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00:00:00 [MUSIC]
00:00:10 >> I don't have many announcements,
00:00:14 but to remind you that we are just weeks away
00:00:17 from the International Leadership Summit.
00:00:20 Come on somebody.
00:00:22 It is taking place in Dallas, Texas.
00:00:25 There are so many incredible people on
00:00:27 this roster that I am still learning about who's coming.
00:00:31 I heard Kirk Franklin is going to be there.
00:00:32 Adrian Houghton is going to be there.
00:00:34 Israel Houghton is coming.
00:00:36 Bishop Noel Jones, if you all are not here,
00:00:38 you see I grew up in this church and Bishop Noel Jones and
00:00:42 Bishop T.D. Jakes used to run revivals.
00:00:44 So you got to be old school baby.
00:00:46 They used to run revivals.
00:00:47 Now I was nine and 10 years old
00:00:49 catching the overflow of the Holy Ghost.
00:00:52 Bishop Jones and Bishop Jakes are going to tag team again and
00:00:55 lead us into an incredible encounter with the Lord.
00:01:00 What I love about the International Leadership Summit is that for
00:01:03 some of us we recognize that we are not
00:01:05 just leaders in our companies and organizations,
00:01:08 but we are leaders with the kingdom assignment.
00:01:12 When we have a kingdom assignment,
00:01:14 we have to understand how does this world work and function in
00:01:17 industries that allow us to have innovation but also how do we
00:01:21 infuse the light of the world into those industries and
00:01:25 the International Leadership Summit is exactly how we get the
00:01:28 tools to keep us on the cutting edge,
00:01:31 but also the spirit that keeps us anchored in the midst of
00:01:35 where God has called us.
00:01:37 There are some of us were called to continue building and
00:01:40 edifying the church.
00:01:41 And then there were others that are called into the
00:01:43 marketplace.
00:01:44 They're called into the entertainment industry.
00:01:46 And in order for them to make sure that they don't lose
00:01:49 themselves in the pursuit of what God has called them to do,
00:01:52 we need spaces like the International Leadership Summit
00:01:55 where we can connect with other people who understand what it's
00:01:59 like to be straddling that fence,
00:02:01 but with an intense focus on making sure that the kingdom is
00:02:05 established in literally every corner of the world.
00:02:09 Can you just thank God for leadership that has integrity
00:02:13 in a world where we are desperate for leadership.
00:02:16 If you haven't registered,
00:02:18 use the QR code that's on the screen so that you can make
00:02:21 sure that you are registered.
00:02:22 We are not streaming online.
00:02:24 So if you're thinking to yourself,
00:02:25 I'm going to catch it from home.
00:02:27 I want you to take another look at your calendar to see
00:02:29 whether or not you can make it in person with us so that we
00:02:33 can have you at the International Leadership Summit.
00:02:37 I find myself in Acts 1.
00:02:41 I am in verses 4 through 11.
00:02:47 I'm going to toggle in between the notes that I made last
00:02:51 night and what God gave me this morning.
00:02:53 So it may be a little reckless up here, but that's all right.
00:02:56 Y'all going to be patient with me because I trust what God
00:02:59 gave me and he going to pull me through this message.
00:03:03 He won't walk out on me. Come on somebody.
00:03:08 And if all else fails, I'm going to say, you know what?
00:03:10 We just need to worship. Worship team, come back.
00:03:12 That's when I run out of notes.
00:03:15 So we going to be here for 10 minutes or an hour.
00:03:17 I don't know. I don't know.
00:03:20 Okay. I am in Acts chapter 1, verse 4 through 11.
00:03:25 I changed my title and everything.
00:03:26 My title is a mirror and a model.
00:03:30 A mirror and a model. Y'all don't go, ooh, like that.
00:03:33 Cause then that puts more pressure on me.
00:03:35 I'm in the new King James version.
00:03:39 We're going to start in verse 4, context.
00:03:42 I always like to give context because I remember what it's
00:03:45 like being in church and people just start rambling off
00:03:47 scriptures and because I wasn't in my word real heavy.
00:03:50 I didn't have a clue what was happening.
00:03:51 So I'm going to give you a little backdrop.
00:03:53 So Jesus has been crucified, resurrected.
00:03:55 He's walking the earth with his disciples.
00:03:58 He walks the earth for 40 days after he has been resurrected
00:04:03 and he's coming to a point where he's about to make his
00:04:06 ascension into heaven.
00:04:09 And the disciples are all around him because they're trying
00:04:12 to just make sure that they're soaking up so much of his
00:04:15 presence. I mean,
00:04:15 they spent three years of ministry with him and then he was
00:04:18 crucified and they kind of scattered a little bit,
00:04:21 but then he was resurrected and just reinforce their faith
00:04:25 in Jesus.
00:04:27 And yet it is time for Jesus to transition to the right hand
00:04:31 of the father.
00:04:32 And he gives them some instructions on what they are going to
00:04:36 do now that they will no longer be connected to him in the
00:04:39 way that they have become accustomed.
00:04:42 And we start in verse 4,
00:04:43 he's giving these instructions and my text begins.
00:04:47 It says in being assembled together with them,
00:04:51 he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem,
00:04:55 but to wait for the promise of the father,
00:04:58 which he said, you have heard from me.
00:05:01 For John truly baptized with water,
00:05:04 but you shall be baptized with the Holy spirit.
00:05:08 Not many days from now.
00:05:09 Therefore, when they had come together,
00:05:13 they asked him saying, Lord,
00:05:15 will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
00:05:20 And he said to them,
00:05:21 it is not for you to know times or seasons,
00:05:25 which the father has put in his own authority,
00:05:29 but you shall receive power when the Holy spirit has come
00:05:34 upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and
00:05:39 in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
00:05:44 Now, when he had spoken these things, while they watched,
00:05:48 he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight.
00:05:53 And while they look steadfastly toward heaven,
00:05:56 as he went up, behold,
00:05:58 two men stood by them in white apparel who said,
00:06:02 who also said men of Galilee,
00:06:05 why do you stand gazing up into heaven?
00:06:08 The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven
00:06:13 will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.
00:06:18 Holy spirit, I need you.
00:06:20 Without you, I can do nothing.
00:06:25 I can say nothing that has any power to affect change,
00:06:30 but with you, God,
00:06:31 I honestly truly believe that people can be drawn closer to
00:06:36 who you know they are.
00:06:38 And so God,
00:06:39 I pray that you would allow me to rest in the unknown of
00:06:43 what this message holds,
00:06:45 that I would rely upon your spirit and your spirit alone.
00:06:49 And I pray God that the spirits in this room would be open
00:06:52 to receive only that which comes from you,
00:06:56 that speaks specifically to their circumstance.
00:06:59 God, we came here to experience your glory, your presence.
00:07:03 And I know that that is what you desire for us.
00:07:07 So in whatever way that happens, we say, yes, Lord.
00:07:11 No fear, no nerves, no distractions, no worries, no doubt.
