WEBVTT

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Lord God, in this room, we magnify your holy

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name. You're worthy, Jesus. Worthy, Jesus. Hallelujah.

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Hallelujah. Yes, Jesus. Yes, Jesus. Almighty

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God, we magnify you today. Lift you up today

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in this place, Jesus. You're worthy. You're worthy.

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Come on, somebody cry out to Jesus. Tell him

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that he's worthy. Tell him how much you love

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him. I love you, Jesus. Hallelujah, Jesus. Oh,

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thank you, mighty God. Thank you, Jesus. Thank

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you for your touch from heaven that's in this

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place, mighty God. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.

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Hallelujah. Yes, Jesus. Yes, Jesus. Yes, Jesus.

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Thank you mighty God for showing up in this room.

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Thank you Lord for showing up in this place.

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He's an on time God. He's a faithful God. Wherever

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you're at right now in life you're not alone.

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The Bible says that he is our very present help

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in time of need. He's as near as the mention

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of his name. In fact, his name simply means God

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with us. And so when you put the name of Jesus

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in the midst of your life, it's more than just

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saying a name, but it's bringing the creator

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of the heavens and the universe smack dab right

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in the middle of your situation, right in the

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middle of your life. And so whatever you're going

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through, all you got to say is Jesus. You may

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not be able to say anything else. That's all.

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right if you can just say Jesus it's all I got

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it's the only word I can say but it's the only

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word you gotta say Jesus Jesus Lord we magnify

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your holy name you're worthy worthy Jesus worthy

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Jesus hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah thank

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you Jesus thank you Jesus What a great honor

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it is to be here with you here in Heavenview,

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North Carolina. And you'll have to forgive me

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if I'm a little slow this morning. Right now

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it's 5 .51 on my body. That's 5 .51 in the morning,

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not in the evening. And so I am trying to get

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my brain functioning. I've already had half a

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Red Bull, and I'm hoping that'll kick in in just

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a moment. But my wife says, be careful because

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you don't want caffeinated Dane. It's a little

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different than uncaffeinated. And so I can get

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a little hyper. So if that happens today, you

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know why. I've had a little bit of a Red Bull.

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But I just want to say thank you so much for

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your hospitality, this amazing church. As soon

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as I walked in Friday night, I felt a kindred

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spirit. I felt what I feel back at home, which

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is an amazing experience that we can travel halfway

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across the nation and still feel the same presence

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of God that I feel in Los Angeles, California.

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When I left Friday, early Friday morning, the

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day before was 87 degrees. It was 87 degrees

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in Los Angeles on Thursday. No cloud in the sky.

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Beautiful. And we come here, and I'm thankful

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I found winter. We only had two weeks of winter

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this year, so it's nice to find winter. When

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I say winter, I say 40 degrees. That's our winter.

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So we had two weeks of winter, but it's such

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a great honor to be here. Great to be here with

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my friend and his wife, Brother Harold, Sister

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Lisa, Linda. They are amazing people, and you'll

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hear maybe some stories today, but it's a great

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honor to be here with him and this amazing church

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family. I don't want to take too much time today,

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but we're going to the Word of the Lord, the

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book of Joshua, the third chapter. The beginning

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of verse 1, my wife would be here with me today,

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but she is eight months pregnant. And so she

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is at home with expecting our fourth child, which

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happens to be a girl. We've got three boys and

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now one girl on the way. And my middle son is

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traveling with us. So Levi, I'm glad he came

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with me. And so he's my little travel companion

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this trip. And that's lots of fun. He gets to

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wake up too super early. And he's trying to figure

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out what time it is as well. But it's such a

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great honor to be here. Joshua chapter 3, beginning

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with verse 1. Joshua 3, verses 1 to 5. And I

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have been praying concerning my time here in

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North Carolina. And as I was on my plane ride

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over, I felt like the Lord is sending me here

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with a purpose. That He's in this. I'm not just

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showing up. I'm not just here to be here because

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I want to come see all you amazing people. But

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I believe that God has sent me here for a reason.

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And when your pastor told me that there were

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two services on Sunday and a daughter work, I

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did not put together in my mind that it was two

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services back to back. That it was two same services.

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Because... Our church, we did two services for

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15 years. And now it's been about six years since

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we've done two services. So my brain didn't even

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register that it was the same service. And so

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the Lord gave me two separate messages. So I'm

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like, all right, Lord. And I woke up this morning.

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Are you sure this is what you want, Jesus? I

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just want to double check because I can preach

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the same message. That's the easy way, God. I

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can work with that. No, it's two different messages

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today. So that's where we're at. And I'm just

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going to obey him and do as he's asking. Joshua

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chapter 3 beginning with verse 1 says, And Joshua

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rose early in the morning, and they removed from

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Siddam, and came to Jordan, he and all the children

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of Israel, and lodged there before they passed

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over. And it came to pass after three days that

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the officers went through the host, and they

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commanded the people, saying, When ye see the

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ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and

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the priests, the Levites bearing it, then you

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shall remove from your place and go after it.

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You shall remove from your place and follow it.

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We each have our own place. We each have our

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own comfort place. We've been here a while. We've

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grown accustomed to it. In fact, we're okay here.

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But where the presence of the Lord leads is sometimes

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not in an area of comfort, but in an area of

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the unknown, impossible discomfort. You've got

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your place, Joshua says. But when the timing

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is right and you see the presence of God go,

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you've got to leave your place and you have to

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follow the presence of the Lord. And yet there

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shall be a space between you and it about 2 ,000

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cubits by measure and not near unto it that ye

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may know the way by which you must go. For ye

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have not passed this way heretofore. You haven't

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come this way before. And Joshua said unto the

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people, sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the

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Lord will do wonders among you. The Lord's going

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to do wonders if we can simply remove ourselves

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from our place. So for a few moments here today,

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I want to speak to you on this topic. We go where

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we focus. We go where we focus. Let's pray. Lord,

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in Jesus' name, I thank you for having your way

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in this room already. Your presence is here.

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Right now, I just ask you, mighty God, to move

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into this vessel. And Lord, use this vessel right

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now that your spirit can move through me, God.

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Uninhibited, Jesus. Unrestricted, Lord. That

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your divine word would be spoken into this room,

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Jesus. That lives would be changed and transformed

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by your word. Help us, God, and be with us according

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to your will and purpose. We magnify you. We

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worship you. We lift you up right now. In Jesus'

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name, and everyone said amen. Amen. As you're

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seated, tell somebody around you you love them.

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Tell them you're glad to see them today in the

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house of the Lord. Congratulations for being

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here. You're part of the early crowd, the 9 .30

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a .m. crowd. I hope you're awake. I hope you

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had your Red Bull. I hope you had your coffee.

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Everybody awake? I hope I'm not the only one

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awake out here. I'm barely awake, praise God.

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It is so good to be in the presence of the Lord.

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I give honor to the musicians and the singers.

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Everywhere I go, I honor singers and musicians

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for their hard work. You are blessed. You are

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blessed. Never take it for granted what you have.

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Many churches do not have what you have, which

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is an amazing music team that puts forth time

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and effort and practice, and you can sense it,

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you can see it. And so when you see them, honor

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them, thank them for their hard work. They're

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working just as hard as the preacher, and then

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at times harder than the preacher, depending

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on what kind of event it is, right? Because if

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you're at a camp meeting and you've got... 13,

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15 songs that you're going over, the preacher's

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going to come in and minister, but the band's

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going to be practicing weeks and months ahead

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of that getting ready for that service. So when

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you see them, thank them. I love you. Thank you

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for your ministry. Thank you for being consecrated

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to the Lord and allowing his spirit to flow through

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you because the reality is the music prepares

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our heart to receive God's word. If there's no

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worship, my heart is not prepared. It's not cultivated

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to receive what God is wanting to speak into

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my life. There is a preparation period that God

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takes us through before he gives us what we need

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and before he speaks directly into our lives.

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A lot of times it's this preparation period in

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our life where we struggle and we get discouraged

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and we don't like the preparation period. Hey,

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if I could just get the six pack without the

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preparation. Right? If I could just look the

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part without the preparation. If I could just

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stay skinny and continue to eat Dario's every

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single day. If only. And if I could have it three

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times a day, that would be amazing. If only.

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But you know if you have Dario's three times

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a day every single day, you know what's going

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to happen to you. I'll see you next year and

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you would have gained about three sizes. But

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you'd say that food sure is good. I like my food.

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I sure do. To this day, we have a fast food restaurant

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called In -N -Out in California. And yeah, somebody's

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had In -N -Out in the room, right? It's good

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stuff. Delicious food, right? And so when I was

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16, I drove a white Tacoma pickup truck, Toyota

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Tacoma. And I would go to In -N -Out three times

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a day. I would pull up to the drive -thru and

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they'd say, okay, your food will be ready at

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the window for you. That'll be $4 .28. They knew

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exactly my order before I got there. I'd go up,

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I'd get my order, a number one spread only with

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a seven up. That was my order, which a number

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one is a double -double. That's a meat, double

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meat, and double cheese. And spread, oh my word,

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praise God. That spread is next level, heavenly.

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You could say I gained a few pounds when I was

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16 years old because what I chose to focus on

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was that delicious meat. I could not help myself.

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I dreamed about it. I constantly thought about

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it. And it was years before I went to In -N -Out

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ever again because I was afraid if I ate In -N

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-Out, I would blow up again. So I stayed away

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for many, many years. You see... In this idea

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of moving forward and going to what God has for

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us, we have to focus on where we're going. Because

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ultimately what I focus on, that's where I'm

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going to go. You see, we do not go where we intend

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to go, and we do not go where we wish to go.

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We go where we focus. It's what we focus on.

