Convenience or Christ? A Review of ‘The Dangers of Convenience’

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:04] Well, it's opportunity for wholeness time opportunity for prosperity time If you need an offering envelope if you'll lift your hands up the ushers will get one to you And while they do that, I want to share with you from 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7 in the NLT Bible
[00:00:21] 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7. He says you must each decide in your heart how much to give so please understand that giving should not be a a duty or an obligation. It should be something done out of love and something done out of
[00:00:39] devotion. He says, you must each decide in your heart how much to give and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. The New Testament never wants us to do anything in response to pressure. The New Testament is all about doing out of the motivation of your heart and your love for
[00:01:01] Jesus Christ you know you would probably not appreciate during Christmas somebody coming to you and saying to you I'm giving you this gift but I want you to know it cost me a whole lot to get
[00:01:16] it to you and I really didn't want to do it but here you go anyway you probably like bro keep that little thing right well sometimes it's that's just the same same thing we do with God sometimes oh
[00:01:26] oh God, I pressed my way to do this.
[00:01:28] And no, God wants you to respond out of your heart and to respond out of love.
[00:01:34] And he says, don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure.
[00:01:38] So when people are, you know, putting pressure on you and telling you, you know, you need to give or God's not going to bless you.
[00:01:45] Well, you're blessed because of Jesus or you need to give because of this or that.
[00:01:49] And if you don't give or, you know, they'll come up with, you know, the Lord is commanding you to get.
[00:01:54] No, no, no, no, no, no.
[00:01:55] just just put it back in your pocket and say you know I can't give out I can't give out of pressure I'm not going to give out of pressure he says for God loves a person who gives how
[00:02:05] cheerfully and one translation says and out of your heart and I'll say this continuously if you're not ready to give as a response to God's love if you're not ready to give out of love and devotion
[00:02:18] if you're not ready to give out of a cheerful heart just keep your money because I mean what we do, we do because we want to do it. I mean, hopefully God has been so awesome in your life
[00:02:30] that this is something you're motivated to do because of his love. And so what happens is giving is my response and your response. And, uh, my harvest is generosity flowing from my relationship with God. Giving makes me aware of the generosity that God has already made available
[00:02:51] to me giving giving doesn't earn blessings it awakens you to what you already have what you already have it and and through the finished works of the Lord Jesus Christ so take the time to think about all right I'm going to give according to my heart and I want
[00:03:11] to do this because God's been so good to me this is the least I can do because I I can't I can't even match what he does for me every day in my life. Take your offerings out. Father, we thank
[00:03:25] you for the opportunity to be able to give and to sow and to plant. Oh, for all that you've done, the generosity that you have allowed to flow into our lives, the things you do every day of our
[00:03:40] lives. Lord, we bring this to you as a response to what you've already done. And we thank you in jesus name that we can do it in joy and with a cheerful heart we praise you for it now
[00:03:58] in jesus name we pray and everybody said amen ushers go ahead and receive this generous giving jesus name amen i got a word this morning they got they got snow on the ground in perry georgia
[00:04:34] what stay there stay there please stay there hey man well we have um we uh we're going to continue a series that i i i really meant for it to be just for new year's eve and now this is i
[00:05:02] think the the fourth installment of this series on the dangers of convenience and we went from that to last week dealing with convenience versus devotion and so I'd like for us to to really get into that one more time if you if you have your bibles go with me to the book of Ephesians
[00:05:30] chapter 6 and 11 this has been our key scripture for this series we stopped I think at the third point. So I want to finish this today and then next week show you some illustrations in the
[00:05:43] Bible of men who actually were impacted by convenience and how it endangered their lives where the mission of Christ is concerned. I really want you to take good notes. I'm going to give you a simplified version of the mission of Christ and our mission today. So it's going to be a good day.
[00:06:02] Good day. We're going to sow some stuff in your life. You're going to walk out of here understanding some things you didn't understand before it's going to be a good day amen Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 11 I want you to say this out loud with me I am the righteousness of God
[00:06:17] I am forgiven I am complete and I am seated with him in heavenly places I embrace this I agree with this and all is well with me today In jesus name give the lord a big hand clap of praise. He's worthy of it. Amen
[00:06:41] ephesians chapter 6 and Verse 11. He says this put on the whole armor of god That you may be able to stand against the wows of the devil I want to focus in on this word wows or
[00:07:01] strategy or in some translations tricks or trickery of the devil I want to show you here that enemy is having uh strategy meetings to figure out how to come against you how to how to trick you
[00:07:22] how to deceive you the wows of the devil the strategy of the devil I thought it was so interesting that the enemy has got to plan strategy to try to bring you down. And this is
[00:07:38] one area that if we're not open to see it, it can just sneak itself right into our lives and we never see it coming. And then before you know it, you sit back and think, oh my goodness, I've allowed
[00:07:52] this to take place in my life for years and I just never knew what it was doing. So I want us to be beware of the strategy of convenience. Is it possible that conveniences in our life can become
[00:08:11] a danger to the mission and the calling that God has on our life? Everybody in here has a calling for your life. Everybody in here has been wired to accomplish something. You're here for a reason.
[00:08:25] I don't know how you got here, but I mean, I know how you got here, but I don't know the circumstances surrounding how you arrived here but believe me if you're here there is a purpose
[00:08:36] and there is a reason for you being here my question is in in this in this time of technology and the advances that we're about to see this year and next year with the coming of of of
[00:08:50] artificial intelligence uh driverless cars the things that we have on what used to be a phone but it's just now simply a pocket computer that can do all kinds of things. Am I saying to throw
[00:09:05] all of the technology away? No, I'm saying open your eyes to make sure you're not tricked with the technology. Are you listening to me? So let me define again convenience so we can be on the
[00:09:19] same page. Convenience is the quality of something being easy to use, something easy to access, or something that will save time and effort it's often described as anything that makes life simpler quicker or more comfortable for example a microwave is a convenience because it heats food
[00:09:42] quickly or online banking can be a convenience because you don't have to visit a branch or living near a grocery store is convenient because it saves travel time. Now, pastor, what's wrong with that? Well, convenience can be a blessing when it serves God's purpose.
[00:10:04] Tools, technology, systems that save time can free us to be able to carry out God's mission, to love, to serve, to grow, to show up. Those conveniences can help us save time doing those things so we can focus on the things God's called us to. If something makes life easier
[00:10:27] and it helps you honor God, it helps you to steward time, or it helps you to serve other people better, then that convenience is good because it's opening up the space for you to do that but conveniences become dangerous when it replaces the mission that God has for your life
[00:10:48] it becomes dangerous when it's not a convenient time for you to pray or it's not a convenient time for you to show up when somebody needs you all of a sudden you know the devotion is now your
[00:11:03] devotion to Jesus is questionable the sacrifices you're not willing to make being a part of a community of believers, you're not willing to be a part of it anymore. If conveniences lead you to avoid praying and, you know, it leads you to avoid generosity, it leads you to avoid forgiveness,
[00:11:22] to avoid community, to avoid integrity, then it becomes a trap. When convenience puts you in a place where you know your your presence is needed to be able to provide someone with the supply and
[00:11:40] the support that they need then all of a sudden it's a trap when convenience is something that you can hide behind because you don't actually have to deal with maturing you know because it takes relationship with other people to let you know how immature or mature you are you know you
