She's telling me to look at the red light. I told her, "That's right."
All right, they're all harassing me here. I enjoy being a dad. I was spoiling my kids. I had a good time. And even now with the grandkids, I have a good time with them. In fact, my kids were fussing with me one time. They said, "Well, we didn't get to do that when we were kids. We didn't get to do that." I said, "If I had known grandkids were so much fun, I'd have skipped the kids and just gone right to the grandkids."
I have a good time. Appreciate all I have, and happy Father's Day to everybody this morning. Praise God. Thank you, Brother Franklin.
All right, let's go ahead and dismiss with the Sunday school class. We'll have the adults open up to the book of Numbers, chapter 22. Izzy is ready for Sunday school. She's all of it. That's good.
All right. Appreciate each one here. Glad to see each one here in the house of God. Let's turn to the book of Numbers, chapter 22. God's been good to us. We thank God for all of us. We thank God for all that God is doing this morning. I'm glad to see each one here, ready to serve God and just to get in and have a good time.
And we had a good time with the kids when they were growing up, and we enjoy all that God did. In fact, we used to have conferences sometimes, and I was pastor in a church there in Virginia, and we'd have a conference in Washington. I used to fly the whole family. We'd get together, and that took all of our income tax return and everything else, but we made it happen to get over to conference with the kids and had a good time.
Took them up to the mountain and throwing rocks. It's a good time that you feel. You remember, especially on Father's Day, you remember all the good times you had raising the kids. I think there's very few experiences that are even better than being a dad. So I thank God for this high-loved dad, granddad, and everything else.
I want to start a series. We looked at experiencing Jesus. And so as we experience Jesus, as Christians, we dedicate our heart and mind to serving God, we begin to have victory in our life. We are successful. I believe that every Christian that wants to be successful in life needs to experience Jesus.
So we just covered a series on experiencing Jesus. So right now, I want to start a series looking at working on my victory. Working on my victory. And so let's start reading in Numbers chapter 22. And we're going to start in verse 4.
Numbers 22. Begin to read in verse 4. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, "Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field." And Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of the Moabites at that time, and he sent messengers, therefore, unto Balaam, the son of Beor, son of Pethor, which is by the river, the land of the people, saying, "There is a people that cometh out of Egypt. Behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me. Peradventure I shall prevail, that they may smite me, and that I may drive them out of the land. Or excuse me, that I may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land. For I want that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed."
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian came to rewards of divination in their hand, and they came unto Balaam and spake unto him the words of Balak. And he said unto them, "Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me." And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
And in that text, I want to look at something very interesting, and that is in verse 8. And he said unto them, "Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me." And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
And as we talk about receiving our victory and being victorious, this morning I want to start with the first message in this series entitled, "What Am I Thinking?"
What Am I Thinking? Let's pray.
Father, we thank you right now, God, for your goodness, your mercy. Lord, we give you all the praise, the glory, the honor. We thank you, our God, for all that you've done. Already in this earth, already, we have felt the presence of God. I ask God to continue the remainder of this service, save that one nearest hell, accomplish your divine will, and this I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Now, we know that these ladies have been sneaky and have prepared a dinner for us. They told us they were just going to have bologna sandwiches today for us, Brother Franklin. But when I looked over there, I saw Kim come in, and I saw some others coming up here. I know they have more than bologna on those plates, so.
We're going to keep our mind focused on the move of God this morning. Amen? And then, we will deal with everything snuck in over there, okay? Bologna sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, I know I saw more than that over there, so that's okay, that's okay.
In the Word of God, we see in the book of Numbers, a man by the name of Balaam, a man that knows God, or rather, knows of God. He is a person that has a conscious awareness of the reality of God. He knows that this God can impact the lives of men. He's a believer, but the problem is, he's not converted. He believes in the reality of God, but he's not dedicated to the will of God. He hasn't thought to honor God, but he's not committed to obeying God.
It makes a difference. He knows the danger of openly fighting against God, but he does what he wants to do when he wants to do it. See, this is an example of many people today. I truly believe there's a whole lot of people, they have an understanding that there's a God in heaven. They know the reality of God, and they don't openly fight against God. But, they still do what they want to do. They say what they want to say. They go where they want to go.
And as I begin to look at this, there's many people, as we look in this man and his life, that are walking down a very dangerous path to know he's real, to know he can touch our lives, but to continue to do what we want to do. That's a very dangerous life.
You see, on this path that we're looking at this morning, there are potential blessings. Sometimes, I get all kinds of messages from different ones that are saying, "I need a financial blessing. I need God to touch my body. I'm going through a lot of things. I need peace in my mind." And they're asking for prayer for a lot of things.
