WEBVTT 00:00:03.266 --> 00:00:04.107 Before we get started. 00:00:04.107 --> 00:00:06.493 Today we have somebody in our congregation. 00:00:06.493 --> 00:00:13.749 We have a few people, but we have somebody who wasn't feeling very well today and they usually will not say uncle, and quit and take a day off. 00:00:13.749 --> 00:00:18.530 So if anybody knows Pastor D, you know that she's always doing something. 00:00:18.530 --> 00:00:22.670 So can we join together today in special prayer for her? 00:00:22.670 --> 00:00:24.864 She wasn't feeling good. 00:00:24.864 --> 00:00:27.815 Can we join together today in special prayer for her? 00:00:27.815 --> 00:00:28.839 She wasn't feeling good. 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:36.259 So we're going to pray that right now, in the name of Jesus, where she is, she will be healed. 00:00:36.939 --> 00:00:38.689 This building is not magical. 00:00:38.689 --> 00:00:44.039 It doesn't matter who the people are that pray. 00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:57.204 God said if my people, if my people and all of us are called to pray for each other, father, we lift up Pastor D right now, in the name of Jesus, where she is at home. 00:00:57.204 --> 00:01:01.671 I pray that you calm her stomach, heal her mind, restore her health. 00:01:01.671 --> 00:01:05.427 In the name of Jesus, let your healing power flood through that room right now. 00:01:05.427 --> 00:01:05.850 In the name of Jesus. 00:01:05.850 --> 00:01:08.465 Let your healing power flood through that room right now, in the name of Jesus. 00:01:08.465 --> 00:01:12.170 Give her strength, anoint her with peace. 00:01:12.170 --> 00:01:15.890 In your precious name, we pray amen. 00:01:15.890 --> 00:01:17.224 While you're standing, don't sit down. 00:01:17.224 --> 00:01:18.709 Don't sit down. 00:01:18.709 --> 00:01:21.403 It's quick, you gotta watch it. 00:01:21.403 --> 00:01:26.379 So it's quick, you got to watch it. 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:32.941 So we had. 00:01:32.960 --> 00:01:36.347 Yesterday we had our third class of our Connect Growth class, the largest class we've had so far. 00:01:36.347 --> 00:01:38.393 I think there was 10 or 12. 00:01:38.393 --> 00:01:49.579 I used every chair I had in our house and luckily two of them didn't come because they may have been sitting on the floor. 00:01:49.579 --> 00:01:58.126 So, and if you don't know if we ever mentioned anything up here, if Brother Jim mentions anything, if I mentioned something, there's a table right outside in that far corner, in that foyer, and there will be a sign up sheet. 00:01:58.126 --> 00:01:59.450 There will be information. 00:02:00.033 --> 00:02:02.043 We're having a food night this coming Wednesday. 00:02:02.043 --> 00:02:08.266 So even if you don't come here often, you are always invited. 00:02:08.266 --> 00:02:10.447 So we want you to come and be a part of that. 00:02:10.447 --> 00:02:13.389 The theme is Mexican food. 00:02:13.389 --> 00:02:18.387 Get it on Sundays and Wednesdays. 00:02:18.387 --> 00:02:18.647 Come on. 00:02:18.647 --> 00:02:24.064 I know at the Supper of the Lamb it's going to be just Mexican food. 00:02:24.064 --> 00:02:26.472 I know, I know at the supper of the lamb it's going to be just Mexican food. 00:02:26.472 --> 00:02:28.625 I know, I know it is. 00:02:28.625 --> 00:02:34.840 So everything outside and Brother Vernon's hot sauce. 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:38.259 So out there, make sure. 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:43.080 So this coming month I stopped putting months on there because sometimes we have to move it around for everyone's schedule. 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:44.425 So it's out there. 00:02:44.425 --> 00:02:46.651 If you want to go through it, I recommend recommend that you do. 00:02:46.651 --> 00:02:56.950 The whole reason behind it is so that you know what this church believes and so that you can understand yourself more spiritually and that the pastors of this church can get to know you better too. 00:02:56.950 --> 00:02:57.819 We host it in our home. 00:02:59.443 --> 00:03:06.574 So, in honor of God's word, today we're going to read as we stand, and it's coming from Exodus, chapter 16. 00:03:06.574 --> 00:03:08.104 We're going to be looking at verse 3. 00:03:08.104 --> 00:03:12.366 One verse, how many of you know one word? 00:03:12.366 --> 00:03:19.811 One word can destroy or build a kingdom. 00:03:19.811 --> 00:03:24.740 Exodus, chapter 16, verse 3. 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:33.890 And it says if only, turn to your neighbor and say, if only, if only, if only God would have killed us. 00:03:34.031 --> 00:03:35.174 Back in Egypt. 00:03:35.174 --> 00:03:38.481 They moaned. 00:03:38.481 --> 00:03:50.246 There, we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted, right at my wife Sally All the bread. 00:03:50.246 --> 00:03:54.707 But now they're talking to Aaron and Moses. 00:03:54.707 --> 00:03:55.770 They're deliverers. 00:03:55.770 --> 00:04:02.513 Now you've brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death. 00:04:02.513 --> 00:04:10.396 If only, if only, If only, if only, if only. 00:04:10.417 --> 00:04:13.518 Let's pray, father, we thank you so much for your presence so evident here today. 