In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of having a strong foundation and conviction in our faith. He encourages the audience to live according to God's purpose and to have a personal experience of being born again. The preacher highlights God's threefold purpose for our lives: to transform us into witnesses of His love and power, to make us channels of blessings, and to be a light in the world. He also shares the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 to illustrate the significance of not missing our chance to fulfill God's special purpose for us.

You'll find the reading in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, verse 15. Colossians 1, 15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature? For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers. All things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things consist. He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. 15 through 19, 1st chapter of Colossians. May we pray. Our Father, we thank you tonight for those that have praised you in song. Our Father, we pray now that your form, as it were, vacuum over the place. Leave nothing but your presence in this service now. We pray that every person here shall be benefited by being here. Touch every heart. Open our ears and our hearts and our minds to the truth. We pray, heavenly Father, that you'll take thy servant and loose his tongue, illuminate his mind. Give him holy umption, that it may say something that will be worthwhile to those who wait for it. Thank you for this great church and this marvelous pastor that leads them, and those who lead with him. We pray that the lighthouse shall become more far-reaching than ever. She might be the witness that you put her here to be. And now, Father, we pray now that you'll revive those of us that are saved and save the lost. We beg it for Jesus' sake. In Jesus' name, amen. One verse of scripture in the first chapter of Genesis I want to leave with you. As a thought, Genesis 1, 26 and 7. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them. Then I'd like to call your attention to the second chapter of Ephesians, and the tenth verse. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God had before ordained that we should walk in them. I want to raise three questions tonight. Why did God create you? Why did God save you? Why did God add you to the church and anoint you? First of all, my friends, I've read to you the scripture, By him and for him was all things created, heaven and earth. Without him wasn't anything created. So I'm here to say to you in the beginning tonight, none of you are happen-souls. You just didn't happen to be born. You just didn't happen to come along because mother and father were together. But God brought you in the world for a purpose, for a plan. God looked down through the corridors of time and saw in this day in which you live the need for you. And a need for what he created you to do. And he brought you forth into the world. So you are not an accident here. God created you. For this particular age in which you live and this particular day in which you are living, God brought you in the world. Now what did God create you for? Why did God bring you in the world in this particular age in which you're in? You say, preacher, I don't know. Isn't that a tragedy? If I didn't know, I'd go and get on my knees and stay there until God revealed to me why I'm here. I can't think of a greater tragedy in life than to live and die and never know why God created me. To illustrate what I'm trying to say, Paul said, when I realized I separated from my mother's womb, saved by God's grace and called on God and ordained God to reveal Christ to the heathen, I didn't consult flesh and blood again to do what he put me here to do. And from that day henceforth, Paul went forth to reveal Christ to the heathen. Wherever you find Paul, he's revealing Christ to the heathen. Before the Sanhedrin courts they said, Paul, we have you charged with thus and thus. You're right, gentlemen. Well, let me tell you about when I met up with Jesus on the road to Damascus. I got in before the governor. The governor said, sir, we have you charged with thus and thus. He said, you do, your honor. Rightly so. But before we get into that, governor, let me tell you when I met up with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Then we remember that Paul was thrown in jail and whipped and beat and cursed and hated. Spit upon. His hypersilence, no doubt, said, Paul, isn't it rough? We're just preaching the gospel and telling about Jesus got beat up and thrown in here. It's so hard to be Christian. Paul said, son, isn't it wonderful to suffer a little bit for him who suffered all for us? And if you don't mind, lead us in prayer. I'm fixing to start a song service and tell them about Jesus. Before daylight, he had the whole crowd saved and baptized. Then when they carried Paul out and stoned him to death, he got up to paradise. Saw how wonderful it was up there. But he realized he couldn't reveal Christ to anybody up there because there's already Christians. He asked God to let him come back. And Paul came back, his body lying there on the pile of rock. He got to wiggling and come out of those rock, pile of rock, bloody all over, his clothes torn. Said, folks, hold on, let me tell you something. Just got back from paradise. Said, I can't tell you what it's like, but I'm going to tell you this much. You're not allowed me to reveal it. You know why? If we knew how much better paradise was than this place, we'd all suicide to go to Mars. But he said, my spirits are groaning and moaning and grunting. I want to be absent from this body and be present with the Lord. Said, another thing I want to tell you. If this tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building not made with hands, eternal in them. Said, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Nevertheless, I want to stay down here and get those evidence in the flesh to know Him. There He is. Then there's another. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. Sent from God to prepare a people for the Lord. Now, John knew before he got here what he was going to do. Because when Mary went over to announce to Elizabeth, the mother of John, that Jesus was on the way, and of course John was going to be the forerunner of Jesus, what God brought him into the world for, to be the forerunner. And when she announced to Jesus on the way, John had a jumping spell in his mother's womb. Began to leap for joy. Because he knew why he was coming. And John came. And John prepared a people for the Lord. He began to preach, repent ye, for the king of heaven is at hand. And as a result, a number of people repented and he went out and baptized them. Then a group of religious folks, Pharisees, Sadducees, legalistic, ritualistic, religious crowd, run out to be baptized of John. John said, nothing doing. Get out from here, ye generation of vipers and snakes. Your damnation slumbers not. Before I baptize you, you have to give some evidence of the fruits of repentance. And if you haven't repented, I won't baptize you. So you see, my friends, John wouldn't baptize anybody unless they had repented. Unless they'd been born again. Because he's preparing a people for the Lord. And those people must be people that have repented. And so, then while he was preaching and baptizing, Jesus came on the scene. And asked John to baptize him. John said, I have need be baptized of him, comest thou to me? Jesus said, John suffered to be so that it might fulfill the scripture. Tear out the plans of the Father. And John baptized Jesus in Jordan. And he came straightway up out of Jordan. And the Holy Spirit landed, come down and sit upon him. And then God spoke out from heaven and said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Then Jesus takes those people that have been saved. And constitutes his church. He called them out. Jesus said, who do these folks say I am? They said, some say they are John the Baptist, some are Elias, one of the prophets. Jesus said to them, whom say ye that I am? Peter spoke up and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said, blessed art thou because you have an experience from above. And I can use you. Jesus called those twelve men out. And constituted the church. Now listen to me. Those twelve disciples, according to the Word of God, had to be baptized by John the Baptist to be a disciple. Let me repeat. Those twelve disciples of Christ had to be men that were baptized by John the Baptist. Couldn't be no one else. See, John came to prepare the material. He preached salvation by grace and faith and new birth and experience from above. Then he baptized them. And that made Baptists out of them. Then he baptized Jesus and that made a Baptist out of him. And the Holy Ghost come and put his approval on him and said he is satisfied with it. And God spoke out of him, lest anybody read it. Christ said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. John just got through baptized, making a Baptist out of him. And out of that Baptist material, Jesus took and constituted the church. Jesus was a Baptist. The twelve disciples were Baptists. And they preached the only way to be saved is through Jesus Christ plus nothing minus nothing. And the Baptist church has been here ever since. It will be here when the trumpet sounds. Now you see, God sent John to prepare those men. And to prepare Jesus. And John preached you had to be born again. Quicken. Why? Jesus said, I will build my church in the gates of hell and shall never prevail against it. Why? He has built it out of born again people. Imperishable people. Eternal people. Everlasting people. Incorruptible people. And it can't perish. He built it on himself. He is eternal. He is the foundation of it. He is the head of it. And you can't drown the body, let alone keep head above water. So Jesus is the head. So he can't destroy the body. He is the body. And you are the body. So John came along to do that. Paul came along to do what I said he did. You want one a little more technical? I got it for you. Hold a book of Jeremiah. First chapter. Listen to it. Fourth verse. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee. And I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. When? While he is yet the dust of the earth. For he is ever broke forth. For he is ever planted in the mother's womb. God knew him. And I formed thee. I knew thee. Before thou camest forth, I sanctified thee and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child. For thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee. And whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces. For I am with thee to deliver thee, said the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Blessed, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations, over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down, to build, and to plant. Before he was ever formed, God knew what Jeremiah was going to do. So I go on through the scripture, just put up one after another. When? Before he was ever born. God planned while he was coming to the world. He planned and fixed for what they were coming to the world before they ever got here. So did he with you. Hear this, preacher and I. If God hadn't had need of you for something the day in which you live, you'd have never been here. Let me repeat. If God hadn't had something for you, a purpose and a plan for you, in this day in which you live, you'd have never been in the world. God wouldn't have let you come. You'd have never been created. I don't care how poor you are, how rich you are, how intelligent, how ignorant. I want you to get one thing tonight. That is that God brought you to the world. For one purpose or plan of some sort. And without it, I repeat it, without it, you wouldn't have been here tonight. You wouldn't have been in existence. Now let me tell you something else. Or look at Romans. We find another passage. For the gifts. It's in Romans 11, 29. For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. Which simply means when you come to the world, you've got the gift and you've got the calling. You may never repent. You may never yield to what God puts in the world with a gift and a calling and an ability to do. But you had it when you came. The preacher. For everything out of his mother's womb, God had prayed for him to be a preacher. Now he heard a joy until he repented. Then the gift came up and the calling and he yielded. Many folks never yield to the gift and the calling that God created them for. Because they've never repented. Some have repented and got saved and they still haven't yielded. But they're living a miserable, confused life. My friends, the only reason any human being is confused is simply to. If you'll get saved and know when God saves you without any doubt. No matter what happens to you, you won't get confused. If I get sick, I know I'm safe. If I get beat up, I know I'm safe. If I start starving to death, I know I'm safe. If I get put in prison and burned to death, I know I'm safe. I don't have to worry about that, I know I'm safe. That ankle will hold through any storm that hits. Then the other thing is, if you know you're doing what God created you to do, there's nothing that can confuse you. See, that ankle will hold. And everything in the world can help. Don't make any difference what happens to me. You can beat me up. You can hate me. You can slander me. You can curse me. You can try to destroy me. But I know I'm safe. I know I've been called a priest. I'm doing what God called me to do. No way you can confuse. And if you're living in a state of confusion, one of two things. You're either not saved or you're not doing what God... My dear people, if you'll get those two things settled once and for all, you can lift your hands and praise the Lord God of this universe. And God helped you to see it tonight. So as a result, see God brought all of us into the world for something. To give you some simple illustrations. You remember one day Jesus was going to teach a profound truth to 5,000 men and that many women and children probably. And He'd set out down on the seaside to teach it and preach it to them. But time went on and the dinner time had come. The disciples said, Master, it's dinner time. You better feed these folks. They're going to get hungry. Send them away. We ain't got no food, no catering service. We can't get out here to feed that many people. No way to feed them. Send them away before they start fainting. Jesus said, Alright y'all, get in the boat. We'll get out to eat. They got in the boat and went on the other side. But the scripture said the people outwent. And when they got on the other side, now the disciples didn't know why He was going over there. That 5,000 people were the women and the children didn't know why they was going over there. But Jesus knew. Because God the Father looked down through their cargo and saw this hour that Jesus would be teaching the Greeks. When they pulled in, that's a little old freckled faced, snaggled toothed, barefooted, red headed boy. Teaching. But he's so determined that he didn't even take time to eat. He's so absorbed in teaching. All of a sudden he heard them all come to the ground like 5,000 men and the women and children. Jesus pulled his boat up. An hour or two passed and the disciples said, Now listen Master, you better send this crowd home. This way after in time they're going to start thinking it's over to eat. No way we can feed them. Master! Jesus said, Feed them! Jesus said, What's that? Charles a little boy here got a couple of little pieces, five pieces of bread. Jesus said, Son you want to eat that? Yes sir. You're welcome. Jesus said, Father I thank thee for this boy's given to pull that meat off. Said 5,000 men and the wives and children. When they got through they had 12 baskets left. Jesus said, Did anybody else want any more? Got 12 full baskets. Now you listen to this preacher. Do you think that was an accident? No sir! God looked down through the corridors of time and saw the need of that lad. He created his mother to birth him