The Struggle Is Real -- Robert Madu
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ÉducationTranscription
00:00:00Elbow the person next to you and say, I know I got the victory.
00:00:07You glad to be in God's house today? You look good social fam, you look good.
00:00:16Matter of fact, you look unshakeable, you look unshakeable. Well, I feel like
00:00:27preaching. I feel like preaching today. So glad that you're here. If it's your first
00:00:33time here, would you do us a favor, just one more time, just give me a wave. I just
00:00:36want to know if it's your first time. Man, so glad that you're here. So glad you're
00:00:42here. Come on, all the way up at the top, first time. It is no easy thing coming to
00:00:49Social Dallas. You got to figure out what venue we're at, you got to fight through
00:00:52the parking lot, but you made it, you made it, you made it. And if you're new
00:00:58around here, we have a word that we have really shaped our year around, that word
00:01:03is unshakeable. And it's not a random word, it's a word that comes straight out
00:01:07of Scripture. And so we've been declaring this verse, watch this, every Sunday of
00:01:11the year we have read this verse, all different venues, but this is our first
00:01:16time to read it at Texas Trust. It's pretty incredible. So come on, let's do
00:01:23how we do. Hebrews chapter 12, verses 28, 29. If you don't got it memorized, it's
00:01:28gonna be on the screen for you. Let's read it together as one big family. Read
00:01:32it like you had some caffeine today. You ready? Come on, one, two, three. Do you see
00:01:37what we got? And do you see how not only thankful, but brimming with worship,
00:01:47deeply reverent before God, for God is not an indifferent bystander. He is
00:01:53actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit
00:01:58until it's all clean. God helps. Y'all sound good? Sound good?
00:02:08Sound like you trust God up in Texas Trust? You knew that was coming, you know
00:02:13how to do that. Hey, go with me to our text that we're gonna be looking at
00:02:19today. And I'm not gonna be before you long, because service is not over after I
00:02:23finish preaching. Y'all, it is Fall Fest today. So all you introverts that love to
00:02:31sneak in and sneak out, you can't do that today, okay? Stay, meet somebody you don't
00:02:37know, hang out. We got the parking lot. I think it's like till midnight, right? No,
00:02:41actually we got to be about here at 1. So it's gonna be amazing. It'll be amazing.
00:02:46So make sure you stay. It's gonna be fun. But go with me to Mark chapter 9. Mark
00:02:49chapter 9. I want to look at verses 14 through 29, because we need all of it.
00:02:57Mark chapter 9, the gospel according to Mark, starting at verse number 14. When
00:03:02you're ready to read it, say yeah. If you need time, say hold on.
00:03:09It's on the screen. And it says, and when they came to the disciples, they saw a
00:03:18great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all
00:03:23the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him, that him is
00:03:27Jesus, and greeted him. And he asked them, what are you arguing about with him? And
00:03:35someone from the crowd answered him, teacher, I brought my son to you, for he
00:03:41has a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him
00:03:46down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your staff
00:03:51to cast it out. And they were not able. He answered them, oh faithless generation,
00:04:00how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Hold on, pause. Jesus
00:04:08didn't say that under his breath. He said that out loud. Y'all, that verse blessed
00:04:14me, that the Savior of the universe said, I'm sick of y'all. I am tired of you. You
00:04:20getting on every one of my last holy nerves. He says, bring the boy to me.
00:04:25Bring him to me. And they brought the boy to him. And when the Spirit saw him,
00:04:29immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming
00:04:34at the mouth. Jesus asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? He
00:04:40said, from childhood. And it is often cast him into the fire and into the water to
00:04:44destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. And
00:04:53Jesus said to him, if you can, if you hit me with an if, all things are possible for
00:05:03one who believes. Immediately, the father of the child cried out and said, I
00:05:10believe. Help my unbelief. Go back, go back. I believe. Help my unbelief. We ain't got to
00:05:23read the rest of it because some of y'all's feet hurt. Um, spoiler alert, the
00:05:27boy got delivered. But I'm intrigued with this honest, transparent cry of this
00:05:37father. He said, I believe. Help my unbelief. When I get to heaven, I want to
00:05:46meet this dude. He was so honest to tell Jesus, I do believe, but this has been going on so
00:05:55long, some doubt and unbelief has crept in. In other words, he's saying the title
00:06:04of this message today. Jesus, the struggle is real. The struggle is real. I want you to look at the person next to you,
00:06:14whichever one you like the best, and just say neighbor. Come on, tell him neighbor. I got to
00:06:20confess. The struggle is real. Just in case that neighbor was bougie and stuck up, didn't want to talk to you, find
00:06:28another neighbor. Say other neighbor. I got to be honest. The struggle is real. If you believe God can speak at
00:06:39Texas Trust, would you give him some praise up in here? Father, speak today. Have your way and help the
00:06:48Cowboys to defeat every lion from Detroit. In Jesus' name, everybody say it. Amen. Are you judging that prayer? It worked last
00:06:59week. I believe. We're going to win the Super Bowl. Help my unbelief. Anyway. The struggle is real. Social fam, have I told
00:07:17y'all that I am currently enrolled in school? Have I told you that? Those of you who are new, you hear everybody going, yes, every
00:07:27single Sunday, PR, you have told us. We get it. We get it. Well, get used to it. I'm going to keep telling you I'm enrolled in school,
00:07:34and there's a strategic reason I'm doing it. I call it public accountability. Public accountability. How many of y'all know
00:07:41sometimes you got to be vocal in order to be accountable? I'm already preaching. If you hear me talking about, hey, I'm in school, I'm in
00:07:50school, as long as I'm talking about it, y'all, that means I'm still enrolled. But if I go silent and I stop talking about it, that means your
00:07:59boy has dropped out, okay? I have dropped out. And if I drop out, I did not drop out because I did not try hard. I dropped out, y'all,
00:08:07because the struggle is real. It is real. There's no other way to say it. The struggle is real right now. Every week, your boy is writing
