The Psychology of Religion Vs Relationship with Jesus Christ

What is the difference between practicing a religion and having a living, breathing relationship with Jesus Christ?

In this video, we dive deep into The Psychology of Religion Vs. a Relationship with Jesus Christ. We break down the mental patterns, behavioral habits, and emotional impacts of religious legalism compared to the transforming power of true intimacy with Christ.

Many people get caught up in the psychology of "doing" religion—seeking comfort, control, or community through strict rituals—while completely missing the heart of the Gospel. Join us as we explore how moving away from empty religious structures and stepping into a authentic relationship with Jesus can completely shift your mindset, bring true peace, and transform your daily life.

In this video, you’ll discover:

The core psychological differences between religious routine and spiritual relationship.

How religious legalism impacts the mind versus how grace brings freedom.

Practical ways to shift your focus from "performing for God" to "abiding in Christ."

Why Jesus consistently challenged the religious psychology of His day.

If you are tired of going through the motions and are ready to experience the fullness of life in Christ, this video is for you!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Father God, that you touch every mind, Father God, today. Whatever they were dealing with, Father God, before they came into this building, I ask, Father God, that you personally consecrate each one of them. Father God, whatever they were dealing with, whether it be family matters, business matters, a spirit of malice, a spirit of grief, a spirit of even anger. Father God, before they come in this room, Father God, I ask that you even consecrate them. Convict them by the Holy Spirit. But Father God, none of the things that we will even discuss today will even have merit if the Holy Spirit don't touch these people tonight. So, Father God, I ask now, touch their heart. Father God, for Father God, we know that out of their heart, Father God, even flows either righteousness or wicked works. So, Father God, I ask that, Father God, we examine ourselves today. And Father God, we ask, Father God, let your spirit move in this place. Touch us, God, inside of us. Move in us, Father God. Shift us. Shift our focus, Father God, from a mindset of carnality. Truly, Father God, to revelations of the Spirit. Father God, cleanse us each inside and out. Father God, for David's sake, create a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. So, Father God, we ask, Father God, we pray that same prayer tonight. We ask, Father God, that you cleanse us inside and out. In Jesus' name we pray. And everybody say, Amen. Amen and amen. I want you to go into your Bibles. We're gonna have a lot of Bible today. I want you to turn specifically into the first gospel of Matthew, chapter 15. The first gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, verse 8. Let's go quickly to the first gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, verse 8. I want to deal with the psychology of religion. Amen. Because I want you to understand that in this system of religion, it can have you very constricted. And we see throughout the scripture that there were men called apostles, there were men such as Jesus, there were men that were prophets that had to deal with a system of religion. Now, how many of you know that religion is a system of constructs, is a system of values, is a system of traditions that has merit, but that don't mean it always has power. Amen. Just because you come to church, that don't mean that you can be a person full of the Holy Spirit and have power. We know that to be correct, right? So we understand that God is looking for more of us. Say it again. Say God is looking for more. Now Jesus says something specifically. He says in chapter 15, verse 8 of the book of Matthew, he says, This people honor me with their lips. Now he's talking to a specific group of people, he's not talking to just church people, he's talking to a group of people called the Pharisees. Right now, they had seen the miracles, they had seen the signs, they had seen the wonders of what Jesus had done, but now he was contradicting a system that they had built up for centuries. How many of you know that man always loved to stay in power? Okay, there are things even in your own life, no matter if the word of God tells you is wrong, you would defend it as long as it gives you influence. We don't have to argue about this. There's a lot of things, even as a believer, that you're living in that you know the scripture tells you that is wrong, you know you shouldn't do it, but you're still going to do it and you're still going to defend it because it get it gives you a sense of pride, of arrogance, and of value. And no matter if a preacher tells you to stop it, no matter if the Holy Spirit tells you to stop it, you're not going to stop it because your fleshly nature in that moment is greater than your spiritual nature. So Jesus is these people know the law. Tell me if they know the law. These are not ignorant people, Sister Linda. What Jesus was dealing with when he was combating these Pharisees or speaking to these Pharisees, he's not speaking to ignorant people, he's not speaking to people who don't know the word of God, he's not speaking to people who have not seen throughout the word the old testament law. These people are very skilled in the old testament law, but he says something specifically, and he says it as a prophecy that was spoken from the prophet Isaiah and Isaiah chapter 29, verse 13. So he's not saying something by cohapstance. Go look for yourself, you will see it's the same words verbatim. He's not speaking anything by cohappenstance because Jesus is trying to make a point. Maybe you don't believe what I say, but the prophet who you believe in makes the same point. I'm going to come back to that. Now, what he says in Isaiah chapter 29 of verse 13 is the same thing that Jesus says. He says, These people honor me with their lips, but their heart, Tapanaver said, Their heart. Watch this. In vain do they worship me. In vain do they worship me. How many of you know that there are many different types of worship? One of the worships that's very destructive in the church today is something called vain worship. You can worship God to be seen, you can worship God and lift your hands and speak in tongues for a title. Amen. You can worship God to look pious, amen. But how many know all of that is vain worship because you're not glorifying God, you're glorifying yourself. How many know God doesn't want that type of worship? Now Isaiah says something in Isaiah chapter 29, verse 13. Go there real quickly, because I want to make a point here. Isaiah says something in Isaiah chapter 29, verse 13. He says the same thing. He says, And the Lord said, Because these people draw near with their mouth, I'm reading out of the ESV version, that's the English Standard Version, and honor me with their lips, their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me, watch this, is only a commandment taught by men. Now, what does that mean? They don't have a relationship with God. The only reverence they have of God is what men have passed down to them traditionally. How many of you know you can't get nowhere with only traditions of men being taught without a relationship with God? Now, how many of you know that if you're religious, you will become very prideful and you will think that you're doing something because you're honoring the traditions of men? How many of you know that you can live and be saved for 50 years and you would think because your grandmother did something, she took communion, you took communion, you came and sat down, she came and sat down, you came into church, you lift your hands, you got on your knees, you prayed, and you thought you were doing something. But all you were doing, if you were doing this in a religious aspect, if there's no transformation, if there's no indwelling of the Holy Spirit, see, there's a person who comes to church, and there's a person who has inner conviction. Am I helping somebody? And that there are two different types of, I won't say believers, because one is a real believer and one just playing and having a show. So he says, There are many people today, especially even today, that will defend the commandments of men over the commandments of God. Oh, there are many people who will even defend their denominations over the commandments of God. Now, I don't want to get into trouble, but I don't mind getting in trouble. God never said to ordain a denomination. Because even when we see through first century church, you see Paul and Jesus saying, Let us have all the same unity of mind and the same unity of faith. So that nips the butt on the denomination question. But still today in the church, we're arguing over things that have no merit because God wants your heart. Even you, as believers, and we call you non-denominational Pentecostals. That don't even have any meaning, Sister Linda, but that's where we we try to say a name to sound deep. Well, we're different in this group, and we're different in this group, and we do this, and we got fire baptism, we got the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and this one might have this one, and this one don't have this one, and this one dip like this one, but this one don't dip three times. One saying the name of Jesus, the other one say the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And people don't even know the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost in the name don't mean anything because when he said baptizing the name, he means baptizing the authority of Jesus. So you can say the Messiah, you can say whatever, you can say Yeshua Hamashiach, it don't matter because he's speaking about authority, and y'all discussing names. That's how messed up we are, sister Aura. So so we're seeing today that Jesus had to confront people whose confidence rested in religious performance rather than having faith in God, and we're still dealing with this today. People will defend their opinions, their doctrines, their traditions instead of defending the living word of God because all of this they have confidence in. See, you got to understand there's a difference between religion and a living faith. See, religion is works that you do, but how many of you know the works is only an example of evidence that Christ lives inside of you? Say it again. The works is only an example, only is a principle of evidence that Christ is lives inside of you. We have taken Christ out and we have become more focused on the works. And when we do this as a church or a group of believers, and we cannot lie and say we don't do this, even myself, I do this. You take pride in your works. You, you, how many of you since you've been coming to light city or wherever you've been coming to church, you take pride in giving your offering? And everybody has made this statement, including myself. Well, I gave $300, so I'm I'm required to be blessed by God. How dare you say you're required to be blessed by God because you gave a little measly $300 that's not even worth three dollars because the paper ain't worth three dollars, but you put yourself in a just a position because you gave some money that you thought you worked hard for that God is required to bless you, and you are idolatrous because you put your idol not in the blesser, your idol is the blessing, and you were more focused on the blessing than the blessed. Yes, you was. You were waiting to get that money back, you sold with an anticipation not on the God who provides the blessing. Your anticipation was on when I'm gonna get my money back and when I was gonna get more, and we're still living in a place where we honor our traditions more than we honor our Savior. See, there is a worship today called vain worship that has been detached, especially in the church of the 21st century, where there used to be a genuine obedience and love for God, but now people you can just look righteous, sister Aura, Sister Linda, you can just look good. Because see, worship is an