I Know Better - Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts
Transcript
00:00:00 (upbeat music)
00:00:02 - Can you take a minute, if you're sitting beside a mother,
00:00:12 just tell her happy Mother's Day.
00:00:14 Happy Mother's Day, we're so grateful for you.
00:00:17 We love you.
00:00:18 I really, I wanted to get right into the word,
00:00:25 but God put this on my heart and I wanna do it,
00:00:28 it might be a little weird.
00:00:29 But Mother's Day isn't always easy on everyone.
00:00:33 Sometimes your mom has gone on to be with the Lord.
00:00:40 Sometimes your mom is in the world, but not in your world.
00:00:45 And Mother's Day can be hard.
00:00:47 You can be a mom, but not have your mom
00:00:49 and still feel the ache of that motherhood wound.
00:00:52 And if that is you, I wonder if you would, for a moment,
00:00:57 just allow us to love on you.
00:01:00 If today is not the easiest day for you
00:01:03 and you didn't know where else to go,
00:01:05 but to be in the presence of the Lord,
00:01:07 would you just wave at us so that we could love on you?
00:01:09 Oh, if you're by someone who's having a hard time,
00:01:11 will you just give them a squeeze?
00:01:13 Let them know God's got you.
00:01:15 You're not in it on your own.
00:01:17 God allowed you to sit next to them,
00:01:20 to minister to them in this sensitive, delicate day.
00:01:24 We see you, we know it's not easy,
00:01:27 but we're grateful that you trusted us
00:01:29 to be with you on such a hard day.
00:01:31 We love you, we love you.
00:01:32 That's what family's about.
00:01:34 That's what church family, if you're watching online
00:01:36 and today is a hard day for you,
00:01:37 I want you to drop in the chat,
00:01:39 you are not alone, you are not alone,
00:01:41 so that someone reading it has a reminder
00:01:44 that when your father and mother forsake you,
00:01:46 that the Lord is still gonna be there with you.
00:01:48 You're in the right place to receive love,
00:01:51 to receive healing, to receive comfort
00:01:54 in the place that you need it the most.
00:01:57 Luke 1, verse 57.
00:02:01 This is,
00:02:04 man, most of this text, when we read about it,
00:02:10 centers around Mary receiving word
00:02:13 from the angel of the Lord,
00:02:14 that she has been chosen to give birth to the Messiah.
00:02:19 That is not gonna be my focus today
00:02:21 because before Mary receives this news,
00:02:24 the angel of the Lord comes to visit Zacharias, a priest.
00:02:28 And he says to Zacharias, "Though you are old in age,
00:02:31 "though your wife Elizabeth is barren,
00:02:35 "that I am going to allow you all to conceive,
00:02:40 "and who you conceive will be a prophet."
00:02:43 We know him as John, the forerunner of Jesus.
00:02:46 And while we do mostly focus in Luke 1
00:02:49 about the miraculous messenger
00:02:51 that allowed Mary to conceive by the Holy Spirit,
00:02:54 I wanted to take a moment
00:02:55 and focus on Zacharias and Elizabeth's experiences.
00:02:59 I believe that the Lord has revealed something to me
00:03:02 that is meaningful for where we are
00:03:05 at this time in our lives.
00:03:07 When we enter into the text,
00:03:09 Elizabeth, this woman who was barren and older in age,
00:03:12 has given birth to John.
00:03:15 And all of the women in the city have gathered,
00:03:18 as is the custom of the time,
00:03:20 to celebrate this monumental occasion
00:03:24 where the Lord has allowed her to give birth,
00:03:27 even though it seemed that it would be difficult.
00:03:30 My text begins, it says,
00:03:31 "Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered,
00:03:36 "and she brought forth a son.
00:03:40 "When her neighbors and relatives heard
00:03:43 "how the Lord had shown great mercy to her,
00:03:46 "they rejoiced with her.
00:03:48 "So it was on the eighth day
00:03:51 "that they came to circumcise the child,
00:03:53 "and they would have called him
00:03:55 "by the name of his father, Zacharias.
00:03:59 "His mother answered and said,
00:04:01 "'No, he shall be called John.'
00:04:04 "But they said to her,
00:04:06 "'There was no one among your relatives
00:04:08 "'who was called by this name.'
00:04:11 "So they made signs to his father,
00:04:13 "'What we would have him called.'
00:04:16 "And he asked for a writing tablet, John,
00:04:21 "and wrote saying his name is John.
00:04:22 "So they all marveled.
00:04:24 "Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed,
00:04:29 "and he spoke praising God.
00:04:32 "Then fear came on all who dwelt around them,
00:04:36 "and all these sayings were discussed
00:04:39 "throughout all the hill country of Judea."
00:04:43 My subject is, I know better.
00:04:46 Spirit of the living God, I need you.
00:04:49 I wanna see your face.
00:04:53 Let this message be a song to you,
00:04:56 harmonizing with the needs of the people in this room,
00:05:00 harmonizing with what your spirit would have us to receive.
00:05:05 God, you know every circumstance,
00:05:08 every destiny, every wound, every purpose.
00:05:11 You know everything that you are reconciling within us.
00:05:16 And so God, we lay ourselves out before you,
00:05:19 and we say, speak, Lord.
00:05:21 Your servant is listening.
00:05:24 Speak, Lord, in a way that only you can do.
00:05:27 Speak, Lord, until we become what you had in mind
00:05:31 when you formed us in our mother's womb.
00:05:32 Let this be an intimate moment
00:05:35 between creator and creation
00:05:38 that allows us to become one step closer
00:05:41 to what you have in mind.
00:05:42 God, I thank you that there will be no nerves for me,
00:05:45 no fear, no anxiety, that I will decrease,
00:05:48 that you may increase,
00:05:50 and that it will be evident and obvious
00:05:52 that it is no longer I who speaks,
00:05:54 but you who speaks through me.
00:05:57 Have your way, great God, that you are.
00:05:59 In Jesus' name, amen.
00:06:02 Amen.
00:06:03 Genesis 1 begins, it says,
00:06:10 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
00:06:15 And the earth was without form and void.
00:06:19 And darkness covered the face of the deep.
00:06:24 And the spirit of God hovered over the waters."
00:06:30 As we continue reading throughout Genesis 1,
00:06:32 we see over and over again
00:06:35 that the earth goes from being this without form
00:06:39 and void space into something akin
00:06:43 to what we experience now.
00:06:45 The sea was filled with life.
00:06:47 The sun was placed in the sky.
00:06:49 And over and over again, as God is creating the earth,
00:06:54 we hear him in those moments of creation with,
00:06:57 "And it was good."
00:06:58 And it was good, over and over again.
00:07:01 God said, "Let there be light."
00:07:03 And then there was light.
00:07:03 And God saw the light and said, "It's good."
00:07:07 Genesis 1 continues to tell us
00:07:10 all the way through him creating humanity,
00:07:12 how it was good what he created.
00:07:15 And then in Genesis 2, he lets it be known to humanity.
00:07:19 This is man and woman at the time,
00:07:22 as they had not received names
00:07:23 until later on in Genesis 3.
00:07:26 In Genesis 2, though, he tells them,
00:07:28 "I set this up to be good for you."
00:07:31 Everything in it should function
00:07:33 the way that it is supposed to function.
00:07:35 The sun is not gonna fall out of the sky.
00:07:39 The day is gonna be day.
00:07:40 The night will be night.
00:07:41 The fish will stay in the sea.
00:07:43 The seed will continue to bring forth fruit.
00:07:46 Season after season, it's all good.
00:07:48 The only thing you have to do
00:07:50 is not eat from the tree of life
00:07:53 or from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
00:07:58 If you will obey this, everything will stay intact.
00:08:04 Your obedience seals the deal.
00:08:07 God says, "I did my part.
00:08:11 "Everything is good, but if it's gonna stay good,
00:08:14 "you're gonna have to be obedient."
00:08:17 Your obedience will ensure that everything in this system
00:08:21 will continue to function
00:08:23 in the way that I have designed it to function.
00:08:26 The only thing you have to do is just be obedient.
00:08:29 The only thing you have to do,
00:08:31 you may not understand how it's gonna function.
00:08:33 You may wonder in one season,
00:08:35 "Will the tree bring forth fruit
00:08:37 "the way that it did in the last season?"
00:08:39 God says, "You don't have to worry about any of that.
00:08:40 "Just be obedient to these rules.
00:08:43 "Be obedient to what I told you to do in this season."
00:08:46 And your obedience is like shaking the hand of a deal.
00:08:50 That's God's way of saying,
00:08:51 "This is what I'm gonna do for you.
00:08:53 "Will you obey?"
00:08:54 God says, "I'll take care of all of the rest.
00:08:56 "You just be obedient."
00:08:58 And they had it made.
00:09:02 (audience laughing)
00:09:03 Baby, they had it made.