00:08:16sermons and writing papers. The struggle is real. Every week, I've got Zoom meetings for class and Zoom meetings with my staff. The struggle is
00:08:26real. Y'all, I am in school, and me and PT are homeschooling. The struggle is real. My youngest, Remy, the other day, and her work is by far the
00:08:38easiest. And she came up to me the other day. I mean, the cutest thing ever. And she said, Daddy, can you help me with my work? And I got to be
00:08:44honest, on the inside, selfishly, I thought, who's going to help me with mine? Who's going to help me write this paper? The struggle is
00:08:53absolutely real. But at least I'm still in the struggle. At least I'm still in the fight. I ain't quit yet. And recently, in my organizational
00:09:05leadership class, something very intriguing happened. My professor posited this question. He said, I want you to name a leader, dead or alive, who has
00:09:18had the greatest impact and influence on your life. He said, name a leader, dead or alive, that's had the greatest impact on your life. And so the
00:09:26class just starts shouting out names. I mean, you know, names like Martin Luther, names like Martin Luther King Jr., names like John Maxwell. I mean,
00:09:34powerful leaders, names like Andy Stanley, all the greats. I mean, somebody even said Robert Madu. It was just so many. No, nobody said that. And I
00:09:44noticed, as people kept saying names, my professor was kind of smirking. I was like, oh, this must be a setup. And it was. Because he went on to
00:09:54say, because he's been teaching that class on organizational leadership for 20 years, that every time he poses that question, name a leader, dead or
00:10:04alive, that's had the greatest influence on your life, he said, in 20 years of teaching this class, I can count on one hand how many times the name
00:10:13Jesus has been mentioned as the most influential leader. And the point that he was making that I thought was incredibly profound is that we only tend
00:10:24to look at Jesus through the lens of being a savior, but not necessarily through the lens of being a leader. But don't get it twisted. Jesus Christ was
00:10:34the greatest leader that ever walked the face of this earth. Who else but Jesus was fully God and fully man? Who else but Jesus had a clear mission and
00:10:46vision statement to seek and to save the lost? Who else but Jesus was kind, loving, patient, caring, consistent, had a high emotional IQ and IQ. Matter of
00:11:00fact, he was the I am. Who else but Jesus led with clarity? Who else but Jesus led with empathy and authority? You know, you lead with empathy and
00:11:12authority. When you go to the tomb of a dude, you gonna raise from the dead. And yet you still take the time to shed a tear because you feel the pain of the
00:11:21people around you. Jesus wept and then still said, Lazarus, come on out that grave. I got empathy to fill your pain, but I also got power to call a dead man out of the
00:11:31grave. That is some good leadership. Who else led with creative, innovative leadership? Elon Musk can't touch Jesus. Look at what the dude just did with water. Turn water
00:11:43into wine. Another time the water was tripping and he spoke to the hurricane and said, peace be still. Another time he just said, forget the boat. I'm a walk on the water. Who else? But Jesus built a team and led so
00:11:59powerfully and had such a great succession plan. And hear me, with 33 years of living, three years of ministry, and he lived over 2000 years ago. And guess what?
00:12:10Billions of people are still following him today. I would say that's a good leader. It's a real good leader. But hear me, we only tend to look at him through the lens of being a savior. And he was not just a savior. He was also a leader. Why is that important? It's important because the lens through which you look at somebody will often determine what you expect to receive from them.
00:12:41The lens through which you look at somebody will often determine what you expect to receive from a person and what you actually receive from them. And I'm afraid that many of us look at Jesus through the lens of being a savior, which he is, but he's not just a savior. He is a leader and he is Lord. And if you only see him as savior, but you don't see him as Lord, it is going to determine what you expect to receive from him in your life.
00:13:07If you only see him through the lens of being a savior, that means when you get in the dysfunctional relationship and it goes bad, if you only see him as savior, you will cry out to him and say, Lord, I didn't know he was crazy and he broke my heart. Can you please heal my heart? Can you please get me out of this dysfunction that I'm in?
00:13:26If you only see him as savior, you'll call him like it's 9-1-1 when you get in the problem. But if you see him as leader and Lord, before you date the dude, you'll say, God, would you give me wisdom? Would you give me clarity? I know he fine, but I want to know, does he have some character? I know he got abs, but does he have a prayer life? I know he got a job, but can he lead our family in the way?
00:13:47See, if you only look at him through the lens of savior and not Lord, you're going to wait till you get in the bad financial situation and they tell you, Hey, we're going to have to let you go. And then you're going to start saying Jehovah Jireh, I need you. They only gave me two weeks because you see him just as savior. But if you see him as Lord, before you even take the job, you will start seeking him and say, God, I know they're going to pay me good, but I want the right job.
00:14:15That's for me. You are my source. This job is not my source and I'm not being led by a paycheck. I'm being led by a Lord. Oh, see, I ain't going to get a whole lot of amens right here.
00:14:27What are you saying, PR? I'm saying, check your lens, check your lens because the lens through which you see Jesus will determine what you expect to receive from him and what you receive from him.
00:14:43You got any more scripture for that?
00:14:44Mark chapter six. Remember when Jesus went to his hometown and the Bible says something interesting. It says he could do no mighty work in his hometown.
00:14:55That ain't Mark chapter six, that Luke chapter six, but that's going to come later. I appreciate y'all being ready. That's my people.
00:15:03Mark chapter six, Jesus pulls up into his hometown and could do no miracle in his hometown. Why? Because of the lens they saw him through.
00:15:12They only saw him as, you ain't the savior of the world. Please, you Mary's baby. You're just a carpenter's son. And their lens determined what they received from him.
00:15:26This is why I love the gospels, y'all. If you've heard me preach at all, you know, the gospels are my favorite. I love my boy, Matt, Marky Mark, Uncle Luke and little John. I love the gospels.
