POWER TO STAY SOBER

Hey guys, welcome to Celebrate Recovery, the best place to be on a Tuesday night, amen? Woo-wee! How many of you are glad to be in God's house tonight? Yes. If this is your very first time, we want to say welcome. If you don't know who I am, my name is Kat, and I'm a grateful believer in Jesus Christ. I have one friend. I love you, Ed. You're awesome. Thank you. I celebrate recovery from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and I still struggle. Sometimes I struggle with anxiety, but you know what? That's not mine to claim, amen, because God's got me, and I'm so thankful for Tuesday nights where it's a safe place to take off the mask and say, you know what? Today I'm not okay, and there's no judgment, so I'm so glad that you all are here. We've got several things we need to talk about, so if this is your very first time, we are a 12-step faith-based program, and that means we've only got one higher power. Who's our higher power, y'all? Jesus. Amen. Jesus, for sure, for sure, and so I'm so thankful for that. We are streaming into the prisons and jails, and so we're so thankful for our folks that have tuned in. Tonight's going to be a good night, absolutely. Tonight Pastor Jeremy, who's the founder of True Purpose Ministries, as well as our recovery pastor, is speaking tonight, and so he always brings a good word, so I'm very excited about that. All right, so we are going to open in prayer. We're going to have some amazing worship, and then obviously Pastor Jeremy is going to preach a message, but really quick, before we do that, I've got some things I want to

talk about, so first things first, how many have a birthday? Yes, last week or this week, so come on up here so we can do our thing. Come on now. I know. I heard Katie Hawk had a birthday, so come on. I heard some Epperson fellas have birthdays, so y'all can't even get out of it. Get up here, y'all. Get up here. That's what I love about the brotherhood. They're going to call you out. You had one Thursday? This coming Thursday? Yes. All right. Happy early birthday. Get up here, Joseph. Come on. Come on, come on, come on. What are the chances that today is your birthday, brother? Yeah. Come on up here. We got a crew. Okay, so I'm going to ask everyone to step up onto the stage so we have room for everybody. Is that okay? All right, everybody get up there. Are you good? You good? All right. Get up here, brother. All right, so listen, really quick, we're going to ask their name.

Hold on, y'all. Look it. They're party people up here. We're going to ask them their name and their birth date, unless you want to tell me how old you are. No? Okay. Ooh, someone's proud, right? All right. So let's do this really quick. I'm Katie. Sunday, July 12th was my birthday. My name's Cora Lockridge. My birthday is next week on July 22nd, 05. I'm Tamara Lynn. My birthday is Thursday, July 16th. James Fox, birthday is today in 57. Ooh, there we go. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.

All right. Ooh, there we go. All right. Joseph Goins. July 5th, tomorrow's my birthday. I'll be 45. Pete, last Thursday. All right. All right, ladies. You can make me come up here. The 30th. 61. Jennifer. My name's Bryland. My birthday's Friday. I'll be 22. Ooh, he a baby, y'all. My name is Cody Jackson. My birthday was July 12th. I turn 28. Yes. All right. So listen. There's a test. Y'all going to remember everybody's name? Me either. All right, so we're going to sing happy birthday to everyone. Are you good with that? Everyone? All right.

And y'all need to sing really loud so that they can't hear me. Y'all good with that? On the count of three. 1-2-3. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear everyone, happy birthday to you. All right, show some love. So really quick, before you all leave, can y'all gather together like you like each other? And Miss Brenda's going to take a quick picture. Is that okay? Can you see her? Stay up where you're at. Get close together, y'all. Ladies, you want to step forward a little so you can be seen? All right, ladies, can they be seen? There we go. On the count of three. Don't move, don't breathe. 1-2-3. Amen. All right, guys. Thank you. Fellas, can you help ladies come down, please? Anybody need help? We good? That's why we're rehearsing. We're in recovery, my friend, because we all need some help. All right. So really quick, y'all look like a bunch of calendar keepers. So I'm going to give you some dates.

First and foremost, I'm very excited starting August. The first Tuesday in August, we are going to start a chemical dependency group for ladies. So if you're on social media, I'm going to be posting some things. So please share that. Talk it up. Let people know, because you know what? There are people out there that need the help. Amen? OK. Also, August 31st is overdose awareness. But we don't meet on the 31st. So this year, we're celebrating it on August 25th, y'all. It's the last Tuesday of the month. And our pastor, Jeremy, will be speaking that night as well. So we're very excited about that. All right, how many of y'all noticed the amazing lobby that's open? How many of y'all are ready to get back up into our house? So listen, the one thing you can't see is that Miss Patty, y'all know Miss Patty, the lady that runs our kitchen, there's an amazing kitchen back there that is not yet finished. And so until we can get all her supplies moved up here, we're going to continue to eat down at the pavilion. So I'm hoping for one more week. So we'll be down there next week. And then hopefully, the last Tuesday of the month, we'll be able to eat up here in the lobby. So just for clarification, this back door

