First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: Hi, I'm Henry Davis, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland, a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, and Spirit-led congregation. I want to welcome you to our radio broadcast and remember, there's power at the park.

In this setting, I want to look at Lamentations Chapter 3, picking up the reading at verse 21 and reading through verse 26. The New Living Translation says, "Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: the faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness. His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance. Therefore, I will hope in him. The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord."

I want to come back in this setting, verses 22 and 23 as a focus. The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness. His mercies begin afresh each morning. These are the words of God. You may go to your seats around the building. Lamentations 3:22 and 23 are the verses, and I want to talk in this setting about being still here by grace. Still here by grace.

There are some mornings you wake up and surprise yourself. Not because everything is perfect, but because the pain dissipated. Not because the bills stopped coming, not because grief took a vacation, not because betrayal didn't hurt, not because the pressure let up, but because after everything life threw at you, you're still here.

Jeremiah writes the book of Lamentations while looking at a broken city. Jerusalem has been destroyed, the people are devastated, everything around him looks ruined. The nation is traumatized, the future is uncertain. Yet right in the middle of all that pain, Jeremiah says, "Yet I still dare to hope." I dare to hope. I double-dare you to hope.

That means hope is not always born in comfort. Sometimes, hope is born in crisis. And can I preach to you this morning in this setting who know what it means to keep going while carrying weight nobody sees? Nobody sees it. I was looking on my feed and it was talking about "get this weighted vest and then your walking can be more productive." You're carrying weights that if I look at you from the outside, I can't see the weight you carry.

Again, many of you in this room are the go-to persons in your families. When they have a challenge, they come to you. They come to you because they know that you know the words of prayer and the worth of prayer. In some cases, they're coming to you because you've got money. Yeah, that's why they come. But a part of that is the fact that you can look at why you have it.

You made decisions. You are conscious about the movements you make financially. And in this service, you have a number of persons who you would not get a check without first paying your tithe off the top. That's a tenth. I've taught it and I'll keep teaching it that just because you give $2 a week does not make that a tithe. You smile publicly while bleeding privately. You worship while you're worried. You serve while struggling. You encouraged others while trying to hold yourself together.

But somehow, God would not let you quit. That is why the enemy gets frustrated with you. Because what should have stopped you didn't. What should have broken you couldn't. What should have buried you only deepened your testimony. When we gathered last week in this sanctuary for 12 hours plus of prayer, and of course, we sealed the day with testimonies where persons talked about the goodness of God.

Miracles happening in their lives, how they dealt with challenges, but they're here because of the grace of God. You can look at somebody today and tell them, "I'm still here by grace." Lamentations is traditionally connected to the Prophet Jeremiah, often called the weeping prophet. He witnessed national collapse, destruction, loss, famine, and despair. One of the series I'm working on for this summer is Great Stories of the Bible, that we want to make sure we don't miss the great stories.

All the things that God—the Hebrew word for mercy here carries the idea of covenant love, steadfast, loyal, unwavering compassion. God's love is not emotional instability. It is committed faithfulness. And that becomes the tension of the text. Everything around Jeremiah says quit, but something in Jeremiah says keep trusting God.

That sounds like somebody in this sanctuary today. Everything around you, you've got this issue and that issue, but I'm still going to rise, shine, press my way to worship. Because I'm believing God has a word for me. I thank God for that. So there are three things we'll look at. One, grace kept me through what should have broken me.

Should have broken me. You dealt with it, you've come through it, you're still smiling, still have joy, still have hope, still talk about the goodness and the grace and the mercies of God. The second thing we'll talk about: God's mercy does not expire overnight. No, there is no expiration on the blessings of God on how God can show up, show out, and make a difference in any and every situation.

And thirdly, every morning is proof God is not finished. Every morning I get up, I realize God is not finished. Scoops is not finished. He's helping us to navigate and he knows what lies ahead, and he knows how to overcome whatever challenge might show up. It's proof. And I told the folk last night that you are a walking, breathing testimony of the greatness of God. You're the testimony, even in South Carolina, you're the testimony that God answers prayer.

