Gospel House Ministries

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Our sermon title today is when God gets you straight.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: And so often when I hear this phrase about getting someone straight, I think of my mother and growing up as a child for chastisement. Wait till I get home. I'm going to get you straight.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Wait till I get home.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: And you didn't want to hear those words, did you?

Guest (Female): No.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: But today, God when God gets you straight, it's about getting you straight because you're wrong. And it's about getting you straight to make you right.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen, church.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Sin has made all of us crooked before God.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Sin has alienated us from God. Sin has darkened our hearts, and as a result, we were unable to walk straight before God. God sent His Son to put us on Straight Street.

Guest (Female): Thank You, Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. So that we cannot so that we cannot only walk straight, but to see straight, because sin blinds us.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Straight and narrow is the path that leads to salvation. God sent His Son so that we no longer be alienated from God, but that we may have fellowship with God and having His light shining within our hearts.

Guest (Female): Yes, Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: When God's light is shining in our heart, we become spiritual light for God, removing darkness wherever we can in the world. Amen. Matthew 5:14-16 says, "You are the light of the world.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven." Philippians 2:14-16 says that that that you're to do all things without complaining and disputing. Have I got a witness?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: That you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: In the midst of a crooked, because they ain't straight. A crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine. You shine. Look at your neighbor, you tell them, "You shine."

Guest (Female): You shine.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast. Now let me go. Holding fast the word of life so that I may rejoice in that day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: The sole purpose for God getting you straight is to bring more light to the world because darkness is taking over and people are bumping into one another in anguish and confused about who they are and where they should be simply because they're unable to see where they are going. You, talking to you. You being the light of the world can help them see and find their way.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: When God gets you straight, you lose your appetite for the world.

Guest (Female): Yes, Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You no longer want to be a part of the world.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: No, you have your sights on something true and new and that's Jesus the Christ.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You become His wife and no longer live in strife.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Strife is contention and anger or enmity. You know you don't want to be enmity to God. Strife is contention and anger or enmity, contest, struggle for victory, quarrel or war. We fight in victory, not for victory. Do you hear what I say?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: We fight in victory, not for victory. How can you fight for victory when you already got the victory?

Guest (Female): That's right, right, right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Do you get it?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen, church. So stop acting like, "I'm seeking the victory." You already got it.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: And you ought to walk in it.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. Glory to God. This is what happens when God gets you straight. You have a new point of view.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hope is hope is that view and you begin to look new. Joy is that view because you can do all things through Christ, which strengthens you.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Peace is that view because your soul is at rest while God while God gives you His best and you're able to stand the test. He will give you no less and then you can tell of the goodness of God through the word of your testimony.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Before God made you straight, you had many hindrances, setbacks and disappointments. Now that the joy of the Lord is your strength and you cannot be weakened unless you choose to be weakened. Jesus came to us either to offend us or defend us. Primarily to have us bend our knees so that He can be pleased with us. Amen. Amen. He came as a rock to stop us from going astray in our own way, allowing Him to lead the way so that we might see brighter days. Remember, we were in the dark from the start because we had crooked hearts. And out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. When God gets you straight, He removes evilness and foolishness from your plate.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: He changes your heart and as a result, David said, "He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemy. You anoint my head with oil." That means I got favor. "My cup runs over." That means I have more than enough. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Why? Because I'm blessed by the Lord. He's giving me a new heart. He's the best thing that ever happened to me and I want to stay near near the Lord, nearer my God to Thee. When God gets you straight, you want to dwell in the house of the Lord forever until you die. Jesus is our Rock of offense. He fights for us and our Rock of defense because He protects us. He's my Rock, my sword and my shield. He's my everything. What about you?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Open your Bibles to 1 Peter 2, beginning at 1, the first verse.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: And it reads, "Therefore, laying aside all malice." You got to lay aside all that evil mess and junk you had all stuffed up in you for what they did to you 22 years ago. Amen. You got to lay that stuff aside.

Guest (Female): Say on.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit." You don't want to be someone lying and making up stories to make yourself look good. Hypocrisy, not trying to be something not trying to be something you know you're not. Envy, not desiring things that other people may have and want it, too. And all evil speaking, cussing like a sailor. "As newborn babes, desire pure milk of the word." Amen. And what's sad is when someone thinks they're mature when they're still a babe.

Guest (Female): My Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Get to the basics. You so deep, you want, "You know they got other Bibles?" You get this one first. Get this, get this, get this. "They got other books that you can read." Get this one. "As newborn babes desire pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby." See, baby needs milk every day. So, if he's, Paul is, if Peter is using this to explain you got to drink of the pure milk, that means you need that milk every day. Don't the baby need it every day?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Don't give it to that baby, ain't nobody going to get no rest in that house. "If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." How many of you know He's getting you straight?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: If you tasted that the Lord is gracious, He's getting you straight. "Coming to Him as to a living stone." You're coming to Him as a living stone. And stone have what? Strength. "Rejected indeed by what? Men, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as living stones, are being built up," not being put down, but you're being built up. "A spiritual house, a holy priesthood." So, if this a spiritual house, people ought to come to you and be blessed and not cursed.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: They shouldn't leave you mad and upset. They should be leaving you blessed and happy.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen. "A spiritual house, a holy priesthood." You're set apart to do this work. You're not influenced by things of the world. You're set apart to do this work for the Lord.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: "To offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God." You can't just give God anything and think He going to accept it, church. You got to give Him what He desires from you. And the number one thing He's desires from you is your heart.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: And if God don't have your heart, all that other stuff you give Him, He's not even counting it, because He wants your heart first. And then all those things come after. "Therefore, it is also contained in the scriptures. 'Behold, I lay in Zion.'" Amen. "Behold, I lay in Zion." Now, a chief corner stone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. "Behold, I lay in Zion." Now, let's say you had company and the company came in your house. And the company laid on your bed. Do they plan on going anywhere? Anybody lay on your bed, do they plan on going anywhere? No way. He says, "I lay in Zion." He does not plan on going anywhere.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hello somebody. See how you got to look at it, take it and and take it for what it says, tells you? Amen. He says, "I lay in Zion." I ain't going nowhere. I'm here for you. He says, "I'm a chief." He says, "A chief corner stone, elect," by who? God. "I'm precious because I'm rare." You know how all the hip people talking about, "I'm precious because I got great value to offer you and my, the value that I offer you will get you straight." If you let me.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen, church. "And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." People may talk about you, but the shame won't won't land on you because you have your faith in Jesus Christ. "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." See, you rejected something that's the main thing. And the main thing is Jesus.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. So He has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense. Now, this stone of stumbling is put there because, hallelujah, it's put there because you know better. You know better. And so in your course of walking and you walk through life because you are not doing things the way Jesus wants you to do and you're living with one foot in the world and one foot in the church, when you walk, you're always stumbling on something. And and because this sin that's in your path, it can't get moved unless you ask God to move it out the way so you can stop stumbling when you walk. Do you get it? Amen. So you don't want to be stumbling because you got a lot of stuff in your way, in your path. And if you got a lot of things blocking your path, you're stumbling. It's slowing you down. You can't get to where you need to get to. God has called you. Yes. But look, you're stumbling because there's some things in your way that you haven't given to Him so He can take it out of your way. So that's why you keep stumbling. That's why you find yourself in the bed at night crying and not satisfied with life and things that are going. Not just because of that, because some of us cry for for good reasons, but what I'm saying is, you're you're disappointed in life. You're you're you're you're not happy with yourself. You're not you're not you're not stable. You don't have the stability of God with you. And so because of sin, you keep stumbling. You keep stumbling, then when you stumble, you find yourself upset. You find yourself angry. See, when nothing is in your way, you're happy. You're peaceful. You're so glad that that your your your plate is clean and there's nothing wrong with you. You're just happy, but when you got to keep stumbling over something, that bothers you. And when you keep and you keep stumbling, it sets you back. And you're not getting anywhere. And and as you as you keep stumbling, and getting set back, people are just walking right past you, making their goal. But you got a long way to go because you haven't given some things to Christ. You're still stumbling over them. If you would have given it to Christ, you wouldn't be stumbling over it and you can keep, so this race is what? You can keep up with everybody. It's not for the swift. It's not for the strong, cuz you keep stumbling. You keep stumbling, right? This race is not for the swift nor for the strong, but what? For he endure it to the end. So you you see this stuff in your way constantly. You know it's there. You know these sins are there that's in your life and you you keep stumbling, but when are you going to realize that you know what, if I would just if I would just press myself forward and just touch the hem of His garment, just seek His face, He will remove all these things that's stumbling causing me to stumble. And then I can keep up in the race. Even though people may pass me, this race is not for the swift nor for the strong. If I would just endure. If I would just endure this thing. I don't like the way it feels. I don't I don't like the way it has me, but you know what? I got to press my way anyhow. I I I I may not feel good today, but I got to press my way anyhow because I want to reach my goal. I want to hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." So Lord, even though I got setbacks, I'm on my way. I'm going to give it to You, Jesus, but I'm on my way. Help me, Father, to get rid of these stumbling blocks because I don't want to be hindered. I don't want my walk to be hindered. I want to be free in Christ. And whoever is free in Christ is what? Free indeed. Hallelujah. Amen. So it says, "They stumble, being disobedient to the word."

