Isn’t it interesting that we have such contradictions in our lives? Despite our massive victories, we have our messed-up vulnerabilities. Our lives may be fragmented, but our God sews the pieces together in congregation with our faith. But for God to make something beautiful out of our lives, we need to trust Him completely. Trust His plan, praise His name, and access the promise He lined up for you from the day of your creation.
[Music]
go to psalms 34 1-10 when you haven’t
shout amen
very familiar passage of scripture
i will challenge your understanding of
the text
but we’re going to go deeper into this
text today
i’ve been talking to the lord about this
text and more importantly god has been
talking to me about this text
i will bless the lord at all times
his praise shall
continually be in my mouth
my soul shall make her boast in the lord
the humbles shall hear thereof and be
glad
o magnify the lord with me and let us
exalt his name together
i sought the lord and he heard me
and delivered me
from all my fears
they looked unto him
and were lightened and their faces were
not ashamed
this poor man cried and the lord heard
him and saved him out of all of his
troubles
the angel of the lord encampeth about
them that fear him and delivereth them
listen to this close oh taste and see
that the lord is what
blessed is the man that what
trusteth in him
oh fear the lord ye his saints for there
is no want to them that fear him
the young lions do lack and suffer
but they that seek the lord shall not
want any
good thing
that means if you didn’t get it it
wasn’t good
that means if you didn’t get it it
wasn’t good
i’m believing god for some things right
now i told him i only want it if it’s
good
it looks good
but that’s what got even trouble
it’s pleasant to my eyes but that’s what
got her in trouble
it looks like it’s good for food but
that’s what got her in trouble i only
want it if it’s good i want to go back
to that eighth verse again
this is my focal point oh taste and see
that the lord is good
blessed is the man that praises
excuse me blessed
is the man that dances
[Applause]
oh
let me see
blessed is the man that trusteth
in him can you say amen
my subject this morning is the dividends
of trust
the dividends of trust
trust is extremely important
and yet we say very little about it
we talk a lot about praise we are
commanded to praise that’s something
that we can do
praise is about doing
trust is about being
there is a dividend that god will give
you
on trust
on trust
on trust
how many people trust god
the dividends
of trust there’s some dividends you’re
gonna reap if you trust him
particularly if you’re in a tough time
god says trust him if you’re in a
painful time
trust him if you’re in a scary time
trust him if you’re in a time of
uncertainty
trust him you know why he that had began
a good work in you
shall perform it until the day of jesus
christ
god is consistent so you can
if i sat in this chair and it gave way i
wouldn’t trust it but because every time
i’ve ever sat on it it held me up i
didn’t check the legs before i sat down
i trusted it’s not a conscious effort
it’s a result of consistency
your god is consistent great is our
faithfulness lord unto me
oh when i wake up in the morning new
mercies i see all i have needed
the hands have provided great is thy
faithfulness
lord unto me let’s pray while we’re
standing would you pray with us too
let’s all pray together spirit of the
living god
fell fresh on us this morning
endow us with the grace of delivering to
your people what you have deposited in
me
release the kind of unction
that causes people to be rejuvenated
not just emotionally but spiritually
help us to understand beyond our present
comprehension
what you are able to do
in the name of jesus we pray
amen
you may be seated in the presence of god
yeah get ready get ready get ready get
ready i want you to keep that text out
and look at that text i’m going to start
with the text
psalm 34 1-10 i’m going to read it again
and then i’m going to go down the road
it occurs to me
that psalms 34 1-10 is powerful
but strange
it’s it’s it’s a collective of ideas
that don’t necessarily
coordinate with each other
it almost seems contradictory
it is
fragments of truth
elements
of orthodoxy
individually
all of them
have truth in their own merit
but when they are brought together and
read together
they almost seem contradictory and yet
they have been woven together into one
passage for example i will bless the
lord at all times
his praise shall continually
be in my mouth it makes good sense my
soul shall make her boast in the lord
the humble shall hear thereof and be
glad makes good sense oh magnify the
lord with me and let us exalt his name
together makes good sense
i sobbed the lord and he heard me and
delivered me from all of my
fears wait
you were scared
i thought you was praising him
now the same guy who says i will bless
the lord at all times
says that he went through a period
where he sought the lord he heard him he
delivered him
he was afraid next verse
they looked unto him and were lightened
and their faces were not ashamed next
verse
oh
this poor man cried
wait you was praising i will bless the
lord at all times this prayer shall
continually be in my mouth does not go
with
this man this poor this poor man
cried
and the lord heard him and saved him out
of all of his
troubles
this guy’s in trouble but
he was praising god before and the
praise was always in his mouth
the angel of the lord encounters round
about them that fear him
and delivereth him this man had to be
delivered but a moment ago he was
talking about his praise shall
continually be in my mouth he sounded so
happy a moment ago he didn’t sound like
he was a poor man crying
he didn’t sound like he was full of fear
he didn’t sound like he had trouble
old taste and see that the lord is good
blessed is the man
that trusteth in him
fear the lord ye his saints for there is
no want to them that fear him i get that
the young lions do lack and suffer
hunger but they that seek the lord shall
not want any good thing
that’s that’s that’s
interesting
and yet it seems contradictory
they are
fragmented truths
a piece of polyester and a
piece of wool and a piece of silk
