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Let us pray. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Romans 12, 18 Dear Father, fill my heart with love and acceptance today as I step out into the world. Clear my mind from judgment and allow my thoughts to replenish with approval. Allow my words to be spoken gently and with love. Please help me to make others feel good for who they are and whom they aim to be.
I know that each of us has a unique past, so remind me to be patient when giving advice. Father, let me be a reflection of you in my thoughts, actions, and words so that I can give the gift of peace to everyone I meet today. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's daily prayer. For more inspiration and an incredible message from our feature pastor, stay tuned to Pray.com's Sunday service.
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Father, we come to you in the strong name of Jesus. God, captivate our hearts with your word now. Speak to us like only you can. Help us to be receptive to your instructions so that we can live better. We thank you, God, for all that you have done, what you are doing right now, and we receive what you shall do in the future. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
And praise God one more time like you may never get another chance. Clap your hands and bless God in this building. I want to take us to Romans chapter 12 today. We are in the series edify or to build up, to sure up, to make solid, to anchor. And so that's the year that we're in the whole year of
I'm believing God to use this year to anchor you, to build you up, to make you solid, to make you sure. And so we went through the first part talking about building ourselves individually. Last week, we dealt with kind of building one another like our spouses, our friendships. Today, we're going to deal with building up
the community or building up the culture? What does this look like? What is our responsibility as God sends us out to do his will? First thing is, thank you, LJ. I want you to look down your row and say you have a responsibility. Okay. And so God is going to speak to us. Give me space today to labor through this.
It's not a short sermon today, okay? But if you can just give me a second to get through this and take my time to teach it and talk back to me so I know that you're understanding it. I promise you where we land, I think you will be the better for it. Is that okay? All right, good deal. So let's go to Romans chapter 12, verse 9 to verse 10.
And then we'll skip down and go from verse 14 to verse 21. All right. So chapter 12, verse 9 through 10. And then we'll skip down and go through verse 14 through 21. Now, what I need while we're going there, what I need you to do, it sounds real corny, but I need you literally to pick up your thinking cap and put it on. All right. I need you to do that because the first part of this message is
It's going to sound like a history class. Okay. And in black church culture, when we start teaching too much, folks start being like the spirit ain't here. But if I don't teach you the historical context to this.
Then you won't really grasp why Paul is saying what he's saying. And you won't grasp the importance of why you need to get what Paul is saying to us today. Is that all right? All right. Good, good, good. All right. Romans chapter 12. If you there say I got it. Everybody should have said it's on the screen. Who's who's reading first? Don't just pretend to love others. What you say really love them.
Hate what is wrong. Start over. Yeah, start over. All right. Yeah. Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. All right. Verse 14. Bless them who persecute you. Don't curse them. Pray that God will bless them. Y'all struggling with this already, huh? I love how somebody say, uh-huh.
Go ahead. Be happy with those who are happy and weak with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. My God. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you are. You know it all. Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.
Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. With who? With everyone. With who? With who? Uh-huh, keep going. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scripture says, I will take revenge. I will pay them back, said the Lord. Instead, if your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their head. Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. May the Lord add a blessing to the readers, hearers, and doers of the word. All right?
Now, let's go to Rome. Let's use our holy imagination. Let's get on a plane, 14-hour flights. Let's go to Rome, back in the day, right? And Rome at the time was the center, of course, of the Roman Empire. Rome had a population of over 1 million people. It was one of the largest cities in the culture of that time.
It was the center of culture, politics, and religion. Because Rome's tentacles reached throughout the middle world of that time, here it is. If you could influence Rome, you could influence the world. Many people went to Rome to prosper and build.
And this included the Jewish populace. The Jewish population during that time of Paul in Rome, just pay attention, was over 50,000 people. The church in Rome was established around 40 AD. And therefore, because the populace was over 50,000 with Jews that came from Jerusalem and
and the Christian movement began in Jerusalem, then the church in Rome would have started predominantly with Jews. Y'all got it? Because they would have received the message preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost. They would have came back to Rome, and they would have returned with this brand new message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They were the original church. However, because the message of the gospel and the practices of Judaism promotes monotheism, which is the belief in one God. Rome was a culture that was polytheist, which means that they believed in many gods. Their message of believing in one God began to conflict with a culture of
That believed in many gods. As a result, the Roman culture not only believed in Greek gods, but they believed in what they called demigods, smaller gods, gods that were half God and human. And they believed that their emperors were demigods. So when this message comes up that you must believe in the one and true God,
Then that also meant that the Christians were spreading a message that was against believing that the emperor was a god. So the moment that the emperor felt that their influence was threatened, they came up with a law in 49 AD from the emperor at the time, Emperor Claudius, that banned all the Jews from Rome. Everyone say banned all the Jews. Banned all the Jews from Rome.
Because he wanted to kill the message of the gospel. But the problem is, is that the gospel never belongs to one demographic of people. And so by the time from 40 AD to 49 AD, they had began to infiltrate the Roman culture just a little bit. So that when the Jews were banished, I love how God does this for his church.
When the Jews were banished, the church did not die because now there were some Gentile believers. Are y'all with me? That was left behind. Okay. Emperor Claudius lived for another five years after banning the Jews. And he dies in 54 AD. Upon his death, all of the things that he put in motion was canceled out.
