His Power for His Purpose --- Pastor Sheryl Brady
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ÉducationTranscription
00:00:00Acts chapter 1 and I'm going to read just a couple of verses there.
00:00:26If you have it say Amen.
00:00:30The former treaties have I made O Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and to
00:00:39teach until the day in which he was taken up after that he through the Holy Ghost had
00:00:48given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen.
00:00:56Go with me to Luke chapter 4 real quick.
00:01:00Luke chapter 4 verse 18 it's a very familiar passage of scripture and it says that the
00:01:10Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
00:01:20He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and
00:01:27the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
00:01:38the acceptable year of the Lord.
00:01:42The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
00:01:46There's a reason that his Spirit is upon you.
00:01:49He doesn't just come on you for no reason.
00:01:52The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
00:01:55Look at your neighbor say neighbor.
00:01:58It's his power for his purpose.
00:02:02Tell your other neighbor, neighbor.
00:02:05It's his power for his purpose.
00:02:09Bless your word today God.
00:02:10Say whatever you want to say and do whatever you want to do.
00:02:14Take over this room.
00:02:15Give us ears to hear and hearts to receive.
00:02:18Speak directly to households today.
00:02:22Speak to the hearts of men and women in this room and those that are watching around the
00:02:26world today.
00:02:28Let your word just go before us and we'll give you glory and honor and praise in Jesus'
00:02:34name.
00:02:35One more time clap your hands like you're grateful and let the devil hear you praising
00:02:40God.
00:02:41Come on.
00:02:42Let him hear you.
00:02:43Let him hear you.
00:02:45In spite of it all, through it all, I still have praise.
00:02:50Amen.
00:02:51You may be seated today in the presence of the Lord.
00:02:59I want to say real quick while I, uh, is, is it, is, is whoever over the parking lot
00:03:06are they in the building right now?
00:03:08Does anybody know?
00:03:09Yes.
00:03:10Where are you?
00:03:11Hey, come up here.
00:03:12Let me tell you.
00:03:13We've got to give God thanks for our parking lot team.
00:03:20I am so grateful for them.
00:03:25And let me tell you, it's not just me that's grateful for y'all, but we are all grateful
00:03:31for you.
00:03:36And somebody was so grateful that they went to Starbucks and bought $15 Starbucks cards
00:03:45for every person that works in the parking lot.
00:03:49Come on, let's thank God for that.
00:03:55And I'm going to give you this one, but I got a whole bag full of them.
00:03:58Somebody in this church said, I appreciate that parking lot team pulled out of their
00:04:04own money.
00:04:05Bless y'all.
00:04:06Come on.
00:04:07One more time.
00:04:08Church.
00:04:09Help me.
00:04:10Thank God for them.
00:04:11Ooh, it would be a mess.
00:04:13It's kind of a mess anyway, but it would be a real mess if we didn't have people out there,
00:04:19you know, that were anointed to do it.
00:04:25Thank God for his word today.
00:04:29The traditional belief is that Luke, who was the companion of the apostle Paul, that he
00:04:38wrote both the book of Luke and he wrote the book of the acts of the apostles.
00:04:47They are attributed to him based on language, based on style, based on content.
00:04:56The gospel of Luke provides an account of the life, the ministry, the death, the resurrection
00:05:04of Jesus Christ while he was on the earth.
00:05:09And that's what he was talking about when he said in the verse we began with today,
00:05:15the former treaties have I made to you all Theophilus.
00:05:20What he was saying was in the, in my first book, in the book that I wrote in, in, in,
00:05:26in the book, the book called Luke, he said in that book, the book to which, uh, acts
00:05:32is just a sequel.
00:05:34He said, I talked to you about the God that dwells among us.
00:05:40Uh, he said, but now over here in this book, in the book of Acts, I want to talk to you
00:05:46about the God that dwells within us.
00:05:50How many of you know there is a difference?
00:05:53He's saying that the spirit that was moving with us in the earth is now moving in us in
00:06:03the earth.
00:06:04He's telling us that the lamb has been slain, that the price has been paid, that redemption
00:06:11has been purchased, that the sin issue is forever settled and you will never ever, ever
00:06:18do make a sin that the power of the blood cannot wash out of your life.
00:06:23He is telling us that the work of Christ, even though, uh, it, that part is finished,
00:06:32it's not finished yet, but I thought pastor Brady, that he cried out on the cross and
00:06:39he said, it is finished.
00:06:43I thought that when he did that, it was finished.
00:06:46Well, what was finished when he said it is finished was the deal.
00:06:52Okay.
00:06:54The deal was made.
00:06:56The transaction was finished.
00:06:59The covenant was sealed forever and for always.
00:07:04The guarantee was signed.
00:07:06The pledge was paid.
00:07:09The contract was ratified and the devil was defeated.
00:07:14But the work of Christ is not finished yet.
00:07:19In John chapter nine and verse four, it says, I must work the works of him that sent me.
00:07:29So Jesus paid it all and now all to him I owe.
00:07:35His blood purchased my freedom.
00:07:39His blood was so powerful and so efficacious and so effective that it paid for sins for
00:07:47the past.
