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00:00:00 (upbeat music)
00:00:02 - Okay, Acts 4 verse 15.
00:00:14 My subject is own your lesson.
00:00:18 Own your lesson.
00:00:21 And at this point in the text,
00:00:24 Peter and John have had the upper room experience.
00:00:28 They've gone to the temple.
00:00:30 They ran into a man by the gate called Beautiful,
00:00:33 a lame man who they have healed.
00:00:36 Peter has preached, thousands have been saved.
00:00:40 And the Sanhedrin council at the time
00:00:43 are concerned that they're gonna have another Jesus issue.
00:00:47 One of these issues where you've got a revolutionary
00:00:50 upsetting the standard and the status quo
00:00:52 of how things have gone.
00:00:54 And yet they're in a predicament
00:00:57 because they understand coming fresh off the heels
00:01:00 of crucifying Jesus that they can't just go
00:01:03 and chase any and everybody.
00:01:05 When we enter into the text,
00:01:07 they have called them into the council
00:01:09 to try and threaten them.
00:01:12 And then they asked them to leave
00:01:13 so that they could have a minute
00:01:14 to confer amongst themselves.
00:01:17 And verse 15 begins, it says,
00:01:19 but when they had commanded them to go aside
00:01:24 out of the council, they conferred among themselves saying,
00:01:28 what shall we do with these men?
00:01:32 For indeed that a notable miracle has been done
00:01:35 through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem
00:01:40 and we cannot deny it.
00:01:44 Verse 17 says, but so that it spreads no further
00:01:47 among the people, let us severely threaten them
00:01:52 that from now on they speak to no man in this name.
00:01:56 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all
00:02:01 nor teach in the name of Jesus.
00:02:04 But Peter and John answered and said to them,
00:02:07 whether it is right in the sight of God
00:02:09 to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
00:02:13 For we cannot but speak the things
00:02:18 which we have seen and heard.
00:02:22 So when they had further threatened them,
00:02:25 they let them go, finding no way of punishing them
00:02:29 because of the people since they all glorified God
00:02:34 for what had been done.
00:02:36 For the man was over 40 years old
00:02:40 on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
00:02:45 Holy Spirit, I need you.
00:02:49 God, we acknowledge your presence, your sovereignty.
00:02:53 Jesus, we invite you to take your place on your throne.
00:02:58 We have gathered here, yes, to be with other believers,
00:03:02 but we have gathered here, sacrificed to be here,
00:03:06 taking time to connect with you
00:03:08 because we live by your word.
00:03:12 And so God, I pray that you would speak a word
00:03:14 in this room as only you can do,
00:03:17 that you would allow your presence to be so full in me
00:03:20 that it overflows into what comes out of my mouth.
00:03:23 God, I offer you my studies.
00:03:25 I offer you my meditation that I may serve these,
00:03:29 your great people, God.
00:03:31 Let it be you and you alone.
00:03:34 And I thank you, God,
00:03:35 that you've already seen this moment in heaven.
00:03:37 So we surrender, we sacrifice,
00:03:40 we lay down our vision to pick up your own.
00:03:44 No nerves, no fears, give me pace and patience
00:03:48 in Jesus' name, amen, amen.
00:03:52 I often wonder,
00:03:56 though I see in scripture,
00:03:59 especially in John over and over again,
00:04:02 where John goes out of his way to say
00:04:04 that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved.
00:04:08 And I often wonder to myself
00:04:11 whether or not John was true in his perception,
00:04:16 not that he wasn't someone who Jesus loved,
00:04:20 but to go out of his way to say he was the one
00:04:24 whom Jesus loved,
00:04:25 suggested me that he felt a little bit of favoritism
00:04:29 in his relationship with Jesus.
00:04:31 And while I certainly believe
00:04:33 that that is the birthright of any of us who are believers,
00:04:36 we should feel like we are the favorite one,
00:04:39 you know, on the outside looking in,
00:04:41 I do wonder though,
00:04:43 if he and Peter had a unique bond
00:04:45 that has not fully been explored.
00:04:49 Because when I look at the dynamic between Peter and Jesus,
00:04:53 I see over and over again how he allowed him insight
00:04:57 and access that he didn't necessarily give
00:05:00 to the other disciples.
00:05:03 When I look in the scripture and I think to myself,
00:05:05 what is the most powerful interaction
00:05:08 between Jesus and Peter?
00:05:11 There are so many different moments that come to mind.
00:05:14 He healed his mother-in-law.
00:05:17 He went out of his way to make sure
00:05:18 that his mother-in-law was healed.
00:05:20 He also allowed him the opportunity
00:05:24 to exercise whether or not he could walk on water.
00:05:27 We often talk about how Peter failed at walking on water
00:05:30 as if we have jet skis on our feet.
00:05:33 But the fact that Peter even had the audacity to ask
00:05:37 whether or not he could do it.
00:05:39 And Jesus said, if you have the audacity to ask,
00:05:42 I'll create the opportunity for you to do it.
00:05:44 To me, there's something powerful about their relationship
00:05:48 that he knew that he could ask something of Jesus
00:05:51 and that Jesus would fulfill it.
00:05:53 Now, maybe he didn't keep the faith
00:05:55 and maybe he could have worked harder,
00:05:56 but he had a certain audacity
00:05:58 that I don't think we can underestimate.
00:06:01 What is the most powerful interaction?
00:06:03 Perhaps it's at the Mount of Tabor
00:06:07 when he has the Mount of Transfiguration moment
00:06:10 and suddenly this Jesus that they have been following
00:06:13 is now dazzling white and shining.
00:06:16 And it is undeniable that Jesus is not just a good man.
00:06:21 He's not just the anointed one,
00:06:23 though they thought that he was,
00:06:24 but this is something that you've never seen before.
00:06:27 This is a glory that the world has yet to behold.
00:06:30 And he allowed Peter to be a part of that moment.
00:06:34 Was that the most powerful interaction?
00:06:36 Maybe.
00:06:37 Maybe it was the moment where Jesus asked,
00:06:42 "Peter, who do you say that I am?"
00:06:45 And when Peter responds, he receives a new name
00:06:48 because at the end of the day,
00:06:49 Jesus tells him that this revelation
00:06:52 is what I'm gonna build my church on
00:06:54 and flesh and blood did not reveal this to you.
00:06:57 Peter and Jesus had a thing.
00:07:02 I like Peter and not just because they say
00:07:05 he had a cussing spirit on him 'cause I am delivered.
00:07:08 And not just because he cut the ear off
00:07:13 because I too am delivered.
00:07:15 One of my favorite moments,
00:07:20 I think perhaps the most powerful moment
00:07:22 between Jesus and Peter is in John 13,
00:07:27 though there are other moments in the synoptic gospel
00:07:30 that also covers it.
00:07:32 This moment in John 13 sticks out in my mind
00:07:35 because it is the end of the Last Supper.
00:07:38 And Jesus has made clear his journey toward the cross.
00:07:44 They have had the first communion.
00:07:48 And I imagine when I try to depict
00:07:52 what it was like to be in that room,
00:07:54 that there was a real seriousness,
00:07:57 a real sobriety between Jesus
00:08:00 and the disciples at this moment.
00:08:02 And I think the most powerful interaction
00:08:05 that we see between Jesus and Peter takes place
00:08:09 when Peter asked in John 13 whether or not
00:08:14 he could follow Jesus where he was headed.
00:08:17 I didn't give them this scripture,
00:08:20 but I wanna read it to you
00:08:22 for the sake of you fully understanding.
00:08:24 It's in John 13, verse 37.
00:08:26 And it says, "Peter said to him,
00:08:28 "Lord, why can I not follow you now?
00:08:31 "I will lay down my life for your sake."
00:08:36 And Jesus answered him and he says,
00:08:38 "Will you lay down your life for my sake?"
00:08:42 Most, first of all, y'all better.
00:08:44 Okay.
00:08:44 "Most assuredly, I say to you
00:08:47 "that the rooster shall not crow
00:08:49 "till you have denied me three times.
00:08:55 "To me, this is the most powerful interaction
00:08:59 "between Jesus and Peter.
00:09:01 "Not the moment where he had the opportunity
00:09:05 "to walk on water,
00:09:06 "not the moment where he was
00:09:07 "at the Mount of Transfiguration,
00:09:09 "not the moment where he healed his mother-in-law,
00:09:11 "not the moment where he gave the revelation.