And therefore, the Jewish Christians and the Jewish people could return back to Rome. But when the Jews came back to Rome to come back to the seat that they had left, they found that the church had evolved. And it was now, it was no longer ran by the Jewish traditions. It was now strictly a church tradition.
That was ran by the liberal and free gospel of Jesus Christ. So here they come back. And they come back and they're looking at what they feel to be undeserving believers. And saying to them, basically, the OGs are back. You new folks need to get out of our way and let us in.
go back to how we were doing it. But the problem was the Gentiles said since y'all been gone, we tried God for ourselves and we found out that some of those laws you were telling us to keep had no power in them and we decided during the during your absence to remove all traditions that no longer served a gospel purpose.
Immediately, contention breaks out in the church because now the Jewish Christians are now arguing with the Gentile Christians over small, itty-bitty little traditions that really meant nothing to the gospel of Jesus Christ. So Paul writes, everyone say Paul writes. Paul writes to the church in Rome.
Because he heard about the unnecessary tension between the two groups that were in the body of Christ. And he understood that they were perfectly positioned to change the world because they were so busy looking in a vacuum that they could not pan out and realize that this church was primed and positioned in a city that if they could change this city, they could change the culture.
And Paul comes to elevate their taste. Paul comes to say, you guys got to pan out and realize the time that God has saved you and the place that God has put you in. And that while you are arguing with one another, what you need to realize is that if y'all can just come together.
There is something that God wants to do in this church that can change this city and ultimately change the culture and ultimately change the world. That's the reason why I opened up telling you how large Rome was because you would understand that it had so much influence. And can I prophesy to about 15 of y'all in here and tell you that by the
power of God God if he hasn't already he is going to place you in positions and seats that can affect influential people and here's what Paul says Paul says here's what I need y'all to do church I need y'all to master how you treat each other and then I need you to master how you treat others look at your neighbor saying now welcome to the sermon
Paul needs them in Rome in Romans to do two things. They get better as I go. Number one, he says, y'all, y'all been knowing God for a minute. He says, but here's what I need from you more now than ever. I need you. First of all, I need you to be the church. I don't need you to just go to it.
I don't need you to just gather in the houses and read from the Bible and read from this, that, and the other and lift your hands. And then when you go home, you completely forget the things that God told you while you were coming together. I need you to be the church. Number two, Paul says in the epistle to the Romans is, I need you to no longer carry yourself in a way that makes the gospel ineffective.
Two things. I need you to be the church. Number two, I need you to make sure you're not doing stuff that makes the gospel ineffective. 2023, greater Zion, as God dealt with me all last night, I couldn't sleep. I come with a word today.
My word is that we are alive as Christians, as the ecclesiasts, the called out ones. We are alive and we are called to regions and cities and metropolises and political positions and platforms and power that if influenced by Christianity will properly will and can change the world and the culture that we are attached to. I know we're living in the last days.
I know we're living in an anti-Christ culture. I know we're living in amongst the people that are polytheists and that they are serving multiple gods. But ladies and gentlemen, I stand flat footed and declare that I still believe that the preaching, the proclaiming of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ still has the power to change this world. That's a weak clap. That's a weak clap.
It's the best story we got. It's the best story we have. It is the only thing that gives encouragement to a world that feels as if God has forgotten about them to just proclaim and remind everybody that God so loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever shall believe on him. God shall not perish but have everlasting life. The gospel of Jesus Christ. Not self-help books. Not self-help speeches. But the gospel of Jesus Christ. That says that Jesus is the son of the living God. That he was born of man.
virgin Mary that he lived and roamed the streets of Jerusalem and healed the sick and raised the dead and opened up blinded eyes and unstopped deaf ears he died on a hill on
on an old rugged cross and he didn't stay dead but early Sunday morning he got up with all power in his hand he ascended unto the Father sat on the right hand of him intercedes for every single one of us works out our soul salvation presents us faultless he is the head and
the tail he's alpha and Omega he's first and the last and one of these days he's coming back again the gospel still has power and God wants to use you to tell it I want y'all to do me a favor I know we scared of monkeypox and all pox and
But I want y'all to just hunch about everybody around you and tell them God's going to use you before you die. You can turn the arrow back on. I don't care what they say. Look at them again. Say he's going to use you. If you are sitting, I know the anointing on my life.
I know the power that resides on me as a prophet of God. I know my mission. I know why God called me and I know why God established this church and I know why God pulls you here. If you never come here again, you're going to hear God tell you on this morning, he birthed you to use you. And by the time you die,
God would have gotten glory out of your life no matter how far down you are no matter how many mistakes you have made no matter how messed up you may be no matter how dirty you are no matter your addiction no matter your trial no matter your persecution your tribulation God saved you for a time such as this he will use you before you close your eyes when you die the devil will be
be mad. Witches will be disappointed. Men will be under your feet and victory shall be your lineage. By the power of God. Look at three people and say he gonna use you before you die. Every blessing that's coming. Every blessing that's coming your way this year is God sneaking you in so he can blow up the spot. You don't have no control over it.
You can't even mess it up if you try. God is going to do some great things in his people this year. He's going to perform some things in your life. It's going to all make sense by the time you come to the end of this road that God has always known the plans that he has had for you. Plans of good and not of evil. And to bring you to an expected end. And when he brings you to that place...
