 You need to just let God's word abide in your thinking, abide in your heart. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:57.964 You have to think about it and turn it over until it moves out of your brain tissue down into your heart. 00:13:57.964 --> 00:13:59.419 It's faith in your heart. 00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:06.801 Faith is a spiritual thing, it's not a mental thing and it takes effort on your side. 00:14:10.174 --> 00:14:17.182 So, here a number of years ago you've heard me probably, if you've been here a while I testify about my things that I've gone through. 00:14:17.182 --> 00:14:21.686 But I lost everything. 00:14:21.686 --> 00:14:28.582 I had to move in with my sister, my wife and two kids, and myself living with my sister. 00:14:28.582 --> 00:14:29.639 That's not a lot of fun. 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.299 I mean, I'm a businessman. 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:34.261 I've never had to be dependent on anybody. 00:14:34.261 --> 00:14:40.418 I've been independent since I was 18 years old, freshman at A&M. 00:14:40.418 --> 00:14:42.846 I didn't lean on my parents for money. 00:14:42.846 --> 00:14:44.461 I made all the money I needed. 00:14:44.461 --> 00:14:46.120 I paid all my own bills. 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:57.260 I wouldn't have time to get into all that, but I mean I am not used to being broke and destitute, but that's where I was and we had a leased car. 00:14:57.260 --> 00:14:57.856 That's the only. 00:14:57.856 --> 00:14:59.241 We didn't even own it. 00:14:59.241 --> 00:15:08.365 We rented it, leased it and I finally got a job running a remodeling company. 00:15:08.365 --> 00:15:10.062 We did that for about a year. 00:15:10.062 --> 00:15:13.383 I hate it every day because I'm a home builder. 00:15:13.383 --> 00:15:14.205 That's what I did. 00:15:14.225 --> 00:15:18.552 I was a home builder, I had my own business and remodeling. 00:15:18.552 --> 00:15:22.995 You know, we've got some remodeling contractors in here and they do it right. 00:15:22.995 --> 00:15:29.455 I mean, they know enough about things where they do some of the work themselves and they closely supervise the jobs. 00:15:29.455 --> 00:15:31.111 They don't just like me. 00:15:31.111 --> 00:15:35.734 I'm not, listen, I'm not a carpenter, I'm not an electrician, I've never put a roof on. 00:15:35.734 --> 00:15:37.434 I'm an executive. 00:15:37.434 --> 00:15:40.666 I just get on the phone and get a subcontractor. 00:15:40.666 --> 00:15:42.961 That's how I built houses. 00:15:42.961 --> 00:16:00.673 Well, you can't do that in the remodeling business, because if you've got just subcontractors, they're gonna make all the profit, you're not gonna make anything and plus, when they don't like the job, they'll walk off and then you're hung trying to find somebody to finish what they messed up, because remodeling is fraught with trouble. 00:16:00.673 --> 00:16:09.909 I mean, you know, you start tearing stuff out and you find other stuff you know, and just ah, so in a year, I mean, my boss calls me the guy that owned it. 00:16:09.909 --> 00:16:10.355 He was a home builder. 00:16:10.395 --> 00:16:13.434 About that time I was thinking, gosh, I'm gonna get back in the home-building business. 00:16:13.434 --> 00:16:14.744 I was looking at West U. 00:16:14.744 --> 00:16:18.604 He wants to see me, I'm gonna pitch West U to him. 00:16:18.604 --> 00:16:35.666 Well, what he pitched to me was he's closing the business down and he's laid me off and he's got my last check, with nothing added to it, which is already basically that check is already spent. 00:16:38.841 --> 00:16:40.214 And they felt bad. 00:16:40.214 --> 00:16:43.585 They felt bad it was a wife and they're not Christians. 00:16:43.585 --> 00:16:46.825 They're good people, though, honest good people. 00:16:46.825 --> 00:16:50.402 They don't know the Lord, you know. 00:16:50.402 --> 00:16:53.638 And they felt so bad, not bad enough to give me a severance. 