00:04:13.518 --> 00:04:13.699 Already. 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:18.247 I ask that you anoint your humble servant as I bring the word that you've given for these people. 00:04:18.247 --> 00:04:22.451 I speak chain-breaking power over this service today. 00:04:22.451 --> 00:04:25.452 If people are bound, they be set free. 00:04:25.452 --> 00:04:31.391 In the name of Jesus, let these altars be a place of repentance, but also restoration. 00:04:31.391 --> 00:04:36.550 We speak it and receive it in the name of Jesus, amen. 00:04:36.550 --> 00:04:42.348 So today we're going to finish up. 00:04:42.387 --> 00:04:45.266 You know, these last few weeks we've been on the strings attached series. 00:04:45.266 --> 00:04:46.314 You're like, last few weeks we've been on the strings attached series. 00:04:46.314 --> 00:04:48.636 You're like you didn't even preach a message about strings attached. 00:04:48.636 --> 00:04:54.970 That's because it wasn't supposed to be Everything I talked about. 00:04:54.970 --> 00:05:00.904 We have week one what is love, love, baby. 00:05:00.904 --> 00:05:01.726 Don't Y'all remember that? 00:05:01.726 --> 00:05:03.552 Some of y'all about fell out. 00:05:03.552 --> 00:05:07.226 Week one was what is love, baby, don't hurt me. 00:05:07.266 --> 00:05:08.209 Week two was mirrors. 00:05:08.209 --> 00:05:09.725 If you remember, I had a mirror right here. 00:05:09.725 --> 00:05:10.968 I smacked it once. 00:05:10.968 --> 00:05:12.646 It flailed and went underneath the altar. 00:05:12.646 --> 00:05:15.346 The brokenness went straight to the altar. 00:05:15.346 --> 00:05:21.829 And I tell you this I think Brother Rusty mentioned this to me. 00:05:21.829 --> 00:05:23.225 I didn't even realize it at the time. 00:05:23.225 --> 00:05:30.125 Or, pastor, he mentioned this to me, I didn't even realize it at the time. 00:05:30.125 --> 00:05:34.257 Or actually I think it was Sister Stella at prayer meeting next Tuesday she said you know you mentioned, don't come over here where the brokenness is, and everyone went to that spot. 00:05:34.257 --> 00:05:35.761 Brokenness attracts what needs to be healed. 00:05:35.761 --> 00:05:39.406 Brokenness attracts the lost. 00:05:39.406 --> 00:05:45.574 Brokenness attracts people who need the salvation of Jesus Christ. 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:58.564 So we talked about mirrors, because what we are so good at, what I am so good at, is I love holding up mirrors to other people Anybody else guilty. 00:05:58.564 --> 00:06:02.845 I love holding up mirrors to other people and saying, hey, you're doing this, bro. 00:06:02.845 --> 00:06:05.017 I don't want nobody to show a this bro. 00:06:05.017 --> 00:06:05.918 I don't want nobody to show a mirror to me. 00:06:05.918 --> 00:06:13.708 I don't want to see what's in it, because usually when we start holding the mirror up to ourselves, we don't recognize what we see anymore. 00:06:13.708 --> 00:06:17.379 And that leads us up. 00:06:17.418 --> 00:06:20.204 We skipped week three because Bishop Toby Morgan was here. 00:06:20.204 --> 00:06:22.047 We had the vote last Sunday, by the way. 00:06:22.047 --> 00:06:22.487 Thank y'all here. 00:06:22.487 --> 00:06:38.216 We had the vote last Sunday, by the way, thank y'all, just so I can officially say thank y'all for loving Jessie and voting her in. 00:06:38.216 --> 00:06:40.942 I know I'm just a plus one, but you get what you got. 00:06:40.942 --> 00:06:53.973 So I'm going to combine week three and week four together, since we skipped last week and we're going to be talking today about breaking free A little subtext no more chains, because I believe in our core values as a church. 00:06:54.014 --> 00:06:57.105 If you went to the growth track yesterday, we see that we talk about. 00:06:57.105 --> 00:07:07.863 You need to love God, you need to have a salvation with Jesus Christ, and then you need to find freedom in Jesus at the cross and give everything to him, everything that you are. 00:07:07.863 --> 00:07:11.961 Hollow out everything of me, lord, and fill me with nothing but your spirit. 00:07:11.961 --> 00:07:16.151 But we live in a day and I say in a day. 00:07:16.151 --> 00:07:28.091 It's been since Jesus was, you know, preaching through the streets that we have people who come to church and we wear the church facade well and we wear our mask well, but yet we don't have brokenness in our hearts. 00:07:28.620 --> 00:07:39.846 We don't remain broken before God and we get this haughty spirit, whether it be a denomination, whether it be a church building, and then all of a sudden, in the same city, where people are lost and dying and going to hell, we have competition in churches. 00:07:39.846 --> 00:07:48.982 That is the devil's work, not God's, and so the church doesn't remain broken. 00:07:48.982 --> 00:07:54.161 We don't want to see ourselves, we want to compare ourselves to other people, and then we end up being bound in church. 00:07:54.161 --> 00:08:20.910 So we have pews full of people that are christians but not converted, and we wear our badge proud with the label of Christianity, but we don't have it defining us, and so we forget that, after we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, there is a sanctification process that begins to happen in our hearts that we cannot live the way we were. 00:08:20.910 --> 00:08:23.269 We have to leave who we were behind. 