Paul Daugherty - No Matter What
Summary
In this final sermon of the series, the pastor teaches from Philippians 1 that no matter the election outcome or circumstances, Christians win because to live is Christ and to die is gain. The core message is that our hope is in King Jesus alone, not politicians, and «no matter what» we must conduct ourselves worthy of the gospel, stay united, keep peace, love neighbors, pray, and worship. The conclusion calls to fix eyes on Jesus, love others, pray for authorities, glorify Him, and live ready for His soon return.
No Matter What
We are in our final week of this series; we have been in this series for four weeks and just felt we really needed to stir up our church to pray for our nation. This series has focused on our nation, which is really at a crossroads. Every four years, there are decisions our nation makes about who is going to lead the country, so we’ve been in this series focused on praying and studying the Word of God on how to navigate the times we’re living in. I appreciate those of you who are here today, even if you may have different opinions. You have chosen to be a part of this house and this body of Christ, and I’m thankful that you receive what God has been speaking.
I was talking with some people this past week; they said, «You know, Pastor, I don’t see everything the same way you do, but I respect your courage to stand for what you believe in, in a world where no pastor is willing to take a stand.» I’m grateful for just the kindness; I don’t know if, even when I was a kid growing up with my dad as the pastor, I understood or saw everything exactly 100%, but one thing I knew was that I could trust my dad’s heart. Every time he preached, he preached the Word of God and ministered that, and that’s been my heart: «Lord, help me preach the Word of God.» Wherever people need to take the meat and spit out the bones, they can do that. But that we would stand together, united, because the devil knows a house divided cannot stand. United, we rise; divided, we fall. So as a church, let’s be united around this one thing: Jesus is Lord; Jesus is King. If you have a Bible, go to Philippians chapter 1.
Advancing the Gospel No Matter What
I want to title this message «No Matter What.» Philippians chapter 1, and I want to start with verse 12 and then I’ll get to verse 27—that’s where I’m going to camp out. Verse 12 says, «Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.» In other words, he said there are some things that happened that I wasn’t super excited about, some things that weren’t what I voted for, some things that kind of frustrated me, and some things that I thought would go one way and went the other way. But he said it all turned out for good. God’s going to use whatever happens next for the good of the body of Christ. How many of you have faith to believe that God can use anything? Even if it’s not what you want, God’s going to use some things for good.
Paul said this: «As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.» We need to have believers willing to proclaim the gospel without fear—without fear of losing your job, without fear of losing your popularity, without fear of losing likes. God did not call us to live just to be liked by people. In fact, Jesus said, «If you follow me, you will be hated by some people, ” because people hate the truth. Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth.
Now, what’s this hate speech you’re talking about from Scripture? You know, right now in the United Kingdom, they are considering banning the Bible and calling it hate speech. In many places, they’ve already done this. If you post a scripture without context in the United Kingdom, you can get fined or even thrown in jail. You could be labeled a bigot, prejudiced, or racist, all kinds of stuff just by posting a scripture. I’m not talking about your opinion—just a scripture. That’s actually in the news; I’m not sharing my opinion. That’s in the news—they’ve made that decision. People are getting kicked off social media platforms just for posting a scripture.
This last week, when I preached, I told a story about in the early 1940s when Hitler gathered a group of pastors together and said, „As long as you pledge your allegiance to me, I’ll fund you, and I’ll take care of your churches. And don’t worry about the nation.“ There was one pastor who stood up to him, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. They are making a movie about Bonhoeffer next month, but Bonhoeffer stood up and said, „Mr. Hitler, we’re not concerned about our churches; God can take care of our churches. Politicians didn’t build the church, and politicians can’t destroy the church. The gates of hell will not prevail against it.“ Bonhoeffer said, „What we are concerned about is the soul of our nation, the soul of Germany.“ And Hitler said, „Let me worry about the soul of Germany.“ Many pastors went silent because they were afraid of losing their funding from the government. They were afraid of being looked at in a certain way or even losing church members. There were a few pastors willing to take a stand; Bonhoeffer was one of them.
Paul said we need to have more Christians who would dare to proclaim the gospel without the fear of man. In verse 15, he says, „It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, and others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it even matter?“ Paul says, „What does it even matter?“ We need to ask ourselves, „What matters anyway?“ What are we getting so upset about? There are some things we turn minors into majors and majors into minors. We need to major on the major: the major is Jesus Christ is Lord and King.
