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[ Pause ] >> We'll be taken from Proverbs 3rd chapter, first through sixth verses. One of my favorite scriptures.

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My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments. for length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee.

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Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck and write them upon the table of thine heart. So shalt I find favor and good understanding

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in the sight of God and men. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all of thy ways acknowledge him,

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and he shall direct thy path. Would you join me in singing the hymn for the morning? Must Jesus bear the cross alone? (gentle piano music)

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[ Music ] As Jesus fell the cross alone, and all is well, all free. ♪ Who gives the cross for everyone ♪ ♪ And lets one fall for me ♪

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♪ The gods in great echoes ♪ ♪ I'll bend, till death shall set me free ♪ ♪ I'll give hope, I'll run to them ♪ ♪ For they've not run for me ♪

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♪ Come for me ♪ ♪ Upon the wings ♪ ♪ Of angels ♪ ♪ Down at Jesus' ♪

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♪ Misery ♪ ♪ Joyful ♪ ♪ God bless our golden crown ♪ ♪ And in thee we'll be ♪

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♪ Oh, precious crown ♪ ♪ Oh, glorious crown ♪ ♪ O rest, O rest, O rest ♪ ♪ On them ♪

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♪ The angels crowned ♪ ♪ The strong and strong and young ♪ ♪ And there my soul ♪ ♪ Away ♪

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Give an honor to Pastor Griffin, to my brothers in the clergy, officers, members and friends of the Ebenezer family. May I take this opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude and my appreciation to you for the open arms, the most gracious way in which you have accepted me this morning.

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All of my life, I've been in close association with members of the clergy, spans several generations and denominations. It involves both genders. Please allow me this opportunity to share with you my legacy, my ministerial family

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tree. I am the daughter of a pastor, the sister of a co-pastor. On my father's side of the family, I am the niece of a pastor, the grandniece of a deceased Methodist bishop, the cousin of several pastors and ministers.

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On my mother's side of the family, I am the granddaughter of a deceased minister, the niece of two pastors, one of which is an aunt, the grandniece of a bishop who founded, organized, and passed four churches, who is an aunt, the cousin of two pastors, one of which is a female, and the list goes on.

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of the gospel is nothing new to me. However, my preaching of the gospel is entirely new. It was in November of this year that I accepted the call into the ministry. And prior to that time, I was actively engaged in the teaching, counseling, and the music

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ministry of the churches. The feelings associated with my acceptance into the preaching ministry is one that I I am hard-pressed to adequately describe at this time. However, I do vividly remember,

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I can recall the feelings of relief and inner peace as I shared with my husband, my father, and my children, that very special moment in my life when I said, "Here am I, Lord, send me."

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And since that time, I have grown and have developed my spiritual gifts. spiritual gifts. It was important to me that I return to a city where my husband's family and my family reside in Michigan, where my father is pastor and my brother is co-pastor

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to receive the licensing to preach. And I thank you for that honor of letting me go there. That date was June 23, 1991. So here am I today to share with you a message from God's word. My text is taken from the scripture that I read previously, Proverbs 3rd chapter 1 through

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6. And from this passage of scripture, I shall speak this morning concerning God's academy of higher learning. It's time to go back to school.

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All across the United States, parents and students and teachers are making preparation for the school bell to ring and the school doors to open. School represents the place where one can go to learn, to explore, to expand upon, to research, to survey, to experiment, to read about, to write about, and to talk about,

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to raise questions and to find answers. The end result being to expand our knowledge base, to prepare ourselves for the workplace, to understand the world in which we live,

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to make a contribution to our society, and to lead a full-filled, self-actualized, and productive lives as citizens within our homes and in our communities.

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Yet, with all of the knowledge that's bursting forth from our schools, from our academies, from our colleges and our universities, why is it that we seem to not be able to get a firm grip

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on some of the solutions to the dilemmas facing our world today? Why is it that we seem to struggle so to make some sense out of the chaos and the confusion

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existing in our homes and in our communities, in our churches, in our government, our nation and our world? All around us we're seeing evidences of deprivation and despair, of loneliness and lovelessness,

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of fear and frustration, of death and of dying. We've got homicides and we've got suicides. We've got drugs and thugs. We've got the hungry, we've got the homeless.

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We've got dropouts, cop-outs, and stop-outs. We've got teenage motherhood and absent fatherhood. We've got economic depression and personal rejection. We've got child molestation and parent devastation.