God is going to use you to get glory. And they will glorify his name because of your presence. Who he is because you told him. God wants to use you to properly change this world. But the church has to work on two things. The church got to work on, number one, how we treat each other. Jews, Gentiles.
It's no longer Jews and Gentiles clashing in the church. It's the, I think I'm better than you. And I don't know why God got me here crowd. You got those that were raised in a church and those that are just coming to church. Those who know the traditions versus those who know not of the church traditions. And we find ourselves instead of celebrating conversion, we find ourselves sitting in the seats of judgment.
Looking at people who have not yet become what you think that they should become. Judging their prayers. Judging how they preach. Judging how they use their gifts.
criticizing every move that they make because somewhere in your little mind you think that because you were raised in church that that makes you holier than somebody else, makes you better than somebody else, makes you more wise than somebody else. But ladies and gentlemen, if you know the God that I know, he don't need your degrees nor your experience to use you. Somebody in here ought to testify that
Now you struggling big time to live this word out. But the grace and the mercy of God keeps using you over and over again. It ain't in my notes, but I'm so glad that none of y'all that got judgmental eyes have a heaven or a hell to put nobody in. Somebody in here needs to hear this. Some of y'all need to come off of your high horse.
And all because we can't see your sin, don't think God don't know it. You may not be gay, but you evil as hell. You may not be a hoe, but you're unforgiving. Ain't nobody saying nothing to me. You may not use drugs, but you're violent when you're at home. And you're a whole nother person after the benediction. All sin is sin. Ain't nobody saying nothing to me.
There's no great level in sin. I'm trying to help somebody. There is no big sin and little sin. And at your best, you are still nothing but filthy rags. Don't forget that if God didn't look past your mess, you would have died in your sleep last night. You sitting up in here because his grace is better than your sin. Amen.
Yeah, yes. Clap your hands. Because you got stuff that God could bring out right now that'll tear your whole life up. Wreck your reputation. And you got the nerve enough to look down your own road and criticize somebody because their dress is too short and your dress is long but you lift it every Friday. You're no better than somebody else. It ain't Jew and Gentile no more. It's titles versus the untitled.
It's I'm an elder now, so I get to critique the new preacher, forgetting that you yourself are still practicing every week. It's those that don't have prophecy criticizing those who can prophesy. Jealous because God didn't give you the gift. I wish I had somebody up in here. And I come to tell somebody up in here that God is over all of it. And God says we got to master how we treat each other. And then we got to master how we treat others outside of us. Mm-hmm.
It's interesting, y'all, if you go to the top of chapter 12, that Paul opens chapter 12 saying this thing. He says, I beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of God. Watch the text. That you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Living sacrifice. Living sacrifice. He's painting a picture that being a Christian means
It's more about what I rather than what I say. As a matter of fact, ladies and gentlemen, what I say should support what I do. And what I do should be the proof that I too believe what I say. Paul wanted the church to quickly dead the unnecessary internal strife amongst them. And here's why.
Because they had bigger fish to fry. They would need both parties, Jews and Gentiles, to pull it off. Now here where it is, I'm in the meat of the message. I want to propose some things to you all, greater Zion. Number one, and you all may disagree, but I need your spirit to talk over your flesh.
May you find a way to quickly dead any internal strife amongst you and dead any internal strife that's on your team. Number two, may you realize that quite possibly the strife that's allowed to take place is to keep you in conflict with who you will need to accomplish the bigger assignment that's coming.
I've said it before. I'm going to say this thing again. And many of you all, your ego will not allow you to say amen. God sent people are not replaceable. The people you easily replace are the people you brought. God sent people are not replaceable. Which is why the text says what God has joined together.
Let. That's the word. Let no man put asunder, put on opposite sides of. I hear a lot of shouting from y'all this year, but right here, I want y'all to live with what I'm about to tell you. You all better very quickly sit down somewhere and analyze and ask God to give you discernment if you cannot analyze the people that are brought to you because God brought them there and the folks you just running with.
But those are two sets of people. Y'all ain't got to like me this morning. And if you're not careful, you will jeopardize a relationship, a connection with somebody or with some people that y'all ain't going to say amen here either, that you need to accomplish the next assignment. Something else y'all ain't going to say amen to, Lonnie. They not hearing me on this one. Is the next assignment to
It's too big for you to handle by yourself. All that y'all was clapping about, all that y'all believe in God is going to do for you. Hear me very clearly. If it's of God, you cannot manage it alone. God never gives you something you can manage because it will cause you to take credit.
He gives you something that's too big for you and makes you lean on others for support to be able to get it done. You know why y'all not clapping? Because this is the most egotistical, narcissistic generation that has ever walked the face of this earth. Thinking that you can do it by yourself is a lie from the pit of hell. And there's so much hatred and bitterness in our hearts today.
That we don't want to admit that we need other people to help us to do what God is calling us to do. Ladies and gentlemen, I need 20 of y'all to help me. I'm tired of trying to do it by myself. I ask God, send me help. I can't do it alone. How much time I got to really just slow walk this? Are we good? And God responded to me and said, why are you asking me to send something that's already there?
But conflict, strife, things that you haven't even said to one another can cause great dissension between groups that are supposed to be working together. And so Paul realizes two things. Number one, how the church treats each other is our greatest strength. I'm going to say that. As a matter of fact, everybody repeat after me. How the church treats each other is our greatest strength. You hear me? How we as a church...
