Bill Winston - The Foundation of a Righteous Man
Adam was supposed to take the garden with the power of the blessing and take that garden and duplicate it all over the earth. What happened? Then God said, "Don't eat of that tree. Every tree you can eat of, but not that one. That's mine". It's like the tithe. Come on now, don't shout me down. What happens? Then he saw that there was no companion for him and he put this man in a sleep and did surgery without a scar and from one of his ribs fashioned a woman. He made a man, but he fashioned a woman. This woman was a person that Adam was supposed to care for. He was supposed to protect. He was supposed to provide for and all these things.
This is interesting because he didn't give Adam a wife until he gave him a job. Let's just talk about this a minute. Work is from God. The devil did not think of work, it's from God. One of the first things God did is gave Adam work. When you look at the Scripture, it said God created everything for six days. At the end of the sixth day, he created a man. Why? Because the man was supposed to be the head of everything else that God's created. Everything God created was supposed to serve this man. It was never meant that you run after money. Money was supposed to run after you. He gave him work.
A lot of times what people don't know is they don't know why work was created. If they did know why work was created, they'd be happy to get to work. God loaded genius inside of you. Lord have mercy. God loaded something inside of you called potential. Potential is merely hidden abilities. He's got hidden abilities loaded in you. How do you get it out? You get it out through work. It's work that brings it out. Let me ask you this. Here's a woman, she's pregnant with child.
Now it's time for the child to manifest. What does she have to go through to get this child out and into the atmosphere? Labor. Say labor. You have to labor to bring what's in you out. Every one of you, every brother that's on the street, every brother that's in jail, every person that you might meet, they have inside of them loaded potential. I'm talking about a gift that God has placed inside of you something that you can do that I can't do. There's something I can do that you can't do. The way we get it to the surface is you and I have to work it out. I don't care what it is. Somebody got to work it out.
I'm telling you, when he sends you to work he's not trying to labor you and make you tired. He's trying to get you to work it out. I'm saying tonight this is going to be the start of a new day in your life. You're going see work like you're never seen it before. Instead of you hiding from a job you're going to run to that job because you know you're about to work it out. This guy named Bud Everhart. Bud was in a city, little town that had a manufacturing plant for airplane engines.
When Bud turned 18, he called the plant, because they hired at 18, said, "I'd like to get a job". Talked to the supervisor, said, "We don't have any jobs". He said, "Could I just sweep the floor"? He said, "Sweep the floor, I just told you, we don't have any jobs". He said, "I understand that but all I want to do is sweep the floor". He said, "Listen. I told you we don't have any jobs". He said, "I understand that, you don't have to pay me a dime. I'll just sweep the floor, keep the place clean for you, what's wrong with that"? The guy said, "okay, come on, you're so persistent, come on. You can sweep the floor". Bud started on Monday at 8 o'clock, took a half an hour break, swept the floor. 5 o'clock came, he left. Monday through Friday, every Monday through Friday but was there on time, took a lunch break. Then out on time so forth sweeping the floor every day. Every day did it for three months.
Then one day called in that Monday and said, "Bob, this is Bud". Say, "Yeah, Bud"? "Bob, I'm going to have to take a few days off. I'm going down, I have a funeral down south I got to go to my relatives". He said, "Bud, we not paying you no money anyway. You can take off all the time you want to take off". He said, "Okay. I thought just out of common courtesy I'd call you". He went on down south. They down there for a week. Then here comes Monday morning and Bud calls Bob again. "Hey Bob, this is Bud". "Yeah, Bud"? "Hey Bob, listen, I'm going to need a few more days off. I'm still down here in the South and I'm trying to take care of this family business". "Bud, you don't need to call me one more time. I am not paying you, you can take all the time you want".
About Wednesday of that week, Bob began to be questioned by his workers on the line. They said, "Where is Bud"? He said, "Bud wasn't working here, Bud was just volunteering". They said, "Oh yes he was". What was Bud doing? Bud would be sweeping by this one mechanic and the mechanic said, "Bud, drop the broom there, get that three-quarter inch socket wrench right there. Hold this up on this bungee spring. You got to twist this thing two and a half times". Bud was getting his MBA as he was sweeping the floor. Come on now. I'm talking about work. What do you think? That next day, "Hello Bud, this is Bob. When can you come see me"? He hired Bud that wednesday and before Bud retired he was the finest aircraft mechanic in the world. He was sought out all over the world. He wasn't looking for a job, he was looking for work.
