WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:01.840 Welcome, podcast family. 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:04.959 My name is Kaylee, and thank you for tuning in today. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:11.119 If you haven't already, please be sure to subscribe to our podcast to stay up to date each week. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.080 We believe that God has a powerful word for you today. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.719 So let's dive in into this amazing message. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:21.199 Before I jump in, let me just tell all the dads, happy Father's Day, brothers. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:22.480 Come on, give them a great big hand. 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:23.920 We love you guys. 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:28.320 And I love Radiant, and I'll tell you why. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:32.000 Because when I was growing up, like Mother's Day, we honored moms. 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:33.600 Father's Day, we beat up dads. 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:34.799 We're like, y'all could do better. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.799 And uh at Radiant, we believe, man, we're grateful for the men in our church, the pillars in our church. 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:44.000 And I just want to tell the fathers here, thank you for having your families here today. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:45.840 Thank you for leading your families the right way. 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:47.600 One more time, great big hand for the dads. 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:48.320 Love them. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:50.479 And happy Father's Day to our pastor. 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:51.759 I love you, man. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:53.039 You're a great dad. 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:54.719 You're a great dad, a great pastor. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:56.560 PT thinks you're a great husband. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:57.200 That's great. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:58.159 That's a good thing. 00:00:58.240 --> 00:00:59.600 And you're a really good friend to me. 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:04.799 Um, yesterday I got in at three o'clock, and before the evening, we had already eaten twice. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:05.280 Okay? 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:06.959 That's a good friend right there. 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:08.959 That brother took me to Ironwood. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.799 Ironwood first said I got a cup of soup and a salad and thought I was gonna do good. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:18.319 And then after I talked to the staff, we went to Bubba 33 and uh I ate pizza and wings. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:20.400 So I'm a little heavy today. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.200 Like I'm struggling, I'm on the struggle bus up here, bro. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:25.760 Um by the way, Bubba 33. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:32.159 You know they're owned by Texas Roadhouse, and Texas Roadhouse is like, this is not redneck enough. 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:34.640 Let's make a new one, and it's Bubba 33. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:35.120 I like it. 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:36.079 Um, it was fun. 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:37.519 I'm honored to be with you guys, man. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:38.719 We're gonna have a great time. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:41.120 Uh I'm fired up with some of my family's here. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:42.719 My boys are back there. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.280 I don't see, I don't, they're in kids' ministry. 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:47.760 I don't see any smoke, so they're not burning the joint down. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:49.920 Um, my boys are nine and ten. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:54.719 Their names are uh are Gunner and and Jackson, but we should have named them Rough and Rowdy. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:58.719 Um, because hey, I pray for the kids team right now, God, just give them strength, Lord. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:04.000 I told my boys today before they went in kids' ministry because they sat in the last service and I looked at them and said, Y'all are leaders. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:05.040 Y'all are leaders. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.680 Remember the leaders represent our family well. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:10.400 Um, my daughter's here, my son's here, my wife's here. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:11.599 Can y'all give them a great big hand? 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:12.319 Love them. 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:19.680 And a few a few months ago, I went to I went to Gillian's school to pick her up. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:23.199 It takes a little while to get through a school, so when I got there, I had to go in and use the restroom. 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:27.680 And I went in and used the restroom, and while I'm washing my hands, this little boy comes in. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:30.400 He's six years old, he's in kindergarten, he comes running in. 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:33.039 You know, like six-year-olds do everything all the way. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:36.319 So he comes running to the bathroom and him and his little buddy, and he's breathing hard. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:45.919 He's like, and he goes straight up to the sink and he puts this little stool up there and he starts washing his hands, and then he looks at me in the mirror, and then he looks again and he stops washing his hands. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:53.120 And I'm like, feeling a little self-conscious, you know, like only a kid can make you feel self-conscious when they start staring at you like, I don't know what they're thinking to say, you know. 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:57.840 And if you're a parent, when your kid starts looking at somebody, you're like, Don't, just don't comment on them. 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:04.000 And he looks over at me and he goes, Mister, your hair is awesome. 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:06.240 And I was like, Oh, thank you. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:12.000 And uh, and then he he looks at me and he goes, He goes, I'm washing my hands right now because they're real dirty. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:16.000 And and so me and him, me and this six-year-old kid, because I looked at him and he looked good. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:19.280 I was like, dude, you look like you just went to the barber and got edged up, and he was like, I had to hit. 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:25.680 And so now me and this six-year-old are connecting on our clean edges and our dirty hands, and it was hilarious. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:28.319 And here's what's funny a little moment of vulnerability, okay? 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:30.159 And all the men in the room, all where the men at? 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:30.719 Where you at, man? 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:31.120 Where you at? 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:32.400 So yeah, all right, okay. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:33.599 We're we're chop, right? 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:34.560 We're chop, right? 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:36.800 Do you ever have a moment of vulnerability? 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:39.840 Do you ever have a moment where you don't feel as confident as you as you look? 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.560 Like you walk in looking confident, but inside you're like, eh. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:43.439 Yeah. 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:47.199 And I'd I'd actually had that moment that morning. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.120 Actually, I'd had a couple of months, okay? 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:51.360 I'm 49, I'll be 50 this year. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:52.800 And when this, thank you. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:55.360 Now I didn't know that deserved a hand clap, but thank you. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:01.039 Um, and and used to my hair, like I've got a lot of product in my hair right now, y'all. 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:01.840 Okay, a lot. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:11.520 My hair used to be like just super wavy and curly, and then when you start aging, your hair does weird stuff, like it starts turning gray, and and gray hairs, some of where the gray hair people at? 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:12.879 Y'all know, you know, you know, brother. 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:13.759 I mean, I can see it, you know. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:14.960 I mean, I can tell, you know. 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:18.480 And some of y'all just left, it's just gone, it's not even there anymore, right? 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:25.759 But when your hair starts turning gray, like all the rest of your hair is like, oh, we're gonna go this way, and the gray hair is like, nah, I'm gonna go this way, you know, just like weird. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.720 And I didn't even know I I needed encouragement that day. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:34.319 And it came from this little kid who's like, your hair is awesome. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:43.120 And I was like, dear, you're like, thanks, bruh, you know, because all of us have moments of fragility, and so today I'm gonna talk about fragile faith. 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:52.319 What do you do when you have a moment of doubt, like belief and doubt, tension and trust, faith and frustration? 00:04:52.560 --> 00:05:05.839 We all have those moments, whether we care to admit it or not, we have moments where we wish we were as strong as we look, where we wish we were as strong as we positioned ourselves to be. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.199 And this is where we find John the Baptist in our text. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:14.879 And I'm gonna take you on a little journey today, and we're gonna talk about John a little more later in the in the service. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:18.160 But in Matthew chapter 11, we find him and he's in prison. 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:22.480 And John the Baptist, who's in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:25.199 So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus. 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:31.199 That word so is a coordinating conjunction, and it means what he did next is because of what happened before. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:33.680 He heard about everything that Jesus was doing. 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:45.759 Remember, Jesus is healing the sick, blind eyes are being opened, the dead are being raised, and he hears all of this and he sends his disciples to ask Jesus, are you the Messiah we've been expecting? 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.439 Or should we or should we keep looking for someone else? 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:56.639 Has Jesus' actions ever caused you to doubt his authenticity? 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:02.959 And it didn't happen the way you wanted it to happen. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:07.839 Have you ever had life not turn out quite the way you thought it was gonna turn out? 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:08.959 Come on, come on. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:10.639 Maybe you're in your 30s. 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:11.600 How many of y'all are in your 30s? 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:12.000 Where are you at? 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:13.120 If you're in your 30s, where are you at? 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:13.360 Okay. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:18.319 Have you ever been like in your 30s and you just look at your life and you're like, well, I thought I'd be further along than I am right now. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:20.639 You know, like my guess this is it, you know what I mean? 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:22.639 Or you're in your 40s and you're like, I give up. 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:24.800 You you have these moments. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.759 If you if you're taking notes, I'm gonna give you several things to write down. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.560 This is the first one expectation can become a prison. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:40.959 If I'm not careful, my expectations of what could happen or what might not happen can become a prison. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:43.040 I've had those moments. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.279 Now I do a lot of corporate speaking and corporate training. 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:52.800 I own a couple businesses, and a few years ago I got a phone call and I was invited to speak in Hawaii, and I said, Let me pray about it. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:07:01.839 Yes, the Lord said yes, because when somebody invites you on an all-expense prey trip to Hawaii where they're actually gonna pay you to come, the Lord is like, Go ye thereforth to the island of Hawaii. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:08.879 So I went and I went over there, and when I got finished, they were like, uh, hey, we want to take you to a really cool place, and we want to take you snorkeling. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:13.600 Well, I didn't grow up snorkeling, I don't know much about snorkeling, but they said we're gonna take you to Billionaire's Beach. 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:17.839 And I was like, Yes, because I like beaches and I like billions. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:21.680 I'm in, you know, and so they take us, but I don't know much about snorkeling. 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:26.000 I my high school sport was rodeo, and so I rode bulls and saddleball courses. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:31.199 So I'd only snorkeled a couple of times, and I thought that you were supposed to put on all your gear before you get in the water. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:36.639 Side note, if you go snorkeling, get in the water and then put the flippers on, because you can't walk in those things. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:38.720 Like, there's no cool way, like you can't be like, what's up? 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.480 I'm in my flippers, you know, I'm just chilling. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:41.680 You know, I'm like, I'm like this. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:43.920 You know, you walk like Donald Duck on crack. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:45.040 Like it was just bad, it was bad. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:45.519 All of it. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:48.319 By the way, the real preacher will be back next week, guys. 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:52.399 Um, if you're new and you've never heard Pastor KJ, you owe it to yourself to come back in here. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:54.639 One of the greatest communicators that you've ever heard. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:56.240 I'm grateful for our pastor. 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:13.040 But I got my I got my goggles on, I got my snorkel, I'm not even in the water, and I'm like, and we have this guide, and and I love, I love, I mean, I'm from Houston, and we and we have in 2013, we passed New York City as the most international city in the U.S. 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:15.040 Houston people from all over the world. 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:23.040 So I love all of my South and Central American family, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, there's Panama, there's 13 more countries down there. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.759 Love all my people, but Puerto Ricans, crazy, okay? 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:27.920 Love them, but they're they're wild, okay? 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:32.960 And my guide, our guide was Puerto Rican, and he comes up, and this is the worst Puerto Rican accent. 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:33.600 I apologize. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.360 If you're an online viewer, I'm sorry, okay? 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:38.480 But he comes up, he goes, Okay, okay, okay, guys, listen to me. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:41.039 Very carefully, listen to me. 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:50.639 And I'm like, he says, the water that we are getting ready to go into, it's going to be beautiful, but it's also dangerous. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:54.720 The watery, you're going into it's tiger shark water. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:58.000 I'm like, bruh, I like beaches and billions. 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:00.240 I don't like tigers and sharks, and I don't like them together. 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:01.840 Whoever decided to do that. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:03.200 Thank you, God. 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:04.960 And he sees the look on my face. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:06.720 He goes, It's okay, it's okay, preacher. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:07.840 It's okay, don't worry. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:08.720 It's okay, don't worry. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:11.519 I'm like, bruh, how can you say don't worry, tiger shark water? 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.240 He goes, Do you see anything bigger than 10 feet? 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:15.200 You let me know. 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:16.399 We get out of the water. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:20.159 I was like, bro, if I see a big turtle, I'm gonna be Jesus walking on the water, okay? 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:23.440 And can I tell you, I didn't enjoy it at all. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:36.799 And here's why: because as I'm flipping around in the water, I can see 80 feet all the way down, crystal clear, but all I could hear was the jaws soundtrack in my head, dun dun, dun, dun, and I'm looking around, I'm like, I'm gonna die. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:41.600 And literally, like I would dip my head under the water and get water in my snorkel, and I can't breathe. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:42.799 Like it was awful. 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:47.679 All because I expected something to happen that didn't happen. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.360 The expectation became a prison. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:59.279 And sometimes you expect something to happen that doesn't happen, or you expect something that everything's gonna be okay and it doesn't, and that expectation becomes a prison. 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:00.320 Can I tell you this? 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:04.960 Oftentimes we put an expectation on God that he never said he was gonna do. 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:11.039 God won't always live up to your expectation, but he will always live up to his word. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:12.799 If he said it, he'll do it. 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:17.840 You could take it to the bank, but please make certain that you are rightly dividing the word of truth. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:22.080 Aren't you grateful that we have a pastor who actually studies the word of God? 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:23.840 Can I tell you this? 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:28.000 More than anybody in this church, I think he would tell you, don't just take his word for it. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:32.320 Get in the word and study to show yourself approved because you're gonna need it. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.360 And if you're not careful, you will believe something that God never said. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:36.799 Can I give you an example? 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:42.720 How many times have I heard a believer say, Oh, brother, it's gonna be okay. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:44.720 You're gonna be all right. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:50.399 God will never put on you anything more than you can bear. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:52.559 Oh, bless him, Lord. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:54.879 That ain't true. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:56.480 It's not in the word. 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:00.159 But we make magnets out of it and put it on our refrigerator. 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:04.240 We put it, we literally put it on paintings above our kitchen table. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:07.440 God will never give you more than you can carry, butterflies. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.200 It's not, it's not in here. 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:10.799 It's not in context. 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:13.919 And by the way, if you study the word, context is king. 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:22.320 It is important to actually read the verses before and the verses after what you actually are trying to cherry pick and quote and make your emotions feel better. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.600 Here's what you're thinking. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:42.240 That verse of scripture is all about temptation, and it says the Lord will never allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, but he will provide a way of escape. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:52.720 It's about temptation, it's not about life, and somehow, somewhere along the way, believers believe that we're not supposed to struggle and we're not so supposed to suffer. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:56.720 But the Bible talks about embracing suffering and suffering with Christ. 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:02.559 Remember, Jesus said, Take up your cross take up your cross and follow me. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:04.639 He never said, Take up your couch. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:10.559 And some of us don't want to be cross Christians, we want to be couch Christians, and we want it to be easy. 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:14.080 And the Bible never said it would be easy, he never said you wouldn't go through pain. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:19.440 He said, I will be with you in the midst of pain, in the midst of struggle, in the midst of heartache. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.960 And if you don't believe me, just study the life of Paul. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:30.960 The apostle Paul wrote more than half of the New Testament, and they cut that brother's head off. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.120 That was more than he could bear. 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:37.679 Sorry, I probably should have said it like that, but it's true. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:39.759 Sorry, Paul, I gotta meet him someday. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:41.200 It's true. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:46.399 Don't despise your moments to need Jesus. 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:53.919 I was going through a really hard space in my life many years ago, and I remember going and talking to this old bishop, Bishop Tenney, Bishop T. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:54.080 F. 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:55.360 Tinney, and I went to Bishop T. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:55.519 F. 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.159 Tinney and I said, Bishop Tinny, I'm going through so much. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.519 I'm going through so many hard times, and I don't deserve this. 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:02.799 I don't deserve this. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:03.679 You ever had that moment? 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:04.159 Raise your hand. 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:06.720 I don't deserve what's happening to me right now. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:08.480 So, what do you deserve? 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:11.120 Come on. 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:15.200 Because now we got to get into entitlement and how you feel like you're better than other people. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:17.679 Hey, I didn't say this to any of the other services. 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:19.120 I don't know what's wrong with y'all. 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:22.639 You know what the bishop said to me? 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:26.320 He said, Well, Jeremy, he actually had a real high-pitched voice. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:27.519 He said, Well, Jeremy. 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:29.759 He said, Are you praying more? 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:31.039 I said, Yes, sir. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:32.720 He said, Are you fasting more? 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:33.759 I said, Yes, sir. 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:38.159 He said, Then don't ever despise anything that drives you to the feet of Jesus. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:44.000 Don't talk to the bishop unless you want to get punched in the face, okay? 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:45.919 That's what I learned that day. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.320 Listen, we all have expectations. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:50.399 We just have to make sure they're rooted in scripture. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:52.399 I grew up in churchy church. 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:53.440 How many of y'all grew up in church? 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:53.840 Raise your hand. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:54.159 You grew up. 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:54.879 We're in the south. 00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:56.480 A lot of y'all grew up in church, okay? 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.480 But I'm not talking about like just church, like, um, just church couldn't buy my love. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:01.840 No, I grew up in churchy church. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.080 Raise your hand if you ever sat in church for more than an hour. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:04.559 Raise your hand. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:05.519 That should be most of us. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:07.120 Keep them up if more than two hours. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:07.679 Keep them up. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:08.480 I lost some of y'all. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:09.279 More than three hours. 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:10.960 You sat in church for more than three hours. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:11.919 More than four hours. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:12.879 You've been in church for more hours. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:15.360 I lost most of the white people right there, except for this brother right here. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:16.240 Hey, ha ha. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.200 I used to go to that church that y'all some of y'all went to, right? 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:23.120 We had Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and then we had revival. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.159 And revival wasn't once a week, it was until God was done. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:27.200 It was every night. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:28.480 And then we had 6 a.m. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:30.320 prayer, God forbid. 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:34.799 And we used to Dottie Peoples came out with this song when I was a kid. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:36.000 And it was, it went like this. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.600 He's an on-time God. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:40.559 Some of y'all know, yes, he is. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:45.279 He may not come when you want him to, but he'll be there right on time. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:47.120 He's an on-time God. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:48.240 Yes, he is. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:51.919 He's unstoppable, unshakable, unmovable, unbreakable. 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:54.320 Can't nobody do me like Jesus. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:56.320 I know church, y'all. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:57.600 I've been to church. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:14:59.279 I can do all that. 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:01.039 Some of y'all, God bless you. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:02.799 I'm sorry, y'all are sitting in the splash zone, okay? 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:03.840 I apologize. 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:05.120 Holy Spittle. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:08.879 I was raised in church. 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:11.279 I know the right things to say. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:16.720 But as I got a little older, I thought, he's an on-time God? 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.200 Whose time is he on? 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.559 If he's an on-time God, whose time is he on? 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:24.720 Because he didn't come through when I thought he would. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.600 What do you do when you're mad at God? 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:31.279 Is it okay to be mad at God? 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:34.720 I heard some yeses. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:37.519 Is it okay to be angry at God? 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.039 Some of you are like, I don't know. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:43.840 Is it okay to question God? 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:44.159 Why? 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:45.039 Why did you do that? 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:46.000 Is that okay? 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:50.320 And some of the other services, literally totally, people would be like, no. 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:53.200 I'm like, okay. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:54.960 Well, let's let's look at the word. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:09.440 By the way, side note, I just believe that God's shoulders are broad enough to handle your questions, to handle your anger, to handle your why, to handle your pain. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:16.240 And if you're not bringing your questions to the answer, who are you bringing your questions to? 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:21.360 Sometimes we stay away from God because we're mad at him, like he's some type of boyfriend. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:24.320 Like me and God are just not talking right now because I'm mad at him. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:25.840 Can I tell you something? 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:30.000 If you're mad at God, you might as well tell him, because that brother already knows. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:31.840 He knows the thoughts that you think. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.679 Isaiah 55, his ways are not my ways, his ways are higher than our ways. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:37.519 You might as well tell him if you're mad. 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:39.279 Well, I still just don't know about that. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:43.679 Well, let's go to the word of God and let's talk about some men who walked through that. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:44.879 Can I just tell you this? 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:46.240 I've doubted God before. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.559 How many of you have ever doubted God before? 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:49.600 It's okay to admit it. 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:51.279 Welcome to Doubters Anonymous. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:52.399 All of us have been through that. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:55.360 But I hadn't just doubted whether God was going to come through before. 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:56.720 Let me just confess to you. 00:16:57.679 --> 00:16:59.679 I've doubted whether he's even there. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:01.840 I've doubted if he's even real. 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:06.319 And I'm not talking about sometime when I was 12 and then I had a revelation in epiphany and I held my faith all the time. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:13.279 No, I've had moments in the last two years when I was like, Well, God, are you really there? 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:17.359 And in the heart of hearts, I know I got too much proof. 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:19.920 I can't doubt him because I know too much about him. 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:22.720 But I do doubt him at times. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:24.319 Is that okay? 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.240 What do we do with that? 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:32.319 Job, the most powerful man in the world during his day, was Job. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:38.880 When Satan came and said, I'm gonna test somebody, God said, Have you considered my servant Job? 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:40.079 Thanks, God. 