As have we as great as I can't preach about the church across the street and down the street. I don't pastor there. I pastor here. And if you're a visitor, I pastor you for the next 30 minutes. How we treat each other is our greatest strength. Watch this. And how the church treats others outside of itself is its greatest power.
He said, this is how they will know that you are my disciples. I preached this already. It's how you love one another. Let's go further. How we treat each other makes it easier to treat outsiders the same way. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a proven fact. Love at home produces loving children at school.
Love in the marriage produces a loving coworker. Hatred at home produces a bully on the playground. Hatred from your partner produces a cheater in the culture. Ain't nobody saying nothing. Y'all not talking to me. I think I'm preaching better than y'all giving amens. But here's what God told me to tell this house. If home base is solid, it's hard for the culture to shake you.
And here's the prophetic word. So dead the internal conflicts because a greater assignment is coming to this house. Dead the internal conflicts amongst you and your household and your children and your friendships because there's a greater assignment coming to all of your lives. Nobody say another to me. You are going to have to find a
away to get the devil out of the middle of what God has put together y'all ain't saying nothing to me that's why we're fasting and y'all ain't clapping because you love bacon more than you love wholeness you love steak more than you love God taking you to the next level ain't no
to control you we're trying to get you so God can control you and that means you got to lay down that plate so that God can fix your spirit so he can open up your eyes and you can see where the devil is lurking and he can give you power to get the devil out of your house y'all gotta help me preach
Y'all touch your neighbor like it's Instagram and say get the devil out of the middle of it right now.
Come on. Y'all say it again. Say it again. Say it again. Say get the devil out of the middle of it. I'm going to say it one more time. Don't hit the organ. This word is for everybody that's looking at me. None of y'all are protected by your little funky titles this morning. This is a word from God and he told me to tell this house get the devil out of the middle of it.
of the middle of it. Now let me tell you why I don't want to say amen. Because some of y'all the devil. Ain't nobody saying nothing. Some of y'all have allowed the devil to use you to infiltrate what God never wanted him in the middle of it. And you're too prideful to ask God how to fix it. And you won't tie
to heal all wounds but time never said it heals anything your obedience ain't nobody saying nothing will heal the sin I'm talking good you gonna have to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and ask God to give you the wisdom and the strength and
the know-how, how to get the devil out of your business, the lack of clapping, scaring the hell out of me. I need somebody that know you got some power, a little power left in you on reserve from 2022 to make the devil mad up in here and let it come out of your mouth. The devil ruined it last year, but he won't ruin it
Y'all are weak.
He ain't messing up my covenant relationship. He ain't jacking up my church. He can't have my loved one. He can't have what God gave to me. That's my blessing. That's mine. Ain't nobody saying, punch yourself on the chest. That's mine. I prayed for it. I sacrificed for it. I went through hell to get it. We've been through the valley for it.
It's been tried. It's been tested. It's been proved. I want y'all to be the preacher and holler the devil can't hide. Oh, that was weak up in here. I need all 200 of y'all. Just holler until the devil get nervous. I did it again.
Shout it again. Some of y'all still looking at me. Those wasn't your orders. I didn't ask you to look at me. I command you by the authority of the power of the Holy Ghost. Open up your mouth and holler. You can't have it. I put you under my feet. Somebody stomp on his head and say, you can't have it. Shout
Shout yeah. Oh, you can. Now clap your hands and praise him. Shake it, my son. Oh, God, there's something on me this morning. If y'all not tired. Lily, I hope they're not tired. Can somebody rock your neighbor back and forth and say this is warfare this morning. This ain't church. This is warfare. There's something trying to interrupt.
but he said you next to the right person somebody holla no weapon against me so what the three people say not against me I can show my brother shake it hey come on my city it's a little bokeh he said terrible son oh come on
Excuse me. Somebody rock the back and forth and say no weapon. No weapon. No weapon. Y'all weak. Y'all weak. I need a trumpet in your throat. I need you to get a holler like your pastor and say no weapon. I'm about to lose my mind. Y'all not prosper.
What the three people say it ain't gonna work it ain't gonna work it ain't gonna work it ain't gonna work it ain't gonna work it ain't gonna work come here it ain't gonna work oh shut up oh shut up get in the aisle and say it ain't gonna work Lord I'm trying to sit down so the internal conflicts have to end I hear y'all clapping I see you standing but are y'all hearing me
How much time do I got, Daddy? I got time, y'all. I know we got somewhere to go. But I got to say this, please. Oh, Holy Ghost. Listen to what I'm about to tell you. I don't know who them are, so I don't know who them are. That's for you to figure out who them are. But I heard the Lord say, the devil will kill you without them. There are some people, boy, then Gordon, 400 folks about to lose their mind when I say this. There are some people...
You got to keep connected to you because without you telling me anything, they know how to cover you. All of y'all who have taken advantage of people who cover you, that's why you ain't saying amen. You cannot afford to lose people that even when they mad at you, they still telling the devil you can't have that one. And that's... So we got to dead the internal conflicts. We got to dead it. That ain't your seat. That ain't your parking space.
You're not better than the next person. No one cares how long you've been here. We glad you put in your time, but you ain't better than the new person. The older folks ain't better than the younger people. Younger people, you ain't doing it no better than the older folks did it. We all just vessels trying to be used by God. Someone look at three people saying, so kill the conflict. Can I put something else there? Can I say this? It's not in my notes. Can I say this? And nobody has to explain to you how God's using them.
