Amen, praise God! Limitless! Praise God! I'm Pastor Johnson, I'm one of the ministers here at Limitless Church, along with my lovely wife. She's not here today.
And we'd like to welcome all the first-time visitors. Can we give the first-time visitors a hand? Amen! Praise God! We welcome you! We want you to sit back, have a good time, and enjoy the spirit of God.
And I have two things for you. Like Pastor said, one of them is the limited lunch for those who have been attending for three months or less. The pastors would like to get to know you, and you'd like to get to know them. We have a lunch for you so you can find out about our vision, our mission, and the history of this church. The history of this church is phenomenal! When you sit back, we’ll tell you about it. And meeting our pastors, they are so wonderful.
I did it again. Right here? That's okay? No? Right there? Okay, gotcha. All right, there. I got to listen to my sound man. Yeah, because I want to sound good now.
And also, we have the men's luncheon. Come on, man! Where you at? Oh, come on! I'm going to tell you like I tell, like I ask my little grandson. I said, "Let me hear you bark! Let me hear you bark, man! Come on! What cadence is that? He can bark louder than that!"
So we have our next, oh, this coming Saturday, we have our men's breakfast. Come on now! Amen! And it's right here! It will be inside the living room at 9 o'clock Saturday morning. This Tuesday is the deadline to register. Make sure you register! Scan our code so you can register in the back of the seat pocket, or you can go to our connection table and find out how to get connected for our breakfast.
So let's dive into the word of God.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you and we praise you. We thank you for being here. First, we thank you for another day. David said that this is the day that the Lord has made. He didn't have nothing to do with it. We didn't have nothing to do with it. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.
So Father, we thank you for being inside your house with our brothers and sisters in Christ to come and worship you and to praise you, to lift your name up, Heavenly Father. But most of all, to hear your word. In the name of Jesus, Amen!
God wants better for the family. How many know that God wants better for your family? Amen! And a lot of us who got married, some of us got married. God had put us together. My wife and I have been married for 44 and a half years. Amen! And God is the one who had put us together.
And I know that some of you got married not out of, you know, out of lust—I mean love—but now that you gave your life to Christ, He wants better for your marriage. And He wants you to seek Him and His word and how to conduct your family. And that's what we're going to dive into today.
And also, there's a divine purpose for the family.
And we're going to start off in Genesis chapter 12, verses 15 through 23. It says, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden." I like this part. "He took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." I want you to remember this as we go down.
And the Lord commanded the man, "You are not free to eat—you are, excuse me, you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die."
The Lord said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Now the Lord had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found.
Verse 21: "So the Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man and brought her to the man."
The man said, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, for she was taken out of man."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one flesh.
And then Genesis chapter 1, verse 28 says, "And God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'"
And I was saying, "Lord, how is this the divine purpose of man?" And it was like God said, "I want you to listen to me now. I'm going to break it down because I know you need to break it down. I know that I have to break it down simple for you because you already asked me. You already told me that the Bible don't have no pictures in it, so you don't see no little animals being formed. You don't see man. So I'm going to break it down for you."
I said, "Okay, Lord."
So He said, "I created man, right?" I said, "Yes." He said, "In the beginning, because you said that let us make man in our image, and you created man in your image."
Okay, so verse 15 to 17: "The Lord God took the man, put him in the garden of Eden to work it, take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die.'"
Now God created man, okay? And now God steps back after He created man. Now man—now God steps back, and now He's going to be a father. He said, "Okay, Adam, I provided you with your own place. I got your own crib. I made you a garden. I created you a garden, and I got your own crib. You said I want you to take care of it. Okay, but I'm going to tell you the do's and don'ts. I want you to take care of the garden, but I don't want you to mess with the tree in the middle of the garden because the time that you mess with it, the moment that you eat from it, you will surely die."
So Adam said, "Cool! I got my own place! I'm sitting! I got my own place! I got my own garden! This is nice! Man, this is real nice! Okay, I'm not messing with that tree over there because I don't know what 'die' means, but it sounds like a bad word, so I'm not going to mess with it."
Okay, so how many single women we have in here? Raise your hands! Okay, I'm about to show you how to get a man right now.
Okay, first of all, you have to have a man that's created for you by God.
Okay, second of all, the man has to be obedient to God. He has to love God more than he loves you.
Okay, third of all, he got to have a job! Because when God put Adam in the garden of Eden, He said, "Here's what I want you to do. I want you to work it and take care of it." That's the job!