But everything that people are asking for, everything that they need can be found in God. If you need peace, you can look to God. God can give you peace. If you need health, if you need strength, whatever you need, you can find it in God. You don't need to go running down the streets for alcohol, and drugs, and anything else that you want joy. If you want joy, you just open up your heart and receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
See, many people don't look at it like that. And so they look at all that they want, and they're making decisions on obtaining from life what they want. They want joy. The problem is looking at all the wrong places. All the wrong faces.
This man was walking down a path. There's potential blessings. Blessings. My God can do anything. That song we sing, leaning on the everlasting arms. How many of y'all have learned to lean on those arms? Come on now. Y'all not excited with me this morning. How many have learned to lean on those everlasting arms?
He can pay your rent. He can help, come on. He can help you in marriage. He can touch your children. I believe he's a good God. God can work everything else. So there are potential blessings. But on this path also, should you choose, because your focus is on something other than God, this path will lead to heartache, disappointment, and ultimately, death and destruction.
You see, if men and women will look up one day and receive Jesus, everything that they want in life, they can receive. If you want victory, you can receive victory from Almighty God. He is a good God. And there's nothing that God will not give to you if you ask him.
And I remember one time, my daughter had a double hernia. And whenever she would get to crying and screaming, you could see the hernia. And we're trying to tell a six-month-old daughter to calm down. It's kind of hard sometimes. The more we try to calm her down, the more she would cry.
And I remember that we took her to the hospital, and the doctor was telling us what she had. He said, "Mr. Tucker, it's going to be $3,000 for that operation, and we can take care of that." Back then, I didn't have $3,000. I didn't. Back then, I didn't have $300. Come on now.
And I was going through a lot of things, and she just kept on crying. I'm telling her, "Sweetheart, calm down." And she was just crying, and it would make it worse. And so one day, I remember putting her on the bed, and I just prayed. I didn't even know what to do. I said, "God, I know you touched Jairus' daughter. Now, Lord, I need you to touch my daughter. In the name of Jesus, heal her."
Come on now. You know the little squirt that's 37 years old now? God healed her body. He—on this path, there are blessings. If you choose to live for him, he can heal your children. What I'm telling you, I'm not just telling you something that I read in a book. I'm telling you what I know. He's a good God. Can somebody say amen this morning?
He can heal your children. He can touch your mind. He can bless you, but you've got to make up in your mind, "I want to serve God." Does anybody want to serve God this morning? Does anybody want to serve God this morning?
You see, as you begin looking, I want to look at working on my victory. When you tell me you want to be successful in life, when you want to advance in life, then we need to look at serving God. Now this, I was telling Brother Morgan yesterday, I've been praying. This is June now, so this is our mid-year checkup.
Somebody said, "This is my year to be blessed. This is my year for deliverance. This is my year to grow and have the best year ever. This is 2024. It's my year." All right, well, this is June. So let's do a check-in on your blessings. How is everything going for you? Are you advancing in God? Are you blessed this morning?
See, on this path, I want to begin to talk about working on my victory. And the way we work on our victory is to change what we think about. In seminary, they used to talk about stinking thinking. And I know a lot of people, whatever they think about, it determines their blessings.
Now one thing that I want to share with you this morning is that God knew Balaam. God knew the reality of Balaam, and Balaam knew the reality of God. Balaam knew God. He told the princes, "Lodge here tonight, and we will see what God has to say to me." He knew that God watched over him.
Can we say that again? He knew that God watched over him. In all of his rebellion, in all of his disobedience, he knew that God was watching over him. I know for a fact there's a whole lot of people. They're not committed to serving God. They're not obedient to serving God. But they know there's a God in heaven that watches over them.
They know there's a God in heaven that watches. He said, "Lodge here tonight, and we will see what God has to say to me." See, the way the blessings we want to take a look at is available to you. I'm not going to tell you that you can ever be blessed. You can be blessed. But I'm going to tell you it's determined upon what you're thinking on. What are you focused on?
Because he knew God, there's all kind of possibilities. And so when people are coming and saying, "I need help, I need this, I need that," then the first thing we ask, "How is everything between you and God? How is everything between you and God?"
Sometimes people say, "You don't even know what I'm talking about. I'm telling you I need food on the table. I need my motel money. I need all those things." And you're asking me about my relationship with God? Did you hear what I said? I said, "I heard what you said, but I know the one that can pay your rent. I know the one that can touch your body."
