Westside Finale | Psalm 107:1-9 | Philip Anthony Mitchell

Summary

2819 Church Podcast Summary

Episode: Westside Finale | Psalm 107:1-9 | Philip Anthony Mitchell
Host: 2819 Church (Philip Anthony Mitchell)
Release Date: March 24, 2025

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Introduction and Transition Announcement

[00:55] Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell opens the episode by emphasizing the importance of relationships, stating, “Some of the greatest blessings that will enter into your life, they will come into your life on two legs.” He honors his friend Matthew Garland, celebrating a 30-year friendship and their journey together.

[03:12] Pastor Mitchell announces a significant transition for the congregation, sharing, “this is the last time we will gather in this room together.” He expresses a sense of obedience to a new direction prompted by divine guidance, indicating a shift from their current location to a new temporary facility.

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Understanding Transitions in Life

[07:34] Matthew Garland discusses the inevitability of transitions in life, whether planned or unexpected. He shares, “Sometimes God will engineer transitions in your life, albeit painful sometimes to push you down roads you otherwise would not chosen for yourself.”

[08:39] Pastor Mitchell reflects on the church’s struggles post-COVID, including the loss of their facility and financial burdens. He recounts personal moments of despair, saying, “There is no way we can recover from catastrophic loss like this.”

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Faith Through Adversity

[09:08] Matthew Garland and [09:15] Pastor Mitchell narrate their experiences during the COVID pandemic, highlighting the resilience and faith required to overcome losses. Matthew shares, “We lost everything,” while Pastor Mitchell recalls moments of contemplating resignation but finding encouragement through his wife’s support.

[10:35] Matthew Garland describes their first encounter with the new facility, initially perceiving it as too large and impractical: “I said, the room is too big. There's only a hundred of us. There's no way the Lord will fill this room.”

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God’s Vision Over Human Doubt

[11:18] Pastor Mitchell emphasizes the importance of vision and faith over limited thinking. He states, “Even when you are ugly and when you are lost in sin, he saw something beautiful in you.”

[13:04] Matthew Garland recalls the early days of their ministry, from small gatherings to a diverse and expansive congregation: “Black and white, young and old, rich and poor, hoodlums and people from the boardroom, former street dudes and people from corporate America.”

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Welcoming Digital Disciples and Diverse Congregation

[15:02] Pastor Mitchell engages with digital attendees from various locations, including Orlando, Ohio, St. Martin, and Toronto, highlighting the church’s growing reach beyond its physical location. He shares heartfelt interactions, such as with Holden and Shelby, who made significant sacrifices to join the church.

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Celebrating Faith and Provision

[19:44] Matthew Garland and [19:55] Pastor Mitchell lead a moment of blessing for Holden and Shelby, affirming, “We got you, brother.” They announce financial support and employment opportunities, demonstrating the community’s commitment to supporting its members.

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Reading and Reflecting on Psalm 107:1-9

[26:43] Pastor Mitchell introduces Psalm 107 as a psalm of gratitude, connecting its themes to the congregation’s experiences. He emphasizes honest prayer and recognizing God’s steadfast love, saying, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say, so that they may declare His deeds to him who rises up to give thanks.”

Notable Quote:
[30:37] Matthew Garland: “He is good when things are good. He is good when things are difficult. He is good when you're in valleys.”

[32:28] Matthew Garland: “He loved you even when you were unlovable, making mistakes, and feeling unworthy.”

Pastor Mitchell expands on the concept of redemption, explaining, “It means to buy back like a pawn shop. He saw you through the window in the pawn shop.”

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God’s Guidance as Our GPS

[38:58] Matthew Garland compares God’s guidance to a GPS, stating, “The greatest GPS you have is just the voice of the Holy Spirit.” He encourages the congregation to trust in divine direction, even when the path is unclear.

[39:16] Pastor Mitchell reinforces this by sharing personal testimonies of God’s guidance, urging listeners to follow His lead without relying solely on human technology or understanding.

