Gospel House Ministries

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Our sermon title today is You Were Given a Gift - Be Grateful! You were given a gift, be grateful. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. What I've seen through time is how some of our ungrateful children—maybe not your children, but I'm talking about children who abuse their mothers. A mother's life was on the line just to birth them into the world, and when they get older, they disrespect their mothers. They curse their mothers, and when they are old, they don't take care of them properly. I'm dealing with that in my very family. It pains my heart to see such disrespect and ungratefulness. This is the one who brought you into the world, but you would treat her as though she is nothing.

A mother is a gift. Amen, church. She nurtured you. She took time with you. She clothed you. She bathed you. So many are ungrateful to their mothers and abuse them. Some of these mothers are in nursing homes, and these children put them there like they do a cow out to pasture, as though they don't matter anymore. Woe unto those children who treat their parents, their mother, like that. What a gift. Amen. Mothers are precious, are they not? This may not be Mother's Day, but mothers are. Hallelujah. She is a gift to you from God. I don't know why God is moving me to say this, but you who treat your mother as nothing, you have a price to pay. Turn from your wicked ways and ask God for forgiveness.

Have you ever given somebody something and they showed you that they were ungrateful, and then cursed you out after you gave it to them? I've seen that. One of the things they say is, "I didn't ask you to do it anyway." But they wouldn't dare say that before you gave it to them. No, they sure wouldn't. There is nothing worse than somebody saying, "We don't need you." I'll leave that right there.

There were these young people who were given a mansion to stay in during spring break for a numerous number of days. In this mansion, there were two servants of the owner to help them with whatever they needed, whose names were Grace and Peace. Grace was the one who helped them eat the right meals and make sure they took care of their hygiene. Peace was the one who led them to their rooms and showed them the display of the mansion. They had everything they would need. They didn't have to go outside of the mansion.

If they wanted ice cream, there was a creamery in the mansion. If they wanted pizza, there was a pizzeria in this mansion. If they wanted to run, swim, or play basketball, there was a gymnasium in this mansion. If they wanted to see movies, there was a theater there. Also, there was a tailor assigned to this mansion to provide them with any vesture they chose to wear. This mansion also had Chinese chefs in it to prepare Asian dishes, including Thai food. There was a health spa there where they received information on how to stay fit, live long, and eat properly. All of this was good for their health. They even had a masseuse. All of this was at no cost to them.

Through their tenure there, these young people never said thank you to the servants. They never gave a tip in any of the restaurants for their service. Their laundry was washed and folded when it was time to leave. They never showed any appreciation, nor were they grateful. They left with more than they had when they arrived. All left with tailor-made vestures that were indescribable. To top it all off, they had escorts with vehicles they had never seen before that took them out of there and back home.

When they got home, the clothing, the vestures, were nowhere to be found. Because all that they gained could not remain with them, all because they were ungrateful. That's what happens to people when they are ungrateful. They lose things. They don't know how they lost them just like they didn't know how they lost the vestures. They did not know how blessed and privileged they were. Had they known, they would have been much more grateful and thankful. Can you imagine? They could want for nothing. They had it going on, and they took it all for granted and left that mansion with blessings untold their eyes did behold. But when they got home, somehow they lost the blessing they were given.

In our sermon lesson today, we will hear of the consequences of living ungrateful lives. How many of you know that even a dog knows how to show its master respect and gratefulness for all he or she provides? Amen. They will lick all over your face, jump up and down in praise and worship for their master. They will guard and protect you, your house, your property, your garden, your cattle, your children because they are so grateful to you. Dogs know how to love better than man does. Why do you think people who have had it with life and relationship would rather have a dog as a friend than a human being? Dogs know how to show love, and they are always grateful and faithful to you.

People even sleep with their dogs because the dog knows how to show affection for his master and show him or her respect. I think from God's point of view, that shows you just how detached we are from one another. In this day and age, more people are sleeping with their dogs than ever before. In biblical years, they most definitely were not, and when I was a child, they were not. If they were, it was a secret. Out of our ungratefulness to God, could it be we have reduced ourselves to be less than a dog when it comes to love, affection, and gratefulness? Sin has mankind so wrapped and tangled up and spoiled that we don't know our God. Those who do know Him don't show Him how grateful they are to Him enough. If they did, the world would not be in the mess it is in right now. For every action, there is a reaction.

Our acts of rebellion have brought hell on us. Ungratefulness is an act of rebellion. Rebellion is ignoring the truth. Just think of this simple—you all know this—you tell a child don't touch the stove because it's hot, but out of rebellion, they touch it anyway. What happens? They get burned. When we choose to ignore God and act like we don't need Him and act like He has done nothing for us, you rebel. Choosing to find out about Him even if you're not convinced of who He is is a form of rebellion. Just like you can't tell a police officer, "I don't know nor see the speed limit sign," and expect him not to give you a ticket. That's foolish.