00:08:23.269 --> 00:08:36.145 And so we live in a day where people come to church but they remain broken and bound privately and you'll never even know it Because we're so good at playing church. 00:08:37.889 --> 00:08:49.748 God has called us to be more than that, to conquer and overcome, through His Spirit, what binds us, what tries to bind us, what tries to come against us. 00:08:49.748 --> 00:08:54.905 Because in my Bible that I read, it says when the enemy comes against me, the Lord will raise up a standard. 00:08:54.905 --> 00:09:00.261 But through that, before that, we have to go through preparation. 00:09:00.261 --> 00:09:07.205 That's why you're going to get tired of me saying it, but I'm going to say it until I die you have to, every single day, start your day, however that looks like. 00:09:07.205 --> 00:09:14.152 You need to start it in the word and in prayer and praising God before you go through the pain in the rest of the day. 00:09:14.152 --> 00:09:27.682 Begin your day with praise and then, when the pain comes, it's no problem, because when you get your mind set and you get that mind shift that, no matter what happens to me, god has got me in his hands. 00:09:27.682 --> 00:09:37.633 If he knows the number of the hairs on my head some of y'all a little less than others if he knows those numbers, he cares enough to keep up with what you're about to step in. 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:44.282 We have churches full of people who are still bound by their past. 00:09:44.282 --> 00:09:52.226 We have churches full of people who are still bound by their past mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and it dams up the waters to be able to have God flow through. 00:09:52.226 --> 00:10:03.095 I want to be a channel of the Spirit where it can flow through me, not filtered through me, to flow through me that there's no Stephen, just God. 00:10:03.095 --> 00:10:11.942 But when we start to put our flesh in the way, we start dealing out flesh. 00:10:11.942 --> 00:10:13.746 So there needs to be fruits of the Spirit. 00:10:13.767 --> 00:10:17.533 If you don't know, a couple months ago we really dove into the fruits of the Spirit and what that looks like. 00:10:17.533 --> 00:10:20.249 And if your fruit is wrong, you need to check your roots. 00:10:20.249 --> 00:10:27.740 And I know most of the time I preach and I yell, yell and y'all like that, y'all like getting loud. 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:38.721 But today we're going to come a little from a teaching standpoint, because you can amen till you're blue in the face and shout hallelujah, but if you leave here the same, then I haven't done my job. 00:10:38.721 --> 00:10:58.591 I just feel in my spirit today that I really need to slow down and I need to teach some things, because a lot of things happen in the children of Israel's life in this short time, a lot of things they went through in this short time and they had to learn through hard experiences. 00:10:58.591 --> 00:11:08.089 I'm hoping some of us in here got some wisdom from experiences, but I'm hoping that you can learn from some of mine and I can learn from some of yours and I won't have to feel the pain that you felt to go through that. 00:11:09.520 --> 00:11:13.711 So here in Exodus, chapter 16, we see God's people. 00:11:13.711 --> 00:11:26.466 This is God's people, the chosen people that just two chapters ago, in chapter 14, god parts the Red Sea and literally drowns the enemy that was pursuing them right in front of them. 00:11:26.466 --> 00:11:33.746 Now imagine this how big of a miracle this is, how big of a miracle this is. 00:11:33.746 --> 00:11:49.205 That happened in their life, that an entire nation of people and animals and livestock if you remember a few chapters before that, they gathered everything from their neighbors and all this stuff Jewelry we see later. 00:11:49.205 --> 00:11:51.965 They melted that down, put that to use. 00:11:51.965 --> 00:11:59.548 They got all these things, livestock, things that would make them last for the journey, that they had no clue where they were going. 00:11:59.548 --> 00:12:02.708 It was just a land that they were promised, a promised land. 00:12:02.708 --> 00:12:06.288 They didn't know exactly where it was, but they knew they were going to have to go through some things. 00:12:06.288 --> 00:12:29.581 So they prepared by pulling things from people around them, and God opens the sea long enough and wide enough and big enough that an entire nation of people traveled through the water on dry ground to the other side with everything that they had with them. 00:12:29.581 --> 00:12:31.806 Everything they had with them. 00:12:31.806 --> 00:12:32.847 They made it to the other side. 00:12:34.211 --> 00:12:43.744 Can you imagine there's a Pirates of the Caribbean movie and I don't remember what happens exactly, but it's like what's-his-face has tried it or something. 00:12:43.744 --> 00:12:44.684 Jesse watches them a lot. 00:12:44.684 --> 00:12:52.184 That's why, and it like parts and it just you can see the fish going by and sharks swimming and stuff and I'm like man. 00:12:52.184 --> 00:12:53.750 Imagine what? 00:12:53.750 --> 00:12:54.432 The Israelites? 