WEBVTT 00:00:08.291 --> 00:00:10.935 You may not know this, but we serve a great big God. 00:00:10.935 --> 00:00:14.188 Can I get a witness in God's house today? 00:00:14.188 --> 00:00:16.888 We serve a big God. 00:00:16.888 --> 00:00:32.588 It is an honor and a privilege just to be able to praise him, and I say this a lot because it's my mantra If he never does another thing, he's already done enough. 00:00:32.588 --> 00:00:44.692 When we get in that mindset, we get in that more than conqueror state, because we start to understand the size of the God is not determined by the size of our problem. 00:00:44.692 --> 00:00:59.780 We start to understand the size of the God is not determined by the size of our problem, that no matter how big of something you face, no matter how far you've gone, his armor is never too short and his might is never weakened. 00:00:59.780 --> 00:01:10.835 Can we give it up for the reading of God's Word? 00:01:10.835 --> 00:01:23.024 It's good to see all of your beautiful faces About 80% of you, I'm just kidding. 00:01:23.024 --> 00:01:24.007 I'm just kidding mostly. 00:01:24.007 --> 00:01:34.944 So I want to start the service this morning with a short scripture reading and I hope today's message will do something for you and through you and in you. 00:01:34.944 --> 00:01:40.143 I hope that it transforms your life, because it's been transforming mine, as God has been pouring it into me. 00:01:40.143 --> 00:01:45.391 So if you everybody's standing, if you want to get your Bible out, you can. 00:01:46.293 --> 00:01:48.063 We're going to be coming from James, chapter one. 00:01:48.063 --> 00:01:52.292 If you know, a few weeks ago I came from James again. 00:01:52.292 --> 00:01:53.861 James doesn't play games. 00:01:53.861 --> 00:01:58.325 No games for James. 00:01:58.325 --> 00:02:03.331 I should have been there, I would have had my t-shirt and everything made. 00:02:04.332 --> 00:02:07.096 Verse 19 is where we're going to start, 19 and 20. 00:02:07.096 --> 00:02:11.948 It says understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. 00:02:11.948 --> 00:02:13.251 I like how he starts off. 00:02:13.251 --> 00:02:14.420 He's like come on, guys, we're friends. 00:02:14.420 --> 00:02:18.284 And then he sticks it to him every time. 00:02:19.186 --> 00:02:23.830 You must all, no exception, no exemptions. 00:02:23.830 --> 00:02:31.646 You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry. 00:02:31.646 --> 00:02:38.371 Human anger does not produce righteousness, the righteousness of God. 00:02:38.371 --> 00:02:40.481 Let's pray, father. 00:02:40.481 --> 00:02:42.819 I thank you, lord, for your presence. 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:44.728 We have already experienced here today. 00:02:44.728 --> 00:02:47.528 I ask God that you continue to move in this service. 00:02:47.528 --> 00:02:51.670 Lord, whatever you want to do here, we yield to you right now in the name of Jesus. 00:02:51.670 --> 00:02:58.752 We give it all to you, we lay it all at your feet, leaving nothing, nothing unseen by you. 00:02:58.752 --> 00:03:02.790 Today, holy Spirit, expose what needs to be exposed. 00:03:02.790 --> 00:03:16.782 Reveal every corner of our heart today that we do not leave here the same, but transformed, renewed in our minds and with a spirit of joy and peace and love as we leave this place. 00:03:16.782 --> 00:03:18.968 In your name, we pray Amen. 00:03:18.968 --> 00:03:34.603 You may be seated All right. 00:03:34.622 --> 00:03:36.832 I love the book of James. 00:03:36.832 --> 00:03:37.496 I love the book of James. 00:03:37.496 --> 00:03:37.978 James is good. 00:03:37.978 --> 00:03:42.282 James would see James had a way about himself that he would. 00:03:42.282 --> 00:03:45.491 He would comfort you and he would pat you on the back while he's slapping you in the face. 00:03:45.491 --> 00:03:49.548 It's like one of those like only a sassy mama can do. 00:03:49.548 --> 00:03:51.051 You know what I mean. 00:03:51.051 --> 00:03:58.766 Like he had that spirit about him like oh yeah, and he loved you and cared for you, but he actually would shine light on what was wrong. 00:04:00.010 --> 00:04:14.133 We need to be as Christians and I say this a lot because this is something I struggle with is that we need to always be submissive to the Spirit, because when we submit ourselves completely to God, then God can really transform us. 00:04:14.133 --> 00:04:21.990 But here's something that we often want to do in the church house, and a lot of times I say it's not this church, but today we're coming home. 00:04:21.990 --> 00:04:30.105 We in the church want to examine everyone else and we don't want to examine ourselves. 00:04:30.105 --> 00:04:34.093 Now, this is not me pointing the finger at you. 00:04:34.093 --> 00:04:41.024 This is saying we are all guilty at some point in time of wanting to point blame on others and not really examine and look at ourselves. 00:04:41.526 --> 00:04:45.160 If you've been married for an extended period of time ever, you usually will understand when you start wising up an extended period of time ever, you usually will. 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:49.790 You'll understand when you start wising up that usually it's not them, it's you. 00:04:49.790 --> 00:04:53.423 That's just the way it usually is. 00:04:53.423 --> 00:04:58.452 Even in my nasty divorce to my first wife, I understood. 00:04:58.452 --> 00:05:08.259 When I started gleaning from God's word and allowing him to plant seeds in my garden heart, I realized that it was a lot. 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:08.920 Me too. 