and put peace in his soul for his birth. To have that after. Now if he'd have been there the day before or the day after. Jesus! He was there when Jesus needed him. I raise this question and you go to me and work. Picnic in the family reunion or something else. Now then, if you have doubt that God didn't know ahead of time. I'll cure that for you. When it comes time for Jesus to go into Jerusalem. He's going to need a coat to ride in. 5,000 in the car and saw the need of that. Now watch it. He let an old prophet see that. 800 years before it happened. So don't think it's a jumped up a fan. 800 years before it happened. The old prophet of God saw a coat tied to a post. And so the disciples loosed it. And put Jesus on it to ride into Jerusalem. And they was going on in. Nobody knew nothing about it. They was going into the city. Stopped outside of the village. And Jesus said go on young you'll find a coat. Go in the city. You'll find a coat tied to a post. Loose it. And bring him here to me. They didn't know what the coat was. They didn't know what they went in there. And sure enough that was that coat. Loosed it. Started leading back to Jesus. And the man who wore it said. Hey. What you doing taking my coat? Said the Lord has it. And he let him have it. And Jesus took that coat and rode into Jerusalem. But mind you a prophet of God saw that taking place 800 years ago. What I'm trying to say. A lot of the work of God is not hip, rare and sudden. God's got it all planned and purposed. And he saw a need for that coat. He had a man to draw him. Had him tied to the post. Now if the coat had been there the day before or the day after it wouldn't have worked. So you remember when God needs you. He wants you there when he needs you. But he has some need for it. Or he wouldn't have created you. That's why God created you. There's an hour when God needed a woman. Son of Jesus. Son of God. Jesus. Needed somebody to anoint his feet. Little old woman who bought a box of ornaments. She didn't know why. She spent all of her earnings doing it. It was expensive. They tell us it had the fragrance of a million roses in it. That day when Jesus came on the scene. You say that wasn't much. But we've heard about it ever since. We've heard about the little boy and the teacher ever since. We've heard about the man the coat ever since. So don't miss your chance. God has given you life somewhere in this little span of life. God's got something special for you. And you better be there and do it when God puts you here to do it. If you don't, you'll miss your boat. And if you don't know what it is, ask God to show you. And yield to do it, my friends. You know God knows what he's doing. He has control. By him, by him, by him, for him, was all things created. Hey! He had a rooster setting out there waiting to tell him the crow will bring him Peter's baptism. There was no action in it. Jesus said, For the cock crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said, I'm going to jail. I'll die. I'll do this, I'll do that. I will never deny you. Jesus said, For the cock crows, you will. Three times. Old Peter got out there and got the cuss and said, Didn't know, Lord. That rooster wasn't out there accidentally. He got there on purpose. Sure, if God used roosters and cows, he could use somebody like you and me. Let's be usable for God. Let's honor God. One other passage of Scripture. One of my most favorite passages. I like it and I use it a lot. All the trees got together. Had a big convention. And they didn't have a moderator or president. So they got together and cast their vote. And elected the olive tree. President of all the trees. They called in the olive tree and said, We've just elected you president of all of the trees. You reign and rule over the trees. Olive tree sat in at one point. Oh, president of all the trees. Christian to go be president of all the trees. But if I go to be president of the trees, I won't bear no olives. And if I bear no olives, the olives that come out of my tree are crushed and they make oil to keep the lights on in the house of God. When my olives that I bear is crushed, it makes oil for God to notice the people we're going to need an oil. If I go to be president of the trees, there'll be no olives. Therefore, there'll be no oil for the lights in the house of God. And the lights will go out in the house of God. And God won't have the oil to notice people. Olive tree reconsidered and said, Thank you. You can get you somebody else to be president. I'll bear olives and keep the lights on in the house of God. And keep an awning on for the God of this universe to notice people. So, my friends, a lot of causes, civic and social and fraternal or make you the presidents in Queens. But if you let the lights go out in the house of God, you'd better know it. Maybe God put you in the church. He'd be pleased to keep the lights on with your means and your end thoughts. Oh, God, help us to see it. And so then, my friends, God knows what He's doing. He's not ahead of time or behind time. Your pastor won't mind me using him for a little stretching. I remember down yonder in a pine picket at Greer South, right where the Camp Neaton was. Your pastor carried me out there and he sat me down. He said, Brother Ray, God's called me to preach. But one of my lungs has collapsed. My doctor said he'd preach it to me and live long. He said, I don't