and a piece of cotton
and and and all of them are laying out
there
in the same
text several years ago i had the
privilege of hosting one of africa’s
first elected females presidents if not
the first
her excellency president ellen johnson
sirleaf
and it was amazing we attempted to
entertain her in our home in the manner
that reflected her prominence and
honored her position but the truth of
the matter is we had never had a
president in our house before
so we were really my wife said just you
you crazy
so we were really spit shining
everything and trying to get everything
nice to entertain this historical figure
that will go down in history as the
first elected
female president in africa there were
some that became president by default
and inherited the position because the
previous president died for short
interims of time but ellen johnson
sirleaf was the first
elected president
of a country in africa and it hit the
news worldwide and she was in my house
while we were having dinner she
presented me with a very meaningful gift
she gave us a quilt
and when she gave us the quote she
explained something to me
she explained that in liberia
the quilt is a symbol
of liberty
not just the flag but the quilt itself
reminds every liberian of their liberty
you see liberia is lauded by the
distinction of being africa’s first
republic
it was its first republic it was a
country founded by freed slaves
who were assisted in returning back
to the motherland
and they went back to the motherland and
received their freedom you don’t hear a
lot about that but there were not not
all the slaves that left africa went to
brazil or went to the caribbean
or went to america there were a group of
slaves that were blessed to return back
through the aid of an organization out
of the uk they were able to come back
hence liberia
liberty
is called liberia because they were
liberated
slaves
okay and their their their gift is
symbolized by a quilt and i’m going to
tell you why
you have to understand
the verses in the texts remind me of
liberia in part because one moment he’s
talking about his praise shall
continually be in my mouth the next
moment he’s talking about his fears
you look around again if the same man
that wrote the first part about his
praise shall continually be in my mouth
turns around and says this poor man
cried in isolation the statements don’t
even go together
sounds like a quilt most of us live our
lives in fragmentation
we have fragments of joy we have
fragments of peace we have fragments of
holiness and we have
fragments of carnality
nobody wants to wave their hand but it’s
true
we have fragments of great courage
and even the most courageous person
wrestles with fragments of fear
we have fragments of happiness
followed by
fragments of great grief
depending on which piece you pick up in
our lives you will say oh he’s so joyous
but you just picked up a fragment
if you catch me at another moment you’ll
say oh he’s depressed
isn’t it amazing how you can go from one
extreme to the other
without warning in the same person
forget the same passage or the same
verse in the same person that’s why it
takes years to know a person
you dated him in the sunshine but you
married him in the rain
[Applause]
you’re on a date long enough to see how
people are when they’re happy and see
how they are when they’re sad and see
how they are when they’re depressed and
see how they are when they’re angry i
don’t want to date anybody i have seen
mad
because some of the nicest people can
turn into a guerrilla when they get
angry and shock you and you would never
believe that they would turn that you
married a tarantula
like people’s personality life is
fragmented it’s a little bit of this and
a little bit of that and a little bit of
the other a little bit of the other that
doesn’t even go together and some of us
get stressed out because the pieces
don’t match
they don’t go together
you can’t even explain yourself because
when people ask you how you are you
would sound schizophrenic if you
answered
somebody called me the other day and
said how do you feel about it i said i’m
happy and nervous and glad and sad and
and scared and excited and and and
adventurous and intimidated and and
vulnerable and and victorious and all of
it at the same time all of that stuff
conglomerated into one place william
shakespeare said it this way life is a
tale told by an idiot full of sound and
theory signifying absolutely nothing he
just gave up on it he says crazy
somebody said it’s crazy
he said it’s just crazy it doesn’t make
any sense it feels like it was told by
an idiot
that is the feeling of this text
the feeling of this text is so
discombobulated
discoordinated not synergized if you
submitted this text to an english class
they would mark it all up because the
thoughts are frayed
there are so many people sitting in this
room right now whose thoughts are frayed
a little bit of polyester a little bit
of wool a little bit of silk and a
little bit of cotton and you’re
complicated
because when you present yourself the
pieces don’t go together
how many people are honest enough to
admit to yourself that the pieces of you
don’t go together
i put on my coat this morning and
and the white stuck out real good on
this side but it doesn’t show on this
side at all it’s nothing wrong with the
with the clothes it’s something wrong
with my arms
[Applause]
one arm is longer than the other i put
on my shoes i put on my left shoe first
because my left shoe is just a wee bit
bigger than my right foot and so if it’s
good on the left it’s going to be good
on the right because they
they they don’t uh
they don’t match
they they don’t go together and just
like my body looks like it doesn’t match
sometimes my personality doesn’t match
how can david love god so much that he’s
dancing on the mountaintops writing
poetry to god and singing songs
and then turn around this poetic person
who is such a
left-brained creative individual can
turn around and get so mad that he
caught up cut off a hundred foreskins
and threw him down at saul’s feet
extremes extremes was he bipolar i don’t
know i’m not a psychiatrist i can’t
diagnose his behavior but but but it
doesn’t match up how david could be so
committed in one area and then be on the
