Rev. Judith T. Lester 2020

Let the church say Amen. Amen. We're super excited to be in the house of God just one more time. Amen. Matter of fact, I told my daughter in love that when I walked step foot into the sanctuary, my soul just began leaping inside. Amen. I do bring you greetings from the National Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board where I do serve there as one of their facilitators, writers and lectures. Also bring you greetings on behalf of the great state of Wisconsin, where I'm privileged to serve as their first vice president of the Congress of Christian Education there. And I bring you greetings on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. Amen. Thank you Pastor Lester for having me here. To First Lady Lester and to those of you who are gathered in this sanctuary and those who are watching this broadcast from home, I'm just privileged to be in Rhode island and glad to just be here to share some time with my family. Amen. I won't be before you long, but there is a word that God placed on my heart that I want to share with you on this last Sunday of 2020. And it's going to come from the the great book of Hebrews, Hebrews 12th chapter, verses one through two. And I'm going to give you a few moments to look for that. That's Hebrews the 12th chapter, verses one through two. And it the new international version. And it reads as follows. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing somebody holler fixing eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him. He endured the cross scorn his shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Amen. Amen. We pray now for that God will now bless His Word, that he will bless the hearers of His Word. Let your word, dear God, not go out void, but that it will return and bountiful blessings. In the name of Jesus we do pray. Amen. So if I had to put a title on this text, it would be Church. What keeps you going? Amen. What keeps you going? Because I have a feeling this morning that it doesn't take much for some of us to give up. Amen.

This morning I just want to know.

What would it take to make you want to give up? What series of disappointments must occur that will dismantle your character?

What words must be spoken? What lie must be circulated? What gossip must be spread about you? What would it take to give up.

And throw in the towel?

What would it take to make you fold under pressure? What would it take to make you stop praying? What would it take for you to stop praising God? I want to know this morning. What would it take to make you want to give up? What trials must come to make you unravel like a ball of yarn? What lump must you feel? What will it take before you give up on your dreams?

What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome? And I believe that somebody's story this.

Morning, somebody is looking at me right now in the sanctuary or through your telephone or your television. And you didn't know that today would be your day at Condon Street Baptist Church. But you are honest. You have to testify that you have been come through so much that you didn't know how you made it to where you are today without losing your mind. But you kept on going anyhow. Amen. I believe there's some folk today who have kept on going anyhow. On this Last Sunday of 2020, I stand firmly in this pulpit on holy ground, representing everybody who has gone through some obstacles this year. But you did not give up. What keeps you going? Church? Well, maybe it's because we know a little bit of something about obstacles. Can I get a witness? See, we know what it feels like as a people of God to have the same ones we pray with, the same ones we cry with, the very same ones we loan money to, the very same ones we fed at our table, the very same ones we share coffee and our Uber with. Can I get a witness? The very same ones who came from where we come from, cut from the same cloth, who looks like us, dark and lovely and high and yellow light, who share the same history of systemic racism in America to be the very one who tried to keep us down. We know what it feels like to be suspected of doing something wrong because we drove, we walked, we bicycled in the wrong neighborhood, or we shopped in stores where the security guards targeted and searched us without evidence of any criminal activity simply because of the color of our skin.

I feel like I should be preaching this this morning. See, because we know what it feels like to be missed over and walked.

On and walked out on, misunderstood, misrepresented. But. But it has not killed our spirit. But in fact, it has made us stronger, more determined, with a stronger resolve to conquer any obstacle set before us. Amen. Do I at least have one witness who can testify? Preacher you're on my street. Because like Lacedine Hood Hughes said, life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up and places with no carpet on the floor. But all the time I've been climbing on and reaching landings and turning corners and sometimes going in the dark where there ain't been no light. But my brothers and my sister, if that's your story, then you ought to stand on your feet wherever you are, at home or in this section. And how. I hear you, Reverend. Amen.

So how can we. How can we keep on going regardless of what we've been facing in life? I hear someone asking, tell us, Reverend.

Tell us, how do we keep on.

Keeping on in spite of what we have to deal with? And I believe that today's scripture teaches us that we can succeed in spite of the struggles. We cannot allow the weight of sin to stop us.

But we must shake off anything that hinders us so that we can pursue the course that God has purposed for.

Us and continue by faith the race.