And so therefore I'm asking you, "How is everything between you and God?" Because on this path, there is potential for every blessing that you need. Can I get somebody to say amen this morning? On this path, everything that you need can be found in God. All you've got to do is begin to experience the God and the blessings of God.
Balaam had already experienced the blessings of God. And as I'm teaching, some of y'all may want to take some notes. I recommend that you do. Because in this series, by the time we finish, I want somebody to have victory in their life. I want somebody to be on a different path, closer to God, receiving all that God has for them.
And so we want to share with you that Balaam knew that God was a blesser. The king of Moab gave a testimony of Balaam. He said, "He"—Balaam already had that walk with God that he knew if I pray, God can work things out. The power of God was available to him.
Did you know this morning the power of God is available to you? The same power is available to each and every one of us. And the only thing that's stopping you right now from rising higher and receiving all that you have, all that you have, all that you want is you. You are the sum total of all the decisions that you have made.
If you want to be blessed this morning, you can be blessed. Now, if you want to just ignore everything I have to say and walk out the doors and never change, you can do that also. Now, what did Balaam want? Let's look at it. He wanted money. He wanted success. But the problem is, all that can be found in God.
I have no problem with people making money. Money is not evil. Can anyone tell me what is evil? It's the love of money. It's the love of money. Just having money is not a problem. And so everything that you need can be found in God. If you want a raise, if you want success in life, a bigger house, if you want cars, all of it.
He said, "No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly before him." But again, the thing that's stopping you is what you're thinking about. Everything we need can be found in God. All you got to do, stop looking at sin. Stop looking at the world. Lift up your vision and get an eye full of God.
He said, "No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly before him." He was looking at money. Now see, the devil knows how to get to you. The king of Moab knew exactly how to get to Balaam. He knew that Balaam had to walk with God. He knew that Balaam could talk to God.
But he also knew Balaam was not committed to God. Because when he sent him the people there, the word of God tells us he sent a divination, rewards of divination. A diviner's fee. In other words, he was offering Balaam an opportunity to be a prophet for hire.
"I'm going to pay you some money, and you pray the prayer that I want you to pray. I'm going to pay you some money, and you bless whoever I want you to bless. You curse whoever I tell you to curse." But right there, you already know that's wrong before God. Can somebody say amen?
We know there's a God in heaven. And it doesn't make anything, no matter what God offers you, right is right and what God says is what it ought to be. And so, what we notice here, he did not do like that. Many people know of the reality of God, but they go in a different direction.
And again, as I'm teaching this lesson, I need some of y'all to keep smiling. Someone on the line that may touch somebody's heart and you may not want to smile. Let's have church this morning, shall we? Let's have church. Because we know the reality of God. We know what God desires for us. He desires the best for you.
God has a vision of you being blessed and highly favored. God has a vision of you in glory. But the devil wants to bring you down. The devil knows that you have an awareness of God, but you are not a solid follower of God.
Now, I'm sorry to tell you, but the devil knows that. The enemy knows you go to church sometimes. The enemy knows that you even have a Bible at home. But what does the enemy also know? That you're not solidly committed to obeying God.
The devil knew, the king knew, he said, "I know whom you curse, he has cursed. Whom you bless, he is blessed." But he also knew if I sent him some money, he'll do what I want him to do. Amen?
Because what happened? Balaam, when he saw the men coming, he said, "Lodge here tonight." Now, if somebody's coming to offer you to go a different direction than God wants you to go, your first thing you ought to say is, "Get out of my face."
If somebody's going to offer you some money to be disobedient to God, the first thing you ought to say, "Hit the door." But that's not what Balaam said. What did he say? "Lodge here tonight." Already, he's already wrong. Already, he's already wrong.
He should have said, "Take your money and go back to the king and tell him I'm not for hire. Take your money, go back to the king and tell him you can't change me or my word based on giving me money." That's what he should have said.
But what does the Bible say? He told the men, "Lodge here tonight and let's just see what God says." See, when you open up your heart for wrongness, wrongness is going to come in. Sometimes people tell me, "I didn't mean to do that. I didn't mean for that thing to happen. I didn't mean for that situation to occur."
Then why didn't you close the door to it? Why didn't you close the door to it? "I didn't mean to get in trouble. I didn't mean to get arrested. I didn't mean for all of that stuff to start out." If you didn't mean for it to start, why did you open the door for the devil to come into your life?
Because if you give the devil an inch, he's kicking the door wide open. I need somebody to say amen right there. You give the enemy an inch into your life, he's kicking the door wide open. And sin will take you further than you ever thought you'd go. You'll end up dirtier than you ever thought you'd get.