00:12:54.432 --> 00:13:05.169 Can you imagine the fear that I would have walking through open waters and I'm banking my security on an old man holding up a staff? 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:12.471 I'm just saying let's do it, let's do a little count. 00:13:12.471 --> 00:13:13.755 Who here? 00:13:13.755 --> 00:13:15.522 If you hold your hands to praise during worship. 00:13:15.522 --> 00:13:21.426 A little bit about 10 minutes later, you guys start going like this I'm just praising the Lord like this. 00:13:21.426 --> 00:13:29.727 Now Get a little stretch in, because when you're doing like this, especially with weight over your head, I remember in junior high preparing for football. 00:13:29.727 --> 00:13:31.162 I know I played football In junior high. 00:13:31.162 --> 00:13:36.610 We were all the same size, okay, so they just all started passing me and getting bigger and I just stayed the same. 00:13:36.610 --> 00:13:43.350 But we got those barbells and we would hold them above our heads for a certain count and we'd put them on our shoulders and we go like this. 00:13:43.389 --> 00:13:46.534 I can't even imagine what an old Moses was, not young here. 00:13:46.534 --> 00:13:55.419 He'd already ran from God for 40 years and now he's back and he's doing this and holding it over his head. 00:13:55.419 --> 00:13:59.160 I would be listen, I would be watching him the entire time. 00:13:59.160 --> 00:14:02.520 I would be walking through the water to know if I need to start running. 00:14:02.520 --> 00:14:06.035 That's like me and a snake. 00:14:06.035 --> 00:14:08.878 Some people will say, well, that's a rat snake, that'll keep rat. 00:14:08.878 --> 00:14:18.822 I don't care, if it's alive, it should be dead and I love you with all of my heart, but I will push you down so it will get to you, so I can run. 00:14:18.822 --> 00:14:23.335 I'm just being honest. 00:14:23.335 --> 00:14:25.792 I will trip you If there's a bear coming. 00:14:25.792 --> 00:14:29.782 Sorry, I will be faster because you'll be on the ground and I'll be going that way. 00:14:29.782 --> 00:14:35.590 So I would be the person in that same setting. 00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:37.216 I would be the person in that same setting. 00:14:37.216 --> 00:14:43.698 I would be the person watching Moses oh, his elbows are bending a little bit. 00:14:43.698 --> 00:14:48.278 I would be scared and my family would just drown. 00:14:48.278 --> 00:14:55.977 I'm just kidding, I'll try to get them, you know, if it starts following every man for himself, right. 00:14:58.650 --> 00:15:00.534 The very people that had ruled over them. 00:15:00.534 --> 00:15:03.903 God drowned them after they made it safely and walked through dry ground. 00:15:03.903 --> 00:15:06.599 This kind of miracles is what they saw. 00:15:06.599 --> 00:15:14.561 And then we have the plagues that actually made Pharaoh want to send them on their way, because obviously your God has some sort of power that I can't fight against. 00:15:14.561 --> 00:15:17.135 And so he sent them on his way. 00:15:17.135 --> 00:15:18.551 Now let's paint a picture here. 00:15:18.551 --> 00:15:26.091 Okay, in chapter 14, god parts the Red Sea, destroys the enemy right in front of them, or rather behind them. 00:15:26.091 --> 00:15:29.399 Until every person made it safe. 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:31.302 There's no record of anyone dying. 00:15:31.302 --> 00:15:32.971 No one fell. 00:15:32.971 --> 00:15:33.712 They couldn't make it. 00:15:33.712 --> 00:15:35.495 Everyone made it safe. 00:15:35.495 --> 00:15:39.322 The very people now listen, they're chasing after them. 00:15:39.322 --> 00:15:40.605 God destroyed them. 00:15:40.950 --> 00:15:50.924 The very oppressors that would beat them to death, would mistreat them, viewed them less than viewed the Israelites, less than people. 00:15:50.924 --> 00:15:55.220 They were only tools to make happen what Pharaoh wanted to happen. 00:15:55.220 --> 00:16:11.221 It's even recorded that at the beginning of Moses' journey to become their leader, he witnessed this injustice done to the Egyptians and it made him so furious that he killed him and buried the Egyptian to try to hide what he had done. 00:16:11.221 --> 00:16:16.717 It infuriated him to see these people treated this way. 00:16:16.717 --> 00:16:18.842 Moses became furious. 00:16:18.842 --> 00:16:21.097 He killed him in Exodus 2.12. 00:16:21.097 --> 00:16:23.636 Moses sees one of the people getting beaten and loses it. 00:16:23.636 --> 00:16:24.118 He kills him. 00:16:24.118 --> 00:16:25.341 These are the conditions. 00:16:25.341 --> 00:16:29.235 This is just a small window into the conditions that the Israelites were living in. 00:16:29.235 --> 00:16:33.375 I'm painting a picture here. 00:16:33.375 --> 00:16:37.976 They were nothing but animals to the Egyptians, they had no value. 00:16:37.976 --> 00:16:43.159 But here we read pay very close attention to this. 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:53.043 We read this mindset that they have acquired, attached to the very oppressors that would beat them to death. 00:16:53.043 --> 00:16:55.434 In Exodus 16.3,. 