Don’t get frustrated. When I was little, my mom used to say, „Don’t get your undies in a bundle.“ That’s what she would say. „Don’t get all bent out of shape.“ My dad used to say, „Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape.“ But the point was we live in a world where people just get easily offended over every little thing. We need to come back to what’s the main thing. Paul said, „What does it matter?“ There are some people preaching the gospel out of selfish ambition, just trying to get money, trying to do things for themselves. There are some people preaching it with sincerity of heart. Paul says at the end of the day this is the most important thing. In verse 18, he says, „The most important thing, whether from false motives or true motives, is that Christ is preached, and because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.“
Now watch what he says in verse 21. In verse 21, he says, „For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.“ Church, no matter what, we win. Turn to the person next to you and say, „No matter what, we win.“ If you’re a Christian, no matter what, you’ve got the victory. Our hope is not in a political candidate; our savior is Jesus Christ. There are going to be some people who wake up on Wednesday, and their whole world is going to feel like it crashed because they have built their house on sand. They’ve not built their house on the Rock. Half the country—I mean, we saw this in 2020—half the country is running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Every four years, we have this opportunity, this temptation, to get our hopes in a person or a personality here on Earth. Paul said, „For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.“
Whether Nero sits on the throne or Caesar sits on the throne, whether Herod persecutes Christians or Constantine makes Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, it doesn’t matter who sits on a throne on this Earth. My God sits on the throne above all thrones. He’s the King of Kings; He’s the Lord of Lords. So if I’m living, I’m winning, and if I’m dying, I’m winning too because I have an afterlife that has an eternal reward with Jesus Christ. I have a crown that’s everlasting. Listen, you better know where you’re going to go when you die because this life right here is temporary. We’re here today and gone tomorrow. The grass withers, the flowers fade—human life, we get about 80 to 100 years. If you’re blessed, you live like 100-plus years—come on, that’s what I’m praying for. But 100-plus years is nothing in comparison to eternity. Paul says, „To live is Christ and to die is gain.“
No matter what, Paul was unstoppable. People always were trying to beat Paul, kill Paul, stone Paul, leave Paul for dead, abandon Paul, but he was unstoppable. He was like, „You leave me, Christ is with me. You stay with me, Christ is still with me. If I die, Christ is with me. If I live, Christ is with me. If I live, I win.“ You just couldn’t stop him. He says, „If I go on living in the body, it means more fruitful labor for me, but if I die, it means I get to spend eternity with the Lord.“
Conduct Yourselves Worthy of the Gospel
Then I want to go to verse 27. This is where I really want to focus on: „Whatever happens.“ If you have a pen, just underline that. Note-takers, world changers, culture shapers, just write this down: „Whatever happens.“ Whatever happens, Paul, whatever happens, Ashley, whatever happens, Jeff, whatever happens, Sarah, whatever happens. He says, „Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.“ The other night, we had a movie night with the family; Ashley was with the ladies, so it was Dad night with all five kids. That’s always fun. We had some candy, and I had just cooked a meal for them. I burned my corn casserole; it wasn’t that great. But I did good on the meat; we had some bacon, and they were loving it. I said, „Okay, we’re going to do a movie now.“ I said, „We’re going to vote on a movie.“
This is always a bad idea with five kids; it’s going to be a split vote. Eventually, there’s going to be one in the middle who has to lean one way or the other, and that middle person ends up as the deciding vote factor. Well, that one was having fits, so I laid her down early. Now it was four kids voting on what movie we were going to watch. We made it down to two choices: we were going to watch this one movie that one of the kids had really been wanting to watch, or we were going to watch this other movie that another kid really wanted to watch.
There were two that were really independent voters; they were just like, „I don’t lean one way or the other; I’m open to this.“ We’re doing the vote; you all see where this is going. We’re doing the vote, and one of them is extremely intense. He’s like, „We must do this one. If we don’t, it’s going to be a terrible night.“ The other one is like, „I don’t want to do that one; that one’s going to be terrible. I want to do the one I’ve wanted to watch for a long time.“ They’re both presenting their cases, and the two in the middle are just watching it happen, getting closer to me. They’re seeing the extremes, and they’re like, „I don’t know what to do here.“
So, both of the passionate ones are trying to pull the middle ones onto their side. They’re like, „Come with me; be on my team; we’ve got to vote for this one.“ I kid you not—this is like the family movie nights. The votes get intense. Finally, I made the decision because it was a split vote—2 versus 2. Then we had to pick a number who picked the best number one out of 10 and who was closest to the number I picked. Half the room was angry at me, and we pushed play on the movie. Half the room had their arms crossed like, „I’m here, but I don’t want to be here. I’m watching this movie, but I didn’t pick this movie.“
I think that’s probably how maybe our nation might feel. Every four years, there are going to be people who feel different than the way you feel. Think about how you feel right now and recognize there’s someone who’s going to feel different. So, Paul the Apostle says this: Whatever happens, be nice to each other. Look at that in verse 27. He says, „Whatever happens, be like Jesus.“ Don’t throw rocks at the person you don’t like. Don’t lash out. Don’t disrespect people you don’t agree with. You can agree respectfully; you can love each other and not agree with everything. But he says, „Whatever happens.“ Everybody say, „Whatever happens.“ No matter what.
