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The Rock Family Worship Center
Taking The Church Outside The Walls
The Rock Family Worship Center
Wake Up & Rest
Many of us grew up believing God's approval depends on how much we do and how good we are, but awakening to our true identity in Christ isn't about earning something new—it's about waking up to what's already true.
• Chosen and adopted in Christ before the foundation of the world
• Christ lives in us as our hope and power—not distant but dwelling within
• Our lives are now lived by faith in His finished work, not by striving
• We don't have to work for God's love or prove our worth to Him
• The Greek word "cosmos" in Ephesians 1:4 refers to God's original order and purpose
• Our adoption gives us full rights and inheritance in God's family
• The fruit of the Spirit flows naturally when we remain connected to Christ
• Living by faith means trusting Christ moment by moment for everything
• When we understand our identity, we pray differently, walk differently, and treat others differently
• Heaven is not just a future destination but a present reality we can access now
Wake up to who you already are, stop striving for approval, and start living from love. You are not fighting for God's favor—you're waking up to God's favor that's already yours.
Have you ever felt like you're running a race? Sometimes I've been there. We're trying to earn God's love, we're trying to prove our worth to God and I do all these things and I say all these different things trying to prove myself, trying to get God to give me more grace and more mercy and more understanding, because I know what I'm going through in my life, I know what may be going on in my life and I'm trying my best to do what I need to do to get God to see things my way. I've been there. If you haven't, that's fine. I've been in that place and many of us grew up believing that God's approval depends on how much we do and how good we are. I grew up believing that. Later on I found out that it was not the truth and it took me a long time to figure that out. But today I want to declare the total opposite of that. Awakening to our true identity in Christ is not about earning something new. It's about waking up to what is already true. It's not a new thing. The new thing is already there. The new creation has already been established. You are a new thing. The new thing's already there. The new creation has already been established. You are a new creation. But every day now is not something new, it's going back to the original, what Jesus already accomplished. That's why I don't like when people say, oh, you're preaching something new. No, I'm not. I'm actually preaching something old. It's not a new thing. It goes all the way back to Jesus. It goes back to the original plan and purpose and intent of what God had in place. So it's not a new thing, it's not new age, it's an old thing. It's maybe new to me because I've never heard it before, but it's actually the original. So that's what we're doing, is we're going back to the original.
Speaker 1:Today, my goal is very simple. It's to present you with three very amazing but simple truths and we're going to elaborate. I'm going to tell you what they are and then we're going to kind of elaborate on them a little bit. But there's three truths we are chosen and adopted in Christ. We are chosen and adopted in Christ. Number two Christ lives in us as our hope and our power. He lives in us as our hope and our power. Number three our lives are now lived by faith in His finished work. Three really simple things that I honestly believe nobody in here would disagree with any of those things. We know that.
Speaker 1:But I want to go deeper into it. One thing to just know it on the surface and to say it because I heard somebody say it. But it's different to dive into it, to dig into it and really pull some revelation out of it. That is personal to me Because I want to see this thing operating in my life. I don't want to just say it sounds good.
Speaker 1:Listen, we got enough Christian parrots that just repeat what's being repeated by somebody else. What we don't have is enough people digging that just repeat what's being repeated by somebody else. What we don't have is enough people digging and really pulling some revelation out for yourself. What does this mean to me? I used to say it all the time I hear somebody say something, I say man, that'll preach, and it will. I can pull some good stuff out That'll preach really good and it makes people. It gets people excited, man, people jumping around. They just got goose bumps. You know people want to run around and start throwing shoes around. I mean it'll just really just tear a place up, but then they walk out and they never change. Nothing about them ever really changed because it was surface level and it never really got inside them and pulled some revelation out.
Speaker 1:That's what we're going to do. We're going to get to a point of pulling out some revelation out of these verses. So it's bigger than just hearing it. Each of these truths will be supported by Scripture. I want you to hear that up front. They're going to be supported by Scripture. Why? Because this. Hear that up front. They're going to be supported by Scripture. Why? Because this awakening when I'm talking about wake up, this awakening right here, comes straight from God's revealed Word. It's not just my opinion on it. I believe it to be true. I'll never preach anything from up here that I do not believe is true. And most of the time, if it's my opinion on something, I'll tell you it's my opinion. But when it's the Word of God, it is the truth period. Whether you believe it or not, your belief system don't make it true. It's truth whether you believe it or not. That's why atheists don't bother me, agnostics don't bother me. Other religions don't bother me Because their belief does not change.
Speaker 1:What is true to me and we say it all the time what is true of us is not always true to us. The truth of what happened on the cross is absolute truth. But is it true to me yet? It's true of me, because Jesus died for every one of us. He was buried for every one of us. He rose again for every one of us. He ascended into heaven for every one of us. When it becomes true to me, what happens is my lens changes and not only do I say Jesus did this and Jesus did that, but guess what? I did that with Him. It's a union between us. Now. I died on the cross with Him. It was a co-crucifixion, it was a co-burial, it was a co-resurrection and it was a co-burial. It was a co-resurrection and it was a co-ascension. That's why it says that you're seated with Him in heavenly places. When I can see myself as participating in that and not just being a spectator of it, that's when it becomes true to me. And I'm telling you it will change your mindset, it will change your focus on how you view the Word of God, how you view the Father. I no longer see Him as an angry Father. That's out to get me, because I screwed up Saturday night and we got too many people that feel that way. They never feel like they can be redeemed. They never feel like they can be forgiven. They never feel like they can be redeemed. They never feel like they can be forgiven. They never feel like they'll be good enough, they never feel like they're worthy. But the fact is, what he did on the cross finished all that he said. It is finished. We got to see the difference. So chosen and adopted first one. I'm going to try to get through these as quick as I can because I want to get all three of them Chosen and adopted First.
