RIDE OR DIE!
Psalm 34 (King James Version)
1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Key Verse: Psalm 34:16
The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Subject: Ride or Die!
Sub Topic: Your Time Is Almost Up!

Ride or Die!
Its funny when you study preaching and preachers. You start to pick up on the various “techniques” that preachers use. You start to notice the clichés and the catch phrases or buzz words that preachers use. We’ve all noticed trends in prosperity preaching. “God’s gonna bless!” “New car!” “New job!” “New house!” “New money!” The preachers neglect to give you the WHOLE truth. They don’t talk about the suffering that you have to go through to get all of these lavish things. But people buy into it. Can you blame them? Not really… We all want to be blessed. And most of us NEED a blessing. Or at least we THINK we need a blessing.
Well, today I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. Most preachers try to give you the bad news first. Death, hell, damnation, etc. Then they tell you how God is going to prosper you, everyone shouts, and then you say what an awesome message that was. Well, my goal today is not to flatter you with God’s goodness. My purpose is to WARN you of the coming danger if you don’t get your life right. PERIOD! We’re going to start with the good news and I’m going to leave you with the sobering bad news.
The GOOD NEWS… If you haven’t noticed, Grace Temple is taking off. I mean, we are REALLY going places.
I came to Grace Temple in August 2002. I was fresh out of college. I had spent the entire summer working at a Bible camp in the scenic Pocono Mountains. I had reaffirmed my calling with God to teach music and to sing His praises. I had dedicated my life to serving His people. And here I was, on my way to the next level in my destiny. I came to the state of Indiana with the purpose of perfecting my craft and finding my future.
Grace Temple was first on the list. Elder Wright and First Lady Wright and the entire Grace Temple family welcomed me with open arms. They even embraced my two roommates. The next thing you knew; I was directing and singing with the choir, helping plan and coordinate events for the church, participating in the audio/visual ministry, and so much more.
My best friend, brother and cousin, Minister Donaldson, was right there accomplishing similar goals; going to school, finding the love of his life, climbing the rungs of the corporate ladder, developing his gift of speaking, writing music and poetry and so many other things.
I really don’t like to refer to 2002 as the rebirth of Grace Temple because I wasn’t there prior to 2002. But, from the outside looking in, I think it would be fair to say that 2002 marked the beginning of a NEW “good thing” here in Anderson. Amen? Amen!
The accomplishments begin to surmount when we start to name them.

In 2003, we saw a lot of firsts and historic moments for Grace Temple.
Our pastor and first lady were elevated to the position of District Elder for regions on the continent of Africa and later the Dominican Republic.
We celebrated our first annual Family and Friends Day.
We hosted our very first Grace N Praise concert.
In 2004, we did it all over again.
This time, we honored our pastor and first lady by commemorating their elevation to Suffragan Bishop with the Inaugural Banquet at the Holiday Inn.
We traveled to the Evansville Convention Center where we ministered at the Apostolic World Christian Fellowship Convention.
We took it to the street with our Outreach Ministry lead by Minister Rachel Donaldson.
Our Youth and Young Adult Ministry hosted their highly attended Hallelujah Party.
We had a Christmas Play, adapted by our own Minister Jermaine Donaldson.
In 2005, we hit the year running.
We went back to Evansville.
We hosted Family and Friends Day 2005.
We expanded our Audio/Visual Ministry to include CD and DVD capabilities.
We traveled to Nashville, Tennessee where God poured out His spirit through our pastor and the choir.
We expanded our Outreach Ministry with new equipment.
We hosted our biggest Back to School Revival to date.
Grace Temple spear headed the City of Anderson Katrina Relief Gospel Concert.
And, we followed up with our beloved neighborhood Hallelujah Party.
And this year… My, oh, my!!! 2006…
Family and Friends Day…
Grace N Praise 2K6…
Grace Temple released their FIRST CD, Heartburn.

