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00:00:00 I got two portions of scripture.
00:00:15 I got to get through them because I'm so anxious to start preaching.
00:00:18 I don't even want to read the text.
00:00:21 First Kings chapter three, verse four and five.
00:00:28 Team y'all just bring it up fast because I can't even find it in my Bible.
00:00:31 I'm too nervous.
00:00:32 Bible says in first Kings chapter three, verse four and five, it says, and the King went
00:00:38 to Gibeon to sacrifice there.
00:00:40 Everybody say sacrifice for that was the great high place.
00:00:46 And this is what he did.
00:00:48 He brought 1000 burnt offerings.
00:00:52 Did Solomon who's the King, who's the son of David.
00:00:56 He brought those offerings to the altar of the Lord.
00:01:00 And in Gibeon, the Lord appeared to him in a dream that night.
00:01:03 So there was a direct correlation between when he sacrificed and when he got blessed,
00:01:10 God didn't wait until the next day, the day he made the sacrifice, God blessed him that
00:01:16 night.
00:01:17 I'm telling you that before the night is over, God is going to bless some people in this
00:01:24 place and online above your imagination.
00:01:29 Are you with me so far?
00:01:31 Okay.
00:01:32 You got to get that.
00:01:33 Now let's go, let's go to the book of second Chronicles chapter six, excuse me, chapter
00:01:38 one, verse six, slow down.
00:01:42 Second Chronicles chapter one, verse six.
00:01:46 Now we're talking about Solomon.
00:01:48 So for all of y'all who think that your life has to be perfect, this is the boy that was
00:01:53 born when, when David has sex with another man's wife, he's an illegitimate child blessed.
00:02:05 Do you hear me?
00:02:06 This is, this is Bathsheba's boy.
00:02:08 This is, this is, this is the guy who wasn't planned.
00:02:16 He becomes the king of the entire establishment and Solomon went up to the brazen altar of
00:02:25 the Lord, which was at the tabernacle.
00:02:28 How many of y'all remember us preaching about the tabernacle?
00:02:30 I'm going to show you some stuff about the tabernacle today and the congregation.
00:02:35 And I just wanted to show you in another place, how many offers did he bring?
00:02:39 So in order for God to repeat this twice, this must be important.
00:02:43 Okay.
00:02:44 Now I want to, I want to do something because when it comes to money and sacrifice and religion
00:02:50 and church, it's like doing praise and worship.
00:02:54 When, when Kofi is singing, my response is, and we're worshiping and, and Chad is up here
00:02:59 singing and, and Marlon and KP and everybody's up here worshiping.
00:03:03 I can see the wave going and, and there are certain parts of the service where there's
00:03:08 always energy, but then when it comes offering time.
00:03:14 Y'all see how y'all going to be fake.
00:03:16 Let me tell you, let me tell you what happens at the lighthouse church.
00:03:19 When you get fake, my sermons get long.
00:03:22 Okay.
00:03:23 So to tell your neighbor, if you want this sermon to be about the right amount of time,
00:03:28 you better act like you happy.
00:03:32 You will get your whole nap in here today.
00:03:34 I promise you that.
00:03:38 But when it comes to giving, how many of y'all witness it, all of the energy leaves and we
00:03:44 get real quiet.
00:03:46 And what's the thing that you keep praying to God about the most finances.
00:03:51 Haven't you figured out that in order to get a breakthrough in that area, you're going
00:03:55 to have to have a breakout.
00:04:01 So I'm going to speak to this today because we normally get quiet when it's time to sacrifice.
00:04:06 Today's subject is the mute challenge.
00:04:13 Talking about the mute challenge.
00:04:15 You may be seated in the presence of the Lord.
00:04:21 All right.
00:04:28 One of the most amazing events in the whole Bible, in my opinion, everybody has their
00:04:35 own is when the Lord told Solomon, ask for whatever you want.
00:04:43 Here's what's amazing.
00:04:45 All of our campus pastors, we come together over the weekend and we talk about our scriptures
00:04:50 and pastor Raymond texted me and said, pastor, this is crazy because you and I have the same
00:04:55 scripture and his, the name of his subject is this is a blank check.
00:05:03 Same scripture, two totally different perspectives.
00:05:11 God says to him, he says, Solomon, ask for whatever you want.
00:05:14 This man says, I can have anything.
00:05:17 God, God says, anything you want.
00:05:21 He says, okay, you really mean anything?
00:05:25 God says, I mean, anything you want, guess what he asked for wisdom and knowledge.
00:05:30 Now let's just, let's just stop up and through here for a second.
00:05:35 God comes to you in your house and says, Jacqueline, you can ask for anything you want.
00:05:42 What you asking for God, anything.
00:05:44 Okay.
00:05:45 I want some Louis Vuittons.
00:05:46 I want, I want some Louis Vuitton.
00:05:49 I want a Hermes bag.
00:05:51 Brothers, what you want Lord?
00:05:52 I want an Escalade dog.
00:05:53 I want a house and a rock wobble.
00:05:57 Dudes always got to have a dog.
00:06:00 Don't even know nothing about dogs.
00:06:02 Just want one.
00:06:04 You see, because I don't know if there's anybody in this room and I'm not saying there isn't.
00:06:12 I just don't know if there's anybody in this room.
00:06:14 If God said, ask for what you want, you would say, Lord, I just want a little more wisdom
00:06:19 and a little bit of knowledge.
00:06:21 I know some of y'all will be like, God, can you take care of Tasha?
00:06:25 Because she, if she, if she get no, my nerve, you start naming people, things and places.
00:06:32 But the man asked for wisdom and knowledge.
00:06:35 Now, here is the amazing thing about it.
00:06:38 At the time that God asked him, he was 20 years old.
00:06:44 See this is the thing that blows people's mind because we think of monarchy and Kings
00:06:48 as older people because of our context in the times of scripture.
00:06:54 There were Pharaohs that were 14 years old.
00:06:58 At 19, 20 years old, the Lord asked him what he wanted and he had enough wisdom at 19 and
00:07:04 20 years old to say he wanted wisdom and knowledge.
00:07:10 That lets me know that wisdom isn't a function of age.
00:07:13 It's a function of decision.
00:07:16 Because you can be a 65 year old fool and you can be a 20 year old wise person.
00:07:24 You're not wise because of how long you live.
00:07:25 You're wise based on how you lived those years.
00:07:29 I say it this way.
00:07:30 People always tell you I've got 20 years of experience.
00:07:32 Well, there's a difference between having 20 years of experience and one year of experience
00:07:36 20 times at 20 years old when all of his homies was wearing Jordans at 20 years old, when
00:07:49 all of his friends were driving Ferraris, Solomon said, "Give me wisdom and give me
00:07:59 knowledge."
00:08:00 Old fools used to be young fools.
00:08:11 I think that we live in a society that everybody's trying to be so smart that I got you.
00:08:17 Have you ever seen somebody make a post online and then the next 20 comments is some smart
00:08:22 person that debunks the thought that they didn't even have enough creativity to come
00:08:27 up with?
00:08:31 Everybody's so smart these days, but the world is going to hell in a handbasket because we
00:08:35 got a whole lot of geniuses but no wisdom.
00:08:41 Because wisdom is not knowledge.
00:08:43 Wisdom is the correct usage of knowledge.
