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You can be seated in the presence of the Lord. Welcome to 2819, you know, welcome to his presence. Yeah, you can give it up for that. For the presence of the Lord being with us. My name is Milton James. I serve as one of the elders here. He has given me the honor to deliver this message to you today. Welcome into the presence of the Lord. If you're a first time visitor here, we don't apologize for staying in his presence. We welcome all of our digital disciples from all over the world and we also welcome the unbeliever. We thank you for coming by. You can belong before you believe. And maybe in these holy gatherings, you will get pricked by the Holy Spirit and surrender your life to Him. You will repent of your sins. Know that you are a sinner and you deserve wrath. But thanks be to this God, thanks be to this God that we cry out to that we adore, that he will come and save you and meet you in that seat. We are house of prayer, presence and proclamation. We will stand on that until the Lord Jesus Christ returns or we're in the ground. We'd like to honor our lead pastor, Philip Anthony Mitchell. And also I would like to honor you all. Yeah, clap for yourself. I like to honor you all. We call this a divine miracle. Nine weeks the lead pastor is gone and y' all still continue to show up. And y' all just confirming a work of what the Holy Spirit is doing in us as a local body. I see it as a miracle. I've been in mega churches when the lead pastor would not come from behind that curtain and people would just get up and leave. So y' all are confirming that we are not idolizing a man. We're idolizing the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Scriptures, prayer, presence and proclamation. We are idolizing that. And to you all, I say thank you. I say thank you, man. I'm serious. Title of this message today is While we wait. While we wait. Let me pray for y' all as y' all pray for me. Please pray for me. Heavenly Father, we thank youk for your presence. We thank youk for being in this holy gathering, in the tabernacle, in the temple. As you dwell, move up and down every row, every seat, every digital disciple, every person that is far from you till their hearts right now, even in the moment. Lord, may they be good ground for this seed to land so that it will produce fruit that remains. We love you, Holy Father. We thank you for all that you have done. We thank you for meeting us in this place. We don't take it for granted, please. Oh, God, never take your hand off of us. We can do nothing without you. So we give you all the praise, all the honor, all the glory. We surrender all unto you, blessed to your holy name. It's in Jesus name I pray. Amen. Beloved family, I was preparing this message. I was thinking about. I don't know how y' all grew up, but when I grew up, like, on a Saturday, like, if. If I heard, like, Al Green playing, like, real loud, or like the OJ's playing, like, real loud, I know some of y' all don't know what that is, but if I heard, like, Teddy Pendergrass playing real loud, I know some of y' all might know. What was the response to that? If you heard that on a Saturday morning, time to clean up. So a lot of times, you know, we would hear that. We would get up, your mom would give the orders, you do this, you do that, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. So on, and so be it. But then there were also times when your parents would say, if you did X, Y and Z and been good for the week, they were gonna take you to the movies, or they were gonna take you roller skating, or they were gonna do something for you. If you did what she normally would do on those Saturday mornings. But when you heard the promise, it was like, all that week, all you could think about was the next weekend to whatever she had for you. But you would do. You would keep your heart tethered to that, to do everything in excellence. Like you. You. You wouldn't fight with your brothers and sisters like. Like, you would. You would wash all the dishes. She ain't had to ask you to do anything, because you don't, because your heart was attached to a promise. Like, I would wash my mama clothes, she would get home from work, they be already folded on a bed. Like, I mean, dinner cooked, everything. I mean, you're just going out your way to what? To keep that promise. And then when that promise came, it was glorious in our sight. And this is. This is the vein that I'm going to run into with faithfulness. This is the vein that we are attached to. A promise to continue to be faithful. Give me my definition of faithfulness, please. Faithfulness, steadfast loyalty, unwavering trustworthiness, and total reliability. This is the fruit of trusting God in all things. Say all things. Go to Galatians 5, chapter 16. I mean, chapter Galatians 5, 16, chapter 25. We're gonna go over a lot of Scripture today. Say a lot of scripture. Amen. Have your device. Have your Bible. See? Right. Right. Now, I love this church because I hear them pages turning. It's like fresh wind, like blowing in the sanctuary. But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit. That's why you got this war in your members. You in a good place when you got this war in your members. And desires of the flesh are sorry. Desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like this. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things live a lifestyle. Those that do such things live a lifestyle will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such things there is no law. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. That tells you and I that the Holy Spirit must be involved with for us to accomplish this. And we must participate by crucifying our flesh with the sinful passions and desires. You're not going to make it. If you think you can have sin in your life and live a faithful life unto Christ. It is impossible. It is impossible. Please, my beloved family, crucify your flesh. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal in you what is sin. Crucify it, put it to death. The Spirit fights against sin in us, not merely in defense, but also in attack, by producing in us the positive attributes of Godly character, so these fruit can remain in our lives and produce. Amen. Let me tell you what faithfulness is not. Faithfulness is not busyness. Psalms 46, verse 10. Psalms 46, verse 10. Faithfulness is not busyness. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Activities can look fruitful while the heart is still detached, driven and disconnected from God. Faithfulness is not performance. Matthew 6:1 Matthew 6:1. Faithfulness is not performance. Listen, beloved family, beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Faithfulness is not perfection. Ecclesiastes, chapter 7, verse 20. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. We all fall short. That's what I love about Pastor Philip, his vulnerability. A lot of people who grace these platforms have the appearance of perfection. You think this is something that you cannot achieve. And it's so discouraging. Like I tell y' all all the time, I am flawed. Please don't trust me. I will fail you. Your hope is in Christ, the one who cannot fail you. That's where our hope lies. Faithfulness is not visibility. Faithfulness is not visibility. 1st Samuel, chapter 16, verse 7. Faithfulness is not visibility. But the Lord said to Samuel, do not look on his outer appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outer appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. That's what. Beloved family, we have to learn how to have discernment. What is that? What is discernment? Being led by the Holy Spirit, in step with the Holy Spirit. Even in this church. You know, in this church, there are weeks and tears. In this church, right now, sitting among us, we. I can't see that the Lord is the only one can measure the heart of the human being. Even right here. Samuel was about to choose the tallest, the nice looking, the strongest man out of the bunch. And the Lord said, I reject him. Please don't be deceived. Faithfulness is not identity in a role. Faithfulness is not identity in a role. Galatians, chapter 2, verse 20. This is our role. Beloved. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. We are sons and daughters of the Most High Christ. That is your identity. No matter what position you in, no matter what title you have, that is not your identity. That is just the capacity that you serve the Lord Jesus Christ in. Let me have my statement, please. Faithfulness is not doing everything. It is doing what God assigned with obedience, humility and endurance for us, as long as God requires. As long as God requires. Let me give you some examples. Noah was faithful, building the ark for a hundred years. Abraham believed the promise of his descendants for 25 years before Isaac showed up. Joseph sold into slavery in prison, knowing God told him that he would rule over his brothers. He was in prison for 13 years. Moses led the Israelites for 40 years to reach the promised land. And we're saying we can't. We can't endure for six months. The Lord thy God is looking for a track record of faithfulness. Faith is accepting what he said. Faithfulness is carrying that out for 100 years, carrying that out for 25 years until what he said come to pass. Faithfulness is obedience over time. Galatians 6. 9. Galatians chapter 6, verse 9. And let us not grow weary of doing good. For in due season, say due season, we will reap if we do not give up. That means if you do not let go of the promise, we got one clap. If we do not let go of the promise in due season, the God of heaven and earth, he will exalt you. We can listen. Beloved family, you can't. You can't look towards men to exalt you. That is. That is a manipulation of the system. That is trying to circumvent the system to get a man to put you in a position that God did not call you. For in this season, the weight of that cross will crush you. Consistently saying yes to God, not just in a moment, but through seasons. Obedience over time. Faithfulness is stewardship. First Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 1 and 2. First Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 1 and 2. This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found handling what God entrusted to you with care, humility, and accountability. This is faithfulness. Faithfulness is hidden integrity. Hidden integrity. First Timothy, chapter 4, verse 16. Keep a close watch on yourselves. Keep a close watch on yourselves and on the teaching. Persist in that, for by so doing, you will save both yourselves and your hearers. Spread the gospel at work. Spread the gospel in the grocery store, like Lionel talked about with the cart. Take the cart, even when it's raining, back to where it's supposed to be. That's faithfulness. When nobody's watching. Submission to the assignment. Faithfulness is submission to the assignment. Luke, chapter 22, verse 42. This is Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives, saying, father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless. Say it nevertheless. Not my will, but your will be done. Submission to the assignment? Doing what God asks, not merely what we feel is important, not merely what we think we should be doing. And we just add God's name on it. Faithfulness is endurance. Psalms 37, verse 5. Faithfulness is endurance. Commit your ways to the Lord. Trust in him, and he will act, remaining committed when it is hard, unseen, inconvenient, or costly. Commit your way to that. The disciples waited 10 days for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. What if that ninth day they decided they were just going to go somewhere else? Jesus waited 30 years before he started the ministry. He waited and prepared until the exact right time. He remained perfectly faithful and obedient to His Father's will. What about you and I? Do our track record show a period, a season, a lifetime of