00:07:49It paid for sins in the present and it paid for sins in the future.
00:07:56The past, it was so powerful that it paid to the degree that when he said it is finished,
00:08:02the Bible said that graves open up and dead men were seen walking the streets of Jerusalem.
00:08:10He reached back and he grabbed the saints of old, the saints of old, and he paid the
00:08:17price so good that he grabbed hold of them who were dead and he said, come on, I'm about
00:08:22to take you on a ride into another level.
00:08:25He paid the price to the degree that when he said it is finished, he busted hell's gates
00:08:33wide open and in the tabernacle, the veil was rent from the top to the bottom and those
00:08:41saints that had been captive were now set free by the blood of the lamb.
00:08:49However, he not only reached backwards and set those people free, but he reached out
00:08:57and he eradicated the sins of the thief who was hanging on the cross right beside him.
00:09:04When he asked for forgiveness, he said to him, this day, look at somebody say this day,
00:09:11you shall be with me in paradise.
00:09:15This day, when I hear that, that tells me that the blood is a present help.
00:09:22Look at somebody, tell them the blood is a present help.
00:09:27Not only did it redeem those who were in the grave, the saints of old that were waiting
00:09:34on their redemption, it was also a right now redemption.
00:09:39It was relevant, it was significant, it was pertinent, and it was a present help in the
00:09:47time of trouble.
00:09:49The blood that he shed was powerful.
00:09:51It was so powerful that it could wash away every sin that you did, every sin that you're
00:09:59doing right now, and every sin that you have the potential to commit in the future.
00:10:08We weren't even born yet, but he died so well that the blood that he shed back then reaches
00:10:17into today and forgives me of every mistake that I have made.
00:10:24It reaches, the songwriter said, to the highest mountain and it flows to the lowest.
00:10:33Before you ever took your first breath, before you ever made your first mistake, before you
00:10:40ever committed an act of sin, before you ever told your first little white lie, y'all heard
00:10:48that, that's a white lie, that means it's bad, but it's not bad, you know.
00:10:53But before we ever did any of that, he paid the price for our sin, not only our past sin,
00:10:59but he's paid the price for your future sins as well, and he did that, because why?
00:11:07Why would he do that?
00:11:09Because number one, he knows us, and he knows that we are prone sometimes to miss it and
00:11:16to fall and come short of his glory, but he also did it because he has a plan for our life.
00:11:24You are not your own.
00:11:27I can't tell you how many times I heard my mama say that to me, you are not your own,
00:11:33you have been bought with a price.
00:11:37Jeremiah 29 and 11 says, for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith God, thoughts
00:11:45of peace and not of evil, to give you your expected end.
00:11:53That word expected means I'm going to give you a cord, I'm going to give you some kind
00:11:59of an attachment, I'm going to give you something to hold on to, I'm going to give you something
00:12:06that you can hope for, I'm going to give you something that you can look eagerly towards
00:12:12and eagerly forward to apprehend, because there is so much more that is yet to come.
00:12:20God, somebody, there's so much more to come.
00:12:25Do you understand today that there is so much more to your story than what you have seen
00:12:30unfold?
00:12:31I need you to know that about God, I need you to know that he is not an anticlimactic
00:12:38God, I need you to know that he always saves the best for the last, I need you to know
00:12:45that your latter house shall be greater than the former, I have sent the former and I will
00:12:54send the latter reign, the orchestration of God over your life is arranged so that it
00:13:04will end in a crescendo, it's meant to intensify, it's meant to escalate, it's meant to surge
00:13:13and it's meant to rise, it's meant to succeed and not fail, to progress and not digress,
00:13:22to increase and not decrease, and it can be difficult to minister to people who have forgot
00:13:30that part of God, because after you walk with him a minute you start thinking, well I've
00:13:38seen it all, I've done it all.
00:13:43And so therefore you end up, whether it's consciously or unconsciously, people have
00:13:49no expectation of what will yet happen, and the reason that they don't have an expectation
00:13:58of what will yet happen is because they are already consumed with what has happened, and
00:14:05as a result people lose their hunger, and they lose their thirst for more, they lose
00:14:12their fascination with the things of God, they lose their anticipation, and they lose
00:14:20their expectation, which makes it difficult for people like me, because I don't care how
00:14:27good the food is that we put on the table, without an appetite, you don't enjoy it.
00:14:37I could be the best cook in the world, make the best greens you ever had, I know, y'all
00:14:42are doubting me, I feel that right now, don't try me, but have you ever tried to cook for
00:14:52somebody who just didn't have an appetite?
00:14:56Have you ever cooked a big dinner for your family, and the kids walk in and they're like,
00:15:03oh, I'm going to eat later mom, anybody ever had that?