00:15:35Because the gospels, hear me, are giving us four different lenses through which we see the same Jesus. He is not a different savior, but these four gospel writers give us a different lens through which we can see him.
00:15:47Matthew is giving you the lens that Jesus is king, that he is the fulfillment of over 300 Old Testament prophecies, that the one you've been waiting for has finally arrived.
00:15:57Merry Christmas. He is the Messiah. He gives you the lens of Jesus being king. Luke gives you the lens of him being savior, hear me, of the world, both Jew and Gentile.
00:16:08John, I love John. He gives you the lens of Jesus being the son of the living God. That's why when you read John chapter one, it's like the boy is retweeting Genesis chapter one.
00:16:18And he says, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and the word was made flesh and made his dwelling among us.
00:16:26But Mark is my favorite. And Mark, he gives us the lens of Jesus being a servant, a suffering servant.
00:16:37And so in Mark chapter nine, in my text today, we see Jesus and he is with his crew. Everybody say his crew. He's with his crew, these 12 disciples. Everybody say 12.
00:16:50By the way, you know, this is our 12th venue in three years. It ain't got nothing to do with the message. I just thought that was interesting.
00:16:59And these 12 disciples, watch this, are his crew. And he's following, he's leading their following, 12 of them. Can you see them?
00:17:0812 dudes walking with Jesus. I often wonder how they walked. Was it like in a straight line? Was it like this? I don't know.
00:17:18But I do know that if I was one of the 12, can you imagine what it would have felt like to be picked to be one of the 12?
00:17:27Like, I know you're like, I'm chosen by God, but this is a different type of chosen.
00:17:31This is a different type of chosen that of all the people that were in the earth during that time,
00:17:36he picked these 12 dudes. Until we look back in retrospect, we like to clown these dudes and say,
00:17:41oh man, I can't believe you didn't have faith, Peter, walk on water. Shut up. When did you walk on H2O?
00:17:46These are the 12 dudes that left everything to follow Jesus. He had a crew, 12 of them,
00:17:52that he hand-selected and picked to walk with him. Now let's put up Luke chapter 6. Yeah, Luke chapter 6.
00:17:58I find it intriguing that one day it says Jesus went on a mountain to pray and he prayed to God
00:18:03all night. That's the only time you will see Jesus praying, all night. He prayed all night in that
00:18:10daybreak. He called together all of his disciples and chose 12 of them. Your Savior prayed all night
00:18:17to pick 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Imagine being one of those 12. Imagine how you would walk.
00:18:29If you weren't just a part of the crowd that got to hear the sermon, but you got to do
00:18:32life with him. Oh, you know, you know you would be acting brand new. You would have sunglasses on inside.
00:18:41There's something intriguing happens this day as Jesus is with his crew.
00:18:45They're walking and they're walking and they get to a mountain and Jesus does something crazy, y'all.
00:18:53He looks back, says, hey fellas, let's go up this mountain. They're like, all right, cool. And they
00:19:00get ready to climb. I can see it, all 12 of them, and he goes, oh I'm so sorry, not all of you.
00:19:06Peter, James, and John. Y'all three come with me, you other nine stay behind.
00:19:19No explanation, no reason why, I'm Lord, I can do what I want. Takes three of his disciples with him
00:19:29and leaves the other nine in the valley while the rest of them go up the mountain. He doesn't
00:19:37even tell them why. Read the Bible like I read the Bible. Can you put your feet in the sandals
00:19:42of the other nine who are left behind? I've been like, oh really? Oh, just them three? You're just
00:19:48gonna leave us down here? Jesus, for real? You're not even gonna give us an explanation? What are we
00:19:52supposed to do down here? Can we just empathize with the nine that have been left behind? Have
00:19:57you ever been in a season of life where you felt like God left you in the valley and he just went
00:20:03up on the mountaintop, everybody else is getting blessed, everybody else's business is popping off,
00:20:08everybody else is talking about how it's an amazing season, and you feel like you are in the valley
00:20:13left behind with other people that you really don't even like anyway. And you're like, why in
00:20:18the world would you leave me with no explanation and here I am in the valley and God feels so
00:20:24distant from me. Oh, distance always creates a distortion. So you can always,
00:20:32you can just imagine what's going on through the mind of the disciples as they're in the
00:20:36valley talking about, what did I do? Did I not pray enough? What did I do? Should I have got
00:20:46off the boat too? I know Peter did, but dang, I can't swim. Why? Why do I not get to go up
00:20:55on the mountain? Before I really delve into the emotions of the nine, let's first of all look at
00:21:00the master's class that Jesus has given us on relationships. He's given us a master's class
00:21:06and he's showing us that he has really defined his relationships in three groups. The crowd,
00:21:13the crew, and the core. The crowd, the crew, and the core. The crowd was everybody that he preached
00:21:23to. He loved the crowd, but just because I preach to you don't mean you get to hang out with me.
00:21:28Just because I gave you a miracle doesn't mean you get to ride on the boat with me.
00:21:31He loved everybody, but he had the crowd, the twelve was his crew, but within the crew was a
00:21:39core of Peter, James, and John. How do we just make that real practical for you? The crowd are
00:21:47the people you're in the world with. That's your crowd. Doesn't mean you can be rude to them. My
00:21:53goodness, show the love of Jesus to them. But you ain't got to be BFF with everybody. That is the
00:21:57crowd. Your crew, hear me, is who you do life with. And if Jesus prayed all night for his crew,
00:22:07can I ask you how selective are you with your crew? Because all I got to do is meet your crew
00:22:14and it'll tell me a lot about you. Oh, it's quiet in the church today. Your crew will tell me a
00:22:20whole lot about you. All my single people, I know you here. Don't just check them, check who they
00:22:26hang out with. I don't care if they look like they the diamond in the rough. There's a reason why
00:22:31they hanging out with them. Check the crew. Check the crew. So the crew is who you do life with,
00:22:39but then there's the core. And the core, watch this, is who you are vulnerable with.
