WEBVTT

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God, today is our last message in the series that we've been in now for quite some time.

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It's the lowliness of mind series. I see a lot of new faces this morning. I would encourage

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you to go to our website and to listen to this series because I'm just coming to the

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end of it today. So a lot of what I'm really talking about today may or may not make sense

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to you, but I'm going to try my best to give a review to the measure that I can. I do want

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to make a quick correction of what I said actually last Sunday. And I'm like, man, this is so good.

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Like, people are listening. I said something last Sunday where I was talking about,

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you cannot allow this secret place to exceed the pulpit. You guys remember when I said that?

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What I was really trying to say is you can't allow the pulpit ministry

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to exceed the secret place. I want to make that correction. Though I know you guys knew

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what I said, but my English, man, I'm still working at it. I've been in America for 27

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years and I'm still working at it. So I thank you that you understood me, but I want to make

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that correction because I believe those corrections are very important for us to make.

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We can't, we can't let this, let me just kind of go back to this. We can't let

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the public ministry ever exceed the private ministry. And let me, let me elaborate and

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give a little bit of an example of what I mean when I say that. I don't want to just make a

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statement and you're like, oh, amen, that's cool. Let me explain a little bit. We can,

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now hear me correctly, we cannot allow the excitement of talking, of talking to people

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about Jesus, exceed the excitement of meeting Jesus privately. You guys catching what I'm saying?

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It's good. We should be excited to talk about the Lord. We should be excited to pray for healing.

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We should be excited to pray for deliverance, but the public ministry cannot, the excitement

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that we have here, cannot exceed the, the excitement we have to meet with him privately

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and get to know him privately. Because everything that we do in private is actually an over, I'm

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sorry, everything that we do in the public is actually an overflow of what we do in the private.

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Does that make sense? It's okay to be excited and you should pray for healing. You should

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pray for deliverance and it's okay to have that excitement, but a lot of the times we

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get caught up in this and we actually lose our first love to the Lord. And then next thing,

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you know what? You're a dry vessel. You're praying for healing and nothing's happening. You're praying

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for deliverance and nothing's happening. And you're like, well, what's going on? And the Lord might

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speak to you just like you spoke to me. He said, son, you've loved the pulpit more than

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you've loved to be with me in private. And that cuts deep. Amen? Quick Sunday overview.

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We talked about Jesus entering the ministry last Sunday. And I talked about how he was

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baptized by his cousin and how lowly that was. John the baptizer being somebody that was

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deemed to be a lesser than in society. He was deemed to be a crazy guy. You know, I even said,

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you know, if a John the Baptist in the time of the Bible walked into our church,

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I guarantee you it'd be like the Red Sea would split here and people would go to this side and

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John would be sitting by himself. Okay? I talked about that last Sunday. We talked about how

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the Spirit of God after Jesus was baptized, the heavens tore open, the Father spoke to him.

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And then the scripture tells us that, that the Spirit of God drove Jesus into the wilderness.

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And I was explaining how that's lowly because Jesus didn't stand there and waited for his

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applause and his praise because what the people just saw, they just saw heaven tear open.

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And the people heard a voice. It wasn't just that Jesus heard the voice of the Father,

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but literally a multitude that was around him heard the voice of the creator of the heavens and

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the earth saying this is my beloved son. And Jesus did not stand there and receive his

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applause and all this stuff. But the Bible says that immediately the Spirit of God drove him

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into the wilderness. And in the wilderness, what the Lord actually did is what Adam and Eve

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failed to do. The serpent in the Garden Genesis 3, we read that the serpent tempted Adam and Eve

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with three things, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It's the three

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things that he was tempted with or that they were tempted with and they failed in it. But

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now we read, Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to actually accomplish

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what Adam and Eve failed to do. The scripture tells us that the Lord made a statement. He said,

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I have not come to basically remove the law, but I've actually come to complete it. In other

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words, the Lord came in lowly, being God, he could have flipped the script. He's God. Remember this.

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This is the Genesis 1 God. I'm kind of bringing some of you back here. This is the Genesis 1 God

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that now came into earth, that now came in and stepped into his creation. This is the

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Almighty God. He can speak anything into existence. He can literally, in a snap of a

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finger, he can take the breath away from your lungs. And if you don't believe me, read

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Acts. Read the book. If you don't believe that God can, in a snap of a finger, take breath

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away from your lungs, you're not reading your Bibles. Because in the book of Acts,

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we see what happens to people that lie to the Holy Spirit. Let me tell you a quick story here.

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I just, I want to emphasize this here quick. Let me tell you a quick story. My parents

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shared the story with me. Back in the Soviet Union, when Christianity was persecuted,

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my mom shared stories with me the way that God moved in those meetings. These meetings were in

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homes. They'd gather anywhere from 10 p.m. to 2 o'clock in the morning. They would gather.

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They didn't have the luxury that we have now. Did you hear me? They didn't have the luxury

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that we now have. And my mom said the way that the Holy Spirit would move there,

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if somebody was living in active sin. Okay, I'm not trying to scare you here, but I'm trying to

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speak something to you about our God. He's grace. He's graceful. He's mercy. But there also is a

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level of holiness of our God that we oftentimes don't talk about. And my mom said there would

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be people, if they were living in active sin, deliberate sin. They know that they know

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you can't sleep outside of marriage, but they were still doing it. My mom said they would

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gather. It'd be like 30, 40 people at, you know, one o'clock in the morning and they'd be praying.

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And as soon as prayer started, God would speak right away and he would call out people's sin.

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Like to the tea. And you would say, well, that's not right. Like why would God do that?

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You know what I mean? Isn't he gracious? Isn't he merciful? That's actually the

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mercy of God. That's actually the mercies of God. We think being put to shame and being

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put on a spot is, oh my goodness, this is bad. That's actually the mercies of God.

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I would rather have you, I would rather have God expose something publicly that I was living in

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than burn in hell for eternity. I would rather be embarrassed publicly, but know that my soul is

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eternally saved than be like, I don't want to be exposed. God, don't call out my sin,

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but then for eternity burn in hell. Do you see how shallow our society has become?

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Friends, my wife and I, when we were traveling churches, this stirred the holiness in me.

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We were sitting in a service. You're never going to see me do this, by the way. And I said never

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are going to see me do this. We were sitting in a service and the pastor said, we don't want to

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make an altar call. He said, we don't want to make an altar call because we don't want to

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embarrass you. We don't want to shame you. We don't want to bring you up to the altar

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and expose your issues on and so forth. So just lift your hand. Just lift your hand wherever you

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at. God meets you where you're at. Just lift your hand. Do you know what ran through me? There

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was this holiness of God that ran through me. I said, my God, our Lord Jesus hung on the cross

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publicly naked, mocked for everybody to see. And you as a pastor are saying, we don't want

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to shame you. Just stay where you're at. We don't want to embarrass you. Stay where you're at.

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What about our Lord? What about the fact that He hung naked? What about the fact that He was

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mocked and beaten publicly for everybody to see? Humiliated. And now you as a pastor are saying,

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we don't want to shame you. And I'm going somewhere different with it, but I feel the

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Lord on it. When we make altar calls, it is a privilege for you to come to the altar. It is

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not a place for shame and to expose you. This right here, remember this. This right here is a

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privilege. This right here is a privilege. The altar is a privilege. It is not a place

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to expose your wrongs. It is a privilege that we still have to come to the altar

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and to cast everything on to the Lord. While we still have breath in our lungs, this is a privilege

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because the day that you lose the breath in your lungs is the day that you will lose the

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privilege to repent. Our Lord hung publicly. He hung on that cross for everybody to see.

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To this day, we still have people with pictures and different things of our Lord hanging on the

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cross. So don't you tell me we don't want to shame you. We don't want to make you feel embarrassed.

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How dare pastors even say that? How dare we trample what our Lord did?

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There is a holiness in me that is stirred when I hear pastors say, don't come up.

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Just raise your hand. Just raise your hand where you're at. We don't want to embarrass you.

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You're not going to see me do that. But I'm also not going to make an altar call to shame you.

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I am simply given an invitation for a privilege for you to partake in. That's what I'm doing

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when I make altar calls. It's a privilege that you have to partake in. You with me this morning.

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Yes. Jesus didn't flip the script, but he said, I've come to fulfill the law. So he goes back.

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He accomplishes what Adam and Eve lost. He goes into the wilderness driven by the spirit

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and the three things that they were tempted with, our Lord was tempted with.

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Yet with everything, he stood his ground. Yet with everything, he stood his ground.

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You know, I would like to ask you the question and be honest with you.

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If you had somebody, let's say Satan himself came to you and said, you can have everything,

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all the kingdoms of the world, everything, all power. I'm giving you everything,

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as long as you bow to me. See, you guys are saying that now. I'd be very careful with your answer

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right now. Get real with yourself. Get real with yourself. This is our church right now.

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And when I say the church, I'm saying a church as a whole.

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Get real with yourself. Don't answer. Just think about that.

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Because some of us make excuses to the smallest things.

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We make excuses to the smallest things. So when you got a pastor up here that says

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something like this, a congregation right away, no, I would never say that.

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Friend, be careful what you're saying. Be careful with what you're saying.

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Don't be quick to respond, but weigh what you're saying.

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This is why our church has become the way it's become. We have Christians that have not counted

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the cost of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

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We're quick to respond. I'd never, no, no, I would be like Jesus. I'd never give in to that.

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I wouldn't give in if the devil came. Yet somebody hangs a cheeseburger in front of you

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and you're like, I'm ending my fast. I'm going to eat that cheeseburger.

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So be very careful with the way that you respond to what I'm saying.

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We are so quick to end our fasts, our one day fasts, because somebody hung a cheeseburger in

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front of us. And now you're telling me that if devil came and said, you can have everything,

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you'd be like, no, I ain't doing that. I would really weigh and really get real with yourself

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and find a place and say, God, forgive me and help me. Forgive me and help me.

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For this flesh of mine is wretched and it needs to be crucified.

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You're still with me? Did I already step on some toes? And I do this with complete love.

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There is nothing but love that comes from me this morning, friends.

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There is nothing but love that is in me for people of God to know our Lord and what he did.

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I don't say sharp things to be offensive. I don't say sharp things to step on your toes

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purposefully, but you will never catch me, give you a gospel that is self-centered. You

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will not. I've seen it far too many times. I've seen a gospel preached that is self-centered.

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Sermons preached off pulpits that are self-centered. How can we fit Jesus into our busy schedule?