Especially, here's the shout, when you haven't figured out how God's using you. But there's a lot of that happening internally, right? I'm not using the pulpit to beat nobody up. The scripture's giving me liberty to address it. Because when people leave the church and out of the sight of the pastor, they become people that drive good people away.
God said we got to dead the internal conflict. You got to dead those conflicts. And Paul hearing about the new emperor that was coming because Claudius is dead. The new emperor that was coming, his name was Nero. And Nero hated Christians. But here's the thing, y'all. Here's why they needed to dead the conflict. Claudius hated the Jews that were Christians. Nero hated Christians. Y'all ain't got it.
The last time, the only ones that were affected by the hatred was one group. What Paul knew was coming was that Nero hated all Christians, which meant that when he started tripping, he wasn't just coming for the Jews. He was coming for Jews. Okay, so let me say what I'm saying here. Hello, ladies and gentlemen.
In case you are hidden in a basement somewhere in some bunker that we don't know nothing about, I'm going to say this to see if you're sitting next to the right person. The devil coming after everybody. Here's where you ought to make the devil mad. So tell your neighbor, that's why I don't need to sit next to one. I cannot fight the devil and then pull up and fight the devil in here. Nobody's saying nothing.
I can't fight the devil out there and fight the devil in my friendships. I can't fight the devil out there and fight the devil in my marriage and with my children. Y'all ain't saying nothing to me. And he's coming for everybody. Now I'm going to see if y'all real Christians or not. I'm going to see can you really turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor and the devil can't have you because you sit next to me. I need y'all to say it. Come on. Listen to me. Listen to me.
Tina, listen, the church is going to miss this row. They're going to miss what I'm about to say. This is why the Bible says do not forsake. God, I feel like preaching. The assembling together because when the devil has slapped the hell out of you all week, you got to come to a place where somebody says, oh, you've been through it too?
You can fight them by yourself. But for the next hour, let's slink up. Because the Bible says one can chase a thousand. But two can put ten thousand aflame. Ho, ho, ho. Ho, ho, ho. How many in here believe that God hears your cry? How many of you? I double dare you to take your shout and match it with the energy of your neighbor's shout and see what God does.
Y'all ain't saying nothing to him. If you holler, cancer got to go. Blood pressure got to go. Diabetes. And all of y'all looking at me, the Bible says, where two or three tongues in a grid, he's in the midst of shout with your neighbor. I didn't say look at him. I said shout, get out of it. Get out of it.
Get everything! Grab your neighbor and say, "Get out of it!" Get out of it! Get it! Get out of it! Get off it! Push 'em! Push 'em! 'Til they get mad! Push 'em! Push 'em again! Say, "Scream till you get the power!" Scream till you get the breakthrough! Scream till God turns it! Scream till God changes it! Yeah! Yeah!
Anybody still shouting around you and you don't help them, you are out of order. Thank you. Let me, let me, let me cut across the field. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Where's Chidi at? Because I'm about ready to go home. Oh, he back. All right, let me say this, Jay. Let me say this.
Sister Murray. And then I'm gonna try to cut her. Hey, God. Whoo! Whoo! I just need you to do me one favor. Hold on. I need you to do me one favor. I just need you, please, put your hand on somebody's shoulder. Now, who can help me up here? Who don't mind coming to put their hand on my shoulder? Come on, Loni. All right, that's you. Put your hand on his shoulder.
Here's all I need you to say. I need you to look at the person next to you and say there's something you've been fighting by yourself that today you're going to defeat because I'm going to help you beat it. On the count of three, tell your neighbor, say on the count of three, what was defeating you privately, you're going to defeat publicly. When we come out of this shop together, you go home in victory. One, two, three. Shout your neighbor out.
Say public victory! Public victory! Public! Find that thing by yourself, but change the name of public victory. Y'all playing with me? I said go to somebody and say public victory for private battles! Clap your hands! Clap your hands! All right. Okay, okay. So... This...
Somebody that's stuck in the corner of your row, you better tell the row, excuse me, and say, let me out. Because God said this kind of spirit that's happening in here, now this is sermonic suicide what I'm about to do. It's sermonic suicide what I'm about to do. Hold on. The problem is not suicide.
That y'all know how to do this in here. The problem is... This is... I'm being obedient to the Holy Ghost, Deacon Gordon. I came up Baptist. This is sermonic suicide what I'm about to do. The problem is... Is that we do all of this not from a genuine place. The problem is... I just talked sermonic suicide, you see? The problem is... Is that we'll do all of this with each other and still walk over each other. The problem is...
You shout it, but when service is over, you won't fix it. I just killed the whole vibe. But what God is telling me is, I want this church to be real. What it say in verse 9? Vanessa, can y'all put it back up there? In verse 9, it opens up saying, love them for real. Don't shout with me, then talk about me.
So these are the two things God wants you to get together. He says, I want y'all to master your reaction to things because that's what's killing you. And I want y'all to get together your ability to control yourselves when you are in conflict and chaos. It's 1128. Can I get 10 more minutes? And here's why God says we got to master it in here, Coop, is because what we do in here is practice for out there.
If you that up in arms about someone who's on the same team, imagine what conflict from the other team will do to you. If conflict from the same team can make you leave church, imagine what conflict from the world would do to your faith.