00:16:53.638 --> 00:16:58.782 But then, you know, I've never coveted anybody's money. 00:16:58.782 --> 00:17:00.721 See, I didn't get mad about it. 00:17:00.721 --> 00:17:03.642 But though, oh, john, what are you gonna do? 00:17:03.642 --> 00:17:08.577 I said I'm gonna do exactly what I did before I ever heard of you, because you're not my source. 00:17:08.577 --> 00:17:11.145 God's my source and he'll take care of me. 00:17:11.145 --> 00:17:18.201 He took care of me before I ever saw you and knew you and we, you know, god was busy taking care of me and he's not gonna stop now. 00:17:18.201 --> 00:17:19.518 Well, I'll be fine. 00:17:19.518 --> 00:17:21.183 Well, we feel so bad. 00:17:21.183 --> 00:17:22.359 Well, I don't want you to feel bad. 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:24.942 I don't disagree with your decision. 00:17:24.942 --> 00:17:29.920 You know, I understand it's a tough business to be in. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:34.457 The way that we've got it structured is just, you know, and he's getting older. 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:41.567 So I went out to the car, put the kid ignition, started the car. 00:17:41.567 --> 00:17:47.049 You know, it's the least car that's got like 140,000 miles on it, can't turn it back in. 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:50.292 I leased it with 36,000. 00:17:50.292 --> 00:17:52.553 Now I've got to put an extra 100,000. 00:17:52.553 --> 00:18:01.571 I mean, if I turn the car back in it's gonna cost a fortune that I don't have, and so, but anyway, that's where I'm at, see. 00:18:03.409 --> 00:18:13.132 And so I start the car and I said, god, you know, I can choose to think that and say the devil stole my job, or I can say that this is a promotion. 00:18:13.132 --> 00:18:16.852 I'm just gonna say it's a promotion. 00:18:16.852 --> 00:18:29.167 I backed out, you know, and I started talking to myself, started encouraging myself, started speaking the word, and I had, you know, 30 minutes back to the house, my sister's house. 00:18:29.167 --> 00:18:31.926 Actually, gladys was upstairs for some reason. 00:18:31.926 --> 00:18:32.930 I bound it upstairs. 00:18:32.970 --> 00:18:35.388 Honey, honey, I got some good news. 00:18:35.388 --> 00:18:37.511 Now, see, this was dumb of me. 00:18:37.511 --> 00:18:38.528 I shouldn't have done that. 00:18:38.528 --> 00:18:41.594 How stupid. 00:18:41.594 --> 00:18:52.548 You ought to know she's not gonna take it like that Goofball. 00:18:52.548 --> 00:18:55.690 Honey, honey, I got good news. 00:18:55.690 --> 00:18:56.532 We've been promoted. 00:18:56.532 --> 00:18:57.608 What, what, what? 00:18:57.608 --> 00:18:57.970 Tell me? 00:18:57.970 --> 00:18:59.568 Tell me, yeah, we got laid off. 00:18:59.568 --> 00:19:02.784 Yes, we did. 00:19:02.784 --> 00:19:09.574 He gave me our last check and by the time we wrote the bills that were due and everything, we had $35 left in the bank account. 00:19:09.574 --> 00:19:14.749 I don't even know why they kept the account open with $35. 00:19:15.644 --> 00:19:22.689 But anyway, and you know, I could tell she was really hurt and I couldn't encourage her. 00:19:22.689 --> 00:19:26.772 I tried to, but you know I didn't have any standing with her. 00:19:26.772 --> 00:19:28.632 I mean, you know she'd followed me down the road. 00:19:28.632 --> 00:19:33.566 She got married to a young man and helped put me through school. 00:19:33.566 --> 00:19:40.551 She worked while I finished up at A&M to be an engineer and I, just on a lark, I said, honey, we're gonna go in the home building. 00:19:40.551 --> 00:19:44.255 I didn't even let her participate in that decision. 00:19:44.255 --> 00:19:47.532 Dumb, stupid. 00:19:49.545 --> 00:19:58.992 I looked back on it and then when I got saved and God called me into the ministry and I started griping that gladus didn't see that in me at all. 00:19:58.992 --> 00:20:02.849 My heavenly father, let me know. 00:20:02.849 --> 00:20:04.996 Well, you know what. 00:20:04.996 --> 00:20:07.473 She didn't marry a home builder. 