So many times I'm talking to people that say, "I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't mean to have you go that far." And I have to tell them with a heavy heart, not trying to insult anybody, but trying to do my job as a minister, "Yes, you did."
Because if you really did not want that situation to get started, you'd have shut it down right then and there. You'd have shut it down. See, he could have stopped everything. That's what I'm saying. The potential for blessing was there for him.
All that he wanted, the money, the joy, everything that Balaam wanted, it was available to him. But instead of just saying no to him, he said, "Lodge here tonight. Let's just see. Maybe we can get God to say yes."
What am I thinking of? What are you thinking about? Somebody could have just stopped Balaam right then and said, "Balaam, what are you thinking about? You know the reality of God." Rather than sometimes I just look at people and I have to ask them, "What are you thinking about? You know God's reality."
You know the reality of something. Why are you opening up yourself to potential failure? I want to be a winner. Can you say amen this morning? I want to be a winner. I want to be a winner. I want to be victorious. I want my kids to look up to me and knowing that dad was doing all he could.
I want my kids to be able to look up and say, "Dad brought us up. He taught us how to serve God." And brother, it was a joy to my heart when all three of my kids were in church. All three of my kids were serving God because what? I wanted them to know that dad has a hard time, but he's serving God.
What are you thinking about? When you allow the devil to take you all kind of ways and you go on in different directions and everything you keep saying, "I'm trying," somebody said, "I've got to work this and I've got to take care of this and I've got to do that."
All that you want can be found in God. Now let's go a little bit further. He began to look more and more at that money. And so we really have to ask, what are you thinking? But based on what you're thinking about, it will determine that sometimes you don't see things just right.
Has anybody ever had a situation where you're like, "I'm in a situation," where you went through something and come to find out it wasn't the other person that had the problem. It was you. Come on now. Have you ever had an argument? A talk with somebody? Something happened. And after the fact, you find out, "Man, that wasn't what I thought it was. I was wrong."
And we don't like to admit that. And some of you, I don't want to say amen or not because you don't want to admit it either. But there are times because of our focus and what our mindset is at that moment, we don't see things the way they are.
God sent a rebuke to Balaam. He said, "What are these men that are with you? What are you doing, Balaam?" He said, "Only ones I bless. You already know this." So Balaam got up, told him, "I can't do this. Tell the king I can't do that. I'm not going to do this anymore because God said, 'Only the people that I bless can be blessed. Those I bless are blessed. Those I curse are cursed.'"
Balaam said, "Go away." But what did the devil do? The king sent more people his way. See, the enemy knows you're not solid. You have to make up in your mind, "I'm in. Brother, I am in. I want to serve God."
Because if you are wishy-washy, there's somebody that knows that you can be moved. Somebody say amen this morning. And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balaam, "Balaam would give me a house full of servants. I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more. Now therefore I pray you, tarry this night that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more."
Now, after the king sent some more people his way, after the king sent more people, Balaam did the exact same thing again. He said, "Tarry here this night that I may know what the Lord will say unto me." He made a bad decision.
Is there anyone here that will admit that at times you make a bad decision? Come on now. We have to get to a place that we're open to understanding. Sometimes we're not looking at things correctly.
I hear people all the time fussing about this one. "My mother said this. My daddy said this. My wife did this. My husband did that." All these things and they're just fussing at me. But then later on, things change because in the heat of the moment, things were said, things were done that shouldn't have been done.
Sometimes you have to begin to realize this. In life, there are so many opportunities for you to be successful. There are so many opportunities for you to be prosperous. There are times that there are opportunities. I say to you all the time, it breaks my heart when I hear people call me asking for grocery money or I say, "I'm living in a hotel. Can somebody pay my hotel?"
It breaks my heart. But I also understand people make bad decisions and they're hard-headed. Now, I don't mean to insult anybody this morning, but how many of y'all are hard-headed? Thank you, Kim. Thank you. Her hand had to go right up. You know, I'm right through with you.
We are so hard-headed sometimes. We have things happen to us and then we turn around and do the same stupid thing again and then again. You see, I told somebody a while ago, I said, "You need to get out of the situation. You need to let it go and just get out of that situation."
It was a very toxic relationship situation and I knew if they kept on going in that relationship, they were going to end up in jail. I knew it. I said, "You need to get out of that situation. That is not God. That's just flesh. You're going to get in trouble."
Sure enough, we hadn't heard from him for a while and then I mentioned to Brother Franklin a couple years ago, I said, "Hey, I guess so-and-so is back in town. You know where they've been? They've been in jail." It happened just like I said it would.
