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00:00 What's up, good people? Pastor Darius here, and you are about to watch the last sermon in a series
00:06 called, God didn't say that, it's a series called Standing on Business. I think this is a message
00:12 that has right now implications, right? It's not just a teaching to be heard and shelved. It's a
00:21 teaching to be heard and applied. I think that you and I are in a season right now where it's time
00:28 for us to stand on business. This message is going to make it really clear to you what that means,
00:33 and I hope it blesses you. I got one request as always, if it blesses or adds value to you,
00:38 would you just please share it with somebody else? All right, enjoy the message. I want to conclude
00:44 this series of sermons today that we've been in. This is part 937 of a series of sermons
00:53 we've been on called God didn't say that. We've been in this series as long as I can remember,
00:58 but I want to read a few verses today starting in Luke chapter 12 beginning at verse number 46.
01:07 Luke 12 verse 46. I'm reading from the New King James rendering of the word of God.
01:20 Hear ye the word of the Lord.
01:24 It says now so it was that after three days they found him, him being Jesus, in the temple sitting
01:36 in the midst of the teachers both listening and asking them questions and all who heard him were
01:42 astonished at his understanding and answers. So when they saw him they were amazed and his mother
01:48 said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously."
01:55 And he said to them, "Why do you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?"
02:05 I want to stop the reading of scripture right there and talk from this subject for today's sermon,
02:11 standing on business. Standing on business.
02:21 For those of you that are unaware, your pastor or whatever I am to you is has a fanatical type of
02:32 fondness for the game of basketball. For the majority of my life I've watched it and for a
02:43 significant part of my life I actually played it. I loved it so fanatically that when I didn't have
02:52 a ball I put a clothes hanger in the form of a circle on the top of a door and played with a sock.
03:02 I loved it so much that I would take some of y'all too young for this, an empty milk crate,
03:10 cut out the bottom of the milk crate, nail the milk crate to a tree, and create a goal.
03:22 I love the game of basketball. Loved it so much that I played it
03:29 beginning at the age of 10 in something called peewee, then played in junior high,
03:35 then played junior varsity, then played varsity, and then played all four years at Millsaps College.
03:43 I loved the game of basketball and as is the case with many people who played basketball,
03:51 I not only liked the game but I'll try to play the game like players that I liked.
03:59 And there are a number of players that played during the era that I grew up in that were worth
04:04 emulating and admiring, but there is one player that stood out head and shoulders above the rest.
04:10 You may have your opinion and perspective but I got the mic today
04:17 and I'm telling my testimony and based on my observation, the greatest player
04:28 of all time is the only player to go 6-0 in the NBA finals, the only player to three-peat twice,
04:41 the only player to win three times, take a couple of years off, come back and win three more times.
04:49 He hails from North Carolina, 6'6" shooting guard, the one and the only Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
05:00 That's my goal.
05:02 I loved Mike. I studied Mike. I learned how to walk like Mike.
05:17 I learned how to run like Mike. I learned how to hold my shorts like Mike.
05:27 I learned how to shoot free throws like Mike. I learned how to chew gum like Mike. I'm gonna
05:36 see if I got any real basketball fans here. I even learned how to stick my tongue out
05:43 like Mike. I knew how to do everything like Mike except play
05:51 like Mike. I was the Michael Jordan walking, chewing gum, tongue sticking out
06:02 in the most individual on the court that played nothing like him.
06:11 And there are a number of different reasons that I could not play like Mike. I didn't have that
06:15 God-given talent. I didn't have that God-given athleticism. You can't teach 6'6". But there is
06:21 one reason that I want to lift up that is pertinent to what I'm preaching about today and relevant
06:27 for today's revelation is this. One of the reasons I couldn't play like Mike is simply this. I was
06:33 trying to do what Mike did on the court without doing what Mike did off the court.
06:40 Where is my witness? Yeah. In other words, I was trying to do what Mike was doing publicly
06:49 without doing what Mike was doing privately. I wanted Mike's rings but I didn't want Mike's
06:58 work ethic. I wanted his accomplishments but not his attributes. I was operating in ignorance of
07:07 a biblical principle that is communicated by our carpenter and our Christ named Jesus.
07:13 When he said, "To whomsoever much is given,
07:21 much will be required." You can't cheat the process. You cannot ignore biblical principles.