will continue to be unlocked. So you can still come up from the pavilion. As well as our east door under the awning will continue to be open so you can enter. Or if you want to be real fancy, you can actually come through the front doors. Those will be unlocked as well. Amen? All right, so who's ready to be about their father's business? Oh, that was pitiful, y'all. Who's ready to be about our father's business? All right, let's get up on our feet. Let's pray, y'all. All right, so together we start with whose father? Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For that is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen, amen. You all are welcome to have a seat. I would like to invite Jason and Ken to come up here, where they're going to do the eight principles for us. All right, so quick reminder, y'all. And I'm sorry, there's so much house cleaning stuff I got to talk about.

Really quick, with the new construction, we have not designated a smoking area yet. So what I'm asking is, for the time being, please, if you're going to smoke out here, please just pick up your butts and take them with you, OK? Don't leave any on the floor, because technically, we're a smoke-free, tobacco-free campus. But they allow us on Tuesday nights. Everybody say, amen? OK, cool beans, all right. Did someone grab the other mic? Here you go. My name is Ken. I celebrate. Hello. And I celebrate recovery for myself, and pride, and probably a whole list of things. I'm Jason. I celebrate recovery from anger, and alcohol, and a whole list of things as well. So, R, realize I'm not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing, that my life is unmanageable. Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor, Matthew 5 3. E, earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me recover. Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted, Matthew 5 4. C, consciously choose to commit all my life and will

to Christ's care and control. Happy are the meek, Matthew 5 5. O, openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, to someone I trust. Happy are the pure in heart, Matthew 5 8. V, voluntarily submit to every change God wants me to make in my life, and humbly ask him to remove any character defects. Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires. Matthew 5 6. E, evaluate all my relationships, offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me, and make amends for harm I've done to others, except when to do so when harm them or others. Happy are the merciful, Matthew 5, 7. Happy are the peacemakers, Matthew 5, 9. R. Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will. Yield myself to God to be used to bring this good news to others, both by my example and by my words. Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires, Matthew 5, 10. Amen. Amen. How's everybody doing tonight? Good. Good. My name is Katie Hawk. Hi. I'm a grateful believer in Jesus Christ. I celebrate recovery from fear, shame, brokenness, and other things in this world. And I was going to share a story with you. Now, if you've been coming before, you may have heard this story.

But it's one of my favorites. And I just love to tell it because it shows me what a beautiful sense of humor our God has. When I first got saved, I'm from the north. Anyone in here from the north? Okay. So, how many of y'all know, like, churches in the north are very different than churches in the south? Okay. So, I got saved. I attended a church. It was very different. We moved to the south. Church was very different here. Like, the church I came from, like, if you clapped during worship, like, people looked at you funny. Okay. So, there was no, like, there was nothing like what we have here. And so, when I first started coming to church and I see all these people worshiping God and raising their arms and coming to the altar, I thought, that's kind of weird. And then the more that I saw them worshiping in that way and the more freedom that I saw, it became so beautiful to me. And I was like, I want that same freedom to worship God like that. But it was terrifying. And I don't know if anyone else is terrified by this. Maybe y'all think I'm weird. Okay. But I was like, I cannot raise my hands in church. Like, I can't do that. Everyone will look at me. Everyone will laugh at me. Like, no way. That's so scary. But I just kept feeling convicted to just let it go. Right?

Quit worrying about what people are thinking. Get over my fear and just do it. And so, finally, I'm standing in church one day and I'm like, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. And I close my eyes and then I won't notice if people look at me and laugh at me. Right? So I'm standing there and I close my eyes and literally I'm arguing the whole time during the worship song, not even paying attention. And I'm closing my eyes and finally I just go like this. And I was like, oh, this feels good. And then I hear this, like, thump, thump, thump, and everyone around me starts laughing. And I'm like, what is going on? So I peek open my eyes and look. My daughter had also apparently never seen me worship like this before and she didn't know what I was doing and she thought I was trying to high five her. So she's literally going like this, trying to reach my hand in the middle of worship so that she could give me a high five. And I was like, Lord, you have a sense of humor because every person in that little church looked at me and laughed. Okay? Just my very fears came true. And I was like, God, why? Why would you let me go through that? And I realized because guess what? It wasn't that big of a deal. I had the freedom. I overcame those fears, right? And now you're wondering, Katie, why are you telling me this story right now? Do you know that praising him during while we're singing with your hands in there, that's not the only way to worship God. There's other ways to worship. And one of those ways is through our giving. Okay? So maybe you're like, I have freedom. I don't have any issues raising my hand while they're singing.

