The Right Fragrance: “A Crushed Rose Produces the Greatest Fragrance” a Collection of Sermons

By Beverly Thomas

The Song of Songs, which is Solomons. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee (Song of Solomon 1:13). Our Lord is our great, great love, and we will do anything for Him because He first loved us. When the fragrance of our sins flooded His Fathers nostrils, all of heaven was searched for a remedy so that we could be united with God the Father. Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, volunteered to come to earth to face death and be crushed on a wooden cross to pay mans debts once and for all. He is our Rose of Sharon. I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys (Song of Solomon 2:1). His death on the cross and the shedding of sinless blood generated the sweetest fragrance all the way to heaven, which provided a way for all men to be free.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504900850

Beverly Thomas

Reverend Beverly D. Thomas is a pastor, evangelist, television producer, writer, and celebrated author. Rev. Thomas is the senior pastor of A Passion for Christ Ministries in Chicago, Illinois, which has been established with more than nineteen churches. The Gospel is spread through tapes, music, television, skits, and literature all over the city, state, and abroad. Pastor Thomas has taken three missionary journeys throughout South Africa, spreading the redemptive message of Jesus Christ. The Light Still Shines (PFC) broadcast is produced and directed by Rev. Thomas and is broadcasted weekly on WJYS-62/Oxford Media Group television each Saturday morning. Through such ministries as Cater-the-Word, A Passion for Christ Ministries is reaching those persons who are unable to come to the church. One of her greatest emphases is on the youth. Through such programs as the Teen Forum, the youth are able to come and receive strength from leaders within the church as well as outside leaders who are invited to come and encourage them.

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

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Published by AuthorHouse 03/11/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-0086-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-0085-0 (e)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PART 1 WHAT IS THAT YOU’RE WEARING?

Chapter 1 The Right Fragrance

Chapter 2 The Right Fragrance

Finding Your Place

Chapter 3 The Right Fragrance

Do You Recognize Love?

Chapter 4 Black Ice

PART 2 WITHOUT LOVE

Chapter 5 The Lamb Of God

Chapter 6 A Loose Woman

Chapter 7 The One Lie That Wrecked The World

Chapter 8 Casting Light Into The Darkness

PART 3 DECIDE

Chapter 9 Find Your Place With God

Chapter 10 Find Your Place With God

The Life Of Moses

Chapter 11 Find Your Place With God

What Do You Want To Do With Your Life?

Chapter 12 It Is Morning, No Longer Midnight

Chapter 13 Follow Up Close

PART 4 TOUGH LOVE

Chapter 14 To Practice Fornication: The Church Infected With The Spirit Of Corinth

Chapter 15 Let The Discipline Of The Holy Spirit Bring You Into The Greatness Of God

Chapter 16 What Will It Take?

Chapter 17 Climbing A Mountain

PART 5 THE LOST ALL AROUND US

Chapter 18 The Salvation Army

Chapter 19 The Salvation Army

The Lost All Around Us

Chapter 20 The Sinner’s Prayer

More books by Beverly D. Thomas

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is dedicated to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who has redeemed me with His precious blood. I love you Jesus.

A Passion For Christ Ministries – You all are my heart.

A special note of thanks to everyone who typed, proofed, edited or contributed in any way toward the completion of this great work.

To my pastor, teacher and evangelist, Reverend Ernest Angley of Ernest Angley’s Grace Cathedral, thank you for sharing your work with me and allowing me to use that work in my books.

The Right Fragrance is a collection of sermons delivered to my congregation. At different times, while you are reading this great work, you may feel like you are actually there in the congregation. I pray that you will enjoy it.

The Sinner’s Prayer is captured at the end of each Part.

God Bless You, is my prayer.

Yours with a Passion for Souls,

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Pastor, A Passion for Christ Ministries

PART 1

WHAT IS THAT YOU’RE WEARING?