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Preparation for the New Facility

[44:37] Pastor Mitchell discusses the upcoming move to the new temporary facility, describing the challenges of renovating an old, abandoned building. He assures the congregation, “We're going to fix it up to make it habitable for our family,” emphasizing teamwork and faith during the transition.

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Closing Remarks and Blessings

[46:26] Rhonda, a member of the church, reflects on the community’s growth and the contributions of servant leaders. She expresses awe at God’s ongoing work, stating, “I'm just amazed and in awe of all that God has done, all that he is doing and all that he is going to do.”

[47:43] Pastor Mitchell concludes the episode with a blessing, praying for the congregation’s prosperity and unity as they move to the new facility. He declares, “May you prosper and thrive in the kingdom. May the Lord keep us together as we walk into our next facility.”

[47:43] Pastor Mitchell: “Go in peace. In Jesus' name.”

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Key Takeaways

• Faith in Transitions: Embracing life's inevitable changes through faith and recognizing God’s hand in guiding these transitions.
• Community and Relationships: Valuing long-lasting relationships as essential blessings that facilitate God’s work in individuals' lives.
• God’s Steadfast Love: Understanding and appreciating God’s unconditional love, even during challenging times.
• Vision and Obedience: Maintaining vision and obedience to divine direction despite initial doubts or fears.
• Support and Provision: Demonstrating the church’s commitment to supporting its members financially and spiritually.
• Scriptural Reflection: Utilizing Psalm 107 as a foundation for gratitude and recognizing God’s redemption and guidance.

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This episode of the 2819 Church podcast encapsulates a heartfelt message of faith, resilience, and community support during a significant transition. Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell and Matthew Garland share personal testimonies and scriptural insights, encouraging listeners to trust in God’s unwavering love and guidance through all seasons of life.

Transcript

[Pastor]

You could be suited.

[Matthew Garland]

Lord.

[Pastor]

Thank you, Ma. Thank.

[Matthew Garland]

You.

[Pastor]

Know, one of the most valuable things you have in this life after time and health, are your relationships. Some of the greatest things God would do in your life, he will do through relationships. Some of the greatest blessings that will enter into your life, they will come into your life on two legs. And if we treat our relationships like one night stands and we don't honor them, we will never have stories of longevity. I got a story of longevity sitting in the room. One of my closest friends of 30 years. How long? 30? Yeah. The most influential mortgage bank in the country. We came out them streets together. I want to honor one of my closest friend of 30 years. Y'all know him as MG the mortgage guy. My man, Matthew Garland, y'all. Help me honor him. Stand up, bro. 30 years. 30 years. Yeah. 30 years. If you are guests to 2819, we welcome you to our gathering. To all of the guests that are sitting in that overflow room, we welcome you to our gathering. To all of our digital disciples watching me live right now across the nation and around the world, we welcome you to 2819. And if you are unbeliever in the room, we welcome you to 2819. We're glad that you're here, walking through the book of Matthew together. It's been an incredible series and we are at the end of that book. But this morning, as I was on my face just kind of praying, kind of wrestling with the Lord, I felt led to the Lord to do something different this morning. I felt like the Lord led me to go in a different direction because this is the last time that we will gather in this room together.

[Matthew Garland]

This is the last praise you're gonna give him in the room. He can't hear you. I said he can't hear you.

[Pastor]