When you're looking for work, you're looking to get the potential out of you so that you can do something and bless somebody else. Give God praise for it and thank God for work. Take your seats. God gave Adam work. Here's the devil comes on the scene. The devil comes to steal and what? Kill and to destroy. Start talking to Eve. Eve listened to the devil and he started sowing some seeds into Eve that were not godly seeds. Eve listened. He said, "Eve, God knows that today you eat of this tree you will be like God". The question is, was she already like God? Yes. What is the enemy doing? He's always trying to deceive you and tell you you don't have something you already have. She eats of it. Then gives it to Adam that was with her and he ate.
The Bible says she was deceived. Deceived means I thought I was doing right but I'm doing wrong. As a result that she gave to Adam, he knew it was wrong, but he ate. Ate themselves out of house and home. Next thing you know, God shows up. "Adam, where are you"? He wasn't talking about his location, he was talking about his position. He was the head of all creation. Now he's fallen. There's some things that Adam lost. Adam lost first fellowship with God. He and God were not two, they were one. Then he lost his assignment. He got put out of the garden. Then the last thing, he lost his ability for God to provide for him. Understand Satan came after Eve. It really wasn't Eve he wanted. Who did he want? He wanted Adam.
Why Adam versus Eve? Because Adam carried the authority for the home. A man carries the authority for the home. I don't care who you are. If you are a man and you are married in a home, you carry the authority. When God made man, he went to the ground one time and made this man. He didn't go to the ground again. Why? Because the man is what we call the foundation of the home. It says in the book of Psalms that "if the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do"? To notice. He didn't go to the ground but once. The next time he made a person, he made them out of a man. This man is a foundation. That's why the man can have strength. That's why the man is able to support things and so forth.
Are you saying, Reverend, that the woman is not as important? Oh, yes she's important, but she plays a different role. She plays a, you got a house and you put a foundation down there, but you don't stop with the foundation, you got to put up the siding, you got to put up the windows, you got to put the roof. I'm saying the man is the foundation. The woman helps to make the rest of the house. I'm saying to you right now that understand she is not made to hold up what you can hold up. This man now is an inferior position and the enemy is using him to produce something that is not of God. God spots a man named Abraham and he said, "Abraham, I'm going to make you something. Come out from your kindred from your kind and I want you to depend on me. I'm going to make you a great nation. I'm going to bless you, make your name great, and you'll be a blessing. I'm going to bless those that bless you. I'm going to curse those that curse you. In these shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed".
Now he called this man Abraham. As he called him, he began to teach him something about faith. The Bible says one of the reasons why God would choose a man named Abraham is because he would teach his children. I said faith is the missing ingredient. It seems like what has happened is a lot of things have happened especially in the black communities or in African-American communities. A lot of things seem like they have gone backwards. When I start to analyze that, I said, "Lord, what is happening here"? He said, "Faith is missing". He said, "Those people had faith in those days. They had faith".
I remember a man named E.V. Hill. E.V. Hill, a famous preacher gone on to be with the Lord. He told the story and I heard it. He said, "You know, when I was a kid I was in my family but my father had passed and mama was taking care of the whole family. As she was taking care of the family, then I was in grade school". He says, "I finished eighth grade and I finished number one in my class". He said, "Oh, by the way I was the only one in my class". He said, "We were so poor, it was down in Mississippi, a little one room schoolhouse and everybody was taught in this one room".
He said, "Then the deacon board came out. One day we were out there in the field plowing and the deacon board came in and said sister Hill, your boy is getting big now. He's the oldest among your children. He's going to actually teach the others and stay around the house. He doesn't need to go to high school, just let him help you". She said, "No, no. My boy is going to school". Understand, they were dirt poor. She had a faith that I'm talking about needs to be had today. Something is missing. What happened? He then went on to high school and again finished number one in his class. By the way, he was the only one in his class. He finished high school. Then they came out I mean in full force. "Sister Hill, listen now. Have some common sense about this".
