[ applause ] >> we are now going to ask pastor marvin winans to come to give us whitney's eulogy. >> father it is the entrance of thy word that brings us light to life. may the people be blessed by the and never impressed by me, called to the glorious light of the revelation of thy word that cause these people to see you more clearly, follow you more dearly. now, lord, let the words of my

mouth and medicitation of my het be acceptable in thy sight. oh, lord, my strength in my redeemer and every glad heart say amen. >> amen. >> the first thing i want to do, i want to give honor to the pastor of this church, pastor carter. and for his spirit of humility. [ applause ] >> i want to thank mama hughous, cissy, for your -- just willingness to forget about everything else and have this service here. that took a lot of courage [ applause ]

and because of that, you brought the world to church today. i want to give honor to all of the bishops and pastors and folk that have come. i want to assure you that i won't be that long, but i've been waiting on y'all all day. so -- i want to make a couple of disclaimers. one, that most of this homily will be done in english, but old habits are hard to break, so if you hear language you don't understand, don't worry about it, because i wasn't talking to

you no how. i was hoping that cece would have been singing before -- i'm going to do something, mama houston, if that's okay. you know, we hear a lot about bebe and cece. you know, and you would actually believe that bebe and cece knew nippy first. that's not the case. just like you think bebe knew whitney -- i mean -- that wasn't the case. i'm going to ask my twin brother, carvin to come. i'm going to ask bebe and cece to come. i'm going to ask my son, marvin winans ii to come.

angie and debbie can come. my nephew, al, can come. my mother, she's here, but she can stay right there. where's butch? where' carvin? come on right up here. the truth is carvin and i met whitney first in beverly hills. we were -- >> not true. not true. >> it's very true. we were the winans. we were -- i tell people i used to be famous. i'm now cece's brother. and i'm proud to be so. we, the winans, the four brothers, we were signed to william morris and whitney, this young, new star, who i thought sounded a lot like cece when i

heard her, but she was also a sign to william morris agency at the time. and we both had the same agent, a man by the name of marshall resnik. he told us, have you heard of whitney houston? i said, yeah, i've heard of her. he said, well, this is her first album. so, when she went on tour, he said, well, she's singing you guys' song. and i said, what song is that? she sings your song "tomorrow." and he should have never told carvin that. cause he was going to stay awake day and night till he got in touch with whitney houston. and i remember going to the hotel in beverly hills and c carvin and i and, you know, we didn't know. he told us where she was staying. probably shouldn't have told us. and we went and whitney came down. when i looked at her, i said, oh, lord, i'm in trouble.

she said why? i said you're going to be my missionary. you're just going to sing a little while. you're going to be my missionary. we were really thanking her for singing our song. and so i'm going to ask carvin to come and we're just going to sing a little bit of "tomorrow." and then i'm going to preach and we're going to go home. you know? ♪ ♪ jesus said here i stand

won't you please take my hand and you said i will tomorrow ♪ ♪ jesus said i am here who supplies all your needs and you said i know but tomorrow ♪ ♪ but tomorrow tomorrow i thought about today but it's so much easier to say tomorrow ♪ ♪ i promise to tomorrow

♪ and i could choose the lord today but tomorrow very well might be ♪ ♪ jesus said here i stand he's my older brother and he thinks he's my dad and i say i will tomorrow ♪ ♪ jesus said i am here who supplies all your needs and you said i will tomorrow ♪

♪ tomorrow i'll give my life tomorrow i thought about today but it's so much easier to say tomorrow ♪ ♪ i promise to tomorrow better choose the lord today for tomorrow very well might be too late ♪ ♪ and who said tomorrow will never come for you ♪ ♪ still you laugh and play and continue on to say

tomorrow ♪ ♪ forget about tomorrow won't you give your life today ♪ ♪ oh, please don't just turn and walk away ♪ ♪ tomorrow tomorrow i promise don't let this moment slip aw away ♪ ♪ cause your tomorrow has very

well been -- your tomorrow has very well b n been -- your tomorrow has very well been my today ♪