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:14.552 When we're hurt, when we're suffering, when we're in pain, we like to point blame. 00:05:14.552 --> 00:05:19.569 But today, I hope you leave here today with a little bit of self-awareness. 00:05:19.569 --> 00:05:20.031 Can we do that? 00:05:20.031 --> 00:05:20.781 Can we agree on that? 00:05:20.781 --> 00:05:22.225 Can we do that? 00:05:22.225 --> 00:05:31.120 Okay, nobody take offense to this, I'm sorry. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:44.016 Have you ever experienced life and been around those people, eyes up here, nobody looking around? 00:05:44.016 --> 00:05:48.521 Do you know? 00:05:48.521 --> 00:05:49.101 I'm sure some of you. 00:05:49.122 --> 00:05:51.487 Immediately when I said those people, you're like oh, I know exactly who you're talking about. 00:05:51.487 --> 00:05:56.964 We all have someone in our lives, whether it's at work, in your marriage. 00:05:56.964 --> 00:05:59.610 I'm sorry. 00:05:59.610 --> 00:06:02.584 I saw her patting him on the leg like it's okay, baby, it's you. 00:06:02.584 --> 00:06:09.665 We have been around and experienced friction with those people. 00:06:09.665 --> 00:06:16.120 Those people, when I said that immediately, someone probably came to your mind. 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:20.872 Some of you may have so lovingly and softly nudged your spouse next to you. 00:06:24.805 --> 00:06:26.350 But those people, what are these people? 00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:27.151 What am I talking about? 00:06:27.151 --> 00:06:28.541 They are quick to disagree. 00:06:28.541 --> 00:06:32.209 They are quick to get their feelings hurt. 00:06:32.209 --> 00:06:37.701 They're the victim, quick to call others out. 00:06:40.627 --> 00:06:43.951 I heard some throat clearing over on the east side. 00:06:43.951 --> 00:06:46.035 They're never wrong. 00:06:46.035 --> 00:06:50.661 They're quick to be and here's the key word, this is what we're going to be talking about today. 00:06:50.661 --> 00:06:52.348 They're quick to be offended. 00:06:52.348 --> 00:06:57.331 Has anyone seen on any social media platform people that are quick to be offended? 00:06:57.331 --> 00:07:02.170 We are living in a day of quick offense. 00:07:02.170 --> 00:07:06.367 Some people call them social justice warriors. 00:07:06.367 --> 00:07:09.947 I don't know what you call them, but today we're going to call them those people. 00:07:09.947 --> 00:07:20.045 So when I say those people, you know exactly who I'm talking about the people who will not have a dog in the fight, but they will come and say that they're offended and they don't even know why. 00:07:20.045 --> 00:07:29.982 So those people, now listen, if you roll your eyes and say, oh, I know exactly who you're talking about, brace yourself. 00:07:29.982 --> 00:07:30.624 It might be you. 00:07:30.624 --> 00:07:37.985 Okay, just prepare yourself because listen, can we be honest At some point in time. 00:07:38.166 --> 00:07:38.968 This can all be us. 00:07:38.968 --> 00:07:49.190 We've all had bad days to where something, the smallest thing that your spouse can say or that your kids can do, can set you spiraling off for the rest of the day. 00:07:49.190 --> 00:07:52.226 That's the way it happens sometimes. 00:07:52.226 --> 00:08:00.245 So I don't know who you are today, but what I do know is this we can all get offended. 00:08:00.245 --> 00:08:07.213 You can't always choose when you get offended, but you can choose to make camp there. 00:08:07.213 --> 00:08:11.108 You can't always choose how the offense happens to you. 00:08:11.108 --> 00:08:12.951 You can't always choose your surroundings. 00:08:12.951 --> 00:08:18.973 You can never choose your circumstance, but you can choose to not stay in a state of offense. 00:08:18.973 --> 00:08:28.274 Living offended is a choice, which brings me to the title of my message Living in Offense. 00:08:31.622 --> 00:08:33.326 And if you see the bottom, it says some taken. 00:08:33.326 --> 00:08:39.751 The reason is because when someone says no offense, when they start with no offense, they're about to offend you. 00:08:39.751 --> 00:08:44.440 When they say I don't mean to be rude, they're about to be rude. 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:48.759 When they say I don't mean to be rude, they're about to be rude. 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:55.240 When they say I probably shouldn't say this, they're usually right, but they say it anyways. 00:08:57.740 --> 00:08:59.144 Has someone at some point been guilty of this? 00:08:59.144 --> 00:08:59.566 We probably all have. 00:08:59.566 --> 00:09:00.990 At some time We've said something we shouldn't have said. 00:09:00.990 --> 00:09:04.546 We allowed something in our immediate circle that we shouldn't allow inside of there. 00:09:04.546 --> 00:09:08.927 And then we're like, well, I don't want to offend you, but I'm about to offend you. 00:09:08.927 --> 00:09:12.183 I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm about to hurt your feelings. 00:09:12.183 --> 00:09:16.033 Well, baby, I don't want to lie, but it looks great. 00:09:16.033 --> 00:09:19.961 Bunch of liars. 00:09:19.961 --> 00:09:25.092 But somebody said that's an acceptable lie. 00:09:25.092 --> 00:09:28.505 We're gonna have prayer after all. 00:09:28.505 --> 00:09:34.182 Right, so we can all be this person, but living in a fence is a choice. 00:09:34.182 --> 00:09:40.424 Or my favorite this is my favorite out of all of them that I just said with all due respect. 