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00:00:00 (upbeat music)
00:00:02 (upbeat music)
00:00:05 (upbeat music)
00:00:34 - I have been dealing with prayer
00:00:38 and I haven't been dealing with it around the country,
00:00:42 around the world, but I've been dealing with prayer here.
00:00:45 And the reason is, there's no question in my mind
00:00:50 that next to hearing the word of God
00:00:53 and receiving the word of God,
00:00:56 what we do the most as the children of God is pray.
00:01:03 (congregation murmurs)
00:01:05 Now, I don't know where we might place singing,
00:01:09 but we hear the word, we pray, we sing.
00:01:13 And then we try to live what we hear,
00:01:20 pray about how we live, and then we sing praises to God.
00:01:26 But prayer is so significant
00:01:31 because if it's something that we do so much and so often,
00:01:35 then of course we need to have it right.
00:01:39 And I'm sure you would agree that
00:01:43 if there's anything we need to have right,
00:01:45 it's how we talk to God.
00:01:48 Now, the disciples did not ask him
00:01:52 to teach us how to preach.
00:01:53 Didn't ask him to teach us how to teach,
00:01:57 but they asked to teach us how to pray.
00:02:02 And if you've been following Paul's prayers with me,
00:02:06 then you have discovered that there is something
00:02:09 that Paul has made very plain to me,
00:02:13 and that is that in prayer,
00:02:15 he always asks for our relationship with God
00:02:21 to be sustained, to be strengthened, and to be greater.
00:02:27 I don't remember where Paul ever asked
00:02:32 for anything material,
00:02:33 but he asked primarily and especially
00:02:37 for that relationship with God.
00:02:40 And if you have not been noticing,
00:02:43 if there's ever a time when people ought to be able
00:02:46 to pray and pray right, that time is right now.
00:02:50 So run with me to Ephesians,
00:02:54 and then we're going to do a little thing
00:02:58 over in St. Matthew's Gospel,
00:03:01 and just to show you the significance of prayer
00:03:05 and what we pray.
00:03:07 And in Ephesians chapter one,
00:03:09 and I think we have gone far enough
00:03:12 to go into the power curve,
00:03:13 and I will endeavor to do that.
00:03:16 In Ephesians chapter one,
00:03:17 "Wherefore, I also after I heard of your faith
00:03:19 "in the Lord Jesus and the love unto all the saints,
00:03:22 "cease not to give thanks for you,
00:03:25 "making mention of you in my prayers,
00:03:27 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:03:30 "the Father of glory may give unto you
00:03:32 "the spirit of wisdom and revelation
00:03:37 "in the knowledge of him,
00:03:39 "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened,
00:03:44 "and that there are three things that you need to know,
00:03:46 "that you may know what is the hope of his call,
00:03:51 "what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
00:03:54 "in the saints,
00:03:56 "and what is the exceeding greatness
00:04:01 "of his power to us would believe
00:04:03 "according to the working of his mighty craters,
00:04:06 "which he wrought in Christ
00:04:07 "when he raised him from the dead,
00:04:10 "set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
00:04:15 "far above all principality and power and might
00:04:19 "and dominion and every name that is named,
00:04:22 "not only in this world,
00:04:25 "but also in that which is to come
00:04:28 "and hath put all things under his feet,
00:04:33 "gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
00:04:38 "which is his body,
00:04:40 "the fullness of him that filleth all in all."
00:04:45 Now, you notice that there were three things
00:04:48 that he is praying.
00:04:49 And we talked about the wisdom and revelation
00:04:54 in the knowledge of him.
00:04:56 And there is no greater gift
00:05:02 that God can give than himself.
00:05:06 I don't know, we all have had relationships of sorts,
00:05:12 one way or another,
00:05:14 and even with our children and with people around us,
00:05:18 because anytime you're dealing with anybody,
00:05:21 whether intensely or in passing,
00:05:25 it's a relationship of sorts.
00:05:28 It is so much easier to give something
00:05:34 than to give yourself.
00:05:36 And oftentimes, people can receive what you have to give,
00:05:44 and not receive you at all.
00:05:47 I don't want to bring you into any nostalgic
00:05:53 kind of a situation.
00:05:55 I don't want you to go and crash on some memory of yours.
00:05:59 But the truth is that we will accept
00:06:09 gifts many times and not want anything to do with the giver.
00:06:14 In today's time, that's a very dangerous
00:06:21 kind of way to behave,
00:06:24 because some people, after they give you a gift,
00:06:27 you think it's a tennis bracelet, but it's a handcuff.
00:06:29 And consequently, predicated on the fact
00:06:35 that you decided to receive the gift,
00:06:38 they automatically feel as if the gift binds you to them.
00:06:42 The interesting thing about God is that the greatest gift
00:06:48 that he has given to mankind, for God so loved the world
00:06:52 that he gave his only begotten son.
00:06:55 Whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
00:06:59 but have everlasting life.
00:07:01 But it was God who was in Christ,
00:07:08 reconciling the world to himself.
00:07:11 So it is literally impossible to receive the gift of God
00:07:17 and not receive God himself.
00:07:21 Because the greatest gift that he can give you
00:07:25 is Jesus Christ.
00:07:28 And he is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.
00:07:32 So the most important thing that you can ever have
00:07:37 in this life is a relationship with God.
00:07:42 (audience applauding)
00:07:43 Oh, I wish somebody would understand this.