Speaker 1:God wants us to know who we already are. I made a comment years ago when I first started coming to this understanding of truth and identity. And I made a comment to ago when I first started coming to this understanding of truth and identity. And I made a comment to the congregation one time and I said why do we come to church? And most people in South Georgia says well, we're living in the Bible Belt, that's what we're supposed to do. You're supposed to go to church on Sunday. You've got a reputation to maintain. That's the idea sometimes.
Speaker 1:But really the reason we come to church on Sunday is to get an insight and to learn who we already are, to get a better understanding of what God's done for me, regardless of what I may see in myself, to get an understanding of what he's already done, what he's already accomplished, what he's already accomplished, what he's already finished, and learn to get my mindset now transformed in agreement with what he sees. That's repentance. Repentance is not getting up here saying I'm sorry. Repentance means change my thinking. So I change my thinking to line up with what he said. Not the world or not what I think. So before the foundation of the world those words we use them often he chose us before the foundation of the world. I'm telling you to give me some time this morning because I'm going to go slow on some parts, because I want it to register, I want it to click with you. I want to stop and let you reflect on what I just said.
Speaker 1:Before the foundation of the world, god looked at each of us and he chose us in Christ to be holy and blam us in Christ to be holy and blameless in his sight. He didn't wait for us to clean ourselves up. He didn't wait for us to get everything right, because most of the time that's probably not going to happen. I don't care how long you've been in church, you still make mistakes. I stand up here every Sunday and preach from been in church. You still make mistakes.
Speaker 1:I stand up here every Sunday and preach from this pulpit and I still make dumb decisions All the time. You're not going to be perfect. He's not looking for perfection. Jesus was the only one that was perfect. So we're not going to get to that place of perfection, but we've got to understand who we are through His eyes, see. So he looked ahead. He didn't wait for us to clean us up or anything like that. He looked ahead in love and he predestined us for adoption, to sonship through Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Think about that. In other words, you are God's chosen child to sonship through Jesus Christ. Think about it. In other words, you are God's chosen child long before you ever did anything to deserve it. I like to look at it like this you were forgiven because if he chose you, he forgave you. You were forgiven long before you did anything wrong. That's hard for us to wrap our minds around, because we think that because I messed up and I made a bad decision and I've done something crazy, that I've always got to come back and I've always got to beg for forgiveness and I've always got to do something to try to get him to see that I'm so sorry for what I've done. He chose us and forgave us before the foundation of the world. We are chosen and beloved.
Speaker 1:Look what it says. These are verses that you're very familiar with, but I want you to see them again because I'm throwing some verses out there that you can grab on to, and these are foundational verses that you can talk to people about Ephesians 1, verse 4 and 5. Look at what it says Just as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love. Imagine God's heart towards you. He picked you. His decision didn't depend on your talents or your achievement. It was pure grace. That's all it was. But I want to tear this scripture apart just a minute. I want to break it down a little bit because I think you got to see the importance and the meat that's inside this verse right here. Because this is a verse that a lot of people don't preach on it because of lack of understanding it. And then some people just preach on it but they just skim the surface of it and they really don't pull the revelation out of it. This word in here, having predestined. Go back to verse 4 just a minute right. Just as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Speaker 1:This word world in here in the Greek is actually translated as cosmos. It is not talking about this planet we live on. It is not talking about the earth. How do I know the difference in that? How do I know when he's talking about the same world he's not talking about earth. Because he says in the very beginning he created the heavens and the earth. He named it. He didn't say I created the heavens and the world. He said I created the heavens and the earth. And now in other places he talks about the world. He says go into all the world. He didn't say go into. I know we use that as a to send missionaries out, but that's not even really in context what it's talking about. He said go into all the world. And there and then here he says he chose us before the foundation of the world.
Speaker 1:This word cosmos literally means order, system or arrangement. What was God's original order? What was the original purpose and plan that God had? That's what he's talking about here in this word cosmos. It's often used to describe the created order or the fallen world system. The word foundation right here, katabali, is the Greek word for it. What it means is throwing down or casting down or laying down Okay, you're going to see why I'm telling you this in just a minute. So if we take a deeper look at this verse, foundation of the world can be interpreted not just as the creation of the earth, what a lot of people think, but more specifically, the casting down Referring to the fall of humanity. He chose us in Him before the casting down, the fall of humanity, before Adam and Eve ever messed up. You were chosen Before the fall of humanity. It's not just we've got to understand what foundation is, we've got to understand what world is. So the foundation of the world can be interpreted as not just the earth, but more specifically, the casting down of it. Okay, referring to the fall of the world can be interpreted as not just the earth but more specifically the casting down of. Okay, referring to the fall of humanity.
Speaker 1:I want to cover this in detail. I like the word like this the disruption of God's original created order. What did he create? You can go back in Genesis and you can see the creative order. You can see what he set in place. Anything that falls out of that order is a distorted thing now. So what we're trying to do is bring things back into order the way it should be. So we are adopted into God's family In verse 5, look what it says.
Speaker 1:It says having predestined us to adoption as son by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Having predestined us to adoption, we are adopted into God's family. Verse 5 tells us he predestined us. What is that predestined? That is the root word of destiny, before destiny. This sounds crazy, but he went back and he said this is what I want. So, instead of getting to the end and doing this, he went to the very beginning and laid out everything. And actually, if you really think about it, the destiny is what's laid out for me, what is your destiny? You heard people ask that question what is the destiny of my life? What am I supposed to accomplish and supposed to do? What is the purpose of my life? He didn't just go to the end pre. He went to the very beginning of it and set this thing in order. He has a purpose for every single one of us and he's predestined us to adoption. Adoption means full rights and inheritance. We are not distant servants. We are family, we have the Father's name on us. And inheritance. We are not distant servants. We are family. We have the Father's name on us. That means something.