Let me go back to my point number one: grace kept me through what should have broken me. 22nd verse, Jeremiah says, "the faithful love of the Lord never ends." I should have lost my mind, but grace. I should have walked away, but grace. I should have given up on the church, but grace. I should have stayed bitter, but grace. Yeah, I'm not going to walk around with bitterness and anger, my face scrunched up, walking around mad all day long.

That's a terrible existence. The joy is in being able to move from that space to a better space. Grace carried you when strength could not. There were seasons when you did not have answers. There were nights you cried yourself to sleep. There were moments when your faith felt weak. But God kept sustaining you anyway. Because your survival is not based solely on your strength.

Marcelus McKnight led us in our exercise last night. He made all of us run down front because he wanted us to do pushups. He's not here this morning, or at least he's not the leader this morning. Carlotta's going to do that. But he made us all run down, but he made us lean against this and do a pushup. Your survival is not based on your physical strength.

I could try to impress you with physical strength, but it's not physical strength. It's spiritual strength. It's really based on God's sustaining grace. Paul said, "My grace is all you need," or King James, "My grace is sufficient." My power works best in weakness. That's Second Corinthians 12:9. Sometimes God lets you discover that his grace is stronger than your breaking point. You reached your breaking point. Like my brother's sixth-grade teacher told him one time—told the whole class—that "I've had it up to here."

Some of our seniors know what it means to survive seasons when there was no money, no connections, no therapy language, no backup plan. Yet God kept food on the table, clothes on your back, and peace in your spirit. Some of the younger persons are carrying silent pressure, anxiety, uncertainty, burnout, comparison because of social media. We compare ourselves to fake people. Disappointment while still trying to function every day.

Some folk, they are only posting what they want you to see. The next thing you find out, that person that lived that happy life is jumping out of a window, taking an overdose of drugs. You don't know what they're going through. And the grass might look greener on that side, but it might be artificial turf. I was running in the mountains of Arizona and I ran past a place. I said, "Oh, look, that grass is green." And here we are in the desert and you've got green grass. I said, "I've got to touch it." But I realized it was turf.

But the reason you have not collapsed is because grace has been holding you together. Grace carried me further than my strength could. Grace got me up this morning. Grace has joy in my spirit. You've dealt with stuff that should have made you just want to give up. But God said, "No, I don't want you to give up. I want you to go on." And I want you to go on with this reality: that I will never leave you nor forsake you.

I want you to go on because I want you to understand that where you're weak, I'm strong. I want you to go on because you can always lean on me. Come on, somebody. I believe there's some witnesses who are here this morning still here by grace. Grace carried me further than my strength could. The second thing is that God's mercy does not expire overnight. Jeremiah says, 23rd verse, "Great is his faithfulness. His mercies begin afresh each morning."

That means every morning is evidence that God has not given up on you. Every morning. People may walk away, opportunities may close, plans may change, but God keeps showing up every morning. New mercies every morning. Every morning, there's something about the morning when you get up and take a deep breath and being able to look out and still have the movement of your limbs and still know your name. I'm still here. New mercies. I was reflecting because I got that call about Deacon Calcoat last week.

And I was leaving the church. As a matter of fact, few people were here. My phone rang and I said, "Why am I seeing Dorothy Calcoat calling me?" I thought it might have been on Rochelle's phone, but I heard Dorothy Calcoat on the other line. She said, "Duncan's gone." I said, "Gone where?" I didn't think he was gone, gone. But I'd had an opportunity to talk with the family and I realized that Deacon Duncan Calcoat got up last Sunday morning and made breakfast. Made breakfast for the family, took his medicine, took his vitamins, took all this, starting out his day.

Another Sunday, another day of grace. Made his breakfast and then a few hours later, called his daughter at 9:30 to wish her a happy birthday. Shortly thereafter, his head was hurting. Next thing you know, he's transitioned. But I thought about that thing. It was a Sunday. If you knew anything about Duncan Calcoat, his two words that he would give you all the time were, "No doubt." And when I thought about him, I reflected on another faithful deacon in our church. As soon as I call his name, you're going to know it: Deacon Surrey Young.