inner thing, it's a thing that takes place in your spirit, but vain worship, nobody you can lift your hands right now. We take a picture, Sister Jean, we can put that on a frame, and everybody said that's a holy woman. Sometimes there are people even today that when the camera is coming, they'll look say, Oh god, you you start saying things because you know the camera is coming right to your way, and you'll fall out, or you give a buck or a shout because you want to seem holy. But how many know you get no merit in that? Am I helping somebody? God is looking for genuine worship. See, there's a worship that looks correct on the outside. You know the things to say, you know the prayers to pray, you know what to do, you know an offering time to come. You sing the same psalms, but none of them have merit if you don't put Jesus where he's supposed to be. There are many people today are praying, there are many people who are gonna recite scripture, there's many people who are gonna speak with a holy reverence about God, but there's not gonna be any inner transformation. There are people today that's gonna come to church on midweek Bible study and lift their hands and sing and go through praise and worship, even take communion, and as soon as they get out the door, they're gonna cuss their husband or wife or cuss their children out. The Bible even tells you the same lips that curse cannot bless. But as soon as you get out of a holy experience that we call it, you up in there cursing your husband out, you up in there gossiping on the phone, you up in there talking to people that you know you shouldn't be talking to because there needs to be an inner transformation. See, when there's an inner transformation, your heart is surrendered. Now, how many of you know that when your heart is surrendered, God is going to take you through an experience that is going to not only perish and convict you, but it's going to transform your nature. What do you mean by that? When God changes your heart, your priorities become transformed. The reason why, and this is why I don't have to argue, chief don't have to argue. We already know we don't gotta argue with you about the Holy Spirit or you being led by the Holy Spirit. We know most of the time you're not being led by the Holy Spirit because you speak more about your natural priorities than spiritual priorities. Now, we as shepherds, we don't tell you about this, we don't argue with us about this because we don't, or we already know you're gonna choose your carnal life more than your spiritual life. You see, we argue about see, we didn't put positions on you, we didn't put offices on you, we didn't made your intercessors, and you take pride in that, but it ain't like you come pray in seven hours. Anybody pray seven hours in this building this week? Okay, so so we we already know we got intercessors don't even pray five hours a week, and we are people who glorify titles, but there is no inner transformation. Am I helping somebody? See, see, through your vanity, your priorities have become misaligned because your worship is a consumerist worship. You become a consumer for messages, you become a consumer for miracles, you become a consumer for blessings, you become a consumer to hear a good word, to feel good about yourself. But in all of these messages, there's no innate inner transformation in your spirit to cause any type of change, and God has to get you to a place to see beyond. See, you say, Well, man of God, I ain't been changed. I I was believing for a house. See, see, all of the you got to understand this. Let me let me give you some theology on the one. When God blesses you, he's blessing you to test you, because he's testing your soul, because you think that the blessing is the lesson. No, it ain't the blessing is the test, but you think the blessing is the victory. The blessing ain't the victory because the blessing is only showing you where your heart is at. Because I promise you, there'd been everybody in this building. Soon as you got blessed, your worship diminished. Oh, it did. Soon as God gave you the money, the bill money, the house money, the new car. You thought about driving the car and you stopped praying. Matter of fact, the broker you are, the more you prayed. But I can't even give you that credit because you didn't pray in your juxtaposition of your relationship to God, you only prayed for a breakthrough. What do you mean, Matter God? You only prayed to get out of your search situation. You didn't pray because you had true honesty and reverence for God. He was the only thing that you can trust in. You didn't have no money, so you couldn't trust in that. Amen. Your friends was fake, but you didn't know it. Matter of fact, the same friends that you had in 1985, you couldn't even call three of them today. What they at today? They ain't with you, that's why you're quiet. They left you because they was in the same pit you were in, and the only reason why they were still with you, because you was in the same pit. As soon as you got something, they was jealous, they gossiped, and they talk about you because you're no longer in the pit with them anymore. And I know what I'm talking about. See, you've got to get to a place where you become people who are filled with the spirit. See, when you are people who are filled with the spirit of God, then you won't carry the Holy Spirit like it's a pocketbook. See, a pocketbook, Sister Carol, you can put anywhere. When you go to the restaurant, you put your pocketbook down. When you go home, you put your pocketbook. It's only an accessory to your faith. But if the Holy Spirit is a necessary to your faith, when you go through a problem that's bigger than your knowledge of what you're going through, you won't know how to get out of it. And we have many people today in the church that carry the Holy Spirit like an accessory, and then they come to the priest and say, Man of God, I don't know what's going on. The only reason why you don't know what's going on, because you're not intertwined with the Holy Spirit. That's simple. Because you became religious and you were not a person who filled with the Spirit. I'm not saying that you're not filled with the Spirit like the Holy Spirit is not indwelled in you, but you don't have an authentic relationship with the Holy Spirit. And this is the problem for many Christians today, is that we say we have the Holy Spirit, but truly, Sister Jean, when we say we have the Holy Spirit, when we talk about a person having the Holy Spirit, we're only talking about the evidence of spiritual gifts. So I say, Well, Sister Jean have the Holy Spirit. Well, how do you know she had the Holy Spirit? Well, she prayed good. Well, how do you know Sister Really, Sister Jean has the uh the Holy Spirit? Well, when she gets in there, she sang good. That's evidence of spiritual gifts. But do she go out to this church and cuss everybody out? Because that's not evidence of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit, the two principles that we see about the Holy Spirit, first it guides, so it's gonna lead you out of darkness, and it convicts. So if you can sing but you're not convicted, then the Holy Spirit ain't helping you. Because we got a lot of people singing to the gene in the church, but there's no conviction. If you can sing, but you could go out there and live like you in hell tomorrow. There's no conviction. The Holy Spirit don't it don't have no value to you, you just have spiritual gifts, and those are without repentance. You could put they they got deep, they got half little mixed demons that got spiritual gifts. I know a person today, I won't say his name, but it's a fit family. I know a person today will prophesy everything about your life, and then five minutes later later go snort cocaine. Number isn't in my phone right now, and still probably snorting today, right now. It's a lifestyle habit for them and will tell you everything about your life, speaking, speak in the tongues, everything, speak with, but there's no conviction once he gets out of that gift. Am I helping somebody? See, you got to understand that when you when the Holy Spirit indwells in the person, the Holy Spirit is an agent. Tell me, Navy says the Holy Spirit is an agent of transformation. See, when you have the Holy Spirit, Sister Carol, the Holy Spirit has to transform you. If you're not transformed, then you don't have the the Holy Spirit is not on you well. Because you cannot have see, one of the things is gonna happen, Sister Jean, and I'm not talking about see when I'm talking about the Holy Spirit, I'm also gonna talk about in the holistic the Holy Spirit don't mean you're gonna stop sinning, the Holy Spirit. It only means is that in the midst of you about to sin, conviction comes. Because there's some people in the midst of sinning, Pastor Walker, there ain't no conviction. There's some people they'll go do a whole bunch of things, they ain't got no, they ain't even think about conviction, they don't think about what is the will of God, they ain't thinking about what God feels like it is, they don't got no, they they go to something, they they go to a party or they go to club, they don't have no diseasement if that's a word, they just having a good time. See, but a person who has the Holy Spirit, there's a conviction that takes place. Not only is the Holy Spirit an agent of transformation, the Holy Spirit is an agent of empowerment. The Holy Spirit empowers you to be better. God is going to take you line on line, precept on precept, and train you. Now, how many know nobody in here likes trials, right? Anyone love them? Do you love when God brings a trial to your life? Do you love when God brings misery in your life? Do you love when God brings pain in your life or agony? Am I helping somebody? The Bible teaches us in the book of Zechariah, chapter 4, verse 6, you don't have to go there. But I was saying, he says, not by might. How many of you know that what you're going through in accordance to destiny, you cannot do this with your own intellect, your will, or might? There are things, Sister Jean, if I can tell you, you there are demons on assignment against your life that you cannot defeat unless the Holy Spirit is with you. You cannot do this by intellect. You can study this Bible cover to cover. That's not gonna help you unless there's an indwelling of the Holy Spirit guiding you, giving you understanding, giving you wisdom. And there are some things that will even overpower you, Sister G, that even the advocate, the Holy Spirit, got to pray to get off of you. And with your religious prideful self, you think, Well, I'm gonna just go ahead and pray this. There are levels of access when it comes to the spiritual realm, your prayers don't even work. Because you don't know how to pray, you don't know the system of prayer, and you don't know what to pray for. I'm just gonna be real for you. Now you say, Well, man of God, how did I get this far today? You got this far today because the Holy Spirit covered you in your ignorance. That's the only thing. Many of the demons that you were fighting in your trials. Guess what? You weren't praying when you were getting far, you know what you were doing, sister? You was crying. Why me? Why am I going through this? Why am I in hell? Trying to find a counselor, find a trying to man of God, trying to find another pastor, trying to go on a TV. You weren't fighting this, you weren't using no spiritual welfare. You were in agony crying, and one day God came and said, That's enough, let me come and deliver you for most of us. Now, you don't got to be real with it. You know how I can tell you know you didn't fight it? Because guess what? Many of the trials you you went through, you don't even remember them. So it wasn't by your designation or it wasn't by your design. Because if if you were fighting it, I don't know nobody who won a battle or a fight that they don't remember. Everybody who goes through a fight and they win it by their own merit, they remember that fight because your pride and your arrogance is gonna say, you know what? I beat so and so yesterday. I beat so-and-so. There are people that talk, yeah, I fought so-and-so in 1975. I remember when