>> we are happy to recognize pastor michael mcqueen from atlanta, georgia or alfreda, georgia. he was whitney's pastor in alfreda and she loved him. he was the last minister she heard before her passing. god bless you. we are also happy to have the governor of new jersey here, governor christie, who had the flags at half-mast in honor of whitney.

thank you. [ applause ] >> and stood by his decision. let's go to the word of the lord. i can assure you that this is not a speech. i'm getting ready to preach. someone, some lawyer called my office to see if i wanted property rights or what i must say -- i don't know how i'm going to do that. cause i'm all going to do is the word -- preach the word today. ♪ i heard of a land in a far away strand ♪ ♪ tis a beautiful home

for the soul ♪ ♪ built by jesus on high ♪ tis a land where we won't die it's a land where we will never grow old ♪ ♪ i just want to say one time we'll never grow old ♪ ♪ we'll never never grow old ♪ ♪ there is a land where we will never grow old ♪ ♪ we won't grow old the word of the lord from matthew, the sixth chapter and

the 25th verse. jesus says these words. therefore, i say unto you, take no thought for your life what ye shall eat or ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. is not the life more than meat and the body more than

arraignment. i want to focus on the b clause of this text. is not the life more than meat and the body more than -- in order for us to expedite this process, i am looking for my amen corner. sounds like it may be coming over here somewhere. i'll get this sooner. if i don't, i'll feel like you

don't understand what i'm saying and i'll have to reiterate some things. but if you want to leave here with a subject, everyone, repeat after me, prioritize. >> prioritize. >> that's what we talked about today. somebody lied on jesus and i just want to set the record straight. that living for the lord is somehow boring, dull, ho hum, unfulfilling, second rate, unimpactful, dissatisfying, wait until you have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel sort of existence. when nothing could be further from the truth. jesus said, in john 10:10, the thief cometh not but for to

steal, to kill and to destroy. but he speaks of himself and said i am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. the apostle, peter, speaks out of his experience in second peter, 1 and 3, and says according as his divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. prioritize. prioritize simply means to arrange in order of importance. in other words, setting up your life based on things that really

matter. and in this discourse, that's exactly what jesus was trying to teach. this is the sermon on the mount known as beatitudes and it starts, according to mark's account, in the fifth chapter. and ends in the eighth. so, i would suggest you read it and pay specific attention to the sixth chapter. at the end of the eighth chapter, it says that the people were astonished at his doctrine because he spake with such authority. in other words, he talked as if he knew god. and it amazes me -- see, i'm getting louder. i'm starting to get louder. it amazes me -- it amazes me how

ambiguous the believer is about god when, in fact, we ought to know him. i'm going to preach in a moment. just stay with me. and the only way to know him is to have him included in what you do, not excluded. and jesus says here, take no fault. that word in the greek, it's a verb, which simply means don't be careful or don't be anxious. don't get nervous about life which simply means breathe or to have the psyche or mind of an individual. don't get nervous about life. because the life, the breath is

more important than what you eat. what you -- what you put on cannot equate to life itself. and so jesus says take no salt for your life. in no way is he suggesting that one lives a life aimlessly without dreams or aspirations. he is not saying let life happen and just accept -- accept what comes your way. he is actually saying the opposite. i want you to understand that our salvation was not given to christ. he had to buy it. and jesus came with purpose and fought to obtain our

deliverance. salvation is free, but it ain't cheap. one of the qualities of faith is expectation. now faith is the substance of things hopeful. and the evidence of things not seem so. if you find someone without expectation or hope, that individual is void of faith, because faith always expects and faith always moves towards its goal. so don't think that the church is for somebody that doesn't want anything. don't think that the church is for somebody that can't get a