00:15:08See the problem is, that while I was cooking it, and getting it ready, they were filling
00:15:15up on junk food, junk food is quick, junk food brings immediate gratification, and it
00:15:30seems like it's easy, but let me tell you something about junk food, junk food will
00:15:35fill you in the moment, but it will not sustain you, woo, hallelujah, that's what's wrong
00:15:47with so many church folk, they're happy to just eat junk food, y'all ain't going to say
00:15:53nothing, but it's, y'all don't have junk food around here, but there are some churches
00:16:00that all they offer is junk food, and people just want immediate gratification, so they'll
00:16:07step in there and say, just feed me, talk to me, make me feel good, and don't require
00:16:13much of me, look at somebody and tell them, stop eating junk food, that's why the body
00:16:20of Christ is malnutrition, that's why we don't have discernment, that's why we laugh at anything,
00:16:31and we go anywhere, and we do anything, because we get that immediate gratification, everything
00:16:40fills you up in the moment, let me tell you, if it fills you up in the moment, it ain't
00:16:46always good for you, and so you have to protect your appetite, anybody ever had to do that,
00:16:53you're like, I am so hungry, but I know if I eat this, it's going to mess up my dinner,
00:16:58so you have to protect your appetite, you have to put up with the hunger pains, you
00:17:04have to protect your taste buds, you have to say, I'm born for more than this, this
00:17:12doesn't satisfy, I'm born to taste something better than this, you got to be careful what
00:17:21you crave, if I don't say nothing else, be careful what you allow yourself to crave,
00:17:33be careful how you satisfy your thirst, y'all are not acting like the potter's house, nor
00:17:41Dallas, I said be careful what you allow yourself to go after, what you give your ear to, be
00:17:51careful about what you long for, whenever the spirit of God checks you, you have got,
00:18:00you and I have got to pay attention to the checks that God is giving us, you got to bring
00:18:06every thought into, listen, either we're going to live the word or we're not, and if he said
00:18:16bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, that means that it can
00:18:22be done, bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, Christ is the
00:18:31anointed one, it's the anointing in my life, bring it in, bring every thought into captivity
00:18:39to the obedience, which means compliance, and it means submission, so I got to bring
00:18:46every thought into compliance and into submission to the anointing of God that is on my life,
00:18:54I bring every thought, because every thought has an agenda, I said every thought has an
00:19:03agenda, it comes to kill, it comes to steal, or it comes to destroy, and if it's coming
00:19:10for that, then you have to grab that thought and say I bring it in, in the name of Jesus,
00:19:17I bring every thought into captivity, I bring every mental perception into compliance with
00:19:26the anointing of God that is on my life, tell somebody you're too anointed to think like
00:19:32that, I have a healthy purpose, so I need a healthy appetite, well that's why we're
00:19:49here Pastor Brady, that's why I put up with traffic and I put up with people and that's
00:19:57why I'm inconvenient sometimes, and that's why I get up on my day off and I come to the
00:20:05house of the Lord, because I need to be in a place that feeds me a healthy time, sometimes
00:20:14I just got to get in the room, I got to get in the church, I mean I've had to stay home
00:20:18sometimes and just watch online, but when you get in the room, you not only hear it,
00:20:25you start smelling what is in the room, and sometimes just a good smell of biscuits, bacon
00:20:32in the oven can work up your appetite, I need to be in a place that feeds me a healthy diet
00:20:43that builds my faith, I need to be in a place that I have a healthy expectation, a place
00:20:51that empowers me to fulfill what God has assigned me to do, now if you're not planning on moving
00:21:00or doing anything or making any movement forward, if you're not planning on progressing in your
00:21:07purpose, then go ahead and eat junk food, fill up on the things that will not sustain
00:21:15you in the long run, it's okay if you ain't going to do nothing, but if you're planning
00:21:23for God to use you, and if you're planning on going somewhere in his kingdom, and if
00:21:31you are planning to move out of your parking space, see you don't have to get gas for your
00:21:39car, or you don't have to charge it up if you ain't going to move it, but if you plan
00:21:46on going somewhere, if you plan on taking territory, if you plan on fulfilling your
00:21:53assignment, if you plan on running your race to the end, if you plan on living your life
00:21:59in purpose, then you are going to need some power, reach over and touch your neighbor
00:22:07and say, I'm giving you a little bit of mine, but you're going to have to give it back,
00:22:13pressed down, shaken together, and running over, because I've got to have power, how
00:22:25do I get that power? For you shall receive power, how? After that though, after that
00:22:37the Holy Ghost shall come upon you, you need Holy Ghost power, church can I tell you today,
00:22:48we got to have more than just church power, more than just church power, we got to have
00:22:56Holy Ghost power, because whenever you are filled with Holy Ghost power, something breaks
00:23:03loose and something comes down and something opens up and chains are broken, why? Because
00:23:11I got Holy Ghost, look at somebody real deep, I got power, power, when the whole you shall
00:23:26be endued with power, where? From on high, I'm not talking about power that's going to
00:23:33get from being around you, I'm talking about the power that I get from being in God's presence,
00:23:43something happens when we get in His presence, when it's Christ in us, not just Christ with
