WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.160 Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:09.839 Thank you for joining us. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:16.879 To learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:24.559 Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:28.160 And all the time? 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:30.480 Let me try this again. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:31.760 God is good. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:33.840 And all the time? 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:35.280 Amen. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:35.759 Amen. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:36.320 Amen. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:39.039 God is absolutely good and He's He's faithful. 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:43.600 Over the past few weeks, we've been in a series called After Resurrection. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:45.439 Somebody say after resurrection. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:54.560 And the idea of this series is for us to explore the book of Acts and pull out ideas and themes that are still with us even to this day. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:59.600 And so over the past couple of weeks, we've been just pulling out concepts and themes that are meant to bring us hope. 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:03.679 And today's reading brings us to the book of Acts, chapter number nine. 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:05.120 If you don't have a Bible, it's okay. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:06.719 We will have support on the screens. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:11.840 But also, I want you to hear me that if you don't have a physical copy of the Living Word of God, please let us know. 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:19.280 We would love to gift you with one because I firmly believe that it is this book, this word right here, that is inspired by the breath of God. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:21.840 This has the ability to change your life. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:23.439 Let me say this again. 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.159 This book has the ability to change your life. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:27.280 It is timeless. 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:28.799 It's a two-edged sword. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:32.079 It has the ability to confront us and comfort us at the same time. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:35.359 And if we engage this book, it can change everything. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:38.799 So I would love to make sure that everyone in our community indeed does have it. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:39.439 I love digital. 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:45.439 I'm a digital dude, but there's something about the pages of the Word of God that we can highlight and revisit in different seasons. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:54.000 Okay, let me get into my message because I'm gonna got me turned up on Mother's Day. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:59.760 Okay, looking in Acts chapter number nine, verse number 36. 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:08.159 The word of the Lord says it says, Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated to mean Dorcas. 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:12.319 She was full of good works and acts of charity. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:26.319 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her and laid her body in an upper room, then Lida, since Lida was near Joppa, the disciples hearing that Peter was near, they sent two of them, urging him, Please come to us without delay. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:31.039 So Peter rose and went with them, and when they arrived, they took him to the upper room. 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:32.159 Somebody say, Upper room. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:39.599 All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing their tunics and other garments that Dorcas had made while she was yet with them. 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:46.240 Peter put them all outside and he knelt and he prayed and turned to her body and he said, Tabitha, arise. 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:54.319 My God, Tabitha arise, and she opened her eyes, and when Peter when she had saw Peter, she had sat up and he had gave her his hand and he had raised her up. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:58.560 Then calling all the saints and the widows, he presented her alive. 00:02:58.719 --> 00:02:59.759 Somebody say alive. 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:04.879 And it became known all through Al Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:06.400 Come on. 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:14.080 As a result of her losing her life but having that life restored, all had believed in that community. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:19.840 This woman, Tabitha Dorcas, her name literally means gazelle or grace. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:24.400 Scripture tells us that this woman seemed to live an anonymous life. 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:31.439 But when she left this plane of existence, the Bible says that the evidence of her impact became very clear. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:36.960 I think that for many of us that we have the wrong metric when we consider what is valuable in our lives. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:42.560 We have been wired in such a way that we believe that the accolades of men somehow reflect the heart of God. 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:49.360 But I believe that when we look at passages like this, it reminds us of what it looks like to just be faithful even if no one else is looking. 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.680 Because you're planting seeds that have the ability to transform an entire community. 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:55.840 Can we get a good amen to that? 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:03.439 So today I want to take a couple of moments to examine the life of this precious woman and explore the implications and what it could mean for us. 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:08.560 So if you're taking notes, and of course I hope that you are, I want you to write this message title down. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:09.599 This woman's work. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.759 Turn to somebody next to you and say, This woman's work. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:13.280 This woman's work. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:14.879 If you know, you know. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:16.399 If you don't, we'll talk about it later. 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:17.680 Let me pray for us. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.360 Lord, we thank you so much for your faithfulness. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:20.160 We thank you for your word. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.439 We thank you for an opportunity to engage your truth. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:29.120 And Lord, as we pause, we invite your Holy Spirit to speak to us and do a deep work on the inside of us. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:33.360 God, we recognize that this indeed is holy ground because your presence is here. 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:39.680 So we we take off our shoes, so to speak, God, and we recognize that in your presence there's a fullness of joy. 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:48.399 There is no shame, there is no condemnation, but we can we can generally come to your presence knowing that we can exchange grace and mercy for the areas of bondage and fear. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:54.560 So, Father, I pray that you speak to every part of our hearts that allows us to exchange your goodness for our burdens. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:05:02.720 So, Holy Spirit, we invite you to challenge us, to encourage us, to inspire us, to sharpen us, but ultimately continue to conform us into the image of Christ. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:04.959 We ask that you give us open eyes to see you. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:10.639 We ask for open ears to hear your truth and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us in Jesus' name. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:11.360 Amen. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:12.639 Amen and amen. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:17.759 This woman's work, turn to somebody next to you and tell them how good they look this afternoonslash morning. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:24.720 Amen. 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:38.879 I want to personally and formally say happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers that are in this building today. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:51.040 I know we've greeted you, but I my hope and my prayer is that you are valued and seen and celebrated for those who are our mothers, mentors, aunties, those who stepped into those critical roles. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:57.040 We see you, we value, and we would love to continue the celebration of you as we conclude today's service. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:00.800 I also got to send a shout out to my mom, who's somewhere around here. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:02.639 I'm thankful for this incredible woman. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:05.360 I don't know where she's at, but she's here with us today. 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:06.079 There she is. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:07.519 Come on, come on. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:08.879 You better give them that wave. 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:11.439 You better give them that wave and let them look at you. 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:16.079 You gave birth to an anointing here. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:18.319 I'm gonna call it out right now, and I love you. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:19.519 I love you. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:22.800 All right, let's let's get into let's get into this word. 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:32.639 A few months ago, Megan and I and a few from our staff and our team, we we had the incredible privilege of of going to visit a church that's here in our community. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:46.879 Many of you know that we're believing God for our own permanent location, and so Pastor Nate has been um intentionally setting us up with different churches in our community so we can go and visit them and begin to ideate around hey, if we got a facility like this, how could we utilize this? 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:49.519 It's been really an exploratory journey. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:55.600 It's been very inspiring, it's been very hope-filled, and so we've just kind of been on this journey of exploring what the future looks like. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:58.560 Sometimes you have to visit what you believe God has for you. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.199 And so we began to walk the grounds and envision things. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:24.959 And as we're walking through the facility, we walked into the sanctuary, and I recall this moment where I was looking at the room and and and analyzing and thinking of even some of your faces and us worshiping, engaging the presence of God, the possibilities, and I began to get excited, but I also began to recognize what I perceived to be some things that were distracting because it seemed strategically placed at different spaces in this room. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:28.319 There were these, there were these poles, these pillars that were there. 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:34.319 And I remember turning to the pastor and I said to him, I was like, man, like this room is amazing, it's open, it's the ceilings are great. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:39.120 These are the type of things that you're trying to do in order to facilitate um these movements that we're doing. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:43.199 But also, man, like these columns, they're such an obstruction. 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:45.759 Like, man, how do you guys navigate around that? 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:49.199 Man, can't you just remove these pillars? 00:07:49.439 --> 00:08:02.639 And he smiled and he turned to me and he said, Man, he said, he said, if it was only that easy, he said, it would be beyond expensive for us to do that because what you need to know, Pastor Keith, is that these are load-bearing pillars. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:10.800 Maybe you're not familiar with what load-bearing is, but in the construction space, load-bearing is a part of the structure that carries the weight of everything. 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:14.160 If you remove it, the entire thing collapses. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:32.720 If you need to have these load-bearing pillars, they they hold up the walls, they connect the roof to the foundation, these load-bearer things are so, so important that if you remove it, even though it may seem inconvenient, it may seem confronting, it may seem distracting, but if you remove it, the entire structure can't remain. 