You will not be able to face God when it's all over and say, "I didn't know you, Lord," and think that you won't go to hell. I'm here to tell you, you're going right to hell. He will say, "Begone, I never knew you." Nobody wants to hear that, do they? Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. Amen. You will find out in the fire that He is Lord and not in the breeze. Saints, just look at this. God does not charge you for the sunshine. He's not like man who would go up on the rates of sunshine every ten years of your living starting at age twelve. Without sunshine, everything dies. We get energy from the sun, food from the sun, night and day because of the sun, and God charges us not one dime for so much.

All He asks of us is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with what? All your soul. Does God charge you for water? No. Man does, but God does not. That's true. You ought to be grateful that you can freely use water. Amen. Man has so much disrespect for God that he would sell something that he did nothing to cultivate or make. God is the owner of water, and we take what He owned out of ignorance of Him and sell it for money out of worship and reverence for money. Who are we fooling? Ourselves.

Man has a greater love for money than he has for God, and that is the truth. Man worships the spirit of Mammon and ignores the spirit of the true and living God because he is ungrateful and unthankful to God, which makes him unknowledgeable of God. Hallelujah. Amen. Gratefulness is something you express. To be thankful is something you say and show. Gratefulness is seen inwardly by God. Thankfulness is heard and seen outwardly by God. In our sermon lesson today, I want us to look at three people concerning ungratefulness: Samson, the Rich Young Ruler, and the Prodigal Son.

Samson was well known for his unusual power and strength as well as his moral weakness. Samson was strong physically but weak spiritually. He was the last of the judges or military leaders. Samson led Israel for 20 years. The time of Samson was a very dark period of Israel's history. After the generation of Joshua died out, Israel fell into lawlessness which led to faithless lives in God. There was hardly anyone who was grateful to God. Judges 17:6 says, "In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did right what was in his own eyes." That's pretty much like today, right? Amen. People are ungrateful to God because they are right in their own eyes, which leads to rebellion.

The scripture says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will direct your path." Amen. The basics of God's word, His law, which was to be handed down from generation to generation, was ignored just like today, and the entire world is paying the consequences of ignoring God's law right now. Because of their ungratefulness, people are deceived into believing lies, never getting to the truth because they just don't know God. He's the truth, the life, and the living word, and with these three, that makes Jesus the way. Jesus is the personification of how we ought to live our lives. Have I got a witness?

Samson was a product of that generation, and because his environment was affected, his walk with God, just like many of you today, showed very little gratefulness to God. After all, he was a leader of God, chosen before birth, and he was the strongest man ever known to mankind. Yet he was not grateful to God for all He'd done for him and blessed him with. But his parents gave us evidence of their faith in God. I believe they spoiled Samson. I saw no chastisement in my readings or resistance in his wrong, and they tried to give him everything he wanted. Samson wanted what he wanted when he wanted, and that was women, and no one could stop him or deter him. Not even an army could stop him. He was headstrong, very proud. He thought too highly of himself, and that was his downfall.

Some of you know Samson was a Nazarite from birth. No razor shall come upon his head. This meant that Samson was to serve God as an example to Israel of his commitment to God. Ladies and gentlemen, this points to you. You are to serve God as an example to the world of your commitment to God. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Samson was to lead Israel and destroy its enemy, the Philistines. That was his service to God, and that's how he was to glorify God. This is the heart of this message today. If you want to show God how grateful you are to Him, serve Him. Amen, church. Stand up right now if you are truly, truly serving God.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Lord, as they stand now, help them to stand when their backs are against the wall. Yes, Lord. Help them to stand when no one else stands. Make them all over again, Lord, with a determination to wholeheartedly serve You with gratefulness. Amen. You may be seated. Amen. It's just that simple, folks. Put up or shut up. Stop procrastinating. Stop perpetrating a fraud when you know you're not on board with God. You're just a lump on a log who is not grateful to God. You hardly open your Bible, but you want God to help you. Help yourself by opening His word. If you want to be healed, open up His word and study it. He'll heal heartache and pain. He'll give you a new name and the power to explain His word to the sick and those who are insane and the ordinary man.