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That's where we end up. In fact, every week back

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home, we ride bicycles. We have cycling days

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where we get out and we exercise. We have to

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do this. And so when we cycle, if you are going

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to see a rock in the road or a piece of glass

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in the road and you look at it and you're saying,

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I'm not going to hit it, I'm not going to hit

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it, I'm not going to hit it, guess what? You

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hit it. Because that's what you're looking at.

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That's what you're looking at. I know when we

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get on the motorcycle, your bike goes where your

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head goes, right? So wherever your head goes,

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that's where your motorcycle goes. And so your

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eyes are going to take you where you are wanting

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or not wanting to go. So whatever you're focusing

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on, that's what you're going to become. It doesn't

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matter how strong you are. If you're focused

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on something that's going to compromise your

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faith, it's going to compromise your faith. It

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doesn't matter how much you read your Bible.

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If you're focused on something that's going to

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destroy your spiritual life, it's going to destroy

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your spiritual life. We become and we go where

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we focus. And so when we look at this idea of

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focus, I want to look primarily at the people

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of Israel because they are a great example of

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what to do and what not to do. They give us both

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sides of the coin. And so we can see the story

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of Israel as they were bound in Egypt by slavery,

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by the Egyptians. God eventually delivers them,

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and we're thankful for that delivery, but it

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took... the 10 plagues to raise their faith enough

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to prepare them to walk outside of their slavery.

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You see, God could have moved them out without

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a single plague, but God said, you've got the

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slave mentality inside of your spirit and inside

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of your mind. And before I can take you into

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what I've got for you, I got to reshape the way

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you think. I got to reshape the way you feel.

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I got to change you before I provide the blessing

00:14:18.500 --> 00:14:20.799
I have for you. You see, he's got the promise

00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.139
ready. He's got it prepared, but he's trying

00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:26.269
to get us ready. To step into what he has for

00:14:26.269 --> 00:14:29.190
us. It's not that he can't do it. No he's just

00:14:29.190 --> 00:14:32.350
trying to prepare us. And make us ready for the

00:14:32.350 --> 00:14:35.409
great work. That he has prepared. It's already

00:14:35.409 --> 00:14:37.549
been prepared from the foundation of the earth.

00:14:37.710 --> 00:14:39.929
He knows what he's doing. He's got the right

00:14:39.929 --> 00:14:42.610
time. He's got the right space. He's got the

00:14:42.610 --> 00:14:45.690
right place. But he's just waiting for us. To

00:14:45.690 --> 00:14:52.259
get ready to receive what he has for us. Israel

00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:54.679
has come through the Red Sea. God has worked

00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:57.620
many miracles in their lives. And now here they

00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:00.299
are standing on the precipice of the promise.

00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:02.679
They're looking into the land that God is going

00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:08.120
to give them. And Moses sends out 12 spies. They

00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.879
go out to spy the land. They are looking at the

00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:13.899
land. They are inspecting the land. And Numbers

00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:17.200
chapter 13, 31 through 33 says, but the men that

00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:21.149
went up with him said, we are not. able to go

00:15:21.149 --> 00:15:24.350
up against the people for they are stronger than

00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:30.929
we. How are they stronger than you? Haven't you

00:15:30.929 --> 00:15:35.529
been in manual labor your whole life? How are

00:15:35.529 --> 00:15:37.690
they stronger than you? They haven't faced hardships

00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:42.350
that you've faced. Why do you perceive them to

00:15:42.350 --> 00:15:46.090
be greater than you are yourselves? And rather

00:15:46.090 --> 00:15:48.129
than bringing up a good report, the Bible tells

00:15:48.129 --> 00:15:50.309
us they brought up an evil report of the land,

00:15:50.409 --> 00:15:52.610
which they had searched unto the children of

00:15:52.610 --> 00:15:55.490
Israel, saying, The land through which we have

00:15:55.490 --> 00:15:58.330
gone to search it is a land that eateth up its

00:15:58.330 --> 00:16:00.990
inhabitants thereof. And all the people that

00:16:00.990 --> 00:16:04.250
we saw in it are men of great stature. And there

00:16:04.250 --> 00:16:08.149
we saw giants, the sons of Anak, which came of

00:16:08.149 --> 00:16:10.889
the great giants. And we were in our own sight

00:16:10.889 --> 00:16:14.450
as grasshoppers. And so we were in their sight.

00:16:15.049 --> 00:16:17.289
I want to tell somebody right now, you're looking

00:16:17.289 --> 00:16:19.570
into your promise and you think it's impossible

00:16:19.570 --> 00:16:22.129
to obtain. You think that you're overwhelmed.

00:16:22.289 --> 00:16:24.590
You think it's bigger than you are, but you got

00:16:24.590 --> 00:16:27.250
to recognize in the spirit, you're not some small

00:16:27.250 --> 00:16:30.289
grasshopper. You're actually a giant in the spirit

00:16:30.289 --> 00:16:33.149
that God's spirit moves through and flows through.

00:16:33.269 --> 00:16:36.509
It's not you that the enemy of this world sees,

00:16:36.590 --> 00:16:40.090
but it is the God inside of you that every spirit

00:16:40.090 --> 00:16:43.250
in this earth witnesses and knows who you are.

00:16:44.269 --> 00:16:47.129
step into your promise you gotta recognize who

00:16:47.129 --> 00:16:50.090
you are you're a child of the king you're a child

00:16:50.090 --> 00:16:52.850
of the creator he made you into his image into

00:16:52.850 --> 00:16:55.850
his likeness you are stepping into his power

00:16:55.850 --> 00:16:59.169
and his authority it's not by your might but

00:16:59.169 --> 00:17:04.809
it's his might that moves through you I'm tired

00:17:04.809 --> 00:17:08.849
of seeing God's people bound by sin bound by

00:17:08.849 --> 00:17:12.440
struggle bound by infirmity I am expecting to

00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:15.539
see the church of right now this generation to

00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.500
rise up and become what God has called us to

00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:21.319
be it's time to stop tiptoeing around situations

00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:25.420
it's time to navigate in faith and believe that

00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:29.579
if God is for us there's nobody nothing that

00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:32.920
can stand against us I'm going to begin to activate

00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:37.539
who I am in Christ I'm not of my own I belong

00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:41.309
to somebody greater I'm a son of God I'm a child

00:17:41.309 --> 00:17:44.849
of God and as such I've got power and authority

00:17:44.849 --> 00:17:53.450
come on Israel you got a promise This promise

00:17:53.450 --> 00:17:55.809
is not just yours, but it was given to your father,

00:17:55.930 --> 00:17:59.029
Abraham. This is a generational promise. This

00:17:59.029 --> 00:18:02.130
is a legacy promise. It's not just a promise

00:18:02.130 --> 00:18:04.690
for this generation. I believe this church has

00:18:04.690 --> 00:18:07.210
a promise from God, but it's not just for this

00:18:07.210 --> 00:18:09.490
generation, but it's been for the generations

00:18:09.490 --> 00:18:13.109
before. This is a legacy promise that God is

00:18:13.109 --> 00:18:16.289
trying to bring to pass in your future, in your

00:18:16.289 --> 00:18:19.890
present. If you can just hang on to it, God is

00:18:19.890 --> 00:18:23.569
going to honor his word. of his word and even

00:18:23.569 --> 00:18:27.029
though we may think it's slack or he's slow his

00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:36.250
timing is perfect you see Israel did not enter

00:18:36.250 --> 00:18:39.029
into the promised land because they were not

00:18:39.029 --> 00:18:42.230
able to no they were able they were not entering

00:18:42.230 --> 00:18:45.750
into the promised land because they focused on

00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:49.980
the wrong thing rather than seeing the great

00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:51.839
God that had just brought them through the Red

00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.319
Sea and rather than seeing the great God that

00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:57.160
had brought them out of Egypt, not only did he

00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:00.539
bring them out of Egypt, but Egypt once a world

00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:04.880
power was decimated by the power of God. They

00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.359
lost their land. They lost their crops. They

00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:12.019
lost a whole generation. And the Bible says that

00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:15.180
before Israel left, God allowed them to plunder

00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:18.400
the Egyptians, meaning they took their wealth.

00:19:19.209 --> 00:19:22.490
If that was an injury and insult enough, let's

00:19:22.490 --> 00:19:26.029
go ahead and take their whole army too. Oh, you

00:19:26.029 --> 00:19:27.990
want to enslave the people of God. There is a

00:19:27.990 --> 00:19:31.190
day of reckoning. People have been doing you

00:19:31.190 --> 00:19:34.380
wrong. Vengeance is mine, say it the Lord. You

00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:36.940
just take a step back. You pray. Eventually,

00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:38.940
there will be a day of reckoning. You mark my

00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:41.619
words. You can take the Bible for his word, and

00:19:41.619 --> 00:19:44.319
you can reckon, yes, God is going to have vengeance.

00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:47.339
God is going to fight for you. You may be going

00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:50.359
through it right now, and somebody might be accusing

00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:53.799
you and might be unjustly treating you, but there

00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:56.140
is a God that keeps a record of everything you

00:19:56.140 --> 00:19:59.000
go through, and even though you may suffer right

00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:02.799
now, there is a joy and a glory that's coming.

00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:06.079
So if you will just endure, you're going to make

00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:08.519
it through. To him that endureth to the end,

00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:11.839
the same shall be saved. It's I'm not the strongest

00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.980
and I'm not the fastest. No, I'm just the dumbest.

00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:17.779
I'm just dumb enough to just keep going. I'm

00:20:17.779 --> 00:20:21.079
never going to stop. I'm staying focused. I'm

00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:24.220
moving ahead, believing that God is for me. I'm

00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:27.880
going to follow him with blind faith, knowing

00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:31.259
that he's with me. I got to know he's with me.