So He's training Adam how to be a man. You're just not a living being. You're just not a living creature. I'm teaching you how to be a man because I'm teaching you because you're going to have a family one day, and it's going to be a divine family. It's going to be a family that I create, not the family that you create.
So He gave him a job, told him what to do and what not to do, and He told him the consequences if he disobeyed Him.
Verse 18: "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'"
So now God is concerned about His son's loneliness. He sees his son over there just as lonely. He got a garden of Eden. He got everything that he needs, but he's so lonely. He's over there looking pitiful, looking like Sad Sack Sam. I don't know who Sad Sack Sam is; I heard my mama say it. "Stop looking like Sad Sack Sam!"
He's over there looking like Sad Sack Sam. So what I'm going to do, I will make a helper suitable for him.
Verse 19: "Now the Lord had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them. And whatever the man called each creature, that was his name."
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found.
Now God, He steps back and says, "Not only am I going to give you to make sure that you take care of the garden, I'm going to give you another job."
Okay, now God steps back. He'd be a master potter. He forms all the animals out of the ground, and He tells Adam, "Now I want you to name them."
Now I'm going to give you another job to do. He's making sure that Adam is a man, a grown man. Because you just don't give your daughter to anybody. You just don't give your daughter to someone who doesn't have a job, who's just sitting around in the garden just doing whatever you want to do and eating whatever you want to eat.
No! I want you to name every last animal that I make!
Women, you don't want a man that complains either! I didn't hear one time where Adam complained and said, "Man, why I got to name all these animals? Why I got to be me? How come you just can't come up and just name them? Why you give them to me to name all these animals? You want me to name even the insects? Well, I just named them insects!"
Whoa! Hello! Even all of these little creatures, you want me to name?
Where's my sound man?
So He gave him another job, but there was still no one suitable for Adam. He still had Adam in mind. He said, "Because before I give you my daughter, I want to make sure that you're the man suitable for her and right for her because I'm about to give you the biggest surprise of your life!"
You thought the Garden of Eden was something? You thought it was beautiful, gorgeous? You thought the animals were gorgeous? All the beasts of the field and all the birds? You thought that was beautiful? Well, I got something just for you!
And He says, "So the Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man and brought her to the man."
This is the God that we serve! A God that can take a rib and make it out of a woman! And you really doubt Him? You really doubt a God that can do this?
The Bible says God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yesterday, today, and forever. He's the same God. But we have problems really believing Him and trusting in Him.
So now God becomes an anesthesiologist. He's the first anesthesiologist. He puts the man to sleep, into a deep sleep.
And then He becomes the master surgeon. And then He opens up the man's side. And He removes a rib from the man. And then He closes the flesh back up.
And then He takes the bone that He took out of the man, and then He becomes the master potter. And then He forms it into this beautiful woman.
And then He asks Adam, He says, "Adam, what are you going to call her?"
But I tell you what, Adam, you know what? Let's do better than that. What are your vows to her? Because this is a marriage ceremony now.
Adam said, "This is bone of my bone." He took her by the hand. See, because whenever I do weddings, I tell them, "Take them by the hand. Look at each other in the face when you say your vow. Don't say your vows like this. Or don't say them like this."
Adam took her by the hand, and he said, "This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman."
Whoa, man! Whoo, whoo! No, you didn't! No, you didn't! Whoo! Now, that is suitable for me!
So God becomes the first pastor who performed the first wedding. And He tells them in Genesis chapter 1, verse 28. This is divine purpose right here: "Be fruitful, increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over it, over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
"Adam, you may kiss your bride."
See, God wants to take care of us. See, it wouldn't be fair that He took care of Adam like this and He don't take care of us.
The only difference is Adam obeyed everything that God said. The only difference is that Adam trusted God in everything that He said. And God blessed him.
Adam didn't ask for anything. Adam didn't ask for this woman. He didn't say, "You know what, God? I see all these animals. I see all these birds. There's two birds. There's two lions. There's two giraffes. There's two ants. But there's not two of me." He didn't say nothing like that.
He just trusted and believed God that God would provide his need. And God did.
This is the divine purpose for families.
In Jeremiah, Jeremiah said in chapter 29, verses 11 through 13: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper who? Me! Plans to prosper you and not harm you. I'm not here to harm you."
