WEBVTT 00:00:00.940 --> 00:00:04.019 Ezekiel chapter 16 and verse 4, for those of 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:05.940 you that are able to stand. I'm just going to 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:09.039 read a few verses here. It reads, as for your 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:12.000 nativity, on the day that you were born, your 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.900 navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:19.559 water to cleanse you. You were not rubbed with 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:23.579 salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye 00:00:23.579 --> 00:00:27.980 pitted you to do any of these things for you. 00:00:28.809 --> 00:00:31.550 to have compassion on you, but you were thrown 00:00:31.550 --> 00:00:35.409 out into the open field when you yourself were 00:00:35.409 --> 00:00:40.630 lulled on the day you were born. And when I passed 00:00:40.630 --> 00:00:44.070 by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, 00:00:44.350 --> 00:00:52.170 I said to you in your blood, live. Yes, I said 00:00:52.170 --> 00:00:58.939 to you in your blood, live. Now, verse 8. When 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:04.579 I passed by you again, I looked upon you. Indeed, 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:08.799 your time was the time of love. So I spread my 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:13.000 wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:18.459 I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant 00:01:18.459 --> 00:01:23.700 with you, and you became mine, says the Lord 00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:29.329 God. Someone say amen. Now just one quick verse. 00:01:29.349 --> 00:01:30.650 You don't have to go there. I'm just going to 00:01:30.650 --> 00:01:35.989 read it briefly in 1 John 4 .19. We love him 00:01:35.989 --> 00:01:41.530 because he first loved us. Today I'm going to 00:01:41.530 --> 00:01:46.530 preach God's love story. Why don't we pray together. 00:01:46.709 --> 00:01:51.370 Father, I thank you for the way in which you 00:01:51.370 --> 00:01:55.879 have met us today, God. You woke us up this morning. 00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:59.560 You gave us the strength, the energy, the capacity 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:03.879 to be in your house, not just to have church, 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.480 but to have an experience, to have an encounter 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:11.000 with your spirit, with your love, with your word 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.860 today. And God, I ask that you would anoint our 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:17.240 hearing and anoint my lips to preach this word, 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:23.229 God, as faithfully as you gave it to me. And 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:26.569 all those who will hear this word, wherever they 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:29.569 might be in their life, God, wherever they might 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:34.909 hear this message, that it might touch, it might 00:02:34.909 --> 00:02:40.330 heal, it might do a miracle in their life. I 00:02:40.330 --> 00:02:44.509 ask this right now in the powerful name of Jesus. 00:02:45.349 --> 00:02:48.889 Someone say amen. You can be seated in God's 00:02:48.889 --> 00:02:56.259 presence. Most love stories begin with attraction. 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:02.699 Two people notice each other and there's a spark 00:03:02.699 --> 00:03:08.360 that draws them together. Even if it's not love 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:12.340 at first sight, eventually the two will not be 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:17.740 able to deny their true feelings. That's just 00:03:17.740 --> 00:03:22.419 the way it goes. I heard a praise God out there. 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:28.319 That's good. I'm a witness of that. In the case 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:32.680 of a parent -child relationship, which is also 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:36.159 a love story, it usually begins with anticipation, 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:44.280 longing, desire to hold and to protect what is 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:51.349 coming. These are the familiar storylines. The 00:03:51.349 --> 00:03:58.150 kind that you will see printed in novels or premiered 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:04.469 in romantic or heart -stirring films. These are 00:04:04.469 --> 00:04:09.530 the ones that we love to hear. But God's love 00:04:09.530 --> 00:04:14.650 story with humanity does not begin this way. 00:04:15.090 --> 00:04:18.930 It does not begin with attraction. It begins... 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:25.180 with abandonment. It begins with blood, with 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:30.800 exposure, with an unwanted and an unloved soul. 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:36.620 If this were an ordinary story, this is likely 00:04:36.620 --> 00:04:40.699 where the story would end. A tale of tragedy, 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:48.480 a story of heartbreak, a tale of what ifs. But 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:54.199 this is not an ordinary story. This is God's 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:59.500 love story. Because in the midst of a disturbing 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:04.920 scene, God passes by. Not because he was drawn 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:11.360 to beauty, nor because he saw some hidden potential. 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:20.560 Indeed, all he saw was death. loss, brokenness, 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:27.480 despair. But still, the story of God's love for 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:32.480 humanity, you and I, is that he stopped anyhow. 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:39.180 Somebody say amen. And what he says and does 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:46.839 in response is not what anyone. would expect. 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:51.920 Not any storyteller, not anyone who's looking 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:55.759 to write a best -selling story would expect. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.860 Ezekiel paints a picture for us in a biblical 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:07.120 analogy prophesying to Israel who is in exile. 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:12.240 Jerusalem has fallen. The people of God are scattered. 