Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer – Remaining in a Leaving Culture

Priscilla Shirer (born December 31, 1974) is an American author, motivational speaker, actress, and Christian evangelist. Her father is Dallas mega-church pastor Tony Evans and her brother is Christian entertainer Anthony Evans.
The daughter of Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas,[1] Priscilla grew up well acquainted with the Bible. As a freshman at the University of Houston, she interned with a Christian radio station. Soon listeners were calling the station, inviting Priscilla to speak at their Bible study groups and other events. Soon she was invited to lead a weekly Bible study at the Zig Ziglar Corporation and then to join its speaker team. Priscilla has worked as an independent contractor for CBS and hosted a local television show, but recently she has focused solely on Christian ministry opportunities. She calls Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, her mentor in ministry.

Together the Shirers established Going Beyond Ministries, a speaking bureau featuring Priscilla. The parents of three young boys, the Shirers share ministry and family responsibilities. While Priscilla continues to minister full-time, Jerry manages his schedule and other business aspects of Going Beyond Ministries.

Priscilla speaks around the world at churches and other events, including the LifeWay Christian Resources-sponsored Going Beyond conference and Deeper Still: The Event, where she shares the stage with Beth Moore and Kay Arthur. She has also authored several books.

Shirer graduated from Duncanville High School and Dallas Theological Seminary, earning a master’s degree from the latter in Biblical Studies.

In 1993, Shirer was a freshman at the University of Houston. Shirer was married in 1999 to Jerry Shirer, former Hilton Hotels executive. The couple has three sons.

In 2013, Shirer was a speaker at the 2013 Women of Faith conference. In 2015, Shirer made her film debut in the Kendrick Brothers film War Room. In October 2016, Shirer was recognized as one of four prominent women of faith during the 10th anniversary of God’s Leading Ladies Life Enrichment Program at The Potter’s House.[1] Shirer also featured at the 47th GMA Dove Awards.

[Applause]

hallelujah Wow we will see him again

amen well First Baptist it is time for

the word amen and we have an awesome

awesome woman of God here today to bring

that word please turn your attention to

the I mag priscilla shirer

is a wife and mom first put a Bible in

her hand and a message in her heart and

you’ll see why thousands flocked to her

conferences and dive into a Bible study

series in books each year a graduate of

Dallas Theological Seminary priscilla

holds a master’s degree in biblical

studies and considers it a privilege to

serve believers from every denomination

in culture her ministry going beyond

ministries hosts awaken an outreach

event in her home town designed to

encourage and mobilize women locally she

is the author of several books and has

starred in various faith-based films

such as the War Room and her brand-new

movie overcome on showing in theaters

now

priscilla has been married to Jerry for

20 years between studying and writing

she spends most of her time with her

three growing boys please welcome

priscilla shirer

[Music]

[Applause]

okay

good morning so glad you were here you

can take your seats it’s a privilege and

a joy as always to be with our family we

consider you to be our family even if

you don’t claim us we claim y’all

we love the First Baptist Church of Glen

Arden and this is joy for us to be here

we flew in yesterday and we walked off

of the plane Jerry and I and walked out

down the jet bridge and out into the

airport and ran right into my dad he was

standing there about to board a flight

to go back home and we said that we’re

coming to First Baptist Church of Glen

Arden he was like oh man I want to come

I was like it’s our turn it’s our turn

so our whole family so much loves being

with you myself my younger brother

Anthony and and my husband who I want to

make sure that you know and I want to

introduce you to him as well my husband

Jerry Shire as they said of 20 years

it’s here

that’s my man right there and it’s a

privilege to be under his finest aura

tea this morning to be able to share

God’s word with you I will say this

every time I have the joy to be with you

as well and that is that in his absence

we honor pastor John Jenkins we love him

and his wife miss Trina their whole

family and I’m going to tell you all

while we honor them we honor them

because they have integrity it’s

important to me that you understand that

the Lord has entrusted you two leaders

that actually have integrity that they

really believe this stuff

[Applause]

