People's Church Herbert Cooper

People's Church of OKC is a multi-cultural church designed with you in mind. Senior Pastor, Herbert Cooper.

1 Samuel 24:3–7 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. (NIV)

1 Samuel 26:7–10 So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. 8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? 10 As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. (NIV)
2 Samuel 9:1 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (NIV)

2 Samuel 9:7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” (NIV)

5 Ways To Turn Your Pain Into Purpose

1. Pray for those who hurt you

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, (NKJV)

Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (NIV)

2. Forgive those who hurt you

Matthew 6:14–15 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV)

3. Talk to the person not about the person

Matthew 18:15–17 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. (NLT)

Ephesians 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. (NLT)

4. Do good to the people who hurt you

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, (NKJV)

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (NIV)

Romans 12:19–20 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  (NIV)

5. Let God heal your heart

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (NIV)

Psalm 34:18 If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; i

James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (NIV)

James 1:3-4 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV)

James 1:12- Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (NIV)

Genesis 22:1- Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. (NIV)

Psalm 105:19 Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character. (NLT)

Exodus 16:4-Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. (NIV)

Job 23:10- But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. (NIV)

Psalm 139:23–24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (NIV)

5 Tests You Need To Pass

1. Forgotten test 

1 Samuel 17:15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. (NIV)

2. Failure test

3. Family and friends test

4. Finance Test 

1 Samuel 17:20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. (NIV)

1 Samuel 17:15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. (NIV)

Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (NIV)

5. Fight Test
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (NIV)

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV)

2 Corinthians 8:21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. (NIV)

Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (NIV)

1. Distracted by the approval of people
1 Samuel 16:5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. (NIV)

1 Samuel 16:11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” (NIV)

1 Samuel 17:33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 2:4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. (NIV)

2. Distracted by what others possess

3. Distracted by the harsh words of people 

1 Samuel 17:28–29  When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” (NIV)
1 Samuel 17:42–44 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” (NIV)

1 Samuel 17:45–47 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (NIV)

4. Distracted by the requests of people
1 Samuel 17:38–40 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. (NIV)

Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (NIV)

1. Guard your heart from things that dull your spiritual sensitivity.

Proverbs 4:23 - 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. NIV

Psalm 1:1 - 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, NIV

Psalm 101:3 - I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. NLT

2. Fill your life with things that align your heart with God’s.

Psalm 119:97, 103 –- Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! NIV

Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. NIV

Psalm 26:8 – Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells. NIV

Psalm 27:4 - The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. NLT

Psalm 84:10 - One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. MSG

Psalm 27:8 - My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. NIV

3. Learn to lead your thoughts.

Psalm 1:1-2 - Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

2 Cor. 10:5 - 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV

Colossians 3:2 - 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  NIV

Romans 12:2 - 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV

Philippians 4:8 - 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ESV

1. The preparation process develops your calling  

2. The preparation process develops your anointing 

1 Samuel 16:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. (NIV)

2 Samuel 5:10 And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him. (NIV)

3. The preparation process develops your character 

Psalms 78:72- And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (NIV)

4. The preparation process develops your skills

Psalms 78:72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (NIV)

5. The preparation process develops your relationships 

1 Samuel 19:1–2 Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David 2 and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. (NIV)

6. The preparation process develops your confidence 

1 Samuel 17:36–37 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” (NIV)