And here, yeah, who said that? Who said that? You said it. There is a big, listen, I'm going to say something to y'all. Those that know the Bible ought to be talking loud to me to make the people that don't know it a little jealous. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principality and wickedness and high play. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not fighting people on this level. This is, people are used.
But they're not the problem, God. On this level, it's the enemy. And he will use any person that will allow him to use them. God, help me in here. And I need y'all to look at your neighbor and say, take all that shout that you just gave and grow up. We got to work on being mean. God, help me. Unforgiving, rude, messy, treacherous, and deceitful. And Paul says there's an emperor Nero coming.
And the Emperor Nero that's coming. Here's where I'm going to go prophetically. And I'm trying to cut across this field. And here's where I go prophetically. Emperor Nero came and he was all about publicly embarrassing the Christians. And here's what God told me, great Isaiah. And I don't know where I'll be when this comes to pass. But this is being recorded. I saw the future. And I saw a spirit of Emperor Nero coming.
There is a hatred for Christianity getting ready to rise up. And it's all about public humiliation. It's about open persecution. And it's going to be resistant to you changing for the good. It's filled with betrayal, y'all. People you ran with forever when you were doing worldly things are going to become your enemies when you start. Here's the key word. When you start living this thing for real.
And you're going to have to master. Here's why I'm about to close. I don't want to keep you all day. Here's what you're going to have to master. Your reactions to it. God help me. Cousins are going to turn against you. Mothers are going to turn against daughters. Daughters against mothers. Y'all don't read your Bible. Fathers against sons. Sons against fathers. Best friends against best friends. Simply because you chose God over them.
Are y'all hearing what I'm telling y'all? And you are too emotional to be released. God told me to tell y'all, you're too emotional for him to release you to more. So what you got to master is how you react to stuff. How you react, how we react to people that set out to sabotage you. And you're going to have to watch how you live out the gospel in the presence of chaos.
So here's three things I give y'all and I'm done. And Judah come up and sing. We shout it so there's no need for me to hoop. Number one, y'all ready for this? Kill the pretentiousness. I want everybody to say this with me. I got to love them for real. Now y'all going to get quiet when I say this. And repeat after me. And I have to love them for real who don't love me. I'm not here for your amens. I know you're wrestling with that. But you say, Lord, that's hard, right?
That's what you say, right? But the scripture, put the scripture up there. The scripture says, don't just pretend to love others, really love them. Then the text says, hate what is wrong, verse 9 and 10, right? Hate what is wrong, go to verse 10, go to verse 10. Hate what is wrong, hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection. Here's how you love people that you feel don't deserve to be loved. You have to hate the wrong they did
And you got to find the good that they do and choose, this is a good sermon, to hold tightly to the good while hating the wrong. Now before you say you can't do that, it's exactly what Jesus did to you. He chooses every day to overlook the wrong you do and see the good in you.
And he chooses to hold tightly to the good in you over the wrong you do. Now, why you should be flipping but you're not is because you think there's more good in you than wrong. But the truth is there's more wrong that you do than the good that's in you. So God is literally holding on to you by the hair of your chinny chin chin. When someone wrongs you,
I'm learning this in this season. When someone wrongs you, I'm learning that the only reason why I'm still talking to them, dealing with them, being kind to them, is because as I was studying for this sermon, I'm not telling y'all something that I've mastered. I'm being tested on it right now. I may be getting a C- right through here. I don't know. Pray for me. But when I found this scripture, I said, oh my God, I get it now. I have to do better.
God said, yes, you have the right to fully judge them and dismiss them for the wrong they did. He said, or you can choose to see the good and the good in the connection and choose to hold tightly in that. So you won't treat them with hatred. You ain't speaking to somebody right now because you're concentrating on the wrong they did. You ain't saying nothing about the times they did show up. Divorce happens now.
Because couples choose to concentrate on the wrong they do. It's quiet now, huh? Somebody in that situation can't let go of the wrong that was done. Instead of focusing on the good in them that made you want to be with them from the get-go. I know the shout is gone now. Harmonic suicide. Every relationship you have with a human being will have some wrong in it.
Don't tell nobody what you won't do. You don't know what you will or won't do until you get tempted and you don't or you do. I'm dealing with people right now because I'm choosing to hold to the good. I'm making a choice to say, but it was good. You're wrong, but it's still good in you. I used to think that that was letting them off the hook until the Lord turned to me and said, that same hook you're accusing them of getting off of, you got off of it too.
So you got to watch it. You got to watch it. Here's it. You got to focus on the good. Number two. Oh, here's why. Let me say this. Here's why. When you treat people better than what they deserve, it shows transformation in you. And it shows that you believe in grace. And when you treat people better than they deserve, it convicts them. Number two, you're going to have to react opposite of what people deserve. The text says, do what? Bless them that curse you.
It goes on to say, ladies and gentlemen, if they hungry, God, this is deep. Feed them. If they thirsty, I'm closing. Give them something to drink. If y'all wait on me to tune back up, that's it. I'm on my descent now. If they sick, still look out for them. God, this is deep, ain't it? I'm closing. I'm closing. They done did you dirty, done did you wrong for the umpteenth time. They don't deserve no goodness from you. Absolutely none. But how...