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:48.159 I haven't stopped thinking about that since then because it's allowed me to really begin to think about the people in my life that I often don't recognize, the people in my life that sometimes they're obstructing my view of things, but they're actually holding everything together. 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:57.039 There are some moments that God will bring people into our world in that sometimes they confront us with a version of truth that makes us feel uncomfortable. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:09.919 And sometimes we're like, what if I just were to remove this feedback from my life altogether, not realizing that we need people who are willing to love us well enough to let us know that if you go this path, it can possibly cause damage to you. 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:23.759 I'm talking about load-bearing people, people that can carry the weight of your dysfunction, people that can carry the weight of their love for you, people that can carry the weight of your successes and not feel jealous about you, the people that you can lean on and not on your own understanding. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:30.799 And as I stand in this room on Mother's Day, I recognize that women are absolutely load-bearing in our community. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.519 They serve such significant purposes. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:38.879 And sometimes it seems as if they're overlooked, undervalued, and unseen. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:46.639 But sometimes we'll see that when women show up, especially in the ministry of Jesus, that they were literally the ones that were advancing the ministry. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:59.039 The Bible tells us that it was women that were paying for the ministry of Jesus, that were women that were supporting the ministry of Jesus, and I can think of my own life and the varying people that have had impact, but I can't think no different than my mother and my wife. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:04.399 These women are literally the pillars that have allowed me to advance and do what God is ultimately calling me to do. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:07.600 We need load-bearing people in our lives. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:10.720 And sometimes those load-bearing people, they confront us. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.440 Sometimes those load-bearing people, they challenge us. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:21.919 Sometimes those load-bearing people, it can bring us discomfort, but nonetheless, if we were to remove them from our lives, we could possibly lose our stability. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:30.159 Paul talked about these types of people in Galatians chapter 6, verse 2, where he says that we're called to bear one another's burdens. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.519 Bear each other's burdens, carry the heaviness, the weight. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:35.919 That means to stand with each other and serve as a column. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:45.440 So not only do we need people in our lives that are load-bearing, but we also need to be people who are load-bearing in the lives of others, people who can carry the weight for one another. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:53.120 And as we look at this text, we see that we're introduced to a woman who is a load-bearing woman in that community of Joppa. 00:10:53.279 --> 00:11:02.639 And this text brings us on a journey where we can begin to not only extract some principles that can be encouraging for us, but inspiring and challenging at the same time. 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:11.279 Looking at the beginning, it says that there was a woman who was in Joppa who was also a disciple, and her name was Tabitha. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:15.200 She lived an incredibly full life. 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:20.159 That's the principle for us, is that we need to be people who live a full life. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:21.759 Let me break that down for us. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:27.840 Because first the text tells us that she is classified as being a disciple of Christ. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:36.720 We could skip past that if we don't recognize the culture in which this was written, but in the first century, women were not often associated with being disciples. 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:39.279 Discipleship was viewed as a man's world. 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:43.039 Rabbis often took male students under their tutelage. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:45.039 Religious leaders were trained men. 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:47.120 Women were not a part of those circles. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.879 They were assumed to be outside of serious spiritual formation. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:59.440 And here we have Jesus modeling women sitting at his feet, which we don't realize how progressive we feel uncomfortable with that word, how progressive that concept was. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:03.759 That was unheard of to have women sitting at the feet of Jesus in a learning position. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:12.159 And then watch this the Bible shows us that Luke uses the same language to define her that defines Peter, a disciple of Christ. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:16.480 The same language that defined John is the same language to define this woman. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.720 The same language to define Paul was the same language to define this woman. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:24.000 It doesn't say that she was a helper, it doesn't say that she was a supporter. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:27.039 It says that she was a disciple of Christ. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.320 In the kingdom, there are no second-tier citizens. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.679 Her gender did not segregate her from her calling. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:41.279 That she was a disciple of Christ, and her background, her culture, and her gender were not a lid for what God wanted to do in her life. 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:47.279 And the text tells us it's as a disciple of Christ that she was living a life of fullness. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:52.080 It says that she was full of good works and acts of charity. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:53.519 Stay with me for a minute. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:55.919 Because Luke could have said that she did good works. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:04.960 It could have said that she was very helpful towards people, but he was very clear in saying that she was full of good works and full of charity. 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:08.720 He was saying that she was so full that it became a life of overflow. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:16.240 That word that he uses literally means to be filled to the brim with nothing left to add to it, to live a life of overflow. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:20.960 And this word is doing something so much more than what the surface would insinuate. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:29.200 Because there's only a handful of time that we see an individual that is defined as being so full that it lives to a life of overflow. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:36.000 In John 1.1 and 1.14, it says that Jesus was full of grace in truth, living a life of overflow. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:42.320 It says that Stephen in Acts chapter 6 was full of faith in the Holy Spirit and that overflowed into boldness. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:48.480 It says that Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit and with faith, and that overflowed in a way in which he served people. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:53.279 And now we have Tabitha, who was full of good works and acts of charity. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:58.159 She was living the abundant life that Jesus defines in John 10 10. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:02.159 Let me remind us that the Bible says that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:06.960 But I, the words of Jesus, have come that you can live life to the fullest. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:11.360 God's desire for us is for us to live a life of overflow. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:14.080 But the question is, what are we full of? 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.360 Because whatever you're full of is what you're going to leak with. 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.960 And let me say this we're all full of something. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:28.000 Let's talk about it. 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:29.600 We're all full of something. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:33.840 And whatever we're full of is the very thing that we're going to be led by. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:39.440 If you're full of the flesh, then you're going to leak the behaviors and the mindset that are connected to the flesh. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:41.440 Because here's the thing I want to tell you. 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:43.279 You can't fake fullness. 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:50.879 What's in you will eventually come out of you, or scripture refers to it, is it says that it is by their fruit we shall know them. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:56.639 Now here's the tension that I've recognized that many of us live in because we're full of the wrong things. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:10.240 We have this place where we're one foot in and one foot out, so we're also full of our own desires, our own carnality, and whilst trying to be full of the things of God, and one will leave you depleted and one will leave you full, and we're wondering why we're feeling empty. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:15.360 Because so many of us are pouring out into environments that aren't pouring back into us. 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:25.120 We're finding ourselves in spaces where because we're in environments that aren't life-giving for us, the consequence of that is that we begin leaking disappointment in our families. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:28.240 Because whatever you're full of is what you're going to overflow with. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:30.240 And we're wondering why I feel empty. 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:31.600 Why do I feel depleted? 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:34.320 Why is my patient virtually non-existent? 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.639 It's because maybe you're full of the wrong things. 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:40.960 An empty cup cannot pour out anything except for disappointment and despair. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:44.639 But also, the truth is, many of us are full of the wrong things. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:48.639 Some of us are full of resentment for that season that we can't let go of. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:55.679 Some of us are full of comparison from that feed that we can't stop looking at and wishing that somehow that was our life. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:58.799 Some of us are full of fear for the future that we can't control. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:03.759 Some of us are full of bitterness of the wound that we have not surrendered to God and we stopped praying over. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.440 And some of us are leaking these things into our marriage. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:12.480 We're leaking these things into our friendship, we're leaking these things into our community. 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:20.960 But the Bible says that for Tabitha, for Dorcas, that she was so full of the spirit that she leaked goodness out of her life. 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:27.039 That everywhere she went, she had impact on people because she was full of the right things and the things of God. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.759 So here's my question that I want you to ponder this week. 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:33.600 If your like began to leak tomorrow, what's coming out? 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:52.240 Will people begin to benefit from the fruit of the joy and love and peace and kindness that's in your life, or are they stopping, or are they stepping into the residue of the toxicity, the unforgiveness, and the bitterness because we're all full of something, and whatever we're full of is the very thing that we are leaking out of us. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:54.080 Mothers, I want you to hear me. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.600 Whatever you're full of is what you're going to pour into your family. 00:16:57.919 --> 00:16:59.360 Fathers, I want you to hear me. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.480 Whatever you're full of is what you're going to leak into your family. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.319 Leaders, whatever you're full of is what you're going to leak into your families. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:12.240 We can't be disappointed at the condition of our family when we've been leaking the ingredients for it the whole time. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:17.279 But when we can pour the right things in, we can see fruit that transforms everything. 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:28.400 The Bible says that Dorcas had lived such a full life that it began to shift the atmosphere of everything around her so that when she breathed her last breath, people showed up on her behalf. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:34.640 Here's another thing I want you to recognize, God's it's important to know who's really in your corner. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:40.400 Because we need to live a full life, a life that is full of the things of God so that we can live a life of overflow. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:45.440 But please make sure you recognize the people who are truly in your corner. 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:52.799 The text tells us that in the days when she had died, that her community had come alongside her, they had washed her and put her in the upper room. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:54.480 Somebody say upper room. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:58.559 In the book of Acts, the upper room becomes a sacred space. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:04.480 In Acts chapter 1, the disciples gathered in the upper room to wait on the promise of the Holy Spirit. 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:09.440 In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room and gave birth to the church. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:18.480 And now we find ourselves in Acts chapter number nine, where the Bible says that the this precious woman was placed in an upper room and they were waiting for a miracle. 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:23.519 This is the space where God shows up and meets us at the face of our expectation. 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:25.599 They are waiting on a miracle. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:29.519 I'm wondering if I'm talking to anybody that's waiting on a miracle right now. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:32.000 Because let me serve some encouragement for you right now. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:40.240 The text tells us that when you're in the upper room, this is not a passive environment, that every person that was in the upper room, they were engaging in the presence of God. 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:45.680 It says they were lifting up praise unto God, they were praying and then God met them at the space of their expectation. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:52.799 If you're waiting on a miracle, maybe your miracle is waiting on you to meet God with worship, to meet God with praise, to meet God with exaltation. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:56.799 There's a participation that we play in experiencing the goodness of God. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:58.559 Can we get a good amen to that? 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:06.000 The Bible says that they're in the upper room, and while she's in the upper room, and this death has been such a rectifying thing into the community. 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:09.440 The text tells us that they send a message to Peter. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:23.039 Now you have to understand the significance of this because this is not a text message, this is not an email, but this is two men who physically go 12 miles to go and intercept Peter and tell him to come at once. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:28.720 Contextually, Peter is the most influential person in the body of Christ. 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:35.359 The Bible says that Jesus looks at Peter and says, On this rock, on Peter, I'm going to build my church. 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:39.440 So Peter is a representation of leadership and stability in the church. 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:48.240 So if you would under think of it in our modern terms, Peter is the most popular, viral, megachurch, influential pastor there is in the entire globe. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:55.359 You would imagine that for these people who have just watched this dear friend of them die, they would have asked someone else to come and intercede. 00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:04.559 But there was something about the anointing that was on Peter's life, and they were willing to be discomforted to invite the presence of God that is on Peter's life into their situation. 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:07.759 They went into interceding at the highest of levels. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:14.160 This is so, so significant because when Dorica's life went down, they went into action. 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.119 They didn't throw a memorial, but they threw up a prayer request. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:20.079 They didn't start writing tributes, but they started calling for help. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:28.720 Her life was built with such generosity that when she was in her darkest moment, the people in her community began to intercede for her. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:30.559 That's not a small thing. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:33.920 So my question is, who's interceding for you? 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:40.240 Who are the people that are in your corner that are generally going to show up when times get tough? 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:41.680 Who's praying for you? 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:52.160 Not the person that's going to send you a heart emoji and send you the quintessential thoughts and prayers, but people that will really drop what they're doing and call you up and say, I'm praying for you, I'm thinking of you. 00:20:52.240 --> 00:21:00.960 I want you to be encouraged with where you are because the truth is we have built a generation that is incredibly invisible but also uncovered. 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.160 We have followers, but we don't have intercessors. 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:07.440 We have likes, but we don't have laborers. 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:11.519 We have an audience, but we don't have any advocates. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:16.480 And when life begins to fall apart, the algorithm can't pray for you. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:27.039 But when you know that you have people that are in your corner, when you know that you have people that have your back, those are the people that show up because you've sown into them and now they're showing up for you. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:28.240 Listen to me, friends. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:33.920 Don't confuse the crowd for community because Jesus modeled this for us. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:36.559 He was surrounded literally by thousands of people. 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:40.240 He had impacted literally entire regions of that entire country. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:46.240 But the Bible says that he also was very select on who had access to the most intimate areas of his life. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.240 This is the model that Jesus shows us. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:56.799 He has the multitudes, then he has like the the thousands that were around him, then he had the 70 disciples, and then he had the 12, and then he had the three, and then he had the one. 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:59.599 Jesus had different layers of people who could handle. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.400 Him in his deepest, darkest moments. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:04.799 The three saw him when he was the most vulnerable. 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.880 The three saw him when he was fully glorified. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:10.480 The three are the people that can handle the good, the bad, the darkness, the tears. 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:12.640 Who are the three that are in your life? 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.599 Not literally, but prophetically. 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:24.240 And what I believe when it comes to community, the thing that we miss is that we've confused the people that are in our life, and quite honestly, we've put them in the wrong category. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:27.440 Now, far be it from me to put labels on individuals. 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:32.480 I don't want you to walk away from this when you look at somebody like, uh, you're a level three friend. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:34.079 This is a lot, that's not what I'm saying. 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.240 Don't misinterpret what I'm saying. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:40.400 But what I am saying, it's good to know where you stand with people. 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:47.519 Because oftentimes our disappointment is when I'm one of your ones, but I'm but to me, but you're I'm only one of your 12. 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.839 And now I'm wondering why it seems as if I'm showing up for you, but you're not showing up for me. 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:56.799 It doesn't mean that you're a bad person or a bad friend, but we're just misaligned in how we identify this friendship. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:01.599 So it's important for us to understand that we know who are genuinely in our corner. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:03.920 And there's a couple of designations I want to help you with. 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:05.200 Here's a quick way you can do it. 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:08.960 You need to know the people who are or who are for what you are for. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:14.319 That means there are going to be people in your world that are with you because we're for the same things. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:15.279 We're for this. 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:16.559 We're passionate about this. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:17.680 We're for the same thing. 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:21.599 And those people, those are circumstantial communities, and those are powerful and they're meaningful. 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:22.640 We're for the same things. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.160 We advocate for the same things. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:27.680 There's also people in our lives that they're against the same thing. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:29.519 And there's community around that. 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:31.359 Hey, I'm against sex trafficking. 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:32.160 I am too. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.559 We're united because we're both against these things. 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.799 We're united because we're both for these things. 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:41.359 But there's something to be said when you know that somebody is for you. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.160 That means that this transcends circumstances, this transcends convenience. 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:50.960 This means that no matter what season you may find yourself in, I am for you. 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:53.759 This is not just common ground, but I am for you. 00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:58.720 Being for you doesn't mean I always agree with you, but what does mean is that I'm going to show up for you. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:03.440 And the Bible tells us that she was a type of woman that had people who were for her. 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:09.200 And there's a big joy and the freedom in knowing when you got somebody who genuinely has your back. 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:14.559 When you got somebody who is, in my culture, we would say is your ride or die. 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:17.519 But but let me say this for our folks who don't have the same melon as me. 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:20.559 It's good to know when you have somebody who's very reliable and dependable. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:35.599 Whatever designation this lands for you, it's good to know when you got people who rock with you, people who are standing with you, people who will pray with you, people who will stay up with you, people who will take you to the counseling place, the people who will bring you to church with them, the people who are genuinely for you. 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:41.759 This woman had people who were for her, and they showed up when she was in her darkest moment. 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:50.240 Take inventory and ask yourself, who is genuinely for me, so that I could begin to invest in those relationships in the same way. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:59.440 The text tells us that when Peter shows up, that the women that are there, the women that are for her, they begin to show her the things that she has done for them. 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:05.279 They were beginning to reveal the coats that she made for them, they were revealing the coverings that she made for them. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:11.519 This designation of people were all the widows and the people who were often left out and unseen in that community. 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:16.240 In other words, Dorcas has spent her life sewing into others. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:21.279 Because she was living a life of overflow, she was able to invest in other people. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:25.519 And the evidence of that investment was seen when she breathed her last breath. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:33.119 So when Peter came in, they didn't give a speech, they didn't give a eulogy, they just showed the evidence that has been stitched into their lives over the years. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:40.960 Such a powerful moment because Dorcas chose to serve people that in that context were the most vulnerable in that society. 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:54.480 Because them being widows meant that they had no husband, which means they had no income, which means they had no legal protection, which means they had no community, that means that they were on their own, and those are the people that she chose to serve the least of these. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:26:06.400 James 127 literally says that when we care for the widows and the orphan, those who are often lost in society, that that is the purest expression of what it means to express religion. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:06.960 Why? 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:10.079 Because those are the people who can't give you anything back. 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.319 That's where ministry takes place. 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:20.480 It's not me giving you something with an expectation to know I'm getting in return, but it means sowing, knowing that there's rewards in heaven for what I'm doing. 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:27.440 And the text shows us that she was a type of woman that was sowing into the lives of others, even when others didn't see it. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:35.359 That when women were grieving the loss of their husband, that she was showing up and giving them covering of letting them know that they were seen, that they were loved, and they were valued. 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:45.519 And I suspect that on this Mother's Day, and I suspect that on our community, there are many women who are in our lives who have been just sowing things at us and we didn't even recognize it. 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:50.000 Sowing words of encouragement, sowing words of hope, sowing words of love. 00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:56.240 And for people that are sowers and you feel like you're not receiving it on the back end, you can find yourself growing weary. 00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:01.119 You can find yourself being frustrated, wondering if what you see is even seen or if it matters. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.720 But let me encourage you from God's word. 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:09.920 Galatians 6 9 says, Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season you will reap if you faint not. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:13.519 Hear me, friends, God keeps good records of what you're sowing into. 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:22.720 The people you're sowing into may not see it, they may not always recognize it, but God sees it, and I would much rather have God give me what I deserve instead of man. 00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:25.839 I appreciate gratitude, I appreciate encouragement. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:37.839 But when God says, I see what you've been doing, and I'm gonna give you peace, I'm gonna give you joy, I'm gonna give you miracles, I'm gonna give you breakthrough because you steward in what I've given you, those are the things that I believe that we can reap if we faint not. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:40.640 Come on, guys. 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:46.000 I remember a couple years ago a friend of mine had lost his father. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:49.440 And obviously it caught him off guard. 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:52.079 It was a very, it was a very trying time for his family. 00:27:52.160 --> 00:28:01.519 But when we went to the funeral to support him, people stood on the platform and they just began to tell stories of how this man had sowed into their lives through the years. 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:06.799 The family was completely unfamiliar with some of these people and didn't even know a lot of these stories. 00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:15.359 But couples got up there and said, like, hey, we're we stayed in our marriage because he he prayed for us, he encouraged us, and and now look at our family. 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:23.839 There were people that got up there and said, like, I was in between jobs and he had he had blessed me with enough resources that I was able to position myself to go and and get this interview. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:33.680 Like people, person after person, continuously spoke about the way that this man had sowed into their lives, and I just thought to myself, like, that is a life lived well. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:40.799 When you can just sow into people's lives and you know that it will bear fruit because God promises, reminds us that it is. 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:44.319 Nothing is wasted when God's grace gets involved. 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:47.920 So listen to me, mothers, you keep sowing into your marriage. 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:56.160 Listen to me, mothers, you keep sowing into your children, you keep sowing into your community, and I promise you, God sees it and you will reap a significant reward. 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:57.759 But fellas, you're not off the hook. 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:02.559 You keep sowing into your families, you keep sowing into that marriage, you keep sowing into your children. 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:06.240 For those who are raising teenage children, listen to me, keep sowing. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:08.400 I know they didn't want to hear it, keep sowing. 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:10.559 I know that they want to reject it, but keep sowing. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:12.799 I know they think you're out of touch, but keep sowing. 