rooftop looking over at bad sheba
talking about
lord have mercy
how he could care for lambs and and
fight lions for lambs and and do all of
these wonderful things and be so kind
and so caring at one moment and then be
so vicious and cunning at another is
beyond me
but such is life
such is life and shakespeare just
concluded it doesn’t make any sense i
give up on it i can’t explain it life is
a tale told by an idiot
if i presented this text to an english
scholar they would give me an e
because there is no synchronization of
thought
how can his praise continually be in
your mouth and yet you admit this poor
man cried
how can i praise and cry
praising and crying doesn’t even go
together it doesn’t make any sense and
yet it’s in the same text and worse
still it’s in the same man
but shakespeare was wrong when he says
that life is a tale told by an idiot
he was completely wrong in spite of the
fragmentation of human experience life
is not a blanket
it’s a quilt
it’s it’s a quilt
it’s not a blanket you can’t get it to
all match up
and anytime you see something where it
matches perfectly it’s always synthetic
people
that match perfectly
are always synthetic
anytime everything lined up just the way
it’s supposed to be and there is no mar
and there is no fluctuation and there is
no deviation run
this psalms is not born from a moment of
great faith nor is it a moment whereby
david’s destiny is unfolding quite the
contrary instead
hidden between
the admonishment to bless the lord and
admonish us to praise him
is emotional chaos
when i talk to my spiritual father about
how things are going and maybe several
people have died in the church and
somebody’s in the hospital and one of
his kids is sick he says life is doing
what life does
jerking you around
from praise to prayer
from victory to discouragement
from crying like a poor man
to blessing the lord
all of that is a part of life
and how you manage the inconsistencies
determines how well
you are stable
as a person
if you’re waiting for life to light out
like a blanket
you’ll never get anything done
you have to be able to thrive in chaos
you have to be able to deal with the
confusion
you have to understand that you’re
always going to be a quilt
but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be
stitched together
it’s impossible not to know the fact
that david remains consistent in his
behavior praise while his emotions
are reacting to peril
so he’s crying and praising
if his praise is continually in his
mouth he’s crying and praising
that means if if god delivered him that
means he’s praising and bound
if he delivered him from all of his
troubles that means that he praised him
in trouble
david is talking to us about certain
things that we need to understand about
god in order to be able to go forward in
life and they are very important things
to be realized certainly there’s a deep
admonition of praise
but that’s becoming a discipline and
when you become a disciplined praiser
you praise him no matter what which is
what they were singing about today
but the clarion call is not just to
praise him it’s also to trust him
to trust him praising him and trusting
him is two different things
i’ve seen people praise him all over the
church and get in the car worried sick
i’ve seen people praise the lord and
haunt their horn because the traffic is
moving too slow in the parking lot or
yell at our parking lot attendance or
curse them out
i’ve seen them talking tongues at the
altar and curse out the parking lot
attendant
[Applause]
some of them are here this morning and
[Applause]
it is possible to have unrelenting
praise and still have a battle
to trust the god we praise
see i’m not just talking about praising
him
i’m talking about
trusting him
i’m talking about trusting him now tr
you don’t know how much you trust him
when things are going well
trust is not proven in good times
trust is proven in bad times
trust is not proven when you get a
promotion
trust is proven when you get laid off
trust is not proven when you’re engaged
trust is proven when you’re about to
divorce
i’m can i talk to some real people today
trust is not proven when you get what
you want
trust is proven when you lose what you
had
can you trust him in sorrow
can you trust him in grief can you trust
him with a lump in your breast
can you trust him with a tumor
can you trust him with a hernia can you
trust him as you go up under anesthesia
up under anesthesia you can’t go up
under anesthesia talking in tongue if
you’re going up under anesthesia you
have to go up under anesthesia your
mouth can’t be moving you got to be
ready to trust him in your
head
i i trust god don’t get me wrong now
praise praise is wonderful and praise is
important and we just got to doing it
and i hope we do it again
because praise summons god into our
circumstances
the bible says at midnight paul and
salas prayed and sang praises unto god
and god came where the praises were
and anytime you praise god it summons
god psalms 22 and 3 says that god
inhabits the praises of his people
inhabits inhabits god moves into praise
we are not don’t misunderstand us
onlookers and spectators we are not
praising god because
we are
emotional
this has nothing to do with whether
you’re an extrovert or introvert whether
you’re a quiet person or a loud person
the bible said
let everything
that has
breath
praise ye the lord
because when you praise him you call him
somebody praise him for a minute right
now
[Applause]
yeah
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
you’re summonsing him
you’re sending the batman signal into
the air
he’s coming to rescue you when you
praise him you summons god
you you provoke god to action
you provoke god to move when you praise
him you summons god and you don’t have
to be in church you can be in your
living room you can be on your couch you
can have some run-down shoes on stepping
on the backs of the heels but if you
praise him you can be in prison but if
you praise him he’ll come in a jail cell
you can be in a hospital and if you
praise him he’ll come in the hospital
you can be an awake but if you praise
him he’ll come in the way you can be in
a funeral and if you praise him he’ll
come and awake because praise summons