00:08:45 Do you know you can have two degrees and not be wise?
00:08:51 Some of you all are sitting next to people, they are triple degree, they were summa cum
00:08:55 laude and some of y'all, y'all graduate waited as soon as I could laude.
00:09:05 I mean if y'all don't look at your name and say, "I am not a super intellectual."
00:09:10 Just let them know right now.
00:09:11 I didn't, I got C's and skipped all the way home with a smile on my face because I thought
00:09:16 I deserved an F. Come on, holler at your boy.
00:09:20 Anybody in here that just made it over by the grace of the Lord.
00:09:30 When I graduated, I was looking at all them people with the hoods on, I graduated with
00:09:34 a tassel and a robe.
00:09:35 That's all I had.
00:09:38 No extra garments or nothing.
00:09:45 Wisdom.
00:09:47 This is the year of wealth and wisdom.
00:09:52 The Bible says that the king went to sacrifice where?
00:09:55 At a place called Gibeon.
00:09:57 And when we read the text, the Bible says that Gibeon was called the high place.
00:10:03 So I went back and studied and I said, "Why was Gibeon called the high place?"
00:10:09 Well, the reason why Gibeon was called the high place, listen, is because this is the
00:10:14 location of the tabernacle.
00:10:17 This is the place where the tent resided with all of the vessels and the furniture that
00:10:25 represented the presence of God.
00:10:28 Remember the Ark of the Covenant?
00:10:29 The Ark of the Covenant was the piece of furniture that was inlaid and outlayed with gold with
00:10:34 chitim wood in the middle and inside of it, it had its contents, the manna that didn't
00:10:38 spoil, Aaron's rod, and the two tablets of the law that was given to Moses.
00:10:43 And this represented the presence of God and it sat in the holies of holies.
00:10:49 The holies of holies in the tabernacle was the back portion of the tabernacle where nobody
00:10:55 was able to go except for the high priest.
00:10:58 And he couldn't go unless it was the day of atonement to sacrifice an animal for the sins
00:11:04 of Israel because before Jesus, there was an animal that had to be killed for every
00:11:11 sin in the nation.
00:11:13 So Jesus comes and now is the lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world.
00:11:19 So there no longer has to be a perpetual sacrifice.
00:11:22 Jesus died once for all sin, both past, present, and future.
00:11:29 And by the way, for everybody who has their opinion, we need to be praying for Israel.
00:11:38 The reason why we need to be praying for Israel is because God chose the land and you can
00:11:42 say whatever you want, but his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts.
00:11:47 So if God chose it, I'm praying for it.
00:11:51 Are y'all not hearing me?
00:11:53 This is not about religion.
00:11:54 This is not about belief system.
00:11:56 This is the fact that if Jesus chose it, and by the way, Jesus was not a Christian.
00:12:03 Jesus was a Jew.
00:12:06 Christianity came as a result.
00:12:07 It's named after him, Christian, follower of Christ, but he was a Jew.
00:12:13 Are you listening to me?
00:12:15 And so as we look at this metaphorical dichotomy that is facing us through scripture, as we
00:12:23 seek to find ways to overcome the debauchery that has plagued us as a people, even in our
00:12:30 culture, even in our race, even in our communities, as we look for ways to advance, yes, we can
00:12:38 march and yes, we can have Twitter fingers and yes, we can post, but ain't nothing going
00:12:45 to change until we get some wisdom.
00:12:48 We got to be wise.
00:12:52 The Bible says that we have to be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as what?
00:12:59 As a dove.
00:13:00 Why is Gibeon called the high place?
00:13:01 Because the tabernacle was there and what was in front of the tabernacle, something
00:13:05 called the brazen altar.
00:13:08 It's true that Solomon did eventually move all of the contents of the tabernacle to the
00:13:15 temple that he built, that God wouldn't let his father David build.
00:13:19 But when he became king, listen to me, y'all hear me when he became king, all of the temple
00:13:26 vessels and all of the furniture, the, the golden lamp stand, uh, the brazen altar, uh,
00:13:32 the table of showbread, uh, all of the candlesticks, everything in the tabernacle was there.
00:13:38 When, when Solomon became king and listen to me, the only thing that wasn't there when
00:13:46 Solomon became king was the ark of the covenant.
00:13:49 Why?
00:13:50 Because David had it moved.
00:13:54 I need y'all to follow me.
00:13:55 So I want you to imagine there's a 10 up here.
00:13:57 That's got a lot of furniture in it.
00:13:59 It was their church.
00:14:00 It's where the Lord met him.
00:14:02 David had the ark of the covenant moved and the Bible says that he had it moved to the
00:14:07 house of a man whose name was Obed-Edom.
00:14:11 And as they were putting, um, the ark of the covenant on oxen, because David did not seek
00:14:20 God's wisdom on how to move it.
00:14:24 He put it on the back of oxen.
00:14:27 And when they got to naked on the threshing floor, the streets were made of stone and
00:14:32 one of the oxen slipped on the stone.
00:14:34 The ark of the covenant was tipping off and a man named Uzzah came to save it from hitting
00:14:40 the ground.
00:14:41 And the Bible says that God killed him.
00:14:45 Why?
00:14:47 Because you, he didn't have the wisdom to know what he shouldn't touch.
00:14:53 All right, bring it.
00:14:56 I'm going to help somebody bring up, bring up how, how we were supposed to carry the
00:15:00 ark of the covenant.
00:15:02 The ark of the covenant was supposed to be carried, uh, by, listen, only by Levites who
00:15:09 were the temple attendance.
00:15:12 These were the only men who could carry the ark of the covenant, but they could not touch
00:15:17 it.
00:15:18 They have to, they have to carry these wooden poles.
00:15:20 Now the wood would be a shadow pointing to the wooden cross that Jesus would die on.
00:15:27 So the ark of the covenant represents the presence of God.
00:15:30 They could touch the wood, but they couldn't touch the presence.
00:15:35 And they had to be sanctioned in order to carry it.
00:15:38 This couldn't be carried by, by a Moabite.
00:15:42 This couldn't have been carried by a Jebusite.
00:15:45 This could not have been carried by a Canaanite.
00:15:48 It can only be carried by somebody from the tribe of Levi or a Levite because when God
00:15:54 wants a certain thing to move, he also assigns who can move it.
00:16:02 Listen.
00:16:04 So what am I saying?
00:16:05 So, so when Solomon becomes King, we first see that he does not move any of the temple
00:16:12 vessels.
00:16:13 Why?
00:16:14 Listen to me, because when God sends you to move something, you have to first make sure
00:16:22 you are authorized for the transition.
00:16:27 You cannot move something just because you don't like where it is.
00:16:32 I'm getting ready to help somebody.
00:16:34 Well, the Bible says that David moved the ark of the covenant to Obed-Edom's house.
00:16:38 And when he got there and he found out that Obed-Edom's house was blessed, what did David
00:16:43 do?
00:16:44 He came and moved it again back to Jerusalem.
00:16:46 But what he should have done is he should have studied where it was and then asked God
00:16:53 what he should do about it.
00:16:56 There are people in this room who have come into situations in life.
00:17:00 You do not like where everything is.
00:17:02 You don't like how it is.
00:17:04 So you walk in trying to change things because you have authority, but you will die when
00:17:09 you touch something you're not authorized to touch.