00:09:40.424 --> 00:09:47.744 And then they follow it up with some of the most disrespectful comments they probably could find in their quiver. 00:09:47.744 --> 00:10:01.344 So have you ever been talking to someone and they lead off with these types of things no offense, but well, I don't mean to be rude, but or my favorite, you know I'll do respect. 00:10:01.344 --> 00:10:08.447 You can bet the farm that what follows these is exactly the opposite of what they're actually prefacing. 00:10:08.447 --> 00:10:15.505 With the conversation Today, we're going to be talking about three things that will become a prison and trap you in the state of living in offense. 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:26.394 So I don't mean to offend you today, but you might get offended. 00:10:26.394 --> 00:10:34.880 Now listen, the reason I'm starting off with this is because I want you to understand that sometimes, when God speaks something, it's not going to feel right. 00:10:34.880 --> 00:10:48.095 Sometimes, when God is trying to grow us, the pruning hurts, but pruning is necessary for the growth process to really happen. 00:10:48.095 --> 00:10:50.980 If you don't prune, there's no progress. 00:10:50.980 --> 00:11:03.967 So today I hope you don't take it as me coming at you, but I am coming for you. 00:11:03.967 --> 00:11:04.589 So listen to this. 00:11:04.589 --> 00:11:11.988 Today I'm going to have 35, 45 minutes to preach this, but listen, what we're about to talk about is not the root of the problem. 00:11:11.988 --> 00:11:17.611 I, as a pastor, cannot tell you what the root of your problem is unless we do some counseling or we talk or we have a close relationship. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:32.663 You need to get with somebody in your inner circle or have people in your inner circle that are touching heaven on behalf of you, that can speak into your life the truth and the word of God, because in the state of offense you often push away the people who don't agree with you. 00:11:32.663 --> 00:11:42.686 In living in the state of offense, you often endure and enjoy people who automatically take your side, people who automatically take your side. 00:11:42.686 --> 00:12:00.072 You must seek wise counsel in your inner circle led by the Holy Spirit, that when you don't want to hear the answer, they still will give you the right truth, not something that you want to hear, but something that you need to hear. 00:12:00.072 --> 00:12:04.110 And it's amazing and great and wonderful when those two line up, but oftentimes they don't. 00:12:04.110 --> 00:12:08.905 And it's amazing and great and wonderful when those two line up, but oftentimes they don't. 00:12:08.946 --> 00:12:10.347 Being led by the Spirit in all things. 00:12:10.347 --> 00:12:17.255 If you haven't been listening, for the past month, month and a half, we've been talking about being led by the Spirit, being filled by the Spirit. 00:12:17.255 --> 00:12:32.764 These are things that give you guidance, give you fruit to the Spirit and give you power to overcome these levels of offense, to where, when you go through the valley of offense and we all will, and we all do you will not try to make camp there that you can make it through and travel through to where God's really leading you. 00:12:32.764 --> 00:12:46.942 So when these three poisons are served, you can make sure not to partake, because they will kill your spiritual health, any fruits of the spirit that God has been growing in you. 00:12:46.942 --> 00:12:53.323 It will snuff them out and kill them, your relationship with God and with fellow believers. 00:12:53.323 --> 00:12:55.208 If you live in a state of offense. 00:12:55.208 --> 00:12:56.532 It will kill all of these. 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:02.581 So here are three symptoms, and I'm using the word symptoms because these are not the roots of the problem. 00:13:02.581 --> 00:13:05.009 I can't tell you what the root of your sadness is. 00:13:05.009 --> 00:13:09.409 I can't tell you the root of your anger and bitterness and suffering. 00:13:09.409 --> 00:13:12.250 I can't tell you the root of that, especially in a short sermon. 00:13:12.250 --> 00:13:12.861 Getting to know you. 00:13:12.861 --> 00:13:14.027 Maybe I can help you point it out. 00:13:14.027 --> 00:13:18.200 My door's always open to anybody here, but I cannot tell you in a sermon. 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:22.951 But what I can tell you is symptoms to look for, to let you know that you're actually living. 00:13:22.951 --> 00:13:34.278 The three symptoms when you live in offense is anger, negativity and bitterness. 00:13:34.278 --> 00:13:42.636 There are a lot of other things, but these three things are usually the source. 00:13:42.636 --> 00:13:44.950 They're usually the root. 00:13:44.950 --> 00:13:48.802 If you want to know someone, look at their fruit. 00:13:48.802 --> 00:13:51.249 You can tell where their root is growing. 00:13:52.393 --> 00:13:54.246 And much like prison, living in a fence. 00:13:54.246 --> 00:13:55.308 It doesn't just. 00:13:55.308 --> 00:14:00.109 Living in a fence is not freedom, it actually begins, and this is a play on words. 