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: See, that's why you stumble. So you got to get to be obedient. That's how you get rich. That's how you get blessed. That's how you get out of poverty by being obedient to God, church.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: "They stumble, being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed." So the word was appointed to you. It ain't like you don't know. See, it says appointed. It ain't like you don't know. You do know. You know exactly what you're doing.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: But you determined to do what you want to do anyhow.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: My mother would say, "I'm going to fix you, though." "I'm going to fix you, keep doing what you want to do." And you know what I told you to do and you just want to do what you want to do. "I'm going to fix you." You don't want God to have to fix you in that manner. You want Him to fix you in a good manner. You want Him to fix you because you've been good. You don't want Him to fix you because you've been bad. "But you are chosen generation." You were chosen. How can you go to go to the grocery store and and pick fruit and things out? Do you look at it? Do you hold it? But see, God don't have to look at you to see if He want to choose you. He just chooses you cuz He know what He can do with you.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen, church. See, when you're picking those fruits and vegetables out, they got lumps on them. They got spots on them. You put it back. See, God sees you got lumps and spots on you. He don't put you back. He bring you forward.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. Amen. So you are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. What does it mean to be holy? Why do they use the word holy? A holy person is whole in Christ.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: A holy person is whole in Christ. You may have some shortcomings, but because you are in Christ, He has made you whole.

Guest (Female): Come on, Pastor.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You may not feel like you're whole, but if you're really trusting in Jesus, He has made you whole, church.

Guest (Female): Thank You, Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: So now you're trying to catch up to where God has brought you to. He has proclaimed that you are whole. Now, you may have shortcomings, but guess what? He says you're whole. So you just got to keep your eye on Him, keep living this life and He'll join you. Your stand will meet your stance and you will be whole, completely whole.

Guest (Female): Teacher.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. Glory to God. So you're His own special people, a peculiar people. Yes, you are. His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness. So you're going to proclaim those praises to everybody else. I praise the Lord. I love the Lord. He's done so much for me. He helped me. He helped my children. I had this problem. I had that problem. My car broke down. I didn't know where the money was coming from, but God did it for me. See, you behold, you have the praises. You proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. He didn't call you out of darkness for nothing. He called you out of darkness to set you up for greater. He called you out of darkness to set you up for better. So when these problems come in life, you can just call on the name of Jesus. He's better than any insurance company. He will assure you that He'll take care of you.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: How many of you know the song, "God will take care of you"?

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: He will take care of you.

Guest (Female): Yes, He will.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. Glory to God. That's it. You got to know it. Amen. "Who once were not a people, but are now the people of God." Before you, I won't even really considered on the map. Without God, God don't even really see you. Amen. Without God, He don't really, see, He He don't really, even though He knows you're there, He doesn't really acknowledge you until you acknowledge Him.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah, church. "So who were once not a people but are now the people of God, who have not obtained mercy, but now have but who have not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners, as pilgrims." See, you're a stranger. "Abstain from fleshly lust." All right. God want to get you straight. "Which war against the soul." Why do you have to go through those? Those lust, and then you you fulfill the lust, and it's over. You want to do it again. You never got satisfied then.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen, church. "Having your conduct honorable among Gentiles." You don't want people talking about you like a dog. They just, "You messed up." And you prove it out by your actions, the way you live. People shouldn't be talking about you like that. They should be lifting up the name of Jesus. Didn't we say to to do your good works before men that they may glorify your Father? Didn't we say that?

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen. So you don't want them talking dishonorable about you. "That when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation."

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: "Therefore, submit yourselves to every therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether the king as supreme." Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. Glory to God. Hallelujah. I'm going to stop there. Let me explain this to you. Remember when Moses struck the rock in the wilderness, that the spirit of life may flow from him, Jesus, to all who will drink. When God gets you straight, you will drink from this fountain or else you won't stand.

Guest (Female): Amen, church.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You will continually fall. When God gets you straight, Jesus becomes the very foundation and the chief cornerstone of your life. You stand on Him because all other ground is sinking sand.

