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00:00:00 (upbeat music)
00:00:02 Go to Hebrews 11, chapter,
00:00:14 Hebrews chapter 11, verse eight through 12.
00:00:17 I don't know that I have ever taken ministry
00:00:24 any more seriously than I do right now.
00:00:28 (congregation cheering)
00:00:30 My wife and I, several weeks ago,
00:00:33 were out on the water and a couple that we were with
00:00:38 leaped in the ocean.
00:00:40 And I didn't pay any attention to it at first,
00:00:43 but they said the ocean feels like bath water.
00:00:46 And at first I thought, "Oh, that's nice."
00:00:50 And then I thought, "No, that's not, that's not, that's."
00:00:55 (congregation laughing)
00:00:57 That's not good.
00:00:58 Leprosy creeping into the country.
00:01:04 The world is trembling.
00:01:09 Fires breaking out around the world.
00:01:22 Our own neighborhood is on high alert against fires.
00:01:27 If ever was a time we needed a sure word from God,
00:01:37 it's right now.
00:01:42 I take it very seriously.
00:01:48 I see God doing what I projected to you
00:01:52 about a month ago regarding our vision for the future.
00:01:57 I can see the church drawing closer to God.
00:02:01 Can you feel it in the service?
00:02:07 Can you feel it in the service?
00:02:09 Can you feel it in the service?
00:02:11 I can feel it in the service.
00:02:12 I can feel it in the atmosphere.
00:02:15 The reason I want you really close to God
00:02:18 is that the Bible said everything that can be shaken
00:02:20 will be shaken.
00:02:22 So that those things that cannot be shaken might remain.
00:02:26 I don't want to move you to a safe place that's not shaking.
00:02:30 And the safest place I know is in the presence of God.
00:02:35 Can I get a witness?
00:02:38 Hebrews 11 and eight reads like this out of the NIV,
00:02:42 by faith Abraham, when he called to go,
00:02:45 when called to go to a place he would later receive
00:02:49 as his inheritance obeyed and went.
00:02:54 Even though he did not know where he was going.
00:02:58 Stay right there, stay right there, stay right there.
00:03:01 'Cause when I read that, that just,
00:03:03 I want to read that again, okay.
00:03:07 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place
00:03:12 he would later receive as his inheritance,
00:03:15 he would later receive as his inheritance.
00:03:19 He visited what he was going to own.
00:03:22 I want to draw your attention 'cause God lets you visit
00:03:32 what you will later own.
00:03:33 Obeyed, that's the whole thing right there, obeyed.
00:03:44 Obeyed, how many of you are learning to be obedient?
00:03:46 Hallelujah, obeyed and went.
00:03:50 Even though he did not know
00:03:56 where he was going.
00:04:01 I went to Mexico several, 20 years ago
00:04:12 and visited and bought a house in a city in an area
00:04:17 where I could speak a bit of Spanish.
00:04:20 My sister said, "You crazy.
00:04:21 "You can't be afraid to go somewhere
00:04:27 "you have never gone to do something you have never done."
00:04:39 By faith he made his home in the promised land
00:04:43 like a stranger in a foreign country.
00:04:48 He lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob
00:04:53 who were heirs with him of the same promise.
00:04:58 He didn't just walk in faith but he taught his son
00:05:01 and grandson to walk in faith also.
00:05:04 He modeled it in front of them.
00:05:07 They inherited his courage, his obedience,
00:05:11 his tenacity, his fight, his willingness to go
00:05:16 even when he didn't know where he was going.
00:05:19 That's somebody's word right there.
00:05:21 You've been saying as soon as I see my way clear
00:05:24 I'm gonna go, God said, "No, I want you to go
00:05:27 "and not know where you're going."
00:05:29 For he was looking forward to the city
00:05:34 with foundations whose architect and builder is God.
00:05:39 Play real close attention to this.
00:05:45 And by faith even Sarah, his wife,
00:05:50 who was past childbearing age was enabled to bear children
00:05:55 because, because, because, because, because,
00:06:03 because she considered him faithful
00:06:08 who had made the promise.
00:06:11 She got pregnant over her attitude.
00:06:14 Nothing changed, her age didn't digress,
00:06:23 her cycle didn't start, she was a barren woman.
00:06:29 She got pregnant because of a thought.
00:06:32 (audience murmurs)
00:06:34 She said, "God is faithful who has promised."
00:06:39 Somebody ought to say that just to see what happens.
00:06:42 (audience murmurs)
00:06:45 And so from this one man and he as good as dead
00:06:50 came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
00:06:55 and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
00:06:59 I won't explain good as dead.
00:07:01 (audience laughs)
00:07:04 But I will tell you, I'm going to talk to you
00:07:09 probably for the next couple of weeks
00:07:11 because the Lord said so much to me
00:07:14 it may be two or three weeks before I finish.
00:07:17 The conception of faith.
00:07:21 (audience cheers)
00:07:24 The conception of faith.
00:07:28 Go back to that 11th verse and let me see it again.
00:07:31 Yeah, the 11th verse.
00:07:34 And by faith even Sarah who was past childbearing age
00:07:39 was enabled to bear children
00:07:42 because she considered him faithful
00:07:47 who had made the promise, the conception of faith.
00:07:52 I'm not even so much talking about
00:07:54 the conception of the baby,
00:07:55 I'm talking about the conception of faith.
00:07:58 She considered him faithful.
00:08:01 Took her a while but she considered him faithful
00:08:06 who had promised spirit of the living God
00:08:08 over the next few moments enable me.
00:08:11 Enable me.
00:08:15 I understand your anointing is enablement.
00:08:18 If you don't anoint me I'm just another guy.
00:08:21 But if you anoint me I'm a sharp tool
00:08:25 in the hands of a master craftsman.
00:08:29 I thank you in advance for what you're going to do.
00:08:31 Let this message be so profitable
00:08:34 to the people that hear it
00:08:36 that it is indelibly imprinted in their hearts
00:08:39 and changing their lives.
00:08:42 I thank you for what you're going to do.
00:08:43 Have your way.
00:08:45 In the name of Jesus we pray.