00:07:47 And it's not just having the business of having church,
00:07:52 because we've been in church for so long,
00:07:56 it's like it's just the business of having church.
00:08:00 But within the parameters of those of us
00:08:05 who come to church on a regular basis,
00:08:07 you have folk in here who seriously understand
00:08:12 the necessity to have a close relationship with God.
00:08:19 It is not always seen by the person beside you.
00:08:24 It is not always seen by the people who lead you.
00:08:29 But a relationship with God is so uniquely
00:08:33 and so idiosyncratically yours
00:08:37 that nobody else can really understand the proximity
00:08:41 and the closeness that you have with God.
00:08:45 I don't have to show it.
00:08:47 I don't have to express it in a manner
00:08:54 to give the impression that I'm close to God.
00:08:59 If you're close to God,
00:09:02 it's going to naturally exude
00:09:05 without you having to do anything.
00:09:07 And one of the ways that it exudes
00:09:10 is the amount of enemies you have.
00:09:13 It's an interesting dynamic that if God has anointed you
00:09:22 and has his hand on you in any manner whatsoever,
00:09:28 you are going to have enemies.
00:09:31 Because any enemy of God is going to be an enemy of you
00:09:37 because you are close to God.
00:09:39 And that's why he says, "In spite of your enemies,
00:09:44 "I will prepare a table in the presence of your enemies.
00:09:50 "And if you will have the nerve to eat,
00:09:53 "I'll have the nerve to prepare it."
00:09:58 And you don't eat away from your enemies,
00:10:01 you eat in the presence of your enemies.
00:10:03 And while God is feeding you,
00:10:05 they're eating their hearts out.
00:10:07 Amen, they mad because God made you glad.
00:10:14 And that's all to do with that presence of God.
00:10:22 It's essential then because as we tackle the text here,
00:10:27 there were some things that we gotta know.
00:10:30 And we have to know it because
00:10:34 he operates in such a spiritual depth.
00:10:36 And when you look at the book of Ephesians,
00:10:38 the profundity of the book of Ephesians
00:10:40 is based primarily on the fact
00:10:42 that he begins outside of time.
00:10:45 And he tells us that God has always had us in his mind
00:10:50 before time began.
00:10:54 We can argue when before time,
00:10:57 and the answer is simply God always had you in his mind.
00:11:02 So in order then for him to bring this relationship to you,
00:11:07 he has to communicate to each one of us,
00:11:11 he has to talk to us.
00:11:13 Because you didn't initiate your relationship with God,
00:11:16 he initiated the relationship with you.
00:11:21 I'll put it this way,
00:11:24 that God is everywhere,
00:11:26 but he is nowhere if he does not reveal himself somewhere.
00:11:33 In other words, you can be in the presence of God,
00:11:38 live, move and have your being,
00:11:41 and still not have a relationship with him.
00:11:45 So here's relationship,
00:11:47 you've gotta know how to listen to him,
00:11:51 and then you've gotta know how to talk to him.
00:11:55 And in talking to him,
00:11:57 you've gotta know what is significant to him
00:12:01 and important to him.
00:12:03 So I'm gonna take a digression real quick,
00:12:06 and I'm gonna go to Matthew chapter nine real fast,
00:12:10 and then I'm gonna come back if I have the time,
00:12:13 if I, yeah, if I have the time,
00:12:15 I push the time limits,
00:12:17 and we're sharing church, amen.
00:12:22 So I can't just act like nobody's following me.
00:12:28 He says to us in Matthew six and verse nine,
00:12:36 and I'm just gonna read a little bit of it,
00:12:40 "Hallowed be thy name."
00:12:46 Now, the first petition in us learning how to pray
00:12:50 is not to ask the almighty God for anything for ourselves,
00:12:57 but the first petition is to give credence to
00:13:04 know who God, who he is,
00:13:14 and not just as he is thought to be.
00:13:19 Now, I'm linking that now with the eyes
00:13:22 of your understanding being enlightened.
00:13:24 You're in a journey here where you're dealing with a God
00:13:29 who literally has no limit.
00:13:33 And oftentimes we struggle because
00:13:41 in his unlimited power,
00:13:44 he doesn't always move the way we want him to move.
00:13:49 I wish somebody would understand that, oh Lord.
00:13:54 I remember one incident in my life,
00:13:56 I just begged him, I begged him, I begged him.
00:13:59 But the issue is when it comes to establishing relationship,
00:14:03 and this is what we have to understand more than anything,
00:14:07 that my relationship with God is not material.
00:14:11 My relationship with God is not intellectual.
00:14:15 My relationship with God is not physical.
00:14:18 My relationship with God is spiritual.
00:14:22 And if an individual does not understand
00:14:24 how to navigate spiritually,
00:14:27 they will always be confused about how God operates.
00:14:32 Let me tell you this, God is not sentimental.
00:14:39 And he will allow you all of your tears
00:14:44 and allow you a situation that you seem to feel
00:14:49 is so negative in order to get you closer to him.
00:14:54 I wish you'd understand.
00:14:56 I've been preaching, I've been preaching,
00:14:59 I've been preaching from John chapter 11.
00:15:02 And the Lord decided that he wants to be a spiritual leader
00:15:08 wants to reveal himself as the resurrection and the life.
00:15:13 He wants to reveal himself in a manner
00:15:19 that all of us use it to this day.
00:15:23 There is none of us who has ever lost a loved one
00:15:28 who did not somewhere along the line quote,
00:15:31 "I am the resurrection and I am the life."