As we all know, Samson shall fall short of the mark. He had a spark in his heart for a woman named Delilah who was playing him like she was playing the lotto until she hit it big and he lost his wig. Then he had to go do a bid in prison. Lost his eyes, but he didn't lose the prize. Let's go to help someone realize how all this happened. Go to Judges the 16th chapter, beginning at the 15th verse. I'm not going to go through all of this because it's so much, but where I'm at, right where we're going at right now, Delilah had already asked Samson three times to tell her about this power that he had, to show her where his strength comes from. Amen. So here we are at the fourth time. Four is the number of the world, and Samson had the world against him. Yes, but he will fall. I know God will rise us up again. Yes, He will.

Then she said to him, "How can you say 'I love you' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times and have not told me where your great strength lies." And it came to pass when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart. Where does your heart belong, church? He told her all his heart and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man." That means ordinary man. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "I'm not an ordinary man. I'm a supernatural human being." That's right, you better believe that.

Samson knew who he was and what he was capable of doing. He was highly prized. So he knew what he was doing. Amen. When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines saying, "Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart." So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. She hit the lotto. And then she lulled him to sleep on her knees and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Who do you know wears locks? I'll let you think about that. And then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. Amen.

We ought to be in the world but not of the world. The world will hold you back. Seven is the number of God. When those locks were cut off, Samson was not of God. He lost his Godly power. He was left of himself and left to himself. 20, "And she said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' So he awoke from his sleep and said, 'I will go out as before as at other times and shake myself free.'" But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Why? Because he was not grateful. Amen, church.

All the other times God was with him, but not this time. And sometimes we can get so caught up in ourselves and think everything we're doing is just me doing this, but we forgot it's God that's helping you to do what you do. When we lose sight of Him, we lose the might of Him. Amen. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Thank you, Lord. So he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as before and shake myself free," but he did not know that the Lord departed from him. And then the Philistines took him up. You can't shake yourself free. Only God can make you free. Amen. Only God can make you free from being held back. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "Be grateful."

21, "Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters—and bronze is a symbol of judgment—and he became a grinder in the prison. However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved." Amen. So here it is. His eyes were taken because he was ungrateful to God. He was blind to realize that he needed to be grateful to God. So because of his blindness and he did what he wanted to do and he took for granted what God had given him, he lost his eyes. Some people have eyes, but they're blind just like Samson because they're not grateful to God. When you're grateful to God, you recognize and see what He has done. But when you're not grateful to Him, you are blind to what He has done.

Now, the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice. And they said, "Our god has delivered into our hands Samson, our enemy," not knowing God had delivered them into his hands. How many know God can take what the devil meant for evil and turn it around for your good? And when the people saw him, they praised their god for they said, "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, the destroyer of our land and the one who multiplied our dead." So it happened when their hearts were merry that they said, "Call for Samson." See, they want to be entertained. The world wants to make a jackass out of you. The world will use you. Yes, they will. The world will treat you like Amos and Andy. Buffoonery. Make you a buffoon. Amen.

So it says, "Call for Samson that he may perform for us." So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. What did they do that for? And then Samson said to the lad who held him by hand, "Let me feel the pillars which support the temple so that I can lean on them." And now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there. About three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed. And then Samson called to the Lord saying, "O Lord God, remember me." Who do you remember saying that? The man on the cross. Amen. He is about to face death himself. He's saying, "Lord, remember me." Yes. Amen, church. Hallelujah.

He said, "I pray, strengthen me. I pray just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes." Amen. God will tell you, "I never knew you," if you don't show Him that you're grateful. He asked to die now. He's going to ask to die, but God had the power to let him live. Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them. One on his right hand and the other on his left. And then Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. Wow.

And his brothers and all his father's house came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. That's sad when you have to go in your father's tomb when your father is supposed to be in that tomb before you. He had judged Israel 20 years. If you look at verse 20, a point is made here. Without discipline, you are not grateful to God. That's why you must rise from a church member to a disciple of Christ. Discipline keeps you close to God. Hello, somebody! You're only close to God because you're disciplined by God.

Your ungratefulness can cause God never to be with you. Your ungratefulness can cause God to depart from you. You ought to always—soon as you get out the bed, say "Thank you, Lord." Soon as that foot hits—sometimes I say before my foot hits the floor—I say, "Lord, thank you for another day." I make that a habit, church. Yes, I make that a habit. As soon as I get out the bed, I'm already talking to God. You ought to practice that. Seriously, you ought to practice that. It changes you. It helps change you. It keeps you closer to God, and it's you acknowledging who He is before you do anything in the day. You acknowledge to God, "I reverence you." Hallelujah. Glory to God. Thank you, Lord.

Your gratefulness to Him empowers you to be greater and stronger in Christ. In the end, Samson cried out to God in faith, knowing his wrong. "O Lord God, remember me, I pray. Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may once blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes." Samson had a gift from God, and all he had to do was give it back to God out of gratefulness for having it. I say this to you: I don't care how many times you have fallen, crapped out, passed out, dropped out, drugged out, whored out, sold out, gave out, broke out, or fell out of the church. God is the God of another chance. Don't give up nor give in to the devil and his tricks. You must have a grateful heart. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "Have a grateful heart."