[00:11:58] grow in the midst of hear me the devil hates this stuff man but my mouth is so big i really believe i can fill this dome up if i had to without a microphone i can scream for an hour
[00:12:17] it's it's looking at the mission of of jesus christ uh i think i think this would be a good place for me to talk about this the mission compromised because of convenience let's let's do something right quick i i don't want to assume you know the mission so real quick if you'll jot
[00:12:41] these things down what was the mission of jesus christ number one to reveal exactly what god is like to reveal nobody knew what was what god was like until jesus came and you heard what jesus
[00:12:53] said? He says, if you have seen me, you have seen the father. So that gives you some kind of idea of what God is like. Number two, the second mission of Jesus was to remove sins, guilt,
[00:13:05] shame, and penalty once and for all. And through the cross, he didn't just cover sins. He ended its power to condemn us, its power to cause you to be in guilt and shame. That was his mission.
[00:13:21] secondly to reconcile the world back to god god wasn't trying to to get away from people he was in christ bringing humanity back to himself and so jesus came to to reconcile men back to god number four jesus came the mission love people the way god loved you
[00:13:47] the mission of jesus christ love people to love people to destroy the works of the devil see when you're teaching people how to love you destroy the works of jesus's mission destroy the works of the devil everything that steals uh identity everything that steals peace and purpose and
[00:14:09] freedom jesus defeated it next to bring a new covenant of grace jesus's mission was to bring a new contract, a new covenant, a new agreement, not law-driven performance, but spirit-led life rooted in God's love and finish. And kind of like the song that just ministered to us,
[00:14:31] learning how to yield. And then finally to give us his life and to give us his spirit.
[00:14:37] Christianity isn't behavior management. It's Christ living in us. So that was the mission of Jesus so what is the mission of Jesus right now today to continue his work through his body the church us by his spirit so he is still saving he is still healing he's still reconciling and he's
[00:15:00] still revealing the father how's he doing it through us we are now living epistles the work Jesus's mission is not over it's now continuing through us so if that being the case I want you
[00:15:13] to jot this down what is our part that convenience might be endangering what is our part in this mission that convenience is trying to stop up our part now as a result of what Jesus did and what he
[00:15:30] is still doing through us our part is number one believe the gospel believe the gospel rest in what is finished live out of our sonship don't get into striving trying to get something complete that
[00:15:43] Jesus has already completed believe the gospel our part number two let him live through you our part number two let him live through you yield to the spirit transformation the how it flows from the union you have as a branch to the vine instead of effort yielding to the spirit of God means he
[00:16:06] goes first and we follow yielding to him as he goes first even you're not yielding to God when you say, hmm, I got an idea. Holy Ghost, follow me. You there? No, no. He, he is the one that will
[00:16:18] lead and you will follow. That's what we do today. Number three, we carry his message of reconciliation. How do I do that? I tell others not do better, but God has already come near, so be reconciled. God has already come near, so be reconciled. Once you recognize that you can
[00:16:39] be reconciled to God, you're going to do better. Once you begin to recognize who you are, you're going to do better. Number, what is this? I think it's four. And I mentioned love people the way
[00:16:56] God loves people. God, you know, our mission is to love people, not because they're lovable or not because they like you. You got to learn how to love people and love God. Okay, so let's, so you
[00:17:10] might not be as deep as the other christian you know you might not know more greek or hebrew or nothing like that you might not be as spiritual acting as they are but learn how to love people
[00:17:19] learn how to love what's hard to love learn how to love people who don't even like you you know you got some folks that don't like you right all right learn how to love god and love
[00:17:35] people number five participate his in his mission wherever you are participate in his mission your pulpit is your relationship with other people your pulpit is is when you're at work it's your family your pulpit is your conversations it's in your giving your mentoring your serving
[00:17:55] participate in his mission and then finally make disciples not dependents make disciples not dependence help people discover christ in them not just christ in the building people discover christ in them not just christ in the building when you come to church
[00:18:17] we're talking we're talking about being disciples when you're not at church amen so in short jesus's mission is to reveal the father and restore humanity through his finished work and your part is to trust that work and to walk in his life and to help others discover that
[00:18:44] walk as well so this is what convenience can can endanger it can stop you from showing up to be able to carry out this mission it can stop you from saying you know they rejected me so many times
[00:19:02] and every time you reject it you buy the lie that says I'm not enough they rejected me I'm not enough oh they rejected me too I'm not enough and now you'll spend a lot of time trying to prove to
[00:19:16] yourself and others that you are enough and you get involved in approval addiction and wanting validation of other people and it's more convenient to just stay home and get your give yourself some me time and and stay away from from the the places and the people where the mission can be carried
[00:19:36] out so easy to do that the mission can be carried out because you carry somebody's supply I told you the other week you're if you're the anointing on your life is not for you the gifting on your life
[00:19:52] is not for you what good is it for God to give you an anointing to sing and you just sing into yourself. You at home recording yourself and listening to yourself and somebody can actually
[00:20:04] get healed and get peace if he can get you to show up. And so convenience is really a cover-up for apathy. That's what it is. A church that's gotten to the point where they're no longer
[00:20:20] enthusiastic about the things of God. They don't care about the things of God. They move into indifference to the point where they say you know what it doesn't bother me one way or the other
[00:20:29] just whatever and I think that's what conveniences can do get you to the place where you don't care and what I look at right now is I see a church worldwide but especially in the United States
[00:20:42] I see a church that's just lost the fire they don't care about what they used to care about they're not excited about what they're used to care about all of a sudden praying to God
[00:20:52] becomes a chore. Reading the Word becomes boring. Coming to church, well, that's not, you know, convenient enough for me. I got other things that I have prioritized, and I value more than assembling myself together, not just at church, but with my community of people. See, I'm telling
[00:21:11] you, community is important, and I'm talking about as important out of church. Thank God that we can congregate here but we're here so we can be edified we're here so so so hopefully by the
[00:21:24] spirit of God I do a good job at feeding you edifying you so you can go out and be a blessing to other people outside the church and go go out and say God what do you want to do with me today
[00:21:39] and then you can use your community outside the church your friend your friends your family whatever the people that are wired your way so you're not weird you're just your wiring may not match the wiring that you're with right now but there's some people wired just like you that get
[00:21:53] you that see you ask God to help you to find your community because you're going to need that community one day when you go through things and you're about to do something crazy it's that
[00:22:03] community that'll say no the word says and you're like I don't want to hear the word well you better hope you got a community of people that'll give you the word before they give you pity before
[00:22:12] you to give they'll give you the word so don't neglect the community but does convenience rob us of the opportunity to carry out the mission does it rob us God's put something in your heart you live right down the street and you say
[00:22:36] almost stream in church that's how I'm gonna do church right now stream is alright when you when that's the only option you have but what if God's put something in you that's for somebody, but you don't know who it's for. And he's trying to get
[00:22:51] you to show up. He's trying to get you to show up at church. He's trying to get you to show up at a grocery store. He's trying to get you to show up at a parking lot. He's trying to get you to