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:17.759 They are ashamed. and broken. And they wonder 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:24.740 if God still loves them and if their story is 00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:28.879 over. But before telling them how the story will 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:33.660 end, God takes them all the way back to the beginning 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:40.920 and reminds them how it started. And with dramatic 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:45.000 imagery, I invite you to read on your own in 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:49.639 this beautiful and poetic chapter. Israel is 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:56.079 portrayed in the most pitiful, dare I say despicable, 00:06:56.259 --> 00:07:02.500 possible way. She's portrayed as a baby girl 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:08.180 thrown into an open field at birth. It's a haunting 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:13.149 scene that... would make anyone's stomach turn 00:07:13.149 --> 00:07:21.069 upon seeing it. A scene so ghastly, so horrifying 00:07:21.069 --> 00:07:25.790 that you could never wipe it from your memory 00:07:25.790 --> 00:07:31.649 no matter how hard you tried. The scene painted 00:07:31.649 --> 00:07:35.889 for us in this chapter hits us on the deepest 00:07:35.889 --> 00:07:39.970 level. It's something that nobody would ever 00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:45.009 want, For their eyes to behold this child, this 00:07:45.009 --> 00:07:49.990 newly born baby thrown in a field to die, left 00:07:49.990 --> 00:07:54.310 exposed to the elements and nature. And the baby 00:07:54.310 --> 00:08:00.730 girl laid there lifeless. No one cut her umbilical 00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:05.470 cord. No one washed her. No one wrapped her in 00:08:05.470 --> 00:08:10.389 cloth and a blanket, kissed her forehead. No 00:08:10.389 --> 00:08:14.589 one held her in their embrace and said thank 00:08:14.589 --> 00:08:19.649 you for this miracle. No one loved this baby. 00:08:20.149 --> 00:08:25.870 No one pitied her in her condition. But then 00:08:25.870 --> 00:08:33.970 God enters the scene of this tragic episode unfolding, 00:08:34.330 --> 00:08:42.710 and then God says, When I passed by you, I saw 00:08:42.710 --> 00:08:49.710 you struggling in your own blood. And I said 00:08:49.710 --> 00:08:54.570 to you in your blood, in your state of despondency, 00:08:54.690 --> 00:08:59.009 hopelessness, loss, and brokenness, I said to 00:08:59.009 --> 00:09:05.919 you in that state, live. Somebody say live. I 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:09.100 propose to you that if the world had passed by 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:11.820 in that moment, it would have had a different 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:14.399 message for that baby girl thrown in the open 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.080 field. It would have said something like, why 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:23.860 don't you try harder? Religion would have said 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:30.440 something like, prove yourself worthy. Hell would 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:36.220 have said, it's too late for you. But when God 00:09:36.220 --> 00:09:44.720 saw that baby, it said, live. Just one word from 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:52.179 God can turn a life around. Just one word from 00:09:52.179 --> 00:09:56.720 the Lord can reverse the curse and turn back 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:01.080 the problem in one's life. It can change your 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:05.700 status overnight. I have to tell you, That one 00:10:05.700 --> 00:10:10.840 word from God can radically transform your world 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:14.279 as you know it today. Somebody give God some 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:17.600 praise this afternoon. Hallelujah. Is there anybody 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:21.600 who's a witness that it only takes one word from 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:26.059 God? And I'm so glad that we are in the midst 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:29.679 of a God who did not tell us try harder, prove 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:33.490 yourself, or it's too late. But he said, live. 00:10:33.610 --> 00:10:37.870 And in that word marks a change, marks hope. 00:10:38.129 --> 00:10:41.929 And in that word carries for you and I the promise, 00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:46.230 the hope of a love story that no one on the face 00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:49.340 of this earth could have ever. dreamed up or 00:10:49.340 --> 00:10:51.899 imagined in their life. In that one word, live. 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:55.360 Oh, if I could just preach on that one word today. 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:58.139 Hallelujah. I've got a lot to share, but I could 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:00.120 just preach on that one word, live. Because if 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:02.779 there's one word that'll change somebody's life 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:05.679 today, one word that'll change somebody who's 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:08.259 watching this message today, one word that can 00:11:08.259 --> 00:11:11.899 change and go against and contradict everything 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:14.460 that you hear in this world that's screaming 00:11:14.460 --> 00:11:17.600 death and murder and violence and pain. If there's 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.789 one word One word that the world needs to hear, 00:11:19.909 --> 00:11:22.990 lost souls need to hear, hungry hearts need to 00:11:22.990 --> 00:11:25.909 hear, broken spirits need to hear is the word 00:11:25.909 --> 00:11:29.710 live. So I came to tell you, live. Because if 00:11:29.710 --> 00:11:32.509 you're dying, if you're broken, you can walk 00:11:32.509 --> 00:11:38.250 out of this place living. That's what love says. 00:11:38.389 --> 00:11:41.809 Someone say, that's what love says. Love says 00:11:41.809 --> 00:11:49.320 live. It says live and so. God enters this dark 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:54.019 scene and says, live. And it tells us some things 00:11:54.019 --> 00:11:58.940 about the way God love works. It tells us something 00:11:58.940 --> 00:12:01.740 about the love story of God towards humanity. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:05.960 The first thing it tells us about it that I want 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:13.139 to impart today is that God loved us. He really 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:20.210 did when we were unlovable. Do you not see yourself 00:12:20.210 --> 00:12:24.809 in this story today? Do you not, if you can for 00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:29.309 a moment, forget about the price of the clothes 00:12:29.309 --> 00:12:31.950 that you are wearing, the type of car that you 00:12:31.950 --> 00:12:36.210 drove to church, and what perhaps the latest 00:12:36.210 --> 00:12:39.870 season or opportunities that have been. Can you 00:12:39.870 --> 00:12:43.029 not for a moment put those things aside and see 00:12:43.029 --> 00:12:47.690 yourself in the story as that. As that baby left 00:12:47.690 --> 00:12:51.629 in the field with nothing to offer and nothing 00:12:51.629 --> 00:12:55.850 to give in an open field, nowhere in the scene 00:12:55.850 --> 00:12:59.889 do you hear or read of the baby even crying for 00:12:59.889 --> 00:13:06.389 help. Nowhere does she make any effort on her 00:13:06.389 --> 00:13:11.529 own accord to be seen or noticed. And yet that 00:13:11.529 --> 00:13:15.419 is something that we will. Well, we will say 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:17.340 to one another, you got to do something to get 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:21.019 noticed. You got to get God's attention somehow. 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:23.940 Well, what if I told you that sometimes you're 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:28.220 in no position to get his attention? Sometimes 00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:30.480 you don't even know if you want the attention, 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:34.980 if you deserve the attention. Sometimes you can 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:40.330 be in a state so far gone, so broken, so... Caught 00:13:40.330 --> 00:13:43.110 up in feelings of being unloved that you don't 00:13:43.110 --> 00:13:46.129 know. You have nothing to cry. You run out of 00:13:46.129 --> 00:13:49.509 cry. You run out of hope. You run out of tears. 