But maybe giving is a little scary for you. Maybe the idea of reaching in your wallet and pulling it out. Or maybe you're afraid the person next to you will see how much you put in and they'll think something about that or they'll judge something about that. Right? Or you're just scared. Right? Because that's a new way to worship that you've never tried before. But I just want to encourage you guys, like, just trust God. You have no idea the freedom that comes when we just trust God. When he calls us to raise our hands, we raise our hands. When he calls us to give our finances, we give our finances. When he calls us to serve, we serve. And there is something so powerful and beautiful and freeing about being able to worship God in that way. So I just encourage you, if you feel like he's been telling you to give and worship in this new way that you've never done before, I encourage you tonight to just try it. I promise we won't look at you and laugh. Okay? All right. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much, God, for who you are. Thank you for what you have done. Lord, I pray for every person in here. I pray, Lord, above all else, that they know you, that they have a personal, intimate relationship with you, Lord, God. I pray that they know that they are loved and chosen and holy and precious, God, and that you called them here tonight for a purpose. I pray that they receive from you tonight, Lord, in a way they've never received before. Lord, and I thank you for everyone who's stepping outside of their comfort zone, Lord, tonight, whether that's me. Raising their hands in worship signing up to serve Lord or giving and I pray if they give Lord that you bless them abundantly Exceedingly more than they could ask or imagine. We know that you are a God of multiplication So I pray that you take whatever Gets put in those buckets and you multiply it Lord so that we can meet the needs in this community Lord because I know you even More than us want to see people whole healed and delivered. Thank you

Thank you Jesus for who you are for what you've done and for what you're already gonna do and it's in the precious Holy beautiful righteous name of Jesus. We pray. Amen You come to the right place people like you like me It's home sweet home Come on It's home sweet home There is no Bring your burden you can lay him down in the door Ain't it? So clean you belong here step into the house Oh Bring your burden you can lay him down in the door There is no fear you belong here step into the house All right church, let's stand to our feet get ready to worship this evening The day you were made so I'll rejoice in me glad and joy to be glad There I believe that you are more than enough You are strong Your presence Oh The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Jesus, come what may. You are worthy of all, worthy of all my praise. You are faithful to your promise, you are strong when I am weak. When I'm standing in your presence, I have everything I need. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh my soul, bless his name, all that is within me sing. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Let it rise up like a river, overflowing Holy Spirit. Let it pour out with holiness, overflowing Holy Spirit. Let it rise up like a river, overflowing Holy Spirit.

Let it pour out with holiness, overflowing Holy Spirit. Woah-oh-woah. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh, woah-oh-wooah-oh, Woah-oh-woooah-oh, woah-oh-woooah-oh. The joy of the Lord, The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord, The joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh my soul, bless His name, All that is within me stays. Oh my soul, bless His name, All that is within me stays. Oh my soul, bless His name, All that is within me stays. The joy of the Lord, The joy of the Lord is my strength. Woah-oh-woah. Woah-oh-wooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-woooah-oh. Woah-oh-wooah-oh. Oh, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.

He's been my fourth man in the fire, time after time. Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood, and what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough. Oh, I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail, He will never fail I trust in God, my Saviour, the one who will never fail He will never fail Perfect submission, all is at rest Cause I know the author of tomorrow is on my steps So this is my story, and this is my song I'm praising my risen King and Saviour all the day long I trust in God, my Saviour, the one who will never fail He will never fail I trust in God, my Saviour, the one who will never fail He will never fail He didn't fail you then, He won't fail you now If that's your story, that He hasn't failed you I just want you guys to just lift up your voices, lift up your hands Don't be ashamed to worship our God and sing I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him

I trust in God, my Saviour, the one who will never fail He will never fail I trust in God, my Saviour, the one who will never fail He will never fail I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him We trust You Lord, we love You Lord We praise You, we thank You Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. We thank you, God. We thank you, Lord. Church, I want you to praise Him right now. And lift up your voices. Don't be ashamed. Sing. I trust in God, my Savior, one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my Savior, one who will never fail. He will never fail. He will never fail. He will never fail. Whoo! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Whoo! Whoo! I remember how you provided, how you held me through the night. And I remember how you sustained me, when you stepped in to save my life.