[00:22:59] show up and you're talking about God. Why won't you use me? He's like, I can't get you to show up trying to get you to show up in the hospital. And you turn around and say, Lord, I send you
[00:23:08] to the hospital right now. Touch him. He said, I ain't your errand boy. You go to the hospital.
[00:23:12] could convince because you can't do everything online well I can pray for you online yeah but they need somebody to lay hands on you carry somebody's supply I wonder the number of people that never get their supply because you won't show up I tell you if God's giving you a supply
[00:23:41] for me and Taffy please show up and let us have our supply because we're committed to showing up to make sure you get your supply amen now that was uh free of charge let's get back to what we're
[00:23:59] talking about here convenience versus devotion that's what we started off with last week what does the bible say about convenience versus uh devotion well last week we found out number one grace empowers true participation and not just laziness in other words grace creates purpose
[00:24:17] and makes us participants not spectators and so to be a participant in the finished works of jesus means that you just actually come into agreement. I'm participating in an agreement with what he's done. For example, he has finished the work of righteousness. I am the righteousness of God.
[00:24:34] You know, I start off participating. I agree with that. I align myself up with that. And I trust the Holy spirit to show me how to live from my righteousness, participating in this righteousness. And so this is what he wants us to do. Not to just hear that the works are finished,
[00:24:52] but to participate in all that he has finished in our lives number two convenience versus devotion well convenience can cause you to get into a slow drift convenience can create a spiritual drift it's not rebellion it's just a slow drift you just kind of you you you take off one day from
[00:25:14] fellowship with God and then you know the next day you ain't I really ain't got time to get in a word. I'll do it. I do it later on. Then the next day, well, I want to see this movie. And
[00:25:25] then the next day before you know it, it's been like 60 days. You have slowly drifted away from the thing that you used to be on fire for because everything has become convenient and you've
[00:25:38] replaced it with the mission. Number three, don't forsake embodied community. Don't forsake embodied community now the word doesn't require a specific a specific format but it does warn against disconnection in other words don't forsake being around people forsaking a community that can
[00:26:02] be a blessing to you now how many of you know you got to be selective about the community don't hang around a bunch of thugs that all the thing they're talking about is thugging out
[00:26:10] because you'll start acting what you hang around filthy communication what corrupts good manners so be selective about who you hang around heard a little young lady say at one time she says I want to marry me a thug and I'm like that's so stupid why would you want to marry a thug you
[00:26:34] don't want to marry because you know what a thug will do you're gonna marry a thug for a day and then he's going to be gone with somebody else. No, no, no, no. Select people that's got good
[00:26:43] character, people on the same road you are on. Know how to choose a community. A lot of people's problems, they don't know how to choose the right relationship. You're choosing toxic relationships.
[00:26:57] You're choosing relationships where people are, you know, they use you. They gaslight you and make you think you responsible for all of the problems that go on. And if you, if you go out to eat with people and you discover all of a sudden that, wait a minute, I'm the only one
[00:27:13] that's ever paying the bills. That's toxic. You need to find, you need to go, you need to go eat by yourself. Are y'all hear what I'm saying? Know how to choose relationships that are going to,
[00:27:29] you know it's feel like sunshine and not a cloudy day and don't have no relationships where you're always chasing people oh i felt that right then because i decided once i got over 60 i don't
[00:27:50] chase nobody i ain't asking you why you ain't called me or how come you didn't text me back i ain't got time for none of that i done got used to being by myself so it don't bother me if you
[00:28:01] walk in my house and talk about well i'm gonna i'm gonna leave i don't want to have nothing to do I walked you to the door and say bye let the doorknob hit you well y'all know the rest of that
[00:28:11] you understand what I'm saying ask God and that's where it starts God helped me to choose the right community that I can be a blessing to and they can be a blessing to me don't settle where your
[00:28:27] community is concerned don't settle where your community don't settle where you're you know if you're a single person and you you meet somebody want to get married you know one day you know That may not be today because you hooked up with somebody who is extremely toxic who have all kinds of issues
[00:28:44] They got mama issues daddy issues. They just got devil issues. They got all kinds of issues Don't settle for that that that relationship because you know You want somebody to be wrapped up with when it's cold outside like the day you better get you one of them blankets that make
[00:28:57] You feel like a baby in a womb and wrap yourself in that blanket No, i'm serious. Listen, you don't you don't need to get married You already see the signal.
[00:29:10] You see red flags all over the place.
[00:29:13] To ignore those red flags is the reason why one day you're going to ask the question, how come I always end up with the same old kind of no good?
[00:29:21] Because you keep ignoring the red flags that are right in your face.
[00:29:24] If you sit there on the first date and listen, if they a fool, they will tell you they're a fool.
[00:29:31] And if they say they're a fool, believe them.
[00:29:34] Don't be sitting up there talking about, well, I don't want to hurt their feelings.
[00:29:37] You don't even know them.
[00:29:38] have your girlfriend or best friend to call you or you ain't even got to call you ain't got to go through that oh you know what i gotta go gone none of you but i got to go okay let me leave all
[00:29:55] that alone so here's what we're picking up today somebody said picking up man you ain't got but 36 minutes left what you know all right so that's this is number four of convenience versus devotion
[00:30:10] number four grace life still has a cross all right I got to show you what this means because I told Taff I said oh I said Taff I last night before I went to bed I said I I I think we missed it on
[00:30:24] this one and I and I want to make sure that we we get it we still have a cross grace does not erase the cross from the believer's life it transforms it from suffering to participating
[00:30:40] in christ's love now i want to show you something go with me to the book of john excuse me luke chapter 9 verse 23 luke chapter 9 verse 23 very familiar scripture but i think we i think we have
[00:31:02] to understand the scripture i took it out of context because i didn't apply my grace-based misunderstanding to this he says and he said to them all if any man will come after me let him
[00:31:16] deny himself one let him take up his cross daily two and let him follow me three now notice what he says if any man will come after me let him do these three things deny himself take up his cross
[00:31:36] daily and follow me now I used to think this meant to deny yourself meant to suppress your personality ignore your desires and just live with no joy that's not what he's talking about when he says deny yourself himself he is actually talking about your identity he is saying if you're
[00:32:07] going to come after me. I need you to deny your performance-based self, and I need you to be open to your new identity, your self in Jesus Christ. So this is referring to identity. I need you to
[00:32:22] let your performance-based identity go, deny that, deny all the things that you used to be and what you used to believe and the narrative that you used to tell yourself, all right?
[00:32:35] for example, your old performance-based self was always, you know, I get upset when people mistreat me. I don't pray for people that made me mad. That's not you anymore, okay? And what he's saying is give up your old identity, all right, and take hold of your new identity in
[00:32:59] Jesus Christ. He literally is talking about your denying your old self. It means to relinquish the belief that you are your own source. That's what your old self did. Refusing to lie that life flows
[00:33:16] from self-effort. That's what your old self did. It's not about losing yourself, but about finding your true self in Christ. Find your true self in Christ. Here's a summary of the mirror translation of Luke chapter 9 and 23. He says, denying self is saying no to the false
[00:33:41] identity and yes to who you truly are in Christ. No to the false identity, yes to who you are in Christ. This is an inner narrative alignment. You're taking the story that you used to tell
[00:33:54] yourself, I'm not enough. And you're, you're changing that to, I am accepted in the beloved and I am more than enough in Jesus Christ. This is not behavior management. When he says, deny yourself, he is talking about change that story on the inside that you keep telling yourself