I had to tell our kids, „Guys, be nice. I’m going to turn the whole movie off, and we’re just going to sit here and eat popcorn and look at each other and go to sleep.“ They were like, „Okay fine, we’ll watch the movie.“ Finally, by the end of it, the ones who chose it weren’t really excited about how the movie went. They said, „This is not what I thought it was going to be.“ Isn’t that a picture? I’m just saying sometimes it’s not what we thought it was going to be. Can we all agree that sometimes it’s not what we thought we were going to get?
All right, ten of us in the room are going to be honest about the reality in America. Sometimes you put all your eggs in one basket thinking this is going to be everything I need it to be for my family, my marriage, and my health. You find out the only sustainable source in this life is Jesus. The only one who’s not going to change His personality and change His ideas and value system is Jesus. He has written it out for us in red. He’s shown us where He stands. Jesus is the King. So, whatever happens, live your life in light of the fact that Jesus is King and that He’s called us to walk in love with one another.
In the World but Not of It
John 17:14–15, Jesus said, „I’ve placed them in this world, but they are not of this world.“ We’re in this world; we should engage in this world. We should contend for the welfare of our city; that’s what Jeremiah 29:7 says. Wherever God has placed you, seek the welfare of that city. Get involved, get engaged, vote, use your voice, use your influence, use your impact, and pray. Pray for the welfare of the people that are in the city you live in. God wants us to engage, use our voice, but at the end of the day, don’t forget who your true King is.
Jesus said, „You are in this world, but not of this world.“ I remember going on a mission trip to Peru many years ago, and we were on this boat going down the Amazon River, bringing food and the gospel to these villages off the side of the Amazon River down in the Amazon jungle. We were on the boat, and it started raining. Suddenly, on both sides of the boat, these dolphins started jumping up in the air. I was like, „What?“ It was like, „I think that’s what a dolphin sounds like.“
But these dolphins weren’t gray or blue; they were pink dolphins. I was like, „What? Did they give us drugs or something this morning?“ Am I seeing pink dolphins right now? I couldn’t believe it. I asked the missionary, „Are those pink dolphins?“ He said, „Yeah.“ He said they only live right here in the Amazon jungle; they’re endangered. He said they’re surrounded by crocodiles and piranhas, but for some reason, they thrive here. They thrive in a dangerous place.
I thought that’s the picture of Jesus placing this church in a dangerous place—that we thrive next to the crocodiles and piranhas. He doesn’t pull us out of the world; He keeps us in the world, but we’re not of the world. Romans 12:2, the message version says it like this: „I want you to take your everyday, ordinary life—this is God’s plan and purpose for all of us as believers—take your everyday, ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around life, going to church in the rain, and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit right into it.“ In other words, don’t compromise your values and beliefs just to be close to some party that you want to be popular in.
He says don’t forget who you stand with. He says, „Fix your attention on God; you’ll be changed from the inside out.“ Don’t let culture shape your character; let your character shape the culture. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you; quickly respond to God’s call for obedience. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you; He develops well-formed maturity in you.
Strategies to Destroy a Nation
Someone once asked ChatGPT—which I don’t use, but it’s a secular app—they asked this question: „If you were Satan, ChatGPT, and you wanted to destroy America, how would you do it?“ The answer was very eerily similar to a Paul Harvey quote from 50 years ago. The ChatGPT started typing and buffering; it started releasing its words. Number one: undermine the family structure. Get men out of the role of being a leader in the house; get women out from the role; get moms out from the role of being able to tell kids what to do. Let kids become the CEO of the family. Undermine the family.
Number two: sow division and hatred using the media. Get people angry at each other, shooting each other with words, name-calling, and just division in the church and hatred. Number three: corrupt education. Start teaching kids the opposite of what the Bible teaches, and anyone who stands for the Bible, call them a hater, call them a bigot, call them prejudiced for standing up for whatever the Bible teaches. Corrupt education.
Number four: attack faith in religion. By the way, if you’re angry about this list right here, just email ChatGPT! Don’t email me; I didn’t write this. I’m just telling you what it said. Number five: promote materialism and self-interest. Get people so focused on themselves—“me, me, me, me, my.» I want to talk about me; I want to talk about my; I want to talk about number one—oh my!
Number six: encourage moral decay by normalizing behavior that is seen as a vice. Get people to call evil good and good evil; get people to forget about the moral compass of what’s right and what’s wrong. Blur the lines; get people confused. I went and ministered in New Orleans last year, and when I was there, we got lost in the streets. I was hanging out with Pastor Larry Stock, and he said the way they made this city is the way they glorify voodoo in Louisiana. He said voodoo is a big thing here, but the streets are confusing. You take a left, and you’re all turned around. That’s what’s going on right now in our moral compass in our nation. People feel foggy; they say, «I don’t know what’s right and wrong anymore.»