When I'm around my unsaved family sometimes, you know the first thing they do? They try to die. "Here come Robert. Here come Cuss. Here come Cuss. Here come Cuss. Here come Cuss."
I'm not trying to harm you! That's what God is saying. I'm not trying to harm you. I have plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
This is God talking to you. And what I do sometimes to help you out, I put my name. I put my name right in front of that verse. "Robert, for I know the plans that I have for you."
Make it personal! Just don't read the Bible. You just read it like it's a story sometimes. No, God is talking to you! God Almighty is talking to you!
And He says, "Robert, I know the plans that I have for you, son," declares the Lord. "I plan to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."
So now what I'm doing now, I'm seeking God with all of my heart because God is talking to me. And I know that God knows everything about me because He knows everything. He knows everything. He has all power in His hand.
So I know the situation that I'm in that God will get me out of. And I know that His presence is with me everywhere that I go. I know that not only physically that God is with me, but mentally God is with me. Emotionally God is with me. Spiritually God is with me.
That no matter how deep I go down, no matter how low I feel, I know that He's the lily of the valley. So I know that He's there with me. He knows my plans. He knows my plans.
And even if I'm on top of the mountain and I'm feeling good, I'm feeling great, I know that He's there with me. Because why? Because He's the bright and morning star. I know that He's there with me.
God's intention for a better family life, for companionship and community within the family structure are built on biblical values. Build your family on biblical values. Stop listening to these people on TV. They have no idea what they're talking about. If they are not Christian, if their lives are not built on biblical values, they do not know what they're talking about.
Well, they've been divorced four or five times themselves.
Here's what we have to do. We have to align our family dynamics with God's purpose. And when we do that, we create a nurturing environment that emphasizes love, compassion, forgiveness, and respect.
But we have to align our family dynamics with God's purpose. You see, because every last one of you have a gift that God has placed inside you that He wants to use. Even your children. Even your children.
Families are encouraged to live according to God's word and not according to the world's ways.
Number two, God's provision and blessings. Philippians chapter 4, verse 19 says, "And my God." Paul is talking to the Philippian church. And he didn't say, "Church, you're God." I'm talking to you. No, Paul said, "My God."
I don't know about you. I don't know who you're serving. I don't know why you're in church. But my God will meet all my needs according to the riches or the wealth or the fullness of possessions of His glory in Christ Jesus.
God will meet all of our needs. All of our needs. If we trust Him, as Adam did. If we trust Him. If we believe in Him.
I know it gets scary sometimes. It does. It gets, you know, it gets scary. You know, it gets scary to step out the boat. You know, you want to stay in the boat sometimes.
You know, people talk about Peter. People talk about Peter. But Peter stepped out the boat. You know, he didn't stay in the boat where everybody was scared and shaken. And there's a storm. "Don't, don't, don't! That's a ghost! That's a ghost! Don't, don't step out there! Don't step out there!"
That's the way some of us act sometimes. We're scared to step out to believe Christ.
But Peter wanted to make sure. "Jesus, is that you? If it is, let me come out to you." And Peter—and Jesus said, "Then come on out there." So Peter stepped out the boat.
All right, all right, all right there! Okay! Some of us are scared to trust Jesus, to trust Him. Give me your heart. Seek me with all of your heart.
And then David said in Psalms chapter 37, verse 25: "David said, once I was young and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread."
I have never! Once I was young and now I'm old. I never seen the righteous—not just anybody. I never seen the righteous. I never seen those believing in God. I never seen those trusting in God. I never seen those who were obedient to God. I never seen them forsaken.
I never seen their generation. I never seen their children begging for bread. Because God's provision and blessing. God will make sure that His children are taken care of. He'll make sure of that.
But His part is to trust Him, to believe in Him, to believe in His word.
God desires to provide for our families, meeting our mental, listen to this, meeting our mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, financial, relational, educational needs. Seven pillars of your life. God wants to meet every area of your life. He wants to meet your needs in every single area of your life that goes on in you.
And not to put your trust in this world system. And not to put your trust in man. Amen! That's right! Amen!
Your whole trust—everything—has to be in God. Because Jeremiah says in Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 5, he says, "Thus saith the Lord." And when you hear that, you better pay attention.
"Thus saith the Lord." Yes! Yes, God! Yes, sir! "Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind, making weak, faulty human flesh his strength, and whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord."
He said, "Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man for his strength."