07:28 When you break the principles, the principles break you. Did you hear what I just said? God
07:35 doesn't want us to break the principles because when we break the principles, the principles break
07:40 us. And there's a principle called sowing and reaping. It's the law of investment. You get in,
07:46 you get out what you put in. Come on here. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. You can't mock
07:53 the process. You can't cheat the principles. Whatsoever a man or woman sows, that shall he
08:00 also reap. I wanted to do what he did in public without doing what he did in private. And isn't
08:10 that just like us? People want your glory but not your story. Did you hear what I just said?
08:21 They want your progress but not your pain. They want your money but not your misery.
08:27 Y'all aren't talking to me today. Yep, yep. They want you to be where you are without going through
08:34 what you went through. I heard one preacher say this years ago with something that never left me.
08:42 He said a young preacher walked up to him one time and said, "Pastor, I want your anointing. Can you
08:46 pray for me to have your anointing?" He said, "Sure. I pray that you abandon at five. I pray that you
08:53 never discover who your daddy is. I pray that your first wife leave you." Y'all not talking to me.
09:00 I pray that you have a child born with an impediment. I pray that people that you try
09:05 to help the most hurt you the most. He said, "Pastor, why are you praying for that?"
09:09 "You asked for my anointing. You can't get my anointing without getting my adversity.
09:15 You can't get this glory without having this story."
09:24 I wanted Mike's results but not his work ethic.
09:28 And I noticed something. I saw how this analogy has exegetical exegesis to draw out, to draw out
09:42 of scripture, to draw meaning out of scripture, to take a document that's written thousands of
09:47 years ago and to stare at it and to look at it and to question it and to draw out of a document
09:53 that was written thousands of years ago and find meaning for us in our current contemporary
10:00 context. As I reflected on this experience and how I might draw some meaning out of this experience,
10:06 I realized that the same thing that we do or that I try to do in the game of basketball
10:14 is the same thing that we try to do in the game of life.
10:21 Because life has a goat.
10:23 He's not from North Carolina. He's from Nazareth. King of kings. Lord of lords.
10:34 Rosa Sharon. Lily of the valley. Bright and morning star. Lawyer in a courtroom.
10:42 Doctor in a sick room. The wheel in the middle of a wheel. My bridge over trouble.
10:50 My help in ages past. My hope for years to come. I'm talking about a man named Jesus.
10:57 I'm talking about a man who lived 33 years, who was unfairly punished, unjustly convicted,
11:05 unrighteously sentenced to Roman capital punishment. I'm talking about the Jesus
11:10 that carried the cross down the Via Della Rosa, up God Gotha's hill. I'm talking about the Jesus
11:18 that hung there from the sixth to the ninth hour, hung his head, then he died. I'm talking about the
11:25 Jesus who was buried in Joseph of Arimathea soon, who stayed there all night Friday,
11:32 who stayed there all day Saturday, who stayed there all night Saturday night, but early
11:42 Sunday morning, got up out of the grave. He didn't just get up so that he could get up.
11:48 He got up to show you that you could get up. I don't know what's been burying you,
11:54 and I don't know how long you've been buried, but I got two words for you today.
12:00 If you'll receive them with prophetic implications, get up.
12:08 Resurrection level resilience is on the inside of you. They lied on you. Get up. They talked about
12:15 you. Get up. You lost some things. Get up. You're dealing with grief during the holidays.
12:20 God is able to get you up.
12:31 Jesus, listen to me, died, Marlon, to be our savior. You gotta get this, but he lived to be
12:40 your example. Did you catch that? You have to catch that. That's a part of the good news
12:50 that we cannot de-emphasize. He died to be my savior, but he lived to be my example.
13:00 He said, "Let me live." Why 33? It didn't take 33 years to do it,
13:05 but he lived 33 years to show you what's possible
13:10 when you live a life that is guided and governed by the king.
13:22 See, when the only thing we focus on is Jesus's death,
13:27 then you have a Christianity that teaches you how to die.
13:31 You have a Christianity with an obsession with eschatology. That's the end times,
13:43 and I'm not saying that's not important. I am saying that it's not incorrect. I am saying if
13:50 that's all you focus on, it's incomplete. He didn't just come to show you how to die.
13:58 He came to show you how to live.
14:00 So, he had, come on now, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, he had four different people
14:08 tell his life story from four different perspectives so that you would know how to live.
14:16 If the only thing that was important was his death, then the gospels would have said he died.
14:21 But the Holy Spirit had Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell his life story from four different
14:30 perspectives to show you and me how to live. He lived to show you what to do with a Judas.