00:20:31.299 --> 00:20:35.880
I got to trust he's with me. You see, so God,

00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:38.319
because of their lack of faith and because they

00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:41.420
were bound by fear, God said, it's not time yet.

00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.640
You cannot enter into the promise. But eventually

00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.920
they did change. Eventually they were able to

00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:52.420
enter into the promised land. It just took 40

00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:56.839
years. Because they had a wrong perception. In

00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.440
fact, between the 40 years that they first went

00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:04.700
into, they didn't go in, but... They looked in.

00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:09.500
They saw a glimpse of what could be. And it took

00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:11.980
40 years for that glimpse to become reality.

00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:15.559
You see, between that 40 year span, the land

00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:22.900
did not change. The enemies did not change. What

00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:28.380
changed was their focus. When they first looked

00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:30.339
into the land, their focus was, we're small.

00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:36.970
We're insignificant. God is distant. And when

00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:40.450
God responds to unbelief because of a lack of

00:21:40.450 --> 00:21:43.710
focus, it's different than his response to our

00:21:43.710 --> 00:21:48.609
faith because of our focus. Numbers chapter 14,

00:21:48.789 --> 00:21:52.130
22 and 23 says, Because all those men which have

00:21:52.130 --> 00:21:55.089
seen my glory and my miracles, which I did in

00:21:55.089 --> 00:21:57.349
Egypt and in the wilderness, have tempted me

00:21:57.349 --> 00:22:02.839
now these ten times. Not hearken to my voice.

00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:08.140
How many times has God been speaking into our

00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:12.619
lives? Asking us to surrender. Asking us to submit.

00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:16.039
But yet we struggle so much. We want to hang

00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:19.359
on to what we think is important to us. We want

00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:22.880
to hang on to what means so much to us. Not realizing

00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:25.779
that God has a greater blessing in front of us

00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:29.480
if we can just let go. If I can just let go of

00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:32.519
Egypt, God's got a promise. If I can just let

00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:34.920
go of what's happened in the past, God's got

00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:38.200
a promise in my future. He's asking us to surrender,

00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:41.660
but can we? If we can't, if he wants to have

00:22:41.660 --> 00:22:44.500
us bad enough into this place of promise, he

00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:48.269
will force us into it. I shared a little bit

00:22:48.269 --> 00:22:51.309
with Pastor Brian the other night and Aaron,

00:22:51.349 --> 00:22:54.490
and I was talking about how when I was starting

00:22:54.490 --> 00:22:57.970
this journey into, I was executive pastor there

00:22:57.970 --> 00:23:00.549
in Bellflower in the church that I grew up in,

00:23:00.630 --> 00:23:03.269
and the Lord had been dealing with me to surrender

00:23:03.269 --> 00:23:06.009
the bass guitar. And I'm a bass player. It was

00:23:06.009 --> 00:23:08.569
my identity since I was 18 years old. Before

00:23:08.569 --> 00:23:11.670
I was a preacher, I was a bassist. And so that

00:23:11.670 --> 00:23:13.990
musician runs deep inside of me. That's why I

00:23:13.990 --> 00:23:16.269
appreciate our musicians and our singers so much.

00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:18.660
The Lord was dealing with me. He said, you got

00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:20.599
to give up the bass. I said, no, God, I can't

00:23:20.599 --> 00:23:23.099
do that. So a couple months later, you got to

00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:25.920
give up the bass. Okay, God, I can do that. But

00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:27.519
yet I was still playing at altar call when I

00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:30.119
should have been praying with people. I should

00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:32.559
have been holding the altar as a place of sacred

00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:35.140
and allowing God to use me in the giftings and

00:23:35.140 --> 00:23:36.799
the callings that he had placed upon my life

00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:39.740
and stepping into what he had for me. But I couldn't

00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:41.700
let go of what meant so much to me. You see,

00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:43.400
bass was more than just an instrument. It was

00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:47.500
my identity. It was my comfort zone. It was the

00:23:47.500 --> 00:23:50.460
place that I was most comfortable. In fact, it

00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.299
became a safety blanket. I can worship God as

00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:56.619
long as I'm hiding behind this instrument. I

00:23:56.619 --> 00:23:58.599
can connect with him as long as I've got something

00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:03.640
to help me connect. So God was like, no, you've

00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:05.960
got to let this go. And I was like, okay, okay,

00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:08.319
got it. And then it was the Thursday before Easter

00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:11.539
2017. I was changing out camera lenses in the

00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:13.500
church, and I climbed up the ladder. I've been

00:24:13.500 --> 00:24:15.500
on ladders hundreds of times. My first job was

00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:17.700
a roofer. Hard to believe. Yes, scrawny me, roofer.

00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:20.839
That was my job. Torch down, tile roofs, all

00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:24.519
kinds. And so I was used to ladders. And so same

00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:26.500
time, like every other hundred times before,

00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:29.460
lock that ladder in place, camera in one hand,

00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:32.059
video assist in the other, and climb up the ladder,

00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:34.920
no hands. So I went up the ladder. Free hands

00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:39.250
got to the 13th foot. Ladder came unlocked. I

00:24:39.250 --> 00:24:41.970
threw the video assist forward and held onto

00:24:41.970 --> 00:24:44.829
the camera lens, and I fell down 13 feet face

00:24:44.829 --> 00:24:49.470
first. And bent the ladder in half, messed up

00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:51.569
my shins, my elbows, but the biggest thing that

00:24:51.569 --> 00:24:54.250
happened to me was I shattered my fretting hand.

00:24:55.349 --> 00:24:59.809
I could not turn my wrist. Went to the doctor

00:24:59.809 --> 00:25:02.269
after the break, and I said, how bad is it, doctor?

00:25:02.369 --> 00:25:04.549
He says, well, in my 42 -year career, this is

00:25:04.549 --> 00:25:07.710
the worst break that I've seen, second to worst

00:25:07.710 --> 00:25:10.400
break I've seen. And I said, will I ever play

00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.339
the bass again? He laughed at me and said, no,

00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:16.099
there's no way. He said, you're lucky if you're

00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:18.680
going to move your fingers again. I was like,

00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:22.480
okay. Went home, and I sold all my basses except

00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:25.680
one. I kept one that's so special, and I'll hang

00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:27.539
on to that one until the day I die. That one's

00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:30.220
very special to me. A buddy of mine made it,

00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:31.940
and he engraved the back of the headstock, and

00:25:31.940 --> 00:25:34.440
now he lives in Alabama. He used to be in California.

00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:36.619
Now he's in Alabama. I'm praying one day I'll

00:25:36.619 --> 00:25:40.339
get to baptize him in Jesus' name. But great

00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:42.220
friend of mine, great base. I'm like, man, I

00:25:42.220 --> 00:25:45.299
got to keep this thing. And so I kept it. And

00:25:45.299 --> 00:25:47.039
then I was in my prayer time six months after

00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:50.279
the fall. And at this point in time, I couldn't

00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:53.059
open a water bottle. I couldn't drive because

00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:55.140
I was driving a stick shift at the time. So I

00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:58.119
couldn't, very difficult to drive one -handed

00:25:58.119 --> 00:26:00.660
stick shift. And I couldn't move my fingers.

00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:03.539
In fact, it was so bad, I had to ask my wife

00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:06.000
to put on my deodorant for me. You think about

00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.609
it. How do you do that? Anybody want to try?

00:26:08.710 --> 00:26:11.490
It's like, one, I can't get there. So I'd have

00:26:11.490 --> 00:26:13.410
to say, okay, love, remember, ten swipes each

00:26:13.410 --> 00:26:15.750
side. Make sure you get ten. You've got to make

00:26:15.750 --> 00:26:20.990
it even, okay? And I was just in a place of despair.

00:26:21.190 --> 00:26:23.569
I was so broken. I mean, I couldn't do anything.

00:26:23.710 --> 00:26:25.470
And so in my prayer time, I said, God, I don't

00:26:25.470 --> 00:26:26.950
know what the deal is. Just if you'll get rid

00:26:26.950 --> 00:26:28.789
of this thing, just chop it off. I'm done with

00:26:28.789 --> 00:26:31.690
it. I can't do it. This thing's just dead. It's

00:26:31.690 --> 00:26:34.190
not doing anything. It's annoying at this point.

00:26:34.329 --> 00:26:37.450
I'm so tired of it. And the Lord simply said,

00:26:37.650 --> 00:26:41.950
can you give me the bass? And I said, excuse

00:26:41.950 --> 00:26:48.849
me? He said, can you give me the bass? I was

00:26:48.849 --> 00:26:54.809
like, huh? I was really dumbfounded. Can you

00:26:54.809 --> 00:26:57.349
give me the bass? I'm like, God, if this is what

00:26:57.349 --> 00:27:00.730
it takes, I'll never have to play bass ever again

00:27:00.730 --> 00:27:04.460
in my life. I don't have to do it. You can have

00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:06.259
it. Take it. And I didn't just give him a bass.

00:27:06.339 --> 00:27:09.660
I gave him an identity. I gave him Dane the bassist.

00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.339
I said, God, why? Why do you want this? He says,

00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:13.839
because I haven't called you to be a bass player.

00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:17.220
He says, I've got something for you. But in order

00:27:17.220 --> 00:27:18.660
to get there, you've got to give up something.

00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:21.019
You've got to give up your identity that you

00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:22.880
think is free and it's actually binding you.

00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:25.900
The identity you think that you can live in is

00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:27.339
not the identity you can live in. That's the

00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:29.279
identity you will die in if you allow yourself.

00:27:31.560 --> 00:27:33.440
He said, it's time for you to step into a new

00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:35.839
identity. I said, okay, God, I give it to you.