How much of a message it was sent to the devil that you have the power to crush somebody and you use that power to restore them. Now flip the record over. Flip the record over. Those that are restored when you should be crushed, don't abuse your grace. Humble yourself and realize that the person is choosing to love you with a God love than their own love. Because sometimes our love runs out for people.
But that's where God's love picks up, don't it? Those that are married and you've been married for 40-something years, 30 years or whatever the case may be. Did you stay married because you always loved the person that you was with? If you say amen, God, you lying up in here. You're such a liar in here. We can't stand you. We cannot stand you at your anniversary post. That marriage stays together because there's a God behind you, Denise. God, let me demonstrate this.
Let me demonstrate this. I use you all the time. Let me demonstrate this. Come here. Come on. Come on, Denise. Chidi, come here real quick. Come here. Come here. I'm done. I'm done. We're going to sing a song and we're going to worship and I'm done. But I need y'all to see this. This is not just about marriage. It's about friendships as well. Right? Okay. Come here, Chidi. Come here.
Right? So what happens is, here, give me this microphone. Praise the Lord. You hold that. Don't get it confused. That's her microphone. That's not your microphone. Okay. Put it on the right. Grab her and pull her close. Grab her. Yes. That's self-love. But then things happen that get in between this. And when, even though you're reaching to her because you hurt her, she ain't reaching back.
But when you let God take over, get back on the organ. Take care of that later tonight. There are times when every connection, relationship, and everything is tested to see how much of it is empowered by self-love or empowered by God love. You're going to allow God to force you. Sometimes he has to. Don't lie in here. I'm not telling you this is easy. I'm telling you you got to let God do it.
I'm telling you that on the inside, you're going to want to curse them, and God's going to say, bless them. Let them do it. Because that's the greatest power we have. That co-worker you working with, that boss you working with right now, everybody got somebody in your head right now, don't you? Everybody got somebody that's getting on your last, that neighbor in the apartment complex, that cousin, that auntie. Don't make me go down the list. You got somebody in. Bless them. Don't curse them. They hungry. Go get them something to eat.
Bring it to them. Feed them. They sick. Go to Instacart. Order medicine. Deliver it. It's quiet now. And here's my last point. Because he says, don't let evil overcome your good. How you treat each other shows me how much evil you let sit in your heart. Bitter people are vengeful people.
People who carry that they did this to me, they did that to me. My mama did this, my daddy did this, my cousin did this, and these people did this and this, that, and the other. So now I'm going to make every single person pay. Moving forward, that reminds me of what I allowed them to do to me are people who have allowed what happened to them to infiltrate their heart. And the last point is guard your heart.
Guard, look at three people and say, guard your heart. Everybody stand to your feet. We're ending early. There was no smooth way to land the plane. It wasn't necessary. Just good place to just end it because, y'all, we got a great responsibility and the enemy's coming for us. In the workplace, at school, young people, this is almost an altar call. Like when I just opened the altar, like the whole Big 12 should just be like...
Because here's what I'm challenging a lot of y'all. Young adults and anybody else that got a temper that goes from zero to a thousand in less than five seconds. You have to conquer how you let the devil make you react. Out there needs this. When this church service is over, 500 of y'all descend into the culture. This week, you will most likely be tried. Shoot. Today, you will most likely be tried.
And God sent you here today to tell you, I need you to be the real church now. You all are going to go back home to stuff that the devil has gotten into the middle of, has caused dissension, and God needs you. Oh, y'all not going to like me. God needs you to be the bigger person. Oh, no, amen's there. So here's some things I want us to consider. Is there conflict between you and the baby daddy? The altar is yours. Is there conflict between you and the baby mama? The altar is yours.
Is there conflict between you and your spouse? The altar is yours. Is there conflict between you and your family? The altar is yours. Is there conflict between you and your friend? The altar is yours. Is there conflict between you and the covenant relationships? The altar is yours. Because the conflict is revealing your heart posture. Are y'all understanding what I'm saying? When I find myself
stuck, you know, like on some like, man, what's she doing? That's not her or him messing up my vibe. Her or him is revealing my heart posture. I didn't guard my heart from that argument. I didn't guard my heart from that breakup. I allowed it to fester in me and it has now produced an unforgiving Christian. This ought to call it just for young folks, adults, how you think they learned this behavior?
When the child saw you hang up on the daddy, that's how they learned it. When the child saw you talk bad about the mother, that's when he started treating women that way. Boy, it's quiet in here. God is trying to mend some things, but you guys are going to have to bring your hearts to the altar. So the altar is open. I know y'all looking at you and watching. The excitement is over. I don't want you leaving here excited. You got to let God speak to your heart today.
You got to take this to the Lord. You got to tell God, I think evil is starting to overcome my good, Lord. I think I'm starting to allow the things that I've been through to change how I'm treating other people. Now, Lord, these people, I got fooled. I got them fooled, Lord. Did you see me shouting 20 minutes ago, Lord? They all think I'm spiritual. But this altar call is a moment for you to bring your heart to the Lord and say to God,
take this you will never grow to be the christian that god can use to influence rome until you guard that heart does that make sense preachers need to be at this altar elders need to be at this altar ushers need to be at this altar many of you all need to bring it to god and say lord here's my heart creating it a clean heart creating me a clean heart renew a right spirit in me oh god
Help me, Lord. Fix this thing in me. Fix it. I'm mad. That's how you start. I'm mad. Lord. I was going to say another word, but we in. I'm angry. I'm upset. I don't like what happened. However, this is where y'all going to get quiet. Your wisdom thought it to be beneficial to allow it. And for whatever reason, God, that was designed to grow me, to make me wiser. So lift your hands, close your eyes. Speak to my heart.