00:22:46The core ought to be the people that can tell you, hey, outfit popping today, but your breath.
00:22:52Now you know I love you. You know I love you. Here you go. Here's some men. These are the people,
00:22:57watch this, that you ain't got to put your Superman cape on. You can be your real self
00:23:02with you and they can hold you accountable. And if Jesus had him a core,
00:23:10you think you can survive without a core? Without somebody that you can be vulnerable with and you
00:23:16can say, this is where I bleed and this is where I hurt. Come on. If you got to pay for your core,
00:23:22I'd pay for one of my core people a therapist. Amen. Because this thing will take you out.
00:23:28I want to know, do you have clear boundaries in your relationships? The crowd, the crew,
00:23:36and the core. This three, group of three, I don't know why Jesus picked them. I do know they saw him
00:23:45in some intimate moments. I do know that they were the only ones in the room when Jesus does his
00:23:49first resurrection and raises Jairus' daughter from the dead. I do know that when they got up
00:23:56on that mountaintop, check out what Jesus did. All of a sudden, without warning, Jesus starts glowing
00:24:03in the dark. His essence, his glory starts coming through. For the very first time on earth,
00:24:09he allowed those three to see who he really was. How many know that wasn't a brand new miracle?
00:24:14That was actually the cessation of a miracle that was already going on. The real miracle was that
00:24:19for 33 years, he wasn't walking around the earth glowing in the dark and letting his glory come
00:24:24through. He just looked just as normal as you and I. But for one moment, with a core of people that
00:24:29were his ride or die, that he could be vulnerable with, he said, let me show you the real me. This
00:24:33is the real me. And he let his glory shine through. I want to know, do you got somebody
00:24:40that can handle the real you? The other moment these three were with him was right before the
00:24:48crucifixion when he's in the garden of Gethsemane. And the savior of the universe says, hey, can you
00:24:54pray with me? The savior of the world, the one who calms storms, is now dealing with an emotional and
00:25:03mental storm and needed his disciples, these three especially, to pray with him. And look what they
00:25:09would do. Appreciate your core. They were sleeping. It's wonderful to be the three.
00:25:19But if you're honest, most of us often feel like we're the nine in the valley left behind.
00:25:28And God feels distant. And there's a part of you that's like, this is not fair. I shouldn't be
00:25:35going through this. It's not fair. Jesus, you're not fair. You should have taken all of us up the
00:25:42mountain. Newsflash, Jesus ain't fair. God is not fair. He is good. He can be trusted. But y'all,
00:25:52this text proves one thing. He ain't fair. If he was fair, everybody would have got to go on the
00:25:57field trip to the top of the mountain. God is not fair. And some of you are frustrated right now
00:26:03because you're like, Jesus, you should be fair. And if you're waiting on fair, you are never going
00:26:07to walk in the fullness of what God has for you. The Bible doesn't say we walk by fair. It says we
00:26:11walk by faith. So that means when I feel like he's distant, I still got to trust him. When I feel like
00:26:16he's up the mountain, I still got to say you're faithful. I still got to say, I don't understand
00:26:20it. This don't seem fair to me. But you didn't promise me fair. I just got to be faithful and
00:26:25let fair be on you. So all of a sudden, here they are. Can you see them? Big man.
00:26:35I can see them stuck just looking up the mountain. Can't believe this.
00:26:39And watch this. Right as they're standing in their rejection,
00:26:45in the moment where the struggle is real and they're low-key wanting to go off on the fact
00:26:52that they got left behind, it's in this moment they get a tap on their shoulder.
00:26:58They turn around. I can see them. What? Oh, sorry. And it's a father who has a son,
00:27:07and they can look at his face and see his tear-stained cheeks and the desperation in his
00:27:13eyes. He says, this is my son. He is possessed by a demon. Can you please help? Isn't it crazy
00:27:23in their feeling of rejection, here comes a moment of ministry. You will do your greatest ministry
00:27:33in your moments of misery. You will be demanded to give joy to other people in your greatest
00:27:40seasons of depression. You will be demanded to give life to other people, and they don't even
00:27:45know you're going through hell yourself. You will be in the unemployment line, and people don't even
00:27:52know, and they'll be hitting you up saying, can I borrow some money? And they don't even know,
00:27:56you don't know how you're going to pay your bills next month. Something about life, God will put you
00:28:01in a place when you need ministry the most, He will demand of you to give ministry the most.
00:28:07But that's where your strength comes in. Your strength comes in your moments of weakness.
00:28:17What do you think the gospel is about? Our Savior on a cross is doing his greatest ministry
00:28:25in his greatest moment of misery. And here they are being demanded to cast out a demon
00:28:33when they are mad that Jesus left them. So they turn around to the father,
00:28:38and let's just feel the pain of this father. His baby boy, his son has been dealing with this
00:28:47for years. His son, watch this, has not just the physical ailment, it's a demonic assignment.
00:28:55Every parent here will attest to the fact that when your baby is sick, y'all, it's just different.
00:29:00It is different. I'm telling you, there's some parents who will testify that your child will
00:29:04go through some sickness and keep you up at night. And it'll make you say, God, please just take the
00:29:09sickness from them and put it on me. I don't want to see my baby going through this. I can't stand
00:29:14to see it. And this father has been dealing with this. Who knows how many sleepless nights he's had
00:29:20watching his son, not just deal with the physical ailment, which is pain enough, but then he
00:29:24perceives this is not just a physical ailment. This is a demonic assignment. There is a spirit
00:29:31attached to this thing because watch what this demon is trying to do. This demon is trying to
00:29:35get this boy to throw himself in the fire and throw himself in the water. You know, it's a
00:29:41demonic assignment when it's trying to get you to self-harm, when it's trying to get you to destroy
00:29:46yourself, when it's trying to get you to not see the value that you hold, that you are an image
00:29:51bearer of God. And this father realized I've been to every doctor I know to go to. I must need to
00:29:56go to somebody else that's not just a doctor, but is a deliverer. I need somebody that has
00:30:01supernatural power to set my boy free because this physical ailment is a demonic assignment.