Guest (Female): Oh, yes, it is, Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: When God gets you straight as a believer, it's because you were disobedient. Your disobedience has caused you to stumble at the truth of God's word. The word becomes a stumbling block to the sinful life you're living. You're stumbling because Jesus no longer wants to see you walking in sin. It's hard to walk straight when there are obstacles in your way. Stumbling is designed to get you tired of stumbling so that you repent and walk right. The word of God is an obstacle to your walk because you know better and refuse to do better. You can't get around the word, church. You can't get around it. The word is right and you're wrong. When you know better, you do better. But when you refuse to do better and want to stay wrong, you're going to stumble and stumble until you fall and repent and say, "I yield, I yield. Must I do to be saved?" And Jesus is going to lift you up and get you straight and prepared for the way. When God gets you straight, it can be to offend you because you offended Him. Or it's either to turn you in the right direction because Jesus wants to use you and elevate you. Isaiah 8:14-15 says, "He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and as a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." So when you're when you're not living up to God's standard, God, hallelujah, He He puts a stumbling block in your way as a trap, as a snare. And don't don't seem to be fair to you, but you got to take inventory of yourself now. You got to get to judge yourself. And you know when trouble comes, you say, "Lord, what did I do? What did I do, Lord? What's going on? What's happening now?" You know. And so you got to take an an analysis of yourself and see if you have erred in any way. And if you find that you have erred, get it right with God.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen. "It says as a trap, a snare, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and many among them shall stumble. And they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken." And I say to you, Gospel House, don't let that be you.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. "But when God gets you straight, you will hear clearly. You will know the voice of God. Think wisely, happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding, for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold. And move mightily according to His will." "Him we preach," amen, "warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." "To this end, I labor." Paul is speaking. "Striving according to His word, which works in me mightily." The the the work of God should be in you what? Mightily. You should reek of Jesus. You should reek of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. And when you reek of Jesus, you reek of the Holy Spirit, then you the work is in you mightily. You know what to say. You have a solution to a you have a solution to a problem that nobody else could figure out, but you just pop up and you give them the answer just like that. Hallelujah. You see somebody stumble. You see somebody in trouble in the world. You see somebody at the nursing home or even at the women's shelter. You got because you're the work is in you mightily. You you are strong towards what you're saying to them. You are helping them out in a great way and you say it with boldness. You say it with with fervor and tears start coming to their eyes because your anointing is on you.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You remember when the young lady came last week? She came forward, right? She came forward, but as soon as she crossed that black tape, the anointing was up here. Her body went limp. See, the work of God was in us mightily. And because and because more than likely Satan was with her, Satan had to say, "Ah, we ain't going that far." And her whole body just what what, went what? Limp. And so she had to go out and God was working on her. Amen, church.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Giving her a new new point of view. And He was straightening her what? Out. Hello somebody.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. So straightening you out doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing. It's a good thing.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen. What's making it bad is when you don't listen and continue to do what you want to do. Now the consequences is high on you. You you you really going to run into problems. Right. Because it isn't like He didn't forewarn. He forewarned you and you were hardheaded, so you wanted to stay the course. And that course is to your destruction.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. Amen. To God be the glory. Amen. To God be the glory. Amen. So, so, so, if God has got you straight, church, if He's got you straight, you must hang in there and never give up. Because He's right there with you. Amen. The times we live in now are dark times that require spiritual awareness. He who endures to the end is he that knows God and has a discerning spirit. Many offenses upon the earth and God is getting the world straight for its offenses against Him. But are you straight with God?

Guest (Female): Hm.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You're not of the world, right? But are you straight with God? "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Do you have a pure heart?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You are His workmanship, a city that sits on a hill. When God gets you straight, it can be for your good or it can be for your trouble. It can be for your spiritual growth or for your condemnation. Turn your Bibles to Hebrews.

Guest (Female): Thank You, Jesus.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hebrews, the 10th chapter.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: 10:26-39. And it reads, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth." That I was just talking about. "After we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." That's scary. If you willfully sin, it well, it's like Jesus ain't doing nothing for you cuz you just, you don't care that He died on the cross for your sin. You're just going to keep on sinning. He He died to take away the sins, but yet you want to stay in the sin. So there's no sacrifice for you. "But a certain fearful expectation." Now, how many of you know that if you are in Christ Jesus, then you you you know when you're wrong and this fear come into your stomach?

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You know you're wrong. "But a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries." If you don't get it right with God, that thing will eat on you and eat on you and eat on you until it devours you. "Anyone who has rejected Moses' laws dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses." They died anytime that there was no mercy. There was no mercy during Moses' time. You did wrong, that's it. To the loop, bye bye. Ain't no coming back. "Of of of how much worse punishment do you suppose will He be thought worthy, who has trampled the the Son of God under foot?" Amen. "Counted the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified a common thing." Like it, "Oh, that ain't nothing. That ain't nothing." You you you you you you're making little of it. "And insulted the spirit of grace." "For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. And again, the Lord will judge His people." Amen. Amen. You don't want to have Jesus under your foot. You want to put Satan under your foot. You don't put Jesus under your foot. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Let me read that again. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." "But recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with suffering." Amen. So, so, listen. "After you were illuminated." Now, watch this, watch this, watch this, watch this. This is what happened so often here in Gospel House and some of you wonder why people, they come and then they don't come back. It says, "After you've been illuminated." Illuminated. The light came on. Now you're suffering. Now if the light of God is in me, why am I suffering? Because Satan wants to snatch it from you. So so suffering comes to get you to drop it. We play football, and if you can knock that football out of the person's hand, it's called a fumble. The other team get the ball and they can make a touchdown, run back the other way. But you ain't going to make no touchdown. So if you have the word of God with you, and now you you you you're illuminated and when suffering comes, you don't let go of the ball, which is the word of God. You hold on to it even tighter. You don't want to stumble. You don't want to fumble. You want to make it to the goal. Hello somebody. You cover it dearly. You don't let no one take it from you. So Paul here is talking to those who helped him as you'll see as we read along and he's telling them, "You you you you you you're illuminated and yet you endure a great struggle with suffering." Because I came and lit up the world here and I put a light with you all and now you all are making the light brighter, but it seems like trouble keep happening to you all. Listen. "Partly, while you were made a spectacle." So people laugh. "Oh, you all are with them Christ." The people of the world. "Oh, you all are with the people of the way. Look what's happening to you. Where is he at now?" "Partly, while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches, which is shame, and tribulation." So they went through it. So if you go through same stuff, don't be like a little baby and cry, "What is happening to me all the time?" And count it all joy. Amen. I water heater went out. I just got, I was happy that it went out. You don't know why I was happy that it went out? Because I know the devil is mad that we we reached Kenya and those Bibles are going to get there.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: I started to laugh. I asked my wife, I told her. I laughed. I I I I look, when I went downstairs, I didn't like it. The water was down, the water come out of it and everything in the basement and everything. But as I, when I went upstairs, I counted it all joy, church.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Satan is. I I had not long got off the phone with him. And that water was doing that all morning and this is about the afternoon. We didn't know it and people downstairs, they didn't tell us. And so, I said, Satan, you are really mad now. You're trying to attack the church with with no heat. You're trying to attack my house with no heat. And we ain't had no light. Now no water. You is mad with this church with Kenya. But it's all right. I counted it all joy.