I don’t know what’s male or female; I don’t know what to think about this thing. You say, «Paul, you can’t talk about that.» If we don’t talk about it, we’ll have a continually degrading generation that doesn’t know anything about anything, and there are no absolute truths.
Number seven: erode trust in institutions like law enforcement. Oh, people get angry at the police! I just want to say I’m thankful for the police in our city, the sheriffs. I’m thankful for the cops that serve in the back hallways of Victory and stand out in the front. We need some. I’m so thankful for law enforcement that loves Jesus. Every time I walk down that hallway and talk to one of the cops here on our campus, many times they’ll say, «Thank you for that message, PA.» I’m thankful for the law enforcement that are just loving God, loving people, and helping protect our city.
I’m thankful for judges and senators and congressmen who are God-fearing, who aren’t corrupt, who haven’t been compromised by bribes from rich people telling them, «I want you to do this for me.» But here’s what happens: the devil wants us to say, «I can’t trust anybody, and I’m not going to get involved.» So there’s an erosion of trust in our institutions.
Number eight: foster corruption within the government. When this happens, it continues to erode trust in any governmental leader, and the devil has done this. The devil has fostered corruption in the highest realms of governmental offices.
Number nine: attack the sanctity of life, whether that’s the sanctity of life of children in the womb or the sanctity of life of elderly people. God cares about life from the womb to the tomb. God cares about you, and He cares about us.
Fighting Back Spiritually
So what do we do? How do we live in this world where there’s an attack on so many things? Next week we will find ourselves with answers that maybe not everybody’s excited about or everybody wanted. So here’s what we’ve got to do: we’ve got to fight back! Everybody say «fight back!»
But we’re not in a physical fight; we’re in a spiritual fight. We’re not in a fight with flesh and blood; we’re in a spiritual battle. We’re not in a cultural war; we’re in a spiritual war. Smith Wigglesworth tells this story. This was in the late 1800s; he was in his house, and in the middle of the night, he started hearing this eerie, creaky sound. I’m pretty good at sound effects! He wakes up, lights a candle, and walks down his steps. He gets halfway down his steps, and he still hears this eerie creaking sound. He said, «I saw the devil sitting in the rocking chair in my living room—the Devil Himself!» Most of us in the room would be like, «Oh my goodness!» But when he saw him, he said, «Oh, it’s just you, ” and went back to bed and right back to sleep.
Who has that kind of authority? We do! You do! I do! Not voodoo—you do! Listen, the devil is trying to scare people right now. The devil is real; hell is real; demons are real. But Jesus is real, and He’s greater than any demonic activity in our nation. God is stronger than any devil out there. Smith Wigglesworth knew that, so he walked in that kind of authority, that kind of power.
On Halloween this past week, I said, „Kids, you’ve got to see this video.“ I grew up watching it every year around this time. We would watch Carmen videos—y’all remember Carmen? If you don’t remember Carmen, just YouTube his music videos. You could thank me later for that. But he had a music video called „The Witch’s Invitation, ” where he was like a witch and a warlock.
I grew up next to a witch—I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but our family had a witch next door. She introduced herself as „the Witch, ” and she was like, „I’m one of the witches of Tulsa.“ There aren’t many witches in Tulsa, but God placed Pastor Billy Joe and Sharon right next door to one of the witches in Tulsa. She said, „Don’t worry; I’m not going to cast spells on you guys.“ Isn’t that right, Mom? She said, „I won’t cast a spell on you or a curse on you.“
I remember one time we were in the treehouse, and we heard her shouting in the backyard. We looked over the fence, and in her yard, she was like, „Lucifer, Lucifer, get back in here!“ And this black cat came crawling back into the house, and we were like, „Her cat is called Lucifer! This is crazy!“ I was showing my kids the Carmen video „Witch’s Invitation, ” how this witch was trying to intimidate Carmen, like, „You’re not going to…”—all casting spells on him. Carmen throws the Bible in his face and starts quoting Scripture: „Greater is He who lives in me than he that is in this world.“
Our kids were all into it; they were loving it. Then we watched another music video, „Satan Bites the Dust.“ Oh, we were getting into that! But then I watched this one later; as they went to sleep, I watched this one video called „We Need God in America Again, ” and I started weeping. I was like, „This song came out in 1992 or ’93!“ He’s kind of talking through the song, and then he starts singing. But I was like, „This is so relevant to what’s going on in our nation right now: we need God in America again.“
Why am I preaching about this right now? Because I live in America, and I care about our nation knowing God and experiencing God’s power and presence. We should be contending for our nation to experience God’s love and His revival right now in truth. We’ve got to stand for this.