Go to Luke 18, beginning at the 18th verse. Amen. Now, a certain ruler—you're going to learn something here, so if I were you, I would really pay attention. Now, a certain ruler asked Him saying, "Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, and that is God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother." And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven, and come follow me." Amen.

He said, "You still lack one thing." He lacked charity. You lack love for people. Love thy neighbor. That's what he lacked. Amen, church. Don't let that be you. Always keep charity in your heart. Always show love. We were talking about that in our meeting about showing love and giving people gifts and cards at certain times of the year. You ought to show people that you're grateful. See, you have joy in your heart, and that joy in your heart should bubble up that you want to be a blessing to somebody. Not just a blessing to yourself. That's right. Amen.

But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" Because in those days, they thought that people who were rich, they were blessed by God, that they were close to God because they got all those riches. But that's far from the truth. The devil blesses his people too, y'all. That's right. Amen.

He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Thank you, Lord. It's not by might nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord. Amen. Now go to Luke 10, beginning at the 25th verse. Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him. I want y'all to know this is the same person. Yes, this is the same person. So this was before what we just read now. A lawyer was a scribe. A scribe is a ruler of the people. So that's why over here it says certain ruler. But the lawyer is one who knows the books of Moses backwards and forwards. They study that all their life. They know that stuff like the back of their hand. So anybody like that, their chest is out. They all proud. They think they know everything, right? Amen.

He tested Him because he thought he knew everything, but not knowing this is the God of the word. Saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Now, let me show you there's a progression. When you get back where we were just at, he said "good teacher" because he realized after he went through this with Jesus, "No, this is a good teacher. I thought I was good." So he gets over here where we just finished reading and calls Him good teacher, but back here, he just called Him teacher because he thought he was all that and ten bags of chips.

How many know Jesus is our test? Amen. You testing Him, though, He's our test. He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And He said to him, "You have answered rightly. Do this and you will live." Now, you remember Jesus when He answered the first time, Jesus says "you know" because He already had an encounter with him. So when you get back where we were just reading, Jesus says, "You know all of this." He says, "You know what the word says." He says, "You know the commandment: Do not commit," because he already talked to Him before. I'm trying to help y'all to see this thing. This is good.

Jesus said to him, "You have answered rightly. Do this and you will live." But he—now look at this. This what messes people up right here. This is when your head gets big and you think you all that. But he wanted to justify himself. What for? This is the true and living God. What you want to justify? "So I want to show people what I know." Watch yourself. Don't be like that, church. "I'm going to show them. This Jesus been talking this stuff. I'm going to show Him up today." But how many know Jesus showed him up? Amen. Sure did.

He says, "Who is my neighbor?" You know, smart aleck. Jesus answered and said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." Now, I want to tell you about Jericho. Jericho was like how Brownsville was back in the day. Jericho had winding roads and there are mountains and all that. So if the roads are winding, they could hide and grab you up and rob you because the road wasn't straight. Jericho was a crooked place. So who else would dwell in the crooked place? Crooked people. Glory to God. You're with me? Amen, church. Hallelujah.

And it says, "Now by chance, a certain priest came down that road"—church, the pastor of the church. "And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side." How can you call yourself a man of God and you're not willing to help someone in need? That's right. Be careful, church. There's not a week go by—listen to me carefully—there's not a week go by that you don't see someone in need. That's true. Now think. That's true. I ain't trying to show you up, but think how many times you went, "I don't think so today." Think how many times you criticize. "I ain't giving you my money. You go up and drug it up." You got judgment against them, too. You gotta be careful.

You are a child of God, and if you are a child of God, you should have compassion in your heart for people no matter what they've been through. No matter what they went through, you should have compassion. Now, you can't help everybody. Amen. So you ask God to show you who to help. But don't show a closed heart, a closed fist. "I ain't helping you at all. Get away from me." I've seen people tell them, "Get away from me!" Jesus. And call them names. Get away from me as though their predicament—and some of them people didn't get in that predicament because they sinned. Some of them got in that predicament because the society sinned against them. Hello, somebody!

We gotta be grateful. You show God that you're grateful when you go help somebody else because you remember where you come from. Out of being grateful, knowing where you come, you see somebody in the same position you were, you help them because you're showing God, "I'm grateful. I know where you brought me from, so let me help them because I know what it feels like." Good teaching. You have to put yourself in their shoes and don't use your shoes to walk away from them. Hello, somebody! Amen. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Thank you, Lord.

