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February 2, 2025 46 mins

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After experiencing a personal crisis, I found myself clinging to the power of faith, and this episode might just reveal the strength you didn't know you had. Discover how the biblical stories of David and Goliath, alongside teachings from 1 Corinthians and Joshua, can inspire us to overcome life's challenges with courage and unwavering belief. We also touch on the significance of unity and prayer in today's divided world, highlighting how compassion and community support are crucial during times of tragedy.

As we recount the tumultuous journey of David—from his anointing as king to his moral struggles and ultimate repentance—we delve into the deep lessons of forgiveness and spiritual integrity. Through humor and personal anecdotes, we illustrate how David's faith helped him face his giants, literally and figuratively. Reflecting on Psalm 51, we emphasize the importance of seeking forgiveness from God and being the first to admit wrongdoing, reminding us that true strength lies in humility and repentance.

In a world full of distractions and material pursuits, we challenge ourselves and our listeners to confront spiritual complacency head-on. By rejecting the victim mentality and embracing spiritual growth, we can align our lives with God's truth and purpose. This episode invites you to prepare for communion through introspection and to contribute to the vibrancy of our community by committing to active participation and generous giving. Join us on this transformative journey towards spiritual and personal empowerment.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
reminder.

(00:00):
I don't remember the ages, butAlyssa will tell you if you're
not supposed to be back there.
No, no pressure, no pressure.
Who has nursery today?
Bye Dawn, hey, see me afterchurch so we can make sure you
get communion.
Okay, let's open our Bibles.

(00:23):
We're going to start in the wordthis morning 1 Corinthians 15,
57.
1 Corinthians 15, 57.
It says but thank God, he gaveus victory over sin and death
through our Lord, jesus Christ.
Amen, that's it.

(00:46):
Thank you.
Can we get a little excited,the fact that we have victory
over sin and death through JesusChrist?
I'm excited about that.
Amen, there is victory in Jesus, my Savior forever.
You guys are lame.
I'm going to tell you something.
I'm going to tell you something.

(01:06):
If this message doesn't wakeyou up today, you got to
reevaluate your life, okay,because if you were here last
week, like, this place was onfire last week, right, like it
was, I was a little bit afraid.
Last week, when I left, I waslike I'm going to get mugged in
the parking lot because I'veoffended some people, right, but
I'm okay with that anymore.
Right, I told you, this yearwe're going to be honest with

(01:27):
one another, right, we're goingto tell each other the truth.
That's what we're going to do.
I'm going to do that with youtoday, okay, all right, all
right, what you don't knowvictory in Jesus.
Roger, teach this man something, roger knows it.
Listen, I get excited when Ithink about Jesus.
I get excited when I thinkabout Jesus.
I get excited when I thinkabout salvation.

(01:49):
I get excited when I thinkabout heaven.
Amen, I get excited when Ithink about Jesus.
But here's the problem.
Then I start to think about theworld and my excitement turns
to worry.
My excitement turns tofrustration.
My excitement turns toanticipation.
My excitement turns toanticipation.
Right, listen, my heart brokewhen I saw that plane crash in

(02:12):
DC.
Right, absolute tragedy,absolute tragedy.
My heart hurt for the livesthat were cut short.
My heart hurt for those whowere having to deal with the
grief of that loss.
Did any of us just like, havethis desire to just make it all
better?
Right, like there was somethingin us that, just if I, whatever

(02:32):
I could do to make it better, Iwanted to do that.
Right, all I could do was pray,but I felt like that was good
enough, because I know that Godcan do all things.
Right, but I didn't know whatelse to do so.
I just prayed for those people.
I prayed for the lives thatwere lost.
I prayed for those who weredealing with the grief.
I prayed for those who weregoing to be talked poorly about
after the fact.
Amen, because it didn't matter.

(02:52):
So here's my problem.
I've done it in just about allsituations.
I'm going to tell on myself fora second.
Have you guys ever seen that onelittle kid that's like crying
and just like he needs a littleextra attention?
You just want to go give him ahug.
What your kid?
Yeah, yeah, that's all he doesis cry, but not whenever
Ashley's holding him.
It's fine, right?

(03:13):
No, listen, we were at abasketball game yesterday and
there's this little boy on theteam who just he really just
struggles to fit in Right.
He to fit in right.
He's just different and it'snot a bad thing, but he loves
the sport of basketball, okay,he gets upset when the other
team doesn't pass him the balland then he cries and I just

(03:37):
want to hug him and tell himit's okay, buddy, right Now.
I'm not like that with kidsnormally, but when there's a kid
crying like if I see somebody'skid crying because they dropped
their ice cream cone, I'll buythem a new ice cream cone, right
?
I can't help it.
It's just who I am, because Idon't like to see that happen
Now.
I like to see my kids cry whenthey get whooped for doing.
No, I'm just kidding, I'mkidding, kidding.
There is something about tragedythat used to unite people for a