00:23:54us, but when He moves in us, there is a power, what happens Pastor Brady? Well I'll tell
00:24:01you what happens, I'm glad you asked me, because there is a power that is in us that is greater
00:24:08than any power that will ever oppose us, Jesus said as the Son I am with you, but as the
00:24:16Spirit I am in you, why is that important? Because Christ in you, He's the hope of glory,
00:24:32He is on me and He is in me for purpose, He's not there to entertain you, I said He's not
00:24:42there to entertain you, He's there to help you function better, He helps you function
00:24:49in your unction better, hello, He's not just there, oh Lord I just want to fill you today
00:24:56and you don't give nothing in the service, we just look at you and you're like, Lord
00:25:09help us, if you don't give it can't come back to you, yield your members, tell your hands
00:25:17you have come to clap today, tell your feet you have come to dance today, tell your voice
00:25:30I'm going to raise you today, I came to praise the Lord, when the Holy Ghost comes on you,
00:25:37when He moves in you, it's to help you function in what He's assigned you to do, go to Luke
00:25:55chapter 4 again and let's look at verse, let's back up and look at verse 16, Luke chapter
00:26:034, verse 16, I wish I had one of y'all's Bibles now, let's read it, and He came to, oh y'all
00:26:10don't have to read with me, it's okay, Pastor Chris likes you all to do that with him, and
00:26:30He came, and He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up and as His custom was,
00:26:38He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and He stood up for to read, He stood
00:26:49up for to read, and there was delivered Him the book of the prophet Isaiah, and because
00:26:57this is, what we have to understand is this is a messianic text, it is a quote from Isaiah
00:27:09chapter 61 and 1, and it was in the book and they handed the book to Him, and when He stood
00:27:17up to read, He was reading the words of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus is calling you to the
00:27:26Lord, quoting Isaiah, He says this, the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He had anointed
00:27:36me to preach the gospel to the poor, He had sent me to heal the broken hearted, to deliver
00:27:46it, deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
00:27:54that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable gear of the Lord, He picked up the scroll,
00:28:04and He said those words, the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because, can I stop right
00:28:15there, the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because, tell somebody, the spirit of the
00:28:23Lord never comes on you just to tickle your fancy, the spirit of the Lord is upon me,
00:28:35because, and when it's on you, it's on you for a cause, it's on you for a purpose, if
00:28:43you don't have a clue why the spirit of the Lord is on you, if you don't have a clue what
00:28:49your cause is, then you gotta cry out to God, because He's not just resting on your
00:28:56life for nothing, if He anoints you, He always associates a cause with your anointing, so
00:29:08if I was the devil, I would have you living in a place where you are always frustrated
00:29:16and confused, and second-guessing your cause, second-guessing your purpose, because if you
00:29:28lose your cause, and you lose your purpose, then you lose that anointing that is upon
00:29:35you, to do your cause, and to do your purpose, the problem with us today, is we've become
00:29:42our own cause, He said the spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He had, number one,
00:29:59anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, one translation says that He's anointed me
00:30:07to be hope, that was it, He's anointed me to be hope, not just to talk a good game of
00:30:15hope, but He's anointed me to be hope, He said He sent me to heal those that are broken
00:30:26hearted, I want you to look down that list, because you're in there somewhere, which one
00:30:34of these categories do you fall into, His spirit is upon me because He's anointed me
00:30:39to preach deliverance to the captives, He's anointed me to walk in and tell somebody that's
00:30:45bound, you don't have to stay like that, you don't have to stay with an addiction in your
00:30:51life that's driving you, you don't have to be bound like that, He said the spirit of
00:30:59the Lord is upon me to help them recover sight to those who are blind, the spirit of the
00:31:08Lord is on me to give you a new set of eyes, vision, hope, a plan out, a way, you can't
00:31:19see it, but every now and then God will send somebody into your life that will say something
00:31:25or do something and all of a sudden what you couldn't see, now you have the power to see
00:31:31because He sent them into your life to give you new eyes, the spirit of the Lord is upon
00:31:39me and He's anointed me to set at liberty those who are bruised, which one of those
00:31:47categories are you in, look at your neighbor, say neighbor, you can't receive nothing, you
00:31:56can't see if you don't do nothing, so since you don't have a cause, then guess what, you
00:32:04don't have power, and God said why should I extend it if you won't spend it, why, why
00:32:14should I give you power, just to let it build up, see that's the problem with a lot of people,
00:32:21a lot of narcissistic type people, they got all this power and this power keeps building
00:32:27up because it was extended to them but they never spent it, you may say I don't need any
00:32:40power, well that's probably because you have your own agenda, but let me tell you something
00:32:48about him, when he stood up he closed the book and he handed the scroll back to the
00:32:55minister and then what did he say, this day, this scripture is fulfilled in your ears,
00:33:07he was saying I am not just Jesus, I am not just Mary and Joseph's son, I am not just