00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:37.740
I surrender. Now, I surrendered. I mean, I looked

00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:39.640
horrible. I had snot and tears. I mean, I was

00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:42.799
a mess. I was a wreck. I really gave up my identity.

00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:46.180
I let it go. And at the end of my prayer time,

00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.940
the Lord said, thank you. I'll give it back.

00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:53.920
I'll give it back. So fast forward another six

00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:56.380
to eight months. Doctor put a bridge plate in

00:27:56.380 --> 00:27:59.569
my wrist. He looks at me, takes an x -ray, pulls

00:27:59.569 --> 00:28:01.829
the bridge plate out. He says, this does not

00:28:01.829 --> 00:28:05.490
make sense. He said, don't ever break it again.

00:28:05.869 --> 00:28:09.930
I don't ever want to see you again. If you look

00:28:09.930 --> 00:28:12.029
at my x -rays now, there is no sign of a break.

00:28:13.430 --> 00:28:20.269
No scar tissue. God regrew bones out of nowhere,

00:28:20.549 --> 00:28:23.809
bones that were gone. God put it back into the

00:28:23.809 --> 00:28:27.710
wrist. There's fingers that move. There's a wrist

00:28:27.710 --> 00:28:32.170
that moves. It's not as good as it used to be.

00:28:32.230 --> 00:28:34.269
There's a constant reminder that I didn't obey

00:28:34.269 --> 00:28:38.269
God, right? He will leave us a reminder so we

00:28:38.269 --> 00:28:41.130
don't do it again. So it's not 100%, but at least

00:28:41.130 --> 00:28:44.809
there's no metal in my wrist. At least I can

00:28:44.809 --> 00:28:48.750
play the bass strapped in on the body. But not

00:28:48.750 --> 00:28:50.710
only did he give me the bass back, here's the

00:28:50.710 --> 00:28:53.250
thing, when we truly surrender to God, he's got

00:28:53.250 --> 00:28:55.589
so much more for us because not only did he give

00:28:55.589 --> 00:28:58.130
me the bass, but he gave me the guitar, he gave

00:28:58.130 --> 00:29:00.630
me the piano, he gave me the drums. Everything

00:29:00.630 --> 00:29:03.509
just opened up as soon as I surrendered what

00:29:03.509 --> 00:29:06.509
he wanted. All of a sudden, the blessings that

00:29:06.509 --> 00:29:09.450
God had and everything I'd wanted to try to obtain

00:29:09.450 --> 00:29:12.190
and reach for, God just said, okay, because you're

00:29:12.190 --> 00:29:15.809
willing to surrender. Here you go. Here you go.

00:29:15.930 --> 00:29:18.009
Now, if you would have asked me now, wouldn't

00:29:18.009 --> 00:29:20.190
you have just rather responded out of your own

00:29:20.190 --> 00:29:22.089
free will instead of God causing you to fall?

00:29:22.230 --> 00:29:24.289
Oh yeah, I would. If I could go back and say,

00:29:24.349 --> 00:29:25.930
okay, God, I'll give it up. You don't have to

00:29:25.930 --> 00:29:28.690
make me fall, Jesus. I'm good. I'm good, Lord.

00:29:28.769 --> 00:29:31.950
I don't have to go through that. I'm okay. Oh

00:29:31.950 --> 00:29:34.390
man, if I could go back and change that, I would.

00:29:35.450 --> 00:29:38.680
I would do that. Why did Israel not get into

00:29:38.680 --> 00:29:40.859
this promised land? God had it. God had it for

00:29:40.859 --> 00:29:42.279
them. It was way better than anything they would

00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:45.299
have had in Goshen. You see, God had to remove

00:29:45.299 --> 00:29:48.079
those that had their lack of faith. For 40 years,

00:29:48.140 --> 00:29:50.140
they wandered in the wilderness, but they didn't

00:29:50.140 --> 00:29:52.680
just wander just to wander. No, they walked for

00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:57.559
40 years in one big circle. Imagine that, 40

00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:01.220
years, just one big circle across the peninsula

00:30:01.220 --> 00:30:05.009
of now modern -day Saudi Arabia. Stuck wandering

00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:09.220
for 40 years just in one. big circle. Why? Because

00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:11.880
they did not activate their faith when God asked

00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:14.960
them to. They refused to align themselves to

00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:18.079
God's promise and to his word. You see, God had

00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:20.460
it for them, but they said, no, we can't do it.

00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:22.200
We're not good enough. We're not strong enough.

00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:25.019
We can't obtain it. Rather than seeing what God

00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:27.599
could do and what God was going to do, they saw

00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:30.500
their own limitations and refused to align with

00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:33.279
his word. In fact, they continued to refuse.

00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:35.740
And God said, okay, if you're going to continue

00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:38.650
to refuse, I've got to eliminate you until we

00:30:38.650 --> 00:30:41.170
get to a generation that does not remember Egypt,

00:30:41.210 --> 00:30:43.650
that does not remember who you used to be in

00:30:43.650 --> 00:30:46.390
slavery and bondage. You see, what Satan wants

00:30:46.390 --> 00:30:48.630
to do is remind us what we were once bound to,

00:30:48.690 --> 00:30:51.410
how we were once in bondage. But God has set

00:30:51.410 --> 00:30:54.250
us free. He's made us free indeed. Anyone that

00:30:54.250 --> 00:30:57.609
is in Christ, he has made to be free. He set

00:30:57.609 --> 00:31:00.289
us free. I'm no longer bound by yesterday. I'm

00:31:00.289 --> 00:31:02.970
not bound by the mistakes of last year. I'm not

00:31:02.970 --> 00:31:05.470
that same person. God changed me and transformed

00:31:05.470 --> 00:31:08.170
me. I got to look forward into what God's going

00:31:08.170 --> 00:31:10.569
to do, not where I've been and not what I've

00:31:10.569 --> 00:31:13.170
done. I got to activate the faith that God has

00:31:13.170 --> 00:31:16.269
given me, that measure, and let it grow into

00:31:16.269 --> 00:31:19.549
great faith and believe that God can and God

00:31:19.549 --> 00:31:26.730
will do his perfect work. You see, the promise

00:31:26.730 --> 00:31:28.910
was still there and it was still going to happen,

00:31:29.009 --> 00:31:33.779
but not with the original focus. God had to change

00:31:33.779 --> 00:31:38.319
the focus of the Israelites. He had to change

00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:41.000
the focus of where they lived and what they struggled

00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.819
with. You see, he's got to change our focus from

00:31:44.819 --> 00:31:48.339
our own self -will and rather faith. I've got

00:31:48.339 --> 00:31:51.039
to step into faith rather than my own will, my

00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.400
own desire. I've got to begin to see myself in

00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:57.619
this place of a unified promise that God's promises

00:31:57.619 --> 00:32:00.420
are going to come to pass. It's not a question

00:32:00.420 --> 00:32:03.779
of if. It's a matter of when. It is going to

00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:06.660
happen. If God promised it, it's going to happen.

00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:09.519
His word is not returned unto him void, but it's

00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:13.420
returned unto him fulfilled. your life, if he

00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:15.680
spoke it into your family, if he spoke it into

00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:18.559
this church, it is going to happen. According

00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:22.519
to his will and purpose, his word will be fulfilled.

00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:25.259
I just gotta believe it. I gotta receive it.

00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:28.299
I gotta activate my faith and hope for it. I

00:32:28.299 --> 00:32:30.640
gotta live for it. I gotta move forward into

00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:37.509
the promise that God has for me. So rather than

00:32:37.509 --> 00:32:39.789
the old focus of we're not good enough, we can't

00:32:39.789 --> 00:32:42.230
do this, we're too small, the land is too great,

00:32:42.329 --> 00:32:47.170
God redefines their focus to now we are able.

00:32:49.569 --> 00:32:52.690
Poor Joshua and Caleb, they had the same perception

00:32:52.690 --> 00:32:56.630
40 years before. But here they were tied together

00:32:56.630 --> 00:32:58.549
with the Israelites, they were stuck in the wilderness

00:32:58.549 --> 00:33:02.309
too and it wasn't their fault. How many of us

00:33:02.309 --> 00:33:04.250
are stuck in situations that are not our fault?

00:33:04.329 --> 00:33:08.019
We didn't cause them. We didn't ask for it, but

00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:13.079
here we are. I didn't do it. I'm innocent, but

00:33:13.079 --> 00:33:16.420
here I am. Why am I stuck in this place of no

00:33:16.420 --> 00:33:18.759
promise? Why am I stuck in this place of brokenness?

00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:21.299
Yeah, God, I know that you can do it. In fact,

00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:23.519
he did it for the Israelites. He changed their

00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:26.160
focus to where now faith said, oh, it's not that

00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.279
the giants were gone. No, the giants were still

00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:31.079
there. But when faith begins to activate, your

00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:33.480
situation's still there. Your problems are still

00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:36.240
there. But when faith begins to activate, it

00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:40.640
redefines them. No longer are they seen as giants

00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:42.920
and an obstacle, but they're just simply seen

00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:48.539
as something God can take care of. Let God do

00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:50.859
it. Some of us are facing generational curses

00:33:50.859 --> 00:33:53.160
right now, and those curses are not our own.

00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:56.720
In fact, when we look at Goliath and David, Goliath

00:33:56.720 --> 00:34:02.640
was not David's giant to defeat. He was Saul's

00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:06.059
giant to defeat. Some of us are facing giants

00:34:06.059 --> 00:34:09.360
right now in our life that are not our own. But

00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:13.360
if you don't slay them, who will? Are you going

00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:14.960
to leave it for your children to slay or does

00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:20.360
it stop with you? I'm slaying giants. I'm slaying

00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:22.179
giants that aren't my own. But here's the thing.

00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:24.300
If I'm going to slay somebody else's giants,

00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:26.019
I've got to be strong enough to slay my own.