(03:59):
common good Amen.
Think about 9-11.
After 9-11, we were allAmericans.
Right, it didn't matter whatcolor you were, it didn't matter
what kind of church you attend.
We were all just Americans andwhat we wanted to see was unity
in our country.
Right, I long for the time thatwe can be Americans fighting

(04:19):
for Americans again.
Right, when we can desire goodthings for our brothers and
sisters who live in this country.
But the problem is we don'treally care about that in this
moment Because the world hasconditioned us to dislike people
who are different fromourselves.
Okay, if we know that there isvictory and salvation through

(04:40):
Jesus Christ, what more do wehave to worry about?
And salvation through JesusChrist, what more do we have to
worry about?
What more do we need to worryabout If he will clothe the
lilies in beauty and splendor?
Why do we care about what we'rewearing Now?
You care about what I'm wearingbecause it would be
uncomfortable, right, but thatcame from sin.

(05:03):
If Adam and Eve hadn't falleninto sin, nakedness wouldn't be
something we would be shamefulof, we wouldn't be worried about
it.
But here we are, alas, in theworld that we're living in, amen
, and we've got to deal with it.
But we know that there isvictory in Jesus.

(05:23):
There is victory in Jesus.
There is not victory in showingup for church on Sunday.
There is victory in Jesus, amen.
Okay, joshua 1.9.
It says this is my command Bestrong and courageous, do not be
afraid or discouraged, for theLord, your God, is with you

(05:46):
wherever you go.
I have nothing to fear becauseGod is riding with me.
Right, when I'm feeling lost orconfused or broken or hurt or
down, I know that God's got this, amen.
It's not easy to tell the fleshthat, but the word tells me I

(06:06):
don't have to worry about it.
And so I'm not going to worryabout it.
Because if I do, what good am Idoing myself?
I'm drinking poison waiting todie.
Can't figure out why I'm sickit's because I don't pray.
Can't figure out why I'm brokenbecause I don't pray Right Amen

(06:26):
out why I'm broken Because Idon't pray.
Right, amen, okay.
Proverbs 21, 31.
There is a point to all of thisand we are going to get there
at some point today.
The horse is prepared for theday of battle, but victory
belongs to the Lord.
Who does it belong to the Lord?
Turn to your neighbor and sayvictory belongs to the Lord,

(06:51):
amen, amen.
I'm excited.
I'm excited.
Romans 8, 37.
No, despite all these things,overwhelming victory is ours
through Christ, who loved us.
No, it's not even just victory,it's overwhelming.
Have you ever won something sobig that you're just like that

(07:13):
wasn't even fair?
Right, just won something sobig, it's not even fair.
Let me just tell you about whenI like to win Monopoly.
I like to win Monopoly with allmy properties on mortgage and a
fat stack of cash.
Right, I want this to not justbe a victory.
I want this to be anoverwhelming victory.
I want to be making it rain atthe end of that game and just
rubbing it in everyone's face.
I'm a sore winner.
I'm a sore loser.

(07:34):
Folks, it's just the way it is.
Okay, you ever play dodgeballwith me.
You know that my team has towin and if it doesn't win, I'm
going to cheat to win.
All right.
What Did you cheat to win?
Is that what you just said?
Oh, you haven't playeddodgeball with me yet.
Oh, dude, you got to.
You got to.

(07:54):
Oh, it's fun.
It's fun stuff, all right.
Philippians 4.13.
Everybody knows this one, for Ican do everything through
Christ, who gives me strength,hallelujah.
You know, I was excited thatthis was not intentional when I
put that passage in my scripture.
That was one of Florence'sfavorite passages of scripture,
so I was excited to get to useit this morning because I just,

(08:15):
every time I step into thepulpit, I just like God just
used me, used me, used me, andevery time I think about that, I
think, man, she was so muchsmarter than me and she knew so
much more than I did and itdrove me crazy.
But God bless her either way,because she made me do all of
this.
So here we are right.
All right.
My question is this Do weactually believe it?

(08:35):
I was weak.
I said do we believe that wecan do all things through Christ
, who gives us strength?
I said do we believe that wecan do all things through Christ
, who gives us strength?
That's still weak guys.
Here's the reason that I knewit was going to be weak.
Do you know why?
I knew it was going to be weak.
Do you know why?

(08:57):
Anybody know why?
Because the church has fallenasleep.
We don't want to be woken fromour slumber.
We would rather be sleeping andsaying, yeah, god can do all
things.
He's a good god.
He does all of the things thatthe bible tells us he can do.

(09:20):
If he was healing people backthen, he can do it now.
Jesus Christ.
The same yesterday, today andforever.
Long after we are dead and gone, he will still be healing
people, amen.

(09:40):
Listen, we are not precursorsto what God will do.
God will continue to do longafter each and every one of us
are dead and gone.
God was moving before we wereborn.
He will continue to move longafter each and every one of us
are dead.
And I am excited about that,because the only hope we have
for the next generation is Jesus, the only hope that we are

(10:03):
living in a post-churchgeneration.
We're living in a generationthat doesn't feel like they need
to go to church.
We're living in a generationthat feels like they don't have
to believe in God.
We're living in a generationthat thinks that God is just
somebody we like to talk about.
Can I tell you, I know he'sreal.
How many of you haveexperienced him in your own
lives?
Let me tell you something Godis real.

