Are You Committed to Being Fit -- Pastor Sheryl Brady
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LearningTranscript
00:00:00 I have fought a good fight.
00:00:25 Look at somebody and tell him I have fought a good fight.
00:00:29 I have finished my course and I have kept the faith.
00:00:34 Ooh, what a mouthful that is right there.
00:00:38 Some people just fight.
00:00:41 Some people finish the course, but in the middle of finishing the course, they lose
00:00:44 the faith.
00:00:45 But Paul says, I fought a good fight.
00:00:48 I finished my course and I have kept my faith.
00:00:55 Luke chapter 9, verse 62, the scripture reads, Luke chapter 9, 62, but Jesus said to him,
00:01:07 no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
00:01:25 No one that has put your hand to the plow and look back is fit for the kingdom of God.
00:01:36 Look at your neighbor on the right and say, neighbor, are you committed to being fit?
00:01:42 Turn your other neighbor and say, neighbor, I'm not talking about your waistline.
00:01:48 I ain't talking about a number on a scale.
00:01:52 But I want to know if you're committed to being fit for the master's use.
00:01:59 Father, today I thank you for your word.
00:02:01 I thank you that the grass will wither, the flower will fade, but your word will abide
00:02:05 forever.
00:02:06 Send the kind of anointing in this room that captures us, captures our mind, captures our
00:02:12 attention, captures our hearing and brings with it, Lord, the empowerment that we need
00:02:22 to fulfill your assignment on our lives.
00:02:24 Have your way, Lord.
00:02:26 We're hungry.
00:02:27 We're waiting.
00:02:28 We're anticipating.
00:02:29 We will bless you for it in Jesus name.
00:02:32 Amen.
00:02:33 Somebody clap your hands one more time and tell him, thank you for your word.
00:02:37 That ain't exciting.
00:02:38 Tell him, thank you for your word.
00:02:43 You may be seated today in the presence of the Lord.
00:02:45 No man, no one, no person having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the
00:02:54 kingdom of God.
00:02:56 Now whenever I read that word fit right there, that just kind of jumps out at me in this
00:03:01 passage, but it also indicates to me that there is some type of training or some type
00:03:08 of coaching or some type of a preparing or an exercise regimen that is necessary in advance
00:03:19 of the fight.
00:03:20 So in other words, no one should just ever assume that.
00:03:24 And even I'm talking about Christians, nobody should just ever assume that we are automatically
00:03:29 ready to fight the good fight of faith.
00:03:35 And how many of you know that in this faith journey that we find ourselves in, that there
00:03:42 will be fights along the way.
00:03:45 Okay.
00:03:46 I'm not talking about fighting and pulling out your boxing gloves and I'm not talking
00:03:51 about wrestling with flesh and blood, but I am talking about confrontations and clashes
00:03:58 that take place in the spirit realm, that realm where we will, that those are, there
00:04:02 are times that we will find ourselves in those kinds of fights.
00:04:07 Now we don't all fight the same fight, but rest assured that every one of us have and
00:04:15 we'll continue to go through seasons where we have had to fight.
00:04:20 Amen.
00:04:21 Has there been anybody in here that knows what I'm talking about?
00:04:24 You ever found yourself in a fight?
00:04:28 Okay.
00:04:29 Five of you.
00:04:30 Have you ever found yourself in a fight?
00:04:33 You bet we have been in a fight.
00:04:36 We have to fight to endure.
00:04:38 We have to fight to be strong.
00:04:40 We have to fight to hold out.
00:04:42 We have to fight to overcome obstacles and, and challenges on a daily basis.
00:04:47 We have had to fight poverty.
00:04:50 Some people have had to fight rejection.
00:04:52 We've had to fight discrimination and injustice and, and ignorance.
00:04:57 We've had to fight mental health issues.
00:04:59 We've had to fight trauma.
00:05:01 We have had to fight abuse.
00:05:03 We've had to fight fear at times.
00:05:06 We've had to fight anxiety.
00:05:08 We've had to fight addictions and we've had to fight betrayal and, and loneliness and
00:05:14 loss and stress and self doubt and insecurities.
00:05:20 We've had to fight to get up every day of our life.
00:05:24 We've had to fight with inconsistencies within our nature.
00:05:28 We've had to fight for focus.
00:05:31 We've had to fight to raise our family.
00:05:33 We've had to fight to build our marriage.
00:05:35 We've had to fight to build ministries.
00:05:38 Look at somebody and tell them we have all had to fight.
00:05:43 We've had to fight all of that and then add, add people to the mix of all of those other
00:05:49 things that you have had yourself, that you have found yourself having to fight as if
00:05:55 all of those other things don't take up enough of my time and enough of my energy.
00:06:02 Now I got to fight you too.
00:06:06 Look at somebody and tell him I ain't got time to fight you.
00:06:11 My world is tough enough.
00:06:14 My battles are tough enough.
00:06:17 My memories are tough enough.
00:06:21 Stop making it harder for me.
00:06:25 Okay, look at somebody and go ahead and tell them some unfortunately you're sitting next
00:06:34 to the person that has made it harder for you.
00:06:36 But I want to give you the opportunity to look and tell them, stop making it harder
00:06:42 for me.
00:06:43 Listen, I am in a fight.
00:06:46 I got fights happening.
00:06:47 You ain't even seen.
00:06:48 You have no idea what I'm having to fight.
00:06:51 I guarantee you today that there are people that are sitting within the vicinity of where
00:06:57 you are sitting today and they are in a fight right now.
00:07:02 They had to fight to get here.
00:07:05 They had to fight to stay here.
00:07:07 They've had to fight to hear this word.
00:07:10 Let me tell you something.