and that’s a big deal and so we’re

grateful for them that they have shown

us what a healthy marriage looks like

they have sewn into the lives of their

own children have not sacrificed that

for church and we’re grateful for that

and it has blessed and informed our

lives in so many ways more than we can

count and so it is a privilege to be

able to stand in this place this morning

and hopefully encourage you this morning

in God’s Word let’s pray lord I thank

you for your word I thank you that it is

alive I thank you that it is living and

active and sharper than any two-edged

sword Lord I pray in these next few

moments you would do what only you can

take this one little simple message and

would you divide it several thousand

different ways so that every single

person under the sound of my voice today

will know they have heard the voice of

God speak Lord we are your servants and

we are listening in Jesus mighty name we

pray amen

it was in the year 2008 when a category

2 hurricane named Ike swept through the

southern regions of our country Texas in

particular was hit hard as 110

mile-per-hour winds just whipped through

in particular a small town called

Gilcrest which is sort of a seaside

community a beachside town where a lot

of people go to retire that community

was hit very hard the community boasted

about 200 homes or so mostly those

retired couples had gone there to enjoy

their latter years and some peace and

respite in this beautiful serene ocean

environment and yet in 2008 the

unexpected happened hurricane I came and

it swept through and the aftermath was

devastating in fact those who visited

the site afterwards said it was a

complete shock to see this now

unrecognizable community the once

populated neighborhood with bright homes

and and manicured lawn scapes green

lawns and friendly sidewalks

now the neighborhood didn’t resemble

anything similar to that any longer now

it was just like a swamp it was muddy

there were only fragments left of what

was the only landmark that remained

there was one house that stood of the

200 that had been there only one

remained only one that stood and said

steady only one that continued to stand

when the others had been decimated by

the storm it’s quite an odd and

remarkable and shocking sight isn’t it

to see one house that has stayed

standing and it begs the question what

was it about this house that made it

stand when the storm took the others

down and I suspect that as shocking as

it is for us to see these images it

really is symbolic of the landscape of

all of our lives because the truth is

the older and older that I get the more

I realize that in the place where there

were supposed to be many people that

said they would stay the distance with

me that said they would continue they

would be committed they would have

consistency they would have integrity

the truth is the older I get the more I

realize that everybody’s house ain’t

still standing

but there are actually only a few who

have remained who have gone the distance

where are the saints who will remain

where are the saints you will have

houses that still stand over the long

haul where are the people that have

decided come hell or high water I’ve

made my decision that I will be

steadfast immovable and always abounding

in the work of the Lord how is it that

the people who are once so strong the

people who said they would continue why

is it that now we have found that

longevity is not something that we

should expect but now it has become a

rarity to see someone who is consistent

these virtues are coming harder and

harder to come by

harder and harder to view in the lives

of the people who are around us but I

want a house that is still standing I

want a house that weather some storms

and is still upright

when Jerry and I and Anthony when we are

finished joining you here today we’re

going to drive over to both Baltimore

because that’s where my people are from

my dad was raised right in the urban

center of Baltimore my grandfather well

into his 91st year now is still there

and what I love so much about other than

the obvious things the tender moments

that you have when you’re visiting your

grandparents what brings tears to my

eyes when I think about to Daddy that’s

what we call him when I think about to

Daddy what brings tears to my eyes is

that when we gather to him he will lay a

hand on me and he’ll lay a hand on

Anthony and he’ll lay a hand on his

grand son-in-law and he will gather us

to himself he does it every single time

and he will speak a word of blessing

over us and he will pray over us and he

will remind us of the hope he has in

Jesus and he will tell us when we see

him later on tonight or tomorrow morning

about the word that he preached over the

flock of 10 or 15 that he has stood in

front of faithfully for the past five

decades declaring the good news of Jesus

Christ what just gets me about my

grandfather is that he’s got a house of

faith that is still standing after 91

years

I want to talk to you today about

remaining in a leaving culture I want to

encourage you sisters and brothers to

stay – hang in there – not throw in the

towel I’m talking to the one who’s right

on the edge where you’re just about to

give up you’ve decided that if the Lord

doesn’t encourage you somehow today that

you’re about to throw in the towel on

the assignment that he’s given you that

you’re about to throw in the towel on

the marriage that he’s planted you in

that you’re about to throw in the towel

on the assignment in ministry or the

entrepreneurial endeavor because it’s

just gotten too difficult and the reins

have been beating down too heavily in

your life I flew over from Dallas Texas

to tell you to stay to make sure that

your house is still standing in a day

where people are drifting away and

spouses are leaving and parents are

giving up and dreamers are throwing in

the towel on the dream God has planted

in their hearts where ministers are

quitting what they said was a calling I

came to encourage you to stay the older

and older I get the less impressed I am

with the the easily famous the quickly

notable or applauded the easily

Instagram Abul no I’m interested in

faithfulness I’m looking for longevity

and consistency and integrity that is

whether some storms

they may not be famous but they’ve

remained they may not be rich but

they’ve remained they may not be

applauded but they’ve remained they may

not have best-selling books or millions

of followers on Facebook but they ain’t

concerned about that they want to be

steadfast and immovable and always

abounding in the work of the Lord they

want to say

so I want to encourage us today that we

will have houses that at 91 years old