00:17:13 Talking about wisdom, you can't just move things and change things because you want
00:17:18 them changed.
00:17:19 What Solomon did is he says, "Lord, give me wisdom and knowledge and understanding.
00:17:23 So if there is a thing in my life that needs to be changed, I need you to speak to me so
00:17:27 that I can change what you want changed, when you want it changed, and how you want it changed.
00:17:32 And I can't change it just because I want to change my financial position.
00:17:37 I can't change it just because my heart is broken.
00:17:40 I can't change it just because I'm frustrated.
00:17:42 I can't change it because I'm tired of being here."
00:17:45 There are some of you all who God has told you not to move from Houston, but because
00:17:49 you don't like it.
00:17:52 You're looking at places to go every day, but you're going to find out that everywhere
00:17:56 you go, there you are.
00:17:57 So when you move to the next city, you still going to be broke, busted, and disgusted because
00:18:02 God hasn't released you to go.
00:18:04 Oh my God.
00:18:08 I'm a preacher here whether you say amen or not.
00:18:11 I say, "Lord, release me."
00:18:12 The word of the Lord is you can't go just because you want it to go.
00:18:16 You can't change it because you're tired of it.
00:18:19 You have to study the contents of the environment that you're in, and you have to leave them
00:18:24 still until God tells you how to move them.
00:18:31 I don't like my boss.
00:18:32 Be still.
00:18:36 There's a difference between quitting your job because I told you to go and you quitting
00:18:39 your job because you're immature.
00:18:43 There's a difference between starting your own business because I have given you the
00:18:46 vision for it and starting your own business because you don't like to follow anybody.
00:18:52 All y'all ain't going to say, "Man, but I need you to pinch your neighbor."
00:18:55 If they got a tattoo on their face, don't pinch them, but pinch your neighbor and tell
00:18:59 him he's talking to you.
00:19:01 No, anybody who tatted on their face will steal on you.
00:19:05 I'm just telling.
00:19:06 I want you to get in trouble right now.
00:19:11 Wisdom.
00:19:13 Wisdom.
00:19:15 Wisdom.
00:19:16 If I set up an offering right now, this basket is set there to receive it, but if I move
00:19:22 it because I don't like where it is aesthetically, I get in front of the plan that's already
00:19:27 set.
00:19:28 See, you can't just go around your life moving stuff because you don't like where it is.
00:19:33 You can't go around hopping from church to church because you don't like how you feel
00:19:36 from day to day.
00:19:38 You just can't keep hopping around.
00:19:39 The Bible says you got to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
00:19:43 The problem with most people is they can never thrive in environments where they don't feel
00:19:47 comfortable, but sometimes you got to leave the furniture still.
00:19:51 What am I saying?
00:19:52 Sometimes there got to be people in your life.
00:19:54 Judas.
00:19:55 You can't get every Judas out of your life because you're uncomfortable.
00:19:58 You can't get every Peter out of your life because you're uncomfortable.
00:20:02 Because Judas has been placed there to keep you humble.
00:20:07 Touch your neighbor and say, "God, assign me to you."
00:20:17 There are certain things in your life that are assigned to the season you're in.
00:20:22 Everybody you dated and broke up with wasn't an accident.
00:20:25 God lets you date them so you can find out what fool not to marry.
00:20:28 Everything in your life is not an accident.
00:20:31 Some of this stuff is divine providence and intentional.
00:20:37 Sometimes God will let you spend six months with a fool so you don't spend 60 years with
00:20:41 one.
00:20:42 If you don't learn your lesson up front, you got to pay the price in the back.
00:20:51 Here's what I'm trying to tell you.
00:20:53 You have to stop going through things without learning the lesson.
00:21:02 God ain't going to give you a pay increase and you haven't become responsible on the
00:21:06 pay level you're on.
00:21:09 I'm just talking about wisdom.
00:21:10 Everybody say wisdom.
00:21:11 Wisdom.
00:21:12 He went to touch it.
00:21:13 It was, listen, it was good.
00:21:16 It was noble, but it wasn't authorized.
00:21:21 I think you missed it.
00:21:24 It was made out of pure gold.
00:21:25 It just seems like you don't want it to hit the ground.
00:21:28 It's pure gold.
00:21:29 It represents the presence of God, but God said, "Listen, sometimes it has to hit the
00:21:34 ground because you didn't ask me how to move it in the first place."
00:21:37 God help me in this place today.
00:21:43 Sometimes it has to hit the ground.
00:21:45 It wouldn't have had to go this way had you asked me how to transport it in the first
00:21:49 place.
00:21:50 Sometimes you got to look at your life on the ground because you did not ask me how
00:21:54 you should transport it.
00:21:56 Touch your neighbor and say, "I know he's talking to you because you're quiet.
00:22:02 Just tell him."
00:22:03 Look at him right in the face.
00:22:06 I wouldn't have known he was talking to you, but you ain't said amen in the last 15 minutes.
00:22:15 I know the ones I'm talking to.
00:22:23 And did.
00:22:32 Everybody say wisdom.
00:22:34 How many of you would admit that in your life you have been operating according to knowledge
00:22:40 but not always according to?
00:22:47 You did what you thought was best.
00:22:53 But his ways, Bobby, it's not my ways.
00:22:56 Cat, and his thoughts are not my thoughts.
00:23:00 So in order for me to transport life, I have to seek him for wisdom.
00:23:08 That means that even if you have a friend that betrays you, you still got to pray to
00:23:11 God about how to remove them.
00:23:19 You don't get to block them because they broke you up with you or hurt your feelings.
00:23:24 Sometimes you got to say, "Okay, God, show me the purpose."
00:23:28 But sometimes people come in your life not to help you, but for you to help them.
00:23:46 What if God brought them to you so that you could show them patience, Christian?
00:23:56 What if God brought them to you to injure you so you can show them long suffering, Saint?
00:24:11 I don't know who this is for, but before this year is over, I hear the Lord saying, "You're
00:24:17 going to have to at least forgive three people."
00:24:22 There's three people that you're going to have to forgive for God to release you.
00:24:32 Just because you side-hugging them don't mean you forgave them.
00:24:36 Just because you spoke to them at the job yesterday don't mean you over it.
00:24:41 I'm talking about getting up and healing.
00:24:47 You can't do that with knowledge because you know what to do.
00:24:51 I'm trying to move you from knowledge to wisdom.
00:24:58 I need three people in here and 15 online.
00:25:01 Just shout wisdom.
00:25:04 Thank God for more than three.
00:25:09 Wisdom requires that you study where things are before you move them.
00:25:17 I just said a whole lot.
00:25:24 Why is that there?
00:25:28 So Luis, who's our sound engineer, he came in the back earlier.
00:25:33 He put my microphone on and he said, "Pastor, if you go to the handheld, it's going to be
00:25:41 about a minute before you have sound."
00:25:45 I said, "Luis, how would it take a minute to get me sound?"
00:25:56 He doesn't want to disappoint me.
00:25:57 He just, "Pastor, I'm going to do my best."
00:26:00 It won't even be a minute, Pastor.
00:26:01 It'll be less than that.
00:26:04 But Luis, I said, "In the live service, five seconds is an eternity."
00:26:08 I said, "I've got to have it on.
00:26:10 If I go to it."
00:26:11 He said, "Pastor, I'll do my best."