00:15:35 It is a standard in every funeral.
00:15:38 And we have funerals everywhere.
00:15:41 So he decided that he had to reveal himself
00:15:46 as the resurrection and the life.
00:15:49 But God does not give revelation to his enemies.
00:15:53 He only gives revelations to his friends.
00:16:00 He only reveals himself to people
00:16:05 who hunger and thirst for him,
00:16:08 who wanna be close to him.
00:16:11 So if he's going to reveal himself
00:16:16 as the resurrection and the life,
00:16:21 then somebody's got to die.
00:16:24 Have I missed you there?
00:16:29 If he's gonna reveal himself
00:16:34 as the resurrection and the life,
00:16:37 then somebody's got to die.
00:16:42 But he does not reveal himself to his enemies.
00:16:49 He only reveals himself to his friends,
00:16:53 which means somebody close to him
00:16:58 has got to die.
00:17:03 (audience murmurs)
00:17:06 Oh, John chapter 11.
00:17:08 John spends a lot of time trying to tell you
00:17:11 who Martha, Mary and Lazarus was.
00:17:15 Because when your friends get sick,
00:17:20 you don't wait to go see them.
00:17:24 When your family, anybody in your family gets sick,
00:17:29 immediately you rush
00:17:33 because you wanna make sure that they don't leave
00:17:37 without you visiting.
00:17:38 Jesus said, "Lazarus is dead and I am glad."
00:17:45 I think I missed you on that one.
00:17:51 I'm gonna select Bishop Odom,
00:17:53 I'm gonna talk to these people.
00:17:54 (audience laughs)
00:17:55 Lazarus is dead and I am glad for your sakes.
00:18:00 I'm gonna get some glory out of this
00:18:05 because I am going to reveal something
00:18:08 that Christians will use until I return.
00:18:13 And that is I'm the resurrection and the life.
00:18:15 So if he was sentimental,
00:18:17 and if he didn't want the family
00:18:24 to feel what they felt,
00:18:26 he wouldn't have stayed away.
00:18:29 Lord, if you had been here,
00:18:32 my brother would not have died.
00:18:33 Wrong.
00:18:34 I wanted him to die.
00:18:37 Because I wanted to reveal myself
00:18:42 in a way that I would never
00:18:47 if one of my friends didn't die.
00:18:51 He's not sentimental.
00:18:54 You're crying and acting like he ought to back off.
00:18:59 But when God is taking you to another level,
00:19:02 he doesn't let your feelings stop him.
00:19:05 (audience applauds)
00:19:08 When he is moving you up the scale,
00:19:14 give somebody a high five real quick.
00:19:18 And to neighbor, what you're going through right now
00:19:22 is God setting you up for a testimony.
00:19:26 God's setting you up for a revelation.
00:19:29 God's setting you up to get closer to him.
00:19:32 He don't care what your tribe, where you live.
00:19:35 All he wants you to do is be close to him.
00:19:38 And if he got to put you through hell
00:19:41 to get you to heaven, then you're going to hell.
00:19:43 (audience applauds)
00:19:46 (audience cheers)
00:19:49 It is only as we mature
00:20:11 that we look back over certain things in our lives
00:20:16 and we give God praise.
00:20:20 Because I don't think we really hear,
00:20:26 because we got so many different voices
00:20:28 that promulgate and perpetuate different thoughts,
00:20:32 even within the church.
00:20:34 Until most people feel that they don't have
00:20:37 certain car, certain house, that they're not blessed.
00:20:44 But blessing is never in things.
00:20:47 (audience applauds)
00:20:50 I mean, you've had enough now to know
00:20:57 that you ain't get no happiness in no things.
00:20:59 I mean, how many of you sisters would wear
00:21:04 the same dress you wore last week,
00:21:06 long as it was clean?
00:21:07 - I wore that last Sunday.
00:21:11 I can't show up this Sunday.
00:21:14 (audience laughs)
00:21:16 - How many shoes do you have?
00:21:22 (audience laughs)
00:21:25 You know some of you can't pass a pair of shoes up.
00:21:29 (audience laughs)
00:21:32 And still, with all of the things,
00:21:38 there is no pleasure in things.
00:21:43 (audience mumbles)
00:21:45 Amen.
00:21:46 There's no pleasure in things.
00:21:48 There is somebody in this house
00:21:52 who didn't have a hard time trying to figure out
00:21:55 what to wear today.
00:21:56 They didn't have enough to have a hard time.
00:22:02 But I guarantee you, they prayed for this house.
00:22:07 Instead of taking time to pick a dress or pick a suit,
00:22:12 they were praying for this house,
00:22:14 that the Spirit of God would move in this place.
00:22:17 And they stood up with God for the rest of us.
00:22:21 While we were picking out our clothes,
00:22:23 they were picking out our blessing.
00:22:26 While we were searching through the closet
00:22:28 to find what to wear,
00:22:30 they were searching through the Spirit
00:22:32 to find out how God should talk to us this morning
00:22:36 because of their relationship with God.
00:22:39 My relationship is not with things.
00:22:42 My relationship is with God.
00:22:44 And if he moves everything, I still have him.
00:22:48 And no child of God could ever say, "I lost everything."
00:22:53 You can't lose everything if you have God.
00:22:57 (audience cheers)
00:23:00 (audience applauds)
00:23:03 I am learning in getting to know him,
00:23:15 you get to know how to talk to him.