Speaker 1:Because of Jesus, your legal status before God is now son and daughter. A lot of people don't see that they're distant from Him. Oh, the more I sin, the further away I get. Sin again, the further away I get. I told you that last week. That's crazy. You're a son and a daughter. You wouldn't cast your own child away. Do we worship such a bad father that he would do that to us? There's no probation period here where you've got to prove your worthiness. You're a son and you're a daughter. This is not wishful thinking. It's as real as the paper that a child's birth certificate is on. When they're born, they have a legal status. Their name goes on that birth certificate. It's their legal name.
Speaker 1:Because of what Jesus done, we now have legal status as a child of God, as a daughter, as a son. But think about all the things that we call ourselves other than that. That's where the phrase comes from. He called me everything but a child of God. We call ourselves everything but a child of God. We view ourselves as everything but a child of God. This legal thing matters. We are holy and blameless. We are holy and blameless in him. The verse says we are made holy and blameless in his sight. Amen, not because we earned it, but because he declared it. He said it. You didn't do anything to earn this, he said it. He declared that over you because of what Jesus done. So if you put these two together and look at them right here verses 4 and 5, awakening to your identity means saying God, I see that before the world began, you chose me, you loved me, you made me your child. I rest in that. I don't have to work for it, I don't have to earn it, I don't have to do anything to be deserving of it. You made the decision to choose me in the very beginning, regardless of anything that I was ever going to do.
Speaker 1:That's hard to preach to a religious crowd. Because we want separation. We want to know that if I'm a good little Christian and Sherry does something crazy, that she can't be as close to God as I am, there's got to be some separation. Why? Because she done something wrong and I didn't come on. We're just being real. Now, this is some things they're not going to talk about in church, but it's the mindset of the church. We want to somehow put something there to be able to distinguish the people apart. If you come to an altar and you say a prayer, we'll accept you. If you don't, thank you for coming, but you're not quite one of us yet. And then I would come back and say well, what's this thing?
Speaker 1:In Ephesians it says something different. It says he chose me. It says he chose me the same as he chose you. He chose that guy that strung out this morning that's walking the street. He chose me the same as he chose you. He chose that guy that strung out this morning, that's walking the street. He chose him the same as he chose you. Now, that guy hadn't awakened to it yet. Wake up, that's what we're saying. Wake up. That guy has not awakened to the reality of who he really is yet. He still walks around and says I'm an addict. He still walks around and says I'm not worthy. He has not awakened to it yet. But it does not change the truth. He was chosen the same as you. Who's in church every Sunday? Who's doing your best to do the right thing.
Speaker 1:But the church wants in some way to separate and we even take Scriptures to try to prove that that's the right way to do it. Jesus never done that. Jesus preached union. He never, ever preached separation. We were never separated from the Father Ever. Listen to these truths about your identity as a quick reminder when we truly wake up to who we are in Christ. We live in these realities. We don't sit back and expect them one day. That's what a lot of people are doing. A lot of people are sitting back this morning and saying one day, when my time on this earth is over, one day I'm going to get this and one day I'm going to get that. When I walk through the pearly gates and I enter into heaven, I'm going to have this and this. And one day I'm going to get that. When I walk through the pearly gates and I enter into heaven, I'm going to have this and this and this. I want it now. I want it now. And God said because of what happened with Jesus, he said you have access to it. That's why we say heaven here, heaven now. That's not denying that you're going to go somewhere one day. That's just saying I, you're going to go somewhere one day. That's just saying I want to take advantage of that place while I'm here. I want access to these things now and we have them because of what Jesus done.
Speaker 1:Chosen by God's love, not by your effort. You were holy and blameless. Because of Christ, you were adopted and you were beloved. You have full rights in God's family. You know most adopted kids. When they get adopted they may be a foster child for a little while. When they're a foster child they don't have rights of that family Full rights. But when they get adopted they become part of that family and most of the time they're name changing Because why? They were adopted into a new family. You were adopted into a new family. You were adopted into a new family. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. You are a new creation in Christ. You were adopted and you are blameless. Do we even understand what that word means? You are blameless? That means he's not blaming you for anything.
Speaker 1:Some of these words are straight out of the Bible.
Speaker 1:We are so confused about it and I don't understand why. Sometimes because I want to know that he looks at me and says you're blameless. I don't want to feel like I worship a Father who looks at me and is putting me down, who is always looking at me in a negative way because I made a mistake, who is waiting on me to keep working and working, and working to try to earn my way back to Him, to try to earn His love. That's not the Father we worship. And when we realize who we are and we start looking at this thing that we call inclusion, we realize we're included in and when I'm in Him and he's in me, there is no separation. That's why he says I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. If he does, then he lied, because His Word says he won't. I mean, can I take Him at His Word?
Speaker 1:I mean, see, it drives me nuts when I see some people preach that, because you made a mistake, that you're distancing yourself from God. You may be distancing yourself mentally, which means you're not reading the Word or you're not coming to church. You're distancing, but God's never left you. He never kicks you to the curb because you made a mistake. He's always going to be there, never denying you, never turning you away. And as a church I mean the church as a whole we find that so hard to grasp.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it's almost like we need that punishment. When I do something wrong, I need God to punish me, I need God to come down with the whip on me. That's crazy. Why do you want to be punished? Why not just accept your love? You would rather be beat than love. Oh man, another sermon just came to me.
Speaker 1:Some Christians are like a battered spouse. I don't want to get into that because I know there may be people here and I don't want to trigger anything being through that. But it's kind of the same thing, if you know anything about it. Kind of the same thing that sometimes women who have been battered go through Same type of mindset. I get so used to that it becomes normal. See, we get so used to thinking God's beating us down and looking down on us that it becomes normal and we expect it. We almost need it. I don't need that. I want to be loved.