That God has set before us. We must patiently endure the pain, the obstacles, the difficulties and the struggles of life with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can be living witnesses of faith. Yes, my brother and sister, in this life you will know struggle. Jesus experienced struggle. He has. He was misrepresented by his enemy. He was misunderstood by his friends. He was betrayed by the one he trusted. He was a victim of injustice. He was denied by his own disciples. He was tempted by Satan, and he died on a rugged cross at Calvary. Jesus knows something about struggle. But Jesus kept them going. And the record is on the third day. Can I get a witness? He rose again with all power in his hands.

I got to struggle. You got to struggle.

And I might as well ask a question. What's your struggle today? All of us have struggle. Maybe your struggle is pressure from friends. You live in a house. There is no longer a home. Maybe your struggle is your career has been disrupted. You're struggling with a health issue. You're struggling with no job. Your child ain't acting with the sense that you raised them. You're dealing with too face co workers and backstabbing church members. What's your struggle? All of us have a struggle we're dealing with. And I don't care how old or how young, we all have a struggle. Can I get a witness? But I've got some good news for you. Amen. And the good news is, in spite of opposition, because Jesus lives In us, he gives us the power to turn our impossibilities into possibilities. Amen. And what that means is that through your struggle, Jesus is doing something in.

You and through you and for you.

That you never would have done if you had not experienced the struggle. That means if you are a child of God, you have to have an overcoming attitude that says, I'm gonna keep on keeping on anyhow. Because when you know you can keep on keeping on, do you know in spite of everything the devil uses to hinder you, you can succeed in your strug through your struggles in spite of your struggles. Amen. So how do I know this? Because as I look over at this congregation, I believe. I believe that just one witness up in here who can testify you have overcome some struggles in 2020. You've gone through some stuff, you've seen some sleepless nights, you've had to sh. Your share of problems. You had some days that were downright messed up and tore up from a floor, but you had to go through it to get to it. Am and since Jesus overcame, we can't overcome. And if you think you can't overcome, let me remind you of who you are. The Bible says you can do all things through Christ. That strengthens you. You are more than conquerors through him who loves you. If God before you, who can be against you, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. But thanks be unto God who gives you the victory through our Lord Jesus. Weeping may endure for a night, but you shall have joy in the morning time, even though you shall faint and be weary and utterly fall. But you that wait on the Lord, you shall renew your strength. You shall mount up with wings as eagles. You shall run and not be weary. And you shall walk and not faint. Can I get a witness up in here? I got a feeling. I just got a feeling that somebody watching us this morning is tracking this word this morning. If you're doing that, just nod your head at your neighbor and say, I know she's right.

I know she's right. But just give me a moment so I can just survey this scripture through the eyes of the Hebrew writer. And we're going to find out how can we keep on keeping on? Amen. So number one, you can keep on keeping on by realizing you can't overcome your obstacles when you recognize your purpose. Amen. You can't overcome your obstacles when you recognize your purpose. See, Condon, you have a race to run. And chapter seven starts 12 starts off by saying therefore. And I've learned that whenever you Read Scripture. Don't read too fast. Because whenever you see therefore, you have to read it to. You have to read to what before.

What was before the therefore, to find.

Out what the therefore is. Therefore. Amen. And so when you read what's before the therefore, you have to go back to chapter 11.