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That's a self-centered gospel. But pastor, I have these things. My kids sports,

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my wife's birthday, all these things. I get it. I get it. Life is busy.

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But would we have a renewal of the mind? And would we hear a gospel from pulpits once again

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that wouldn't be how can we fit Jesus into my busy schedule? But how can I build my schedule

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around the Lord? That's the gospel. And if you haven't heard me say this before,

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I'll say it right now. The gospel is actually not even about you. Did you know that?

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The gospel is actually not about you. You fall into the story of the gospel, but it's not about you.

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It's about a God that loved the world and that he gave his only son.

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That's where we fall into the story. The gospel is not about us. It's about Jesus.

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It's about a father who loves his son and loves his son so much that he created a people of God

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that they would forever eternally be his bride in heaven. That's the gospel.

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You didn't die for Jesus. He died for you. So everything I say is with love, friends.

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There's love that comes from me. And I ask the Lord over and over, I say help me, Lord, to love a people.

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Because I can't do it on my own. I can't do it on my own. I'm going to be honest with you.

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Us pastors oftentimes like to portray that we are these macho macho men and we can love people

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and wear this and that. I'm going to be transparent with you. I cannot love you

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unless the Lord helps me to love you. You're still with me. Jesus was not swayed by the people.

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Help us, Lord. Help us, Lord, to not be swayed by people. Help us, Lord, to not be swayed

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when we go from 250 people to 600 people. Let us not be swayed by the eyes of people.

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Amen. I watched my father who's been in the ministry for many years. I've watched Pastor

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Vernon Mary as they've been in the ministry for many years. And there is something that I've

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learned both from my father and my mother and from our pastors, Vernon Mary. Can we please

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applaud our lead pastors? Can we? I do this. I do this in honor of what I have the privilege

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to observe and learn from in front row. It is a privilege for me and Tanya to do this.

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And there is something that I've learned about you and my parents. It did not matter if there was 30

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people sitting in the pews or if there was 300 people sitting in the pews, they preached the same.

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I honor that. I honor that.

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It never fazed you. It never fazed you when it was only you, your wife, and just your kids,

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never fazed you. You stood true to the vision of God and you maintained it and you went with it.

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And like was prophesied over you before, I believe you are about to see a harvest reaping

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like you've never seen before in your ministry. I believe that. I believe that.

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Jesus wasn't swayed by the crowds. And more than that, when a multitude would follow the Lord,

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Jesus would turn around and he would make statements like this. He would say,

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he who does not eat my body as my flesh and he who does not drink my blood, which is the cup,

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doesn't have life or you're not worthy to be called my disciple. You know what happened?

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The 70 disciples that Jesus had that turned away and they walked away from him. You know why?

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The scripture says it was too hard for them to hear what he was saying.

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Let me tell you something here. Maybe you're a first time guest here today. Let me encourage you with this.

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If there is something hard that you may hear this morning, don't be quick to leave

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and say, I'm not coming back. That was way too much because in the scriptures,

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that's how our Lord spoke. That's how our Lord spoke.

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If you don't eat my body, you don't drink my blood, you don't have life. 70 left and the scripture says,

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and they turned away and they never walked with him again because it was too hard for them.

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And you know what else the Lord did that I find so interesting? He turned to the 12,

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the inner circle. Think of it this way, the team. He turned to them and he said,

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God, you guys want to leave me too? Wasn't swayed. The Lord wasn't swayed. Even if I do this by myself,

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Father, your will be done, not mine. He turned to the 12 and he said,

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do you want to leave me too? And Simon Peter answers something that is so personal to

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me and I share just a glimpse of it this last Friday. Simon Peter turns to the Lord and he

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says, where can we go? He says, where can we go? You, you Lord, have the words of eternal life.

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You have it. So Jesus wasn't swayed, but he would make statements. He would do things

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that people would leave. Even when the young rich ruler came to him, Jesus wasn't swayed

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that he was a multimillionaire. This man could have really helped his ministry. Listen to me.

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This man could have really helped the Lord's ministry, but the Lord had resources that this

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young man did not even have. You're still with me. We talked about how Jesus oftentimes

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withdrew in his ministry and nobody could find him. For days nobody could find him

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because he never allowed the public ministry to exceed the time that was spent with his father alone.

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The Lord was excited to pray for healing and to deliver people. I'm sure that Jesus was excited

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for those things, but he made sure that his time spent with the father

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was something that was held to a higher degree than the public ministry. And you

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can find that in Scripture. Literally, you can find that in the three years, in the three and a

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half years that our Lord was in the ministry, you will find oftentimes he withdrew. Couldn't find

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him. Where is he? I don't know. Where'd he go? I don't know. And then he would make statements

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like, Lord, you're not hungry? Say, I have food that you don't even know of. Quick last point

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for the overview and we're going to get into today. The Lord lived, or I should say the

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Lord did, his ministry in such a lowly way. He went so low in the ministry that even the man,

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John the Baptist, that brought him to the forefront to begin his ministry began to actually

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doubt that Jesus was even the Messiah. This is recorded in Matthew 7. John the Baptist

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actually sent his disciples and he said, go ask him, is he the one that we've been waiting for?

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Is he the one that we've been waiting for? And the disciples came to Jesus. John's

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disciples came to Jesus. And Jesus didn't even make a statement like, yes, tell John that I'm the

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one. Jesus replied, because he's lowly, because our Lord is lowly, he replies and he says,

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you go and you tell John the blind, see the deaf here, the dead are raised, the lame are walking.

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He's saying, listen, just tell him this, tell him these things.

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Can I tell you something? Listen, I want to encourage you with this. Don't be surprised

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that your own people that even led you to Christ, not only brought you into the ministry,

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but actually led you to Christ. Don't be surprised that they will begin to doubt you.

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Don't be surprised. That just means that you're living lowly. That just means that you're going

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so low that people are looking like, ooh, maybe I made a mistake with the prophetic word that I

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spoke over them. Don't be surprised that people will doubt you when God begins to cause you

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to go low. And then he's doing all these things through you, or I should say in the

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process of going low, don't be surprised when people will start doubting you. And they will

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say, man, I think we made a mistake. Is it really, man, is it really though? Is that the one? Are

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you sure? Are you sure that's the person that God actually called into the government area

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to speak something? Are you sure? They're very timid. They don't know how to speak so well.

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They're not very, you know, their vocabulary is very, are you sure? Are you sure? If they doubted

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the Lord, the man that brought Jesus into the ministry is the one that doubted him, aside from

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everybody else, because the Lord lived lowly. Open up your Bibles to John chapter 13, the

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Lord, help us this morning. Holy Spirit, help us this morning.

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Give us eyes to see the Scriptures. Give us ears to hear the Holy Spirit.

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Holy Spirit, I'm asking you that you would open the ears and the eyes of our inner man

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to hear you this morning. Let a spirit of revelation rest in this place.

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I said, let a spirit of revelation rest in this place, Father. Give revelation to your people

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this morning. Give revelation and understanding to your people this morning, Lord.

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Let the train of your robe, Lord, fill this temple and let us see it and behold you.

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In Jesus' name. John chapter 13, verse 1. Now before the feast, let me give a little bit of

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where we're at right now. So we talked about the Lord entering the ministry last week. We

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talked about the Lord in the ministry. I want to talk to you today about the way that our

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Lord exited his earthly ministry. Let me say that again. I want to talk about the way that our

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Lord exited his earthly ministry because the Scripture says that he is a priest forever.

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That means that he is forever and ever and ever the high priest in heaven. His ministry in

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heaven never ends. It is eternal. He is the great intercessor. He is the high priest. He is the

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all in all. He is everything forever and ever. But I want to talk to you today about the way that

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the Lord exited his earthly ministry. And we need to pay very close attention to that.

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We need to pay very close attention to the way that Jesus not only came into the ministry,

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but the way that the Lord did ministry. And more than that the way that he exited his earthly

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ministry. John 13 verse 1. Now before the Feast of the Passover.

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When Jesus knew that his hour had come. That he should depart from this world to the Father.

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Having loved his own who were in the world. He loved them to the end. If you didn't hear

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it yet, I'm going to tell you something. The Lord loves you. I don't know who needs to hear that,

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but I'm going to tell you this morning. The Lord loves you. Jesus loves you. The Father loves

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you. The Holy Spirit, they love you. And if they did not love you, the Son would have never

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went to the cross. And supper being ended, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas

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Iscariot, Simon's son to betray him. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things

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into the hands. And that he had come from God and was given to God.

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Verse four, rose from supper and laid aside his garment. So he took off his outer clothing,

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his cloak, the sign. See, a lot of the times in those days, if you were a rabbi or if you were

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a teacher, you wore like a robe on you. It was a representation that you were a rabbi. It was

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a tunic, if I'm not mistaken, is what I believe it was a tunic that was called, that was on

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him. So the Lord takes off his outer garments. He takes them off as a sign, as a sign. Remember

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this, he's a rabbi, he's a teacher. Rose from supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel

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and girded himself. Here we see our Lord who is God. This is the Genesis one God

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is now taking off the sign of him being I am a rabbi and I am a teacher. He's taking it off

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and now he is girding himself with a towel as a sign of being a servant. He's going low.

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And in the midst of all this, I'm not going to read the rest of it, but in the midst of all

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this, the Lord already knows who the betrayer is. More to that at this point in the upper room,

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John starting at about John 12, all the way up to John 17, scholars call that the upper room discourse.

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It's the upper room discourse. It's where the Lord instituted the last supper.

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This is the night before Jesus was betrayed, you know, taken, brought and crucified.

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So in this John 13, Jesus knows who his betrayer is. And he's sitting with him. He's up there in

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the upper room with them. Judas Iscariot is up there with them, breaking bread. They're doing

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the Passover. They're doing this thing together. And to that, not only is the betrayer there,

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the Lord knows that the 11 are going to flee too. The Lord already at this point knows

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that Peter is going to deny him three times. The other 10 are going to scatter. They're going to flee.

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They're going to run. Yet still, friends, pay attention to this. Yet still, Jesus, knowing all

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this, takes off his outer garment as a sign of him greater than you, so to say,

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girds himself with a towel, goes low down and washes the feet of these 12 men that are about

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to leave him. Our God is lowly. I guarantee you, I guarantee you, there is far and few,

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there is far and few that would do that. I guarantee you, majority of our pastors

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in our modern day church, if they knew that one of their staff members was betraying them and

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were doing something, they would fire them on the spot. They would not invite them into the office,

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take off, so to say, their suit coat, put on a towel, and wash the person's feet that's about to

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betray them. Very few would do that. Do you know what that tells me? That the church has actually

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gone up rather than gone down. You see, I believe, I believe this is my theory. I believe

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that when Jesus was doing that, I believe that some measure of Jesus was hoping,

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was hoping that Judas, that Judas would repent and not betray him.