00:30:08And he heard the stories of a Jesus who demons trembled whenever he walked in a room. And he
00:30:14said, maybe, maybe if I just get my baby boy to Jesus, he'll be set free. I wish somebody would
00:30:21take a praise break and just praise God. Like you know that God can still set people free today.
00:30:28That the delivering power of Jesus is still available to me.
00:30:37Oh, I'm telling you, sometimes you don't need a doctor. You need somebody to do some deliverance.
00:30:42And this father had enough wisdom to know this is a demonic assignment. And he goes to the disciples
00:30:52and say, please, can you help? Where is Jesus? And can you see them? Talking about, well, Jesus
00:31:01is up the mountain. He look busy right now. But anyway, don't worry about it. Give us the boy.
00:31:08Give us the boy. We got you. We got you. Give it. Bring the boy to me. We got it. He's over there
00:31:13foaming at the mouth. Man, bring him over here. Here's how I know. Here's how I know they were
00:31:19confident to cast it out. You better back that thing up biblically to Luke chapter 10.
00:31:24Jesus has already given them authority to cast out demons. They've already done it. They've
00:31:29already been healing the sick. They've already been casting out demons. They have done this.
00:31:33They have taken demonology one-on-one. They have cast out a whole lot of demons. Read it when you
00:31:37get to the crib. Luke chapter 10, the Bible says that after they went on a ministry tour and they
00:31:41cast out demons, they actually came to Jesus excited and said, guess what, Jesus? Even the
00:31:46demons run away when we call on your name. You ever notice what Jesus said back to them? He didn't
00:31:51go, great job. He says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yo, that's me. I'm like,
00:32:02what's Satan falling from lightning got to do with me casting out demons? A couple of things.
00:32:08One is, why are you so excited you're casting out demons? The devil's already been defeated.
00:32:14You shouldn't be shocked that demons run when you call my name because the enemy has already been
00:32:20defeated. I saw him when he fell from heaven. That's one thing he's saying, Lawrence. The
00:32:27other thing he's saying to them since they so hype, we did it. He's also saying, be careful.
00:32:34Watch your pride. Don't be so excited that I am using you because the ultimate thing for you to
00:32:42be excited about is not just that I'm using you. The thing you should be excited about is that I
00:32:47redeemed you and your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. So don't get it twisted and
00:32:53get prideful just because you had some success. And I think because they casted out some before,
00:32:59they're like, bring that boy over here. Stop. Ain't nobody scared of all that. Come on,
00:33:03bring him over here. And that boy comes to the disciples. I don't know who went first,
00:33:12but they go, in the name of Jesus, come out. That boy was like, oh, I've seen this before.
00:33:21Just sometimes takes twice. In the name of Jesus, come on out. He's spitting at him probably like,
00:33:31oh, wow. Okay. We got somebody spitting. Okay. Come on, Peter. I mean, no, he up the mountain.
00:33:35Nevermind. Come on, Bartholomew. He don't ever get a shout out. Come on, Bartholomew.
00:33:39Come on, we got to attack this demon together. In the name of Jesus, come out. This boy keeps
00:33:49rolling on the ground, foaming at the mouth. Y'all, crowds are showing up going, what's wrong?
00:33:55How come they can't cast them out? I don't know to what lengths they went through. In my mind,
00:34:00they're like, maybe we should spit on them and get some mud. That works for Jesus. Maybe they,
00:34:03I don't know what they're doing. I just know it's not working. And a crowd is forming.
00:34:09And not just the crowd, the scribes and Pharisees. Can you see them walking in?
00:34:17They're failing. This boy been on the floor three hours. In the name of Jesus,
00:34:21come out. And here come the scribes and Pharisees going, oh, what's going on here?
00:34:27Jesus' biggest haters have now showed up to watch his disciples who are failing over something God
00:34:35gave them authority to do. Ooh, y'all. It's one thing to fail. It's a whole nother thing to fail
00:34:41in front of your haters. It's a whole nother thing to be humiliated in front of people that
00:34:46you don't like and they don't like you either. And here they are failing. And the scribes and
00:34:52Pharisees are going, oh, you must need your savior to come off that mountain because something's
00:34:56going on. It's not happening. And they get so mad. And watch what they do. They turn
00:35:03from this boy and his father and start arguing with other church folks.
00:35:10They turn from the assignment of ministering to the hurting and the broken and start arguing
00:35:17on Instagram, trying to bring it to the 21st century, with other church people. Can you imagine
00:35:27the pain of this father who brought his son to Jesus? Jesus is not fair. And then he comes to
00:35:34the church and the church turns his back on his boy who is possessed by a demon and starts wasting
00:35:43energy fighting the scribes and the Pharisees. Oh, can I tell you, this is an indictment on the
00:35:49church today. We got to know which battle we're supposed to fight. Many of us are wasting our
00:35:54energy fighting other church people when we need to get busy setting people free and healing the
00:36:00sick. You better know which battle you're fighting. I don't have time to argue with you when I have an
00:36:09assignment to set people free. I don't have time. I know some people do it and it's amazing. You
00:36:17got a wonderful career with it. And the YouTube things are bringing you money. I don't got time
00:36:20to be online critiquing other people's sermons. Now, that really wasn't the context. I think
00:36:25there was eyes to Jesus. Let me do a whole blog about it. I'd rather preach a sermon
00:36:29than waste my time critiquing somebody's. And they're wasting their energy. They're wasting
00:36:37their time. And this father fades to the background. And here they are arguing and fighting
00:36:47with the Pharisees. If this father was alive today, in the spirit of this age today,
00:36:56you know what he would have done? He would have left. This is ridiculous. I tried to come to the
00:37:04church and look at what the church did. And in no way, shape or form, and I'll make an excuse.