00:08:47 Somebody shout amen.
00:08:49 - Amen.
00:08:50 - You may be seated.
00:08:51 You can rest the whole rest of the day.
00:08:53 - Amen.
00:08:54 - At least for a while anyway.
00:08:57 Y'all doing good?
00:08:59 Everybody good?
00:09:00 The book of Hebrews the 11th chapter
00:09:05 is considered the hallmark of faith.
00:09:09 The hall of fame.
00:09:10 The hall of faith.
00:09:12 Filled with different men and a few women
00:09:16 out of different eras who had notable accomplishments
00:09:21 by faith.
00:09:23 The phrase by faith permeates the 11th chapter
00:09:28 of the book of Hebrews so that we will have
00:09:31 a deep respect for faith.
00:09:34 We are living in a day and a time in the church
00:09:40 that we do have a deep respect for praise.
00:09:45 And because we sing songs about praise being a weapon
00:09:51 and sometimes it is.
00:09:52 Sometimes we do not emphasize faith
00:09:57 because faith is not tangible, touchable,
00:10:01 does not appeal to the senses.
00:10:04 We can't hear it or see it.
00:10:08 We have to believe it.
00:10:10 And yet the book of Hebrews tells us
00:10:16 no matter how talented we may be
00:10:20 as orators, as speakers, as singers, as musicians,
00:10:24 as technicians, as producers, as whatever we are,
00:10:28 no matter how many degrees we have,
00:10:30 no matter how many good deeds we do,
00:10:33 no matter how ingratiating our personality might be,
00:10:38 the Bible is clear about this,
00:10:42 that without faith it is impossible
00:10:47 to please God.
00:10:52 And that one verse alone should make us really hone in
00:10:56 on the significance of faith
00:10:58 because if we do everything else
00:11:00 and we get everything else right
00:11:02 and we have wonderful services
00:11:04 and we bring cookies over to our neighbors
00:11:07 and we say prayers every night
00:11:09 and we do good deeds to people
00:11:12 and we forgive people and we fail to believe God
00:11:17 it is impossible to please Him.
00:11:20 Conversely, if we don't do everything right
00:11:26 and we still get the faith right,
00:11:30 Abraham believed God
00:11:34 and it was counted unto him as righteousness.
00:11:39 So God gave him credit for being righteous
00:11:42 though he wasn't because faith is a big deal to God.
00:11:47 So the enemy knows it whether you know it or not
00:11:55 and he does everything he can to uproot your faith
00:11:58 and make you doubt.
00:12:01 And he makes you doubt by talking
00:12:05 because faith comes by hearing.
00:12:12 So for all of you who are over thinkers,
00:12:15 it's not just that you're overthinking,
00:12:20 you've got many voices talking to you,
00:12:23 competing for your attention
00:12:27 because the voice you believe determines what you birth.
00:12:33 I'm preaching already.
00:12:40 The voice you believe determines what you birth
00:12:45 and I would venture to say there's not a person in this room
00:12:50 that is not inundated with many voices on a consistent basis.
00:12:55 Go, stay, join, quit.
00:13:01 You're not good enough,
00:13:04 you're too good and you're not appreciated.
00:13:08 The voices don't even agree with each other.
00:13:10 They're like rumors.
00:13:13 You get so many rumors on you that the rumors start arguing.
00:13:16 Anybody know what I'm talking about?
00:13:20 And in the clutter of all this internal noise,
00:13:24 add to it the external noise that I was just talking about,
00:13:28 you have to get somewhere sometimes and be still
00:13:34 to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church
00:13:39 and once hearing it,
00:13:44 you must be obedient enough to believe it without details.
00:13:49 You gotta go where you don't know.
00:13:54 You gotta do what you haven't done.
00:14:01 And we must understand that if we don't become more adept
00:14:06 in the area of faith,
00:14:09 though we are talented in the area of giftings,
00:14:13 your gift will get you in the room
00:14:16 but your faith will keep you there.
00:14:21 So we have a lot of people getting in a lot of rooms
00:14:26 that they don't stay in because they don't have the mindset
00:14:31 to produce the stability that causes them
00:14:34 to be able to stay.
00:14:36 And I'm not just talking about rooms like opportunity,
00:14:39 I'm also talking about rooms like peace.
00:14:42 Rooms like joy, rooms like contentment
00:14:47 and so you have momentary moments of ecstasy
00:14:51 and then seasons of elongated agony
00:14:55 and most of our agonies are a result
00:14:59 of listening to the wrong voice.
00:15:01 If I teach faith apart from God,
00:15:09 I'm teaching Norman Vincent Peale's
00:15:12 The Power of Positive Thinking,
00:15:15 which basically boils down to humanism,
00:15:18 which is just one step away from witchcraft
00:15:22 because if you believe in faith for the sake of faith
00:15:27 apart from God, then you believe that you can
00:15:29 will things into being by thought.
00:15:32 That type of manipulation is not what I came to teach about.
00:15:39 Jesus didn't just say have faith,
00:15:41 he said have faith in God.
00:15:46 So the faith has to be grounded,
00:15:47 are you following what I'm saying?
00:15:49 In our text series, the first female mentioned.
00:15:55 Years ago I used to preach a message called the first lady
00:15:58 because she's the first woman mentioned
00:16:02 in the hallmark of faith.
00:16:04 We hear all types of men mentioned
00:16:09 before we get to this one woman.
00:16:13 Are you hearing what I'm saying?
00:16:15 We hear faith is the substance of things hoped for,
00:16:19 the evidence of things not seen
00:16:23 for by it the elders obtain a good report.
00:16:27 Through faith we understand that the worlds
00:16:30 were framed by the word of God
00:16:32 so that things that do appear
00:16:36 were not made from things that do appear.
00:16:40 Oh gosh.
00:16:41 What I'm dealing with didn't start
00:16:45 with what I'm dealing with.
00:16:49 Things that do appear were not made
00:16:52 from things that do appear.
00:16:55 It starts in the spirit before it manifests in the flesh.
00:17:00 By faith the elders obtain a good report.