00:07:12 Everybody fights.
00:07:13 The rich and the poor have found themselves in fight.
00:07:17 People that you look up to.
00:07:19 Yes, even those people have been in a fight or two.
00:07:24 Those who are living in the house that you wish you could live in.
00:07:28 Those who are driving the car that you wish you could drive.
00:07:31 Those that have the career or the title that you wish you had.
00:07:36 Even those people are in a fight.
00:07:39 The people who are single have had to fight.
00:07:43 People who are married have had to fight.
00:07:47 People who are raising beautiful kids have had to fight.
00:07:50 People that are living their best life now, even in the middle of that, there's some fights.
00:07:56 They may not tell you about them, but there are some fights.
00:08:00 All of us have been in a fight.
00:08:03 We fight for energy.
00:08:05 We fight for clear mind.
00:08:07 We fight to get anybody to do.
00:08:09 You understand what I'm saying?
00:08:12 We fight for somebody to give us an opportunity to make a way for.
00:08:17 We fight for a good name.
00:08:20 We fight for a good job.
00:08:23 We fight for a good doctor's report.
00:08:25 We fight for a good credit score.
00:08:29 We fight for a good education.
00:08:31 And some of us fight for even a good night's sleep.
00:08:36 And don't worry about me oversleeping because my mortgage gets me up every morning.
00:08:43 Absolutely.
00:08:45 My electric bill gets me up out of the bed.
00:08:48 My phone bill gets me up.
00:08:51 My insurance gets me up.
00:08:53 My commitments in life, they get me up.
00:08:56 It is the fight that wakes me up every day.
00:09:00 Edwin was right.
00:09:01 It is the fight.
00:09:02 I don't need an alarm clock.
00:09:05 No, because all of my life I've found myself having to fight.
00:09:09 Look at somebody and tell them I've had to fight all my life.
00:09:16 I had to fight outwardly, but I've also had to fight inwardly.
00:09:22 I've had to go in my closet and encourage myself.
00:09:27 I've had to speak life to myself.
00:09:29 I've had to lay hands on myself.
00:09:32 I had to quote the word of God over myself.
00:09:35 Live and not die, Cheryl.
00:09:37 You're the head and you're not the tail, above only and not beneath.
00:09:41 You are blessed.
00:09:42 You don't feel blessed, but you're blessed.
00:09:45 You are blessed coming in.
00:09:46 You are blessed going out.
00:09:47 No weapon formed against you has the ability to prosper.
00:09:52 In all of these things, we are more than conquerors.
00:09:57 Look at somebody and tell them I'm no stranger to fighting.
00:10:02 I'm no stranger to fighting.
00:10:06 I try not to wear it on the outside, but Lord, sometimes, if you knew how raggedy I felt
00:10:15 on the inside.
00:10:16 The very fact that I'm in this building is a testimony to the goodness of God in my life.
00:10:27 We've all had to fight.
00:10:28 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in
00:10:36 moments of comfort and convenience, but it is where he stands at times of challenge and
00:10:44 controversy.
00:10:46 He's telling us that if you're going to attempt to measure a person, don't pull out your measuring
00:10:53 tape while they are going through good times, but rather pull it out when they are going
00:11:00 through tough times, because that's where you're going to get an accurate measurement
00:11:04 of who they are.
00:11:05 If you want a true measure of a person, you have to measure them based on how they respond
00:11:12 to adversity.
00:11:13 Anybody can respond good when everything is going well.
00:11:19 Anybody can respond good in good times, but how do you respond in bad times?
00:11:26 Anybody can be courageous when nobody is there challenging them, but how do you respond when
00:11:33 you've been sucker punched and beat up and knocked out by life?
00:11:38 You can look all powerful when there's nothing that's confronting you, but when life gets
00:11:44 through breaking you and when life gets through blacking your eyes and smacking you around
00:11:50 and breaking your heart and leaving you for dead, when life takes you through stuff like
00:11:57 that, oh, I'm here today to tell somebody that life can humble the strongest one that
00:12:05 is among us.
00:12:09 Life can be a great equalizer.
00:12:13 Life can make you and your big self feel small.
00:12:17 Life can remind you really quickly that you are human and humans have limitations.
00:12:28 Life will teach you to shut your mouth.
00:12:33 Does anybody know what I'm talking about?
00:12:36 Just as you get ready to go off about somebody else and running your mouth about other people
00:12:42 and judging other people saying, I would never, you hear me?
00:12:46 I would never, I wouldn't let that happen in my house.
00:12:49 I wouldn't let that happen in my relationship.
00:12:51 I wouldn't let my child be like that.
00:12:54 Oh no, that should have never happened at all.
00:12:59 And let me tell you, when you get through spinning like a top and you see what it is
00:13:06 like to be in somebody's shoes, you will shut up too.
00:13:12 Okay, y'all don't act like you know when I look at somebody and say, you will, you'll
00:13:18 shut up.
00:13:21 The only people that are quick to judge other people are those who are inexperienced at
00:13:27 living life.
00:13:29 When I hear you run your mouth about other people that tells me you haven't experienced
00:13:35 much in life because when life gets through with you, you will shut your mouth and you'll
00:13:41 say, God, just help.
00:13:42 I help them.
00:13:43 Jesus.
00:13:44 I don't know what their face, I don't know how they're getting out of it, but I pray
00:13:48 that you will help them because after you have lived a minute and after you have been
00:13:54 in a fight, you are not so quick to put your mouth on other people's lives.
00:14:02 Does anybody know what I'm talking about?
00:14:05 That's not a battle.
00:14:06 I should look at somebody tail and pick your battles.
00:14:09 Don't fight that one, but pick your battles.