[00:34:13] that is false I'm never going to uh to get ahead in life that's false I'm not enough that's false he says I need you to deny that identity and get to the place where you say that's not me anymore
[00:34:28] that's not me anymore I I'm gonna line myself up with my Jesus identity and when I align myself fuck with my Jesus identity I am I am denying my old identity I am saying you know somebody says
[00:34:44] well you know I I ain't gonna forgive you you're like wait a minute that's not me anymore that's not me anymore what are you doing you're denying that old identity well I tell you what
[00:34:54] uh I wouldn't help you if if if if if the if your life depended on it that that's not you anymore That's not you anymore Well, i'll tell you what you offended me. You know what offense is not you anymore. That's not you anymore
[00:35:09] So when you say That's not me anymore My identity is now in christ. I forgive I refuse to take offense In fact offense is too expensive for me to even handle praise god You are denying that identity that old identity that old self
[00:35:28] And you are aligning and agreeing with who jesus says you are right now. So when he says deny yourself Deny yourself. He's talking about that self That you are no longer identifying with I'm putting that off. I'm not going to walk like that anymore. I deny that old identity
[00:35:51] And then he says take up your cross. I love this take up your cross daily what does it mean by that in other words he he wants you to come into agreement with everything that ended when Jesus died on that cross everything that ended when he died on that cross
[00:36:11] self-effort ended when he died on that cross performance-based mentality ended when he died on that cross and what he is saying is I want you to come into agreement with everything that ended The cross is not something you carry to earn holiness. The cross is something you agree
[00:36:31] already happened. Jesus is inviting us to identify with his death to the old order of doing things.
[00:36:40] Death to the law as a system of life. I carry that cross and I admit that that is dead to me.
[00:36:48] I'm separated from that. Death to self-effort righteousness. No, I'm not righteous because of what I do, but I'm righteous because of what Jesus did. Death to sin consciousness. No, I'm not going to walk around asking God to forgive me for the sin I hadn't committed yet because I'm so sin
[00:37:04] conscious. No, to carry that cross means I am going to carry the result of everything that ended because of the death of Jesus Christ. Here's a good scripture, Galatians chapter 2, 20 and 21 in the NLT. Let's look at that. Galatians 2, 20 and 21. Thank you. My old self has been crucified
[00:37:35] with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the son of God who loved me and what gave me himself, gave himself for me.
[00:37:55] verse 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless for if keeping the law could make us right with God then there was no need for Christ to die you see that and then the final
[00:38:12] one he said deny your old identity and in place of it accept the new identity take up your cross by agreeing with everything that ended because of his death you're carrying that every day that
[00:38:28] ended i'm no longer having to do something to be righteous i'm righteous because of jesus my identity determines my behavior amen and then thirdly follow me follow me take up your cross and follow me well we learned this morning that he you have to learn how to yield in order to
[00:38:47] follow him this is talking about our union that we have in Christ Jesus it's not talking about our effort it's talking about our union listen to me carefully it's we are so into this it's my
[00:39:02] effort of what I do that gives me what I want and so you say well I want God to be good so I'm gonna be good no God's not good because you're good God's good because God is good and your union
[00:39:17] with him allows you access to his goodness in other words you're the branch he's the vine connect up with the vine and everything that God is and has flows to you by right of your union
[00:39:30] and your connection with him but now you want to forget about the connection and you want to keep talking about what you can sweat to make happen or what you can strive to make happen and he says
[00:39:43] no, it's not about your effort. It's about your union. I am, I am connected with the vine. Jesus said without him, you can do nothing connected with the vine. What happens when we live your
[00:39:58] branch, right? Does the, is, is the branch responsible for the apples on it? No, the branch just receives from the source that produced the apples, and the branch displays what was produced, the apples. Tear the branch off the vine, you ain't gonna see nothing. And Jesus said it like this.
[00:40:20] He said, without him, I can't do nothing. And without me, Jesus said, you can do nothing. What he was saying is, it's this simple. When you unite as a branch to the vine, then everything
[00:40:34] about the vine flows to the branch and you begin to display that. The union with the vine is how your life is to be lived now. When your branch is not showing anything, you might want to go and
[00:40:49] check and see and make sure you're still connected to God. I am no longer trusting what I can do to try to get something on my branch. I am just trusting my union with the vine to make sure
[00:41:01] that my branch is always supplied with what he is. I have access to all that God has and all who God is just through my connection and my union. So this church thing doesn't work if you don't have
[00:41:15] a personal intimate relationship with the vine. That's what it's about. It's not about you learning all the principles of the Bible so you can go around and talk about how you know so much and
[00:41:25] all that stuff because why are you talking about all the revelation you got I'm like uh what's on your branch I don't see nothing on your branch wow what's on your branch I don't see no peace
[00:41:41] on your branch I don't see no deliverance on your branch and you're going around quoting all of the the knowledge of the principles and all of the knowledge of your effort but there's no longer a
[00:41:55] union with the vine my whole life is about my personal relationship with Jesus it's not keeping up with all of the the principles my relationship with Jesus see you think you're all right because you have knowledge of all the principles you remember what Jesus said Jesus said you think
[00:42:17] your knowledge of the scriptures is doing something for you he said those scriptures speak of me and then he said what Moses wrote was about me he said you think you got everlasting life because you know all the scriptures you know all the scriptures and you still don't believe in me
[00:42:34] that's somebody that's disconnected from the vine thinking that because they knew all the scriptures they're gonna have what they need to have on the branches no no no no thank God we know the scriptures because the scriptures helped me or should help me to want to get to know the vine
[00:42:49] glory be to God my life I want relationship with him because if I got relationship with him it's gonna be all right it's gonna be all right I don't have to defend myself I don't have to protect
[00:43:02] myself all I got is to do is stay connected be careful that you don't mess with somebody who connected just just stay hooked up y'all just stay hooked up and that's not saying don't know
[00:43:19] the scriptures that's not saying don't desire to know the scriptures just know that the scriptures speak of Jesus and make sure you don't know the make sure you just don't know the scriptures and don't know him see I don't want to get to heaven knowing the whole bible and walk right right
[00:43:32] talking about talking about I know Jesus and quote and then when I get to heaven I walk right past Jesus didn't even know he went right past me I want to know him I have no need to debate I have
[00:43:45] no need to argue I have no need to defend myself I believe a man who defends himself will always stay average all I want to do is make sure I got a relationship with Jesus Christ I want to make
[00:43:54] sure I know him and he knows me. I want to make sure I can talk to him every day throughout the day, not just one hour, but throughout the day. I want to talk to him. I want to talk to him when
[00:44:03] I'm in trouble. I want to talk to him when I'm not in trouble. I want to talk to him when I don't know what to do. I want to talk to him after he told me what to do. See, when I talk to him,
[00:44:10] when I don't know what to do, that's relationship. And then when I thank him because he showed me what to do, that's relationship. So we're talking all day. This stuff doesn't work just at church
[00:44:20] when you're sitting down and ain't doing nothing. This stuff was meant to work in your living.
[00:44:24] in your everyday living, in your living, in your relationship with people, in your disagreements with people, and in all the things that happen to you with people. It's the people in the relationships that helps you to see how vital it is and valuable it is to have a personal
[00:44:44] relationship with Jesus who talks to you. He said, you're my sheep, you hear my voice, and I know you.