00:13:50.029 --> 00:13:53.070 You just, there's nowhere for you to go. She 00:13:53.070 --> 00:13:56.509 did not reach for God. The little baby hand didn't 00:13:56.509 --> 00:14:01.470 say, you know, pick me over here. She didn't 00:14:01.470 --> 00:14:03.889 clean herself up. Oh, here comes God. Let me 00:14:03.889 --> 00:14:07.730 go and wash myself and put on my best garment 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:11.250 and comb my hair and brush my teeth and spray 00:14:11.250 --> 00:14:14.909 on some perfume. She didn't clean herself up. 00:14:14.990 --> 00:14:22.129 God simply passed by and saw her. A soul that 00:14:22.129 --> 00:14:24.389 had nothing to offer any. Someone say he saw 00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:28.120 her. Come on, say it again. He saw her. You see, 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:31.059 I need to preach just for a moment here. I need 00:14:31.059 --> 00:14:33.639 to pause right here and preach a little bit about 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:40.179 the miracle of just being seen. The miracle of 00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:43.240 being seen. The miracle of being noticed. You 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:45.639 see, some of you may not realize that it's a 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:50.850 miracle unto itself just to be seen. Just to 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:54.269 be noticed, just to be recognized, just to be 00:14:54.269 --> 00:14:58.649 in the view of a holy and majestic and perfect 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:02.750 almighty God, that in itself is a miracle all 00:15:02.750 --> 00:15:07.169 on its own. That God... would stop in his tracks 00:15:07.169 --> 00:15:10.769 among all that he is doing and all that he is 00:15:10.769 --> 00:15:13.350 orchestrating in the world and in the cosmos 00:15:13.350 --> 00:15:17.889 and the universe, all of the holiness and the 00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:20.730 glory that surrounds him day and night, that 00:15:20.730 --> 00:15:24.990 this God Almighty would stop and pay attention 00:15:24.990 --> 00:15:29.070 to little old me in my bloody and confused and 00:15:29.070 --> 00:15:33.070 miserable state in of itself is a miracle that 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:35.620 I think we ought to give God praise. Pray for 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.700 this afternoon. I wonder if there's somebody 00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:41.980 here today that can testify to the miracle of 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:44.919 being seen when the world didn't see you, when 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:47.240 even your closest friends and loved ones didn't 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:52.580 see you. There was a God in heaven that saw. 00:15:52.740 --> 00:15:55.139 I wonder if there's somebody with the praise 00:15:55.139 --> 00:15:57.379 today. I wonder if there's somebody with the 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:00.759 testimony, somebody that can say thank you, Jesus, 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:05.940 because one day you saw. I wasn't looking for 00:16:05.940 --> 00:16:10.100 you, but you found me. Come on, you ought to 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:18.980 give God praise for that. You didn't find him. 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:23.059 He found you. You didn't stumble into church. 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:31.059 He ordained your steps, and he saw you. That's 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:35.289 powerful to be seen. In of itself is a miracle. 00:16:37.129 --> 00:16:39.370 And sometimes you don't really know. You don't 00:16:39.370 --> 00:16:41.070 know the power of this until you've gone through 00:16:41.070 --> 00:16:46.389 a season where you have felt overlooked. Invisible. 00:16:48.570 --> 00:16:51.289 Misjudged and misunderstood. Some of you know 00:16:51.289 --> 00:16:53.889 the pain. I'm talking to somebody right now. 00:16:54.970 --> 00:16:58.330 You know the pain of being misjudged, overlooked, 00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:05.319 underappreciated, misunderstood. Pre -judge. 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:08.380 You know the pain of having someone judge the 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:11.279 book by the cover and not knowing the contents 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:15.240 of who you really are. But God. did not judge 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:18.339 the book by the cover and see the outside wrapping 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:22.339 of your life and keep walking along on his way 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:26.319 but he saw you God said no I pitied you in verse 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.660 5 but you were thrown out into the open field 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:32.059 in other words others had the opportunity to 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:35.259 see you they looked at you but they really didn't 00:17:35.259 --> 00:17:38.339 see you have you ever felt like this maybe just 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:41.160 one in here knows the feeling of somebody looking 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:44.279 at you but not actually seeing seeing you. Oh 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:45.980 I don't know if anybody knows what I'm talking 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:48.440 about. People are looking at you but they don't 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:51.579 really see you. They don't really see you. They 00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:54.759 don't really understand where you are and who 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.900 you are but then God said I passed by you and 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:03.720 I saw you struggling in your own blood. Let me 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:07.099 tell you there is hope if God sees you. There 00:18:07.099 --> 00:18:11.880 is hope if God if you catch the eye of God. I've 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:15.660 come to tell you that his eye is on the sparrow. 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:19.420 And if his eye is on the sparrow, I know that 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:22.220 his eye is on you today. Whatever it is that 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:24.200 you're going through, whatever it is you're feeling, 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:26.619 whatever it is you're up against, you need to 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:29.640 know that you have not been lost of the sight 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:33.660 of God. God sees you sitting there today. He 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:36.380 sees every one of those hairs on your head. He 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:39.660 sees every problem, every joy, every victory, 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:42.910 every sadness, every gladness. God sees it all. 00:18:43.029 --> 00:18:46.390 There is nothing hidden from him. And yet he 00:18:46.390 --> 00:18:53.890 still loves you with an everlasting love. Somebody 00:18:53.890 --> 00:19:00.950 say amen today. Thank the Lord. He saw you and 00:19:00.950 --> 00:19:04.049 he loved you in your most broken and sinful state. 