If I knew then what I know now, I would be still and let you work it out. Jesus, I was tossed in the water, but I never went under. You were always on time. And Jesus, when I went through the fire, you were right there beside me. You were always on time. You were always, always, always on time. You were always, always, always on time. I remember how you carried when I couldn't take a step. And I remember how you loved me when I couldn't love myself. Jesus, I was tossed in the water, but I never went under. You were always on time. Jesus, when I went through the fire, you were right there beside me. You were always on time. You were always, always, always on time. You were always, always, always on time. You were always, always, always on time. You were always, always, always on time. There's never been a day, never been a minute, never been a moment that you weren't in. There's never been a time that you didn't see me through, God, so I worship you. There's never been a day, never been a minute, never been a moment that you weren't in. There's never been a time that you didn't see me through, God, so I worship you. I worship you There's never been a day never been a minute never been a moment that you weren't in There's never been a time that you didn't see me through, God, so I worship you There's never been a day never been a minute never been a moment

that you weren't in There's never been a time that you didn't see me through, God, so I worship you Oh, Jesus I was tossed in the water but I never went under You were always on time You're still alive, Jesus When I went through the fire You were right there beside me You were always on time You were always, always Always on time You were always, always Always on time You were always, always Always on time You were always, always Always on time But there's never been a day There's never been a minute There's never been a moment That you weren't in it There's never been a time That you didn't see me through God So I worship you But there's never been a day There's never been a minute There's never been a moment

That you weren't in it There's never been a time That you didn't see me through God So I worship you Oh Oh, it's faithful love How you love Oh Faithful love Faithful love Faithful love Jesus I was tossed in the water But I never went under You were always on time Jesus I went through the fire You were right there beside me You were always on time Always on time Thank you Jesus Thank you Jesus for always being on time No matter what season we've walked in God, no matter how lonely we've ever felt You have always been with us in the fire You don't promise that we're always gonna get out of it But you do promise us that you will always be in it with us And God, you are always on time In every single moment Every single time, God, you provide

Overly and abundantly more than we could ever ask or understand God, sometimes no is the biggest blessing we could ever get A closed door is the biggest blessing we could ever get Because you have something so much greater for us that we can't even see You are such a good God Oh, there's never been a day or a moment that you haven't been in it God, we're gonna sing that real quick together just one more time There's never been a day, never been a minute Never been a moment that you weren't in it There's never been a time that you didn't see me through, God So, I worship you Never been a day, never been a minute Never been a moment that you weren't in it There's never been a time that you didn't see me through, God So, I worship you We worship you, Jesus You were always on time You always provide And Jesus, when I went through the fire You were right there beside me You were always on time And when I was tossed, Jesus I was tossed in the water But I never went under You were always on time Thank you Jesus Thank you Jesus for being with us every moment Help us to feel your presence in every moment To recognize that you are present in every moment There is always something to be thankful for

There is always good because you are always there God help us focus on that Help us feel you And be reminded waking up is a gift Your mercies are new every morning God you are so faithful You are so good Despite our circumstances Despite how we feel You are good and that is enough Thank you Jesus Thank you for walking with us in every moment Even when we feel like we're drowning You are with us always on time Thank you Lord, Amen Thank you Lord How's everybody doing? Amen, Amen It's an absolute honor to be here Amen, you are family right? Amen Like I said, I'm Jeremy Graham Or like somebody else said, I'm Jeremy Graham Recovery Pastor here But I'm also President and Founder of True Purpose Ministries Amen, where my True Purpose, Amen Amen Also Tennessee J-CAP Anybody ever heard of that? It's a jail program in Cocke County

We founded that in Cocke County And I tell you I'm really happy to see what God is doing there as well I wanted to say something before I get started if it's okay And I hope Cat's okay with this But I wanted to talk to our men and women that are incarcerated In state prisons, okay? I've been working with the Governor's Office for some time now It's the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives And they have a new initiative where They want to send volunteers into the prison to mentor inmates That are going to be getting out with 14 months or less And I tell you, I praise the Lord True Purpose has been chosen to go into Morgan County Prison And offer that volunteer mentorship Amen, praise the Lord But I know this is going all over the state of Tennessee And so if you are in a state prison There are people coming in in August That are going to be offering this volunteer mentorship To you who are about to get out within 14 months, okay? So if you don't know anything about that Inmates, please, men and women in your prisons Please talk to your re-entry specialist Talk to your chaplain They can steer you in the right direction, amen? Praise the Lord, thank you for that plug Is that okay? Alright, so I want to talk tonight about the power to stay sober The power to stay sober, okay? I think that in our world

We have developed what I would call coping mechanisms To be able to try to stay sober We have put that emphasis on people We have put that emphasis on things And y'all, you know that I am a firm believer in celebrate recovery You know I'm a firm believer in meetings You know I'm a firm believer in 12 steps However, 12 steps cannot be your God Y'all know that Okay, so 12 steps cannot be We cannot worship 12 steps and believe That 12 steps is what is going to keep us clean You know, getting clean is pretty easy Staying clean is the hard part And so I want to talk to you about my personal life a little bit Because a lot of you do know And a lot of you don't know I used to be addicted to drugs and alcohol Primarily meth But man, like I said, before I was a trash can I did just about anything I could possibly get into this body And I was always trying to do the Superman quote theology in my life Where Superman would go into a phone booth And come out a different person That was one reason why I used drugs Because I was not happy with myself When I would look in the mirror I was not happy with what I saw But you know what gave me a little bit of extra ability to do things That I did not really have the ability to do?