00:33:17Mary, I am Jesus the Christ, Jesus, how many of you know the Christ was not his last name,
00:33:27I am Cheryl Brady, but he was Jesus Christ, that meant, that signified his anointing,
00:33:36what he was saying was I'm Jesus the anointed one, he was telling them I am the Messiah,
00:33:43I am the one for this job, I've been empowered from on high and that power did not just come
00:33:52on him when he read the scroll, that power came on him when he was standing out in the
00:33:59Jordan River and John took him down in the water and then when he brought him up out
00:34:07of the water, John baptized him and when he brought him up out of the water, the Bible
00:34:12said that the heavens opened and the spirit of God descended upon him like a dove and
00:34:23from that day forward he was Jesus the Christ, Jesus the anointed one, Jesus, let me tell
00:34:31you church, if the church is going to do and be what it is called to do and be, we've got
00:34:44to have that same kind of power, we've got to have that same kind of anointing and it's
00:34:51got to fall on us, we need the heavens to open, we need the glory to fall down on us,
00:35:00if you're not hungry for it, I ask you if you, is it because you just keep satisfying
00:35:07yourself with junk food, if you'll put that to the side and say God, I'm not going to
00:35:14move until I hear you, I'm not going to stop until I know you, I'm not going to quit Jesus,
00:35:22we need the heavens to open and we need a voice not from our level, you good man, you
00:35:34good, you are so talented, man you can preach, we've got enough of it, we need a voice from
00:35:42another level that says this is my beloved son in whom I am well, please it's a divine
00:35:56endorsement, hear ye him, he's saying I am Jesus the Christ, I'm Cheryl the Christ, I'm
00:36:04Cheryl the anointed one, I am Cheryl, for the anointing is on me, I am, put your name
00:36:19in there, you're scared, I'm Cheryl, that the anointing comes up from behind, I stand
00:36:27up as Cheryl, but then there is something that comes up from behind me, he is the ancient
00:36:37of days, the same yesterday, today and forever more, he comes on me to help me to understand
00:36:49that whatever you get in, I got your back, I got your back, I got your back, I got your
00:36:57back, I got your back. Oh but I can't tell you enough how much that, that's going to
00:37:04cost us, salvation is free but power, I said salvation is free, Jesus paid that all, but
00:37:16power isn't going to cost you, the thing that made the disciples hunger, the thing that
00:37:23Hunger, the thing that made the men of old, hunger.
00:37:28The thing that made the women of yesterday, hunger.
00:37:33The thing that makes anybody that has any level of power,
00:37:38hunger, is the weight of the responsibility
00:37:43that says it's my assignment and I've got to establish it.
00:37:50It's on me.
00:37:52So I got, it's my job.
00:37:54Look at somebody and tell them it's your job
00:37:57to represent Christ to this world.
00:38:02They didn't believe you, tell them again,
00:38:03it's your job to represent Christ to this generation.
00:38:10See, that is what makes people lay out on their face
00:38:15in the presence of the Lord.
00:38:17That's what makes people say, no, I can't go there.
00:38:20That's what makes people say, no, I can't do that.
00:38:24I can't say that.
00:38:25I can't let that go through my mind
00:38:28because I need the power of God to rest on me.
00:38:33I need answers.
00:38:34I need solutions.
00:38:36I need strength.
00:38:37I need direction.
00:38:39I need wisdom that's not of this world.
00:38:46I need God.
00:38:49My marriage is breaking down.
00:38:54Nobody really knows because we know how to come to church
00:38:58and look like it's OK.
00:39:01But my marriage is breaking down.
00:39:04My mind is not in a healthy place.
00:39:08I'm not OK, Pastor Brady.
00:39:12My children are pushing boundaries
00:39:16that I would have never thought that they
00:39:19would have pushed.
00:39:21I am living with unrealistic expectations,
00:39:27trying to find a work-life balance.
00:39:31I'm starting to feel disconnected and isolated
00:39:36from the very ones that I love the most.
00:39:40I'm trying to adjust to these changing
00:39:43gender roles in my house.
00:39:49I used to be the breadwinner, but now I don't have a job.
00:39:55So I'm at home, and my spouse is a one-out, working for a living.
00:40:02Communication is breaking down.
00:40:05Y'all ain't got to act like I know anything today.
00:40:09And while communication is breaking down,
00:40:12walls are going up higher and higher.
00:40:15Economic pressure is closing in, and it's
00:40:18threatening the stability of my home.
00:40:21Betrayal has damaged my trust level.
00:40:25And I want to trust, and I need to trust,
00:40:29but I have been damaged.
00:40:35Work commitments are being prioritized
00:40:41over family commitments.
00:40:43My priorities are jacked up.
00:40:47I've got the things that matter the most at the mercy of things
00:40:54that matter the least.
00:40:57Church used to be my life, Pastor Brady.
00:41:05But now, I mean, it's just a little inconvenient for me.
00:41:11It's too hard to get in.
00:41:14It's too hard to get out.
00:41:17It's hard to stand up so long.
00:41:24That's why I said sit down every time you get a chance.
00:41:29It's so time-consuming.
00:41:32It's just time-consuming.
00:41:34Yes, it is.
00:41:37It ought to be life-consuming.
00:41:42If I'm going to go to church, hey, this is Back to Church
00:41:46Sunday, right?
00:41:47If I'm going to go to church, now I
00:41:50got to deal with my social anxieties,
00:41:53because the pandemic did something in me,
00:41:55and I don't like people getting in my space.
00:42:01Have you noticed how aggressive people have gotten?
00:42:05You'll be walking through the mall,
00:42:07and they don't even care.
00:42:08They'll just go right in front of you.
00:42:12I got to deal with all of that stuff if it comes.