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We are frightened of the KKK. We're frightened of the skinheads, the Crips, and the Bloods, and that's the only name of few.

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I'm reminded of an illustration given by a gentleman I have the greatest respect for. His name is Dr. E.V. Hill out of Los Angeles, California, in one of his TV programs, he made the illustration

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of a little chick who had laboriously pecked its way through its shell, and as it pecked with anticipation of coming into a world that was going to be grand and glorious, an exciting place to live in,

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little chick pecked his way through and he looked straight ahead of him, and he saw some of the very same things that I just mentioned, and he said,

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"I won't look straight ahead, I'll look to the right." And when little chick looked to the right, He saw the very same things happening on the right hand side. He said, "Well, then I'll look to the left."

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And when he looked to the left, he saw some of the very same things in this world that we have talked about. And he said, "Well, I guess I just have to look behind me." And Little Chick looked behind him, and lo and behold, he found some of the same problems

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and the chaos and confusion in the world behind him. little chicky like a lot of us want to peck his way back into his shell and say forget this I don't need it no doubt some of us feel like little chicky sometimes our hopes and our dreams and our visions become nightmares living

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nightmares full of uncertainties and doubts and fears not knowing which way to turn which route to take which path to pursue and like little chicky we we might ask ourselves, what's going on here? Now, when did all of this begin?

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And when is this gonna end? And where do we find the answers facing us today? And how do we prioritize the multiplicity of human needs and the problems and the issues and concerns?

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And what method or system will be appropriate that will convey the message to little Chickie and to the rest of us in this world who are confused, that all is not lost, that there is a way.

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Let's have a little talk with the little chickies of our world, and let's see if we can help find the solution to some of these questions. Let's go back to school.

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Let's introduce little chickie to the study of anthropology, because from an anthropological perspective, we could approach these concerns by tracing origins and the evolution of mankind. We could form hypotheses and we can conduct

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thorough studies and draw conclusions to explain man's attitudes, man's beliefs and values, characteristics and customs in terms of his internal responses to external conditions around him. Little Chickie's head by now is swimming and we say I tell you what Little Chickie let's go to Proverbs and let's see if we can

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and bag this up. We do have need sometimes to bag things up scripturally. And so we go to Proverbs 3 and 1, and we stretch things a bit, and we say,

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"Little Chickie, it does, we will try in some way "to connect this to our scripture. "My son, forget not my law, "but let thine heart keep my commandments."

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For going back, Little Chickie, to the earliest existence of man, dealing with the laws and the commandments of God, Surely this is the answer.

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Yes and no. While there is nothing inherently wrong with the study of anthropology, it in and of itself is not sufficient.

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Well, let's introduce the ticket to the study of psychology. For from a psychological perspective, we could approach these concerns through a study of the science which deals with the mental

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and the emotional processes. These psychological studies would prove that man's mental attitude affects his physical condition and vice versa.

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So that it would stand to reason that if we would improve upon our knowledge base and our ability to quote, "control the environment around us,"

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rather than to control the environment, then we would be able to block out this unhealthy stimuli. we would be able to enhance the quality of life, and thus we'd be able to lengthen our lives

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and live peaceably with all men. Got that little chickie? No, he doesn't have it yet. Let's turn to Proverbs again

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and see if we can find some rationale that might help. In Proverbs 3 and 2, that verse continues, it says, "For the length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee."

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Is not this what man is looking for? in a piece. Yes and no. There is nothing inherently wrong

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with the study of psychology. And so Mr. Anthropology stands up and said, well, let us hook up together and see if maybe anthropology and psychology

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will be the answer. And I see someone emerging from the sides and it's Mr. Sociology. He says, wait a minute,

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I have not had my chance to speak yet. You see, from a sociological perspective, we can approach these concerns from a study of man's communal nature and man's need for organization, the tendency to seek out and to identify with similar or like backgrounds,

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whether it be cultural, ethnic, gender, age, or so on. In other words, my friends, man's social relationship with those of similar circumstances and conditions, them, study them, and the impact that they have on personal and interpersonal relationships. And they say, "Have you got any rationale for that?" He says, "Come on,

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let's go back to Proverbs 3, and we're going to look at verses 3 and 4, see if we can tie that in. 'Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck and write them upon the table of thine heart. Here comes the clincher, so shalt I find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and

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And men, if this not what we're looking at from a sociological perspective, favor and good understanding and communal living in the sight of God and man. And even though the study of psychology is a noble approach, it in and of itself is not enough.