(10:27):
You can't convince me he's not.
I've seen the ocean, I've seenthe skies.
If you can convince me thatthere is not divine creation,
just in the world that we livein, I'm asking what are you
looking at?
What are you looking at?
Because how, how do birdsfigure out how to fly right?

(10:57):
How did the water know where tostop?
We can't explain.
Oh well, the moon has thisgravitational pull that happens.
I'm not saying the scienceisn't real, but you tell me that
wasn't divine creation.
You're going to try to tell methat God didn't design it that
way.
The fact that we can stick tothe earth is a miracle all on
its own right, because some ofus are so full of air we should

(11:20):
be able to float anyway.
Right, hallelujah, that one'sme.
Right there.
Amen, thank you, jesus.
Thank you, jesus, all right.
I want to talk about David today.
I want to talk about David whowas anointed to be king, and the
David that fell into sin, and Iwant to talk about his sin
before we talk about anythingelse.
Okay, all right.
Does anybody know what led toDavid's fall?

(11:40):
What led to David's fall?
Adultery yes, bathsheba.
David had an affair withBathsheba, the wife of Uriah and
a member of David's fightingforce.
That's dirty pull, right.
Then David had Uriah murderedto cover up the affair.

(12:02):
That's going to great lengths,right?
You don't want to admit thatyou've done something wrong.
You just start killing people.
David chose to stay home inJerusalem instead of leading his
army into battle, and he wasconsumed by lust.
But does anybody know how Davidresponded to that sin?

(12:24):
He repented and expressed hissorrow.
You can read it in Psalm 51.
David ran to God for forgiveness, understanding that only God
could restore him.
Let me ask you a question.
Do you think that when he wasrestored in the eyes of God, he
was restored in the eyes of theworld?
No, do you know how many peopleI restored in the eyes of God?

(12:45):
He was restored in the eyes ofthe world.
No.
Do you know how many people Ihave that look at me and go oh,
you're that guy.
Yeah, everybody in this church.
Oh, that guy.
How many of you have peoplethat look at you that way?
Oh, you did that.
Oh, you did that.
God doesn't see that.

(13:10):
But just because I'm made rightin the eyes of my heavenly
father does not mean I am maderight in the eyes of the world.
But I have learned that theeyes of the world only want to
see me through my wrongdoing.
The eyes of the world want tosee me fail and see me struggle.
They definitely don't want tosee me prosper in the name of
Jesus.
But it's not because they don'tlike me, it's because they

(13:32):
don't know forgiveness fromJesus Christ.
If the world understood howforgiving God had been for them,
then they would find it a wholelot easier to forgive other
people, wouldn't they?
How many of you like to say I'msorry?
Dale's like I say I'm sorry allthe time.

(13:53):
He's just used to it.
Connie's got him conditioned.
He knows he has to say sorry,otherwise he has to sleep on the
back porch.
We don't like to say it becausesaying I'm sorry admits
wrongdoing or fault and in oureyes we're practically perfect.

(14:13):
Like we know, maybe deep downinside somewhere, that we've
made some mistakes, but we don'tlike to talk about it.
I'm going to tell you that Irealize that if I am the first
one to say I'm sorry, I'mwinning and I don't mean I'm
winning the fight, I mean mysoul is getting right with Jesus
.
Right, if I can say you knowwhat, I screwed up on that one,

(14:35):
I'm sorry.
If I can go to my wife and tellher hey, I made a bad decision
and I'm sorry for that.
My wife is going to be a lotmore forgiving than if we hold
on to it for 10 days and then Ifinally say, well, I wasn't
entirely wrong.
Right, men, we've been there.
Right Ladies, probably beenthere too.
Us men just aren't smart enoughto figure it out.

(14:55):
We just let it slide.
All right.
But I want to talk about Davidand Goliath for a moment.
We all know the story.
David shows up to bring rationsto his brothers, offers King
Saul to go out and kill thegiant.
King Saul reluctantly agrees,gives David his battle armor and

(15:20):
David says no and then goes outon the battlefield to kill
Goliath.
Now I picture David putting onthis armor.
That's way too big for him.
You ever seen like a kid tryingto wear their dad's shoes and
the t-shirt and they look allfunny looking.
That's how I picture Davidlooking.
And he goes I can't wear thisout there, I'm not used to it.
So he takes it all back off andhe heads out to the battlefield

(15:44):
.
And every time I think aboutDavid doing that, getting
himself ready, mentally,emotionally, preparing himself
for that.
He knows God's going to gobefore him, but there's still
got to be some nerve, right.
Like I get nervous coming uphere some Sunday morning, but

(16:04):
David just stops and he yellsI'm coming out, close your eyes.
Turn to your neighbor and sayI'm coming out, close your eyes,
lord, forgive me.