00:07:16 Just your spirit and our spirit and conversation
00:07:21 until there's transformation.
00:07:23 In Jesus name I pray.
00:07:25 Amen.
00:07:27 Amen.
00:07:27 Let it rip.
00:07:30 Let it rip.
00:07:36 Okay, so I have been studying a concept called
00:07:41 social mirroring,
00:07:44 which when I was reading it on this psychologist website,
00:07:49 it didn't really make sense to me until I read it.
00:07:51 Like I had to do a lot of research until I finally
00:07:53 understood the concept.
00:07:56 The concept of social mirroring is that when we are in
00:08:00 conversation with someone or contact with someone,
00:08:03 we unconsciously begin to mirror the very thing
00:08:07 that they're doing.
00:08:08 I guess the only way I could explain this personally
00:08:12 is like if I'm watching someone clap from across the room
00:08:17 and they start double clapping,
00:08:19 all of a sudden before I can even control myself,
00:08:22 I have a double clap spirit.
00:08:23 I was a single clap girl.
00:08:26 And then I have a double clap spirit.
00:08:29 Unconsciously I begin mirroring what I saw.
00:08:33 This also happens when we're in communication with people.
00:08:38 Sometimes we're not even upset until they raise their voice
00:08:41 at us and then they raise their voice and we start raising
00:08:45 our voice because if you want to go, we can go.
00:08:47 If you're trying to tussle,
00:08:48 I'm mirroring the energy that is coming in my direction.
00:08:55 That's why they say with gentle parenting,
00:08:58 part of the,
00:08:59 part of the goal of gentle parenting is to model what you
00:09:03 want them to mirror.
00:09:05 So when your kids are having a meltdown and they're stressed
00:09:08 out or they're going off, instead of mirroring their
00:09:11 behavior, you model instead how they are to respond.
00:09:15 When they're in a stressful situation,
00:09:16 how they are to respond when they are angry,
00:09:19 we have to model sometimes what we want to mirror,
00:09:22 but that takes intentionality.
00:09:26 It's interesting though,
00:09:27 because most of us don't even realize that we are mirroring
00:09:31 what's happening around us,
00:09:34 that we're mirroring our culture, atmosphere,
00:09:37 and environment.
00:09:39 Some of us grew up in church,
00:09:40 but we didn't really have a relationship with God until we
00:09:43 got older,
00:09:44 even though we were singing and clapping and could quote
00:09:46 scriptures, not necessarily because it was coming from the
00:09:49 heart, but we were mirroring what was happening in our
00:09:52 atmosphere.
00:09:55 It happens in communities and cultures where you have to be
00:09:59 tough in order to survive.
00:10:00 You begin to learn exactly what it takes for you to survive.
00:10:03 Mirroring sometimes is a matter of survival,
00:10:07 emotionally, physically, professionally.
00:10:10 When you walk into a corporate space and you don't
00:10:12 understand the culture of the corporate space,
00:10:14 you look around to understand this is how we are supposed to
00:10:18 act here.
00:10:19 There is a reason why so many black women struggled with
00:10:21 wearing their natural hair or changing their hairstyles
00:10:24 when going into professional environments,
00:10:26 because they recognize if I want to survive here,
00:10:28 I have to mirror the atmosphere of where I've been called.
00:10:32 It's not until we come to a place where we choose to be
00:10:37 authentic, that we say,
00:10:39 there may be some things that I need to mirror,
00:10:41 but there are other things that I need to stay fixed in.
00:10:44 So I'm not constantly changing who I am,
00:10:47 no matter what environment I'm in.
00:10:48 Everyone knows that one person who gets in a relationship
00:10:52 and now all of a sudden they're into all of the things that
00:10:55 that person is into.
00:10:56 Girl, you wasn't even speaking French.
00:10:58 And now you walking around talking about
00:10:59 (speaking in foreign language)
00:11:00 Girl, if you,
00:11:02 you didn't got you a Frenchman.
00:11:03 Honey, men out here putting mask on their face and stuff,
00:11:09 cause you didn't mirrored my skincare.
00:11:10 And now you want your pores to close up.
00:11:12 When we're in relationship with people,
00:11:14 we begin to mirror their behaviors,
00:11:16 which is another reason why we have to be intentional about
00:11:20 who we are in close relationship with,
00:11:22 because you are going to model what I'm going to mirror,
00:11:26 or I'm going to mirror who you are.
00:11:28 And I have to make sure that I am okay,
00:11:30 mirroring who you are.
00:11:32 Most of us would have never ended up in toxic relationships.
00:11:37 If we would have been willing to ask ourselves,
00:11:40 do you really want this person to be your mirror?
00:11:43 Or are you trying to change them to be something they aren't
00:11:49 because you don't realize that in the moment,
00:11:52 you're trying to change them.
00:11:53 But in reality, they're making you more like them
00:11:55 because they have become your mirror.
00:11:58 Recognizing this unconscious notion to mirror socially
00:12:09 is part of what I believe God was setting as a foundation
00:12:15 for me to understand what it means to be made in his image.
00:12:20 I have a little mirror.
00:12:22 Brother Dillard, can you hand me the mirror, please?
00:12:24 Y'all, I'm not the illustration preacher, but here we are.
00:12:29 Thank you.
00:12:31 He watched me grow up.
00:12:32 Thank you, Brother Dillard.
00:12:33 Appreciate that.
00:12:34 Brother Dillard, I'm saying for real,
00:12:36 I'm not playing with y'all.
00:12:38 Okay?
00:12:39 Most of us are walking through life like this,
00:12:46 picking up whatever feelings and emotions
00:12:50 are presented in front of us.
00:12:52 You tell me how to speak and I'll speak that way.
00:12:59 We're on social media.
00:13:00 We go through the comments.
00:13:01 You tell me what to think and I'll just mirror your outrage.
00:13:05 We go home and in order to survive in our homes,
00:13:09 we have to match the energy.
00:13:10 I guess we're not speaking today.
00:13:12 Most of us are walking around and having a mirror
00:13:15 where our face is supposed to be,
00:13:17 where we're supposed to think on our own
00:13:19 and speak on our own.
00:13:21 Instead, we've just become mirrors.
00:13:22 This is why nobody really has authenticity anymore
00:13:26 because they would rather be a mirror
00:13:28 so that they can have a sense of belonging
00:13:30 than dare to be authentic and stand out
00:13:33 even if I don't look like anybody else who was in the room.
00:13:36 When scripture tells us that we're made in the image of God
00:13:44 in Genesis 1 and 27,
00:13:46 it says, can you put it on the screen for me?
00:13:49 So God created man in his own image
00:13:53 and the image of God, he created him.
00:13:57 Male and female, he created them.
00:13:59 Keep that on the screen for me.
00:14:01 That means that when God made you,
00:14:04 he said, I'm gonna make a mirror of who I am.
00:14:13 Okay, God help me.
00:14:15 Okay.
00:14:16 He's not talking about your skin color, your height.
00:14:20 He's talking about your spirit.