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So let's add anthropology, psychology, and sociology together and see if we can cure the ills of our society. And I hear a little voice behind Little Chickie said, "Little Chickie, you looked in front of you and you look to the left and you look to the right, you look to the back, but my

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little friend, you forgot to look up. For when we look up, we'll find that perhaps we might find the answers to the dilemmas of our society when we look in terms of the theological approach. For from a theological perspective, we can approach these individual and worldwide concerns

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to the matters of divinity and man's relationship with God through Jesus Christ, his son. Proverbs 3 and 5 ends the clincher with theology says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all of thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path." When we allow the theological

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principles to take the lead, all of the other principles will fall into their proper perspective. Let's go back to school. I hear the school bell ringing. Let's enroll in God's academy of higher learning. Let's sit at the feet of the headmaster and be blessed. For he is the professor of professors. He is the king of king and he's the lord of lords.

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He's alpha and he's omega. He's the beginning and he's the ending. He's the creator and the giver of life. He made us and he knows all about us. So let us sit at his feet and be blessed.

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God would have us to know that there are three major courses that are necessary for us to take in his academy of higher learning. Each course must be taken by itself.

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There will be no crash courses in this academy. We must take it one at a time. And until we have successfully completed one, Will we be permitted or to move on to the second one?

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And the first course that we're going to take is dependent upon Proverbs three and five. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Your first class is Trustology 101.

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You don't need any other text but your Bible. And when do we get started? We get started now, because there is no time to lose. Come with me, Ebenezer, as we go back to school,

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God's Academy of Higher Learning. We're in the classroom now. And I see that the classroom is filled. It's filled with people I don't recognize their faces,

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but it's something about their names. One gentleman is monopolizing all of the time, and I find out his name is Job. Job wants to tell the story of one day

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how all of his oxen and all of his asses were taken away and his servants were killed except one who came back to tell him the bad news. And no sooner than that one had finished,

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he talks in terms of his Campbells that were all killed and all of his servants, and only one escaped to come back and tell it. And no sooner than he gets done with that,

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he doesn't have time to rest, and another servant comes with news and tells him that all of his sons and his daughters were killed. And one servant came back to tell the news.

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Nobody can shut Job up. He's determined to tell his story. And even in spite of all these losses, Job conveys to us that he continued to trust in God

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by acknowledging that all he had accumulated and all of that he possessed belonged to God. And I see Ruth and Esther, Naomi, Queen Vashti, try in vain to get Job's attention,

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for they want to share also their faith and their trust in God. They too have a story to tell, but Job is not about to stop.

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He continues to share that he was then smoked with boils from his head to his toe, and that his wife even suggested that he curse God and die.

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His three friends who came to visit him, instead of comforting him and supporting him, his three friends sat for seven days looking at him, mourning, and when they finally opened up their mouths,

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they proceeded to accuse him and to draw conclusions about why his circumstances were what they were. Job had to take a refresher course in trustology from the headmaster himself.

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And after he had passed his courses, God blessed him with even more wealth than he had before. He blessed him with more children than he had before. And he blessed him with a longer life.

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There are many other folks who want to share their stories of trust. There's Hannah and Abigail and Elizabeth and the woman with the issue of blood.

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There's Abraham who became father of the nation. The hands that go up to share are too numerous, but I can hear Isaiah from the back of the room with his loud, booming voice.

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He's determined that he's not going to be outdone, and he says, "Hast thou not known? "Hast thou not heard that the everlasting Father, "the God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth,

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"fainteth not, neither is weary? "There is no searching of his understanding. "He giveth power to the faint, "to them that hath no might.

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he increased its strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. By that time, Isaiah's to the front of the room,

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and he says, "But they that wait upon the Lord "shall renew their strength. "They shall mount upon wings as eagles. "They shall run and not be weary.

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"They shall walk and not faint." I have a story to tell. You have a story to tell. If time would permit, we could all tell our stories

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of how we were not in a position to take care of our own business and we had to trust in the Lord. Then it would take up all of the rest of the time,

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but I shall move on to the next class. For the next class that we're going to take is a continuation. It says, "Lean Not."