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CHAPTER 1

THE RIGHT FRAGRANCE

Have you ever been in a store looking for a favorite cologne? Or ladies, maybe you wanted some perfume, and out of all the fragrances, you just couldn’t find the right one. Maybe you are sensitive to certain types, or some of those really loud smells get to you. When you find the right fragrance you tend to wear it all the time. People have often commented on this one particular perfume I enjoy wearing; it’s simple, soft and inexpensive; it mixes well with my body chemistry. It’s the right fragrance for me! Some people, they like very expensive perfumes or colognes. The Lord wants to encourage you today; you need the right fragrance; the fragrance that mixes well with your personality. The Lord wants to encourage you to get the right fragrance started at home and then that wonderful, glorious fragrance will follow you to the house of God.

UNTYING GOD’S HANDS

Two of my favorite books are Leeching of the Mind¹ and Untying God’s Hands.² I will be making reference to some valuable information from both of those books. If you don’t have them, they are essential tools you need in your library. They are great studying tools. You can get them from our home church’s website³.

In order to have the right fragrance, you need to find out if the fragrance compliments with your body chemistry? Jesus was telling His disciples about what they were getting into. Oftentimes, people get engaged or married, or start having children, or purchase a car, or purchase a home, while not really considering what they have gotten themselves into. So, in order to have the right fragrance, to bring that aroma into the church, one will need to sit down and face what they have gotten themselves into. Some people get married to get out of mama’s house; some people get married because they have low self-esteem and they think that other person can define them – make them better – complete them. Some people have children because they lack love, and they think bringing a child into this world will give them love but it doesn’t. People do things for various reasons, but the Lord is saying that He wants you to be sure that you know what you’re getting into when you chose Him. Luke 14:25-28 say, And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Of course, Jesus wasn’t saying to literally hate people; to hate your kin, but He is saying, If you don’t despise their influence, that will draw you away from Me, then you can’t follow Me, because that means you have more than one master. That’s what Jesus was talking about; He’s talking about the influence that others may have over you. Again, verse 27 says, And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So many times people can be great initiators; some people are so much in a hurry; they have so many brilliant ideas. They may start ten projects at once, but will never follow through and finish many of them. It’s like that in many churches. Where are the willing workers; where are the volunteers? Most want money, money, money. They are clock watchers and won’t stay one minute more for the Lord’s work. It’s amazing.

SIT DOWN AND THINK

The Lord is saying, If you don’t sit down and think about the commitment needed to do His work, you’re not going to be my disciple. You’re not going to be His disciple, because you’re not going to stay. Again, He said for which of you. He’s talking to you today, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? All of us can find ourselves in that verse of scripture. People are good initiators. Some of you will go out and buy a brand new car, even though you know up front you will not be able to afford it in the long run. You know deep within you should have bought a used car until you were able to move up to something else. People want, want, and want. Some want to buy a condo, but right now that is not feasible. Some of you spend way over your limits, and so it is the same in Christianity. In serving the Lord, people will raise their hand to everything [in front of everyone else]. They want to be on every committee. They want others to see them in the army of the Lord but it’s all just for show. When it comes to meet the demand, some feel like people are being cruel. But you signed up, nobody forced you. The Lord didn’t force you to be saved! He didn’t force you to have the blood on your soul. He said whosever will. He said, Oh yeah, and by the way, let Me tell you what you’re getting into.

The right fragrance. All of these things have to start at home. You want to bring the right aroma into the church. People come to church, they smell good, they look good, but their home is in such disarray; it doesn’t add up. Shambles, Shambles. You have to find your place. Charity begins at home. You love the people at the church; on your job; in the marketplace, but have no patience with those right under your roof. You will be quick to forgive your brother or sister at church, but not your own companion at home. You can step on someone’s foot in the church, but if you accidently step on your father’s foot at home, it’s going to be on. So you have to have the right fragrance. You can only pretend for so long. The real you is going to come out! When you have the right fragrance, when you arrive home, it will show up, without fail. Luke 14:29-30 says, Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Think about that. Let’s say you’ve laid the foundation; you signed up for the choir. Jesus said be careful. He said you started it, but you couldn’t finish it. You started it, but you couldn’t finish it. People offer a ride to others but they are not sincere but feel obligated or want to be seen. Some of you will say so lightly, If you ever need me, call me, but you don’t really mean that. You deceive your own heart. Reverend, if you ever need anything, but you don’t mean that, and you can’t finish what you said.