I knocked them out. You remember that vividly. But some of the things that you went through in your life, you don't even know the trials because the Holy Spirit took all of that out of your mind. Because if you were remembering it, if you would have remembered it, it would have caused you more agony. The Bible teaches us, let's go to John chapter 3, verse 3. I want to give you something here. It's a very familiar passage of scripture, but I want to make some foundations here. John chapter 3, verse 3. I'm gonna start with verse 1. You know this scripture very much. The Bible says, now there was a man of the Pharisees, his name was Nicodemus, he was a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher that comes from God, for no one can do these signs. So they say, Listen, we we don't have to argue that you come from God. We're seeing miraculous signs, we're seeing miracles, we're seeing things that only can be done only through the power of the Holy Spirit and through the power of God. They said, So we know that God, verse 2 is with him, but the Bible says in verse 3, Jesus asked him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, that say born again. Say it again, say born again. Unless you are born again. Now, how many of you know being born again that's a transformation? That transformation is you dying to your flesh. Now that doesn't mean you're natural flesh, that means a pattern of carnal thinking. Now, how many of you know there are people you say, Well, man of God, I know this already. Why this is an elementary thing, but I'm trying to get you to understand, you got to understand if you're born again, you cannot say that if you have the Holy Spirit, that you're still living in patterns of carnal thinking. Because I can tell you today, this next um point that I'm gonna make is gonna let you know that you're still carnal, because in your life, even though you're spiritual, I can tell you with this wonderful mind of yours, you use more natural reasoning and intellect in the decisions of your life than living in faith and trusting Jesus. That's why I say born again. Because if you're born again, that mind that you got for normal reasoning and intellect gotta change, and now the Bible says, I believe that's what the scripture says, sister, the just man lives by faith. So if you're born again, you can't live by normal reasoning or intellect, you gotta live by a mindset called faith. Am I helping somebody? Many of you say, Well, man, I got I live by faith. No, you don't live by faith because as soon as you go through something, you begin to question God. Why are you going? Why am I going through it? See, when Jesus went through suffering, he said, Father, if it's in your will, let it be. Who's ever prayed that? God, if it's in your will for me to suffer, then let it be. I know you ain't that spiritual. If you prayed that prayer, you ain't prayed recently. I like Sister Laura, at least she honest. She said, That ain't that ain't that wasn't my first prayer. Hallelujah. He says, Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, his mind is transformed, born again, that person cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said unto him, Well, how can a man be born again when he's old? He says, John chapter 3, verse 5. Very, very I say unto thee, except the man be born of water and of the spirit, type of name is of the spirit that meant being born of water, that means there's a spiritual transformation that took place with the spirit. There's a cleansing that took place. Your mind, your thoughts don't automatically see, you know, when a person is born again because their first thoughts are not thoughts of discord, thoughts of wickedness, thoughts to get over, thoughts to infiltrate, thoughts to take, thoughts to steal, thoughts to lie, thoughts to gossip, but they have a renewed mind to exemplify God's righteousness. Am I helping somebody? What are you saying, man of God? I'm trying to get you to understand this. See, in your natural or your cornal mind, the cornal mind craves control more than faith. This is why a lot of people, Sister Jean, don't like to have faith. They say they have faith, but they don't really have faith, but they tell a preacher they have faith because they don't want to seem unreligious. That's all. But see, the natural mind creates control. See, you say you have faith, but you don't really want faith, you want control. And this is the hardest thing about being a believer because when you have become born again and you receive that new mind, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, you don't have control anymore, you surrender the control. But the problem is you want to be a believer and get the benefits of the kingdom of God, but you don't want to surrender no control, and that's your problem because you are still in your carnal nature and thinking you run the show, Alma Jean don't run the show no more. See, when you surrender your life to Christ, you don't run the show, but you still want to run the show, and that's the problem that you have with God, is because you have a desire, watch this, for things being in a certain alignment, and we call that certainty. I want to know what's gonna happen, how it's gonna happen, and when it's gonna happen. But faith is not certainty. Faith is not a guarantee. Now, there's a guarantee of salvation that comes from faith, and the only way that you can receive that guarantee is if you're walking in salvation and you're walking in spirituality. But if your mind is not rooted in Christ, you won't even know. That's why there are many believers, even today, sister Linda, who are even scared to die. Because their faith is not in alignment in the kingdom of God, so they are afraid of the uncertainty. They hit that because because you can read this in this book, you can hear it read all these great apostles who tell you where you're gonna go, but still, I gotta deal with the uncertainty. What about I don't get there? What about my prayers don't work? What about all this? And I know you're laughing because you were saying you had the same questions that everybody's been having for thousands of years. And what happens is when you get into that mindset of uncertainty, you're trying to fix your life the way that you get the best desired result, and you can't do that because your life is not yours anymore. Because I believe that's a scripture said you were bought with a ransom. So if I my life was bought with a ransom, I can't control my life anyway. But you're still trying to control your life. See, you gotta understand that faith, say it would be faith, requires a requirement, means it's something you have to do. Faith requires surrender. I'm telling you, if you don't surrender to God with your whole life, you're gonna still keep having these problems. Well, you're wanting to question God on what He's gonna do for you, and you're gonna listen what's gonna happen. When you don't surrender to God, well, let me just have let you know what's gonna happen. You're gonna become a bitter saint, and you're gonna have resentment, and everything that you do for God, you're gonna question it, and you're gonna see it in a juxtaposition in your service to God, you're gonna give him less and less and less because you're gonna think everything that you do for God needs a consolation prize. And for many people, even you who are watching in this church, that's where you at. You are bitter saints. Because you think you're supposed to be received, because you don't know that when you give up your life, the treasures that uh Jesus was talking about. You know the apostles uh um John, the sons of thunder, they had the same situation when they went to Jesus. They said, You know, when you get your kingdom, you know, you give us a peace, right? And then you say, You don't even know what you what you talk about, because Jesus was trying to let them know my kingdom is not of this world, and that kingdom comes with immense suffering, and that's what we want. We want a peace without the suffering. But I believe there's a scripture says, first the suffering in what? So you want glory without suffering in Jesus' kingdom, you cannot have glory without suffering. So faith requires surrender. And the reason why many people today, Sister Jean, love religion because religion can be a system that gives the illusion that the believer is in control. Because there's some things that you can control in religion. You can you can live a life that's systematic around rules, right? As long as I follow this, don't taste, don't murder, don't have no man in my bed, then then I'm better than Sister Linda because I know what she's doing. I know at seven o'clock she might go get a drink. So I know I'm following these rules, I know I'm following these traditional these traditions. I know I'm following these achievements, and because I'm following these achievements in my mind, that has already reduced the uncertainty that I am a believer because I'm following the rules. But Jesus never told you. See, if you don't have a relationship with Jesus, watch this. You can't even follow the rules righteously. So I don't know why people today figure with their religious self that they can follow these rules without Christ. You want to look righteous, you want to come to church, and yes, I can tell you, people, Sister Calvin, would think you're the most righteous person in the world. Say, you can't fake this, but there are many people that are faking it, but they don't understand that don't that don't give you no extra points with heaven. There are people today that are in a place where they cannot surrender their life to Christ. And I'm gonna tell you why, Sister Jean, because it threatens their ego. Because as long as I was in such or such denomination, I had control. People seen that I was righteous. People see I I every every Sunday I come to church early and I sit on the front row. Like sitting on the front row means like a demon won't come and oh God Jesus. You being a believer does not mean that a demon cannot infiltrate you. Now let me I say the specific word because people the the people who who are very theoret theological are gonna say, Well, man of God, I believe that a a person can't be demonically possessed if they saved. I didn't say possessed, I say infiltrated, which means a demon will control your thought patterns. Or I believe wasn't Eve controlled by Satan when he gave her the decision that you could even eat this fruit and that your eyes will be illuminated with knowledge of good and evil, and that's the same trick that demons and the enemy is using on you. And you know this because the Bible teaches you, Paul says, We're not what? Oh, y'all don't read your Bible? You have to be aware of the schemes of the devil, right? He says, We are aware of the devices of the schemes of the enemy, because there are schemes that the enemy will bring against you, and the first scheme, especially as a believer, is gonna attack you in your mind because you already feel like you're lonely and all your friends are having a good time. So, yes, you can be infiltrated by demons, and demons are gonna infiltrate you every night, making you think you say, Man of God, how how do you know that I'm infiltrated by demons? You feel like you're lonely, you feel like you uh have an anxiety, you you don't you have you have so much uncertainty in your life, and you gotta find out these why do you have to see? This is the problem, Sister Jane, Sister Jean. Why do you need every answer? You gave your life over to Jesus, so he's gonna take care of all the answers, he's gonna take care of the details, he's gonna be the master craftsman of the GPS for you. You don't need to see if Chief is driving a car and he got the GPS, I'm not worried about where we're going. Because those details are already worked out for me. But now many believers today have given their life to the person who controls the GPS to their destiny, but you still want to worry about where you're going. And all that does, Sister G, is open the door to the enemy. Because now you think, Well, I need to know, I need to know how much money I'm gonna have, I didn't know how when you're gonna bring the blessing, and