understand why he called me. And then the lungs collapsed. And my doctor's telling me if he'd ever preach. I said, well, son, if God calls you to preach, He knows more than enough. Let's get out here and talk to Him. And we got out there and talked to God. And He heard our prayers and said, boy, two or more will agree. He still preaches. You see, God looked down through the cars of time. And so, seven years after that, when your church was weakening because it didn't have a full-time minister in the church, because it was cursed and weak. God looked down here and He created Him and saved Him and birthed Him to be up here to lead you to a great church. You got one of the greatest churches in this country. God saw that and that's the reason He did it. What He did, God let Him see that He could heal that lung and give Him strength to preach. Amen. My friend, God ain't behind time. He's right on it. Then, that's, if you don't know why God created you, I'll say it again. You're not an accident. You're not an accident. God birthed you. God created you. God brought you for such a day as this. Created in Christ Jesus on Cupid's works. Which God had before ordained that you should do them. It's the workings of God. Not mom and daddy. And not somebody else. It's the workings of God that brought you in the... And do it. Then, He saved you so you could do it. As I said, the gift and the calling was in that when He created you. But without repentance, you don't come to birth. So as a result, why did the Lord save you? My friends, first of all, He saved you. Each one of you. Because He had something for you to do and a purpose for you. Now, God did not save you if He pleased to deliver you from the penalty of sin, necessarily. God didn't save you. His purpose was not to keep us out of hell, but to get the hell out of us. So He could use us. Not to just take us to heaven, but to get us with heaven in us so we could bless folks. That's why God saved you. My friends, if the only reason God saved us is to keep us out of hell or to get us to heaven, the Lord wouldn't kill us as soon as we got saved. I know some baptists like a wasp. They're bigger when they first get saved. Like a wasp, bigger when he's born than he is now. A lot of Christians are bigger when they're first saved than they are any other time. It would have been better if they had gone on to heaven, but God left them here. He wants to put heaven in us, not to make us happy, but just make us feel good. That ain't why God saved you. He saved you to present you full grown to Christ, to honor the Lord Jesus. His purpose is to make us holy without blemish. In the day of our judgment, He presents us at the right hand of God without spotting, without blemish. That's the reason He paid such a price for our redemption. His purpose is to make us fit, the inheritors fit for the inheritance of the saints of light. We weren't fit to inherit anything. He saved you so you could be an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ and inherit a lot of things that God's got for you. God saved us for another reason. God was lonely. He craved fellowship, companionship. You see, after all, God said to the Son in the Holy Ghost, Let us create man in all image. You see, God had created this vast universe, created everything, and not a thing He'd created could appreciate what He'd done. Not a thing He'd ever created could talk with Him or walk with Him or fellowship with Him. And God found Himself in this vast universe of all things created by Him and for Him. Heaven and earth controlled all the power. But He was so lonely. He said, Let us create a man in our own likeness. Somebody we can walk with and talk with and fellowship with. You know why God created you? He is lonely. When He created Adam, put him in the garden, God walked with Adam, God talked with Adam, God had companionship with Adam, God fellowshiped with Adam, Adam lived with him. God, loneliness over with. But that man sinned. And he couldn't stay in there with God anymore. And so as a result, God has left alone again. No companionship, no fellowship. Nobody to talk with. He looked down through the ways. God was so lonesome. And He said, We've got to give Him back. We've created Him for that. Now He's gotten out of it. We've got to recreate Him. We've got to make Him new. And Jesus agreed to come and die and give His life and shed His blood that we might be regenerated. Fellowship with God. Reason God saves you ladies and gentlemen, lads and nices here. He wants to walk with you. He wants to talk with you. He wants companionship with you. He wants fellowship. And He created you. We've created you. We've saved you. My friends, that you might companionship Him and fellowship Him and inherit what He has and help to glorify His name. He cares and craves for companionship. That's why He redeemed us. Sent His Son to suffer. Unless we've been made fit through the shed blood of the Lord, we can't fellowship God. Paul mentions the condition on which the purpose of salvation is accomplished. If you continue in the faith, if you've got an experience of faith that's unshakable, an experience of faith that cannot be secularized, that's the kind it is. Now this stuff will turn over and you'll leave. Like Jesus told about a man that went to the sweeper's house, cleaning, garnishing, emptying. Unclean spirit left him. Went out and sought a place of refuge