No Matter What: Practical Steps
So here’s what we should do: no matter what, number one: keep your eyes on King Jesus. If you’re taking notes, I’ll just give you a few points on what to do no matter what. When you wake up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, keep your eyes on King Jesus. Much more important than the outcome of the election is the state of the church. Much more important than who we elect is how we live our lives. Much more important than our vote on Tuesday is our witness every day of the week. There are no political saviors; politics cannot do what only the gospel can do.
So here’s what we need to do: we need to be so focused on Jesus that whatever happens, we’re not shaken because we have an unshakable foundation. We have not built our house. Jesus said in Matthew 7, „Whoever builds their house on the sand, when the storm comes, when the rain comes, their house will come crumbling down.“ Whoever builds their house on different things here on this earth—and I’m not saying don’t get involved, don’t get engaged, don’t vote. I’m saying just don’t put all your hope in that. Don’t put all your eggs in that basket; don’t get all built on that. It’s a shaky foundation.
All other ground is sinking sand; on Christ, the solid rock, I stand. So make Jesus Lord of your life. Lord means He has sovereignty over your life, over your peace.
Number two: whatever happens, love your neighbor. No matter what, love your neighbor. Don’t lose your love walk. Jesus told the parable about the Good Samaritan—love people who are different from you, love people who didn’t vote the same way as you, love people who don’t see things the same way as you. Jesus said it’s easy to love people who love you. But Jesus says, „I tell you, love even your enemies; love those who curse you; love those who speak evil against you; love those who slander you; love those who are malicious toward you.“ By doing this, you will actually keep coals on their heads. Kindness can change the outcome of situations.
First John 4:7-8 says, „Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.“ So love one another this week. Look for someone that you can show the love of God to; do something kind for somebody else.
Number three: no matter what, pray for whoever is in authority. Last week, we wrote prayers and laid them at the altar. If you missed last week and want to write a prayer, we’re going to be sending those prayers to whoever is elected president in January—on inauguration week—to let them know there’s a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that’s praying for them, praying for God’s will to be done, and praying against corruption and praying against division and strife. If you want to be a part of that, just write „prayer“ on one of those envelopes in front of you and turn it in to the ushers, and we’ll make sure it gets to the president.
Pray for whoever is in authority; it’s scriptural. First Timothy 2:1-4 says, „Pray for all who are in authority; pray for governmental leaders; pray for those who’ve been placed in positions to administer justice.“ We need to pray for them.
Number four: no matter what, live your life in a manner that glorifies Jesus. Jesus said, „You are the salt of the earth; if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be salty again? You are the light of the world.“ You have a reason to shine this week. Somebody needs an invitation to Jesus in your life this week.
There was a famous saint back in the day who said, „Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.“ Someone is going to find Jesus through your actions this week, through your kindness this week, through the way you love people this week, and the way you walk in peace. This week, regardless of what happens out here.
Number five: no matter what, brace yourselves. I woke up with that word on my heart on Wednesday. We were here praying at 6:30 in the morning. I want to say thank you to everyone who’s been coming early to pray. We have two more days left; we’ve been praying from 6:30 to 7:30—an hour of power right here in this room—just praying for our nation. America needs prayer; America needs God again. Jeremiah 1:17, God’s word translation says, „Brace yourself, Jeremiah; get ready to speak whatever I tell you to speak, and do not be terrified by their presence. They will fight against you, but they will not defeat you, for I am with you.“
Jeremiah. Jesus said to His disciples, „Brace yourself; troubles will come, but take heart; I have overcome the world.“ And Matthew 24:8, Jesus said, „Brace yourself; end times will come. There will be birth pains; there will be groanings; the world will have earthquakes and hurricanes, and there will be wars and rumors of wars. Brace yourself, Church!“
But brace yourself with faith knowing that nothing formed against you shall prosper. There is a demonic agenda, but Jesus said, „Brace yourself; the gates of hell will not prevail against it.“ So I just encourage you to have your head fully out of the sand and your eyes open, aware of what’s going on in the world. Be awake spiritually and alert spiritually, and recognize that greater is He who lives in you (1 John 4:4) than he that is in this world.
Number six: no matter what, stay in peace. Stay in peace; don’t lose your head. This is not the time to lose your mind. Stay in peace no matter what happens this week. Stay in peace no matter what happens next week or the following month or next year. No matter what, stay in peace. Philippians 4:6-8, Paul the Apostle said, „No matter what, bring all your cares and your anxious thoughts to God. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything—no matter what—bring it to God; ask for His peace, and He will grant you peace that passes all understanding.“ You won’t know how to understand it, but you’ll feel peace in your heart.