god
not only that
not only that
praise is a weapon
[Applause]
it’s a strategic attack on the enemy
when you praise god praise as a weapon
you can use it for warfare
israel used it when they said send judah
first judah means praise and when they
started praising god things begin to
happen praise is a weapon when you’re
under attack is no time to be quiet
there’s no time to fold your arms it’s
no time to cross your legs when you’re
under attack praise is a weapon because
the enemy wants to take the praise out
of your mouth and so you enter into his
gates with thanksgiving and his points
with praise and be thankful unto him and
bless his name because praise is a
weapon are there any warriors in here
are there any soldiers in here is there
a military brigade in here i’m a soldier
in the army of the lord i got my warm
clothes on in the army of the lord if i
die let me die in the army of the lord
i’m sanctified holy in the army of the
lord i’m a soldier and a baptized
soldier
y’all don’t know that about that
number three praise is a deterrent to
isolation
it’s how you remind yourself that you’re
not alone
it’s how you remind yourself that you
are not alone
for the angels of the lord and camp
about those that fear him that fear is
reverence when you reverence god angels
wrap around you
so even if you’ve been telling people
you live by yourself if you praise god
you don’t live by yourself because
whenever you praise god he takes his
luggage and moves in the house with you
when your head hears your mouth praising
god you know somebody else is in the
house
oh no i heard voices in there somebody’s
in there yeah you’re right when you
start praising god you’re not riding in
the car by yourself you’re going to work
with angels anybody in here ever rode to
work with
angels
praise reminds
the soul
that you are not isolated in a world
filled with isolation
we are so isolated and yet we got more
ways to contact each other than we ever
had before
[Applause]
i’m i’m on instagram i’m on facebook i’m
on linkedin
uh i haven’t gotten on tick tock yet
because i’m tired of people talking
so i didn’t tick so they couldn’t talk
but there’s so many ways to get in touch
you can text you you can tweet you you
can call you you can yell at you there’s
so many ways to communicate and we have
this huge community of what we call
friends and followers and yet beneath
all of this conglomerate of human
species we are more lonely and more
isolated than we have ever been in all
of our lives
how can you have 5 000 followers and
still be lonely
how can you go into a crowded north park
mall and still be lonely
we fight isolation
because there are all kinds of people
that are connected to us
but they don’t have intimacy
we have lost the art of intimacy
intimacy
but when god comes in he’s already seen
everything
there is nothing hidden from him with
whom we have to do the bible says all
things are naked before him all things
are exposed i don’t care if you cut off
all the lights pull all the blinds pull
all the windows shut jump up under the
blanket he can see up under the covers
good there is nothing hidden from him
with whom we have to do
what praise is not it may be uh
it may summons god in your circumstances
it may be a weapon in the time of battle
it may be a return to isolation but what
praise is not
is a panacea
it is not a panacea
a panacea is something that is that says
it is a universal cure
it’s a cure-all
it’s a cure for all eels the word
panacea that we use today actually comes
from greek mythology
panachia was a greek god who allegedly
was supposed to be able to heal anything
she is the daughter of asapias and in
greek mythology a panacea had the
ability to be able to heal
anything
praise is not a panacea
yet it’s all we sing about it’s all we
talk about it’s all we mentioned it’s
all we allude to but praise is not a
panacea praise does not necessarily
create trust
you can praise god and still be worried
you can praise god and still be scared
you can praise god and still be sick you
can praise god and still be nervous you
can praise god and still have hand
tremors you can praise god and still
have a pinched nerve you can praise god
and still have your check bounce you can
praise god and still be evicted you can
praise god y’all aren’t going to talk to
me come on i want some real people in
here
praise is not a panacea it is not a
cure-all it doesn’t fix everything it
doesn’t straighten everything out the
real truth of the matter is there’s a
great deal of difference between praise
and trust praise is an action
trust is a noun
trust is a state of being
do you understand what i’m saying
when i talk to you early and i begin to
talk about president sirleaf and her
coming you must understand that she was
not the first one to bring a quilt
in the early
1800s
she had a predecessor who brought a
queen who brought a quilt to queen
victoria
it took her 50 years to be able to do it
she was a former slave a liberal former
slave not second third generation a
literal former slave
who who put together a quilt for queen
victoria her name is martha ricks
and she brought the first quilt from
liberia to the queen and here she is a
former slave in the room with the queen
of england
[Applause]
she walks into the room with the queen
of england with a quilt a quilt that was
made out of satin and embroidered with
coffee trees with berries
berries and a border of passion flowers
a quilt that she had stitched with her
own two hands to bring to the queen
a quilt made out of different substances
and different fabrics all different
colors woven together
and she made something beautiful out of
rags
and when i read psalms 34 i begin to
realize
that psalm 34 is teaching us that life
is a quilt
and that we are quilts
and yet god can make something beautiful
out of rags
one person sees disjointed disconnected
rags
in the text
and the other person sees a quilt
god is a quilt maker
no wonder jacob made for joseph a coat
of many colors
he took colors that had nothing to do
with each other and stitched them
together until they became a coat a coat
of distinction its distinction was its
variation
i never will forget when i was a young
boy my mother gave me one year for for