Drugs and alcohol So a lot of us use drugs and alcohol and other substances and there may be people that are wanting to get free from overeating, all kinds of stuff in here. I mean, there's all kinds, CR is for everybody here. But this sermon right here is going to help you because I wanna talk about the power and that power, of course, is found in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we're gonna see that this power is given unto us. The wonderful, glorious power of the gospel is not just to get you to heaven. I have seen in church, and I'm gonna call churchianity, y'all, if y'all just forgive me for that statement. But I have seen in churchianity where everybody puts so much of an emphasis on heaven. And now I'm not saying anything bad about heaven. I praise the Lord that I am going to heaven for eternity for this small little drop in the bucket time called earth. I love that I am going to heaven. And man, I don't take that for granted at all. But some people get so focused on heaven that they're down and out, miserable, and failing at life everywhere they turn because they haven't hooked up with the power of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If we need to live the rest of our life for heaven, guess who's your Savior other than Jesus? Death. We're gonna look at death as being our Savior

if all we're gonna focus on is heaven. Y'all, we have a life to live. Y'all know that? You have husbands to become. You have wives to become. You have fathers. You have mothers. You are the fathers and mothers that God has destined and called you to be. And you need power to be able to do that. We gotta start looking at the true, true, true power source. And I wanna go to Zechariah chapter four first, please. Very familiar scripture. A lot of people's heard of this, but this rings so true if you listen to this. Then he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might, listen, not by might, not by power, but by my what, everybody? My spirit, says the Lord. It's not by might, nor by power. What do we always try to do sometimes? I can remember trying to get off dope. Man, I tell you, I tried to not drink for 30 days, and boy, I tell you, I was big stuff when I didn't drink for 30 days. And I'm not talking about going into a program. I'm not talking about doing any kind of meetings. I was just doing it on my own, within my own strength and my own power.

And I felt like I was big stuff, but you know what? I never made it any longer. It was like I was always trying to do it with me. I was worshiping basically me saying that I am gonna do this and I am gonna do that. And I never sought the true power. 12 steps, we understand 12 steps, but we come to understand that my life is unmanageable. And what am I gonna do? I am going to seek this higher power that is gonna restore me back to sanity. And then what? I'm gonna give my life over to Him. That's what it's all about. When we give our life over to Him, we allow Him to start ruling and reigning in our life, and we receive the power that He has given us, and then we can live through that power. It's not by might, it's not by my might, it's not by my power, but it's by God's Spirit, says the Lord. Is it okay if I preach a little bit? Kat said it, she brought me up here and she said, Jeremy's gonna preach tonight. Hey, I didn't tell her I was gonna preach tonight. So she released me. We have got to rely on God because He is our true power. I wanna go to our next scripture. There is something that I love about, or there's a lot that I love about the scriptures,

but this particular scripture right here, when it talks about a word called grace. Grace is very misunderstood a lot of times. There is one, there's a couple definitions of grace if you look at it in the Greek. A lot of people just pull one out, and that's that unmerited favor. Has anybody ever heard that? So basically what that's saying is, man, you know what? I don't deserve God's love and God's grace, and I don't deserve His mercy and His unforgiveness. I was a filthy sinner, and yes, I understand all that. Absolutely right, yeah. Man, I mean, I was a filthy sinner, and man, I did not deserve anything that He gave me. My brand new life that I have, fully restored, I tell you, as a sinner, I just didn't deserve that. But that's not what it's really about here, what I wanna talk about tonight, which is wonderful. But I wanna talk about the other part of grace. And the other part of grace says that it is God's divine ability. And we're gonna talk about this here in just a minute, but I want you to look at this. But He gives more grace. That statement right there tells me that He will continually give grace, and give grace, and give grace, and give grace. A lot of people think, well, it was just the grace of the cross,