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Upon thine own understanding, the next class is Leanology 202. Now the class in Trustology was simply a prerequisite for the class in lenology.

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I walk into the classroom, come with me please, and we see some people there from another place and time. Some of them are dressed in tattered clothing, their bodies looking tired and worn.

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I hear a group of them singing in the corner, still away to Jesus, I ain't got long to stay here. I hear a group of them singing, hold on just a little while longer.

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I hear some of them singing, "Keep an inchin' along, "Jesus gonna come by, by, and by." There's no power, no say-so over their lives. They were uprooted from the motherland.

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They were worked and they were abused. They were humiliated beyond. In spite of that, there was an inner strength that was unmatched.

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They left a legacy of strength through their faith and ability to lean on God and to let him lead them. I see them dressed in white with little black caps on their heads They're on their knees praying some of you are old enough as old as I am you can remember

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You know what I'm talking about It's the mother's board that we used to have in some of the old churches down south where I grew up and I could hear These old mothers leading off with a doctor what we used to call them old 100 said I love the Lord He heard my cry and he pitted my every groan and long as I live while trouble rise

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I'll hasten to his throne. And before they can get done singing, they're wrapping their feet and they're swaying back and forth.

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Some of you remember, an old deacon would get down on his knees and pray one of those old fashioned prayers. He said, "This morning, our heavenly father,

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"it's once more and again "that a few of your handmade servants "have gathered here to the house of prayer. "We thank you, gracious master,

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"that this morning you touched us "with the finger of your love "and you bid our feeble days to roll on just a little while longer.

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We come this morning knee bent and body bowed, trying to give you some sincere and some earnest thanks. We thank you that our bed was not our cooling board, that our cover was not our winding sheet,

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and that the four corners of our room was not the four corners of our grave. And then he would end with, "And when it's all over here." We don't have to cry no more.

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Can't live no more, got to die. give me a home in glory. Anywhere Lord I won't be selfish about where I am, just anywhere in your kingdom where I can breathe out my life. How sweetly there this is your servant's prayer. Amen and thank God. That kind of praying is a

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legacy for us. It empowers us to lift our hands when the way gets dark and we can't see our way. When we're looking to the left and to the right and the front and then to the back. We can raise our hands and look upwards

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and we can say, "Father, I stretch my hands to thee "for no other help I know. "Lord, thou hast drawn thyself from me. "Whoever shall I go for I've learned how to lean

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"and to depend on Jesus for he is my strength "and he is my guide. "I've learned how to lean on Jesus "and I found out that if I trust him,

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"that's the prerequisite for leaning, "he will provide." (audience murmurs) I've got to be able to let go and to let God.

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And that's one of the difficult things in our society today. For we want to be able to control our environment. We want to be able to control the things that happen to us. And it is difficult for us to let go.

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And I beseech you, my brother, and when the devil tries to block everything you do, give it to God. Turn it loose and turn it over to him

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and let him handle it, and let him fix it, and let him solve it, and let him cure it, and let him candle it, and let him hold it, and let him manage it, and let God settle it.

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Let go and let God by leaning on Jesus. Now we get to the third course, and I understand that this is field work. This is some field work that's involved in here.

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Let's go back and review. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all of thy ways acknowledge him,

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and he will direct thy path. The third class that we're going to take is Acknowledgement 303. We're going to need to take the course in Acknowledgement

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in three phases. The first phase is Acknowledgement to Self. The second stage is acknowledgement to God, and the third stage is acknowledgement to others.

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Now, acknowledgement to self. When I can acknowledge within myself, when I can let go of my super planetary ego, and I can say I can do all things through Christ

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who giveth me the strength. I know that my Redeemer liveth. And you ask me how I know he lives. I must go back to faith and I must say,

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because he lives within my heart. I have no empirical proof. I cannot lay it in front of no tangible. I know that he lives within my heart.

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And I can say I know in whom I am believing. And I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. When I can say and acknowledge to myself,

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I know that the Lord has laid his hands on me. I know for myself, nobody has to tell me, I've had a personal relationship with God, and I know that he has laid his hands on me.

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And so I can say to God be the glory for the things that he has done in my life. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name.

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Acknowledgement, stage two. Acknowledgement to others. I've got to be able to once I can say to myself, "I know that the Lord has laid his hands on me.