The Lord wants to encourage you to take on the right fragrance, and you have to start out by sitting down and thinking about the cost. What is the cost of discipleship? The Lord plainly told you that you have to deny yourself. Jesus has to come first in your life. No more sin. If you’re living together, you have to get married or get going. You know if you’re engaging in relations outside of marriage, then you have to get married, or you got to keep yourself until the Lord sends you somebody. You can’t go down those old paths. You can’t have it both ways – God and the world. It’s either or. When you’re right with God, fragrance will come pouring forth into the church; my God, you’re talking about power, you’re talking about Mount Sinai power.

TRAIN UP A CHILD

Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Notice that, train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is all grown up, he will not depart from it. This scripture has been misconstrued down through the years. People take it out of context by saying, If I bring my child up in the church, when they get old, he won’t leave God. No, that’s not what this scripture is saying. Often preacher’s kids are some of the worst to deal with. This portion of scripture is saying that seed [the Word of God, the Love of God] will be implanted in them, so that if they go away, the word is in them to draw them back, if they ever really want God. You can’t instruct a child to go a way you’re not going. You can’t tell your child not to watch nudity, cursing, and all of this stuff coming on during the family hour, but you send them in there to watch T.V. so you can shut the door and entertain pornography on the computer. That will not work. Your kids know you. They know what you’re doing when you close that door; they know when someone is in your house for sex when dad is at work or away on a business trip. Your children are learning from your conversations and from your actions. They know if you holy or not. The right fragrance. You’re sending mixed signals. The seed, according to Proverbs, will be planted in them and then it will be up to them.

DON’T GET MARRIED!

Can two walk together, except they be agreed (Amos 3:3)? If you fuss while you’re dating, don’t get married! Save yourself a lot of heartache and despair. If you are already boxing, you will deceive yourself (women) into thinking you can change a grown person. You can’t do it. We can’t save one person. We can’t change the lives of one. We can’t do it. It’s not in man. It says can two walk together except they be agreed? So many homes are in disarray. People fight over money, sex, religion and power. The kids come to the husband, and he says one thing. The kids run back and tell mama what daddy said. Instead of mamma and daddy coming together, having an agreement, the kids are playing mama and daddy, and the parents end up the loser, because they failed to get the right fragrance in the beginning. If you are not careful, those kids will have you guys going at each other; you never let your kids come in between your marriage; they must see a united front. All children should be treated equally. They know you and they are watching. 1st Corinthians 13:11 says, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. I understood as a child: physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. I thought as a child, because that’s all I could understand. Paul says but, which means something happened, something became different. He said when I became a man, I put away childish things. Now, what are you going to look like, a mom trying to run with your teenage daughters, there’s no example there? You are to be parents to your children, not their playmates. Maturity doesn’t have anything to do with your size or your age. Nothing to do with it. Paul spoke from experience when he said, I put away childish things. Holding grudges, won’t forgive; go to bed without speaking to your companion, how foolish. They may not wake up or you might not wake up. Then how will you feel? How foolish. Bickering, fussing, and complaining over nothing. Some of you have the riches of heaven, and you don’t even realize it. You complain, mumble, and grumble so much! You don’t have the right fragrance. You don’t have the right fragrance, how could you?

THE LOVE CHAPTER

1st Corinthians the 13th chapter, the love chapter is a great example of the right fragrance. People have to get their lives in order. You have to get your homes in order. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal (I Corinthians 13:1). You have the appearance that you are doing something, but you are hollow on the inside. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing (verse 2). Paul says, so what. You got all this power but without love, you’re not going to use the power right. Without love, you’re not going to administer wisdom right. Without love, you’re not going to have discipline over your children. Without love, you’re going to say the wrong thing to your companion at the wrong time.