are still standing but we will have some

integrity some legacy that we have left

behind and listen you got to make that

decision before the rains come because

once the hurricane starts counting your

life and by the way it will once the

rain starts falling then it’s too late

to build a firm foundation contractors

stop pouring concrete for a foundation

once the skies open up because you can’t

wait till it rains to decide you want a

firm foundation you’ve got to decide in

good weather times today is the day for

us to choose that we want to be people

who stand who stand the test of time and

it is at least in part to this end that

John gave us not only his gospel in the

New Testament but then three smaller

books they were letters epistles that

were written scholars say that this

theme of remaining or standing being

steadfast was actually a major theme on

John’s heart when he gave us all of his

writings in fact 1st 2nd and 3rd John

are what sea alone theologians call a

remaining trifecta they are called

a staying trio and the reason is because

all throughout 1st 2nd and 3rd John he

continues to bring up this idea of

remaining of standing of abiding you’ll

see that word over and over in his

writing of encouraging people to go the

distance and so John writes to this that

end a passage of scripture that was read

to you before I’m gonna read it to us

again 1st John chapter 2 he writes in

verse 12 I am writing to you little

children because your sins are forgiven

you for his name’s sake

he says in verse 13 I’m writing to you

father’s because you know Him who has

been from the beginning I am writing to

you young men because you have overcome

the evil one I have written to you

children because you know the father

it’s so important to him he almost

repeats himself verbatim in verse 14

says I’ve written to you father’s

because you know Him who has been from

the beginning I have written to you

young men because you are strong and the

Word of God abides in you and you have

overcome the evil one and then I want to

cap that off by reading verse 28 he says

in verse 28 and now little children

here’s our word remain in him abide and

he says here’s why so that when he

appears you can have some confidence and

not shrink away from him in shame at his

coming he says the reason why you want

your house still standing the reason why

you want to remain the reason why you

want to have some longevity and length

legacy and be steadfast in the

assignment that the Lord has given you

the reason why he says is because Jesus

is coming

brothers and sisters Jesus is coming but

sooner than we think the truck is gonna

sound that the sky is gonna split and

we’re going to see once and for all our

savior face to face and when I see him

he’s not gonna ask me how many Instagram

followers I had

when I see him he’s not going to concern

himself with how many books are sold or

who followed me or didn’t follow me on

Twitter what he’s gonna ask me as did I

know his son Jesus Christ and then he’s

gonna want to know did I stay he’s gonna

check to see if my house is still

standing

he’s gonna look into my life and yours

to decide whether or not we have used

the time the talents and the treasure

over the long haul to continually honor

him and I don’t know about Joe but when

I see him face to face I am looking for

well done that’s what I’m so John writes

to all of us he says little children

over and over again little children

little children in the English language

it’s translated little children

throughout but it’s actually coming from

two different root words the first root

word in the Greek language that Paul

would have used we find in our book and

verses of the passage I just read verse

12 and verse 28 is one word that he uses

that it’s translated little children

this particular particular word in the

original language has no reference to

age there is no reference to maturity

level it has nothing to do with a stage

of life that you were in it speaks only

to relationship he says you’re a little

child simply because you have a

relationship to a father so he uses the

word that it means it doesn’t matter if

you’re a teenager in the room it doesn’t

matter if you’re in your 50s in the room

it doesn’t matter if you’re in your 80s

or 90s in the room it doesn’t matter if

you’re a toddler in the room he says I’m

writing to all y’all little children

he’s from Texas all y’all little

children he says I am writing to you and

he says the reason why I’m writing this

letter to all y’all he says because your

sins all need to be forgiven in other

words it doesn’t matter how much success

you’ve achieved it doesn’t matter how

much attention or a pause you have

garnered on the flip side it also

doesn’t matter how deep the pit of sin

or rebellion

they have gotten to yourself into at the

cross we all come level we all need a

daddy and we all need his forgiveness

so he sets us straight

right on the outset he wants to make

sure that everybody in the building

knows this message is not for the person

you’re sitting next to this message is

for you

he says I’m writing to all of you little

children he says you need to know you

have a father

you need to stay under his covering the

only way you’re going to continue to

have any longevity and any sense of

stability when the rains hit you is if

you know you are not God there is a God

and you are not him there is a perfect

one and you are not him stay covered

stay in relationship to this daddy that

you have I remember when our we have

three sons but when our oldest two were

really little they were five and three

we were at one of our Christmas times

and we were sitting around the Christmas

tree getting ready to dive into the few

gifts that I bought my kids I had this

before they were too old to know no any

better

Jerry and I bought all their gifts from

the dollar store we would go to the

dollar store we would grab a couple

things mm-hmm and listen I was the kind

of mother that if I bought them a gift

that had parts to it like a bow and

arrows well I would open up the package

and wrap the bow wrap this one arrow

right here so I’d spread it out in front

of him they thought they had a whole lot

of stuff but they didn’t it was just a

couple things from the dollar store and

I remember before we would dive into the

gifts still to this day Jerry will do it

he’ll just say to the boys listen whose

birthday is it really today and he said

that the boys were five and three whose

birthday is it really Jackson our oldest

said it’s Jesus’s birthday

his younger brother three years old at

the time heard his brother say it’s

Jesus’s birthday and saw the gifts in

front of him he looked up with wide

innocent eyes and said my Jesus

[Applause]