00:42:16I got to work it into my schedule,
00:42:18because the kids have a game, and the Cowboys
00:42:21are playing at noon.
00:42:25And I wish you'd hurry up.
00:42:29I'll be finished quick as I'm done, OK?
00:42:33If you say amen, I might could preach faster.
00:42:38Don't even do that.
00:42:40The problem, church, is we've become too busy.
00:42:46I'm going to say it again.
00:42:47I'm going to hold the mic like them old folks used to do it.
00:42:50We've become too busy.
00:42:54We've become too picky.
00:42:57We've become too important.
00:43:01We've become too impressed with ourselves,
00:43:05and we've forgotten that if it had not been for the Lord.
00:43:13Look at somebody and tell them, I owe him everything.
00:43:18We have forgotten what it was like when he was all we had.
00:43:26Y'all, you don't have to say amen,
00:43:27but somebody in the balcony is going to help me.
00:43:29I said, we've forgotten what it was like when
00:43:32we had to have him because he was food on our table.
00:43:37We've forgotten what it was like when we had
00:43:40to believe him for our daily bread.
00:43:43We've forgotten what it was like when
00:43:46we used to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God
00:43:50and wait for him to exalt us in due season.
00:43:57But now we just exalt us.
00:44:03When the men and the women of scripture walked into the room
00:44:08or they came into the presence of God,
00:44:12they would fall flat out on the floor.
00:44:16Oh, do y'all remember last Sunday when we all just?
00:44:23I could have stayed there forever.
00:44:26Oh, they fell out on the floor because they saw God as a wonder.
00:44:32Yeah.
00:44:34Oh, he is a wonder to my soul.
00:44:38But it's hard to see him as a wonder
00:44:41when you are constantly seeing yourself as a wonder.
00:44:49So the church has become somewhat of a narcissistic
00:44:55society.
00:44:59Everything is about us.
00:45:02Well, I'm not happy.
00:45:04I'm not feeling validated.
00:45:07I'm being ignored.
00:45:09I'm being overshadowed.
00:45:12I'm just not feeling it.
00:45:14I don't want to.
00:45:17I don't have to.
00:45:19Why should I serve?
00:45:23Why should I open the door and greet people
00:45:28when I work at wherever you work at?
00:45:36Why?
00:45:36Why should I wait for the benediction?
00:45:40Because good sense tells you that when you leave here,
00:45:46you need to be covered in prayer.
00:45:54Why should I pick up that piece of paper?
00:45:57I didn't drop it.
00:45:59Pick it up because this is your church.
00:46:01That's why.
00:46:05There was a day that nobody stopped
00:46:10until everything was done.
00:46:13You remember that?
00:46:14You cooked dinner, and it didn't matter.
00:46:16It didn't matter if you ate.
00:46:19You did not.
00:46:20Or if you were even the cook, you did not just get up
00:46:24and go about your business.
00:46:26You stayed in.
00:46:27Somebody dry washed the dishes.
00:46:29Somebody dried the dishes.
00:46:31Somebody swept the kitchen floor.
00:46:34Somebody else straightened the table back out.
00:46:37You know why?
00:46:38Because we were a team.
00:46:42Not anymore.
00:46:44If I'm going to do all that, you got to write me a check.
00:46:51Have you noticed how much customer service
00:46:57has disappeared?
00:47:01People don't do a thing except tell you
00:47:06before you insert your card, make sure, you know,
00:47:10just hit one of those.
00:47:12It won't even let you go on until you give them a tip.
00:47:17And I'm all about tipping.
00:47:19I love it.
00:47:19I love to be a blessing to people.
00:47:21I love to be a blessing to people
00:47:23that they don't see coming.
00:47:25I love it.
00:47:27But I think this mentality that is in the earth that says,
00:47:33I should just be blessed.
00:47:36That same spirit comes into the church.
00:47:40So if we don't sing your song for three weeks,
00:47:44we don't see you on the fourth.
00:47:47If we don't scratch your itch, you'll find somewhere else
00:47:52to get it scratched.
00:47:54If we don't do your dance, and if we don't do it
00:47:58like you want it done, if I don't tell you
00:48:01what you want to hear, if I don't talk to you
00:48:05about the favor of God, and the blessings of God,
00:48:08and the promises of God, and the benefits of God,
00:48:13and the benefits that come to the believers of God,
00:48:20something was wrong with pastor today.
00:48:24What is wrong with us?
00:48:27How are we?
00:48:28OK, here's my question.
00:48:30Y'all sit down.
00:48:32I'm almost done.
00:48:33I promise.
00:48:35Y'all been standing the whole sermon.
00:48:38How in the world are we supposed to get the benefits
00:48:47if we don't do the job?
00:48:49Yeah.
00:48:50Yeah.
00:48:53I don't care how wonderful the benefit package is.
00:49:00If they don't bring you on and you do the job,
00:49:04you don't get the benefits.
00:49:08Lord, help me.
00:49:11So today, we just, you find people like me and Bishop,
00:49:16and whenever I tell you we've been married for 47 years,
00:49:26consecutively.
00:49:28Right.
00:49:37But I want to tell you something.