14:41 Did you hear what I just said? He said the way I handle my Judas is the way you handle your Judas.
14:49 Did you see how he handled his Judas? Once he got a revelation that Judas was going to betray him,
14:55 notice what he does. He looks at Judas and says, "Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly."
15:01 In other words, he's saying, "I realize that my generosity will never change your character."
15:09 [Cheering]
15:12 Y'all aren't talking to me on this side. He said, "I have got to the point where I realize
15:18 that no matter what I give you, no matter how good I am to you, that who I am will not change who you
15:26 are. So, I'm going to stop trying to make you somebody that you made a decision you don't want
15:32 to be. But I have enough faith to realize and recognize that my welfare and my well-being
15:42 are not in your hands. So, I'm not going to try to talk you out of doing it. I'm going to tell you,
15:47 "Go ahead on and get it out of the way, because the sooner you put me in the grave,
15:58 the sooner God is going to get me out." Y'all didn't hear what I just said.
16:03 They can put you in there, but they can't keep you in there when God gets ready to get you out.
16:10 Jesus is the goal. Why would I want to play the game of life without learning from him?
16:26 Why would I not want to radically immerse myself in seeing how he lived and live my life that way?
16:35 But here's the challenge. This is a Christian conundrum. And it's this. Very often,
16:45 like I did with Mike, we can try to do what he did in public.
16:53 We can try to do what he did in public.
16:55 Without doing what he did in private. Now, a powerful picture of this is seen in the gospel
17:07 of Matthew. Matthew tells this story from his perspective, how Jesus was with the disciples
17:13 at one point, and he got done teaching, told disciples, "Get on the boat. Y'all go to the
17:17 other side." And the Bible says he leaves and goes in one direction. They get on the boat,
17:21 it's about the fourth watch of the night, and Jesus went to them walking on the sea.
17:27 And the Bible says that as he's walking on the sea, the people see him and they get afraid.
17:31 They think it's a ghost. And then Jesus is like, "No, it's not a ghost. It's me." And Peter says,
17:36 "Lord, if it's you." See, I don't have time. I don't have time, but I love me some Peter.
17:49 I can relate to some Peter. There are 12 people on the boat, and out of all the 12,
17:56 Peter is the one that has enough. See, y'all not talking to me here. See, I believe this is one
18:03 of the reasons Jesus picked him. He picked him because he uses Peter-like personalities.
18:09 Did you hear what I just said? He used those Peter-like personalities. Peter said, "If it's
18:17 you, be it me to come on the water." Jesus said, "Come." That's all Peter needed. Y'all missed it.
18:24 Y'all missed it. All Jesus said was, "Come." He did not say, "Come, and I'm going to suspend
18:32 gravity." He did not say, "Come, and I'm going to make the water like a road." He said, "Come."
18:37 All Peter needs is a come. Some people stay in the boat because you need more than a come.
18:44 You need directions. You need a commentary. You need explanation. Peter says, "All you
18:50 need to give me is the green light, and once I got the green light, I'm out of here."
18:55 He said, "Come," and the text says Peter starts walking on the water.
19:11 He walked on the water, and as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus.
19:19 Watch this, but the text says, verse 30, "When he saw
19:28 that the wind was boisterous, he got afraid
19:34 and beginning to sink." The wind didn't sink him.
19:39 Y'all are not with me today. The text didn't say the wind sank him. Fear did.
19:47 He saw the wind. Y'all missed it. He saw the wind. So, as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus,
19:55 he was walking on what other people drowned in,
19:57 but then he saw the wind, which means he didn't lose vision. He lost focus.
20:06 He lost focus.
20:07 And the reason some of us are sinking is not because you don't have a vision.
20:17 You're sinking because you don't have focus.
20:19 Focus is selective attention. It means you make a decision what you're not going to look at.
20:32 You're making a conscious decision what you're not going to look at.
20:36 And they check your eyes, and they show you five lines of letters to read,
20:41 and they tell you to read line four. They're also telling you not to look at lines one through three.
20:47 You're making a conscious decision what you're not going to look at.
20:55 The text says what he saw, the wind was what? You can't really see wind,
21:01 but he looked at how the wind was affecting everything else and made assumptions
21:11 that it would affect him the same way.
21:13 Did you hear what I just said? He looked at what the wind was doing to the water
21:22 and thought that the wind would do that to him. He looked at what the wind was doing to the boat
21:27 and thought that the wind would do that to him, not knowing that when God gives you a word,
21:32 he makes you windproof.