You are the children of God, and you ought to act like God. You ought to shine your light ever so bright. Amen. Let people see the glory of God. Let people see that you come to the rescue. I love to put a smile on somebody's face. This guy was at the gas station the other day. Now, he was rolling his stuff up, doing what he was doing. I still gave him a dollar. Okay. He was opening the door at the gas station. I still gave him a dollar. Some of them talk kindly and nicely, and sometimes I'm moved to give them ten dollars, sometimes I'm moved to give them five dollars. It's just—you gotta let the spirit lead you. Yeah. And maybe if he wasn't rolling nothing, I probably would have given him a little more. You know what I'm saying?

Still, what I'm trying to say to you is that you gotta have a heart of compassion. You gotta show some charity. You want to be blessed? Believe it or not, when you help other people, you are sowing seed. That's right. And them seeds are going to sprout up one day. And it's going to be a lot of fruit on that tree for you. See, you gotta get that in your mind. Some of us are tight. That's right, some of us in here, we tight with our money. Yes, we are. Amen. You're going to do an investigation before you come out and give your money. Put the person through the third degree. Lord, that's the truth.

But you gotta have a willing heart. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "I have a willing heart." I hope you didn't lie now. Amen, church. To God be the glory. We have to be willing to treat people right. Amen. Glory to God. Now by chance, a certain priest came down that road and when he saw him, he passed by the other side. Likewise, a Levite when he arrived at that place, came and looked and passed by on the other side. That's the deacons in the church, or that's the lay members of the church. But a certain Samaritan, who was not Jewish—somebody who was not considered of God—helped him. And as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had what? Compassion. What? Compassion. What? Compassion. Amen. Y'all won't forget that word now.

So he went to him and bandaged his wound, pouring in oil and wine. Oil represents the Holy Spirit, and wine represents the blood of God. Amen. And he set him on his own animal. Now watch this: He poured in the oil, he poured in the wine, and then he lift him up. He lift him up. You have to lift them up to get them on that animal, right? So you ought to go out there and help lift people up. Thank you. And lead them to Jesus. You give them words of encouragement. We was with some of the people yesterday, we was lifting them up. Giving them words of encouragement, and when they departed from you, they left you with a smile. They left you because they were glad that they heard from God. They were glad that you prayed for them. And my man said to me, "I feel better already." Hello, somebody!

That's our job. To lift them up, lift them up. Amen. See, if you lifting Jesus up, it's easy to lift people up. All right. You gotta seek first the kingdom, right? Lift Him up. Amen. And on the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, "Take care of him and whatever is more you spend, when I come again, I'll repay you." This is none other than Jesus. This is Jesus showing you how we are supposed to be while we're living here. We're supposed to occupy until He come. We're supposed to help people. The inn is the church. Bring them to the inn. Thank you. Two denarii—a denarius is a day's work. So two—one day in the sight of God is a thousand years.

So here it is, 2,000 years done passed. Jesus is soon to come. He said, "When I come back, I'll repay." You're going to get—put your time in and help people because payday is coming real soon. After a while, you help this person, and after a while, Jesus comes now. And now Jesus gives you your reward for showing Him that you were grateful. Hear me clearly: Helping people shows God that you are grateful to Him. Amen, church. Hallelujah. Amen, church. Just let that sink in a little bit. Don't be pulling your hand back because you don't know what you're pulling your hand back from. Yeah. You put your hand forward, you may pull your hand back and find abundance of things as I did in that parable when I first started reading. You may find a bunch of blessings in your hand that you didn't earn, but God laid them on you. Amen, church.

When it's all over and you get home to be in glory, you will find that you have treasures laid up by God. Hallelujah! You didn't lose nothing, but you gained more. Hallelujah. Glory to God. He says, "Take care of him, and whatever is more you spend, when I come again, I will repay." How many know He's coming again? Oh yes, He is. He's coming again to give us—we already have eternal life, that we can start to live with Him eternal life. I will repay. How many know God doesn't lie? He's not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Not at all.

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" Talking to this lawyer who think he knows everything. And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." When you show mercy on people, you're showing God how grateful you are. Amen, church. Don't forget this lesson today. Go out of your way to help people. Amen. Go out of your way to help people. Come on now. You forget where you come from? You forget when you were just eating peanut butter sandwiches? Yes. And couldn't put no food on the table? You forget? You forget when you only had one pair of shoes, and that one was starting to get a hole in it? You forget? Jesus.