Grace Temple is doing it REAL BIG! God is definitely blessing. Grace Temple is an international ministry by default. God is using this house to spread the gospel to the world. As anyone can see, the move of God is on this place. And confirmation through prophecy and physical trends shows that we are headed for greater and higher heights. And because of that, God is worthy of the praise. And because God is WORTHY of the praise, we need to give Him that praise.
So, where do YOU fit into all of this? You need to make a choice today. There are only two choices. Are you with God, or are you against God? And for Grace Temple specifically, we need to know are you with us or are you against us.

Joshua 24:15But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Matthew 6:24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
It’s time to ride or die! You’re either for me or against me.

Romans 8:31
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
If God is for me though, no one can successfully be against me. It’s time to ride or die!
We CANNOT continue to live off the prosperity and blessing of others. I tell the story of how I went to college. But just before I left, my pastor, the Apostle Charles O. Miles, who was great is so many ways went on to be with the Lord all of sudden. He just died. He was healthy. He didn’t have any health problems. But the Lord saw fit to take him. But it took my pastor dying for me to realize that I was on my own. Sure enough, I had lived on my own, but I was now accountable for my own soul. I was in charge of determining my destiny. I had long since reached what we often hear about, the age of accountability. I was old enough to know right from wrong. But more importantly, I was old enough to know the consequences of my actions. The wages of sin is DEATH.
Ride or Die!
When I went to college, I knew I could feast off of the blessings of my parents and my family. I couldn’t rely on Momma and Daddy for everything spiritual any more. I had to get this thing for myself.
A lot of us are walking around today with a hedge of protection granted by God only because of praying parents, aunts and uncles. We need to be aware though, that at any time, God can LIFT that hedge of protection and make us susceptible to the hand of the enemy. Some of us, we’re walking around here like we’re Superman and nothing can harm us. We are all mortal. None of us are free from danger, especially those who don’t know Christ. The only difference is that those who are in Christ Jesus have a secret weapon. It’s the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost keeps us from doing things that we shouldn’t do. It keeps us from being places we shouldn’t be.