21:33 That just because everything else is being blown around doesn't mean you're going to be blown
21:43 around. Just because it's happening to everybody around you doesn't mean it's going to happen to
21:49 you. God specializes in Passover blessings. The feast of Passover was in commemoration
21:58 of a Passover blessing. When everything was happening in Egypt, down that road and down
22:05 that street, God told Moses, "Tell the people to take the blood from the lamb. Put the blood from
22:11 the lamb on the doorpost, and when I see the blood, I'm going to pass over that house. It may
22:18 have every other house on the road, but when it gets to a house that's covered in the blood,
22:23 I'm going to pass over that house."
22:30 Peter begins to sink, and it was fear that sank him, not the wind.
22:40 So, here's the issue. Peter saw his goat doing something in public.
22:46 "I don't have time. I don't have time. I don't have time."
22:53 It's the principle of exposure. Exposure awakens in you an appetite for something
23:02 you didn't previously have an appetite for until you got exposed to it.
23:11 Did you hear what I just said? He uses exposure to create inspiration in you to do something you
23:19 didn't know was possible until he puts you in the proximity of somebody doing it.
23:23 He'd been on water his whole life as a fisherman. He never tried to walk on water
23:31 until he got in the proximity of somebody that showed him walking on water was possible.
23:39 Now, when we don't understand how God uses exposure, the enemy will pervert exposure,
23:45 and he will have you become jealous of what you're supposed to be inspired by.
23:48 I got to go. Jealousy is mismanaged exposure, and if some people would stop hating on you,
23:56 they could learn from you. Let me go to this side. If some people would stop being intimidated,
24:05 they could see what's possible. Here's my point. He tries to do what Jesus did in public
24:14 without doing what Jesus did in private. He tried to do what Jesus did in verse 25
24:19 without doing what Jesus did in verse 23. "Pastor, what did Jesus do in verse 23?" Verse 23 says,
24:26 "And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up to the mountain by himself to pray."
24:31 That's what he did.
24:37 So, in verse 23, he prayed. He was exposed to the same wind Peter was exposed to,
24:47 but because he was prayed up, the wind didn't create fear.
24:57 Y'all missed it. See, sometimes you're blaming the wind when it's not the wind,
25:03 but your interpretation of the wind and your assumption of what the wind means.
25:08 Jesus was exposed to the same wind, but because he was prayed up, his heart was insulated from fear.
25:21 Peter tried to do what Jesus did in public without doing what he did in private,
25:29 and that's the Christian conundrum. That's the challenge for many Christians. We're trying to do
25:36 what Jesus did in public. We're trying to do verse 25, "Love your enemies."
25:42 You can't do that without verse 23. "If any man will follow me, he must deny himself,
25:53 take up his cross, and follow me." That's verse 25. You can't do that without verse 23.
26:04 "Bless them that persecute you. Pray for them that despitefully misuse you."
26:13 That's verse 25. You can't do that
26:18 without verse 23. "Whosoever wants to save his life must lose it."
26:29 "Whoever loses his life will save it." That's verse 25. We can't do that without verse 23.
26:37 We're trying to do what he did without doing what he did.
26:43 And so, as we prepare to go into the last month of a year, I think it's imperative and it's important
26:54 for us to understand the significance of not just trying to engage in the activity that Jesus
27:04 engaged in, but to adopt some of the attributes that Jesus modeled for us. And there are a number
27:12 of attributes that we should and could explore, but as we close out this "God Didn't Say That"
27:18 series, there's one that hit my heart this week so heavy that sometimes I have a word.
27:25 This week, I felt a burden.
27:28 Did you hear what I said? This burden is why I'm here today. I was thinking about taking this day
27:36 off, but the burden... I won't even bother. The burden will get you out of bed.
27:49 A burden will make you change your plans. A burden will make you make adjustments.
27:56 I felt a burden to talk about this attribute that I think is extremely important but often overlooked
28:06 is an under-emphasized attribute that Jesus models for you and I. It is an attribute
28:13 that is a prerequisite to possessing all of God's promises, and it is an attribute called assertiveness.
28:22 Look at, pastor, this is your season. You better hear me. See, you better hear me.
28:34 Thank you. You better hear me. This is your season for assertiveness.