(16:34):
Okay, alright, get your Biblesout.
People get your Bibles out.
1 Samuel, chapter 17.
1 Samuel, chapter 17.
1 Samuel, chapter 17.
We're going to start at verse41.

(16:54):
Quit throwing stuff on thefloor.
Goliath walked out toward Davidwith his shield bearer ahead of
him, sneering in contempt at theruddy-faced boy.
Am I a dog?
He roared at David that youcome at me with a stick.
David carried his staff.
Right.
That you come at me with astick.
And he cursed David by thenames of his gods Come over here

(17:24):
, I'll give your flesh to thebirds and wild animals.
Goliath yelled.
Goliath's a big man, bigger thanMarcus.
That's a big man, right, marcus, stand up, come here.
Come here, hustle.
You don't work for thegovernment, come on, look at
this.
I'm 6'1".
How tall are you?
6'6"?
That's a big dude, right,goliath was bigger than Marcus.
Thank you, marcus.

(17:44):
How tall are you?
Six, six, that's a big dude.
Right, goliath was bigger thanMarcus.
Thank you, marcus.
Like I'm talking duckingthrough doorways, right, big guy
.
And he says to David, a punylittle guy, I'm going to feed
you to the birds and the wildanimals.
Now I'm just thinking, as David,I'd probably want to go home,
right, because he knows whatGoliath looks like.
He's seen him when he met hisbrothers on the battlefield to

(18:05):
bring them their rations.
He knew what Goliath lookedlike, but he did not know that
he was ultimate.
God spoke to him and told himhere we go, right.
I don't know that.
I'm quite confident enough inmy belief in what God will do to
step out in front of a giantright.
It's kind of like stepping outin front of a school bus.
God's going to stop his schoolbus, right?

(18:26):
He's just going to say I don'tthink so, like that's just dumb
decision-making, right.
But here's David saying he'sgoing to do it.
David responded to thePhilistine you come at me with
sword, spear and javelin, but Icome at you, come to you in the
name of the Lord of heaven'sarmies, the God of the armies of

(18:49):
Israel, whom you have defiedToday, the Lord will conquer you
and I will kill you and cut offyour head and I will give the
dead bodies of your men to thebirds and the wild animals.
The whole world will know thatthere is a God in Israel,

(19:09):
hallelujah.
And everyone assembled herewill know that the Lord rescued
his people, but not with swordand spear.
This is the Lord's battle.
He will give you to us.
He will give you to us.
As Goliath moved closer toattack David, quickly ran out to

(19:32):
meet him.
We don't do anything quickly,specifically what the Lord tells
us Amen.
Now we know what happens Davidone shot hits Goliath, kills him
and what's he do?

(19:52):
Cuts his head off with his ownsword.
Yes, god delivered Goliath toDavid.
Now we're not experiencingGoliath today, but do each of us
have our own giants Physicalillness, mental health,
struggles hanging on tounforgiveness, whatever it may

(20:13):
be.
We've all got something thatwe're dealing with in our lives
right, and your struggle mayseem small to me, but it may be
something that you really have ahard time living with, have a
hard time dealing with, have ahard time getting over.
Amen, amen, because I don'tknow your struggles, I don't
live them.
We're all individuals, we areall different, but we have

(20:35):
victory in Jesus.
God is still delivering Goliathtoday, just as he was back when
David was taking care of him.
Amen.
But here is the problem.
This is where we're going tostart to offend some people.
All right, are you ready?
Today's church has adopted avictim theology, I didn't say a

(21:02):
victim mentality, a victimtheology, because see, here's
what we want to teach you now.
We want to teach you that allof your problems are because of
your haters, the people youdon't like, the people who don't
like you, or the devil.
But can I promise you something?
Sometimes you are your ownworst enemy.
Sometimes you are your ownworst enemy.

(21:25):
Sometimes you are your ownworst enemy.
And what are you doing about it?
Complaining.
Who are you complaining?
To the people who will agreewith you?
And when they agree with you,what happens?
You continue to complain andthe next thing you know, you're
not reading your word, you'renot believing that God can

(21:45):
deliver you from that evilspirit or whatever it is that's
happening.
Listen, how many of us are broke?
Right, like broke, don't feelgood, right.
But let me tell you somethingyou ain't broke just because
you're broke.
There are things happening inyour life that make you broke
Right Now.
Sometimes it is the devil,sometimes it's God, sometimes

(22:06):
it's you.
Most times it's you, right?
Listen, my wife thinks we'regonna go on a cruise this year.
You know what that means Ican't spend any money.
You know what that means.
We ain't going on a cruise.

(22:27):
I mean, it's just not in thecards.
But I know that if that'ssomething that we want to do, I
have to make different lifechoices.
See, I can't blame my job.
I can't blame the people aroundme.
I can't blame my life becauseI'm broke.