and couldn't find any. Desolate places, treeless places, dead places. He'd come back and looked in that fellow's house and it hadn't got saved. Paul was running around and he'd run into seven more spirits, more wicked than he was. He left the house and went back and said, hey, come on, a few other spirits, come on. That fellow's house all left still. And all eight of them got in there. And Jesus said the latter state of that man is worse than the first state. Now that's folks who run down to church aisles and jump in and call, whoopee, I've got religion. Clean over, turn over and you'll leave and live around. And they're meaner than they ever were before they joined the church. That's how that happens. That's the way that happens. So my friends, I want you to know, Paul said, you remember we had a crowd over in the local number some said, well, you remember the good old cucumbers, onions and garlic that we ate over in Egypt freely. But the ones that's right loved the manna. They loved to stay. These cucumber, onion, garlic crowd all the time went around dancing and drinking, cussing, disgracing God's day. They'd never been into faith. Faith must be shed fast. Not be swept aside by every wind of doctrine, every seducing spirit and doctrine, devil come along. It must be on a foundation, conviction grounded on truth, as unmovable as rocks of Gibraltar. You just can't live in a way and carry out God's purpose. We must have faith. We must have had an experience and born of God. God's supreme purpose for our lives is threefold. First, to transform us into living witness like Paul to the heathen that they might see God, witness of His love and His power and His mission. Your light, let your light shine that evil workers may go the other way. Then to make us channel of blessings. He has no other channel through which to work. The world will judge him against Jesus by your life and mine. Your children's conception of God is determined by how you feel about God. How you treat God. The church is the channel through which Jesus set out to express to the world. Jesus had to go away. Had to leave us. And when He got time to go and leave and do something else, He set up His kingdom while He was there. Jesus put in action the kingdom of God. But He's going to have to leave His kingdom work and go do something else. You know what it is? He's going to have to go now and fix us a place. See, man was put out of the garden. And he had nowhere to go when he died. And Jesus regenerated us and put us back in with God. We had nowhere to go when we moved out of these carcasses. Jesus said that day, In my Father's house are many mansions. If you believe in me and believe in God, I'm going to fix you one way or another. When I get it fixed, I'll be back and tell you to it. But where I am, there you may be also. Jesus is going to fix us a place. And death is only... Death means deliverance from this old carcass to the house not made with hands. The E means we make our exit into the next world. The A gives us assurance we've got somewhere to go if anything happens. The T tells us that we're triumphant, victorious over the grave and devil and hell. And the H stands, my friends, for home. Where we'll never roam. Eternal home. Everlasting home. Jesus said, I'll go to fix you. Many of them in my Father's house and I'll fix you one. But while he's gone... His kingdom was about to be left by itself. Then Jesus said, that won't do. So he called out twelve men. Constituted the church. And said, you look after my kingdom while I'm gone. I'll be back. Here's the keys. Whatever you bind here, I'll bind it up there. Whatever you loose here, I'll loose it up there. I'll be working with you. But I'm up there getting a place ready for you. So, he's established a church to handle the work of the kingdom while he's gone to work for me and you. He wants us to work for him. He said, here's the keys. And then he said, occupied till I come. You're occupied till I get back. Carry on till I get back. He built his church out of an imperishable eternal people so it'd never die. He thinks that the world of hell could never conquer it. Now I want you to know tonight, my friends. You listen to the old man who's been across America for 49 years. I've seen a lot of religious movements start and die. A lot of the rest of them. The tongue movements and the Jesus movement. The children of God movement. The PTL crowd. The 700 clubs. And the deeper life crowd. And a whole gang of them is going to die. But the church will still be praying and singing. My friends, God didn't say these other things wouldn't, hell wouldn't put them out of business. But he added you to the church and said hell can't put it out. And then he added to the church you and me and others. What for? To tell him to work for the kingdom till he gets back. Wasn't he wonderful to trust us with it? But statements made when he got to glory. Gabriel walked down the street and said, Master, how are they going to know about you down there now since you've come up here? He said, oh, I've left my disciples, my church to teach it. Said, one of them, well, one of them may be careless and don't. What other means have you left? Jesus walked a little further and said, I've left them all the way. But sure, sure, they won't betray my trust. And my beloved, he's trusting it in their hands, the keys. He said, you walk apart while I get