And so since this is the last time we're going to be in this room together, I just want to obey what I felt like the Holy Spirit put on my heart as we press pause on our series through Matthew. And I'll obey what the Lord gave me for today. And I want y'all to help me honor these men that are behind me. Spirit of the living God, we thank you for how far you have brought us such a short period of time. You are the God of the impossible. You've moved mountains, performed miracles. And for that we are eternally grateful. Now in this moment, Lord, I just pray you would pour out a spirit of thanksgiving, spirit of joy, a spirit of gratitude and appreciation on the hearts of your sons and daughters. Help Me in my weakness to share with your sons and daughters for these next few moments what you have put on my heart. In the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Stay there, Sam. Come down. Family, this is our last day as a church family in this facility. And as I was praying about this morning, I was reminded about the importance of transitions. How transitions are inevitable in life. Everyone in life will experience transitions. You all have experienced transitions that started for you as early as grade school, from one to the next. And some of you, from one city to another city, one job to another job, even in pain, from one marriage to another marriage. We all know what it is to go through transitions in life, and they are unavoidable. Life is not static. Life is more fluid. And we go through transitions in life, some transitions, we plan them and we are excited and we look forward to them. And then there are transitions that life engineers for us where we get caught off guard by something happens and we did not see. A loved one dies. We get a doctor's report, whatever the case may be. Hear me. And then there are some transitions that God engineers. And even when they don't feel good, sometimes God you. Oh, you felt that. Sometimes God will engineer transitions in your life, albeit painful sometimes to push you down roads you otherwise would not chosen for yourself.

[Matthew Garland]

And because he is the author and.

[Pastor]

Finisher of your story, sometimes he know you will not move. And so you need a push.

[Matthew Garland]

And so sometimes he might close the door to give you that push. Sometimes you might go through rejection to get that push. Sometimes, sometimes the crumble around your life to get that push. Sometimes he'll take something out of your life to give you that push. Sometimes the Lord is watching you knowing that you need to take this next step of faith and you won't jump. So he engineers a circumstance to push you to that next level. And it's in hindsight, we go back and we look back, we say, thank you Lord, for what you did. You closed that door. That person rejected me. I lost that. So you can push me down this road I otherwise would not have chosen for myself. Lost a job, lost a house, lost a business. But this is what the Lord walks you into. As a result of that, today our church has been pushed down a path. A transition that we did not plan.

[Pastor]

For ourselves, but now we're seeing. It is marvelous in his eyes. It is glorious. Watch. How did we get here? Coming out of COVID my wife and.

[Matthew Garland]

I had a church named Victory that.

[Pastor]

We led for 10 years.

[Matthew Garland]

And going through Covid preaching to an.

[Pastor]

Empty camera, empty room with a camera for two years, we lost everything. We lost our church, family. We lost a facility, hundreds of thousands of dollars, staff.

[Matthew Garland]

We lost everything.

[Pastor]

And we came out of COVID almost just barely.

[Matthew Garland]

I remember when I lost hope during that season.

[Pastor]

I remember when I was in the.

[Matthew Garland]

Gym, looking out the window and saying to myself, there is no way we.

[Pastor]

Can recover from catastrophic loss like this.

[Matthew Garland]

And going home and talking to my wife, about to put in the resignation.

[Pastor]

For my own church. I laid my head on her lap. You got to be careful where you lay your head. She spoke life to me, and this is what she said. She said, honey, you have to run on to see what the Lord would do if you don't quit right now. In this season.

[Matthew Garland]

I remember we came.

[Pastor]

Out of COVID with 100 few disciples, and we was meeting in the south. But I'm an urban dude, so I know I wanted to be in the city. And I remember we found this facility. And I remember the first time Brandon and I came to this facility, Dr. Tanner was not yet here. And watch this. I walked into the room. We were standing right there. And when I walked into the room, I saw all these chairs in the room. And the first thought I had in my mind, Watch. Because this is what you do to yourself. You talk yourself out your own blessing. I walked in the room, and I saw all the chairs in the room, and I said to myself, watch, the room is too big. Watch.

[Matthew Garland]

I said, the room is too big. There's only a hundred of us. There's no way the Lord will fill this room.

[Pastor]

Watch.

[Matthew Garland]

And I talk myself out my own blessing. Because sometimes we have limited thinking and limited beliefs. And the Lord could be trying to talk you into something that your fear, your doubts, your anxiety and your worries will talk you right out of what the Lord is trying to talk you into. This is why Rhonda has taught us that if you don't have a prayer life, your thoughts will be your God. And I didn't pray about it. Fear let me walk right out that door.