faithfulness? Like. Like. I mean, just. This is not for condemnation. This is for evaluation. Evaluate. Just even right now. Just look in your life. Can you look over your shoulder and can you see a track record of faithfulness? This is what the Lord is looking for. Because God is faithful. He asks us to show the same loyalty back to him and to others. Not being impatient or trying to skip the process. I know you was called to do X, Y and Z, but if you are unwilling to go through the process, that cross will crush you. And you're going to have body after body after body after body after body, desolate into the wrath that you have caused. You have to yield to the process. Matthew, chapter 25, verse 14 to 30. This is. We are. We are walking this out in real time. Beloved family, this is where we are right now. In real time. Verse 14. Listen, beloved family, please listen to the words of your and my savior. Listen, for it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrust them with his property. To one he gave five talents. To another, two to another one to each according to his ability. He has given you and I enough to accomplish the mission that he called you for. Your mission, not my mission. And my mission is not your mission. I can't look to the left or the right. Our mission is what he placed gifts and abilities. You know, a talent is 20 years worth of wagers. One talent, today's economy, that's $600,000. So he's giving you enough provision. He's giving you enough strength. He's giving you enough talent. And just like I told him in the last Garrett, like me, I don't think I have talent. I don't think I'm a good orator. I don't think I'm a Good. This I just yield to the Holy Spirit and he helps me, he equips me. I can't do anything without. I couldn't stand on this stage without him. So for the person out there who thinks I don't know what my gifting is, just yield yourself. Because you know what? Listen, you have giftings, talents and ability. It may be dormant in there and is waiting for you to take a step of faith, to show a track record of faithfulness. And then he can use you in any capacity. Just. Just surrender. Just surrender. Then he went away. He who has received the five talents went at once, say, went at once and traded with them and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now, after a long time, say, a long time. After a long time. What was that? After a long time the master of those servants. Listen, family. Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. You and I. He's coming to settle accounts with us. And you. And he who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more talents, saying, master, you delivered to me five talents. Here I have made you five talents more. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little. I will see you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. What a glorious day. And he also, who had two talents, came forward saying, master, you delivered to me two talents. Here I have made two talents more. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little. I will see, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. He also, who had received the one talent, came forward saying, master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid and went and hid your talents in the ground. This puzzled me like two men got their talents and went and moved hastily, moved and did what the master asked them to do. But one man said, I'm afraid. How did two men see God this way? As a loving father coming back to settle accounts. And one sees him as a strict master, as a landlord lording over him. We all in the same camp, Don't fall in that camp. Here you have what is yours. But his master answered him, you wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gathered where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers. And at my coming I would have received that was my own with interest. Jesus expects us to demonstrate faithfulness when he is gone. He's talking to us right now. Where is Jesus? In heaven, on his throne. He has entrusted it to us actively and faithfully. Use our God given gifts, abilities, resources, rather than squandering them out of fear. The servant, the servants inactivity is labeled as wickedness and laziness. Please just evaluate your heart. You know God has been knocking on your heart, tapping you. Go serve, go do this, go do that, go here, call this person, call, pray for this. And you keep resisting. I don't want you to be in this category, beloved, because it stems from a wrong understanding of the Master's character. You're seeing the Lord Jesus Christ as a landlord, as a taskmaster, as somebody is putting laws on your back. Why are you afraid of Him? Yes, we should have reverential fear of him because of who he is, but not afraid of Him. That we won't submit to him and we won't be faithful for Him. That's a big difference. His fear was not an excuse for not wanting to do the work. His fear was an excuse for not wanting to do the work. If you truly believe he was a strict and demanding man, you should have at least put my money in the bank to earn interest. By doing absolutely nothing, the servant proved he was not truly trying to please the Master. Who are you trying to please? Are you trying to please men? Are you trying to please the Master? But he was paralyzed by a rebellious or apathetic heart. I just don't care. I don't care. So what should our heart be anchored to for a track record of faithfulness? Matthew, chapter 9, verse 35, 38. Listen, beloved family, this is what our hearts should be anchored to. This is what. This is what Jesus is evaluating in us. Like everything that we're doing. This should be the apex of what our heart is anchored to. Matthew, chapter 9, verse 35. And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues. Jesus went out through all the cities and villages. Cities were where rich people live. Rich people need the Gospel and poor people live. They need the Gospel. Teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like a sheep without a shepherd. Where is our compassion? Is our faithfulness tethered to compassion? Tethered to The Gospel. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. This is what our hearts should be anchored to for faithfulness. If it's not anchored to this beloved family, what is it anchored to? What are you striving for? What is motivating you? If it's outside of this, you could be in the flesh. Matthew 28:19, Matthew 28:19 and 20. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. It's not just a logo. We trying to tether your heart to what needs to be. This is not just a logo. It's so that your heart will tether to the Lord Jesus Christ, his great commission, so that you'll be anchored to that. So whatever you do, this should be an anchor for your soul. Is your faithfulness showing. Go therefore, and make disciples. Matthew, chapter 24, verse 29. These three things your heart needs to be anchored to, to be faithful, to show yourself faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, so that you can start now. This, like I said, this is not condemnation. This is to. For you to look inside to see. To look over your shoulder to see. Do I have a track record? Matthew 24, verse 29 and 31. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the power of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven, the sign of the Son of Man. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. You and I have to give an account to that Lord who is coming. Every gift, every talent, he has given each and every human being enough to endure and to make it and be faithful unto him. But you, you have to participate. You can't be like the lazy servant and hide your talents because you're afraid. That's not going to fly in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's just not. It's not going to fly in his face. Like what? What kind of account can you give him when he. When. When you stand before him and he asks you, what have you done with the talents I gave you? Give y' all some practical, practical, practical things for faithfulness. Show up on time. Answer your text messages and emails. When your leaders send those out, pray for your team. Have compassion for the lost. Like, have real compassion for the lost. Serve with excellence. Don't give your leaders and your co laborers a hard time. Why we always friction every time we come in here? That's not a good track record for faithfulness. Like, your heart should be full of joy when you come in here. Like, I look forward to spending time with the brothers and sisters. I look forward to being in the presence of the Lord. I look forward to hearing the proclamation of His Word. I look forward to that. Parking where you're supposed to park. See, we laugh like it's a small thing, but we gotta constantly keep telling people to park where they're supposed to park. It's a matter of faithfulness. The Lord is keeping record of that. Like, do you have one book or do you have millions of books written of your faithfulness in it, sitting where you're supposed to sit in the gathering? Be faithful. We'll have some people duck out and try to hide and then sneak back in to get. Come on, man, be faithful. Wherever you sit should be okay. Like, we're. We gotta get out of the world. We're not the world. He has set us apart for such a time as this. But. But then you want to keep complaining why you're not being elevated, why people not recognizing me, why my gifts and talents are not being used. Because God is looking at your track record. He is the one that exalts. Men do not exalt. Do the right thing just to help foster Jesus's return. These are the little things that you can do to start building faithfulness. But you also, you have to yield to the spirit and mortify the flesh. Mortify, kill. Like, you can't just always be okay with being angry. You can't just always be okay with having a bad attitude. You can't just always be okay with wanting your spot above taking the lowly spot. And. And I'm not telling you, God did tell you this. God did tell you he wants you to. Pastor. God did tell you he wants you to be a prayer warrior. God did. I'm not disputing none of that. But the problem that we run into, we want to circumvent that system and not be faithful, not see the goal and have a track record of faithfulness. Until we get to the goal, we want to circumvent the process. And I know here at this church, we just. We're not going to let you circumvent. I know. I. Listen, I know. I know you. You pastor five churches. I know. But can you serve in this church? I got. It's. Men and women in here have done supernatural things for the Lord. And not one time have I heard them speak about it. Not one time have I heard them. You try to use their title to manipulate me. Be faithful. Where he called you to be. I'm telling you, each and every one of you are special in his sight. And he's called you for such a time as this. It's not. It's from the foundation of the world. And you were called for this time in this church to do a specific thing. Like I. Like I told y' all before, I was content with putting out those flags. Content. I'm. Y' all don't hear me. Content. Like I could have done that to. From there to right now and been okay with the Lord. And every time I was content with those flags, the Lord kept exalting me and exalted me and exalted me and exalted me and exalted me and exalted me. Even to this day, I still. I still don't know what the Lord wants me to do. Like, I. I don't. I just continue to just yield my heart to faithfulness, wherever it may be, whatever it may look like. And that's all he's asking you to do. Let me pray for y'. All. You know I'm praying scriptures over y' all first. Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 23 to 24. Now, may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who called you is faithful. He surely do it. Be faithful. Beloved family, love y'. All. Appreciate y'. All. Thank y'. All. God bless y'. All.