00:26:13 I said, "Luis, I need you to hear me, dog.
00:26:16 If I grab that microphone, I need it to be on."
00:26:18 He said, "Pastor, I'm going to do my best.
00:26:20 I need about 30 seconds because I'm going to have to run from the back of the booth
00:26:23 and go on the stage with the mixer."
00:26:24 I said, "Why you just can't talk through the talkback to tell the dude that I pay on the
00:26:30 stage to turn the doggone microphone on?"
00:26:35 He said, "Pastor, I'm going to do the best I can."
00:26:39 He walks out of the office and I looked at him like...
00:26:45 So when I get backstage, I stand here and I look at the console and I recognize ain't
00:26:51 nobody there because we're open in all four locations.
00:27:00 I just figured it out, Luis.
00:27:01 I know it.
00:27:02 He was trying to tell...
00:27:03 He didn't want to tell me, "Dude, you understaffed."
00:27:04 Look at him praying.
00:27:05 "I love you, man.
00:27:06 I love you."
00:27:07 Look at him praying.
00:27:08 "I love you, man.
00:27:09 Hey, I love you, dog.
00:27:10 You my homie, 50 grand.
00:27:11 I'm with you like four flat tires, bro."
00:27:12 I'm like, "He didn't want to tell me that we had an issue.
00:27:13 All he wanted to do is tell me that he would solve it."
00:27:14 Let me tell you something.
00:27:15 Wisdom keeps you from going off on somebody about your problem.
00:27:16 Oh, God.
00:27:17 Y'all not listening.
00:27:18 You're not listening.
00:27:19 You're not listening.
00:27:20 It's not his fault.
00:27:21 It's my fault.
00:27:22 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:23 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:24 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:25 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:26 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:49 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:50 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:51 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:52 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:53 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:54 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:55 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:56 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:57 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:58 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:27:59 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:00 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:01 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:02 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:03 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:04 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:32 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:33 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:34 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:35 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:36 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:37 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:38 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:39 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:40 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:41 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:42 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:43 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:44 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:45 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:46 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:28:47 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:10 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:37 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:40 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:43 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:46 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:49 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:52 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:55 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:29:58 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:01 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:04 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:06 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:09 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:12 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:15 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:18 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:21 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:24 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:27 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:30 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:33 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:35 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:38 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:41 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:44 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:47 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:50 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:53 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:56 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:30:59 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:02 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:05 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:08 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:11 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:14 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:17 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:20 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:23 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:26 I'm not going to let him get away with it.
00:31:29 I want wisdom.
00:31:32 Because if I got wisdom,
00:31:35 I can use the wisdom to get all of the other things.
00:31:38 [applause]
00:31:43 The Bible says in Proverbs 9 and 10 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
00:31:47 Wisdom is the correct usage of the knowledge that you have been given.
00:31:54 In order for us to operate on the level that I know that God is calling us to,
00:31:59 we're going to have to become a wiser people.
00:32:04 Because if you become wealthy before you become wise,
00:32:09 ask the lottery winners,
00:32:12 "What happens when your wealth comes before your wisdom?"
00:32:15 Ask our five-star athletes,
00:32:18 "What happens when your wealth..."
00:32:24 Anybody who made $100 million
00:32:27 shouldn't be calling anybody 10 years later talking about, "I need a job."
00:32:31 But the money came before the mastery.
00:32:35 Y'all not listening to me.
00:32:37 See, water always rises to its own level.
00:32:39 So if you don't listen to me, I'm going to say something to you.
00:32:42 It may be offensive, but I want you to hear me.
00:32:44 If you don't change your mind,
00:32:47 then when God gives you a new opportunity,
00:32:50 you're going to digress without cognition
00:32:54 because your mind will always take you back to what it thinks good is.
00:33:00 And if you don't get a renewal of your mind,
00:33:03 the wealth will come,
00:33:05 and you will unintentionally spin yourself back to the same level
00:33:09 you were at before you were blessed.
00:33:16 Because if you buy five cars,
00:33:18 you're not thinking that all of them need insurance.
00:33:23 Wisdom makes you think about all of that.
00:33:25 Wisdom says, "I'm trying to buy a house, so I can't buy a car first."
00:33:30 Knowledge says, "I can get it all because if I work for it, I deserve it."
00:33:34 But you're going to find out that the system doesn't care what you deserve.
00:33:39 Y'all didn't want this sermon today. I can tell.
00:33:43 I can tell y'all didn't want it,
00:33:44 but I'm looking for somebody in this church who wants wisdom
00:33:46 because when God takes us where we need to go,
00:33:49 I need some wise counselors.
00:33:51 I need some wise people I can pull from.
00:33:53 If God is going to give us banking institutions and ideas and billions of dollars,
00:33:57 we got to have wise power brokers.
00:33:59 I need some wise people in the room that recognize that if God gives you a multi-billion dollar opportunity,
00:34:05 this isn't the time for you to sit in your silo.
00:34:07 It's the time for you to go grab five or six other people
00:34:09 and show them exactly how you got where you got.
00:34:13 Do I have any wise people in the room?
00:34:16 So wisdom requires that you study where everything is
00:34:26 before you start making changes.
00:34:29 Are you with me?
00:34:32 1 Kings 4 says, "Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all of the sons of the east
00:34:39 and all of the wisdom of the people in Egypt."
00:34:42 This was the smartest man that ever lived.
00:34:45 And what does he do in all of his wisdom?
00:34:47 He becomes king.
00:34:49 And one of his first things that he does is he gives an offering.
00:34:53 What would they say about the church if the offering basket was in the parking lot?
00:35:11 But let me tell you why we are so confused.
00:35:14 Because in the tabernacle, the brazen altar, which was the place of sacrifice,
00:35:19 was in front of the tabernacle.
00:35:21 You couldn't get in the temple without a sacrifice.
00:35:24 The reason why you couldn't get in the temple without a sacrifice
00:35:27 is they knew that passing the sacrificial table meant that there was going to be no blessing in the house for you.
00:35:33 But what we do is we sneak past the brazen altar and we hope to get something for free.
00:35:41 And what God does when you don't sacrifice is he will supply some of your needs.
00:35:48 But for those of us who walk in overflow...
00:35:51 Malachi says, "Where have you robbed me? In tithes and in offerings."
00:36:00 The brazen altar was the place of judgment. Why?
00:36:04 Because the blood that was sacrificed on the altar pointed to the blood that Jesus would shed on Calvary
00:36:11 and the fire pointed to the judgment of God.
00:36:14 So before you walked in, there had to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
00:36:19 Bring up the brazen altar.
00:36:21 So the reason why there had to be a sacrificial place is because
00:36:26 God was going to the New Testament brazen altar, which was the cross at Calvary.
00:36:33 There was going to be a lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
00:36:37 So they had to put a sacrifice on this altar before they went into the temple and the tabernacle.
00:36:44 Because there was no blessing waiting on you in the house if you didn't sacrifice before you went through the doors.
00:36:52 Oh God, help me.
00:36:55 I can't preach a religion that you need me to conform to how you think.
00:37:01 I can't create a sermon that fits with your paradigm and your opinion.
00:37:06 I can only preach the Word of God. The offering came before the sermon.
00:37:10 Now we don't do that because who would do it?
00:37:17 So what we do in the New Testament church is we shape everything for your comfort
00:37:23 and wonder why there is no power.