I Corinthians 13:3 says, And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Paul is saying, What was the point? So, if we don’t do things in love, it’s a waste. It’s a waste. And that’s the reason why so many are not able to face discouragements and disappointments in their marriages and relationships, with their kids and relatives. Some of you haven’t spoken to one another in years. Why? Because last year or maybe two years ago you had Thanksgiving over at you house, and they didn’t send you a card. They didn’t say Thank you. And you know I helped my brother out. You know he was in trouble, and he called me. You were disappointed because you expected someone to acknowledge what you did; you didn’t do it from you heart. I thought you did stuff for others out of the kindness of your heart? You don’t have the right fragrance, and when you get into the services, your mind is numb. Your heart is hardened. How can you get anything out of the services? How can you be delivered? How can you be set free? How can the Lord move for you? Why should He? You don’t have the right fragrance. The word says it’s a sweet smelling savor. The only way you can get a fragrance out of a rose is to smash it; to crush it. And when Jesus Christ died, the Bible declares that the sun didn’t even shine; it was dark. God the Father had to turn away from His only Son, because Jesus bore all of our filth, all of our sins, all of your hypocrisy. But later on, when He was resurrected, that was a sweet smelling savor was flowing in the nostrils of God, because I could be made free, a way had been made for me – for your to live sin-free, You could be white as snow.

CHARITY [LOVE]

I Corinthians 13:4-5 says, Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. Notice that, you married people and parents. Love suffers long. Love suffers long. I think oftentimes about something my father told me when I started the adoption process of my two youngest kids, Daniel and Shawneice. Daniel came into my home when he was about eight months. He is just as much my son, as Lafayette, my oldest is. My daddy told me right from the beginning, You have to be in it for the long haul. He told me that, and I’ll never forgot it. You can’t just walk into people’s lives and leave when it’s inconvenient for you. It’s the same with church. You get mad at somebody, so you don’t come to church for weeks. We’re all being affected, because I don’t have your smile to give me a little bit more joy. You don’t know how much I and others depend on you to come and share words of kindness with me and your brothers and sisters in the Lord. You’re not in it for the long haul, and it’s selfishness. Maybe somebody else in the congregation was depending on those encouraging words you always have to share. I’m concerned about my people when they are absent. When you’re not sick, when you’re sick, when you’re not feeling well in your body, I’m praying, Lord, get them good. That means you can’t perform at your best potential. That means you can’t give all, you can’t serve all, and the people here [speaking to her congregation] need you to give all.

He said love suffereth long. How many, many times that thought has crossed my mind Mama, you have to be in it for the long haul, my daddy told me. See, it’s easy to start something. It’s easy to put on a front and have a show. But to have the right fragrance, love suffers long. And that’s a powerful sentence. Some people don’t want to take anything. They will join a church and then expect everything to go their way. You don’t have the right fragrance. Love is about giving, having compassion, and being understanding, and allowing people the benefit of the doubt. Some of y’all, I’m convinced y’all were there when they crucified Jesus. They said do you want Christ or Barabbas? Some of y’all were there saying Barabbas. I’m convinced of it. Y’all are ready to take each other to the stake. You come in the church office huffing [referring to her congregation]. I have to say right away, Cool down before you have a cardiac arrest up in here. Smoke’s coming out of your nostrils. Sit down. Then, What was it about? They don’t speak to me. I’m like, You were doing all that huffing for that? Little precious thing had something on their mind. They were looking at you, but their thoughts were someplace else. And you’re so selfish. Sit down. Love suffers long, and it’s what? It’s kind, not jealous. Envy not, don’t vaunt itself. It’s not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly. Seeketh not her own (I Corinthians 13:5(b)). Now, that’s powerful. The right fragrance.