00:19:06.650 --> 00:19:11.630 And this means a few things for us. I could just 00:19:11.630 --> 00:19:15.309 camp out in every one of these points, but I'll 00:19:15.309 --> 00:19:18.470 briefly touch on it. This implies there are some 00:19:18.470 --> 00:19:23.390 powerful implications here. And the first would 00:19:23.390 --> 00:19:26.630 be that it means that you cannot earn his love. 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:33.490 You cannot earn it. Someone say, I can't earn 00:19:33.490 --> 00:19:39.720 it. The baby did nothing to deserve mercy. She 00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:44.099 was seen and loved while still bleeding and naked. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:50.980 She couldn't pay for it. She couldn't wager for 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:54.880 it. She couldn't do anything to earn. She couldn't 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:58.920 merit it. She couldn't work her way towards it. 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:01.660 She couldn't climb the spiritual corporate ladder 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:07.559 to get notice and to get good favor and to earn 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:11.539 that with. She couldn't do any of these things. 00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:19.019 And yet she was loved. This is how God found 00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:25.359 us. Sin left us exposed and shame left us uncovered. 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:32.480 But grace did not walk past us. Grace stopped. 00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:37.430 And there is nothing you will ever be able to 00:20:37.430 --> 00:20:43.589 do to earn God's love. It is a gift. It is a 00:20:43.589 --> 00:20:48.089 gift. It is a gift that God gives to anyone whosoever 00:20:48.089 --> 00:20:52.529 will receive it. The gift belongs to you. It 00:20:52.529 --> 00:20:56.309 is a gift. Someone say, it's a gift. Can't earn 00:20:56.309 --> 00:21:00.150 it. Can't buy it. You can show your appreciation 00:21:00.150 --> 00:21:03.990 for it. You can. Give in response to it. But 00:21:03.990 --> 00:21:06.849 it will never be a payment. It will never amount 00:21:06.849 --> 00:21:12.049 to enough to have earned it. You will never be 00:21:12.049 --> 00:21:15.529 able to pay whatever the price tag of it is. 00:21:15.609 --> 00:21:19.750 Because it is without value. Invaluable. It is 00:21:19.750 --> 00:21:22.529 timeless. It is eternal. And there is nothing 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:26.509 that you can do or I can do to earn his love. 00:21:26.750 --> 00:21:31.369 And on the flip side. It also means that you 00:21:31.369 --> 00:21:39.670 cannot lose his love. Oh, my God. You can't earn 00:21:39.670 --> 00:21:45.950 it, can't buy it, and you can't lose it. Nothing 00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:51.430 you do will cause you to lose the love of God. 00:21:51.509 --> 00:21:57.049 You see, if God loved you in your blood, then 00:21:57.049 --> 00:22:00.509 your failures cannot cancel his love in your 00:22:00.509 --> 00:22:03.950 life. Somebody needs to hear what I'm saying 00:22:03.950 --> 00:22:08.210 today. Your struggle doesn't cancel his love. 00:22:09.410 --> 00:22:13.650 Your failure doesn't cancel his love. Somebody 00:22:13.650 --> 00:22:21.049 say amen. Your issues do not cancel his love. 00:22:21.170 --> 00:22:24.359 God, I want you to understand this today. like 00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:26.779 the way he did with that baby in the open field, 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:33.940 took everything about you into account. The blood, 00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:38.279 the abandonment, the sin, the shame, the guilt, 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:42.160 the struggle, the iniquity and transgression, 00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:47.740 God took all of that into his holy account, and 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:53.220 yet he still loves you. If God can love you at 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:56.920 your worst state, that tells me there is nothing 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:59.740 you ever go through in this life that will ever 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:03.380 make God unlove you. My God, I wish I had a witness. 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:07.140 Somebody here today needs to give God glory and 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:11.019 recognize that there is nothing you can do to 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:14.559 make him love you anymore or love you any less. 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:20.450 Come on, give him some praise. You can't make 00:23:20.450 --> 00:23:22.250 him love you more and you can't make him love 00:23:22.250 --> 00:23:24.269 you less. He'll love you the way you are. He 00:23:24.269 --> 00:23:26.869 loves you at your worst the same way he loves 00:23:26.869 --> 00:23:31.849 you at your best. God doesn't love others more 00:23:31.849 --> 00:23:34.730 than he loves you or love you more than he loves 00:23:34.730 --> 00:23:37.069 others. God doesn't know respecter of people 00:23:37.069 --> 00:23:40.549 that way. His love is equal and universal and 00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:43.750 available to each and every one of us the same. 00:23:46.029 --> 00:23:49.740 God doesn't play favorites like that. His love 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:53.680 is equally distributed to all of us. And to somebody 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.500 who is hearing me today, either here or watching 00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:59.859 at some point, you need to understand that no 00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:01.819 matter what condition your life is, no matter 00:24:01.819 --> 00:24:04.220 what mistakes you've made, no matter what society 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:07.359 has labeled and even religious folks have said 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:10.140 about your mistakes and your failures and your 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:13.119 sins, understand this, that God loves you just 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:17.940 the same. How many of you know somebody who needs 00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:19.559 to know that and needs to hear that in their 00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:22.480 life? Because we are living in a day and age, 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:24.480 we're living in a time where people feel like 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:28.019 they have to get good to get God. That they have 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:31.319 to earn his love and earn their way back into 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:33.539 the church. I'm prophesying, I'm preaching and 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:35.880 declaring right now that there are people that 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.700 God wants to fix and heal in here. And there 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:41.440 are people that God wants to bring back who need 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:44.680 to know and understand that God didn't stop loving 00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:48.779 you when you backslid. Come on now somebody. 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:53.119 Amen. God didn't stop loving you when you backslid. 