[00:44:50] And that intimate relationship with him is going to put you in a place where you're going to do exploits one day because you know him in the midst of a ditch you're not getting afraid because you
[00:44:59] know him you know the god that delivers folks out of a ditch when you don't have enough money to pay your rent and all your money spent you don't get panicked and full of fear because you know him
[00:45:10] and because you know him you have access to who he is and access to what he has and eventually something gonna show up on the branch because you connected with him come on here somebody
[00:45:21] I'm getting excited because I know him Apology for that, but I'm just I know and I know it This is being a follower of Jesus means, you know him and he knows you You can't be like with the seven sons of Sceva
[00:45:44] They get up there and talk about come out in the name of Jesus and Paul and them devil said we know Jesus We know Paul. Ah, but who are you?
[00:45:55] You don't want no devil talking about who are you?
[00:45:57] you should expect every demon in hell to know who you are by your name and when he come up there acting like he don't know you you ought to say you know who I am I'm the one that cast you out last night you know who I am I'm the one
[00:46:15] that's been shouting hallelujah in your ear you know who I am I'm the one that wouldn't get down when I couldn't pay my rent and God showed up and did it anyway you know who I am I'm the one that won't quit let me stop
[00:46:27] please forgive me please please do you know it i'm i'm i'm bad about shout out look at look at john 15 5 real quick john 15 5 and i'm i'm i'm i'm going yeah all this fighting who right who wrong and if folks who don't even ain't even been
[00:46:58] don't even know it how are you on tiktok trying to minister to somebody tick-tock yourself in prayer somewhere and get to know him okay i apologize sweet lips bring sweet lips increase learning verse five he says i am the
[00:47:20] vine you are the what he that abideth in me or lives in me and i live live and abide in him the same bring forth much fruit for without me what do you say without me you can do nothing
[00:47:37] Jesus is not this is not about imitating Jesus it's about participating Jesus did not say try to act like me he said abide in me didn't he said abide in me I know that stunned some of you
[00:48:05] I just said it but I can prove it you you busy trying to act like Jesus without Jesus you're trying to be like Jesus without Jesus so he said quit trying to act like me and just abide
[00:48:21] Abide why I tell you to abide and you'll start seeing my character flow in you You can't be an apple tree if you're not abiding in the vine of the apple tree how you trying to demonstrate jesus and
[00:48:40] You're not abiding in him That's basically what he's telling us to do So where has convenience been?
[00:48:49] Been stopping you in that area this is not a law that i'm preaching this is alignment with our new nature it's aligning with our new nature aligning with my new nature of who i am all right let's leave leave that alone
[00:49:09] number five love requires presence first john 3 18 in the mirror bible you see convenience often offers words without presence and sometimes you texting somebody when they need you to be there the text is nice but I need a hug I need presence I don't I don't need to say a lot
[00:49:47] just sometimes just you being there look what he says here in in verse 18 my darling children let's not deceive ourselves by paying lip service to love while we can truly live the dynamic of love
[00:50:03] in our practical daily doing has convenience made you someone who pays lip service because it's just not convenient for you to show up for somebody that i mean they're going through and i'm not i'm not trying to make that a law i'm trying to say if you'll let the holy spirit
[00:50:34] begin to talk to you the holy spirit is saying i want you to go and visit such and such and so now i'm not i'm not saying you know please don't make that a law because i don't want you at my
[00:50:45] gate knocking talking about the lord told me just just stop i'm not i'm not doing that y'all know how it is i gotta gotta get it right you know what i'm saying well pastor said he didn't even
[00:50:54] you discern what I said right it's convenience replacing the actual embodiment of the mission of Jesus Christ it's convenience replacing the guy that's on the street that you didn't know was on the street but God told you to go soul winning and you went and you're like wow I see why
[00:51:20] then when they start testifying you're like I got your supply lip service love it's just not always the mission hearing somebody say you love it that's good that's cool please don't take this to the there's there's times where when you say you love that's powerful and everything the only
[00:51:46] time it's questionable is when the holy spirit is leading you to do something other than that this is why you have to have a personal relationship with him because this is this is not a list of
[00:51:59] rules to doing that you just got to learn how that when he shows up to learn how to follow him you normally go to Sprouts to shop this time he wants you to go to Trader Joe's you're like I want
[00:52:11] to go to Trader Joe's they're always crowded down there all them people and stuff going around are you bumping into folks and everything you know they got some uh uh popcorn with uh extra virgin
[00:52:21] olive oil on it my god my god I'd be wanting to hear the holy ghost but what happens sometimes is you can't fight him you say no I always go to Sprouts but this time you feel a strong leading
[00:52:40] to go there why he's trying to get that person's supply to show up there you have it don't know where it's supposed to be he knows where it's supposed to be but you're always saying i yield
[00:52:52] to the old spirit somebody say i'm not to do that now that's why you have to mature you can't keep doing the same old popcorn sunday school stuff you have to grow so the holy spirit can use you
[00:53:04] to the capacity that he's equipped you with he's equipping you but he can't use you because you still getting offended he can't use you because you still won't forgive somebody he can't use you because you let laziness you know keep you in bed when he trying to get you somewhere and it's like
[00:53:22] if we're going to mature it's like lord help me to mature so i can be you there's nothing in the world with like when you show up with somebody's supply and you don't even know you knew it wasn't
[00:53:32] yours but you you didn't know who it was and he leads you directly to who that supply was supposed to be to what a powerful thing this is what God needs he don't need a whole bunch of church folks
[00:53:43] at church hollering and screaming because you like the song he needs some people that'll come to church and doing just what you're doing right now you're seated you're listening you're absorbing what's going in and then when you go out you at least have something to kind of help you shape
[00:53:59] your hearing in line with what you heard and you keep doing that and you keep doing it I saw some of you this morning some of you this morning I love it you're so greedy you're like I got to get
[00:54:09] to church why because I got to see what else you got to say about that we stopped at part four I need to see what five six and seven what are you saying you're hungry for God because God's trying
[00:54:18] to prepare you for use I said God's trying to prepare you for use and a lot of that comes with a lot of stuff you go through i said this last week i think you know in in troubled times y'all
[00:54:35] go through you go through stuff you're like well i don't know why god won't say none of me i know well i don't know why god god done said enough to you it's time for a test and the teacher is quiet
[00:54:44] during test time what have you learned what do you know it's time that for a test teacher ain't doing no lecture in the midst of a test well how many people are being tested go ahead and pass the
[00:55:04] test and then the teacher come back up and say all right well it's time to go to the next chapter i've got something else but some of us still stuck at that same chapter because we we can't even we
[00:55:14] can't get up we can't show up we can't shut up we got all this stuff but god's trying to mature us your maturity doesn't take place in the comfort zone your maturity takes place in discomfort
[00:55:25] passivity and well i don't really care either way or not i mean if you're gonna talk to me talk to me if not you know i'm just i'm gonna go i'm gonna go to this party and everything i mean
[00:55:44] you know since i'm under grace i might as well go and get high and stuff like that grace don't make give you license to sin it's the answer to your sinning man how's your prayer life going
[00:56:04] it don't matter to me either way it is what it is i ain't worth nothing all of a sudden you think that god doesn't love you anymore like the deuteronomy said they thought god hated them
[00:56:17] because somebody told you that you're just a bad boy and you made that your identity and that's not who you are i don't care how many times you did or what that's not who you are and if you can just