00:09:14 "This to me is the most powerful interaction
00:09:16 "because this is the moment in which Jesus tells Peter
00:09:20 "something about himself
00:09:21 "that he did not know he was capable of."
00:09:24 (congregation cheering)
00:09:27 This is the moment where Jesus gives Peter insight
00:09:32 about Peter that Peter himself doesn't even know exists.
00:09:37 We love these moments where Jesus sees us
00:09:43 as greater than we see ourselves.
00:09:45 Where our future and our destiny
00:09:48 and our gifts and talents are more powerful
00:09:51 than we can even imagine.
00:09:52 We love it when we feel like we've been sleep on ourselves,
00:09:55 but very rarely do we dig into those moments
00:09:59 where Jesus tells us something about ourselves
00:10:02 that doesn't quite measure up to who we see ourselves as.
00:10:06 Like I'm loyal.
00:10:10 Like I have integrity.
00:10:13 Like you can count on me.
00:10:14 This is the most powerful interaction
00:10:16 because Peter thinks highly of himself as a disciple.
00:10:20 He sees himself as one who can easily follow Jesus
00:10:25 no matter where he goes.
00:10:26 I don't care how dark the road is gonna be.
00:10:28 I can be with you.
00:10:29 And yet Jesus says that you cannot live up
00:10:32 to your own intention.
00:10:34 Yeah.
00:10:40 Because who we intend to be
00:10:44 and the impact of who we actually are
00:10:47 sometimes have distance.
00:10:50 (congregation murmurs)
00:10:52 Your intention and your impact.
00:10:55 We are responsible just as much for our intention
00:10:59 as we are for our impact.
00:11:02 So it doesn't fully matter what you mean
00:11:06 if what you mean didn't come out
00:11:08 in the way that you delivered it.
00:11:10 Which is difficult for us to comprehend
00:11:14 because yes, you cannot control the way
00:11:17 that a person experiences you.
00:11:19 And yes, they need to do their own work.
00:11:21 But that does not give us license to just do
00:11:24 and say whatever we wanna say.
00:11:26 Well, I didn't mean it that way.
00:11:27 If they took it that way, that's on them.
00:11:29 No, no, no.
00:11:30 You are responsible for making sure
00:11:32 that the way that I impacted you,
00:11:34 the way that I said it,
00:11:35 that I can stand by it in my intentions
00:11:37 and in the presence of God.
00:11:39 I am responsible for making sure
00:11:41 that my intention and my impact align.
00:11:44 (congregation cheering)
00:11:48 Which is why relationships become so challenging for us.
00:11:53 Not just our relationship with Jesus,
00:11:58 but also our relationships with others.
00:12:01 Because there's a certain level of humility required
00:12:06 for us to make sure that our intentions
00:12:09 are constantly aligning with our impact
00:12:12 as much as possible.
00:12:14 (congregation cheering)
00:12:18 When we're parenting, I like that.
00:12:21 When we're loving on one another,
00:12:23 I have a responsibility to make sure
00:12:27 that this all aligns because I recognize
00:12:30 that in this season of my life,
00:12:33 in the influence that God has given me,
00:12:36 and everyone, if you know one person you have influence,
00:12:39 that that influence could be the very thing
00:12:42 that makes or breaks who God is calling them to be.
00:12:45 I am responsible for my impact
00:12:47 because I never wanna say or do anything
00:12:49 that robs you from becoming who God has called you to be.
00:12:53 I recognize that when you recognize
00:12:55 that you have been the villain in somebody's story,
00:12:58 it changes.
00:12:59 Everyone has been the victim,
00:13:00 and we can shout all day about who did you wrong,
00:13:03 but if we were really honest,
00:13:04 there are some of us who have been the villain
00:13:07 in other people's story,
00:13:08 and not because I meant to,
00:13:09 but because I was so blind to the way
00:13:12 that my words come out.
00:13:13 I was so blind to my own brokenness
00:13:16 that I hurt you in the process.
00:13:17 When you become aware that I can sometimes act
00:13:20 in a way that even I don't agree with,
00:13:23 it makes you listen differently
00:13:24 when everyone is saying the same thing
00:13:27 that you don't know how to talk to people.
00:13:29 Maybe it's nothing wrong with their ears.
00:13:31 Maybe it's something wrong with your mouth.
00:13:34 (audience cheering)
00:13:37 (audience applauding)
00:13:40 And you mean well,
00:13:46 but you're not always doing well.
00:13:50 I think that Paul unpacks this in great lengths
00:13:55 in Romans 7.
00:13:56 He says, "For I do not do the good I want to do,
00:14:05 "but I do the evil I do not want to do."
00:14:08 Wait a minute.
00:14:09 I don't do what I want to do.
00:14:13 My intention is not showing up in my action.
00:14:17 I do the very thing that I don't want to do.
00:14:21 My impact, there's a distance.
00:14:23 This I keep on doing.
00:14:24 Now, if I do what I do not want to do,
00:14:27 it's no longer I who do it,
00:14:30 but it is sin living in me that does it.
00:14:34 (audience cheering)
00:14:37 This word sin, when you look it up in the Greek,
00:14:41 it means hermity.
00:14:41 It means to miss the mark.
00:14:43 Oh.
00:14:46 Okay, I'm going to say this.
00:14:50 Sometimes in church, not this church,
00:14:56 other churches, we'll talk about other churches.
00:15:02 We reduce sin down to maybe who you're sleeping with
00:15:05 and whether or not you lie.
00:15:07 But when we see sin as missing the mark
00:15:11 of who we are called to be,
00:15:13 it humbles us because we recognize each day that I wake up,
00:15:19 there are moments where the thing I want to do, I don't do.
00:15:23 I don't want to talk to you crazy.
00:15:24 I don't want to shut you out.
00:15:26 I want to be open.
00:15:27 I want to be honest.
00:15:28 I want to be vulnerable.
00:15:29 But the thing that I want to do, I do not do.
00:15:32 And it is sin that is doing it in me.
00:15:34 What if we saw those moments where we miss the mark
00:15:37 as not as just being human,
00:15:39 but as it's actually sinning,
00:15:41 missing the mark on who God has called us to be.
00:15:44 As a partner who God has called us to be.
00:15:46 As a parent who God has called us to be.
00:15:49 As a leader who God has called us to be.
00:15:51 As a friend, I know it's not one of those sexy messages,
00:15:54 but I'm telling you that you have to recognize
00:15:57 that there is a possibility that you are missing the mark.
00:16:01 (audience cheering)
00:16:04 And if I'm missing the mark,
00:16:09 what is it that needs to happen within me
00:16:13 where I do not compromise the mark
00:16:17 because it requires too much communication
00:16:19 and it requires too much humility
00:16:21 and it requires a skillset.
00:16:23 And quite frankly, they don't even deserve the version of me
00:16:26 who I would be if I actually met the mark.
00:16:29 So now I'm meeting their mark instead of his mark
00:16:31 and they have become my Lord instead of him, my Lord.
00:16:34 I am who I am regardless of who you are.
00:16:37 Sometimes I apologize, not because you deserve it,
00:16:40 but because I didn't deserve to miss the mark in that way.
00:16:43 Yeah, you may have deserved that cussing,
00:16:45 but I didn't deserve to abandon my mission
00:16:48 in order to get down on your level.
00:16:50 'Cause when I get down on your level,
00:16:52 I am no longer the mark.
00:16:54 (audience cheering)
00:16:57 And I can't miss just because you missed.
00:17:07 There are some people I don't want to be even with.
00:17:13 I'm sorry.
00:17:20 I don't want to be on your level.
00:17:22 I tried that, it didn't work for me.
00:17:24 I don't want to be on your level.
00:17:25 I didn't like who I was.
00:17:26 I don't want to be on your level.
00:17:27 It left me bitter.
00:17:28 I don't want to be on your level.
00:17:29 It left me angry.
00:17:30 I don't want to be on your level.
00:17:31 The generational curse can't get broken
00:17:33 if I stay on your level.
00:17:34 They've been doing this in my family for generations.
00:17:37 God has called me to a different mark.
00:17:39 So yes, I'm sorry that I abandoned myself.