Can I get a witness? And there in chapter 11, the Hebrew writer chronicles the lives and the struggles of those who were in the Hebrew hall of Faith. Anybody know about the Hebrew hall of Faith? It says, by faith, Abel. Amen. By faith, Enoch. By faith, Abraham. By faith, Moses. He calls the role of what they accomplished by faith of those who went through pain and struggles and overcame. Amen. And Condon, the Hebrew writer lets you know that you have a mission and a purpose here in Providence. And it's something that no one else has ever done before. And I don't know what it is, but God has positioned you to do a new thing right here in Providence. Amen. But of all the Faith hall of Famers, I like Moses, because Moses lets us know that you don't allow anybody to tell you just because it has not been done before, it can't be done. Amen. See, just because it hasn't been done before, there's no guaranteed it can't be done. And if Moses were here at Carmen street, He would say, Reverend, never before has anyone taking 2 million Hebrew slaves escorted them out of Egypt to freedom. But just because it hadn't been done before, it didn't mean it couldn't be done. And just because folks said it wouldn't be done, God let them know that it could be done. And that's my word for condon on this morning. You got a pastor with a vision, and he's trying to do something that's never been done. And other folks are telling him he can't do it. They want to keep you doing what you always been doing. And if you keep on doing what you always been doing, you're going to keep on getting the same thing you always been getting. You better tell every Pharaoh in your life, get back, because we're about to walk into our new season. Can I get a witness? Moses had a purpose. And when you know your purpose, you will learn how to handle others and what they think of you. And one of the things you have to understand is you have to understand who you are. Amen. You got to know who you are and who defines you. Because if you don't have a clear understanding of who you are, then you run the risk of having others define you and tell you who you are. And many of us don't know who we are because we change based on whose company we're in. Because who? Because we are who. We are so insecure that we want others to define us. But knowing who you are supposes that you have to know whose you are. Can I get a witness? And that means you have to know something about the one you claim to belong to. Because if I know who God is, and I belong to this God who is all powerful, I will develop a proper understanding. Think of who I am. Who am I speaking to this morning? Can I tell you something? Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear. Who you are that has nothing to do with the degrees you hold. Who you are has nothing to do with what you drive or where you live or who you're dating or how many likes you got on your Facebook page. Because I've discovered, deacon, folk like you today and dislike you tomorrow. See, all of those things are just superficial temporary packaging. A lot of people are nicely wrapped like a prison. But when they are unwrapper, what's on the inside is a major disappointment. Moses was off the radar for a minute, but when he. While he lived in Midiana, Pharaoh never thought Moses would come back and do anything of significance. But once Moses returned. Can I get a witness? They put a target on Moses back. But the ones who were after Moses didn't know about God of Moses. Oh, can I get a witness? If they knew the God of Moses who was in front, behind and all around him, they would have known that being in a tight spot had never been a problem for God. See, their problem was they were looking at Moses and not at Moses's God. They weren't looking at the God of Moses who was able to make things happen when nobody thought it could happen. They assess Moses from the wrong angle. And I don't know who I'm preaching to this morning, but some folk have reassessed you and assessed you from the wrong angle. See, sometimes you gotta be bold enough to tell those who try to hinder you. Don't judge me, but judge me by the God who's in me. When you talk about what I can't do, it's obvious you don't know that God that I serve. When folk tell you what you'll never become, that you'll never go back to school and that you never get married, you never own your own house, that you never go to college and you'll never do this and you never do that you need to look them in the face and say, you must don't know the God that I serve. Because the God I serve can do anything. God I serve will open doors and others have shut in my face. Can I get a witness? The God I serve will put food on my table. The God I serve will make a way out of nowhere that God I serve is able. Can somebody shout? He's able. Come on. Can somebody else shout? He's able. I just need somebody to just nod at your neighbor and tell them. You just remember that when folk tell you what you never do and what you never become and what you're never going and what the. Your ministry will never get off the ground here at Condon, then that's when God shows up. And some folks says when he shows up, he shows out. But the deacon. I learned that folks stop there and it ought to go just one step further. Because when God shows up, God shows out, but he also comes to shut folk up. Can I get a witness? How many of you have have known that when God showed up, he shut some folk up? I can't get a witness. I just gotta preach this message this morning because I don't know who I'm preaching to up in here. If I'm preaching to you, you better tell make some noise up in here. Don't ever let folk tell you what you can't do, because that's when God shows up. So what used to get high on cracker? So what used to be in jail, so what used to sell cracker? So what? They used to call you a whore. So what? You used to be a gang banger. So what? You only got your ged, so what? Your house got foreclosed on in the pandemic. But we serve a God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask or think of. Paul says, in Christ you are a new creation. Old things are passed away and all things become newer. How do you know, preacher? Because he's done some things that I wasn't even thinking about. Can I remember how many you were thinking about going back to school, but you did it. You weren't thinking about buying your own house, but you're in it. You weren't thinking about buying a new car, but you're driving. Oh, can I get a witness? You weren't thinking about getting married, but God sent the right man at the right time and he put a ring on it. Can I get a witness? You say every now and then you.

Gotta tell your pharaohs and everybody who come at you out that they better take a look at your life and see what God can do. And I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't do this. My son's sitting here with my. My son knows you put a game of spades in my face. I can never pass up a good game of spades. Amen. Amen. Just stick with me, all you sanctified folk who can't handle that, I understand. But when I was a teenager, I mean, all somebody had to just say is the word spades. And I was to put me in. See, my sisters and I, we played for fun. Deacon. And then when I got married, my husband and I, we visited some folk down south and they were getting ready to play a game of spades. And I just couldn't resist.