See, you can't play with sin. You can't play with your life. If you want to go higher in life, if you want to be successful in life, serve Jesus. God can bless you. I told somebody recently, I said, "You went over to that person's house, a situation developed and you got arrested. And now you're telling me you're going to go back over there again? Don't do that."
"Oh, I got it. I got it. I'm good. Last time this happened, but I'm in control now. It's not going to happen this time." Okay? How many times have we made bad decisions?
And a lot of times, people were telling us, "Don't do that." Come on, y'all not having church room this morning? On this Father's Day, did your dad ever tell you, "Don't do that?" And you went ahead and did it?
How many times did your mama say, "Don't do that? Don't touch that." Come on now. And what did you do? I was so hurt one time that I brought some peppers, some chili peppers. Somebody gave me, I love chili peppers. And I had a bag on the floor and I told my daughter, I said, "Leave those alone. Don't touch them. Leave them alone because it's hot and they'll burn you."
And so I probably should have just taken them out altogether and get them out of her reach. But she got it in a little bag and she put it in her bag. She's about Izzy's age and she put it in her mouth and she was chomping on it. Next thing you know, her face just lit up and her eyes and I was panicking. What am I going to do?
And I called my mother and she said, "She'll never do that again, will she? She'll never do that again." Sometimes we just don't listen. You see, there's a reason why people get arrested. There's a reason why people go to jail.
I have literally talked to people in jail, on the phones, I'm talking to that glass and they're always telling me, "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean for this to happen." You're in jail because you made a decision. Balaam made a bad decision.
I've talked to people. They lose their job or they ruin their marriage and they do things and they're because they made a bad decision. Brother, sometimes you have to stop and ask yourself, "What am I thinking about?"
If you're tired of making bad decisions, change your thoughts. Somebody say amen. As long as you keep on thinking the same thoughts, you're going to keep on doing the same thing. You want new results? Do something different. Think different thoughts.
You've got to change your mindset. See, because we're not seeing things real, all we're seeing is the lie of the devil. We keep doing the same thing. If you want joy, if you want peace, go get drunk. If you want joy, if you want peace, you got to be with this one. Nobody else can give you peace. Nobody else can give you joy. Only this person. That's the lie right there.
Come on now. That's the lie right there. How many men get in trouble because the devil says you need that woman? How many women, come on now, are having so many problems because the devil says you need that man? No one else can be there for you.
And I tell people all the time, now, if somebody's beating on you, somebody's disrespecting you, you don't need that person. Come on now. You need to get out of that relationship. "Oh, it'll be fine. They love me." Okay. All right. I'm trying to tell you.
We make bad decisions. We're stubborn. We're not saying things clearly. Here's what the Word of God says. And God's anger was kindled because he went. And the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. He began to get on a donkey and began to ride down a path to go do something he wasn't supposed to do.
And he began to do this, God got mad. If you do things against God, I guarantee you, if you go and have a fight with God, you're going to lose. God had an angel ready to kill him. And as Balaam was riding on this donkey, the donkey can see the angel, but Balaam can't.
And that was just a sad, just stopping right there. The donkey could see the angel, but Balaam couldn't. And as he begins to keep on going in that direction, the donkey tries to go this way to get out of the way. Balaam got mad. Hit the donkey. The donkey can see the angel is still right there. Goes this way. Hit the donkey again.
Y'all not with me this morning. Come on out. And then the third time, the donkey can see the angel getting ready to do something. And so she goes this way. Hits the donkey again. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam, and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass of his staff, and the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, "What have I done unto thee that thou hast smitten me these three times?"
Now, the Bible says he started arguing with the donkey. Can we just stop right there for a second? Let's just stop right there. He began to argue with the donkey. He said, "Because thou hast mocked me, I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee."
Now, if a donkey starts talking to you, come on out. Wouldn't you be a little bit concerned? You're tempered. You're mad. He was so focused on that money that the king was going to give him. He wasn't seeing things properly.
He wasn't seeing things correctly. All he could see, all he could see is this thing was stopping him from getting to his money. "I need to get to the king. I need my money, and you keep moving aside, and I'm mad. I wish I had a sword, for now would I kill thee."
There used to be a song, "What a Fool Believes." And in that song, it said, "And everyone is calling you a fool." Sometimes we act foolish, don't we? In order for you to see the reality of your life, you need to surrender to God.
Surrender yourself to God, allow God, and when you open, you give yourself to God. God opens up your eyes, and you can see things. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to tell people, "Brother, you're going the wrong way. Sister, you're going the wrong way. Don't do that."
"Oh, Pastor, he don't know what he's talking about." And they go do what they want to do. And the next thing you know, "Oh, I messed up. This happened. I need your prayer. Can you please pray for me?"
