Sermons of Serenity

Sermons of Serenity

Pastor Hasan Smith

ISBN 979-8-89243-962-6 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89243-963-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Pastor Hasan Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

1

New Body of Christ

2

David's Sermon

3

Do You Know Where You're Going To?

4

Connections/Disconnect Your Connections?

5

Waiting on the Lord (Part 1)

6

Waiting on the Lord (Part 2)

7

Your Gait to Your Gate

8

Exodus 16: The Message in the Manna

9

It Ain't Even Worth It

10

Sowing a Seed in Soil to Succeed (Part 1)

11

Sowing a Seed in Soil to Succeed (Part 2)

12

If You Don't Know Me by Now

About the Author

In loving memory of my father,

Reverend James R Smith

Satan is the author of confusion.

I, Pastor H, author my offering to you, Sermons of Serenity.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

—2 Timothy 3:16–17

Foreword

Serenity, what is the actual meaning of this word? Serenity means a state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. However, we all can probably testify that during these troubled days filled with so much pain, destruction, and evil, this state of mind is difficult to achieve. We seek all sorts of ways to try to gain serenity during these times. I'd like to share with you a blessing that I encountered. I am a person of a particular age, also known as old (LOL). I've experienced a lot, but I have always known the power of God in my life. I've been active in organized religion. I've been in and out of church. There have been times where I have questioned my faith. I've read my Bible as well as many other devotionals and inspirational books. Recently, I had the opportunity of being introduced to a book titled, Sermons of Serenity. Let me tell you, this book has truly blessed my soul!

Sermons of Serenity deals with real-life issues, concerns, fears, doubts, and situations of today that we all, both believers and nonbelievers alike, are facing. Sermons of Serenity was not written as a replacement for reading the Bible, but more as an inspiration and teaching instrument that encourages you to seek to learn more of God's love, mercy, and grace for us all. Although it deals with the reality of how many view the church, worship, and the religious-based philosophy as a whole, this book is totally backed by Scripture and the Word of God. Sermons of Serenity encourages you to want to study the Word and establish a personal relationship with God on your own accord. This book truly blesses as it encourages you to seek the knowledge of God, which will lead you to his peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding as stated in the Word.

A word of introduction to the author. I have personally known this young man all his life. Actually, I gave him life! I've watched him grow from child to man. I've witnessed his trials, tribulations, personal pains, and sufferings. I know that he comes from a place of truth, but most of all a place of love for mankind. His desire in writing this book is to bless us all with another tool that leads us to learn about the love of Jesus Christ and his love for us all! His desire is to assist you in your walk and journey into peace and serenity, which is only achieved through the love of Jesus. Believe me when I say, you don't want to miss the blessings of this book. It is definitely a must-read! Enjoy, Sermons of Serenity.

May God bless you.

Patricia Johnson

Preface

When I began New Body of Christ (NBC), the first thing that I wanted to make clear was that this was not just another church! My motivation and desire for differentiating NBC from other churches was driven by a personal realization that I don't like church! Now as shocking and bold of a statement as that may seem, especially for a pastor, I assure you that there are countless others, possibly even you, who share this sentiment. I can almost bet that if you were to take an inventory of the people that you know and consider as good people, encompassing such qualities as being loving, compassionate, supportive and giving, you would find that many of these individuals do not regularly attend or even belong to a church. My father is an example. The sad reality behind this is that many of these people don't want to be associated with us church folks. I am personally starting to feel as if many churches are turning more people away from God than drawing them to God. Too many Christians have become victims of church hurt. From the Catholic Church down to the rapid growing nondenominational churches, every sort of offense you can imagine has been committed including such acts as people being misused and conned out of their money, overcontrolling churches that forbid you from visiting other churches as well as talking to family members and friends who have left the church, and the most disgraceful and demonic crimes of pedophilia and sexual abuse scandals, which have destroyed families and left victims with permanent scars. I, like many others, have been a victim of church hurt. I, like many others, have gone to what should be a house of healing and love and instead found terminal spiritual illnesses and hatred. It was in church where I've witnessed some of the nastiest arguments and fights. It was in church where I've witnessed the evil looks of judgment and condemnation. Now I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying. I love God. I've just come to a point in my spiritual walk where I don't like church or at least what the church has become! I want to point out that this issue is nothing new. In the Gospel of Matthew 16, you will find the establishing of the church.

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:13–19 KJV)

This was the establishment and is the true church. Now look at what happened no sooner after the church was established. Matthew 16:20–23 reads:

Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:20–23 KJV)

I'm afraid that the church is still an offence to Christ, still savoring not the things that are of God, but those that are of men.