00:14:13 So the early church, the early church, we are the church, but there was a church earlier
00:14:20 than us.
00:14:21 The early church, they were in a fight and the climate that they were in, the best way
00:14:30 I can say it is like, um, it's like there was a bunch of associate pastors who had all
00:14:38 come together and they had taken over in the absence of the senior pastor whose name was
00:14:47 pastor Jesus.
00:14:50 So when, when he went away, they're, they're a little shaken and these associate pastors,
00:15:00 they have been playing in a supportive role, but now they have had to move into levels
00:15:08 of leadership.
00:15:09 So, so these men and these leaders and the associate pastors or these disciples, they
00:15:17 are dealing with in comparable pressure because I don't care who you're with and how close
00:15:25 you walk with them until you have to do it yourself.
00:15:32 You can walk out of here and talk about, Oh, Oh, well they preach this and they preach
00:15:36 that.
00:15:37 But if you can't explain what we preach, then you don't really know what you think, you
00:15:42 know it, but you don't know it until you can explain it.
00:15:45 So these men, even though they walked with Jesus, they are under so much pressure.
00:15:52 What kind of pressure are they under?
00:15:53 They're under the pressure to perform now.
00:15:57 They're under the pressure to maintain.
00:16:00 They're under the pressure to survive.
00:16:04 They're under the pressure to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ because see now it's
00:16:11 tough because the people don't perceive them the same way they perceive Jesus.
00:16:19 And so now they've, they're being scrutinized and, and it's, it's a mess all up in the early
00:16:25 church and, and so now you have got, you've got associate pastors who were once disciples,
00:16:33 but now because they've been under pressure to, to have to carry on the ministry of Jesus
00:16:39 without Jesus, uh, they are, they are fighting amongst themselves.
00:16:46 Some think that certain things should be handled this way.
00:16:51 Others are like, no, no, no, that's not how he would have done it.
00:16:54 He would have handled it the other way.
00:16:56 And on top of all of that, you have got other apostles now who are beginning to come up
00:17:03 on the scene who were not mentored by Jesus himself.
00:17:09 You've got Saul who was a mass murderer who was killing Christians and now he has been
00:17:17 converted and he is being, uh, he is, is perceived as an apostle.
00:17:23 Uh, and, and that's a mess right there because how in the world can, can you just come in
00:17:28 here now and tell me you are an apostle?
00:17:31 You weren't even part of our clique.
00:17:34 You weren't even part of the club.
00:17:36 Okay.
00:17:37 You, you, you, you, you weren't part of the tribe.
00:17:40 You weren't ain't that a mess when somebody from the outside comes in and now they try
00:17:43 to act like they were here all the time.
00:17:46 You, you were not chosen.
00:17:48 See, see Paul when he, when he came up, he, he, and when he came in, he was an immigrant,
00:17:57 so to speak.
00:17:58 He was an immigrant.
00:17:59 And so because he was an immigrant, he was not received correctly because all immigrants
00:18:05 are not received correctly.
00:18:07 Even in the church, they didn't know Paul.
00:18:16 They didn't know, should we receive him?
00:18:19 Should we separate?
00:18:21 What should we do?
00:18:23 And in the middle of all of these moments that they are trying to wrap their heads around,
00:18:30 Paul rises up among them with incredible influence and incredible power.
00:18:39 Nevermind that they are fighting grief too.
00:18:41 I didn't mention that, but the man that they had gave up everything to follow is now gone.
00:18:48 And I guarantee some of them had family members that were saying, see, I told you, you should
00:18:53 have never sold your business and started following that man right there.
00:19:01 So he's raised up and he's got all the power and he's got the influence.
00:19:04 And as a matter of fact, let me tell you something about Paul.
00:19:07 There was more written about Paul than was written about all of the 12 disciples put
00:19:16 together.
00:19:17 Okay.
00:19:18 And he was not mentored by Jesus.
00:19:21 Now he has been converted.
00:19:23 He's come to know Christ and he's begun to preach and he's begun to teach the gospel.
00:19:29 He is focusing however, uh, largely he's focusing his ministry on the Gentiles.
00:19:37 Okay.
00:19:38 He's teaching them about grace and he's teaching them about a type of grace that is unheard
00:19:48 of.
00:19:49 Okay.
00:19:50 And his disciples got a problem with it because when Paul preached, he preached about a radical
00:19:56 grace.
00:19:57 Okay.
00:19:58 And on top of all of that, now on top of all of that, Paul is downplaying their traditions.
00:20:06 He is downplaying their works.
00:20:08 He is downplaying their ceremonies and their sacraments.
00:20:12 And he is basically saying, listen, guys, it really doesn't take all of that.
00:20:18 And he said, he basically said, I don't care what you did.
00:20:22 I don't care who you did it with.
00:20:24 I don't care where you been.
00:20:27 I want to tell you today that God's grace is enough for you.
00:20:34 God's grace is sufficient because it is not of works.
00:20:41 Lest any man should boast when he's doing all of this.
00:20:47 James says, Hey, wait a minute now.
00:20:50 Wait a minute, Sarah, Paul, let me tell you something.
00:20:54 Faith without works, sir, is dead.
00:20:58 And let me ask you this.
00:20:59 Who in the world are you anyway?
00:21:01 Okay.
00:21:02 You were not part of our team.
00:21:04 You were not there when the miracles happened.
00:21:08 You were not there when he turned the water into wine.
00:21:12 You did not see him raise the dead.
00:21:14 You were not there when he fed the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread.
00:21:20 And now you want to come in here with your radical opinion of grace.
00:21:27 Oh, look at somebody and tell him trouble is brewing.
00:21:33 Paul keeps on preaching in spite of their skepticism.