00:34:27.539 --> 00:34:30.599
Right? Because Goliath was not David's giant.

00:34:30.699 --> 00:34:34.480
No, lust was David's giant. So yeah, he could

00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:36.400
slay Goliath, but he sure couldn't slay his desire

00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:40.719
for Bathsheba. You see, yeah, we can help others

00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:43.119
slay our giants and we can help others slay theirs.

00:34:43.739 --> 00:34:46.300
We can slay the giants from the previous generation.

00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:48.940
But what about the giants that I have right now

00:34:48.940 --> 00:34:51.940
in my life that are my own? Can I slay those?

00:34:53.079 --> 00:34:56.179
See, God's got a great victory for you. God's

00:34:56.179 --> 00:34:58.619
got a great victory for you. But we just have

00:34:58.619 --> 00:35:01.019
to activate our faith and see that God is going

00:35:01.019 --> 00:35:06.289
to do it. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 1 says, Fear,

00:35:06.289 --> 00:35:08.650
least a promise being left us of entering into

00:35:08.650 --> 00:35:11.630
his rest. Any of you should seem to come short

00:35:11.630 --> 00:35:15.730
of it. If we can look forward to it, if we can

00:35:15.730 --> 00:35:20.409
find him in our faith, we will obtain the promise

00:35:20.409 --> 00:35:23.409
that he has for us. But we have to activate faith.

00:35:23.949 --> 00:35:26.929
The promise is still there. The promised land

00:35:26.929 --> 00:35:29.170
didn't go anywhere. Yeah, Israel had to wander

00:35:29.170 --> 00:35:31.050
for 40 years, but the promised land was still

00:35:31.050 --> 00:35:33.250
there. The promise was still there. The promise

00:35:33.250 --> 00:35:35.610
is still in your life. God's just trying to prepare

00:35:35.610 --> 00:35:38.869
you for it. The reason why you feel like you've

00:35:38.869 --> 00:35:40.670
been going in circles and haven't been able to

00:35:40.670 --> 00:35:42.949
move forward and step into what God has, it's

00:35:42.949 --> 00:35:44.809
because God has been trying to get you ready,

00:35:44.849 --> 00:35:46.829
trying to get you into this place to receive

00:35:46.829 --> 00:35:49.329
rather than constantly be focused on the ministry

00:35:49.329 --> 00:35:52.449
rather than the God of the ministry. I got to

00:35:52.449 --> 00:35:54.110
focus on him. And see, that's the thing. Some

00:35:54.110 --> 00:35:57.190
of us could get so... stuck in focusing on the

00:35:57.190 --> 00:35:59.170
promise that we forget the God of the promise.

00:35:59.769 --> 00:36:01.909
If we'll just stop focusing on the promise and

00:36:01.909 --> 00:36:03.630
start focusing on the God of the promise the

00:36:03.630 --> 00:36:07.110
promise will come. But it's when I focus on the

00:36:07.110 --> 00:36:08.849
promise that I try to make it happen. I try to

00:36:08.849 --> 00:36:12.050
force it. I want it to happen. I want so badly

00:36:12.050 --> 00:36:15.050
for it to happen. I've got to be ready. I've

00:36:15.050 --> 00:36:16.710
got to be prepared. My heart's got to be prepared

00:36:16.710 --> 00:36:18.829
for the promise. I've got to get ready for it.

00:36:18.889 --> 00:36:21.510
But the reality is I have still got to look to

00:36:21.510 --> 00:36:23.829
the God of the promise to fulfill the promise.

00:36:24.010 --> 00:36:28.949
I cannot force the promise to come to pass. I've

00:36:28.949 --> 00:36:30.750
got to go through the process. I've got to endure.

00:36:30.909 --> 00:36:33.550
I've got to continue even when I don't want to

00:36:33.550 --> 00:36:35.769
and I don't feel like it. God, I can't do it.

00:36:35.789 --> 00:36:37.789
I can't survive. I can't make it any longer.

00:36:37.909 --> 00:36:39.829
Lord, I'm done. I've got to throw in the towel.

00:36:39.929 --> 00:36:42.150
I know you've got a great promise. I know you've

00:36:42.150 --> 00:36:44.210
shown it to me. I know you've blessed me. But

00:36:44.210 --> 00:36:48.449
God, I just can't continue any longer. The great

00:36:48.449 --> 00:36:50.989
promise that God has for you, it comes at a price.

00:36:52.150 --> 00:36:56.650
Everything has a cost. It's not free. If you're

00:36:56.650 --> 00:36:58.489
going to get into the promise that God has for

00:36:58.489 --> 00:37:01.110
you, it's going to require great faith. And God

00:37:01.110 --> 00:37:03.510
has a great work for this church. What you've

00:37:03.510 --> 00:37:05.449
experienced and what you had, it's just the tip

00:37:05.449 --> 00:37:08.550
of the iceberg. This is not the final note. This

00:37:08.550 --> 00:37:11.989
is not the final place. God has more. There is

00:37:11.989 --> 00:37:14.349
more for you. But you're going to have to activate

00:37:14.349 --> 00:37:17.130
faith and look to the God of the promise rather

00:37:17.130 --> 00:37:22.829
than the promise itself. I can get so focused

00:37:22.829 --> 00:37:27.460
on the promise. I'd get so distracted. The year

00:37:27.460 --> 00:37:31.679
was 2021. I had been pastoring for a year. We'd

00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:33.639
reached that point again at Bellflower Campus.

00:37:33.739 --> 00:37:36.440
We'd saturated the building, standing room only.

00:37:37.539 --> 00:37:39.840
And I looked out of the congregation on one Sunday,

00:37:39.980 --> 00:37:43.880
and I said, in two weeks, either God's going

00:37:43.880 --> 00:37:46.460
to open a door for us to go somewhere, or I'm

00:37:46.460 --> 00:37:47.940
going to take a sledgehammer to this side wall.

00:37:48.699 --> 00:37:53.110
And we had built an outside auditorium. for COVID

00:37:53.110 --> 00:37:54.769
because we had to have church outside. So I was

00:37:54.769 --> 00:37:56.130
just going to knock the wall down, have church

00:37:56.130 --> 00:37:58.510
half inside, half outside. I mean, we live in

00:37:58.510 --> 00:38:00.610
LA. It's perfect weather year round. Why not?

00:38:01.250 --> 00:38:03.690
You know, let's just do it. I said, we're knocking

00:38:03.690 --> 00:38:06.889
the wall down. Two weeks, a week and a half later,

00:38:06.989 --> 00:38:09.309
I got a call from a church that my mom would

00:38:09.309 --> 00:38:11.630
go sit in that parking lot and pray for 25 years,

00:38:11.809 --> 00:38:14.269
asking the Lord to open the door. I got a call

00:38:14.269 --> 00:38:16.090
from them saying, hey, if you'd like to rent

00:38:16.090 --> 00:38:18.440
from us, we've got space for you. That was a

00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:20.579
week and a half later. Within two weeks, we were

00:38:20.579 --> 00:38:23.280
at that property, renting that facility where

00:38:23.280 --> 00:38:25.679
we still are today. Right now, in just a few

00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:27.619
hours, that congregation will be meeting at that

00:38:27.619 --> 00:38:30.639
property. And it's only by the grace of God.

00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:33.599
But here's the thing. When I walked into that

00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:35.119
property, the Lord told me, he says, everything

00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:37.079
your eyes touch is yours. Oh, I started looking.

00:38:37.159 --> 00:38:38.780
I was opening up cabinets. I was looking at pots

00:38:38.780 --> 00:38:41.420
and pans. I mean, I was looking at everything.

00:38:41.579 --> 00:38:44.619
I was like, what can I see? What are you hiding

00:38:44.619 --> 00:38:46.940
behind there? I got to go look at it. You got

00:38:46.940 --> 00:38:48.780
chairs and tables? Where are they? I got to see

00:38:48.780 --> 00:38:50.920
them. You got vehicles? Where are they? I got

00:38:50.920 --> 00:38:53.320
to see them. You got a bus? Where is it? I got

00:38:53.320 --> 00:38:56.019
to look at it. Everything your eyes touch is

00:38:56.019 --> 00:38:58.780
yours. Oh, amazing faith. Yes, we got that. Oh,

00:38:58.860 --> 00:39:01.539
praise God. First Sunday was amazing. The following

00:39:01.539 --> 00:39:03.460
Tuesday, I get called into the office of the

00:39:03.460 --> 00:39:05.760
pastor. He says, you know, we're so sorry. We

00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:07.900
had actually started charging you $8 ,000 a month,

00:39:08.019 --> 00:39:09.639
but we're going to have to take you to $12 ,000

00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:13.369
a month. I was like, excuse me? I said, we're

00:39:13.369 --> 00:39:15.590
barely doing 8 ,000 a month. That was for one

00:39:15.590 --> 00:39:18.710
service a week. They said, no, you're going to

00:39:18.710 --> 00:39:23.289
go 12 ,000 a month, one service a week. No, no,

00:39:23.329 --> 00:39:25.590
no, warning, nothing. I'm like, God, I thought

00:39:25.590 --> 00:39:29.130
you said everything my eyes touched. We've been

00:39:29.130 --> 00:39:32.190
there since 2021. We've asked for a place for

00:39:32.190 --> 00:39:33.750
our kids to have church. They won't give it to

00:39:33.750 --> 00:39:36.570
us. We've been faithful renters for three years,

00:39:36.710 --> 00:39:40.739
still outcasts, outsiders. In a place that's

00:39:40.739 --> 00:39:42.820
not our home. And I wonder, God, I thought you

00:39:42.820 --> 00:39:45.780
gave me a promise. Lord, I thought that you told

00:39:45.780 --> 00:39:47.360
me this is what was going to happen. But here's

00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:49.400
what happened in the last couple years. Is I

00:39:49.400 --> 00:39:51.480
got my eyes off of God and started focusing on

00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:53.880
the promise. And when I focused on the promise,

00:39:53.940 --> 00:39:58.960
I got frustrated. I got upset. I got angry. And

00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:00.880
the whole, not only just me, but the whole staff

00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:03.539
felt my discomfort. Felt my frustration. And

00:40:03.539 --> 00:40:06.239
then they become frustrated. They become angry.