The Word of God, however, is ever necessary to our lives, and now even more than ever! In the Bible, Jesus states that, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Second Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV) states that, All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. I believe that more and more people are beginning to understand this truth, and as a result, people are searching for God like never before. People are looking for help, for knowledge, and for wisdom in the everyday struggles that we all are facing. People want a relationship with God without all the chaos and confusion that sadly enough has become church culture. With all the tragedies upon us, with everything that's going on in the world, with our nation divided, with hearts waxing cold, with so many people giving up, hope is essential! Faith and salvation through Jesus Christ is the only way. The Word of God promises us, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13 KJV). It is in the book of Romans that we learn that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans10:17 KJV). The Apostle Paul also introduces a dilemma explaining, How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things (Roman 10:14–15 KJV)! It is with this biblical truth that God called me to both start New Body of Christ and later to write this first edition of Sermons of Serenity.

In preparation for our first service at NBC, one method of advertisement that we used were church flyers. My target audience for attendees at NBC were the people that I just spoke of who didn't regularly attend or belong to a church. I had been both warned and accused by some of my peers regarding not fishing in another man's pond, meaning stealing any of their members, which I honestly never would have wanted their infections. I strongly believe that the swapping of members is a root cause of the consistent negative issues across the board with many churches. Satan raises as much hell as he can in one house of God, and after that house has fallen, he simply moves on to the next. So again, in trying to separate NBC from the cycle of religious and traditional organizations, I created a two-sided flyer with one side displaying a picture of myself and my wife standing in front of the church building. This side of the flyer also displayed the church contact, service times, and address information as well as the churches logo and motto which read: You are the church, we are the movement!

On the second side of the flyer, we took a very nontraditional approach. Targeting the nonchurchgoers, I wanted to place these flyers in everyday places including local stores and supermarkets, hair salons, barbershops, and restaurants. If you've ever picked up one of these flyers from any of these locations, then you're familiar with the primary purpose of advertising such events as plays, concerts, comedy shows, and clubs. Knowing this, I created the second side of the flyer to look similar to these and draw attention. This side of the flyer read:

Boy did this go over well with some of the local pastors! Prior to these flyers coming out and the opening of the church, I never received even minimal words of encouragement or support from my peers. But once the flyers hit, these same peers congregated and plotted to destroy my name. They had to know that I wasn't truly planning on starting a club at church, even though that's what most of them had going on anyway. But to this day, I'm not sure if they were just jealous that they didn't think of the idea first or if they were upset because I was already targeting and tearing down their traditions!

With our first worship service at NBC, what I wanted to do was begin to lay the foundation of NBC. This foundation began by discussing who we are and what this New Body of Christ (NBC) stuff is all about. What are we talking about? When you walked through the doors of the church, you saw on the wall a large banner that displayed the church motto: You are the church!!! We are the movement! I knew some were wondering, what does that mean? I knew some people just heard that there was a new church and came just out of curiosity. We all know that folks are nosy! So some people that came to this first service only came to see who we were or even who all was there. People came to see if there was anything to it or again was this just another church? Was this just another fashion show? Was I just another pimp—excuse me, I meant pastor! Hey, I'm gon' keep it real again. We all know what folks say! But some people simply came to see was I just another pastor entertaining, showing off, singing. Others may have come to see how good and entertaining the choir or praise team would be, of which I had neither.

Some people came to see if it was just some more folks clubbing in church, you know dancing, the preacher whooping. In case you don't know what whooping is, whooping is a form of preaching and entertainment that originated in the black church, which includes heavy breathing, moaning, screaming, and singing at levels commonly heard only by pastors and heavy metal singers. Some came to see if I was just another pastor begging for money so that he can buy his suits and drive his Cadillac. I actually do drive a Cadillac, but let's clear that stereotype up, I work! I brought that truck before I was preaching! So don't let folks spread none of that mess about me being no pimp in the pulpit!

So what's this New Body of Christ all about? Well, right off the top, I began to kill many of the stereotypes. I began to separate and disassociate myself and NBC from what a lot of folks sadly enough have gotten familiar with or used to with churches! The first stereotype is the fashion show. For the first Sunday service at NBC, when the people arrived, they saw me standing up there in my T-shirt. Now the reason that me and some of the leadership as well were wearing the T-shirts was first because it was hot outside, and second, I wanted to kill the whole church clothes history and tradition! There is no such thing as church clothes! When I had the flyers made for the start of NBC, I specifically put on the flyer, No dress code. Come as you are!