00:49:39I appreciate your clapping, and that's exactly
00:49:41what I was getting ready to say.
00:49:42When I say we've been married for 47 years,
00:49:45people are like, yes.
00:49:49And I thank you for that.
00:49:52But the truth is, we made a decision.
00:49:58And we made a commitment to serve each other.
00:50:03I'll serve him.
00:50:06He serves me.
00:50:09So if you're getting married today
00:50:11and you don't have that as your foundation,
00:50:13don't spend much on your wedding.
00:50:15You'll be very sorry.
00:50:20Save your money.
00:50:24But the truth is, there were times
00:50:26that I was sick and he had to help me.
00:50:29And there were times that he was sick and I had to help him.
00:50:32And there were times that I was depressed
00:50:34and he had to look at me and say, baby,
00:50:36it's going to be all right.
00:50:38And there were times that I would look at him and say,
00:50:40live and not die.
00:50:43Live and not die.
00:50:45The spirit of the Lord is upon you.
00:50:49He has anointed you.
00:50:53You'll still have purpose.
00:50:59We didn't just get into marriage and it
00:51:04wasn't a pop-up wedding.
00:51:07It was a we're here till we die.
00:51:09We might as well like each other.
00:51:14We didn't get in ministry because we thought
00:51:18it would be a great career move.
00:51:21That's the problem.
00:51:22We have too many career criminals
00:51:24in the pulpit today.
00:51:34We didn't get in it for money because there
00:51:37was no money in it.
00:51:41We got in it.
00:51:42Seriously, you think people get in it for money?
00:51:46Are you kidding me?
00:51:48I had to pawn my wedding ring.
00:51:51I've had to pawn my jewelry.
00:51:53Years ago, I had to give him all of my stuff
00:51:56and say, baby, just take it and pawn it
00:51:59and give the money to the church,
00:52:01and I'll help pay the building payment.
00:52:06And then people look at you like, mm-hmm.
00:52:12They look at the car you're driving.
00:52:17I wish you would.
00:52:22Come on!
00:52:23Come on!
00:52:24In the words of Kamala Harris, tell me to my face!
00:52:47My husband has always liked a nice car.
00:52:52I was always satisfied with, baby, it just
00:52:54gets us wherever we got to go.
00:52:56It don't matter.
00:52:57But he always stretched me in that area.
00:53:01I'd be so mad at him over that because he didn't
00:53:04help me make the payment.
00:53:05I had to make it.
00:53:09He'd say, baby, step out and believe God.
00:53:13And I'd say, well, what are the people going to think?
00:53:16He'd say, as hard as you work.
00:53:22As hard as you work.
00:53:24You don't think I work?
00:53:27Come spend the weekend at my house.
00:53:34I don't see hardly anybody from daylight
00:53:39till in the middle of the night.
00:53:41I mean, more daylight on a Saturday
00:53:44till 2 or 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning on Sunday.
00:53:47I'll lay down, sleep two hours, and get up and jump,
00:53:50put some makeup on my face, and throw something on,
00:53:53and walk in here and give to you.
00:53:58You hear that?
00:54:01But he didn't say that like he resents it
00:54:03because he understands that this is our calling.
00:54:06We settled the issue a long time ago.
00:54:10Ministry is what we do.
00:54:12We got into it because he called us.
00:54:17We heard the call.
00:54:21I ain't ever said I was in it for it.
00:54:25Everybody that does any kind of ministry
00:54:27needs to write this down.
00:54:29I ain't in it for the money, but the money keeps me in it.
00:54:34I ain't in it for the money, but the money keeps me in it.
00:54:37I ain't in it for the money, but the money keeps me in it.
00:54:43Keeps me in it.
00:54:45There were moments that we even thought,
00:54:50God has made the biggest mistake ever
00:54:53by calling us into ministry.
00:54:59Telling you, the fact that he even saw anything in us,
00:55:07this uneducated girl, this high school
00:55:11dropout from Detroit, the fact that he saw anything in me,
00:55:20said I wouldn't use that.
00:55:24Are you kidding me?
00:55:26That's why I always have to humble myself.
00:55:32Because I'll never forget where I was, who I was,
00:55:40when he said, come here.
00:55:43I told Bishop Jakes one time, I said, Bishop,
00:55:47when he got ready to move to Texas,
00:55:50he talked about when he called us to move here.
00:55:55I said, Bishop, you know, you need to know this.
00:56:01I said, I quit school when I was 15 years old.
00:56:05I never went back a day in my life.
00:56:07I don't know if I'm the one.
00:56:12And he said, that don't matter.
00:56:17Can y'all see him saying that right now?
00:56:22I said, are you sure?
00:56:24He said, yes, study to show yourself approved.
00:56:27A workman that need not be ashamed.
00:56:32I didn't get what some of y'all got, but I got something.
00:56:38I've stayed married to that man.
00:56:42That's a miracle in and of itself.
00:56:46I've raised three daughters that love the Lord,
00:56:49and they love working in ministry.
00:56:53They married three men who love working in ministry.
00:56:57And in spite of my inconsistencies,
00:57:07my faults and my failures, see, I learned.