I can pray for you, but I was praying for you before you made that bad decision. At some point, you've got to realize there's a reality to serving God. I need God to open up my eyes. I'm tired of making bad decisions. I'm tired of going the wrong way. I'm tired of being broke. I'm tired of having no money. I'm tired of being sick. I need God.
Can somebody say amen this morning? Is anybody tired of making bad decisions? Anybody tired of going the wrong way? Come on out. I want to go up the mountaintop. I want to go toward my blessing, not away from my blessing.
I want to open up my arms and receive everything that God has for me. I'm tired of keeping God's blessings on the ground. We have to begin to realize, ask ourselves the tough question, "What am I thinking about? What is so important to you that you keep going the wrong way? What is so desirable to you that you keep on saying no to God and yes to the world?"
You see, he was so into receiving the money, he couldn't see reality. I need somebody, I know God's speaking to somebody here. I know God's speaking to somebody. Have you ever been in a place as God is dealing with your heart right now, if you would be honest with yourself, you were so focused on what you were doing, you didn't see reality.
You were so focused on that relationship or that sin or that money or that material possession that you did not see things correctly. What am I thinking about? Brother, we need to start working toward our victory. We need to start working toward our victory, not away from our victory.
Yes, God can bless you. Yes, God can pick you up. Yes, God can turn you around, but wouldn't it be better him to pray, "God, forgive me and pick me back up from my miserable fall" than we would say yes to God before we had our miserable fall?
And then one more thing before we pray. Your focus and your vision will determine your victory or your loss. The path is laid out before you. If by the grace of God I can help somebody this morning, I just want you to know the blessing of God is out there before you.
He has nothing against you. He is no respecter of persons, whether you're white, black, Hispanic, Chinese, Asian, what doesn't make a difference? Young, old, fat, skinny, the blessings are there for you. The only thing that's going to stop you or determine whether you have victory or you're going to have a loss is your mind.
What are you thinking about? You see, when Balaam was on the ground and he began just really crying out because God opened up his eyes and he was able to see things correctly and Balaam said, "I have sinned for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases thee, I will get me back again."
God let him live that day. But what the saddest thing in this story is he ended up in destruction. How many of you think that if God teaches you a good lesson, if God teaches you you have a horrible experience, I'll never do that again? We want to think that of ourselves, don't we?
If something happened and it truly got my attention, "Oh man, I am never doing that again." But you know the reality is if the devil offers you something a little bit more, you do it again. You'll do it again.
How do I know? Because in the 30 years I've been pastoring the church, I've seen people go from one bad relationship right into another one. I've seen people come out of jail and go right back in jail. I know that sometimes experiences that can be life, can teach you good lessons in life, we call it an epiphany.
I know sometimes because of what we went through, it's like a light bulb can come on in our life. But the reality is no matter how many times that light comes on in your life, no matter how many times that God teaches you a lesson, if your mind is still bent on sin, you'll override your lesson.
You'll override lessons learned and you'll do that same thing again. Come on now. How many of you have ever made a bad decision, went through a hard time, learned some lessons, and then did the same thing again? I didn't hear you. Come on, somebody else. And then did it again.
You had a bad experience, you learned a good lesson, God told you something, slapped you on your wrist, "Don't do that." And then something else happened and you did the same thing again. So it's not determined by just because you had a bad experience.
Again, one of the first things you've got to do is say, "Change what you're thinking." What am I thinking about? You have to get to a place that you realize money is not the answer. That relationship is not the answer. I need God in my life. I'm tired of going the wrong way.
I'm tired of going the wrong way. Tired. I had one lady in tears, in tears, saying, "I'm tired of this, Pastor Tucker. My boyfriend's cheating on me. He's doing this." But then what she said next just broke my heart. She says, "It always happens this way. It always happens this way. I meet a man, I give him all my heart, I give him everything, and then he does this to me."
I just looked at her. Well, if it always happens that way, why don't you change what you do? Instead of always giving yourself to some man, why don't you give yourself to God? God will send you the right man. But instead of every time you have a man, you give yourself totally to him, you're going to have the same thing.
If you keep doing the same thing, you're going to have the same results. I need somebody to be honest with me this morning. How many are ready for a new change? Something different? Come on now. How many are ready for God to come into your life, like, open up the doors, like, and give you exactly what you need?
I need somebody to be ready for a new change. Come on now. How many are ready for a new change? Exactly what you want. Or you just want to keep on doing the same thing over and over again. It broke my heart when that lady said that to me. "It always happens this way, Pastor Tucker. It's always this way."