all you're doing, you didn't turn yourself right over to the devil because all the tricks and schemes that the devil can use, right? Because you're living in darkness because you don't know what the spirit brings illumination to give you to help you, so you just walk yourself right over to the devil to play his game because you need to know what God is gonna do with the life. He already, first of all, he created you, so he owned the life, and then you forfeited that right through sin, not through you, through Adam, but then Jesus brought back the right, and guess what? You like a stupid fool, about to do the same thing your father Adam does and give yourself back over to the devil. Come on, because you need to have control over your life. Am I helping somebody? See, there were men called the Pharisees who trusted traditions of men. See, there are people today, they're about maybe two or three organizations, black organizations right now, they call it conference week. Won't say their names, but they're having major conferences in America today. And see, today everybody's coming with their big hats, they got their big suits, they're gonna look good, they got three-piece, they got four-piece suits, they got their pinstripe, they got their alligator shoes, and people are gonna look good to the nine, and all of these are tremendous traditions of men, and they're gonna be people going to heaven that bent that's gonna go up not to heaven in the judgment room, not heaven, in the judgment room, where they're gonna go to God and say, 'God, I went to this conference and I wore this hat and I wore this,' and He's gonna say, Depart from me, I never knew you, because you were a worker of iniquity. Well, better God, boy, God, how is that working in iniquity? Well, you were a worker of iniquity because you trust more in this ceremony than you trust in the faith in the Son who I brought down on this earth to help you. Am I helping somebody? You've got to understand the only thing that's gonna help you is Christ Himself. We told you on yesterday, Jesus told them in John chapter 5, verse 39 and 40. Let's go there. Put this in your in your notes. I hope I'm helping somebody tonight. John chapter 5, verse 39 and 40. John chapter 5, verse 39 and 40. Jesus told them, You search the scriptures because you think that in the scripture you have internal life. There are many people think because they know the word, they're guaranteed me to go to heaven. They they go, they know, they know the word cover to cover. Know this Bible where recite scripture. But Jesus tells them something. He says, Let me let you know something. You've got to understand that you refuse to come to me that you may have life. What he's trying to let you know that in him is where the eternal life comes. See, what we're trying to take Jesus out of the equation by following these rules and these traditions of men, and I promise you, Sister Jean, all that's fine and Danny, but that's gonna give you in trouble. And this is why so many Christians, Sister Jean, are ignorant because they believe that because they follow these traditions of men, that when they go through trials, that's gonna help them. And I promise you, you can sit in a church for 50 years and you'll be just as ignorant as you were on the first day that you came in church, because the Holy Spirit, I believe, says he's going to lead you and guide you into all truth, which means the Holy Spirit will be the best teacher than any sitting in the church would do for you. Because, can I tell you something? The apostles didn't have time to sit in the church, they learned from a crash course, nor do I believe from what I know theologically, they had as much information about the word of God, about the law and the old testament than you had. Because the Bible says the Pharisees looked at them and said, These are ignorant and unlearned men, which gives you an understanding. They didn't know too much about the law, but they had faith in Jesus. You know everything about Old Testament, you know the Greek, you know the Hebrew, you know the lexicon, you got four Thompson chain Bibles, you study it, but the problem is your faith is limited. There are people who love scripture. There are people, I know people who call themselves to the G theologians. They have theologians, but they have no knowledge of Christ. They can tell you about anything, they can tell you about first century uh uh Aramaic culture, they can tell you about first century Judaism culture, they can tell you about all these things, but when you say, Well, what's your faith? They have no faith. You'll talk about things about the Holy Spirit and they don't believe it. Some of them don't believe in miracles, some of them don't believe in signs, some of them don't believe that speaking in tongues is a prerequisite that the Holy Spirit can use you. They don't believe these things, but they believe in the they have faith in their theoretical and theological mindset. Of this book, but they don't have faith in knowing Jesus. You can be like this. Many, many Christians are like this. I promise you, it won't get you no merit. You go and telling Jesus, you go and telling telling God on judgment day that you know uh all the Greek lexicon that ain't gonna get you in. It's your faith. See, we're living in a day, Chief was talking about it, where knowledge has become a substitute for relationship with the Lord Savior Jesus Christ. I'm gonna say it again. We're living in the day-to-day where preachers are preaching opinions, they're preaching theoretical knowledge, they're preaching instruction, they're preaching guidance, they're preaching uh uh uh spiritual uh uh relations in accordance to psychology and the mind, but they're not preaching Christ. And this is why our the people who come to, I can't even call them believers, the people who come to church have become so consumerist and materialist because they have faith in the sign and not the one who gave the sign. If you put faith more than this in the sign or the miracle and the blessing, more than you put in the one who gives the blessing, who grants the sign, who've opened the door for your mind to be transformed, I promise you, every day of your life, no matter if you call yourself saved or not, you're gonna be upset at God. Until your mind becomes changed, man of God, what about if you never get a million dollars? Well, I don't get a million dollars. What about God, man of God? What about God inflicts some type of disease in your body? Well, listen, if he does that, he'll be right in doing so. Say, man of God, how can you even say that? Because the Bible says, All have sinned. Everything that you've done, Sister Jean, you don't even qualify to be living in the body that you live in. If but you you have to be spiritual to understand it. See, I don't I don't deal with a lot of spiritual people, Sister Gene. I deal with a lot of religious people. So when you tell people that, then they they're gonna hate you for this. But see, you gotta understand all the sin that you did that you didn't forgot that you did, you don't even qualify. You should have been been wiped out many years ago. But see, an unspiritual person will say, How dare you? My God, yeah, your God is a devil. First, as soon as I hear Christians say, Oh, believer say, My God, I'd already know where they're coming from. As soon as they say that, the two words, Pastor Walker, my God, yeah, your God, your idol. Don't you know that that Moses was on a mountain for a period of time, close to about 14 days, and it was only 14 days. And as soon as he got off the mountain, they had already made a golden calf. And they said, My God. Now they were talking about the God of the Israelites, they just needed an image because it was harder to serve God according to faith, but the image was something that we can touch, the image was something we can worship, the image was something we can lift our hands to, the image was something we can praise. So that we're still in that same thing, it's just the idol has changed. We don't worship a golden cap where we show our worship some money, that will become our idol. We don't worship a golden cap where we worship our intellect and our education, the calf is still there, it's just a different calf. Am I helping somebody? You gotta understand that we need the Holy Spirit. Tell me, say I need the Holy Spirit. See, because when you are a sinful person, when you are a sinful person, when you're a person that lives according to your religious understanding, Sister Jean, you won't love transformation. There are people who believe, well, if I just modify my lifestyle, I'm gonna be alright. There people say, Well, if I just stop doing this, uh, you know, I'm sinning five times a week. If I just re- restrict it to one time a week, I'm gonna get the power to get. You can't get the power to deliver yourself, you need Jesus. Your sinful nature is not like a workout plan where you can go lift uh your weights and then you can transform yourself. God saved you because he knew your life was damned. What your religious self, well, I'ma just pray five times and gotta take this taste away or gotta take this desire away or gotta do no, no, no, no. Until he changed your heart, you're gonna have the same desire. Because even in your prayers, you know, you ain't praying for the desire to many people are not even praying for the desire to go to waste of G. They're praying how to get away with the desire. That's how we that's that's the type of world that we're living in today. They're praying that they don't get caught with the desire. Well, God, just let nobody in the church catch me. You know my heart, God. Just don't let chief apostle see me at one o'clock. Some people pray that in the car. Just don't let Pastor Walker see me on Sunday after when after I come to church and I'm on Burbish. Don't let nobody from the church see me. That's the prayer you pray. You ain't you ain't looking for even modification, you looking to be pandered to. That's how far we come today. There are people, even according to their religion, that even look for rules that if they follow these rules, they feel like they're okay, sister. Well, uh, let me see. I might do some drugs, but uh, I ain't gonna have a man in my bed, so at least I don't have fornication. And well, you know, drugs, it's just reefer, it's just weed. So, but I I I honor the Sabbath, so that's good. And I do this, you know, I honor my mother and father, and they pick rules thinking that's gonna save them. I know those types of believers, if we could call them believers. I it's just reefer, it's just a little weed, and don't do nothing. I need it because you know, uh it's just I gotta deal with church people, I gotta deal with my job. So, you know, and now you know they got I don't know too much about weed, but they got some strong stuff out here, Nasister Carol. Oh Lord Jesus, we me and Chief was playing golf one time, and the guy dropped his weed, and the weed that that smell we were so far away. I mean, it just hit him. Pow! I said, Lord Jesus, that weed should have should have killed you. But we have become people who follow rules, who follow traditions of men, who who follow doctrines, but you don't ask the question, has my heart become like Christ? We'll follow a rule every day. Rules are easy, rules are easy to follow. You follow rules because you you've already been conditioned. Well, I don't want a red light, I'm not gonna do this. So, in your religious aspect, but if I don't if I just follow this rule, I don't have to surrender. If I just follow this rule, God is pleased with me. If I just just you know, people I know people, sister Jean, who even number if I just, you know, if I just commit 20 sins today instead of 50. Oh, yeah, yeah, y'all must be really saved. I'm telling you, I know people who count measurably if they well, if I just do 25 and then maybe I'm gonna reduce it down to 15 sins, I'm gonna be all right, I'm gonna make it in. People like this, think they're gonna be okay, but I'm trying to get you to understand there's no antidote that will help you besides Christ. Go into the book of Romans, chapter 7, real quick. Let's go into verses uh four through six.