00:21:39 He keeps on doing what he's called to do.
00:21:43 And Paul has got a long way to go in a short time to get there.
00:21:47 So he's realizing I need to pick me a team and picking your team is very, very vital.
00:21:53 You have to be careful who you pick to get in your circle.
00:21:57 I say it's vital because it's vital because these are the people that are going to be
00:22:04 in the thick of the fight with you.
00:22:06 They are the people who will climb in the foxhole with you.
00:22:09 They will get in the trench with you.
00:22:11 These are the people that are on your team that are going to have your back and they're
00:22:15 going to be with you and thick through thick and thin.
00:22:18 And you don't have to worry about what they say today not being true tomorrow because
00:22:23 they are in it with you.
00:22:25 So you got to be really careful and real discerning about who you surround yourself with, because
00:22:33 a lot of people will like you in the light.
00:22:38 Everybody, when it comes time for the fight, they are nowhere to be found.
00:22:45 A lot of people, they want to be around people where they can be recognized and they can
00:22:52 be honored just because they are associated with somebody that is being honored.
00:22:58 But watch out for that because when people start turning against you, those same people
00:23:05 that says, "I'm just here to help you," they will be nowhere found and they will run out
00:23:11 of your life and look for the nearest exit.
00:23:14 They want to be a part of your glory, but they don't ever want to be a part of your
00:23:20 story.
00:23:24 And you ain't got time to cry about all of that and feel betrayed and feel like, "Oh,
00:23:30 I just, they just did me."
00:23:31 You ain't got time for all that.
00:23:32 Look at somebody telling you, "You ain't got time for all that."
00:23:36 You got places to go and you've got things to do and you've got worlds to speak to.
00:23:41 And when people show you who they are, believe them.
00:23:46 Believe them.
00:23:53 So Paul, Paul connects with a man named Barnabas.
00:23:57 He's part of his team.
00:24:00 They started out good.
00:24:02 They started out doing ministry together.
00:24:05 Well Barnabas has a cousin.
00:24:09 Barnabas' cousin's name was John Mark.
00:24:13 Are y'all following me?
00:24:14 I don't want to lose you.
00:24:16 So Paul decides, "Well, come on, get him.
00:24:18 He can come with us too."
00:24:20 Now know this, that John Mark was the son of a very wealthy Christian woman.
00:24:26 So he comes along and he's really just there to be their armor bearer or be their companion
00:24:33 or to be their assistant or be their support, whatever they need.
00:24:39 That's what John Mark is there to do.
00:24:42 And so he's walking around with Paul and with Barnabas all throughout Jerusalem as they
00:24:51 are fulfilling their assignment.
00:24:52 Now he loved that, John Mark did, because Jerusalem was his home.
00:24:58 It was his home anyway.
00:24:59 And so he loves that because he's taken a measure of pride in being seen with these
00:25:06 two powerful men in a place where all his family and all of his friends.
00:25:11 Yes, see that guy, I know John Mark.
00:25:14 I don't know about the other guy.
00:25:15 I know he's from here.
00:25:17 You know, because people, they love to be seen with people who are being seen.
00:25:28 And John Mark is loving every minute of it.
00:25:32 And there's been some fruit that's happening there because the church is growing under
00:25:37 the leadership of Paul.
00:25:39 It's actually growing more in the circle of the Gentiles than it is growing in the Jewish
00:25:46 circles because about this time, the Jewish circles, they are falling back into apostasy
00:25:53 and they are falling back into blindness.
00:25:56 So the real thrust of the revival that is happening in this moment is happening among
00:26:05 the Gentiles.
00:26:06 Now, let me tell you something about the Gentiles.
00:26:09 The Gentiles were nasty people.
00:26:12 Okay.
00:26:13 They were low down people.
00:26:17 They would just do anything and everything.
00:26:21 So the Gentile people, they were the people that the Jews would not even eat with because
00:26:36 they were appalling with their orgies and with all of the things that sin and all the
00:26:42 perversion that they were doing.
00:26:45 But now somebody say now, but now they are eating together.
00:26:51 They are laughing together.
00:26:53 They are fellowshipping together.
00:26:56 They are singing together.
00:26:58 They are clapping their hands and James is as hot about all of it as anybody could be
00:27:10 because Paul is loving every minute of it.
00:27:15 Peter was not okay with it at first.
00:27:17 Okay.
00:27:18 Peter was part of his team too.
00:27:19 Peter was not okay with him at first, but then God gave him a dream and God told him,
00:27:25 he said, boy, whatever God has cleansed, don't you be putting your mouth on it because whatever
00:27:35 God has cleansed, you cannot call unclean.
00:27:39 It wouldn't take many a dreams like that for me.
00:27:41 I would get it.
00:27:42 I think I would get it.
00:27:44 And so, so in this, this whole dynamic, you've got James who is leaning all the way to the
00:27:51 right because he knew Jesus.
00:27:54 And then you got Paul who is leaning all the way to the left and you got Peter who was
00:28:02 somewhere in the middle of it all.
00:28:06 And, and it is about to be on.
00:28:09 Look at somebody say it's about to be on.
00:28:12 Things are coming to a head and there is a rumbling that is going on within the camp.
00:28:19 There's also things that are going on outside of the camp, outside of the camp.
00:28:25 They are killing people and they are beheading people and they are crucifying people upside
00:28:31 down.
00:28:32 And so they're not really even able to get together like they would like to get together
00:28:38 because it's, it's dangerous out there.
00:28:43 And now it's, it's one thing to have an enemy that is within your house or within, or with,
00:28:53 within your circle and among your house.
00:28:56 But, but I mean out there, but when it gives moves into your house, that is a different
00:29:03 kind of fight altogether.