00:16:55.434 --> 00:16:59.259 We read it again If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. 00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:10.701 They moaned there we sat around with pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted, but now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death. 00:17:13.771 --> 00:17:14.555 Let's look at some facts. 00:17:14.555 --> 00:17:18.718 The whole congregation of the children of Israel complained. 00:17:18.718 --> 00:17:20.863 You ever been a part of that before? 00:17:20.863 --> 00:17:23.263 That was a trick question. 00:17:23.263 --> 00:17:23.670 I know you have. 00:17:23.670 --> 00:17:27.557 If you've been in church for any amount of time, you've been in a congregation that complained at some point. 00:17:27.557 --> 00:17:31.369 They complained because they did not have enough food. 00:17:31.369 --> 00:17:34.921 Now listen, the supplies they carried with them from Egypt began to run out. 00:17:34.921 --> 00:17:36.412 They weren't gone. 00:17:36.412 --> 00:17:39.961 They began to run out and they had to be sustained in the wilderness. 00:17:39.961 --> 00:17:48.354 So it would seem that starvation was more anticipated than experienced. 00:17:48.354 --> 00:17:59.799 In other words, they did not live through weeks and weeks of famine, nor did they see their family and friends die of malnutrition or even have to kill their livestock for food. 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:06.390 It's never recorded they had to kill an animal for food in this particular instance. 00:18:06.390 --> 00:18:12.282 Instead, they started to here's the magic word feel hungry. 00:18:12.282 --> 00:18:20.130 They started to feel the situation wasn't the way that they wanted and so they began to complain. 00:18:20.130 --> 00:18:21.333 They forgot about the facts. 00:18:21.333 --> 00:18:26.566 They went from singing to complaining very quickly. 00:18:26.646 --> 00:18:29.675 In exodus chapter 15 look this up, mark this in your bible. 00:18:29.675 --> 00:18:42.048 In exodus chapter 15, all it is is praise and singing the chapter before this verse what's up, man? 00:18:42.048 --> 00:18:43.791 Hey, my phone. 00:18:43.791 --> 00:18:55.934 Usually I take it out of my pocket and I didn't. 00:18:55.934 --> 00:18:56.256 That time. 00:18:56.256 --> 00:19:11.631 My bad, y'all thought it was about to be a Sorry, sorry, where was I so? 00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:14.559 Exodus, chapter 15, you get these praises sung. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:18.579 They were praising God. 00:19:18.579 --> 00:19:20.391 They were excited about what he had done. 00:19:20.391 --> 00:19:23.038 They were singing his glory and his majesty. 00:19:23.038 --> 00:19:24.711 You are above everything that we know. 00:19:24.711 --> 00:19:25.953 We are your people. 00:19:25.953 --> 00:19:51.103 And then, a chapter later, they are whining and complaining and said only if, only, if only if I had that kind of car, only if I had that kind of house, only if I watch out now if I had that kind of spouse, only if I had those kind of kids, only if I would have had that kind of job and went to that kind of college, or only if I would have just stayed single and never met a human. 00:19:54.891 --> 00:20:01.779 There's a lot of only ifs that we could probably mention in our lives that we're not happy with, and we forget that God has actually blessed us where we're standing in. 00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:20.740 We forget that where we are is exactly where God has brought us to, and it may not have been a fantastic journey, but I guarantee you, if you lean on God, you will build your faith and that you will become more mature in your walk with Christ. 00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:24.594 In chapter 16, woe is me. 00:20:24.594 --> 00:20:28.242 Woe is me If the enemy. 00:20:28.242 --> 00:20:29.875 Write this down, if you're taking notes. 00:20:29.930 --> 00:20:33.575 If the enemy can get you distracted from your blessing, he can keep you in bondage. 00:20:33.575 --> 00:20:51.604 If the enemy can keep you distracted, if he can keep you in the mindset of negativity negativity produces negativity. 00:20:51.604 --> 00:20:57.480 If maybe people around you are negative all the time, what if you're the source? 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:05.580 If you're constantly seeing negativity in people, maybe it's gushing out of you. 00:21:05.580 --> 00:21:09.673 Let's move on. 00:21:09.673 --> 00:21:17.099 Before we get people saved, all right, now let me say it as it applies to them and to us. 00:21:17.099 --> 00:21:19.615 Now let me say it as it applies to them and to us. 00:21:19.634 --> 00:21:27.036 If the enemy can get you tripped up on what you don't have, you'll forget about all of the blessings you got, if you can get. 00:21:27.036 --> 00:21:32.239 If he can get you distracted from what god is doing right now in your present, he will keep you bound to your past. 00:21:32.239 --> 00:21:39.679 The enemy will try to take what God meant for good and turn it into a place of groaning. 00:21:39.679 --> 00:21:43.659 Let me bring up a real life example. 