and when I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Savior and I got and I got born again that you know what I received all the grace that I could ever want or desire actually he says we can come now boldly to the throne of grace and ask for grace and mercy in the time of need I don't know how many times of needs you have but I have them there's times of needs that I said God I cannot do this I cannot do what you have called me to do I can't make the right decision here I need your grace and you know what I do I go boldly to the throne of grace because it is a promise that is given unto me that the veil has been rent and I can go straight to the father and I could say father I need your grace and he gives me that grace and he gives me that power to do what I'm called to do that is why Paul says I am what I am as a wise master builder according to the grace of God which is given unto me that grace there is God's divine ability Paul understood I could not do anything in my whole life I cannot be this Apostle to the nations without his grace and I'll tell you there's no way that Jeremy Graham can do what he's doing right now without the grace of God pushing me and giving me the strength to be able to move forward that grace is the wind beneath my wings that is what it does it pushes me forward and it takes me into realms and so I could see you know maybe a lot of people here you know as you're here you know you you may be clean two weeks praise the Lord you may be clean 30 days praise the Lord but you need grace you need the grace you need God's divine ability and you may have these questions and you may say man how in the world am I going to get all of this together I mean if I look at my life right now man I don't know I've got court coming up I've got this they're saying they're gonna do this to me and man I don't have a job and I don't have money and I don't have a vehicle man I don't have anything what am I gonna do you need God's grace how am I gonna be this father man how am I gonna get the kids out of custody how am I gonna how am I gonna be a husband to my wife and kid I don't know how I'm gonna do that God's grace his power he gives more grace and he will continue giving you grace as much as you want all you got to do is go boldly to the throne of grace

and ask for grace and mercy in the time of need and he will keep giving you that power but it does say something here in this next part that we all got to look at because we can sit here and go boldly to the throne of grace and ask for grace and ask for grace and ask for grace but if I'm full of myself how in the world am I going to receive anything of God God give me grace God saying well empty yourself and I'll pour myself in God I need your grace well just humble yourself and throw that old nastiness out and I'll pour me myself in that's what I'll do and this is what this next part is wherefore he said God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble see that kind of used to offend me a little bit guys I just want to be cut totally honest with you when I looked at that God resisted the proud I kind of just saw I had this bad perception of Father God and if you have this perception of Father God please work on that in your heart but this perception that I had a father God that he was always mad and he was always angry at me and boy I saw you do that I saw you I heard that cuss word you just said you know what I'm gonna do I'm gonna turn my back on you and you are gonna have to prove to me one day that you are worthy for me to shine my face upon you but until then I'm separating myself from you and I am not even going to even think about you anymore that's the way I thought about God but if he turns us back on sin and he turns it back on you because you sin why did he go looking for Adam and Eve after they sin Adam Eve where are you we're hiding God why are you hiding we're naked why are you who told you that you were naked what's going on here if God turns his back on you because you messed up and he don't want to have anything to do with you he would not have been chasing Adam and Eve in the garden Jesus the story of the prodigal son a lot of people call out the prodigal son you know what I call it the incredible father the incredible father it's a wonderful understanding of the incredible father because that totally annihilates that old understanding that the father is just up there so mad at you and he can't stand you and he is waiting to zap you with his judgment and wrath and send you to hell there is a hell y'all know that

that's right the wonderful incredible father you know what happened when when that kid took that inheritance that he finally came to himself and as he came to himself he started coming back he says you know what I want to go back to my father's house it says that as he started heading back it says that the father saw him you know what that means the father was looking for him wait wait a minute whoa whoa whoa if he was so mad at the son for taking the inheritance and he just turned his back on him how can he see him coming a far off but now not only did he see him coming afar off he picked up his robe and he ran out there and basically tackled him according to the scriptures kissed him on his neck gave him the best robe gave him a ring on his finger gave him new shoes so that when he brought him back into the house nobody know what knew where he had been I guess God wanted you to hear that because I was not planning on that but I'm here on James 4 so let's go back to James 4 hallelujah James 4 so God resists the proud oh yeah he that used to offend me because of my perception towards God it's almost saying like okay you're proud I'm just not gonna have anything to do with you but this is the way I've kind of come to understand it I want you to look at this wherefore he said God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble I see father God is this big he's bringing this big picture of grace it's just full to the top and he's coming to vessels and he is just pouring his grace in the vessels that has the room Stephen brought me a water bottle walk back there and praise the Lord thank you Stephen and I was drinking and I said hey you know what I'm gonna call this into the ministry everybody I'm gonna sanctify this bring it into the ministry and so I started drinking it because I didn't want it to be full because if it was full guess what when I when God comes by with his picture he's not gonna be able to pour in the grace in it because it would be totally full but when we have emptied ourself and poured ourself and poured that liquid out and poured ourself out and just gotten all that out every time you do that you can receive more grace what does it say right there but he gives more grace he will continue giving grace he will

