Going from 99 to 100

This week sermons challenges the concept of being "100".  Does it means that everything is great, or does it means I'm ready for greater?  Find out how to really be "100". 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 1:03

What'd it do? What it do? What it do? What's up? My name is Christian, and you are listening to sermons from the back porch. And when I started this, one of my goals was to change the way we think about. Basically, let's change the way we think about things. To actually look and decipher the common cultures that we actually say, the words that we say, just common phrases that we usually say or common things that we usually do. Let's just break these things down and realize what they actually mean. And if that meaning isn't fit to what it actually is, then let's make a new meaning. Let's make recreate something new. Let's change the old way of thinking and create a new way of thinking. And today's sermon is going to do that. It's going to be one of my many examples of how I want to challenge the way we see things and we think of things. So today's sermon, we're going to focus on the phrase 100. And I know you heard this said a lot of times, and you probably said it yourself a lot of times. Somebody asks you how you're doing and how you things going with you. You're like, oh, I'm 100, baby. I'm 100. I'm good. I'm 100. And we say that like it's perfection. Like the goal is to be 100. Like the pinnacle is 100. Like if we're at 100, if we're 100, then everything is good. Everything is the way it's supposed to be. You might see somebody say something on the internet, and you, and it resonates to your heart, it resonates through your soul. And you're going to comment that 100 emoji. So we often look at the phrase 100, and when we look at it, we see it as basically perfection. But what if it's not perfection? And from the standpoint, we've been taught that it's always perfection. Even in school, the perfect score was a 100. You always, when they tell you to do your best, what they tell you to give it all, give it your 100, give it 100%. So we was always taught that comp the completion is 100. Even as you went to church. A lot of times in church they say 100 is the number of completion, the number of perfection. When you reach 100, you have reached perfection, you have reached the pinnacle. But what if it's not? Look at it from a numerical standpoint. From a numerical standpoint, would 100 be the pinnacle? I mean, let's say you have 99 pennies. That's 99 cents. And I give you one more penny. Would you say, oh, I have a hundred cent? Or would you say, I have a dollar? Or let's say you go to the store and you buy a piece of candy, and that candy costs 99 cents. And you take it to the register, you give it to the the uh cashier, and she rings it up. Now she's gonna add the taxes to it. Now, when she adds the taxes to it, is she gonna say your total is 109 cents? Or is she gonna say your total is a dollar and ten? Well, if we look at it from that standpoint, 99 is actually the pinnacle. 99 has all the cents, it has all the quarters, it has all the nickels, all the dimes, all the pennies. 99 has mastered the cents. But once it gets that extra penny, now it's on a new level. It can look at itself as 100 cents all it wants to, but as long as those 100 pennies are operating as 100 cents, it's not operating as its purpose. The goal of 100 cents is to be one dollar. So if you look at it, look at it numerically, then 99 is the pinnacle. 100 is actually a new beginning. We've been taught that 100 was actually the top of the mountain. Maybe it's not the top of the mountain, it's just the tip of something greater. The tip of in the immeasurable. So that's my goal today. Well, the goal of this sermon today. The goal of the sermon is to change the way we view being 100. Not to view it as I'm perfect or everything is good or everything is great. But being 100 as it's time to move to a next level. Okay, so is you with me? Let's get started. Alright, now in order to expound on this hypothesis that I just gave to y'all, I would like to introduce a person to you. Now, this man can be read about in the book of Genesis. This man's name is Abram. Now, if you look at Genesis, the end of chapter 11, it seems that Abram would be what we culturally would say 100. Yet there's a little bit of bad news at the beginning of it. His father has passed away. He's already been taken care of for him. He has land, he has cattle, he has servants, he even has family there to help him. He even has his cousin who's really close, like a brother to him, but his name is Lot. And he helps him out too. So Abram is straight. His father passed away, but in his father's passing, he's left an inheritance. He has everything taken care of for him. He has his well-being taken care of, his family is taken care of. They have land, plenty of place to do what they do. His family, his kin folks, kin folks around here are happy. Everything is good for Abram. And then Abram gets the calling, gets a calling. Now that calling he gets is very important. I'm going to read these words from Genesis chapter 12, verse 1 through 3. And it's very important that you listen to these words that I'm about to read to you. Because these words are going to resonate throughout the rest of this sermon. So in Genesis chapter 12, verse 1 through 3, it says, Well, God speaks to Abram. He wakes Abram up from a dream. He says, Go from your land, your relatives, your father's house, to the land I will show you. And I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt. And all the people of the earth will be blessed through you. So basically, God is telling him to