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Romans 7, 4 through 6.

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The Bible says, likewise, my brothers, you have also died. You gotta die to those religious customs that you think have merit, that you think have power over your salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. You got to be willing to die to things that you've put as an idol over your relationship in Christ. He says, likewise, my brothers, you have also died to the law through whose body, the body of Christ. Watch this, so that you may belong to another. You don't belong to those rules anymore, you don't belong to those systems that, however, long you were in the traditional setting or the religious setting that you thought had merit, you don't belong to that stuff no more. If Christ truly died, the only thing that's gonna give you victory is Christ. He says, likewise, my brothers, you've also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order. Watch this. What God is looking for, he ain't looking for you to preach good, he ain't looking for you to prophesy good, he ain't looking for you to speak in tongues good, he's looking for you to bear fruit. Spiritual fruit is an innate nature of your heart being transformed. Who cares if you can prophesy good if you are a gossiper and a cusser? Who cares if you can preach good if you are lying, a thief?

SPEAKER_00 53:29

Your heart got to be transformed through spiritual fruit. The Bible says, for while, verse 5, for while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions.

SPEAKER_01 53:45

Now, let me deal with that. Sinful passions is not a sensual or a sexual being, sexual sexualness. See, a lot of preachers preach that is wrong. It's not about sexual things, and it's not about that, it's about a mind who has an appetite for wickedness. That's what that word means. Go look it up, do a study on it. It's a mind through intellect that your passion is if your passion is gluttony, that's your passion. If your passion is thievery, that's your passion. If your passion is lying, that's your passion. Ain't got about nothing about you laying in the bed with a man or woman. Whatever your passion is, that's what he's talking about. Your sinful passion to create wickedness. Am I helping somebody? But while we were living in the flesh, because some people was living in the flesh, they ain't never touched a man. They touch touch drugs, though. We know I gotta be talking about something more deeper than that. But while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions around how was it aroused? It was aroused by thinking we had a justification through our religious nature. Well, I'm gonna be alright, so I'm gonna go out there, I can take a drink because I went to church on Sunday. So I'm good today. I went to Mass, so at least because I went to Mass, I can give me about, you know, three, four bourbons, and I'll be alright. I believe it said it was it's aroused by the law, right? See, the law was at work in our members. Watch this to bear fruit for death, all of the irreligious stuff that you did because you were uh uh prideful and arrogant and thought all that had marriage. He says, All I was doing was bearing fruit for you to die, be spiritually dead. There are many people today, sister Jean, will be. I mean there are gonna be cardinals and bishops and archbishops and apostles all on that line of a judgment day to go to hell because they put their belief more in a law that's gonna bear fruit to death than putting it in Jesus Christ. Am I helping somebody? Go to the book of Romans chapter 8, verse 7 and 9.