continue giving it as much as you empty yourself and as much as you can contain him that is who he is he resists the proud but gives grace to the humble submit yourselves therefore to God resist the devil and he'll flee now listen look at this don't just say hey you know what the Bible says buddy resist the devil and he'll flee no no no you got to look at the first part submit yourself to God then resist the devil and he'll flee amen all right let's go to the next slide please so pride what is pride a lot of people look at pride and they really don't really know the full understanding this is my basic understanding here thinking of yourself being selfish full of me myself and I now the reason I put in parentheses there the satanic characteristic guys it is because Lucifer was the first one that developed and showed these characteristics in heaven he said I there's a bunch of eyes there you notice that III will do this and I will do that God said I'm sorry you can't stay here I'm gonna kick you out like a football you've got to go down now okay that's not gonna work in heaven why because he was thinking all about himself and he was wanting to come and do what he want to do that's pride and so when we look at ourselves being selfish all I can think about is me myself and I is drugs and alcohol laying your life down for other people no I've said this before but I never did drugs and alcohol for people around me I never did it because it made them better people I never heard people say well you know what I'm addicted to drugs because man it really helps my wife man when I spend all of our money in our account I never hear that what is that it's all about who me that's it it's all about me when I do drugs and pride is it's all about me and lifting up my pride next let's go the next slide now look at humility humility is thinking of others selfless emptying me myself and I when I empty myself and I this is what Jesus's characteristics was he spent his whole time here on this earth just absolutely emptying and and just doing everything for everybody else he was always focused on everybody else even said this I've not come to be served but I've come to serve and give my life a ransom for many so now when we start talking about this grace I want to talk about a measure of

grace that made an absolute difference in my life it is the Holy Spirit of God now Jesus is the unadulterated Son of God that came and walked on this earth and he did everything that he was called to do and man he crossed every T and dotted every I and man I'm telling you he did it to the fullest but he makes a statement right here that I want you to look at yes grace is God's divinability power I got ahead of myself while ago but I want to go to the next slide I want you to look at this first right here because Jesus makes a statement now don't you all believe that Jesus is what we would call just he's the top man I mean man he's the Savior he is the one that absolutely redeemed us he's the one that died on the cross he's the one that did everything man I mean man I tell you when we think about Jesus he is just the cat's meow right but this is something that he said out of his own mouth talking about the Holy Spirit of God and when he's saying this about the Holy Spirit of God then I've got to take notice and I've got to say wait a minute this guy's pretty important the Holy Spirit is very important and I want you all to understand that a Holy Spirit has scared a lot of people not the Holy Spirit but I'm saying just the unknown of the Holy Spirit do you know that the Holy Spirit's a gentleman do you know that he doesn't want to exploit you or embarrass you or he doesn't want to hurt you he doesn't want to harm you all he wants to do is come in and help you encourage you comfort you teach you that's just what he wants to do but the Holy Spirit has been getting a bad rap in our in our churchy entity he really has and I just want to tell you tonight that you don't need to be afraid of the Holy Spirit of God because the Holy Spirit will work on your behalf and he will help you when you are laying there at night on your bed with tears streaming down your face and you're not knowing what to do you're not knowing what to pray you can't even utter words out of your mouth you don't know what the words are all you have to all you have to whisper is Jesus and all you have to say Holy Spirit help me and the Holy Spirit will come and minister to you right there laying on your bed with tears streaming down your face the Holy Spirit will be your comforter like a big old blanket he will come and he will just

absolutely just change your life forever and this is our helper our helper comes because we receive the Holy Spirit and this is what Jesus is talking here John 16 verse 7 nevertheless I tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I go away meaning it's necessary it is absolutely necessary that I go away wait a minute Jesus I mean not this guy is healing everybody around I mean a funeral couldn't even have a funeral because Jesus was walking by one day and said oh okay be raised and he raised up and well there goes the funeral I mean man he did all kinds of stuff day in and day out the Bible says that there is not enough books to be able to contain everything that he did or said but he says this it is necessary for you that I leave wait a minute Jesus you want to leave this earth yes sir I gotta leave why because if I do not go away the comforter which is the Holy Spirit of God will not cannot come to you but if I depart I will send him to you Jesus had to go so that the Holy Spirit can come that's how powerful and important the Holy Spirit is but I want you to look at that capital C word there he's the comforter does anybody ever needed comfort in your life I have sought comfort from people I have sought comfort from liquor I have sought comfort from beer from meth from drugs absolutely everything but I'm telling you what there is absolutely nothing like the comfort of the Holy Spirit of God that's the comfort that never runs out never runs out never runs out always there always continual like a dynamo ever-producing never runs out drugs and alcohol it runs out you keep having to go get it and ingest it you keep having to go do it keep going no Holy Spirit is there and he will always be your comforter next verse please and then he says this in John 14 16 through 17 and I will pray to the Father and he shall give you another comforter that word again that he may abide with you forever even the spirit of truth so I'm talking I'm pulling out some understanding about the Holy Spirit he's what also as a comforter he is also the spirit of truth and I'm almost done y'all just bear with me the spirit truth I don't know about y'all but have you ever battled with lies I have lies about me lies about God remember I was talking about the father there I had this perception