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It's like he was giving him one more chance of don't do this. I am going to wash your feet.

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I am going to go low to show you my nature. Yet, how many of us would do that?

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We don't even do that to our family members. When we know that our family member

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has spoken about us badly, or there is some kind of gossip going around, instead of us going low

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and serving the person that is gossiping about us, that is slandering us, that is causing strife,

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instead of us going low and serving this person, we make sure that we get on our

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high horses and we make sure that we trample them. We make sure that we come over to them

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before they come over us, but that's not what the Lord did. That's not what the Lord did.

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The Lord went low and he served in the time that he knew that's my betrayer. I am going to

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wash his feet. These are the 11 that are going to leave me. I am still going to wash their

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feet. Why? Because I'm lowly. Because my very nature is who I am. I am lowly.

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And everything that I do, I do it in a lowly way.

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Friends, listen to this. You've heard me say this before. Prayer does not bring unity.

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And some of you are shocked when I just said what I said. Prayer does not bring unity. Prayer

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solidifies unity. What brings about unity is actually transparency and vulnerability.

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You can be in your house all day long praying for unity, yet not causing the faith that you have

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and not putting your works to it, ain't nothing going to happen. If you are not putting the

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works to your faith, ain't no unity coming in your marriage, ain't no unity coming in your

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family, ain't no unity coming to the body of Christ. We have prayer meetings. Let's pray for

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unity. Awesome. What are we going to do to follow up with that? You can fast for weeks.

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You can pray for weeks. But if you're not putting your works to it, ain't no unity going to come.

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The Lord was transparent with His disciples. Let me read it to you. That's why they walked in

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such unity. And by the way, to be transparent and vulnerable, it's two different things. And I'll

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explain it to you here in a second. But more than that, it's very lowly. It is very uncommon in our

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body for somebody to be transparent and vulnerable. Everybody wants to share all the things that

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they've succeeded in, but very few want to share in their failures. But the truth be told, we

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all have them. I like how Pastor Mary says that, Pastor Mary, I'm going to quote you. She says,

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we're all jacked up. Because we've all been affected by sin. Can I tell you something here?

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To break the ice a little bit? Each and every individual sitting here at one point has sinned

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or is still sinning. Did you catch what I just said? Each and every individual sitting in

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this place has at one point sinned or is still sinning. The same thing that Jesus did for me,

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he did for you. The same blood that was spilled on the cross for me was spilled for you.

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The same sin that the Lord died for me, he died for you to set you free.

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To be transparent is to simply do this. I'm telling you what I'm going through,

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being real. Not throwing myself a pity party. Remember this. I'm being real. Hey, I got this

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and this going on in my life. That's transparency. I'm sharing with you. I'm sharing with you

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the real stuff that are happening in my life. Now, vulnerability is a step even deeper.

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Now that's me inviting you to help me. I'm inviting you to help me. I'm being vulnerable.

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Hey, here's what I'm going through. I'm being transparent. My marriage, my kids,

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this and this. That's me just sharing with you. But then the next level would be, hey,

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can you pray with me? Can you stand with me? Can you help me? Can you find wise counsel?

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Can you give me something? Please. Let me read it to you here. Listen to this.

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This is in John chapter 12 verse 27. Listen to what the Lord says. These are the words of our

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Lord. Listen to what he says. He says, Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say?

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Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I came to this hour.

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Jesus, in the crowd of multitude of people, Jesus is being transparent. He's saying,

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I am troubled. My soul is troubled. Remember, our Lord was still a man. Though he was God,

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he was still a man. He had feelings. He had emotions. He wasn't some robot.

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But the reason why he's the great intercessor, and he can sympathize with us, because everything

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that we've been tempted with, everything that we've lived through, our Lord went before us.

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That's why the scripture says he is the forerunner that has gone before us.

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He can sympathize with what you're going through. Bad relationship? Trust me,

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the Lord can sympathize with you. Your kids are undisciplined. Trust me,

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the Lord had 12 that he had the discipline. The Lord can sympathize with us. So here he shares

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his transparency with everybody that's around there. He says, my soul is troubled. Now that's

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lowly, because you would think, but hold on a second. You're the savior of the world.

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You got this all put together, man. You're God. You're the Genesis one God. And now

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you're saying when you're in this degree, you're saying your soul is troubled.

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He's being transparent. Very lowly. More to that. Let's read this. Matthew chapter 26.

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Open up your Bibles to Matthew 26. Let me show you the vulnerability of our Lord.

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This is Matthew 26 starting at verse 36. This is the prayer in the in the garden,

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the garden of Gethsemane. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and he said to

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his disciples, here's where the Lord is being vulnerable. He's inviting them. Come. This is

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what he says. He says, sit here while I go and pray over there. And then he took with them

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Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. So think of

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it this way. Our Lord comes to the garden of Gethsemane with all the 12. Three of them, or I'm

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sorry, three of them come with him and the rest stay. And the three that come with them to the

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depth of the garden, the scripture says he was but a stone throws away. He wasn't that far.

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He wasn't that far. It was a stone's throw away. They could see him. Peter, James, and John could see

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the Lord. They could see him being sorrowful and deeply distressed in what was about to partake.

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Because earlier we read he knew his hour has come. Then the Lord knew that he was destined.

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The scripture says, since the foundations of the world, Jesus was predestined to die.

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It was always plan A for the father to crucify his son. Always plan A for the father to crucify

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his son. Always. So now Jesus knowing this, since the moment that he's creating the world,

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Jesus knowing this now comes into it. And now he's at that point where he knows my hour has

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come for my destiny to be fulfilled completely through and through. He says, I'm troubled in my

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soul. He's being transparent. I'm troubled. I'm troubled in my soul. Then they go to pray in the

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garden. He takes the three with them deeper. And it says he was sorrowful and deeply distressed.

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And he says this, pray with me. He went low. That's very lowly to lean on people that you're

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mentoring, to lean on people that you're leading. That's low.

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Can I be honest with you? I don't have all the answers.

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Did you hear what I said? I don't have all the answers. We think that pastors

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have all the answers. Yes, I agree. Pastors should be held at a higher standard. And the

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scripture tells us that. But I'm going to be real with you. I don't know all the answers.

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But here's another thing. I'm going to quote Pastor Mary. Pastor Mary, I'm quoting you

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this morning. Here's what Pastor Mary says. She says, if I don't know it, let's go search it out together.

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If I don't know the answer, as your pastor, I'm willing to search with you and figure out the

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answer. Because all of our answers are right here. This is a manual to life. Did you hear me?

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This is a manual to life. Don't wait five years to realize that your car has a remote start.

42:48.610 --> 42:55.890
Read your car manual. You can figure it out a lot quicker. Don't wait 40 years in the ministry

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to realize that you have authority to cast out devils. Don't wait. Open up your Bibles.

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Don't wait to realize I have healing power by the Holy Spirit. Don't wait 30 years. Start

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laying some hands on people out in the street and watch God do miracles.

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Jim, thank you for activating our people. Thank you for teaching on the gifts and activating our

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people. You don't have to wait and be 65 and realize I can see the dead rise? Really?

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Huh? I thought those just were pastors. So the Lord invites them. He's transparent,

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then he gets to the garden and he begins to be vulnerable. And he says, pray with me.

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Pray with me. Would you stay and pray with me for one hour? One hour. You know what,

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oftentimes just baffles my mind. Is that, by the way, this was not the first time that

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Jesus did this with his disciples. They knew that Jesus was a praying man. They knew that.

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They wrote it about him. They wrote it about the Lord. They knew. They even asked them,

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teach us to pray. Why did they ask that? Because they knew that they're Rabbi Jesus Christ,

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which is not his last name. Again, I'm quoting Pastor Mary. I'm just going to quote you all

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day today as a sign of honor. They knew that their Lord prayed for long hours. They knew this.

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And what baffles my mind is that here they are, they're doing this again. They're going,

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let's just call it the prayer meeting. Let's call it intercessory prayer. Okay, let's just call

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it that. They knew that he does this, yet in that process, they still fell asleep. It's like,

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but you knew. You knew that this is what your rabbi does often. Would you have not now by this time

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three years into it? Would you have not known already that your rabbi is a praying man?

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Don't you think as a follower of somebody who invests their life into praying, would you not

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realize if you're being mentored by them? Wouldn't you be like, okay, I need to do that?

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It baffles my mind. I'm like in the moment that the Lord needed them the most and he actually

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was vulnerable with them, inviting them. And it's in that moment that they fell asleep.

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That to me is like, but you know what's crazy? You ready for this? How many times do we do

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that to the Lord? I said, how many times do we do that to the Lord?

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The Lord asks us to do something and we know the voice of God. Friends, I'm preaching to

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people this morning that know the voice of God and the Lord speaks to us and he asks us

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to do something. And when he actually needs us, we're like, I don't know. I'm a little scared

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right now, God. Let me share with you a quick story. This is years ago in the beginning of

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my ministry. When I had my business still, I was running it. I was working far, which is down in

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Hastings. From here, that's like going down to Egypt. So, you know, Hastings is far.

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And I finished my job and I always enjoyed when I was working far away, I always enjoyed

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going to like a local gas station or something that was there, grab some snacks because I had

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an hour long drive. So I'm like, cool, I get to get fat and eaten. It's going to be great.

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And I came to a gas station and I would think I was buying like a Snickers or something. No,

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actually, no, I wasn't buying a Snickers that time. I was buying something else. It doesn't

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matter. I was buying some snacks and I come up to the cash register and there's this young girl

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there and she's like fumbling like, you know, she took my payment and then she's fumbling to

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pick up the bag to put my stuff in. And I can just, you could just tell. You could just

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tell like something's going on in this girl's life. So the Lord dropped some things and I'm

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like, Oh, I know, have a nice day. God bless you. And then I'm walking towards my truck. It's

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parked further on that gas station. I'm walking towards my work truck. And as I'm walking,

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the Lord tells me, he says, I want you to turn around and I want you to go and talk to her.

