You’re Closer Than You Think

• God was building a nation. And the Bible said that when the second Pharaoh came and he was evil and he was mean, the Bible said the more they afflicted him, the more they multiplied. Hallelujah. Cuz God said, “I got to get me a nation called Israel. Because out of the nation of Israel will come the tribe of Judah.
• And out of the tribe of the Judah will come the Messiah named Jesus that’ll give me bones and flesh and blood so I can carry a cross.” Oh, come on, somebody. He’s using everything hell brings against you. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. And you’re the church. Even the things you don’t understand. You need to get happy again and quit waiting on the things to change.
• If you’re waiting on that, you’re going to be a sorrowful person and look like the covergirl for the book of Lamentations the rest of your life. You got to get a smile on your face and throw your hands up and say, “I really do serve a good God. He’s up to something.” And I know I don’t know what he’s doing, but he knows exactly what he’s doing.
• Take a praise break and thank him with me. You don’t have to go through a trial in sorrow. You don’t have to make every day the mlly grubs. Get up and say, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice in it. [Applause] I close with this. Stephen being stoned looks up into heaven sees Jesus standing at the right hand of the father and the stones are hitting him and the coach of the stonethrowers are laid at the feet of a man named Saul of Tarsus who had got the stone own rocking to death of Stephen, the first martyr. He had put
• the party together. He was the one who led the whole riot to kill that man named Steven. And the coach were laid, the Bible said, at his feet, Saul of Tarsus, a mean, angry, self-righteous Pharisee. And he watches the man be stoned and he hears the stones hitting Stephen. And Stephen says in the middle of his own stoning, “Lord, lay not this charge against them.
• ” And another rock hits him and he goes down. And he’s standing there watching. And he says, “Well, that was I don’t understand that. It was messing with him.” But he gets on his horse and he says, “I know. I I’ll I’ll ride to Damascus and kill some more Christians. And he’s riding to Damascus, but God knew what he would do.
• You may have a big bad sinner in your family right now that’s acting like they’re all that. They’re the chief sinner and they they they you know, God, I don’t care nothing about God in that old church and blankety blank your Bible and this that and the other. But I’m going to tell you something. God knew what he would do.