00:14:00.109 --> 00:14:05.028 Living in a fence will start to put up a fence around you and will keep out the people you love the most. 00:14:05.028 --> 00:14:12.495 You begin to put a fence around you, completely, cutting yourself off from everyone and everything that you love. 00:14:12.495 --> 00:14:22.595 So this is why it's so dangerous to live like this and most of the time we end up in this valley of offense and living there and we don't mean to. 00:14:22.595 --> 00:14:28.432 Nobody was born and at seven years old say I just wanna grow up and be offended all the time. 00:14:28.432 --> 00:14:31.970 It wasn't on your list, it was on nobody's list. 00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:41.568 Usually a state of offense where we end up living there it's because a journey has a path, has taken us there and we didn't have the courage or the strength to get out. 00:14:47.738 --> 00:14:54.037 But the harm in living this way and one of the top issues that grow from it, are these three Ds of destruction. 00:14:54.037 --> 00:15:02.479 If you're taking notes, I want you to write these down because if you ever feel like life sucks, you may be living in offense. 00:15:02.479 --> 00:15:18.668 Because if we believe the Bible and we believe that our God is a God who rescues, redeems and restores, then living in offense is not an option, because we won't have that anger, we won't have that bitterness, we won't have that negativity coming off of our lips. 00:15:18.668 --> 00:15:26.948 These three Ds of destruction it divides families, it divides friends, it divides churches. 00:15:26.948 --> 00:15:32.259 Okay D number two it distracts us from our mission. 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:41.750 And number three and this, I believe, could be the worst one, but the ripple effects of all, it decredits our witness. 00:15:41.750 --> 00:15:44.817 It discredits our witness. 00:15:45.921 --> 00:15:51.373 If the devil can rob you of being able to testify of God, you will have no witness. 00:15:51.373 --> 00:16:05.066 You will have no strength to pull from because you won't remember the things God has brought you, because you're so blinded by your bitterness and anger and you end up not living in true freedom that God desires for us to live in. 00:16:05.066 --> 00:16:08.471 If the devil can divide us, he can destroy us. 00:16:08.471 --> 00:16:12.438 If the devil can distract us, he can defeat us. 00:16:12.438 --> 00:16:17.130 If the devil can discredit us, he can disarm us. 00:16:17.130 --> 00:16:25.375 This will make both your public and your private spiritual walk gone. 00:16:25.375 --> 00:16:33.816 It will dwindle to nothing, and we have churches full of spiritual zombies. 00:16:35.246 --> 00:16:48.875 There is no life, no pep in their step because they're either angry, living in negativity, or they're bitter about something we all probably can name someone that you know that has been hurt in a church. 00:16:48.875 --> 00:16:51.289 And why is that? 00:16:51.289 --> 00:16:52.283 Because someone in the church was living. 00:16:52.283 --> 00:16:52.302 Why is that? 00:16:52.302 --> 00:17:07.275 Because someone in the church was living in a constant state of offense and they were either angry all the time, they were bitter about everything, or they had something negative to say all the time and at one point it lined up and it was something negative about that person or about their family member. 00:17:07.275 --> 00:17:14.916 Church people need to get these things and grip them and yank them out by the roots, get mad about it. 00:17:14.916 --> 00:17:16.599 Righteous anger, right. 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:21.951 The churches have become spiritually dead. 00:17:22.011 --> 00:17:25.048 Why do we not see Now listen, do we believe? 00:17:25.048 --> 00:17:28.297 Can we all agree as one body that God is the same yesterday, today and forever? 00:17:28.297 --> 00:17:34.636 Then why do we not see the miracles that my dad preached in? 00:17:34.636 --> 00:17:39.074 Why do we not see the spirit being poured out? 00:17:39.074 --> 00:17:46.657 People laid out underneath the power of God because they could not stand underneath his presence? 00:17:46.657 --> 00:17:54.798 Old people and this is kind of crazy stuff, but listen to me Old people walking in, with walkers running around the church. 00:17:54.798 --> 00:17:56.911 Has anyone ever witnessed this before? 00:17:56.911 --> 00:18:02.395 Something that doesn't make sense to our natural human eye. 00:18:02.395 --> 00:18:05.184 But yet God makes it where it becomes possible. 00:18:05.665 --> 00:18:17.875 But the church has become so self-absorbed and self-righteous, caught up in anger, caught up in bitterness and caught up in negativity, and we have forgotten that we are here for him, not him for us. 00:18:17.875 --> 00:18:29.884 We have got to allow ourselves to submit and become broken before the throne room so that when God decides to move in our services we're not captured by our agendas. 00:18:29.884 --> 00:18:32.809 In our services we're not captured by our agendas. 00:18:32.809 --> 00:18:42.744 That if we really desire a move of God, that does not start when you hit this parking lot, it's an everyday lifestyle. 00:18:42.744 --> 00:18:47.630 That if we want God to move on our churches again like he did once before, we have to get on our faces before him and become broken again. 00:18:47.630 --> 00:18:58.595 That if we desire God to really move, like we claim we do, the church sign name out there does not matter to God. 00:18:58.595 --> 00:19:01.884 A denomination does not matter to God. 00:19:01.904 --> 00:19:18.726 He said if my people that are called and everyone in here is called, get on your face, repent and turn from who you used to be, you cannot have God, have fruits of spirit, when you keep having fleshly things in your life and you keep having fleshly desires that you fill out every day. 00:19:18.726 --> 00:19:22.053 How, listen, I'm telling you. 00:19:22.053 --> 00:19:31.938 When Brother Richard passed, things woke up in my spirit that I have not felt in a while, because I realized that we have gotten so blindsided, so blinded by our earthly lives, that we forget that we're not living. 