00:37:10They should have been available and should have been able to do it. But thank God that this father
00:37:15did not leave until he got his miracle. Some of us leave and we don't wait for Jesus to come back
00:37:22down. Some of us get offended and we leave the very place that God wants to give you the miracle
00:37:28in. What if the place you got offended in, God actually has a miracle and a breakthrough in,
00:37:33and the offense was a setup from the enemy to get you to walk away from your place of breakthrough?
00:37:39Oh, I'm so glad that this father didn't leave, that he waited. And because he waited, guess who came
00:37:44back down the mountain? Here comes Jesus coming back down the mountain. And I'm glad the father
00:37:50was there. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but you better wait on Jesus. You better wait
00:37:54for his glory. You better wait for his presence. Jesus comes down. And I love it because the Bible
00:38:03says that the crowd ran to Jesus and the disciples kept fighting. They were so busy fighting.
00:38:11They didn't know his presence came back. They were so immersed in the fight. They didn't know
00:38:19that he was down from the mountain to the point — it's in the text — he had to get their attention
00:38:23and say, hey, what y'all arguing about? You ever been there? You ever been in a fight and you forgot
00:38:28what you was arguing about? They noticed Jesus is there. Worship team, join me. You there,
00:38:34Barrett? Come on, make this sound real pretty. Watch this. Jesus comes down, gets their attention.
00:38:44I love it because it says that everybody stood in awe of Jesus. The crowd did. They stood in awe
00:38:52of his presence. Some scholars think that perhaps he was still radiating much like Moses when he
00:39:00came off of the mountain and the glory of God shone on Moses. And when he came down, his face
00:39:06was still glowing. Some people think that they could still see traces of his glory and there
00:39:10was something different about Jesus when he came down that day. He said, what y'all arguing about?
00:39:17The disciples had no answer. The father spoke up. I tell you, I brought my boy who was hurting.
00:39:28I brought my boy who's been dealing with an issue for years. I brought him to you, Jesus.
00:39:35And when I brought him to you, you weren't here. So I came to the church
00:39:45and they tried, but they got distracted fighting a pointless battle.
00:39:53Here I am left in the pain
00:39:57of my boy. He's been dealing with this a long time.
00:40:02Jesus says, oh, faithless generation, how long do I have to be with you?
00:40:12Before I get to the vulnerability of this father, can I thank God for the vulnerability of Jesus?
00:40:23For him to be honest enough to say, yes, I love the whole world so much, so I'm gonna give my life
00:40:30for you. But in this moment, I'm a little annoyed. I'm annoyed by this faithless, one version says,
00:40:37unbelieving generation. And who is he talking about? Everybody. Because the disciples lack faith.
00:40:48His father was leaking faith. The scribes and the Pharisees had no faith. He was surrounded
00:40:55by unbelief. Jesus goes, bring the boy to me.
00:41:04Y'all, this is where the miracle breaks down. Because in my mind, if the disciples have failed
00:41:11and this boy has been convulsing violently, when Jesus says, bring the boy to me, come on, y'all,
00:41:17this ought to be the moment where those demons run away and the boy comes to him and maybe even
00:41:23floats to him and kisses Jesus on the forehead and says, thank you for setting me free. But read it,
00:41:29that is not what happened in the text. The Bible says that when the demons saw Jesus, the boy
00:41:35started convulsing more violently when Jesus showed up. What do you do when you bring your
00:41:41problem to Jesus and it didn't get better, it got worse? What do you do when you brought your issue
00:41:47to the church and to Jesus and it was no Cinderella story? It was no overnight miracle. You brought
00:41:52him to the feet of Jesus and the boy did not get better in that moment. It actually got worse.
00:41:58I believe God was doing something on the inside of that father. He was trying to build a resilient
00:42:03faith to say, are you going to walk away when the church hurts you? You're going to walk away just
00:42:08because it didn't get better the moment Jesus showed up? Are you going to trust and believe me
00:42:13even when you see no evidence for it?
00:42:18It got worse. That's the message nobody preaches. You can actually bring it to Jesus
00:42:27and it gets worse. We only put up the testimonies where it says I was an alcoholic, I prayed,
00:42:35and the next day I was completely clean. Praise the Lord, I've never touched it again.
00:42:40We only put up the stories where, hey, I sold in the offering and it was amazing.
00:42:46God bless my business. We don't ever tell the stories where people say, yeah, I obeyed
00:42:50and I came and it did not immediately get better. It got worse. The boy shook violently.
00:43:00He fell on the ground and Jesus, while the boy is convulsing, asked the father a question.
00:43:10How long has that been going on? Jesus, stop playing.
00:43:16First of all, deal with the boy that's foaming at the mouth on the ground.
00:43:20You got the power and why are you asking 21 questions? You already know. Not only do you
00:43:28already know the answer, you know how long it's been going on. Why are you doing this, Jesus?
00:43:35He was making that father process. The answer wasn't for him. He was making that father process
00:43:41every sleepless night. How long has it been going on? You hear it in his answer. He says,
00:43:49from childhood. Jesus, the great teacher, is asking this pointed question because he
00:43:56knows that this man has bought into a lie that some of you have bought into. And that is that
00:44:02the longevity of the problem will hinder God's ability to fix it. There are some of you that
00:44:09have bought into the lie that because your problem has been chronic and it's been going on for year
00:44:15after year after year, that it is too late and the clock has run out and God can't perform the
00:44:20miracle. But I'm so glad that Jesus put this story in the Bible to let somebody in here know,
00:44:26I don't care how long it's been. Don't you ever let the longevity of the problem
00:44:31make you doubt my ability. I don't care if it's been 38 years and you sat by a pool of Bethesda
00:44:37and all of a sudden you've given hope of walking again. I will stir the waters again. I don't care
00:44:42it's been 12 years and you've had an issue of blood and doctors can do nothing. But if you
00:44:47press your way through, I'll make sure you get your healing. It doesn't matter how long it's been.