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:55.759 He didn't stop loving you. When you rebel, no, 00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:59.079 God, look it, a parent loves the good child, 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:01.839 quote, unquote, just as much as he loves the 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:05.319 rebellious child. They're all his children. And 00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:07.880 somebody needs to know that even on your worst 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.319 day, my God, even when you've done bad, even 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.619 when you've messed up, even when you are far 00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:16.779 from the will of God, his love for you remains 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:21.900 just as strong now as it did on Calvary 2 ,000 00:25:21.900 --> 00:25:31.140 years ago. nothing we can do to lose his love. 00:25:32.259 --> 00:25:37.400 He loves us just the same. And because he loves 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:39.559 us just the same, you and I are called to love 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:44.619 one another just the same. Woo, my God. And this 00:25:44.619 --> 00:25:47.700 is why as we begin this series, as we go through 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:50.160 step -by -step things that God has placed on 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:52.299 my heart to talk about this important of love. 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:56.470 I'm going to say love matters. We must start 00:25:56.470 --> 00:25:58.490 with the love of God. How could we ever love 00:25:58.490 --> 00:26:02.910 those that we're called to love, our neighbors, 00:26:03.190 --> 00:26:06.289 our brothers, our sisters in Christ? How can 00:26:06.289 --> 00:26:08.509 we ever love them until we have first received 00:26:08.509 --> 00:26:14.009 the love of God and are living in his love? How 00:26:14.009 --> 00:26:15.769 can we ever give something that we ourselves 00:26:15.769 --> 00:26:19.309 have not fully accepted and live with and the 00:26:19.309 --> 00:26:22.750 knowledge of and in the confidence of day after 00:26:22.750 --> 00:26:26.880 day? It starts with the love of God. The second 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:29.519 thing I want you to see about his love is that 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:33.119 God covered us when we could not cover ourselves. 00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:41.019 God did more than save the baby. Had he only 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:45.240 saved the baby, dropped her off at a neutral 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:47.960 zone, a drop -off location, and said, here you 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:51.200 go, he would have done enough. He would have 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:54.150 done enough. Anybody would. Get an award for 00:26:54.150 --> 00:26:57.829 that if you do something that kind of, something 00:26:57.829 --> 00:27:02.130 kind like that. But God went beyond that. He 00:27:02.130 --> 00:27:04.930 didn't just save the baby. He raised her. And, 00:27:04.970 --> 00:27:07.589 of course, this is speaking prophetically of 00:27:07.589 --> 00:27:10.890 Israel, God's people. This is an allegory, but 00:27:10.890 --> 00:27:14.410 it also speaks of you and I, the church. He raised 00:27:14.410 --> 00:27:19.809 her, adopted her, nourished her, and watched 00:27:19.809 --> 00:27:26.299 her grow. invested in her. And when she came 00:27:26.299 --> 00:27:31.980 of age, verse 8, God says, indeed, your time 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:36.319 was the time of love. So I spread my wing over 00:27:36.319 --> 00:27:41.299 you and covered. Someone say covered. And I covered 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:45.359 your nakedness. And watch this. He said, and 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:52.559 you became naked. The allegory shifts from adoption 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:58.000 language to marriage language. God is saying, 00:27:58.220 --> 00:28:06.920 I committed myself to you like a husband. I loved 00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:13.440 you with covenantal love, a covenant type of 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:20.859 love. He said, I spread my wings over you. Spreading 00:28:20.859 --> 00:28:24.960 the wing is significant and it refers to an ancient 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:28.400 custom. When a man spread the corner of his wing 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:32.119 or his garment over a woman, it was a symbolic 00:28:32.119 --> 00:28:37.200 act of marriage. It meant by spreading that wing, 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:43.220 I take responsibility for you. I claim you. I'm 00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:46.480 going to protect you. I'm going to provide for 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:49.319 you. If I spread my wing over you, the covering 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:53.119 of my garment, that means I'm going to protect 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:57.000 you. I'm going to cover you with my name. Hallelujah. 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:02.019 I'm going to share with you all that is mine. 00:29:02.359 --> 00:29:05.609 And we see this. Lived out in other places in 00:29:05.609 --> 00:29:07.650 scripture. The same imagery in the book of Ruth. 00:29:07.890 --> 00:29:12.410 When she says to Boaz in Ruth 3 .9. Spread your 00:29:12.410 --> 00:29:16.670 wing over your servant. For you are a redeemer. 00:29:16.829 --> 00:29:20.269 What was Ruth asking of Boaz? Make me your wife. 00:29:22.230 --> 00:29:25.849 Marry me is what she was saying. Come. I want 00:29:25.849 --> 00:29:28.809 to come under your covering. He was asking her 00:29:28.809 --> 00:29:32.849 to claim her. And to cover her. And this is what 00:29:32.849 --> 00:29:35.809 God. did with Israel. And this is what God wants 00:29:35.809 --> 00:29:39.329 to do with you and I today, his people in this 00:29:39.329 --> 00:29:42.549 hour. He wants to cover us with the wing and 00:29:42.549 --> 00:29:45.950 cover us with his garment so that we can come 00:29:45.950 --> 00:29:49.509 up under his rule and reign and responsibility 00:29:49.509 --> 00:29:54.109 so that his name will cover our life so that 00:29:54.109 --> 00:29:57.829 he will take us under his wing, under the wings 00:29:57.829 --> 00:30:01.069 of the almighty God so that we can find safety 00:30:01.069 --> 00:30:03.960 and shelter from a turbulent world. I don't know 00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:06.299 about you, but I want to come under the covering 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:08.839 of God today. I want to come under the covering 00:30:08.839 --> 00:30:11.420 of his power today. I want to come under the 00:30:11.420 --> 00:30:13.740 covering of his mercy and his grace. Is there 00:30:13.740 --> 00:30:16.119 anybody here today that wants to get under that 00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:18.319 covering, that wants to come under the wings 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:22.460 of the Almighty God? And this is what Jesus did 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:27.259 for us at Calvary. It is at the cross where Jesus 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:30.500 spread his wings in order to cover our shame 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:34.319 and bring us to a new and everlasting covenant. 