00:21:43.659 --> 00:21:46.537 Money is nice to have. 00:21:46.537 --> 00:21:53.959 You think you worry less, but more money, more problems. 00:21:53.959 --> 00:22:00.161 Have you ever prayed to God for more money. 00:22:00.161 --> 00:22:01.916 God help me with my finances. 00:22:01.916 --> 00:22:05.140 And then you end up working 80 hours in a week and whine about it. 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:16.236 Were you expecting the lottery Going to take a trip to the boats? 00:22:16.236 --> 00:22:20.792 I mean, think about it. 00:22:20.792 --> 00:22:30.939 And then you start to work these hours 60, 70, 80 hours and God is pouring out a financial blessing on you, but then your home life begins to sacrifice. 00:22:30.939 --> 00:22:35.040 Y'all hear me. 00:22:35.040 --> 00:22:45.298 We pray for blessings, but the blessing actually becomes a place of moaning and groaning and we lose sight that God is actually blessing us. 00:22:45.298 --> 00:22:51.098 It is 100% the will of God that you be free. 00:22:51.098 --> 00:22:56.761 So here's what happens the devil will try to make you remember things, places of your bondage. 00:22:56.761 --> 00:22:59.094 He will try to make you remember things, places of your bondage. 00:22:59.094 --> 00:23:00.537 He'll try to make you remember things. 00:23:00.537 --> 00:23:02.422 He'll distort your view of the past. 00:23:02.422 --> 00:23:05.336 You will romanticize the past. 00:23:05.336 --> 00:23:07.021 God set you free from. 00:23:07.021 --> 00:23:08.886 What does this mean? 00:23:08.886 --> 00:23:18.621 So here's the definition deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion, make something seem better or more appealing than it really is. 00:23:21.571 --> 00:23:40.898 I have been guilty of when I was single not now this woman's amazing, but I was guilty of feeling bad about myself after my first marriage and thinking that it was so good until I knew good. 00:23:40.898 --> 00:23:49.622 I thought I understood what a blessing was until I had it. 00:23:49.622 --> 00:24:02.239 I thought I understood what having annoying children in the house meant until you don't and then you do. 00:24:02.239 --> 00:24:14.136 I thought I understood what a love relationship was with a woman until I actually had one that reciprocated more than I could ever dream. 00:24:14.136 --> 00:24:20.455 I thought I knew what a loving church was until I came here. 00:24:20.455 --> 00:24:24.817 Can we praise God for the church that we got? 00:24:24.817 --> 00:24:25.800 Amen. 00:24:25.800 --> 00:24:40.031 I thought I knew God's will for my life or thought that where I was was good enough, until he has brought me here and given me more than enough. 00:24:41.875 --> 00:24:49.551 Sometimes the journey is not the destination and sometimes we make camp during night and feel like it's home now. 00:24:49.551 --> 00:25:02.092 But you on your journey, god has not given you a place to where you are to call home, because we are all foreigners here. 00:25:02.092 --> 00:25:08.866 But we romanticize the Israelites were romanticizing about Egypt. 00:25:08.866 --> 00:25:12.273 This is something we do all the time. 00:25:12.273 --> 00:25:19.179 If you are without a job, you talk about the job that you used to have or when you were rolling in the dough and it was just an amazing thing. 00:25:19.179 --> 00:25:30.779 But then when you stop and think about it, it probably wasn't that great Once you have a mature mindset a little bit, you're like well, yeah, the boss was kind of a jerk and I put up with it because I had a few zeros on my paycheck. 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:37.385 Okay, scholars, tell us that they weren't even starving yet. 00:25:37.385 --> 00:25:40.383 They were not even to the place of starvation. 00:25:40.383 --> 00:25:42.382 They were slightly running out of food. 00:25:42.382 --> 00:25:44.720 Things were getting low. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.182 You ever begin to panic when your bank account gets that way. 00:25:47.182 --> 00:25:50.579 Oh Lord, what's going to happen? 00:25:50.579 --> 00:25:51.142 What's going to happen? 00:25:51.142 --> 00:25:53.140 Do you trust me? 00:25:53.140 --> 00:26:00.065 Sometimes we do things to ourselves and ask God, where are you at? 00:26:00.065 --> 00:26:04.242 Hallelujah, all right, but they could not get past the past. 00:26:04.375 --> 00:26:07.986 The Israelites selectively remembered what happened to them in Israel. 00:26:07.986 --> 00:26:14.986 All they remembered was oh, we had so much food and oh, we had so much bread. 00:26:14.986 --> 00:26:18.042 Some of y'all, if you ever do low carb, that'll be your song. 00:26:18.042 --> 00:26:18.961 Oh, I had so much bread. 00:26:18.961 --> 00:26:19.622 But it y'all, if you ever do low carb, that'll be your song oh, I had so much bread. 00:26:19.622 --> 00:26:21.798 But it's a psychological thing. 00:26:21.798 --> 00:26:30.935 They were randomizing and thinking it was one way when reality, god knew that needed to be broken free from depending on the Egyptians to start depending on him. 00:26:30.935 --> 00:26:35.525 They thought in Egypt it was a good time. 00:26:35.525 --> 00:26:40.384 Not once did they mention how terrible it was in Egypt. 