00:19:31.938 --> 00:19:36.351 Blindsided, so blinded by our earthly lives, that we forget that we're not living for here, we're living for there. 00:19:36.351 --> 00:19:43.307 And then we get so caught up in making a dollar here, we forget that his riches up there will sustain us. 00:19:43.307 --> 00:19:52.731 We need to get to work, because people outside of these walls are dying and going to hell and we're sitting here on pads and comfortable and air conditioning and we don't do squat for their salvation. 00:19:55.326 --> 00:20:00.432 If you're not making a purpose every single day to reach out to somebody, you may want to re-question if you're saved. 00:20:00.432 --> 00:20:05.609 That got a little tough, I apologize, but let me tell you something. 00:20:05.609 --> 00:20:12.711 James got real with the people and he said that all the crap that you're letting come into your life, you need to get out and be filled with the Spirit. 00:20:12.711 --> 00:20:16.009 Everything you're allowing that seems to be planted. 00:20:16.009 --> 00:20:18.497 The devil's coming in your garden and doing whatever he wants. 00:20:18.497 --> 00:20:24.758 It's time that you take the authority in Jesus Christ that we have been given and you start rebuking him and get out the junk. 00:20:28.026 --> 00:20:30.394 The church has to get saved before the world will. 00:20:30.394 --> 00:20:36.415 The church has to really get serious about salvation and crying out. 00:20:36.415 --> 00:20:38.131 What does your prayer life look like? 00:20:38.131 --> 00:20:41.491 What does your reading look like? 00:20:41.491 --> 00:20:45.394 Don't expect God to start pouring out, but you're not pouring in. 00:20:45.394 --> 00:20:56.468 We cannot ask God to say God, do this, please Come alongside what I'm doing Anybody else had their own agenda before and ask God to bless it. 00:20:58.092 --> 00:20:58.732 Can I get real? 00:20:58.732 --> 00:21:01.246 I'm guilty of asking God to bless ice cream. 00:21:01.246 --> 00:21:04.315 I know it don't work like that. 00:21:04.315 --> 00:21:09.868 I tell myself that it's in the Bible, some way that carbs don't do anything to you on Sundays. 00:21:09.868 --> 00:21:13.114 I'm guilty. 00:21:13.114 --> 00:21:18.267 Andy shouldn't make ice cream so good, that's not on me. 00:21:18.267 --> 00:21:22.376 Oh, that wasn't even in the notes. 00:21:22.537 --> 00:21:33.215 All right, so now listen, we got spiritually dead people walking around in the church claiming Christ and having no commitment. 00:21:33.215 --> 00:21:38.535 All right, we'll take over another offering on that one. 00:21:38.535 --> 00:21:42.776 Listen, if you don't have a commitment to this church, go somewhere else. 00:21:42.776 --> 00:21:51.509 Now, the reason I'm saying that don't get your feelings hurt is because we need people who are serious about the business and the charge that God has given us. 00:21:51.509 --> 00:21:57.377 Don't ask God to come alongside your will. 00:21:57.377 --> 00:21:58.700 You come alongside his. 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:00.682 Listen. 00:22:01.224 --> 00:22:04.375 If you think the church is the four walls, you're not understanding. 00:22:04.375 --> 00:22:06.588 The church is us. 00:22:06.588 --> 00:22:08.976 The church is the body of believers. 00:22:08.976 --> 00:22:23.144 The church is the body of believers Spiritually dead people walking around asking God for blessings and y'all. 00:22:23.144 --> 00:22:25.108 This is not a mega church sermon or anything by any means. 00:22:25.108 --> 00:22:30.398 But listen as we grow and we will, because the core here is so good. 00:22:30.398 --> 00:22:37.615 Covid knocked it on its back, but I believe that God still restores and he will give better than we ever imagined. 00:22:38.746 --> 00:22:40.512 But we have to be ready for that inflow. 00:22:40.512 --> 00:22:50.214 We cannot be hypocrites sitting in the pew claiming Jesus working in the church and then wondering why the sinners, when they're coming in, they're not doing right. 00:22:50.214 --> 00:23:03.090 We have to get our house in order and get that structure in our personal homes, in our temples and then in this temple. 00:23:03.090 --> 00:23:06.818 We cannot be the spiritually dead and ask God for life. 00:23:06.818 --> 00:23:12.474 We must stay focused and faithful, not letting our guard down. 00:23:12.855 --> 00:23:14.986 Listen, what I'm guilty of, you may not. 00:23:14.986 --> 00:23:16.130 Maybe y'all are perfect, I don't know. 00:23:16.130 --> 00:23:27.273 I'm guilty of sometimes doing the whole cleanup after and not doing the preemptive before, and I believe that a lot of us in our spiritual walk do that. 00:23:27.273 --> 00:23:42.987 We end up making a mess of something, that we end up making a mess of something, and then we start crying out to God oh God, will you help me please? 00:23:42.987 --> 00:23:50.890 I'm in a bind when we didn't go to him before to say, god, if you even want me to be there, if you even want me to do this, and then we ask God to be our cleanup crew when he should have been. 00:23:50.890 --> 00:23:57.594 Angels's army is going before us and we follow after them as they're going. 00:23:57.594 --> 00:24:00.848 They take care of everything and we don't have to worry about it. 00:24:00.848 --> 00:24:02.894 Staying the course. 00:24:03.454 --> 00:24:04.396 Now, how do we pinpoint these? 00:24:04.396 --> 00:24:08.115 So we talked about anger, we talked about bitterness, we talked about negativity. 