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:37.220 Hey, I've come to tell somebody, if you're looking 00:30:37.220 --> 00:30:40.819 for cover, you're in the right place at the right 00:30:40.819 --> 00:30:45.519 time with the right covering God. Let his love 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:51.970 cover what you could not cover on your own. everyone's 00:30:51.970 --> 00:30:53.789 trying to cover themselves in one way or another, 00:30:53.990 --> 00:30:55.650 and it goes all the way back to the Garden of 00:30:55.650 --> 00:30:58.430 Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. They made tunics 00:30:58.430 --> 00:31:01.410 of skin to cover their shame and their nakedness, 00:31:01.549 --> 00:31:04.470 but it did not work because your covering is 00:31:04.470 --> 00:31:08.190 sufficient or it is insufficient to cover your 00:31:08.190 --> 00:31:11.390 shame. You're covering your attempts to masquerade, 00:31:11.390 --> 00:31:17.930 cover, and just pretend your efforts to cover 00:31:17.930 --> 00:31:21.049 the guilt, to cover the sin, to cover the shame. 00:31:21.289 --> 00:31:25.170 your life is not going to work. It is insufficient. 00:31:25.589 --> 00:31:29.190 But that's why Jesus or the Lord in the garden 00:31:29.190 --> 00:31:33.170 made tunics of skin instead of those leaves that 00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:36.509 they made. And he covered them. And this is what 00:31:36.509 --> 00:31:39.690 God wants to do with us. He wants to cover us 00:31:39.690 --> 00:31:43.769 with his covering that he paid for with his own 00:31:43.769 --> 00:31:47.509 life to bring us into that covenant. God wants 00:31:47.509 --> 00:31:49.890 to cover. I want to get under that covering today. 00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:56.460 covering. I feel the Holy Ghost here today. Somebody 00:31:56.460 --> 00:31:58.460 under the set, would you just pray for a moment 00:31:58.460 --> 00:32:01.140 right there? Would somebody just close your eyes 00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:03.359 for a moment? If you want to lift your hands, 00:32:03.420 --> 00:32:06.039 I feel a covering in this place right now. I 00:32:06.039 --> 00:32:09.900 feel the wings of the Lord covering. Maybe that's 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:12.720 why there were wings that were stretched across 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:15.819 the Ark of the Covenant. Oh, as a covering. Maybe 00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:18.319 that's why the woman with the issue of blood, 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:21.640 she pulled on the edge of his garment. She said, 00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:24.819 cover me because if I'm covered under you. I've 00:32:24.819 --> 00:32:27.960 got the best insurance that money could possibly 00:32:27.960 --> 00:32:32.779 buy. If I get under your coverage, if I get under 00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:35.559 your anointing, if I get under your power, if 00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:38.299 I get under your name, if I get under your protection, 00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:40.680 I know there's nothing that the devil can do 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:43.980 to destroy me. How many of you want protection 00:32:43.980 --> 00:32:47.140 from God? If you want protection, if you want 00:32:47.140 --> 00:32:50.160 his power, if you want his mercy to cover, then 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:52.059 you've got to get under the covering of God. 00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:55.180 You're under that covering. There's no devil 00:32:55.180 --> 00:32:58.279 in hell that can tell you otherwise. There's 00:32:58.279 --> 00:33:01.460 no demon in hell that can rob you, that can take 00:33:01.460 --> 00:33:04.019 away that covering because that covering was 00:33:04.019 --> 00:33:09.440 put there by all God himself. He covered her. 00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:14.819 Watch what he did next in verse 9. Then he washed 00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:19.640 her. my God. Hallelujah. He washed her in water. 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:22.279 He said, then I washed you in water. How many 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:23.799 of you know you got to get washed in the water? 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:28.160 If you haven't been baptized, you got to go down 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:32.400 in the waters and have the name of Jesus declared 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:37.000 over your life. He washed her in water. Yes, 00:33:37.180 --> 00:33:40.460 I thoroughly washed off your blood, which is 00:33:40.460 --> 00:33:44.460 your past and your sin and your depravity. I 00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:48.740 washed it off and I anointed you with oil. This 00:33:48.740 --> 00:33:54.099 portrays how Christ washes away our sins. oh 00:33:54.099 --> 00:33:55.940 thank you how many of you are glad that your 00:33:55.940 --> 00:33:58.839 sins have been washed away come on give God some 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:02.950 praise today Come on, give him some praise. I'm 00:34:02.950 --> 00:34:07.049 so glad he washed away my sins and I came up 00:34:07.049 --> 00:34:08.909 out of the water. And if you haven't come up 00:34:08.909 --> 00:34:11.269 out of the waters yet, you need to get baptized 00:34:11.269 --> 00:34:14.590 in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 00:34:14.590 --> 00:34:18.130 of your sins so that your blood and your sins 00:34:18.130 --> 00:34:21.809 can be washed away. And not only that, I anointed 00:34:21.809 --> 00:34:25.849 you. This is a picture of the anointing of the 00:34:25.849 --> 00:34:29.869 Holy Ghost. God is so good. He doesn't just save 00:34:29.869 --> 00:34:34.489 us. but he fills us, come on, with the power 00:34:34.489 --> 00:34:38.369 of the Holy Spirit. He's sanctified. I'm so glad 00:34:38.369 --> 00:34:41.510 today that I'm not just saved, but I'm sanctified. 00:34:41.710 --> 00:34:45.130 Anybody sanctified in the house of God? I'm not 00:34:45.130 --> 00:34:48.809 just saved from hell, but I'm sanctified. I've 00:34:48.809 --> 00:34:51.909 been anointed, come on. I've been filled with 00:34:51.909 --> 00:34:55.590 the gift of the Holy Ghost, and I can walk in 00:34:55.590 --> 00:34:58.880 that power. I can walk. In that authority he 00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:02.679 has washed me and he has sanctified me. This 00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:07.659 is God's love story. He said, if you're going 00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:09.239 to be my bride, I'm going to make you the best 00:35:09.239 --> 00:35:13.239 looking bride there is. And this brings us to 00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:15.280 the next point of what he did. And watch in verse 00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:19.360 10. He said, and he clothed her. He said, I clothe 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:21.340 you. He said, girl, I'm going to take you shopping. 00:35:24.339 --> 00:35:26.940 I got some of you, oh, on board when I said that. 00:35:27.219 --> 00:35:28.840 He said, girl, I'm going to take you shopping. 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:31.820 And guess what? I got no credit limit on this 00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:35.360 card. I'm going to show you what it is to be 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:38.840 my bride. He said, I clothe her in embroidered 00:35:38.840 --> 00:35:41.380 cloth. I'm not taking you to the secondhand store, 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:43.960 okay? Nothing wrong with that. I'm not taking 00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:46.260 you to the thrift store. I'm not taking you to 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:50.239 the consignment store. I'm taking you to Nordstrom. 00:35:50.539 --> 00:35:53.920 I'm taking you to Bloomingdale's. I'm taking 00:35:53.920 --> 00:35:56.559 you to the finest of the finest. I'm going to 00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:59.260 deck you out. You're going to look so wonderful. 