(22:47):
I'm broke because I choose tobe broke.
I'm broke because I like tospend money on things that I
don't need.
Right, how many of us buy stuffwe don't need literally every
day?
Tina, how much does your coatcost you?
For McDonald's every day?
$1.07, but that's because sheuses her mobile app.
It costs me $1.80 because Idon't like to use the mobile app
and then go through thedrive-thru I do.

(23:09):
I got mad.
I was like how McDonald's goingto charge me $1.80 for a Coke
when it's $1 on the app?
That just doesn't even seemfair, right, but what did I say?
If I would use the app, I couldsave 80 cents.
But guess what I won't do?
I won't use the app.
So whose problem is it?
Thank you, it's stillMcDonald's problem.

(23:31):
Yeah, but I'm just saying thatif I don't choose to make better
decisions, then I'm alwaysgoing to live with the things
that are happening in my life.
They will never go away justbecause I feel like God should
do something about it.
How many times has God opened awindow and you've closed it?
How many times has God openedthe door?

(23:51):
You get to the end, you're likenever mind and pull it shut.
And when you pull that one shut, he opens another one.
And guess what you do?
You close that one too.
God says I want you to do X andyou're like not today.
God says I want you to do X andyou say I can't afford it.
Let me tell you something whenGod is moving in your life, you
can't afford not to.
You can't afford not to becausewhen you tell him, no, that's

(24:14):
going somewhere else.
The work still has to get done.
I can't tell you how many timesGod has said Michael, I need
you to do X and I'm like I ain'tgoing to do that today.
And then, while I'm standingthere, something else happens
and he's like Michael, I reallyneed you to do, and when I
finally give into him, there's ablessing poured out beyond
compare.
Now I don't mean that he, likeit, doesn't start to rain

(24:34):
hundred dollar bills over mewhen I do something kind or
something that God has called meto do.
Sometimes I get home and mywife says something to me that
just would like okay, this is abig one, I got a.
I'm a worrier.
I like to plan.
Okay, the other day I got a.
Anybody else get informeddelivery on their mail.
Like you get an email withwhat's coming in your mail that

(24:54):
day.
Anybody else do that, don't?
It's horrifying.
You always know ahead of timewhen you're getting a bill.
It's the worst feeling in theworld, like it's bad enough that
the bill is coming.
Now I know I got on my app onemorning.
I looked and I had a letterfrom the IRS coming.
Unsolicited mail from the IRSain't never good, right, it

(25:20):
ain't ever good.
I have never had the IRS mailme a birthday card.
I ain't never had them mail mea Christmas card.
Anytime they send me a piece ofmail.
They want money, right.
So I get the letter.
I see it coming.
I go to the post office 8o'clock when they open, right.
I open my PO box.
There ain't nothing in there.
I go back home.
I go back at 10.

(25:40):
I go back at noon, I go back at3.
I go back at 5.
That letter didn't show up andI'm like Lord, I don't know what
you're trying to teach me, butI don't like it.
Next day, 8 am guess where I'mat Post office.
I open that PO box and there'sthat letter.
Now I am stressed for 24straight hours, knowing that

(26:06):
letter is going to come.
Okay, stomachs in knots becauseI'm just like what are we going
to do?
The IRS?
They don't send you a letterbecause you owe them 20 bucks,
right, it's usually a largeamount of money.
I open up mailbox, I go in.
I had to pick up a couple ofpackages.
When I say a couple of packages, it was like 14.
It was just a few.
Yeah, this is the money problem.
I open the letter while thelady is there and I'm joking

(26:27):
with her about unsolicited mail,and I open it up and all it is
is a tax statement telling methat they paid me interest on
withholding from the previousyear.
But what did I do to myself for24 straight hours?
That's a choice, folks.
That is a decision that I madebecause I believe that God is

(26:50):
good and he can do all things,but I still allow myself to live
in the world and to worry aboutthings that don't matter Best.
Husband Jarvi has a greatsaying, and I've adopted this If
it can be fixed with money,it's not really a problem, right
, because I might not haveenough to fix it today, but
someday, right, eventually,we'll figure this out.
Problems come when somebodypasses away.

(27:13):
That can't be fixed with money,right.
Problems come when the worldstarts to fall apart around you.
Those things that cannot befixed by money, those are real
problems.
Anything that can be fixed bymoney is an inconvenience, right
, but we're so attached to themoney that we have that that's
all we worry about, right?
Okay, all right, all right.

(27:37):
Victim theology See, it's thechurch trying to teach that we
have to blame the enemy forevery bad thing that happens in
our lives.
But sometimes, if we would juststop and reevaluate, we would
realize that sometimes we arethe problem, right?
Listen, I'm the problem in mywife's life a lot, a lot.
And my wife will say to me hey,you can't blame anybody else
for that bad decision, it wasyours and yours alone.