No matter what, Isaiah 26:3 says, „He will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the Lord.“ When your mind is fixed on God as your King, you walk in perfect peace no matter what’s going on around you. There can be a storm on the outside and peace on the inside. The battle is between the ears. The battle is not out here; the battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this dark world. So no matter what, get peace on the inside through prayer.
Number seven: keep praying; no matter what, keep praying for God’s kingdom to come, His will to be done in your life, in this world. Band, I want you to get ready; we’re going to worship. Y’all ready to worship? We’re going to finish with worship. I want y’all to just start building with me back there. Keep praying; everybody say, „Keep on praying!“
Now, this is a different point than praying for those in authority. I wanted to add this as an additional point: you pray for those in authority, but separately, you need to be praying. I need to be praying for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done in my life, in my city, in my state, in my nation, and in this world—that He would have a perfect reign in our lives.
Number eight: no matter what, live as if Jesus is coming back soon. Lord, help us to steward the last days we are living in. Help us not to be sleeping when the bridegroom returns. Help us to be like the five virgins whose oil is still lit, whose lamps are still on fire. Help us not to run out of oil; help us to repent and be ready for revival. Help us to get ready for the return of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said in John 14:1-3, „I am going away and I’m going to my Father’s house, and in my Father’s house, there are many rooms. If there weren’t, I wouldn’t have told you.“ God is building houses up there; He’s building rooms for His church. But Jesus said, „I will be back, and when I come back, be ready.“ Maranatha means our Lord is returning.
There was a deep sense of anticipation in the early church knowing that Jesus could come back at any moment. He could come back in the morning or the evening, so they were getting ready. When they sinned, they were repenting and getting their lives on the altar before God, saying, „God, change me, purify me, cleanse me; I want to be ready.“
This past week, I was talking about how there are three idols, false gods, that the Israelites chased after during a time frame when Ahab was king and Jezebel was queen. The three spirits were Baal, Ishtar, and Molech. They turned temples—houses of worship—towards God into temples where they would literally sacrifice their children on the altar to Molech—innocent children. Then they would have orgies in the house of God, sexual perversion in the house of God. It’s in the Bible, whether you like it or not; it’s in the Bible. They turned the house of God into a perverted place where they would do all kinds of things to get attention from Baal.
Last week, I talked about a king named Josiah who began to tear down all the altars of Baal and the pulpits of Baal. He began to drive out the false prophets of Baal. My brother said, „I love that, Paul! I love how you were just bringing down no more Baal, no more Baal spirit, no more BS.“ I was like, „Yeah, BS.“ He said, „Baal spirit, no more BS in the house of God, no more BS from the pulpits, no more Baal spirit in the families of God.“ Some of us need to drive out the BS in our house. We need to drive out that lying, stinking idolatrous spirit of Baal worship that’s been messing with families, children, and education.
Number nine: no matter what, keep on praising the Lord. No matter what, don’t stop worshiping Jesus. No matter what, keep praising the Lord. Habakkuk 3 says, „Though the fig tree does not bud, and though there are no grapes on the vines, and the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food; though there are no sheep in the pen or cattle in the stalls, I will still praise the Lord. I will still be joyful.“ David said, „No matter what, I will praise the Lord.“ No matter who’s on the throne here on Earth, He’s on the throne in heaven.
That’s My King!
I will worship the Lord. There was an old preacher named Dr. S.M. Lockridge, a pastor from San Diego, California. In 1976, in his late 60s, he got up and preached in Detroit, Michigan, when Detroit was being lit with fire. There was chaos in the streets and all kinds of things happening. He said, „Let me tell you who my King is! My King was born King. The Bible says my King is a seven-way King. He’s the King of the Jews; that’s a racial King. He’s the King of Israel; that’s a national King. He’s the King of righteousness; He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of heaven; He’s the King of glory; He’s the King of kings; He’s the Lord of lords.
That’s my King! Well, I wonder if you know Him. David said the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. No King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No farseeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He’s enduringly strong, entirely sincere, eternally steadfast, immortally graceful, imperially powerful, and impartially merciful.
Do you know Him? He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s God’s son; He’s the sinner’s savior. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He stands in the solitude of Himself. He’s magnificent; He’s unique; He’s unparalleled; He’s unprecedented. He’s the loftiest idea in literature; He’s the highest personality in philosophy; He’s the supreme problem in our higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology; He’s the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion; He’s the miracle of the age; He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He’s the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient Savior.
I wonder if you know Him today? He supplies strength for the weak; He’s available for the tempted and the tried; He sympathizes and saves; He strengthens and sustains; He guards and guides; He heals the sick; He cleanses lepers; He forgives sinners; He discharges debtors; He delivers captives; He defends the feeble; He blesses the young; He serves the unfortunate; He regards the aged; He rewards the diligent; He beautifies the meek. I wonder if you know a victory?