00:17:42 And yes, I repent God
00:17:44 because I missed the mark when I went off
00:17:46 and I read them fulfilled,
00:17:47 but I came home dirty because I missed the mark.
00:17:51 (audience cheering)
00:17:54 Paul doesn't just leave us there in Romans 7,
00:18:16 he tells us in Romans 8.
00:18:19 (audience cheering)
00:18:21 That yes, it is sin dwelling in me.
00:18:23 I am missing the mark
00:18:27 because of the sin that is dwelling in me.
00:18:29 But in Romans 8 and 2,
00:18:31 he lets us know for the law of the spirit of life
00:18:34 in Christ Jesus has made me free
00:18:37 from the law of sin and death.
00:18:40 That means that though I have missed the mark
00:18:42 because sin is dwelling in me,
00:18:44 there is also something else dwelling inside of me.
00:18:48 And the spirit of God dwelling inside of me
00:18:51 is going at war with the sin that is living inside of me.
00:18:55 You can't tell it,
00:18:55 but you sit next to somebody in a war zone
00:18:58 because the sin that is dwelling within me
00:19:01 is at war with the spirit of God that is in me.
00:19:04 And I just wanted to let you know
00:19:06 that you may be in the midst of the battle,
00:19:08 but the spirit of God does not lose.
00:19:10 And sometimes God allows that sin to come to the surface
00:19:14 so that the spirit can get it on the front line.
00:19:17 'Cause if you get your sin on the front line
00:19:20 and you release the spirit of God over that sin,
00:19:23 now God can go to war
00:19:25 with the thing that's going to war with your destiny.
00:19:27 Now God can go to war
00:19:29 with the thing that's going to war with your family.
00:19:31 Yeah, bring it out, bring it out, bring it out.
00:19:34 'Cause I got filled with something
00:19:36 that's bigger than the sin dwelling within me.
00:19:46 The spirit of God.
00:19:47 That's why I don't wanna just be in a room with the spirit.
00:19:50 I gotta lift my hands and receive it.
00:19:53 That's why I don't wanna just be around the spirit.
00:19:55 That's why I say things like fill me up until I overflow.
00:19:59 'Cause I recognize that there is some stuff in me
00:20:02 that's gotta get out of me.
00:20:04 If I'm gonna be who God has called me to be,
00:20:07 I realize I got some abandonment issues.
00:20:10 I got some rejection issues.
00:20:12 I got a pride demon to fight.
00:20:15 And I can't do it on my own.
00:20:17 Some of y'all sing, fill me up, you singing a song.
00:20:22 I'm making a request to God.
00:20:24 Fill me up, God, till I overflow.
00:20:28 I wanna run over.
00:20:29 If I could sing, I'd run you out of this building.
00:20:32 'Cause we would take about 10 seconds
00:20:34 to ask God to fill us up until I overflow.
00:20:39 'Cause I got sin dwelling in me.
00:20:42 I got pain dwelling in me.
00:20:44 I'm carrying generational sin.
00:20:46 This sin didn't even start with me.
00:20:48 I got my great-grandmother's sin down on the inside of me.
00:20:52 But I got a spirit of God
00:20:54 that can chase it out of my bloodline.
00:20:57 It's gonna overflow.
00:21:04 It's gonna overflow.
00:21:05 You get filled with the spirit.
00:21:07 Sometimes I lift my hands, I don't even feel like it.
00:21:10 I'm tired, I'm depressed, I'm worried.
00:21:13 But I lift my hands
00:21:15 'cause the spirit makes utterance on my behalf.
00:21:19 When I can't say a word, I just lift my hands
00:21:23 'cause it's all I got and it's all I need.
00:21:27 This is a job for the spirit.
00:21:34 This is not a job I can think my way out of.
00:21:36 This is not a job I can play my way out of.
00:21:39 This is a job for the spirit.
00:21:42 This sin is a job for the spirit.
00:21:44 This addiction is a job for the spirit.
00:21:47 This lust is a job for the spirit.
00:21:49 Now, when the spirit gets finished with me,
00:21:52 I might be in rehab.
00:21:53 When the spirit gets finished with me,
00:21:55 I might be in therapy.
00:21:57 But no matter where I go, it's gotta start in the spirit
00:22:01 'cause the spirit's gonna finish this thing.
00:22:04 (audience cheering)
00:22:07 'Cause I gotta be free.
00:22:13 I gotta be free.
00:22:15 I can't do it bound.
00:22:17 I can't do it in bondage.
00:22:19 God said, "Some of you, I can't promote you
00:22:21 'cause I'm gonna be promoting a bound version of you."
00:22:24 And where you go, you got to be free to create.
00:22:26 You gotta be free to think.
00:22:28 You gotta be free to speak truth to power.
00:22:31 And if I send you in there bound up,
00:22:33 you'll mess around and compromise
00:22:35 when I'm calling you to set a new standard.
00:22:38 (audience cheering)
00:22:41 What I love about Jesus
00:22:55 is that I am not just in relationship with him
00:23:02 as someone who goes to church on Sunday.
00:23:04 I be trying not to say things that's gonna get me
00:23:11 in too much trouble.
00:23:14 Not too much.
00:23:15 I've been in trouble, but not too much trouble.
00:23:16 You know what I mean?
00:23:17 Church is not the center of my relationship with God.
00:23:23 It's the icing on the cake.
00:23:28 I love it for sure.
00:23:31 But I am in relationship with Jesus.
00:23:33 So when I come to church,
00:23:37 it confirms what happened in my relationship with Jesus.
00:23:41 Church is a good place to start
00:23:44 if you don't know how to get your relationship with God.
00:23:47 But if you're connected to a church
00:23:48 that doesn't build your relationship with Jesus,
00:23:51 you just got a different dealer out of a different corner.
00:23:54 But you need to be a part of the kind of church
00:23:57 that says, "Now, when you go out of here,
00:23:59 you need to make some disciples.
00:24:01 When you go out of here, you need to rest."
00:24:03 When you go out of here,
00:24:05 you ought to be able to change something
00:24:07 because I am not your dealer.
00:24:09 I am one meant to thrust you into the world.
00:24:12 My relationship with Jesus,
00:24:19 it sets the mark for me.
00:24:22 How do you handle power?
00:24:27 How do you handle power?
00:24:29 How do you handle failure?
00:24:31 How do you handle betrayal?
00:24:34 You set the mark.
00:24:35 He sets the mark for me.
00:24:36 I'm a terrible mark.
00:24:39 Don't let me be your mark.
00:24:40 I gotta point you to him.
00:24:43 He sets the mark for me.
00:24:44 How do I speak to people, God?
00:24:48 Jesus, help me to understand.
00:24:50 How do I deal with this when they're talking about me?
00:24:52 Jesus, you set the mark.
00:24:54 I wanna go off, Jesus.
00:24:55 You tell me I turn the other cheek.
00:24:57 How exactly does your neck move in such a way?
00:25:00 'Cause the way my hands are set up.
00:25:02 Jesus, you gotta help me.
00:25:04 'Cause I'm so used to defending myself
00:25:08 that I don't know if I can trust you to defend me,
00:25:11 but you set the mark for me.
00:25:13 That even when it looks like I'm on the cross,
00:25:15 even when it looks like I'm lost,
00:25:17 God, I believe in your resurrection powers of Jesus.
00:25:25 You set the mark.
00:25:27 And because Jesus sets the mark for us,
00:25:36 we have a parameter.
00:25:40 We have boundaries.
00:25:44 We have a template.
00:25:46 And we have a high priest who understands
00:25:49 exactly what we've gone through.
00:25:51 I know what it's like for someone you trust to betray you.
00:25:55 We got a high priest who understands that.
00:25:58 How you're promoted one minute, then talked about the next.
00:26:01 I got a priest who understands that.
00:26:03 I serve a Jesus who understands he is my kinsman redeemer.
00:26:07 That means he became like me.
00:26:09 In order to redeem me, he is my mark.
00:26:12 And to be in relationship with Jesus
00:26:23 is to not just lust after his power.
00:26:26 It is to also hunger for his correction.
00:26:32 It is to know that this is going to be a cycle
00:26:42 of me hitting the mark and missing the mark.
00:26:47 And hitting the mark and missing the mark.