(27:58):
I don't like to hear that, butwhen I hear it, I have to do
something with it.
It has to create change in mylife.
When Jesus tells you stop doingthat, when God says you
shouldn't be going there anymore, and you keep going there and
hanging out with those peopleand acting the way you're acting

(28:19):
, he ain't going to give you anyfavor because you're operating
outside of the spirit.
Listen, god is good and hewants to do all of the good
things.
Listen, when you stop showingup for church, when you don't
tithe, when you don't pray, youdon't talk to God, what do you
expect?
You expect to show up here onSunday, have me preach at you

(28:42):
for an hour, right?
You hear what I'm saying, andthen you go home and do nothing
with it, right?
Listen, I, every week, I have topray and talk to God.
I have to ask God forforgiveness.
I'm living the same life thateach and every one of you are
living.
I know, though, that I have togo home and make a change when
I'm asking God for forgiveness.

(29:03):
I'm not just asking God forforgiveness, just to say the
words.
I want meaningful change in mylife.
Do you know how hard that islife?
Do you know how hard that is?
It's awful Because when yourealize the things that you love
are taking place, of yourrelationship with Christ, you
really have to learn what youhave to give up.
I don't like that, right.

(29:24):
I like having fun things.
I like the newest iPhone everytime it comes out, but when I
buy those things I can't givefreely.
How many of us are just givingfreely?
I love to be able to blesspeople.
I love to be able to bless theworld around me.
Listen, the cupboard of hopeblesses a ton of people every

(29:47):
month.
Now it might not feel like alot, but if you met some of
those people, you would knowit's a lot.
That means a lot to them.
I want to be able to continueto do those things, but if I
continue to act the way that I'macting, I will never be able to
do that.
Now, here's the thing I know I'mpreaching right now and
everybody's sitting herelistening.
Ain't nobody making lifechanges right now, because

(30:08):
they're going.
I'll think about this when Iget home.
Right, I'll reevaluate my life.
When I get home, you ain'tgonna.
You know why you aren't gonna?
Because you want to blamesomebody else for your problems.
Listen, I know that God is goodand he can take anything and
make it for his good.
But today you have to make achoice.

(30:29):
Are you going to follow Jesus?
Are you going to hold on to theworld?
Are you going to follow Jesus?
Are you going to hold on to theworld?
Are you going to follow Jesus,or are you going to allow the
world to shape what is importantto you?
All right, we want to come tochurch, wave some flags, roll
around on the floor, hang fromthe chandeliers, handle some

(30:50):
snakes.
You know any of the funPentecostal things.
Hang from the chandeliers,handle some snakes.
You know any of the funPentecostal things.
Me too, me too, you won't haveto worry about it.
We bring snakes in this place.
I'm out, count me out.
But we want to do all of thethings that you come to.
Just raise your hands andpraise and worship and, oh, I
just love the praise and worshipset this morning.
That song spoke to me.

(31:11):
That song may have spoke to you, but Jesus needs to speak to
you.
Jesus needs to speak.
Here's the thing.
I can ask any one of you toquote scripture and most of you
will go, uh, right, Now most ofyou can get John 3, 16.
Can anybody do it?
I know Joe can do it.

(31:31):
Thank you For God so loved theworld.
Okay, so we can get there.
Right, we know some of it, butif I ask you to sing the words
to Jaira, I bet everybody inthis building be singing all
them words.
Right, why is that?
Why is that?
Because we believe that musicis ministry and it is not.
Music does not make who God is.

(31:53):
Some fleshly person wrote thatsong to make you cry.
Some fleshly person wrote thatsong so that you would raise
your hands in church on Sundaymorning.
They did not write that songjust simply so that you would
know who Jesus is.
Listen, some of the songs youguys listen to.
They're theologically sound.
Some of the stuff you listen to, you listen to the words.

(32:15):
You're like, no, that's notwhat that scripture says.
That's not what it says at all.
But we love it because webelieve that it connects us with
God.
Do you know what connects youwith God?
Prayer?
Do you know what connects youwith God, the word.
And I'm telling you that whenthe church decides to repent of

(32:36):
its sins amen, hallelujah, thankyou Jesus.
Pray to God and read the wordmeaningful change will come.
But you cannot make change inyour life if all you do is show
up to church on Sunday morning.
The Bible tells us we'resupposed to tithe.
I'm just going to share this.
My counsel already knows this,but for six months we ran tithe

(32:58):
somewhere in the close to$10,000 range, six months
straight.
Now I didn't go back anyfurther than that for six months
.
Last month we were just over$6,000.
What happened?
Christmas?
But that was January.
I would have given you that inDecember, but I won't give you
that in January.
We've never seen a December at$10,000.

(33:19):
We were over $10,000 inDecember for that very reason.
What happened?
Look at the attendance.
The attendance dropped.
We got lazy after the holidayseason.
I'm going to give rather thantithe.
I don't understand.
I don't need to give.
The church is fine,everything's fine, right.
Let me tell you something thechurch will never be fine If we

(33:43):
continue to pour out into thecommunity.
The church will never be fine.
We will always have the moneyto keep the building open, we'll
never have the money to gofurther.
Let me tell you something I'vealways believed.
I've always believed and I knowthat this is true.
I know that God has spoken thisto me that we will eventually
plant a church.
What that looks like, I don'tknow Whether that's to plant a

(34:05):
pastor in the Cambridge church,whether that's to open a church
in Holmes County, I don't know.
But I believe that God is goingto multiply this body Right.
Here's the scary part.
You look at the numbers and yourealize if God can multiply
this, he can do literallyanything, because these people I
don't know if they get it ornot.
That didn't feel good, did it?