gig anywhere else. don't think that the church are for people that do not have hope or cannot make impact. as a matter of fact, that is the opposite. diametrically opposes what jesus is about. john writes and says, but i would, above all things, that thou mightest prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. but what we're dealing with is the misappropriation of what's important. and the devil wants you -- and i said the devil. the devil wants to use your circumstance against you by making you become anxious when things don't happen on your

timetable. he wants you to assume responsibility in that you become the master of your own fate and trust in your abilities to make things happen and thereby abducating your faith in jesus. but jesus is saying, i don't want you to become anxious about life. i don't want you to feel as if life happens without purpose. for i want you to understand, according to -- emphasis the ephesians, the first chapter, that god works all things after the counsel of his own will, to understand that you are not a mistake, that you are not a mishap. but god had a purpose before he

ever created a person. and that your existence on earth has significance. you all got to help me preach here. look at somebody and say i'm significant. so, when you recognize that you did not just show up, but that god had purpose for you, i like to use this analogy that everyone buys a new car and when you buy that car, there is an owner's manual in the glove compartment. now, most of us, because we have our license and have had it for some time, we do not even go through the owner's manual. because it tells us how often we should take it in for a tune-up and the oil we should use and the gas we should use. i had a car that i used to put

just mobile premium in. but these gas prices have ran me to regular right quick fast and another. everything gets regular now. but the owner's manual for the car doesn't tell you where to drive. it doesn't tell you who to let in your car. but it tells you how to get the best performance. and when people look at the bible, they look at it from the wrong perspective. because this is the owner's manual. and the things that god has set up is so that you can get the best performance -- i don't hear nobody talking to me -- so that you can get the best performance out of your life!

so, let's take another look at what jesus said. and i'm finished. if we read this text in its entirety, jesus says some wonderful things. he says no man can serve two masters. in other words, somebody has to be in control. someone has to be subservant to the other. either you love god or you'll serve money. but you can't serve money and god. somebody holler back at me, prioritize. >> prioritize. >> i don't want anybody to leave here thinking that god wants anybody here broke.

and i just need to say this, since i have your attention. we have a lot of folk that say, well, you know, i don't agree with the prosperity gospel. i don't know what other gospel there is. and if god wants somebody to be broke, would you tell me who that is? who's volunteering? i can't get no hands here. let me -- please, i just believe the bible. i just believe the bible. you have to understand that this manual gave us examples and testimonies of how we should live and when god brought israel out of egypt, everybody came out with something. i don't hear nobody talking to me. for you to believe that somebody has to be broke is to say that god doesn't have enough sufficiency to supply for

everybody. i'll talk about that on another day. what are you going to say? i'll be there sunday. come sunday all the people that was trying to get me to preach today, could many sunday, i'll be there. all the news agencies. what are you -- just come sunday. i do this every sunday. i want you to understand that what god desires for everyone is that everyone would be healthy and prosperous. and so he says you don't have to worry about it, because i -- i -- i want to say it in the vernacular of today. he says i got you.

i know that may not be proper english, but certainly the text seems to emphasize the fact that if i'm not going to worry, bishop jakes, about what's going to become of me, then god says i got you. so he says, here's the priority for the believer. because sometimes the world is afraid of church folk, as one -- as one muslim said, he wish he had met christ before he met the christi christian. because sometimes we are believers behaving badly. but jesus, jesus says that i'm

going to give you the order of how this should go. and in that same text, he says, seek ye first. the kingdom of god and his righteousness. you got to put that in there before we go to the all. seek ye first, the kingdom. in other words, the first thing that comes to our mind when we begin to do things would be, is this consistent with kingdom living? we want to get the proverbial cart before the horse. and we start seeking things before we seek the kingdom.

but seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness. in other words, with everything i do, i want to remain in right standing with god. i'm getting ready to preach now. i want to remain in right standing with god. in other words, i want my life to please him. the gifts that we have are god's gift to us. but the life that we live is our gift to god. and god says, i got you. so, if you seek first the kingdom of god and his

righteousness, then all these things shall be added. see, that's -- that's the part that allows you to work the foundation of your faith, to allow god to take you through a wilderness area, knowing that he's going to make you the better for it. and that when i get in the middle of the valley, that is not a time for me to leave my faith, but to trust that god is still with me. and that if he has me in the middle of a sunny afternoon, then he has to have me in the middle of a dark night. look at somebody and say, he got you. he got you. i want us -- i want us to

recognize that our faith in god must not be something that we attach to the end of our lives, but that we must prioritize. that you make your decision based on your faith. that you walk according to what you believe, knowing that you can never say yes to god and god make you ashamed. that you can never put god first and god forget and leave you. i'm finished. thank you.

c sharp. every head bowed. father, we thank you for this life of whitney elizabeth, nippy houston. we thank you that she was a dear friend and echo the sentiments of all that have come to show their love but father, i pray, by the power of the holy spirit that you would give all that all are under the sound of my voice the thought to prioritize, to make you first, for us not to

talk about you but for us to live for you. let us leave here. recognizing that whitney left too soon. let us leave here impacted by her life, saying that i want to finish what god has started. let us make you first. i pray that you would lift up mike and gary and pat, bobbi kristina, lift up cissy. lift up aunt bay. lift up dionne. all of those that are touched. all of us that are hurting, that you would lift us up. and, father, we will not leave here bitter or upset.

but ♪ let the church say amen ♪ let the church say amen ♪ god has spoken so let the church say amen ♪ ♪ let the church say amen let the church say amen ♪ ♪ god has spoken so let the church say amen ♪ ♪ say it again ♪ let the church say amen ♪ let the church say amen

♪ god has spoken so let the church say amen ♪ ♪ let this be your response amen to whatever he said ♪ ♪ amen from the healing of your body amen to the raising of the dead amen no matter what you're feeling amen or how your world is reeling amen ♪ ♪ battle through the night amen cause you're going to win the fight amen ♪ ♪ even in the valley amen let everybody say amen ♪ ♪ god has spoken so let the church let the church say amen say amen say amen ♪ ♪ lift your voice

everybody sing ♪ ♪ say amen let the church say amen ♪ ♪ god has spoken god has spoken so let the church let the church say amen ♪ ♪ say it one more time ♪ let the church say amen ♪ ♪ let the church let the whole church say amen ♪ ♪ god has spoken so let the church say amen ♪ ♪ i need you to say it amen dreams about to die amen knowing god is not a man amen

he just can't amen no matter what the devil does amen know you've got a word that's come from above amen ♪ ♪ faith must be amen must be a word to say ♪ ♪ amen so open your mouth ♪ ♪ god has spoken so let the church let the church say amen ♪ ♪ you can't change amen rearrange rearrange it ♪ ♪ god said it god said it i believe it believe it ♪ ♪ god has spoken god has spoken so let the church let the church say amen say amen say it again ♪

♪ you can't change you can't change it rearrange it god said it believe it ♪ ♪ god has spoken so let the church say amen ♪ ♪ god has spoken so let the church say amen ♪ ♪ god has spoken so let the church say amen ♪ come on, let's give the lord a hand. clap. we're going to ask if everyone,

except for the family, the first three rows here, if everyone could please have a seat. please, except for the first three rows. please have a seat. thank you. this is how we need to exit. i'm going to ask -- as you all know, you can see we have more stars here than the grammys. that says something. hallelujah. i'm sorry, tyler. i love you. that's all -- that's the only way i know now. so, what we're going to do is please ask everyone to be patient. i'm going to ask all of you who are right here, right now with the exception of the governor and the mayor, i'm going to ask everyone to please clear this

area for right now. we're going to ask the family will be -- this is the way we're going to exit. the family will go first, the three rows. i'm going to now ask if i can have -- and all of your security that goes along with it. we're going to ask if the first seven rows would please stand on my right. yes. yes. don't go anywhere. don't go anywhere. the casket has to go first. clear the aisle. keep the aisles clear, please. everyone else, please stay seated. carolyn, it's on you.