00:17:07 Through faith Cain offered up,
00:17:12 Abel offered up a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
00:17:16 Through faith.
00:17:18 Faith means he heard something
00:17:21 and obeyed it and walked in what he heard
00:17:26 and if you walk in what you hear
00:17:29 and you're hearing what God is saying
00:17:31 you will always be acceptable.
00:17:33 But there's so much noise I can't hear.
00:17:42 By faith he didn't walk with God and was not
00:17:47 but he left a testimony that he pleased God.
00:17:50 He got so far over in faith he disappeared.
00:17:54 By faith Enoch walked with God and was not
00:17:58 and all he left was a testimony.
00:18:01 Where's Enoch?
00:18:04 I don't know but his testimony is still in the earth
00:18:06 that he pleased God.
00:18:10 That's his legacy.
00:18:11 That's his legacy.
00:18:12 We don't know where he lived.
00:18:13 We don't know what he wore.
00:18:15 He didn't leave his clothes on the floor.
00:18:17 He left a testimony that he pleased God.
00:18:20 By faith Noah being warned of God
00:18:24 of things not yet seen moved with fear.
00:18:26 Look at that.
00:18:27 Now we see faith and fear in the same text.
00:18:30 By faith Noah being warned of God
00:18:33 of things not yet seen moved with fear
00:18:35 to the saving of his house.
00:18:38 Everybody in the house
00:18:41 got saved off of somebody's faith.
00:18:45 (audience cheering)
00:18:48 Good God Almighty.
00:18:52 You know you got faith when everybody in the house,
00:18:56 the children and the in-laws are saved
00:18:59 by the person, one person's faith.
00:19:01 By faith Noah being warned of God of things
00:19:04 not yet seen moved with fear to the saving of a house
00:19:08 and he built an ark on dirt
00:19:14 before the first drop of rain ever fell
00:19:18 because he heard something.
00:19:19 Tell somebody I said I heard something.
00:19:27 That's why I came out to church on Sunday morning
00:19:29 'cause I heard something.
00:19:30 That's why I'm taking the classes I'm taking
00:19:33 'cause I heard something.
00:19:35 That's why I'm building the business that I'm building
00:19:37 because I heard something.
00:19:39 That's why I broke up with my old boyfriend
00:19:41 'cause I heard something.
00:19:43 That's why I married the one that I married
00:19:45 because I heard something.
00:19:47 That's why I'm fighting the good fight of faith
00:19:50 because I heard something.
00:19:51 That's why I've got the courage to withstand
00:19:54 whatever you think about me because I heard something.
00:19:57 I heard something, I heard something, I heard something.
00:20:01 And it saved his house.
00:20:04 I can't tell you how long it's been
00:20:07 since I've had somebody walk up to me crying
00:20:09 saying I want my house to be saved.
00:20:13 I've had a lot of people walk up to me
00:20:15 and say I want a house.
00:20:16 But what good is a house if it's full of hell?
00:20:23 I'm a little older but I remember a time
00:20:32 that people would be burdened
00:20:33 'cause people were going to hell.
00:20:35 People would be burdened because they were lost.
00:20:38 People would be burdened about the souls of men,
00:20:41 not just the souls of their feet being read.
00:20:44 I remember a time that people would lay on the altar
00:20:48 grieving before God saying,
00:20:51 devil, you're gonna turn my daughter loose.
00:20:53 You're gonna turn my son loose.
00:20:55 I tell you what you're gonna do,
00:20:57 you're gonna get out of my house.
00:20:58 And the family got saved
00:21:00 because one person had incredible faith.
00:21:04 Talk to me, somebody.
00:21:05 (congregation cheering)
00:21:09 Imagine if you say, are you the one?
00:21:13 Are you the one that holds the key to the whole house?
00:21:18 Are you the one that's gonna bring the disruption
00:21:20 that causes people to come into divine alignment?
00:21:23 Are you the one that heard something
00:21:26 that's gonna change the outcome
00:21:28 and the trajectory of all humanity
00:21:31 because you believe God?
00:21:33 Are you the kind of person that has the kind of faith
00:21:36 that can withstand controversy
00:21:38 and people calling you stupid
00:21:40 and saying you look like a fool?
00:21:42 Can you build a boat in your backyard?
00:21:46 Are you the one that has the kind of bodacious,
00:21:51 precocious faith that you can't even take credit for,
00:21:55 but God has whispered something in your ear so strong
00:21:59 that you have the tenacity and the will
00:22:03 and the endurance and the work ethic
00:22:06 and the effort and the hammers and the nail
00:22:09 'cause he wasn't in the backyard praying,
00:22:11 he was in the backyard nailing.
00:22:13 Do you have a hammer in your faith?
00:22:16 Do you have any nails in your faith?
00:22:19 Are you willing to work according to what you heard
00:22:23 in your spirit rather than what you heard
00:22:26 in your boss's office?
00:22:28 (congregation cheering)
00:22:31 Just asking.
00:22:33 (congregation cheering)
00:22:36 Sarah doesn't make it to the hallmark of faith
00:22:38 because she's just any woman.
00:22:40 She doesn't make it to the hallmark of faith
00:22:43 because she wants to fit in.
00:22:45 She makes it to the hallmark of faith by faith.
00:22:51 She doesn't make it because she's married to Abraham
00:22:54 'cause Abraham ended up with one more wife in a situation.
00:23:02 I'll explain it later.
00:23:03 And neither the other wife or the concubine are mentioned
00:23:10 but Sarah is mentioned because she judged him faithful
00:23:19 who had promised.
00:23:22 Have you judged him faithful who has promised
00:23:28 or is he still on trial?
00:23:32 (congregation murmuring)
00:23:34 Have you rendered a verdict and decided that God is faithful
00:23:38 not just 'cause you got a car,
00:23:39 not just 'cause you got a house,
00:23:41 not just 'cause you're building a page.
00:23:43 Can you say God is faithful at a funeral?
00:23:46 Can you say God is faithful at a cemetery?
00:23:49 Can you say God is faithful in a waiting room
00:23:52 at the hospital?
00:23:52 Can you say God is faithful when you got laid off?