Speaker 1:I want to know that even when I made a mistake, he said get your tail up and keep going. You are good. I created you. I know you're good. I shaped you. I formed you. I know you're good. I called you before the foundation of the world. I love you, I care about you so much and I think so much of you that I have invaded your space and now I'm living on the inside of you.
Speaker 1:If I didn't care about you, why would I live on the inside of you? Oh, it's so dirty dirty. God don't live in filth, but we look at ourselves like that sometimes. There's no way God could live on the inside of me. We'll argue with Him because he said it.
Speaker 1:That's not an opinion, that's a fact. That's a truth in the Bible. But can I see it? Can I get to a point of believing that I'm good enough for Him to say I'm going to take up residence in you, because, even if you don't believe it, it's still the truth. All we're trying to get you to do is wake up to it. Wake up to the reality of what he really said. Stop believing the lies, stop believing everybody else. Stop believing everybody else, stop believing what you feel, because your feelings are lying to you.
Speaker 1:Feelings are not facts, they are not truth, they manipulate, they make you feel a certain way. That's why drugs are so rampant. Why? Because drugs make me feel good. I'm not promoting drugs, I'm just telling you a fact. So rampant. Why? Because drugs make me feel good, I'm not promoting drugs. I'm just telling you a fact. Somebody walk in and say oh, that pastor said go out and use. No, the purpose of the drug is to make you go from feeling this way to feeling this way.
Speaker 1:Let's move it back to Tylenol. If I got a headache and I feel like my head's hurting, I take the Tylenol a minute. If I got a headache and I feel like my head's hurting, I take the Tylenol to feel better. But any drug does that. Alcohol does that. That's why it's so popular. I used to mess with this. Used to mess people up when I taught addiction classes, because the first thing I'd tell them is you know why drugs and alcohol are so out there? Because they work. They really do what they're supposed to do. It's harmful in the long run, but they really do what they're supposed to do. They make us feel different. They alter our thinking. Anything that's mind-altering is considered a drug. Let's get off of that. But we've got to see the truth in it, though.
Speaker 1:This Word can alter the way we think it should. That's what he said. Dude, I want you to take this Word. I want you to take what I've spoken over you and I want it to change the way you think. I want you to take this word. I want you to take what I've spoken over you and I want it to change the way you think. I want you to repent.
Speaker 1:I don't mean, and I always talk about behavior. He's talking about mindset there. He's never, ever talking about behavior. See, he's a God that works from the inside out. We try to work from the outside in. Get cleaned up, get right, and then you can join us. And Jesus said, shaking his head, saying I work from the inside out. I'm going to want you to get right, change your thinking, change your heart, and then behaviors will change. That's why we don't focus on behavior. We focus on what's on the inside, recognizing and waking up to the fact of who I am in Christ. See, I got on drugs and got off. Where I'm at I don't even know where I'm at now Children of the King, heirs of His kingdom with Jesus. It talks about that in Romans 8. I'm not going to go into it, but we're children of the King, we're heirs and joint heirs of Christ.
Speaker 1:These are not aspirations. I named these few because I want you to see this. These are not aspirations that we're hoping to get to someday. They are certainty given by God. Our job is to wake up to these truths, to believe them and to begin to live them. Begin to manifest things in our life. I will manifest things in my life when I begin to believe who I really am. That's why my words are so powerful.
Speaker 1:Listen if I told you some of the things that I've heard people pray, and I'll even go further than that. Some of the things that I've heard people pray, and I'll even go further than that, some of the things that I used to pray over people when I'm laying hands on them, and then I'm like God, there's nothing happening. And God said well, listen to yourself, you're not agreeing with what's already done. He said by His stripes, we are healed, it's already done. He said by his stripes, we are healed, it's already done. Now my job, my goal, is to lay my hands on that person and agree with what's already happened, not beg him to do something that he's already done, but to agree, come into agreement. And we don't do that. And then we're just kind of perplexed and we're like God's just not listening to me Because he can't agree with that. He can only agree with his word, he can only come into alignment with his word.
Speaker 1:That second one Christ in you. The second truth is that Christ lives in you as the hope of glory. Look at Colossians 1 and 27. This is a verse that we went over for a while as well. To them, god willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of His mystery I love that word there Mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Speaker 1:If you've never studied this, I ain't got time to go into it. But go ahead and study this verse out and see what the context of this verse is really talking about. I mean, this is an amazing phrase right here Christ in you. Think about that. This is the heart of our union with Jesus. This is what it's talking about. He's not over there somewhere and as soon as I pray, he puts his shoes on and starts running. No, he's with me, he's in union with me. He's living on on and starts running. No, he's with me, he's in union with me, he's living on the inside of me. I'm not trying to wake Him up when I have a special prayer request. He's in me. Christ in you. This is the heart of it and we've got to see that.
Speaker 1:That talks about union with Jesus. He's not just beside you, he's not union with Jesus, he's not just beside you, he's not just near you, he's not just close to you, he is in you. That is life changing right there. If we can just grab it See, sometimes I think we get the picture that he's just hanging around somewhere. He's close by, he's within an earshot, and if we say the right thing, here he comes. Jesus is on the way.
Speaker 1:Listen, jesus had the answer before you asked the question. He's on the inside of us, christ in you. The hope of glory means that Jesus now lives inside His people and that the guarantee, the hope that word hope the guarantee of eternal glory and eternal glory there ain't talking about heaven, I know we like to think that, but it's so much deeper. It's not about achieving or waiting for God's presence. It's awakening to the reality that he's already in us, christ dwelling in us. To say Christ in you is to say that same life that raised Jesus from the dead. Put it in that perspective the same life that raised Jesus from the dead now lives on the inside of you by the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:It's like a light bulb. That light bulb don't produce in itself any light. The light comes from the electricity. The light bulb has to stay connected to the power source and the electricity the power flows through the light Unscrew that thing and it ain't producing nothing. It's not about you. It's about you staying connected to the source and the power running through you, not because of you.