♪ if i should stay i would only be in your way ♪ ♪ so i'll go but i know i'll think of you every step of the way ♪ ♪ and i will always love you i will always love you ♪

♪ you my darling you ♪ ♪ bittersweet memories that is all i'm taking with me so good-bye ♪ ♪ please don't cry we both know i'm not what you you need ♪ ♪ and i will always love you

i will always love you ♪ ♪ ♪ i hope life treats you kind and i hope you have all you dreamed of ♪ ♪ and i wish you joy and happiness ♪ ♪ but above all this

i wish you love ♪ ♪ and i will always love you ♪ i will always love you i will always love you i will always love you ♪ ♪ i will always love you ♪ i i will always love you ♪

♪ you darling i love you ♪ ♪ i'll always i'll always love you ♪ >> we're going to ask everyone to please have a seat except for the first seven rows on this side. please have a seat. we will get you out quickly, i promise. thank you. >> and that's the scene inside the new hope baptist church, where they have just wrapped the service remembrance. and that's the scene -- that is the scene inside the new hope baptist church, where pastor winans has just completed his remarks and they played a song whitney houston, of course --

>> one of the most incredible four hours i've ever watched of any kind of service anywhere. >> amazing. >> it was uplifting. it was rousing. it was emotional. it was sad. it was hilarious in parts. and the exit at the end with whitney houston's casket being led out of all these people you recognized and some you didn't to "i will always love you" just spine tingling, remarkable thing to watch. >> it was absolutely beautiful. it was interesting earlier, we were talking to pastor stories earlier. he said this is not going to be a funeral. this is not a funeral mass. this is church. and people have to remembe faed very private. they made sure that the fans were kept a little bit of a distance. and they really were able to pull together a beautiful, beautiful service of song and remembrance and really funny stories as well. >> the mix was so good. people that i didn't expect to

be that memorable. kevin costner, i didn't know what to expect from him. i thought he made a remarkable address. it was moving. it was funny. >> he told behind the scenes stories of -- >> of "the bodyguard." >> and who knew that she was that lucky, really, to land that role and he stuck his neck out, clearly, for her. the fact that he had come from a baptist church himself and he t ceremonies. really extraordinary. the coffin is now being led away. white any houston's coffin at the end of that service. i saw oprah winfrey there and mariah carey and others walking behind the coffin. simple out here. there are no hordes of fans. there is an eery quiet now. you're seeing whitney houston being taken away from the coffin in the streets where she grew up. it's very poignant. it feels very real. that's what the whole thing felt to me.

they call it a home going? >> they did. what pastor stories was telling us earlier, the idea your life is like a hotel. you come in and there is going to be a time when you leave. this is a celebration bay everyone knew you at some point you were leaving. >> i loved pastor marvin winana' address. it was pulsating and vibrant and positive. you felt enall thissed by this. everybody was trying to separate what happened in her private life from the artist and the woman. everybody did that successfully. >> they are putting the casket in the hearse as the next part of this service moves on.

>> they say she is being buried tomorrow. >> that is correct. >> you've seen many musical events. >> they call this a home going. it's so important to remember the home part of that. that this is the church she grew up in. that she sang in the choir in this church. the choir we heard today are probably people she sang with and grew up singing with. the while winans family humanized her so much. >> like all those stories did. the stories were not about whitney houston the star, but the generosity of whitney houston the person. >> some of the singing was just off the charts. i thought with donny at the start, he raised, not just the roof, but out here. it was unbelievable. >> kim did a version of a sam

cook song "a change is going to come." >> and stevely wonder changed the lyrics of "ribbon in the sky" to personalize it for whitney houston. a service full of stars could have been impersonal. they loved her so clearly it was a service that was personal. >> the one jarring note that we can't ignore is bobby brown arrived, he walked down to see whitney's casket and some kind of altercation happened with either members of the family or somebody. whatever happened, it appears to be about bobby brown bringing an entourage of nine people. they didn't have seating for them and he then left. that's been a jarring note. there's been a lot of attention on him the last week. his daughter, in particular, to me, i thought that's pretty disrespectful. we don't know what happened, but to walk out, i didn't like that. >> let's check with don lemon.