00:23:56 Can you say God is faithful when you're backed in a corner
00:24:00 and there's a tumor in your breast?
00:24:02 Can you yet say God is faithful?
00:24:04 Have you judged him faithful or do you have a hung jury
00:24:09 and you got a little bit of faith
00:24:12 and you got a little bit of doubt
00:24:14 and you got a little bit of this,
00:24:16 have you come to a conclusion?
00:24:18 She has achieved a level of faith and there are levels.
00:24:27 She has achieved a level of faith
00:24:30 that fulfilled the purpose of God in her life.
00:24:35 Oh, excuse me, Lord, please let me achieve a level of faith
00:24:40 that fulfills the purpose you have for me in my life.
00:24:47 I don't need a level of money,
00:24:51 I don't need a level of friends,
00:24:53 I don't need a level of likes,
00:24:55 I don't need a level of followers,
00:24:57 I don't need a level of birthday cards,
00:25:00 I need a level of faith that fulfills
00:25:04 the purpose of God in my life.
00:25:07 If nobody follows me on Facebook,
00:25:10 if nobody befriends me,
00:25:12 if nobody wants me on their page,
00:25:14 if nobody invites me to speak,
00:25:16 if nobody wants to do business with me,
00:25:18 as long as I accomplish the thing
00:25:22 that you created me to do, I will be satisfied.
00:25:26 (congregation cheering)
00:25:30 That's my prayer.
00:25:38 The conception of faith, conception is a process.
00:25:45 No matter whether you take it from a theological perspective
00:25:52 or from a natural perspective, conception is a process.
00:25:56 In the natural, you have conception.
00:26:00 You have conception in two different dimensions,
00:26:03 as it relates to childbirth, as it relates to ideologies.
00:26:08 As it relates to childbirth, as it relates to ideologies.
00:26:12 There is some similarity, connectivity,
00:26:16 a synonymity between the brain and the womb.
00:26:21 (congregation chattering)
00:26:25 They both have to conceive in order to birth.
00:26:30 They both have to receive seed in order to be fruitful.
00:26:37 If I lose my ability to think, I can't preach.
00:26:44 I can't talk, I can't interview, I can't negotiate,
00:26:50 I can't serve, I can't work.
00:26:53 I gotta be able to think.
00:26:55 Even if my mouth goes out, I can still write
00:26:58 if I can think.
00:27:00 This is the battleground, because this is, for me,
00:27:05 what the womb is for birth.
00:27:11 The fertilized egg stays in the fallopian tube
00:27:15 for about three to four days.
00:27:17 Three to four days.
00:27:21 Just hanging out.
00:27:22 Within 24 hours of being fertilized,
00:27:28 it starts dividing fast into multiple cells,
00:27:32 reproducing just levels of faith.
00:27:34 The cells start dividing and multiplying and increasing
00:27:39 and forming and shaping and developing and coming forth.
00:27:42 It keeps dividing as it moves slowly
00:27:45 through the fallopian tube to the uterus.
00:27:50 Its next job is to attach
00:27:54 to the lining of the uterus.
00:28:00 Are you following what I'm saying?
00:28:03 If I sow seed out here right now
00:28:10 and you hear it and it gets in your fallopian tube,
00:28:14 (congregation cheering)
00:28:17 faith come about hearing and hearing by the word of God.
00:28:26 And it floats around in your ear for a minute,
00:28:29 but it doesn't attach to the uterus
00:28:33 of the way you think and the way you function
00:28:36 and your mindset.
00:28:38 It doesn't become one with you.
00:28:41 It doesn't start drawing from you.
00:28:43 It doesn't start affecting you.
00:28:45 Then it falls to the ground.
00:28:47 That's why we use the word, same word,
00:28:54 when we say, I never conceived that I'd be president.
00:28:57 I never conceived that I'd be pastor of the church.
00:28:59 I never conceived that I'd be married with five children.
00:29:01 Conception, conception, whether you're birthing
00:29:05 in your womb or not, you're birthing in your mind.
00:29:08 Can I go deeper?
00:29:11 Faith incubates.
00:29:13 It's a process.
00:29:14 Hearing is the fallopian tube,
00:29:18 but the process doesn't stop there.
00:29:21 It has to, the word has to stick.
00:29:26 The Bible says the engrafted word of God
00:29:29 is able to save your soul.
00:29:31 Engrafted, engrafted.
00:29:33 If the word that sticks is the word that saves.
00:29:40 That's why you'll see people taking copious notes
00:29:42 and you'll see people really listening.
00:29:44 I really don't like to preach to a church that just shouts.
00:29:48 I like to shout, but I don't want to preach to people
00:29:53 who just shout because if you are so busy shouting,
00:29:56 you're not listening.
00:29:57 And how can they hear without a preacher?
00:30:03 And how can they preach say they be sent?
00:30:05 And so you're excited, but it's just emotionalism
00:30:09 and it has no root.
00:30:10 And when you get in trouble,
00:30:12 I'm gonna make it plain in a minute.
00:30:14 Let's look at Romans 10, 14 through 17 for just a minute.
00:30:20 And I'm not gonna be long, but just follow me.
00:30:24 Are y'all getting anything?
00:30:26 How then can they call on the one
00:30:30 they have not believed in?
00:30:32 Wait a minute, people do that all the time.
00:30:34 They call on God 'cause they're in trouble.
00:30:38 They call on God 'cause car is sliding.
00:30:40 They call on God 'cause they're in the emergency room.
00:30:42 They call, but they have not believed in.
00:30:45 And how can they believe in the one
00:30:48 to whom they have not heard?
00:30:51 Or how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
00:30:58 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
00:31:06 Uh-oh, I don't even want to get on that.
00:31:08 Oh God, I just want.
00:31:10 In this day where you can go Google up some license,
00:31:15 we have no metrics in the church anymore
00:31:23 to control who gets to the stage.
00:31:27 If you got charisma and Google.
00:31:34 So it's hard to police outlaws.
00:31:38 Somebody who will not submit cannot be mentored.
00:31:44 As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those
00:31:54 who bring good news or preach the gospel
00:31:57 in the King James Version.