28:39 Did you hear what I just said? And this is one of the character traits of Jesus,
28:51 unfortunately, that many people under-emphasize or unaware of
28:54 because we confuse Jesus's humility with passivity.
29:02 Jesus was humble, but he wasn't passive.
29:04 Did you hear what I just said? He wasn't passionate. He's actually passionate, right?
29:11 Right? Come on, during Lent, what do we explore during Lent? We explore the passion of Christ.
29:17 He wasn't passive.
29:25 He was assertive. So, the Jesus that we've curated in our head may be a passive Jesus,
29:33 but if you take the Jesus that we've curated in our head and we proof text that Jesus with the
29:38 Jesus in the Bible, then the Jesus of the Bible calls into question this curation of Jesus that
29:44 we have in our head because the Jesus of the Bible says stuff like this. Y'all not ready for this.
29:49 Jesus of the Bible says stuff like this. In Matthew chapter 6, verse number 5, Jesus of the Bible
29:54 engaged in corrective teaching. I'm about to show y'all something here that you can't do if you're
29:59 passive. Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray and he says, "And when you pray, don't be like
30:07 the hypocrites." See that? You see how quiet it got right there? See, because that debunks some of
30:14 our view of Jesus. He said, "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites." It got a little quiet at
30:19 the 1030 when I hit this part. I'm going to see if the 1230, see if y'all respond a little better.
30:23 It says, "For they love to pray standing in synagogues and on the corners of streets that
30:29 they may be seen by men." They're praying to be impressive, not praying to be heard.
30:37 And here's what's scary. Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward." What's their
30:46 reward? What they really wanted. They wanted to be seen. That's what they get. But their prayer
30:51 doesn't get answered. That's their reward. They want it to be presented as spiritual, so that's
30:59 what they get. But let me break this down. I'm going to see if I can get at least 17 amens right
31:05 here. I'm going to see if I believe it. I'm believing for 37. Here it is. Let's simplify this down to its
31:12 common denominator. You have a religious leader, a rabbi, Jesus. They're all Jewish, right? Who's
31:18 telling other up-and-coming religious leaders about the spiritual discipline of prayer.
31:24 Would you agree? All right. And he is using other religious leaders that are in the same faith
31:34 as an example of what not to be like.
31:37 That was 33 amens. I was believing for 37.
31:46 Just bring it down to its lowest common denominator. That's what happened.
31:49 It's like Jesus saying, "I know you grew up in the synagogue,
31:53 and you've seen them doing this. And I know you like it,
31:58 but don't do it."
32:03 Because everything we like, God don't.
32:14 See?
32:15 That's not passive.
32:24 Corrective teaching. He also engaged in cleansing the temple.
32:28 Come on. There's exploitation going on in the temple.
32:34 Y'all follow me? So when people would come to the temple to offer sacrifice,
32:42 let's say if they came from a far distance, they couldn't bring a sacrifice.
32:45 So they would have to buy a sacrifice at the temple.
32:48 So what people were doing was, who were selling the sacrifices, they were price gouging.
32:55 They know you got to have a sacrifice, and you didn't bring a lamb with you from home.
33:03 So the only way you're going to get one is you get one from here.
33:06 So I'm going to raise the price and exploit you.
33:10 And when Jesus saw that, he went into the temple, don't sanitize the text,
33:15 and turned them tables over.
33:18 Now let me ask y'all something. How do you think he turned them over?
33:24 Excuse me.
33:25 Excuse me.
33:29 Definitely not.
33:39 And said, "It is written that my father's house should be a house of prayer, but you
33:48 have made it into something, a dinner feast that my father never intended.
33:53 You like it. He don't, and you don't even know it."
33:57 He said, "Y'all packed in here, and he don't like it."
34:06 I can take you to the Old Testament and show you Malachi, when he told the people, he said,
34:09 "I wish I would shut the doors of the temple."
34:11 He said, "I'm not even receiving that, what you're offering me."
34:15 He says, "You lighten the fires of the coals for that sacrifice."
34:20 He said, "You doing it."
34:21 He said, "You bringing me," Malachi 1, he said, "If I'm your father, where my honor?"
34:24 He said, "You bringing me the lame and the blind as a sacrifice."
34:30 So what they would do is they would take the best calf, they'd take that to the market and
34:33 get money for it.
34:34 The calf that had two legs, that's the one they would sacrifice.
34:37 The lamb that's blind is running into every other lamb.
34:41 They taking that lamb and bringing that to Jesus, to God.