00:14:22 I want your spirit to look like my spirit.
00:14:27 Oh God.
00:14:29 Oh, I feel like he gonna help me today.
00:14:31 Okay.
00:14:32 Says, I'm gonna make you in my image on a spirit level.
00:14:37 And then in Genesis 1, 28, he tells them to do some things
00:14:42 that you can only do if you're made in his image.
00:14:46 Genesis 1, 28 says, then God blessed them.
00:14:49 And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply.
00:14:52 Fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion.
00:14:55 Dominion is the kind of word that can only come
00:14:58 if you have an image that looks like God.
00:15:00 God gave them a spirit for the mission.
00:15:03 Some of us just ask God to give us a mission.
00:15:08 What we should be asking God is to give me a spirit
00:15:11 for the mission.
00:15:12 God says, I got a mission for you,
00:15:15 but the mission only works if you have my image
00:15:18 in your spirit.
00:15:19 So where somebody looks at this message,
00:15:24 this scripture and they think to themselves,
00:15:26 that's a lot of responsibility.
00:15:28 I don't know if I can do that.
00:15:29 I don't know if I have the spirit for it.
00:15:31 God says, no, I gave them the spirit
00:15:33 so that when I gave them the command,
00:15:35 the command would be within reach.
00:15:40 When you have a spirit that reflects God's image,
00:15:45 when God gives you a word, you don't question the word.
00:15:48 So maybe the problem isn't God, can I have a word?
00:15:54 Can you give me a purpose?
00:15:55 What's my mission?
00:15:56 Maybe the question instead is God,
00:15:58 what type of spirit do I need to have?
00:16:00 The spirit is a spirit that looks like God's.
00:16:06 What happens in Genesis three,
00:16:10 when man is made in God's image,
00:16:14 is that the enemy comes
00:16:17 and he, I guess he cracks the mirror.
00:16:23 He says, did God really say?
00:16:30 Seems like just a question,
00:16:34 but it's really not just a question.
00:16:37 It is a question that changes the way you see God.
00:16:40 And if the enemy can get you to change the way you see God,
00:16:45 then it changes not just the way you see God,
00:16:48 but it also changes the way you see you.
00:16:50 So now I'm trying to figure out
00:16:57 how I can be made in the image of God,
00:16:59 but what if God isn't really who I thought he was?
00:17:05 What if I'm actually looking through a cracked mirror?
00:17:10 You can take the scripture down for me.
00:17:14 When I was studying for this message,
00:17:18 I was asking God,
00:17:19 how is it that we started off made in your image,
00:17:24 but then we ended up on the spirit level,
00:17:27 we're made in your image,
00:17:28 but then we ended up having to navigate the spirit of fear,
00:17:33 the spirit of lust, the spirit of depression,
00:17:36 spirits, I'm not talking about fleeting emotions,
00:17:38 fears and emotion, until it becomes a spirit.
00:17:42 Oh God, help me.
00:17:45 Okay.
00:17:46 The serpent distorts our image of God,
00:17:53 and it opens up our spirit, it cracks our spirit,
00:17:59 and the enemy exploits the cracks in our spirit.
00:18:03 If you've ever had something happen in your life
00:18:08 that made you question God,
00:18:10 or question what God can do to you,
00:18:12 or through you, or for you,
00:18:14 then you did not just arrive to that place on your own,
00:18:18 you arrived to that place as a result of the enemy
00:18:21 distorting your image of God.
00:18:24 And sometimes our distortion happens through family circles.
00:18:30 Sometimes that distortion happens when we come in a church
00:18:33 and we leave with church hurt,
00:18:35 because we come into it thinking
00:18:37 that we can have an open spirit,
00:18:39 and then when we recognize that the spirit that we had
00:18:42 that was open has actually resulted
00:18:44 in us experiencing a wound,
00:18:46 now we have a broken spirit.
00:18:49 The reason why I took the time to separate
00:18:54 the emotion of fear and the emotions of anxiety
00:18:57 versus a spirit is because you can have an emotion
00:19:01 without an emotion changing what you believe.
00:19:04 When God disrupted my message this morning,
00:19:11 and none of it made sense,
00:19:12 or allowed the enemy to do it,
00:19:14 and he's gonna use it for good,
00:19:15 I don't know what's gonna happen,
00:19:16 we'll see in about 20 minutes,
00:19:17 I had to get to a place where I said,
00:19:19 even though I have fear, and I have nerves,
00:19:22 and I have anxiety right now,
00:19:24 I still believe that the spirit of God
00:19:26 has sent me into this room,
00:19:28 and so there are some moments
00:19:29 where I have to trust the spirit,
00:19:31 because my emotions could invade my spirit,
00:19:34 and now I have a spirit of fear
00:19:36 instead of letting the fear just pass on by me.
00:19:39 Sometimes you gotta stand in the truth
00:19:41 and the weight of the spirit,
00:19:42 regardless of what you feel,
00:19:44 because if I let my feelings take over and drive me,
00:19:48 then I'm now being governed by my fear,
00:19:50 I'm governed by my emotions
00:19:52 instead of being governed by the spirit,
00:19:54 and I am all for therapy,
00:19:56 I have a therapist,
00:19:57 you do have to work through your feelings and your emotions,
00:20:00 but you have to make sure
00:20:02 that what was supposed to be a feeling
00:20:03 does not become the place where you reside,
00:20:06 or you will have a spirit of shame,
00:20:08 you'll have a spirit of lust,
00:20:10 you'll have a spirit of pornography,
00:20:12 there are spirits out here,
00:20:13 and if your spirit is open,
00:20:15 the image that you're supposed to reflect
00:20:20 will be distorted.
00:20:22 (audience shouting)
00:20:25 For God is not giving you the spirit of fear,
00:20:27 why does Paul tell Timothy this?
00:20:30 Because he's about to transition into a space of leadership,
00:20:34 and Timothy is nervous and timid,
00:20:37 and what should have just been a feeling and emotion
00:20:40 has the potential to actually become his spirit,
00:20:43 but Paul reminds him
00:20:44 that God did not give you the spirit of fear,
00:20:47 but he gave you the spirit of power,
00:20:50 love, and a sound mind,
00:20:52 and sometimes you gotta rebuke
00:20:54 those spirits that are trying to get into the cracks
00:20:57 of the image that you have been created in.
00:21:00 I know it's a little old school,
00:21:01 and I know we don't always rebuke things
00:21:03 the way that we should,
00:21:05 but when the devil starts rolling up on you,
00:21:07 if you give him space instead of rebuking him,
00:21:10 you will allow the power of God to be diluted,
00:21:13 but there is something to be said
00:21:15 about somebody who doesn't mind saying,
00:21:17 "Satan, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.
00:21:22 I rebuke you.
00:21:23 You cannot have my house.
00:21:25 You cannot have my family.
00:21:27 I'm going to the therapist
00:21:28 because depression shall not be my portion.
00:21:31 I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,"
00:21:33 'cause you don't have to just rebuke.