SERVING OTHERS

To have the right fragrance, you have to have the right attitude toward serving others. When that sweet fragrance comes in the church, Wow! That’s something. See, you’re trying to come to church and be one way, but you’ve been battling, fighting, kicking, boxing and all that stuff at home. And that stuff comes into the service with you. Some of you come in so angry. How can you get something out of the service? Some of you come in, and I know y’all been fighting on the way to the services. I know y’all been fighting. Then, you want to come in and sing, How Great Thou Art. I don’t think so. Somebody in the congregation is missing out, because your voice isn’t anointed, because now you’re mad. So, now that precious one won’t get what they need. Maybe it wouldn’t been in the message; what they need might be in your singing, and you’re pouring yourself out through the song. But you can’t pour yourself out, because you are still mad from fighting. So many today, don’t even get ready for the services; they just jump up, giving no thought to the Sunday school lesson; the mind has not been made ready. You’re not prepared to serve. When you get up in the morning, you should collect yourself. Don’t just get up. When you get up in the morning, get yourself in the right frame of mind. Maybe you didn’t sleep too well. That’s not my fault, or your kids’, or your wife’s, or your husband’s fault. You got to get the right fragrance again. You got to stir it up in the morning. Relax. Collect yourself. Some of you work all day like dogs. Then, when you come to church you yawn all throughout the entire service and some, not even conscious that they are in church, yawn very loud; they want everyone to know they are tired. Then, there are the clock watchers, just watching. And you didn’t have to do that all day. You could’ve given yourself a little more time. Now, somebody else sees you’re not into it. They came in the services happy, wanting to see what God has for them. Now, they’ve contaminated by your spirit, because you didn’t have the right fragrance. Now they’re tired, burdened down. Now, the whole church is just mmmmm, because you don’t have the right fragrance. Is not easily provoked. Uh oh. We got some boxers in here. Huh? Thinketh no evil.

LOVE NEVER FAILS

I Corinthians 13:7 says, Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things. Man, you should read that verse every day. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things. Verse 8 says, Charity [love] never fails people. They never fail. And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity [love] (verse 13). The greatest of these is charity. The greatest gift you can give to your kids, to your wife, to your husband is love. Everybody needs love, everybody wants love. I don’t care what they do. We go to these rehab places and talk to young people infested with drugs. They all have different stories, but the theme is the same, Mama wasn’t there, and Daddy wasn’t there. You know, there’s so much abuse going on now with our children. In some of the homes, a lot of the teachers have to raise our kids. So many of our kids, right in our neighborhood, are homeless. You know, you see them at three or four in the morning without a shirt or shoes, hair hasn’t been combed in days. The right fragrance. And the poor teachers in the school, their hands are tied. What can they do? They‘re becoming psychologists and social workers, because so many parents have lost the right fragrance. If nothing else, when we were coming up our stuff was clean and pressed. We were clean. We may not have had a lot, but our stuff was clean, it was pressed, our hair was combed. Mama pressed our hair, and we were clean and neat. That’s all they need. You don’t need a whole lot of stuff; that can blind you. You got too much stuff, many of you, as it is; it preoccupies you, because you don’t have the right fragrance. We need the right fragrance in our homes today. We need the right fragrance. And you know what? Love begins at home. Some people, they married people even though maybe they weren’t saved. They were unequally yoked. You can’t do anything about that now. Maybe marriage isn’t all you thought it was going be. Where’s the commitment? Where is the love? So many people join a church today, and if it doesn’t work out, they just go to another church. Wow!

MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS ARE IN HELL!