34:44 God's like, "I wish you wouldn't even bring that."
34:47 He says, "Would you do that to your governor?"
34:49 He said, "You bringing me what's left, not what's right."
34:56 And you think I got to accept it when only the desperate don't have a standard.
35:04 A standard means there are certain things you don't accept.
35:11 I'm done, Tarrio.
35:17 Here it is.
35:17 That's not passive.
35:21 Corrective teaching, not passive.
35:24 Cleansing the temple, not passive.
35:27 Jesus had a history of confronting troublemakers.
35:30 Watch this.
35:31 In John chapter number 13, when Jesus has said these things, verse 21, he says, "He was
35:36 troubled in spirit and testified, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.'
35:39 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke.
35:44 Now there was one leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved.
35:48 Simon Peter therefore mentioned to him," watch this, "to ask him who he talking about."
35:53 So this is John.
35:55 John writes about himself in a very flattering way.
35:59 It's just like John, just say your name, the one whom Jesus loved.
36:02 No, really, that's the way John says it.
36:06 John's like, "John, calm down."
36:08 So he says, "Ask him who he talking about."
36:15 So here it is.
36:17 Let's contemporize this.
36:19 You have Friendsgiving.
36:20 There's 12 of you at the table.
36:25 You hosting.
36:27 You say, "Somebody around here gonna betray me."
36:31 And somebody say, "Who?"
36:35 Now in our current contemporary Christianity, we would say something like, "I'm not gonna say."
36:40 Not Jesus.
36:44 Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it."
36:56 Now,
36:57 they said, "Who is gonna do it?"
37:05 Say, "When I put this tortilla in this spinach dip, whoever I give it to, that's the person."
37:13 Nothing passive about that.
37:21 He's not passive.
37:26 God didn't say being pious means being passive.
37:33 Possessing any promise of God requires assertiveness.
37:39 Liberation requires assertiveness.
37:42 If I'm gonna be free, I gotta be assertive.
37:44 Power doesn't concede without a demand.
37:46 That's why God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go."
37:50 He didn't tell Moses to ask Pharaoh.
37:53 'Cause you can't negotiate with that which is holding you hostage.
37:56 Some of you playing with bondage and flirting with bondage and
38:04 playing footsie with bondage.
38:05 The devil is a liar.
38:06 There's no elevation without assertiveness.
38:14 If anything's gonna get better, I gotta try to make it better.
38:17 Somebody say these words.
38:20 I'm done, Tariel.
38:21 Fix it.
38:21 Fix it.
38:22 You know, I don't have time.
38:26 You know the Holy Spirit is the Pneuma Christos.
38:30 Christ is not Jesus' last name.
38:32 Christ means anointed one.
38:33 So the Pneuma Christos is Pneuma Spirit.
38:37 It's the Spirit of Christ.
38:38 That's why Jesus told disciples, "I have to leave 'cause I'm here in bodily form, but I'm not in you."
38:48 So I need to leave so that you can be animated by and with the thing that's enabling me to do
38:55 what I'm doing and greater works than these you shall do.
38:58 He said, "It's better for you if I go."
39:00 So the anointed one is on the inside of you and me, and the anointing is a problem solver.
39:09 It removes burdens.
39:15 That's a problem.
39:17 And destroys yokes.
39:18 That's a problem.
39:20 So stuff that's broke, we've been anointed to fix.
39:29 Past, I don't like the state of my relationship.
39:35 Fix it.
39:36 But it's not gonna happen by magic.
39:40 It requires assertiveness.
39:46 Any ground you take requires assertiveness.
39:48 This is what the battles in the Old Testament is about.
39:52 God's not condoning violence.
39:53 He's showing you what is for you sometimes has to be fought for.
39:58 Even though Canaan land is the promised land, there are giants you have to overthrow.
40:05 You gotta try to take it.
40:06 You don't get Canaan, peace that passes all understanding, without assertiveness.
40:13 You don't get joy unspeakable full of glory without assertiveness.
40:16 If I'm making sense, say yes.
40:20 Liberation and elevation and also collaboration requires assertiveness.
40:26 You can't be your best self by yourself.
40:29 God didn't create us to be codependent or hyper-independent.
40:33 Hyper-independence is a trauma response.
40:36 He created us to be interdependent.
40:39 There are other people that are rich where you're poor.
40:42 And you gotta be assertive about connecting with the right people.
40:45 That's some of our problem.
40:48 You have no relational standard, so you have no relational filter.