00:21:35 You can start getting active with that thing, too.
00:21:38 Not only do I rebuke you,
00:21:39 but faith without works is dead.
00:21:41 I've got faith that when I rebuke you,
00:21:44 I put you under my feet,
00:21:46 so I'm going to start moving
00:21:47 like the rebuking has positioned me
00:21:50 to have my steps ordered again.
00:21:52 Get out of my spirit.
00:21:55 I dare you to yell, yell it.
00:21:57 Get out of my spirit.
00:21:58 Get out of my spirit.
00:22:00 Get out of my spirit.
00:22:01 Fear, you got to go.
00:22:02 Get out of my spirit.
00:22:04 Anxiety, you got to go.
00:22:05 Get out of my spirit.
00:22:07 Lust, you got to go.
00:22:08 Get out of my spirit.
00:22:09 Shame, you got to go.
00:22:11 Get out of my spirit.
00:22:12 If I was doing it in my own power,
00:22:14 I'd have a problem,
00:22:16 but I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.
00:22:19 I serve you, notice, in the name of Jesus.
00:22:22 Out of my spirit, out of my spirit.
00:22:27 I may have been cracked, but it won't be the end.
00:22:29 I may have been wounded, but it won't be the end.
00:22:32 He makes all things new.
00:22:34 I wish the devil would try and get through the crack.
00:22:37 When I get finished being in the presence of God,
00:22:42 wherever there was a crack,
00:22:44 his presence is going to fill.
00:22:46 (audience cheering)
00:22:49 Somebody's getting ready to get their spirit back.
00:22:55 Somebody's getting ready to get their reflection back.
00:22:58 Somebody's going to leave this place
00:23:00 looking like the image of God that you were created to be.
00:23:04 (audience cheering)
00:23:07 Something got in your spirit.
00:23:10 Oh.
00:23:12 (audience cheering)
00:23:15 (dramatic music)
00:23:21 Intruder alert, intruder alert.
00:23:25 I got what's wrong with you.
00:23:27 You've been trying to figure out what's wrong with you.
00:23:29 I hear God saying, "There's an intruder in your spirit."
00:23:33 It started off heartbreak,
00:23:34 but now you don't know what your life is worth anymore.
00:23:37 That's because what should have just been a heartbreak
00:23:40 has become the state that you live in.
00:23:42 Intruder, intruder, intruder.
00:23:47 There's an intruder in your spirit.
00:23:50 There's an intruder, that's why you can't sleep at night.
00:23:52 There's an intruder in your spirit.
00:23:54 That's why you don't know what to do with your life anymore.
00:23:57 There's an intruder in your spirit.
00:23:59 That's why suicidal ideation is taking over.
00:24:02 There's an intruder in your spirit.
00:24:05 Oh God.
00:24:09 But you can't stay here.
00:24:10 You can't stay here.
00:24:13 You got to come into agreement
00:24:16 about what your spirit is supposed to look like.
00:24:19 Because when you know what your spirit
00:24:20 is supposed to look like,
00:24:22 you will not settle for anything less
00:24:24 than what your spirit is supposed to look like.
00:24:27 I don't want to forgive you, but I got to forgive you.
00:24:29 'Cause I know what my spirit is supposed to look like.
00:24:32 I'm mad at you, but I can't be mad any longer
00:24:35 'cause I got to maintain
00:24:36 what my spirit is supposed to look like.
00:24:38 I can't be who I'm supposed to be in the earth
00:24:41 without the right spirit.
00:24:44 (audience cheering)
00:24:47 It's in your spirit.
00:24:54 It's in your spirit.
00:24:58 The power and the problem.
00:25:03 Living in the same spirit.
00:25:07 (audience cheering)
00:25:10 So the mirror,
00:25:14 you can't even see yourself anymore.
00:25:19 You had these visions.
00:25:25 You had these hopes.
00:25:28 You wanted to break generational curses.
00:25:32 You wanted to write a book that would help someone
00:25:35 who had gone through what you'd been through.
00:25:37 You wanted to introduce wholeness into your family.
00:25:40 You wanted to take care of your body,
00:25:41 but we can't just keep taking blow after blow after blow
00:25:45 until it starts to affect our spirit.
00:25:48 And you'll know that it broke your spirit
00:25:50 when it changes what you believe.
00:25:52 (audience cheering)
00:25:55 I can't believe on that level no more
00:26:00 'cause my spirit got broken.
00:26:05 (audience cheering)
00:26:08 It wasn't just a heartbreak, it changed what I believe.
00:26:13 It wasn't just grief, it changed what I believe.
00:26:17 It's not just a disease, it changed what I believe.
00:26:20 I'm not just going through with the kid now.
00:26:22 I don't believe that I'm the right parent for the job.
00:26:25 I'm questioning myself.
00:26:26 This thing broke my spirit.
00:26:28 (audience cheering)
00:26:34 Oh God.
00:26:35 God.
00:26:38 God says to Sarah,
00:26:42 you're gonna bear a child in your old age.
00:26:45 And she laughs
00:26:47 because I can't even believe on that level
00:26:53 'cause being barren for so long
00:26:56 has made it impossible for me to believe
00:27:00 that I can produce after this much emptiness.
00:27:04 So much so that God can send a word for you
00:27:07 and you reject the very word God sends for you
00:27:10 because you don't see yourself the way God sees you.
00:27:12 Have you ever had God send a word for you
00:27:22 that if you're honest, you don't have the spirit to match?
00:27:27 Come on, man.
00:27:31 (audience cheering)
00:27:34 If we were to be honest, and we gotta be honest
00:27:38 'cause that's the only way
00:27:38 we really experience transformation.
00:27:40 This isn't just playing church.
00:27:41 We gotta be real about this thing.
00:27:43 I don't know if I have the spirit
00:27:49 for where you've called me
00:27:52 because I already feel lonely.
00:28:00 And I already feel afraid.
00:28:02 And it looks like if I continue going down this journey
00:28:07 that there's only more loneliness,
00:28:09 more betrayal, more isolation.
00:28:11 And I don't think I'm strong enough
00:28:15 to be who you've called me to be.
00:28:17 But you keep calling me to be it anyway.
00:28:29 I wish one of us could just give up.
00:28:31 But he's too faithful to give up.
00:28:36 So you gotta grow up.
00:28:37 You have to grow up.
00:28:43 You're gonna have to grow into the person who can be
00:28:48 who God says you can be.
00:28:49 And I don't mean growing by pretending.
00:28:52 I mean growing by in the spirit realm.
00:28:54 You say, "God, I don't have the spirit for it."
00:28:57 But I heard that if you dwell inside of me
00:28:59 that you can increase the capacity of my spirit.
00:29:03 So God, when I say fill me up to a overflow,
00:29:05 I mean let me overflow
00:29:07 until I have enough capacity for the overflow.
00:29:10 And then let me grow some more
00:29:12 so I have capacity for that overflow.
00:29:14 When Jesus calls the disciples,
00:29:24 he says to the disciples, "Follow me
00:29:28 and I will make you fishers of men."