leave the land that he's currently in, leave his relatives, leave his father's house, and basically go to a place that he'll show you when he gets there. Well, God is asking Abram to step out this culturally labeled 100 that he's in, and step into a new 100. An unknown, a place that he doesn't even know where he's going, a place that he doesn't even know how he'll get there. But he's holding on to a vision, a promise that God gave him. And he's going to make his name great. He's going to be a great nation. People around him are going to be blessed, that blesses him, and anybody who shows come against him are going to have to deal with the curse. So Abram, he takes hold to this province and he leaves his land. Him, his family, and also Lot's family. They get up and they travel to this land God shows them to. Now, this is the process of Abram becoming the new level of 100, the new beginning of Abram. Now this span goes through most of the chapter of most of the book of Genesis. But in this span, we're going to see how Abram changes in this new level of 100. He changes so much that even his identity, his name gets changed. So as we so as Abram changes, we're going to learn what it means to level up and how to tell when it's time to level up. Okay, so keep going with me. Let's go. Now this change from going from 99 to 100 is not going to be a smooth transition. If you're hoping it to be just a, oh, let me move into one place and move into another place, and it's going to be a smooth process, then I wish, I hope, and I pray it can be for you, but it's not going to be the case. And it wasn't the case for Abram. As soon as he got to the new land, it was supposed to be prosperous and great and blessings, but nah, it was a famine. A famine so bad that he had to leave that land that promised to him and go to Egypt. Now, these problems in these trials start to show Abram's insecurities. And there's also other aspects that are going to show his insecurities. The first one is the famine. The second one is he's going to have issues with Lot. And the third one is he's going to have insecurities about Sarai, his wife, being pregnant. Now, God promised Abram to be a great nation, but the problem with that is Sarai, I won't say barren, but she's having difficulties bearing a child. And this is going to be something that goes through him all through this journey and all through this trial, even through the transition and changes. Because they're both old at this point. Even when they're trying to move, they're moving. They're both at an elder age. But Abram is holding on to the promise. So let's go. Abram is in Egypt. Now he's in a new place. He's surrounded by new people, and his insecurities start to show so much that he believes that he will be killed because his wife is so fine that, you know, the Pharaoh is just going to snatch her up and you know take him away. So he basically makes this agreement with Sarai, and he says, Hey, instead of saying you're my wife, say you're my sister. Because if they think you're my wife, then they just they're gonna off me, they're gonna snatch you up. So that's this agreement Abram made with Sarai as he and eventually they get in front of the Pharaoh. And Pharaoh is attracted by Sarai's beauty because you know she's a baddie, she's fine and all that. And Abram being insecure, instead of saying, Hey, this is my wife, this is my boot thing, this is my bae, he says, Hey, this is my sister. So Pharaoh thinking that this is his sister, she's fair game. He can go ahead and shoot his shot. So he basically does. He takes Sarah, and you know, he takes her back to her quarters. And basically he almost gets to the point where he's about to do his thing, but God stops him. He puts a curse in his family, on Pharaoh's family. He lets Pharaoh know, hey, you know, you're messing with something that's gonna end up messing up your nation. So Pharaoh, you know, returns Sarah back to, I mean Sarai, he took returns Sarai back to Abram and you know, he sends them off. Now that part, if you go back to Roman, to Genesis 12, verse 3, remember when he says, Anybody who comes against you, I will curse them. That's God fulfilling that part of the promise. And the thing is, Abram inadvertently set that up. So that curse had to go through no matter no matter what. So if it wasn't for God intervening and letting Pharaoh know, hey, something bad is about to happen, something bad was going to happen. But that was one of the one of his insecurities. Another insecurity was his problem with Lot. And let's go back to Genesis chapter 12, the first verse. God told Abram, Go from your land and from your relatives. So Lot wasn't even supposed to be there in the first place. The promise was for Abram. But Abram got stuck in, oh, this is my day one. I gotta take care of Lot. I gotta support, I gotta look out for Lot. That he hindered his blessing by bringing Lot with him. And which causes several troubles, really. One trouble was the blessing was for Abram. The blessing was for Abram, it wasn't for Lot. So eventually it got too crowded, it got too congested, it got to the point where it was too much for both Abram's clique and Lot's clique. So there was always confrontations and clashings in between the mix. So to settle this, you know, Abraham, Abram, Abram, he says, Hey, I'm gonna live in this land, and Lot, you go where you go, and you take your people there, and you know you be blessed there. So Lot says, Okay, I'm gonna go to Sodom. Can't nothing bad happen to me in Sodom. So Lot goes ahead and goes. Now on their journey, Lot falls into a war against about five kingdoms, a great giant war. And it gets so bad that Abram literally has to go