There is a story The Deceit of Lucifer⁴, Chapter 3: An Unfulfilled Mission. It was about a mom. She said it so well. This mother confessed how when her kids were young, she turned away from God. She had two twin daughters. I think they were sixteen years old, and they had an accident one day while coming home from a wild part. This is a true and accurate account. When they were younger, she just gave up on discipline, which means she gave up on love. This mom turned away from God. She stopped going to church, stopped serving God. Since she wasn’t serving God, they didn’t have to serve God either. She went the way of the world. She reached out for the wrong things. Then, one night when her girls were sixteen, they were coming home from a wild party, the driver was drunk, lost control of the car, and ran into the back of a truck of lumber. The girls were killed. Now, the fact that they were coming from a wild party lets you know they weren’t saved, because we don’t party. Do we? So, how could they be in heaven? A wild party. How could they be in heaven? Think about how that mom suffered. Our pastor said that she was screaming because she was in such agony. The man of God said if there was ever a person on earth who was in hell, it was that lady who was suffering, and she had died deaths. When the accident happened, she knew it was her fault. We have to fight for our kids. We can’t just throw our hands up and say, You know, Johnny is sixteen now and uh. We got to have those antennas up. The devil is out to destroy the family structure, he’s out to destroy marriages.

The word says, What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder (Matthew 19:6). You don’t need the devil, you’re doing it yourselves. Marriage is supposed to be until death do us part. That’s what it’s supposed to be about. My question today is what’s going to happen to the kids? So, now you’re tired of this. You don’t have the right fragrance anymore. You’re battling with Did they break you up? You weren’t really committed anyway, because you wouldn’t have broken up. But those little precious ones, they don’t know that. Every child wants a mother and a father. Every child wants a parent. Every child needs a father; needs a mother. My companion would show up at school different times -unannounced. This served two points. One to let the child know and two, to let the school and teachers know that we care about our children. We cannot negate our responsibility as parents, because stuff gets hard. You can’t let go of your responsibility because things aren’t what you want them to be. Husbands and wives, you can’t do that. Christians, you can’t do that, because now the battle is on. You’re in the valley of war. Jesus said if they hated me, they’re going to hate you. In the midst of all that, He kept the right fragrance. Did you see Him dying, telling them Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Jesus kept the right fragrance, and that’s why He rose on resurrection morning with the right fragrance. Jesus still had it; it didn’t leak out. And we’re benefiting from the wonderful aroma called salvation. The right fragrance.

Perhaps one marriage partner is not saved. So, do you just leave them? No, no, uh. You have to work it out. You have to talk to one another. You have to communicate. And parents, you have to yield to God’s love. You can’t turn your heads when there’s a problem in the home, in the marriage, with your children, in the school, or on the job. That’s the worst thing you can do. You have to face things head on. You have to face problems head on in life. If some of you look back in your life, you see right now how your life could have been different. If you would have dealt with problems as soon as they came up, instead of letting them just go on and on, disseminating, getting bigger and bigger. You’re thinking about it now, Now, if I would’ve just did that right in the beginning. Sort of like a disconnection notice. You try to call up and make bill payments, but they say, Ma’am, when you get the pink slip we can’t reason with you. That doesn’t happen to y’all. You get a disconnection notice; you call up trying to reason with them. They say you’re late for disconnection. Once the notice goes out, we can’t reason with you. You have to pay it all. Now, you could have made (listen to this, just listen) payment plans, could have paid in installments, you could have changed the date that you wanted to pay the bill. But now you have no choices, because you didn’t act in time. Anybody with me? That’s all right, I’ve learned to talk to myself. I use my own self as an example all the time, because I know about them notices. And I know when you get one of them in the mail, they’re not trying to talk to you. Some of these companies, like the gas and light companies, don’t call them on Mondays. They just look at the light; they don’t even answer it. You can be on the phone for hours.