00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:01.920 You're going to look so blessed. You're the bottom. 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:03.519 Some of your shoes are going to have red on them 00:36:03.519 --> 00:36:06.320 or whatever it is. You're going to be the talk 00:36:06.320 --> 00:36:09.019 of the town, and I will anoint you with ornaments. 00:36:09.440 --> 00:36:11.739 I'm going to embellish you. I'm going to put 00:36:11.739 --> 00:36:14.619 some bling on you. Hallelujah. You're going to 00:36:14.619 --> 00:36:17.679 sparkle when I'm done with you. How many of you 00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:20.559 know that this is exactly what will happen when 00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:23.280 you submit to the covering of God? You get under 00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:25.920 his blood. Come on now, somebody. God has said, 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:27.820 if you're going to represent me in this world, 00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:30.099 I'm going to make sure you look better than anybody. 00:36:30.230 --> 00:36:35.710 I'm going to bless you in the city. Bless you 00:36:35.710 --> 00:36:39.670 in the field. Bless you when you come and when 00:36:39.670 --> 00:36:42.829 you go. Clap your hands and give God some praise 00:36:42.829 --> 00:36:49.269 today. It is the will of God that you be blessed. 00:36:52.269 --> 00:36:56.289 I denounce this poverty theology and gospel that 00:36:56.289 --> 00:36:58.849 people preach that to serve the Lord or to be 00:36:58.849 --> 00:37:02.110 one of his or to give your life to him is a life 00:37:02.110 --> 00:37:05.670 of poverty and a life of sadness and false humility. 00:37:05.829 --> 00:37:09.070 That's not the Bible that I preach. That's not 00:37:09.070 --> 00:37:11.909 what God shows me in his word. When you get under 00:37:11.909 --> 00:37:14.909 his covering, he gives you the best of the best. 00:37:15.030 --> 00:37:16.590 That doesn't mean that you're going to be, you 00:37:16.590 --> 00:37:20.250 know, dry. in the nicest cars all the time or 00:37:20.250 --> 00:37:22.489 be able to buy a yacht. If you do, invite me 00:37:22.489 --> 00:37:25.289 on a vacation. It doesn't mean all of that, but 00:37:25.289 --> 00:37:27.949 what it means is that when people look at you, 00:37:28.070 --> 00:37:30.750 they will know there is something about that 00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:33.889 person. I know where they came from. They don't 00:37:33.889 --> 00:37:36.530 have enough degrees to earn that house. They 00:37:36.530 --> 00:37:39.170 don't have a, ah, come on now. I know where they 00:37:39.170 --> 00:37:41.909 did in their past. I know the stuff about them, 00:37:41.989 --> 00:37:44.989 and yet there they are sitting in the house of 00:37:44.989 --> 00:37:48.519 God. Is there a witness? There's somebody today 00:37:48.519 --> 00:37:51.199 that knows that you shouldn't be sitting right 00:37:51.199 --> 00:37:56.639 where you are. But God covered you. God blessed 00:37:56.639 --> 00:37:59.900 you. You're blessed beyond your level of education. 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:03.300 You're blessed beyond who you know. You're blessed 00:38:03.300 --> 00:38:05.960 beyond your knowledge and intellect. Somebody 00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:12.380 ought to give God 30 seconds of glory. Somebody 00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:15.019 ought to stand up on your feet. Somebody ought 00:38:15.019 --> 00:38:18.760 to raise up your hand because you are there because 00:38:18.760 --> 00:38:22.099 of how good you are. You're there because of 00:38:22.099 --> 00:38:35.019 how good God is. Somebody shout hallelujah. Amen. 00:38:35.420 --> 00:38:37.760 I don't know why you're standing up. Pastor, 00:38:38.460 --> 00:38:42.340 you told us to stand. Amen. A few more moments, 00:38:42.440 --> 00:38:44.519 amen. Trying to get through my introduction here. 00:38:44.719 --> 00:38:50.019 Just kidding. Trying to get through this. People 00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:53.539 need to know, you hear me, you YouTuber or whoever 00:38:53.539 --> 00:38:56.500 is watching Facebook. You hear me what I'm saying 00:38:56.500 --> 00:39:00.079 right now. Amen. Don't let nobody tell you that 00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:04.420 serving God is punishment. Don't let nobody tell 00:39:04.420 --> 00:39:06.219 you that serving God, oh, you're one of those 00:39:06.219 --> 00:39:08.349 apostolic. Man, there's so many things they can't 00:39:08.349 --> 00:39:10.409 do. I don't want to be a part of that. The devil 00:39:10.409 --> 00:39:12.789 is alive. I'm more free now than I've ever been 00:39:12.789 --> 00:39:18.190 in my life. Paul said, I can do all things through 00:39:18.190 --> 00:39:20.530 Christ who strengthens me. Don't feel sorry for 00:39:20.530 --> 00:39:24.469 me. Don't feel sorry for me. I've got the joy 00:39:24.469 --> 00:39:27.449 of the Lord. I've got his covering on my life. 00:39:28.210 --> 00:39:30.570 Hallelujah. But I'm inviting you. I'm inviting 00:39:30.570 --> 00:39:32.409 our friends and our family members to come and 00:39:32.409 --> 00:39:35.599 discover what this is all about. It's the best 00:39:35.599 --> 00:39:43.079 life. Somebody say amen. Not only that, he crowned 00:39:43.079 --> 00:39:46.059 her. Verse 13, you were exceedingly beautiful. 00:39:46.460 --> 00:39:49.579 Well, I wonder how she got beautiful. Somebody 00:39:49.579 --> 00:39:53.340 made her beautiful. You were exceedingly beautiful 00:39:53.340 --> 00:40:00.219 and succeeded to royalty. Some will say there's 00:40:00.219 --> 00:40:03.280 more. God said, I'm not only going to bless you 00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:07.260 because I love you with an unconditional love. 00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:09.440 If you'll get under my covering, if you'll let 00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:12.900 me love you and serve me with all your heart, 00:40:12.980 --> 00:40:16.019 I'm not only going to bless you, wash you, sanctify 00:40:16.019 --> 00:40:19.239 you. Man, my Lord. I'm not only going to promote 00:40:19.239 --> 00:40:22.400 you. I'm not only going to establish you and 00:40:22.400 --> 00:40:24.880 adorn you with the finest things, but I'm going 00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:30.929 to make you royalty. Royalty. I'm going to make 00:40:30.929 --> 00:40:34.030 you an heir of God. I'm going to make you as 00:40:34.030 --> 00:40:37.610 one of my own. Everything I have in my kingdom 00:40:37.610 --> 00:40:41.630 is available to you. I'm going to seat you as 00:40:41.630 --> 00:40:45.530 we learn in Ephesians in heavenly places. I don't 00:40:45.530 --> 00:40:47.849 know about you, but I'm seated in heavenly places 00:40:47.849 --> 00:40:52.230 with Christ. I am not a pauper. I am not a beggar. 00:40:52.250 --> 00:40:56.730 Hallelujah. I am a prince. I am a son. You are 00:40:56.730 --> 00:41:00.969 a son or a daughter. the king. You are connected. 00:41:01.809 --> 00:41:06.030 You are in covenant with the king of kings and 00:41:06.030 --> 00:41:11.429 the Lord of lords. But all the beauty, all the 00:41:11.429 --> 00:41:16.170 beauty, all the splendor, all the riches, all 00:41:16.170 --> 00:41:19.690 her identity was all because of God. And this 00:41:19.690 --> 00:41:24.449 is where it takes a painful turn. with me just 00:41:24.449 --> 00:41:25.949 a few more moments. This is where it takes a 00:41:25.949 --> 00:41:29.630 painful turn. Because then in verse 15, it reads, 00:41:30.010 --> 00:41:35.969 God said, but you trusted in your own beauty 00:41:35.969 --> 00:41:43.250 and played the harlot. Guess what? The bride 00:41:43.250 --> 00:41:48.710 becomes unfaithful. And instead of surrendering 00:41:48.710 --> 00:41:52.889 her life in complete and total servitude unto 00:41:53.610 --> 00:41:56.889 her king unto the one who made her beautiful. 