he might have more of what happened from his vantage point further down to the ground. hey, don. what we heard is bobby brown, our cameras caught him outside of the church. he went in, went up to the casket, was crying and was very upset. because he had nine people when there was seating for three. >> this is a church that usually holds 300. there were some 1,500 there today, i believe. not surprising that you can't bring nine people in if that is the case. >> reverend al sharpton tweeted he was trying to calm bobby brown down and remind him this is about whitney today, not about him. clearly unsuccessful. you don't want to labor on this because it's been such a special occasion. at the same time, you can't ignore the fact whitney houston's ex-husband walked out. >> i think we have don lemon

now. >> reporter: hey, soledad. we are standing where people are coming out. we are the only ones who have this vantage point. how are you guys doing? >> good. >> reporter: good. the service was very moving. >> very moving. very enjoyable. >> reporter: tell us about inside, what it was like. >> known her ten years. >> reporter: how are you doing, sir? how was the service? >> phenomenal. >> what did you think about marvin's eulogy? >> the whole proceeding was fantastic. it was very generous of the family to have brought her home so all the people that have taken pride in her life can now have a chance to say good-bye. it was a phenomenal service. >> reporter: can i ask you about bobby came in and he left? >> i don't know anything about that. >> it's interesting. i was telling you during the service this was what you see and hear and every black baptist

church every weekend. for every single going home service, what i know about bobby brown is we were standing here. as we were going live we saw bobby outside the church about ten minutes before the service started. police sources said bobby came in with an entourage of people and he could not be accommodated. when he couldn't be accommodated, he chose to leave. i don't know if there was a confrontation. he did walk in and was seen upset leaving. he left with his anti-reggie jackso jackson entourage. you see the reverend jesse jackson on his way up. sitting there on the stage. reverend, reverend jackson, we are live on cnn. can you come over?

reverend, you were there on the stage. you got to witness the entire thing, what did you think? >> well, it was emotionally gratifying. it was uplifting. the songs sang by stevie wonder, the winans family, it was uplifting. >> reporter: what i thought was interesting, i was watching on social media. we were on twitter and facebook and people said cissy, and marvin said it, cissy houston took the world to church today by having this service in her church, in her daughter's church. >> having it this way with the media properly positioned. it was with dignity. it was not a media circus. well covered, but with a level of respect. whitney left us about this time a week ago, but her music will last a long time. she had the impact far beyond

her appreciation while she was alive. >> reporter: on social media there was controversy. they said bobby came in and left. do you know anything about it? was he asked to leave? >> four or five of them sitting in the front row. they wanted him to move. i think they didn't make accommodation for him to move. so he was asked to leave. that was a difficult moment. i tried to get him to stay. they wouldn't make room for him, that was a painful mar on today's otherwise tremendous inspiring service. >> reporter: what was his reaction to having to move? >> i thought it was real positive. he came and sat in the front row. they said that is reserved for the family. he is the fair if of bobbi kristina his daughter and she was his wife. it seems they could have

accommodated him better than they did. >> reporter: how were -- >> cissy and bobby christina, they didn't see this going on. >> reporter: through see the dignitaries are leaving and members of the family. bobby christina and cissy, how were they doing the services? >> except the times the singing became so very exciting, they broke down once or twice. i thought the words given by the winans were great and tyler perry. >> reporter: miss flack, can you come over? how are you doing? >> i'm holding up as well as i can. whitney was not a personal friend of mine, but someone i