I know we depend on one another. I do. You know, I get it. You know, we do. We depend on one another. But if you depend on man more than you trust in God, things are just not going to work out for you.
They're not going to work out for you. And you call and you call yourself a Christian. Okay? It's just not going to work out if you put your trust in man.
And you get upset with him. Oh my goodness! Well, you said! First thing you said, "Well, you said you were supposed to have been here. You said you were going to be here at a certain time. You said you were going to give me this. You said you were going to be over there. You said you were going to be over there. You said, you said, you said, you said."
And God is just sitting back. He's just sitting back. See, that's why things ain't working out for you. Because you're trusting in them. You're trusting in them instead of me.
And I'm just going to sit here. I already told you. God said, Jesus said, "I already told you. I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and hears my knocking and lets me in, then I will come in to him."
I already told you! But you ain't opening the door!
I know it ain't any good word. You know, I got—we got some teachers in there. But I'm from Dunningin. I'm from the country. I can't come in because you're depending on everybody else. I can't! You're not letting me in!
And I can't come in anyway because I don't have a door. I don't have a doorknob on the outside. The doorknob is only on the inside. So I can't come in unless you ask me in.
And when I do come in, and when you do open the door, you only let me sit in the living room. Come on! Come on! You only let me sit in the living room! Just sit right there, Lord! Just say, "Don't go throughout this house now! Don't go throughout this house! You just sit right here! I'll go get you some water! You ain't need to go in the kitchen! You just sit right there!"
No! He wants access to your whole house! He wants every door, every cabinet! He wants everything open! He wants everything open so that He can help you! So that He can bless you! So you won't depend on nobody but Him!
It was a time that my wife and I, we didn't have nothing. I mean, no food! Back when we first got married, I was making about what? Three dollars and fifty cents? About three dollars and fifty cents an hour, full time!
See, kids nowadays, see, they getting paid twenty dollars an hour! Three dollars! Three dollars! Pastor John! Goodness gracious! Where you at? Where you working? Did they have cars back then?
When do we? I had rent I had to pay. Okay, first I had a wife. Okay? And I asked her, and when she first got pregnant, I said, "Do you want to work, or do you want to stay home?"
You know, we was newly married. You know, newlyweds. You know? And guess what she said? "Stay home." I said, "Okay."
So I had a wife to take care of, three dollars and fifty cents an hour. I had—so you can add it up yourself how much I was getting a week. I had rent I had to take care of. We just moving into a nice apartment. Ooh! Ooh! Had swimming pools! Had a jacuzzi! Had a weight room! Out on Greenback Lane! Next, almost close to Sunrise Mall! Ooh!
I had utilities to pay, and I had a car note for three dollars and fifty cents an hour. And some of my friends were telling me, "How are you making it? Me and my wife are working, and we're still trying to make it."
And I said, "It's nobody but God! It's nobody but God!" Because why? Because we remember that God said that He will meet our needs according to the riches of Christ Jesus.
We remember what David said that once I was young and now I'm old. I never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread.
We remembered those scriptures. I remember when Jesus said, "Ask and it shall be given. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened."
We remembered those scriptures. I remember when Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor will I forsake you." And we put that into action for years. For years. For years.
But God! But by believing and trusting in God! Not saying that we had, you know, we had it all smooth. No! We had to trust God!
And now, God blessed me that I was able to retire at the age of 55 years old. I had no idea! None whatsoever! And now, all of my children are in church, and all of my children and grandchildren attend this church right here.
God, I can say like David: "Once I was young and now I'm old. I never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread. I never seen it!" Amen! Hallelujah!
And my sister right here, I call her sis. Some of you call her Ruby. Some of you call her Aunt Ruby. I've seen her raise her children by herself. And all of her children are saved right here. All of her grandchildren are here in church.
Because she applied God's word. Trusting in God's provision encourages families to seek His guidance in all aspects of life. By prioritizing prayer and reliance on God, you can experience peace and contentment knowing He is at work in your life.
And knowing that it just builds such a faith up in you. Could you imagine, could you imagine after Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego go? Could you imagine when they came out the fire? Could you imagine their faith?
When they came out that burning fire? Could you imagine their faith? How it was built up? They stepped out that fire. "I don't even smell like smoke! I don't even smell like—you can't tell me nothing about God! I know that God is a deliverer! I know that God will make a way out of no way! I know that God will turn the temperature down when the flame is hot! I know this!"
And this is what God wants.