00:26:51 And so when Jesus and Peter are having this conversation,
00:26:55 to me, it is the most powerful
00:26:56 because it is one of the only times I think in scripture
00:27:00 where we see someone who says, "No, I can meet the mark."
00:27:03 And Jesus says, "No, you can't.
00:27:05 You can't be who you want to be in this moment."
00:27:09 And part of the reason why he has to trust him
00:27:13 is because Peter is walking into something
00:27:17 he's never seen before.
00:27:20 You've never seen what's about to happen.
00:27:22 You've seen me cast out devils.
00:27:24 You've seen me talk to the Sadducees and the Pharisees.
00:27:27 You've seen me heal people.
00:27:28 But what you're about to see, you've never seen before.
00:27:31 And you cannot trust that that version of you
00:27:34 will show up in this mess.
00:27:36 So when you're walking into something new,
00:27:43 it's a mistake to say you got this.
00:27:48 He's got me, but I don't know if I got this.
00:27:52 So I move with humility
00:27:55 'cause I'm probably gonna mess this up.
00:27:58 But he's still granting me an opportunity to move with him
00:28:03 in spite of the way I'm gonna mess it up.
00:28:05 So I move letting him lead the way.
00:28:08 You don't know how you gonna act on that job.
00:28:14 You don't know how you gonna act on that job.
00:28:16 You don't know what marriage is gonna be like.
00:28:18 You don't know about raising those children.
00:28:20 You don't know about retirement.
00:28:21 You don't know about starting a business.
00:28:23 And don't let Instagram convince you
00:28:25 that you such a boss, that you don't realize
00:28:28 that you also gonna fail a little bit.
00:28:31 And that's okay.
00:28:35 Because the journey is hitting the mark and missing the mark.
00:28:45 (congregation laughing)
00:28:48 When Jesus is crucified and resurrected,
00:28:52 he walks the earth for 40 days.
00:28:55 I can imagine considering that he would ultimately
00:29:00 be ascending and taking his seat
00:29:02 at the right hand of the father,
00:29:05 that he had a lot to do in 40 days.
00:29:07 But Jesus goes out of his way to go and get Peter.
00:29:14 (congregation laughing)
00:29:16 I won't touch this too much
00:29:17 because Bishop Jake's preached a message called, "And Peter."
00:29:21 That is so memorable, you should just,
00:29:26 don't stop watching this message to go see it.
00:29:28 But it's a good time.
00:29:31 He goes to get Peter once he's ascended
00:29:37 because Peter is so disappointed in himself
00:29:40 for missing the mark, that he's gone back to fishing.
00:29:45 'Cause when we miss the mark, we quit.
00:29:52 Some of us silently quit, but we back out.
00:30:00 I love that Jesus goes out of his way to go get Peter
00:30:05 because it shows us so much about who Jesus is.
00:30:10 Because when Jesus says, "Follow me
00:30:15 and I will make you a fisher of men."
00:30:19 He didn't change his mind just because Peter missed the mark
00:30:23 and you don't get to quit just because you missed.
00:30:28 (congregation cheering)
00:30:32 You don't get to quit just because you missed.
00:30:37 You changed your mind,
00:30:38 but God didn't change his mind about you.
00:30:42 I came here to preach to somebody
00:30:44 who's thrown in the towel because you missed.
00:30:47 Yes, you may have lost the marriage,
00:30:49 but that doesn't mean that you get to just quit
00:30:52 living with integrity.
00:30:53 You may have relapsed,
00:30:55 but you don't get to just quit because you relapsed.
00:30:57 You don't get to just quit.
00:30:59 You don't get to just throw in the towel.
00:31:01 You don't get to just say ministry is not for me.
00:31:03 You don't get to just quit because you messed up.
00:31:06 If he called you to it, the phone is still ringing
00:31:09 and it doesn't matter where you hide
00:31:12 and it doesn't matter where you go.
00:31:13 You don't get to just quit.
00:31:15 I don't know who told you it was okay,
00:31:17 but I came here to tell somebody
00:31:19 if I don't do anything else in this room,
00:31:21 I came here to let somebody know
00:31:23 you don't get to just quit.
00:31:25 You don't get to just back out.
00:31:27 You don't get to just let somebody else do it.
00:31:30 God says, I called you to do it.
00:31:32 Peter says, there's other disciples.
00:31:34 Why would you need me?
00:31:35 I'm not worthy enough.
00:31:37 I don't have what it takes.
00:31:39 I messed up too bad, but you don't get to just quit.
00:31:42 You gonna have to put on your big boy drawers
00:31:45 and get back out on the front line
00:31:47 because I'm not finished with you yet.
00:31:51 I'm not finished with you yet.
00:31:54 Demons aren't done trembling.
00:31:57 The devil is not done being destroyed
00:32:00 and I called you to break something in the earth.
00:32:03 You don't get to just quit.
00:32:07 I know you tired.
00:32:08 I know you, Bruce, baby, I'm tired too,
00:32:10 but I'm called to this and I don't get to just back down.
00:32:14 You don't get to just quit.
00:32:18 Yeah, they probably talking about you.
00:32:20 Yeah, you probably in pairs,
00:32:22 but we don't have a high priest
00:32:23 who doesn't understand what it's like
00:32:26 to be talked about, to be humiliated.
00:32:29 And if he didn't get off the cross,
00:32:31 you can't get off yours.
00:32:33 Sorry, but not sorry,
00:32:38 because how can we go to war for a generation
00:32:42 if we're teaching people,
00:32:43 if it gets hard, you can back off.
00:32:46 If it gets hard, do something else.
00:32:48 You don't get to just quit.
00:32:53 I gave you that child.
00:32:56 You don't get to just quit.
00:32:58 I gave you that.
00:32:59 Remember when the marriage started
00:33:01 and you knew it was me and you knew it was God,
00:33:03 you don't get to just quit.
00:33:05 Remember when you were starting the book and it made sense?
00:33:08 Now you got a writer's block.
00:33:09 You don't get to just quit.
00:33:11 I called you to this.
00:33:12 If I didn't call you, you could back out,
00:33:19 but because you felt something when I said your name.
00:33:23 Oh God, I prophesy right now,
00:33:27 in this room, that somebody's feeling is coming back.
00:33:31 That feeling of that first salvation,
00:33:33 that feeling of the first time you called me,
00:33:36 that feeling of when I first thought
00:33:38 that I really can do all things through Christ
00:33:40 who strengthens me.
00:33:41 I hear God saying that old thing is coming back.
00:33:44 That old school anointing,
00:33:46 that old school breakthrough,
00:33:47 that old school trust,
00:33:49 that old school faith.
00:33:50 I hear God saying it's coming back.
00:33:52 If it's coming for you, I want you to lift your hands
00:33:55 so that when the glory falls in this place,
00:33:58 it doesn't just hit your heart.
00:33:59 I want it to get down in your bones.
00:34:02 I want it to get down in your womb
00:34:04 until you start birthing again.
00:34:06 I want it to touch your lungs
00:34:08 until you start breathing again.
00:34:10 Can these dry bones live?
00:34:13 God only you know it,
00:34:15 but if you breathe in this room.
00:34:24 We going somewhere.
00:34:26 We going somewhere.
00:34:27 I feel you God.
00:34:29 I feel you breathing.
00:34:31 I feel you moving.
00:34:32 I feel you shifting.
00:34:33 I feel you breaking.
00:34:35 I can't just go on as normal.
00:34:37 I gotta take a minute
00:34:39 and acknowledge when the King of glory is here
00:34:42 'cause I know when the King of glory steps in
00:34:44 that something's gotta break.
00:34:46 I'm trying to break somebody out of being numb.
00:34:49 I'm trying to break somebody out of pain.
00:34:51 Break it.
00:34:52 Break it.
00:34:53 Break it.
00:34:55 Break it.
00:34:56 Break it.
00:34:58 Break it.
00:34:59 Break it.
00:35:00 (speaking in tongues)
00:35:03 Break it God.
00:35:04 Break it.
00:35:05 Do what only you can do.
00:35:07 Somebody's coming back.
00:35:08 Somebody's getting back in the game.
00:35:10 Somebody's gonna take one step.
00:35:12 This is not the time to quit.
00:35:23 This is not the time to quit.
00:35:24 You think all the enemy has to do
00:35:27 is get you.