00:09:07 Okay?
00:09:09 I believe Eve had all her edges.
00:09:12 I believe she never had to worry
00:09:16 about a lace front betraying her.
00:09:18 I believe that they had a six-pack anointing.
00:09:22 I don't believe that they even had to worry about the scale.
00:09:25 What is acne?
00:09:26 I believe they had it made.
00:09:27 Their children was gonna act right.
00:09:29 I believe God set it up for everything to be good.
00:09:32 There wasn't gonna be worry.
00:09:33 There wasn't gonna be any depression.
00:09:35 Everything was gonna work out well, but then...
00:09:38 Eve and Adam, Adam and Eve.
00:09:45 People just be bored.
00:09:49 We are people.
00:09:50 We just are supposed to act right, but we just be bored.
00:09:55 Everything's gotta be an adventure.
00:10:00 Let's just see what happens.
00:10:02 And now look at us, fighting for every edge we got.
00:10:10 God didn't want that for us.
00:10:13 Can't turn down Chick-fil-A.
00:10:15 We needed to be closed on Sunday.
00:10:17 Now carbs have a strong hold on me.
00:10:22 I was meant to eat fruits and vegetables.
00:10:24 That's how God set it up.
00:10:27 I didn't even need the bread of life at that time.
00:10:29 I had everything I needed.
00:10:31 I always wondered, why is it that God did not want them
00:10:39 to eat from the tree of life or from the tree
00:10:42 of the knowledge of good and evil?
00:10:45 Then I recognized in studying that God
00:10:49 in his gracious, generous wisdom and love for us
00:10:55 did not want us to eat from the tree of the knowledge
00:10:58 of good and evil, not because he didn't want us to know good
00:11:02 because Genesis one makes it plain
00:11:05 that everything he created was good.
00:11:07 So I don't mind you knowing what's good.
00:11:10 I don't even mind you knowing what's God.
00:11:15 As a matter of fact, the only thing I want you to know
00:11:19 is good and God.
00:11:20 The way I set this system up,
00:11:24 that'll be the only thing you even have a point
00:11:26 of reference for is good and God.
00:11:29 But if you eat from this tree of the knowledge
00:11:34 of good and evil, you're gonna have knowledge of something
00:11:39 that I never wanted you to know.
00:11:43 The knowledge of good and evil wasn't necessarily
00:11:50 just the knowledge of good, but it is the reality
00:11:54 that when you have the knowledge of good and evil,
00:11:57 it can be difficult to distinguish between the two.
00:12:01 Let's talk for a minute about the knowledge of evil
00:12:08 that God never intended for you to know.
00:12:13 It's hard for us when we think about
00:12:18 the generational disappointments
00:12:21 and the generational struggles
00:12:23 that are all that we have ever known
00:12:25 to come to a place where we can separate our experience
00:12:30 from God's intention.
00:12:31 Because when we learn to separate our experience
00:12:35 from God's intention, then we begin to recognize
00:12:38 that it was never God's intention for me
00:12:41 to know this evil that I now know.
00:12:44 This was never God's intention.
00:12:47 That's why we ask things like,
00:12:48 where was God in the middle of this?
00:12:50 The truth is that God is in the middle of it now
00:12:53 because of the way that we acted out his plan,
00:12:56 but the truth is that in God's original intention,
00:12:59 you were never supposed to know betrayal.
00:13:01 In God's original intention,
00:13:03 you would have never known heartbreak.
00:13:04 In God's original intention,
00:13:06 there would have never been mass shootings.
00:13:08 In God's original intention,
00:13:10 the headlines wouldn't cause discouragement.
00:13:12 In God's original intention, there was no broken family.
00:13:16 In God's original intention,
00:13:18 there were no abandonment issues.
00:13:19 There were no rejection issues.
00:13:21 This was not God's intention,
00:13:23 and so I try to be careful not to place the blame on God
00:13:27 for what humanity did, for what evil did,
00:13:30 because I recognize that in God's original intention,
00:13:33 it was never meant for me to know this.
00:13:35 I was never supposed to know this level of brokenness.
00:13:38 I was never supposed to know this level of depression.
00:13:41 I was never supposed to know this level of insecurity,
00:13:44 and the fact that I know it is a direct reflection
00:13:47 of what happened in the garden where I was receiving
00:13:50 the knowledge of good and evil.
00:13:55 You were never supposed to know it,
00:14:00 and it broke God's heart.
00:14:05 Now that you know it oh so well,
00:14:11 now that it's in your bloodline,
00:14:14 now that it's in your family,
00:14:15 God says, "I never wanted them to know that,"
00:14:18 but God is so good that he says,
00:14:24 "You can't unknow what you know."
00:14:27 Man, oh, I feel like ministering in this place.
00:14:34 I wanna talk to somebody who wants to unknow what they know.
00:14:41 See, you gotta know some things that you don't wanna know
00:14:44 to even understand what that sentence means,
00:14:47 but I wanna unknow that this type of betrayal
00:14:50 can exist in someone.
00:14:52 I wanna unknow that this type of weakness exists within me.
00:14:56 There are some things that I know now
00:14:58 that I wish I could unknow,
00:14:59 and sometimes I'm stuck,
00:15:01 not because of what I don't know.
00:15:03 I'm stuck because of what I do know.
00:15:05 I do know that people will leave you.
00:15:07 I do know that you can get in a situation
00:15:09 where your pride makes you fall.
00:15:11 I know some things that have kept me stuck,
00:15:13 and God says, "I can't unknow what you know,
00:15:16 "but what I can do is cover what you know."
00:15:19 (audience cheering)
00:15:22 So in the garden,
00:15:23 God comes down,
00:15:27 and he's asking Adam and Eve, "What happened?"
00:15:31 When he recognizes that they've eaten
00:15:36 from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
00:15:41 it says in my text that immediately when Adam ate from it
00:15:44 that his eyes were opened and he saw that he was naked.
00:15:48 When God created him naked, God said it was good.
00:15:53 He ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
00:15:56 and now he sees his nakedness as evil.
00:15:59 That's why I said it's difficult to distinguish
00:16:03 between what's good and what's evil,
00:16:04 because now you have this knowledge,
00:16:07 and what you're calling good, God might be calling evil,
00:16:10 and what you're calling evil, God might be calling good.
00:16:12 I think that's why the psalmist says,
00:16:14 "It was good for me that I was afflicted."
00:16:16 I don't think he stumbled into that.
00:16:17 I think he sat back and waited long enough
00:16:20 to see that what I thought was an evil affliction
00:16:22 was actually God making all things work together for my good.
00:16:26 It takes someone crazy to look at what the enemy meant
00:16:29 for evil and say, "Actually, I think God may have meant it
00:16:32 "for good, because now what I thought I needed
00:16:35 "was something that would feel good.
00:16:36 "I thought I needed something that would make me better,
00:16:39 "but maybe what I really needed was something
00:16:41 "that would afflict me enough
00:16:42 "that I understood who my friends were,
00:16:45 "that would afflict me enough
00:16:46 "that I started praying differently,
00:16:48 "that would afflict me enough
00:16:50 "that I started worship differently."
00:16:52 Some people thank God for what he did
00:16:53 and how he blessed them.
00:16:55 Sometimes I thank God for what he didn't do,
00:16:57 and there were tears streaming down my face,
00:16:59 and I was crying, and I was heartbroken,
00:17:01 but then I waited about six months,
00:17:03 and I said, "You know what, God?
00:17:05 "It was good for me that I was afflicted,
00:17:07 "because now I know you'll never leave me nor forsake me.
00:17:11 "Now I know who's really with me and who is against me.
00:17:14 "Now I know what's on the inside of me.
00:17:16 "Now I trust the gift of God
00:17:18 "that you've placed on the inside of me,
00:17:20 "and I wouldn't have gotten there unless I was afflicted."
00:17:23 (audience cheering)
00:17:26 God says, "I'm gonna cover you.
00:17:36 "You weren't supposed to know it, but I'm gonna cover you.
00:17:40 "You weren't supposed to see your nakedness as evil,
00:17:42 "but now I gotta get down on your level of thinking
00:17:46 "so that I could grow you up into who I want you to become.
00:17:49 "If you're calling it evil, I'm gonna cover you right here,
00:17:52 "but I'm also gonna make sure that there is a plan
00:17:55 "that takes you from the way you think now
00:17:57 "into the discovery that your ways are not my ways,
00:18:01 "and your thoughts are not my thoughts,
00:18:03 "and so you think it's evil,
00:18:04 "and so I'm gonna allow you to vent on the level
00:18:07 "that you think, 'Oh, God, help me to say this
00:18:09 "'the way I feel it in my spirit.'"
00:18:11 Sometimes God gets down on your level
00:18:14 so that he can speak the language that you're speaking.
00:18:16 I know you're mad, I know you're angry,
00:18:18 I know you're upset, I know you're lost and you're confused.