in and rescue and save Lot. So Lot's presence is causing basically extra burden and extra stress because now it's stressing the blessing that he has, and now it's stressing him because he has to go out and constantly save Lot from these perils and turmoils. And also on top of that, he's having insecurities about Sarai not being pregnant, and both of them really are having their insecurities, so much so that Sarai says, Hey, I'm not getting pregnant, and since I'm not getting pregnant, maybe the promise is not gonna come through me. But if you can get with my um servant, you know, Hagar, and impregnate her, then you know the promise can be fulfilled that way. So Abram, you know, being insecure again, instead of saying, no, I'm sticking to God and doing what God says, He's gonna get you pregnant and you're gonna have my nation, he goes and impregnates Hagar. Now, this kind you can put this where you want, but this is basically Lot going against God, and if you go through Genesis chapter 12, verse 3, then you're back in what he did to the Pharaoh, and since what he did to this Pharaoh should basically happen to Hagar, too. So there should be a curse on Hagar. However, since she is pregnant with Abram's seed, God spares her from the curse that should be on her. So even though she does get sent out eventually, she's and her child are still taken care of and they're blessed. So now this is Abram dealing with his insecurities. But in the midst of these insecurities, he starts to grow and adapt himself and starts to change himself. And that's another point I want to get on and basically make is on your new level, you are going to go through trials, you're gonna go through tribulations, you're gonna go through things that are gonna test you. But don't let those tests break you. Let those tests transform you, let them test strengthen you and make you into a new person. Even though Abram is failing, he's adjusting to these failures, and he's adjusting, he's making himself a better person throughout these failures. He's learning to do things differently, and he's learning to think differently and trust God in a new way. So much so that along this journey, he comes against, he comes and meets a high priest named Machisredek. He meets a high priest named Machizedec. And Machized blesses him and he reaffirms the promises that God has placed upon him. And after that meeting with Machized, he is greeted by two other messengers. And these messengers reaffirm the fact that, hey, Sarai is gonna get pregnant soon. And God sees what you're doing, and your nation is coming soon. So don't stray, don't really keep the faith, stay strong, and you're on your way. And at this point, it's where Abraham's name changes. Abram's name changes. He's now known as Abraham. And at this point, he's so locked in with the faith, he's locked in with the vision that he's focused on nothing else right now. This Abraham's version of him is now later shark focused on, hey, I'm getting this nation. I'm getting what God has called me, I'm getting to what God has promised to me. So instead of letting these trials deter him and letting these trials stop him, he decides, hey, I'm gonna make this make me a better person. I'm gonna let make this form me into who God wants me to be. And this first test comes when, the first test of change comes when he learns that, hey, Sodom and Gomorrah is going to be destroyed. Because God is unpleased with the things that are going on there, so he's going to basically destroy that. He's going to send fire to destroy that city. Now, if you go back, you know who's in. Guess who is in Sodom? Lot. But instead of rushing to save him, Abraham decides hey, to pray. And he's like, God, if there's anybody there that's righteous, just please save them. And he keeps going constantly going back to God. If there's anybody there, if there are at least 20 people there, save them, at least 10 people there, save the city. But God comes back, he says, Hey, there's nothing I can do. It has to go down. So instead of rushing to save Lot, Abraham says, basically he says, Okay, God, you handled it. I got some baby making to do. Me and Sarah, we got some baby making to do. So that shows the change that he's starting to make. He's no longer trying to rush and be there for everybody. He's no longer trying to have everybody's back. He's now putting faith in God. God, if this is happening, you can take care of it. You called me to do this, this is what I'm doing. So you would think, hey, since he's doing better now, he's Abraham. Now he's not going to make the same mistake that he did when he was with Abram. But no, he messes around and does make the same mistake. Once again, he's in front of a high priest in a new nation. He's in front of people, powerful people. And instead of saying, Hey, this is my wife, Sarah, he does the same thing again. Hey, this instead of saying you're my wife, say you're my sister, just in case they try to snatch me up and kill me. So he says, Sarah is his sister. And the same thing happens again. You know, he the high king sees Sarah, he's attracted to her, and he brings her back to the crib. So before he's about to smash Sarah, before he's about to get his groove on, God comes to the High King and he's like, Hey, you about to die. If you do what you're about to do, you and your whole nation are about to die. And at this time, he has already struck every female in their land barren. So nobody was having children. Basically, ain't nobody having no kids, and everybody about to die unless Sarah is brought back to Abraham. And this is the promise God gave to Abram back in Genesis 12.3. The same promise he gave to him about Pharaoh. Hey, somebody