00:44:53God is still able. I wish somebody would get up on your feet and give God some praise if you know
00:45:00that God is still able to make a way even if it's been years.
00:45:12Who is this message for today?
00:45:17You, just like this man, have bought into the lie that if it was a year into the problem,
00:45:25if it was a year into the issue, God could have done it. If it was two weeks,
00:45:29God could have done it. But because it's been years, God, you can. And I came to tell you,
00:45:36the devil is a liar. The longevity of a problem does not hinder God's ability
00:45:44to bring healing and power. He thought it was too late. He says, it's been going on since childhood.
00:45:53But if you can do anything, have mercy. He was not questioning God's willingness.
00:46:05He was questioning God's ability. There was a leopard that questioned his willingness
00:46:12because he was outcast and nobody would touch him. And he said, Jesus, if you're willing,
00:46:16nobody else would touch me. If you're willing, you can heal me. And Jesus says, ain't nothing
00:46:21but a thing. You know I'm willing. Come here. Nobody else will touch you. I will. Come here.
00:46:24Heal the leopard. This man is not asking the question of the leopard.
00:46:28He is questioning God's ability. He says, if you can. And Jesus hits him back with the same energy,
00:46:34if. If. I love Jesus because he flipped the if. You talking about if I can, I'm going to flip the if
00:46:45and say, if you can believe. If you got the faith, I got the power. Don't you ever doubt my ability.
00:46:53It's not if I can. It's if you can believe that even though this has been going on for years,
00:46:59I still got the power to heal your boy. It doesn't matter how long it's been. If you can just believe.
00:47:05Jesus flipped the if back on him. If. If you can believe. And then watch the honesty. Lord, I believe.
00:47:27But help my unbelief. If this dude was in church today, we would have thrown him to the side.
00:47:34What do you mean unbelief? You can't have any doubt at all.
00:47:38Obviously, you can have some unbelief mixed with some belief. This dude says the struggle
00:47:43is real. He's saying, Jesus, I'm bringing my real self to you. Yes, I believe. I know you got the
00:47:49power, but this has been going on for so long. And the longness of the problem has made me wonder
00:47:54if you can still do it. And can I thank God that he can handle my honesty? He can handle the
00:47:59contradiction that are on the inside of me. Yes, I know you're a healer, but I wonder,
00:48:03can you heal this disease? Yes, I know you're a provider, but I wonder, can you step in now?
00:48:11I came to tell somebody God can handle your doubt.
00:48:18He can handle your doubt. I wish you had some more scripture for that. Besides this text.
00:48:25What about a Thomas? Which by the way, his name is not Doubting Thomas. Y'all put the doubting
00:48:29on him because that's how people do. They'll define you by one moment in your life and think
00:48:33that's who you are. What about a Thomas? He says, I know Jesus showed up for y'all and showed you
00:48:39his scars, but I ain't believing until I see it myself. If I was Jesus and I just got up from the
00:48:46dead for your sins, I'd be like, forget you, bro. I ain't got nothing to prove. Here comes Jesus
00:48:52through a wall. Come here, Tom. Come here. Get close. Put your finger on my side.
00:49:05Touch my hands. I'm big enough to handle your doubts.
00:49:12It's never been about the size of your faith. It's always about the object of your faith.
00:49:18It's God can work with a little bit of faith. He's big enough to handle your doubts. In other words,
00:49:26you serve a savior that knows the struggle is real. I believe help my unbelief.
00:49:35And because of a moment of honesty and not perfect faith, but honest faith directed at
00:49:43the right person. Jesus looks at that boy and commands, watch this, that demon to come out of
00:49:51that boy and then does something that he has never done with anybody else. It would have been miracle
00:49:57enough just for Jesus to say, come out of that boy, but that's not what he did. He didn't just
00:50:02deliver him. He completely restored and he gave this command. I command you to never enter him
00:50:09again. Do you see what Jesus can do with somebody that's honest and vulnerable with where they are?
00:50:15He says, not only am I going to set your boy free, I'm going to make sure you ain't ever got to worry
00:50:19about this ever coming back again. You're going to sleep at night because our God can do full
00:50:24deliverance. He can restore. But it starts with honesty. It starts with vulnerability.
00:50:35He knows the struggle is real. He can handle just your little faith and even the doubt that
00:50:42start to creep in. He can handle your doubts. Here's the thing. Just don't let your doubt
00:50:48drive you to complete unbelief. Look at what he says. I believe, but Lord, you help me
00:50:57You help me in my unbelief. In other words, I'm bringing my little bit of faith and my doubts
00:51:04to you. I know you're big enough to handle it. I'm going to ask heads be bowed and eyes be closed today
00:51:13because I feel like this message is for somebody. Maybe it's just one person,
00:51:20but if you're honest, your soul has been saying the struggle is real.
00:51:27Your life feels like a major contradiction because on one hand, watch this. You believe God is able.
00:51:35You know he's able to bring you
00:51:38a spouse and somebody that's going to honor you and cherish you and love God. But it's been so
00:51:43long that just like this man, you're saying, I believe, but Lord help my unbelief.
00:51:51You know he's a healer and he's able to heal, but you've been dealing with the sickness for so long
00:51:57now you're starting to doubt his ability. God told me to tell you
00:52:03the longevity of the problem does not affect his ability to heal.
00:52:09But if you come to him honest with your fears and your doubts, he can handle it.
00:52:16Heads about eyes are closed today, but if you'd be so honest to say, hey,
00:52:20PR, this message is for me and I need to bring him, not just my little faith, but even my doubts.