The call to love and forgiveness in the family, Philippians chapter 4, verse 32, urges us to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.
And some of you are some bad rascals! I'm trying to tell you that, boy! God has forgiven you! You probably never thought, "Well, God can't forgive me," until you gave your life to Him.
Until you gave your life to Him, boy! Some of y'all were fighters, too! I know y'all! Some of y'all were probably partying, boy! You loved them clubs, boy!
But God forgave you of all of that! And you know what? And you know what He wants you to do? He wants you to show that same forgiveness, that same compassion, that same love, that same patience that He had for you. He wants you to show that to others.
He wants you to show it to others.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verses 4 through 7, love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
That's a wonderful scripture, isn't it? Those are the characteristics of God.
God, I want to see how you compare to those scriptures. What I want you to do, I want you to put your—where love is, I want you to put your name.
Example: "Robert is patient. Robert is kind. He does not envy. He does not boast. He is not proud."
Yeah, yeah, somebody's going to hit you right between the eyes! Pow!
"He does not dishonor others. He is not self-seeking. He is not easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs. Robert does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
How do you equal up to that now? Now that it's pointing at you? Now that you put your name there instead of love?
And I want you to go home. I want you to go home and I want you to take a survey of yourself. Take a survey of yourself and find out what areas you are strong in, in those areas.
I wouldn't say strong because I don't think we really got it going on that much, according to the word of God. But find out the areas that you do pretty good in, all right?
And then find out, and then figure out what areas that you really need work on. I'm going to tell you right now that you're going to work on this the rest of your life.
Oh, sis, especially you got kids! And those kids are like Chucky and Jason!
Wait, wait, wait, wait right here, right here! Love is patient! I'm going to be working on that!
These are things you're going to be working on for the rest of your life. You know, but you know what? The Bible says the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells where? Within you.
"Lord, it's hard for me to be patient."
But the Bible says the same spirit that dwells with—that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within you.
"Lord, I don't know! I can't forget what he done to me!"
But the same spirit that raised Jesus! Come on! The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within you!
He wouldn't put it in the scripture if we couldn't obtain it.
We have to be just like Adam and allow Him to shape and make and mold us.
Why? Because He got a surprise for you that will blow your mind, just as He did Adam.
Families strive to embody Christ-like love, encouraging an atmosphere of understanding and grace. Your home should be encouraged. The whole atmosphere of your home should be of understanding and grace, emphasizing forgiveness, helps to heal wounds and strengthen bonds, promoting a family environment where everyone thrives in your home.
And it makes no difference if it's a biological family. It makes no difference if it's a spiritual family. It makes no difference if it's an adopted family or just friends, friends that you call family.
This right here does not change. No matter what family you're in, this does not change.
And men, men, God holds us responsible. He held Adam responsible. He taught him how to be a man. So He held him responsible.
He brought the woman to him. "I'm giving you this responsibility."
So sometimes we try to act like we are dictators of our home, Jeff. Sometimes we act like we are dictators of our home. "Woman, do this! Woman, do that!"
I wish I—yes, baby, what you want? All right, all right! Milk, eggs, okay, sugar. Yeah! And I got to write it down because I got to make sure I get everything right!
Yeah! Because we cannot do that because in 1 Peter, I didn't say this in the last service, because in 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 7, it says, "Husbands, in the same way, be considerate as you live with your wives and treat them with respect as the weaker partner."
Not weaker in strength or anything like that because God had made them, took them from the rib, weaker partner as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Treat that woman wrong if you want to! Treat God's daughter wrong if you want to! Say the wrong thing to God's daughter if you want to! And you're going to figure out that the thing that you're praying for, it's not going to be answered.
It's going to be worse for you than good. That's why I try to treat my wife. I treat my wife. I call her because her name is Lana Johnson. Some of you call her Lady J. I call her Jean, my queen.
Yeah, that's Jean, Jean, my queen. And I was serving her one day, and God said, "By serving her, you serve me. By serving her, you serve me."
Could our worship team please come?
God desires better for our families. And how does He do that? By establishing a strong foundation of purpose, provision, and love. By embracing these principles, families can reflect God's glory and experience the fullness of His blessing.
He wants families to glorify Him. The bottom line is God wants the families to glorify Him.
That when the world sees your family and how you love each other, how you forgive each other, how you respect each other, how you have compassion for each other, it gives Him the glory and it draws people to you and it causes them to ask questions. "How come your family is so loving?"