You forget when you had to walk to work because you didn't have no more money to get on the bus or the train? Do you forget? Amen. Hallelujah. Do you forget, mother, when you had to feed your children and you couldn't eat because it wasn't enough food for you to eat and you just gave it to your children? Jesus. Be grateful. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "Be grateful." And he said he showed mercy on him, and then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Jesus got him there. He comes back again in Luke with another way. Jesus had put him in check. Amen. He put him in check, and that's why he wants to justify himself, and he felt like he didn't justify himself good enough, so he comes back to Jesus again. You're coming to get another spanking. That's what you're doing. Amen. Hallelujah. Glory to God.

Justify himself. Luke 16:15 says, Jesus says to the Pharisees who were rulers, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your heart. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." If you look at that—turn there real quickly, turn to Luke 16 real quick and look at what Jesus is saying. That's how I connected the dots. Luke 16:15. Look at the 14th verse. "Now the Pharisees who were lovers of what? Money." See that? See the Rich Young Ruler? See the same connection? Same person. Amen. The Pharisees who were lovers of money also heard of these things, and they derided Him. They were always after Him. So He knew what was up. Amen. Hallelujah. Glory to God.

Although this lawyer, this ruler of the people, heard the truth from Jesus himself, he was not grateful enough to appreciate God's wisdom. So he rejected God. His head was hard and his neck was stiff, preventing him from turning to the truth. How many of you know to know the truth will set you free? Amen. Free from what? Sin. Free from lies and free from self. Go to Luke 15, beginning at the 11th verse. You know the story. Amen. Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'" And that word "falls" means belongs to me, cast on me, put on me, stretched forth to me. Amen.

So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. Prodigal living is described in Proverbs 23:21-22, and it says, "For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. Listen to your father who begot you." And that's what he's going to do. He's going to go back to his father, isn't he? Amen. Not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. Just know this: The one who stayed with the father didn't lose a thing. If you stay with Jesus, you're going to lose nothing. Amen.

But when he spent all, there arose a severe famine in the land, and he began to be in want. God laughs at your plan. You had it all planned, and Daddy's going to give me my money, and I'm going to live my life, do what I want to do. I don't care. I'll live the rest of my life happy with this money right here. But you didn't calculate in your plans that a storm is coming. Say so. You didn't calculate in your plans that they weren't going to pay you your paycheck. TSA is not getting paid because the government is on strike. All right. You didn't calculate that. Hello, somebody! Amen.

He arose in that land, and he began to be in want. And then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. Now, Jesus is talking to Jews, and obviously this boy is Jewish. All right. And he sent him into his fields to feed swine. You know Jews and Arabs ain't got nothing to do with swine. Right. So now he's belittled himself. You showed you ungrateful to your father, now you have belittled yourself. Now you find yourself like a pork peasant with nothing, and you're in there not with people, you're in there with swine. Mud. Lord. How many times we tell each other, "Ain't no mud on me?" You all in the mud and you eating what they eat. You have lowered yourself to an animal because you are ungrateful to God.

Ungratefulness will take you someplace you don't want to go. He joined himself to a citizen of that field and he got in the field and he began to eat with the swine. 16, "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything." Jesus. Anything. You've given out. See, when you mess up, you give out, you give out, you give out, you give out, but ain't nothing coming back. Ain't got nothing to show for it. I ain't even got an investment. And so I've given out, I've given out, and now I have no what? Income. Jesus. I have no income.

When he came to himself—how many know you got to come to yourself? When he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread?" See, that's when your mind gets you starting thinking right. You starting to look at stuff and say, "I was a fool. How many of my father's servants have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger?" "I was a fool leave my daddy. What was I thinking about? Now I ain't got nothing." But one thing he had to do: He had to swallow that pride. He had to go back home. Amen, church.

"I will arise"—I will, that's determination. All right. You gotta have determination to get it right. Amen. "I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.'" That's confession. Yes, you gotta confess your sins. "And I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." And he arose—see, he just happy to get back home. He don't care what position. "I'm just glad to be back home. I'm glad to be in the number one more time."

He arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. That kiss was a kiss of affection. But see, God loves us. His affection for us is so great that He doesn't wait until you get to Him. He comes meet you halfway. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. He didn't stand there, "Yeah, you were out there. Yeah, you were out there. Good for you." He didn't do that to him. No, he didn't. His love pushed him, drew him to his son as he saw him coming, and he embraced him. I'm here to tell you, God will embrace you. I don't care what you've done wrong, I don't care how many times you messed up, God will still embrace you and give you a holy kiss. Yes, He will. He will give you a holy kiss. Amen. Anybody grateful to God? Hallelujah. Yes, I am.