Well, then do something about it. See, because we read in the Word of God how that Balaam was crushed in this moment. He was embarrassed that the donkey saw the angel. He didn't see it. But later on, the Word of God says, when Israel came in, they destroyed him.
Because he kept on doing what he did. He told Balak, "Look, I can't curse them, but I can tell you how to get them cursed." He still did what he wanted to do for that money. Brethren, you've got to begin to realize this. The choice is yours. Blessing or curse. It's all determined what you're thinking on.
As we get ready to pray this morning, God has a blessing for somebody. God has a financial blessing for somebody. God has a financial blessing for somebody. But you keep on doing what you want to do. At some point, you've got to realize, "Not my will, thy will be done. God, not my will. I'm tired of doing things my way."
At some point, you've got to get to the point you say, "God, I surrender all to you. I'm tired." I don't know if some of y'all may have got that point, but I had no idea one day. I said, "God, enough is enough. I'm tired of going the wrong way. I'm tired of having my toes stepped on. I'm tired of shooting myself in the foot. I ain't got much foot left. God, I need you to help me make better decisions."
Is there anybody here tired of shooting yourself in the foot, ready to make some better decisions? Because there is a God in heaven waiting for you right now. If you'll come up here, surrender your all. You may not even know all that I'm talking about. You may not even know all the God wants to do in your life, but you know one thing, you keep going the wrong way.
And is sin worth you fighting God? Someone said, "Well, when I get to know God better, then I'll serve him more." He's made himself real to you, just as he made himself real to Balaam. Balaam made a decision, and so have you.
We're ready to pray this morning. So let's ask ourselves a tough question. What are we thinking about? And are you ready to serve God? Let's pray.
Father, thank you right now, God, for your goodness. We thank you for your mercy. We ask God, in the name of Jesus, accomplish your divine will. Lord, somebody here is ready to be blessed. Someone, God, is ready for their breakthrough, their revival. God, they're ready to begin their track up the mountaintops to be blessed.
I ask in the mighty name of Jesus, speak to that soul right now. Make yourself real to them. They will come to the altar and surrender their all to you. I know there's people that will continue to make excuses. I know there's people that will continue to make excuses. I know there's those that will continue to reach out for sin.
But I believe someone here, God, this morning is tired of shooting themselves in the foot, and they're ready to be blessed and highly favored. Accomplish your divine will right now, God, right now. Wrap your arms around somebody and speak their name one more time, so they may know, God, their blessing is here.
And this I ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Come on. Come to the altar this morning.
Yeah, I've been on the platforms. But today is the day that you make a better decision. And today is the day you get blessed. I need somebody. Come on up right now. Begin to give yourself unto God.
You see, from the very first moment, Balaam already knew what he needed to do. He told them, "Lodge here tonight." He was wrong right there. Come on. Let's pray. God wants to bless you. God wants to help you.
Come on. Come on. Worship God this morning. Surrender to God right now in the name of Jesus. What are you thinking about? No one can do for you what God can do for you. No one can help you like God can help you.
Come on. Worship in the name of Jesus. Oh, God, we worship your name this morning. We worship your name this morning. Hallelujah. We know the direction we're going. We know the thing that we're pursuing in the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus. Don't worry about anybody else. This is your moment. You know your decisions. You know you are the sum total of all your decisions. Right now, decide. Choose Jesus. Choose Jesus. Not just in form and fashion like Balaam did, but become a solid believer.
He told them, "Oh, yeah, just lodge here tonight. Let's just see what God will do." He knew better. You know better. Let your will be done this morning. Reach out, Lord God, and accomplish your divine will. Speak to somebody's heart, God.
We praise you, Lord God. In the name of Jesus, we bless your name. We acknowledge our mistakes. We acknowledge, God, our desires and what we're looking at wrong in the past. But now, God, lift up my vision from the world and help me to see you. Help me to see you, Lord Jesus.
I need somebody to pray right now. Come on. It's time that you begin to see Jesus. It's time that you begin to look toward God. Not just be aware that there's a God in heaven, but become a follower.
The devil didn't ease up on Balaam, he's not going to ease up on you. But you've got to make up your mind. Enough is enough. Lord, we worship your name. We praise your name. We thank you this morning. We bless your name.
Somebody's getting blessed. Somebody's changing their thoughts. Somebody's reconciling things between them. And God, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Come on, say it a little bit longer. Worship him.
Be healed. You want your family put together. Pray. Thank you, Jesus. Oh, hallelujah. God, we bless your name. We worship you. Oh, God, you're wonderful. Counselor, the mighty God.