00:31:58 How beautiful, you're glad to see them coming.
00:32:02 When they walk in the room,
00:32:03 they haven't even said anything yet.
00:32:05 When they walk in the room, your spirit leaps
00:32:08 'cause you know they're carrying something.
00:32:11 There's a walk.
00:32:13 There's a walk, glory to God.
00:32:16 There's a walk, it's not just a talk.
00:32:18 There's a walk when you're carrying something from God.
00:32:22 You walk in the room like I'm on a mission.
00:32:25 I didn't come here to play.
00:32:27 I didn't come here to play.
00:32:28 I didn't come here to play, I'm on a mission.
00:32:31 (audience cheering)
00:32:34 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news.
00:32:38 For Israel said, for Isaiah says,
00:32:41 Lord who have believed our message?
00:32:43 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message
00:32:50 and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
00:32:57 Are you hearing what I'm saying to you?
00:33:01 The word that sticks, the word that sticks,
00:33:06 the word that sticks.
00:33:08 I'm still, I'm still living off of steady in the storm.
00:33:14 (audience cheering)
00:33:19 Every time a storm comes in my life,
00:33:23 my mind says be steady in the storm.
00:33:27 Keep your hand on the wheel.
00:33:30 Don't let the wind rock you.
00:33:32 Don't let your emotions break you.
00:33:34 Don't let the situation shake you.
00:33:36 Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding
00:33:39 in the work of the Lord.
00:33:40 I preached that like four or five months ago
00:33:42 and I'm still chewing off of that word right there.
00:33:45 You know why storms are still coming
00:33:47 and as long as storms are still coming,
00:33:49 I'm gonna be steady in the storm.
00:33:54 You can't be faithful if you're not steady in the storm.
00:34:00 If you're tossed to and fro by every wind,
00:34:02 you can't be steadfast.
00:34:04 You gotta prove that I'm gonna stand
00:34:07 flat-footed right here.
00:34:09 Come hell or high water, I'm gonna stand right here.
00:34:13 This is where I stand.
00:34:14 I can't control where you stand.
00:34:16 I can't control where you stand.
00:34:18 I can't help where you stand.
00:34:20 I can't change how you stand.
00:34:22 But as for me and my house, this is where I stand.
00:34:26 I'm gonna stand flat-footed on the word of God.
00:34:29 Are you hearing what I'm saying?
00:34:31 Let me give you the reference just so you can take it home.
00:34:35 James 1, 20 through 21, so you can add it to your repertoire
00:34:39 about the importance of the word sticking.
00:34:42 For the wrath of men worketh not the righteousness of God.
00:34:46 The wrath, wait, I gotta stop there.
00:34:48 The wrath of men worketh not the righteousness of God.
00:34:51 You can forget working righteousness with temper.
00:34:56 (congregation murmuring)
00:35:00 I'm teaching word.
00:35:02 I'm so and see.
00:35:03 Something's gonna fall on different ground,
00:35:06 but I'm so and see.
00:35:07 The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
00:35:12 Watch this.
00:35:14 Have you ever seen our country as angry as it is right now?
00:35:18 I stopped scrolling down through comments on Instagram
00:35:23 because you can say good morning.
00:35:25 Who told you it was morning?
00:35:27 It's not morning in our part of the world.
00:35:29 That's what I can't stand about you Americans.
00:35:31 You think you control everything.
00:35:33 I mean, anything turns into a fight because everybody,
00:35:37 I can't figure out what they're mad about,
00:35:38 but they're all angry about something.
00:35:41 And then they start arguing amongst themselves.
00:35:43 And the argument gets off the post
00:35:45 that was ever made in the first place.
00:35:47 And the next thing we're back to the Byzantine Empire
00:35:51 fighting about something.
00:35:52 And all I asked you was, have you had your coffee yet?
00:35:56 And they're fighting about all kinds of stuff
00:35:57 because they are just angry.
00:36:00 And the problem with anger is that the wrath of men
00:36:03 worketh not the righteousness of God.
00:36:06 You will never fix that marriage being angry.
00:36:09 You will never help that child being angry.
00:36:12 You will never solve that problem being angry.
00:36:15 You will never succeed in your company going to work angry.
00:36:18 Nobody wants to work with somebody with attitude.
00:36:22 (audience cheering)
00:36:24 Nobody wants to sign a contract
00:36:25 with somebody who's got an attitude.
00:36:28 Nobody wants to come home to an angry man.
00:36:31 Nobody wants to come home to an angry woman.
00:36:34 Things will never get better.
00:36:35 I'm just mad.
00:36:36 I'm just gonna be mad, but I'm praying about it.
00:36:39 Stop praying about it because the wrath of men
00:36:42 worketh not the righteousness of God.
00:36:44 So you gotta do something with your wrath.
00:36:47 You gotta reel it back because your wrath
00:36:50 is stopping your prayers from being,
00:36:52 let me get off it, I'm sorry.
00:36:54 (audience cheering)
00:36:57 Therefore lay apart all filthiness
00:37:02 and the superfluity of wickedness.
00:37:04 You gonna have to clean it up, baby girl.
00:37:07 You gonna have to clean it up, brother.
00:37:08 You gonna have to clean it up.
00:37:09 You can't just slip in here and be in here
00:37:11 in a crowd like this and be an imposter,
00:37:13 a secret agent hiding out over the corner.
00:37:16 You gotta lay apart, your faith has to come
00:37:20 with a level of conviction.
00:37:21 Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of wickedness.
00:37:28 Wickedness.
00:37:32 Wickedness.
00:37:35 And receive, see if you have filthiness and wickedness
00:37:41 and anger, it will abort the word.
00:37:46 You heard it, it's floating around in your ear,
00:37:50 but it never stuck because all of these agents of abortion
00:37:55 are stopping you from conceiving what is possible
00:38:02 to be done in your life.
00:38:04 For the enemy comes not but to steal, kill, and destroy.
00:38:09 So every day that he takes is a day you'll never get back.
00:38:14 Is a day you'll never get back.
00:38:16 I'm just mad right now, I'm just mad right now.