about the father and so you know what I did I ran from the father every time I could because I didn't want him to get me but man when he the spirit truth came into my life man I tell you he revealed a whole bunch of lies to me and I was able to replace those lies with truth whom the world cannot receive because it sees him not neither knoweth him but you know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be where inside of you that's closer you can't get any closer than being inside of you amen next verse John 14 26 but the comforter which is the holy ghost now a lot of people say well the holy ghost is different from the holy spirit no and I disagree with that because if you look at the word ghost it is the same word as this word spirit pneuma it's just king james wanted to call him ghost okay I just don't want to call him ghost all right I want to call him the holy spirit which is the holy spirit whom the father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said to you so he will he's also your what teacher he'll teach you when you don't know what to do when you don't know this scripture when you don't know what to do in this situation that situation he will always be your teacher last verse and I'll close with this so you may say you know what man I've received Jesus Christ and I hope you have I hope you have been born again what I would call it okay and what the Bible calls it being born again means that you receive Jesus Christ and your old man dies and your new man comes to an existence and that new man is your new identity and it is your new spirit man that's why Jesus calls it born again if you look at the word born again it basically means to be born from above meaning that we now have father God's DNA flowing and living through us so yes I hope that you are born again but if you are born again you can receive the Holy Spirit you can ask him to come into your life and you can ask him to fill you to the top Luke chapter 11 verse 11 if he then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him now we skipped a couple verses there but basically the understanding was if you ask your father for a stone will he give you a piece of bread if you ask your father for a fish will he give you a steak a snake no same way if you ask your father for the Holy Spirit he will give you the Holy Spirit of God so father right now in Jesus name if you are tugging on any hearts in here father and if they are sitting here saying God I need your grace I liked that word comforter there I like the spirit of truth because man I have been

dealing with lies man uh Holy Spirit I need you to be able to teach me some things if you if there's anybody in here that have just been drawing to you tonight then your Bible's clear in Luke chapter 11 and all we have to do is simply ask because you are a good good father and so Holy Spirit I'm asking Lord if there is anybody in here that is asking for you thank you father that you're giving them the Holy Spirit of God and Lord that grace that you give also that they can receive right now to be able to do what they are called to do to be that father to be that mother to be that husband to be that wife to be that business owner whatever it is that they are called to do Lord I thank you and I praise you for the wonderful grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit of God that comes and so Lord Jesus right now I just thank you and I praise you father God for your great Holy Spirit of God I thank you for the difference that it's made in my life because I don't know where I would be without him and Lord Jesus I thank you so much Lord that you went so that he could come thank you so much for what you did in my life and I thank you so much for what you're doing in everybody else's life and father we honor and we love you in Jesus mighty name amen thank you all so much we love y'all all right y'all we went a little longer than normal but you know what that was just so sweet I don't know about y'all but I just love being in the presence of the Lord and you know what's amazing it doesn't have to happen just here right it can happen in your car it can happen at your house on your couch amen I am so thankful for that so really quick before we pray out I want to ask for your help uh this Saturday if you haven't heard is helping hands it's our biggest community event of the year and so I need some manpower to help stack these chairs after large groups so we're going to pray out um and then we're going to uh obviously I'm going to invite you to church because we all need some church amen and then we're going to do our chip ceremony and then immediately after chip ceremony if you all would be willing to hang out and help us stack the chairs so that tomorrow uh shoe station is gonna come in with an 18-wheeler and literally bring in all the free shoes for all the kids that we're gonna serve on Saturday. Is that not amazing? Yeah. We're gonna transform this room

so that we can serve these children and serve them well. So that being said, let's everybody stand, please. No. We got a rebellious spirit right up here. Somebody lay hands on her. She just told me no. All right, so together we start with God. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking as Jesus did this simple world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen, amen. All right, so y'all are welcome to have a seat for 2.5 seconds. I know some of y'all need to go because you have curfew. I'm just gonna ask that wherever you're sitting, if you're leaving, if there's any trash, even if it's not yours, any water bottles, if you would bless us by taking it with you, we would absolutely be so thankful for that. So with that being said, I wanna thank our online community for joining us.

I hope you will tune in next week because we'll have some great messages next week as well. So with that being said, if you don't have a home church, we'd love to invite you. We have three services here. What time are our services here on Sunday morning, y'all? 8.30, 10, and 11. Amen, 8.30, 10, and 11.30, so please join us. Also, if you happen to live across town, we have a campus at 411 that we would love to invite you to.