00:18:21 If you think God only speaks on a high level,
00:18:24 then you missed out on the whole reason why we're here.
00:18:27 The whole reason why he got in Mary's womb,
00:18:29 wrapped himself in flesh,
00:18:31 is because sometimes there is a job
00:18:33 that requires I get down on your level.
00:18:35 You serve a God who knows how to get down in depression.
00:18:38 Sometimes we pray depression away.
00:18:40 Sometimes we say, "God, if you could meet me
00:18:42 "in this depression, 'cause it feels like
00:18:44 "it's stronger than me, so I need you to get down
00:18:47 "on my level to break this thing off of me."
00:18:50 That is why God gets down on your level,
00:18:53 because sometimes you cannot fight this devil on your own,
00:18:56 and while you're busy trying to get up,
00:18:58 God's trying to get down with you
00:19:00 so that I can help you fight on a level
00:19:03 you didn't even know was possible,
00:19:05 so that I could breathe my words of wisdom
00:19:07 in a way that helps you to understand
00:19:09 that if they left you, you didn't need 'em.
00:19:12 If they walked away, let 'em walk.
00:19:14 If they kept on moving so that you could keep growing,
00:19:17 sometimes you just gotta thank God,
00:19:20 but you gotta allow him to get down on your level with it.
00:19:25 (audience cheering)
00:19:28 (upbeat music)
00:19:30 - Adam
00:19:33 serves
00:19:38 a God who doesn't mind
00:19:41 getting down
00:19:44 on his level.
00:19:47 Adam
00:19:51 and Eve
00:19:54 are in this garden
00:19:56 (audience murmuring)
00:19:58 having to distinguish now
00:20:00 between what's good,
00:20:04 what's evil,
00:20:07 and what's God.
00:20:09 Man, and in the process
00:20:15 of them trying to determine the difference
00:20:18 between what's good, what's God, and what's evil,
00:20:23 they recognize that God has the ability
00:20:28 to take what they are attempting to make good
00:20:33 and teach them and train them
00:20:36 so that it could actually become
00:20:39 the good that he had in mind.
00:20:41 Isn't this why he gets upset with Cain?
00:20:44 And he says to him, "Why did you kill your brother?
00:20:47 "Did you not know that if you would've leveled up,
00:20:51 "I know you thought you had a good sacrifice,
00:20:53 "but it wasn't good enough.
00:20:55 "But I'm not just gonna leave you in the area
00:20:57 "of it not being good enough."
00:20:59 God says, "I'll also get down there in there with you
00:21:01 "and teach you how to take what you thought was good
00:21:04 "and make it better."
00:21:06 God knows how to take good.
00:21:09 God knows how to take evil
00:21:12 and turn it into good.
00:21:15 I hate to use the word turn it.
00:21:17 Pastor Phil pointed out something in Genesis 50 and 20
00:21:22 that we always say that enemy, you meant it for evil,
00:21:25 but God turned it for good.
00:21:27 But that's not what it says.
00:21:30 It says you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.
00:21:35 There were two intentions that were happening
00:21:38 at the same time.
00:21:40 So when we say that God turned it,
00:21:42 it makes it seem like it did start off evil,
00:21:44 but then God turned it around.
00:21:46 No, no, no, Genesis 50 and 20 actually points out
00:21:49 that it's not that God turned it,
00:21:51 it's just all while they thought it was evil,
00:21:53 I actually thought it was good.
00:21:54 I'm reminded of Jesus on the cross when he said,
00:21:57 "Forgive me, Father, for they know not what they do."
00:21:59 They think that they're doing something that's good,
00:22:02 but I actually know that it's gonna be even better
00:22:05 because when you get finished with it,
00:22:07 they think it's evil, but when you get finished,
00:22:10 they're gonna see that it was actually good.
00:22:12 There is something powerful about knowing
00:22:14 that there are two intentions moving at the same time.
00:22:18 And so I wanna know, Potter's house,
00:22:20 which narrative are you gonna buy into?
00:22:22 Are you gonna buy into the narrative
00:22:24 that they meant it for evil,
00:22:26 and there's a period on what they meant for evil,
00:22:29 and that if God's gonna change it,
00:22:31 he's gonna have to turn it?
00:22:33 Or are you crazy enough to believe
00:22:35 that God doesn't even have to turn it?
00:22:37 That even, ooh, God, I feel like you're saying.
00:22:39 (audience cheering)
00:22:41 I know you mean one thing, but God means another thing.
00:22:45 So you can keep your intentions,
00:22:47 God doesn't have to change it.
00:22:49 (audience cheering)
00:22:51 You can mean it for evil, God still means it for good.
00:22:55 You can talk about me all you want to,
00:22:57 but God still means it for good.
00:22:58 I didn't have to get the job.
00:23:00 It felt like it was evil that I didn't get the job,
00:23:03 but God must have meant it for good.
00:23:05 It felt like it was tragic that I went through the breakdown,
00:23:08 but God meant it for good.
00:23:09 I gotta hang on to this truth that God meant it for good
00:23:13 because my mind is trying to convince me
00:23:16 that God meant it for evil,
00:23:17 or that God was not in it at all.
00:23:20 But I am reminded because of who he is,
00:23:23 that he knows how to allow the wheat and the tare
00:23:26 to grow up at the same time.
00:23:28 And it is not until harvest season
00:23:30 where the threshing floor will make the difference.
00:23:33 The threshing floor is when we will separate
00:23:36 what you meant for evil, my God meant for good.
00:23:39 You thought I was gonna stumble,
00:23:41 but God says, I'm gonna pick you up.
00:23:43 You thought it would kill me, but God says, I know CPR.
00:23:47 You're right, it took me out,
00:23:48 but he's got a resurrecting power.
00:23:51 You meant it for evil.
00:23:52 (audience cheering)
00:23:55 It's not even what I'm preaching about.
00:24:06 What's up?
00:24:13 What's up?
00:24:15 What's up?
00:24:15 God.
00:24:19 Yeah.
00:24:23 Yeah, I don't even know what that's about,
00:24:26 but it feels like somebody got breakthrough.
00:24:28 It feels like something I'm trying to keep it tight
00:24:32 'cause we got a journey to go on.
00:24:34 So I'm gonna give somebody about 10 seconds
00:24:37 to thank God that it's two intentions
00:24:41 happening at the same time.
00:24:43 You're right, it's evil,
00:24:45 but God said, you're also right, it's gonna be good.
00:24:47 You're right, that it's terrible,
00:24:49 but it's also gonna be good.
00:24:51 You're right, that it's painful,
00:24:53 but it's also gonna be purposeful.
00:24:55 I got two things working at the same time.
00:24:59 You're right, that you're at the end of your rope,
00:25:01 but God says, I'm about to give you some wings.
00:25:03 I got two things working at the same time.
00:25:07 If you don't break down, I can't build you up.
00:25:09 I got two things working at the same time.
00:25:13 (audience cheering)
00:25:16 - Whoo!
00:25:24 Whoo!
00:25:26 Whoo!
00:25:27 What happens
00:25:39 when evil turns out to be good?
00:25:41 What happens when what's good
00:25:43 turns out to be evil?
00:25:45 What happens when evil turns out to be good?
00:25:49 What happens when evil turns out to be good?
00:25:52 What happens when evil turns out to be good?
00:25:56 What happens when evil turns out to be good?
00:26:00 What happens when evil turns out to be good?
00:26:03 What happens when evil turns out to be good?
00:26:07 When what's good starts to look evil?
00:26:10 When what's good starts to look evil?
00:26:13 What happens when it felt like God was in it,
00:26:22 What happens when it felt like God was in it,
00:26:26 God was on it, I know He was in it?
00:26:31 God was on it, I know He was in it?
00:26:34 How could it be that it could start off this good
00:26:37 and end up looking this evil?
00:26:39 and end up looking this evil?
00:26:42 Told the truth, but now everything's on the line.
00:26:52 I thought it was good.
00:26:54 This is why He didn't want us to have the knowledge
00:26:56 of good and evil, because now what was good
00:26:59 has evil consequences.
00:27:01 What was good has a consequence that makes me feel like
00:27:04 maybe I should have kept it to myself.
00:27:06 Maybe I should have just stayed.
00:27:07 Maybe I should have never moved.
00:27:09 Maybe I should have never trusted.
00:27:10 Maybe I should have never did the therapy.
00:27:12 And that maybe I should have never spoken up.
00:27:13 It started off good.
00:27:15 My heart was in the right place.
00:27:16 I knew that God was in it.
00:27:17 I knew that He was gonna see me through.
00:27:19 God, I stepped out on faith and it felt like it was good,
00:27:23 but now it feels like I'm sinking and I'm drowning.
00:27:25 God, help me to understand how could good turn out
00:27:28 to be evil.
00:27:29 God, you told me you'd bring my people to me.