Guest (Female): Thank You, Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. Jesus, He will what? He will what? He will what? He will save you.

Guest (Female): Save.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen. I can get an old water heater. Amen, church. Amen. Amen. But I I don't want to lose this this opportunity that we have abroad. Amen. So Paul, the 33 again, "But partly while you were made a spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulation. And partly while you became companions of those who were so treated." See, you became companion of those. You got in the fire with us. You got in the frying pan with us. How many of you are willing to get in the frying pan with somebody else's frying pan?

Guest (Female): Hm.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Yeah, see there? You don't really want to do that, huh? "I got my own trouble, Pastor." "Come on, Pastor." No, if God will bless you when you get in the frying pan with somebody else.

Guest (Female): All right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You got to see the blessing, church. He see you ain't you can't do much if you want it easy all the time. He want it so easy. He just want you just want to be easy with daisies in your hand and then go to heaven. It don't work that way.

Guest (Female): It doesn't.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: It doesn't. You got to be willing to get in the fire. Amen. That's how God takes you higher. You you you you're so sold out to Christ. You believe that your help helping others will glorify God. You're not looking at the circumstances because we walk by faith, not by sight. What what's wrong? What's wrong with her? She she got what? "Oh, no, I can't do that. I'm sorry. I can't." You can't be like that, church. You can't. You see firemen, don't they come running in the fire to save people?

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: They come in to what? To save people. What aren't you in the business of saving, too?

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: So you got to be willing to go in the fire.

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hello somebody. You got to be willing to go in the fire. Hallelujah. Glory to God. So it says, "Therefore, 36. Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward." Don't let just because things are happening against you, don't lose your confidence. Let that embolden you to have greater confidence. Just like I told you, the water heater was out, I started to laugh. I started, "Okay, you you think you're making," I was, trust me, I went through a little moment where I was a little upset and the Lord showed me, "Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Don't you know why this is happening?" And then I realized we just got this breakthrough in Kenya. I kid you not, I got off the phone with him and in less than an hour and the gentleman down, I said, "I hear something like you can hear water run." And so I look at it as I I counted it all joy. That means that I hit the bull's eye, church. Not I, but we. We hit the bull's eye.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hello somebody. You hit the bull's eye. And see, see, see, Satan has those people over in Africa, he got them where he wants them. A lot of people, they're in bondage. They're in poverty. They're eating the least, they're not eating food like you're eating food. Yeah. There got places where people are rich. They wear some nice clothes in Africa. Don't get me wrong. But those people who are on the outskirts of town. Those people who live in the bush. Amen. They're suffering. They get what they can. And they eat some things you wouldn't dare eat because they got to what? Survive.

Guest (Female): That's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen. "Therefore, 36. For you have need of endurance." See, we got to go make it through. You got to you have need of endurance, church. God is Jesus said, "This stuff ain't easy. This ain't no easy walk. This ain't no cake walk. You have need of endurance. Stay close to God so you can endure. Stop leaning on your own understanding. Stop wandering off and wondering about something. Stay near the fire because you're going to need enduring power for what's coming ahead. This nation is going to need enduring power when this war start to rage. Things are going to get tight, church. Thank God we're almost out of the winter. I was already before the winter came, I said, "Boy, this is going to be some kind of winter." Did I not? And and and and we made it this far, we almost getting in the spring. Amen. I'd rather I'd rather go through some hardships when it's warm than than when it's cold. I'm going to tell you that.

Guest (Female): I know it's right.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: But however it happened, God will supply.

Guest (Female): Oh, yes, He will.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Amen. So you have need of endurance so that you after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. How many of you want to receive the promise?

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: "For yet a little while and He He who is coming will come and will not tarry." That's why you got to be ready. "Now the just live by what? Faith. But if anyone draws back," you don't want to be drawn back, especially them hands. "My soul has no pleasure in him." Do you see that? If you are a drawer backer, God don't have no pleasure in you. "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition." You see that? "But of those who believe to the saving of what? Souls." To God be the glory. When God gets you straight, you live waiting upon the promises of God. For He has justified you, causing you to walk by faith and not by sight, so that you do don't draw back nor retreat, but you press toward the mark of a higher calling in Christ Jesus. Saving the lost at any cost.

Guest (Female): Thank You, Lord.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Our sermon lesson today is centered on living in alignment with God. God will get you straight if you're willing so that you can live in harmony with Him and have the peace that surpasses all understanding. On the other hand, God will get you straight because you choose to be out of alignment with Him. He will without a doubt, when it's all over, when it is all said and done concerning you, He will send you straight to hell. God straightens us out for our good and God straightens us out for our wrongs. Whether you hide from Him or abide with Him, either way, straight way, He's going to deal with you. But remember the scripture that says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Problem is, we are all wrong but we are all wrong, but without Jesus, heaven don't want heaven won't be your home. Problem is, we all all wrong, but without Jesus, heaven won't be your home. Turn your Bibles with me now to this story where that someone fell into the hands of our God who lives forever and ever. Let's see how God got them straight. Turn in your Bibles to Acts, the ninth chapter.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Acts, the ninth chapter, beginning at the first verse.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You should know who I'm talking about. This story so fits the the the title of the sermon. Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogue of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way, of the way, of the way. Are you of the way?

Guest (Female): Yes.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now something is wrong with that right there. Jerusalem means habitation of peace. Now here you are, you think you're so theologically powerful Saul and you're going to bring people bound to Jerusalem? That don't sound right. If it's a a habitation of peace, nobody has peace that's coming in that's bound. So now Paul, Saul, you're doing something so wrong against God. You're binding people up and bringing them to Jerusalem. You bind people up and send them to hell. They go to they go to hell. Didn't Jesus tell Acts when he talked about uh I think it's in in um it's in uh Revelations and the the the the one with the hook, the the harvester who's going to come and get the get the the the sheep. Amen. He's going to cast those to the sides, who are goats, he's going to cast them aside. Amen. And what's going to happen to them? They're going to be cast down to hell. They're going to be cast down to hell, right? So, so, so, what do they do? They bind the scripture says, "Bind them up." Don't it? Now here he is, binding people up and bringing them to Jerusalem. You bind people up to go to hell, but you don't bind people up to go to a habitation of peace. So he don't even know, he's way out of line from God. He's talking about pleasing God, but you forget where you're taking them to. You're bringing them to Jerusalem, a habitation of peace. How can they have peace if you're bringing them there bound? So Saul, you're working against me. So, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shown around him because he got it all wrong. He got it all wrong from heaven. And then he fell to the ground and heard a voice. And I want to say this about verse two. See, he says, bring them bound on to, say this, bring them bound to Jerusalem, Satan wants you bound. Right. You can't get around to help God if you are bound. Hello somebody. So it says, then he fell to the ground, for heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Paul stumbled in sin, fell to the ground to be born again. God is getting him straight. See that? He fell to the ground right there in verse four, right? Verse five. And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." When somebody bothers you, they're bothering Jesus.