[00:56:34] hold on to your identity it'll change your behavior but if you're just satisfied with managing your behavior and never concluding who you really are in christ jesus then you're subject just play church the rest of your life. I ain't doing that. I'd rather be on a mission field
[00:56:53] with four or five changes of clothes than to be pastoring a church where people are so apathetic they just don't care anymore. I mean, I've got limited time, so I'm trying to get everything out.
[00:57:08] Everything that I know, I'm trying to get it out. So the next dude that comes in here can come in here and rock and roll. I'm trying to get it out, put it in writing,
[00:57:16] put it in book form put it in everything so don't have to go and start all over again their starting line can be the finish line and i love you guys because to be able to come
[00:57:30] in church like this and teach and people sit and actually listen do you know what a blessing that is that's a blessing i'm not so insecure that i gotta do stuff to make me feel better about what
[00:57:49] i'm doing and then you got to respond to make me feel better about what i'm doing i'm i'm good man to be able to teach you this you know how excited i am to be able to come to church and explain
[00:58:02] something to you that i know the knowledge of this is going to take you to the next level i'm not comparing myself with anybody other people may compare me with other by other people but i'm
[00:58:14] i'm satisfied just knowing i got somebody paul said that i might save some my thing is that i might teach some and have you ever been to a situation where I taught something and you didn't
[00:58:25] get it until maybe two or three months it just you like whoa I see it that's what I'm doing I'm trying to plant some seeds so that one day while you walking or doing shopping or stopping in the
[00:58:36] car you're like whoa I got it I got it I got it I got movie talking about somebody excited I'm really excited I could pick the podium up and just throw it and break it you know I don't want to
[00:58:52] cost the church any money but I'm just like that's how excited I am I love you people I love this church. I love this congregation, and I want to thank you for letting me be myself again.
[00:59:12] I want to thank you. See, that's sin. That's sin. No, it's not. It's a song, a song.
[00:59:30] Convenience often offers words without embodiment. Let's be sensitive for us to discern the difference between the words we speak and when our presence needs to be there and the final one number six the early church modeled rhythms of devotions rhythms of devotions i'm going to show you
[00:59:59] something acts chapter 2 and verse 42 in the uh let's go to the passion translation acts chapter 2 verses 42 grace produced devotion not because devotion earns anything but because grace awakens us or awakens our desire that was sleep look at this in verse 42 this is so
[01:00:23] cool um acts chapter 2 verse 42 every believer was faithfully devoted to following the teachings of the apostles their hearts were mutually linked to one another sharing communion and coming together regularly for prayer. Look at the rhythms. Their heart was linked. They were
[01:00:52] sharing community. They had a time of coming together where prayer is concerned. Grace, desire, devotion. What's your rhythm? What's your rhythm on a day-to-day basis?
[01:01:12] Spending time with God, reading a scripture, spending time with my community, both to give and to receive. What's the rhythm? There's got to be like this atmosphere that you create of stability in this rhythm. You've got to see that rhythm done in your life. It's not like this
[01:01:37] stuff's just going to fall on you that I'm talking about. It happens because there's a rhythm that's been created in your life. I spend time in the Word on a day-to-day basis. I spend time talking
[01:01:49] to God on a day-to-day basis. I spend time listening to God on a day-to-day basis. I spend time with community on all of those things will nourish and fortify my spiritual life this is the practical thing are you willing to to to to to see to develop rhythm in your life
[01:02:08] and allow the rhythm of grace to to show up in your life and and i have a rhythm a rhythm of the word a rhythm of prayer a rhythm with my community the community that i set up both at
[01:02:21] church and elsewhere this is what life is like when you don't have a rhythm you're you're you're you're praying just whenever you're listening to god just whenever i guess he'll talk to me when you want to you you you know you're you're you're not ever getting with a community so being edified
[01:02:41] being built up uh even being reproved or rebuked to see how you respond does that upset me does that offend me all of this stuff helps you to grow but there's no rhythm involved and I'll tell
[01:02:56] you a lot of reason why there's no rhythm involved because in our lives we have had hurts that have never been spoken especially if you're a man and when you don't deal with the trauma that's never been spoken or never been dealt with it starts dealing with you and that
[01:03:18] undealt with trauma magnifies and amplifies inferiority in your life inferiority is the feeling of falling short um that you're like never enough and it's never going to be enough for all have sinned and come short that's inferiority of the glory of God and so what
[01:03:43] happens when you refuse to deal with your inferiority you've got to figure out a way where i can appear to be superior okay and you can tell because when when people are hunting for superiority they they kind of overdo it and in the thing that they're trying to be superior
[01:04:02] over because they're still hiding where they feel like they fall short they still hide that you know a man's not going to to speak about his pain and his hurt because he feels like it's gonna
[01:04:16] of make it worse and others will look down at him and say that's you know and and critical so he he won't he don't he won't share his hurts he don't want to share his hurt with a woman
[01:04:27] who he thinks has his back but she just want his pocketbook or a woman doesn't want to share her hurts and pains with a man who she's not sure is serious about what he says when he says he
[01:04:42] cares about her and they both end up going through the same thing because ain't nobody talking about the trauma that existed from their past and we expect to to get better hiding in false pretense and we create a false rhythm of life instead of that rhythm that will bring us
[01:05:07] true life and so vulnerability is something you stay away from because you don't want to see yourself vulnerability is so interesting because vulnerability can be your superpower if you have enough courage to start with yourself by looking in the mirror and stop believing the story you
[01:05:28] tell yourself that inner narrative it is so important guys so you know tap and i were talking right before we went to sleep and i said you know we got to do this series on relationships
[01:05:39] because if people don't know how to relate with folks that are right here in front of them that they can see then they're going to always fall short in their relationship with God that's why
[01:05:54] Jesus came if you've seen me you've seen the father but then people didn't believe that that was true because of the trauma in their life everybody got something that happened that they're not really free to talk about because I fear how I'll be seen and I'm already having a
[01:06:13] problem with how I see myself I'm not trying to let somebody chime in and add on to how I see myself and that's something that we're going to talk about we're going to deal with that in our
[01:06:24] first men's fellowship I'm going to feed them in a nice breakfast getting them all nice and full and then have a microphone up there and you're going to be full enough to my time just ended
[01:06:38] I don't know if you got anything out of anything, but I hope something happened You know Thank you for coming to church today Consider these things roll them over in your head. Think about them
[01:06:56] We have an altar call at dismissal you can come down here there'll be ministers here who will Take you on the pulpit or in a private place to talk to you You want to get saved or whatever you want. They're here to minister to you
[01:07:10] Would you please stand for the final blessing?
[01:07:12] Lift your hands up and receive this blessing today father. I thank you That we're blessed because of jesus We receive that we're blessed because of jesus. We agree with the blessing over our lives because of jesus
[01:07:36] I thank you lord that the angels have already been instructed to watch over us unless we dash our foot against the stone I thank you lord That a tsunami of favor comes over the people of god this week
[01:07:50] and that no hurt harm a danger assassinations robbings accidents we plead the blood of jesus over every person at the sound of this blessing i declare that that you're blessed going in you're blessed coming out you're the head not the tail and i shout grace grace over your life
[01:08:11] whoo jesus i pray that the wisdom of god will flourish and you'll be like you're in the courts of our god full of creativity full of ideas that come from heaven and may peace peace be upon you
[01:08:27] and now unto him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the almighty god be glory majesty dominion and power both now and forever and everybody said amen god