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I know that I have a personal relationship with God." And I can say to others, I can inspire others. Not just in what we say,

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but how we respond in life situations. Our lives can radiate with joy. I want to go back to acknowledgement to God. I've got to be able to give God the glory.

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I cannot say this enough. When we are acknowledging to others, we must be able to. It is imperative that we give God the glory for what he has done in his life. done in his life. We realize that we have no power of our own, but thank God we are

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connected to the power source. And as long as we are connected to the power source, we can do all things through Christ who give us the strength. Then we can tell others of the joy of the Lord, and we can let it radiate with joy. There is no joy in being sick. There is no joy in watching someone we care for go through a debilitating illness, whether

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it be physical or emotional, but the joy comes in knowing that he is a doctor in the sick room. There is no joy when we're going through the legal process, but there is joy in knowing that he's a lawyer in the courtroom.

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There is no joy when we're going through grief, but we know that he's a comforter who will lift our heavy burdens and who with us. When we have a personal relationship with God, when we have a personal experience, then Then we have a story to tell.

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I beseech you, brethren and sisters, to enter into God's academy now. There's open enrollment. For he said long time ago, "Whosoever will, let him come." There's no tuition.

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You don't have to worry about how much you're going to have to pay because Jesus paid it all a long time ago. He died and he arose for our sins and he declared that all power was in his hands. There's no time limitation as far as this school.

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You can enter at any time that you wish. We have a direct line to the registrar. All we do is just ring him up in our hearts. He's right there.

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He will hear us and he will not leave us. I beseech you, my brothers and my sisters, to enroll in God's Academy now. (audience applauding)

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(applause) - Let's all say amen. - Amen. - Amen.

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This message certainly is meaningful, it's inspirational, it inspires us, it strengthens us. And we come now to extend the invitation to Christian discipleship.

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Someone here should accept that report and come into the arc of safety, accepting Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life and Savior of your soul.

00:31:57.120 - 00:32:27.180

We invite you to come. ♪ Why should I feel ♪ ♪ Discouraged ♪ ♪ Why should the shadows come ♪

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- Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. ♪ Why should my heart feel lonely ♪ ♪ And long for heaven and for home ♪

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- Thank you, Lord. Thank you, thank you. ♪ When Jesus is my portion ♪ ♪ My constant friend is he ♪

00:33:08.680 - 00:33:39.480

♪ His hand is he ♪ ♪ His eye is on the sparrow ♪ ♪ And I know he watches me ♪ me. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

00:33:39.480 - 00:34:19.880

♪ And I is on the sparrow ♪ ♪ And I know he watches me ♪ ♪ Let not your heart be troubled ♪ ♪ His tender voice I hear ♪

00:34:19.880 - 00:35:00.440

♪ And resting on his bosom ♪ ♪ I lose all of my doubts and fears ♪ ♪ Though by the path He leadeth ♪ ♪ But one step I might see ♪

00:35:00.440 - 00:35:32.740

♪ I might see ♪ ♪ His eye is on the sparrow ♪ ♪ And I know he watches me ♪ ♪ This eye is on the sparrow ♪

00:35:32.740 - 00:36:10.840

♪ And I know he watches me ♪ ♪ I sing ♪ ♪ Because I'm happy ♪ ♪ I sing ♪

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♪ Because I'm free ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm ♪ ♪ It's on ♪ ♪ The sparrow ♪

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♪ And I know ♪ ♪ He watches me ♪ ♪ I sing ♪ ♪ Because I'm so happy ♪

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I sing just because I'm free. His eye is on the sparrow. ♪ Sparrow ♪ ♪ And I know ♪

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♪ He watches ♪ ♪ Over me ♪ (audience applauding) - Amen.

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Let's all say amen again. God who is able to keep you from falling and present you falling before his glorious presence, to the only wise God, our Father, be glory and majesty,

00:37:53.900 - 00:38:03.240

dominion and power now and forever more. Amen. - Amen. ♪ The Lord lift his countenance upon you ♪

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♪ God give you peace ♪ ♪ God give you peace ♪ ♪ God give you peace ♪ ♪ God give you peace ♪

00:38:11.660 - 00:38:32.540

♪ The Lord make his face to shine upon you ♪ ♪ And be gracious unto you ♪ ♪ And be gracious ♪ ♪ The Lord be gracious ♪

00:38:32.540 - 00:38:48.240

♪ Gracious unto you ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪

00:38:48.240 - 00:39:01.900

♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪

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♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]