Well, my King, He is the King; He’s the key to knowledge; He’s the wellspring to wisdom; He’s the doorway of deliverance; He’s the pathway of peace; He’s the roadway of righteousness; He’s the highway of holiness; He’s the gateway of glory. Do you know Him?
Well, His office is manifold; His promise is sure; His light is matchless; His goodness is limitless; His mercy is everlasting; His love never changes; His word is enough; His grace is sufficient; His reign is righteous; His yoke is easy; His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He’s indescribable; He’s incomprehensible; He’s invincible; He’s irresistible. You can’t get Him out of your mind; you can’t get Him off your head. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him; the witnesses couldn’t agree against Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him; death couldn’t handle Him; and the grave couldn’t hold Him. Yes, that’s my King!
That’s my King! For God, thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. All the power belongs to my King. We’re out here talking about black power, white power, green power, but in the end, all that matters is God’s power. Thine is the kingdom; thine is the glory. We try to give prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Yes, thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? Forever and ever and ever and ever—and when you get through with that, it’s ever and ever. Amen! Amen! That’s my King!
Come on, let’s worship Him! Come on, let’s praise His name! O help Jesus! O H, Lord of heaven and earth! O H, King Jesus! H, Savior of the world! O help Jesus! O hell, the Lord of heaven! O Jesus! O H, Savior of the world!
Let every knee bow before the King of kings. Let every tongue confess that He is Lord. Lift up your shout! Let us join with all the saints singing, „Who You Are, Our God!“
Yeah, come on, let’s lift it up today—our God! Forever, You reign over this nation, our God! Our God! Forever, You reign! Our God! Our God! Forever, Your kingdom!
He reigns! He reigns! He reigns! How many are thankful for your King?
Communion and Altar Call
We’re going to take communion right now, and if you have your communion elements, you can pull them out. If you don’t, just raise your hand; our ushers will bring one to you. If we can get any of our ushers or greeters just to go out and look for any hand raised and pass them down the row to them, keep your hand up; they’ll bring it to you.
Before we take communion, let me just say this: we’re going to worship a little bit more. If you could stay a little longer—I know you drove through the rain to get here. I feel like God wants to have an encounter with us today. I feel like God wants to meet His church today in a strong way, and I want to pray for people to be healed today. I want to pray for people who are walking through battles and maybe things you’re trying to break free of and things you just need God’s help in.
So we’re going to have an open altar call for prayer on whatever it is. Before we do that, I want to take communion. The Bible says when you take communion, you should search your hearts and ask if there’s any sin in your life that you need to confess to God and receive His forgiveness.
This bread represents the body of Jesus broken for us. This juice represents what He did on the cross; His blood poured out. By His stripes, we are healed. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! So if you’re here today and you just need God’s forgiveness, you just need to confess and say, „Lord, there are some things in my life I need to repent of and receive Your forgiveness, ” just raise your hand.
There’s no shame; this is a shame-free zone. You can just say, „God, thank You that Your mercy is new this morning! It is right here, right now.“ God, I thank You; You see every hand raised and anyone that’s maybe not raising their hand but knows in their heart they’re acknowledging it to You right now. They’re saying, „God, please forgive me.“
Lord, I thank You that today we can stand before You, and we can approach Your throne room of grace with boldness, with confidence in our time of need to say, „Lord, help us! Help our nation!“ God, on behalf of our nation, we repent. We repent personally for our sins and the sins of our land. You said, „If My people will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, I would hear their prayer and I would heal their land.“ So God, today we thank You, Lord, that You hear our prayer.
Just say this with me: „Jesus, You are my King. You died on the cross for my sins. You rose from the grave. Today I repent, and I receive Your forgiveness, and I confess You as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.“
Jesus broke the bread and took it with His disciples. He said, „Eat this bread and remember what I’ve done for you.“ Let’s eat it today.
He took the cup and said, „This is My new covenant with you—a covenant of love.“ When we drink this, we remember that Jesus died for our sins. He was the final sacrifice. Today, we thank Jesus for what He did. You can drink it.
The ushers are going to come by with the little bag; drop it in there. We’re going to sing this song, and if you want to just leave your seat if you need prayer—one of our altar counselors or pastors—just line the stage. If you want prayer for healing, for breakthrough, just come down to the altar. If you just need to surrender to Jesus, come down to the altar. If you need to let some things go and just trust God, come down to the altar.
Let’s begin to worship! Forever, You’re King! Our God! Our God! Forever, Your kingdom! Our God! Our God! Forever, You reign! Our God! Our God! Forever, Your kingdom!
Our God! Our God! Forever, You reign! Oh, our God! I pray! Forever, You’re King!
O H, King Jesus! O H, King Jesus! In all, O H, Savior of the world! O H, Jesus! Oh, help!
Let me tell you, it’s only by the blood. It’s never been about deserving or earning—it’s a gift!