00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:08.480
And all of a sudden it starts to work through

00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:11.460
the whole congregation just because we're so

00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:14.420
focused on the promise that I forgot the God

00:40:14.420 --> 00:40:17.039
of the promise. You see, if we're not careful,

00:40:17.159 --> 00:40:19.579
we can get so focused on what God is going to

00:40:19.579 --> 00:40:22.059
do that we forget about the God who's doing it.

00:40:22.860 --> 00:40:25.380
And if we can just focus on God, he's got the

00:40:25.380 --> 00:40:27.760
promises, but the promises are in his hands,

00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:31.440
not our hands. It's in his timing, not my timing.

00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:36.070
It's according to his will, not my will. So we

00:40:36.070 --> 00:40:38.449
got to continue to walk by faith. Is it any easier?

00:40:38.590 --> 00:40:40.769
No, it's not. But I'm not going to complain about

00:40:40.769 --> 00:40:43.429
it. Yay, Lord. It's your work. It's your church,

00:40:43.670 --> 00:40:45.849
God, not mine. Lord, if you want us here, we're

00:40:45.849 --> 00:40:47.269
here. If you don't want us here, we're not here.

00:40:47.389 --> 00:40:49.070
God, if you want us to go to a park, we'll go

00:40:49.070 --> 00:40:50.849
to a park. God, if you want to give us a property

00:40:50.849 --> 00:40:52.730
for $25 million, you'll give us a property for

00:40:52.730 --> 00:40:55.690
$25 million. And that's the reality. We're looking

00:40:55.690 --> 00:40:59.389
at a property right now, $25 million. Jesus,

00:40:59.489 --> 00:41:05.900
really? That's a lot of money. Praise God. I'd

00:41:05.900 --> 00:41:07.460
be paying that off for the next 10 generations.

00:41:08.659 --> 00:41:12.139
My goodness. But to the Lord, it's just a number.

00:41:12.219 --> 00:41:14.460
There's no value there. We put the value on it.

00:41:15.420 --> 00:41:19.239
And he says, if it is or isn't, God can do it.

00:41:19.519 --> 00:41:22.260
But we just have to focus on the promise. God's

00:41:22.260 --> 00:41:24.139
got a promise for this church. He's getting ready

00:41:24.139 --> 00:41:26.139
to open doors, but we have to focus on him, not

00:41:26.139 --> 00:41:28.739
the promise. I have to keep my eyes on him. He's

00:41:28.739 --> 00:41:30.400
got a promise for your life. He's got a promise

00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:32.219
for your home. He's got a promise for your family.

00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:34.880
But we've got to keep our eyes on him, not on

00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:37.659
the promise. It is going to come to pass in his

00:41:37.659 --> 00:41:40.460
timing, according to his will. It's going to

00:41:40.460 --> 00:41:42.920
happen. But, Lord, help me not go through the

00:41:42.920 --> 00:41:45.440
wilderness. Keep me on my knees so I don't have

00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:47.800
to go through the wilderness. I'll journey with

00:41:47.800 --> 00:41:50.260
you, God, in your perfect time, in your perfect

00:41:50.260 --> 00:41:53.300
will. going to happen. I'm going to trust you.

00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:59.360
I'm going to trust you. I'm wrapping up. Musicians

00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:03.940
can come. I'm going to trust him in all things.

00:42:04.880 --> 00:42:09.320
In all ways, I will trust him. I was eight years

00:42:09.320 --> 00:42:14.079
old. My dad had just taken the church in Bellflower.

00:42:14.980 --> 00:42:19.079
I was a St. Louis, Southern, born in Alabama.

00:42:19.719 --> 00:42:22.619
Moved to St. Louis. I was a Midwestern kid thrown

00:42:22.619 --> 00:42:27.059
into Los Angeles. And when we first moved, we

00:42:27.059 --> 00:42:28.719
didn't move into a house. We went from a very

00:42:28.719 --> 00:42:31.360
nice house in St. Louis to an apartment in L

00:42:31.360 --> 00:42:34.059
.A. Not just any apartment, but an apartment

00:42:34.059 --> 00:42:37.500
in the hood. I'm serious. I mean, there was a

00:42:37.500 --> 00:42:39.320
college kid across the street. He was going to

00:42:39.320 --> 00:42:41.659
the houses asking for money. My neighbor opens

00:42:41.659 --> 00:42:44.260
the door and stabs him to death just because

00:42:44.260 --> 00:42:48.360
he was asking the wrong person. I was walking

00:42:48.360 --> 00:42:50.559
home one night after church. My mom, she had

00:42:50.559 --> 00:42:52.179
just parked the car in the garage. We were walking

00:42:52.179 --> 00:42:54.719
to the front door, and there were two guys running,

00:42:54.780 --> 00:42:56.880
jumping over the fence, throwing knives and trying

00:42:56.880 --> 00:42:58.340
to get away from something. I don't know what.

00:42:59.179 --> 00:43:01.079
It was crazy. It was like the Wild West. I was

00:43:01.079 --> 00:43:03.940
like, good night. Where did I come to? I was

00:43:03.940 --> 00:43:06.239
nice in St. Louis. It was nice and cultured,

00:43:06.239 --> 00:43:09.820
safe there. I was safe. I'm good. Bring me to

00:43:09.820 --> 00:43:12.820
L .A., God, what are you doing? My mom hated

00:43:12.820 --> 00:43:16.579
it there. My mom kept begging my dad to go. Go

00:43:16.579 --> 00:43:19.059
back to Oklahoma. Go someplace. Get away from

00:43:19.059 --> 00:43:21.840
L .A. But the reality was it was my mother's

00:43:21.840 --> 00:43:23.559
sickness that took us to L .A. It was the only

00:43:23.559 --> 00:43:26.000
climate type that she could live in. Six different

00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:29.699
types of arthritis. When I was born, my birth

00:43:29.699 --> 00:43:31.820
triggered that disease inside her body. She had

00:43:31.820 --> 00:43:34.840
that disease 38 years bound by pain. Crippled.

00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:37.380
No joints in her fingers. No joints in her toes.

00:43:37.900 --> 00:43:40.019
She's losing the joints in her neck. Doctors

00:43:40.019 --> 00:43:41.760
said all it would take was one accident and her

00:43:41.760 --> 00:43:46.159
head would fall off basically. Dealing with sickness

00:43:46.159 --> 00:43:48.360
my whole life is something I'm accustomed to.

00:43:48.940 --> 00:43:50.860
I'm accustomed to the hospital, even though every

00:43:50.860 --> 00:43:53.460
time I go in there, I faint. I can't do hospital

00:43:53.460 --> 00:43:55.320
visits. I have other staff members do it. If

00:43:55.320 --> 00:43:57.500
I go, my wife has to go with me, and she passes

00:43:57.500 --> 00:43:58.920
me a piece of gum when I'm getting ready to faint.

00:43:58.940 --> 00:44:00.699
I just hold on to her, please don't let me go.

00:44:05.019 --> 00:44:07.639
And eight years old, God filled me with the gift

00:44:07.639 --> 00:44:10.139
of the Holy Ghost. It's kind of like God saying,

00:44:10.219 --> 00:44:11.940
okay, I'm going to get you here, and I'm going

00:44:11.940 --> 00:44:14.340
to show you what I can do for you. I'm going

00:44:14.340 --> 00:44:15.619
to get you into this place that's uncomfortable,

00:44:15.880 --> 00:44:18.039
that's unfamiliar, and I'm going to do something

00:44:18.039 --> 00:44:20.280
for you. Eight years old, I received the Holy

00:44:20.280 --> 00:44:22.920
Ghost. It was right after that time period where

00:44:22.920 --> 00:44:25.019
my parents were in spiritual warfare. It was

00:44:25.019 --> 00:44:27.199
common to have spiritual fights in my house.

00:44:27.260 --> 00:44:29.539
My dad had a physical fist fight with a demon.

00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:32.519
Walked into the room, and there was glass everywhere.

00:44:32.559 --> 00:44:35.099
Like, Dad, you just killed Mom's china set. What

00:44:35.099 --> 00:44:37.800
happened? The devil had manifested in that china

00:44:37.800 --> 00:44:42.989
set. That china set was gone. These physical

00:44:42.989 --> 00:44:47.909
altercations, these real spiritual moments, exposed

00:44:47.909 --> 00:44:50.289
to it at an early age. And not only that, but

00:44:50.289 --> 00:44:52.329
God began to show visions. And one of these visions

00:44:52.329 --> 00:44:55.530
that he gave me when I was eight was a pulpit.

00:44:55.750 --> 00:44:57.869
My dad standing behind the pulpit preaching.