How many of you know faith sometimes is not common sense? It is not common sense when you stick a rod out over a sea and it splits. It is not common sense when you're 100 years old and beyond childbearing and have a baby. It is not common sense you are a woman who is now a widow and don't have a husband and you decide to follow your mama in law and you're out there gleaning as a poor woman and the richest man in the county looks at you and says, "I want her for myself". It is not common sense when an angel comes to a lady and says, "Hey, you're going to have a baby". She says, "How's this going to happen to me? I don't even know a man". He said, "The Holy Ghost is going to come on you. That holy thing that shall be born of you shall be the son of God". She said, "Be it unto me".
I'm telling you, it's not common sense when a man's been dead, he's four days dead, he's stinking, and Jesus got him up. I'm telling you, faith is not common sense. Faith is the power of God. Now, sit down. Praise God! It's the missing ingredient. Somehow we're trying to use our intellect to make it and I said trying to use our common sense, whatever have you. I'm here to tell you God's got faith in you. Let me keep going here. What happened to E.V. Hill? He argued with him, so she said, "My boy is going to school". Understand she didn't have a dime. She didn't know how he was going.
That's what faith is. Faith is calling things that be not. Come on, as though they were. You don't know how it's going to happen but you do know what's going to happen. Say amen. When you start doing that and decreeing things, you don't know how God's going to do it. You don't know whether he's going to come in by airplane, he's going to come by sea. You don't know whether he's coming down John's Avenue or other expressway but you do know one thing, God's going to show up. I'm here to tell you, when you're like the three Hebrews and the three Hebrews said this, they said, "We can't bow, O king". They said, "The God that we serve, he will deliver us home". They didn't know how he was going to do that but they did know one thing, many of the afflictions of the righteous, but God shall deliver them out of them all. Say amen. What happened?
Now September, he got accepted to college. She said, "Son, here's your lunch, here are your bags. Mama got $16.33, but I'll be praying for you". He didn't see mama's prayers before because he'd seen a time when they didn't have anything to eat, they were down to the neighbor's house. Here's what the neighbor would say, "Sister Hill, it's about suppertime now, would you and the kids like something to eat"? Here's what she'd say, "No, we got plenty, thank you". He said I want to say, "We ain't got nothing to eat, what's she talking about"? They would go home and she'd set the table just like they had food in there, come on, and then said, "All right, let's pray". Then they'd put their head down, she'd start praying. Boom, all of a sudden you'd hear something on the front step. She lift her head and say, "Go out there and see what that is".
He said every time he went out there, it was a sack of sweet potato, it was some butter beans, it was a side of ham. He said it happened more than one time. He looked to see if anybody was there. I'm telling you, if God's got to use an angel to drop something in your lap, he'll use it. I said faith has been the missing ingredient. What happened next is he said he took that and he went on to school, he got there. After he got his courses, now it's time to stand in line. He stood in line. Understand it was a long line but you have to pay your money at the end of that line. He said he didn't have but $2 about that time, but he's going to stand in line anyway. When you've done all that you can do to stand, come on now, you're going to have to stand.
Faith without works is dead. Some people try to talk about they got all that faith, but they don't want to stand in line. I'm telling you, if you got the kind of faith that God's talking about, you'll stand in line flatfoot on the ground and watch for God to show up. Now he's advancing forward. Each person paid their money. They didn't have no credit cards in those days. You didn't have no checks. You had to give them cash. He didn't have it, but he had faith. If you know anything about faith, faith is the currency of the believer.
I'm here to tell you if you got enough faith, God will transfer right into your hands. What happened? He moved forward. Then he moved forward again. Each step he took, he said, "The Devil spoke in one ear, get out of line you fool, you're going to make a fool out of yourself". In the other ear he heard this, "I'll be praying for you". He made one more step, "Get out of line you fool. Don't make a fool out of yourself. I'll be praying for you". Step one more.
I'm telling you, you got to hold fast to the profession of your faith. Don't waiver because God is going to show up. I'm going to encourage you right now. Whatever you've been dealing with, this is the last day you're going to deal with that. Here he was next to the one to pay his money. Only one more person in front of him. Oh, man, he's standing now. He's standing, he's doing all he can to stand. A big man comes over to him, "Are you Hill"? "Yes sir". "Get out of line". The man had a black portfolio and opened it up. He said, "Hill, I don't know what's happening here but I got a full four-year scholarship for you, I got all your books paid. I got 150, come on now". Faith has been the missing ingredient. From this day forward we're going to activate your faith.