21, "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned.'" Confession. See, he talked it out in his head first. He thought about it, and now it's manifesting. "I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servant, "Bring out the best robe." Do y'all know what the best robe is? It's a robe of righteousness. The best robe you can put on is the robe of righteousness. Amen. Hallelujah. "And put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet." The ring is a symbol of being wedded together, joined together. A symbol of you are connected to something. This ring represents our unity. It represents my tie to you. Hallelujah.

He put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet because the boy came home, his feet were muddy. He had no shoes on his feet. He was a sore sight for the eyes. He was tore up from the floor. He was broke down. But God. But God. "And bring the fatted calf" because he ain't ate a long time. He doesn't look—look, he's lost weight, he looks strong and small. But how many know God knows how to fatten you up? Thank you, Lord. He fatten you—He fatten you up and He fatten you up with goodies.

"And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found." That's all of us in here, ain't it? Amen. "And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'" I'm here to tell you, when God cleans you up, you're going to find haters. Oh yes. You're going to have some haters. There are people who wish you would stay where you were at. Amen. They don't want you to rise up again.

But he was angry and would not go in. That's angry out of what? Envy. Jealousy. Amen. "I've been here. I've been here longer than them, and we've been doing all this work. Now pastor don't pay us no mind." But you don't know, this person, you have arrived, this person hasn't arrived yet. I need to soothe them. I need to pray for them. I need to help them. They need more attention than you. Jesus said he who was least amongst you is the greatest. So you gotta give them more attention. You ought to be grateful that they came back because it's not about you, it's all about Jesus. Amen. Don't be hating on nobody. That's not God. God is love. What you hating for? Amen. Thank you, Lord.

He answered and said to his father, "Lo, these many years I have been serving you. I never transgressed your commandment at any time. And yet you never gave me a young goat and I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours—" You see that? This son of yours. Where's the love, church? Where's the love? "Came who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed a fatted cow for him!" "I don't understand that, Father. This guy messed up. He was doing wrong things, and you blessing him. Seem like you blessing him for doing wrong." "Son, you just don't understand my love. My love and my peace surpasses all understanding.

If I said that he's my son and I'm bringing him back home, you ought to be joyful too. You're a part of me, and if you're a part of me, you should have the same feelings I have for him. You shouldn't be wanting to put him down. I want to lift him up, but you want to put your brother down. You don't have my heart. You have the heart of the devil." My God. And he said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is what? Yours! You ain't losing nothing! You ain't losing one thing! It was right that he should—it was right that we should make merry." Look what he said: "It was right. It was right." Somebody say "It was right." It was right!

It is right for us to welcome people in who've been broke down, busted, and disgusted. It's right for us to help them out. It's right for us to give them something if they need some money or something to help them along the way. Amen. Hallelujah. You're not supposed to turn around and pray for them and "We're going to pray for you. Come on, let's pray for you," and you pray for them and you don't give them what they need. That's not God. That's the word. Amen. "So it was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead—don't you realize that? He was dead! And is alive what? Again. And was lost and is what? Found." Thank you, Lord.

That was all of us, wasn't it? Amen. Do you forget where you come from? That's right. All of us were lost and now we are found. Thank you, Lord. Don't forget where you come from. Don't forget what God did for you. And when you don't forget what God has done for you, you will always want to help others because you remember what God did for you. Hallelujah! Yes. Hallelujah. Glory. Right. Hallelujah. Glory, hallelujah! Thank you, Lord. Amen.

To sum this parable up, when you are ungrateful to your Heavenly Father who begot you—you did not begot yourself. No, you didn't. You had help getting here and you have help while you're here. But you must accept and believe in that help. If you don't, you will wander off on your own mind as though you're your own man, and when in fact you own nothing. Pastor Brenda told us last week, "Everything I own is on loan." Come on, yes, yes. And because it's on loan, you ought to be grateful to God that He loaned it to you. That's it. Thank you, Lord.

The prodigal son showed that he was ungrateful to his father when he left home and on his own, only to come back home in repentance because he had it all wrong. He had to learn and find out the hard way that he is nothing without his father who gave him all that he had. He was standing in his father's house, but when he left home, he found himself all alone and he could not stand on his own. I don't know who this is for, but without God, you are nothing. Amen. And you can do nothing but fail and end up in hell. Jesus.

What in the world were you thinking about when you thought you had it all figured out? Your calculations were an indication of your denunciation of God's goodness, having no gratification nor spiritual education. Jesus. If you did possess it, you would be one of God's blessed children. Do I have any blessed people of God in here? Hallelujah! Well, rejoice and show Him just how grateful you are! Come on! Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord! Glory to God! Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord! You would have never made it without Him. Yes. Because He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. God has given you a gift. Be grateful. This gift is none other than Jesus the Christ. Hallelujah.