00:38:23 I'm just hurt right now, I'm just hurt right now.
00:38:26 I'm just upset right now.
00:38:27 No, no, you just got robbed right now.
00:38:30 I'm not saying you're going to hell,
00:38:38 I'm not condemning anybody, I'm just saying
00:38:40 that day you will not get back.
00:38:44 How many days have you lost?
00:38:48 When you're laying on your deathbed,
00:38:54 how many of those days will you wish you had,
00:38:58 and I don't care who did what to you,
00:39:02 are they worth what it will cost you?
00:39:05 Maybe that doesn't mean anything to you.
00:39:10 I'm a pastor, I'm always about deathbeds.
00:39:12 I've seen many people give up the ghost,
00:39:14 and let me tell you something, suck and smatter.
00:39:16 Suck and smatter, suck and smatter, tick, tick, tick.
00:39:21 Just suck and smatter, and you can't buy it?
00:39:28 Rich folks, you can't buy it?
00:39:31 Intellectual folks, the PhD won't help it?
00:39:34 All you beautiful, fine people?
00:39:37 You so gorgeous, gorgeous people die?
00:39:43 Beautiful people die, hunks die.
00:39:47 Black folks die, white folks die, brown folks die.
00:39:58 It's the one equalizer that nobody gets
00:40:01 to be superior over anybody else.
00:40:04 There's not a rich way to die and a poor way to die.
00:40:11 We just die, and every day you lost
00:40:16 making excuses, giving the enemy permission
00:40:20 to rob your house, you might as well leave
00:40:24 your front door open and drive to Chicago.
00:40:39 See, most of us believe God when things go good.
00:40:42 Ooh, won't he do it?
00:40:45 Won't he do it, won't he?
00:40:50 Oh, won't he do it?
00:40:52 Won't he do it?
00:40:55 Won't he will?
00:40:57 To all of my white members, I know y'all don't understand
00:41:03 what won't he will means.
00:41:04 I scarcely understand it myself,
00:41:06 but let me try to interpret it.
00:41:08 Won't he will is kind of like won't he do it,
00:41:13 but we don't put he in it.
00:41:15 We don't put do it, nevermind.
00:41:19 It's the abolish, don't even worry about it,
00:41:22 don't even worry about it.
00:41:24 Won't he will?
00:41:25 What about when he won't?
00:41:37 What about when he don't?
00:41:39 What about when what you will doesn't line up
00:41:43 with what he wills?
00:41:45 Is he still God then?
00:41:48 Can you have faith when you don't get
00:41:51 the expected outcome that you want?
00:41:53 Or is your God really a butler and a maid
00:41:58 that you have in your life as long as it serves
00:42:01 your purpose, because if that's the case,
00:42:04 you're not working for God, you think God
00:42:06 works for you.
00:42:08 Until we get this stuff untangled,
00:42:13 we're not gonna really have the kind of faith
00:42:16 that breaks out revival in America
00:42:19 because we are using faith like witchcraft.
00:42:22 God is good when things are good,
00:42:27 but when things are bad, then we don't have
00:42:31 a theology that embraces the cross.
00:42:35 (congregation murmurs)
00:42:38 The cross is a big clue that everything
00:42:43 doesn't go right, that the will of God
00:42:47 can land you in trouble.
00:42:48 Come on, talk to me, somebody.
00:42:52 It's a clear sign.
00:42:54 You're not walking around with a necklace
00:42:56 around your neck of an empty tomb.
00:42:58 They don't sell necklaces of empty tombs.
00:43:03 They sell necklaces with crosses on it.
00:43:06 Take it not strange that these fiery trials
00:43:09 have come against you.
00:43:10 If they came against your master,
00:43:12 they will come against you.
00:43:14 This is the trying of your faith.
00:43:17 Nobody wants to teach about the trying of your faith.
00:43:21 Your faith must stand trial.
00:43:24 So your faith cannot be conditional.
00:43:31 (congregation murmurs)
00:43:34 Can I go a little deeper?
00:43:36 Faith flourishes from embracing
00:43:38 the irrefutable character of God.
00:43:41 The character of God.
00:43:45 Not the doings of God, the character of God.
00:43:48 I know it's character.
00:43:50 One of my favorite scriptures says,
00:43:52 "Unto Israel he showed his acts,
00:43:55 "but unto Moses he showed his ways."
00:43:58 It's one thing for people to talk about what you did,
00:44:01 and it's another thing for somebody to know who you are.
00:44:04 Does your faith embrace God for who he is,
00:44:08 or do you just love him because of what he did?
00:44:11 Because if you only love him because of what he did,
00:44:13 what happens when he stops doing it?
00:44:16 What happens when you enter into another season?
00:44:19 What happens when grandma dies?
00:44:22 What happens when you have a mastectomy?
00:44:24 What happens to your faith when life gets tough?
00:44:28 (congregation murmurs)
00:44:32 If your faith embraces who God is
00:44:42 rather than what God does, you're immovable.
00:44:45 You're unshakable.
00:44:46 Until you love him for who he is,
00:44:52 rather than praise him for what he did,
00:44:54 you will never please him
00:44:59 because your unbelief suggests that God is a liar.
00:45:03 Now, this is not revelation.
00:45:08 If you tell me something right now,
00:45:11 and I say, "I don't believe you,"
00:45:13 that's an insult to your character.
00:45:15 I don't believe you.
00:45:19 I wasn't there, I don't believe you.
00:45:21 That means I don't trust your ways
00:45:24 enough to believe your word.
00:45:28 No wonder Abraham became the friend of God
00:45:36 'cause he believed him.
00:45:37 God said, "If you believe me,
00:45:40 "even though you ain't righteous,
00:45:41 "and even though you lied about your wife,
00:45:43 "and even though you put her in a precarious situation,
00:45:46 "and even though you made some mistakes along the way,
00:45:48 "I'll look over all of that.
00:45:49 "If you believe me, your faith is anchored into my character
00:45:54 "and not my activities.
00:45:57 "And if you can love me for who I am,
00:46:00 "I can love you for who you are."
00:46:03 Oh, come on, somebody.