Hallelujah. Let's all stand right now. Brother, if you could get the room before me. Let's all stand. I want you to hear what I'm saying to you this morning. I know we're going to have a wonderful dinner. I know a lot of us are here for the dinner. Thank God for the dinner.
I know a lot of us are here for the dinner. Thank God for the dinner. Thank God for the dinner. But I just, I feel somebody's about to get blessed if they'll just stop going the way they're going.
He said to them from the very first moment they came to his house, "Lodge here this night, and I'll bring your word again, if the Lord shall speak to me." He opened the door to the devil, bothered him one more time.
How many times do you keep opening the door for the devil to bother you one more time? Isn't it about time we say no to the devil and yes to God? Is anybody ready to slam that door to the devil?
I know we want to open it up every now and then when we want to, but how many is wanting to say, "God, I'm on your side? I'm in. God, I'm all the way in. I am committed." If that's your prayer, let's pray that right now.
Father, we come before you right now, and we thank you for all that you're doing. I ask in the mighty name of Jesus, God, let somebody, God, right now, according to their desire to change their course of their life, and to begin to experience a victory like never before.
Help them to close that door to sins. Help them to open up their heart to you, and make that decision to be committed in all the way in. Lord, I pray right now for strength and guidance and direction to be delivered to that soul right now.
Help them to say no to the world, and yes to the path that you have for them. And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Let's see the Lord clap out from the right now. Amen.
Amen. You may be seated this morning. I thank God for all that God is doing. Sometimes I read through the Word of God. It is just, it stands out so much.
And he offered them a time to enter the house, then he's arguing with a donkey. To be honest, I can see some of you guys arguing with a donkey. But we have to make up our mind. No longer will we keep on doing that.
Right now, though, let's go ahead and dismiss. I mean, let's go ahead and receive an offering. Appreciate how God's been blessing. And it really has been a blessing. God's been touching hearts and lives.
I'm very thankful for the online crowd that they've been watching our videos. And as they're listening to the videos, they're actually giving an offering. Bless God and receive an offering this morning.
Receive a good offering as unto God. As we said, we're trying to get a lot of things done around the church. We actually have some things that have to get done pretty quickly.
I know this leak here, I mean, this thing here, if anybody knows anyone that can do construction, drywall repair, we need somebody this week. So let's receive a good offering this morning so we can take care of some things.
I know we have a place in the back there. The ceilings are coming down. Diana was up on the ladder yesterday trying to block it off. And I said, "Oh, Lord have mercy. We don't want that."
But let's go ahead and receive a good offering unto God. Brother Franklin, are you going to come up and receive the offering this morning, please? We have the online giving portal where we have different buckets that you can give to, different funds that you can give to, church beautification, pay your tithe, whatever offering you want.
On Cash App, we receive offerings. It all goes to one that we can take it to wherever we need to. But whatever you give, whether Cash App, the giving portal, or cash, let's give a good offering to God and allow God to bless.
Brother, if you go ahead and pray over the offering, let me help us receive the offering this morning. Amen. Who's supposed to be singing? Diana? Tanya? Who's supposed to be singing? You, Lord.
Brother Franklin, he's going to take y'all way back. Brother Franklin, they're not listening to me this morning. Go ahead and take everybody way back, brother. Go ahead.
Amen. Thank God for all that God is doing this morning. May God continue to bless you as you give to God, live for God, serve God. I know they've got something else they want to do for us this morning, so I thank God for this program this morning.
Already it's been a blessing. Make sure that you pray about service tonight at 6 o'clock. We have our special service Wednesday at 7:30. All the churches are coming here, and so we'll be hosting that this Wednesday.
And so looking forward to that. They're excited and ready to come. And then we've got a lot of things. Then I need some folks to start praying about our vacation Bible school. We're going to need teachers.
But we want to have some classes for the adults and the kids. So we need somebody to help me. We're going to have puppets. We're going to have a pet show, some of this stuff.
So if you want to be on the vacation Bible school committee, let me know now. Because we need to get started on some things. It's going to be a week. We'll start out with dinner. Then we'll have the kids go to their class. We'll have the adults go to their class.
And then we do it from Monday to Friday. So we're going to have a good time. If we're going to do a competition for gifts, then we need to go ahead and start collecting those gifts now and working everything out.
So let's get on the committee, get things going. God bless you. And I truly thank God for all of you. God is doing it.
All right. Sister Tucker, did you have something? Sister Tucker. Let's see here. Sister Tucker. All right. Let's see here. Let's try this one. Bishop. Bishop.
on Jun 18, 2024