00:37:27 I really can't even promise you all that God has for us because we have to shape our system to fit what's comfortable for you.
00:37:34 If we go back to the days of the tabernacle, I see crippled people laying down canes.
00:37:39 We see cancer jumping out of bodies in multiplicity.
00:37:44 Because remember in the days of the tabernacle, bread was falling out of the sky.
00:37:50 Water was coming out of the rock.
00:37:53 Quail was flying at their feet and dying so that they can consume.
00:37:57 I'm telling you the closer we get back to the Bible and the wisdom of the Word of God,
00:38:03 the more surplus and blessings you will see in your life.
00:38:07 Even if you don't believe me, act like you do and say amen.
00:38:10 Thank you. I appreciate it.
00:38:13 Solomon took a thousand offerings to the brazen altar.
00:38:21 Do you see how big that is?
00:38:23 Can you get a thousand sheep on that at one time?
00:38:28 So look at how long the offering took.
00:38:32 The offering was longer than the sermon.
00:38:36 What is the burden? It had to be consumed.
00:38:40 So we have to lay an offering on there, be consumed, lay another one on there, be consumed.
00:38:47 How long do you think it takes to burn an animal?
00:38:51 To ashes?
00:38:54 One thousand times.
00:38:57 It probably took him all day to do this.
00:39:02 He took a thousand offerings to the Lord.
00:39:06 Now this is about to blow your mind.
00:39:09 Can I ask you a question? Solomon just, he just got there.
00:39:13 He hasn't been there long. So then my question is, if he hasn't been there long,
00:39:18 where did he get a thousand animals from?
00:39:21 See, this is the way you let the Bible speak to you.
00:39:26 You got to start asking the questions.
00:39:28 Where did you get a thousand from?
00:39:31 Ah, the Bible says that his father, David, had sheep in abundance,
00:39:36 had cattle in abundance,
00:39:38 which means that whenever he made up in his mind that he was going to sacrifice,
00:39:44 his father gave him the offering.
00:39:47 You follow me?
00:39:53 So, so when he had the desire, then God sent the gift.
00:40:00 God already had somebody with $20,000 for somebody who had a $20,000 need.
00:40:08 So because she sacrificed, God put her sacrifice on my heart,
00:40:16 and now I give her the offering.
00:40:18 Are y'all getting this?
00:40:20 All right, let me see if you can get it this way.
00:40:23 This is what the Lord told me to tell you for everybody in this room who is going to sacrifice in the next season.
00:40:28 God told me to tell you he's about to send somebody to give you $1,000 of something.
00:40:32 You missed it. I'm going to talk to y'all over here.
00:40:36 God says I'm going to send somebody that's going to give you one thousand of something.
00:40:43 Now I don't know what you sacrifice and I don't know what kind of faith you have, but
00:40:47 I am speaking to you right now that according to your faith God is about to bless you with
00:40:51 one thousand of something.
00:40:52 Give your neighbor a high five and say one thousand of something.
00:40:55 One thousand fives, one thousand tens, one thousand twenties, one thousand hundreds,
00:41:02 one thousand thousands, one thousand millions.
00:41:05 I'm talking about abundance.
00:41:12 What are you going to do when you get into the season of your life where God sends somebody
00:41:16 to bless you and you don't have to work for it?
00:41:24 God says if you give me what you have I'll pour out a blessing on you that'll be so big
00:41:30 that you won't have.
00:41:33 Do me a favor, tell your neighbor, the one that sleeps, say I got so much coming that
00:41:36 if you wake up I could bless you.
00:41:38 I got so much coming that if you act like you at church you can get a miracle.
00:41:43 I got so much coming that if you wasn't sitting here dead and expecting God to make it live
00:41:49 I could bless you.
00:41:51 I'm looking for some real Bible readers in here.
00:41:58 Today I don't have a word for anybody who needs me to chew it up before you can eat
00:42:03 it.
00:42:07 I did not bring my teeth today.
00:42:08 I don't have time to chew it up for you.
00:42:11 You're going to have to chew this meat yourself and I know it's working in your spirit but
00:42:16 they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
00:42:19 They're going to mount up with wings like eagles and walk and not be weary.
00:42:22 I need everybody in here who this word is resonating with to touch your neighbor and
00:42:26 say I feel a shift.
00:42:27 I feel a shift.
00:42:28 I feel a shift.
00:42:29 God's about to do something in my life.
00:42:40 This is why I named this sermon the Mute Challenge because I knew you were going to be quiet.
00:42:48 I knew you were going to be quiet and I know that you're accustomed to when you're listening
00:42:54 to energy and I know a lot of you saints went to church a couple Sundays ago at NRG.
00:43:07 Y'all went to two services that day.
00:43:11 Touch your neighbor and say I went to two services that day.
00:43:16 I had a lighthouse outfit but I had a renaissance fit and it wasn't the same.
00:43:21 I wore black on rank and roll but I wore silver down.
00:43:28 Am I in your business?
00:43:31 I saw some of my members at the concert online.
00:43:38 I was recovering from the Holy Ghost.
00:43:39 I didn't have time to go.
00:43:44 So she's singing energy and she said, "Yep, Miss Barbara, I saw you there too."
00:43:50 And they said, when Beyonce said, "Everybody on."
00:43:55 Houston won.
00:43:58 I want to see if Houston can win the Unmute Challenge.
00:44:03 I want to see somebody open up your mouth and ask God for what you want.
00:44:24 I can't hear nobody.
00:44:25 Open up your mouth.
00:44:26 Y'all won that one.
00:44:41 God says, "Solomon, the problem with the church is I keep telling them to ask me for what
00:44:46 they want and they don't say nothing."
00:44:56 He says, "If you have sacrificed for me, you can ask me for whatever you want."
00:45:02 Closed mouths don't get fair.
00:45:05 You have not because you ask not.
00:45:08 Open up your mouth and tell God what you want.
00:45:24 We come in church and the part where we should be vocal, we're silent.
00:45:33 He says, "Ask and it shall be given.
00:45:36 Seek and ye shall find.
00:45:39 Knock and the door shall be opened."
00:45:43 You have let the devil shut your mouth and you are mute.
00:45:54 In fact, the word "ask" in the original text in Hebrew is in what they call the qual imperative
00:46:03 case which means command.
00:46:07 God says, "I told you to ask and if you don't ask me, you are sinning.
00:46:18 I command you to ask me for blessings.
00:46:21 I command you to ask me for favor.
00:46:23 If you don't ask me, you are disobedient."
00:46:26 Good God almighty.
00:46:28 I feel the glory of the Lord in here.
00:46:31 You sitting there talking about, "I don't deserve it and I don't know if it's my season
00:46:36 and I don't know if it's my time and God is blessing everybody else but he ain't blessing
00:46:41 me and I'm tired of seeing other people getting their miracle."
00:46:45 You know why they're getting it because they're asking for it.
00:46:48 If you want a husband, ask for it.
00:46:51 If you want a wife, ask for it.
00:46:53 If you want money, ask for it.
00:46:55 If you need your body healed, ask for it.
00:46:59 I ain't got time.
00:47:08 I can't hear nobody.
00:47:11 I can't hear nobody.
00:47:14 How many of y'all need God to do something for you?
00:47:18 Ask for it.