[Pastor]

Went back to the south, but in my heart, feeling like, no, we're supposed to be in the city. So we come back a year later, walk through that door again. And we walked in this room, and I remember this room was a concrete box, white, and it was a yellow curtain hanging right here on the stage. And it had no lights and it had no sound. It had no electricity. And no, none of this stuff was here. And it wasn't black, and there was no screen and no projector.

[Matthew Garland]

There was nothing in here, just a concrete box with a yellow curtain hanging. And what we saw was ugly in the moment. Watch. But you have to have vision to see beauty in something that God can do. Even when you. That's what he sees in you. When you were ugly and when you was lost in sin, he saw something beautiful in you. He came after you and he rescued you and pulled you out of the darkness of your own sin. Because even in your own mess, he saw something beautiful in you. He sees in you what you don't even see in yourself.

[Pastor]

I need to say that one more time. For the person battling great insecurities. The Lord sees in you sometimes what you don't even see in yourself. He saw this in me when I was in Queens, running the street. And we saw something in this room in that moment, coming back a year later, had just enough faith to say, oh, we'll do this. And I remember, man 2819, our first gathering, January 23rd, scattered in the room, a hundred and something of us. And I remember I'm preaching to an empty room. And we started in Matthew, Matthew chapter one. Y'all wasn't here. Yah was not here.

[Matthew Garland]

It was just me and the elders, and it was. It was sprinkles and pockets, and we.

[Pastor]

Was a small little family.

[Matthew Garland]

And I. Matthew, Chapter one. I remember the first series in Matthew, the King is here. And we preaching about the arrival of Christ before.

[Pastor]

Y'all remember that it was only five of us here.

[Matthew Garland]

But as Christ was being exalted, he started adding to his family. And another family came, and a brother came and. And then a sister came, and a child came, and a bus came, and a whole cohort came. And one by one, God started adding to his family. And then a black sister came and a white sister came and a Hispanic brother came. And one by God is. And with no gimmicks, no stunts, no Western American foolishness, no promotion, no ads on social media, no nonsense, no foolishness, no gimmicks. Just the Holy Spirit and a Bible being exalted. And he kept adding to his family.

[Pastor]

Adding to this family. He kept adding until it grew from tens to hundreds, to Thousands, to over 5,000, to one gathering, to two gatherings, to three gatherings, to one overflow, to.

[Matthew Garland]

Two overflows, to three overflows. To digital disciples all across the nation. I said, to digital disciples all across the nation. To digital disciples all across the world.

[Pastor]

Any digital disciples in the room? You. Where'd you come From? You came here from Dallas, Texas. You flew in here from Dallas, Texas. US I'mma shake your hand when this is over. Any other digital. Where'd you come from? Where? Orlando, Florida. Where? Ohio. You came here from Ohio. Where'd you come from?

[Matthew Garland]

You came from the Caribbean?

[Pastor]

Where in the Caribbean you came from?

[Matthew Garland]

From St. Martin. I gotta shake your hand. Man of God. You flew here from St. Martin to be here. Y'all gotta love on that brother right there.

[Pastor]

Come on.

[Matthew Garland]

I gotta shake your hand.

[Pastor]

When this is over. From St. Martin, my man came from paradise to the belly of the beast in Atlanta. That man came to the hood from paradise. We in the hood, right? Man came from St. Martin.

[Matthew Garland]

You came from Toronto, Canada.

[Pastor]

I'mma shake your hand when this is over.

[Matthew Garland]

Wow.

[Pastor]

I mean, where you came from?

[Matthew Garland]

West coast Canada. You drove from Canada.

[Pastor]

Oh, my.

[Matthew Garland]

My God. Oh, my. What? How many? With the baby? Oh, my. He drove from west coast Canada with a baby. Yo, my man. Come here.

[Pastor]

Yo. Come on.

[Matthew Garland]

Come. Come here.

[Pastor]

Yo. Come.

[Matthew Garland]

How long is that drive, huh? 40. What? 40. 44 hours. Three days.

[Pastor]

Yo, my man. Come on here, y'all. How you doing, brother?

[Matthew Garland]

Seven days. Seven days. You drove seven days to get here?