00:29:31 Oh God.
00:29:32 I almost called this message made for this.
00:29:38 There's so much.
00:29:42 I was just in my own world in this text.
00:29:45 I thought maybe this is the text.
00:29:47 Maybe I need to leave with this one
00:29:48 because there was so much about this.
00:29:50 When I hear, "Follow me
00:29:50 and I will make you fishers of men."
00:29:52 For some reason, I've always heard that as a question.
00:29:55 Like he gave them an option, but it was a command.
00:29:59 He commanded them to move in a lane
00:30:06 that they were unfamiliar with.
00:30:07 And when he commanded them to move into that lane,
00:30:12 he doesn't say, "Follow me
00:30:14 and you will be a fisher of men."
00:30:15 He says, "Follow me and I will make you."
00:30:19 (congregation cheering)
00:30:22 I'm gonna make you into what I'm calling you for.
00:30:27 I'm gonna make you into, you're right, you're not there.
00:30:33 You're right, you may not have the spirit for it.
00:30:35 You're right, you may not have the technique.
00:30:37 You may not have the skills,
00:30:38 but when I get finished making you,
00:30:40 you'll be everything that you need to be.
00:30:43 When I get finished making you,
00:30:44 you're gonna know how to cast out the devils.
00:30:46 When I get finished making you,
00:30:48 you're gonna know how to balance the books.
00:30:49 When I get finished, you gotta make a marriage.
00:30:52 We get married, but then you gotta build a marriage.
00:30:55 You don't just raise kids, you gotta make these children.
00:30:58 You don't just start the business,
00:31:00 you gotta make a business.
00:31:01 And guess what?
00:31:02 When God makes you into something,
00:31:08 sometimes he uses failure to make you.
00:31:15 The disciples, he told them to cast out a devil,
00:31:18 it wouldn't come out.
00:31:20 He said, "Why couldn't it come out?"
00:31:21 He says, "This time, kind,
00:31:22 "only comes out by fasting and praying."
00:31:25 And it seemed like they failed,
00:31:26 but in reality, he was making them
00:31:28 by allowing them to fail.
00:31:30 Is it failure?
00:31:35 Or are they the tools that God is using to make you
00:31:38 into who God has called you to be?
00:31:43 And if you give up when you fail,
00:31:44 then you'll never be made into who God has called you to be.
00:31:47 So you gotta have enough humility to stay in the making,
00:31:51 even when it looks like you're failing,
00:31:52 to stay in the making.
00:31:54 Even when it means you gotta apologize,
00:31:55 you gotta stay in the making.
00:31:57 Even when it feels like, "I don't know what I'm doing,
00:31:59 "I gotta stay in the making,"
00:32:00 'cause he called me to this.
00:32:02 And I believe that he's calling me to make me,
00:32:04 not to make me look good, not to build my ego,
00:32:07 not to make other people jealous of me.
00:32:09 You see, you can't have the culture of the world
00:32:11 and the culture of the kingdom
00:32:13 when God is making you into something,
00:32:15 because you wanna be made into an ego.
00:32:17 You wanna be made into an idol.
00:32:19 And God's trying to make you into a disciple.
00:32:21 And when God makes you into a disciple,
00:32:23 you gotta humble yourself,
00:32:25 and you gotta be willing to look a little crazy,
00:32:27 and you gotta be willing to look like
00:32:29 you don't have it all together.
00:32:30 And you gotta be willing to look like your kids are crazy.
00:32:33 And how could I be saving everyone else
00:32:34 if my kids aren't together?
00:32:36 You gotta be willing to look like a fool,
00:32:38 because he uses the foolish things of the world
00:32:40 so you can look good,
00:32:42 or you can mess around and get foolish with this thing
00:32:44 and allow that failure to make you
00:32:47 into a better husband,
00:32:50 into a better parent.
00:32:53 Give me the spirit,
00:32:57 the spirit for this thing.
00:33:01 I'm trying to make you into something,
00:33:04 made for this.
00:33:07 And when you allow yourself to be made,
00:33:12 into what God is calling you,
00:33:14 you don't fold easy.
00:33:15 'Cause I didn't just walk into this.
00:33:20 I was made for this.
00:33:22 He didn't just hand me this.
00:33:25 He made me work for this.
00:33:27 I had to drown for this.
00:33:30 I had to feel like I could walk on water
00:33:31 and find out I could, but I couldn't at the same time.
00:33:35 I was made for this.
00:33:39 Made for this family,
00:33:41 made for this ministry,
00:33:43 made for this business.
00:33:44 I was made for this.
00:33:45 I was twisted and turned and contorted and challenged,
00:33:49 and people walked away from me.
00:33:51 I had to learn how to do it on my own.
00:33:52 I was made for this thing.
00:33:54 God's not just giving you things anymore,
00:33:56 because the mirror has been broken.
00:33:58 Now you have to work for that very thing
00:34:00 God has called you to.
00:34:02 And when it's over, you're gonna thank him
00:34:04 that he made you work for it.
00:34:05 But because you worked on it,
00:34:07 you know how to qualify what's the problem
00:34:09 and what's not a problem.
00:34:10 I thought that was a problem too,
00:34:12 but then I was made for this.
00:34:14 And I realized that the weapons form,
00:34:15 but they really don't prosper.
00:34:17 I realized that the gossip won't take you out.
00:34:19 I realized that they can walk away from you
00:34:21 and you can keep on walking.
00:34:23 How did I learn these lessons?
00:34:24 Because I was made for this.
00:34:26 How can I stand in a position of leadership?
00:34:28 Because I was made for this.
00:34:39 I want somebody crazy to say, "He's making me."
00:34:42 He's making me for this.
00:34:44 He's making me for this.
00:34:45 I want you to tell your fear,
00:34:46 he's making me for this.
00:34:48 I'm being made for this.
00:34:49 I'm being made for this.
00:34:51 The disciples, Jesus,
00:35:05 are being made back into the image of God.
00:35:10 They're like the beta group
00:35:14 of who will first experience what it means
00:35:17 to be in relationship with Jesus.
00:35:19 These 12 are the test group
00:35:24 who will have the benefit of being closely connected
00:35:30 with a model.
00:35:33 Oh gosh, 'cause they have a mirror,
00:35:36 but the mirror's been distorted.
00:35:38 And when your mirror has been distorted,
00:35:42 sometimes you need more than a mirror,
00:35:44 you need a model.
00:35:45 Jesus is going to be their model
00:35:53 until they're in a position
00:35:56 where the mirror can be seen properly,
00:35:59 their image that they've been made in by God.
00:36:04 Sometimes you need a mirror,
00:36:08 sometimes you need a model.
00:36:09 And in the time that they are following Jesus,
00:36:16 it's almost as if they have forgotten
00:36:20 that original prompting of,
00:36:22 "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."
00:36:26 I say that because when we find them in Acts,
00:36:29 they think that they've come to the end of the journey.