Guest (Female): Amen.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: You ought to be you ought to be excited about that. "It is hard for you to kick against the goats." Another Bible says, pricks. Y'all ever had that in school, the older saints? And you had that thing like this and you stick the pencil in it and you can draw a circle? Well, that pointy thing is a prick. Try to kick against it. See what happened. It's hard to kick against the prick. So he trembled and and and astonished, so he trembled. Trembling and astonished said, "Lord, what do you want from me?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise. Go into the city. You will be told what you must do." God don't even Paul, God was Jesus was upset with Paul. He was like, "Look, I ain't got time to talk to you now. Go get yourself straight. Go get straight, then we can talk. Get yourself lined up with me with just, I ain't got time to talk. I don't even want to talk to you now cuz you're filthy. You're filthy and I need to clean you up. I need to get you straight." Hallelujah. And the and the men who journeyed, seven, with him, stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. They were in awe. And then Saul arose from the ground and with his eyes were open, he saw no one. Why he saw no one? Because he was blind spiritually, and now God is making him blind physically to help him to realize what he was doing. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus and he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank. So God sent him on his way to get help, right? The first thing God wants to do is purify him. God wants to get him right. Amen. He puts him on a fast. Amen, church. Now there was a certain disciple. I want you to look at this. I want you to see this. There was a certain disciple, not a prophet, not a priest, not a bishop, a disciple, which you are. Stop thinking, "Oh, Pastor ain't here. That's Pastor's job. That's you know." No, you are a disciple. And you can do the work of the Lord. Don't think it's all on Pastor. You are you are a disciple, right? I'm reading right here, a disciple. So this means this is talking to you, my brother and my sister. Hallelujah. Amen. Glory to God. So now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias, and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here am I, Lord." That's the way you should answer. So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go." See, God is always telling us to go, but we tell him people to come. So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight." Go to the street called what? Go to the street called what? "And inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying." Now, he knows how to call on the Lord. See, this was a stumbling block for him. He knows of the Lord. He's been in the word. You see that? God knows him by name. So he's going to get him straight. Amen. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias, coming in and and and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. That's a blessing. You're in trouble with God, but you still can see the light thing. That's his mercy. That's his mercy, church. God is allowing him to see your blessing is on the way. When you be happy to know your blessing is on the way? When you when you when you holler, "Thank you, Jesus."