[Pastor]

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. What?

[Matthew Garland]

We emailed y'all.

[Pastor]

You moved here to come to the church?

[Matthew Garland]

To come to this.

[Pastor]

You moved here to join this church. We sold everything. You sold everything? You sold everything to come here? You moved from Canada to come here. Two girls and two. With two girls and two dogs. You sold everything? Yes, sir. What's your name? Holden. Holden.

[Matthew Garland]

Holden. Shelby.

[Pastor]

Shelby and Holden. All right. No, hold on. No. Where's. Where's Don? Write his name down. Sheldon and Holden. Holden. Holden and Shelby. People do that. Okay? I want you to stay when this is over. We're gonna give out Two checks today. $50,000 for you. Yes. No. Yes, yes, yes. No. Yes. No, no. Yes. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Matthew Garland]

Don't block my blessing.

[Pastor]

No, no, no.

[Matthew Garland]

Don't block my blessing.

[Pastor]

Don't block my blessing.

[Matthew Garland]

50,000 for you.

[Pastor]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Matthew Garland]

Give you a job.

[Pastor]

No, no, no, no.

[Matthew Garland]

I'm.

[Pastor]

I'm giving. No. I'm giving you a check. No. You want the spiritual money?

[Matthew Garland]

We.

[Pastor]

Listen to me. Where's Don? I want you to get his information. Don't move. Holding.

[Matthew Garland]

Don't move.

[Pastor]

We're gonna do both. We're gonna do both. Somebody hold that baby. We're gonna do both. Stay right here with me, bro. Stay right here. We're gonna do both. You. You. A check for 50,000 and a job. No. And a job. We're gonna do both. We're gonna do hands towards his family. Drove seven days to be here. Sold everything to join this church. Holy Ghost, eternal God, and of a wise father, we thank you for the power of the Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit and the proclamation of the gospel in these last days. We thank you for how you reach this family, 44 hours away in Canada, how you moved on their heart to sell everything, sacrifice. To take this massive step of faith to come here just like Lena and I did, with nothing. Jesus. Jesus. We pray you would knit their hearts to this family, that you would reward them for their faithfulness. We pray great provision for this family, for these children, for Holden and Shelby. They are our brother and sister. Our family.

[Matthew Garland]

We thank you that you ordered their footsteps.

[Pastor]

By your divine providence, you brought them here. And we pray you would walk them into everything you have planned for them. We as a family pray favor over them right now. We pray favor over them right now. That they will prosper and thrive in.

[Matthew Garland]

The spirit, in their marriage, in their parenting, in their finances, starting with 50,000. We bless them right now in the mighty. Hey. And the Majestic. And the matchless. Name of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Somebody shout.

[Pastor]

My brother. We got you.

[Matthew Garland]

Praise him right now. We got you, brother.

[Pastor]

We got you. We got you. We got you. We got you. We got you. I'm serious. We're giving out two checks today, and we got a job for you. We're going to figure it out. We got you. We got you. He got a preach the word shirt on. We got you, Holden. Somebody celebrate this family. Yeah. We're gonna talk after I got you. We're gonna talk right after this. Y know your treasure of this life could ever satisfy. You are my everything. Be seated. Oh.

[Matthew Garland]

Hallelujah.

[Pastor]

So what I want to do with the few minutes we have left?

[Matthew Garland]

What?

[Pastor]

You said what? Keep. Keep going. What up? Take my. No, take my time now. We gotta.

[Matthew Garland]

We got.

[Pastor]

We don't. No, we. We don't have time because there's another 1800 people coming behind you. It's another, like, there's like another 1800 people coming right behind you. Greenbrier, we got seats for you. Where we going?

[Matthew Garland]

Everybody in that overflow room. We got seats for you where we're going.