00:36:32 There are moments where we can become so consumed,
00:36:39 I wanna say this right,
00:36:42 by serving the model
00:36:46 that we forget that we're supposed to become a model.
00:36:56 I wish I could say that.
00:36:57 The first thing that he says to them
00:37:03 suggests that eventually I'm gonna put you on the front line
00:37:07 and when I put you on the front line,
00:37:10 you're gonna do what you see me modeling.
00:37:12 But sometimes we can become so comfortable
00:37:16 taking a back seat to what's happening in front of us
00:37:19 that we forget that there was always
00:37:22 supposed to be a transition
00:37:25 in which we would take over.
00:37:27 I'm gonna go to my notes.
00:37:32 Yeah, they're standing at a threshold,
00:37:39 I'm gonna take my time.
00:37:41 They're at a threshold.
00:37:46 I believe God gave me this message
00:37:49 because we're standing at a threshold.
00:37:54 We're at a transition
00:37:55 where those of us who have been modeling
00:38:01 are having to turn over what we have modeled
00:38:05 to people who feel ill-prepared to handle it.
00:38:09 We're an intergenerational church,
00:38:15 which means that there are some people here
00:38:19 who have modeled for us what it means to serve,
00:38:22 to be a leader in a community,
00:38:25 but then there's a generation coming up behind
00:38:27 that has become so comfortable with them taking the lead.
00:38:31 And like, if I did it, I would do it differently,
00:38:40 so I'm just not gonna do it at all.
00:38:41 And so we're relying on them to continue carrying batons
00:38:47 that have our names on them.
00:38:50 (congregation applauding)
00:38:53 Not realizing that they're looking for somebody
00:38:57 who can carry out what has been placed on the inside of them.
00:39:02 I wish I could say this better.
00:39:03 And maybe I'm just preaching my own message.
00:39:06 They're in a threshold, a threshold is when you transition.
00:39:12 Oh, I wrote down the definition, I wanna read it to you.
00:39:18 Oh, where is it?
00:39:20 It's not in here.
00:39:22 That's all right, say something, say it right quick
00:39:24 while I try and scroll through and find it.
00:39:26 (congregation laughing)
00:39:29 Boom, got it, okay, this is what we gonna do.
00:39:32 It is time for them to start working the glory
00:39:37 they have been exposed to.
00:39:39 They're at a threshold where they're going
00:39:42 from being observers of glory,
00:39:45 the occasional partakers, but for the most part,
00:39:48 they've been observers.
00:39:49 And to move into the glory that they have been exposed to.
00:39:54 I believe that God gave me this message
00:39:56 because there are people in this room
00:39:58 who are moving into another realm of glory.
00:40:01 And because you're moving into another realm of glory,
00:40:04 you are not exactly sure how do I proceed from here?
00:40:08 When we find them in Acts 1,
00:40:10 they're moving into another realm of glory,
00:40:12 but they don't know it yet, but God has prepared them.
00:40:15 And Jesus is telling them that I'm gonna give you something
00:40:19 to help you move into this next dimension of glory.
00:40:22 God helped me to say this.
00:40:24 I guess you could say this,
00:40:30 Jesus is about to send them out to fulfill a mission.
00:40:33 And up until this point, they didn't have to worry
00:40:39 about having cracks in their mirrors.
00:40:42 Because whenever they had cracks in their mirror,
00:40:44 they had access to Jesus.
00:40:46 And Jesus could help them in the moment.
00:40:49 He could help them in the moment
00:40:52 when they see this comes out by fasting and praying,
00:40:54 they had direct access to Jesus.
00:40:56 And it's a shame that we know how this story ends.
00:40:59 Because if we could for a moment,
00:41:01 just take a second and imagine what it's like
00:41:04 to lose your model.
00:41:06 (congregation murmuring)
00:41:10 To not have an example anymore.
00:41:15 To have a call, but no one who's gone ahead of you.
00:41:21 Forgot to put something in your spirit.
00:41:26 And then for it to look like he's left you with no one
00:41:30 to help you fulfill the mission assigned to your life.
00:41:36 And not only do I not have a model,
00:41:39 now you're asking me to step into a position
00:41:42 where I'm supposed to model something
00:41:45 without having a model myself.
00:41:48 Come on generational curse breakers.
00:41:50 What you trying to model?
00:41:52 You gave me something,
00:41:57 but I don't have anywhere to look anymore.
00:42:01 When we read this text, they said,
00:42:03 they just looked at the sky, he was gone.
00:42:06 How do I move from here?
00:42:13 How do I raise these kids?
00:42:20 How do I build this business?
00:42:22 How do I go for this doctorate?
00:42:24 I don't have a model.
00:42:25 Is there anybody in this room in uncharted territory
00:42:30 and you don't even have a model
00:42:32 for what it looks like to go through retirement?
00:42:34 A model for what it looks like to be a widower?
00:42:37 Is anybody in uncharted territory in this room?
00:42:40 I don't have a model for the way
00:42:41 that I wanna raise my children.
00:42:43 I don't have a model for the way
00:42:44 that I wanna handle my finances.
00:42:46 God sometimes puts us in positions
00:42:49 where we don't have a model.
00:42:52 Second Corinthians 3 and 17
00:43:01 is where this journey all began for me.
00:43:03 Because when most of us start talking
00:43:06 about going from glory to glory to glory, we get excited.
00:43:11 But the disciples are going from glory to glory in this text
00:43:16 and they look stressed.
00:43:18 Nobody tells you that when you go from glory
00:43:22 to glory to glory, that there's isolation connected to it.
00:43:25 Nobody tells you that when you go from glory
00:43:27 to glory to glory, that sometimes you question yourself,
00:43:30 that going from glory to glory is not the flex
00:43:33 that people want you to think it is.
00:43:34 Sometimes going to glory to glory means I went by myself.
00:43:37 Sometimes going from glory to glory meant
00:43:39 that people had to walk away from me.
00:43:41 Sometimes going from glory to glory meant
00:43:43 I did it feeling uncovered.
00:43:44 Sometimes going from glory to glory meant
00:43:46 I had a target on my back because he's asking them
00:43:50 to do something that he just got crucified for.
00:43:53 And you're telling me that this is what promotion looks like
00:43:56 that I'm putting myself in a position
00:43:58 where now I become a target, where now I can go
00:44:01 through the very pain that you went through.
00:44:04 Glory to glory to glory sometimes means
00:44:06 that before you get the resurrecting power,
00:44:08 you gotta be willing to be nailed to something.
00:44:11 (audience cheering)
00:44:14 So Jesus says, don't leave
00:44:22 'cause you still got cracks in your spirit.
00:44:28 Don't just take off running with this command
00:44:31 'cause you still got cracks in your spirit.
00:44:34 He says, wait for the promise of the father.
00:44:37 You're gonna need the promise of the father.
00:44:39 You're gonna need the Holy Ghost in order to step
00:44:41 into this next dimension of glory.
00:44:44 Oh God, I'm about to land the plane
00:44:45 but I just wanted to tell you something.