Now I know some people feel as if you should dress up to come to church (I'll deal with that in a minute). Some might have seen me up there and thought that because I'm not suited and booted that I didn't look like a pastor. My response to that is what does a pastor look like? Because I am a pastor! I am what God called me to be, whether I'm wearing this T-shirt or if I was fresh to death in my three piece-suit all the way down to my Stacy Adams! Fellas, y'all know some of y'all still got some Stacy Adams!

I wanted people to know that when they came to NBC, you could come as you are! Come in whatever it is that you have and know that there wouldn't be any smirks, evil looks, or funny faces staring; although I must admit that I'm pretty silly, so if you did come in wearing something crazy you might see me smiling at you, like, Girl, you wearing them polka dots, or Player, I see you in your mandarin suit! But seriously, I had to kill this tradition from the start. Come as you are! Based on how I was feeling, some weeks I wore suits and some weeks when it was hot outside, hey, I'm sorry, but I wasn't about to burn up trying to impress anybody! The truth of the matter is that some folks don't have any church clothes! And again, what are church clothes? Church clothes are what your mama used to tell you to take off before you went outside to play because if you messed them up you knew what was going to happen!

The next thing that I had to murder, the next thing I had to lay to rest, was the perception that the pastor should entertain you. I was not there to entertain you! I apologize, I'm sorry. I'm on an assignment from God! God has a calling on my life and that calling was not to entertain you, so if you want entertainment, if entertainment is what you are looking for, I encourage you to find that! There are many concerts and festivals that I am sure are going on, and I wholeheartedly encourage you to buy a ticket! I don't sing, and although I think I can, my wife for some reason who I think is hating on me, insists on telling me that I can't sing! I also don't do the footwork, for those of you that have ever seen a preacher go off into his dance. I don't have my holy juke down to a groove.

Now I know I'm really about to make somebody mad, but if you are the type of person that feels like the pastor hasn't preached to you unless he whoops and hollers at you, then let me apologize beforehand for not preaching…to you! Again, I am on assignment from God, and that is not my assignment! That's not what God called me to do! I am not here to entertain you! All that whooping and hollering, getting it in, look, if whooping and hollering at people actually worked, if whooping and hollering could get them demons out of some of these so-called church folks; if it could stop some of these attacks from the enemy that folks is really struggling with every day, then there really wouldn't be any need for NBC. There would be no need for God to have called me, yet another pastor! Churches all over the world would be full. People all over the world would be saved! But to keep it real, folks out here with real problems, and by real I'm talking about the ones that are battling with some real strongholds, some real trials and tribulations, folks that are really trying to change their life, their predicament, or their situation. These folks are tired of that!

I'm sure you've heard or had this conversation before: Girl, we had church today. Pastor showed out! He whooped and hollered all up and down that church! That's crazy! Pastors have made a name for themselves based on their whooping and hollering and not the content of their message! You actually will hear people talking about pastor so and so is a bad boy! Why? Because he can breathe and talk like Darth Vader or Chewbacca all over the microphone in the pulpit? What does that accomplish? There's no power in that! Honestly, Satan is having a ball with that! Truth be told, some of these preachers and pastors are so good at whooping and hollering because that's all they are used to doing while Satan is busy whipping them all week! Anybody that has kids, and you know when you got to touch them up or if you can remember when you were a kid, like when I was a kid and I would get to the point where like the old folks used to say, I was smelling myself. I'd be done got in some trouble or some mess where I earned a good touch-up! And my mama (yeah, I'm telling Ma). Boy, I could whoop and holler! Ahhh! Please! No, Mama! Jesus! Help! I hope I haven't offended anybody!

The pastor is writing about how he whips his kids! Yes, I do! It's a lot of other folks that need to whip their kids too! People was mad when they heard about Pastor Creflo dollar in the news. Pastor Creflo didn't do anything wrong! Some of these kids nowadays are to the point where they have no fear! I'm gon' keep it real at NBC! We are a Bible church, and in case you didn't know that it was in your Bible! Proverbs 13:24 says that he who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. So as we often hear, it doesn't say spare the rod spoil the child, but whoever paraphrased it they were close enough!

Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell (Proverbs 23:13–14).

If you don't discipline your children, if you don't put any fear—and when I say fear, I mean fear in the sense of reverence—in your kids, then that's why little Suzie and Johny be cussing you out and they are only ten years old! If they cuss you out, what do you expect that the teacher can do with them? And we know what the police gon' do when they get them! So I don't care