00:20:07.473 --> 00:20:16.669 She married an engineer and you didn't even have the graciousness to let her be part of the decision, and she's followed you all through the ups and a whole lot of the downs. 00:20:16.669 --> 00:20:18.990 So you just leave her alone. 00:20:18.990 --> 00:20:21.029 About the ministry, I'll take care of her. 00:20:21.029 --> 00:20:22.849 Don't talk to her about that. 00:20:22.849 --> 00:20:31.470 Yes, sir, I'm talking about encouragement now, the power of encouragement. 00:20:31.470 --> 00:20:37.228 I was so encouraged, but I couldn't get my wife to be encouraged. 00:20:37.228 --> 00:20:43.576 So it's Wednesday I guess this was a Monday afternoon. 00:20:43.576 --> 00:20:45.712 So Wednesday night we're gonna go to church. 00:20:45.712 --> 00:20:49.628 You know, we're not gonna stay at home and mope, we're going to church. 00:20:49.628 --> 00:20:51.008 Our whole family's going to church. 00:20:51.088 --> 00:20:57.013 On Wednesday night and I prayed, I said God, you know, you see this situation and my wife needs help. 00:20:57.013 --> 00:20:59.974 I want to encourage her, but she won't listen to me. 00:20:59.974 --> 00:21:01.909 I don't have any standing, it's all my fault. 00:21:01.909 --> 00:21:05.869 I'm the one that's, you know, just, you know, made these decisions. 00:21:05.869 --> 00:21:09.409 She's been participating in some of the decisions too, and she'll say that. 00:21:09.409 --> 00:21:11.153 But you know, I'm the head. 00:21:11.153 --> 00:21:12.988 It's my responsibility. 00:21:12.988 --> 00:21:14.874 There are now two heads. 00:21:14.874 --> 00:21:22.432 There's one head, but yet we're heirs together of the grace of life and she should participate in all decisions. 00:21:22.432 --> 00:21:26.330 It's best better to walk in agreement when you're making major decisions. 00:21:26.330 --> 00:21:33.373 And so I said I need her agreement to go to the next stage of what we're. 00:21:33.373 --> 00:21:43.609 I know you've got something for me, but I, in her state, I don't think she's gonna be able to follow me and she's not gonna have confidence in my hearing what the plan is. 00:21:43.609 --> 00:21:48.790 And you're gonna speak to me, cause I'm the head, but you've got a witness to her. 00:21:48.790 --> 00:21:54.575 You've got to get her on board with me, lord, like somehow, some way, this Wednesday night service is critical. 00:21:54.575 --> 00:21:55.950 I need you to do something. 00:21:55.950 --> 00:22:00.811 I'm not telling you what, I'm not saying what it is, just need something from you for her. 00:22:01.884 --> 00:22:07.271 So we went and we went through praise and worship and I don't know I couldn't tell anything different. 00:22:07.271 --> 00:22:11.692 And then we prayed for the sick, glad it's not doing that. 00:22:11.692 --> 00:22:13.811 So we prayed for people, went and sat down. 00:22:13.811 --> 00:22:15.710 I couldn't tell anything. 00:22:15.710 --> 00:22:23.484 Offering couldn't tell anything and didn't give anything that night because we were still paying bills. 00:22:23.484 --> 00:22:25.184 I wanted to know what we had left. 00:22:25.184 --> 00:22:27.714 So we didn't give an offering that particular night. 00:22:31.369 --> 00:22:37.760 So it got into the preaching Brother, those things preached, you know, on Wednesday night, 30 minutes. 00:22:37.760 --> 00:22:39.873 It was good, couldn't tell anything. 00:22:39.873 --> 00:22:48.073 And so we're sitting over here, right over there Now where you are, kim, wave at us, kim, that's where we were, right over there. 00:22:48.073 --> 00:23:04.705 And, brother, those things said, well, are you glad you came to church tonight, you know, clapped his hands and he's headed over this way to talk to that group over there and all of a sudden he whirled around, who touched me, and I said my angel did just like that. 00:23:04.705 --> 00:23:17.520 I don't think he heard me, but I knew as soon as he whirled around, my angel had tugged on his jacket tail, god, his attention, and nobody was there. 