00:26:40.384 --> 00:26:40.846 It was a good time. 00:26:40.846 --> 00:26:42.534 Not once did they mention how terrible it was. 00:26:42.534 --> 00:26:47.666 But they started being. 00:26:47.666 --> 00:26:48.128 Woe is me attitude. 00:26:48.128 --> 00:26:54.788 And all of a sudden, everything that was bad now is good Because it was a place that was not familiar to them. 00:26:55.009 --> 00:26:56.134 Now, why do people stay bound? 00:26:56.134 --> 00:27:00.915 They feared the unknown. 00:27:00.915 --> 00:27:07.046 If you look at the timeline, they were not gone from Egypt from that long, they had not been out there that long, and all of a sudden they have these things happen and all of a sudden, wilderness. 00:27:07.046 --> 00:27:08.027 And they feel secluded. 00:27:08.027 --> 00:27:09.269 Have you ever felt secluded before? 00:27:09.269 --> 00:27:17.290 And you have this little bit of a panic because you feel like you're by yourself. 00:27:17.290 --> 00:27:18.515 I talked about this last night. 00:27:18.515 --> 00:27:34.221 I believe one of the reasons why the Bible says to gather together and lay hands on each other is because if you listen, think about this, if you close your eyes, okay and you feel in a place where you are low and you are broken and you need God to do something, and all of a sudden you have other hands start to be placed on you, you start to feel less alone. 00:27:34.221 --> 00:27:39.445 All of a sudden you feel like in a place where you are by yourself and nobody understands. 00:27:39.445 --> 00:27:43.666 People are joining together to pray for you All of a sudden, that wilderness isn't so bad. 00:27:43.666 --> 00:27:56.525 This was a nation and they were whining about something they didn't know Because of the fear of the unknown being so great. 00:27:57.615 --> 00:28:01.685 Sometimes we will even choose to stay in the bondage because it's what we know. 00:28:01.685 --> 00:28:08.586 You will sit in your suffering because of the fear of the sacrifice. 00:28:08.586 --> 00:28:11.134 I'll say that again. 00:28:11.134 --> 00:28:19.410 You will sit and wallow in your suffering because you are scared of what it may cost you to let that go. 00:28:19.410 --> 00:28:24.905 Breaking free will always cost you something. 00:28:24.905 --> 00:28:28.642 They lost sight of God's future for them. 00:28:28.642 --> 00:28:29.786 Anybody ever been there? 00:28:29.786 --> 00:28:33.920 I believe some people in here today. 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:37.759 You may just be working a job or getting through life and you feel stuck. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.724 You feel like you don't want to do it anymore. 00:28:39.724 --> 00:28:43.596 You may have lost your passion, but I believe today God wants to restore that inside of you. 00:28:43.596 --> 00:28:50.596 They lost sight of God's future for them and they also twisted the past to support their complaining. 00:28:50.596 --> 00:28:53.222 Anybody ever do that? 00:28:53.222 --> 00:28:56.328 You twist what happened to fit your narrative. 00:28:56.328 --> 00:28:58.980 I'm going to keep on going through that one. 00:29:00.154 --> 00:29:03.184 This thinking is common amongst those who complain. 00:29:03.184 --> 00:29:05.259 Everyone else is wrong. 00:29:05.259 --> 00:29:07.520 Surely I am not the problem. 00:29:07.520 --> 00:29:26.096 Surely I'm not the one that makes my wife angry all the time, it's probably the dogs or the kid Because I'm perfect, right, I don't want to look in the mirror, kid, because I'm perfect, right, I don't want to look in the mirror. 00:29:26.096 --> 00:29:28.241 We love to complain in our comfort instead of making progress through the pain. 00:29:28.241 --> 00:29:32.048 Just a personal view of the Israelites. 00:29:32.048 --> 00:29:36.246 I think they were called the children of Israel because they were always being childish. 00:29:36.246 --> 00:29:40.155 They were always acting like children. 00:29:40.155 --> 00:29:41.559 They always won, always. 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:42.702 I don't want to do it. 00:29:43.084 --> 00:29:44.567 Jessie did something to others this morning. 00:29:44.567 --> 00:29:48.284 Something didn't work out the way it was supposed to and she was kind of mad. 00:29:48.284 --> 00:29:55.142 She was sitting in the truck and I said one day your little girl's going to look exactly like that when she gets upset about something, and I'm going to point it out to her. 00:29:55.142 --> 00:30:01.820 She was like I don't care and she was like she's probably going to look like, act like you anyways. 00:30:01.820 --> 00:30:08.865 I said, no, girl, it's going to be you and it just cracked me up. 00:30:08.865 --> 00:30:10.167 But that's how we get sometimes. 00:30:10.167 --> 00:30:12.476 We get so upset and so mad we can't see anything else. 00:30:12.476 --> 00:30:18.759 Clearly, we get so fixated on what we want we forget the blessings that God has given us. 00:30:22.502 --> 00:30:27.326 Now, in the psychology world this type of outlook that the children of Israel had. 00:30:27.326 --> 00:30:35.412 They romanticized where they came from, the bondage they were in, the slavery that they were under, and they romanticized and said, oh, it must be better to go back there. 00:30:35.412 --> 00:30:36.873 Why didn't God just kill us there? 