Speaker 1:Come on, I've told you the story. It's all about how going Listen, it's easy. When you get to prophesying and you get into a healing service and stuff, listen, it's easy. When you get to prophesying and you get into a healing service and stuff like that and you see people healed I mean one after another. I mean that prophetic anointing arises and you just prophesying over people, man, it's easy to get caught up in the flesh. I've been there, it's easy. It's easy to start thinking it's me, I got this anointing. I mean, I've seen people. Man, they'll get caught up in a service and the next day they're making business cards, literally Passing them out, apostle Healer. I mean why? Because they've taken on this and those are real gifts. Don't get me wrong what I'm saying, but they've taken it on as it's them doing this instead of the Holy Spirit working through them. Why? Because they're connecting. And when they start doing that, guess what? They now get disconnected and those prophetic words are not quite as prophetic anymore as they used to be. And when they start doing that, guess what? They now get disconnected and those prophetic words are not quite as prophetic anymore as they used to be. That healing maybe ain't happening through them like it used to. Why? Because they're disconnected, because it's become about them now.
Speaker 1:Abiding in I talked about it last week abiding in the vine. Jesus illustrated this union in John 15. He says I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you will do nothing. We must stay attached and connected. To remain in Christ means to live in constant communion with Him, through prayer, through Scripture, through worship, through obedience. We listen to Him as he speaks, as the vine speaks. We listen and we draw from Him. If a branch tries to act on its own, it's going to die off. I've been there. I've seen people there Again.
Speaker 1:We try to do it on our own and the ministry, the anointing, begins to fade. Some of us have tried to live Christian lives by our own effort. We can't figure out why it feels so dry. It don't feel right. So the call is stay connected, stay connected to the power source. If we do that, the result is pretty simple we bear fruit and we have assurance when Christ lives in us. The fruit of the result is pretty simple we bear fruit and we have assurance when Christ lives in us.
Speaker 1:The fruit of the Spirit comes out naturally. Look at Galatians 5, 22 and 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Let me stop right here just a second. I want to repeat them Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Let me stop right here just a second. I want to repeat them Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness and faithfulness. Okay, go to 23.
Speaker 1:Gentleness, self-control. Against such. There is no law. You can go back and read them on your own. You need to, because those are the things we struggle with. Most of those things is what I see people in counseling for because they've lost control of them. Most divorces happen because one of those things is no longer there. Most church splits happen because of one of these things. Most people leave church because of one of these things. Most people get offended and get upset because of one of these things. Most people leave church because of one of these things. Most people get offended and get upset because of one of these things. It happens Every church. It ain't just one church or two churches Every church. This happens in Every church Because of this, because we lose sight of one of these.
Speaker 1:If we love more, have more joy, have more peace and show more patience, it's coming because of the connection to Christ. It's not because I'm just a special person, it's because I'm the conduit. It moves through me, from Him through me and to others. I wrote this thing down here. These things, these fruits of the Spirit, they aren't things that we wake up and we have to muster up the ability to do. We've got to hear this now. They flow from union with Jesus.
Speaker 1:Paul put it another way. He said Christ lives in me and we'll get to that point in a minute. But we don't have to Listen. I don't have to wake up in the morning and say Lord, help me, love people. Today I really don't. It comes natural why? Because the one who is love lives on the inside.
Speaker 1:Now I'm not going to say it's always easy, let's be real, but it should be a natural response. That's the point I'm trying to get to. I'm not saying I'm there yet. I know some of you ain't there yet, but that is, the understanding of who we are moves us to that place. Staying connected to Him moves us to that place, and it becomes a natural response Rather than something I have to. Oh Lord, you've got to help me today. I'm telling you, sometimes I go to work and I'm like, lord, these people, I have to say a prayer before I go, and they might even be praying for me too, but there's just chaos. There shouldn't be Okay. So these are things we have to muster up.
Speaker 1:We have the ability to do this. Our hope is rooted in Him, because Christ lives in us. Hope of glory is our heritage. It means, no matter what tomorrow brings, no matter what happens, our future is bright because of His glory. Not because of me, but because of Him, not because of what we do, but because he is with us Always, always, living by faith.
Speaker 1:Number three the third one. This is where we get this title from Wake up and rest. Wake up, wake up, wake up, awake to the new life that you have. This third truth is how we live now, knowing who we are and whose we are. We live by faith in His life, in the life of Christ, not by striving in our own strength. We're not doing this on our own. We're living through. What he's doing is just working through me. That's why this is so tough, because when I understand who I am listen to this, if you get mad at me, just forgive me when I understand who I am, it eliminates excuses Because it's Him working through me and the only way, when he's working through me and I'm allowing Him to work through me, peace comes automatically, love comes automatically, self-control comes automatically. These things are naturally who I am if I stay connected and realize who I am. The problem is sometimes most christians don't realize who we are, so we fall short on these things. Okay, so we got to understand. This identity is huge, crucified and raised with Christ.
Speaker 1:Paul declared in Galatians 2 and 20. Let's go there. Did I give you that verse, brother? Galatians 2 and 20. I want you to see it in just a minute. I have been crucified with Christ. I have been crucified with Christ. Y'all thought that was my opinion a while ago.
Speaker 1:No, the Word says we've been crucified with Christ. I have been crucified with Christ. Y'all thought that was my opinion a while ago. No, the Word says we've been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Speaker 1:Really powerful, powerful verse right here. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, the life I now live in the body. I live by faith in the Son of God. Stop for a minute. Let that sink in. Just a minute.
Speaker 1:I no longer live. If I no longer live, common sense tells me what. Say that louder. I'm dead. You're dead to sin. You're dead to a false identity, you're dead to those things. Why? Because you no longer live. Why Because you was crucified.
Speaker 1:This is so hard for some people to see this and grab this and just slow down and look at it. In a minute I no longer live. Well, you might say. Well, you're breathing right now. You're up there talking. You're talking too long actually, but you're talking. Let me finish something about there.