[Pastor]

Yeah. So what I want to do with. With these last what I want to do with these few minutes we have left. I want to Listen, I want to break the spirit of entitlement because I feel like when God has been kind to you, what we owe him is gratitude. And I want to read to you just one psalm. It's a psalm of gratitude. It's what God put on my heart. And. And I don't want to preach, but would you allow me to just read this over you? Yeah. And the Book of Psalms is the biggest book in the Bible. The Bible is a collection of 66 ancient documents. And sitting in the center of the Bible, in the center of the Scriptures, is the largest book in here, the Book of Psalms. Psalms in the Book of Psalms was written there by men who expressed a full range of all human emotions, from anger to sorrow to joy. And when my heart is heavy, I carry it to the Psalms. When I feel broken, I carry my heart to the Psalms. When I feel like I'm being threatened, I carry my heart to the Psalms. When I'm dealing with enemies, and I got a lot of them, I carry my heart to the Psalms. And when you're going through trials and tribulations, you can carry your heart here and find comfort and find the prayers of real human beings who had the full range of human emotions, even people who were angry at God. Where are you right now in this circumstance? It's all in there. And in the Book of Psalms, there is a Psalm 107, which is a Psalm of gratitude. Four major sections. I won't read all four. And the writer of Psalms, these writers write about the goodness of God who brought them out of exile, brought them out of time, of darkness and pain and suffering. We all have experienced times like that. And in the first nine verses of Psalm 107, just nine, I'm gonna read them to you. I'm gonna pray for you. We're gonna be done. Couple minutes. I see nuances of what these Israelites wrote to what we have been experiencing. At 28:19. I'm gonna read the Psalm to. To you, and I just want you to peep the nuances in the text. So I'm reading about Israel, but I want you to see 28:19 in the text. I'm reading about Israel, but I want you to see 28:19 in the text. Yes. Psalm 107. 1. This is what you do when the Lord has been good to you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord for.

[Matthew Garland]

Watch for he is is good when things are good. He is good when things are difficult. He is good when you're in valleys, he is good when he's answering your prayers. He is good. When he seems silent, he is good. When he says wait, he is good. Watch this. When he says no, he is still being good. When he removes something from your life.

[Pastor]

He is being good.

[Matthew Garland]

Good. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. Why is he good? There it is, the back half of the first verse. For his steadfast love. It endures for how long? Forever. That is, it will never leave you nor forsake you. He loves you when you're being lovable. And he loves you when you're being unlovable. When you fall, falling in sin. He loves you when you're making mistakes. He loves you when you're beating yourself up. He loves you. Watch this. When you feel unworthy, he loves you like. I battle with that a lot.

[Pastor]

Feelings of unworthiness that I don't deserve.

[Matthew Garland]

All that you're doing. I don't even deserve to be on this platform. Anybody ever felt unworthy. You get tired of yourself. You say, lord, look at me. But yet you still do like and loves you anyway. Way not a transactional love like we do down here. Love you if you're a certain size. Love you if you don't put on weight. Love you if you. No, no, not that kind of human transactional love.

[Pastor]

I love you because what I've done for you on the cross. His son died for that love. That's what it says in Romans. That while we was yet sinners, Christ died. The Lord demonstrated his love. So his love is steadfast.

[Matthew Garland]

And because of that, here is our response. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so who are his watch redeemed from trouble, that is all of you. He bought back from darkness, came and got you out of sin, rescued you from headed to hell. Rescued you from headed to damnation. All of you did not have enough sense in your mind to say yes to God, but he hunted you down anyway. Do I got anybody knows what it feels like when he hunted you down anyway? When you was in rebellion and sin, but he hunted you down anyway. When we was driving home drunk from the club and rolling up blunts with one knee and out of our mind getting in car crashes and still alive. His grace keeping you just long enough so he can pull you into the kingd. I'm talking to some of you. Even been in church your whole life.

[Pastor]

And far away from God until one.

[Matthew Garland]

Day he snatched you and pulled you into the kingdom of God.

[Pastor]

Watch.

[Matthew Garland]

Redeem.

[Pastor]

You know what that word redeem means?

[Matthew Garland]

It means to buy back like a pawn shop. He Saw you through the window in the pawn shop.

[Pastor]

Lost in Adam. But the Lord walked in there with the cross on his back, back.