back, I'm working in your spiritual place to go to, and you ought to take care of my kingdom while I'm working for you. He's dependent on me. He's dependent on you. Notice, he said, you didn't choose me, but I chose you. And the Lord added to the church daily such as the same. And he added, then you have no right to subtract yourselves. And if you do, you betray the trust of the church. And you in serious trouble. The Lord knew where he needed you, and he added you to the church he needed you in. And don't you subtract yourself. And take out on him and betray his trust. You owe it to him to be found faithful, if you please. He said, where two or three meet together, I'll be there. In my name, I'll be there in the midst. That's the church. It's a designated place to meet and to sing and to pray. And my beloved, to preach. And to teach. Now, won't you realize, my brother, sister, before God, we must recognize the fact, if you please, of our responsibility. He saved you. Then, my friends, the Lord adds you to the church to carry on the work of his kingdom until he gets back. And he said, you didn't choose me, but I chose you. Now, listen to a passage. I want to read you quickly, if I can find it. In the book of John, chapter 15, 16th verse. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And I ordain you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask in the name of the Father, he may give it you. These things I command you, that you love one another. Love one another. Jesus loved the church and gave himself for it. Now, Jesus said, he that is not with me is against me. So, if you don't love the church and give yourself for it, then you're against Jesus. I don't care what kind of religion you've got. If you're more interested in parades and PTLs and 700 clubs and religious movements, then you are the church. And you don't give yourself to the church. I want you to love the church and give yourself for it. He added you to the church. If you walk out on the church, buddy, you've betrayed the trust of the eternal Son of God. And you've got a sad day ahead of you. And then, why did the Lord choose you? He saw something in you. He needed you. He needed you. Do you think it was accidental that this fine lady came along and stood up here and sang like she did tonight? No, God knew I'd be blessed. He put her down. He created her and brought her into the world and put her here so she'd be right here to sing. I was around to preach when she got through. No accident. God put you here to do something. Well, it might not challenge me, but it'll challenge somebody else. I told the pastor last night, I've seen a bunch of Ugandan men and women that's been here all these years. Staggered around here last night, and I'm not going to say anything. And they started talking around here. I mean, it tore me up. I said, God, if I ever strike up, knock me down. Just that practice. Just your presence. Men and women who are getting tougher, and they don't stand up to me. What do you think God left you here all these years for? To challenge me? To challenge your presence? Encourage me? Might let me live that long. Who? Who knows? But oh, my friend. You see, after all, when you got ready to get married, you men, you just didn't go out with a big bunch of women and chucked them out. You're a woman now. No, you picked her out. Because there's something special about her that appealed to you. And the Lord didn't just go around and grab you and grab you. God looked in and saw something special about each one of you. And he sent the Holy Ghost to approach you and to him. And match you. And took you in. And you obligated to him. Just like when you stood before the match altar. The man said, you forsake all love and take this woman. You hold her hand and you love her with it. He said, then I can ask your husband and wife what God has drawn together. Let no man put a son there. You come down now. Say, I want to come back to Christ and part of this church. The preacher said, you will forsake the world, all things and places. He said to the church, what I hear? Same emotion that you performed at the ceremony. Man of Jesus. He takes you up in the baptismal waters. Leads you out and then said by the authority. For the public confession of faith in him. Your claim, your love and your following. Confession of faith in him. On the authority. I baptize you my sister, my brother. On the authority. And you come out and marry Christ. Amen. You have no right to run around for the world. You commit the spiritual adultery if you do. He didn't ask you for that. What did he ask you for? That you might bear permanent fruit. What is permanent fruit? Souls that are born eternal. Souls that are born impartial, incorruptible. Souls that live forever. Hey, he added you to the fruit. Read it there. Permanent fruit. My friend. Bring forth that permanent fruit. He ordained you. Ordained you. Why? Why did he? Let me read another passage of scripture right quick before we get through here. 2 Corinthians 1 chapter 21st verse. Now he who established us with you in Christ. And hath anointed us. Is God. Who has anointed us? God. When did God anoint you? When Jesus chose you to answer to the church. He ordained. Anointed. That meant he set you apart. Gave you the authority. And set you apart. As a special vessel. And my premise is to bear fruit for him. In other words. When God. Or things. Are