Speaker 1:I no longer live.
Speaker 1:Why? Because I was crucified with Him. I died with Him. The old me passed away. Behold a new creation come forth, and now I don't live this life. He lives this life through me. So I no longer do things that I want to do all the time. I no longer think the way I want to think. I no longer do and respond the way I want. Listen, if I responded the way I wanted to respond, sometimes I'd be in jail. Don't thoughts still come? I'm a man, I'm human. There's times I'd still love to put hands on somebody and I'm not talking about holy hands but then I realized it ain't about me. It ain't about me. That's happened so many times and you have to take those thoughts. That's why the Bible says take those thoughts captive.
Speaker 1:I remember years ago a situation happened and, man, I got riled up. I was a pastor there and I got mad. And I remember somebody coming up to me and saying oh, you're a pastor. I said but I ain't always been. I have not always been a pastor. That old man is supposed to be buried. I said, yeah, but you're like a shovel and you're digging him up. That happens. We're human. Sometimes people start digging at an old man, poking that old man.
Speaker 1:We've got to have self-control to not let that old man come out, because sometimes he'll come out and you've got to grab him by, the jerk him back Like that ain't who you are anymore. Get back where you belong. You are dead. What you doing, walking Get back. He no longer lives. Christ lives through me. So I have to stop myself sometimes. Again, that don't mean I'm not thinking it, but that's where the self-control comes out. Those thoughts is not going to become an action. I stop myself when I think that and say, well, stop, that ain't me, that ain't who I am anymore. I can't act out on what I'm always thinking.
Speaker 1:Crucified and raised with Christ. But Paul declared I am crucified, you are crucified with Him. We have a new life. You've been united with Jesus in His death and His resurrection. It tells us that in Romans 6. Your old failed attempts, your guilt, your striving, your shame, your condemnation they died with Christ. It's dead, it's gone, it no longer exists. And now you have a new life that comes from Him. See, this is not just. This is not self-help, this is not counseling Sounds like it. It's the life you live. It's who you are.
Speaker 1:I use this same stuff in counseling. To be honest with you. Why? Because somebody can't change and get rid of their anxiety if they're always seeing themselves with a distorted image. So I use this same stuff to deal with anxiety, depression, addiction. It's no different. It's no different. When I understand who I am, all of those things will begin to shift and change, no matter what it is.
Speaker 1:Because Christ lives in me. I live by faith. That means I trust Him moment by moment, for everything. That don't mean I'm always carrying a Bible around with me, throwing Scriptures out every second to everybody. You know we used to call it Bible thumpers. I'm not spitting Scripture out all the time. That's not what we do. That's not who we are. But what it means is, moment by moment, in everything I'm tuned in, I'm connected and I mean that is so true.
Speaker 1:When you get to that place and maybe you're there sometimes we slip a little bit and we have to get back. But when you're in that place, you know it, because there's been times I've made a dumb decision. I'm like, as soon as I've done it, I knew it. I mean, I knew it. That conviction comes sometimes. So we know these things and that's God bringing it to my attention. He's bringing it to my attention not to condemn me, not to beat me down, not to tell me how sorry of a son I am, not to condemn me, not to beat me down, not to tell me how sorry of a son I am, but to tell me get up and get back to who you are. Made a mistake. Get back over here now. I love you, I created you, I chose you. Get back to where you belong, that's it. He's not beating me. God has never whipped me.
Speaker 1:Now, used to my mindset was every bad thing that happened was God getting me. Non-christians call it karma. God has never whipped me. He's always loved me. Well, the whippings I got was because of my dumb decision and I did not hear him when he said get back to who you are, and I kept going into my false self and created a problem for myself.
Speaker 1:I can't do that and then look up and say God, why did you do this? He didn't do it. I done that the whole time. He was speaking. He was speaking to me. He was saying God, don't do this. Y'all ever been in a situation like that where you just hear it Do this, do this? I mean there's been times where I've been lost back before GPS and all that, and I mean God would. Literally, I'd hear a voice say not a voice, not loud, I mean in my head, like left, I'd get somewhere and go left, turn left and go on. I mean God is there with you, he's your guide, he's your advocate and, believe it or not, he will speak to you if you try to have a conversation with Him. Some people think you're nutty if you say I don't know if I had a conversation with God. I don't know if it's a movie or a book.
Speaker 1:Conversations with God, pretty good. But he's there all the time. So why not have conversation with Him? Why not ask His opinion on something? Why not? Before you walk into an interview, say God, you've already chose me, you've blessed me, this is mine. In the name of Jesus, everything's going to go smooth. I mean things like that Total, automatic, immediate conversation.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we wait. I can't wait to get to church Sunday because I've got to pray about something. It's Monday and you've got to wait all week to pray about something. No, no, this is not the holy place. You are the holy place. We just come here to get filled up, to learn, to come together. This is good. This is so good. We got to grab this. I'm excited about this because if we grab this man, I'm telling you, your life will change. It will change.
Speaker 1:God did that. Y'all know that right. That's why I can do that. If God made this, he said I make this and I make this and let it be, and let it be. And he said I'm just doing like my father.
Speaker 1:Alright, let me get down here to the end, because Christ lives in me. I live by faith. That means I trust every moment, for a moment. I trust that He'll give me strength to forgive. I trust that He'll give me the words to speak and the ability to shut my mouth when I don't need to speak. I don't wake up and say, lord, help me to love people. I just realize that's who I am. We're one. He loves me, I love him and we're just one. So, loving people, forgiving, helping people it's not what I do to feel good or to try to be good. It's a natural response because he lives on the inside of them. A natural response, and it's got to become. That's not arrogant. We should all feel like that. It should be a natural response. So wake up.