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Romans chapter 8, verse 7 and 9.

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For the mind, you know the scripture, that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. There's a mind that's set that even deals with religiosity and rules. The mind who is set on religious rules will always fight salvation of Jesus Christ. Mind of all these rules is always gonna fight for his position and not fight for righteousness. The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. For watch this that mind does not submit to God's law. You will hear the word of God, I don't care about that because I'm I'm a and I none of the guesses, I'm not saying that this organization or this denomination, I'm a Baptist. My pastor says it's okay. I'm a Catholic, my denomination says we can do this. I'm a Lutheran, my denomination who cares about all that, all that's trash because it's traditions of men. You don't gotta be scared for me for I said that. So what? Let them crucify me. It's the word of God. See, there's a lot of preachers. Why would I be scared? When you I'm already dead because I died when to the flesh, so all they're gonna do is just get me closer to eternal life. But I need to be scared for just a little, oh man, you scared you don't think these religious arguments they already know it's a lie. You want you know why they know it's a lie, Sergine? Because they've still been doing the same thing that they've been doing before they got into these organizations, still doing all the wickedness they were doing. There's no transformation, so they already know the organization don't got no power. Because if the organization had power, it would have power to change you. They know the only reason why they're there, I can tell you, as a preacher of righteousness, because they're getting a natural position out of it. They have men that won't leave their organization because they became a bishop or a pastor or an elder or a leader, and because they're getting money or whatever, prestige, titles from the traditions of men, they will never leave that organization, even though they know that organization has no power, no merit, no anything. Because they trust, I believe that the scripture says you trust traditions more than you trust the Spirit of God. Where am I at? That's my verse what eight. For the mind that settled on the flesh is hostile to God, for does not submit to God's law, indeed, it cannot. You live in a religious mindset, you will never be able to submit to God's law. Those who are in the flesh, they cannot please God. You, however, taper neighborhood said, I'm not in the flesh, but in the spirit, watch this. This ain't saying everybody either, sister Jean. He says, You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if in fact, that's the question mark, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you, but anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. So he's not seeing a lot of preachers say, Well, you don't belong to them. No, no, no, say he says, Let me tell you something, there's a comma there. The if in fact the spirit of God dwells, the spirit of God has to dwell in you for you to not be in the flesh. But if you don't have the spirit of God dwelling in you, it don't matter about you not being in the flesh. There has to be an indwelling, there has to be a conviction, there has to be a control, there has to be a surrender, there has to be a relationship. Stop thinking because you picked this Bible up, there's an indwelling. An indwelling? See, Sister Jean, we don't have to worry about what somebody is doing when you got an indwelling. We got an indwelling. I don't, you say, Man of God, why you don't check up on your members? Because I believe my members got an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So at any ungodly hour, they ain't doing nothing crazy. And if you are, you should have enough indwelling to repent and move on. The reason why you don't want to repent because you're religious. Because the same rules that you gave merit to that justified you, so you thought, because they didn't justify you when you were doing good, when you feel like you're doing bad, those rules you think condemn you to hell. Those rules don't either justify you nor condemn you. But Paul says the only thing the law did was give you knowledge that you were sinful. That's it. That's the only thing the law does, it gives you knowledge for a person who's a uh a person who's uh a corrupted, all it tells you, hey bro, you messed up. That's Bible. Paul says in the book of Romans, he says the only thing about the law, I thank God for the law, because the law told me that I was sinful, but it don't have no power to save you unless the indwelling of the Holy Spirit convicts you. Because I promise you, pages of the book, even though it will let you know how horrible you are, unless there's a conviction by the Holy Spirit, it ain't gonna change nothing about you. There's millions of people, probably tens of hundreds of people, millions of people read this book and ain't no conviction at all. How you put more faith in a book than your savior? Even sometimes, even right now, chief, me saying that statement, they scared. Well, man, I got I live by the book. You gotta live by your relationship to the savior. Yes, it's a great book, yes, it's a powerful book, but you gotta understand you can't put your merit just in the book, you can't just put your merit in your religious nature, you've got to put your merit in him. Am I helping somebody? I'm coming to a close, I'm getting out of this. Give me 10 more minutes. We've got to get to a place. Go to the book of Ephesians, chapter 4 and 30. I'm gonna close with this and I'll come back on Sunday. You know, on Wednesdays, I like to teach. If you like to see me, well, I ain't gonna be doing too much preaching because y'all need to hear the word, the teach word, the taught word of God.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:13

Ephesians 4, chapter uh, chapter 4, verse 30.

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The Bible says, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed from the day of redemption. And let me tell you something. There could be a person who has the Holy Spirit, Sister Linda, because people think, Well, man of God, I got the Holy Spirit in me. And I do believe everybody in this room have the Holy Spirit, and this might say, Well, you got I got the Holy Spirit in me, and then I'm good, I'm gonna go to heaven. But he says, You can grieve it now. How you grieve the Holy Spirit? You can live righteous, it tells you. See, people always ask me, Well, man of God, how you you grieve the Holy Spirit. It tells you right there. How do you grieve the Holy Spirit by letting all bitterness, verse 31 wrath, anger, clamor, and slander? You like to talk about people. That's how you grieve the Holy Spirit. Wrath, anger, clamor, slander be put away from you along with malice. Malice means you don't let stuff go. See, anger could turn to malice. You you're thinking about schemes and inventions on how to harm people, you can't let it go. There's a lot of people that are grieving the spirit, they're causing distress to the spirit because they have unsolved, unresolved anger. You gotta let it go. Well, man, I got I don't leave. I gotta do that. I got the Holy Spirit, so that that's gonna guide me. No, no, no, no, no. You have a demon working in you that you need to get repentance, but you ain't gonna get repentance because you're prideful. You can't you ain't gonna get delivered because you don't want nobody to see that you messed up. You can have the Holy Spirit and grieve it. Which means, you know what the Holy grieving the Holy Spirit means, Gene? When the Holy Spirit speaks to you, that malice and that bitter and that angler is gonna combat whatever the Holy Spirit says. Holy Spirit says, get this right. Nah, I'm gonna get this right because that nigga deserved me to be mad at him. And you got the Holy Spirit, yeah, you got it. But every day you grieve with it, and guess what? Every day that you grieve the Holy Spirit, less and less, every day the Holy Spirit will be able to bring the spirit of conviction to you because that malice will control you, that that bitterness will control you, that resentment will speak to you, and you will be living from a state of bitterness, of resentment, of unresolved issues, and the Holy Spirit won't even be able to talk to you because that's gonna be one day where he's gonna shut it off. And the Bible says, How does he shut it off? Romans chapter 1. People will be turned over to a reprobated mind where they will serve the creation more than they serve the creator. That creation doesn't just mean just a tree or nothing like that, they will serve man's systems and ideas more than they serve the living God, and that's what you're doing. You will serve a psychology book, you'll serve education, you'll serve Dr. Phil, you'll serve Oprah, you'll go to all of those mediums to get help, but you won't go to the living God to get repentance and deliverance. And people in the church should tell you today, go do all this first, then get Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:22

And I know I ain't lying. See, you grieve, I gotta get out of here.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:30