(34:25):
But it's true, because when Ilook at the numbers and I look
and I try to figure out, likeGod, what is it that you want me
to do today?
And he says you just have totell them.
You just have to tell them getoff your hands.
You see everybody's sitting inthe pew on their hands right now
.
I don't want to give, I don'twant to serve, I don't want to
do.
I want to just sit here and letyou tell me what I should do so

(34:45):
I can go home and not do it.
I want to be able to go homeand pretend like I'm hearing it,
but I'm not doing anything withit.
Listen, financial PeaceUniversity.
We're going to start tonight.
It is not going to matter ifevery person in this building
comes.
If you don't try to make achange in your life, it's not
going to matter.
You will do nothing if youdon't make meaningful change in

(35:07):
your life.
We are not victims, we arevictors.
There is victory in Jesus, amen.
There is victory in the name ofJesus.
That means that I am alreadywhole and complete.
I have everything that I willneed in life.
Anything above being alive is agift that I should be able to

(35:30):
give back abundantly.
Amen.
Why do you think I put?
Listen, some of you guys.
You call me and you want me topour into you, and then you
don't do anything with theinformation I give you and I
think, man, I just beat my headagainst the wall, right?
What's the point?
Why do you call me?
Why do you ask me for advice?
Why do you call my wife and askmy wife, why do you, and then
do nothing with it?
Let me tell you why Because youwant them to agree with you and

(35:52):
complain with you.
Thank you, chris, it's true,right, and listen, we're all
guilty.
I'm guilty of it.
Listen, I got.
Oh, I just love.
I love when the Holy Spiritmoves, because I tell you guys
stories I would never tellanybody.
I was at work the other day andI sat down for a meeting with my
owners and they said somethings to me that just crushed

(36:12):
me on the inside they weren'tbad, but it was just one of
those like oh, that didn't feelgood and my one owner goes.
See, this is good, it's liketherapy.
And I thought to myself, yeah,maybe for you, right, that
doesn't feel good to me.
So I left and I processed itand I went back and I said and
this is me being very honestwith you, because I feel like
you have to hear it I said tothem I'm committed to my own

(36:34):
success, I'm committed to thesuccess of the organization and
I am committed to your success.
How many of us can say that toour friends and family?
I am committed to my ownsuccess.
I want to do the best for me.
I am committed to the successof the kingdom of God and I am
committed to your success in thekingdom.

(36:54):
I want you to thrive in thekingdom.
Therefore, I'm okay with yousaying hard things to me and I'm
okay with having to say hardthings to you.
We don't want that because thechurch wants a victim theology.
We want to blame the devil foreverything.
We'll just stomp him back tothe pits of hell.

(37:15):
Let me tell you, you can dothat, but some listen.
I had this vision this morningin the prayer room.
I didn't share it.
I don't know if I should shareit now, but I'm gonna.
Okay, this is what I had.
I was anytime.
I do this stuff.
God, I'm telling you like Hollyneeds to get here quick because
we're gonna get in trouble.
So I was standing in the prayerroom and we were.
I don't remember what song wason, but we were praying and I
had this vision and our entiresanctuary was full.

(37:36):
But just as the sanctuarystarted to fill up and everybody
started to come in and sit downand I didn't notice any faces
so I want to be clear that I amnot speaking about any specific
people in this room as thepeople started to come in and
the seats started to this spaceright, and we're getting close.
We're getting close.
But that the ground started toshake.

(37:56):
And as the ground started toshake, it started to open up,
and what was opening up was hell.
And there were some people thatfell in immediately.
There were some people thatwere climbing the walls trying
to get away from it, and thenthere was Holly standing in the
front going what are you guysafraid of?

(38:20):
I'm not going to hell, becauseJesus Christ is my Lord and
Savior.
I know that I'm not going tohell.
And so she's standing in thefront row and she's looking at
you guys like everybody's losttheir minds, everybody's trying
to get out of here, and she saysno, not today.

(38:40):
Now can I tell you there aresome of us sitting in this room
that will not make it to heaven.
I hope it's not you.
I hope that each and every oneof you are right with Christ and
that you have abandoned thevictim mentality, the victim
theology, and you have embracedbeing a victor in the mighty
name of Jesus.
A victor in the mighty name ofJesus.

(39:02):
If I can do all things throughChrist, who gives me strength,
then what do I have to worryabout?
Christ has given me thestrength to be victorious.
That means that when somebodymakes me mad, I have the
strength to keep my mouth shut.
That means when something badhappens in my life, I have the
strength to look for the good.