00:23:20 (audience cheers)
00:23:22 I've been single for 27 years.
00:23:28 I'm a little rough around the edges when it comes to
00:23:30 talking to somebody I got to live with.
00:23:36 There's a uniqueness in people.
00:23:45 And then I've had to learn how to be talked to,
00:23:49 particularly if you have an aggressive, strong woman.
00:23:56 (audience laughs)
00:23:59 You got to understand that this is just assertiveness.
00:24:06 You got to understand that everybody's
00:24:16 not going to sound the same.
00:24:18 Then you've got to learn to make the adjustments
00:24:23 in your conversation.
00:24:25 'Cause I like to argue.
00:24:27 Oh, I might as well tell you right now,
00:24:32 ain't nothing more stimulating to me than a good argument.
00:24:35 Let's argue.
00:24:36 And you've known me long enough to know
00:24:44 that the way I deal with scriptures, I like to argue.
00:24:48 I like to prove the point.
00:24:51 I like to go to the point.
00:24:54 But I had to learn how to talk
00:24:59 in a manner that's not offensive.
00:25:02 I've got to learn because I raise my voice.
00:25:08 I'm not angry.
00:25:09 I'm just making a point.
00:25:11 And when I'm making a point, I use inflection.
00:25:15 I project.
00:25:22 And then when I project and I'm looking and I'm seeing
00:25:24 that this is not really acting the way it should act.
00:25:27 Because I got to know the person
00:25:31 to know how to talk to them.
00:25:33 We want to talk to God any kind of way,
00:25:36 but you got to get to know God to know how to talk to him.
00:25:40 And he says, when you approach me, don't come begging me.
00:25:44 Hallowed be thy name.
00:25:50 You got to come into my presence with praise.
00:25:53 You got to walk into my presence with thanksgiving.
00:25:57 Hallowed be thy name.
00:25:59 I digressed over to Matthew
00:26:07 because that's where he taught them how to pray.
00:26:10 And what he's saying to them is,
00:26:15 you got to know him to know how to talk to him.
00:26:18 (congregation murmurs)
00:26:21 Know him as he is, not as people think he is.
00:26:26 I love it.
00:26:29 He's literally opening up and he's saying to us,
00:26:34 when you pray, thy kingdom come.
00:26:38 You were praying about his concerns.
00:26:46 Please allow me to take this off.
00:26:47 (congregation applauds)
00:26:50 Now, isn't that interesting?
00:26:52 Thank you.
00:26:55 That I am making petition of the almighty God
00:27:00 who controls everything in the world.
00:27:06 And Jesus says to me, when you pray,
00:27:15 you pray about his business.
00:27:19 Now, you cannot pray amiss
00:27:30 if you're praying about his business.
00:27:35 Let me approach it in another way.
00:27:42 I think oftentimes we approach God
00:27:47 as if he's a magic genie
00:27:50 and we rub the Bible in the name of Jesus
00:27:54 and he comes out and says, what do you want?
00:27:56 And it seems as if we spend our time
00:28:04 and the projection from the pulpit in many instances
00:28:06 is we hire God.
00:28:10 And we say faith and we postulate faith
00:28:15 actually at the expense of love
00:28:17 because we're mean to each other over faith.
00:28:21 And that is, why should I be kind to you?
00:28:26 If you had my faith, you could have what I have.
00:28:29 So why are you gonna penalize me
00:28:32 'cause you ain't got no faith?
00:28:37 And we have made faith a panacea of all things.
00:28:41 But the truth is when you have faith,
00:28:44 you will accept no.
00:28:48 It's only three things.
00:28:56 It's only three things you can get from God.
00:28:59 Three answers.
00:29:01 No, yes, no, no.
00:29:05 (audience applauding)
00:29:08 And when you said in the name of Jesus,
00:29:14 you took it out of your hands and put it in his hands
00:29:17 so that he can prioritize and set the schedule
00:29:22 for what he does in your life.
00:29:25 When you said in the name of Jesus,
00:29:26 you said not what I want the way I want it,
00:29:29 but the way you want it, when you want it,
00:29:31 how you want it, and I will accept it
00:29:34 anytime you give it.
00:29:36 (audience applauding)
00:29:39 Thy kingdom come.
00:29:40 So now in my prayer,
00:29:48 what he has just done
00:29:52 is he has taught me to tell him
00:29:58 that my life and what I expect out of my life
00:30:04 for myself is now subordinate
00:30:08 to what his kingdom requires.
00:30:12 All right, let's be argumentative since I like to argue.
00:30:20 (audience laughing)
00:30:23 Thy kingdom come
00:30:25 would indicate to me that there is a kingdom
00:30:31 that was not his.
00:30:34 (audience laughing)
00:30:36 We're praying thy kingdom come,
00:30:41 which means that there was a kingdom that operated,
00:30:46 that was not operating under his power,
00:30:50 under his guidance, under his influence.
00:30:56 And I'm very careful when I say that
00:30:57 because whatever happens in this world, he has to allow.
00:31:02 So what you have is a permissive will
00:31:05 and a divine will.
00:31:09 So in my prayer, I'm saying essentially now
00:31:14 that the kingdom that I have been a part of
00:31:18 and been running in, I want it to come to an end.
00:31:22 In order for it to come to an end,
00:31:25 then Lord, you have to bring your kingdom.
00:31:28 I'm having a problem with you.
00:31:32 I'm having a problem with church here recently.