00:27:32 And now my people are walking away from me.
00:27:34 God, you told me that you would prepare a table for me
00:27:37 in the presence of my enemies,
00:27:39 but now I'm hungry and I'm starving
00:27:41 and I see my enemies eating.
00:27:43 God, how is it possible that it started off good?
00:27:46 Now, the business don't look good.
00:27:57 The marriage don't look good.
00:28:02 The children, it's not looking like what you promised.
00:28:07 I know we at church and everybody wanna act like
00:28:12 God is good all the time, all the time God is good.
00:28:17 I know, I know, I know.
00:28:19 But sometimes it's hard.
00:28:30 I'm reminded of the widow in 1 Kings 17
00:28:35 who is preparing to die with her son.
00:28:40 They're in a drought.
00:28:43 She's down to her last as it relates to food.
00:28:48 And God sends a prophet.
00:28:51 He sends the prophet Elijah.
00:28:55 And Elijah says, "Go grab me a drink."
00:28:58 And she does that.
00:28:59 And he says, "Also, get me some bread."
00:29:01 And she says, "Actually, I only have enough for one cake.
00:29:05 And me and my son, we're gonna eat it.
00:29:09 And then we're gonna die."
00:29:11 Elijah says, "Go ahead and make the cake.
00:29:16 And as much as you make it, it'll never run dry."
00:29:20 In every area that you think
00:29:25 you're gonna end up running out,
00:29:26 God says, "It may not feel like it's overflowing,
00:29:28 but I'll make sure that there's just enough
00:29:31 that should never run out."
00:29:33 And all of a sudden,
00:29:34 it looked like what was meant for evil has become good.
00:29:42 And the text doesn't tell us that the woman celebrated.
00:29:47 It just suggests that she settled into good.
00:29:51 But then we read a little bit further
00:29:55 and her son dies.
00:29:59 "Now, wait a minute.
00:30:00 God, you saved me when I was ready to die.
00:30:06 You gave me a taste for more.
00:30:09 You gave me an expectancy that there was gonna be more.
00:30:12 And I started adjusting to the reality
00:30:15 that I could trust what was good.
00:30:17 But now Elijah the prophet is here and my son is dying.
00:30:21 How could something good end up looking like it was evil?"
00:30:24 And she is mad because she doesn't understand.
00:30:29 "Did you not come into this house to bless me
00:30:34 only for the tables to turn?
00:30:36 And now I'm in mourning.
00:30:38 God, how did you allow this to happen?"
00:30:40 She's begging the prophet to make a difference.
00:30:43 And the prophet doesn't really know what to say to her,
00:30:48 but he takes the body of the boy
00:30:51 into the upper room of her home.
00:30:54 And he gives us insight into what we need to do
00:30:57 when we are questioning,
00:30:58 God, how could good become evil?
00:31:02 The question is not, is it still good?
00:31:05 The true question is, is it still God?
00:31:10 (congregation cheering)
00:31:13 Because I cannot trust the knowledge
00:31:18 that I have of good and evil.
00:31:20 Sometimes I can't ask, God, is it good?
00:31:23 God, is it evil?
00:31:24 Because my definition and your definition
00:31:26 may be two different things.
00:31:28 So maybe what I need to be asking instead is,
00:31:31 God, are you still in it?
00:31:33 God, are you still here?
00:31:35 Because at the end of the day,
00:31:36 I don't wanna be outside of the will of God.
00:31:38 I don't care how good it is.
00:31:40 If it ain't God, I don't want it.
00:31:42 I don't care how much money it is.
00:31:44 If it ain't God, I don't want it.
00:31:46 I don't wanna just settle for good.
00:31:48 I wanna know, is it God?
00:31:50 I can't trust my knowledge.
00:31:52 My knowledge has been skewed.
00:31:54 My knowledge has been hijacked by the culture.
00:31:56 My knowledge tells me that sexing and drinking
00:31:59 is the way to joy.
00:32:00 I can't trust this knowledge that I have.
00:32:02 But God, is it still good?
00:32:05 Is it still God?
00:32:06 Is it still God?
00:32:08 Are you still in it?
00:32:09 God, are you still in it?
00:32:10 God, 'cause if you're still in it, I'll still build it.
00:32:13 God, if you're still in it,
00:32:14 I believe you can breathe life into it.
00:32:16 God, if you're still in it,
00:32:18 I believe that you can make all things new.
00:32:20 God, if you're still in it,
00:32:21 I believe you'll give me strength to see it.
00:32:23 God, if you're still in it,
00:32:24 I believe you'll give me vision.
00:32:26 God, if you're still in it,
00:32:27 I believe you'll give me innovation.
00:32:29 God, if, see, you gotta understand
00:32:30 what happens when God is in it.
00:32:32 When God is in it, it never runs dry.
00:32:34 God, if you're in it, then miracles can happen.
00:32:37 God, if you're still in it,
00:32:41 I'll know better than what I see.
00:32:48 This is how I know that the whole reason
00:32:52 why this woman went from good to God,
00:32:56 the only step in between was affliction.
00:32:59 It was good that she had meals,
00:33:02 but then her son dies.
00:33:06 But 1 Kings 17 and 24 says
00:33:09 that when Elijah brings her son back to life,
00:33:12 that she gets a revelation.
00:33:15 The revelation is that then the woman said to Elijah,
00:33:17 now by this I know that you are a man of God.
00:33:22 I didn't know you were a man of God
00:33:23 when things were just good,
00:33:25 but when I got finished going through my affliction,
00:33:28 I understood that you are a man of God,
00:33:31 not because of the way you provided,
00:33:33 but because of the way you made a way out of no way.
00:33:36 Now by this I know,
00:33:37 because you brought a dead thing back to life.
00:33:40 Now by this I know,
00:33:41 because you could have left him dead,
00:33:43 but you took him up to the holies of holies.
00:33:46 And when you took him up to the holies of holies,
00:33:49 you made a demand on God to,
00:33:51 now by this I know,
00:33:53 I don't know who you are in this room,
00:33:55 but I feel like God wants to take you
00:33:56 to another level of knowledge.
00:33:58 I don't want you to just know good or evil.
00:34:01 I want you to know that everything that I allow
00:34:04 to happen in your life is gonna be on assignment
00:34:07 to help you get a revelation of who God is.
00:34:10 You want an outcome,
00:34:11 but God wants to give you a revelation.
00:34:13 And if you hang on to the outcome,
00:34:15 you'll miss the revelation that if I brought you this far,
00:34:19 I'm not gonna leave you if I allowed you to build it
00:34:22 for 20 plus years.
00:34:24 I'm not gonna let nobody tear this thing down.
00:34:27 And now by this I know that my God is who he says he is.
00:34:31 Now by this I know that no weapon formed
00:34:34 against me will prosper.
00:34:35 I thought it was good,
00:34:37 but now I know it's God.
00:34:39 No, no, no.
00:34:43 I thought it was good,
00:34:45 but now I know it's God.
00:34:46 I thought it was gonna be good,
00:34:48 but God says I'm gonna take it to another level
00:34:51 because if you know it's God,
00:34:53 you won't depend on Elijah
00:34:55 because Elijah's gotta move on with a woman.
00:34:58 But when Elijah moves on,
00:35:00 I want you to understand that the same power
00:35:03 that allowed Elijah to bring your son back to life
00:35:07 is the same power that I'm gonna use
00:35:10 to take you from season to season to season.
00:35:14 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:35:18 He had to allow that affliction to happen
00:35:21 'cause Elijah was gonna move on in the next chapter.
00:35:24 But before he moves on,
00:35:26 I don't know who you are,
00:35:28 but I hear God saying,
00:35:29 if you only depend on a man,
00:35:32 you miss out on the fact that it was God
00:35:34 moving through the man.
00:35:36 It was God moving through the job.
00:35:38 It was God moving through the...
00:35:40 God did it.
00:35:44 God did it.
00:35:45 God did it.
00:35:47 Y'all can not give your tithes if you want to.
00:35:49 I give my tithes 'cause I know God did it.
00:35:52 I know who signed the check,
00:35:53 but I know who actually signed the check.
00:35:56 I shouldn't even be here,
00:35:58 but God did it.
00:35:59 I know better than to know that a prophet did
00:36:03 anything that God didn't release him to do first.
00:36:06 And if God did it then, he'll do it.
00:36:13 Same God, same God, same God,
00:36:17 same breakthrough, same healing,
00:36:20 same miracle, same power.
00:36:22 Same God.
00:36:23 What's up?
00:36:25 Same God.
00:36:28 ♪ Same God, same God, same God ♪
00:36:33 ♪ Same God ♪
00:36:35 Yeah.
00:36:42 (audience cheering)
00:36:45 It's the same.
00:36:52 It's the same God.
00:36:55 It's the same God.
00:36:58 Y'all got to stop with that music
00:37:03 'cause it sound like a battle cry.