[01:08:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:08:44] bless you have an amazing day today amen talk about a great message there yeah i've been enjoying this series talking about you know convenience and all that good stuff i learned a lot what about you

[01:08:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:08:58] i you know what today especially i love the reminder just of the mission of jesus because sometimes we get caught up and we know about grace we know so much about grace but it's like getting
[01:09:07] back to the basics yeah it does you know whatever it is that i desire is it am i being convenient

[01:09:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:09:16] so that was really good what about you yeah i can say like the nugget that i got was when he was talking about the mission he had said something real powerful he was like you have
[01:09:23] have to learn how to love people who don't like you i was like oh he was speaking to me right now

[01:09:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:09:27] he was in your business i was like all right yeah the lord got to work on you know lord working on

[01:09:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:09:34] me on that one right there so yeah so we gonna get better with that i mean we all can do a little

[01:09:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:09:38] bit better in that area yeah you know as a matter of fact put what you can get better at in the chat for us make sure that you share the message we can't wait to see and read all that you got i
[01:09:48] always say you never know when you hopped on so somebody may be able you know be blessed by what he said so we're going to transition to one of our favorite parts of service which is giving
[01:09:56] and i know y'all might get tired of the scripture but the scripture is the word the word is the word it's good it's evergreen and that scripture that i'm going to share is second corinthians nine and
[01:10:05] seven and it says you must each decide in your heart how much to give and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure for god loves a person who gives cheerfully you know when you get a gift
[01:10:16] cheerfully somebody was thinking of you somebody like paid attention to what tarik be wearing and got him a Gucci sweater or something because he paid attention to cheerfully give you know what you would like to receive and at the end of the day God kind of gives us the resources anyway to
[01:10:29] be able to do all the great things that we're able to do so how can they give Tariq? Yeah give you

[01:10:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:10:33] guys the four ways to give so a couple of ways right you can text world changers one word or together and leave a space and add your amount to 74483 and then you can also call us here at the
[01:10:45] church 866-477-7683 and then if you also want to mail you can also mail the money in too you just need a stamp yep exactly you can do 2500 burdett road college park georgia 30349 and then
[01:11:02] of course on our website as well at worldchanges.org or creflo dollar ministries you guys can go ahead

[01:11:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:11:08] and sow into the ministry yeah it's good ground speaking of good ground i want to shout out the Ladies, yesterday we had so much fun at the Women's Fellowship.
[01:11:15] I saw it on your Instagram.

[01:11:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:11:16] It was crowded.
[01:11:17] We had so many ladies come out.

[01:11:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:11:19] It was so many.
[01:11:20] And don't worry, we have a virtual one because we know all of the ladies here.
[01:11:23] You may not be able to travel and enjoy with us in the festivities, so we're going to have something online for you.
[01:11:27] But speaking of the room being crowded, we want the Women's Conference to be crowded.
[01:11:32] For sure.
[01:11:32] We want to see you, whether you've got to fly, drive, train, bus, whatever it is that you've got to do, we need you in the building.
[01:11:39] So I believe right now there's information on your screen.
[01:11:42] We have, I like to call homegrown girlies that are going to be taking the stage and pouring into you and ministering into you.
[01:11:49] I know these women personally, they have poured into me, so I know that God will have something for you in the room.
[01:11:56] Please, please, please be intentional about getting there.
[01:11:59] Pray.
[01:11:59] We pray that God will provide the resources.
[01:12:01] And when you're here, you're going to awaken to all that God has for you.

[01:12:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:12:04] Amen.

[01:12:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:12:05] What else we got, Tariq?