announced. When God takes it over. He announces this man. He's anointed when God takes over. He has this man in the church. You can put out on him. You can slam him. You can hate him. You can put out on me. You can slam me. You can cuss me. You can hate me. You can despise me. You can reject me. You can do anything you want to do to the Kurdish barber. You can cuss him. You can hate him. You can put out on him. You can slam him, you can backbite, you can persecute, you can do all the mean things in your power, but you won't get to anointing. You see, they beat old Paul up, spit on him, and cussed him, and threw him in jail. I used to think, I said, now it's not the stuff of mine alone to be tested. I used to think that they couldn't do nothing to you. But Paul got himself beat up and got his, some of the other Christians got their ears chewed off and everything in them. But they didn't get to anointing off of them. See, that's the thing. Now, I can go out, all the people in North Carolina, they can take their anointing off of me. But I can go out with soul ears, that God will take it off. You want to do this? Nobody can take their anointing off of you people that's been in this church. They can persecute, lie, slander, make fun, do everything they need, they can take it off. But their anointing's not put on you when you're in the church. Now you can take that on God. And soul ears that God will reach and take it off. The only illustration, I wouldn't put you without the book. Remember Samson? Mourned him until he was the strongest man of the day. Took the jawbone of an ass and threw a thousand bullets at him. Tore his hair and eyes apart. Couldn't buy him. But Samson, all the innards of the village hated him and couldn't hurt him. But when he went down and laid his head to the left of Delilah, God took it off. Pulled his eyes out. Bound him. Put him grand at the meal. Saul, King Saul, tries to be king. But Saul went out and listened to they say. God took the soul, God's gonna kill the amulets and everything, God everything, destroy everything. King Saul went out there. They began to slay everything and all the people went up and said, Look here Saul, all this good beef, mutton, people back home starving. Saul, don't you know it's a sin to waste all this good beef and sheep? Why don't we take it home and feed the hungry? Saul said, OK, good idea. Pick out the chosen fat ones and send them back. We'll kill the scrubs. Went in and killed everything. Instead of killing the amulet, the king, he brought, captured him, brought him in. He got in and said, Praise the Lord! Oh, probably God came and knocked on his door. Come in. King Saul, did you head out and got Jordan? Yeah! We got it all! I got seen right in there. Got him captured. You have? All the blatant sheep. All these low and oxen, where did they come from, Saul? Oh, why did we bring them things? God did tell me to kill them all. Oh, we're going to make a big sacrifice to the Lord and praise Him. Probably God said, Saul, to obey is better than sacrifice. And stubbornness and rebellion is worse than witchcraft and idolatry. How come you do that? God didn't tell the people, He told you. Because thou hast listened to they say, instead to God. The anointing is taken off of you from God. God will remove your anointing. And He's going to turn a bunch of devils loose on you. Real evil spirits will take you all from Him. And then a little while, evil spirits got old Saul. His family went wild. They killed the boys, killed themselves. And then he got so shook up, went out and tried to talk to dead folks and spiritualists and everything else. Soothsayers and minorities, none of them could help him. And he went out and stuck his sword up in the ground and threw his body on it. Attempted suicide and begged somebody else to finish it for him. Why? The anointing is off of him. It's gone. Why did it go? He listened to they say. Now you listen, my precious brother, sister, lads and lasses. If God added you to this church, put His anointing on you, and said, Occupy like calm. Bad fruit. You get to listen to a bunch of gossips. Criticizes for fun. Well, I've done pretty good to face that so-and-so. Face that so-and-so. Face that so-and-so. You listen to they say. And fail to do what God put you in this church to do. And God will take your anointing off. And evil spirits will take over and wreck you and your families. I could give you some other instructions in the Bible. No need, that's enough. Because you let God take that anointing off. You are through. I've seen people get upset at the preacher or the deacons or somebody else about the church or something else. And kick out. And listen to what the gospel report by the first kid in the devil's cloud is saying. And they took out. And as a result, they left the church. Now you think about some folks that took out on God. Of course, they listened to what they said. And tonight, them and their families are wrecks of sin. Some of them feel premature tragic death. Why did God create you? He made you. Find out what He put you here for. Why did He save you? He wants you to be His child. And companionship and fellowship with Him. And make you a channel of blessing to the world around you. Why did He add you to the church? My friends, the devil is kidding until he gets back. Why did He want you? To set you apart. My brother, sister, our Lord and Jesus.