40:50 So you want anybody that want you.
40:56 Jesus picked his team.
41:03 And he didn't accept everybody that showed interest.
41:11 Some people he vetted and they didn't even know they were being vetted.
41:14 I want to follow you.
41:16 Come on.
41:17 Hold on.
41:17 I gotta go back and bury my dead dad.
41:19 Let the dead bury the dead.
41:20 Come on.
41:21 He's not being insensitive to the father.
41:25 He's sure, I'm sure he would have let him go to the funeral.
41:27 He's trying to let him know that you can't have a convenient commitment.
41:31 He's like, I got a job.
41:39 I got a job.
41:40 He's like, I got three years and I got to squeeze everything I can out of these three years.
41:45 I can't have time.
41:47 I can't surround myself with convenient commitment.
41:50 And that's what some of our relationships look like.
41:55 They only commit it when it's convenient.
42:06 But some of the relationships you need, you got to be intentional about.
42:11 And adults aren't good at that because we're wrestling with idolatry of image.
42:18 I don't want them to think, um.
42:21 But if you read Jesus picking his team, he goes to Peter and says,
42:32 "Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men."
42:35 Peter didn't ask to follow him.
42:36 He asked Peter.
42:38 And the Bible says immediately they left their nets and followed him.
42:45 Because the people you need have nets.
42:49 Most of the people Jesus called were busy already.
42:57 Because the people that can actually add value are already adding value somewhere.
43:11 It requires assertiveness.
43:18 And Jesus models this for us.
43:22 I know some people say, "P.D. no, no, no, no, no.
43:25 I'm assertive."
43:26 Maybe.
43:28 Or are you aggressive?
43:29 I'm done.
43:40 I'm assertive.
43:43 No, no, no.
43:43 I'm aggressive.
43:44 Assertiveness as a life approach involves confidently pursuing one's own interests,
43:49 goals, and rights while equally respecting those of others.
43:52 Yeah.
43:53 It embodies a balanced way of living that allows individuals to express their desires
44:00 and opinions openly and respectfully, make decisions that honor their needs,
44:04 and set boundaries without infringing on the rights of others.
44:06 This approach fosters self-respect, effective decision-making, and positive relationships,
44:10 contributing to fulfilling and a respectful existence.
44:13 But aggression is characterized by a tendency to confront, to dominate,
44:21 or to impose one's will on others, often with little to no regard of their feelings or rights.
44:26 It's manifest in pursuing goals, desires, or interests at the expense of others,
44:31 using intimidation or force to get one's way,
44:37 and reacting to challenges or perceived threats with hostility or violence.
44:42 I'm assertive.
44:45 That's aggressive.
44:46 Assertiveness is a balance of lion and lamb.
44:50 Those are the two traits that describe Jesus.
44:52 Aggressiveness is wolf.
44:55 And some people are in a season where you're too much lamb,
45:03 and others you're in a season where you're too much wolf.
45:07 And what God's calling you to is lamb and lion.
45:13 And if you're too much lamb, you're too much lamb out of fear.
45:20 And if you're too much wolf, you're too much wolf out of fear.
45:22 Because something happened and made you one.
45:26 And now you think you've got to be one.
45:30 When I'm done, when we're in a season that's similar to what Jesus—I really feel this,
45:38 the urgency of this—we're in a season that's captured here in the text.
45:42 The Bible says Jesus is 12 years old.
45:45 His family's going to Jerusalem for a feast.
45:48 And they are headed back home.
45:50 There's a cohort of family.
45:52 So they're assuming Jesus is in the back with cousins.
45:55 And they realize after three days, he's not with them.
45:58 So they frantically go back to Jerusalem, and they find him in the temple, 12 years old,
46:02 asking questions and listening to answers from spiritual leaders.
46:08 And they go to him and they say, "We've been looking for you.
46:11 What are you doing?"
46:12 He said, "What do you mean what I'm doing?"
46:13 "Don't you know I have to be about me?"
46:18 "My father's business."
46:19 He said, "I'm in a season that requires me to stand on business."
46:25 Here it is.
46:29 I'm done.
46:29 We're not in our 12th year literally, but I want you to hear me spiritually.
46:35 Some of us are in a 12th year season.
46:37 I am.
46:38 Where the wolf has gotten you as far as he can take you.
46:47 And the lamb has gotten you as far as he can take you.
46:50 This next season requires lion and lamb.
46:55 It requires assertiveness.