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I want you to go ask her if she knows me. And I'm like, Lord, I just paid. It's going

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to be super awkward. I get in my truck. I start my truck. I start driving. The Lord said,

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I want you to turn around and go back and talk to her. And I'm like, Lord,

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this is like awkward. I'm five minutes out. Like I've, like literally I've driven

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five minutes out already. It's like about 10 minutes into it. The Lord came in such a way.

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He said, son, he said, you don't know what's going on in her life. You don't know if she's

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about to commit suicide. You don't know what's going on in her life. He said, I need you.

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I need you to turn around and go back and talk to her.

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It felt like my truck turned around by itself. I went back there. I went to the gas station.

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I looked super weird and awkward standing in line of four people. And I'm like, what do I buy? So

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I grabbed the Snickers. I can't just come up there. I grabbed the Snickers and I'm standing

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in line and she makes eye contact with me. And she looks at me and she's like looking at me

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and I'm like, super awkward. Super awkward. I come up to the counter and I almost

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told her, I really don't need the Snickers. But I put the Snickers down and I can't remember

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exactly word for word what I said. But let me just tell you this. The Lord touched that young woman.

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He touched her. I didn't say anything extravagant. I was probably so nervous that I probably said

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something half Russian, half English. I don't know. She understood me because her face lit up.

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And it's like something ran through her like, my God, there is still a God that exists and

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actually sees me. Do you know that we, the church, are the hands and feet of our Lord?

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Do you know that we are the hands and feet of our Lord? That's why the Holy Spirit lives in us

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so that he can move and he can touch and he can speak to and he can do all these things.

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That's why the scripture says we are the body of Christ. Members, each of us. Each of us are members.

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When the Lord needs us the most, I want you to remember, don't be like one of the 12 and fall asleep.

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Did you hear me? Go low and obey. Obedience is lowly. That's why we don't see it in the churches.

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To be obedient is to be lowly. Now let me show you what I mean by that. Open up your

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Bibles to Philippians 2.8. Is this still good so far? I want to get to the meat of today's message.

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We're not even at the meat yet. We just had our dessert, by the way. It's a cheesecake and

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some coffee. That sounds good. Now we're about to get into the filet mignon. You ready for this?

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We're about to get into that rare filet mignon right now. Listen to this.

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Obedience is lowly. Remember that. To be obedient unto God is a sign that you are walking in lowliness.

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And there is even in that, in the obedience of God, there is actually even a progression to go lower.

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Just because you have been obedient once, don't mean you're lowly. Let me just give you that

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newsflash real quick. Just because you were obedient once, does not make you a lowly person.

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It's simply behaviors of becoming a lowly person. Listen to this. Philippians chapter 2, starting at verse 8.

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This is the apostle Paul, by the way. This is the foundational scripture to all these series,

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and here I'm ending with it. Listen to this. And being found, now this is talking about Jesus,

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and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself.

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Remember what? It means to be humble. It's to go. Come on, somebody. It means to go.

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There you go. One more time. It means to go. I want that to just drive through your heads.

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And he humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death. Now let me show you

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the progression in obedience. Jesus was obedient. He humbled himself.

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He was obedient to the point of death. And then the scripture says, even death on the cross.

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That's the progression. That's the progression. Remember, we're talking about the Genesis 1

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God. This is the God that created the heavens and the earth. Colossians writes,

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in him, through him, and for him were all things made. This is the Genesis 1 God that now comes

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into the flesh. To be in a womb of a 14-year-old, and I'm just saying 14-year-old as an example,

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because scholars say that Mary was a very young virgin. Young virgin, she was

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teenager. Let's just call her a teenager. Is born to a teenager that is deemed lesser in

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society. He just continues to go low. The Lord continues to go low. Born to a stepfather who

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just had a carpentry business. He was a carpenter. In Bethlehem, among cattle, all these things that

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the Lord does, enters into the ministry lowly, does ministry lowly, chooses his disciples very

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lowly. The Lord did not handpick scribes and Pharisees and teachers of the law. The Lord went

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to where the fishermen were, the stinky guys, the ones that look weird and ratchet.

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He went to them, and he called them. He chose friends. Remember this, if you're young in this

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place, and I believe a lot of you are going to say, amen, if you're young in this place,

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the Lord chooses the young, unexperienced, uneducated to do what he wants to do.

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Because in the weakness of us, the Scripture says his power is manifested. In the weakness,

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Paul says, when I am weak, I am weak, then I am strong. So now this same God, the Genesis

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1 God, humbles himself. This is the humbling. And now begins to obey to the point of death

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and even death on the cross. By the way, that is a very significant thing.

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Jesus didn't just die, but the Scripture tells us he died on the cross.

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Remember this, because I'm about to get into it. Jesus did not just die, but he died and was

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crucified on the cross. Let me talk a little bit about that with you. Follow me here. I did

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probably one of the most deepest studies on the crucifixion that I've ever done in my ministry.

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Rocked me. It literally rocked me. I said, my God, give us a spirit of revelation

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to literally what the cross means, because if you listen to this, listen, listen, listen.

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If a people of God can have a revelation of the cross, you are literally unstoppable.

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If we can actually have a revelation of what Jesus did on that cross and what he paid for,

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that which was stolen from us by the devil, Jesus now freely, friends, I said freely,

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freely gives back to us. If we, a people of God sitting in chairs and in pews,

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can have a revelation of the cross in such a depth, I promise you, everybody you pray for will

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be healed because of the revelation of the cross, because you're going to know what the power of

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the blood actually paid for. We're not going to be fumbling and saying, why isn't a person

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getting healed from cancer because of your lack of revelation? It's not that God doesn't want

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to heal you. It's the lack of your revelation of what he did on Calvary. That's why.

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And now we have pastors that can't explain certain situations and they begin to blame people.

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It's your problem. It's, it's, there's, God just doesn't want to heal you.

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People will say that because they don't have an explanation.

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If we can have a revelation of the cross and what Jesus has done, friends, I promise you,

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we will see signs, miracles and wonders that will blow your mind. It will cause you to be frozen

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and paralyzed in awe when we get the revelation of the cross. When we actually understand, Lord,

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by your stripes, I am healed. Lord, your blood poured out for me, sets me free

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and no devil, no demon, no unclean spirit can remain in me because you paid for it.

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My people perish. What does the scripture say? My people perish for the lack of knowledge.

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You can all day long quote that scripture by his stripes, I am healed. But unless

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that becomes a revelation to you, ain't nothing going to change in your life.

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Friends, we have people that walk around in Pentecostal churches. Now listen to this,

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I'm speaking with love. We have people in charismatic Pentecostal circles that are quoting

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all these scriptures, by your stripes, I am healed is that and the other. Good, I like that you

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do that. But the problem that we're seeing is that simply just because you're quoting it

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does not mean something's going to manifest. You got to know that you know, that you

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know that by his stripes, I am healed and you don't get that on a Sunday morning.

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You get it when you're tucked away and you say, God, give me the revelation of the cross.

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Let me see what you paid for. Let me see the blood. Let me see the body. Let me see it,

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God, let me see it, God. And then when you begin to quote by his stripes, I am healed

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because you have a revelation, because here God met you and he made it known to you

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that by his stripes, I am healed. Then when you speak it out, boom, manifestations happen.

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All of a sudden the woman that could not get healed of cancer is getting healed and you didn't

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even pray. You just came up and you said, Lord, boom, the Holy Spirit comes. Boom,

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the Holy Spirit comes. He comes like he came in the upper room. He comes because they were

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with him. They were with him for more than just one day, for more than just two days.

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They were with him because they chose a lonely life. They chose to go low. They chose to be

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without reputation. They chose to be unnoticed. They chose so God honored their choice, their

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obedience. God honored them and anybody that they laid hands to, even the shadow, even the

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shadow healings, deliverances, all these things. Friends, if we can have a revelation

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of the cross of Christ, I promise you you will be unstoppable.

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Gifts, signs, wonders, they will flow faster, faster than you can even hold back on them.

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God will begin to speak to you about people sitting in restaurants and you're going to say,

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Lord, why? Why are you talking to me about these people? And the Lord's going to tell you

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and he's going to say you just have a revelation of the cross and I want you to know

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what I did for that person sitting in that booth. Are you with me this morning?

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There is a lack of revelation of the cross of Christ in our churches.

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There is a lack of understanding what the blood is. There is a lack of understanding

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what the body is and what it did. The victory was the cross. The result was the resurrection.

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I said the victory was the cross and the result of it was the resurrection.

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The Lord did not defeat death. He would have never defeated death unless he would have died

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because remember, remember, he did not come to remove the law. He came to fulfill the law,

01:00:11.590 --> 01:00:16.590
the spiritual law. And according to Romans 6, the scripture says this. It says,

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the death of sin or the wages of sin is death.

01:00:22.930 --> 01:00:27.990
The wages of sin is death. So Jesus knew I have to die.

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I have to die. Follow me here. I know we got food there, but just stay with me.

01:00:33.830 --> 01:00:37.530
Pastor, can I go a little bit longer? Can I go a little bit longer?

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Let me ask this in all seriousness. Don't even laugh because I can stop right here

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because the next portion that I'm going to go to, I don't want it to be quickened.

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Are you guys okay if I go a little bit more here?

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I don't want to squander what the cross actually is when I begin to talk about it.

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Can I go a little bit longer? The crucifixion is the, let me say it again,

01:01:12.970 --> 01:01:18.470
to die on a cross and to be crucified is the worst way that a human being could die.

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Let me show you here real quick. Romans, by the way, this was not invented by Romans.

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The reason why everybody likens the crucifixion to the Roman Empire is because the Roman Empire

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embraced this form of death the most out of any other empire. The Romans actually didn't even

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invent it. And I forgot to put it in my notes, but there was a different people that actually

01:01:47.550 --> 01:01:52.090
invented the crucifixion. But the Romans are known for it because they embraced it

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and they elected this type of execution because it was found to be the harshest method of death.

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Ruthless people. The Roman Empire, we know them as ruthless. They were, they were bad.

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And they chose and they said that this is the harshest way that any human being could ever die.

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Worse than drowning, worse than hanging somebody, worse than slitting a

01:02:20.270 --> 01:02:25.930
throat to be crucified on the cross and the process of it is literally the worst way to die.

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Let me show you something here. This type of death was so bad that young Julius Caesar,

01:02:34.390 --> 01:02:40.230
when he was kidnapped by pirates, he told the pirates he said, I'm going to see the day that

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you die. And they laughed at him. Lo and behold, history proves that Julius, young Julius

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Caesar did see these pirates killed. But even being with them for so long, they became so human to them

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that he forbid that they be killed on the cross. He said, slit their throats.