Acts 1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
That power is what gives us the ability to follow instructions, to obey. The Holy Ghost is what gives me a song in my heart when peers stab me in my back. The Holy Ghost is what allows me to sing at churches and in choirs when I KNOW the people there don’t like me. I can’t stop doing what God has called me to do because YOU don’t like it. I can’t stop running this race because you have it out for me. You don’t like the way I move. You don’t like the way I direct. You don’t like the stride in my step. You don’t like the length OR the color of my hair. You don’t like the chain around my neck. You don’t like the pitch of my voice. Did I once, ever ask you what you thought about me? Then obviously, I don’t care. If I valued or wanted your opinion, I would have asked you for it.
And that’s how you have to be. Bishop Wright can’t run Grace Temple based on what Elder So-in-So and Bishop So-in-So say about his decisions. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing across town. Bishop has to worry about what’s going on over here. Saying says, “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks.” MIND YOUR BUSINESS!
Holy Ghost! The Holy Ghost helps us mind our own business. The Holy Ghost serves as that Comforter we so desperately need. Some of us pretend like we can’t make it without PHYSICAL INTERACTION with the opposite sex. You need some Holy Ghost. God is all the companion you’ll EVER need. If He can be a mother when you’re motherless and a father when you’re fatherless and a friend when you’re friendless, what makes you think He can’t be a companion when you’re alone? He’s the lover of your soul.
God has set it up for us to enjoy this ride. God is taking us places. And I want you to go with me. I want all of you to be there. I want to see Deaconess Humphrey and ALL of her children. I want to see Sis. Jackson and ALL of her children. I want to see ALL the Wright boys, not just their father.
Some of us have been tagging along for too long. We’re getting to a point where we can’t just show up. The time for spectating is over. The show is about to begin. Everyone who doesn’t have a ticket is going to have to LEAVE the theater. We can’t keep “mooching” off of God and our parents and our saved love ones. Your time of accountability has come. Some of us are LONG over due. Where Grace Temple is headed, everyone can’t go.
The scriptures explain it to us so well. Why ride?
8 O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.
9 O fear the Lord, you His saints [revere and worship Him]! For there is no want to those who truly revere and worship Him with godly fear.
10 The young lions lack food and suffer hunger, but they who seek (inquire of and require) the Lord [by right of their need and on the authority of His Word], none of them shall lack any beneficial thing.
God is GOOD! I am blessed because I trust Him and take comfort in Him. I do not go without because I fear Him. I do not lack anything because I seek the Lord.
Verse 10 says that the young lions lack food and suffer hunger. If you’ve ever seen a young lion, they like to act like they’re tough and strong. The enjoy the wild. They enjoy being outside. They enjoy playing in the sun. But actually, they cannot fend for themselves. They rely on their parents to subdue prey so that they can eat.
Like the young lions, the young people of Grace and Anderson roam the wild, playing. But inside, they do lack nourishment. They suffer hunger. They have that desire for something greater, but never attain it.
My God satisfies me though. He gives me everything I need.
Here’s our warning again. Ride or Die!
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Listen to what the preacher is saying. Obey your parents.
12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
Seeing all men naturally desire happiness, he wonders why they cast themselves willingly into misery.
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Stay away from evil. Don’t run to it. Chase after the positive things in life. Find a wife or a husband. Settle down. Start a family. Get a good job. These are the things that fulfill people’s lives.
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
God is looking out for the righteous. God hears the cries of the saints.
16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
DIE! This is where we die. If you don’t turn from your wicked ways of speaking guile and speaking and doing evil, you DIE. God’s face is AGAINST you. You are CUT OFF from the remembrance of them of the earth. (k) The anger of God not only destroys the wicked, but also abolishes their name forever.
God is someone you DON’T want upset with you. The Bible speaks about how God literally destroyed – not killed, but destroyed. God just slew people. Perfect example… God killed the army that chased the children of Israel at the Red Sea. He didn’t just instantly take their life. God caused a great wall of water to drown and crush them. God didn’t allow man to do that. God did that. God flooded the WORLD and saved Noah and his family. That flood killed EVERYONE and they momma and their pets. God did that. God killed the army that chased the children of Israel at the Red Sea. He didn’t just instantly take their life. God caused a great wall of water to drown and crush them. God didn’t allow man to do that. God did that. God burned up two cities at once when He destroyed Soddam and Gomorrah (with fire and brimstone – a little like hell).

Genesis 19:24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
It’s not a good idea to mess with God. God will KILL you. But physical death isn’t the only risk you run when you play with God. There’s spiritual death. There’s emotional death. There’s financial death. Some of us wonder why our relationships never work out. You wonder why it’s so difficult for you to “feel.” We wonder why we can’t get a job. We wonder why we struggle to pay bills. We wonder why we can’t get a prayer through. Some us are dead emotionally, spiritually, and/or financially.
We didn’t choose to ride. So we died.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
When they seem to be swallowed up with afflictions, then God is at hand to deliver them.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
No one said it was peaches and cream over here. But God will never leave you, nor forsake you. There are going to be rough times. But the Lord delivereth you out of them all.
20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
Evil, not God… But Evil shall slay the wicked. The devil’s going to get his turn to pick at you too. The devil is mean and dirty. He’s going to torture you. You’ll be slain in a long, drawn out way. The devil will mess with you, your children, your family, your loved ones, the people around you, all for the purpose of torturing YOU.
22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
But those that serve Him, God will redeem. God will spare his judgment on those that earnest live for Him. The saved “for real.” Those that know Him for themselves.
It’s ride or die. You can’t hang on to someone else’s salvation for the rest of your life. When you die, you’re still going to hell. The only way out is to get it for yourself.