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:46.240 Like terrible things happen in Job's life, and we hear all about Job's faith and we talk about a yet praise. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:49.839 Job said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust him, yet will I praise him. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:51.200 I got a yet praise. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.799 We talk about that, but nobody talks about Job 14, 19. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:02.799 As waters wear away the stones and as floods wash away the soil of the earth, so you, oh Lord, destroy the hope of man. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:07.519 Good one, Job. 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.160 Nobody's putting that on a t-shirt. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:12.880 If you're a guest today, you get a free shirt. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:13.839 Isn't that awesome? 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:17.200 Can you imagine if you got it and it says, God destroys our hope? 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:18.799 Job 14, 19. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:20.559 Have a great day. 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:24.960 But guys, it's in there. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:28.559 Jeremiah, one of the most powerful prophets. 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.400 God says, I called you in the womb before you were born. 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:33.839 This is Jeremiah. 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:35.440 Jeremiah 15, 18. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:39.759 Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:44.480 Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar and as waters that fail? 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:47.279 Excuse me? 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:53.200 Because I was raised to believe that, like, bruh, if you talk to God like that, he's gonna strike you dead. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:55.680 He has a lightning bolt and he's ready. 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:01.680 But Jeremiah is a prophet of God, a celebrated prophet of God, whose book was canonized in the scripture. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:04.799 And he's challenging God's honesty. 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:08.160 One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Elijah. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:18.000 Elijah's a powerful prophet of God, so powerful that when the people of God stray from God and begin to worship false gods, Elijah prays and says, There's gonna be a drought on the land. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:20.720 He prays and it doesn't rain for three years. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:22.960 That's a powerful man of prayer. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:26.240 And then he calls together all the prophets of Baal, over 400 of them. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:28.720 Some say upwards of 700 prophets showed up. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:32.000 He said, Meet me on Mount Carmel, we're gonna have a showdown, throwdown. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:38.319 You're gonna pray to your God, I'm gonna pray to my God, and whichever God answers by fire, that's the one true God. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.559 Side note: not a good way to handle intra-office arguments, okay? 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.119 You pray over your desk, I'll pray over mine. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:48.079 No, you're going to HR and possibly jail. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.039 But this is what he does. 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:54.240 And they get there and they begin to pray to their God. 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:57.920 They build an altar, they begin to beat themselves, they cut themselves. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:02.559 And if you don't believe that the Bible has a sense of humor, read about what Elijah said to him. 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:03.519 It's hilarious. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:06.319 He's like, Oh, guys, scream louder. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.079 Maybe your God's taking a nap. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.200 That's in the Bible. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:10.480 He was hilarious. 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:13.200 He's like, Ah, guys, did you schedule it? 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:15.039 Your God might be on vacation. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:16.400 That's literally in the Bible. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:18.799 Elijah was a thug, and it's hilarious. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:20.799 I can't wait to meet that brother. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:24.000 And then when they finish, he says, It's my turn. 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:25.519 And they're like, Yeah, it's your turn. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:37.599 He builds his altar, he puts his sacrifice on his altar, he finds water from somewhere, he digs a trench around his altar, he pours so much water on his altar that it saturates everything and fills the trench. 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:46.640 And then he prays a one-paragraph prayer, and fire falls from heaven, and not only consumes the sacrifice, but consumes the altar and the water. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.519 And then he steps back and he goes, How you like me now? 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:51.519 It's not what it says, but close. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.920 And then he pulls out a sword and he kills 700 of them. 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:58.640 That's a powerful man of God. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:03.440 And then he tells the king, It's getting ready to rain. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:05.440 And he goes onto the mountain. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:08.480 You sang about it today, and he begins to pray. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:19.759 And the a cloud, the size of a man's hand, appears, and then it starts raining, and he's so filled with the power of God, he outruns the king's chariot all the way to the bottom of the mountain. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:22.960 Would you say that's a pretty strong brother in the Lord? 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:25.119 That's a strong brother in the Lord. 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:27.839 And then he gets a letter from a lady. 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:29.200 Her name is Jezebel. 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:30.400 She's the queen. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:32.319 And she says something like this. 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:33.680