00:24:08.115 --> 00:24:09.887 How do we pinpoint these? 00:24:09.887 --> 00:24:16.193 Well, what I have learned, what studies have shown, is whatever you're in the market for is what you will find. 00:24:16.193 --> 00:24:23.932 Whatever you're in the market for is always what you will find. 00:24:23.932 --> 00:24:25.978 Can I prove this to you? 00:24:25.978 --> 00:24:32.249 If you're with me, say yeah, yeah, about 15% of y'all got that. 00:24:32.249 --> 00:24:36.126 Sorry, and I actually had that written down too. 00:24:36.126 --> 00:24:39.420 All right, now, if you're looking for it, you'll find it. 00:24:40.182 --> 00:24:49.317 So, if you're searching for anybody ever got a vehicle before, when you start being in the market for something and you're in the market for a vehicle, all of a sudden you start seeing all the ones you like. 00:24:49.317 --> 00:24:53.281 You start paying attention to how many doors they have oh, I don't like the way that one's shaped. 00:24:53.281 --> 00:24:54.496 Or, oh, what year is that one? 00:24:54.496 --> 00:24:55.464 Or what kind of engine does it have? 00:24:55.464 --> 00:25:03.673 All of a sudden, everything that you have, all of a sudden you get really intense and really focused on what you want and you really really know what you don't want. 00:25:03.673 --> 00:25:11.657 Have you ever been to the every for sale sign that you pass and you never before even noticed it? 00:25:11.657 --> 00:25:20.575 When we were looking, I saw every sign and I already worked in real estate but I never paid attention like I did before. 00:25:20.595 --> 00:25:27.452 I never paid attention and had the same perspective until I took photos of my own house to sell and I'm like, oh my goodness, how do we live like this? 00:25:27.452 --> 00:25:42.226 I've always showed up and I have them a piece of paper that tells them what to do make your bed, put the toilet seats down, fans off, lights on, lamps, anything you got and I have this whole list that I give to every real estate agent, all their clients, and they can copy it, give it to theirs. 00:25:42.226 --> 00:25:47.071 I show up, the house is nine times out of 10 ready and we take the photos. 00:25:47.071 --> 00:25:48.133 I do my job but I leave. 00:25:48.133 --> 00:25:50.756 When it's my own house, I had to hide things from room to room. 00:25:58.785 --> 00:26:01.590 You never know how dirty you really are until you start working on your own place. 00:26:01.590 --> 00:26:11.634 You never understand the mess that you really need to clean up until you start cleaning your own, until you start really focusing in. 00:26:11.634 --> 00:26:11.904 Where are all my single people at. 00:26:11.904 --> 00:26:12.064 Anybody single in here. 00:26:12.064 --> 00:26:13.214 All right, take a look around. 00:26:13.214 --> 00:26:16.018 That's what you're working with. 00:26:16.018 --> 00:26:17.479 Come on somebody. 00:26:17.479 --> 00:26:21.122 Any church is better than the club. 00:26:21.122 --> 00:26:21.566 Come on. 00:26:24.714 --> 00:26:32.853 If you are in the market and you've been single, you can remember some of y'all may have been a long time ago, but you remember when you were single and you actually started to look for somebody. 00:26:32.853 --> 00:26:43.432 You're like, okay, girl, all right, I see you, how you worshiping over there, she's all doing, yes, lord, you kind of work your way over there. 00:26:43.432 --> 00:26:51.507 Okay, I mean, there's things you start to notice and you're looking at because you all of a sudden are in the market. 00:26:51.507 --> 00:26:54.615 When you're single and ready to mingle, you start looking. 00:26:54.615 --> 00:27:02.873 You start seeing how she's worshiping, you start seeing how she carries herself, you start seeing if she's got a Bible app. 00:27:02.873 --> 00:27:12.652 You start looking at her friends on Facebook, doing your research, because when you're in the market for something, you really start to pay attention. 00:27:14.894 --> 00:27:30.615 Sorry, when you're in the market for something, you will, without even meaning to, become incredibly focused and incredibly aware of what's going on, on what to look for, why you want it, the options you want. 00:27:30.615 --> 00:27:34.220 Whatever you're in the market for is what you will find. 00:27:34.220 --> 00:27:42.112 So if you are always looking to be offended or being a victim or negative things, you will always find these things. 00:27:42.112 --> 00:27:50.457 You can always find a reason to complain about something, but I serve a God who has given me plenty of reasons to share my praise with somebody. 00:27:50.457 --> 00:27:52.865 To share my testimony, but to share my testimony. 00:27:52.865 --> 00:27:57.212 But let me ask you this Really clean your house. 00:27:57.212 --> 00:28:00.390 Start paying attention to what is in your heart, what is coming out of your mouth. 00:28:00.390 --> 00:28:03.314 Is there more negativity or is there more praise to God? 00:28:03.314 --> 00:28:11.834 Is there more sharing God's word and witnessing to people, or is it more you're about this earthly kingdom? 00:28:11.834 --> 00:28:18.971 What you're looking for is what you'll find. 00:28:21.142 --> 00:28:29.971 This mindset can make someone have a very private and sometimes public spiral of emotions. 00:28:29.971 --> 00:28:38.411 Mentally, physically, things will start to manifest themselves and honestly probably at some point we've all had these thoughts I'm not good enough. 