00:31:35 I'm having a problem.
00:31:37 The problem I'm having is,
00:31:40 if we say City of Refuge is a church,
00:31:45 then I have to ask myself, who is the center?
00:31:51 It can't be any of us if we call it a church.
00:32:01 Now, if I say City of Refuge cult,
00:32:03 then it can be one of us.
00:32:07 Here's what I'm scared of,
00:32:09 of what we have done when we don't know the prayer
00:32:12 and don't know how to talk to God
00:32:14 and don't know what to expect.
00:32:16 I'm afraid that we have used Jesus
00:32:21 to bring folk to us.
00:32:23 (congregation chattering)
00:32:26 Should I say that again?
00:32:34 Am I using the church and my presentation of Jesus
00:32:43 to make servants for myself?
00:32:49 (congregation chattering)
00:32:53 Then I have become the center,
00:32:57 using Jesus to make me center.
00:33:02 I can't pray, "Thy kingdom come,"
00:33:06 because the kingdom I'm supporting is myself.
00:33:11 The kingdom I'm projecting is me.
00:33:17 Shouldn't it be that he uses us
00:33:22 to bring people to him?
00:33:25 Oh, I wish you'd understand what I'm saying.
00:33:31 So that anytime his kingdom comes,
00:33:36 we become less, oh, what did John say?
00:33:40 I must decrease, he must increase.
00:33:44 I have come presenting him,
00:33:46 but I didn't come to present him
00:33:48 for me to be the center of attraction,
00:33:51 because the truth is I'm not even worthy
00:33:53 to unlatch his shoes.
00:33:56 He is greater than I, he's the greatest of all.
00:33:59 And even though you see me as significant,
00:34:02 you must reduce how you see me
00:34:05 to see him greater than me,
00:34:07 because he is the center of the house.
00:34:11 Oh God, I wish you'd understand me.
00:34:13 Everybody in here must take a back seat to Jesus.
00:34:18 (audience applauding)
00:34:22 I feel like shouting, I want to put it another way.
00:34:27 I want to put it another way.
00:34:31 If we're going to have breakfast this morning,
00:34:36 and we're going to have ham and eggs,
00:34:41 (audience chattering)
00:34:44 would you rather be the chicken or the hog?
00:34:50 (audience laughing)
00:34:53 Oh, I feel like shouting in here.
00:35:03 See, we got too many saints
00:35:06 that want to deal with God as chickens,
00:35:08 they don't want to be the hog.
00:35:10 But when you deal with God,
00:35:11 you got to leave it all on the altar,
00:35:14 because he is the one who's taking complete control.
00:35:17 You ain't going to lay two eggs and get by,
00:35:20 you're going to have to lay your life down, thy kingdom.
00:35:24 (audience applauding)
00:35:27 The number one name in the city of refuge
00:35:34 should never be Noah or Jo,
00:35:38 should be Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
00:35:43 And we should get out of the way
00:35:46 so people can see him instead of seeing us.
00:35:50 Because when his kingdom comes, we will love one another.
00:35:53 When his kingdom comes, we won't be envious of one another.
00:35:57 When his kingdom come,
00:35:59 we won't be trying to tear down one another.
00:36:01 When his kingdom come, we'll have peace in the house,
00:36:05 joy in the house, helping and lifting up one another.
00:36:09 When his...
00:36:10 (audience applauding)
00:36:13 - Hallowed be thy name.
00:36:26 Let thy reputation be great.
00:36:34 Let your legacy stand.
00:36:35 Let us continually promote you.
00:36:40 Thy kingdom come four ways.
00:36:45 First of all, it's got to be eschatological,
00:36:48 because we're still praying for his kingdom.
00:36:53 And it looks like we've subjugated his kingdom
00:36:57 to whatever we feel.
00:37:00 We operate as if he serves us.
00:37:05 Ooh.
00:37:08 He wants relationship.
00:37:11 (audience applauding)
00:37:14 He wants us to be close to him and him to us.
00:37:18 He wants us to know him.
00:37:20 (audience applauding)
00:37:23 To know him.
00:37:28 Position don't mean a thing.
00:37:30 Jesus said to Abraham, "I'll make your name great."
00:37:35 That's what God said to Abraham, "I'll make your name great."
00:37:39 We're trying to do with titles
00:37:42 what we cannot do with our names.
00:37:45 (audience applauding)
00:37:48 The kingdom
00:37:52 is based upon
00:37:58 God taking over.
00:38:02 And when God has taken over,
00:38:07 your attitude changes.
00:38:11 And the measure of God taking over
00:38:16 is your disposition towards other people.
00:38:20 When he is in charge,
00:38:27 (audience applauding)
00:38:29 you rid yourself of all of this pride
00:38:32 and you move into humility
00:38:36 because you finally got to look at him
00:38:40 to the point where you quit comparing yourself to others.
00:38:44 See, some people feel pretty good
00:38:48 when they look at other people in their struggles.
00:38:52 And they feel significantly important
00:38:55 because I don't have their kind of struggle.
00:38:58 I need to talk to God today about
00:39:02 renegotiating grace.
00:39:06 See, Lord, all the other people need grace,
00:39:11 but I need to go on merit.
00:39:14 I have lived so good, Lord, I don't want you to hear
00:39:20 you saying that you're giving me unmerited faith.
00:39:25 (audience laughing)
00:39:27 I want you to check my works.
00:39:29 And based on my works,
00:39:35 I want you to reward me.