00:44:58.710 --> 00:45:00.809
And then like a camera looking at the pulpit,

00:45:00.829 --> 00:45:05.329
it began to rotate 360 degrees. And as it rotated,

00:45:05.429 --> 00:45:08.050
the amount of people that were in the room multiplied

00:45:08.050 --> 00:45:10.699
and grew. By the time the camera came back to

00:45:10.699 --> 00:45:12.159
the front of the pulpit, it was no longer my

00:45:12.159 --> 00:45:15.519
father standing behind it, but it was me. Since

00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:18.539
I was eight years old, I knew I was called to

00:45:18.539 --> 00:45:21.420
pastor in Los Angeles, California. Since I was

00:45:21.420 --> 00:45:23.300
eight years old, I knew that I was called to

00:45:23.300 --> 00:45:25.820
take over my father's church. In fact, the Lord

00:45:25.820 --> 00:45:28.219
called and told me many times, he says, I didn't

00:45:28.219 --> 00:45:29.880
bring your father to L .A., I brought you to

00:45:29.880 --> 00:45:35.920
L .A. Eight years old, I know God's going to

00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:38.780
do great things. I know God's going to do great

00:45:38.780 --> 00:45:40.440
things. It's amazing what God's going to do.

00:45:40.559 --> 00:45:47.440
I cannot wait. 15 years old. I go on a missions

00:45:47.440 --> 00:45:51.699
trip to Africa. So powerful. It was amazing.

00:45:52.739 --> 00:45:55.900
One of the highlights of my life. I'll never

00:45:55.900 --> 00:46:02.619
forget it. I learned Swahili. They used to sing

00:46:02.619 --> 00:46:07.840
a song, which means, I run to Jesus, my Savior.

00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:11.880
I run back, and I run to Jesus, my Savior. Such

00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:13.739
a powerful experience. It was in the middle of

00:46:13.739 --> 00:46:16.599
that experience, I got a call from America. Really?

00:46:17.940 --> 00:46:19.500
Missionary Drake hands me the phone. He says,

00:46:19.599 --> 00:46:21.219
hey, it's from America. I pick up the phone.

00:46:21.500 --> 00:46:23.380
My dad says, hey, don't worry about this, son.

00:46:23.440 --> 00:46:25.539
We'll handle it when you get home, but just here

00:46:25.539 --> 00:46:27.780
you go. So I get on the phone. My mom's there.

00:46:28.300 --> 00:46:30.679
I left. Everything was fine. Everything was good.

00:46:31.159 --> 00:46:33.860
When I left, pick up the phone. My mom says,

00:46:34.039 --> 00:46:36.579
you okay? Shaky voice. You okay? Still got your

00:46:36.579 --> 00:46:39.739
fingers, still got your toes. Nobody's hurt you,

00:46:39.780 --> 00:46:42.260
have they? You're okay. I'm like, this is absurd.

00:46:42.400 --> 00:46:44.559
What's she talking about? My dad grabs the phone.

00:46:44.579 --> 00:46:45.760
He says, don't worry about it, son. We'll talk

00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:48.579
about it when you get home. I said, okay. Week

00:46:48.579 --> 00:46:51.460
and a half later, I landed back in LAX. The mother

00:46:51.460 --> 00:46:53.039
that greeted me at the airport was not the mother

00:46:53.039 --> 00:46:56.920
that sent me off. In two weeks, my life was turned

00:46:56.920 --> 00:46:59.789
upside down. In that two -week period while I

00:46:59.789 --> 00:47:02.869
was gone and away, my mother had decided to quit

00:47:02.869 --> 00:47:06.170
taking a sleeping med, cold turkey, because she

00:47:06.170 --> 00:47:07.550
found out she was only supposed to be on it for

00:47:07.550 --> 00:47:10.289
two weeks and she was on it for two years. So

00:47:10.289 --> 00:47:11.710
she was afraid of it and just stopped taking

00:47:11.710 --> 00:47:14.070
it. Well, that caused a chemical burn across

00:47:14.070 --> 00:47:15.789
the outer layer of her brain and caused her to

00:47:15.789 --> 00:47:19.150
be schizophrenic manic depressive. In two weeks,

00:47:19.190 --> 00:47:22.570
my life turned upside down, changed forever.

00:47:23.829 --> 00:47:26.210
The mother that once loved me more than anyone

00:47:26.210 --> 00:47:29.050
else in the world. was the one who would try

00:47:29.050 --> 00:47:32.269
to take my life. She'd put a machete to my neck

00:47:32.269 --> 00:47:34.449
at night, my father's neck at night, because

00:47:34.449 --> 00:47:36.110
the SWAT team was after us and it was better

00:47:36.110 --> 00:47:38.969
for us to die than to go to jail. Everywhere

00:47:38.969 --> 00:47:40.909
she went, she saw cops after us. You get her

00:47:40.909 --> 00:47:42.309
in the car, she's trying to jump out to commit

00:47:42.309 --> 00:47:46.590
suicide. This brain just totally warped into

00:47:46.590 --> 00:47:50.489
an alternate reality that wasn't real. Complete

00:47:50.489 --> 00:47:53.849
falsified reality. And we were just along for

00:47:53.849 --> 00:47:58.230
the ride. God, what are you doing? I just came

00:47:58.230 --> 00:48:01.610
from the most amazing two weeks of my life, and

00:48:01.610 --> 00:48:04.630
now I come home to this. What are you doing,

00:48:04.670 --> 00:48:07.889
God? I thought you gave me a promise. I thought

00:48:07.889 --> 00:48:11.389
you gave me a promise. I thought you were going

00:48:11.389 --> 00:48:13.210
to do great things for me. I thought that you'd

00:48:13.210 --> 00:48:16.710
spoken to this in my life. I thought that you

00:48:16.710 --> 00:48:18.730
were in control. I thought that you loved me.

00:48:19.650 --> 00:48:21.610
I don't know what to do with this, God. I don't

00:48:21.610 --> 00:48:23.409
know how to respond to this. I don't know how

00:48:23.409 --> 00:48:28.159
to handle this. The only thing I knew to do was

00:48:28.159 --> 00:48:33.860
turn to Jesus. So I did. At age 15, 16 years

00:48:33.860 --> 00:48:36.500
old, I did the only thing I knew to do, and that

00:48:36.500 --> 00:48:38.539
was to turn to my creator and say, God, I need

00:48:38.539 --> 00:48:41.260
help. I don't get it. I was so embarrassed of

00:48:41.260 --> 00:48:44.199
my mother. I hated her. I hated that she could

00:48:44.199 --> 00:48:46.380
not love me. I hated that she could not be there

00:48:46.380 --> 00:48:49.139
for me. I hated that she was no longer my friend.

00:48:51.420 --> 00:48:53.500
I hated that she was there, but she was gone.

00:48:56.139 --> 00:49:00.340
And to walk through that season in life was the

00:49:00.340 --> 00:49:03.539
most difficult season I thought that I would

00:49:03.539 --> 00:49:08.619
experience because it got worse. The Lord healed

00:49:08.619 --> 00:49:10.900
her when I was 24 from schizophrenia, but the

00:49:10.900 --> 00:49:13.360
manic depression stayed. It was always there,

00:49:13.420 --> 00:49:16.179
but at least she lived in this reality. At least

00:49:16.179 --> 00:49:17.619
the Lord brought her back. And then I had to

00:49:17.619 --> 00:49:19.440
go through the process of forgiveness and accepting

00:49:19.440 --> 00:49:22.320
her again as mom and trying to work through that

00:49:22.320 --> 00:49:25.659
and work through those emotions. navigate that

00:49:25.659 --> 00:49:31.539
struggle. And then when I was 27, I got married.

00:49:32.099 --> 00:49:35.320
Most beautiful, amazing wife. She would be here

00:49:35.320 --> 00:49:37.239
today, except for she's carrying our little baby

00:49:37.239 --> 00:49:39.340
girl, and it's just too close, so she's at home.

00:49:39.500 --> 00:49:42.340
But she wishes she was here. One day she will

00:49:42.340 --> 00:49:48.590
be here. And I got married, and now... because

00:49:48.590 --> 00:49:51.130
of the neglect my mother experienced from her

00:49:51.130 --> 00:49:53.170
father because he left them when she was two

00:49:53.170 --> 00:49:55.969
years old for another woman, broke the family.

00:49:59.190 --> 00:50:03.190
She's dealing with neglect and she saw me as

00:50:03.190 --> 00:50:06.510
a source of her neglect and saw my wife as the

00:50:06.510 --> 00:50:09.489
reason I neglected her. So the mental illness

00:50:09.489 --> 00:50:13.679
targeted my wife. To where I was stuck in the

00:50:13.679 --> 00:50:16.559
middle of trying to please my parents and trying

00:50:16.559 --> 00:50:22.139
to navigate this new thing called marriage. And

00:50:22.139 --> 00:50:23.699
I thought it couldn't get any worse from when

00:50:23.699 --> 00:50:26.860
I was 15 years old, but it can get worse. Because

00:50:26.860 --> 00:50:30.199
now it involves your wife and it involves your

00:50:30.199 --> 00:50:33.380
children. God, I thought you had a promise for

00:50:33.380 --> 00:50:36.280
me. Lord, I thought that you told me that this

00:50:36.280 --> 00:50:40.059
was going to happen. Many times my wife said,

00:50:40.119 --> 00:50:41.880
we need to leave. We need to go. We got to get

00:50:41.880 --> 00:50:43.719
out of here. We have to leave. I can't do this.

00:50:43.760 --> 00:50:47.079
I can't do this anymore. Yes, I know we can't

00:50:47.079 --> 00:50:54.619
stay, but we also can't go. You can't stay. You

00:50:54.619 --> 00:51:01.440
can't go. You're stuck. Stuck. You say, God,

00:51:01.519 --> 00:51:04.199
I don't know what to do. I shared last night

00:51:04.199 --> 00:51:05.980
with the married. I went to the house of the

00:51:05.980 --> 00:51:07.900
Lord and I prayed and I just threw my hands up

00:51:07.900 --> 00:51:10.980
to him and I said, God, I can't do this. I was

00:51:10.980 --> 00:51:12.800
a lot more transparent last night than I care

00:51:12.800 --> 00:51:18.699
to be right now. I can't do this. I can't make

00:51:18.699 --> 00:51:23.579
it. But still I trust you. You're going to help

00:51:23.579 --> 00:51:31.039
me, Jesus. I trust you. Went through that season.