00:28:38.411 --> 00:28:40.606 If only they knew who I was. 00:28:40.606 --> 00:28:44.750 There's no way I can serve in that capacity because of my past. 00:28:44.750 --> 00:28:49.711 There's no way that God can use me because I am too used to be used. 00:28:51.961 --> 00:29:00.988 Here's what I don't want you to get from today's message that emotions are illegal because they're not, that you're not allowed to be offended. 00:29:00.988 --> 00:29:03.848 We will all get offended at some point in time. 00:29:03.848 --> 00:29:06.147 You have every right to get offended. 00:29:06.147 --> 00:29:12.131 God will strike you down if you disagree with the pastor. 00:29:12.131 --> 00:29:13.625 No, that's not true either. 00:29:13.625 --> 00:29:20.224 We will have disagreements, we will have offenses, we will have issues. 00:29:20.224 --> 00:29:21.368 I am human. 00:29:21.368 --> 00:29:23.106 At some point guess what? 00:29:23.106 --> 00:29:27.585 I will probably let you down or make you upset, if not today. 00:29:27.585 --> 00:29:41.990 There's going to be times where people that you love and care about will let you down, will hurt you in some way, will stress you out, but we cannot live where those feelings led us. 00:29:45.881 --> 00:29:58.064 All these things are not illegal, but instead let's look at what the Bible says about this and more specifically, right now, let's look at anger, because, let's be honest, anger is a very accessible emotion. 00:29:58.064 --> 00:30:04.634 It does not take much to become angry. 00:30:04.634 --> 00:30:13.923 It does not take much to get your feelings hurt and blow up at somebody Ephesians 4, 26 and 27,. 00:30:13.923 --> 00:30:17.528 In your anger, do not sin. 00:30:17.528 --> 00:30:26.625 Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. 00:30:26.625 --> 00:30:30.551 Now, this phrase is not used a lot. 00:30:30.551 --> 00:30:31.894 We hear stronghold a lot. 00:30:31.894 --> 00:30:37.531 We talked a few weeks ago about stronghold of forgiveness and being inside of the kingdom. 00:30:37.531 --> 00:30:38.362 So what is a foothold? 00:30:38.362 --> 00:30:41.540 Do not let the sun go down while you're still angry. 00:30:41.540 --> 00:30:51.182 So I looked up what the word foothold means A secure position from which further progress may be made. 00:30:51.182 --> 00:31:01.273 If you allow anger a foot in the door, it will progress further than when it started. 00:31:01.273 --> 00:31:05.983 Let's be honest, we can all be this person at some point. 00:31:07.047 --> 00:31:08.169 My wife and I have this rule. 00:31:08.169 --> 00:31:09.961 Can you talk about my wife a lot? 00:31:09.961 --> 00:31:13.641 I told her I was going to say something about her today and I actually asked permission before I said it. 00:31:13.641 --> 00:31:30.003 The rule that we have in our house is this If she's in a bad mood, I can't be, and if I'm in a bad mood, she can't be. 00:31:30.003 --> 00:31:31.125 Does this work out all the time? 00:31:31.125 --> 00:31:37.106 No, but we actually will say it to each other Like hey, no, no, no, no, I'm having a bad mood right now. 00:31:37.106 --> 00:31:52.904 You're not allowed, because if you get mad at somebody, or especially if it's between us and not to do with somebody else, but it's like the heat is hot right here and we're okay, that was a pterodactyl for those who didn't know, and so like she would take me off. 00:31:52.904 --> 00:31:56.549 Yeah, I know that precious, perfect woman over there. 00:31:56.549 --> 00:31:59.294 I know, mind-blowing, I'm probably lying. 00:31:59.294 --> 00:32:01.520 No, she can get me mad. 00:32:01.840 --> 00:32:07.651 So we have a rule, because too bad attitudes doesn't do anybody any good. 00:32:07.651 --> 00:32:09.875 It doesn't. 00:32:09.875 --> 00:32:20.875 And actually when we listen, when we don't conceal it but we confess it, it actually allows for the pressure to not build up so much. 00:32:20.875 --> 00:32:32.693 When she says no, no, no, because if she's mad she does something that will then affect my attitude, and then we got two bad attitudes and we're not in business. 00:32:32.693 --> 00:32:35.040 And so then I'm saying no, no, no, no. 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:39.970 If I got one, she can't, she does, I can't. 00:32:40.892 --> 00:32:47.892 And when we say it out loud it literally makes the issue not such a big issue anymore, because we kind of laugh about it. 00:32:47.892 --> 00:32:53.923 You know, one of the biggest tricks of the devil is to make you feel like you're by yourself and you can't tell anybody what's going on. 00:32:53.923 --> 00:33:01.704 But when you release that into the air and you talk to someone who you trust, that will not run their mouth to other people that they think they can trust. 00:33:01.704 --> 00:33:15.606 And now we got church issues God has orchestrated to where, when you speak, when you release it, when you confess it and you don't conceal it, the healing process can begin. 00:33:15.606 --> 00:33:23.244 So if you have an offense towards someone else in the church, you need to go to them and release that to one another. 00:33:23.244 --> 00:33:26.111 They got real quiet. 00:33:26.111 --> 00:33:27.701 Because you don't want to do that, right, that's uncomfortable. 00:33:27.701 --> 00:33:31.971 You don't want to go to someone and say, hey, you hurt my feelings. 00:33:32.011 --> 00:33:39.980 When I was youth pastor over at the church, we came from no, no, I was a worship leader, I think at the time, and this guy that was, he was the youth pastor. 