comes against you, I have to curse them. And since Abram inadvertently put another high king into this situation, the curse had to come again. But this time the curse is worse. See, with the Pharaoh, it was just the Pharaoh's family that, you know, the women in his family that was barren. But now with the high king in this other nation, all the women in his nation and his land are barren. And God does this to show Abraham, hey, I'm not playing about you in this season. I'm not playing about you in this next level. This next level, anybody comes against you, they're going to come against you, and they're going to feel the full wrath of what I got to. I'm not holding back my wrath in this level. So don't put anybody in a predicament to where they have to feel my wrath. Because if I have to let go on them, I'm going to let go on them. That's basically what God is saying to Abraham. So that there be another statement and another point I want to get across. That in your new level, in your new 100, God will be more serious about you. Not only those who come against you, but those who bless you. Anybody who comes to bless you, they're going to give blessings on the back end. You might not even see it, and they might even know it at the time because they blessed you, they're being blessed. But anybody who blesses you are going to be blessed on the back end. Anybody who curses you are going to have to deal with the west of God. And he's not going to hold back, he's not going to be gentle with it because right now you are fulfilling the purpose and the vision that God has called you to do. So since you are in that role, since you're actually moving, you're actually moving the vision, he's going to be more serious in protecting you and that vision to make sure everything comes to pass. Okay, so eventually the promise is fulfilled. He gets to the promised land. Sarah gets pregnant. She has her first child. And there is more that I can go to about that, but I'm gonna, you know, basically end it right here. Because right here is, you know, the promise is being fulfilled. He's oper Abraham is now operating in that 100. He's fully in this 100 mode. You can say right now, he's probably 110, 130, about to be, well, probably 150 right now. But he's about to move into new levels and new heights and new newness. So my probably my last final point is once you reach that level, don't stop there. The thing about being 100 is you can be 100, but eventually you gotta be 200. Eventually you gotta be a thousand. Eventually you gotta be ten thousand. Eventually you gotta be a hundred thousand, eventually you gotta be a million. But always get to the new level with the anticipation of reaching another level. Never stop being hungry, never stop desiring more, never stop being who God called you to be. So, in conclusion, the conclusion, the finale. I hope this sermon was enough to convince you to actually be 100. And to actually know what it is to be 100. And to be 100 is basically to seek a new level, to understand that you are going to do new things. Perfection was 99. When everything was going good for you, that was 99. When you were in that rut, but you were taking care of that rut, that was 99. And that's how you can tell when you're in your 99. You're a master at doing everything. You're a master waking up on time, you're great at your job, but but it all bores you. You're great at your life, but you're yearning for more. You have just enough to get by, but you're yearning for great things. It's a desire. You can't sleep at night. You can't think and ponder upon anything else but getting to this next level. There's basically God calling you to higher heights, to new levels. That's basically what God did to Abram in that dream: showing him, hey, I need you to get out of this comfort zone because there's more for you that I have for you. So never be afraid to get out of the comfort zone. And once you do get out your comfort zone, just keep moving. Know that everything's not going to be perfect. Know that things are not going to be smoothly, things are not going to go smooth. But in those rough processes, in those rough patches, in those trials and tests, don't let them break you. Don't let them discourage you. But allow those trials and tests and allow those things to reform you and reshape you. Allow those things to transform your thought and the way you think and the way you operate and do things. Critical thinking is going to be your key in this new level. Always think critically. Think in new ways. Think outside of the box. Don't go for what you normally do, but go for what the elevated version of you would do. And that, my friends, is the sermon. And if you made it to this point, I thank you so much for listening. Thank you always. Make sure you go and hit up the previous sermons that you haven't listened to them. They're both on mainstream platforms like Apple and Amazon and Spotify. And if you listen there, you're pop you're listening to a censored version on those versions on those platforms. But if you want to listen to an uncensored version, just make sure you hit up the Patreon at patreon.com slash blessed B-L-E-S-S-E-D Nation Media. All one word. Blessed Nation Media. Hit up the Patreon and go there and you can get the uncensored version of this sermon. Make sure you hit us up. We're on Instagram and Facebook at Blessed Nation Media. And if you want to hit me up, you can hit me up on Instagram or Facebook at Back Porch Preacher. My name is Christian. And this is, this has been another episode of Sermons from the Back Porch. Thank you for listening. And always, don't get discouraged. Stay focused and don't get distracted. God bless.