00:39:37 Sounded like the Pharisees, I'm not as other men are.
00:39:42 There is nobody in here
00:39:46 who can renegotiate with God grace
00:39:51 because each one of us stands in grace.
00:39:54 There is nobody in here who is better than anybody else.
00:39:59 All of us are sick.
00:40:00 And the only one walking through here
00:40:03 is Jesus Christ, the great physician,
00:40:06 and he's got everybody's child.
00:40:09 (audience cheering)
00:40:11 Oh, I feel like shouting on that,
00:40:13 but give him three seconds of praise.
00:40:15 Thousand and one, thousand and two, thousand and three.
00:40:18 (audience cheering)
00:40:23 You gotta pray my kingdom come.
00:40:26 If you don't pray my kingdom come,
00:40:30 your life is going to be miserable
00:40:33 because the kingdom of men will destroy you
00:40:36 whereas my kingdom will give you life.
00:40:40 If you don't pray my kingdom come,
00:40:42 bullets gonna be flying all over this place
00:40:44 because when his kingdom is in operation,
00:40:47 people don't kill each other like they killed people today.
00:40:51 His kingdom come, people will love one another.
00:40:54 His kingdom come, people will support one another.
00:40:58 His kingdom come, people will pray for one another.
00:41:02 I tell you, when his kingdom come,
00:41:04 you will love your enemies and do good to them
00:41:08 that despite from the usual, when his...
00:41:11 (audience cheering)
00:41:14 Wouldn't be no Hamas and Israel if his kingdom had come.
00:41:19 (audience cheering)
00:41:22 Don't have to be packing.
00:41:34 Don't have to be scared of my neighbor.
00:41:36 I got ADT, MDT, RDT.
00:41:40 I got a big fence.
00:41:41 I got things talking to you when you come to my gate.
00:41:45 If his kingdom had come,
00:41:47 I wouldn't be scared behind a big fence,
00:41:49 nine foot tall, worried about somebody going crazy.
00:41:53 (audience cheering)
00:41:56 His kingdom come.
00:42:04 You'll end up with a good husband if his kingdom come.
00:42:09 Get you a good wife.
00:42:12 His kingdom come.
00:42:15 (audience cheering)
00:42:17 Get somebody who loves him to love you.
00:42:20 (audience cheering)
00:42:21 I wish you'd understand what I'm saying.
00:42:24 Thy kingdom.
00:42:25 (audience cheering)
00:42:28 But not only eschatologically for the world,
00:42:31 but internally to ease the confusion of our own minds.
00:42:36 I travel the place over.
00:42:45 I work hard.
00:42:46 And in spite of all that,
00:42:50 sometimes I have to battle my own mind,
00:42:54 my own thinking.
00:42:58 Sometimes I have internal conflict.
00:43:03 And I understand now even more
00:43:12 why they claim that 80 plus percent of Americans
00:43:17 have mental issues.
00:43:19 And I ain't making no judgment
00:43:23 because I understand why they say that now
00:43:27 'cause I struggle myself.
00:43:28 Do you know,
00:43:36 I was playing chess the other night.
00:43:41 With one of my prophets, Abram Dixon, that's my prophet.
00:43:46 And as he was agonizing on what to move,
00:43:52 I'm sitting there watching him.
00:43:54 I said to his wife, I said,
00:43:56 does he agonize on all his decisions like this?
00:44:00 (audience laughing)
00:44:03 He didn't touch one piece, then he'd touch another piece.
00:44:06 You know, Ricky, we don't allow that.
00:44:09 Just agonizing on making a move.
00:44:13 Have you ever had a decision to make
00:44:17 that you couldn't get wrong?
00:44:21 You know, there's some decisions, you know,
00:44:27 if you mess up this decision, you got another chance.
00:44:31 But there's some decisions that you made
00:44:39 that you can't get wrong.
00:44:41 There's some situations you get into
00:44:46 that you cannot get it wrong.
00:44:51 And the agony that comes
00:44:56 when you have to make a decision,
00:44:59 and sometimes it not only includes you,
00:45:02 but it includes the people around you.
00:45:04 It includes your children.
00:45:05 It includes the people who are closest to you.
00:45:07 And it drives you almost to the point of insanity
00:45:12 because I got to get this right.
00:45:15 One of the most agonizing times in my life
00:45:17 is buying this new church,
00:45:20 buying this new building.
00:45:23 Because I said to the people around me,
00:45:26 my staff, we have to get this right.
00:45:31 (audience applauding)
00:45:35 It is the future.
00:45:37 - Amen.
00:45:38 - Of the church.
00:45:39 When we're long gone,
00:45:40 it's got to be self-sustaining.
00:45:44 If nobody gives, it's got to be able to stand on its own.
00:45:50 It's got to be there when all of us is gone.
00:45:53 We've got to get it right.
00:45:55 (audience applauding)
00:46:03 And sometimes we miss it because we didn't hear His voice.
00:46:08 (audience applauding)
00:46:14 And so when I say, "Thy kingdom come,"
00:46:20 I want your kingdom to come into me,
00:46:22 to stem the confusion and the voices that I hear.
00:46:29 Because when you can hear the voice of God,
00:46:32 when He says, "My sheep know my voice,
00:46:35 "and a stranger they will not follow,"
00:46:39 the hardest voice to know is the voice of God.
00:46:43 That's why you don't call God's children dumb.
00:46:46 Oh, well, sheep are dumb, not God's sheep.