00:37:05 And I'm trying to move into my text.
00:37:10 But something happens when somebody starts recognizing
00:37:15 that they got more arsenal than they think they do.
00:37:19 The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
00:37:22 but they are mighty through God
00:37:24 for the pulling down of strongholds.
00:37:27 Okay, okay, all right.
00:37:35 Calm down, everybody.
00:37:38 Okay.
00:37:40 (audience cheering)
00:37:43 All right, all right, in Luke 1,
00:37:48 in Luke 1,
00:37:51 Zacharias
00:37:56 stuck between good,
00:38:03 I was gonna say good and evil,
00:38:09 but I gotta be honest with you.
00:38:11 He's not just stuck between good and evil.
00:38:16 He's stuck between good
00:38:20 and can I trust better?
00:38:25 Yeah.
00:38:29 I'm gonna be honest with you.
00:38:32 When all you've ever known is disappointment,
00:38:37 (audience cheering)
00:38:40 it is hard to trust better.
00:38:41 We see it in relationships.
00:38:46 We see it in work cultures.
00:38:49 When you have been set to only expect disappointment,
00:38:55 it's hard to trust better.
00:38:56 It's not what we're talking about in this text though.
00:39:00 There are moments when you are already in a good place.
00:39:07 (buzzer buzzing)
00:39:08 Where you're already further out
00:39:10 than anyone in your family could have ever anticipated.
00:39:13 But if you're honest,
00:39:17 sometimes it's hard to trust that it can get any better
00:39:23 than this.
00:39:26 Start thinking I've gotten as high as I can get.
00:39:33 I say that he's stuck here,
00:39:36 because in Luke one, when our text begins,
00:39:41 Zacharias is serving as a priest in Herod's temple.
00:39:45 To understand the significance of this,
00:39:50 you have to understand that when Herod had the temple rebuilt
00:39:54 because it was so sacred and holy to the Jews at that time,
00:39:59 that only those of Jewish priesthood
00:40:02 could be a part of rebuilding the temple.
00:40:05 At the time that the temple was rebuilt,
00:40:07 there were over a thousand priests.
00:40:10 I know you're like, what is this?
00:40:13 It is significant that with a thousand priests
00:40:18 that it had become Zacharias' turn to serve in the temple.
00:40:23 It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
00:40:27 One priest, one week out of the year for a full week,
00:40:32 goes in and burns incense in the temple.
00:40:36 There's only 52 weeks in a year.
00:40:38 And a thousand priests.
00:40:42 When the angel of the Lord comes to visit Zacharias,
00:40:47 he is as what many would think at the top of his game.
00:40:51 He comes from a long righteous family, he and Elizabeth.
00:40:56 This is the ultimate honor.
00:41:00 And the angel of the Lord comes to him and says to him,
00:41:03 you and your wife Elizabeth are going to conceive.
00:41:07 Can I trust this?
00:41:10 God, I'm already at the top of what I thought was possible.
00:41:15 This is already an honor of a lifetime
00:41:18 that I could serve in your temple,
00:41:20 but now you're gonna bless me in a way
00:41:22 that I don't even think
00:41:24 that you should be able to bless me.
00:41:26 See, we talk a lot about imposter syndrome,
00:41:29 but let's talk about what happens
00:41:30 when we don't trust that God can do any better
00:41:33 than he's already done.
00:41:34 I know you're so saved and sanctified
00:41:37 that you say God can do the impossible.
00:41:39 But when the impossible is standing in front of your door,
00:41:42 you begin to think, God, well, I got the spouse
00:41:45 or I got the job and I built the business.
00:41:47 Maybe I shouldn't trust God for anything more.
00:41:50 Maybe I shouldn't step out on faith
00:41:52 and continue to breathe out
00:41:53 what you've placed on the inside of me.
00:41:55 And Zacharias has settled into good,
00:41:58 but God says I can do better than that.
00:42:01 (audience cheering)
00:42:04 I wanna talk to some people in this room
00:42:13 who struggle to believe
00:42:17 not just that it can get better.
00:42:24 They're struggling to believe that what God actually said.
00:42:28 God, you said this, but I don't trust it
00:42:34 because I don't feel worthy of it,
00:42:39 because I feel too old for it,
00:42:42 because I feel too young for it.
00:42:44 And yes, God, you said it.
00:42:45 It's not anything about what you said.
00:42:48 It's about me becoming the person who believes
00:42:50 that I can step into what you said.
00:42:53 Zacharias doesn't believe it.
00:42:55 The priest who was burning incense in the temple
00:42:58 who should have the most faith out of anyone at this time
00:43:01 doesn't have faith that God can show up for him
00:43:06 in the area that he'd given up on.
00:43:11 It's not just self-sabotage.
00:43:21 God told me it's destiny sabotage.
00:43:24 If you don't learn to trust what God said
00:43:32 over what you believe,
00:43:34 if you don't learn to trust what God said
00:43:38 over your disappointment, over your own insecurity,
00:43:41 over your own inadequacy,
00:43:43 if you aren't careful,
00:43:44 your therapist will tell you it's self-sabotage.
00:43:47 But if you get into the closet with the Holy Spirit,
00:43:50 the Holy Spirit will let you know,
00:43:51 "No, no, no, no, this is destiny sabotage."
00:43:54 If you were just sabotaging yourself,
00:43:56 we know that you would sacrifice you
00:43:58 'cause we've seen you sacrifice your own needs,
00:44:00 your own will, your own dreams for everyone else before.
00:44:03 Some of you are willing to lay down
00:44:05 on the altar of self-sabotage,
00:44:07 but God told me I needed to add some gravity to this
00:44:10 to let you understand that this is destiny sabotage,
00:44:14 that this is the destiny that God has for your life.
00:44:17 This is the destiny that only God says you can fulfill.
00:44:20 So if you don't learn to receive it,
00:44:23 your destiny is on the line.
00:44:28 I've always wondered, I'm almost finished, listen.
00:44:37 I always wondered,
00:44:38 Mary and Zacharias actually have similar responses
00:44:45 when the angel of the Lord visits them
00:44:48 and tells them that they're gonna have children.
00:44:50 When the angel of the Lord visits Mary,
00:44:56 Mary says, "How can this be?
00:44:58 "Because I have not known a man."
00:45:01 Zacharias doesn't quite say, "How can this be?"
00:45:05 But he questions it too.
00:45:07 But Zacharias ends up mute when he questions God.
00:45:12 And Mary ends up free.
00:45:15 The difference between what they asked though
00:45:18 is Mary said, "How can this be?"
00:45:21 And Zacharias says, "How can I know this?"
00:45:25 One is about technicality.
00:45:32 The other is about an inner knowing
00:45:36 that I need to have in order to trust it.
00:45:40 I wish I could say that the way God gave it to me.
00:45:43 Zacharias wants to know,
00:45:44 how do I turn a word into a knowing?
00:45:48 How do I take a prophecy into a knowing?
00:45:51 How do I walk this thing out with confidence?
00:45:54 How do I do it with certainty?
00:45:55 Mary just wants to know, how are you gonna do it?
00:45:58 Zacharias says, "I wanna know this thing in my soul.
00:46:01 "I wanna know it."
00:46:02 Does anybody wanna know in this room?
00:46:04 I wanna know that no weapon formed against me will prosper.
00:46:07 I don't wanna be afraid every time I see a weapon.
00:46:10 I don't wanna be afraid anytime I feel like I'm losing.
00:46:13 I wanna know that you're faithful.
00:46:15 I wanna know that you're righteous.
00:46:17 I wanna know that you are a deliverer.
00:46:19 I wanna know that you got that child.
00:46:21 I wanna know that you got that marriage.
00:46:23 I wanna know that you have that business.
00:46:25 I don't wanna just have a feeling.
00:46:27 I wanna know down in my soul
00:46:29 because who I am when I have a knowing
00:46:31 is different than who I am
00:46:33 when I'm sitting on the fence wondering.
00:46:35 When I walk with a knowing,
00:46:36 it doesn't matter what anyone says about it
00:46:39 because I have a knowing that God is not a man
00:46:42 that he shall love.
00:46:43 I'm not talking about something that God told me he might do.
00:46:46 I'm not talking about something that God says,
00:46:47 "Maybe we'll see, maybe we won't."
00:46:50 When God gives me a word, I wanna possess that word.
00:46:53 I wanna take that word and I wanna work that word
00:46:56 with confidence and power and strategy and innovation
00:47:00 because I know if I do my part,
00:47:03 that God says the rest of it is already taken care of.
00:47:06 I wanna talk to somebody who's been walking around
00:47:09 second guessing what God said,
00:47:11 trying to understand how can I know this thing
00:47:14 and I want you to know.
00:47:15 You gotta know it.
00:47:20 So the angel of the Lord says,
00:47:27 he doesn't walk away from him.