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That's how bad the crucifixion was that even young Julius Caesar, kidnapped, felt sympathy

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because he knew what the death on the cross actually is that he felt bad. He said, I

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can't even bear to think of these pirates being crucified on the cross. So give them the lesser

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death and slit their throats. That's how bad it was. It was horrible.

01:03:27.030 --> 01:03:32.210
Caesario, it was one of the other leaders in the Roman Empire, was so afraid of this practice

01:03:32.210 --> 01:03:39.530
in the first century that he literally made a law. He made a law in the empire, and this is

01:03:39.530 --> 01:03:47.430
around the first century, that the very word cross should be removed from the vocabulary of the Roman

01:03:47.430 --> 01:03:55.130
citizens. He was so afraid of this type of death. It wasn't just death, but just like Philippians

01:03:55.130 --> 01:04:03.470
writes, to the point of death and even and even death on the cross. He was so afraid of this

01:04:03.470 --> 01:04:09.830
practice. He said, remove the very word cross from the vocabulary of the Roman citizens. Don't

01:04:09.830 --> 01:04:14.270
even let him think about it. Don't even let him hear it. Don't even let him see this word. Remove

01:04:14.270 --> 01:04:22.370
it. I want it completely gone. Removed and to never be. The crucifixion was truly the worst

01:04:22.370 --> 01:04:28.410
phenomenon in the Roman world. That's what one historian writes, scholar and historian writes.

01:04:28.410 --> 01:04:36.030
It was literally truly the worst phenomenon in the Roman world. The people that would actually

01:04:36.030 --> 01:04:43.050
die on the cross was not just your everyday people that, you know, had a little conflict

01:04:43.050 --> 01:04:48.490
here and there. The people that were given that type of penalty were considered, were considered,

01:04:48.650 --> 01:04:53.970
and we'll read it here in a bit, were considered the worst of the worst of the worst.

01:04:55.970 --> 01:05:01.770
So, think right now in your mind, in our modern day, who to you is one of the worst people? And if it's

01:05:01.770 --> 01:05:07.890
your cousin Bob, don't think about Bob. He's a good person. God give grace to Bob that he

01:05:07.890 --> 01:05:16.200
repents in Jesus' name. Think of the worst person that you know or maybe read of or something.

01:05:18.340 --> 01:05:24.880
Think about it. Those are the people that died on the cross. Let me show you here. This

01:05:24.880 --> 01:05:37.560
is Matthew 27. This is Matthew chapter 27, verses 15, starting at verse 15.

01:05:39.420 --> 01:05:43.440
Give me a moment here and I'll open it. It's 12 o'clock.

01:05:47.420 --> 01:05:56.920
Matthew 27 starting at verse 15. Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to

01:05:56.920 --> 01:06:03.460
releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. So again, this is already Jesus. Just give

01:06:03.460 --> 01:06:07.080
you a little bit of background for those that don't know your Bibles. Jesus is already betrayed.

01:06:07.600 --> 01:06:10.740
They took him from the garden. They brought him to the high priest. Here they're

01:06:10.740 --> 01:06:14.460
spitting at him in the in the courts of where the high priest is. They're mocking him. They're

01:06:14.460 --> 01:06:19.960
doing all these things. Now they bring him to Pontius Pilate, who's the governor. And it

01:06:19.960 --> 01:06:23.840
was accustomed to them in that day. I'm just trying to show you the type of people that

01:06:23.840 --> 01:06:29.120
die on a cross. It's not your everyday Joe guy that, you know, oh man, he said something

01:06:29.120 --> 01:06:34.160
against the police. No, no, no. These are bad, bad, bad people that die on a cross.

01:06:37.400 --> 01:06:42.160
Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude

01:06:42.160 --> 01:06:49.200
one prisoner whom they wished. And at the time they had a notorious prisoner called Brabis.

01:06:50.660 --> 01:06:55.820
You know what it means to be notorious? That means that you're well known for doing what you do.

01:06:58.920 --> 01:07:04.340
Brabis wasn't just a thug like a lot of people call him. Now he a thug. He was worse than a thug.

01:07:05.360 --> 01:07:14.200
He was a thug times 10. He was notorious for what he did in the Roman Empire. That's why

01:07:14.200 --> 01:07:19.840
he was one of the people that was about to be crucified on the cross with the other two which

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the scripture describes them as thieves. Therefore when they had gathered together,

01:07:28.080 --> 01:07:34.380
Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release to you? Brabis or Jesus who is called

01:07:34.380 --> 01:07:40.780
Christ. For he knew that he had hand, for he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.

01:07:40.780 --> 01:07:48.800
So Pilate recognized the lowliness of Jesus. He recognized that he knew that Jesus was not this

01:07:48.800 --> 01:07:56.380
person that they made him out to be. So he brings Jesus and he brings Brabis. And he says who do

01:07:56.380 --> 01:08:02.000
you want me to release? And what do they say? We all know our Bibles. Brabis. No, they said

01:08:02.000 --> 01:08:10.440
release Brabis, not Jesus. They said give us Brabis. Can I tell you something? Somebody

01:08:10.440 --> 01:08:13.180
needs to hear this this morning. Somebody needs to hear this this morning.

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You were that Brabis that the Lord released and he died for you.

01:08:22.810 --> 01:08:28.930
That's how low our Lord goes. Some of you are sitting here today and when I ask the question

01:08:28.930 --> 01:08:32.830
think of the worst person that you can think of. Some of you were thinking about yourself.

01:08:34.270 --> 01:08:39.530
I'm prophesying to somebody right now. I said I'm prophesying to somebody right now.

01:08:39.530 --> 01:08:44.330
You were thinking about yourself and you said, hey Igor, I'm that person. I'm the worst of the

01:08:44.330 --> 01:08:49.710
worst. Let me tell you something. The Lord went so low that he released Brabis and he was crucified.

01:08:51.350 --> 01:08:56.250
If he can do it for Brabis, ha, you got to hear me. If he can do it for Brabis,

01:08:56.510 --> 01:08:57.890
what tells you he can't do it for you?

01:09:00.550 --> 01:09:03.830
If he did it for Brabis, what tells you he won't do it for you?

01:09:10.200 --> 01:09:18.160
They released Brabis and here Jesus takes his place and Pontius Pilate has the audacity to say

01:09:18.160 --> 01:09:25.600
something. When he's interacting with Jesus, he has the audacity to say something. He says,

01:09:25.780 --> 01:09:31.000
do you know that I have the authority to either crucify you or release you?

01:09:34.500 --> 01:09:39.180
Jesus turned to him and he said, listen, you would have not had the authority unless

01:09:39.180 --> 01:09:46.560
it was given to you from above. Do you know what that says? That Jesus was not forced to go low.

01:09:46.680 --> 01:09:52.100
He chose to go low. Now let me apply this to us. Follow me, follow me, follow me. Let me apply

01:09:52.100 --> 01:09:57.320
this to us. Why do we have to force? Why do we have to be forced to go low? Why can't we

01:09:57.320 --> 01:10:03.920
choose to go low? Because a lot of the times we are actually forced to go low.

01:10:06.200 --> 01:10:14.740
Why can't we be as Christ was and choose? We see a situation and instead of us going low,

01:10:15.020 --> 01:10:20.560
we are actually forced by somebody that's over us in authority, whether it's in a church or in a

01:10:20.560 --> 01:10:27.040
family or in a business. Let's say you work for somebody. How about when your boss wrongs

01:10:27.040 --> 01:10:33.180
you next time? Why don't you go low? Why don't you go low as Christ did?

01:10:35.800 --> 01:10:39.400
When your boss wrongs you and doesn't pay you what he was supposed to pay you,

01:10:39.460 --> 01:10:44.080
instead of making a big fit about it and saying, how dare you? Why don't you do what our Lord

01:10:44.080 --> 01:10:51.480
did and go low? And say, okay, Lord, give me an opportunity. Give me an opportunity, Lord.

01:10:52.040 --> 01:10:55.380
But right now I'm choosing to go low. Do you know that the Scripture says,

01:10:55.380 --> 01:11:02.200
give room for the vengeance of God? Do you know that? I'm not saying that we should sit back and

01:11:02.200 --> 01:11:06.540
just have everybody walk over us like we're a rug. Actually, sometimes that's what it looks like.

01:11:07.020 --> 01:11:12.340
Be honest with you. Sometimes it does. Sometimes when you look at it, you're like, why,

01:11:12.540 --> 01:11:16.700
why are you doing this? Now, let me clarify something. Let me clarify something here.

01:11:17.280 --> 01:11:20.100
Okay, because somebody asked me this. They said, well, is this what you're saying? No,

01:11:20.100 --> 01:11:26.060
it's not what I'm saying. So just let me clarify this. If you are in an abusive relationship,

01:11:26.220 --> 01:11:30.720
a husband or a wife or whatever, I'm not telling you, stay there and get physically abused. That's

01:11:30.720 --> 01:11:36.720
not what I'm telling you. Okay, hear me correctly here. Hear me correctly here. But what I'm telling

01:11:36.720 --> 01:11:42.100
you is, yes, leave for safety. But what I'm telling you is don't gossip. Don't slander.

01:11:42.560 --> 01:11:46.740
Don't speak about even that man or that woman in a bad way. Just bite your tongue. Go low.

01:11:47.980 --> 01:11:53.100
I'm not telling you stay there and get physically abused by a man that you could die. That's not

01:11:53.100 --> 01:12:01.470
what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that when you leave, don't talk about him. Don't be the person

01:12:01.470 --> 01:12:07.830
that everybody knows. Oh, she always gossips. Oh, he always gossips. Always this, always that,

01:12:07.870 --> 01:12:12.150
everybody knows your problems. Let me give you a word of wisdom. The less people that know

01:12:12.150 --> 01:12:21.430
your problems, the better it is for you. So Jesus releases Barabbas, gets crucified,

01:12:27.080 --> 01:12:31.240
he releases him, and then they choose him. Now let me explain to you some things. Can you

01:12:31.240 --> 01:12:35.000
put a picture of the Crown of Thorns for me? Can you do that for me up there?

01:12:40.450 --> 01:12:45.810
This is Matthew 27 verses 27 and 31. Actually, let's go to John. Let's go to John real quick.

01:12:45.810 --> 01:12:50.930
John chapter 19. John chapter 19. We're getting to the end here friends. We are getting to the end.