Guest (Female): Hallelujah.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Hallelujah. And then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man." See, we walk by faith, by what? But not by sight. But see, that's human nature. It's only right for him to say this, y'all. But you got to get beyond your human nature and do what God say anyway. And Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man. How much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name." "But," somebody say, "But God." "But the Lord said to him, 'Go.'" God said, "I ain't worried about that. I told you to go. Didn't I tell you to go?" If I told you to go, you're going to make it. Don't worry about what the chief priest doing. The chief priest ain't above me. But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine." Look at your neighbor and tell him, "You are a chosen vessel of God." You are a chosen vessel of God. You are, you are, he was a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles. So if he's saying that to him, he's saying it to you today. Bear my name before the Gentiles, the world, before kings, because if you can speak to kings, you can speak to the nation. You go to the top. And the children of Israel. That's the people of God. "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." Do you see that? Now, I'm going to stay there for a little bit. How many of you by the raising of your hand? Now, if you don't, don't raise your hand cuz God's going to see that hand go up. How many of you by the raising of your hand is willing to suffer for God? Think about what you said. Don't ever forget this. Don't ever forget you're willing to suffer for God because you will. You will suffer for his name sake. Stop saying, "Why does it have to happen to me?" I just read it to you. I just read it to you. That's right. You're chosen. And this is a part of the turf. It comes with the turf. Like I said, what happened with us. This is all in one month. Three different, four if you count the church. In one month. But I still got my joy. You know what will make you sad? When you can't get it fixed. That's what will make you sad. So I counted it all joy because Lord, I thank You. I got the means to get it fixed. I ain't worried about it. I can fix it. It's a little it's a little setback, but I can get it fixed. What's travel when you in the dungeon, the dungeon, when you can't get it fixed and don't know when you're going to get it fixed. Now you're in a fix. Hallelujah. Amen, church. All right. And Ananias went his way. And Ananias went his way and entered the house and laid his hands on him. He said, "Brother Saul." See, he didn't treat him as a stranger. He was against God, but he's calling him brother. "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came." He didn't know Paul, he didn't ask Paul nothing. The Lord already told him what happened to him. "The Lord who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." That's my constant prayer for all of you that you be filled with the Holy Spirit. We can move mountains if everyone is filled with the Holy Spirit. And I thank God, I see progress. There's about four, five of you that I know the Lord has filled with His Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. Immediately there fell from there fell from his eyes something like scales. And he received his sight at once. At once, church. And he arose. Only God can help you to rise. And was baptized. Get a whole lot done in one day. And so when he had received food, he was strengthened. And then Saul spent some of the days with the disciples at Damascus. Church, when God gets you straight for your good, he strengthens your faith. Wasn't he strengthened? Hallelujah. He was strengthened. Immediately he preached the he preached the Christ in the synagogue, immediately. And that he is the Son of God. And that's your job. Wherever you go, you should be talking about Jesus. He is the Son of God. You should be talking about his goodness and his mercy. You should be spreading the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. And then all who heard were amazed and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on the name of Jesus and has come here for that purpose so that he might bring them bound to the chief priest?" But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus. They just couldn't understand it. Proving that Jesus is the Christ. Amen. So all were amazed. Hallelujah. And he he increased in strength. See, God used him. Amen. So he was doing the opposite of God. He was stumbling and finally he fell and now he has no more stumbling blocks in his way. He can carry out the gospel and do the will of the Lord. Amen, church. Amen. All right. And Ananias went his way. All right. And Ananias went his way and entered the house and laid his hands on him. He said, "Brother Saul." See, he didn't treat him as a stranger. He was against God, but he's calling him brother. "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came." He didn't know Paul, he didn't ask Paul nothing. The Lord already told him what happened to him. "The Lord who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." That's my constant prayer for all of you that you be filled with the Holy Spirit. We can move mountains if everyone is filled with the Holy Spirit. And I thank God. I've seen progress. There's old four, five you that I know the Lord has filled with His Holy Spirit. Immediately there fell from there fell from his eyes something like scales. And he received his sight at once. At once, church. And he arose. Only God can help you to rise. And was baptized. Get a whole lot done in one day. And so when he had received food, he was strengthened. And then Saul spent some of the days with the disciples at Damascus. Church, when God gets you straight for your good, he strengthens your faith. Wasn't he strengthened? Hallelujah. He was strengthened. Immediately he preached the he preached the Christ in the synagogue, immediately. And that he is the Son of God. And that's your job. Wherever you go, you should be talking about Jesus. He is the Son of God. You should be talking about his goodness and his mercy. You should be spreading the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. And then all who heard were amazed and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on the name of Jesus and has come here for that purpose so that he might bring them bound to the chief priest?" But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus. They just couldn't understand it. Proving that Jesus is the Christ. Amen. So all were amazed. Hallelujah. He he increased in strength. See, God used him. Amen. So he was doing the opposite of God. He was stumbling and finally he fell and now he has no more stumbling blocks in his way. He can carry out the gospel and do the will of the Lord. Amen, church. Amen. Okay, let's go on. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Glory. So he says, I'm going go and then again and be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is from the Lord. But that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. See, when you're trying to prove yourself through the Lord, that's from you. You want it from God. Amen. And I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his what? Of his what? Suffering. If he suffered, you're going to suffer. The only thing, you shouldn't be struggling. Amen. Don't ever forget that. God Christ suffered, so you're going to be suffer, but you never seen Christ struggling. If he didn't struggle, you shouldn't be struggling. He didn't struggle because he knew where his father was. He know who his father is. 11. If by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ has also laid hold of me. I lay hold. I lay hold. Of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold on me. I lay hold. See, Jesus laid hold on me, so I'm going to lay hold on to the things of God. I'm going to lay hold on to those things because Jesus has laid hold on me. He didn't hold on to me for nothing. There's something he want to get out of me. So I lay hold of that thing that he want to get out of me. That thing that he afforded me to do. I lay hold to that. I ain't going to let it go because what I'm holding on to pleases him. Come on. Come on. Come on. It pleases him. So I hold on to it. I'm not going to let go of it. If I let go of it, I'm not going to be pleasing him. So I'm going to hold on to it. And don't squander your gifts. Don't squander the blessings that God has given you. You need to lay hold on that thing that pleases him. And you should be using it to bless people. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I ain't going backwards because there ain't nothing back there. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call, not the downward call, but an upward call. I'm going up. Amen. Upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Glory, hallelujah. Glory, hallelujah. Therefore, let us as many as are mature have this mind. And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. Amen. That same mind is the mind of Christ. God has invested so much in you that he wants you to have the mind of Christ. He got you straight with Jesus in mind to give you His mind. That's the only way you're going to be straight is to have the mind of Christ to think like Him, teach like Him, heal like Him, have compassion like Him and fight like Him. Jesus did a special work on you so that you can help Him get other straight, whether they go to hell or make it to heaven. Jesus wants to use you, so he made you salt. Spiritual salt. And he made you who was in darkness, light. Go to Matthew. Just chapter. This should bless you. All of this should bless you. But this should bless you most. Amen. All right. Verse 13. "You are the salt of the earth." But if salt loses its flavor, if God was to eat you right now, would you taste good? You didn't lose your flavor? You didn't lose your flavor? You going to taste good? Okay, we taste to see that He's good. He's full of flavor, right? So you got to be like Him. How shall it be seasoned? You you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It can't be seasoned. It can't be seasoned. It is then good for nothing. He telling you right now, it's good for nothing now. Can't do nothing with it. It's good for nothing. And you don't want to be a good for nothing. Look at your tell you, "You're not a good for nothing." But to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. Didn't we read that earlier about them trampling Jesus under the foot? They treated Him as what? Nothing. Do you see that? Do you see the connection? And you don't want people trampling on you cuz you are somebody. Amen. In Christ Jesus, to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. "You are the light of the world." A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp. See, God don't got you straight. He says, God got you straight. You're the salt and you're the light. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand. In other words, you don't get a light. You don't get a light and put it down. You get a light and you lift it up. Because even if it was dark in here, hit the light, hit the light, hit the light, hit the light, all of them. All of them. All of them. All of them. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Now, if I I wish it was brighter, but y'all can use your imagination. Now, if I put it down here, you can't see much, right? But if you put it up high, everyone can see it. So, the scripture is saying, you you you you're not to think less of yourself and keep your light down low. You think much of me and you'll be able to put your light up high. The only reason you're putting your light down low is because you're leaning on your own understanding. You're thinking about yourself and your sins, so you don't even have enough confidence as we read already. You don't have a you don't have the confidence to hold your light up because you know there's some sin in your life. So you put it down low. And can't nobody get blessed like that. You hold it up high in confidence. You hold it up high just like the statue of liberty. You hold it up high. Lights. Hallelujah. Amen, church. Hallelujah. So he says, he he he he says, you don't put it on a lamp stand and and and if you I mean, but you put it on a lamp stand and it gives light to who? All. Not some, cuz I put it low. Wherever I put it low, them people don't see the light, but all y'all at the back, you never see it. You'll see a glow over us, but it's not the full light. 16. "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Glory to God. "Do not think that I come to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to what? Fulfill." You can't do away with the law. The law is your teacher. The law taught you. Your Lord, the Lord was teaching you till I come. So that when you learn from the Lord, by the time I come, you're ready for me. Hallelujah. "For assuredly, I say to you, till the heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tiller or or or or one tiller will by no means pass from the Lord till it is fulfilled." To all of you who are under the sound of my voice who yearns for the voice of God. God said to remind you that you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. Good works. Which God prepared beforehand that we should what? Walk in them. He's made a way for you to walk in them. When you choose to walk away from Him, you're on your own. But he's already played put something in place for you to walk in there. And if you walk in what he has already placed for you, you will find blessings coming as you keep walking. Many miracles and powers come from you because you're walking in what he gave you. But when you step outside of that and lose lose, you step outside of where he's given. You start to lose and really in a sense, you're walking backwards. And everything that you had starts to leave you. And now you become depleted because you got out of what he called you into. Do you get it? Do you get it? Hallelujah. Amen. So what are you going to be? So if you be spiritual, salt or light. Listen to what he says said of you. You are the church. Every one of you. Not this building. You are a city that sits on a hill. You're not on that hill unless you're straight with God. And if and that's if you have been washed in the blood of Jesus, then you're justified. And when he pours out his spirit into you, you're sanctified. Set apart to do his work. That robe of righteousness was was not interwoven into your life for you not to just smile and look good. No, it was placed upon you so that you can go the extra mile to help someone and do something worthwhile that pleases God. That is where the salt and the light come into play in your life. You become just like Jesus. Many of you don't believe that. That's why you're fruitless and useless to God because of your unbelief. Let me prove this out to you. Salt get things straight. Don't it? Ever had a sore throat? Salt can get it straight. Warm water and salt, that'll do you. And make it taste good and straighten out that undesirable taste. Now I've eaten wild game, raccoon and deer. And if you don't want to taste something musty and foul, you must soak that meat in salt. The whole box or two boxes of salt. Overnight, depend on how big your animal is. It must be placed all over the meat. And I've done it. I've done it myself. And I mean, I had a coon and I just I I I I emptied the whole box all on that coon. Because what it does, it draws the foul, the must out of him. All right. You must soak that meat in the salt and in the in in a box or two, right? And that'll get it straight. That'll make it straight for some consumption. That salt drives the wild out of the animal. And I'm known this when I was working in Manhattan. So to this day, it's still funny. But this person, he just knew he was doing something different. I think he was Spanish, if I remember. And he went and got a wild turkey from the market. And he gave it to his wife to cook. She didn't know no better. So what she did, she just threw it they didn't clean it at the market. She just threw it in the oven seasoned it and everything. When they cut that turkey and when they ate that food, they said, everybody right? You know how you open your tongue, stick out your mouth and let it all out. What is this? What happened? Come to find out, they didn't put salt on the turkey. You got to soak him in salt all night cuz the wild is in him. And you got to get the wild out. It draws. So, you're the salt of the world, right? Didn't you say? So Jesus want to use you to draw people. To him, church. Amen. He wants to use you to draw people to him, church. Amen. He wants to use you to draw people. All right. To him, church. Amen. So, so, so, when when I I talk to my people from the Caribbean Islands, they tell me that they had no refrigerator. Years ago. And they were salt their fish, their pork and their beef. To preserve the food. So they don't spoil. So, salt if you're the salt of the earth, you are here to help God preserve people's lives. Come on here, y'all. Come on, I'm trying to help you. Trying to simplify it for you. Amen. Lastly, God, lastly, God is a God of fire. He's a consuming fire, right? How many you know salt got fire in it? So they're not learning something. Now, if someone encounters the power of God in you and they have a cold heart towards people, the power of God, His spirit will melt that heart. The spirit of God is an icebreaker. All right. Have you ever had a cut on your finger and some salt got into that cut? Ain't it burning? See, if you're the salt of the earth, you should be burning on fire for the Lord. And when you go around people, you touch them and that fire is transmitted to them. Amen. Amen. Amen. So when you ever had a cut on your finger, you start to feel fire, right? A burning in your finger that salt salt cleans salt clean sores. There are a lot of people out there who are sore. You're the you're the salt of the earth and if they are sore, you come into your life to take that soreness, come into their life to take that soreness from them. Hallelujah. And salt is used to dissolve ice. I'm here to let someone know. There's no such thing as a as a icy or cold saint. Or a Christian. But I've heard of a fiery saint. Amen. Or a fiery Christian. People who claim to be Christians ought not to have a cold heart towards anyone. Why? Because you're to be the salt of the earth, helping God to get things straight. Amen. Light gets things straight, don't it? Without it, you're unable to see straight. Light gets darkness straight, so straight that it can't hang around. Darkness only appears because of the absence of light. And when you see people going through it in a bad way, often violently, financially, relationally or psychologically, it's more than likely the absence of light in their life. The absence of Christ in their life. The absence of God's word in their life. Let's get things straight. In surgery, for people to get healed, it's called a laser surgery. Isn't it like? Stay with me. Light causes you to wake from your rest. It's called a wake cycle. How many of you know Jesus is the bright and morning star? Well, the morning sunlight regulates, wakes up the body. I remember Pastor Henderson told me, you know, your mind ain't fully woke up. You got to watch what you take in cuz your mind ain't fully woke up just in an hour. Amen. So light wakes up the body. And increases energy levels during the day. All you get all to get you straight for the day and during the day. Light boosts your mood. And it reduces depression. People do need their mind straight. Don't they? People do need their mind straight, don't they? When God gets you straight, His light gets your mind straight. Enhance cognitive performance. Amen. That's what it does. Light helps to get your bone straight because it produces vitamin D for bone health. Light helps in many ways, but this last one, I really want to emphasize. Light helps to keep us safe on dark highways. In caves, in tunnels. Light helps keep us safe in traffic. It also keeps us safe on a stairwell. Without it, you could miss a step or two or three. God's light help us to keep in step with Him. And our soul safe from hell. Damnation from his destruction. God's light help us to maintain our walk on that straight and narrow road, especially in the times of darkness that may surround our lives. If you don't think light straightens you out, why does a doctor shine a light in your eyes to determine if your brain is dead? If your eyes do not respond to the light, your brain is dead. If your soul does not respond to the light of God, you're dead in trespasses and sin. All right. If you live out the sunlight indoors all the time or in a cave, that can lead to hormonal imbalances, poor sleep and depression. Meaning your life is not straight. Without light, there is no life. Nothing can live on the earth without light. Light supports all forms of life. Plain and simple, the light of God keep your spirit straight with God. When you get when God gets you straight, you know that you know that you know that you know you had an encounter with God. What do we take from our sermon lesson today? For one, God uses light and salt to get things straight, naturally and spiritually. Spiritually, we're the salt and the light to get things straight. The world is so crooked because we have not been on the job as as God has preordained for us to be about His business. He said, He said, "Go into all the world, teaching them and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost." And we tell the people of the world, "Come to my conference. Come to my church. Come to our bus fit. Come to our concert. Come and get a plate. We selling dinners." If we would go and get souls, we wouldn't have to sell dinners. We don't have that strength. We need to go to Straight Street so we can get things straight again. If God considers you salt and light, look at the massive power He's given you. Why let it go? Why let it go to waste when you can use it to give God glory and add more treasures in heaven for yourself? When God gets you straight, He gets you straight for good. Not for bad. When God gets you straight, He gets you straight for good and not for bad. Everyone stand. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Everyone stand. I pray that these words have transformed your life. I pray that you look at God in a different way. I pray that you realize the power that's within you that He's given you. Stop down playing yourself. Stop selling yourself short. You are the righteousness of God. You have the power of God in you. You can say to this mountain, "Be thou removed." And it shall be removed. Stop acting like you're spiritually handicapped when you are not. And some of us play the victim role too long. You were a victim when you was out in sin. You ain't no victim no more because you got Christ. Stop playing the victim role. Hello somebody. You are the righteousness of God. And you have His very power within you. If He called you the salt of the earth, and if He called you light, that means you got power because salt got a lot of power, church. Light has a lot of power, church. You got to look at this thing. I'm saying, I'm just I just want you to get it in your head. I want you to go, I want you to get it in your head before you get home. You got a lot of power. Look at your neighbor, you jump. You got a lot of power. Stop acting like you don't. Stop acting like you don't. And when trouble comes, just like I showed you, the trouble came this week with me, I counted it all joy, church. Get happy. You ain't dead. That's the way. You ain't losing your life. Amen. You still can take a bath. Amen. Just got to heat the water. Amen. And I realize we got so spoiled. When when when something happened with Pastor and I, and and and both of us is is in this boat. And and I had to get my and not to mention my car. We had to get just something to my car this week. So anyway, when when when I mentioned things to her, I and I say concerning myself, too. I said, "You know, we're spoiled." Soon as we the car ain't here, we act like we can't go. "I'm going to get there. I'm going to get there." You been getting there before you got a car. Hello somebody. We get so spoiled on things. And sometimes God has to God has to take you back to your past. Take me back. And that's what He showed me this to remind you where you come from. Remind you how far He brought you. I remember that that little tub, foot tub, getting a bath and it had to heat the water up. I remember that. I remember catching the bus and the train and standing all day, sometimes a whole hour waiting for the train to get home. I wanted to get home a certain time because something I wanted to do and the train held me up. We get spoiled. And sometimes as I said, God has to take you back. "Take me back to the Lord. Take me back to the place where I first received you." Oh Lord, take me back. Take me back, take me back, dear Lord, where I first received you. We got spoiled and we forgot about that. Amen. Let us pray. Father God, we love you, Lord. There was a time in our lives we couldn't say that because we know we weren't living right. But now that we are right and pleasing in Your sight, we can say to You proudly and profoundly. We love you, Lord. And we thank You for Your goodness. We thank You for Your mercy. We thank You for Your grace. We thank You for all that You do and how You do what You do. You have straightened us out. We must admit to ourselves that You have straightened out. We're not all that we should be, but we thank You that that we're not who we used to be. And so now, Lord, let this word permeate the hearts of Your people. Help them to understand the very power that they have. They they are salt and light in the earth. That's a very powerful, Lord. And I pray it resonate with everyone. I pray that people would people that's under the sound of my voice right now will go out and test this power that they have. Go out and just lay hands on somebody and just speak life into them, Lord. Give them the unction, give them the will. Give them the zeal to do it, Lord. Help them to know that they have your power that they they can do all things through Christ, which strengthens them. So I pray for their very souls. I pray for their very life. I pray that you keep him in the best of health. I pray that you keep them safe and sound when they walk from the street, walk in the streets. God, protect them as they ride the subways and the highways and the byways. God, protect them on the left, the front, the right and the back. Help them to reach their several destinations throughout the week. I pray for even those who are listening on YouTube and the radio station, that they would be blessed. That they would be strengthened. That they would be guided by your very power. That they put down themselves so that you can put in yourself in them and that they would walk with this great power, the power of light and the power of salt. And Father God, this is the only way. I pray that you would straighten out people who are just deceived and don't know no better. I pray that you would help those who are in the in the nursing homes and those who are in the in the those uh shelters. I pray, Father God, that you would straighten their lives out. That you would help them. Some may need chastisement, Lord, but straighten them out. And I know your chastisement is because you love us. So, Father, thank you for your love. We may not understand it, but we understand it by and by. After we've been we've been chastised by you, Lord, we understand it by and by. So I pray that you help us to keep our mind stayed on you because those who keep their mind stayed on you, you keep them in perfect peace. Your peace be upon these people. Your peace be upon those who are listening to us on YouTube and the WMC. Your will be done. And if anyone in here came in here with an old, with a problem, with an issue that's been unsolved, Father God, I pray now before this week is out that it be solved. In the name of Jesus. That you give them joy, unspeakable joy. That they walk with their head up and not with their head down and they live according to Your will and Your purpose, not their own purpose. Help us to do away with our purposes. Help us to live in Your purpose, because Your purpose is rewarded. Your purpose is bright and it gives us a great future. And so I pray for the future of each and every one of these young people that are listening to me right now that they would stay in the word. That they would preach the word. That they be diligent in Your word. To carry this gospel, to keep this ministry afloat, to keep this ministry going in the future when we're gone. That your will be done. No weapon formed against them shall prosper. They shall take the gospel higher and not lower in the name of Jesus. I speak these things. Your will be done, Lord. So I thank You for this day. Thank You in a mighty way for all that you're doing. I bless you and praise you and let this word resonate in the hearts of every believer and everyone who is not saved. Let it even stay stuck in their hearts until they are saved. Your will be done. So I bless you. I praise you. I love you. I thank you. I give you all the glory. When you get us straight, we are straight. We are straight for good and not for bad. I praise your name. I give you all the glory in Jesus name. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. Let's thank the Lord one more time for that mighty word. Hallelujah. Pastor started off by telling us, you know, reminding us of like when his mother chastises us. And we know we don't we don't like when mama gets on us, straightens us out. Usually it's a bad thing because we was acting up and we shouldn't have been. Um, but when God straightens you, he said, it's because something in you isn't is out of alignment. And he reminds us that sin separates us from God and makes our path crooked. But God can he lovingly corrects us to put us back on straight and narrow, the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation. The world is described as crooked and perverse, as we see in Philippians 2:14-16. But God calls his people to be blameless and harmless in the middle of it. When he straightens you, he changes your perspective. You begin to walk in joy and peace. Um, when God straightens you, he said, he removes evil from your heart and gives you a new heart. And we we are called to be holy. And when you he he gave us the definition of holy, holy means to be whole in Christ. Um, many times he he he told he talks about the stumbling blocks. Many times we stumble because of sin, which is or disobedience or things many times we stumble because of sin, disobedience, or things we refuse to surrender to Christ. But when we submit to God, he removes those stumbling blocks. And God, we must take God's correction as not punishment, but it's refinement. Right. Straightening and he said that straightening isn't necessarily a bad thing unless we are constantly going against what God says. God may straighten you because you're out of out of alignment, as we saw in first Peter 2 with Saul. He had to straighten Saul out because he was out of line and going and kicking against the goad. Um, sorry. Yes. The transformation of Saul in Acts 9 is a powerful example. God stopped him while he was going the wrong way. He had to purify him. So he went on a three-day fast. Pastor said he he fasted. He had to purify him first, humbled him, and he redirected him. Paul later counted everything as lost for the sake of Christ in Philippians 3:7. When God straightens you, you must be willing to let some things go and press toward the mark of the higher calling, as Paul said. When God gets you straight, it's not just for you. You are called to help others. He gave us an example like the firefighters running into flames. Believers are called to step into difficult situations to help rescue others. And I he said, he asked the question, are you willing to step in somebody else's frying pan? And he told us, he reminded us that we shouldn't be fighting uh for victory when we already have the victory. And then he said, Jesus, he I like how he broke down the salt and the light. Um, Jesus said that we are the salt and the light of the earth of the world in Matthew 5:13-16. He then he gave us the uh what salt does. Salt purifies, salt preserves, um, if you're the salt of the earth, you have you are here to help preserve the the lives of people. And you should you should also be on fire for God. And salt burns in wounds. And salt also cleanses meats and stuff. Um, light, then he went on to the the light. Light exposes darkness, brings clarity and keeps people from danger, especially in driving on the highway. I felt that one cuz times I used to drive with my mother on the highway from Florida. I'm like, "Whoa, it'd be getting dark." But I thank God for the light. The light will straighten you out. The light will help you stay on the street. pathway, amen. Um, and ultimately, when God gets you straight, he does it for your good. He aligns your heart, your mind, and your path so you can walk in his will, live in his promises, and help bring others into alignment with him, too. So that's your whole purpose of you getting straight so that you can help straighten others out, too. So get straight with God. Amen.