00:46:50 Because if you can hear His voice and know His voice,
00:46:54 when the devil is talking, when your friends are talking,
00:46:57 when you're talking to yourself,
00:46:59 and God speaks and He distinguishes who He is
00:47:03 and talks to you and says, "Left, right, left, right.
00:47:07 "Go to the right, go to the left,"
00:47:10 and you obey His voice, peace.
00:47:13 (audience applauding)
00:47:16 Peace.
00:47:17 Somebody holler, "Peace."
00:47:26 (audience applauding)
00:47:30 You know when God made the decision for you?
00:47:33 You know when God spoke to you and you obeyed His voice?
00:47:36 All of a sudden, no matter how it looked, you had peace.
00:47:40 And when you have peace in your decision-making
00:47:43 and your mind relaxes because you know it was God
00:47:47 who gave you the direction, I heard your voice
00:47:51 and I stepped out on your voice
00:47:53 and the victory is already mine.
00:47:56 Internalize.
00:47:57 He that keepeth His Spirit
00:48:12 greater than he that taketh the sin.
00:48:16 Peace.
00:48:18 There's nothing like peace.
00:48:24 In the middle of a turmoil and struggling to make a decision,
00:48:26 struggling to figure it out, and then God speaks.
00:48:29 Peace.
00:48:33 Everybody around you losing their mind.
00:48:38 Peace.
00:48:41 Folk on the edge.
00:48:45 Some folk live right on the edge,
00:48:46 like they about to go crazy any second.
00:48:49 Just on the edge, they nervous.
00:48:54 And you have peace.
00:48:55 Because His kingdom came internally.
00:49:01 Thy kingdom come historically.
00:49:04 I need to have that history with you.
00:49:08 And the history with God
00:49:11 is a series of situations where He brings revelation.
00:49:16 That's your history with God.
00:49:20 You have different events in your life.
00:49:23 And the different events where He reveals Himself to you
00:49:26 and the different events now gives you history with Him.
00:49:31 The history of Him operating.
00:49:35 Why people cannot figure when they left you for dead,
00:49:39 how you recovered.
00:49:42 When they left you broken,
00:49:47 how did you get put back together?
00:49:51 When they left you forlorn,
00:49:54 left you in a state of inadequacy,
00:49:58 and they come back looking for the inadequate.
00:50:04 They come back looking for the broken.
00:50:08 They come back looking for the confused,
00:50:12 looking for the pain.
00:50:15 And they look at you, don't see no pain,
00:50:19 don't see no confusion,
00:50:21 don't see nothing broken,
00:50:23 don't see nothing worn up,
00:50:25 don't see nothing worn out,
00:50:27 don't see nothing crazy,
00:50:29 because I got a history with God.
00:50:32 I didn't just start walking with Him, I got history.
00:50:36 Oh, I know He'll bring me out because He brought me out.
00:50:42 I know He'll make a way because He made a way.
00:50:46 I know He'll give me power
00:50:48 because when I was weak, He was there.
00:50:50 I know He'll show me His hand.
00:50:54 I got history.
00:50:55 Y'all excuse me if I don't hoop today.
00:51:09 I got history with God.
00:51:12 (congregation applauding)
00:51:15 Sometimes,
00:51:29 you don't get the support you're looking for
00:51:37 from people.
00:51:40 (congregation chattering)
00:51:43 And you say, "I need you to back me up over here."
00:51:47 "How? We ain't gonna touch."
00:51:49 (congregation chattering)
00:51:53 But they haven't checked out your history.
00:51:59 (congregation applauding)
00:52:02 I'm closing, I'm trying to close.
00:52:06 (congregation chattering)
00:52:10 You don't know my resume.
00:52:12 (congregation applauding)
00:52:15 You don't know how much I have recovered from.
00:52:22 (congregation applauding)
00:52:26 Huh?
00:52:35 One of the problems is
00:52:37 people should trust the God you trust.
00:52:49 (congregation chattering)
00:52:53 And here's it.
00:52:54 They should trust the God you trust
00:52:58 that He won't let you down.
00:53:01 (congregation applauding)
00:53:04 See, that's why you can take a chance
00:53:08 with anybody who's walking with God.
00:53:11 Oh, hear me now, hear me.
00:53:12 If you're walking with God, you can take a chance
00:53:15 with anybody walking with God
00:53:17 because if you're walking with God, He won't let you down.
00:53:21 Yea, though I walk
00:53:22 the valley of the shadow of death,
00:53:26 I will fear no evil.
00:53:28 Moses said, "Come go with us and we will do you good."
00:53:33 Why? Because the God we serve
00:53:36 will let it run over into your house
00:53:40 because He's filled mine.
00:53:42 (congregation applauding)
00:53:46 Don't know your history.
00:53:52 Don't know where you recovered from.
00:54:02 Don't know what you used to be.
00:54:04 Don't have a clue.
00:54:10 Don't have a clue of what God has already
00:54:14 given you successes in.
00:54:16 Don't know where you are.
00:54:20 And then
00:54:29 sometimes it ain't none of that business.
00:54:34 (congregation applauding)
00:54:37 God and I talk about it.
00:54:50 God and I remiss.
00:54:52 God and I.
