WEBVTT 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:10.560 When the Spirit of God begins to fill the temple, chains begin to fall off. 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:19.760 You ever heard of the phrase chain smoking? 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:29.120 It'll keep you bound, it'll keep you shameful. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:35.759 You ever try to be around somebody try to cover up the cigarette smoke? 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:38.240 They just smelt like smoky cologne. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:40.479 Experience. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:42.640 I'm talking, I used to be a smoker. 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:50.159 When God begins to cut, we allow Him to be the Lord of our lives, we begin to give up things that we used to hold on to. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:56.320 Every part of us becomes subject to the Almighty God. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:09.920 And when that begins to happen, there's things inside of us, there's things about us that begin to shift and change, and we begin to lay them at the altar of God because we don't want anything to do with who we used to be. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:19.280 You may be here today and say, Well, I'm never gonna tell him I smoke. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.840 If only give it to him. 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:41.120 I'll tell you firsthand, smoking was probably one of the hardest things for me to stop doing. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:45.120 It was a social thing, it was a stress reliever. 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:48.799 Then I didn't get my smoke breaks anymore. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:52.640 Then I had to do a full day's work. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.000 I mean, you know what I'm saying? 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.480 My fingertips weren't yellow anymore. 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:13.280 There was a literal physical transformation on my body when I gave up something that I held so dear to me. 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:22.159 God wants you in this church to be a testimony of his freedom. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:24.080 This is the problem with church folk. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.360 We talk freedom, but we don't live in it. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.879 We love to say things that sound good and we quote biblical things. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:34.639 Don't judge, God's the only judge. 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:36.560 That should scare you to death. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:43.360 Somebody said the other day, well, why did God punish Adam and Eve so severe? 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:45.039 All they did was eat a fruit. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:47.599 It was something he said not to do, and they did it anyways. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:51.120 And he told them, If you taste, you will surely die. 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:54.240 But yet they were allowed to live longer. 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:56.479 They were blessed. 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:06.000 Obedience leads us to sacrifice. 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:18.159 If you want to be obedient to God, you must let everything that has grown its roots deep into your spirit, your soul, your physical person, and let it go. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:29.840 And say, God, whatever it is that I have in my life, this is why I preach and teach and scream all the time, self-examination, because we must be healthy Christians. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:37.280 It's like when you get on an airplane, if you've ever flown before, they say, put on your mask first and then help others. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:37.680 Why? 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:41.680 Because you'll try to help others and you'll never get the oxygen you need to live. 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:45.199 We do this constantly in the Christian world. 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:46.159 We want to help everybody out. 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:47.680 I'll tell everybody how to do their thing. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:51.280 And oh well, the scripture says this when you ain't living it yourself. 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:58.080 Woo! That was my pre-message. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:03.840 This excites me. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:06.879 And if you've ever been set free of this, it should excite you. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.719 God is doing things in this church. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.720 God is doing miracles before our very eyes. 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:24.480 If you don't think it's a miracle of laying down something that has a hold on you, you ain't never been gotten a hold of. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:41.519 What we're gonna be talking about today, I'm gonna challenge you at the end of this service. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:47.600 If you got something to lay at the feet of Jesus, you need to get it out now and get it in your hand, and it may be your wallet. 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:49.839 Yeah, I started there. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.160 It may be your phone. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:56.399 Some of you, you might have to pick your spouse up and go put him at the altar. 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:04.800 We'll just do it mentally, we won't do it physically, right? 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:14.879 Second Corinthians chapter 6, verse 14, it says this don't team up with those who are unbelievers. 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:23.040 One of the biggest tricks of the enemy right now is trying to convince the church that to show God's love, we have to be unified with the sinner. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:27.519 And that is not true, that's not biblical, and that's not accurate. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:32.079 We are to love them, but we are to not join them in their escapades. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:35.199 Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:41.120 How can righteousness partner with wicked wickedness? 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:45.759 How can light live with darkness? 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:49.040 It's impossible. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:50.079 Let's pray. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.959 Father, we thank you so much for your presence here today. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:58.079 I thank you, God, before we even got into the word, your word has been doing its work. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.240 I thank you, Lord, for the worship. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:11.120 I pray that those who are stepping forward today and laying things at your feet, that God, you give them strength to say no to the enemy when he tries to come and tempt them. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:12.959 Give them courage. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:14.399 In your name we pray. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:15.279 Amen. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:32.480 Y'all gonna be leaving church and shaking the pastor's hand and be like, I smell like cigarettes now. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.680 So last Sunday, this is the last Sunday. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:44.240 Okay. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:46.959 Anybody been through our growth track yet? 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:48.079 Raise your hand. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:51.040 Been through the growth track? 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:52.000 You know what the growth track is? 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:56.800 If you don't know what the growth track is, the growth track is for us as pastors. 00:06:56.879 --> 00:06:59.279 So Sister Jesse and I, we open up our home. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:04.720 We allow you to come in, sit down, get to know us outside of the church because we want to get to know you. 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:05.920 We think it's a vital part. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:07.439 We can't do it all the time. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:17.199 It's literally impossible, even for a church smaller like this, for a pastor and his wife to get to sit down with everybody and to be able to talk every Sunday with everybody. 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:18.959 It is mathematically impossible. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:26.879 So I thought of a way to be able to actually do this was to get you, if you want to know more about our church, if you want to become members of our church. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:29.519 I'm not about numbers, but I'm about spiritual growth. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:38.079 And so I want you to be able to know if you're going to say that this is my church, I want you to know what we believe and what we stand for. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.480 I want you to know what our core values are. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:46.720 I want you to know what our core beliefs are, and you need to know what we think when it comes to the Holy Ghost. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:53.439 And if that right there sparks some questions, the sign-up sheet is out there. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:55.839 Because you need to go through it. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:02.079 There's nothing greater than the church that is in full unity together. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:03.839 And so this is what it will do. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:08.160 It will get us in the same book, same chapter, same page, same line. 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:14.319 So, last time, it's out there on that table, and anything that we have going on, it will be out the table. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:19.199 If there's ever a sign-up sheet for anything, there's a table in the corner, and that is our table out there. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:24.000 Just so you know, if you're new here, that you can find out any information you need to know. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.759 And if it's not out there and you have questions, we will get it for you. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:32.960 So today we begin a new series. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:35.519 It is February 5th. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:36.799 Shut up, Siri. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:37.679 I'm not talking to you. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:39.120 February 5th. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:41.360 Always listening. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:43.679 If only I could be like Siri. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:44.879 Right, baby? 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:45.600 Oh yeah. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:47.039 If I could listen. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:48.799 If I could always be listening. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:51.440 So anybody excited about a new series? 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:52.879 Do you remember what we just talked about? 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:54.080 Anybody? 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:55.759 Shut up. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:59.039 That's the only word y'all are words y'all remember, but hey, it's stuck, right? 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.039 We have to take the authority. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:15.039 What Brother Vernon was saying earlier about the authority that we have available in God and through the Spirit that his son came down and died on the cross so that we could be set free and so that we can be made righteous before an almighty and righteous God. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.080 Because we cannot work ourselves into righteousness. 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:22.799 You could throw all the stuff you want at the feet of God, but that does not make you right. 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:24.879 That does not make you righteous before God. 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:27.120 Only the blood of Jesus can make you righteous. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:32.240 It is the filter in which God looks through so that He can see you and what He has called you to be. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.399 So today we're going to start a new series. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.240 And I hope you've been preparing your hearts. 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:44.240 We've got done a couple weeks ago on the 21st, 21-day fast, which we are going to do around the summertime area one more time. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:48.559 Figure it's a good midterm for us to start fasting and praying again. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:53.360 I hope that you have got a divine revelation from God during the fast. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:57.279 And I hope that you have not just done 21 days and stopped there. 00:09:57.360 --> 00:09:58.240 What do I mean? 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:01.039 Every week I pick one day and I fast. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:03.679 Now, why am I doing that? 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:08.720 I've been studying a lot, and actually, my wife has uh preceded me with this that I didn't even know she was doing it. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:14.720 She started talking to me about it, and then God is starting leading me in the ways of spiritual warfare. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:26.639 We have a bunch of untrained weak Christians like the disciples were, that if a demon was to make itself known in the presence of you, you would pee a little. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:33.039 Because you have no presence in your life, you have no authority in your life. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:42.559 We walk through in our Christian walk, and we we want to have the blessings of God, but we don't want to act accordingly to receive them. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:49.519 We don't want to prepare ourselves and make ourselves available to where we hear and we see what God wants us to do. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:51.440 So we're gonna talk. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:54.399 Obviously, we're in February, so we're gonna talk about love. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:06.399 Yeah, some of y'all, so we're gonna talk about two types of people in a minute, and y'all just made yourself known right there. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.440 So the series is called Let's Get Involved. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:12.799 So I'm gonna break down a little bit of what the weeks to come are going to be. 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:18.399 Week one, which is today, we're gonna talk kind of through the phases of a relationship. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:22.879 So if you've ever been married before, you know that there is a dating phase. 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:27.279 You're getting to know each other, you're seeing what you like, what you don't like. 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:32.399 My wife, before we got married, she went on one date and knew she was it was a no. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:34.159 She's like, I don't need a second. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:35.679 No, sir, go on. 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:38.399 She didn't play games, she had a list. 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:46.159 Now I don't know why she went on second, third, fourth, and fifth with me, because she told me no after the first, second, maybe even the third, I'm not sure. 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:51.279 But this is why, this is how I know the power of prayer and fasting because God roped her in. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:59.600 It's amazing when you get serious about something that means something to you, you'll begin to sacrifice things for God. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:12.480 And it's usually not in the place of until we get to a place of need and heartache and loneliness and lacking that we really start to begin to pray and fast. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:28.399 But actually, Jesus told us to preemptively get our minds and hearts right by prayer and fasting, so that when something happens in the church, and listen to me, when God's people start getting serious in the church house, demons show up to watch it burn. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.600 And if you don't understand what's going on, that's fine. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:33.120 I'm not asking for you to understand it. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:35.919 What I'm asking you is to read the word of God and see what it says. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:38.080 All you have to do is do a little Google search. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:39.679 What does the Bible say about demons? 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:44.000 And you will see that throughout Jesus' ministry, that is what he did. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.519 He cast out the demons and he set the captives free. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:57.679 Now I know that can seem a little scary, but it is not a scary thing when you know the authority you have living inside of you is greater than the authority that will come against you. 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:04.879 So if you think throughout these phases, well, I'm not dating. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.000 Well, first of all, if you're married, you should still be dating. 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:15.919 If you wanted to stay healthy, if you want the abundance to stay wealthy in your marriage, you gotta keep dating them. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:18.159 You gotta keep trying. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:22.240 Don't quit trying just because you got them and you hooked them. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:24.639 You reeled them in, you got them home, you skin them. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:25.440 There it is. 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:26.240 That was one meal. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:26.639 That was good. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.200 All right, good. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:31.759 Tell me that's not how we act in relationships. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:35.519 We get what we want and then we go on to the next. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.559 Week one. 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:40.720 The dating phase. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:44.080 So if you are dating, some of this will apply to you. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:53.919 And if you are not dating, if you are just in a relationship, and I don't mean an intimate relationship, I mean a relationship with anybody that you are friends with. 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:55.679 These will apply to you. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:14:09.360 Now, not only will it help you strengthen and understand yourself, how many of you know that if you want to get mentally, physically, and spiritually and emotionally better, you have to know thyself. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:20.960 You can blame everybody else around you as long as you want and talk about all they're doing this, they're doing that, they're coming against me, they're going like this, that, but yet you have the same issue and different spheres of people. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:22.240 It's you, darling. 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:26.000 Let's go on. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:35.200 But if you want to be able to build better relationships, if you want to be able to have someday a marriage, you have to be able to work on yourself. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:42.320 And you have to understand as much as I love my wife, and as much as she loves me, we do not complete each other. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:44.960 I am not 50, she is not 50. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.279 We are both a hundred people. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:52.879 God did a work on us to get us a hundred percent so that I can give her a hundred percent. 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:58.559 We think people coming along will help us and get us to where we want to go. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.679 It's not a magic pill that you take and it makes you magically lose weight. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:08.480 This is a person, and the junk they have in the beginning is the junk that will be magnified later in the end. 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:21.919 So you have to be able to allow God to work on you in every season so that you will be ready for that one to come, so that you can have better relationships. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:29.360 And if you aren't aware, we serve a relationship-centered God. 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.440 He longs in the very beginning with Adam and Eve. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:37.919 He came down in the cool of the day and he just walked with them and he talked with them. 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:42.240 You know, some of us we use the Bible as a cop-out. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:45.679 Let me explain. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:53.120 In the Old Testament, the Bible was not yet written for them to hear from God. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:59.200 They actually had to put everything aside and truly sacrifice so they can actually hear him. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:03.759 Because what you're doing is reading what God said to somebody else. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:12.720 And yes, it can speak to you, it is alive, it is active, it is still true today, but some of us cop out and we don't turn our ear to God. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:20.559 We don't want to sacrifice anything to actually hear the voice of God because God has a word for every single child. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.559 Week two, the covenant phase. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:33.120 He is a relational God, he desires to speak your language, but he also desires for you to try to speak his. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.159 He is a covenant God, God of covenant. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:49.120 This is a large reason why we have so much spiritual issues in the church house today that then begin to display themselves emotionally, physically, and mentally. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:55.279 We constantly claim a covenant with God, yet are drawn daily to our idols that we worship. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.960 We'll be pointing out these types of idols and how to address them in week two. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:06.880 Week three, everybody who's ever been married, you have been in a honeymoon phase. 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:11.839 Some of y'all are y'all don't want to speak up on that. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.480 I don't know what honeymoon he's talking about. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:20.240 But this is where you first get in relationship. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.400 So, what I'm doing is I'm taking things that all of us know and I'm comparing it to God. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:29.759 It's cool how God shows us in relationships how we can be in our relationships with each other. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.880 So God wants us to be in covenant with each other. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:37.680 That's why it's so important to when you start going to a church and you say it's your church, you actually go to it. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:42.400 I love that you're watching online, but you're doing a disservice to yourself if you never show up. 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:45.680 See you next week. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:52.480 But this is where if you've ever lived a life of sin, you know this season very well. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:55.920 You come to God and whoa, everything's good. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:57.920 Yeah, let's go get some Jesus. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:58.720 Let's go to church. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.359 I want to go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:03.119 It's good. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.680 God's done something for you, He sets you free. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:08.240 You're on fire, and nobody can quench that fire. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.559 And you're like, man, I want to read the word. 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.279 I don't know what's going on, but the word is just drawing me today. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:15.599 Oh Lord, speak to me, and you get all good. 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:17.279 It's like a honeymoon phase. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:19.200 Or, oh, nothing is wrong with her. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:20.319 She's perfect. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:21.680 And I still say that. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:28.240 But she can do no wrong, coming from a man's perspective. 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:30.720 Oh, her hair is perfect all the time. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:35.279 She wakes up and she just goes, ah, she flies out of the bed. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:43.279 And as she's flying across the room, makeup, hair, and all the stuff just happens, and she's in her clothes, and she's just like, I'm going to work, sweetheart, love you. 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:49.680 And it's like everything she does, it's like she's on rollerblades just going like across the room. 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:55.279 And it's like I wake up and she's like, Oh, here's your breakfast. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:56.480 I'm like, How did you have time? 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:58.400 She's like, I don't know, I just love you. 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:08.640 And then all of a sudden, like I take off my clothes at the end of the day and I go put them in the laundry and I turn around and the very clothes I just took off are now on the bed folded clean. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:09.599 I'm like, how did you do that? 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:11.359 She's like, I don't know, I just love you. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:18.960 You go to put the kids in bed and they're they're already abed and they're they're showering and they're asleep, and you're like, what happened? 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:20.480 You're like, I just love you. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.440 It's the honeymoon phase. 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:25.519 You don't see nothing for how it really is. 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.720 You are embellishing and how amazing it is. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:30.799 And we do this on our Christian walk. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:35.119 God does something for us, He transforms our lives. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:37.359 We are never to be the same again. 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.799 He breaks bondage and sets the captives free. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.839 And that's our spiritual honeymoon phase. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.799 And then on week four, reality starts to kick in. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.359 All of a sudden, you're coming down off the high. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:53.759 Because really, when you first get saved, yes, you want to go out and preach. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:57.039 You want to get on the streets, you want to tell everybody about Jesus and what he's done for you. 00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:01.119 But then about four weeks later, about six months later, in between, everybody's different. 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:04.480 All of a sudden, you don't really praise like you did when you first got saved. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:09.039 Well, maybe I'll just stay in my seat this Sunday. 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:14.160 Oh, maybe, you know, we don't have to go this time. 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:15.119 We can watch it online. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:21.200 Oh, y'all ain't liking me today. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:27.599 But do we not use the excuses after that spiritual high is over? 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:34.720 After we start coming down and we realize that, oh, that just felt good for the moment, but now I gotta really do some work. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:50.799 The honeymoon phase is over because you've had such an emotional and spiritual high that was amazing and good, but now you start to come down and a little bit of reality sets in, and you almost feel like something is wrong. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:56.480 You almost feel like, well, that was okay, it's not feeling like it did. 00:20:57.119 --> 00:20:57.920 Am I not? 00:20:58.079 --> 00:20:59.440 Some of you may worry too much. 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.079 You may say, Oh, it doesn't feel like it did at the beginning. 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:04.079 Am I doing something wrong? 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:05.599 Am I am I am I sinning? 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:10.559 Am I doing you know, you start freaking out, or the other one's like, Well, that wasn't worth it. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:14.319 That was over quick. 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:22.559 Like you're coming down off of a high, you start to freak out a little bit about your spiritual person. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:24.559 Now, this is prime real estate. 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:25.119 Listen to me. 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:28.880 This is prime real estate for the enemy to move in and try to shame you again. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:40.160 Because if he can start reminding you and make you feel a little bit like, oh, maybe you are living the way you were, or maybe you are still that person. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:43.359 We know this who the sun sets free is free. 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:51.119 And if you've been set free, the devil will try to tell you that you have not been, but you know that you know that you know. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:22:01.680 This is why, in this stage of your relationship with God, you need to begin to surround yourself with people who are like minded that we Will continue to lift you up. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:13.519 This is why people end up falling away so quickly, is because in the emotional high, in the spiritual high of turning your life around and everything is good, then you start witnessing to your old friends, which is amazing. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:14.559 That is awesome. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:15.359 That is great. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:18.640 But you have to witness to them and then come back and start being matured. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:25.519 Because if not, you'll keep putting yourself out there to them and they will they you think you're drawing them, but eventually they'll begin to draw you. 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:42.240 And so then all of a sudden, you have this weird come down of spiritual high, and then at the same time, your old friends are reaching out to you, and then all of a sudden you end up right back where you started, and it's just a vicious cycle over and over and over again of relationship nonsense that you're causing. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:49.039 There's a few more that we're gonna talk through. 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:51.200 I haven't decided how many weeks it's gonna be. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:54.400 So we'll just stop there and we'll get on today's topic. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:55.920 The dating phase. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:01.359 Now, if you're if we're entering into February, let me know. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:04.160 If you don't know, I'm gonna help you. 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:06.559 It is Valentine's Day coming up. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:08.960 Fellas, get on it, make your purchases now. 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:12.319 Amazon prom, they get overwhelmed and they end up being not two days anymore. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:15.440 Oh, we're in February, I'm gonna get it in May. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.680 I'm so impatient now. 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:24.000 They got you spooled, and then they're like, oh, a bad ice storm, we can't get stuff to you. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:26.000 Go through the weather, bro. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:32.640 So they're like I said a minute ago, there's two kinds of people when you come into February. 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:39.200 There are the ones talking about love who are on the side of love. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:43.200 They are all in it or they are looking for it. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:46.559 Where's my single people at? 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:47.440 Where are you at? 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:48.559 Lift your hand up. 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:49.839 That's what you're working with. 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:51.359 That's what you're working with. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:58.319 You're either you're either on the side of you love, love, and oh, I'm gonna get married. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.920 Oh, I wanna be with somebody. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:01.519 I want this, I want that. 00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:06.720 I've got a list, I've got a whole bag of goodies they're gonna get when they get me. 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:16.319 I'm looking for a blessing, but they don't know what a blessing I am going to be to them today. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:21.279 I'm gonna wear my best shoes, I'm gonna put on my best hairs. 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:25.039 I don't wear one, but I'm just saying. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:26.880 You go out, you get looking good. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:28.880 You paint yourself up pretty. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:33.039 You wear your best clothes, you especially on that first date. 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:34.799 Especially on that first date. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:36.960 My poor wife, and we went on a first date. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:40.160 I just had leftover clothes from like high school. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:46.799 But to give me credit, I did iron the shirt. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.480 I don't know if it was missing a button. 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:51.839 I think it was on the collar, on the thing, the cuff, but I didn't. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.519 What do you do? 00:24:53.599 --> 00:25:06.079 You roll your sleeves up, and then you have the other side of the coin where you talk about love, and they're like, shut up, nobody cares, go on somewhere. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:09.359 Love is stupid, and so are you. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:14.480 I know I got some of those in the house because I saw your faces when I said the L-word. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:17.599 You're like, it's like a weird. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:21.039 It was I wish I had a camera up here looking at y'all. 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:26.640 Now, the funny thing is, both of these types of people are equally in each group. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:29.759 Single or taken. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:33.359 So I'm gonna play a little video. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:37.680 I'm gonna play a little video. 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:39.440 I want you to watch this. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:04.640 If they get in love, they they grow, baby. 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.640 When people fall in love, they hold hands. 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:12.319 When people are in love, they give each other flowers. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:20.559 It takes a lot of money to be in love, especially fruits. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:31.039 They can break me love flocks at times. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:33.279 I hate it. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:48.799 It's touching me that much unless it's a double double case. 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:55.839 They wake you up very early when you're sleeping and not until they are such a weird stuff. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:12.960 He put the love in our heart. 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:15.359 Oh, and he lived in the sky. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:25.759 Isn't it cool? 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:32.799 Hey, baby, come here for a second, we uh speaking of the O word. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:38.960 So Friday was my wonderful wife's birthday. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:40.799 Was it 21 or 29? 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:41.359 Which one is it? 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:43.119 29. 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:44.160 Okay, that'll work. 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:50.079 So the church got together and they wanted to give you something for your birthday and just to show you that they love you. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:53.119 So give her a hand. 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:06.960 And if y'all don't find me next week, uh I'm buried somewhere in the backyard. 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:18.079 So, as you can see, there are different opinions about love. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:22.319 Some of them said, when you're in love, you hold hands. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:27.039 Some of some little kids said he'd been in love so many times he hates it. 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:32.960 And being in love apparently is expensive, especially if you're ugly. 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:36.240 That's what the kid said. 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:37.119 I didn't say it. 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:38.400 I'm calling the kid. 00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:39.839 That's what he said. 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:43.599 So, hey, I'm telling you. 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:46.400 I understand that fact very well. 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:47.759 It is expensive, y'all. 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:49.279 It is expensive. 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:58.000 So, what we often do, like these kids were doing, we do this as adults all the time. 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:02.400 We put our worldly definitions on a heavenly concept. 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:06.079 I'll say it again. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:10.319 We put our worldly definitions on a heavenly concept. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:26.480 This means that we throughout our lives, we look at what we see others doing regarding love, how others receive, how others perceive love, and then we apply it in our own relationships as if it is true. 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:42.079 So, what this does is create a false foundation in our hearts and in our expectations and in all of our relationships of what love actually is. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:49.039 There's a reason that I can joke around and bring my wife up on stage and do things that are really dangerous like that. 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:56.160 Because our love is not surfaced, there's an actual foundation, and God led me to her. 00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:00.400 So when things come and I do stupid things, I have grace. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:03.440 Amen. 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:05.920 A little bit of grace, a little bit of grace. 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:10.400 And her fingers are small, so it was even smaller than you were actually thinking. 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:12.000 Got a little bit of grace. 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:13.759 So then we experience this. 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:15.519 We go through this relationship cycle. 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:30.799 We have hurt, we have pain, we have trauma, and in relationships, we will write them off and say we are done when from the beginning we didn't give true love that only comes from the Father a proper place and soil to grow in. 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:35.839 So now we have an endless cycle of bad relationships. 00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:39.039 Something that you all should look up, trauma bonds. 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:44.160 You get hurt, you think it's the way life is, or maybe you were raised in a chaotic home. 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:45.519 That's why I love that song earlier. 00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:47.599 Sickness, you have no place here. 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:49.759 Chaos, you have no place here. 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:51.440 Darkness, you have no place here. 00:30:51.680 --> 00:31:06.799 We have to have the authority in our lives that when darkness tries to creep in, and it will, because we live in a fallen world where principalities and darkness are ruling this world right now, we have to be understanding of what the Bible says we have the authority to speak out against. 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:18.480 And when you bear the name of God and you have the salvation of Jesus and you have the power of the Holy Ghost, you can speak against anything that comes against you and it has to flee. 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:34.960 Including bad relationships, trauma bonds you have allowed yourself to become attached to, that you won't cut the cord to every time they're sowing poisonous seeds into your heart, and you allow it to continue over and over and over. 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:40.160 And through time, you wonder why you end up partaking from your garden bad poisonous fruit. 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:44.880 It's because of the root system and the seed you've allowed to be planted in your heart. 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:58.000 And then we have false identities tied to other people, things, and objects that we say is love. 00:31:58.160 --> 00:32:06.319 If you love me, y'all, they have commercialized Valentine's Day to get everybody to do on one day what I do for my wife throughout the gear. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:07.440 Come on, somebody. 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:12.240 Threw that one in there. 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:13.839 You know what I mean? 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:25.440