00:35:31 You think all the enemy has to do is wage war with you.
00:35:38 All the enemy has to do is make you indifferent
00:35:42 because if you are indifferent, you will be stagnant.
00:35:47 And if you are stagnant, you have no power.
00:35:50 You have no authority.
00:35:52 You have nothing to reach towards.
00:35:54 Peter doesn't get to just quit.
00:36:07 When we find him in my text,
00:36:13 Peter's back is against the wall again.
00:36:19 (congregation murmuring)
00:36:23 Probably very similar to the way it was
00:36:25 when he first denied Jesus.
00:36:27 Where he recognized owning his identity
00:36:33 could be life or death.
00:36:37 When we find him in Acts four,
00:36:41 he's having to pull from the lesson
00:36:48 that Jesus said you don't get to just quit.
00:36:52 I wish I would've pulled all these scriptures
00:36:57 for you to look at,
00:36:58 but when Jesus tells him you don't get to just quit,
00:37:01 he says, "Do you love me?"
00:37:03 Peter says, "Yes, I love you."
00:37:07 I missed the mark, but I still love him.
00:37:09 I missed the mark, but I can't deny he's been good.
00:37:12 I'm not good, but you're good.
00:37:16 And you're too good for me.
00:37:19 So yes, I love you.
00:37:20 Jesus says, "If you love me, feed my sheep.
00:37:23 "Do the thing I called you to do."
00:37:26 Three times he does this.
00:37:31 The same amount of times that Peter denied him.
00:37:35 Jesus says, "I wanna give you a chance to own me.
00:37:38 "Do you love me?
00:37:40 "Feed my sheep.
00:37:41 "Do you love me?
00:37:42 "Feed my sheep.
00:37:43 "Do you love me?
00:37:44 "Feed my sheep."
00:37:45 (congregation cheering)
00:37:48 You don't get to just take this loss.
00:37:55 You gotta eat this loss until this loss becomes a lesson.
00:38:01 Because if you eat this loss
00:38:06 until the loss becomes a lesson,
00:38:08 when you get tested again in this area,
00:38:11 you won't make the same mistake twice.
00:38:14 Because you see, I ate a loss like this before.
00:38:17 And I learned my lesson that even though I ate this loss,
00:38:21 I'm not gonna do the same thing over and over and over again.
00:38:25 God, I may have failed you once,
00:38:27 but if you tell me you're calling me again,
00:38:30 if my back is up against the wall again,
00:38:32 I'm gonna own the lesson that allowed me another chance.
00:38:36 God is not just testing you to fail you.
00:38:39 God is testing you so that every loss becomes a lesson.
00:38:43 And when that lesson becomes yours,
00:38:45 you can own it in front of the very enemy
00:38:48 that made you lose it in the first place.
00:38:51 And when we see Peter owning this lesson,
00:39:03 it's so powerful to me.
00:39:10 Because he's standing in front of a council
00:39:12 that is trying to teach him a lesson too.
00:39:16 They're trying to teach him a lesson to keep his mouth shut.
00:39:22 They're trying to teach him a lesson to stay out of the way.
00:39:26 They're trying to threaten him.
00:39:28 So you gotta know that there are many people
00:39:30 trying to teach you.
00:39:31 And not everybody trying to teach you
00:39:33 is trying to get you closer to who God has called you to be.
00:39:36 So you gotta be careful who you allow to teach you
00:39:39 when you're trying to own the lesson that God gave you.
00:39:42 Because somebody's trying to strip you from the lesson
00:39:45 that you need to own.
00:39:46 And Peter has enough wisdom and insight
00:39:50 to understand that you're not even the person
00:39:52 giving me the test.
00:39:53 You just look like the person testing me.
00:39:56 But I know because I know that this isn't even about you.
00:39:59 You gotta look beyond the circumstance
00:40:02 and understand that this looks very similar
00:40:04 to something that I failed at before.
00:40:06 This looks something very similar
00:40:08 to something that got in before.
00:40:10 And I could take on the lesson of my enemy and shrink.
00:40:20 I could fall for the lesson of my enemy
00:40:24 and be prideful and boastful.
00:40:26 I could fall for the lesson of my enemy,
00:40:28 but lose my family.
00:40:29 'Cause the real test wasn't whether or not
00:40:33 you could be like the fellas.
00:40:34 The real test was whether or not you could be a husband.
00:40:37 (audience cheering)
00:40:40 The real test wasn't whether or not you could be successful.
00:40:43 The real test was whether or not
00:40:44 you could maintain your integrity.
00:40:46 That wasn't the real test.
00:40:48 You gotta make sure what's the real test here.
00:40:50 'Cause I wanna own this lesson.
00:40:55 The Sanhedrin Council doesn't understand
00:41:01 that they are testing someone who had been robbed before.
00:41:07 (audience cheering)
00:41:09 Some of you, y'all learned your lessons the first time.
00:41:14 But some of us, we learn by losing.
00:41:21 And when God gives you the grace to learn again
00:41:29 after you've lost, you don't just give that up
00:41:34 without a fight.
00:41:35 (audience cheering)
00:41:39 When God tells you you're still worthy
00:41:40 regardless of what happened to you,
00:41:42 you don't just give that up without a fight.
00:41:44 I'm not talking about when you heard it.
00:41:45 I'm talking about when you learn it,
00:41:47 when you own it, when it becomes a part of who you are.
00:41:50 You see, I fought for this lesson.
00:41:51 Somebody does think you're arrogant.
00:41:53 You're not arrogant.
00:41:54 I just fought for this lesson.
00:41:55 It's not that I don't care.
00:41:56 I just fought to finally believe
00:41:59 that I am who God says I am.
00:42:01 It's not that it doesn't hurt me.
00:42:02 It's just you can't have my lesson.
00:42:04 I'm trying to own this lesson.
00:42:06 My family's depending on me owning this lesson.
00:42:09 My children are depending on me owning my lesson.
00:42:11 You just can't take it.
00:42:13 You can leave me, but you can't take my lesson.
00:42:15 You can hurt me, but you can't take my lesson.
00:42:17 I may be crying, but you can't have my lesson.
00:42:20 I fought for this baby.
00:42:21 I bled for this baby.
00:42:23 I cried for this baby.
00:42:24 I spent 10 years depressed for this baby.
00:42:27 I tried to blow my brains out, baby.
00:42:29 You can't just take this lesson.
00:42:31 I believe that I'm fearfully and wonderfully made.
00:42:33 And yes, I went through the divorce.
00:42:35 And yes, they may have touched me,
00:42:37 but I fought to own this lesson.
00:42:39 And you just can't take it when you walk out the door.
00:42:41 This is my lesson.
00:42:43 This is my lesson.
00:42:47 God gave me this lesson.
00:42:49 Jesus went out of his way.
00:42:51 He had anything he could be doing in 40 days,
00:42:54 but he went out of his way to teach me this lesson.
00:42:57 Nobody in your family was saved,
00:43:00 but Jesus went out of his way
00:43:01 to make sure you know that I love you,
00:43:04 that I call you my own.
00:43:05 So you can't just take this from me
00:43:13 'cause I've already lost it once.
00:43:19 God says, I wanna give you a lesson
00:43:23 that cannot be easily broken.
00:43:26 I wanna give you a lesson
00:43:30 that cannot be easily taken away from you.
00:43:32 And in Acts 4,
00:43:36 we see Peter owning this lesson.
00:43:42 I'm owning this lesson.
00:43:46 You got the power to kill me, you think.
00:43:50 Don't let the illusion of power
00:43:54 misrepresent who actually has power.
00:43:58 Because even if God allows you
00:44:00 to be the one that takes me out,
00:44:01 it's because that was in his plan, not yours.
00:44:04 If God allows me in front of this enemy,
00:44:07 he still has the ultimate say so.
00:44:09 You have the illusion of power over my destiny,
00:44:12 but you do not have the real thing.
00:44:14 And I am sorry that I gave you license to believe
00:44:18 that you had the authority over my destiny.
00:44:21 But I'm telling you right now
00:44:23 that I know when it's all said and done,
00:44:25 who holds my tomorrow.
00:44:27 You can tell me you're gonna try and kill me.
00:44:29 I'd like to see you try.
00:44:31 Because if you can get past,
00:44:32 it's because my God opened the door.