You grieve the Holy Spirit, Sister G, when you tolerate things that God is trying to heal in your life. You can't let it go. You don't wanna let it go. Things that I've told you on Sunday, there are people that did things, and these people are dead, and you still can't let it go. They dead. You can't even have a conversation with them, even if you wanted to. And you hold it on to foolishness. My mama, my daddy, they did, they did. You what you're gonna go in the you're gonna go to the casket and talk to them? Ain't gonna say nothing to you and you hold it on that and you call yourself you are you saved, but I say it again, forgive me. You are a saved fool. That's all you are because you love your traditions and your religions, and you live by that. Matter of fact, that people, Sister Linda, will die by it. They ain't gonna die by Christ, they're gonna die about because guess what? Christ convicts, Christ shows my weakness, Christ shows my infirmities, try Christ shows all the frail and all, but I rather have him than live according to my own religious understanding. Because I see, I can tell you righteously, I ain't nothing but a dog. Now you might not be there, but I can tell you that because guess what? He's the one who saves, and nothing I do, but man of God, you ain't gonna put your faith. Why don't I put faith in my preaching? That's gonna do for me. Man of God, what about if you preach for 60 years? I promise you there, this preaching ain't gonna do nothing if my life ain't transformed, if my heart ain't cleansed. I can preach till I'm blue in the face and hate all y'all. You don't think they got preachers that'll hate their members? You must be a fool. You grieve the Holy Spirit, there are people where their preaching is correct, their theology is correct, the system that they live by correct is correct, but their character has no inner transformation. They're not they're not people of character. There are men that I know who can preach some of the best uh messages across the world, but they you see them, you couldn't even trust them with your wife, says the aura. There are women you couldn't even trust with your husband, they're ready to sleep with them, got a demon on them, ready to touch them, ready to give them a hug, ready to put their breasts on them. They'll preach good. Oh, yeah, listen, y'all so crazy, you ain't judging by righteousness. You caught up in emotionalism by how they preach, and they have already seduced you. Then when something happened, they say, Oh, come on, sister G, come to my hotel at one o'clock. How dare you tell me that you were seduced to get that close to that demon? Because you was not practicing no discernment. Now, when they tell you, oh, come on, let's go to my bedroom. Now you want to act like you're supposed to be a righteous man. You didn't already should have been understood. Okay, this is this is a demon. I can understand where this game is coming from, but you care more about the traditions of entertainment, of all these different things, and you could be seduced. The Bible never told you to come into these centers and be entertained. The Bible says, judge everything by this word. Everybody's supposed to do that. You don't come, preacher come here. Oh, I just love the way they I just love the way they don't. That's not you don't come in here for that. Am I helping somebody? The last point, and I'm done. There's a there's a spirit that will work, and I hope this is not any of you. And if you're dealing with this, you need to repent. The spirit is grieved when you ref there are people who refuse to repent, Sister Jean. There are people they just can't repent because they feel like I don't feel like what I did was that wrong. They're so powerful, they just can't repent. They'll flip, they'll flip a scenario to them being the victim before they repent. Well, I did do this, but you know, um, they hurt me first, so I had to do this even worse. Well, bro, you're gonna repent. No, I ain't gonna repent. You know, I'm good, I'm a preacher, I'm a this, I'm an intercessor, I'm a prophet.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:28

I'm the they put marriage in the top that title without repentance is gonna lead you to hell. Simple.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:38

How you tell me that I'm a bishop in the Lord's church, you just 33 years old. I'm just telling you the truth. Matter of fact, Jesus was 33, same age when he died. Apostles was even younger than that. All of the revelation that we got, 56% of the New Testament was written by people at the ages of anywhere between 25. John was a little bit older when he written his, but 25 to 40 years old. You can go do a study on that. Matter of fact, when God gave them the keys to be apostles, they were 21, 22 years old. John was even younger, maybe 16, 17, 18. You can go do a study. There's a lot of material on it. I'm not trying to just tell you that. So you gotta understand in the economy of God, God cares about age. He took Jeremiah at 17. You think he cares about age? God is eternal. God, if God can use a donkey, you think he cares about age?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:37

Am I helping somebody?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:41

Y'all focus on all this intellectualism, it didn't rotten your mind. Man of God, you need to be this, you need to be this, a woman of God, you need to be this, this. That don't God don't care about that. You know what he care about? Are you willing or you're able? There are some people, so the gene who gonna get it because they're willing and able. They might be a teenager, and you with your sanctified religious self, 80 years old, and thinking you got it, and he ain't using you at all. Now, I'm not making a point on somebody, I'm just trying to get you to understand. Age don't mean anything. You can be an 80-year-old sanctified fool with no wisdom, knowing all the church points and sermons and scriptures that you know, but that ain't gonna help you. I'm telling you this: there has to be an inner transformation of the Holy Ghost that takes over a person's life, that transforms them and heal them. I promise you this, you cannot do even according to your assignment, you can't do anything without the Holy Spirit. It's too much for you. The assignment that God even wants to produce in you is too much. You cannot do this without the Holy Spirit guiding you. You cannot do this. Look at the things that Chief has done. You think that the things that we can do? I know people who have even 10 times more members than what we have, and they don't even have 10% of what Light City has been able to do. And they should have all kinds of stuff. I can name some churches, I'm not gonna name them because they watch us all across the world, but they can do way more, should have been able to do way more stuff. But you see how far you can progress when you have the Holy Spirit. Don't grieve it. Get your house in order. Whatever, if there's a fault that you got with a brother and sister, if you got fault you got with your daughter, there's a fault you got with your child, whatever fault that you have, just get it right. I'm not in a place where I'm mad at anybody, so you say, Well, you know, some such stuff say this, somebody who cares what they say, you mad at them? No, they say this about who cares? I love them. God bless them, because I know if I got a fault with them, what God is doing in my life is gonna mess up what I got going on. So I'm not trying to get, you say, man of God, why you ain't got nothing. I'm I'm see, Mr. G, I'm I'm just a little bit selfish. I still want to be blessed, and I know. See, God will do see one thing I don't like about God is He'll put you through something, then you mess up, then you bring it back around, and it's you lost time and you lost energy, now you're mad, and you say, God, why I gotta go through this again. I don't got time to do that now. Y'all can none of y'all got no time in here. Even Trail, she's one of the youngest besides me, and she don't got no more time. I see gray hair coming off of Trail here now. I remember she had all black hair. Uh Trail and Mike got gray hair now. Mike hair fitted now, so they ain't even got no more time. I I used to say, sister Linda Mike got some time. They getting there, amen. Hallelujah. Well, you gotta get this stuff straight now. Don't let any false. I know it's hard. Look, it's all hard, but if you got anything with your brother, your sister, your daughter, your son, get it straight now. Don't wait, but man, I got till I go home to glory. You might not even have that time. Fix that foolishness now. You know your grandchildren got problems, and you know they're going through things, and you know their mindset have been controlled because of the systems of this world. Start preaching to them. Mama, I don't want to hear that. Papa, I don't want to hear that. Who cares what they want to hear? You know how you're gonna you know with the best ministry, you want to know the best evangelism? Give them $15 and give them a word. But this is what you do put the word first, then say, Listen, when you read it and understand it and tell me back, then I'm gonna give you some money. I bet you they'll read it so fast. Or tell them you're gonna get them all all your change. Or buy them some clothes. I promise you, they're gonna read that. Mama, and then they ain't gonna probably know fully, but they're gonna read it for that money. I believe that scripture said a gift will make room, right? It'll make room for even people to hear the gospel. You got a gift. I'm just letting you know that you as a matter of fact. I don't know how to evangelize. You start giving some money out, but you can you can get people come, cook some food and bripped in your house. Give some people some coffee, give people go go buy a hundred dollars worth of gas cars and say, Hey, I ain't got much, but I can put three gallons in your cat in your tank. $15. Here you go. I promise you they're gonna take your gas car. I promise you that. See, the thing is, you want to evangelize with the wrong bait. See, Jesus said, I called you to be fisher than men, but every fisher need to have their own bait. I gotta get out of here. Let us pray. Father God, we thank you tonight. I thank you for these powerful people. Father God, as we heard this word, Father God, I ask that you re-fire them today. Don't let them give up. Don't let bitterness and resentment cause them to miss the mark. Father God, whatever they're going through now, whatever somebody did to them, Father God, whatever situation of the past that has been festering in their life, Father God, I ask tonight, Father God, let this be a night that the shackles become released. You'll pull your spirit on them, even in this night season. Father God, let them go to sleep, whatever ailments or or or sicknesses that they've had because of this thing that has been controlling their mind. Let them have good sleep tonight. I see even some of you didn't have been tossing and turning in your bed. But Father God, Father God, let them take off that bondage. Free them, whatever a person's done to them. I ask, Father God, that you free them tonight. Father God, I ask, Father God, that in this season, Father God, that you open up doors of insight. Father God, give them, Father God, the joy, not happiness. Give them joy. See, joy is gonna cover them, joy is gonna protect them, joy is gonna give them the ability to persevere. Happiness is fleeting. They don't need happiness, they need joy. Father God, give us joy. Father God, give them a peace that's surpassed all understanding. Father God, even touch their family as they're praying for their loved ones in many of the things that they're believing for. Father God, please let their prayers be answered. Don't let their prayers go to deaf ears as they get some things in right. If there's a moment of repentance, you don't have to come up to the pulpit that's religious, just go speak before your God now and say, God, cleanse me, touch me, creating me a clean heart, renew my spirit. If there's anything that I have with a brother that you know, Father God, that's inside my heart, cleanse it now. Father God, forgive me. Whatever it is, you know what it is. You don't have to confess it. I'm not a Catholic priest. Begin to confess it. And Father God, I ask as they confess it now, the thing that the enemy was sending to destroy their destiny, whether it was a sickness, whether it was an anxiety, whether you wanted them to lose their mind. Father God, I ask now that as your spirit is poured over their life and protecting them and guiding them, shift their consciousness. Father God, let them be focused more about your word, how they can help somebody, how they can bless somebody. Let them not be focused on what they can get or what they what they can receive by knowing you. But Father God, let them know, Father God, let them be a blessing. You say you called Abraham to be a blessing, not just to receive a blessing. Father God, let them walk in the door, a door of grace where they will be a blessing. Shift them now, Father God. Let them know even at their age, there's still people full of purpose. Let them know that, Father God, that's even a new and even greater season, a new level that you can open up, Father God. Open up a door even for them this week. Show them something, Father God, that were even granted to them, Father God, a new consciousness. But the Bible says you will open up a door in the book of Revelation that no man will shut. Open that door for them, Father God. Show them something good, Father God, just to ignite their faith to let them know you have not forgot about them. Father God, some of them are even here by the whole reader of the Holy Ghost. Some of you even need to just see a miracle so that you can see that God has not forgot about them. Father God, if it's a miracle that they need, unlock it now in the name of Jesus. Grant unto them, Father God, the joy that they need to get through this season of their life. Let them know you've not forgot about them, Father God. Let them know that you are sustained of everything. Let them know, Father God, in the book of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 33, if they seek your kingdom first, their bills will be paid. You say all these things shall be added. They don't have to worry about bills, they don't have to worry about source and waterboarding, they don't have to worry about energy. You said if they just put the kingdom first, you will take care of that. So, Father God, I thank you now. We cancel anxiety, we cancel depression, we cancel the spirit of loneliness now. In the name of Jesus, we decree healing and restoration now. In Jesus' name we pray. And everybody said, Amen. Amen and amen. Chief, you got anything you want to share? Amen. Well, brother Mike, we're gonna do the offering at this time.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:50