All I'm thinking about the spades I.

Played when I was down in East St. Louis, Illinois. And then I began playing and they put me in. I was rolling like a big baller shot caller. But then when I reneged. If you know anything about space, you know when you renege, folk who take space serious don't like that. Amen. You see, reneging means that when you have the suit, but you play an off suit. And when I was caught, my team lost three books and a game and people didn't want to play with me again and I was labeled a loser. But let me tell you what God did. The following year, we went back down south and they wanted to play a game of spades, but one of the team members couldn't make it. And they looked over at me and all over my face. I didn't say anything, but it's all on my face. I was saying, put me in the game. Come on now. They already counted me out. I had all my face. Put me. Give me the chance. Put me in the game. I knew they considered me a hundred to one shot. I knew, Deacon. The other team, when they start bidding their books, they didn't have the books. They figured they. But they knew that the odds were against me. But I sat down, I put on my poker face. I think all of us got a poker face when they said, I ain't playing. And I threw down and we won the game. And so let me come in. Let me come and get you. Still stuck on the fact that I was playing spades. I don't know about you, but I discovered God has a way of making winners out of losers so that you become 100 to one shot so that God can get more glory. Amen. I need some Folk who ain't too ashamed to testify. You knew the odds were against you. You.

You were a long shot to everybody who knew you folk talked about you on social media.

Come on.

You might have well say amen. Folk began blocking your number.

Folk began knowing your friend request.

Folk began talking about you and that you would never pull through this. Nothing was going right for you. But what they didn't know is that God was in control of it every step of the way. God was making you a hundred to one shot so that when God picked you up and turned you, your life around, everybody be wondering and scratching their head what just happened. And they'll have to give God the praise because you couldn't have done it by yourself. I just need one or two folk who know that what I'm talking about right now. I'm not talking to the folk who never struggle. I'm not talking to the folk who never been through anything. I'm not talking to the folk who had never had the odds against them. But I'm talking to the folk who knows what it feels like when you are 1001 shot. If you are there, why don't you just wave your hand and give God some glory right now? Because you know what it felt like when you underneath. We went to college and you were a long shot. You were 101. One shot to own your own house. But you can shout because you were 100:1 shot. But God blessed you anyhow. Somebody holla Amen and hallelujah. Can I get a witness up in here? So not only.

Not only must you have recognize your purpose, but you got to recognize you have a race to run. Condon, you have a race to run in light of these witnesses. Somebody holler witnesses. And, and what are the cloud of witnesses? Well, they are the persons who are in the stands.

They're the past heroes, but they're present witnesses. And basically the Hebrew writer is saying, in the race called life, you will begin to get a little weary and you will have to look in the stands and there are witnesses and the witnesses will say, whatever you're dealing with, just talk to me. Can I get a witness? I've gone through some things, but the Lord has been good to me. I've been through some struggle, but the Lord made a way out of nowhere. Does anybody mind if I call the road right now? Come here. Abraham, if you. You were getting older and your biological clock was ticking. But the good news is he walked by faith and he discovered that God is Jehovah. God will provide. Can I get another witness up in here. Come talk to me, Samson. If Samson were here today, he would say God called me to fight the Philistines. But I got a little sidetracked, looking for love and all the wrong places. Samson would say, I let a woman sweet talk me into giving up the secret to my strength. But God used me in spite of my foolishness. Allowed me to fight against the army of 1000 philistines with a jawbone of a donkey. Come here, David. If David were here, he would say the oz was against the Israelites. But God used him to defeat Goliath with only the shepherd stick, a sling and five smooth stones. And when he saw Goliath, he grabbed a stone in one hand, a sword in the other, and said, in the name of Jesus, with one stone, Goliath was taken down. But I need. I need one more. I need one more witness to testify today. Do I have just one? One witness? And I heard sister Rahab says, reverend, let me testify. Let me testify. I said, come here, Rahab. If Rahab were here, she would say I had a hooker situation, but I had the blessing the spies needed. She said I was a hooker with a hookup. And I learned that when you believe God, God will use you to bl somebody else. Who am I preaching to today in this church? Some of you had a grandmama and a mama and a daddy who are sitting in your stands. And they right now saying, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how difficult it may seem, hang on in there and don't give up. Go on. Anyhow, I just wonder if I have just one witness who can say I lost in 2020, but I gained. I got sick, but I recovered. I didn't have, but I got the job. I left the car, but I didn't lose my mind. I went down, but I came back up. I was broke, but I still pay my bills. Doors were closed, but I still made it through. I struggled, but God still got the victory. Can I get a witness up in here? Come in. Run your race. Why? Because you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Witnesses like Deacon Nicholas Walker. Witnesses like deaconess Elizabeth Curtis. Person witnesses like deaconess Anna Hartley. All of us have been influenced by a great cloud of witnesses. Can I get a witness? All we have to do is look in the stands and see the witnesses, even in this room today. Loud that I live by faith, not by sight. Can I get a witness up in here? I come to let you know this is a season where we need to surround ourselves with people who know that God is up to something in your life and in this church. Can I get a witness up in here?