00:41:57.010 --> 00:41:59.750 She takes the riches and the blessings and the 00:41:59.750 --> 00:42:02.929 gifts that were given to her to chase other things. 00:42:05.530 --> 00:42:09.889 And she chases other lovers who can give her 00:42:09.889 --> 00:42:17.469 but a cheap thrill and forgot who made her beautiful. 00:42:19.190 --> 00:42:31.050 She wore the blessings. The fancy clothes. The 00:42:31.050 --> 00:42:36.269 career that's paying top dollar. The glossy Instagram 00:42:36.269 --> 00:42:41.969 reel. The applause and the praise. The recognition, 00:42:42.230 --> 00:42:46.550 the acclaim, the clout. The you know who we are 00:42:46.550 --> 00:42:52.489 right attitude. She took all of that and forgot 00:42:52.489 --> 00:42:58.980 about the blesser. She started thinking that 00:42:58.980 --> 00:43:05.760 it was because of her. He started thinking that 00:43:05.760 --> 00:43:12.460 it was his good looks, her good looks, her smarts, 00:43:12.460 --> 00:43:15.900 her abilities, her talents, her gifts. And she 00:43:15.900 --> 00:43:23.679 forgot that she was once that baby left in the 00:43:23.679 --> 00:43:32.420 open field. Once that baby that was left to die, 00:43:32.460 --> 00:43:40.099 she forgot where she came from. And how it was 00:43:40.099 --> 00:43:47.119 that if it had not been the Lord, you got that 00:43:47.119 --> 00:43:50.320 education, you got that degree, good. But you 00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:52.739 never would have even got past the first grade 00:43:52.739 --> 00:43:59.570 had he not snatched you. put you in a place to 00:43:59.570 --> 00:44:06.610 succeed. But she got so in love with herself, 00:44:06.889 --> 00:44:14.150 she looked in the mirror and said, girl, you 00:44:14.150 --> 00:44:18.650 got it. Ain't you something? Complimenting herself. 00:44:19.869 --> 00:44:21.889 Feeling good about herself. Now, there's nothing 00:44:21.889 --> 00:44:24.989 wrong with feeling good about yourself. Nothing 00:44:24.989 --> 00:44:28.679 wrong with having some Self -esteem, confidence. 00:44:31.039 --> 00:44:37.340 But the problem comes when, like this girl, God 00:44:37.340 --> 00:44:40.280 blesses her. God sanctifies her. Cleans her up. 00:44:40.719 --> 00:44:44.039 Turns her life around. Pours love that she's 00:44:44.039 --> 00:44:45.980 never seen. Pours grace she's never experienced. 00:44:46.239 --> 00:44:48.659 Gives her mercy she's undeserving of. And she 00:44:48.659 --> 00:44:50.340 finally gets to a place where she's standing 00:44:50.340 --> 00:44:53.159 on her own two feet. She's blessed. She's, you 00:44:53.159 --> 00:44:55.639 know. Things are just going in her favor. And 00:44:55.639 --> 00:45:00.000 now she's too busy to pray. I got to get to that 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:05.219 meeting. Now she's too good to be with the others. 00:45:07.579 --> 00:45:11.940 Now she's too good for correction. Too good for 00:45:11.940 --> 00:45:16.440 submission. Too good for obedience. Now she. 00:45:33.579 --> 00:45:36.380 It was the Lord, and so she took those things. 00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:55.219 Oh, God. God, have mercy. God, forgive me. Oh, 00:45:55.219 --> 00:46:13.440 God, forgive me. I deserve any of this. God, 00:46:13.639 --> 00:46:17.880 forgive me for taking your blessings and using 00:46:17.880 --> 00:46:25.400 them for myself only. Forgive me, God, for receiving 00:46:25.400 --> 00:46:31.480 and then never giving back. Forgive me, God, 00:46:31.579 --> 00:46:36.940 for thinking of myself higher than I ought to. 00:46:38.989 --> 00:46:43.349 Forgive me, God, for taking this gospel, this 00:46:43.349 --> 00:46:48.510 doctrine, this truth for granted. Forgive me, 00:46:48.530 --> 00:46:52.530 God, for thinking that because I was born into 00:46:52.530 --> 00:46:55.369 this and I slept under the pews of my grandparents 00:46:55.369 --> 00:46:58.789 and my great -grandparents, that somehow I'm 00:46:58.789 --> 00:47:03.510 entitled to this, when really I'm not entitled 00:47:03.510 --> 00:47:55.489 to nothing. Taking your love. Because I had a 00:47:55.489 --> 00:48:00.750 long night. I'm sorry, God, for every time that 00:48:00.750 --> 00:48:05.250 I just turned the other way. When you had called 00:48:05.250 --> 00:48:11.010 me to do something. Forgive me, God. But I hear 00:48:11.010 --> 00:48:14.670 the word of the Lord saying, don't worry. Because 00:48:14.670 --> 00:48:16.269 the thing that God wants you to know, church, 00:48:16.550 --> 00:48:21.449 is that God stayed faithful even when you were 00:48:21.449 --> 00:48:26.539 unfaithful. God said, never shut up. I feel the 00:48:26.539 --> 00:48:28.800 Holy Ghost so powerfully in this place right 00:48:28.800 --> 00:48:33.139 now. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost. I feel the Holy 00:48:33.139 --> 00:48:35.619 Ghost. Church, we got to get real with God. Come 00:48:35.619 --> 00:48:37.579 on, you're not fooling anybody. You need to get 00:48:37.579 --> 00:48:40.900 real with the Lord right now. God said, nevertheless, 00:48:41.159 --> 00:48:45.110 I will remember my covenant with you. in the 00:48:45.110 --> 00:48:48.889 days of your youth and I will establish an everlasting 00:48:48.889 --> 00:48:52.190 covenant with you I'm going to tell you something 00:48:52.190 --> 00:48:55.389 right now God is in this place ready to heal, 00:48:55.429 --> 00:48:58.690 restore, deliver bless and promote not because 00:48:58.690 --> 00:49:02.070 he remembers how faithful you've been but God 00:49:02.070 --> 00:49:05.389 made a promise to you come hell or high water 00:49:05.389 --> 00:49:08.769 God made a commitment to you regardless of what 00:49:08.769 --> 00:49:11.889 season you would be in and how you might go astray 00:49:11.889 --> 00:49:23.130 God said I'm still going to be you to come home. 00:49:23.269 --> 00:49:25.150 I'm still waiting on you to walk through those 00:49:25.150 --> 00:49:27.650 doors. I'm still waiting on you with arms of 00:49:27.650 --> 00:49:30.429 mercy and not arms of judgment. Somebody ought 00:49:30.429 --> 00:49:32.650 to stand up on your feet today. I'm waiting for 00:49:32.650 --> 00:49:35.550 you with arms of blessing, arms of restoration, 00:49:35.929 --> 00:49:39.550 arms of grace, not with arms of condemnation, 00:49:39.550 --> 00:49:42.949 not with arms of rejection. I'm waiting on you 00:49:42.949 --> 00:49:45.469 like I've never waited on you before. I'm waiting 00:49:45.469 --> 00:49:47.769 on you to come to an altar. I'm waiting on you 00:49:47.769 --> 00:49:50.530 to get right. I'm waiting on you to realize I'm 00:49:50.530 --> 00:49:56.280 the one that's been I'm the one that's been wooing 00:49:56.280 --> 00:49:59.500 you and reeling you in. I'm the one that's been 00:49:59.500 --> 00:50:02.199 trying to get your attention now. You used to 00:50:02.199 --> 00:50:04.920 want my attention, but now I want your attention. 00:50:05.219 --> 00:50:08.679 I want your love back. I want your worship back. 00:50:08.820 --> 00:50:25.280 I want your devotion back. I worship thee. I 00:50:25.280 --> 00:50:28.320 want you to get back to those tears. I want you 00:50:28.320 --> 00:50:31.260 to let those tears roll down your face the way 00:50:31.260 --> 00:50:34.119 they used to when you remember where I brought 00:50:34.119 --> 00:50:38.860 you from. Somebody needs to come. Somebody needs 00:50:38.860 --> 00:50:41.619 to respond to the Holy Ghost today. This altar 00:50:41.619 --> 00:50:44.739 is not for perfect people. This altar is not 00:50:44.739 --> 00:50:47.920 for the best people. This altar is not for flawless 00:50:47.920 --> 00:50:58.539 people. you again and he wants to cover you again 00:50:58.539 --> 00:51:01.400 and he wants to heal you again and he wants to 00:51:01.400 --> 00:51:04.820 lace you up again. Is there somebody here today 00:51:04.820 --> 00:51:08.460 that says I've got to get to that altar. I've 00:51:08.460 --> 00:51:11.599 got to throw my worship on him. I've got to throw 00:51:11.599 --> 00:51:16.059 my love on him. I've got to thank him for saving 00:51:16.059 --> 00:51:21.039 me. I've got to thank him for sanctifying me.