00:23:17.520 --> 00:23:25.603 And the Holy Ghost hit him like a ton of bricks and he locked eyes with Gladys all the way across here, like that, right when Kim is. 00:23:25.603 --> 00:23:32.657 And he pointed, you know, brother, he knew us, but he can't remember names, you know, he couldn't at that time. 00:23:32.698 --> 00:23:38.820 This is back when I had just started opening services and prayer and I wasn't closing them, so I wasn't up there to close the service. 00:23:38.820 --> 00:23:39.041 Yet. 00:23:39.041 --> 00:23:41.982 That came later, about six months. 00:23:41.982 --> 00:23:44.824 After that I started doing both things, opening and closing. 00:23:44.824 --> 00:23:53.998 But this time I opened and went and sat down, and now he, you know, and so Gladys was wearing I mean she was dressed at the nines, I mean she just looked. 00:23:53.998 --> 00:23:56.924 You couldn't tell she was upset. 00:23:56.924 --> 00:24:00.963 Her hair is fixed, her makeup is perfect. 00:24:00.963 --> 00:24:07.759 She's got this beautiful little purple dress on and it was one of my favorite. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:12.403 It looked so good on her and she's sitting next to me like she still loved me. 00:24:12.403 --> 00:24:21.063 Sometimes you have to love by faith, you know. 00:24:26.729 --> 00:24:34.746 And he pointed at her and said, woman in purple, and he began to prophesy over her and began to encourage her. 00:24:34.746 --> 00:24:36.320 Oh, come on, lift your hand right now. 00:24:36.320 --> 00:24:37.917 I'm telling you, god. 00:24:37.917 --> 00:24:45.703 I mean we're fixed to go out the door and we hadn't gotten nothing, hadn't gotten nothing, and all of a sudden my angel went up there and yanked on my pastor God is attention. 00:24:45.703 --> 00:24:48.540 And Gladys told me after the service. 00:24:48.540 --> 00:24:52.382 She said I didn't hear him or see him, I just saw Jesus, I heard Jesus, that's all I. 00:24:52.382 --> 00:24:53.856 Oh, come on. 00:24:53.856 --> 00:24:54.780 Glory to God. 00:24:54.780 --> 00:24:58.898 So she's on board. 00:24:58.898 --> 00:25:04.443 Thank God she got back on board with me. 00:25:04.443 --> 00:25:06.398 She didn't jump ship. 00:25:08.595 --> 00:25:12.583 All right sources of encouragement, see God's word, but mainly at church. 00:25:12.583 --> 00:25:14.319 I mean, don't neglect, see. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:21.065 The context of this message is how important the local church is to your success or to your failure. 00:25:21.065 --> 00:25:28.564 Thank God you're here and a lot of Renee was talking to me. 00:25:28.564 --> 00:25:30.097 Renee, way, that is Renee. 00:25:30.097 --> 00:25:33.459 Renee's gone through some medical issues and she's back with us. 00:25:33.459 --> 00:25:38.702 She was back last week and I didn't recognize her, but she's back, she's overcome and overcome. 00:25:38.702 --> 00:25:43.923 And she said pastor, let me tell you I'm so glad for the live stream because I watched the live stream. 00:25:43.923 --> 00:25:47.821 I know, you know it's not as good as being here, but, man, it really made a big difference. 00:25:47.821 --> 00:25:51.443 So I'm not criticizing those that watch my live stream. 00:25:51.443 --> 00:25:57.402 If you've got to watch my live stream, at least you know that's one level, but there's nothing to take the place. 00:25:57.402 --> 00:26:02.180 Some churches are trying to let that take the place. 00:26:04.986 --> 00:26:23.123 So sources of encouragement, other believers See Nick like not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner some is, but exhort one another. 00:26:23.123 --> 00:26:28.058 Hebrews 313, it says exhort one another daily while it's called today. 00:26:28.058 --> 00:26:31.424 So it really ought to leak over into your personal life. 00:26:31.424 --> 00:26:32.720 It ought to not just be at church. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:41.442 You ought to be hooking up with people of like precious faith that you can talk to, even in between church services. 