47:02 So I don't know who you are.
47:07 I don't know if you need more relational assertiveness in this season.
47:12 I don't know if you need more vocational assertiveness in your season.
47:17 Vocation deals with calling.
47:18 Occupation, what you're paid for.
47:20 Vocation, what you're made for.
47:21 You're really winning when you get paid for what you're made for.
47:25 Somebody, come on now, somebody say, "I receive."
47:32 So when we say that, that's not just talk.
47:36 Faith takes personal possession of God's promises.
47:38 Is that right?
47:39 Faith looks at what is written in the Bible to all and say, "I receive that for me."
47:46 Maybe you got to be more assertive in that area.
47:48 Financial assertiveness, spiritual assertiveness, I don't know.
47:51 But you're in a chapter, some of us, you're in a year 12 season.
47:57 Well, you got to be assertive.
48:06 Because what's for you sometimes has to be fought for.
48:14 You don't get peace that passes all understanding without a fight.
48:18 You don't get joy unspeakable full of glory without a fight.
48:24 You don't get a marriage that honors the Father,
48:27 that mirrors Christ's relationship with the church, and that satisfies you.
48:31 See, we got to raise the standard from just staying.
48:41 Right now, the standard is just staying.
48:45 It's a pretty low standard.
48:47 Standard should be satisfaction.
48:50 Not that that person replaces God, but that person satisfies me in the areas
48:59 that God ordained that person to satisfy me.
49:03 You think you're going to get that with a conversation?
49:09 You think you're going to get that without having to repeat yourself?
49:11 You think you're going to get that without assertiveness?
49:16 And here's what the Holy Spirit put on my heart for this service.
49:20 It's my third time speaking this message.
49:24 I speak it differently because every crowd's different.
49:26 But here's what's on my heart for this service.
49:37 I need to pray against.
49:40 Now, this thing is not a spirit, but it's caused by a spirit, a spirit of fatigue.
49:46 I heard the Holy Ghost.
49:50 Because here's some of your testimony.
49:56 I sense it.
49:57 Be damn tired.
50:04 I tried.
50:05 I feel like it's working.
50:10 And I'm not quitting.
50:14 But if you want me to be honest, I'm so tired.
50:20 PD, if I can be real with you, I'm tired of believing.
50:26 I feel like I've been in faith so long.
50:32 I feel like I've been in faith so long.
50:34 My faith weak, PD.
50:38 I'm tired.
50:42 PD, I'm giving it all I got.
50:45 I just don't have much left.
50:48 And here is one of the reasons I know this is satanic influence.
50:59 Because the apostle Paul said, don't become weary.
51:03 In well doing.
51:06 For in due season, listen to me, you will reap if.
51:11 If you faint not.
51:16 Simon, Peter, I prayed for you.
51:20 That your faith fail not.
51:28 We're going to go, but I need to.
51:30 The Holy Spirit drop that in me for this service.
51:33 We're going to pray.
51:36 For this spirit of fatigue, come unto me.
51:42 All you who are weary.
51:45 And heavy laden.
51:47 And you shall find rest for your souls.
51:52 Father, I pray right now.
51:55 In the name of Jesus.
51:58 For every heart that is filled with fatigue.
52:03 Your people are tired.
52:06 Worn down.
52:09 But you said if we wait on you, you'd renew our strength.
52:13 So I pray for renewal of strength.
52:16 You said times of refreshing come from the Lord.
52:19 I pray for that right now in your presence.
52:21 Refreshing over your people.
52:23 I thank you that you're sending a second wind.
52:26 To revive, to renew, to restore.
52:29 I thank you for resurrections of hope.
52:32 Of focus, of joy.
52:34 I thank you for redeeming and reclaiming of dreams and visions.
52:38 That you have put on the inside of your people.
52:42 And we say over your people.
52:44 Not one of your words that you have spoken over their life.
52:48 Will fall to the ground.
52:50 For your word does not return to you void.
52:52 But it accomplishes all you send it to do.
52:55 And it will prosper the thing wherein you send it.
52:59 So I thank you for rejuvenation.
53:02 I thank you for resurrection.
53:04 I thank you for replenishment.
53:07 And I thank you for the strength to run on.
53:09 And to see what the end is going to be.
53:13 We pray this over your people.
53:15 In Jesus name.
53:17 Somebody say I receive it.
53:19 Clap your hands.
53:22 1230.
53:23 [APPLAUSE]
53:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]