00:47:29 He doesn't say, "I give up on you because you don't know it.
00:47:33 "I give up on you because you don't have faith on it."
00:47:35 That's what people do.
00:47:36 That's not what God did.
00:47:37 God says, "I am gonna make you mute though
00:47:39 "because if I make you mute,
00:47:40 "you won't be able to talk over me.
00:47:42 "If I make you mute, you won't be able to sabotage
00:47:45 "the very thing I'm trying to place in your life."
00:47:47 And while you're mute,
00:47:49 he positions Zacharias to be mute but watching.
00:47:55 He said, "How can I know this?"
00:48:01 If you wanna know it,
00:48:04 I'm gonna tell you the first thing you gotta do
00:48:05 is you gotta be mute.
00:48:07 You gotta stop talking about it.
00:48:09 You gotta stop second guessing it.
00:48:11 You may not be able to speak faith into it
00:48:14 but the least you could do is shut up.
00:48:15 I know we're not supposed to say that
00:48:17 but I wanna talk to somebody
00:48:19 who is speaking their fears into a season
00:48:21 that only requires faith.
00:48:23 I want you to understand that if you cannot add value to it
00:48:26 then you are subtracting from it.
00:48:28 So the least you could do is be quiet.
00:48:31 Sometimes you gotta bring your fears into the mute season.
00:48:34 Sometimes you gotta bring your circle into a mute season.
00:48:37 I can't let just anybody talk into this.
00:48:39 I gotta go mute.
00:48:40 That word mute, it means involuntary silence.
00:48:44 Involuntary stillness.
00:48:48 That means if you're waiting on them to be quiet
00:48:51 so that you can have the faith that you need
00:48:53 to produce what God says,
00:48:54 you're gonna miss out on the moment.
00:48:56 So you're gonna have to put them
00:48:58 into an involuntary stillness.
00:49:00 They won't even know that we don't talk about it anymore
00:49:03 because the moment you bring it up, I change the subject.
00:49:06 You gotta go mute on that, that's my destiny.
00:49:08 We could talk about the weather,
00:49:10 we can talk about what's on TV
00:49:11 but you can't talk about this child
00:49:13 'cause I'm trying to, oh gosh,
00:49:14 trying to do something in this child.
00:49:16 And if you start speaking while God is working
00:49:19 then I may miss out on what God is doing.
00:49:21 So you gotta stop talking.
00:49:23 Girl, did you see that?
00:49:24 No, I didn't see it and I don't wanna hear it either.
00:49:27 I gotta make sure my circle is mute enough
00:49:29 that I'm not distracted when it's time for me to be watching.
00:49:33 God says, it's time for you to watch
00:49:35 and Zachariah starts watching what God said,
00:49:38 become what God is doing because Elizabeth starts showing.
00:49:42 Elizabeth starts showing.
00:49:51 God says, if you'll get mute, I'll show you.
00:49:57 If you get quiet, you can get quiet but open your eyes.
00:50:02 You see, most of us get quiet and we shut our heart out
00:50:05 and we shut our mind out and we shut our spirit out
00:50:08 and we say, I don't want it anyway.
00:50:10 I don't want it anymore anyhow
00:50:12 but God says, you can get mute but keep your eyes open
00:50:15 'cause if you keep your eyes open,
00:50:17 you'll start seeing what I said
00:50:18 is gonna start showing up in your life.
00:50:21 God says, all you gotta do is be quiet.
00:50:23 Start watching.
00:50:31 I want you to start watching.
00:50:32 God told me that would be somebody's word.
00:50:38 I'll tell you, I got one more point.
00:50:49 That word that was translated mute
00:50:52 and Luke one in the earlier part
00:50:55 is the same word that Jesus is used,
00:51:00 that Jesus uses when the storm is raging
00:51:04 and he's on the boat.
00:51:05 When Jesus says, peace, be still.
00:51:10 That word peace is the same word that was translated mute
00:51:16 when the angel of the Lord tells Zacharias
00:51:20 that he's gonna have to be mute.
00:51:23 I'm gonna have to bring you to a place of peace.
00:51:31 (congregation cheering)
00:51:34 The way that you turn a word into a knowing
00:51:37 is when you come to a place of peace.
00:51:42 I'm not gonna let myself talk myself out of this.
00:51:49 I'm not gonna let you talk me out of this.
00:51:52 I'm not gonna disqualify what God said
00:51:57 based off of what you see, what you think, what you feel.
00:51:59 I'm not even gonna let science disqualify what God said.
00:52:03 If God says I'm healed,
00:52:04 then I gotta bring my heart to a place of peace
00:52:07 because if God says I'm healed
00:52:09 and I don't believe I'm healed
00:52:10 or I allow you to project your fears onto me,
00:52:13 I can't concentrate with the word.
00:52:15 Oh God, I feel like somebody's gotta take that word
00:52:18 and bring it into a season of concentration
00:52:21 so that it doesn't lose its potency with opinion,
00:52:24 so that it doesn't lose its potency with disappointment.
00:52:27 I gotta let it be concentrated
00:52:29 and sometimes the only way the word can become concentrated
00:52:32 is if you're forced to concentrate.
00:52:36 The whole point of this message,
00:52:42 when we get into our text,
00:52:46 Zacharias has come to the point
00:52:50 where it is time for him to name John.
00:52:57 We're in Luke 1, 57.
00:52:59 Elizabeth has given birth and he's seen at least 10 months
00:53:04 of God taking a word
00:53:08 and turning it into something tangible.
00:53:10 He's still mute, she gives birth though
00:53:13 and he's still mute.
00:53:15 So it wasn't just about when she gave birth
00:53:19 then he would finally be able to speak again.
00:53:21 He's still mute.
00:53:22 This moment in the text is when he goes
00:53:25 from being mute and able to speak again.
00:53:28 And I recognize that part of the reason
00:53:30 why this moment matters so much,
00:53:34 this moment where he must confirm
00:53:36 what John's name will be, it matters so much
00:53:39 because he has to make sure that that word
00:53:42 that has been concentrated, that word that received depth,
00:53:45 that word that was perfected in him over time,
00:53:48 we gotta make sure that when it's time for him
00:53:50 to actually release it into the world,
00:53:52 when it's time for him to release it into his community,
00:53:55 that he doesn't shrink it in order to fit in,
00:53:58 that he doesn't get so prideful
00:53:59 that he starts saying, "Well, I made it to this side,
00:54:02 "now I'll take over."
00:54:03 No, I gotta make sure that you stay mute long enough
00:54:06 to make sure that when you open your mouth,
00:54:08 your mouth reflects what I said,
00:54:10 that when you release your gift,
00:54:11 that that gift reflects what I said.
00:54:13 I know some of you have been waiting
00:54:15 to be discovered for so long
00:54:17 and you've been wondering,
00:54:17 "God, why is it that my voice has been silent?
00:54:20 "Why is it that I'm not the one who is out there doing it?
00:54:22 "And I see other people doing it,
00:54:24 "but I hear God saying, "'Cause I gotta make sure
00:54:26 "that when I release you,
00:54:28 "that you release what I gave you
00:54:30 "and not what you wanted it to be,
00:54:32 "that you release what I gave you
00:54:33 "and not what they said it should be,
00:54:35 "that you release what I gave you
00:54:36 "and not what your mama said it should be,
00:54:38 "and not what your cousin said it should be.
00:54:40 "I wanna make sure that you don't lose what I gave you
00:54:43 "when it's time for it to be released."
00:54:45 And it is important
00:54:46 that Zacharias does this well,
00:54:52 because Zacharias is John's forerunner.
00:54:55 Somebody oughta preach this for Father's Day.
00:54:58 But it talks about the role of a father in this text
00:55:02 to set an environment for his son to be all that he can be.
00:55:06 This is the moment that everyone is waiting for
00:55:09 because what God gave him is gonna shock the community.
00:55:13 What God gave him is gonna shock the culture.
00:55:15 And if he doesn't set an atmosphere
00:55:18 for his son to step into it,
00:55:20 he's gonna make it harder on his son than it has to be.
00:55:23 But because he has decided
00:55:25 that I'm gonna do what God told me to do,
00:55:27 he didn't even realize that his obedience
00:55:30 was gonna pave the way for his son
00:55:32 to not have to work as hard as he had to work for.
00:55:36 I wanna talk to somebody
00:55:37 who needs to understand that it's bigger than you,
00:55:40 who needs to understand
00:55:41 that the generations are coming after you.
00:55:43 It is not just about you and your mouth and your praise.
00:55:48 It's about the generations that are coming up behind you.
00:55:51 Oh God, when I was studying this text,
00:55:54 God told me, I'm trying to stop hollering,
00:55:59 God told me that Zacharias had to get to a place of knowing.
00:56:04 He had to get to a place of being solid and steadfast
00:56:13 because what John was gonna do in the earth
00:56:17 would be foreign and unknown.