christmas uh
a savings book to kanawha valley bank
and she gave me you remember canal
valley bank she gave me a savings book
to canal valley bank and every time i
would cut a lawn or do grass i would put
five dollars in it until i got enough
money in it for christmas time so that i
wouldn’t have to give her her money back
for christmas
[Applause]
because you know you are buying your own
christmas presents when your kids give
you something most time when they’re
little
i decided i was gonna break that trend
and i brought her this it’s what leather
was suede it was a suede coat and i
never will forget i don’t know why i
remembered it but there was a tag on the
coat that said do not be disturbed
by the variations of colors
or discolored spots it is proof of its
authenticity
authentic people are complicated
authentic people have variations
authentic people have differences
authentic people are poor men crying and
yet continual praise in their mouth and
in trouble and delivered out of trouble
authentic people have ups and downs and
peaks and valleys and winter and spring
and summer and fall authentic people
talk faith and go home and lay down in
fear authentic people believe god and
yet they help my unbelief authentic
people are quagmire of disjointed
disconnected things authentic people are
schizophrenic authentic people are
bipolar authentic people are the kinds
of people it depends on when you catch
me what you get authentic people one day
you get war one day you get sill one day
you get leaves one day you get plain
authentic people are complicated and yet
we are fearfully and marvelously made we
are created in the image of god
our god is love
our god is love
but our our god is also a god of wrath
our god gives life
and our god takes life away our god is
authentic you cannot tie him down that’s
why he told moses i am that i am don’t
try to explain me don’t try to make a
blanket out of me i’m a quilt i am that
i am before it’s over before your life
is over you’re gonna sell bread and the
moment you think i’m bred you’re gonna
find out i’m water and the moment you
think i’m water you’re gonna find out
i’m a cloud and the moment you think i’m
a crowd i’m gonna turn in the fire our
god we were created in the likeness of
god we are quilted we were made we were
fearfully and marvelously made in the
image of a god who is a quilt one moment
you see god saving babies he saved
hagar’s baby in the desert and you would
know that god loves babies until you
read exodus where god killed all the
babies in egypt
oh y’all quiet god killed all the babies
in egypt and told pharaoh i’m gonna kill
all your sons until you let my son go
that don’t sound very nice that don’t
sound very loving that sounds like god
is mad
sometimes god gets mad
and the anger of the lord was kindled
against the people and the anger of the
lord rose up and the anger of the lord
and yet god is love
he is the prince of peace
and yet the prince of peace said i came
not to bring peace but a sword
god is complicated
he killed some people for doing other
things the same thing that somebody else
did he let him get by with it because
our god is complicated
oh
stay with me
now the thing about quilts i grew up
with
my grandmother’s head quilts both of my
grandmother’s headquarters my last
memory of my mother’s mother was sitting
in a chair in a rocking chair with a
quilt over her legs and it was made out
of remnants and rags and fabrics that
she’d taken from different places and on
one side it was colorful and it was
beautiful and it was ornate and stuff no
doubt with cotton and then it had the
backing the backing was always solid
somebody knows what i’m talking about
you don’t see a quilt that’s quilted on
both sides
something has to be solid something has
to be stable something has to be
consistent something has to be unmovable
something has to be unchangeable and uh
while it is unchangeable everything else
can have variations in it but you take
that which is a variable and sew it into
that which is solid and then you have a
quilt
this text is a quilt
and so when i read the quilt and saw how
many different fabrics were in the text
i wanted to check the back
so my next question was what was going
on with david when he wrote this text
so let’s flip the quilt over
[Applause]
can i go deeper with this
thing let’s flip the quilt over and see
why david’s front end sounds so schizo
we’ve got to get to the back end to see
what provoked the text to be written in
the first place
the reality of the matter is david does
not write this while he’s dancing on the
mountaintop david does not write this
while he’s killing goliath david does
not write this as he’s playing the harp
in the palace david does not write this
as he has crowned the king of israel no
david writes this at a time that saul is
still alive and trying to kill him
and he is on the run from saul
and he is rather run from his own people
and there is no rejection like the
rejection of your own people
nothing hurts as bad as a rejection of
your own people because you think your
own people are your backing
but god had to show him that your own
people are not your backing
oh america hear me today your own people
are not your backing at a time that
we’re breaking down into tribes and
you’re either for us or against us and
we’re fighting over black and white and
brown and democrat and republicans and
masks and no man and all kinds of stuff
your own people are not your backing
because people change and they fluctuate
and they go back and they go forward and
if you put all your hopes in the group
you attach to you will always be
disappointed they will always let you
down they will always sell you out they
will always leave you hanging because
you cannot count on people to have your
back i know they love to tell you i got
your back but the devil is alive they do
not have your back the only one who has
your back is god god has got your back
somebody shout god has got my back
my front can have many textures it can
have many colors it can have different
feels you can have silk and corduroy you
can have corduroy and wool you can have
wool and polyester and you can still
make the quilt but when it comes to the
back it has to be one fabric consistent