00:51:33.710 --> 00:51:39.949
It was 2019 when it all came to head. When I

00:51:39.949 --> 00:51:42.469
had to remove my mother from my life permanently.

00:51:44.630 --> 00:51:47.650
Because in 2019 is when she called Child Protective

00:51:47.650 --> 00:51:51.289
Services on us and I was moments away from losing

00:51:51.289 --> 00:51:55.710
my children. Thrown into the government system

00:51:55.710 --> 00:51:59.869
of foster care. Just because my mom had this

00:51:59.869 --> 00:52:03.150
idea that I was abusing my children. The mother

00:52:03.150 --> 00:52:05.269
that loves me, the mother that raised me, accused

00:52:05.269 --> 00:52:09.849
me of beating my children. The one that's supposed

00:52:09.849 --> 00:52:11.690
to look out for me, the one that's supposed to

00:52:11.690 --> 00:52:17.590
care for me. I had to deal with the situation

00:52:17.590 --> 00:52:21.650
and, oh my God, how much darker can it get? I

00:52:21.650 --> 00:52:24.289
thought you gave me a promise, Jesus. I thought

00:52:24.289 --> 00:52:26.230
you showed me a vision. I thought that you were

00:52:26.230 --> 00:52:28.829
going to have your way. I thought that it was

00:52:28.829 --> 00:52:36.559
going to work out. What's going on? 2020 COVID

00:52:36.559 --> 00:52:40.300
hits. I go to my dad. I say, dad, you got to

00:52:40.300 --> 00:52:41.940
handle this. You got to get behind it. You got

00:52:41.940 --> 00:52:44.699
to take care of it. At this point in time, my

00:52:44.699 --> 00:52:47.280
mother was living in a home, a care home, a full

00:52:47.280 --> 00:52:49.739
-time care home, which is what she needed because

00:52:49.739 --> 00:52:53.099
she was so far beyond me or my dad. It was turning

00:52:53.099 --> 00:52:55.179
into elder abuse because my dad just couldn't

00:52:55.179 --> 00:52:56.840
handle her. She'd run up and down the street

00:52:56.840 --> 00:52:58.219
in the neighborhood with her robe on yelling

00:52:58.219 --> 00:53:01.480
at people. So finally got her into a home where

00:53:01.480 --> 00:53:08.380
they could care for her. On that fateful night

00:53:08.380 --> 00:53:10.900
in 2019, we took her to the mental hospital for

00:53:10.900 --> 00:53:14.159
what would be the last time. Never again would

00:53:14.159 --> 00:53:17.539
she step foot into her home. She passed August

00:53:17.539 --> 00:53:27.599
13th, 2022. But before she passed, she got to

00:53:27.599 --> 00:53:29.119
step foot into that building that she prayed

00:53:29.119 --> 00:53:36.320
for for 25 years. Before she passed, She saw

00:53:36.320 --> 00:53:40.420
a prayer answered. You see, because when I was

00:53:40.420 --> 00:53:42.599
born, she prayed, God, whatever you have to do

00:53:42.599 --> 00:53:47.500
to me, save his soul. Whatever you have to take

00:53:47.500 --> 00:53:54.000
me through, save my son's soul and use him. It

00:53:54.000 --> 00:53:56.880
was her sickness that God chose to use to save

00:53:56.880 --> 00:54:01.800
my soul. The very thing that I hated, the very

00:54:01.800 --> 00:54:03.500
thing I struggled against was the very thing

00:54:03.500 --> 00:54:08.179
that God was using to save me. The struggle,

00:54:08.260 --> 00:54:12.219
the uncertainty, that's what kept me on my knees.

00:54:12.960 --> 00:54:15.960
That's what kept me praying. That's what kept

00:54:15.960 --> 00:54:20.920
me focused. That's what kept me determined. September

00:54:20.920 --> 00:54:28.260
2020, 30 years later, I was voted in as senior

00:54:28.260 --> 00:54:31.539
pastor at International Pentecostal Church. It

00:54:31.539 --> 00:54:35.539
took 30 years of shaping to prepare this heart.

00:54:36.579 --> 00:54:41.579
For what God had promised. God's got a promise

00:54:41.579 --> 00:54:45.079
for you. He's got a promise for you. He's got

00:54:45.079 --> 00:54:47.900
a promise for this church. And what you've been

00:54:47.900 --> 00:54:50.760
going through, it's not by accident. But God

00:54:50.760 --> 00:54:54.340
has been shaping. He's been preparing. He's been

00:54:54.340 --> 00:54:59.559
making us ready for his great work. So what I've

00:54:59.559 --> 00:55:01.840
got to do is I've got to turn myself over to

00:55:01.840 --> 00:55:03.780
Jesus. I've got to trust him and I've got to

00:55:03.780 --> 00:55:05.619
trust that he knows his promise. He knows his

00:55:05.619 --> 00:55:08.880
word. It's going to happen. Lord God, I'm going

00:55:08.880 --> 00:55:10.900
to go into the promise, Lord, with faith, knowing

00:55:10.900 --> 00:55:13.340
that you're with me. I'm not going to be bound

00:55:13.340 --> 00:55:14.800
by what I've gone through. I'm not going to be

00:55:14.800 --> 00:55:17.519
bound by the way I think it should happen. But

00:55:17.519 --> 00:55:19.599
Lord, I'm going to trust you 100%. I'm going

00:55:19.599 --> 00:55:23.079
to trust you with everything that I am. Let's

00:55:23.079 --> 00:55:26.340
all stand in this place. The Lord is in this

00:55:26.340 --> 00:55:28.420
room. He's speaking. He's ministering. He's moving.

00:55:28.500 --> 00:55:30.519
It may be my story, but it's your story too.

00:55:31.239 --> 00:55:33.000
It may be what I've gone through, but you're

00:55:33.000 --> 00:55:35.119
going through it too. You're going through your

00:55:35.119 --> 00:55:37.300
own hell right now. In fact, if you're going

00:55:37.300 --> 00:55:39.659
to experience the power of what God has for you,

00:55:39.699 --> 00:55:41.539
it comes through suffering. It comes through

00:55:41.539 --> 00:55:44.579
sorrow. It comes through pain. As I journey with

00:55:44.579 --> 00:55:47.280
God, I'm stepping into what he has for me. But

00:55:47.280 --> 00:55:49.679
I've got to go through the process of his shaping

00:55:49.679 --> 00:55:52.539
before he's going to give me what he's promised

00:55:52.539 --> 00:56:02.530
me. Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 says, being

00:56:02.530 --> 00:56:08.550
confident of this very thing, that he which hath

00:56:08.550 --> 00:56:12.269
begun a good work in you will perform it until

00:56:12.269 --> 00:56:16.550
the day of Jesus Christ. The work that he's doing,

00:56:16.690 --> 00:56:22.809
it's going to be completed. What is this present

00:56:22.809 --> 00:56:25.429
suffering compared to the glory that's going

00:56:25.429 --> 00:56:30.570
to come? Because what I go through now, There's

00:56:30.570 --> 00:56:33.550
a reason. There's a purpose. There's a reason

00:56:33.550 --> 00:56:35.969
for what's happening in your life. And you're

00:56:35.969 --> 00:56:38.130
not alone. God is with you. He knows right where

00:56:38.130 --> 00:56:39.849
you are. He knows your struggle. He knows your

00:56:39.849 --> 00:56:41.909
pain. But rather than running from the pain,

00:56:41.989 --> 00:56:44.469
it's time to embrace it and get into it. Walk

00:56:44.469 --> 00:56:46.690
through it. The Bible says that we walk through

00:56:46.690 --> 00:56:48.849
the valley of the shadow of death. We don't live

00:56:48.849 --> 00:56:50.969
there. We don't stay there. We go through it.

00:56:51.010 --> 00:56:53.130
This pain is not meant to destroy you. This pain

00:56:53.130 --> 00:56:55.929
is not meant to hinder you or stop you. No, this

00:56:55.929 --> 00:56:58.230
pain is meant to take you on your knees. That

00:56:58.230 --> 00:57:00.250
God would receive the glory for what you're going

00:57:00.250 --> 00:57:02.550
through. The promise is going to come to pass.

00:57:02.630 --> 00:57:05.019
You just have to trust the God. God of the promise.

00:57:06.179 --> 00:57:08.539
This altar's open if you want to respond. God's

00:57:08.539 --> 00:57:10.360
nudging at your heart. This altar's open. You're

00:57:10.360 --> 00:57:12.199
going through it. God's got a promise for you.

00:57:12.380 --> 00:57:14.960
He's with you. You're not alone. He's with you

00:57:14.960 --> 00:57:17.000
right in the midst of what you're facing. You're

00:57:17.000 --> 00:57:19.739
not facing the situation by yourself, but there's

00:57:19.739 --> 00:57:21.679
an almighty God that loves you. He loves you

00:57:21.679 --> 00:57:23.980
more than anything else. He knows right where

00:57:23.980 --> 00:57:26.260
you are. He knows exactly what you're fighting,

00:57:26.400 --> 00:57:28.659
and he's not letting you fight alone, but he

00:57:28.659 --> 00:57:31.179
is with you. He's present with you right now

00:57:31.179 --> 00:57:33.519
in this moment, right now in this season. He's

00:57:33.519 --> 00:57:36.699
with you. Oh, Jesus, I trust. Trust you. Mighty

00:57:36.699 --> 00:57:39.460
God, I trust you, Lord. I walk with you. I journey

00:57:39.460 --> 00:57:41.079
with you, Jesus. Your word.