TWO WORLDS

You can’t let things build up and progress. Misunderstandings erupt into grudges, unforgiveness and then, you try to come to church. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard. You can’t perform if you’re really sincere, really honest, you really love the Lord in your heart. It’s impossible. It’s like two worlds. It’s two worlds, and you’re trying to get something from God. You want the Lord to help you, but only He and you know. He’s not hearing you if you have unforgiveness in your heart. If you’re holding a grudge, He’s not listening to you till you get that mote out of your own eye. Then, you come forth with the right fragrance and He says, Oh, I recognize that. What’s going on? We let things go on and on and on and on and fester on the job. We don’t talk to people at home. We’re not promised tomorrow yet, we go on not speaking to each other in the church. It’s ridiculous! Before you know it, time won’t be no more, and you’re going to be the loser. You’re going to be the loser. Young people, it’s not as easy as you think, looking over into somebody else’s fence, wanting to be a woman, wanting to be a man. How many times I wish I could just go home and lay in my mama’s bed. One night it was storming. This was when I was very young. Man, I use to be scared of the thunder. Boom! Wow! Boom! And I was screaming. (Aww) I had got on the floor. I was crawling. My mother was screaming at me from the other room, Beverly! I was screaming like somebody was stabbing me. I was on the floor, and it seemed like that lighting started coming closer and closer to me. You know your imagination. I was like Aww! I was a very emotional child. Mama. Finally, I got my nerves, I rolled on to the floor, and I was crawling. Beverly! Beverly! Get in here! Get on in here! You know she wanted to go back to sleep. She didn’t care about the thunder, me hollering or nothing. I was just keeping her from sleep. I‘m like, Mama, something going to get me! Mama! You can imagine what she said to me. So, here I am crawling, looking at the window. I’m crawling, screaming my eyes out. Finally, I make it to that bed. Boy, I was like Canaan! Boy, I got up in that bed and laid behind my Mama. Boy, I was like heaven on earth! She was fussing, Just go to sleep! Shut your mouth. Shut your mouth! Boy that thunder was coming at me! I was like, Aww. If I screamed too much, I start wheezing. I was crawling on the floor, like going through a desert or something. When I finally got in that bed I was like, Man, I made it! I don’t know what Mahalia was talking about, but I made it to that bed. It was like Canaan.

TAKING TOO MUCH FOR GRANTED

Sometimes as a leader, as a parent you look for that just to get the understanding. Sometimes our children don’t recognize what they had and have in that protection of a parent, like having the protection of a godly leader, or even in your marriages, having that companion to go home to that you can be real with. You, sometimes, take too much for granted, and it deceives you. You won’t have the right fragrance when you come to church. You think that bickering and complaining causes your ears to become dull to what you really have. When you’re always complaining, you’re always fussing; you can’t see how good God has been to you. Other people look at you and envy you. They want your life. They would love to have their own place. They would love it. But you can’t see how good you have it, because all you do is complain. You don’t have the right fragrance. Some of you in the church will even talk somebody out of a healing. You’ll talk them out of a healing. They come in feeling a little weak, and instead of you saying, Let the Reverend pray for you, you’ll be going, Child, me too! Now, how’s that going to encourage them? You know they just don’t feel good today. It happens to all of us; come to church, little body be in pain. I just keep my aches and pains to myself. You got to learn to talk faith. God will. God is. God will. God is. God will. God is. The right fragrance.

This all has to do with our services. We were talking about how to have effective services. It all starts at home. Where’s your family altar? Where’s the family time? Where’s the family altar? Where’s the family time? To spend with your family. What happens? What replaced that? We do so much unnecessary stuff that doesn’t even need to be done. It just doesn’t need to be done. Hmm. And you know physical attraction alone is a poor foundation for marriage, because we all grow up, spread, and lose hair. I mean, I don’t look like I did when I was fifteen. I’m glad I look a little older. But physical attraction is deceptive. Some have less hair than maybe they had a few years ago. Amen. Would you say Amen to that? Some of us, we have a little bit more pounds, a few more inches, but I am still who I am, and you are still who you are.

You deceive ourselves and you go shopping for a mate. The Bible says, a man that finds a wife. You ever go beyond the skin. Then, you’re in trouble. Then, you want to come to the Reverend and want me to try and put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but I can’t. We want to have the right fragrance. We want to have the right fragrance at home, so we can bring that fragrance into the church. We need to bring that fragrance into the church. The Lord said that a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the