00:56:20 He would look like a wild man to everyone else.
00:56:24 And if he didn't come to a place of knowing,
00:56:27 he could not invade,
00:56:28 he could not allow John to invade the earth
00:56:31 with the unknown.
00:56:33 God, help me to say this.
00:56:35 You gotta know it
00:56:38 because when it comes out of you, it's gonna look foreign.
00:56:41 It's gonna look unknown.
00:56:43 It's gonna look strange.
00:56:44 It's gonna look weird.
00:56:46 And if you don't know it,
00:56:47 then somebody will mess around and say you don't deserve it.
00:56:50 If you don't know it,
00:56:51 then someone could convince you
00:56:53 that there's no space for it.
00:56:55 But when you know that you know that you know,
00:56:57 it doesn't matter what happens.
00:56:59 It may be unknown to you, but it is known to me.
00:57:03 It may be unknown to you that I would be up here,
00:57:05 but it is known to me
00:57:07 because God placed a knowing down in my spirit.
00:57:10 Everyone else can be surprised when the baby graduate.
00:57:12 I'm not gonna be surprised
00:57:14 'cause God told me that when that baby was in kindergarten,
00:57:17 that that baby was gonna make it to the other side.
00:57:19 Everyone else can be surprised
00:57:21 that I made it to the other side with my mind,
00:57:23 but I'm not surprised 'cause God gave me a knowing.
00:57:26 God told me I'm gonna call you into the unknown
00:57:29 and it's gonna look weird
00:57:30 to everyone on the outside looking in,
00:57:33 but it's not gonna be weird to you
00:57:35 because you're gonna have a deposit
00:57:37 of what is known about you.
00:57:38 I hear God saying, I'm not surprised that that came out.
00:57:42 Oh, God.
00:57:43 (congregation cheering)
00:57:45 Everybody else was surprised,
00:57:47 but God, John, Zacharias, and Elizabeth were not surprised
00:57:53 'cause they had been in the secret place.
00:57:56 They had learned to get still enough
00:57:57 with the word that God gave them
00:57:59 that even though it shocked everyone else,
00:58:01 it was right on schedule for them.
00:58:04 They didn't know that God had already named this child
00:58:07 before the child took his first breath,
00:58:09 that God had already named that business
00:58:11 before you had the first employee,
00:58:13 that God had already named that house
00:58:15 before you even applied for the loan,
00:58:17 that God had already named that deal
00:58:19 before they even came up to you and presented it to you,
00:58:22 and everyone else could be surprised,
00:58:24 but I knew it was coming.
00:58:26 I know we don't like to preach about prideful messages,
00:58:28 and this isn't about pride.
00:58:30 This is about a knowing.
00:58:31 I hear God saying, let it catch everyone else by surprise,
00:58:35 but you stand by and you see the salvation of the Lord
00:58:38 'cause I knew it was coming.
00:58:40 I knew you were gonna do it.
00:58:42 I knew it was gonna come through.
00:58:44 I knew you were gonna release me.
00:58:46 I knew you had a place for me.
00:58:47 I know better than to believe that my last days
00:58:51 are gonna be worse than my former days.
00:58:53 I know better than to believe
00:58:55 that this evil is gonna have the last say.
00:58:58 I know better than to believe that though he slay me,
00:59:02 I can't trust him.
00:59:03 I know better.
00:59:05 I know better.
00:59:06 I know better.
00:59:07 I know better.
00:59:09 I know better than you'll leave me.
00:59:10 I know better than depression will have the final say.
00:59:13 I know better than I'm gonna lose my mind.
00:59:16 I may be down, but I'm not lost.
00:59:18 'Cause I know he'll come find me.
00:59:19 I know he'll keep me.
00:59:21 I know he'll make a way outta nowhere.
00:59:23 I know.
00:59:27 I know it.
00:59:29 I know it.
00:59:31 I know better.
00:59:32 I know better.
00:59:33 I know better.
00:59:35 I know better.
00:59:36 I know better.
00:59:37 I went through hell, but I know better.
00:59:39 I went through hell, but I know better.
00:59:41 I had to fall off the grid, but I know better.
00:59:44 I was silent, but I know better.
00:59:46 I've been crying, but I know better.
00:59:48 I'm glad you did it 'cause I know better.
00:59:50 I know better.
00:59:51 I know better.
00:59:52 I know better.
00:59:53 I know better.
00:59:54 When I know better, I move better.
00:59:56 And when I move better, I say hell on notice.
01:00:00 I know better.
01:00:03 It's me.
01:00:04 I know better.
01:00:09 I know better.
01:00:10 Okay.
01:00:20 I know better.
01:00:23 I know better.
01:00:25 This is Zacharias' moment
01:00:30 to release what he knows into the earth.
01:00:36 And I have a prophetic declaration
01:00:39 for somebody in this room
01:00:40 that it's time for you to take what you know
01:00:44 and release it into the earth.
01:00:46 It's time for you to take what you know
01:00:48 and let it confuse some people who didn't know.
01:00:51 I know better than you know.
01:00:53 It's okay.
01:00:53 It's time for you to take what you know
01:00:55 and start releasing it into that marriage.
01:00:57 It's time for you to take what you know
01:00:59 and start releasing it into that business.
01:01:01 It's time for you to take what you know
01:01:04 and start releasing it into that church.
01:01:06 It's time for you to take what you know
01:01:08 and start releasing it into that music.
01:01:10 Release it into a movie.
01:01:12 I know better than to believe
01:01:14 that the wealth of the wicked
01:01:16 is just gonna stay stored up.
01:01:18 I know better.
01:01:19 I know.
01:01:24 I know better.
01:01:25 I know better.
01:01:26 The business collapsed, but I know better.
01:01:29 They walked away from me, but I know better.
01:01:31 I know I should be out of my mind.
01:01:33 I see you waving, baby, but I know better.
01:01:36 What's up?
01:01:37 Okay.
01:01:41 I know better.
01:01:42 (upbeat music)
01:01:45 (audience cheering)
01:01:48 So, all right, we going home.
01:01:56 We going to brunch.
01:01:58 I'm gonna just say this.
01:02:02 When Zacharias finally releases what he knows,
01:02:07 my text tells me, oh God, I feel you,
01:02:12 that when he released what he knew,
01:02:15 that this boy name is John,
01:02:18 and they marveled at this,
01:02:20 and fear came on them
01:02:21 'cause he was doing something unknown with his knowing.
01:02:24 He was doing something unknown to them,
01:02:26 but it was known to him.
01:02:28 It says immediately his mouth was opened
01:02:31 and his tongue loose,
01:02:33 and he spoke praising God.
01:02:37 This is my final point.
01:02:38 There was something that happened to his praise
01:02:42 when he released what he knew
01:02:45 that allowed him to begin praising God.
01:02:48 And I am crazy enough to believe
01:02:50 that he wasn't just praising God
01:02:52 that his tongue was loose.
01:02:53 I believe he was praising God
01:02:55 because God took a word and turned it into a knowing,
01:02:59 and he had enough fuel in the tank
01:03:01 to help him raise a child
01:03:03 who would go on to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ.
01:03:07 You got enough knowing for generations
01:03:09 to walk through what you're going through.
01:03:11 You got enough knowing to pave a road
01:03:14 for someone coming up behind you.
01:03:16 You got enough knowing.
01:03:17 I want you to know that you went through hell,
01:03:20 but God says, I know you went through hell.
01:03:22 That's why I know that you're gonna pave a road.
01:03:25 I know that you're gonna carry breakthrough.
01:03:28 I know that demons tremble
01:03:31 when you wake up in the morning.
01:03:33 I know, I know that I know, that I know.
01:03:36 (upbeat music)
01:03:39 I know, I know.
01:03:41 There's a praise that can only be released when you know.
01:03:50 You got to praise when you want.
01:03:56 You got to praise when you kind of believe,
01:03:59 but there is a praise that is released
01:04:01 when you know that I've never seen the righteous forsaken
01:04:06 and their seed begging for bread.
01:04:08 I know, I know it.
01:04:11 God, I know it.
01:04:12 God, I know you're better to me than I deserve.
01:04:15 I know you're faithful.
01:04:16 I know you're righteous.
01:04:18 I know you're a healer.
01:04:19 I know you still do miracles.
01:04:21 I know you still heal marriages.
01:04:23 I know you still deliver.
01:04:25 I know you still set free.
01:04:28 I know.
01:04:28 I know.
01:04:33 Heaven.
01:04:40 I know.
01:04:43 Okay.
01:04:45 God told me
01:04:52 that I'm going to bring you to a place of knowing.
01:04:57 (singing)
01:05:04 I'm going to bring you to a place of knowing.
01:05:11 No more insecurity.
01:05:15 No more second guessing.
01:05:19 No more doubting.
01:05:23 No more disbelief.