01:12:55.060 --> 01:12:58.260
So I want you to understand that the people who died on the cross

01:12:58.740 --> 01:13:05.420
were not your average, everyday criminal. These were the worst of the worst. And now our Lord

01:13:05.900 --> 01:13:11.020
goes from being the Genesis one God that creates heaven and earth. Now progresses,

01:13:11.020 --> 01:13:18.360
he keeps going low to the point of where he dies the worst death that a man or a woman could die.

01:13:18.800 --> 01:13:23.820
That's how low our Lord goes. Don't tell me he can't meet you where you're at.

01:13:25.440 --> 01:13:28.740
I said don't tell me that he can't meet you where you're at.

01:13:29.180 --> 01:13:31.800
Because he's been places you have not even yet been.

01:13:33.860 --> 01:13:39.540
John chapter 19. Listen to this. So then Pilate took Jesus after he released Barabbas,

01:13:39.540 --> 01:13:47.460
the worst of the worst, a thug times 10. Released him. And now Jesus is counted to be that thug times 10.

01:13:47.720 --> 01:13:54.880
The scripture says that all of sin, all of the world's sin, past, present, and future was laid upon him.

01:13:57.400 --> 01:14:04.580
Every sin known to man, known to God, all of it was laid upon the Lord in that moment when

01:14:04.580 --> 01:14:10.920
Barabbas was now released. Now Jesus is the one that, yep, he's gonna get crucified in that moment,

01:14:11.040 --> 01:14:20.940
all of sin bestowed upon a man. Now that's low. I said now that's low. That's why sometimes I say

01:14:20.940 --> 01:14:27.160
we do have to be a rug and let people walk over us. And I can explain more in details of some

01:14:27.160 --> 01:14:31.280
of you are confused about that. Feel free to reach out to me because every situation is

01:14:31.280 --> 01:14:39.960
different. But I need to make that statement. So then Pilate took Jesus and scorned him.

01:14:40.700 --> 01:14:44.760
And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns. Can you put that up on the screen?

01:14:46.920 --> 01:14:50.720
Put up that picture for me on the screen. A crown of thorns. Now other people say that

01:14:50.720 --> 01:14:57.960
it looked like a helmet. I put this one up. They put that on him. They stripped him naked.

01:14:57.960 --> 01:15:02.380
The scripture says they stripped him naked. They mocked him. They beat him.

01:15:06.040 --> 01:15:09.020
They took it. I see I believe they went to a whole another level.

01:15:10.540 --> 01:15:14.940
I believe when they were crucifying our Lord, they went to a whole another level. I believe

01:15:14.940 --> 01:15:19.540
they did things that they wouldn't do to a Barabbas or they wouldn't do to a thief.

01:15:21.120 --> 01:15:25.200
I believe that the Pharisees and the scribes and the teachers of the law

01:15:25.200 --> 01:15:32.580
made such a report about him. Now there's no scriptural evidence to this. But I wouldn't

01:15:32.580 --> 01:15:36.600
be surprised if they even paid off the guys and they gave him more money and said,

01:15:36.660 --> 01:15:39.860
make sure you take care of them there. Make sure you take care of them there.

01:15:40.200 --> 01:15:44.100
There's no scripture to prove what I'm saying right now. I'm just expressing to you the way

01:15:44.100 --> 01:15:49.580
that I see certain things and seeing the degree that our Lord actually was beaten and crucified.

01:15:50.340 --> 01:15:54.180
They put the crown of thorns on him. Now put the whip on there. Can you?

01:15:54.180 --> 01:15:59.240
It's called the... let me pronounce it here correctly. It's called the flagulum.

01:16:00.460 --> 01:16:04.680
After they did that to the Lord, they stripped him naked. They put a crown on him.

01:16:05.020 --> 01:16:08.580
They were beating him even there and they were mocking him. They were spitting at him.

01:16:08.840 --> 01:16:14.740
They were mocking him. Remember, this is the Genesis 1 God. We're still talking about the Genesis

01:16:14.740 --> 01:16:23.900
1 God who came to this point. This is that same God who sat and he created the people that

01:16:23.900 --> 01:16:31.320
were about to crucify him. This is the same God. They put the crown of thorns. They bring him to a

01:16:31.320 --> 01:16:39.240
post and then they hit him with that. It's called the flagulum. Naked. We oftentimes draw Jesus

01:16:39.240 --> 01:16:46.220
with a cloth. The scripture says he was naked. There was no clothing to cover what they were

01:16:46.220 --> 01:16:52.340
doing to him. And they beat him repeatedly with it. The scripture says that skin was

01:16:52.340 --> 01:16:57.300
tearing off. All these things were coming off. More than that, when I did a deep study on the

01:16:57.300 --> 01:17:05.420
crucifixion, they say that majority of the victims die at this point. That's how ruthless it was.

01:17:08.080 --> 01:17:14.220
They die at this point. Majority of the victims don't even make it to Calvary to be

01:17:14.220 --> 01:17:22.280
crucified on the cross because how brutal this is right here. Don't tell me our Lord can't do

01:17:22.280 --> 01:17:29.020
something for you. Look what he paid for. Don't tell me that healing is not accessible for you.

01:17:29.260 --> 01:17:34.100
Don't tell me that deliverance is not accessible for you. Don't you dare tell me that restoration

01:17:34.100 --> 01:17:39.460
is not accessible for you. You have a lack of revelation of what the cross actually paid.

01:17:41.900 --> 01:17:47.240
Don't tell me that God is not going to use you. Don't you dare tell me this because when I look

01:17:47.240 --> 01:17:52.000
at the scriptures and when I look at our cross and what he paid for, he paid for something that

01:17:52.000 --> 01:17:57.760
we don't even have revelation of. We quote it, we hear it, we see it, yet we still walk in

01:17:58.360 --> 01:18:05.820
the level of lack of knowledge. After this, as he's still naked, remember friends,

01:18:05.820 --> 01:18:13.300
at this point, majority of them die. As he's still naked, they put a wooden cross on the victim.

01:18:13.480 --> 01:18:19.680
They put a wooden cross on our Lord and he had to walk through the streets. This was not a short

01:18:20.300 --> 01:18:28.240
three mile run like the turkey trot. He had to walk from the place of where he was being

01:18:28.240 --> 01:18:34.520
beaten and whipped naked. He had to carry across, skin tore open, all the wounds,

01:18:34.520 --> 01:18:40.800
all these things. And now you got a wooden cross on you that is heavy to the point that

01:18:40.800 --> 01:18:47.420
they had to get a bystander to help him carry it. And he's doing this naked and on purpose,

01:18:47.700 --> 01:18:52.580
what the Roman Empire would do when they did this is they would tell multitudes. Listen,

01:18:53.500 --> 01:19:00.120
they told multitudes of bystanders to be on that street from where they began to whip

01:19:00.120 --> 01:19:04.720
to the point of coming to Golgotha. They encouraged and they said,

01:19:05.480 --> 01:19:11.360
multitudes come around him and see the, my goodness, my word is leaving me,

01:19:11.860 --> 01:19:17.380
the humiliated man. Look, whoever it is. And they would cause people to get into the streets

01:19:18.640 --> 01:19:24.600
and they would look at the person who's naked, carrying a cross, bruised, unrecognizable.

01:19:24.940 --> 01:19:29.460
And on top of that, the Roman Empire gave them the right to pelt them with stones as

01:19:29.460 --> 01:19:36.380
they were walking. Don't you tell me our God didn't go low? And don't you tell me that you're

01:19:36.380 --> 01:19:42.120
living a lowly life? You better come to a realization and realize, my God, I got to go even lower than

01:19:42.120 --> 01:19:52.880
I've been. My God, I got to make some choices to go low. I got to repent. I got to repent

01:19:52.880 --> 01:19:59.900
of my pridefulness of thinking I got it all. And here he's led, holding the cross,

01:20:00.240 --> 01:20:05.080
pelted with stones. By the way, at the same time, they keep, go back to that picture for me,

01:20:05.440 --> 01:20:08.900
they keep beating him with that flagellum, they keep whipping him as they're walking.

01:20:10.740 --> 01:20:16.300
When they get to the point of the cross, historian scholars show that they used

01:20:16.300 --> 01:20:19.140
iron nails. Can you put a picture of that nail for me?

01:20:21.960 --> 01:20:28.520
About that size. You guys see that hand there, right? About that size.

01:20:30.760 --> 01:20:37.940
And they would drive these nails repeatedly. Your legs would be crossed and they would drive a

01:20:37.940 --> 01:20:43.860
nail through your flesh, through your shin bone, down to the other leg, through the flesh,

01:20:43.860 --> 01:20:48.120
through the shin bone of your other leg, to the tree, to the cross.

01:20:50.360 --> 01:20:54.800
Then they would take the same nails and they would put them on your forearms right here and it

01:20:54.800 --> 01:21:00.840
would go through the flesh, through the bone, so you know this process was not quick. This was

01:21:00.840 --> 01:21:05.620
not a five-minute process. He's nailed to the cross. They did not have Makita, Milwaukee,

01:21:06.140 --> 01:21:12.480
and Dewalt to help them. They didn't. This was a slow process of a repeated swing

01:21:12.480 --> 01:21:19.640
from a Roman soldier to get the cross driven through the bone into the wood. Don't you tell me

01:21:19.640 --> 01:21:28.040
that God can't heal you? Don't you tell me that deliverance is not for you? Do you not see how

01:21:28.040 --> 01:21:35.680
low our God has gone? Do you not tell me that your neighbor or that your sibling can get

01:21:35.680 --> 01:21:40.320
saved? They're too far gone. Don't you tell me that you're missing what the cross has done?

01:21:43.800 --> 01:21:49.260
They put them up on the cross and then even on the cross our Lord shows his lowliness.

01:21:50.660 --> 01:21:56.580
One thief is mocking him. The other thief is saying, what are you doing, man? What are you doing?

01:21:57.500 --> 01:22:02.680
And then he says, Lord, remember me. Remember me. That's all he says. He doesn't even pray,

01:22:03.160 --> 01:22:08.160
forgive me, Lord. He just, in his heart, in his heart, he says, remember me. And even in

01:22:08.160 --> 01:22:12.340
the moment of our Lord's most excruciating pain, bring up that other picture of a man

01:22:12.340 --> 01:22:18.020
hanging on the cross. Time is against me to tell you all the details of there. I'm telling you,

01:22:18.080 --> 01:22:23.620
I have never done such a deep study on the crucifixion and it rocked me when I did it.