00:47:19 How many of y'all need a body healing?
00:47:22 Ask for it.
00:47:23 How many of y'all got a situation in your house that needs the attention of the Lord?
00:47:28 Ask for it.
00:47:29 How many of y'all got money issues you need God to do something?
00:47:34 Ask for it.
00:47:40 Touch me people and say, "I'm asking today.
00:47:41 I'm asking today.
00:47:42 I'm asking today.
00:47:43 I'm asking today.
00:47:44 I'm asking today.
00:47:45 I'm asking today.
00:47:46 I'm asking today.
00:47:47 I'm asking today.
00:47:48 I'm asking today.
00:47:49 Lord, give me 1,000 of that.
00:47:50 Give me 2 million of that.
00:47:53 Give me the house I've been dreaming about.
00:47:55 Give me the car I've got a vision about.
00:47:57 I'm asking today."
00:47:58 Watch this.
00:48:04 And I know I'm unqualified, but I'm asking anyway.
00:48:10 I know I don't have the degree, but I'm asking anyway.
00:48:19 So when you see God tell Solomon, "Ask for it," it's in the qual imperative.
00:48:25 It's a command.
00:48:26 God says, "When I tell you to ask me something and you don't ask me, you are being disobedient."
00:48:31 Are you around here?
00:48:38 I don't know if I want to bother God with this.
00:48:41 Let me ask you a question.
00:48:44 What size must a check be to bounce if God writes it?
00:48:51 Your problem is you think too small.
00:48:55 You asking for 100 million, Keyon, when you should have asked for...
00:49:01 But let me tell you why we ask for small things.
00:49:04 We ask for small things because we think just in case God doesn't do it, we put our goals
00:49:09 within reach in case we have to do it ourselves.
00:49:13 You got to put God on blast.
00:49:15 You got to put God in a situation where it can't nobody do it, but him.
00:49:21 I need 35 people in this house and 5,000 online to start asking for it.
00:49:34 That's three people that say, "Everybody unmute."
00:49:48 You have not because you ask not.
00:49:56 Here's the truth.
00:50:00 You got what you asked for.
00:50:02 You were just disappointed because you expected God to do more.
00:50:06 You better open up your mouth.
00:50:11 You better open up your mouth.
00:50:13 You better stop walking here telling me, "Yeah, this is just right, comfortable for me."
00:50:16 You better go in there and blow the roof off this joint.
00:50:18 "This will do.
00:50:19 I'm just comfortable.
00:50:20 I'm just...
00:50:21 This is all I need."
00:50:23 You know you want more.
00:50:24 You're just scared to ask for it.
00:50:31 You the child of a king and you walking around here acting like a pauper.
00:50:40 Not only am I blessed, I'm highly favored.
00:50:41 Say it.
00:50:42 Not only am I blessed, but I'm highly favored.
00:50:44 Say it again.
00:50:45 I don't care about no rhythm.
00:50:46 Not only am I blessed, I'm highly favored.
00:50:48 Not only am I blessed, I'm highly favored.
00:50:49 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:50:50 I'm above, never beneath.
00:50:51 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:50:52 I'm above, never beneath.
00:50:53 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:50:54 I'm above, never beneath.
00:50:55 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:02 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:07 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:10 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:11 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:12 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:13 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:14 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:15 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:16 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:17 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:18 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:19 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:20 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:21 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:22 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:23 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:24 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:25 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:26 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:27 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:28 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:29 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:30 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:31 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:32 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:33 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:34 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:35 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:36 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:37 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:38 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:51:39 I'm the lender, not the borrower.
00:52:06 When I found this out, listen, I'd be asking for...
00:52:14 When I got this revelation, Tyrone, I've been asking for stuff every day.
00:52:18 But see, the reason why we don't like asking God for stuff is because we take humanistic
00:52:27 thoughts into a divine conversation.
00:52:30 Just because you get on people nerve don't mean you're going to get on God's nerve.
00:52:39 The reason why people are frustrated when you ask them for things is because they're
00:52:44 so selfish.
00:52:45 The only need they're concerned about is their own.
00:52:48 Here, ain't nothing worse than you asking somebody for something they can do for you
00:52:56 and they act like it's a problem.
00:52:58 It's because they don't have the wisdom to understand that they were blessed to be a
00:53:01 blessing.
00:53:03 Somebody needs to ask God, "Take all of the people out of my life who don't understand
00:53:07 that there is reciprocity that's supposed to take place.
00:53:10 I'm supposed to bless you and you're supposed to bless me."
00:53:20 God says, "I command you to ask me."
00:53:24 In fact, when you don't ask me, I am considering you to be disobedient and insubordinate.
00:53:31 It's a qual imperative.
00:53:32 It's a command.
00:53:33 Ask.
00:53:34 It's not like saying, "Ask."
00:53:36 It's like, "Ask.
00:53:38 Don't ask.
00:53:39 Don't ask and see what I do to you.
00:53:44 Don't ask and see what happens."
00:53:45 You see the difference?
00:53:49 Everybody say, "Ask."
00:53:50 Ask.
00:53:51 How many of you all have been under asking?
00:53:57 Watch this.
00:54:00 Although the end is ask, the beginning is sacrifice.
00:54:06 Don't be surprised if you don't get an answer if you didn't sacrifice.
00:54:12 Come here.
00:54:13 See, some of you all like to cheat the system.
00:54:15 "I prayed, then nothing happened."
00:54:16 Yeah, because you didn't give nothing.
00:54:17 Everybody, unmute.
00:54:36 I got Bible to prove to you that if you are willing to sacrifice, that I found when I
00:54:45 asked, this is revelation.
00:54:49 Sacrificing is scary because you have to also consider what happens if you give what you
00:54:54 were depending on or if you release what you've been waiting on.
00:54:59 Come on.
00:55:00 Are we human?
00:55:01 Are we got…
00:55:02 How many of you all, if it's time to take an offering, you start thinking…
00:55:06 See, here's where most of us are.
00:55:08 We have a scarcity mentality.
00:55:12 We're afraid of scarcity.
00:55:14 When you ask for more, people are like, "Oh my God.
00:55:17 I don't know what will happen if I release that because I've got plans for that."
00:55:21 Okay.
00:55:22 Well, ask Abraham what happened when he waited 90 years on a son and the Lord came to him.
00:55:31 I'm about to show you something because some of you all…
00:55:33 I'm about to prophesy.
00:55:34 Some of you all have been having a lot of dreams lately.
00:55:36 I'm about to tell you what that's all about.
00:55:38 God said to him, "I want you to sacrifice your son, your only son, the one that you've
00:55:44 been waiting almost 100 years on."
00:55:47 When he went to the mountain to sacrifice his son, the moment he was about to sacrifice
00:55:52 him, the Bible says a voice came from heaven and said, "Abraham, stay your hand."
00:55:56 Why?
00:55:57 Because whatever you are willing to give God, he'll then turn around and let you keep it.
00:56:03 Okay.
00:56:07 Let me prove it to you.
00:56:10 If you're in the Gaul family, I want you to sell your house and I want you to take a $20,000
00:56:16 hit.
00:56:17 That's their Isaac.
00:56:21 I want you to sacrifice it.
00:56:23 Don't tell me you can't do it.
00:56:26 Sacrifice it because anybody in here that has a house, if you don't have enough equity
00:56:28 in the house, you've got to know that whatever that money is has got to come out of your
00:56:32 pocket.