00:29:06 Does anybody know?
00:29:07 It's one thing to have haters out there.
00:29:09 But when you wake up and realize that you got a hater right here in your house, when
00:29:19 you realize that the hater is the one who sucks with you, when you realize that the
00:29:27 hater is the one that sits at your table, y'all don't want to say anything, but I'm
00:29:33 going to tell you, I know that that happens.
00:29:36 When you realize that the hater is the one who breaks bread with you at your table, let
00:29:43 me tell you something.
00:29:44 Judas is always in your house.
00:29:53 Always be aware that it's possible that a Judas is sitting at your table.
00:30:01 So now they've got trouble on the inside.
00:30:04 They have got trouble on the outside.
00:30:06 They have got trouble everywhere.
00:30:08 They turn, they got controversy and they've got clashes.
00:30:13 All of this is happening inside and outside.
00:30:17 And somebody in this room today that is listening to me or somebody listening to me online,
00:30:23 you know exactly what I am talking about at this moment.
00:30:28 You are fighting trouble on the inside and you're fighting it on the out.
00:30:35 You're fighting circumstances.
00:30:37 You're fighting life.
00:30:39 You're fighting your own mind.
00:30:41 You're fighting your own self-worth.
00:30:43 You're fighting your own lifestyle.
00:30:46 You're fighting to get anybody to please understand where you are coming from.
00:30:52 You're fighting and it's breaking your heart.
00:30:56 Fighting with those who you hate, but now you're having a fight with those who you love
00:31:02 to.
00:31:03 Have you ever found yourself having to fight with those that you love?
00:31:12 Fighting in a place where you should be able to find loyalty, devotedness, peace of mind.
00:31:23 So all of that is the feeling that the early church is going through.
00:31:31 Paul said it was so bad that I was pressed above measure.
00:31:40 I was pressed.
00:31:42 It's one thing to be pressed.
00:31:46 It's one thing to be pressed within your measure.
00:31:49 This is tough, but I got grace for it.
00:31:52 But when you feel like you have been pressed above measure and beyond the strength that
00:31:59 you have, it's a really bad thing.
00:32:02 And Paul said, it got so bad that I even despaired life itself.
00:32:12 He said, I am Paul and I wanted to quit.
00:32:15 I wanted to throw up in the towel.
00:32:18 I wanted to give up.
00:32:21 I was leaving.
00:32:22 I was teaching.
00:32:23 I was preaching and people were looking at me for direction, but the truth be told, I
00:32:30 wanted to die.
00:32:32 I would preach and then turn around and want to die.
00:32:37 I was up under so much pressure that I didn't have a match for.
00:32:44 And if it wasn't one thing, it would turn around and be something else.
00:32:48 If it wasn't coming from over here, it was coming from over there.
00:32:53 Paul was saying, I even Paul was at my breaking point.
00:32:58 I'm talking about pressure that closes in on your soul.
00:33:04 I don't know if anybody knows what that is like, but it's like somebody turned off the
00:33:09 lights and pressure has closed in on your mind and you're trying to feel your way through
00:33:16 it.
00:33:17 You're trying to feel your way out of it and you're trying to survive, but pressure has
00:33:22 shut you down.
00:33:27 The enemy sits on your mind to bind your mind.
00:33:33 You ever had your mind feel bound?
00:33:38 Every day they were hearing about other believers being killed all around them.
00:33:44 So it was costly to preach the gospel.
00:33:50 It ain't like today.
00:33:53 Everybody wants to get their date book filled up.
00:33:56 Where are you going to be at doc?
00:34:00 Where are you being?
00:34:01 Whose church you going to?
00:34:04 It was costly in those days.
00:34:09 And yet they kept going forward.
00:34:15 They kept moving on, even though the fight still real, they were still going back and
00:34:22 forth, bickering with one another about works and about grace and about grace and about
00:34:27 works.
00:34:28 And Peter was incredibly in the middle of it all.
00:34:31 Peter was incredibly unstable.
00:34:37 Peter was unstable.
00:34:39 He had all kinds of strength to stand when he was in a physical fight because he would
00:34:48 pull out his sword and he would cut your ear off before you even knew it.
00:34:57 But when he was tried in a warfare that wasn't physical, it brought him to his breaking point.
00:35:08 Don't mess with Peter in a physical fight because Peter was going to take you out because
00:35:17 he had unbelievable strength and unbelievable courage.
00:35:21 He was the one you know, who stepped out of the boat and walked on the water.
00:35:27 Peter was courageous, but none of us are strong in everything.
00:35:38 That tells me none of us are strong in everything.
00:35:43 The fight he was in was bringing out the instability that was a part of his life.
00:35:53 One day he would say, yes, we're going to eat meat.
00:35:57 But the next day he wouldn't be eating no meat.
00:36:02 One day he was with the Gentiles, but the next day he didn't want nothing to do with
00:36:08 them.
00:36:09 And everything I have just told you blew up at Antioch.
00:36:19 Paul, he is on his way to Antioch, but his helper and his companion, John Mark, has decided
00:36:29 that he wasn't going with him.
00:36:32 He had been with him and Barnabas as they went all throughout Jerusalem, where you know,
00:36:39 the place where all of his friends could see him.
00:36:43 But when they left Jerusalem to go into other regions and other territories where the real
00:36:52 work was going to have to happen, John Mark ghosted them.
00:36:57 You ever heard anybody ghost you?
00:37:03 I mean, he just disappeared.
00:37:07 He didn't resign.
00:37:08 He just disappeared.
00:37:10 He didn't give any reason, which meant all they could do was speculate.
00:37:15 He just didn't show up for the fight.