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:20.960 You just keep sowing and you keep sowing and you keep showing up and you keep loving, you keep challenging, you keep correcting, and in due season it will produce a fruit. 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:23.920 Don't let the enemy convince you that what you're doing is wasted. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:24.960 The devil is a liar. 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:35.839 I'm gonna still sow joy, I'm gonna still sow love, I'm gonna still sow peace, I'm gonna continue to be a person that demonstrates the goodness of God because I know that it will indeed take root. 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:38.240 Here's the last and final thing I want to share. 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:44.880 In all of these things, what we see in the life of Dorcas is we see that God got glory out of her life. 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:46.319 I want you to hear me. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:50.400 Let God get glory out of every chapter that's in your life. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:56.799 Let God be glorified in every season you've gone through, good and bad. 00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:05.200 Peter shows up and he clears the room and he kneels and he prays and he speaks to her and he says, Arise. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:14.240 What's so significant about this is that Peter, who was one of the three that Jesus revealed his glory to, also saw Jesus in this significant moment. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:20.720 And in Mark chapter number three, Jesus walks into a room and he says the exact same words to a young lady and he says, Arise. 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:26.240 And now here we are, a few weeks later, and we see the exact same thing being done through Peter. 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:30.240 Peter was influenced by his mentor, his pastor, and his Lord. 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:32.240 He says the exact same words. 00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:37.359 Sometimes I wonder what it would look like if we just spoke the same words that Jesus spoke. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:51.119 I wonder this, I wonder the resurrection that would take place if we began to speak the words that God spoke over us instead of us littering it with our opinion and our personal commentary in the podcast person who's not an expert on anything that they're talking about, but yet they got the follow. 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:52.559 Am I on a soapbox right now? 00:30:52.720 --> 00:31:01.039 What if we began to be people that began to call life to things that the world calls death, but because God's word said life shall come forth, I stand on that? 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:05.839 What if we were to be the people that declared reconciliation and hope over hopeless situations? 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:06.319 Why? 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:09.519 Not because I feel like him, but because God's word declares it. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:13.680 What if we became people who literally declared, thus saith the Lord? 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:21.440 The Bible says that Peter spoke the same words of Jesus and he got the same results. 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:22.960 He says, Arise. 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:28.240 And she rose up and she saw Peter, and Peter took her by the hand and he presented her to the community. 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:37.680 And the most beautiful part of this entire narrative, it says that as a result of that, many people in that community had put their faith in Jesus. 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:38.960 Watch this. 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.440 Jesus was glorified in her life. 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:43.680 He was glorified in her ministry. 00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:48.480 He was glorified in her death, and he was glorified in her resurrection. 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:55.839 We need to be people that live lives that invite the hand of God to be glorified in every season. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:02.400 That means I want Jesus to be glorified in my disappointment in the same way I want him to be glorified in my success. 00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:08.000 I want Jesus to be glorified in my mountaintop, and I also want him to be glorified in my valleys. 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:15.839 Because it's not about just getting glory because all things are going good, but the glory of God is often revealed in what he has sustained you through. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:20.240 Because there are some circumstances that we walk through that we should not have survived in. 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:21.839 But glory be to God. 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:28.000 As a result of the faithfulness of God, he allowed me to endure this disappointment and it doesn't feel good. 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:31.920 And I'm still suffering and I'm still grieving and I'm still disappointing him. 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:34.000 But God has gotten me through it. 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:38.000 God has been with me in it, and I recognize that greater tea that's in me. 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:40.160 Because in my own strength, I would have been a mess. 00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:42.000 In my own strength, I would have given up. 00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:43.839 In my own strength, I would have collapsed. 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:47.519 But the God that's on the inside of me has strengthened me. 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:50.880 So even though there may be fire, somehow I still survive. 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:53.599 Even though I'm disappointed, God is still good. 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:56.000 Even though I'm broken, God is still healing. 00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:58.799 Even though I'm struggling, God is still my strength. 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:04.559 I'm telling you from my own life, I've seen God show up when I've been in the midst of the fire, and God is faithful. 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:07.920 I've seen God show up when I got to promotion and God is faithful. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.200 I've seen God show up in the midst of my pain and God is faithful. 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:12.640 I've seen him show up in the blessings. 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:14.400