00:54:53 (congregation applauding)
00:54:56 ♪ Just a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:55:04 ♪ Tell Him all about your trouble ♪
00:55:06 ♪ He will hear your cry ♪
00:55:10 ♪ Answer by your body ♪
00:55:13 ♪ You're a little wire burning ♪
00:55:16 ♪ But He'll will return ♪
00:55:19 ♪ Just a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:55:22 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:55:24 ♪ Help me somebody ♪
00:55:29 ♪ Tell Him all about your trial ♪
00:55:32 ♪ He will hear your cry ♪
00:55:34 ♪ And He'll answer by your body ♪
00:55:37 ♪ Oh, you're a little firewood turning ♪
00:55:41 ♪ Knowing the fire is burning ♪
00:55:44 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:55:46 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:55:48 ♪ Yes ♪
00:55:50 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:55:53 ♪ Tell Him all about your trouble ♪
00:55:56 ♪ He will hear your cry ♪
00:55:58 ♪ Answer by your body ♪
00:56:02 ♪ You're a little firewood turning ♪
00:56:05 ♪ Knowing the fire is burning ♪
00:56:08 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:56:10 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:56:11 One more time.
00:56:13 ♪ Woo ♪
00:56:14 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:56:17 ♪ Tell Him all about your trouble ♪
00:56:20 ♪ He will hear your cry ♪
00:56:22 ♪ And He'll answer by your body ♪
00:56:25 ♪ Oh, you're a little firewood turning ♪
00:56:29 ♪ Knowing that the fire is burning ♪
00:56:32 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:56:34 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:56:35 I'm still feeling it.
00:56:37 ♪ Woo ♪
00:56:38 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:56:41 ♪ Tell Him all about your trouble ♪
00:56:43 ♪ He will hear your faithless cry ♪
00:56:47 ♪ And He'll answer by your body ♪
00:56:50 ♪ You'll hear a little firewood turning ♪
00:56:53 ♪ Knowing that the fire is burning ♪
00:56:56 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:56:59 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:57:00 ♪ Yeah ♪
00:57:01 ♪ Woo ♪
00:57:02 ♪ Yeah ♪
00:57:02 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:57:05 ♪ Tell Him all about your trouble ♪
00:57:08 ♪ He will hear your cry ♪
00:57:11 ♪ And He'll answer by your body ♪
00:57:14 ♪ Oh, you're a little firewood turning ♪
00:57:17 ♪ Knowing that the fire is burning ♪
00:57:20 ♪ Have a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:57:23 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:57:24 ♪ Yeah ♪
00:57:26 ♪ All right, all right, all right ♪
00:57:29 ♪ All right, all right ♪
00:57:32 ♪ Just a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:57:35 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:57:37 ♪ Yeah ♪
00:57:38 ♪ All right, all right, all right, all right ♪
00:57:45 ♪ Just a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:57:47 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:57:48 ♪ Yeah ♪
00:57:51 ♪ All right, all right, all right, all right ♪
00:57:56 ♪ Just a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:57:59 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:58:02 ♪ Oh, all right, all right, all right, all right ♪
00:58:07 ♪ Just a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:58:12 ♪ Makes it right ♪
00:58:14 ♪ All right, all right, all right, all right ♪
00:58:32 ♪ Just a little talk with Jesus ♪
00:58:40 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪
00:58:44 ♪ Yeah, Lord ♪
00:58:48 If you're in this house and you're not born again,
00:58:52 and if you're listening around the world
00:58:57 and you don't know Jesus is saving you,
00:59:01 this is a conversation we're having today.
00:59:04 It's time to come to Him.
00:59:07 There is no circumstances, no situation in your life
00:59:12 that He cannot fix.
00:59:14 Come to Him.
00:59:18 Come to Him.
00:59:21 Come to Him.
00:59:22 Come to Him.
00:59:24 I wanna be born of the water and the Spirit.
00:59:27 Come to Him.
00:59:29 There is a name given above every name,
00:59:32 the name of Jesus.
00:59:34 That name is above every name,
00:59:37 that at that name of Jesus,
00:59:38 every knee shall bow, every tongue confess.
00:59:42 You'll either confess now, confess later,
00:59:45 but now is the best time.
00:59:46 Come on.
00:59:47 Give God the praise.
00:59:50 Come on.
00:59:50 ♪ He will have a cry and survive ♪
00:59:58 ♪ I hear the fire burning ♪
01:00:02 ♪ I feel the fire burning ♪
01:00:05 ♪ And the tongue of Jesus makes a cry ♪
01:00:10 ♪ All right, all right ♪
01:00:14 Come on, come on.
01:00:15 Come on, receive it.
01:00:18 Receive it, come on.
01:00:21 ♪ All right, all right ♪
01:00:26 ♪ All right, all right ♪
01:00:30 Somebody's coming.
01:00:32 ♪ Makes a cry ♪
01:00:34 ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
01:00:37 Come on.
01:00:39 ♪ The tongue of Jesus makes a cry ♪
01:00:47 ♪ Oh, all right, all right ♪
01:00:50 Everybody stand.
01:00:53 ♪ And the tongue of Jesus makes a cry ♪
01:00:58 One more time.
01:00:59 ♪ Oh, all right, all right ♪
01:01:04 ♪ And the tongue of Jesus makes a cry ♪
01:01:11 ♪ Oh, all right, all right ♪
01:01:16 ♪ And the tongue of Jesus makes a cry ♪
01:01:23 (upbeat music)
01:01:26 (upbeat music)
01:01:29 (upbeat music)
01:01:31 (upbeat music)
01:01:34 (upbeat music)
01:01:36 (upbeat music)
01:01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]