Can I get a witness. Let me get out of here. So not only must you recognize your purpose, not only must, must you run your race, but finally, and I saw this in verse two, you, you can keep going when you recognize you got some backup. Amen. Just look around at the folk in behind you and say, you know, know what? I, I got back up. Amen. And when I read that musicians, I, I, I, I, I, I text my, my, my, my, my nephew, a young person, he's like 18, 19. And I said, I said, nephew, when, when, when, when folks say I got you, what does that mean? He said, he says, auntie, let me think about that because I said it to a couple people. I careful how I that. I said, yeah, get back to me in a little bit. He says, because verse 2 of Hebrews 12 says, Fix your eyes. Can I get a witness on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith? And, and the Greek word for fix means to consider attentively. And it carries the idea of fixing our eyes on Jesus and keeping them there. And who fit for the joy set before him endured the cross. And now he's sitting at the right hand of God and Jesus is letting.

Him know that he went through it. But all the while he could see.

Beyond what he was going through because the prize was on the other side. And that's my word for you today. You can keep going when you recognize you got a backup when you recognize that Jesus got you.

Amen.

See, in life, you will have trouble. In life, there will be disappointment.

And I know 2020 was a rough.

Year, but Jesus said, in this life.

There will be trouble. But be of good cheer. I have overcome them all. You have to remember, before any victory comes the work.

The only time I've seen victory, Deacon.

That came before work was in a dictionary. But that's not the way it is in life. You have to be prepared to work before the victory. Because if you have no you get no crown without a cross, no gain without pain, no hallelujah without a hair, no glory without a story, no shout without a drought, no success without a conquest, and no salvation without the recognition that I was once was lost. But Jesus followed me and took me in. Can I get a witness up in here? Struggle will be part of your life. Life. But the good news is when you have to struggle, Jesus is sitting on the right hand of God and he's praying for you. In other Words Jesus is saying, I got you, I got you. Can I get a witness? So my nephew finally got back to me after thinking about it for a couple of minutes. And he said, auntie, it means don't worry about it. He said, auntie, it means that I'll get it done. He said, auntie, it means I have your back. He said, auntie, it means I'm there for you. He said, auntie, it means when life tries to hit you, they're there for you, supporting you all the way. And I said, I don't know about you, but I'm glad that Jesus got me. And Triple Red and Busta Rhymes, they sang a song, I got you, but I don't know, it could be read and Busta Rhymes and have nothing on Jesus. I don't even know who they were talking about. But no matter what you go through, I come to tell you, Jesus got you. Amen. I got to leave you now. Coming. But how many you know that if it had not been for the Lord on your side, you wouldn't be where you are. Jesus got you. Jesus got your back. Jesus holding you up. Nod your head and tell somebody Jesus got me because I was deep. Sinking deep in sin. Far from that peaceful shore, very deeply staying within, seeking to rise no more. But Master of the sea heard my despairing cries and from the waters he lifted me safe and mine. God put God's hand on our lives. And even through all kinds of obstacles, trials, the pandemic, the challenges and the problems, we still got a spirit of thank you as we close off 2020. Because God kept us. God washed over us, us. God fed us. God protective us. I know some of you can't shout for what God did yesterday, but for those who are just a little crazy like I am, you can shout for what God is doing for you right now and for what God has planned for you in 2021. Sounds like I got some show enough witnesses up in here. Give God the glory. Give God a praise. Jesus says, I got you. Can I get a witness? He says, I got, I got you. Keep on keeping on conference because Jesus got you. God bless you. God bless you.