[01:12:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:12:05] Yeah, well, we got the men's fellowship coming up.
[01:12:07] So, fellas, get ready on Saturday, January 24th at 11 a.m.
[01:12:12] You can join us right in the Senior High building for our first Men's Fellowship of 2026.
[01:12:17] It's going to be big. It's going to be hot.
[01:12:19] You are not alone, men. Your tribe awaits.
[01:12:22] Brotherhood is the spark that you need.
[01:12:24] Like Pastor was talking about, you also talked about community.
[01:12:26] He did.
[01:12:26] And this could be a great place where you can find your community.
[01:12:29] So come on out to Men's Fellowship.
[01:12:31] Go ahead and text MENSFELLOWSHIP, all one word, to 51555.
[01:12:34] go ahead get plugged in get registered we can't wait to see you it's gonna be hot yeah and i

[01:12:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:12:40] believe i don't know if y'all heard what he just said in the movie he said he's gonna feed y'all he didn't he said he's gonna give you so i mean you're gonna get your belly full and your spirit
[01:12:49] filled fellas make sure y'all go to the miss fellowship uh tariq and i actually we're about to have a good time at shift i'm so excited about what young adults like tariq is there every week
[01:12:59] i'm there every week there's just a community of great people what do you think they could get if Someone's watching and they're like, you know what, I really want to go.
[01:13:07] But, like, am I too old?
[01:13:08] Or what do they be doing?
[01:13:09] What do you think they get out of SHIFT?

[01:13:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:13:10] Man, look, we welcome all.

[01:13:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:13:12] I agree.

[01:13:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:13:13] So, come on and join us.
[01:13:14] And I can say, like, last year I really enjoyed SHIFT because I felt like we impacted so many young people.
[01:13:20] Oh, for sure.
[01:13:21] Just hearing, like, if y'all go to our Instagram and you can hear all of the testimonies from the people that were part of SHIFT.
[01:13:27] And it was just so many great things and just so many things that people learned.
[01:13:31] And I think we did a really good job.
[01:13:32] the lord bless us to do a good job of impacting people absolutely as pastor said it's all about

[01:13:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:13:36] community and we do a great job of being able to cultivate a space for young adults to do that and we want to see you there so you can check out shiftya.org for more information you can also
[01:13:47] reach out to us just like he said we answer our dms so at shift atl on instagram and that kickoff is going to happen on january the 27th at 7 p.m in our chapel so we want to see you there
[01:13:59] And then last but not least, what have we got?

[01:14:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:14:00] We're celebrating 40 years as a church.
[01:14:03] We are so excited.
[01:14:04] I am so excited.

[01:14:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:14:06] We had a chance to listen to the choir a little bit, practice.

[01:14:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:14:08] Yeah, we got a preview the other day, an exclusive preview.

[01:14:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:14:11] There's some exclusives that's going to be happening.
[01:14:14] Like I said before, get dressed up.
[01:14:15] Even if you're at home, get dressed up and tag us so we can see you in your Sunday's best.
[01:14:20] 40 years of God being able to display his grace on this ministry, and we are so thankful.

[01:14:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:14:24] Yeah, that's awesome.
[01:14:25] And, you know, it's funny to think about it.
[01:14:27] I wouldn't even have thought about it 40 years ago.
[01:14:29] What?
[01:14:30] Just to know that this church is celebrating 40 years, and it's a blessing to be part of this amazing ministry.

[01:14:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:14:34] It is.
[01:14:35] And I think also, I know I'm a little chatty today.
[01:14:37] I'm excited.
[01:14:38] But I think, you know, 40 years and thinking about how much, you know, Pastor Dollar and Pastor Tappy has been able, how much impact they've been able to make over those decades.
[01:14:47] And truthfully, if you think about how young they were when they started, to be able to be, you know, blessed with a ministry of 40 years and how many thousands of lives and how many, you know, different continents
[01:14:58] and just God's grace to continue to grow and grow with them, I'm forever grateful.
[01:15:03] I know he's changed our lives.
[01:15:04] They're changing your lives, and we want to celebrate that with you.
[01:15:07] So that's all we got.

[01:15:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:15:08] Yeah, and the anniversary is going to be on February 1st.
[01:15:10] It's going to be Bishop McClendon.
[01:15:12] He's going to be coming out to preach.
[01:15:13] I remember he actually preached a couple of anniversaries ago.
[01:15:15] It was a really great message.
[01:15:17] So I know he's going to bring it this time, so I'm looking forward to it.

[01:15:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:15:19] Yeah, that's it.
[01:15:20] That's all we got.
[01:15:20] So Blue Seat Therapy, if you're local, please come be in the room.
[01:15:23] your teens, your children, there's spaces for them available as well.
[01:15:26] We love you. God bless you. Anything else you want to share?

[01:15:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:15:29] Yeah. Well, if you got some snow, enjoy the snow day and have a great Sunday.

[01:15:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:15:33] Well, probably we don't get any, but, you know, have a great week.

[01:15:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:15:38] It's time.

[01:15:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:15:39] I will travel. Coming from New York, I had to be here.
[01:15:43] It's just amazing.
[01:15:44] Every year I look forward to coming. Every year.

[01:15:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:15:47] Get ready to be awakened.
[01:15:50] Rise from the ashes.
[01:15:51] Rise.
[01:15:54] from the ashes, and be who you were made to be.
[01:15:58] Join us for the Radical Women's Conference, March 19th and 20th, two days that will shift your destiny.

[01:16:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:16:06] It feels like one big girl group party.
[01:16:09] It's full of joy, it's full of laughter, it's full of supporting each other.

[01:16:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:16:14] With guest speakers, Octavia Roberts.

[01:16:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:16:17] You have to recognize the power that you have.
[01:16:20] Your spark is on the inside of you.
[01:16:23] It's not lost, it's there.
[01:16:25] Chrislyn McNair.
[01:16:27] Stop waiting on somebody else to validate you through your pity party.

[01:16:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[01:16:31] You've already been approved.

[01:16:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:16:34] Sade Orr.

[01:16:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:16:35] I have something different, that the God that I know, I don't have to worship him in order to get something.
[01:16:42] I am worshiping God because everything is already done.

[01:16:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:16:46] Alyssa Worrell.

[01:16:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:16:47] There's no situation or no circumstance that you cannot overcome.

[01:16:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:16:52] and Creflo Dollar.

[01:16:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:16:54] It's one thing for you to know what the scriptures say.
[01:16:58] It's another thing for you to know what God said to you.

[01:17:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:17:01] And bringing the sound that will set the atmosphere on fire, special musical guests, Jordan G. Welch and Kiera Sheard.
[01:17:09] Get ready to be awakened.
[01:17:12] From the ashes, we rise.
[01:17:15] Register today at taffydollar.org.
[01:17:18] It's time for your radical awakening.

[01:17:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:17:24] The Spirit and Grace Tour is coming to a city near you.
[01:17:27] Join Creflo Dollar for an unforgettable night of revelation and empowerment. Seats are limited, only 500 per city. Register now at spiritandgracetour.com.
[01:17:38] Don't miss this night of power, grace and transformation.
[01:17:42] Register now at spiritandgracetour.com.

[01:17:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:17:45] It was awesome. If you wasn't here, you missed it.
[01:17:48] You need to go to the other cities and states and get in.