00:46:04 I'm shouting by myself here.
00:46:06 I'm shouting by myself.
00:46:08 I'm almost done, but I feel something
00:46:09 creeping up my spine right now.
00:46:12 I feel something creeping up my spine right now.
00:46:14 And the thing about faith,
00:46:16 if it's impossible to please God without it,
00:46:18 then he only gave it to some people, it wouldn't be fair.
00:46:22 'Cause then we would have the haves and the have-nots.
00:46:27 I have it, you don't have it.
00:46:29 I got it, you don't have it.
00:46:31 So forth and so on.
00:46:32 But the truth of the matter is,
00:46:34 according to Romans 12 and three,
00:46:37 God have dealt to every man the measure of faith.
00:46:41 Everybody's got some faith.
00:46:44 You might not use it, you might not accelerate it,
00:46:47 you might not go up the ladder with it,
00:46:50 but everybody has some faith.
00:46:52 Even the atheist who says he doesn't have any faith at all
00:46:57 has some level of faith.
00:46:59 He may deny it, he may betray it, he may turn from it,
00:47:03 something may hurt him,
00:47:05 but God have dealt to every man enough faith
00:47:09 that you don't have to perish.
00:47:11 You have to choose to go to hell.
00:47:13 God would never send anybody to hell.
00:47:16 (audience cheering)
00:47:19 I'm gonna move on.
00:47:21 I feel something about to break loose in this place.
00:47:24 I feel something about to break loose in this place.
00:47:26 Let me see, let me see, let me see, let me see.
00:47:29 Something's about to happen in this place.
00:47:31 What I'm doing right now is sowing seeds.
00:47:35 I'm sowing seeds, I'm sowing seeds.
00:47:39 I'm sowing seeds out in this room.
00:47:42 I'm sowing word out into this room.
00:47:44 I'm sowing word into this room,
00:47:46 and if your ear catches it,
00:47:48 your life is going to be changed forever.
00:47:50 If your ear will ingest it and digest it,
00:47:54 and it sticks to you, and you say,
00:47:57 "Lord, I don't care nothing about being a Baptist,
00:48:00 "I don't care nothing about being a Methodist,
00:48:02 "I don't care nothing about being a Kojic,
00:48:04 "I don't care nothing about being Apostolic,
00:48:06 "I just wanna be a believer."
00:48:07 Let me be a believer when all hell is breaking loose.
00:48:11 Let me be a believer.
00:48:12 When things get hard, let me be a believer.
00:48:15 When I'm going through a storm, let me be a believer.
00:48:18 When I'm backed up against a wall, let me be a believer.
00:48:22 When you give me a blessing that I think is too big for me,
00:48:25 let me be a believer.
00:48:27 When I'm scared to walk into something
00:48:29 that I don't know what I'm walking into,
00:48:31 just let me be a believer.
00:48:33 I don't have to be a billionaire, let me be a believer.
00:48:36 If I'm a believer, I can get a billion dollars,
00:48:39 let me be a believer.
00:48:41 Is there anybody in this room that wants to be a believer?
00:48:45 I just wanna be a believer.
00:48:47 I wanna walk with God and talk with God
00:48:50 and hang with God and understand God
00:48:53 and open my heart to God.
00:48:56 You can have his acts, I wanna understand his ways.
00:49:01 (audience cheering)
00:49:10 Oh, oh, that I may know him.
00:49:15 Paul, who speaks five different languages,
00:49:24 is from the tribe of Benjamin,
00:49:26 is zealous concerning the law,
00:49:29 said I counted all of my attributes as dumb.
00:49:33 It don't mean nothing.
00:49:35 I flushed it, that I might gain the excellency
00:49:40 of the knowledge of Christ
00:49:42 and he falls down on his knees before God
00:49:45 and says oh, that I may know him.
00:49:50 Not just in the good times,
00:49:53 in the fellowship of his suffering
00:49:58 and the power of his resurrection.
00:50:03 I wanna know him, I don't care how the weather changes.
00:50:07 I don't care how the climate changes.
00:50:09 I don't care how the culture changes.
00:50:12 I don't care how the situation changes.
00:50:14 He's my anchor, he's my rock, he's my shelter,
00:50:19 he's my fortress.
00:50:21 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high
00:50:25 shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.
00:50:29 If I know him, I don't have to know you.
00:50:33 If I know him, you can't shake me,
00:50:37 you can't break me, you can't block me,
00:50:40 you can't stop me.
00:50:42 If I know him, God will always find a way to get it done.
00:50:47 If I know him, is there anybody left in the church
00:50:53 that's hungry to know God?
00:50:59 I haven't shaked my pastor's hand.
00:51:02 What difference does it make if you shake my hand?
00:51:05 If you shake my hand, all you're gonna get is sweat.
00:51:09 But if you know him,
00:51:11 (congregation cheering)
00:51:14 hallelujah, if you know him,
00:51:21 the Bible says, "Seek the Lord while he may be found.
00:51:27 Call ye upon him while he's yet near.
00:51:31 Let the wicked forsake his way,
00:51:33 and the unrighteous man his stop."
00:51:36 (bell ringing)
00:51:39 The Lord is in his holy temple.
00:51:44 (bell ringing)
00:51:45 The Lord is in his holy temple.
00:51:48 Let all the earth.
00:51:49 (bell ringing)
00:51:50 Let all the earth.
00:51:52 (bell ringing)
00:52:00 Keep silence before him.
00:52:04 I am hungry for you.
00:52:16 I cannot be a better person until I'm hungry for you.
00:52:29 I'm tired of being a different person.
00:52:32 I've been 10 different people.
00:52:35 I don't wanna be different, I wanna be better.
00:52:37 (congregation cheering)
00:52:40 I'm tired of thinking that hooking up with you
00:52:44 is gonna make me better.
00:52:46 'Cause all you did was get on my nerves.
00:52:49 But if I can hook up with him,
00:52:57 (congregation cheering)
00:53:01 if I can hook up with him,
00:53:05 if something that he said sticks in my soul,
00:53:10 soul, in my soul,
00:53:15 the Greek word where we get psyche,
00:53:18 where we get psychology, where we get mind,
00:53:20 if he gets in my head,
00:53:23 (congregation cheering)
00:53:26 I want you in my head
00:53:32 because I need to be, not act like,
00:53:40 but to be a better person.