00:44:35 And even when he slays me,
00:44:37 I'm still gonna trust him.
00:44:38 Because whatever dies in me,
00:44:40 he knows how to bring it back to life.
00:44:42 You didn't hurt me, you were on assignment.
00:44:50 You didn't hurt me, you were working for me.
00:44:53 You didn't hurt me, God was choosing you
00:44:55 to show me what was in me.
00:44:57 And now that I know what's in me,
00:44:59 I know how to stand up to the next version of who you are.
00:45:02 I feel like preaching in this place.
00:45:04 I eat, I eat my losses for breakfast.
00:45:14 I eat my losses for dinner.
00:45:16 I celebrate my success, but I eat my losses.
00:45:21 'Cause I'm trying to figure out
00:45:23 what is the loss trying to teach me
00:45:25 about who I am, about who God is,
00:45:27 about who you are.
00:45:28 I gotta eat.
00:45:29 I ate 'em.
00:45:34 I ate that.
00:45:37 Ate that.
00:45:38 Okay.
00:45:43 (audience cheering)
00:45:46 - Act four.
00:46:02 We see Peter.
00:46:05 Standing in front of this council.
00:46:12 I'm gonna read this.
00:46:13 We outta here.
00:46:14 Take my time.
00:46:17 Take my time.
00:46:20 Says,
00:46:22 Peter says, "Whether it is right in the sight of God
00:46:28 "to listen to you more than to God,
00:46:32 "you judge."
00:46:35 I know who really holds the authority in this situation.
00:46:41 (audience cheering)
00:46:45 The same Peter who denied
00:46:47 is now standing up to this council
00:46:50 because he has decided I won't miss the mark here again.
00:46:54 I love it, I love it, I love it.
00:46:56 They thought, well, we'll threaten him again.
00:47:00 Verse 21 says, "So when they had further threatened him,"
00:47:04 'cause I don't even understand
00:47:05 what you just said right there.
00:47:07 I'm gonna threaten you again.
00:47:09 But the truth is,
00:47:10 they didn't really have a way to punish him
00:47:14 because of the people.
00:47:18 And I know we like to be islands.
00:47:22 And I know we like to believe
00:47:26 that we don't have to be in community and relationship.
00:47:29 But there are moments where, yes, people talk about you,
00:47:34 but then there are other moments
00:47:37 where people affirm the gift of God
00:47:39 down on the inside of you.
00:47:41 And if you throw out all the people,
00:47:43 you'll miss the people who God's gonna call
00:47:47 to the witness stand on your behalf.
00:47:49 They said, "So the people," in verse 21,
00:47:52 can you put it on the screen for me?
00:47:54 "Because of the people, since they all glorified God
00:48:00 "for what had been done."
00:48:02 You'll know that you're owning your lesson appropriately.
00:48:08 When the people are glorifying God
00:48:12 for what happened through you.
00:48:15 No, no, no, that's better.
00:48:19 That's better than we're giving credit for.
00:48:22 Because what this says to me
00:48:24 is that it started off, Peter was concerned
00:48:28 that he couldn't live up to the call
00:48:31 because he missed the mark.
00:48:36 But when Jesus got finished going out of his way for him,
00:48:40 he got back in position.
00:48:43 And God let him know in the moment with the people
00:48:47 that because you owned your lesson,
00:48:50 you are living up to the mark that I had in mind for you
00:48:53 because people are glorifying God
00:48:56 because you hit it out of the park.
00:48:58 I wanna let you know before we get out of here
00:49:01 that there are some things in this earth
00:49:02 that only you can do.
00:49:04 And there are some lessons in this earth
00:49:06 that only you can own.
00:49:08 And sometimes those lessons, they look like loss.
00:49:13 Don't let a loss scare you out of position.
00:49:18 And you don't have to know how you're gonna win.
00:49:26 You don't know how you're gonna own after this loss.
00:49:33 But if you dare to trust that Jesus went out of his way
00:49:38 so that you didn't quit
00:49:44 in the area where you have been called,
00:49:48 don't give up in the places you have been called
00:49:55 because it's not just about you.
00:49:57 My glory is connected to this.
00:50:02 (congregation applauding)
00:50:04 My glory is connected to this
00:50:08 and my glory must invade the earth.
00:50:12 When I was praying about this message, I have to tell you,
00:50:17 these are the kinds of times
00:50:20 that makes young preachers say,
00:50:22 I don't know what to say 'cause I've never seen this before.
00:50:25 God says, you own who you are in every season.
00:50:32 Even when you don't know what to say,
00:50:34 even when you don't know what to think,
00:50:35 even when your opinion,
00:50:37 you gotta own who I called you to be in every season.
00:50:42 And if you own your part, I'll take care of mine.
00:50:50 Peter said, I can't help but to speak about what I've seen
00:50:57 but to speak about what I've seen and what I've heard.
00:51:02 I'm not asking you to make nothing up.
00:51:05 I'm not asking you to be more eloquent
00:51:08 than the person beside you.
00:51:10 I'm not asking you to go back to school
00:51:12 before you say anything.
00:51:13 God says, I just need you to speak what you've seen
00:51:17 and what you've heard.
00:51:18 That's your lesson.
00:51:25 For everything he's allowed you to see,
00:51:27 not just the pain that keeps you up at night,
00:51:32 but the ways that he made through the pain.
00:51:36 Not just the fear of success,
00:51:43 but preach about how he's a keeper,
00:51:47 how he protected you.
00:51:50 Not that that wasn't dangerous, but I kept you.
00:51:53 Just preach about what you've seen, what you've heard.
00:51:55 And I don't mean you gotta preach it like I'm preaching.
00:51:58 I'm saying the next time somebody says something to you
00:52:00 about their broken marriage,
00:52:02 about their pursuit, about their purpose,
00:52:04 I don't need you to make nothing up.
00:52:05 I don't need you to be the next influencer.
00:52:07 I just need you to speak what you've seen
00:52:09 and what you've heard.
00:52:10 I wanna pray with you.
00:52:18 This is a moment more than ever.
00:52:25 (congregation cheering)
00:52:27 Where each of us have something to say.
00:52:32 Yes, we have to qualify it, lay it before the Lord,
00:52:38 but quitting, quitting can't be our option.
00:52:45 Maybe you did fail.
00:52:49 I can't even preach.
00:52:51 You know, sometimes we really like those messages
00:52:53 where it's like, it was them, it was them,
00:52:55 it was them, it was them.
00:52:57 You leave here and you're like, it was them.
00:52:59 But maybe it was you too.
00:53:03 And if you can own your lesson.
00:53:07 Maybe I wasn't, I didn't have the most integrity.
00:53:12 And now I'm scared to be in a situation
00:53:17 that would make a demand on something
00:53:20 that I failed at before.
00:53:23 Couldn't be present the way I wanted to be present.
00:53:25 Couldn't communicate, couldn't be vulnerable.
00:53:27 Couldn't be a safe place.
00:53:28 I failed, so now I distance myself from it.
00:53:31 I wanna ask you to come to this altar.
00:53:33 If you feel most safe at a distance,
00:53:39 because you recognize that I didn't really do it right.
00:53:49 I didn't really, I didn't really win.
00:53:53 As a matter of fact, I didn't just disappoint them.
00:53:59 I think I may have missed the mark.
00:54:03 I think this was the real sin.
00:54:10 Like maybe I'm not sleeping with somebody.
00:54:12 Maybe I am, but maybe I thought
00:54:14 as long as I'm not sleeping with somebody,
00:54:16 I could talk to somebody any kind of way.
00:54:18 But maybe just maybe the real sin
00:54:20 was that I haven't been careful with my words.
00:54:22 Maybe I've made my relationship with God about performance
00:54:31 and checking off boxes.
00:54:34 But Jesus wants to be in relationship with me
00:54:39 in such a way that I start apologizing
00:54:43 because I missed the mark.
00:54:47 Before you make anything right with anyone,
00:54:50 you gotta repent for missing the mark with God.
00:54:56 God, you set a standard for me.
00:55:01 And I feel this for somebody.
00:55:05 Some of you missed the mark by accident.
00:55:11 By this I mean, you didn't even know
00:55:17 where the standard was.