and stable that holds it all together
there’s one thing that’s been holding
you together there’s one thing that kept
you from losing your mind there’s one
thing that kept you from having a
nervous breakdown there’s one thing that
kept you from committing suicide there’s
one thing that kept you from becoming an
alcoholic there’s one thing that kept
you from driving the car off the cliff
that when everybody forsook you with my
mother and father forsake me the bible
says the lord will take me up when my
own mother and father forsake me the
lord will take me up so stop crying
about what your daddy did and what your
mama did because even if they didn’t
have your back god sent me to tell you
i’ve got your back
[Applause]
elbow somebody telling me he’s got my
back
if you jump on me you got to jump on him
cause god has got my back if you fight
me you gotta fight god because god has
got my back if you hate me you hate god
because god has got my back if you got
your foot on me you got your foot on god
because god has got my back he’s got my
back when i’m right he’s got my back
when i’m wrong he’s got my back when i’m
weak he’s got my back when i’m strong
he’s got my back when i’m scared he’s
got my back when i’m faithful he’s got
my back when i’m consistent he’s got my
back when i’m unstable
that’s why i’m here to praise him
because he is the one that has my back
now let everything that have bread
[Applause]
yes
i came to tell every one of you who was
in the valley when they were praising
god and he had to hold your hand up and
you said you were in the valley i came
to tell you god’s got your back
god’s got this
you’re going through trouble but god’s
got this you’re in a low place right now
but god’s got this you’re backed up
against the wall but god’s got this you
got a tumor but god’s got this they said
it was cancer but god’s got this your
heart is overwhelmed but god’s got this
your heart isn’t got the right beat but
god’s got this your blood pressure is up
but god’s got this you’re about to be on
dialysis but god’s got this your mama’s
in the hospital but god’s got this your
daddy’s got cancer but god’s got this i
need 30 seconds of crazy pray for the
back of the quilt
yes
yes
yes
i want you to say it three times god’s
got this
again
again
i wanted your ears to hear your mouth
say god’s got this your blood pressure
just dropped down your nerves just
calmed down your peace just began to
invade your soul you’re not in this by
yourself god’s got this
shallow hallelujah
david writes this text david writes this
[Applause]
see it’s y’all’s fault i can’t finish
fast cause y’all make me shout and
holler and stuff
hallelujah
oh my god
i think i needed to hear it myself god’s
got this
is there anybody else in here that
needed to hear god’s got this
that the battle is not yours it belongs
to god
hallelujah
though a host shouldn’t camp against me
my heart shall not fear the war should
rise against me and this will i be
confident one thing have i desired in
the lord that what i seek after that i
may dwell in the house of the lord all
the days of my life because if i can get
to god i know god’s got this
if i call you you might not answer if i
text you you might not respond but every
time i call god
every time i calm down
every time i call him
every time i call him
every time i call him
every time
every time i call him
[Applause]
elbow three people and tell them god’s
got this
god’s got this
god’s got this
god’s got my back
god’s got my backing i might be unstable
but god’s got my backing i might act
crazy but god’s got my back i may talk
like an idiot but god’s got my back i
may talk out of my head but god’s got my
back i may contradict myself but god’s
got my back my front might be many
colors but my back is stable my back my
back my back my back my back my back my
back
[Applause]
can i go deeper sit down and let me go
deeper
[Applause]
here
[Applause]
somebody needed to hear that this
morning somebody needed this word from
the lord i know i got a word from the
lord i could feel it when i was getting
it i could feel it in my hands i could
feel it in my head i could feel it in my
feet god said you’re gonna give an
answer to what somebody’s been praying
about tell my people i got this
[Applause]
i want you to feel this
david is running
from a man he protected
david is running from a man
he admired
david is running from a man that he used
to play for
david is running from a man whose demons
he was familiar with
whose musical ability had cast the
demons out of him
the only way saul could get to sleep was
for david to play for him
in one season
[Applause]
then the season changed
and the same man who hired him
is now trying to kill him
i wish i had a witness in this place
have you ever had people turn on you
have you ever had people switch on you
have you ever had people try to destroy
you the very people that you admired and
had an emotional investment in are now
trying to destroy you it makes you
nervous it makes you scared it makes you
flowful to open up to people because you
can’t tell what they’re going to do next
david is now running from saul
which means he’s running from saul’s
army
which means he’s running from an army he
used to lead
he’s running from his own people
the people who ate like him and dress
like him and dance like him and move
like him
and motion like him
he’s running from his own culture
his own background his own ethnicity is
trying to kill him
what
it is so bad
that david ends up hiding amongst the
philistines
the philistines had always been an enemy
if you’re not careful the rejection
of your people
will drive you into the camp of your
enemy
come on with me
come on with me
come on i’m just showing you the
backside of the text
and there he is in the situation with
the philistines and he gets with the
philistines and he thinks maybe if i go
into the philistines they won’t hurt me
maybe they won’t hurt me
maybe they won’t remember
that i killed goliath
[Applause]
but as soon as he moved in with the
philistines the first thing the priest
did was say
aren’t you
see that’s the trouble with backsliding
if you ever really get saved
[Applause]
you can go back in the strip club if you
want to
but you dance like a deacon in the strip