00:26:41.442 --> 00:26:48.868 Yes, there's some associations that you just need to end. 00:26:48.868 --> 00:26:52.663 They have no godly purpose in your life. 00:26:52.663 --> 00:26:54.528 That's right. 00:26:54.528 --> 00:27:04.477 I said there are some I'm not talking about divorce now, folks, but there are some. 00:27:04.477 --> 00:27:08.060 Yeah, there's just some associations that you've carried on yourself. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:10.381 I know, mary Sue. 00:27:10.381 --> 00:27:11.743 We've been friends for 30 years. 00:27:11.743 --> 00:27:12.686 What is Mary Sue? 00:27:12.686 --> 00:27:15.157 Well, mary Sue doesn't go to church, she just doesn't. 00:27:15.157 --> 00:27:17.464 You know, there's no godly purpose for that. 00:27:17.464 --> 00:27:29.484 You need people of like precious faith that hear what you hear, that know what you know. 00:27:29.484 --> 00:27:35.742 Otherwise, the only other thing is that you can try to nurse somebody along. 00:27:35.742 --> 00:27:37.721 Well, after 30 years, have they learned anything? 00:27:37.721 --> 00:27:38.919 Have you done any good with them? 00:27:38.919 --> 00:27:45.623 I mean, you know, some people just wanna, they just wanna just tap you and then they don't listen to anything you say anyway. 00:27:45.623 --> 00:27:46.940 So why do you keep doing it? 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:49.200 There's no godly purpose in it. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:52.401 I don't know who that's for, but it's for somebody. 00:27:53.795 --> 00:27:58.105 So, exhort means to comfort, console and courage. 00:27:58.105 --> 00:28:02.759 It's the Greek word paracletos, paraclete. 00:28:02.759 --> 00:28:06.349 So we talk about the Holy Ghost. 00:28:06.349 --> 00:28:09.429 Well, the Holy Ghost and another believer can encourage you. 00:28:09.429 --> 00:28:18.311 That pericletos is the kind of encouragement that will strengthen you and make you stand up on your feet. 00:28:18.311 --> 00:28:25.748 With left to your own devices, you would collapse, you know. 00:28:25.768 --> 00:28:27.813 That's why associations are so important. 00:28:27.813 --> 00:28:33.386 You've got to have the right kind of godly associations that people will tell you the truth. 00:28:33.386 --> 00:28:41.309 They not only will comfort you, but they will exhort you, they'll warn you, admonish you. 00:28:41.309 --> 00:28:49.826 Don't you get offended just because another believer warns and admonishes you and sees something in you that is not quite right. 00:28:49.826 --> 00:28:51.487 You need a little bit of help. 00:28:51.487 --> 00:28:53.386 I can't do all of that. 00:28:53.386 --> 00:28:59.748 In fact, people would leave the church if I admonished them, get up here and fuss at somebody from the pulpit. 00:28:59.748 --> 00:29:03.202 I never used the pulpit as a battering ram, I just preached the word. 00:29:03.202 --> 00:29:04.326 Let the word do the work. 00:29:04.326 --> 00:29:11.845 But that means that we together see when you get close enough to somebody they can kind of encourage you. 00:29:11.845 --> 00:29:14.785 I said they can encourage you. 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:28.807 So remember that when I backed out of the driveway that day and I said you know, god, I can choose to believe the devil stole my job or I can believe that this is a promotion. 00:29:28.807 --> 00:29:31.766 Well, that didn't come out of the thin air. 00:29:31.766 --> 00:29:36.263 Two weeks before that I was at a meeting, wasn't even a church service. 00:29:36.263 --> 00:29:39.300 I don't even remember what the meeting was about, probably the. 00:29:39.300 --> 00:29:42.309 You know we had prayer partners back then. 00:29:42.309 --> 00:29:44.226 Gladys and I were prayer partners. 00:29:44.226 --> 00:29:45.303 That's what we prayed for. 00:29:45.343 --> 00:29:47.809 People at the altar Might've been that. 00:29:47.809 --> 00:29:57.750 I don't remember what it was for, but I was there sitting on my aisle at four rows from the front of the church and a lady that I knew. 00:29:57.750 --> 00:29:59.507