00:56:34 So if you never sold real estate, you've got to understand equity is the key word.
00:56:38 If you don't have equity, you're in debt.
00:56:41 So you've got to figure out where you're coming up with that $20,000.
00:56:44 Don't worry about it.
00:56:45 Will you sacrifice it?
00:56:47 Yes.
00:56:48 Kion, pay the $5,000 bill.
00:56:53 Kion, give the wife $5,000.
00:56:56 Kion, give the husband $5,000.
00:56:58 Kion, give the daughter $5,000.
00:57:01 Four times five equals 20.
00:57:03 You get to keep Isaac because you were willing to sacrifice.
00:57:16 Is this making sense?
00:57:19 Wisdom.
00:57:22 Wisdom.
00:57:25 We're calling it the year of wealth and wisdom, but I'm preaching on wisdom this month, because
00:57:31 I'm not starting with no wealth.
00:57:38 Why would I get up here and preach about what to do with money if you're not first transformed
00:57:44 by the renewal of your life?
00:57:52 We've got people in here, I'm looking at Kirk and Nasser, they're opening up a furniture.
00:57:55 We've got people in here opening up businesses and opening up companies and expanding their
00:58:02 footprint in business.
00:58:03 It's happening all around you.
00:58:05 You've got to ask yourself, "Why isn't it happening?"
00:58:09 I'm looking at so many of y'all that I know personal testimonies on your row where God
00:58:13 is blowing people's minds.
00:58:16 You've got to look inside and say, "What am I doing where my name ain't on that list?"
00:58:24 I can tell you the first thing, no sacrifice.
00:58:27 I can tell you the second thing, you're not asking.
00:58:33 "Pastor, but I don't have a lot."
00:58:40 Y'all doing all right, because I am.
00:58:44 I can tell you this, "Pastor, okay, let's just do this."
00:58:47 How many people say, "God, if I had the money, I would sacrifice it, but I don't have it."
00:58:51 Raise your hand.
00:58:52 Let's be honest, if you don't have the money to do it, okay, there's a scripture for you,
00:58:56 Romans 12 and 1, "Present yourself."
00:59:00 I can do this all day.
00:59:01 "Present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto him, which is your
00:59:06 reasonable service."
00:59:08 God says, "If you don't have something to give me, there is something I want, you."
00:59:17 Give me you, I'll give you something to give me.
00:59:27 That's what Paul said to the church at Romans 12, verse 1.
00:59:31 Present yourself as a, "All right, God, I ain't got no money, but I got me.
00:59:36 I'll come and clean this church if I have to.
00:59:38 I'll serve you.
00:59:39 I'll get on the prayer team.
00:59:40 I'll do whatever you need me to do.
00:59:42 I present myself as a living sacrifice."
00:59:48 Listen, as a living sacrifice, God says, "I only need you to live.
00:59:51 I did the dying.
00:59:55 I don't need you to die for it.
00:59:56 I already did.
00:59:57 I need you to live for it."
01:00:01 And that living sacrifice is holy and acceptable unto God.
01:00:07 He says, "And that is the least you could do for me."
01:00:11 How many of y'all been having dreams lately?
01:00:16 I knew it.
01:00:17 I knew it.
01:00:18 I knew it.
01:00:19 I knew it.
01:00:20 Ooh, I'm about to talk to dreamers.
01:00:21 Because if God has been talking to you in dreams, that means you right.
01:00:25 I'm here.
01:00:26 Matter of fact, I need everybody who's been dreaming over the last two months to just stand
01:00:32 on your feet.
01:00:33 And you're not even a dreamer.
01:00:35 You just been seeing visions, daydreaming, just spacing out.
01:00:39 You saw something.
01:00:40 You saw yourself in a position that you don't even know how you're going to get there.
01:00:45 I knew this was happening because the Lord showed me.
01:00:48 He says, "Son, I am working through your children through visions and dreams."
01:00:54 Whenever God is speaking to you through a dream, it means you are right.
01:00:59 Who needs proof?
01:01:02 Joseph had a dream that his brothers were sheaves of wheat bowing to him.
01:01:09 And we look up in Genesis chapter 50 and they are bowing to him, asking him for food.
01:01:15 Why?
01:01:16 Because your dreams are actually your thoughts asking you for permission to live.
01:01:30 That literally means God says, "I gave it to you."
01:01:33 And the reason why you keep dreaming about it is because it is soliciting your cooperation
01:01:39 so that you can get out of the way, so that what you keep seeing, you can touch, feel,
01:01:43 and taste.
01:01:49 You remember Joseph in the New Testament when God was using Mary as transportation for the
01:01:54 Holy Spirit to get Jesus into the earth?
01:01:57 Where did Joseph find out that his wife was pregnant with Jesus?
01:02:02 In a dream.
01:02:03 In a dream.
01:02:05 See, God is whispering to you, "Listen," in the only space where you're not arrogant.
01:02:20 He's speaking to you in the only place where you can't talk back.
01:02:27 He's speaking to you in the only place where you can't make up a reason why it don't make
01:02:32 sense.
01:02:35 God says, "I would speak to you when you woke, but you talk too much when your eyes are open.
01:02:39 So I got to wait till you go to sleep so I can do all the talking."
01:02:46 He spoke to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream and told him there was going to be a famine, which
01:02:49 was going to be followed by seven years of struggle.
01:02:56 God says, "I want to talk to you when you woke, but then you're going to be reasoning
01:03:01 with me, telling me why it don't make sense.
01:03:06 So I got to wait till you shut up before I speak up."
01:03:09 How many of you all received the word of the Lord?
01:03:23 How many of you all remember Pilate's wife?
01:03:24 I'm almost done.
01:03:25 Remember Pilate's wife?
01:03:28 The Bible says that God spoke to Pilate's wife to tell her, to tell Pilate, that Jesus
01:03:36 was not guilty.
01:03:42 You had better pay attention to that dream.
01:03:48 You don't get to just ignore it and say, "It was just a dream."
01:03:56 It wasn't just a dream.
01:03:58 Sometimes it's the Lord trying to get your attention.
01:04:06 It was in a dream.
01:04:07 He said, "Solomon, ask me for whatever you want, whatever you want.
01:04:16 If you don't ask me, I'm going to consider you to be disobedient."
01:04:24 Solomon said, "Okay, Lord.
01:04:27 Anything I want?"
01:04:30 I asked for wisdom and knowledge.
01:04:34 God says, "Solomon, I will make you so wise that there will not ever be another person
01:04:39 like you on the earth."
01:04:40 Solomon was the wisest and richest man to ever live.
01:04:46 That's including Elon Musk.
01:04:50 That's including Bill Gates.
01:04:52 That's including Warren Buffett.
01:04:54 Nobody has ever had the wealth of Solomon.
01:04:56 The scripture says that he would never make another man to be as wise and as wealthy as
01:05:01 him, which means the money we think we got in 2023 isn't what he had in antiquity.
01:05:10 Do you hear me?
01:05:14 That's how rich he was.
01:05:15 He says, "Lord, I want to be wise."
01:05:18 God says, "Okay, I'll make you wise."
01:05:24 Can I give you the definition of wisdom?
01:05:27 He was saying, "God, give me good judgment and insight on your decisions."