00:52:30See the enemy would love for you to have doubts and let those doubts drive you away from his
00:52:34presence, but you got to bring your doubts to him and ask him for help. He will give you strength
00:52:44in your time of need. Heads about eyes are closed, but if you'd be so honest to say this
00:52:49message for me and I need strength to bring my doubts to him, the struggle is real. If that's
00:52:57you, would you lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it? Father,
00:53:01thank you. Thank you. Father, I thank you that you see every person. God, you know every need.
00:53:09God, thank you that you don't need perfect faith.
00:53:13You don't need perfect people, but you do need honesty. Thank you that we can be honest and
00:53:19vulnerable with you. You're big enough to handle it. Father, I pray for my brother and my sister
00:53:26that their doubts would not make them go on a detour to unbelief, but father, where they model
00:53:33what you did on the cross, that even after you felt the father turn his face towards you because
00:53:42of our sin, you did not stop talking to your heavenly father. You said, my God, my God,
00:53:48why have you forsaken me? Father, help us to keep coming to you even with our doubts,
00:53:57with our fears, trusting that you'll fill in the gaps, that you will be our help.
00:54:04In Jesus' name, head still bowed, eyes still closed. If you're here today and you've never
00:54:10surrendered your life to Jesus, today would be an amazing day. On the day where we're about
00:54:18to celebrate and go outside and hang with family, you can actually be adopted into a beautiful
00:54:24family. On the day where we just happen to be in a venue called Trust Theater, you can put your
00:54:34trust in the savior who's not waiting for you to be perfect and cleaned up to come to him,
00:54:39but just waiting for you to admit that you need him and confess your faith in him.
00:54:45So with heads bowed and eyes closed, please, everybody, just respect this moment. Nobody
00:54:49move it. If you're here today and say, hey, P.R., today's the day. I need to give him my life. I need
00:54:56to surrender all that I am to him. That's you. Would you lift up your hand high enough and long
00:55:00enough to where I can see it? Come on. Thank you. I see those hands. I see those hands. Come on.
00:55:04Maybe there was a season you were walking with the Lord and you turned away, but right now
00:55:08you feel God speaking to you, saying, come on, daughter. Come on, son. Anybody else? Lift it up
00:55:13and put it right back down. Thank you, Jesus. I saw so many hands. Come on. I just believe there's
00:55:18something powerful about leaving where you are and taking a step. Come on. This father would have
00:55:25never gotten the breakthrough if he wouldn't have walked to Jesus with his son. So here's
00:55:29what I'm going to ask. If you lifted up your hand that second time saying, I need to give Jesus my
00:55:33life. Come on. When I count to three, I just want you to make your way right up here to the front
00:55:38because I'm believing the old you is going to be in your seat and the new you is stepping forward
00:55:43into what God has for you. I don't care if you're all the way at the top. I promise every step you
00:55:48walk down, it is worth it. Come on. They're already coming. One, this is your moment. Two, the day you
00:55:53hear your father calling, please don't deny it. Three, would you come? Would you come? Come on.
00:55:59I wish I had a church that would do what the angels in heaven are doing right now.
00:56:05Come on. Come on. I promise it's worth the walk. I promise it's worth getting out of your seat.
00:56:12Come on. Thank you, Jesus. I'm putting my trust in him. He knows every tear that you've cried.
00:56:22He knows the struggle is real and with open arms, your Savior is still calling for you. He's still
00:56:28calling. Come on, church. Don't stop clapping until people stop coming. Come on. This is a move.
00:56:36This is a move. This is a miracle. These are his sons and his daughters responding to his voice.
00:56:53Come on. Come on. I see mothers coming. I see fathers coming.
00:56:58Thank you, Jesus. I see children coming. Come on. This is a destiny moment.
00:57:20Thank you, Jesus.
00:57:29Come on. They're still coming. They're still coming. Come on.
00:57:34Thank you, Lord. Anybody else? Hear me. Just real soft.
00:58:04Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God.
00:58:10I've learned to pause and wait because I know the enemy loves to make you think it's too late.
00:58:19He loves to make you think you've been dealing with this for so long.
00:58:27Why else would Jesus, who knows the answer to every question he would ask,
00:58:32why would he ask his father, how long has this been going on?
00:58:37He's trying to get him to understand the longevity of the problem does not hinder my ability.
00:58:43I don't care how long you've been stuck in your sin, how long you've turned away,
00:58:50when you hear his voice calling you, respond, respond, respond. Anybody else? Anybody else?
00:58:56I just want to wait a few more moments. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:59:03Yeah. Come on. Come on. Come on. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God. Thank you, God.
00:59:17Thank you. Thank you, Lord. I'm telling you, he loves you so much. He loves you so much.
00:59:29I promise it's not too late. I promise it's not too late. Thank you, God. Thank you, God.
00:59:42Thank you. Thank you, God. Thank you, Father. Anybody else? Those of you at this altar, could
00:59:53you just, with your hands lifted, come on. Yeah. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord.
01:00:09Thank you, God.
01:00:18I wish you could see generations that are going to be changed because of this moment. I wish you
01:00:22could see stuff that's breaking off of family lines because of this moment. I wish you could see
01:00:30the ripple effect of what this one moment is going to do.
01:00:34Thank you, God. Anybody else? Those of you at the front, could you just do me this favor?
01:00:40Just lift up your hands, just as a sign of surrender. We come to him with all of us. In
01:00:47fact, can we all do it just to join those here at the front? I'm going to lead you in this prayer.
01:00:53The power comes from the words coming from your heart. Would you just say this? Say, Jesus,
01:01:07my hands are raised because I surrender. I surrender all that I am
01:01:15to you. Jesus, I believe you are the son of God. I believe that you lived the life
01:01:29that I was supposed to live. You died the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place.
01:01:39So, this moment is my response. I give you all of me. Come into my life. Make me brand new.
01:01:51Forgive me of my sin. From this moment forward, I'm walking with you. Thank you, Jesus,
01:02:00for being big enough to handle my doubts. My hope, my faith, my trust is in you. In Jesus' name,
01:02:16amen, amen, amen.