[Matthew Garland]

And put the payment of blood on the table.

[Pastor]

Said, that one, I want that one.

[Matthew Garland]

And I'm going to take this one right here. Give me Philli. I'mma take him. I'mma take Matthew. Give me Ivy McGregor. I'mma take Brandon McLendon. Anybody know what it feels like to be bought back? Chasing you anyway? And what did he redeem us from? From trouble. Why?

[Pastor]

Watch Pete 2819 in the text.

[Matthew Garland]

And he gathered.

[Pastor]

I like that word. His people from the lands.

[Matthew Garland]

Where did they come from? From the east and from the west and from the north and from the south and from the Caribbean and from Canada. It started gathering people from all walks of life, Black and white, young and old, rich and poor, hoodlums and people from the boardroom, former street dudes and people from corporate America started gathering us together from all around the country, all around the city of Atlanta. He brought us in from the north, south, east and west. I'm from New York. Anybody from the north? Okay, anybody from the west? All right. Anybody from the south? Just start gathering us together from the north, south, east and west. Some of you before he brought you wandered in desert places. You were in dry places, dry seasons, dead churches, listening to dead sermons and reading dead books and going to dead conferences, having a dead life. Until he brought you into this family. And you drank living water for the first time and you felt alive in your heart. And you heard a song that transformed your life, and you heard a message that transformed your life. You was in a dry place and we were singing a song, and tears felt from your eyes.

[Pastor]

How many times have you left this room, driving home with tears in your eyes.

[Matthew Garland]

How many times have you left this room like convicted by a message and said, I got a change in that area of my life. How many times have you left this room and you felt like the spirit of God talked to you when you were sitting right there in your seat? How many times have you left this room and you felt more alive than ever before? How many times have you come in dead and left with fire in your heart? How many times have you been sitting.

[Pastor]

Right there in the chair and the Holy Spirit nudged you right there, the chair. You was in a desert place, finding no way to a city to dwell in, no place to land. While you was out there, how was you was hungry and you was thirsty and your soul fainted within you. And some of you before you got here, you Cried out to the Lord, lord, intervene in my circumstance. I'm so thankful that he hears us when we pray. It says that they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.

[Matthew Garland]

Trouble.

[Pastor]

Watch. And he ignored them, Turned a deaf ear to them. Ignored you? No. Does anybody know what it feels like to cry out to the Lord? And he responds, watch. Because the Lord is attracted to brokenness and to humility. And watch this word honesty. This is why. Listen. This is why I keep encouraged, encouraging you. Stop sanitizing your prayers. Stop going into his presence with this laundry list of lies. He already know that you're mad. He already know that you're angry. He knows that you don't like your spouse. He already knows what you're battling with. Just go in there and watch this word honest. And they cried out to the Lord in trouble. And he delivered them from their distress. Watch. And this is what he did for a lot of you last three verses. He led you like he led my man holding back there. And Shelby, you know what he did? He ordered their steps. You know how frustrating it would be for you to try to get from your house here in a new city with no gps, you'd be frustrated. And a lot of people live life that way. Driving with no gps, doing life with no guidance. The greatest GPS you will ever know is not on your iPhone. If you got an Android. We pray for you. We're mad at you that you turn the chat green. Blue is the color of glory. It's in the flag of Israel.

[Matthew Garland]

We pray I phones for everybody in the.

[Pastor]