club because once god puts his hands on
your life they gonna know you’re not
really one of them
you can play strip poker if you want to
but take off all your clothes and you’re
still gonna be a child of the king once
god puts his hands on you
it will never come off
it’s indelible it’s immutable it’s
unchangeable it will never pass away ask
peter you can warm yourself by the fire
but they’ll point you out and say you’ve
been with jesus if you’ve ever really
been with jesus you could never get that
out of your skin it’ll come out of your
pores when your car slides your hollow
jesus everybody in the car be cussing
but you’re hollow oh jesus is there
anybody in here that’s been with jesus
david had
a reputation
for military pro-s
he had led the armies of israel
that he’s now running from
and the priest says to him
the priest priestess to him
[Music]
uh
you ain’t no philistine
every backside in this room i want you
to know
[Applause]
every runaway girl every prodigal son
they looking at you saying
you ain’t no philistine
he says to him
the priest says to him
do you want
the sword because we’ve got the sword
that killed goliath
but david cannot win
this battle with the sword
david is afraid that when they find him
they’re going to imprison him or worse
deal
they’re going to kill him
and if ever was a time
that he needed a sword
it was now
[Applause]
but god had a plan
[Applause]
i don’t know who this is for
god said you cannot fight today’s battle
with yesterday’s weapon
what used to work will not work in this
situation
god said you’re gonna have to come back
to me because i’ve got the plan for the
problem you’re facing right now
and the plan was
david pretended to be insane
so he started beating his head
against the gate
just banging his head up against the
gate and they were bringing him to achis
the king and when the king saw him david
was beating his head up against the gate
and then he started scribbling all over
the wall just anything just writing all
up down his sideways on the wall and
then he starts dropping spittle into his
beard
until his beard was covered with spit
his head was banging against the wall
and his hand was scribbling
the philistines wanted
nothing
to do with him akish the king said
can’t you see he’s crazy
[Applause]
why did you let him in here
don’t you think i have enough crazy
people already
in in philistia that you would bring him
in here amongst us i don’t need another
crazy man
put him out
he was like the liberians
he escaped because god had his
[Applause]
you’re not going to escape because of
your sword
you’re going to escape because god has
your
hands
i want to go deeper with this
he managed to escape he got away
you are going to get out of this
wait a minute
without your sword
samuel 21 8-10 says he got the victory
without fighting
stop
fighting
the strategy of the lord
is smarter than that
see when god has a plan it’s always
a crazy
plan am i talking to
the lord told me to tell you he’s going
to give you a crazy plan
god’s plans sound
mad
stuff like
build a boat
in your backyard
noah
elisha leave your inheritance and all of
this property and all of your relatives
to go take a menial job
washing the hands of a prophet
that’s crazy
or
elijah go to a bankrupt widow and there
i’m gonna sustain you
that’s crazy
or elijah throw a stick in the water to
retrieve an ox head
that’s crazy
or i’m gonna send a backslidden prophet
to run a revival in nineveh
that’s crazy
or moses stretch forth a stick and the
red sea is going to get up out of your
way
that’s crazy
or
go down across
an innocent man
so guilty men can be saved
that’s crazy
or
i’m gonna call a christian terrorist to
write most of the new testament epistles
that’s crazy
or humble yourself
so i can exalt you
that’s crazy
or whosoever loses his life
shall find it
that’s crazy
or give me two fish and five loaves of
bread and i’ll feed 5 000 people
that’s crazy or
go to the tomb where you buried your
brother and roll the stone away
that’s crazy god has a crazy plan it’s
not gonna make sense to you all you
rational people you’re gonna have to put
your rationality behind you and go with
something that sounds totally crazy
because god is gonna bring you out of
your situation god is gonna bring you
out of your trouble god is gonna bring
you out of your dilemma
if your ego doesn’t stop you from being
willing to do something crazy nudge your
name and tell them i’m about to do
something crazy
i’m about to do something i never did
before
i’m about to act mad
i’m about to bang my head against the
wall
i’m about to spit in my own beard
i’m about to write up and down the side
of the wall whatever god has for you
it’s a crazy blessing
they didn’t hear me i’m gonna tell you
whatever god has for you
is a crazy blessing
they kind of heard me i’m gonna try
y’all whatever god has for you
is a crazy blessing
you’ve got to be crazy
you’ve got to be crazy if you’re going
to do this you’ve got to be crazy i’m
looking for some crazy people
paul said i’m a fool for christ
is there anybody that’s ready to act a
fool
we’re in a season of trouble
finances are crazy
gas is going up
the recession is on our heels
but god said if you’re willing to act a
fool
i swear i’m gonna bless you
i’m gonna pull you out of this rut
i’m gonna pull you out of this hole
i’m gonna pull you out of this dilemma
but you gotta be willing
to act a fool
paul said i’m a fool for christ
i wanna preach to a room full of
a room full of people that’ll step out
of a boat
and walk out on water
don’t have no bridge
don’t see no rocks
but i’m going to walk on it anyway
god to get ready to take you away
that would blow your mind
i need a crazy praise
up in this place
[Applause]
i need a praise online
i need a praise in your living room
i need a praise on youtube
i need a praise on facebook
this is a time that god
is going to elevate crazy people
not people who play it safe
not people who play cool
not people who play it easy not people
who color in the lines you gotta get
outside of the lines
i’m tired of coloring
in the lines
i’m gonna get out the lines and do my
own thing it may be scribbling but it’s
gonna work for you
it may look bad
but it’s gonna work for you
i need 30 seconds of crazy praise in