Speaker 1:Romans 13 and 11. I'll tell you this last verse right here, and do this knowing that the time that now it is high time to do what? To awake out of sleep. Go back and study the context of this. I'm just giving you the verse right now. Go study the context of it. But he was telling people here wake up. You've been asleep it. Study the context of it. But he was telling people here, wake up. You've been asleep, it's time to wake up. It's high time to wake up Out of your sleep. For now, I don't even want to read this because I ain't got time to get into it, but for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. That's powerful. Probably won't have time to go into that. That may be next week.
Speaker 1:The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber. We have been sleeping spiritually drowsy, thinking life is about chasing things, chasing money, chasing just a good life, and there's nothing wrong with that, because when we know who we are, we live a good life. I can give you example after example Not just me I mean people in this congregation, but me too how God has just stepped in and he's done things and unexpected things. And you know, raise after raise. The governor has given us four raises in the last four years as educators. That's a blessing. That's a blessing. That is a blessing. But just little things, one after another, that happen. It's time that we've got to wake up. God's salvation has come near. Now we have everything we need in Christ at this very moment. We aren't waiting for a future. We aren't waiting one day in the by and by. Right now we have access to it. Wake up, paul exhorts in 13 and 11. The hour has already come for you to wake up, hours long past, for the church to wake up. Just wake from sleep.
Speaker 1:What does this mean? Awaken to who you already are. Sleep represents living unaware of your new identity in Christ. That's all it means. It's not me looking at somebody else and saying, oh, they're not a Christian, they're not born again, or looking down on them or whatever. It's nothing to do with that. It's just looking at somebody else and saying, oh, they're not a Christian, they're not born again, or looking down on them or whatever. It's nothing to do with that. It's just looking at them saying they're asleep to the identity of who God chose them, called them to be and chose them to be. They're still a Christian, they're still a good person, but they're asleep to some of the things that God wants them to know right now. Why? Because if they know it right now, they live in it right now. He wants us to have this stuff now, not one day. Right now, heaven here, heaven now. So sleep represents an unawareness of your new identity in Christ.
Speaker 1:Awakening is not about achieving something new. It's about realizing what Christ has already done in the very beginning, with the finished work. So again, like I said earlier, I'm kind of ending where I started. God did not we're not doing anything new. He did say we're a new creation simply because our mindset has shifted. But we're a new creation stepping into an old thing, stepping back into the original intent and original purpose that God has. We are already light, already righteous, already included, but we need to wake up and live in it. As those awaken to the truth and I'm speaking that as people in this congregation that's already awakened to the truth, and I'm speaking that as people in this congregation that's already awakened to the truth you can now resting in grace. You can rest. No striving, there's no working. You rest in grace. Stop striving under guilt, trusting Christ to finish work. You've got to strive, you've got to be guilty, you ain't got to have shame and doubt. You can rest. You can also live from your identity. Let every decision, every decision that you make in your life be shaped by who you are in Him.
Speaker 1:When I get outside of myself, like the prodigal son did, I'll make dumb decisions and guess what? There's times I get outside of myself. There's times that you get outside of yourself. We're not looking down on you, we're just saying come back, wake up. That's when I'm going to start going around and tell people, when they're outside, wake up, get back to who you are. That's why when I say this sometimes and if people's ever been in counseling with me, they'll hear me say this sometimes and I mean this. I don't mean this to be mean. I mean this because of what I'm talking about right here. There's some things that people do and some things people say it don't bother me anymore. I don't get all bent out of shape about it. It don't stress me out. I don't lose sleep at night. That don't mean I don't care. That just means that I'm depending on God to help with this, because if I try to do it and I step outside of myself and do it, there's going to probably be more problems Because I'm going to say something dumb, I'm going to do something crazy and it's going to be a mess. Stay within ourselves. Stay awake to who we are.
Speaker 1:When you wake up to what's already true about you, you pray differently. I've mentioned that hundreds of times. We pray differently. I'm not begging anymore. I'm now boldly declaring something you walk differently. I'm not fearful. I walk with confidence. I walk with confidence in the grace that he's already given me. I know that whatever I'm asking for, whatever I'm seeking, if I'm walking with Him and I'm in Him and he's already given me, I know that whatever I'm asking for, whatever I'm seeking, if I'm walking with Him and I'm in Him and he's in me, there's confidence in me.
Speaker 1:See, oftentimes, when we teach stuff like this, people say it's arrogance. It's not arrogance, it's confidence. I know who I am, you should know who you are and we should walk like that. And the last one you treat others differently Because it flows out of you, not just about you, but it flows out of who you are, seeing them as fellow heirs and not competition. I'm not trying to be a better Christian than you and I hope you ain't trying to be a better Christian than me. We're not in a competition with anybody in this place. I should look at you and, no matter what you're going through and this is the truth I try my best, no matter what happens.
Speaker 1:If this happens to somebody in this congregation, if something's going on, I do my best to look and say I know who they are in Christ. Even if something happens in the flesh, I know who they are. I try not to look after the flesh, because we no longer look people after the flesh. We see them as who they are in Christ. That's not easy. It's something that we have to pull ourselves back in. We have to awaken to our identity and we have to say this is the way I choose to look at this situation and choose to look at people when they're going through things.
Speaker 1:So stop striving for approval, start striving, start living from love. Stop waiting for joy. Start rejoicing now. Stop begging for it, godicing now. Stop begging for it. God, make it a joyful day for me. You make it joyful for yourself because you have the ability to do that. Walk it out. Stop asking God, when will you bless me? And start realizing you're already blessed. These are just simple little mindset shifts. That needs to become language shifts. We need to change our language.
Speaker 1:Everything we've said today leads to this powerful conclusion. I'm finishing God has already done everything for you. You are not fighting for God's favor. You are not waking up to God's favor. You are not waking up to God's favor. You're waking up to a God's favor that's already yours. You're not fighting for it, you're not doing anything for it. You're waking up to it.