He gave it to you. You think it's those things that you can touch and feel and taste. No, He gave you Jesus Christ, everything that you had. Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving. Amen, church. Amen. Remember what He said to the woman at the well: "If you knew the gift of God and who it was who said to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." Amen. Why are we grateful to God, church? Because He is good. And a man's gift makes room for him and brings him before a great man. Come on, now.

Also, a gift is precious—it's a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor. Wherever he turns, he prospers. Yes. Church, I'm here to let you know: Whatever you want, God's got it. Whatever you need, He'll supply. Let the whole church say "He'll make it all right." He'll make it all right! And if He is making it all right in your life, you ought to be grateful to Him for it. Thank you, Lord. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "God has given you a gift. Be grateful." God has given you a gift - be grateful. Everyone is standing. Amen. Hallelujah. Thank you.

Father God, in the precious name of Jesus, Your word has gone forth and I pray that it do not go back, Lord. Give us more of a grateful heart. All of us, even me, Lord. All of us need more of a grateful heart for You, Father. Help us to understand our gratefulness brings great rewards to us. Help us to be thankful for the bright sunshine. Help us to be thankful for the cold and the rain. Help us to be grateful that we're still here and that You hear us. Help us to be grateful that You hear us. Hallelujah.

Some of us doubt that You hear us. But Lord, Your will be done in each and every one under the sound of my voice. Let no one leave here as though they were left out. Let everyone leave here enriched by Your words and enriched by this prayer. Hallelujah. You take the people throughout this week. God is protecting them on the left, the front, and the right. Protect them from the works of the devil. Help them to keep their minds stayed on You. Help them to do Your will and do Your work. Help them to live this life. Help them to know that they are already in heavenly places.

Help them to know that You have already blessed them and healed them. You've already carried their burdens in the heat of the day. Help them to know that You did it over 2,000 years ago, and all they gotta do is walk in it and stop doubting You because You love them. Help them to know that You see their behavior. You know their behavior before they behave the way that they do. Help them to know that You still love them, and there's no good thing that You will withhold from those who walk uprightly. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. So Lord, give them the power to walk uprightly and to be a blessing to people. This precious prayer I do pray in the mighty name of Jesus on all these Your great people, these great, wonderful people of God. In Jesus' name I do pray. Hallelujah! Amen, amen. Come on, shout to the Lord! Hallelujah!

Guest (Male): Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. What a word. What a word. Oh yes. You were given a gift. Be grateful. God loved us so much that He gave us His only begotten Son, and we have to show gratefulness for all that He has done for us. Amen. Pastor let us know that some people don't have gratefulness in their heart. Right. But the consequences of living ungrateful lives is that you will be deceived into believing lies, and it will cause God to depart from you as it happened with Samson. And it will also take you to places you don't want to go, like the Prodigal Son. We don't want that to happen to any of us.

Amen. We want to stay right here where God has us now because He has taken us from a mighty long way and brought us to this point. Thank you, Lord. We know that we can do nothing without God, so we thank Him for where He has brought us from. Thank you, Lord. We want to leave what He brought us from back there where He took us from and walk in His grace and in His mercy. Jesus. I like the fact that the pastor used stories that we are familiar with, like with Samson and the Prodigal Son and even the Rich Young Ruler.

But with Samson, he reminded us that Samson was headstrong and he wanted what he wanted. Right. And some of us are like that. That's right. We want what we want when we want it. We're not waiting for God's timing, we're not considering God or asking God if this is what we should be doing or if this is what we should have. We want what we want. But as the pastor said, Samson lost his eyes because he was ungrateful. So God said, "If you act like you don't want to see, let me take your eyes. You won't see." Jesus.

We don't want that to happen to us. Thank you. We want to serve God as an example to the world, to the people around us, to glorify God, showing our gratefulness, to show that we acknowledge that God is our help. And to stop procrastinating and to help ourselves by opening up God's word and meditating on it. The word is living. Pastor always reminds us of that. The word is living. So if we open it up and we take it in, it'll help us live better lives. Pastor also reminded us that God has set us apart. Yes, He did. And we all sin and fall short. Yes. No matter how much Bible we read, no matter how many Bible studies we come to, no matter how many church services we come to, we still all fall short.

But God loves us anyway. Yes, He does. Not to beat yourself up because you've done something wrong or said something wrong or were someplace you shouldn't have been. God loves you anyway. Just like the Prodigal Son. He took him out of the pigpen and brought him back home, and his father received him with open arms. And if man can do that, you know that God is waiting and willing for you to come back home. Amen. I just thank God for this word today. God loves us and He wants us to be grateful for what He has done for us and to acknowledge Him in our lives so that other people can see what He has done for us. Amen. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Amen.