If you're sewing on tonight, if you're sewing on tonight, you can get a title offering if you're sewing on tonight.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:59

You've got to know you cannot let anything steal your joy and your position in God. There are things that the enemy want to bring to steal your joy and your position. And you gotta be on assignment to God. The Bible teaches about guarding your heart. You gotta guard your heart from wickedness. There are people that even want to have conversation. You ever met people that when they call you, they never call you about nothing good, they just call you about gossip. And you fall for you fall for that that that snare every time. Hey, let me tell you about such and such. Let me tell you, you you need to you know you know what you need to do tonight for some of y'all? Delete those people out your phone. Block them. Because the Bible says it's called seeds of discord.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:52

You don't need to be around nobody who's causing a seed of discord. Evil communication.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:04

There's channels that the devil want to use. People call you certain times at night just to sow seeds of discord. Don't don't take the bait. Don't take the bait. People calling you in your family about foolishness, don't even answer. You say, man of God, how dare you do that? Why would I do that? I'm trying to be righteous. They've been going through the same problem for 30 years. Ain't no prayer that you said helped them. Ain't no prayer that ain't no no no sermon that you gave them help them. They want to be stuck in that bondage. See, even Jesus said, You don't cast your pearls before swine. People wanna they want to take your money, but they don't even want to listen to you about your God. You got family members, yeah. Auntie, give me some money. Okay, let me preach you about Jesus. Oh no, I won't hear about Jesus. Let me let me let me go.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:52

Well, you don't deserve my money if you don't want to hear about my Lord. Y'all just listen to foolishness and that's taking years off your life.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:06

I'm just trying to help you. You don't gotta take it. I'm trying to help you. But as you as you're sowing tonight, I believe that God is gonna open up doors in your faith. I believe this seed, whatever it is as you sow today, God is gonna give you more insight. I believe that God is gonna cause you to dream again. Some of y'all didn't even dream. You gotta dream again. You didn't you didn't shut down things, just thinking because of your age, God can't do nothing with you. But I'm telling you today, God is gonna open up doors where He's gonna cause insight. Some of you, God calls you to be intercessors for your family, but they didn't made you too mad. You don't even want to talk to them. And guess what? You're the most saved person in your family, and if you don't pray for them, they all going to hell. And the enemy has confused you so much that you say, you know what? I'm tired of praying for them. How what kind of saved person are you? I'm tired of praying for my family. Man, I got I'm just tired of praying for them. They got too much foolish and they got mess. I don't even want to be around. You ain't you just prideful and just as selfish as them. I'm just being real. You're gonna let your family go to hell, and then and this look at Sister Linda, they're gonna let their family go to hell and then say, I got the love of Christ. How you got the love of Christ? Because Jesus said, You can't even love me or love my father who you have not seen if you don't love your brother. Jesus said that. Oh, I love me some Jesus. How you love Jesus? You don't even talk to your sister, you ain't talk to your sister since 1987. Chief, we messed up, man. We got a lot of work to do, amen. Hallelujah. So if you got that seed, you can sow it to Pastor, you can give it to Pastor Walker or give it to Chief tonight. Amen. If you got that seed, pass it over. Father God, we thank you, Father God, for the seed we decree a divine overflow. Father God, we thank you, Father God, as they sowed their seed, that this is something spiritual, Father God, that they opened up a door. Father God, let the seed, Father God, don't leave just this day in this building. But Father God, let it, Father God, locate every residence that's connected to their family, their children, their family. Father God, even their family members that's in different states. Father God, let your blessing, Father God, let your holy conviction and your protection even locate. I see multiple states. Father God, whether they're in Texas, or whether they're in Michigan, or whether they're in Alabama, or they're in Georgia, or they're in Florida, or they're in California, wherever their family members at, New York, located now, Father God. If there's conviction, arrest them by the Holy Ghost. If they want to make a foolish decision, arrest them by the Holy Ghost tonight. This week. Protect them now, safeguard them, touch their mind so they won't produce wickedness. Father God, we thank you, Father God, that the seed, Father God, because these are righteous people, Father God, because they sowed in faith, Father God, nothing shall corrupt the seed. But Father God, when they sow this seed, Father God, as they speak in faith for what they want to speak, Father God, their word shall not return unto them, boy, but it shall accomplish the word from what they have sent. We decree it today. In Jesus' mighty name. And everybody say, Amen. Amen. God bless you all. We'll see you for tomorrow. Don't forget 12 noon. We're here every day praying. We definitely will invite you to come pray. And then on Sunday for worship service, 8 a.m. for leadership class, 11 a.m. for worship service. God bless you.