00:30:36.873 --> 00:30:45.953 They were even thinking about their death, but they would rather be there, dead, than out in the wilderness, dead, following God. 00:30:45.953 --> 00:30:52.857 This is called trauma bonding. 00:30:52.857 --> 00:30:53.922 Now we see this most common in kidnapped victims. 00:30:53.922 --> 00:30:55.188 They become bonded with their attacker or their kidnapper. 00:30:55.188 --> 00:31:00.162 They become attached to them, a sexual abuser, a false sense of love, or they feel guilty and somehow think it's their fault. 00:31:00.903 --> 00:31:02.968 Domestic abuse we see this all the time. 00:31:02.968 --> 00:31:03.718 I have seen this. 00:31:03.718 --> 00:31:05.144 Jessie, is it Dateline? 00:31:05.144 --> 00:31:05.928 You like to listen to? 00:31:05.928 --> 00:31:06.932 She listens to things. 00:31:06.932 --> 00:31:12.345 And you have spouse abuse and these women, like I didn't see what I didn't see. 00:31:12.345 --> 00:31:20.807 They would justify, they would lie to police, they would lie at the hospital when they would go in with a broken arm, when really it was their husband that was beating on them. 00:31:20.807 --> 00:31:25.766 And they would lie and they would romanticize about the relationship like, oh, he's going to change. 00:31:25.766 --> 00:31:28.843 And they earn trust by oh, I'm going to change, baby, I'm going to change. 00:31:28.843 --> 00:31:29.845 I'm going to change, baby. 00:31:29.845 --> 00:31:30.567 I'm not going to be the same. 00:31:30.567 --> 00:31:34.162 I'm not going to do it again. 00:31:34.222 --> 00:31:44.065 And around and around, and eventually the mind, for some reason, as a way of being able to survive, going into survival mode will in their mind. 00:31:44.065 --> 00:31:50.528 This is crazy how this works, but in your mind you will attach yourself to that person and they are your savior. 00:31:50.528 --> 00:31:59.240 They were literally out of bondage in the wilderness and they still thought that back there would be okay. 00:31:59.240 --> 00:32:06.724 They still in their minds and you know they were a congregation. 00:32:06.724 --> 00:32:07.267 You know what I'm saying. 00:32:07.267 --> 00:32:08.328 They were church people, they talked. 00:32:08.328 --> 00:32:12.305 So they all probably talked about oh yeah, you're right, you're right. 00:32:12.305 --> 00:32:15.540 Oh man, I remember old Jethro out there. 00:32:15.540 --> 00:32:17.566 He'd go out and he'd ask for something. 00:32:17.566 --> 00:32:21.526 We'd get it every time while he's getting beat. 00:32:21.526 --> 00:32:23.580 But we don't remember the bad stuff. 00:32:24.634 --> 00:32:27.365 You talk to spouses that are living in this now or have been through it. 00:32:27.365 --> 00:32:30.083 They didn't see what they couldn't see. 00:32:30.083 --> 00:32:32.140 It's trauma bonding. 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:37.803 These bonds form out of a basic need for attachment and a means of survival. 00:32:37.803 --> 00:32:45.122 From there, an abuse victim may become dependent on their abuser, which blows my mind. 00:32:45.122 --> 00:32:48.259 Have you ever listen? 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:51.579 A lot of people in here are married, but you probably went through this. 00:32:51.579 --> 00:32:54.704 Did you ever have a certain type of person you always went for? 00:32:55.858 --> 00:33:03.662 And then you talk to somebody else and like, hey, bro, you kind of like crazy women I could see that from here. 00:33:03.662 --> 00:33:08.289 Or I don't know why these guys treat me like this. 00:33:08.289 --> 00:33:11.404 Because you're not setting a standard and you just let anybody treat you the way you want. 00:33:11.404 --> 00:33:24.984 It's because at some point in your mind you have assigned your definition to this level of treatment, when you should be living like a queen, when somebody should be holding your hand, treating you like a queen, opening the door for you. 00:33:24.984 --> 00:33:25.906 Come on somebody. 00:33:25.906 --> 00:33:27.438 I still, to this day. 00:33:27.438 --> 00:33:30.325 April's going to be seven years, eight years we've been dating. 00:33:30.325 --> 00:33:31.268 Seven years we've been married. 00:33:31.268 --> 00:33:35.286 I still go around to her side and I open the door for her and guess what? 00:33:35.286 --> 00:33:39.938 My son runs to try to beat me. 00:33:39.938 --> 00:33:56.315 To do it now because I've taught him that you better set the bar for what a man is supposed to do for a woman, because we have women and men today that accept a certain type of treatment that is not acceptable and no one will tell them any different. 00:33:56.315 --> 00:33:58.338 And no one will tell them any different. 00:33:58.338 --> 00:34:02.606 We have lowered the bar so much. 00:34:05.855 --> 00:34:08.702 God has called us for more than that, and the Israelites did the same thing. 00:34:08.702 --> 00:34:20.675 We have them out in the wilderness and they are being led by two people who led them out of bondage, and they are complaining about them and saying that where they came from is better than them. 00:34:20.675 --> 00:34:27.987 And the cycle it goes and goes and goes. 00:34:27.987 --> 00:34:31.018 Promises to never repeat, repeatedly, over and over and over. 00:34:31.018 --> 00:34:36.277