00:37:22 He was present for the fun, but he was not ready for the fight.
00:37:33 Paul and Barnabas went on into Antioch and they went in, you know, they're already on
00:37:44 a 100 there, so they're anticipating a fight.
00:37:47 They're on guard.
00:37:48 They never went into a meeting anticipating a fight.
00:37:52 Don't act like y'all ain't never done that.
00:37:57 Well they went in there into Antioch expecting a fight and that's exactly what happened.
00:38:04 The preachers, they got to fighting so much among themselves.
00:38:10 They were yelling at each other.
00:38:13 I mean, you should have been called the preachers of Antioch.
00:38:21 Because Paul and Peter, they got into a shouting match because Paul got tired of Peter's instability
00:38:33 and so he jumped up in his face and he said, I'm sick of your tessellating.
00:38:41 One day you're going to eat with the Gentiles and the next day you won't.
00:38:47 You're hypocritical.
00:38:49 One day you'll embrace them as brothers, but the next day you won't.
00:38:56 One day you're endorsing them as brothers, believing that the blood has made all of us
00:39:03 equal.
00:39:04 But when James comes around and he starts criticizing you over what you're doing with
00:39:11 the Gentiles, now you want to back up and Paul was sick of it.
00:39:16 Have you ever just had enough?
00:39:19 Y'all don't act like you know what I'm talking about.
00:39:26 Paul was over it and he said, listen, your friendship, your friendship with me is making
00:39:35 my life harder.
00:39:38 Have you ever loved somebody who was making your life harder?
00:39:49 There is no kind of fight like the fight that you get in with somebody that you care about.
00:40:00 So Paul is like, man, because you won't take a side and you won't be stable and because
00:40:08 of your foolish behavior, because of your instability.
00:40:14 Now I've got Barnabas, a man on my own team, he's questioning me now.
00:40:21 You are making my life much harder and I really, I really thought that you would make my life
00:40:31 better, but you're not.
00:40:34 Have you ever wanted somebody that would make your life better?
00:40:43 But the moment that they got in there, they made it worse.
00:40:52 You don't say everything, but sometimes you just look at them like I have had every right
00:41:00 to expect better things from you, but because you were not as stable as you should have
00:41:10 been, because you were not as prepared as you should have been because you were not
00:41:16 battle ready like you should have been.
00:41:21 Now loving you is killing me.
00:41:26 I feel like I'm having to do it all alone.
00:41:30 I'm a ponder it myself and I can't count on you and I thought I could count on you.
00:41:36 I've tried to be there for you, but where are you when I need, when I need help?
00:41:43 You're unstable.
00:41:44 You're acting a fool and the very fact that you are willing to stand up in their face
00:41:53 and confront their instability, it really is a sign that you do really love them because
00:42:02 you don't get that mad and fight that hard if you don't love people.
00:42:09 No what you do is you dismiss them.
00:42:16 But the fact that I'm confronting you, the fact that I am standing in your face says
00:42:23 something very powerful.
00:42:26 It says that you have got my heart because I would have cut you off, but you got my heart.
00:42:40 Trouble was everywhere.
00:42:44 Paul was, he has this feeling that he later describes at a trial.
00:42:54 He says, when I came to trial, no man stood with me withstanding the Lord, but the Lord
00:43:06 stood with me.
00:43:07 The Lord was the one that strengthened me.
00:43:12 He reached in and he pulled up what was left of me and he breathed life into it when nobody
00:43:18 else was there.
00:43:21 Have you ever come to a place of trial in your life and nobody stood with you?
00:43:31 I mean a place where even those who were with you were not really with you.
00:43:40 I mean they said they were with you and they showed up, but they weren't really with you.
00:43:48 They were more like an accessory hanging on your neck like a necklace.
00:43:56 They shine when the lights hit it, but they were never really part of the outfit.
00:44:05 They were with you, but they were not with you at the same time.
00:44:11 Paul is finally at a breaking point.
00:44:15 Barnabas is with him.
00:44:16 Let's recap it.
00:44:17 Barnabas is with him, but he's shaky.
00:44:20 He's been in a fight with Peter.
00:44:23 John Mark has ghosted him.
00:44:27 John Mark put his hands to the plow and then he dropped them and he turned back and went
00:44:35 somewhere else.
00:44:36 They don't even know where he went.
00:44:38 All they know is he's gone.
00:44:41 How many people have started out with you?
00:44:45 They ain't with you no more.
00:44:48 That's why I learned so long ago, you cannot build your life on what people say to you.
00:45:02 At the end of the day, baby, all you got is Jesus.
00:45:07 I said all you really got is Jesus.
00:45:12 People will turn on you and they won't even wait to hear your side of the story.
00:45:26 They won't wait.
00:45:29 That's why you need to thank God for being with you and in you.
00:45:34 Like I preached last week, he is with me and he is in me.
00:45:38 He is with me in good times are good.
00:45:41 He is in me when times are not so good.
00:45:45 He is with you when you're riding high.
00:45:47 He is with you when you're riding low.
00:45:50 He is with you when your life is coming together and he is with you when your life is falling
00:45:56 apart.
00:45:57 Tell your neighbor he stood with me.
00:46:00 I can't testify about anybody else, but he, when I look like a winner, he stood with me.
00:46:09 And when I was in fact a loser, he stood with me.
00:46:13 When I was a hero, he stood with me.
00:46:16 And when I was a zero, he stood.
00:46:21 Look at somebody and tell him I never would have made it without him.
00:46:29 And that's why I praise him.
00:46:32 And that's why I worship him.
00:46:34 And that's why I honor him because he stood with me.
00:46:38 That's why I smile.
00:46:41 And that's why I dance.