00:53:50 Make me better.
00:53:53 When I started my ministry years ago
00:53:58 in the storefront church,
00:53:59 I never imagined in all my life,
00:54:00 I didn't even know to think nothing like this.
00:54:03 I never prayed God make me bigger.
00:54:06 I only prayed God make me better.
00:54:14 (congregation cheering)
00:54:18 (congregation applauding)
00:54:21 Is there anybody in here
00:54:25 that wants God to make you better?
00:54:29 I'm tired of trying to accomplish the righteousness of God
00:54:40 through the wrath of my ancestors.
00:54:44 I'm talking about generational cursing.
00:54:48 Your mama was angry, your grandmama was angry,
00:54:50 your great grandmama was angry.
00:54:51 All of them were furious.
00:54:53 And now you got your mama's temper.
00:54:55 I don't need my mama's temper.
00:54:56 I need my God's character.
00:55:00 I need my God's character.
00:55:05 And I am praying this morning
00:55:10 that one seed out of what I just shared
00:55:16 would get in your fallopian tube
00:55:19 and stay there till it engrafts in your heart.
00:55:25 I am praying that you didn't come to church
00:55:29 because it was Sunday
00:55:31 or because a cute girl goes to this church
00:55:34 or because you wanna do business in this church
00:55:37 or because you wanna meet somebody in this church.
00:55:39 I am praying that you want an encounter with God.
00:55:45 An encounter with God.
00:55:47 An encounter with God will make my weak stabilize.
00:55:52 It'll strengthen me in the storm.
00:55:55 It'll fortify my moods, my attitudes, my dysfunctions,
00:55:59 and all of the voices that are trying to convince me
00:56:03 that they are God are nothing but idols.
00:56:08 And every time I obey them, I am idolatrous.
00:56:11 (congregation murmuring)
00:56:15 The voice that tells me to worry.
00:56:19 The voice that tells me I'm not good enough.
00:56:24 The voice that tells me I can't handle
00:56:27 what God has given me.
00:56:29 The voice that tells me I'm stupid
00:56:31 to go to a place that I don't know
00:56:34 to do something I've never done before.
00:56:39 If I obey that voice, I am an idolater.
00:56:42 Obedience is better than sacrifice.
00:56:47 Whatever you obey, that's your God.
00:56:51 I will not go to a church like this
00:57:02 and go home and worship another God.
00:57:07 Not the God of fear, not the God of doubt,
00:57:09 not the God of agony, not the God of envy,
00:57:12 not the God of jealousy, not the God of pain,
00:57:16 not the God of bitterness.
00:57:18 I will not worship another God
00:57:24 if I have to wait on Him.
00:57:31 If I have to lay on Him.
00:57:38 (congregation murmuring)
00:57:40 If I have to call on Him.
00:57:41 If I have to weep before Him.
00:57:45 Oh, that I may know Him.
00:57:50 Paul said, "I'll trade everything I got to know Him."
00:57:56 I want to know Him.
00:58:00 Not just when things are up.
00:58:03 I don't just want to know the power of your resurrection.
00:58:06 I want to be in fellowship in your suffering.
00:58:08 I want to know you in good days and bad days.
00:58:13 I want to know you when my whole family is tripping.
00:58:16 I want to be the one that knows you.
00:58:18 When everybody on the office is gossiping,
00:58:21 I want to be the one person
00:58:22 who won't sit around the water fountain
00:58:24 and gossip about people that I am called to minister to.
00:58:29 I want to know you.
00:58:33 Make me better.
00:58:35 Because if you make me better, my children will be better.
00:58:38 If you make me better, my grandchildren will be better.
00:58:41 If you make me better, my family will be saved.
00:58:43 If you make me better, make me better, Lord.
00:58:46 Make me better, make me better.
00:58:48 Let me be an asset and not a liability.
00:58:52 Let people be glad to see me coming in the room.
00:58:55 God, please make me better.
00:58:58 I came from nothing, but make me better.
00:59:01 I've been through hell, but make me better.
00:59:04 I've been dysfunctional, but make me better.
00:59:08 I've been bitter, but make me better.
00:59:11 I don't want to go to a great church
00:59:17 and live a raggedy life.
00:59:20 I don't want to dance all over the church
00:59:24 and shout and then not trust the God I was dancing about.
00:59:28 I don't want to go home and lay in my bed tonight
00:59:33 and go to sleep worrying about something
00:59:35 that I need to turn over to you.
00:59:37 All of these are signs that every idol
00:59:43 in my life must come down.
00:59:45 There used to be an old hymn.
00:59:50 Let me see if I can call it.
00:59:51 Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole.
00:59:55 I want thee forever to live in my soul.
00:59:59 Break down every idol, cast out every foe.
01:00:04 Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
01:00:09 Make me whiter than snow, whiter than snow.
01:00:16 Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
01:00:25 Break down every idol, cast out every foe.
01:00:30 Wash me, I'm an addict.
01:00:40 Wash me.
01:00:43 I came here this morning
01:00:53 because I need you to wash me.
01:00:55 - Yes, God.
01:00:56 - And I need to know you.
01:00:58 I don't need to know Bishop Jakes.
01:01:00 I don't need to know the Potter's house.
01:01:02 I need to know you.
01:01:04 When I turn on the water in my house,
01:01:08 I never want the pipe.
01:01:10 I never turn on the faucet to get to know the pipe.
01:01:16 I turn on the faucet because I want the water to flow.
01:01:22 I want the water.
01:01:24 Why are you settling to get to know the pipe?
01:01:28 Who goes to the well thirsty for the bucket?
01:01:32 I want the water.
01:01:34 And if you want the water,
01:01:38 and if you are thirsty,
01:01:42 come to the fountain.
01:01:46 (upbeat music)
01:01:52 (upbeat music)
01:01:54 (upbeat music)
01:01:57 (upbeat music)
01:01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]