Speaker 1:This is the difference in what we say. When some people say, well, are you saying that salvation has already happened? Absolutely, he died on the cross for my salvation. He died on the cross for my salvation. He died on the cross for my redemption. But some people's not awake to it. You need to come up to an altar and pray and say a prayer. That's fine and I pray. That prayer awakens you to the reality of what's already occurred. That's what it is and that's strange language to some people. And they'll call you a heretic and they'll call you a hypocrite, and they'll call you new age and they'll call you all kind of stuff. I don't care, I'm still going to say this is the truth.
Speaker 1:This is what his word says. We may see it a little bit different, but it don't change the fact that it's true. We are chosen. You are God's pick. We are adopted. You are now God's child. We have Christ in us, which means that you now have God's life and we live by his life, which means you have his power, while life and death lies in the power of your tongue, we don't add to it, we simply let it be real in our hearts, in our actions. This is what rest is. Rest don't mean I'm getting lazy and I'm just going to sit down and do nothing. Be real in our hearts and our actions. This is what rest is. Rest don't mean I'm getting lazy and I'm just going to sit down and do nothing. Rest means I know who I am and I'm no longer striving. So it's time that I wake up to the understanding of who I am. And once I wake up, rest. We're not.
Speaker 1:Some people are running a marathon trying to get to heaven. Rest, we're not. Some people are running a marathon trying to get to heaven. I mean seriously. They are wearing themselves out simply because they're trying to get to heaven. I'm going to heaven, as a matter of fact, I'm going to have it before you get there. I'm going to have it before you get there. I'm going to have it before I die. I got it now. This is what people, when you say that I love doing it, I love to cause people to think, ready to close it out. I appreciate y'all giving me a little extra time. I've only got 30 minutes left.
Speaker 1:Wednesday nights we've been covering some of this. We talk about some of this stuff more in detail and I guess, because people ask questions, we've got a box in the back you can put questions in. I say this all the time. Let me end with this. I don't expect people to agree with every single thing, especially if it's new to you. I don't expect you to just jump on board and say, oh yeah, I've been wrong. Right or wrong is not the way we're looking at it. We're looking at it as a sleep and a wake. Sleep and a wake.
Speaker 1:Like we said last Sunday, easter Sunday, there's things that we're teaching about the crucifixion and all we're teaching about unity, inclusion. I call it the inclusion theology Included in Christ Because I believe in inclusion. It don't mean these other things are not true. Inclusion just takes it a step further and says let's go deeper, let's look at it a little bit deeper, below the surface, let's pull the context out of it. Let's pull the meat out of this. Let's pull the revelation out of this so that I can begin to walk this thing out, not when I get to heaven, but I can walk it out now. Heaven here. Heaven now. Jesus preached it. That was His plan. That was part of the purpose was to bring heaven here. It wasn't ever taught about escapism. We're not trying to escape. We're trying to bring what the Father has already established through the death, burial and resurrection of the Son here to this earth. Bring a new kingdom here to be ambassadors of that kingdom.
Speaker 1:And the only way I'm an ambassador of the kingdom is I speak the language of the one who sent me. Have you ever'm an ambassador of the kingdom? Is I speak the language of the one who sent me? Have you ever noticed an ambassador? Let's just say an ambassador to Europe. He don't stay here in the United States. He goes to that place. Ambassador to China Goes to China and when he gets there, he talks the language of the US and he says this is what we want. He don't do what he wants. He does what the president sends him over there to do. He carries the message of the president. As kingdom. Ambassadors, you don't do what you want. You carry the message of the one who sent us. You were sent by God, every one of us. We were chosen and we were sent by God, so we carry the message of the one who sent us. That's what an ambassador is. That's what an ambassador is. That's what an ambassador does. So it's time that we wake up and become ambassadors and begin to walk this stuff out.
Speaker 1:I got so much to say on this. Y'all ain't gonna say too much. Let's pray. Father, god, we thank you. We thank you so much for your word. We thank you for what you're doing in this right now, the message that you're bringing to us. We thank you for the revelation and the willingness of every person in this place.
Speaker 1:Father, I prophesy right now that they're willing to go deeper, they're willing to dig, they're willing to go below the surface and get some of the deeper things. That's not always there, that's not always presented, but, father, I thank you for the growth in every person in this room. I pray that, as they walk out of here today, that there's something that was said that they'll carry with them, that they'll begin to dig into, begin to pray on and think about. I pray that there's some things that were said today that challenge them, that just provoke them to want to know more, to want to go after more.
Speaker 1:And, father, I just thank you that we are growing in this place, that we are learning more in this place, that we're coming back into the original purpose and intent of what you established from the very beginning. It's not a new thing, it's going back to the original thing. And, father, I thank you that you're bringing things to us that maybe we haven't looked at before, haven't looked at in the right way, but you're bringing them to us and you're bringing light into situations and even areas of the Bible that maybe were sometimes dark before, that we didn't have an understanding, we didn't have a lot of wisdom in that area. But, father, you're bringing wisdom, you're bringing light into those areas and as you do that, we're getting this in us. We're changing our minds, we're changing our hearts, we're changing our language and as we do that, we see our life transform because we're beginning to walk out the manifestation of the things that You've spoken in this word. We didn't create it, we just begin to walk it out because of who we are and because we know whose we are Father.
Speaker 1:So we thank you for everything that you're doing in us. We pray, father, and we just continue to decree that you've given us the vision of this new facility. And, father, we thank you for the land that we was able to purchase and we just always, father, we just decree right now that provision is on the way you said. I believe that if you give us the vision, you will provide the provision as well. So we thank you, father, in advance for the finances to build the building that you want us to build, to do the ministry that you want us to do. So, father, we thank you for that and we'll be careful to always give you the praise, the honor and the glory in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.