00:55:19 Because you didn't have a role model,
00:55:23 you didn't have anyone living in front of you
00:55:25 in such a way to help you understand where the limits are,
00:55:28 where the boundaries were.
00:55:30 And you missed the mark.
00:55:32 And you have been vilifying yourself
00:55:37 because you recognize now what you didn't know then.
00:55:41 And you are not sure whether or not
00:55:44 you can actually recover.
00:55:46 But we do not serve a God who lives
00:55:49 in the dimension of time.
00:55:51 Which means that you can repent today
00:55:56 for something a version of you did years ago.
00:56:00 And you can release relationship and connection
00:56:05 in your relationship with the Lord.
00:56:08 I want you at this altar because it is a sign of humility.
00:56:15 And in a room this size and a parking lot that big,
00:56:20 we can say to ourselves, you know what?
00:56:24 He'll find me right here.
00:56:26 And you won't be wrong.
00:56:29 But what happens when we come to the altar
00:56:32 is we say, I'm gonna partner with you.
00:56:37 You've already gone out of your way
00:56:40 to make sure that I receive this word from you.
00:56:45 I'm gonna acknowledge that you went out of your way
00:56:48 by moving outside of my comfort zone
00:56:51 and outside of my safety
00:56:52 and risking the people around me wondering,
00:56:55 ooh, what's going on?
00:56:55 No, no, no, it's not about that.
00:56:57 This is about me aligning myself
00:56:59 with the mark who knew how to humble himself
00:57:05 to make himself of no reputation.
00:57:09 You're in this room and maybe you don't know Jesus.
00:57:14 I hope that I have said enough in this sermon
00:57:18 to help you understand that Jesus is not just about
00:57:21 church rules and church politics and Republicans
00:57:25 or Democrats or gospel or CCM.
00:57:28 It's not about that.
00:57:30 This is about relationship.
00:57:31 And there is something powerful
00:57:35 about being in relationship with the mark
00:57:38 that helps you understand where can I grow?
00:57:41 How can I change? What power is available to me?
00:57:44 What authority is available to me?
00:57:46 What can I speak to disease?
00:57:47 What can I speak to principalities?
00:57:49 What can I speak over my child?
00:57:51 What can I prophesy?
00:57:52 Because I am relationship with Jesus.
00:57:55 On my own, I cannot do it, but with him,
00:57:57 he gives me access to God in a way
00:58:04 that just coming to church doesn't do.
00:58:06 I want you to come to this altar if you wanna meet Jesus,
00:58:11 'cause Lord knows he's been waiting
00:58:14 for you to turn towards him.
00:58:15 Family, I wanna pray with you.
00:58:18 If you wanna meet Jesus, just come while we're praying.
00:58:23 I see you moving.
00:58:24 I see you moving.
00:58:26 Thank you, Jesus.
00:58:27 Thank you, Jesus.
00:58:31 Can we just for 10 seconds before I pray,
00:58:38 just take a minute and worship, pray, reflect.
00:58:43 Set an atmosphere for yourself.
00:58:47 I know not everybody's been in church their whole life,
00:58:55 but this is an opportunity for us to open our hearts and say,
00:58:59 "God, I think this message is for me.
00:59:07 "God, I hear you calling.
00:59:09 "I feel something in my heart.
00:59:12 "I feel something in my spirit.
00:59:14 "I feel like maybe you're not done.
00:59:17 "I feel like maybe you're trying to give me another chance,
00:59:20 "but I'm afraid, I'm nervous.
00:59:21 "I don't wanna mess it up.
00:59:22 "I don't wanna make any promises I can't keep,
00:59:25 "but I thank God that you are a promise keeper,
00:59:27 "so even when I don't keep my promise,
00:59:29 "God, you'll keep yours,
00:59:30 "and then you'll teach me how to do the same thing.
00:59:33 "God, I want the mind of Christ Jesus
00:59:35 "down on the inside of me.
00:59:37 "I wanna set an atmosphere for glory.
00:59:39 "I wanna set an atmosphere for breakthrough.
00:59:42 "I wanna set an atmosphere,
00:59:43 "and I wanna lean into it for my own,
00:59:45 "because when I walk out of this place,
00:59:47 "I won't have a band.
00:59:48 "I won't have a multitude,
00:59:50 "but what I will have are my own lips.
00:59:52 "What I will have is my own heart.
00:59:54 "What I will have are the meditations of my heart."
00:59:57 And so, God, I recognize that this is a holy moment.
01:00:06 I thank you, God, for giving me a word
01:00:10 for these, your sons and daughters.
01:00:14 Lord knows, like them, I'm learning
01:00:20 how to hit the mark and miss the mark,
01:00:23 and hit the mark and miss the mark,
01:00:25 but I thank you that they are not relying on me.
01:00:29 They have a greater priest in Jesus.
01:00:35 Father, they have come to this altar as a sign of surrender.
01:00:38 They've come to this altar as a sign of activation,
01:00:44 and certainly at this altar, there is uncertainty.
01:00:49 Perhaps there's even fear.
01:00:52 God, at this altar, there are nursing wounds,
01:00:56 there are nursing hurt, fatherlessness, motherlessness,
01:01:00 no community, there's a reason why they quit,
01:01:04 but I thank you, God, that you are all the support
01:01:06 that they need.
01:01:08 I thank you, God, that you will never leave them
01:01:10 nor forsake them, even when they turn their back on you,
01:01:13 God, I thank you that you are yet there,
01:01:15 you are present with them.
01:01:16 I thank you, God, that because you kept them alive,
01:01:19 it was not so that they could be a viewer
01:01:22 of what you will do in the lives of other people,
01:01:24 but you kept them alive so that they could understand
01:01:27 that I am not finished with you yet,
01:01:29 and so, Father God, I call them back to life
01:01:32 in the area where they are buried inside,
01:01:35 in the area where a stone has been rolled
01:01:37 over their passion, over their innocence,
01:01:40 over their creativity, I speak to that dead thing
01:01:44 on the inside of them, and I say, come back to life.
01:01:47 I speak to that dead thing on the inside of them,
01:01:50 and I say that Jesus has overcome death.
01:01:53 That means that the wages of sin was death,
01:01:56 but thank God for Jesus, somebody's coming back to life.
01:02:00 I thank you, God, that when they betrayed them,
01:02:02 that they didn't change them.
01:02:04 I thank you, God, that when they left them,
01:02:06 that they did not take anything from them.
01:02:08 I thank you, God, that you know how to restore
01:02:11 what the locusts have eaten.
01:02:12 I thank you, God, that confidence is coming back.
01:02:15 I thank you, God, that power is coming back.
01:02:18 I thank you, God, that vision is coming back.
01:02:20 I thank you that ownership is coming back.
01:02:22 I thank you, God, that the business isn't over.
01:02:25 I thank you that the book is telling them.
01:02:27 I thank you, God, that the music hasn't been released.
01:02:29 I thank you that there is a gift on the inside of them
01:02:32 that will undeniably give you glory.
01:02:35 I thank you, God, that you still have love for them.
01:02:38 I thank you, God, that you still have hope for them.
01:02:40 I thank you, God, that they're gonna be fulfilled.
01:02:42 I thank you, God, that your word will not return void,
01:02:46 and that everything you spoke over them is yet alive.
01:02:49 So we say spring up a well in this place
01:02:52 as only you can do.
01:02:53 Spring it up, spring it up, spring it up.
01:02:55 Spring up a well, O God, until they start living again,
01:02:59 until they start fighting again,
01:03:01 until they're hungry for the things of God again.
01:03:04 I thank you, God, for marriages being healed.
01:03:07 I thank you, God, for children being saved.
01:03:09 I thank you, God, for health coming.
01:03:11 I thank you, God, for strength coming.
01:03:13 I thank you, God, for power coming.
01:03:15 I thank you, God, for generational breakthrough.
01:03:18 I thank you, God,
01:03:19 that they are brand plucked out of the fire.
01:03:27 And because we come into agreement with your word,
01:03:30 because we come into agreement with your call,
01:03:34 over our fears, over our insecurity,
01:03:37 somebody's having to reach to lay hold of it,
01:03:39 but God, you're worth reaching for.
01:03:41 Somebody's gonna have to stretch over generations,
01:03:44 but God, you're worth stretching for.