I'm sorry, Elder. I'm sorry. It's frustrating moving through life with no doubt, direction. And the greatest GPS you have is not on your iPhone. It's the spirit of God ordering, holding steps, ordering your steps, guiding you. Don't marry, marry. Take the job, don't take the job. Walk away from that career. Knit your heart to that church. You have no idea what the Lord does on the other side of your instructions as you're following that GP GPS man. He just leads you into everything that he has for you. See, when I was in Queens, he knew where I would be right now and I was gang banging in the street. He knew where I'll be right now. When he rescued me in a bathroom over a toilet seat, he knew where I'd be right now. The greatest GPS you have is just the voice of the Holy Spirit, you know, the joy of hearing. Go four miles and make a left. Don't marry that person. Don't sign that contract. Move to that city. Come from Canada to 2019. You have no idea what's gonna happen when you get there. The first Sunday, leave from Canada, Canada, seven hours, seven days, go to 28, 19. You have no idea what's going to happen when you get there. The first Sunday. You had no idea what you was about to walk into. Why watch this? Because you have no idea what's on the other side of obedience. And he led them by straight way until they reached a city to dwell in. This is the new city we dwell in. The spiritual family. It's what God did. He led us all together here as a spiritual family. And because of that, let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works, what he's doing in our lives, what he's doing in our church, what he's doing in our midst to the children of men. For he satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul. He fills with good things. This all good and perfect gifts comes down from God above. Because the universe has given you nothing, a created thing. And they thank God for bringing them together as a family. And today we thank God for what he has done in our family. So this is the last time I will talk to you in this room. In a couple minutes, you're going to walk out of these doors for the very last time. And then in three weeks, we will walk into what we believe in God will be our last temporary location. Now, that building we're going to. That building was ugly. It's a big old building. It's hideous. Big old building. Look like a warehouse on the inside. Inside. Just been sitting there abandoned for years. It was yellow and burgundy and there's colors everywhere. And we had to go in there and do our best to fix it up to make it habitable for our family and some million dollar project we spent over there. So for all of you who are faithful givers in 2019, we thank you for your faithfulness. Because of your generosity, we're able to do that. Right? And the same way we had to come in here and put all this, we had to go over there and we had to paint and put up speakers and lights and sound and rip out all the old carpet and fix the bathrooms. And it was, it's a, it's a, it's a, it was a fix upper. And, and, and when we get there, it may not be, it may not be all the way, right? And we, we. Y'all cool with that? And we can. We're not gonna be bo. And we, we're Going to tweak it, and we're going to work it. Watch. And we're going to try to make it as habitable as possible. Watch while we are building the building.

[Matthew Garland]

That we built, that we bought, while.

[Pastor]

We'Re fixing up the building that we bought. So in a few minutes, I'm going to release you. Then next week, we will not gather anywhere. We'll have a separate Sabbath to give rest to all of our servant leaders. The week after that, on April 6th, we will meet online digitally. And then April 13th, I said on April 13th, it will be 2819 at Greenbrier. On April 13th is where we're going to be there together as a family. Okay, April 13th. April 13th. April 13. April 13th. April 13rd. April 13th. No, we'll give you the address in two weeks because we don't want you to pull up two weeks early. Don't want you sneaking around trying to get a peek while we working on this. On April 13th, we'll give you the address a couple days out. We got seats for everybody. And we'll cross over this Jordan into where the Lord has taken us as a family. Anything you want to say to the people.

[Rhonda]

Guys? So this is the last Sunday in this facility. And I was, as I was just standing here, I was thinking about all that's happened in this room. Souls have came to the Lord, Lord. We've worshiped, we've prayed, we've cried. My son Malachi has spent many, many, many hours in this room putting up lights.

[Pastor]

Yeah. He's making 19 doing all of that.

[Rhonda]

Yes. Yes. We've had so many servant leaders put their hand to the plow in this room and in this building, from the musicians to the people working with the kids to parking lot attendants. I mean, everybody has just had their hand to the plow. And I'm just amazed. Amen. Yes. I'm just amazed and in awe of all that God has done, all that he is doing and all that he is going to do. So three weeks, God, yes. We are crossing over into our last temporary facility. And then after that, we're going home.

[Pastor]

We're going home. Can I trust y'all to stand without trying to beat each other to the park? Come on, everybody. Lift your hands. Lift them. High, high. The Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and give you peace. I pray favor and a blessing over your mind, your heart, your homes, your children, your businesses, your entrepreneurial ventures, your spiritual life. May you prosper and thrive in the kingdom. May Lord keep us together as we walk into our next facility. I bless you now in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Go in peace. In Jesus name.