00:44:48 I thought this was interesting
00:44:49 because this is not the first time
00:44:51 that Jesus has given them power and authority.
00:44:54 We see it in Luke nine.
00:44:56 He gave them power and authority and he sent them out.
00:44:58 And they went from home to home.
00:44:59 And I'm wondering to myself, God,
00:45:01 if you gave them power and authority in Luke nine,
00:45:04 why do they have to wait for the Holy Spirit in Acts one?
00:45:07 Because the type of power that you need
00:45:09 for this dimension is different
00:45:11 than the power you had for the previous dimension.
00:45:14 I came to preach to somebody to let them know
00:45:16 you're going from glory to glory to glory
00:45:18 but you gotta wait because if you go to glory to glory
00:45:22 without the power you need for this level,
00:45:24 that cracked mirror is gonna crush your spirit.
00:45:27 But God is too kind to send you to the next dimension
00:45:30 without giving you a spirit for where he is calling you to.
00:45:34 You didn't know but you came to a baptism service
00:45:37 because somebody's about to be baptized afresh
00:45:39 in the Holy Ghost for the dimension
00:45:42 that God is calling them to.
00:45:43 They gotta be baptized.
00:45:47 You need a different kind of Holy Ghost for this.
00:45:52 This is a different kind of power that you're gonna need.
00:45:55 God says you're right that you're at the threshold.
00:45:57 You are about to step into something
00:45:59 you've never seen before.
00:46:00 I came to prophesy to somebody who's been restless
00:46:03 because they feel like they're on the edge of something.
00:46:06 I can't even put it into language
00:46:08 but I know I'm on the edge of some kind of breakthrough.
00:46:10 I know I'm not going back to who I used to be
00:46:13 but if I'm honest, I'm afraid of what's coming next
00:46:16 and I don't feel like I've got what it takes.
00:46:18 I heard God saying, "You're right, you don't have it
00:46:21 "but by the time the clock strikes 1047,
00:46:24 "you're gonna have a fresh wave of the Holy Ghost
00:46:27 "that's gonna help you go to the place that I've called you."
00:46:31 He's too gracious to send you on a mission
00:46:34 without the Spirit but I hear God saying,
00:46:36 "I got the right Spirit.
00:46:38 "I'm just looking for the right somebody
00:46:40 "who's willing to say, 'God, I see you,
00:46:43 "'moving out of the way.
00:46:44 "'If you're gonna make me into a model,
00:46:47 "'God, give me the Spirit for where you're calling me.
00:46:50 "'God, give me the Spirit for the mission.'"
00:46:53 (congregation cheering)
00:46:56 God, give me the Spirit.
00:46:57 I need to be baptized afresh.
00:47:03 I need a fresh wind of the Holy Ghost.
00:47:06 I need to stop looking at who left
00:47:09 and start looking for what's coming.
00:47:11 I need to stop looking at what was left behind
00:47:14 and start looking for the promise
00:47:16 that'll push me into the next dimension.
00:47:18 Potter's House, I want you to know
00:47:20 that there's a fresh wind blowing in this earth
00:47:23 and you may have to be spiritual to understand
00:47:26 but I came here to let you know
00:47:28 that if you get bogged down
00:47:30 in the stress and the worry,
00:47:33 in the fear and the isolation,
00:47:38 then you will miss the moment when the wind comes.
00:47:42 Woo!
00:47:42 He tells these disciples, "Don't go nowhere."
00:47:46 Oh, some of you are willing.
00:47:50 To go places with broken spirits
00:47:54 because you think it makes you resilient
00:47:57 and you think it makes you tough
00:47:59 but God says, "I won't let you go out
00:48:01 "into the place that I've sent you."
00:48:03 Unless you have access.
00:48:07 Jesus.
00:48:11 Mm.
00:48:18 (congregation murmuring)
00:48:22 Huh.
00:48:23 Put 2 Corinthians 3 and 16,
00:48:26 can we start with 16 on the screen for me?
00:48:30 17, I lied.
00:48:31 Now the Lord is the spirit.
00:48:36 Thank you, God.
00:48:37 Thank you, God.
00:48:38 And where the spirit of the Lord is.
00:48:42 (congregation cheering)
00:48:45 I'm sorry.
00:48:47 I feel like prophesying a little bit.
00:48:49 God says that when you do it this time,
00:48:51 you're gonna be free.
00:48:54 I'm gonna let you do this with freedom.
00:48:59 I'm not gonna let you do this with pressure.
00:49:02 I'm not gonna let you do this oppressed.
00:49:04 I'm not gonna let you do this depressed.
00:49:06 God says, "For where I'm sending you,
00:49:08 "you're gonna have the spirit of the Lord
00:49:09 "and when you have the spirit of the Lord,
00:49:11 "there is liberty."
00:49:12 (congregation cheering)
00:49:16 Yes.
00:49:17 Don't put no pressure on yourself.
00:49:23 Pressure is not liberty.
00:49:27 Pressure is not freedom.
00:49:30 God says, "I'm gonna do this thing
00:49:33 "and you'll know that I'm doing it in your spirit,
00:49:36 "with my spirit,
00:49:38 "'cause you're gonna do it with liberty."
00:49:40 You can't punish yourself
00:49:45 and grow yourself at the same time.
00:49:47 You can't let other people's expectations
00:49:50 keep you restricted.
00:49:52 I'm gonna give it to you.
00:49:55 In my spirit,
00:49:57 don't miss the freedom.
00:50:00 I think that's why he messed up my notes,
00:50:04 'cause I like to stay locked in my notes.
00:50:06 But God says, "Tonight,
00:50:08 "I'm gonna make sure that your notes get messed up,
00:50:10 "'cause I just want you to do it
00:50:12 "with a spirit of freedom."
00:50:13 Don't be afraid when things don't work
00:50:15 in the same formula that they used to work in.
00:50:19 God says, "If I'm gonna do a new thing in your marriage,
00:50:21 "if I'm gonna do a new thing in your mind,
00:50:23 "if I'm gonna do a new thing in your business,
00:50:26 "you gotta be willing to break out of your routine,
00:50:28 "because your routine may be limiting
00:50:31 "who I want you to be and I want you to be free."
00:50:33 Now, where the spirit of the Lord is,
00:50:40 there is freedom.
00:50:43 He gave me verse 18.
00:50:44 But we all with unveiled faces,
00:50:50 beholding as in a mirror,
00:50:54 the glory of the Lord.
00:50:57 How do I get my spirit right?
00:51:00 I need the Holy Spirit.
00:51:03 And I gotta be able to be free in the Holy Spirit.
00:51:07 Because when I'm free in the Holy Spirit,
00:51:09 I experience God's glory.
00:51:12 And when I witness God's glory,
00:51:14 I'm being transformed into the same image,
00:51:19 from glory to glory, by the spirit of the Lord.
00:51:24 You know why the enemy doesn't want you
00:51:26 to experience the glory of God?