01:03:46 Somebody's gonna have to be someone
01:03:48 they never thought that they could be,
01:03:50 but I hear God saying, "I'm gonna be with you.
01:03:52 "I'm gonna show you how to speak.
01:03:54 "I'm gonna show you how to change.
01:03:56 "I'm gonna show you how to walk.
01:03:58 "I'm gonna show you how to love.
01:04:00 "I'm gonna show you how to communicate.
01:04:02 "I'm gonna show you how to lead.
01:04:04 "I'm gonna show you how to step foot into a room
01:04:07 "and own a room because I'm gonna go ahead of you."
01:04:10 I thank you, God, for territory.
01:04:12 I thank you, God, for breakthrough.
01:04:14 I thank you, God, that the generations
01:04:16 are gonna experience breakthrough because of this moment.
01:04:20 I believe you for it.
01:04:22 I lay hold of it.
01:04:23 God, you're not wasting their time
01:04:25 and you're not wasting mine either.
01:04:27 If you peck me, it's because you wanna sling me,
01:04:31 and if you wanna sling me, God, I wanna be ready.
01:04:34 I wanna be strong.
01:04:36 I wanna be fit for the battle.
01:04:40 So I thank you for these soldiers and for these warriors.
01:04:46 I thank you that tools are coming their way,
01:04:54 that peace is coming their way.
01:04:56 Give them the faith to receive this message,
01:05:02 to allow it to take root and produce fruit,
01:05:07 even when it hurts to believe.
01:05:11 I see you.
01:05:13 I see you.
01:05:16 Thank you for coming down here,
01:05:17 even though it was a sacrifice
01:05:19 'cause belief hurts when you've been hurt.
01:05:22 But I thank you, God, that you see their sacrifice.
01:05:25 You see the tears, the pain.
01:05:28 You see it.
01:05:31 You know what it costs
01:05:33 and what you're gonna give them in return in peace,
01:05:36 not just in things, in peace, in joy, in hope,
01:05:41 in restoration, when he's gonna give you, sis.
01:05:43 Eyes haven't seen it.
01:05:46 That's why you can't feel it.
01:05:49 That's why you can't see it.
01:05:50 Eyes haven't seen it.
01:05:51 Ears haven't heard it.
01:05:52 That's why can't nobody speak to you about this.
01:05:55 But he knows.
01:05:57 It's been stored up with you in mind.
01:06:00 And so, God, thank you.
01:06:03 Repeat after me.
01:06:05 Heavenly Father,
01:06:06 thank you for Jesus.
01:06:09 Thank you for loving me.
01:06:12 Thank you for keeping me,
01:06:15 even when I didn't wanna be kept.
01:06:19 Thank you for not letting me quit.
01:06:21 I repent for the way I've been seeing things,
01:06:27 for the way that I've been acting
01:06:30 or not responding.
01:06:34 God, I receive your spirit.
01:06:37 Fill me up.
01:06:41 Let it wage war
01:06:43 with the sin within
01:06:49 and then release me
01:06:50 to own this lesson.
01:06:53 Instead of being owned
01:06:56 by that loss,
01:06:59 I receive a fresh start.
01:07:02 I claim my identity
01:07:05 in Jesus' name.
01:07:08 Amen.
01:07:10 Can you celebrate with me, family?
01:07:12 Come on, can you do better?
01:07:14 Like, this is a birthday party.
01:07:16 Somebody just came back to life.
01:07:18 Can you celebrate with me?
01:07:19 Somebody's family's saved.
01:07:24 Somebody's marriage is saved.
01:07:26 I take so seriously the opportunity to serve you.
01:07:30 I have to tell you that I am not the only one
01:07:32 who takes this moment seriously.
01:07:34 Every pastor on our team
01:07:37 feels tremendously honored
01:07:39 to be a part of what God is doing in your life.
01:07:42 If you do not have a church home,
01:07:45 would you please just come date us for a little bit?
01:07:48 We would love to welcome you into the Potter's House Dallas
01:07:52 as a member of our family.
01:07:54 Our pastors are down on the left.
01:07:56 They wanna meet with you.
01:07:57 We wanna know about your family.
01:07:59 We wanna know how we can help your marriage.
01:08:01 We wanna help you build that business.
01:08:03 We wanna give you your kingdom identity.
01:08:05 We want to serve you well,
01:08:08 and we are constantly meeting and collaborating
01:08:11 to make sure that we can do so.
01:08:14 It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are.
01:08:17 What I love about this church
01:08:19 is that it is an intergenerational community,
01:08:22 and it is our distinct privilege and honor
01:08:25 to serve the DFW, Metroplex, and beyond,
01:08:29 because if you're watching online,
01:08:30 you already know you stuck like Chuck with us.
01:08:33 You're watching online.
01:08:34 There are instructions on the screen
01:08:36 where you can learn how to become a member,
01:08:38 a digital member, an e-member of the Potter's House Dallas.
01:08:42 We love you.
01:08:42 Please click that button.
01:08:43 Get plugged in.
01:08:45 We're growing.
01:08:46 We're reaching into new generations.
01:08:48 We wanna learn new methods,
01:08:50 and we wanna make sure that you come into this space,
01:08:53 and we learn about the gifts that you bring
01:08:55 that can make us better.
01:08:56 If this is your church,
01:08:56 can you just celebrate what this church has done
01:09:00 for you and your family?
01:09:02 (congregation cheering)
01:09:05 All right, family, let's stand.
01:09:08 We're gonna prepare to get out of here.
01:09:13 We're going home.
01:09:14 We don't know what this week holds,
01:09:16 but we know who holds this week.
01:09:18 We don't know what phone calls we're gonna get.
01:09:23 We don't know what emails await us,
01:09:26 what stretching we're gonna have to do,
01:09:28 but we won't have to do it on our own.
01:09:31 Can you just hit the shoulder of the person beside you
01:09:35 and say, "You got this, you got this."
01:09:36 Whatever the week holds, you got this.
01:09:39 You got this, and God's got you.
01:09:41 You got this.
01:09:43 Never forget what you felt in this room
01:09:45 when your church family said, "You got this, you got this,
01:09:48 "you got this."
01:09:50 You got them kids, you got that job,
01:09:52 you got those parents, you got your health,
01:09:56 you got this, you got this.
01:09:58 Spirit of the living God, we thank you
01:10:03 that we have somewhere to go
01:10:06 when nothing in the world makes sense.
01:10:08 We thank you that you know how to lift burdens
01:10:12 and change our minds.
01:10:14 You know how to touch our heart from beginning to end.
01:10:16 What a gracious savior you are.
01:10:19 God, as our friends, our families, our brothers and sisters
01:10:22 depart from us, but not from your presence,
01:10:25 I pray a special blessing over their week.
01:10:28 God, let them have rest in their bodies.
01:10:32 God, give them rest in their mind.
01:10:34 Someone who hasn't been able to sleep at all,
01:10:37 God, I'm praying that tonight will be sweet rest.
01:10:41 I thank you, God, for dispatching angels over them,
01:10:44 that wherever they go, angels will encamp around them.
01:10:47 I thank you, God, for the hedge of protection
01:10:50 that is around them.
01:10:51 And when I say them, I mean everything connected to them.
01:10:53 God, I thank you for angels in bank accounts.
01:10:56 I thank you for angels at the school.
01:10:58 I thank you for angels at the hospital.
01:11:00 I thank you for angels connected to everything
01:11:03 connected to them.
01:11:04 And I thank you, God, that some of them
01:11:07 are gonna hit the mark more this week
01:11:09 than they have in a long time.
01:11:12 Yeah, somebody back at it.
01:11:13 And I thank you, God, that there will be no shame
01:11:17 and no condemnation for those moments where they miss,
01:11:22 that they'll feel your love and compassion saying,
01:11:25 I knew that would happen, but I'm not finished yet.
01:11:29 So you don't get to quit either.
01:11:31 We receive your sweet presence, God.
01:11:33 We receive it.
01:11:38 We thank you for it.
01:11:40 We'll abide in it.
01:11:42 In Jesus' name, amen.
01:11:43 I love you, family.
01:11:45 (congregation applauding)
01:11:48 (upbeat music)
01:11:51 (upbeat music)
01:11:54 (upbeat music)
01:11:56 (upbeat music)
01:11:59 (upbeat music)
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