00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:40.307 We took over after him. 00:33:40.307 --> 00:33:43.025 I was a worship leader, I think at the time, and this guy, he was the youth pastor we took over after him. 00:33:43.025 --> 00:33:52.922 He was a youth pastor and they had a board meeting and I was sitting in the board meeting and the new pastor had just gotten voted in and they were talking about how to save money. 00:33:52.922 --> 00:33:57.251 Like a board does, we'll sit down, we talk, we're like, okay, what can we cut? 00:33:57.251 --> 00:34:04.423 What do we need, what we don't need? 00:34:04.423 --> 00:34:07.255 It's good to do that every now and then, because you may end up spending money on something that you don't use anymore or need anymore. 00:34:07.255 --> 00:34:08.358 So you start replenishing, you get new things. 00:34:08.358 --> 00:34:10.264 You can, you know, to help grow in a certain direction. 00:34:10.264 --> 00:34:12.340 You get new things in that direction and that's how it works. 00:34:12.340 --> 00:34:14.065 Well, he decided. 00:34:14.164 --> 00:34:23.625 This youth pastor decided that the worship leader didn't need any money, that the worship leader didn't need any money and that I shouldn't get paid, and he said this in front of me. 00:34:23.625 --> 00:34:30.385 Now I understand that it is a servant's job, but it is not easy to get it all together and I was not getting paid much. 00:34:30.385 --> 00:34:35.663 I'm talking about like it maybe would cover gas, and we lived in the same town. 00:34:35.663 --> 00:34:43.121 This hurt my feelings to the core in the same town. 00:34:43.121 --> 00:34:48.742 This hurt my feelings to the core because I felt personally attacked, because I put my heart and soul into something and someone, just in front of all these other men, ripped me down. 00:34:48.742 --> 00:34:56.583 It felt because it was like my livelihood and what I did wasn't good enough, worthy of that amount. 00:34:56.583 --> 00:35:06.163 And so all of a sudden, I had this deep seed of hurt that when you get hurt, those roots grow fast. 00:35:08.206 --> 00:35:19.190 That's why it is so serious to, as soon as you feel that in your heart or in your mind, you need to go and correct it as soon as possible in love. 00:35:19.190 --> 00:35:21.842 If you can't do it in love, you need to wait 24 hours. 00:35:21.842 --> 00:35:24.329 That's actually one of my personal rules. 00:35:24.329 --> 00:35:31.030 If somebody upsets me in the church or anywhere, it doesn't matter if they're staff, volunteer, my wife. 00:35:31.030 --> 00:35:31.371 Whatever. 00:35:31.371 --> 00:35:38.623 If I'm seriously upset, I will take 24 hours and think it over, because I never want to say something that's going to offend somebody else on purpose. 00:35:38.623 --> 00:35:39.907 I'm not trying to hurt anybody. 00:35:39.907 --> 00:35:46.123 So I need to go through those thoughts and those conversations in my head before I let it come out of my mouth. 00:35:46.123 --> 00:35:58.704 If you don't nip this in the bud now, the hurt that got you will lead you down the path to living in offense Every time it will. 00:35:58.704 --> 00:36:13.693 When you see that person, you will cringe and it can get so bad to where you will not want to come to church anymore, because if you let the wound fester, you are poisoning yourself. 00:36:13.693 --> 00:36:18.485 Two bad moods doesn't do anybody any good. 00:36:19.226 --> 00:36:19.889 Now, what does this mean? 00:36:19.889 --> 00:36:25.311 This means that usually, if you have been offended by someone, that you have to submit yourself to them to be able to talk to them. 00:36:25.311 --> 00:36:40.389 And that's probably one of the hardest parts, because you and this is what I did with this youth pastor I went up, I spent it was more than 24 hours I chewed on it a week and I saw him in the hallway and I mean it hurt me to my core. 00:36:40.389 --> 00:36:42.342 I mean so much so that what? 00:36:42.342 --> 00:36:48.724 Four or five years later I'm telling you about it now, hurt that I will never forget because it got me so deep. 00:36:50.489 --> 00:36:55.561 But I learned as a young child from my mother that even when you're in the wrong you need to go apologize. 00:36:55.561 --> 00:36:58.304 And I know that doesn't make sense to some of y'all. 00:36:58.304 --> 00:37:02.068 But when that doesn't make sense and you will bow up to that, we call that pride. 00:37:02.068 --> 00:37:21.019 If you feel like you have been done wrong, chances are you probably had some thoughts you shouldn't have Anybody ever done that before you get hurt and you start thinking, lord, just strike them. 00:37:21.019 --> 00:37:26.184 You get real old school Pentecostal on them quick. 00:37:26.184 --> 00:37:26.806 Yes, lord, get that little okay. 00:37:26.806 --> 00:37:27.547 Well, that's how I felt he hurt me. 00:37:27.568 --> 00:37:31.681 I saw him down the hallway and I'm walking and I said God, I've got to apologize to him. 00:37:31.681 --> 00:37:33.728 I went straight up to him I said hey, man, can I talk to you? 00:37:33.728 --> 00:37:34.690 He said yeah, what's up? 00:37:34.690 --> 00:37:37.284 He didn't even realize he had hurt me. 00:37:37.284 --> 00:37:50.346 If you don't forgive somebody I said this before when I talked about unforgiveness you'll be drinking the poison, expecting them to die. 00:37:50.346 --> 00:37:52.449 I walked up to him and I said I need your forgiveness. 00:37:52.449 --> 00:37:55.353 He said for what he said, you didn't do anything to me. 00:37:55.353 --> 00:37:58.909 I know it's what I thought. 00:37:58.909 --> 00:38:01.065 I didn't say it. 00:38:01.065 --> 00:38:02.449 That will escalate the situation. 00:38:02.449 --> 00:38:02.940 Don't do that. 00:38:02.940 --> 00:38:05.286 And I said listen. 00:38:05.286 --> 00:38:11.003