this place
[Applause]
praising
praising
praising praising
praising
praising
praising
praise him
praise him
praise him until hell gets nervous
praise him till the devil knows you know
something that he don’t know
praise him till they turn you a loose
praise until your handcuffs come off
praise him till your shackles fall
praise him to your feet move
praise him to you get your mind out
i rebuke the spirit of worry
i rebuke the spirit of fatigue
i rebuke the spirit of discomfort
because what god is getting ready to do
for you is absolutely crazy
what god is getting ready to do for you
is absolutely crazy that’s right
walk around like a crazy woman
hannah acted like she lost her mind
she came in the temple
and staggered like she was drunk
but she got her baby
and if you’re willing to go crazy
god will do a new thing in your life
i’m gonna give you a minute
to find your crazy self
and unlock your crazy self
your believing self
your trusting self
your dependent self
you ain’t got no choice
but to go crazy on this devil
look at your name and tell them i’m
about to go crazy on this devil
i’m about to go crazy
on this sickness
i’m about to go crazy
on this fear
i’m about to go ballistic i’m about to
go off
i’m about to flip out
i’m about to do something you never saw
me do before
where am i crazy
yes
yes
yes
it may look crazy but i’m gonna do it
i may have to walk around the wall
seven times
but i’m gonna do it
i may have to shout at the wall
but i’m going to do it
i may have to speak to the bones
but i’m going to do it
i may have to scratch up a man
but i’m going to do it
i feel a miracle
in this house
for somebody today
who’s gonna get their miracle
who’s gonna get their breakthrough
who’s gonna get that touch from the lord
who’s gonna get a super
natural release
from god the lord is looking for
somebody
that will open up their mouth
and shout out to god
open your mouth
[Applause]
if you go crazy
if you go crazy if you go crazy
if you go crazy
if you go crazy
go crazy on sunday
god will bless you on monday
go crazy on sunday somebody’s looking
for a blessing on monday
this is your chance
to play yourself
go crazy
i’m praising for the lord
i’m crazy for my healing i’m praising it
for my miracle
just crave it for my breakthrough
lift your voice
like a trumpet
yes
yes
here comes
the spirit of release
the spirit of release
the spirit of release
whatever had you found
whatever had you
i had trained
tied up
i feel the spirit of release
make some noise
all day
let your neighbor and tell them you
ain’t crazy enough
you ain’t crazy
and your shackles fall
you ain’t crazy cause the walls shake
you ain’t crazy enough
can the walls come tumbling down
go crazy on that devil
[Music]
crazy this sunday if i don’t get crazy
they’re going to kill me if i don’t get
crazy i’m going to jail if i don’t get
crazy i’ll never be nothing if i don’t
get crazy i won’t get a breakthrough all
of you that have been bound
bound by drugs bound by lust
bound by trouble
bound by alcohol you got to be as crazy
as the devil is that tied you up
you’ve been through too much to be cute
let the cute folks cross their legs go
crazy
dance on their pocketbook
shout on their shoes or tell them give
me some room
you sitting by crazy man
david find himself to be crazy he
started acting a fool
until they turned him a loose
god said i command every devil
that had you bound
to turn you loose
in the name of jesus praise him like
you’re a loose woman
praise him like you a loose man
praise him like he just called you out
the grave and you came out leaving
praise him like you lazarus praise
you
[Applause]
so
i’m
tonight
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
god’s about the president
god’s about to bless you
god’s about to pay you
double for your trouble
god’s about to lift you up
god’s about to lift you up
higher than you’ve ever been before
i can’t hear you
yes
i’m crazy like a fox
i’m crazy
this
have not heard
he’s
[Applause]
i’m crazy
[Applause]
[Applause]
i just need a thousand crazy folks to
jump out in the aisle
and take over this church a thousand
crazy
lunatic
lost your mind
ain’t got nothing to lose
might as well bang my
before i go back
[Applause]
get your increase
get your increase
there’s a dividend that god only gives
people who trust him are some trusted
chariots some trust in horses but i
will remember
the name of the lord
i
i trust you i
trust you
i trust
[Applause]
i trust you
we will
we will
[Applause]
[Music]
i don’t care what my neighbor’s saying
i’m going to trust you
i’m going to trust you
i’m going to trust you if i got to stand
by myself
oh taste and see
that the lord is good
blessed
is the man
that trusteth
in him
i’m gonna do a senseless who trusts the
lord
[Applause]
who trusts the law
who trusts the law
lord i trust you
[Applause]
i don’t understand you but i trust you
i don’t know how you’re gonna do it
better trust you
i trust you enough to drop my sword
i trust you enough to follow your plan
i trust you enough to do things that
don’t make no sense
what you gonna do with that lunch
what is this lunch against so many
people
why are you gonna roll that stone away
by now he stinks
what is shouting at a solid wall gonna
do
why you want me to build a boat in the
backyard stop asking so many questions
and just get that crazy
trust
[Applause]
that though he slay me
[Applause]
yet shall i
trust him
i’m gonna trust you
i’m gonna trust you
the boat is kind of rocky
but i’m gonna trust you
the winds are boisterous
but i’m gonna trust you
my heart is broken
but i’m gonna trust you
this poor man cried
and the lord had him
and delivered him
[Applause]
he delivered him
out of all
of his troubles
all of his troubles not some of his
troubles
all of his troubles
he delivered him out of all of his
troubles
lift your hands and open your mouth to
god and begin to praise it
all of my troubles
all of my troubles
king achis said let him go
let him go he’s crazy
let him go he lost his mind
let him go he’s a fool for you
let him go he’s beside himself
let that woman
go turn that man loose
turn that better loose
turn that crisis a loose
open your mouth let god hear your voice
he knows your voice he knows your voice
he knows your voice
[Music]
you