And then you're able to tell them. Then you're able to tell them about God, about the love of Jesus Christ.
You see, because Jesus represents our spiritual family. Jesus is the groom. The church is His bride.
The church is His bride. And He said that husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.
We're going to transition in our offering. And this is the time to really think about what God has given you.
You see, I know we emphasize giving, giving tithes and how God blesses by giving your tithes and giving your offerings, and we expect blessings, which is fine. It is.
But sometimes we have to go to God. We have to come to God and say, "Lord, I'm giving to be an obedient son, to be an obedient daughter. And I don't expect anything from you. I really don't want to say, 'Lord, because you have given me life. I shouldn't be here today. I shouldn't be here today.'"
Me personally, I shouldn't be here. Saints, I should have been dead a long time ago because I was going to be a cocaine dealer. I was in a car wreck and slipped one side of my face all the way over to the other side of my face.
So how can I always expect God to give, give, give, give when He has given me life?
When He has given me life, Lord, I thank you! I thank you! I'm not looking for anything! You have given me enough!
I just want to do your will. And like I said, the history of this church is wonderful. God took two people to start a church that started in their living room. And now look what we have!
So when you give today, think about what God has given you. Think about what He has given you.
Some of you, the doctors gave up on, but He has healed you and you're here today. Some of you should be in prison right today. Some of you shouldn't even be here right today.
But God! But God! In the beginning, God has blessed you.
So I'm going to pray over the offering.
Father, I want to thank you. Thank you for blessing us. Thank you for your word, dear God. Father, I pray for everyone that's giving, dear Lord, that you would place it upon their heart what to give.
And that we don't give out of emotion, but we give out of the leading of the Holy Spirit, God.
So Lord God, I thank you and I praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
As the buckets are being passed, once they pass you, could you please stand as the worship team sings? Amen! Amen!
Heavenly Father, we thank you. We thank you for placing upon our heart what to give. And I pray that you will bless those who gave and bless those who have not to give, dear Lord God, that you will bless them, that they can experience the joy of giving.
We ask in you, dear Lord God, that you will take it, that you will multiply it, Heavenly Father, that you will use it for your kingdom. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Praise God! Hallelujah!
At this moment, I would like to have every head bowed and nobody moving at this time because this part of the service is very critical. This is where people come and they give their life to God, and they really need your help. They really need your prayers.
There's some that are hurting, some that are heartbroken, and they come up for prayers, and they really don't need people talking all around them because one day you're going to be up here and you're going to want the whole church to pray for you.
If there's anyone who would love to give their life to God, you're just tired of living the way that you are living. And some of you probably made a resolution, "I'm going to give my life to the Lord this year." Well, now is the time.
Now is the time to give your life to God. I'd like to call our prayer team up, and there's some who say, "You know what, Pastor Johnson? I'm not living the Christian life like I want to live. I want to rededicate my life to God. I want to just—I want to be on fire for God. Rededicate my life."
Come up! I want to pray for prayer. Let's agree together.
And then there's some who just want to have someone to come into agreement with you. There's a situation that you're in. There's a problem that's going on in your life, and you just want someone to agree with you in prayer.
And sometimes, whenever someone comes and asks for prayer from me and they tell me what's going on in their life, I said, "You know what? I want you to pray. And we're going to hold hands, and I'm going to be in agreement with you that God is going to move on your behalf."
Maybe you're that person. You just want someone to agree with you in prayer that God is going to move in your life. I want you to come up for prayer.
And as our worship team sings, praise and worship.
So if you are either one of those, you want to give your life to God, rededicate your life to God, or want someone to come in agreement with you in prayer, please feel free. The prayer team is on my left and on your right. Come up and receive prayer.
Hallelujah!
I will make room for you to come. Have your way! I'm open! My heart is an open space for you to come. Have your way! I'm open! I'm open! I'm open!
Praise God!
While those are still praying, I'm going to dismiss. And if you can dismiss quietly, I will appreciate it.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you. We thank you for your message. Thank you for ministering to us. Thank you for showing us, God, that you want better for our family.
Dear Heavenly Father, and in order for us to establish that, dear God, we have to obey your word. We have to be obedient. We have to be pliable so that you can shape and make and mold us into that family, God.
So we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen! Amen! How was the message? God bless you! Amen!
Before you leave, we—amen, we live what? Amen! Amen! Amen!
on Feb 24, 2025