Surrey Young went home on a Sunday. And he went home on a Sunday in a suit, dressed up. And the reason why he was dressed up is because he was one of my designees to attend banquets that I couldn't. Surrey said, "Just give the tickets to me, Pastor. I'll go, I'll represent you, and I'll get a good meal." He was on his way, dressed up. What I'm trying to say to you is that none of us know when God's going to call us home. That's why every morning we get up, we ought to get up with a praise on our lips. We ought to get up and give God total praise.

The blessing is that God shows up every morning with new mercy. New mercy, not recycled mercy, not leftover mercy, but fresh mercy. That's the aroma I was smelling downstairs when I was walking the hallway. Fresh. They got waffles downstairs today. I mean, fresh. Normally, that's my first stop before I come up here. I say, "What are y'all serving?" Come on, new mercy, fresh mercy. Mercy for your mistakes, mercy for your weakness, mercy for your exhaustion, mercy for your recovery.

That is why the enemy could not destroy you with yesterday, because God already prepared mercy for today. Can I preach it the way I feel it this morning? Some of us made mistakes we're not proud of. Some of us took detours. Some of us had moments where we doubted God. But his mercy kept waking us up anyway. The fact that you opened your eyes this morning means heaven is still working on your story. Hallelujah. Somebody said, "Pastor, how did you make it?" Mercy. Mercy brought me through. Now everybody in this room, you can say mercy did it.

My third point: every morning is proof God is not finished. Jeremiah says, "So I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance." Verse 24, "Therefore, I will hope in him." Notice Jeremiah has not seen circumstances change yet. The city is still broken, pain is still present, problems are still real, yet he chooses hope. Jesse Jackson said, "Keep hope alive." Because mature faith is not pretending problems do not exist. Mature faith is believing God still has the final word.

And somebody came to church this morning wondering if your best days were behind you. But the Lord told me to tell you he's not finished with you yet. As long as there's breath in your body, purpose remains. As long as God keeps waking you up, destiny still exists. As long as grace keeps covering you, your story is still unfolding. You survived too much to quit now. The divorce did not finish you. The diagnosis did not finish you. The betrayal did not finish you. The grief did not finish you. The depression did not finish you. The setback did not finish you.

You are still here because God still has something for you to do. That's why the enemy gets nervous every time you walk into worship. Because you're evidence that God keeps people alive emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically. You are a walking testimony. When the pressure said quit, God said keep going. When fear said stop, God said trust me. When exhaustion said sit down, God whispered, "My grace is sufficient for thee." Can I close this thing now?

If God wanted you finished, you would not still be here. But because you're here, still breathing, still praising, still believing, still worshipping, still standing, that means grace has the final word. I'm still here by grace. Say it again. I'm still here by grace. One more time for the people who almost walked away. I'm still here by grace. Maybe somebody came this morning tired, frustrated, overwhelmed, spiritually disconnected.

I got good news, and the good news is God specializes in holding people together who feel like falling apart. Jesus died for your sins, rose again with all power in his hand, and he's offering grace that never runs out. You don't have to carry life alone. You don't have to do it by yourself. Trust in God. Today is your day to come back to God, join the church, surrender your life, or simply admit, "Lord, I need your grace." Grace woke me up this morning. Grace started me on my way. Can't nobody do me like the Lord. Say yes. Say yes. Still here. Still here by grace.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I'm trying to quit, I'm trying to stop, but every time I look around, I see another grace story. A grace story up there, a grace story over here, a grace story over there. Do I have a witness here? When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me, my soul got to cry out, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Still here. Still here. Still here by grace. I run into a whole lot of folk and I run into some of them and they get to that point they say, "You know, I'm trying to figure out my retirement now."

And then they look over at me, they say, "What's your plan?" Grace. That's my plan. I'm leaning and depending on the grace of God. I said I'm not tired, I'm not worn down, I'm not worn out. I'm sleeping good every night. Come on, somebody. Every night I get a good night's sleep, eat good all day long, and go eat today. It's nothing but the grace of God.

You've been listening to the radio broadcast of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland. If you want to receive a CD or DVD of what you have just heard, please call 301-773-6655 or visit us on the World Wide Web. And remember, there's power at the park.