(39:23):
I don't have to constantly livein the negative world that we
are conditioned to be part of.
I'm not going to do it anymore.
I'm not going to do it becauseI don't want you to fall into it
.
See, culture comes from the topdown, and if Jesus is our Lord

(39:44):
and Savior and all good thingscome from him, then for me, good
things should come From you.
Good things should come becauseyou are leading people who
don't know jesus right.
And when you walk around withthat victim theology, well, I'm
just I.
I I can't get this spirit ofreligion out of myself.
Listen, yes, you can, becauseyou can do all things through

(40:05):
christ, who gives you strength.
Listen, I don't have to sit ina pew and be all worked up over
what somebody said, or oh, Ididn't get this and so-and-so
did.
It doesn't matter, your timehas not yet come.
You are in a season of waiting.
Listen, I embrace this.
I'm looking forward to a seasonof waiting.
I'm looking forward to a seasonof waiting.

(40:26):
I want God to say to me rest,because when he does, I'm going
to take all the naps, like three, four, five hour naps, because
I need a season of rest.
But here's the thing justbecause I need it, I want it,
doesn't mean I'm going to get it.
I might do this for another 10years before God says it's time

(40:48):
to rest, right, and even then hemight say rest means you're
going to let somebody elsepreach on Sunday, but you'll be
back next week, right?
There is a difference in whatwe want versus what God knows we
need, and I am looking forwardto him meeting my needs versus
him meeting my wants.
Amen.
Today the church wakes up,hallelujah.

(41:11):
We were in the prayer room.
We had this oh man, it wascrazy in there this morning.
Right, all right, we're allgoing crazy.
And I said we're going to carrythis to the sanctuary.
The minute I stopped praying,everybody shuts up, it gets
quiet and I'm like well, thatlasted a long time, it's still
going right, like that spirit ofexcitement still flowing.

(41:32):
Guys, do you get excited aboutJesus?
Do you get excited about theword of God?
Listen, if you are excited,then you need to be excitable.
You need to be able to tellpeople about who Jesus is and
what's happening in your life.
Listen, I love to brag aboutGod.
When somebody last Sunday Iprobably got up, 50 people that

(41:55):
ah, great message, great message.
And you know what I said toevery one of them that wasn't me
, that was God.
I don't even know if I showedup last Sunday.
I know I was in the building,but I know that God was moving
through me.
Whatever happened last Sundaywas anointed beyond anything
that we have seen in a long time.
But let me tell you, we can'tlive on just that.

(42:15):
We have to be willing to hearthe truth.
We have to be willing to bendand reshape our lives so that
the move of God can continue totake place.
Get out of your own way.
Get out of your own way, stoptripping over.
Listen, if David can killGoliath because he went out in
the name of the Lord, you can doanything in this world in the

(42:36):
name of the Lord.
You can do anything.
Pick up your cross.
You know the devil thinks thechurch is weak because we've
just come to do all of thethings that we've talked about
doing.
We've just showed up tofellowship and hear the word,
but we go out doing the exactsame things.

(42:58):
But it won't be until we decideto repent, pray and read the
word that we will havemeaningful change in our lives.
Amen, I believe that for eachand every one of us.
I believe that each and everyone of us are going to wake up
and we're going to get a hold ofwhat the gospel really means to
our lives and we're going torun with it and we're going to
prove to the world that God isstill on the throne, just as

(43:19):
David did when he cut off thehead of Goliath.
He stepped out, believing thatGod would do it, and when he
said it, god is going to havevictory, not David, not the
Israelites.
God will have victory.
I believe that for ourcommunity today, amen, amen.
Let's pray together.

(43:40):
Father, in the mighty name ofJesus, I thank you and I praise
you for just continuing to pourout your blessings.
Father, I pray that the wordthat was spoken today just rests
in the hearts of the people whoheard it.
Father, allow us to justabandon the victim theology.
Allow us to inspect our livesand realize that sometimes we
are the problem, that it's us.

(44:02):
Father, god, that we arestanding in your way, our
decisions, our fleshly decisions, stop you from operating the
way that we know that you can.
Father, I just thank you forthe blessings that you pour out
in this house, for the blessingsthat you pour out on your
people.
I pray that you continue tomove in mighty ways.

(44:23):
We give you praise, honor andglory in the mighty name of
Jesus, amen.
We're going to do communionreally quickly.
Just again as a remindercommunion in our building does
not require membership.
Everybody is welcome.
The only thing that I ask we'lltake a minute beforehand that
you just stop and just thinkabout where you're at in life

(44:45):
and make sure that you're ingood standing with Jesus, that
your heart is clean and pure,that you're not holding on to
unforgiveness or hate or hurt orany of those things, because
the Bible tells us that it isworse to take communion under
those false pretenses than it isto simply not take communion.
I will promise you this If youchoose to sit in your seat and
not take communion, nobody inthis building is going to judge
you.
I will probably think more ofyou sitting in your seat and

(45:08):
saying I need to figure myselfout first.
So I just want to.
Pastor Roger, where are you at?
Will you come up and help mewith communion this morning?
We'll start at this end.
If you guys want to make yourway up, I gotcha.
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