Let me tell you, it’s only by the blood. Does anybody want to be holy, righteous, purified, spotless?
Let me tell you, it’s only by the blood. Does anybody want to be worthy, forgiven, justified, really living?
Let me tell you it’s only by the blood.
Hallelujah! I know it was the blood! Could only be the blood!
Hallelujah! I know it was the blood!
It’s never been about performing or perfection—let me tell you.
Does anybody want to be holy and righteous?
Let me tell you it’s only by the blood!
Does anybody want to be worthy, justified?
Let me tell you it’s only by the blood!
Hallelujah! I know it was the blood!
Could it only be the blood!
The blood! The blood! The blood!
Oh, the wonderful blood! Your love! Your love! Your love!
All the marvelous love! Let the redeemed sing a song!
Praises belong to the Son! The blood! The blood! The blood!
All the wonderful blood!
Oh, the blood! The blood! The blood!
All the wonderful blood!
You love! You love! You love!
All the marvelous love! Let the redeemed sing a song!
Praises belong to the Son!
The blood! The blood! The blood!
All the wonderful blood!
Oh, the blood! The blood! The blood!
Oh, the wonderful blood!
You love! You love! You love!
All the marvelous love! Let the redeemed sing a song!
Praises belong to the Son!
The blood! The blood! The blood!
Oh, the wonderful blood!
The work You did is finished; all of our sins forgiven!
And now we begin to live in the wonder of the working blood!
The cross was Your decision, but death was not the ending!
You rose, and now it is singing!
All the wonder of the working blood!
All the wonder of the working blood!
The cross was the oldest, but death was not the ending!
You rose, and now we sing!
Oh, the wonder of the working blood!
Oh, the wonder of the working blood!
All the wonder of the working blood!
Oh, the wonder of the working blood!
And the cross was Your decision, but death was not the end!
You rose, and now we sing!
Oh, the wonder of the working blood!
The blood! The blood! The blood!
All the wonderful blood!
You love! You love! You love!
All the marvelous love!
Let the redeemed sing a song!
Praises belong to the Son!
The blood! The blood! The blood!
Oh, the wonderful blood!
Where would we be without the blood of Jesus?
Where would we be without His mercy and His grace?
That’s why we’re here today, ‘cause He paid the price.
I believe our world is waking up more to just that foundational, basic understanding that God created us to know Him, and through His son Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to God.
I truly believe, even as we were singing, just walking through the altar, I feel like there’s a new wave that’s coming in where people are caring less about so many of the superficial stuff.
Our world is just tired of all the superficial, shallow— even some of the technology stuff. It’s like we just want something real!
And there’s nothing more real than the blood of Jesus and the presence of Jesus and the power of Jesus and the goodness of Jesus and His healing power and His kindness and His love. It breaks down the barriers; it breaks down the walls.
One of my brothers down here at the altar is deaf, and he comes to church, and we have sign language every service that ministers to our hearing impaired community.
One thing, it was like we just saw each other, we just hugged each other. It’s the universal language of love that just breaks down.
You don’t have to say words; just that hug, that embrace— to say we are brothers; we are with each other; we’re family.
I feel like the enemy has tried to stir up so much division and strife, but God’s going to get the victory in this house; God’s going to get the victory through His church in this hour to just say, „Lord, no matter what, God, we’re going to love You; we’re going to love each other. We’re going to worship You; we’re going to look to King Jesus. We’re going to pray for Your kingdom to come; Your will to be done.
So Lord, I thank You just for the encounter we’ve had with You today, God, in Your presence. I thank You, God, for the new thing You’re doing in me. I feel a new thing in me. I feel like You’re doing something fresh in me, God. I think You’re doing something fresh in every person in this church— that we’re not stuck in our own ways and our old ideas and traditions of how things need to look or be, God—that You’re doing something new and fresh.
God, You’re creating in us a heart that’s steadfast and pure, fully after You. God, I pray that You would help us to carry this outside the walls of the church this week, God, just to be light, to show love, to be kind. God, to lead people to Jesus, to be bold in our witness, God, to stand in the way You’ve called us to stand.
And God, to minister to people that maybe we’d be intimidated or maybe even afraid of how they would react. But God, this week, use us as a church to be Your hands and feet, God, to be Your voice, to be Your ear, to be Your heart — to just be there for people in our community and minister to people and pray.
God, that we would pray, „Lord, that America is turning to God, that there’s revival in our nation like never before.“ And God, as we gather next Sunday, I anticipate a move of God that’s going to compound each week by each week with just an increase of Your anointing, Your glory, Your healing power, Your freedom, and Your deliverance. God, and whom the Son sets free is free indeed! Come on, if you receive it today, if you’re just thankful to Jesus today, give Him praise one more time!