01:22:24.140 --> 01:22:31.700
I spent hours and days studying it. And in my studying, I said, God, my God, give me a revelation

01:22:31.700 --> 01:22:35.820
of what you actually paid for because I don't even know the fullness of it yet.

01:22:38.460 --> 01:22:44.220
And there on the cross, he says, remember me. And the Lord in his most excruciating pain

01:22:44.220 --> 01:22:49.180
looks at that thief and says, you will be with me in paradise. Shows his lowliness.

01:22:50.560 --> 01:22:57.380
He doesn't say, leave me alone. I'm suffering. Leave me alone. Don't you see that I'm under

01:22:57.380 --> 01:23:02.900
pressure, that I have a decision that I have to make? No, the Lord goes lowly and he says,

01:23:02.900 --> 01:23:12.840
you will be with me in paradise. Our Lord is lowly. May we measure ourselves to him.

01:23:13.580 --> 01:23:19.260
May we measure ourselves to the cross and recognize just how prideful we are.

01:23:21.180 --> 01:23:28.200
And begin to do what's been spoken in these series before. Begin to repent. Begin to walk in

01:23:28.200 --> 01:23:36.380
grace and mercy and kindness. Begin to choose the behaviors of a sheep, dying to our self.

01:23:40.200 --> 01:23:47.520
That's what our Lord did. By the way, he hung on that cross naked, as I've said before. He did

01:23:47.520 --> 01:23:55.040
not have a cloak hanging. He was naked, humiliated. His mom saw him. Mary Magdalene saw him.

01:23:55.660 --> 01:24:02.420
Multitudes. Roman soldiers. Roman citizens. They saw this man that said that he's the Messiah.

01:24:02.780 --> 01:24:09.840
Now they see him fully humiliated. Don't you tell me that God can't meet you where you're at?

01:24:11.560 --> 01:24:17.640
Would you repent of that this morning? Would you repent of the fact that you doubted him?

01:24:18.280 --> 01:24:28.740
Look at the cross. Let me read you this and then I'm going to read Isaiah 53 and we're done.

01:24:30.400 --> 01:24:35.380
In Ephesians 4, I'll just quote Ephesians 4, chapter 4 verse 9 and 10.

01:24:36.720 --> 01:24:42.000
The scripture says that he who ascends is also he who descends to the depths of the earth,

01:24:42.080 --> 01:24:49.820
which is talking about Jesus. Remember, Genesis 1, God, Jesus in heaven now descends to the

01:24:49.820 --> 01:24:55.400
earth and now even further he dies or obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

01:24:55.400 --> 01:25:01.180
And the scripture tells us he goes down into Hades. He still goes low.

01:25:03.200 --> 01:25:10.000
He still goes low. Friend, if you're here this morning and you're saying, God can't hear me,

01:25:10.360 --> 01:25:14.820
he can't find me, where I'm at, friend, I'm going to tell you you are wrong.

01:25:15.760 --> 01:25:21.720
Because our Lord went down to death to Hades to hell. Our Lord went

01:25:23.320 --> 01:25:29.360
to set the captives free there. He preached to the spirits there.

01:25:32.460 --> 01:25:38.620
And that's why Ephesians 4 says that now, now he feels all in all. And he is everything.

01:25:39.960 --> 01:25:44.820
He is everything. Friends, if you remove the cross from our faith, you've removed everything.

01:25:46.480 --> 01:25:53.380
Did you hear what I said? If you remove the cross from our faith, you removed everything.

01:25:54.560 --> 01:25:59.760
It is the pinnacle. It is the literally the chief cornerstone. It is everything that

01:25:59.760 --> 01:26:06.680
holds our faith. It's the cross. It's our victory. It's our breakthrough. It's our

01:26:06.680 --> 01:26:13.600
deliverance. It's our healing. It's everything is in that cross of Calvary that our God Jesus

01:26:13.600 --> 01:26:21.400
died on. Listen to this and we'll come to an end here. This is a quote by a blogger

01:26:21.400 --> 01:26:26.860
slash scholar and historian. Now, when I read some of his stuff, I was like, I don't even know if

01:26:26.860 --> 01:26:31.500
this man's a believer, but listen to what he writes. And they will open up, actually open

01:26:31.500 --> 01:26:39.200
up Isaiah right now. Isaiah 50, 53. And let me read this quote and we'll come to an end.

01:26:39.200 --> 01:26:46.280
Thank you for your patience. In the end, this is the quote. Now I quote him. In the end,

01:26:47.200 --> 01:26:54.700
the memory of one victim of crucifixion changed the moral arc of the entire empire,

01:26:55.380 --> 01:27:01.240
knowing all that know about the practice of crucifixion. Now, this is where the statement

01:27:01.240 --> 01:27:08.520
he made that blew my mind. He said, I believe that Christianity, if it is true,

01:27:09.200 --> 01:27:17.980
that's what he writes. I believe that Christianity, if it is true, is the most amazing religion

01:27:17.980 --> 01:27:27.900
in a history of mankind. The astonishing idea of a God who gave his son to be crucified and

01:27:27.900 --> 01:27:36.380
killed in such a humiliating and painful way is, in my humble opinion, absolutely amazing.

01:27:40.920 --> 01:27:44.060
If Christianity is true is what he says.

01:27:46.870 --> 01:27:53.080
In my humble opinion, absolutely amazing. It is the ultimate, he writes, and this is how he ends

01:27:53.080 --> 01:28:07.050
it, it is the ultimate expression of unconditional love. Our God is lowly. Our God is lowly.

01:28:09.030 --> 01:28:18.950
And would his bride mimic him and be conformed into his image that in this hour where we hear

01:28:18.950 --> 01:28:24.830
about revival and we hear about this and we hear about that, we hear the good, we hear the bad,

01:28:25.230 --> 01:28:31.710
would his bride in this hour go low and put on the image of her bridegroom

01:28:31.710 --> 01:28:40.310
and make decisions that our Lord made. Would we measure ourselves to him and not to each other

01:28:41.810 --> 01:28:47.910
and realize just how prideful we are and come to repentance?

01:28:50.170 --> 01:28:56.250
Would we realize that as the church, I pray, I pray that this church

01:28:57.230 --> 01:29:02.990
never ever gets to a place of such pride that we begin to miss God.

01:29:05.490 --> 01:29:09.450
I pray that this church would be lowly.

01:29:11.650 --> 01:29:18.250
I pray that this church would not be swayed when the multitudes begin to come in here

01:29:18.890 --> 01:29:25.090
as they already are. Not because we got some good preacher or some famous preacher,

01:29:25.090 --> 01:29:29.930
but simply because God trusts this church with himself.

01:29:32.150 --> 01:29:35.850
And people would run here for healings and deliverances.

01:29:38.610 --> 01:29:41.250
God has said that this house is a house of miracles.

01:29:44.390 --> 01:29:51.990
When we see the cross and when we see Jesus and recognize I'm so prideful, Lord.

01:29:54.250 --> 01:29:59.290
People call me lowly, but Lord, I'm so prideful. Help me, Lord.

01:30:01.930 --> 01:30:08.190
Help me to recognize how much I need you. Help me to recognize that I have lack of revelation.

01:30:08.730 --> 01:30:15.670
Give me the spirit of revelation, Lord. Let me recognize that I'm a weak and broken person

01:30:15.670 --> 01:30:25.770
and I need a Savior who died on the cross. Let me recognize that my ways are not your ways, God,

01:30:26.130 --> 01:30:32.390
nor are my thoughts your thoughts, God. Friends, I pray that each and every one of you,

01:30:32.650 --> 01:30:35.450
I pray that I would see you in heaven. I do pray that.

01:30:37.430 --> 01:30:41.190
But more than that, I pray that you would even make a choice today

01:30:41.190 --> 01:30:45.630
and recognize. Put that picture of the cross and the man on it and keep it up there.

01:30:46.250 --> 01:30:49.570
I pray that we would look and we would measure ourselves

01:30:49.570 --> 01:30:54.810
to a God that was obedient to the point of death and even death on the cross

01:30:54.810 --> 01:31:00.670
and recognize, my God, I got to go lower. I don't have it all figured out.

01:31:03.530 --> 01:31:05.610
My God, you do want to heal me.

01:31:07.690 --> 01:31:11.970
My God, you do want to deliver me. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to the cross.

01:31:11.970 --> 01:31:18.490
I'm trying to stir your faith in something. Friends, put your faith to this picture.

01:31:19.190 --> 01:31:22.550
Apply your faith to what you're seeing and recognize

01:31:23.970 --> 01:31:30.330
that he can do it for you. For you were not purchased with precious silver or gold,

01:31:30.470 --> 01:31:36.550
but the Scripture says in 1 Peter that you were purchased by the precious blood of Jesus

01:31:36.550 --> 01:31:45.130
about the Genesis one God, friends. This is the Genesis one God that went low

01:31:46.670 --> 01:31:53.330
to give us life and life in abundance. Now, I don't know some of you in this place,

01:31:53.470 --> 01:31:57.970
but if you got something that you're going on in life, you're saying, Lord, I don't know how

01:31:57.970 --> 01:32:03.210
I'm going to do this. I don't know if you're even willing to do it for me. Look at the cross.

01:32:03.210 --> 01:32:07.290
He already did it. He already paid it.

01:32:09.390 --> 01:32:15.710
The famous words of our Lord as he hung on the cross, the famous words, he said, it is finished.

01:32:18.330 --> 01:32:24.290
And before that, our Lord goes low and he says, forgive them. Father, they not know what they do.

01:32:26.530 --> 01:32:40.100
Let me read Isaiah 53 and then we'll pray. Who has believed our report

01:32:42.260 --> 01:32:48.600
and to whom was the arm of the Lord been revealed? Can you put on a little bit of music for us,

01:32:48.660 --> 01:32:55.220
please? Do me a favor. As I read Isaiah 53, I want you to close your eyes this morning.

01:32:55.220 --> 01:33:00.920
I want you to close your eyes this morning. I know that we got food on the other side,

01:33:01.100 --> 01:33:07.240
but that's fine. Food can wait. I do believe that the Lord wants to give people something this morning.

01:33:07.440 --> 01:33:11.240
I'm not saying that we're going to be praying for people, but this is what I want to do.

01:33:11.920 --> 01:33:16.620
As I read Isaiah 53 and as you behold the cross, keep that picture up.