Holy Spirit, give me the words that will bring light. Words on the wings of the morn fade away if you speak to my heart. Holy Spirit, message of love. To encourage me from these bad days. Lord, just speak to my heart.
This is all you.
This is all you. Who hurt you? Who left you? Who abandoned you? What pain was caused? What infidelity happened? Where did the enemy come in? What lie was told? What betrayal? That's where it starts. Come on. Reveal it, Lord. Come on. Your eyes are closed. You're meditating. I won't.
Why are you so angry with your mama? Lord, show me that. Sweet. I want to be right. Lord, take that anger out of me. The vengefulness. The malice. Speak. I need your love. If I can't hear you, then I don't know why.
Father, in the name of Jesus, God, you are calling us into reflection now.
Lord, there's some stuff in our heart that's blocking us from the next level. Cleanse it. Take it out of us. Help us. We're tired of being bitter. We're tired of being angry. We're tired of being mad. We're tired of being unforgiving. Help us. Help us. Yeah, I'm going to stay right there. Help us. Yes, Lord. Somebody ought to just say, help me, Lord, with this. Help me.
Come on, say it again. Help me, Lord, with this. Help me, Lord. I mean, work on me, Lord. Work on me. Work on me. Work on me. And don't let it be a slow work either. Let it be a quick work, God, that we don't miss what you got for us in February. We don't miss what you got for us in March and April and May, God. God, touch our hearts. Help us to let go of the past. Help us to let go of yesterday. And every time the devil brings it up to cause fresh hurt, God, block it.
that we may be used by you. We ask you to do it now because you did it for us. In the strong name of Jesus Christ, I pray. And everyone say amen and praise God. I want you to clap your hands. Come on. Before you go back, you say, speak to my heart. Say, give me your peace. I will go on. I will never, never, never go on. I will never go on. I will never go on.
Everybody give each other a fist bump or a nudge. Even if you're in your seat. On your way back to your seat, ladies and gentlemen, tell them I love you. Come on, come on.
I love you. May God repair your heart. Everybody standing. Go get Danny and whoever's back there. Tell them to come in here. I need to interrupt his work. Everyone standing. Before I close, there's a word from the Lord that God spoke to me that I need to read to this house. And then I'm done with y'all. Then we come back tonight at 5 o'clock. The Spirit of God has been dealing with me. And the Lord spoke to me. I've been writing down every word he gave me since 2021.
God spoke to me last night, Saturday, January 14th at 11:27 p.m. If you can stand, stand up. It says this: He told me to preach the sermon. When I finished preaching the sermon big, the Lord told me to release this word on this house because after today, it's like two by two, he's gonna release us into the culture to light the world on fire. Greater Zion, the time period is over.
The Lord said it's time for us to go forth in the highways and byways. Every single one of you starting today. Find every person you can. Tell them about the message of Jesus Christ to the best of your ability. Invite them to church. Keep inviting them to church. Bring them. Just go ham. We have a window that God is going to give us influence. Okay? When I said that, God said...
75% of that church will disqualify itself because they feel as if they are not worthy to do what they have seen you do. So God said to me, write this down and give this to them. I do not need perfection. I only require your permission. I need your permission to use you for my will as you are. Every one of my disciples were called with shortcomings.
And none of them were recorded, completely delivered from those shortcomings. Because the cross did the work that none of them could do. Called them to do the work they knew they could do. Not ask them to be perfect. Greta Zion, I am also more patient with you than you give credit.
and I did not call you to destroy you in the middle of our relationship. That you are not perfect, but that is the reason why the blood still works. I simply asked them with all of their imperfections, two words, follow me. Their yes was all I needed. I do not need your perfection. I only need your permission. The Lord will take care of the rest.
I the Lord have already taken care of the rest here's the last paragraph you need to receive and if this is your word we're gonna dismiss and you need to come to the altar because this is confirmation for you you get your stuff and you come to the altar you ain't bothering us because this is the important part I don't care if it's Judah it doesn't matter but this needs to set somebody free I never heard God say this to me the Lord said write this down I'd rather you
Be a honest sinner than a liar. A liar cannot stand in the eyesight of God. But an honest sinner is presented faultless. This is going to help you some more. I do not need you to pretend to be whole if that's not my will for you. Sometimes I leave you broken to keep you humble. I can do more with your brokenness in my plans.
then you can with a pretentious version of yourself that is popular with man. Be true to yourself this year and our God will take care of the rest. That is the word of the Lord for this house. So before you leave, some of y'all, before you hit that door, may need to come to the altar and by a gesture of faith, you are giving God today your sense of inadequacy.
Because God said, I qualified you before you were even born. I knew what I was doing when I called you by name. Are we family? And yes? If you want to join this church, you can afterwards. The elders will be around. You can come to one of us. We'll take you in. Now may the Lord bless thee and keep thee. May he make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee such peace.
And so you shall put his name upon your children. And he promised, I will bless them. Look at somebody and say, God loves you. I love you. And there is nothing you can do about it. Be blessed in the Lord. Speak to my heart, Lord. Speak to my heart, Lord. Speak to my heart, Lord.
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