00:46:43 And that's why I jump for joy because it was him.
00:46:47 Look at somebody and tell him it ain't about you.
00:46:54 Tell him it ain't about you.
00:47:00 It was about him who stood with me.
00:47:04 I need just about five or six minutes and I'm done because I'm all closed with this
00:47:14 right here.
00:47:16 The Bible said in Acts 15, I believe somewhere around verse 36 all the way up to maybe about
00:47:24 verse 41.
00:47:26 The Bible says, "Then after some days, time had passed.
00:47:33 Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us now go back and let us visit our brethren in every city
00:47:43 where we have preached.
00:47:46 Every city where we've preached the word of the Lord.
00:47:49 Let's check on them and see how they are doing.'"
00:47:53 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them, guess who?
00:48:00 John Mark.
00:48:03 But Paul insisted he ain't going with me because people don't just ghost you and all of a sudden
00:48:13 you bring them back in like none ever happened.
00:48:20 What Paul really knew was that John Mark was a quitter at that time.
00:48:27 And Paul said, "I need somebody I can lean on.
00:48:30 I need somebody I can trust.
00:48:34 Ministry is not for the faint of heart.
00:48:36 I need somebody that I can count on to be there.
00:48:41 And I know you like Barney.
00:48:42 I mean, I know you like him Barnabas.
00:48:47 I know he's your cousin and everything, but I'm going to tell you something about him.
00:48:55 He wants success, but he ain't ready to sacrifice."
00:49:04 The Bible said that the contention between Paul and Barnabas was so bad and so sharp
00:49:16 that they parted one from another.
00:49:21 They should have never got so mad so quick.
00:49:24 But I'll tell you what happened.
00:49:26 Things had been building up and when you let things build up and you don't deal with them
00:49:35 as they happen, you will find yourself losing it over something that you should have never
00:49:44 lost it that quick over.
00:49:48 They should have never gotten this mad, but it was the undercurrent that was taking place.
00:49:55 It's what some would say the straw that broke the camel's back.
00:50:01 Just Paul had had enough.
00:50:05 They separated and Barnabas, he went and got John Mark.
00:50:11 And the two of them sailed away to Cyprus.
00:50:18 But Paul, he chose another person.
00:50:24 He chose a man by the name of Silas.
00:50:30 And Paul and Silas departed, the Bible says, being commended by the brethren to the grace
00:50:37 of God.
00:50:39 He went through Syria, began strengthening churches everywhere.
00:50:47 Barnabas chose John Mark, but Paul chose Silas.
00:50:53 You remember Silas.
00:50:58 You know, the two of them got beat and put in jail.
00:51:04 They were handcuffed, beaten half to death.
00:51:10 Thank God it wasn't John Mark he went to prison.
00:51:17 He chose the right ministry partner because you'll remember the story about midnight.
00:51:30 Paul and John Mark, no, Paul and Silas, they prayed and they sang praises.
00:51:40 And as they sang praises, the Bible said that the earth began to quake and the earth began
00:51:51 to shake.
00:51:52 If he'd have been in prison with John Mark, they would have killed him because John Mark
00:52:00 was not ready to withstand the fight.
00:52:04 John Mark didn't have enough fight down in him.
00:52:08 But when he got in a fight and Silas was his partner, Silas said, "Hey, Paul, you okay
00:52:18 over there?
00:52:19 Man, if you sing, I will pray."
00:52:24 But together, we are coming out of this.
00:52:34 Look at three people and tell them, "Let's work it together.
00:52:37 Let's work it together.
00:52:38 Let's work it together."
00:52:39 Tell somebody else, "If you will, I will."
00:52:40 Can I tell you, it matters who you partner with.
00:53:00 And as they sang and prayed, and as they prayed and sang, the earth began to quake and it
00:53:22 broke free.
00:53:23 I used to always think that the earthquake was the result of people trying to get out.
00:53:24 But really, the truth of the matter is the earthquake was a result of God trying to get
00:53:28 in because God was saying, "Wait a minute, I am in habit praise.
00:53:35 And I hear somebody in a locked up situation.
00:53:41 I hear somebody beaten.
00:53:43 I hear somebody under pressure.
00:53:45 I hear somebody under stress trying to sing my praise.
00:53:51 I got to get in and find out who it is."
00:54:01 And having done all to stand, we stand together.
00:54:14 We stand in the fight.
00:54:17 We stand in the storm.
00:54:20 We stand in the middle of controversy.
00:54:24 When it mattered the most, Silas stood firm.
00:54:33 Silas would focus.
00:54:36 Silas was locked in and committed.
00:54:42 Staying committed in controversy is not easy.
00:54:49 Staying committed in disappointment is not easy.
00:54:55 Staying committed without recognition is not easy.
00:55:00 There's a lot of people in this church that have stayed committed without ever hearing
00:55:08 their name come across this pulpit.
00:55:12 But it doesn't matter because they do what they do as unto the Lord.
00:55:20 I don't make it easy though.
00:55:23 Staying committed without appreciation is not easy.
00:55:31 Standing firm when it hurts to stand is not easy.
00:55:41 But look at somebody and tell them, "I'm committed to standing.
00:55:47 I'm committed to standing."
00:55:50 I get confused sometimes, but at the end of the day, I'm committed to standing.
00:55:56 I get weary sometimes, but I'm committed to standing.
00:56:01 There's a whole lot of stuff I don't understand, but I am committed to standing.
00:56:06 My heart gets heavy, but I am committed to standing.
00:56:10 I am exhausted, but I am standing.
00:56:17 Can I tell you there will be times that everything in you wants to quit.
00:56:29 Everything in you wants to run.