01:33:17.120 --> 01:33:20.300
Keep that picture up. Don't worry about the scripture. Keep the picture up there for me.

01:33:23.400 --> 01:33:27.960
I want you to look at it. You can close your eyes and imagine it in your mind,

01:33:28.040 --> 01:33:31.460
but I want you to recognize and have a revelation this morning.

01:33:31.780 --> 01:33:35.540
And if you feel the prompting of the Lord to come and kneel at the altar,

01:33:35.940 --> 01:33:41.180
you most definitely can because it is a privilege. But as I read Isaiah 50,

01:33:42.840 --> 01:33:49.780
to behold Jesus and recognize that there is nothing that God won't do for you.

01:33:59.130 --> 01:34:03.630
Won't do for you because he's done everything. He did everything.

01:34:09.710 --> 01:34:18.210
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

01:34:18.210 --> 01:34:26.930
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground.

01:34:28.890 --> 01:34:32.050
If you want a revelation this morning of what the cross is,

01:34:32.410 --> 01:34:36.990
you can come to the altar and ask him to give you a spirit of revelation this morning.

01:34:39.770 --> 01:34:48.150
He has no form or comingliness and when we see him,

01:34:48.290 --> 01:34:51.670
there is no beauty that we should desire him.

01:34:52.810 --> 01:34:59.870
He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

01:35:02.190 --> 01:35:04.130
Make it a little louder for me, please.

01:35:07.700 --> 01:35:16.980
And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him.

01:35:17.600 --> 01:35:26.180
Surely he has bore our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken

01:35:26.180 --> 01:35:29.280
and smitten by God and afflicted.

01:35:31.460 --> 01:35:39.860
But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities,

01:35:40.540 --> 01:35:45.520
the chastisements for our peace was laid upon him.

01:35:47.280 --> 01:35:50.300
And by his stripes we are healed.

01:35:52.740 --> 01:35:58.960
We, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have churned everyone. I said everyone.

01:35:59.790 --> 01:36:06.040
To his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

01:36:08.080 --> 01:36:13.420
He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth.

01:36:14.060 --> 01:36:19.700
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent.

01:36:20.200 --> 01:36:25.220
So he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment.

01:36:25.800 --> 01:36:31.440
And who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living.

01:36:31.820 --> 01:36:36.180
For the transgression of my people he was stricken.

01:36:38.200 --> 01:36:45.120
And they made his grave with the wicked. I said they made his grave with the wicked.

01:36:47.560 --> 01:36:55.760
But with the rich at his death, because he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth,

01:36:56.680 --> 01:37:03.620
yet it pleased, listen to this, listen, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.

01:37:05.360 --> 01:37:13.100
He has put him to grief. When you make his soul, when you make his soul an offering for sin,

01:37:13.100 --> 01:37:17.260
he shall see his seed and he shall prolong his days.

01:37:18.260 --> 01:37:25.060
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his soul

01:37:25.660 --> 01:37:35.140
and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear

01:37:35.140 --> 01:37:41.440
their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great. And he shall divide

01:37:41.440 --> 01:37:49.760
the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the

01:37:49.760 --> 01:37:57.240
transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressions.

01:37:59.040 --> 01:38:06.740
Help us, Lord. Help us, Lord. Help us, Lord.

01:38:11.440 --> 01:38:12.720
Help us, Lord.

01:38:18.310 --> 01:38:23.130
Holy Spirit, help us. Counsel us.

01:38:25.410 --> 01:38:28.190
To forever behold what Jesus did on the cross.

01:38:30.470 --> 01:38:37.270
To recognize the lowliness of our Lord and to measure ourselves to it and choose to go low.

01:38:38.070 --> 01:38:43.410
And choose to go low.

01:39:31.090 --> 01:39:33.190
Holy Spirit,

01:39:37.030 --> 01:39:38.450
fresh wind of heaven.

01:39:44.350 --> 01:39:50.890
I want to do this this morning. If you're here this morning and you've never given your life to Jesus,

01:39:51.570 --> 01:39:55.030
I want you to come up here and just kneel at the altar. I'm not going to ask you to pray a prayer.

01:39:56.590 --> 01:40:02.130
But if you've never asked Jesus to be your Savior and have recognized them to be so,

01:40:02.590 --> 01:40:05.990
can I have you come up here and sit and just kneel at the altar is all I'm asking you.

01:40:06.470 --> 01:40:12.070
As a sign of Lord, I'm giving you my life. If there's anybody this morning that has never

01:40:12.070 --> 01:40:18.170
given their life to Jesus, I want you to come up here and kneel. I don't care how old you are.

01:40:18.250 --> 01:40:33.900
You can be three. You can be 93. I don't care. And maybe you're somebody here this morning that you've

01:40:33.900 --> 01:40:42.220
backslid. And you're recognizing. I want you to come up here as well and kneel. Just

01:40:42.220 --> 01:40:45.460
I'm not going to lay hands. We're not going to pray for people. I want you to come here

01:40:45.460 --> 01:40:51.540
because there is something here. There is the sweet presence of the Lord here. If you've backslid,

01:40:51.680 --> 01:40:58.500
just come and kneel before the Lord and just cast everything to his feet.

01:41:11.390 --> 01:41:18.450
If you've been hot after God, if you've been hot after God before and now you recognize my God,

01:41:19.590 --> 01:41:24.150
I've actually lost my first love. If you're in this place today and you feel like you've

01:41:24.150 --> 01:41:29.330
lost your first love, I want you to come up here. There is something here that is very sweet. It's

01:41:29.330 --> 01:41:41.420
an altar. It's a privilege. It's a privilege. If you've lost your first love, just come and kneel

01:41:41.420 --> 01:41:49.000
before the Lord and say, restore to me, Lord, what I lost. Restore to me, God. That burning

01:41:49.000 --> 01:41:58.420
desire. The burning desire to meet with you in private. The burning desire to hear the voice

01:41:58.420 --> 01:42:09.090
of many rushing waters. There is people in this place. The Lord used to meet you and touch you

01:42:09.090 --> 01:42:13.130
very gently and you've lost that. If I'm talking to you, I want you to come up here.

01:42:13.910 --> 01:42:17.570
There is people in this place where you're saying, man, I used to experience God

01:42:17.570 --> 01:42:22.630
and he would touch me so sweetly, but you're living in a stage where you've lost that. I want you to

01:42:22.630 --> 01:42:27.810
come up and I want you to understand what he did for you. Come up and just kneel at the altar.

01:42:28.390 --> 01:42:31.750
There is a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit that is just flowing.

01:42:34.850 --> 01:42:38.690
There is a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit that is just flowing here.

01:42:39.350 --> 01:42:43.930
And you can kneel and just begin to talk to him because he hears you. Look what he did

01:42:43.930 --> 01:42:58.320
for you. He hears you. He has gone low. If you're somebody in this place that you're battling with

01:42:58.320 --> 01:43:05.100
the thought of God, you don't hear my prayer and you're doubting that God is hearing your prayer.

01:43:05.220 --> 01:43:10.480
I want you to come up here to the altar as well. I'm making these calls very strategically.

01:43:10.780 --> 01:43:14.700
If you're somebody here that doubts that God even hears your prayers, I want you to come

01:43:14.700 --> 01:43:21.500
up to the altar. As a sign of repentance of Lord, I will not squander what you actually did for me.

01:43:23.180 --> 01:43:26.440
You do hear me, Lord. You do hear me, Lord.

01:43:34.940 --> 01:43:39.780
If you're somebody this morning that you are plagued with condemnation,

01:43:41.480 --> 01:43:49.340
I feel that really strong. I feel that really strong. There is people that are living under a

01:43:49.340 --> 01:43:56.620
cloud of self-condemnation, of self-righteousness, of I'm not good enough. I want you to come up

01:43:56.620 --> 01:44:15.380
here and kneel as well. You want to say something, Pastor? Go ahead. I'm going to let some people respond.

01:44:20.560 --> 01:44:27.860
Heavenly Father, we pray specifically for those either sitting here or listening online

01:44:29.680 --> 01:44:34.260
who have no movement inside of them whatsoever.

01:44:36.440 --> 01:44:43.380
They've listened to the last hour and a half, and there's nothing in them that says

01:44:45.300 --> 01:44:51.280
there's some things I need to change in my life. There's no movement of

01:44:51.840 --> 01:44:57.160
God forgive me for the way I've been doing some things. I've been arrogant. I've been proud.

01:44:57.980 --> 01:45:05.360
It's all about me. What I want, how I want to live, how I want to spend my money,

01:45:05.560 --> 01:45:11.500
what I want to do. My whole life is built around me. And they've sat here for the

01:45:11.500 --> 01:45:14.620
last hour and a half. They've listened to this. We've come to this point,

01:45:16.300 --> 01:45:23.420
and there's nothing moving inside of them that would say I need to change. I need to

01:45:23.420 --> 01:45:32.220
ask forgiveness. I need to repent. God, I'm asking out of your grace and out of your mercy.

01:45:35.100 --> 01:45:40.200
Break that hard heart before it's too late.

01:45:45.000 --> 01:45:52.780
I hate to see things happen in people's lives that just crushes their life.

01:45:54.800 --> 01:45:58.080
Accidents, injuries, health, whatever.

01:46:00.680 --> 01:46:09.560
But there's something Paul prayed a couple of times. And Lord, I'm not praying it now, but I'm bringing

01:46:09.560 --> 01:46:14.960
it up because I know that what your scripture says shows the desperateness of what we're seeing

01:46:14.960 --> 01:46:23.160
right now. He would deliver a certain person over to the devil for the destruction of the

01:46:23.160 --> 01:46:29.000
flesh so that before they left this earth, their soul would be saved.

01:46:31.400 --> 01:46:42.710
That can still happen. That our life, it's not God making it fall apart. It's God backing up and

01:46:42.710 --> 01:46:51.410
saying, hey, you don't want me. I want you so desperately. I'm willing to allow my enemy to

01:46:51.410 --> 01:47:00.010
come in and ruin your earthly life so that you turn to me and say, God, forgive me before you

01:47:00.010 --> 01:47:09.570
leave this earth, before your last breath is drawn. So Lord, I pray out of your grace and mercy

01:47:09.570 --> 01:47:18.090
for those who are so hard in heart that this has moved nothing in them. Out of your grace and

01:47:18.090 --> 01:47:30.040
mercy, break them before they would spend eternity in hell, in Jesus' name.