01:05:32 I need you to hear me because this is the key.
01:05:39 Wisdom isn't figuring out a way to make your way work.
01:05:45 Wisdom is getting out of the way and asking God to give you insight on how to do it His
01:05:49 way even if His way is uncomfortable for you.
01:05:54 "Lord, give me understanding."
01:05:57 What does understanding mean?
01:05:58 It means, "God, give me mental skill to decipher between your voice and mine's."
01:06:06 Because I'm telling you, some of y'all are struggling to find out who's talking, you
01:06:09 or God.
01:06:12 Sometimes it's you talking, it ain't God.
01:06:16 Are you listening to me?
01:06:19 He said, "God, I want to be wise.
01:06:21 Tell you this story and this should help you to understand what wisdom is and I'm going
01:06:27 to pray for you."
01:06:28 How many of y'all have ever heard of the Greek philosopher who's responsible for Western
01:06:33 philosophy by the name of Socrates?
01:06:37 Socrates tells a story about a young man who came to him and said, "Professor Socrates,
01:06:44 I want wisdom."
01:06:47 The story says that Socrates takes the man down to the ocean and holds him underwater.
01:06:57 And after 30 seconds, he lifts the young man up and Socrates says to the young man, "Now,
01:07:06 what do you want?"
01:07:08 He said, "I want wisdom."
01:07:09 Put him back under the water.
01:07:13 This time for 45 seconds.
01:07:20 What do you want?
01:07:21 I said, "I want wisdom."
01:07:27 Kept doing this until the young man was under the water for 60 seconds, 65 seconds, 70 seconds.
01:07:42 His body begins to go limp.
01:07:46 Brings him up.
01:07:47 "Now, what do you want, young man?"
01:07:49 He's wheezing.
01:07:51 "Air.
01:07:53 I just want air."
01:08:01 And he said, "When you want wisdom the way you want air, then you will have it."
01:08:17 You can't want wisdom just so you can get a car.
01:08:26 This kind of wisdom has to be on the same level of desire as a man who is drowning,
01:08:33 who just wants one ounce of air.
01:08:39 And if the truth be told and if you stop faking what your reality is, you are actually drowning.
01:08:51 Oh, yes, you've learned how to function.
01:08:58 You got your church smile.
01:09:02 You got your corporate attitude.
01:09:07 And you cry in the car between A and B. And you go in your closet and you cry and you
01:09:16 put Vazin in your eyes to get the red out so you can come out of the room like nothing
01:09:21 ever happened.
01:09:26 And you spaced out at red lights and got mad because somebody blew at you.
01:09:36 Some of you, you're drowning so much you've even passed up your own home and not recognized
01:09:41 that you passed by your house, missed your exit.
01:09:47 It's tough out here.
01:09:52 Don't let nobody tell you it's easy.
01:09:56 But when you want God like you want air, when you will fight for wisdom like you would your
01:10:07 next drink of water, as the deer pets for streams of water, you have to want God more
01:10:17 than you want a business plan.
01:10:23 You have to want God more than you are tired of being lonely.
01:10:31 You got to want the father more than you want your husband.
01:10:40 Sacrifice.
01:10:44 Nobody has ever done anything great without having to overlook their own needs to get
01:10:51 there.
01:10:54 You can't build a good business and travel every weekend and be successful.
01:11:01 You can't be in a concert every other weekend, on a cruise ship every other month, out of
01:11:08 town every other quarter and still have a business that's thriving when you return.
01:11:13 You got to decide whether you're going to be a child or an adult.
01:11:16 When I was a child, I thought as a child.
01:11:19 I understood as a child.
01:11:20 I spoke as a child.
01:11:21 But when I became a man, Paul says, I put away childish things.
01:11:28 Haven't you understood yet that when you get to a certain level, your recreation has to
01:11:33 change?
01:11:38 Let me tell you the way my grandmama said it.
01:11:40 "The places I used to go."
01:11:44 That's what she meant.
01:11:45 "I don't go no more.
01:11:46 The people I used to run with, I don't run with them anymore because they're antithetical
01:11:51 to the destiny that God has given me, and I can't be asking God for wisdom surrounded
01:11:55 by fools."
01:12:00 You need to have people in your life that if you get five minutes with them, they uplift
01:12:04 you.
01:12:05 They pour into you.
01:12:06 They say something that makes you say, "Aha!"
01:12:07 You get an idea from, "Stop running around with fools!"
01:12:21 If your relationships master in gossip and not growth.
01:12:29 Y'all always talking about people but never got an idea.
01:12:33 Let me tell you something.
01:12:34 Whatever you talking about, at least they are doing something worth you talking about,
01:12:38 whether it's good or bad.
01:12:41 Now you do something to make somebody talk about you.
01:12:49 I need a church.
01:12:51 I need a nation online because God has given me the keys to another level, but I need some
01:12:57 people with wisdom.
01:12:58 Are you with me?
01:13:03 I can see the future.
01:13:04 I know where God is going.
01:13:06 I know what he's doing.
01:13:07 I'm tapped in to what he's doing.
01:13:09 I've never felt so much anointing in my life, but I've got to have some wisdom around.
01:13:13 Who will unmute themselves and shout, "I'm with you.
01:13:16 I got you.
01:13:17 I want to go in that direction.
01:13:19 I know God is calling me that way."
01:13:26 Let me tell you.
01:13:29 I didn't ask for it.
01:13:32 I didn't one day just say, "Lord, make me a pastor in Houston, Texas with infant."
01:13:38 I've never asked him for it.
01:13:40 All I wanted to do, I swear to you, since my life began in ministry at 14 years old,
01:13:45 I've always told God, "I don't have enough ability, but I will give you all of my availability."
01:13:59 When I say I'm available, I am.
01:14:03 There are some people in this church that could tell you that I was here yesterday when
01:14:08 they were setting up honey buns and juice for the volunteers, walking in the yard with
01:14:13 an irrigation company, trying to put some irrigation in the ground so that we can get
01:14:17 some seed in the dirt and have this campus to look like a campus and get rid of the stones.
01:14:22 I'm in the trenches because when God gives you something…
01:14:29 There can be no job too small for you.
01:14:35 Wisdom.
01:14:38 Not where I want to be, but I'm a long way from where I used to be.
01:14:42 That's for sure.
01:14:46 And I'm not who I want to be, but I ain't who I used to be.
01:14:56 I'm using wisdom.
01:14:59 I've learned what furniture not to touch, what shouldn't be moved, how to eliminate
01:15:10 relationships that may have longevity but have no trust, and be willing to take whatever
01:15:18 they say about you on their way out the door.
01:15:25 Are you loyal to failure?
01:15:32 Have you reduced your vision to the level of people you cannot cut ties with?
01:15:38 I don't know about you, but I'm about to ask.
01:15:51 And then I'm going to ask some more.
01:15:52 And guess what I'm going to do after I finish asking?
01:15:58 Ask again.
01:15:59 And Lord, if there be anybody in here that don't want to ask, I ask what they ask.
01:16:09 They don't want their stuff, you can drop it off at my house.
01:16:11 I'll figure out what to do with it, Jesus.
01:16:17 If you're in this place today and this message was for you, if you're online and you're watching
01:16:22 us and this message was for you, stand to your feet.
01:16:32 Thank you.
01:16:35 Amen.