00:56:32 Everything in you wants to take out the trash and never come back.
00:56:39 Everything in you wants to collapse.
00:56:44 But look at somebody and tell them, "I dare you to be consistent.
00:56:49 I dare you to be consistent.
00:56:50 If you're going to be in my life, you have got to have consistency.
00:56:56 If you are for me, be for me every day or get out of my face.
00:57:03 If you love me, love me every day or get away from me.
00:57:09 If you say you're there for me, be there for me every day or move away.
00:57:16 If you're going to be my friend, don't be my friend on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,
00:57:22 and I can't find you on Tuesday and Thursday.
00:57:26 If you say you're going to have my back, have it every day in every situation."
00:57:36 Paul is insisting and needing consistency.
00:57:47 Because Paul will go through immeasurable storms, immeasurable battles.
00:57:57 We think we've been through something.
00:57:59 You and I ain't been through nothing until you start looking into the life of Paul.
00:58:05 Paul went through ridiculous attacks.
00:58:11 He's going to be shipwrecked.
00:58:13 He's going to be snake-bitten.
00:58:15 He's going to be stoned.
00:58:18 So therefore, he cannot travel and fulfill his assignment with people who are not ready for the fight.
00:58:29 Look at somebody and ask them, "Are you ready for the fight?"
00:58:34 Okay, let me wrap this.
00:58:36 The reason that Barnabas--I'm going to take you back a second.
00:58:40 The reason that Barnabas was trying to keep John Mark on the team is because Barnabas had this forgiving heart.
00:58:51 He didn't want Paul to hold it against him because he ghosted him.
00:58:56 But that's not why Paul wouldn't take him back at the moment.
00:59:03 Paul knew that he wasn't battle-ready yet.
00:59:08 He knew it wasn't time yet, and he knew if he pulled him into a position that he would probably fail.
00:59:15 And he didn't know if he was able to get over it or not.
00:59:20 So Paul was like, "Let's drink no wine before it's time.
00:59:27 Just leave him."
00:59:30 Because let me tell you, he looked the part.
00:59:33 He did a good job.
00:59:35 But there's a difference between looking ready and being ready.
00:59:41 I said there's a difference between looking ready and being--
00:59:44 Look at somebody and say, "Are you fit yet? Are you fit yet?"
00:59:48 "Are you committed to the process of fitness?"
00:59:53 He that putteth his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the king.
01:00:06 Everybody's standing with me and giving me this moment.
01:00:13 Every man that putteth his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the king.
01:00:23 So listen to me.
01:00:26 You don't have to backslide to quit.
01:00:33 You know what I'm talking about?
01:00:35 Like as we've always heard of backsliding.
01:00:39 Just being tired sometimes is enough to make you drop your hands.
01:00:50 Being weary and doing well sometimes makes you want to drop the plow.
01:00:58 Showing up but not really being there.
01:01:04 Being present but not really being accounted for.
01:01:09 Ghosting.
01:01:12 There but you ain't really there.
01:01:16 And what's sad about that is that sometimes when you back up and go away,
01:01:26 other people step in and get what should have been yours.
01:01:38 Well I was tired.
01:01:41 Tired will never let you go until you confront it.
01:01:52 Other people now have stepped up and received what by all rights should have been yours.
01:02:02 And when that happens, there's a couple things.
01:02:06 You either lie to yourself, get bitter, and you blame somebody else for all of your weaknesses.
01:02:15 Or strengthen yourself.
01:02:24 You don't wait on anybody to do it for you.
01:02:28 You strengthen yourself.
01:02:31 The more you are able to endure, the more fit you will find yourself for this fight.
01:02:42 And in the final hours of Paul's life, he is sitting in a cold prison.
01:02:51 He's about to be killed.
01:02:55 He's an old man now.
01:02:58 He knows that his life is coming to an end.
01:03:02 So he tells his son Timothy,
01:03:06 "I have fought a good fight.
01:03:14 I have finished the race.
01:03:18 And I in the middle of it all have kept the faith.
01:03:23 And now laid up for me is a crown of righteousness.
01:03:30 So don't cry for me.
01:03:39 But I will tell you, Timothy, if you're going to come and see me, you better hurry."
01:03:48 And I preached this so many times.
01:03:51 He said, "And when you come, what do you say, bring my coat?
01:03:58 Because it's cold in this prison."
01:04:03 And one more thing I want to ask you to bring is, bring me some paper.
01:04:10 Because I'm really down to the last drops right now.
01:04:14 But I still got a little bit more to say.
01:04:18 I can't leave this world and take this with me.
01:04:21 I got to say it, so bring me some paper.
01:04:24 Somebody will need to know that they are more than conquerors through Christ.
01:04:30 Somebody!
01:04:37 They're going to need these last few drops that I have.
01:04:42 He asked for a coat and he asked for paper.
01:04:45 And that's all I've ever preached when I preached that text.
01:04:50 But I read something last night.
01:04:55 And I'm like, "My God, how did I not see that?"
01:05:01 He said, "Bring my coat.
01:05:05 Bring me some paper.
01:05:09 And when you come, bring John Mark too."
01:05:24 You know what that means to me?
01:05:26 That means don't ever throw anybody completely away.
01:05:33 Because though they might not be profitable to you at that moment,
01:05:38 and though they might not be fit at that moment,
01:05:42 a little bit later,
01:05:46 they could be profitable.
01:05:49 Bring John Mark.
01:05:56 John Mark has grown.
01:06:00 John Mark has went from being unprofitable,
01:06:04 where unprofitable means I have nothing left,
01:06:08 to being profitable, which means I have reserves.
01:06:15 This life is changed.
01:06:18 [Music]
01:06:23 [MUSIC]