00:57:16I came up old school, so I learned
00:57:19that when anybody tells you you were great, you tell them,
00:57:26to God be the glory.
00:57:27And it's not a false humility.
00:57:29It's like, listen, if he didn't touch me,
00:57:32I would make a fool out of him and me.
00:57:37To God be the glory.
00:57:41To God be the glory.
00:57:49In spite of all of my faults and my mistakes and my failures,
00:57:55I know.
00:57:56You may not know, but I know that it was nobody but God
00:58:04that reached in and hand-picked me out of a bunch of people,
00:58:13picked me up, and set my feet in purpose.
00:58:16Look at somebody on both sides and tell them
00:58:19you've got purpose.
00:58:21That's why you could not be aborted.
00:58:24That's why you were not a stillborn.
00:58:27That's why the bullet didn't take you out.
00:58:29That's why depression can't destroy you.
00:58:38All because of purpose.
00:58:43And all things work together for the good to them
00:58:51that, come on, what is it?
00:58:55There's two things.
00:58:57Love the Lord, and they're in their purpose.
00:59:05That's why you got to stay in your purpose.
00:59:07I said, that's why you got to stay in your purpose,
00:59:11because we will make mistakes.
00:59:13But if you're in your purpose, God says, I see all that.
00:59:17I'm fixing the street.
00:59:18I'm going to make your crooked path straight.
00:59:28All things work together for those who love the Lord
00:59:31and those who are not who?
00:59:36Not those who are self-consumed, self-absorbed.
00:59:41Not those that are too busy blessing themselves
00:59:45that they can't bless God.
00:59:47Not those that are egotistical and undependable.
00:59:52Not those that are wonderful and arrogant
00:59:54and forget how good God has been.
00:59:58It doesn't work together for the good of those
01:00:02who are self-centered, self-serving.
01:00:07No, it works together for those who love the Lord
01:00:14and are the called according to His purpose.
01:00:17Tell somebody, I got to walk in my purpose.
01:00:21No, you don't understand.
01:00:22That's how I survive.
01:00:24That's how I make it.
01:00:25That's how I didn't kill myself, is I walked in my purpose.
01:00:30That's why depression couldn't take me out of here,
01:00:33because I found my purpose.
01:00:36Well, I don't know my purpose.
01:00:39How about taking the verse of whatsoever
01:00:41your hands find to do?
01:00:45Do it.
01:00:45Tell somebody, just do it.
01:00:46Just do it.
01:00:49And don't allow confusion about your purpose
01:00:53to give you permission to do nothing.
01:01:02Just serve Him.
01:01:04Serve Him with gladness.
01:01:07And when you do, He'll give you favor.
01:01:14He will.
01:01:16He'll give you things that money couldn't buy.
01:01:19He'll open doors that nobody else could have opened for you.
01:01:23He'll make sure that no weapon formed against you
01:01:27shall prosper.
01:01:28He will make sure that every tongue that
01:01:31rises up against you, He will condemn it.
01:01:35He will make sure that your enemies
01:01:38will become your food store.
01:01:41He will make sure that you're blessed in the city.
01:01:45You're blessed in the field.
01:01:47Blessed coming in and blessed going out,
01:01:50not because you are perfect or good or holy,
01:01:58but because you're doing what He's called you to do.
01:02:06I want you to tell somebody, I got something to do.
01:02:08I got something to do.
01:02:10Turn around and tell somebody else, don't be lazy.
01:02:12Don't be lazy.
01:02:14God doesn't anoint lazy.
01:02:18He doesn't anoint lethargy.
01:02:20He doesn't anoint slothfulness.
01:02:23He doesn't anoint sluggishness.
01:02:25He doesn't anoint selfishness.
01:02:28He anoints His people for His purpose.
01:02:35Stand with me, will you, all over the building.
01:02:39He gives us His power for His purpose.
01:02:45See, we're not really taught today how to serve the Lord.
01:02:51We're only taught how people are supposed to serve us.
01:03:02But it's all about serving the Lord, the highest
01:03:06position in your company is still
01:03:12required that you serve, that you love God
01:03:17and you love people.
01:03:20Are you following me?
01:03:23If you feel love in this place, it's
01:03:24because we want to make sure that the highest
01:03:31person in this company, who is God Himself,
01:03:34that His wish is being fulfilled.
01:03:38Now listen, if I was preaching right now
01:03:40that God is going to bring you over
01:03:42and God is going to bring you out
01:03:44and God is going to bring you through,
01:03:47a bunch of y'all would be up here in front of this altar
01:03:50and you would shout me down.
01:03:54But what if He's the one to put you in it?
01:03:57Yeah!
01:04:03So you got to make up in your mind,
01:04:06I'm going to serve Him no matter what.
01:04:10Whether I'm in or out, I'm going to serve Him.
01:04:13Whether I'm up or down, I'm going to serve Him.
01:04:16Whether my bills are paid or not, I'm going to serve Him.
01:04:20Whether I got money or no money, I'm
01:04:23going to serve Him.
01:04:24Whether I got a job or no job, friends or no friends,
01:04:29answers or no answers, it's my reasonable service.