00:51:28 Because if you don't experience the glory of God,
00:51:31 you cannot experience the transformation of God.
00:51:34 And that's why the enemy will fight you like hell,
00:51:37 to make sure that you don't get
00:51:38 into the presence of the Lord.
00:51:40 To make you think that those worship songs
00:51:42 don't matter anymore.
00:51:43 To make you feel like the sermons don't matter.
00:51:45 Because the enemy knows that if I could just
00:51:48 get in front of her face,
00:51:49 if I could just get the glory in front of her face,
00:51:52 if I could just get her in front of my spirit.
00:51:54 I taught this once.
00:52:00 That we talk about glory to glory,
00:52:03 like there's stairs and levels.
00:52:08 And in some instances, that's certainly true.
00:52:11 But what we see in this text is that glory to glory,
00:52:16 is when we look at the glory of God,
00:52:19 and then we're transformed into that same image,
00:52:24 that same glory.
00:52:25 So no longer are we having a conversation
00:52:29 between God and man.
00:52:32 This is glory talking to glory.
00:52:37 Who am I that you would be mindful of me?
00:52:40 That you would allow your glory
00:52:41 to reside in this broken vessel.
00:52:44 But I'm going from glory to glory when I worship.
00:52:47 I go from glory to glory when I lift my hands and I say,
00:52:51 "God, I need you."
00:52:52 And I acknowledge the presence of the Lord.
00:52:54 You think you're just doing what you've seen people do
00:52:56 when church is not true.
00:52:58 When you worship, you're being transformed into an image.
00:53:01 An image of who God has always known you could be.
00:53:05 From glory to glory, glory to glory to glory.
00:53:10 And then we go up another level
00:53:11 and it's still glory to glory to glory.
00:53:13 Most of us mess up because we start off going
00:53:16 from glory to glory and then we get glory.
00:53:18 And we start looking now at other people to validate us.
00:53:21 And we start looking for other people
00:53:22 to make us feel good about ourselves.
00:53:24 But this thing started in glory.
00:53:33 So when I transition, when I'm standing at a threshold
00:53:38 and I don't have a model,
00:53:42 Jesus says, "Wait for the promise of the Father
00:53:47 because the Holy Spirit is gonna be your mirror."
00:53:53 The Holy Spirit is gonna show you how to model this.
00:54:02 And if you grew up in church like me
00:54:04 and maybe you paid more attention than I did,
00:54:08 that is quite plausible.
00:54:10 I used to think having a Holy Ghost
00:54:12 was just shouting and dancing.
00:54:15 Well, I got the Holy Ghost 'cause I can shout.
00:54:18 I got the Holy Ghost 'cause I can dance.
00:54:21 And I'm not saying that that's not the Holy Ghost
00:54:22 'cause he will grab ahold of you.
00:54:24 But when we talk about the fruit of the Spirit,
00:54:27 it doesn't say anything about who can shout
00:54:31 and who can clap.
00:54:32 It's who has the Spirit of Christ,
00:54:37 long-suffering, kindness, patience.
00:54:40 This is the fruit of the Spirit.
00:54:43 The Holy Spirit says, "I'm gonna show you how to be you
00:54:49 so that you can become a model
00:54:53 for those who are coming up behind you."
00:54:57 You need the Holy Spirit for this mission.
00:55:01 I don't know what your mission is.
00:55:04 I know what mine is.
00:55:07 And I know that God has given me a mission
00:55:10 that I cannot fulfill without his Spirit.
00:55:13 And it makes me uncomfortable
00:55:16 and it makes me feel awkward and inadequate.
00:55:20 But when I get finished feeling all of those things,
00:55:25 it makes me hungry.
00:55:28 'Cause God, if you've called me to this,
00:55:30 I gotta believe that you'll give me the Spirit
00:55:33 to step into it.
00:55:34 And there's only one way that I can access the Spirit.
00:55:38 And that's when I turn my face towards his image.
00:55:44 I wanna invite you for just 10 seconds.
00:55:51 Does anybody feel the presence of the Lord in this place?
00:55:55 (congregation applauding)
00:55:59 I wanna invite you to tap into that presence.
00:56:06 Maybe you have to close your eyes to do it.
00:56:11 I like to put my hand on my heart, I don't know why.
00:56:16 But something happens when I acknowledge
00:56:23 that I feel the Spirit of the Lord.
00:56:26 When I turn my attention not into what time it is
00:56:32 or who said what or how's it gonna work out
00:56:35 or do I have what it takes or the energy
00:56:37 or the stress or the focus,
00:56:38 but to say, "Spirit, I feel you.
00:56:42 I see you, I sense you.
00:56:45 God, you've given me a mission.
00:56:52 And this mission makes me feel small.
00:56:54 This mission, I would prefer to not go at it alone.
00:57:01 God, this beating, this cancer, this is a tall order.
00:57:08 There's some people in this room, they got real missions.
00:57:12 Grandparents raising grandbabies.
00:57:14 There's some people in this room got some real missions.
00:57:17 Parents raising themselves and trying to figure out
00:57:20 what does co-parenting look like.
00:57:22 In custody battles, trying to not lose their faith.
00:57:25 In legal battles, trying to hang on to their faith.
00:57:27 There are some missions that we have to walk out
00:57:30 in the earth that thy Spirit has been cracked.
00:57:35 And I don't know for sure that I have what it takes,
00:57:38 but I know of a man who will meet you
00:57:42 in the middle of those cracks
00:57:45 and will allow his Spirit to make up the difference.
00:57:51 And we did not just come to have church.
00:57:54 We came to have an encounter with the Spirit of the Lord
00:58:01 so that somebody can finally be free.
00:58:05 If you're here and you can be honest enough to say
00:58:08 that your spirit has been broken,
00:58:11 I want you to come to this altar.
00:58:13 This is the part of the service.
00:58:19 Unlike when we gave our tithes and our offerings,
00:58:22 where we offer God our spirit.
00:58:27 And what's crazy about having a broken spirit
00:58:33 is sometimes our spirit is broken over things that happen.
00:58:38 Jesus, I heard this.
00:58:39 It's not what I was gonna say,
00:58:40 but things that have happened before we were even born.
00:58:43 For some of us, it feels like I was born
00:58:48 with a broken spirit
00:58:49 'cause my family had broken spirits.
00:58:54 And it's just become normal
00:58:56 to be comfortable having these cracked souls.
00:59:02 It's become normal.
00:59:05 The grief, the heartache, the abandonment, the rejection.
00:59:11 It broke my spirit, the betrayal,
00:59:14 the infidelity, the infertility.
00:59:18 It broke my spirit.
00:59:19 I want you to offer God
00:59:25 your spirit.
00:59:29 One of the things that I put in my notes
00:59:35 is that because the enemy couldn't change God's mind
00:59:39 about you,
00:59:40 he had to change your mind about God.
00:59:45 (upbeat music)
00:59:47 (upbeat music)
00:59:50 (upbeat music)
00:59:52 (upbeat music)
00:59:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]