01:05:25 I'm going to bring you to a place of knowing.
01:05:30 Confidence.
01:05:35 And what you know, I'm going to allow to overflow.
01:05:41 Until it becomes someone else's knowing.
01:05:51 Someone's going to know by proxy.
01:05:53 Because you know.
01:05:55 For a father to affirm a son and his identity
01:06:04 means that this son doesn't have to question himself
01:06:09 the way that he would question himself
01:06:11 if he only had the ears of other people.
01:06:14 But because Zacharias went through this process,
01:06:20 there is a knowing that he can give to his son.
01:06:22 This is Mother's Day.
01:06:26 I want to talk to some people in this room
01:06:31 who were robbed of a sense of knowing.
01:06:38 Because somebody wasn't able to do the work,
01:06:44 receive the revelation, do the healing.
01:06:49 That would have given you the knowing that you need.
01:06:52 I want to talk to someone
01:06:57 who feels like they've been working at a deficit.
01:07:03 Because no one deposited in me
01:07:07 a sense of righteous identity.
01:07:12 A real sense of salvation.
01:07:16 I don't really know who I am.
01:07:19 And you're in this room.
01:07:21 And God's giving you a word
01:07:24 about what he can do through you and with you and for you.
01:07:29 But if you're honest, sometimes you just don't know.
01:07:34 Just don't know if he can do it.
01:07:38 I don't know if it's still God.
01:07:42 'Cause it got hard.
01:07:44 And what you need to know is that
01:07:49 and what you want more than anything
01:07:51 is to know better.
01:07:56 I want to know better.
01:07:59 I want to silence the doubt.
01:08:03 I want to silence the worry.
01:08:05 I want to silence the pain.
01:08:08 If that's you, would you just wave at me?
01:08:12 No matter where you're, hey.
01:08:14 Hey.
01:08:16 God knows, God knows.
01:08:18 God knows, God knows.
01:08:21 God knows who you are.
01:08:22 God knew they couldn't give it to you.
01:08:26 God knew that you would want it,
01:08:29 but God says, "I can cover what they couldn't give you."
01:08:31 I can fill the areas that they left empty.
01:08:36 God says, "I see it, I see it.
01:08:38 "I see those empty places in you.
01:08:40 "I see you wonder and I see you question."
01:08:42 God says, "I want to bring you to a place of knowing,
01:08:44 "but it can only happen by my spirit."
01:08:47 I know you got your affirmations.
01:08:48 I know you're reading all the books.
01:08:50 I know you got all the podcasts
01:08:51 'cause you're just trying to know better.
01:08:53 You're trying to know better, but I hear God saying,
01:08:55 "The knowing is in the connection.
01:08:57 "The knowing is in the trusting.
01:08:58 "The knowing is in the walking.
01:09:00 "The knowing is in the watching.
01:09:02 "The knowing is in the trusting.
01:09:03 "The knowing is in the faith to believe."
01:09:05 That even when they didn't know you,
01:09:10 God knew what was in you.
01:09:14 (congregation cheering)
01:09:17 Lift your hands, I wanna pray with you.
01:09:19 Holy Spirit.
01:09:24 Oh God.
01:09:27 God, I thank you for truth.
01:09:33 I thank you for vulnerability.
01:09:37 I thank you, God, that for maybe the first time
01:09:43 in a long time, that someone in this room
01:09:47 doesn't feel less than because they don't have
01:09:51 what they think they should have.
01:09:54 I thank you, God, that you created this opportunity
01:09:58 where their emptiness could be revealed,
01:10:02 not to shame them, not to condemn them,
01:10:05 but so that you could feel them.
01:10:07 So Holy Spirit, I ask that your spirit
01:10:12 would begin to fall,
01:10:14 that they would even feel a weight in their hands.
01:10:19 (speaking in foreign language)
01:10:19 That they would feel a fire in their hands,
01:10:22 that they would feel a fire in their hearts, God.
01:10:25 I pray that your spirit would begin to fall on them
01:10:27 in an intimate way, not just where they hear it, God,
01:10:30 but let them feel it somewhere in their body, God.
01:10:32 Let it stir up the gift of God
01:10:34 that's on the inside of them, God.
01:10:36 Let your presence touch them on their shoulder.
01:10:38 Let your presence be with them right now in this moment, God,
01:10:42 as a sign that you know.
01:10:45 I know it hurt.
01:10:49 I know you're worried.
01:10:52 I know you're concerned.
01:10:53 But God says, "I know better.
01:10:56 "I know a better way.
01:10:59 "I know a better path.
01:11:00 "I know a better future."
01:11:03 God, begin to whisper in their ears,
01:11:06 as only you can do,
01:11:07 what you know about their circumstance.
01:11:12 What you know about their identity.
01:11:14 What you know about their gifts, their talents,
01:11:17 their family, what you know about them.
01:11:19 May they hear, I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
01:11:24 May they hear that they are your beloved.
01:11:28 May they hear that you have a purpose for them.
01:11:31 May they hear that depression is not the end.
01:11:35 May they hear that their enemies may have meant it for evil,
01:11:39 but that you mean it for good.
01:11:40 May they hear that you will never leave them
01:11:43 nor forsake them.
01:11:44 May they hear that you are a healer and a way maker.
01:11:47 May they hear that you see the tears they're crying.
01:11:50 May they hear that you see that the dream
01:11:53 that is inside of them is about to explode
01:11:55 and they're worried that there's no one
01:11:56 who can handle the birth of what's coming through them.
01:11:58 May they hear that you have midwives on demand.
01:12:01 That the moment they start to push
01:12:03 that someone's gonna catch it.
01:12:04 God, may they hear
01:12:08 that they are exactly where they are supposed to be
01:12:12 and nowhere close to where they will be.
01:12:15 Because when you get finished with them,
01:12:17 you're gonna transform them.
01:12:19 God, there's somebody in this room
01:12:22 and they stopped trusting you.
01:12:23 They couldn't tell what was good,
01:12:26 what was evil and what was God.
01:12:28 God, today, they're making a silent commitment
01:12:33 to trust you again.
01:12:37 Maybe it's baby steps.
01:12:40 Maybe they trusted you in every other area,
01:12:42 but in this one particular area,
01:12:43 they've been holding on to it.
01:12:45 God, I thank you that they're gonna give it back to you.
01:12:50 They're gonna trust that you have provision
01:12:52 and that you have wisdom and strategy
01:12:55 that is waiting to be released.
01:12:57 I thank you, God, that you still do miracles,
01:13:01 that you're still making ways out of no ways,
01:13:06 that you're still leading and guiding.
01:13:08 And so, God, I pray that this whisper of your spirit
01:13:11 would continue to be with them.
01:13:14 There is no such thing as sealing this moment
01:13:19 because we just took the seal off.
01:13:22 (congregation applauding)
01:13:25 Let it flow, God.
01:13:30 Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow.
01:13:35 Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow.
01:13:38 Let it flow, let it flow.
01:13:40 Let rivers of living water start flowing through them,
01:13:43 oh God, and may it saturate everything connected to them.
01:13:46 We release you to be you in every way that you can.
01:13:50 In Jesus' name, amen.
01:13:52 Can you just praise for me?
01:13:54 Can you lift up a praise like Zacharias did?
01:13:57 Can you, come on, can we do better than that?
01:14:00 I know we gotta go, but can we do better than that?
01:14:03 (congregation applauding)
01:14:06 I'm gonna tell you,
01:14:07 before you go, I'm just gonna tell you,
01:14:10 this is the kind of word that I would sow into
01:14:13 if I were you.
01:14:14 And if you're looking for direction on how to sow,
01:14:16 I'm not gonna make a big deal out of it.
01:14:18 They can put instructions on the screen.
01:14:19 You can drop a seed into the PMT's bucket.
01:14:22 But what I will say is this,
01:14:24 is that it was on the eighth day
01:14:27 that Zacharias released what he knew.
01:14:30 And so, if you were gonna give,
01:14:32 I highly suggest that you give a seed
01:14:34 that has a connection with eight.
01:14:36 $80, $88, 800, eight, eight, eight, eight, eight.
01:14:40 It means new beginnings.
01:14:41 And on the eighth day, when Zacharias released what he knew,
01:14:45 a new beginning started, not just for him,
01:14:48 but for the generations that were gonna come through him.
01:14:51 And so I want someone who has decided
01:14:53 that this is where I am gonna mark the spot
01:14:56 to sow an eight, eight,
01:14:57 whatever your increment of eight is, into this word.
01:15:01 Let it be an offering, let it be a sacrifice.
01:15:04 And thank you guys, I love you, happy Mother's Day.
01:15:07 (audience cheering)
01:15:10 (upbeat music)
01:15:24 (upbeat music)
01:15:27 (upbeat music)
01:15:30 (upbeat music)
01:15:32 (upbeat music)
01:15:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]