we spent all of Christmas day just

trying to convince my boy that he was

not God

the truth be told you know sometimes out

of the mouths of babes because if the

truth be told sometimes we think we

Jesus we think we got and the reason why

I know that I sometimes think I’m God is

because I keep stepping into margin that

should be reserved for him I keep

forgetting that I’m a child who has the

father that I need covering that I’ve

got a state surrender to and in

alignment with my daddy so John says

would you remember the only way to keep

your house in check is if you’ve got a

firm foundation rooted in the fact that

there is a God and you are not him but I

love John’s writing so much because he

also does acknowledge that when we

remain we will go through seasons will

go through growth did you notice that he

says I’m writing to you little children

then he says I’m writing to you young

men that’s adolescents teenagers then he

says I’m writing to you parents fathers

he says I’m writing to you do you notice

that he takes you through stages he

acknowledges the fact that as you remain

you’re gonna have to walk through some

things that growth is gonna have to be

required that you’re gonna mature one

stage to the next and you need to give

yourself a break because every single

stage of your growth is necessary to the

next so he says I’m writing to you in

each stage remain children while you’re

there remain I’m writing to you in your

teenage years while you’re there don’t

discount the importance of this stage

remain while you’re there I’m writing to

you fathers if you’re in the season of

parenting he says I’m writing to you as

you pour into the life of the next

generation every stage matters to making

sure your house is still in it’s still

intact so I figured for just a few

moments we could go through the stages

find ourselves in each of these stages

of remaining and being steadfast if we

walk backwards up through verse 13 you

find the stages laid out at the bottom

of verse 13 he says I am writing to you

children and he says here’s why I’m

writing to you because you know the

father

he says here’s why I’m writing to you

little children and by the way way this

is the other original word that is used

to actually describe an infant it’s used

to actually describe a baby who is not

able to sustain itself or care for

itself or provide for herself

he says I’m writing for you to you who

are in the infancy stage of some area of

your life like you just got married or

you just started that job or you’ve just

started to put feet to that dream that

God has put in your heart or you’ve just

started to build that ministry I am

writing to you who have just come to

know the Lord or you just read committed

your life to the Lord and you’re in a

fledgling stage he says I’m writing to

you who are infants in the room

he says I’m writing to you because this

is what you need to know this whole goal

of the stage of your journey is about he

says here’s what you’re supposed to do

when you’re an infant come to know the

father he says that’s your whole job

come to know the father don’t skip this

stage don’t rest what rush through this

stage he says your goal has to be to do

what babies do babies receive they have

no other option but to depend on their

parents to feed them and change them and

care for them they are subject to the

devotion of somebody else he says you

need to know what it feels like to

snuggle up with your father you need to

know what it feels like to have him love

you you need to know what it feels like

to begin to discern what the voice of

your God sounds like and you need to

know what his character is your whole

job in this stage should just be to get

to know the one who loves you the most

we took the boy the boys a couple of

years ago we took them to Cape Town

South Africa I was home schooling them

at the time so I planned in advance for

us to go go there I knew we were going

so I planned their studies around it one

of the things we studied were some

animals that are indigenous to that area

so when we got to Cape Town took the

boys on a safari to hopefully see them

and we saw lots of animals that we had

never seen before but we also saw a herd

of zebra and I remember thinking when we

saw the zebra I remember thinking I hope

they move on quickly because we can see

those in the States

but no the guide to stop for just a few

moments and he says you know what’s

interesting about this herd he said

there’s a foal right there a baby zebra

he said I haven’t seen the baby for at

least two or three weeks and he says

here’s why he said did you know that the

stripes on a zebra are as individual and

unique as fingerprints are in this room

that you can’t tell by the naked eye but

actually particularly right in the

middle of the forehead the configuration

of the stripes is so unique that they

are distinct one zebra from another

completely distinct so he said when a

baby is born the mother will take the

baby aside away from all the other

stripes for the first two or three weeks

of its life she will nest and nestled

with that baby for the purpose of making

sure that that baby gets to know her

stripes so about the time she brings the

baby back to all the other stripes the

baby will never be confused about which

configuration of stripes belongs to the

one who loves him the most

the reason why when you’re in a

fledgling stage in some state some area

of your life the reason why you gotta

come aside with your daddy is so that

you can get a good look at his stripes

it’s by his stripes that you are healed

you gotta make it your business to come

to know your father cuz we live in a

culture that is going to try to water

down who your God is and you need to

have enough surety in the foundation of

your house that when they try to tell

you who is you can say that’s not who my

God is because I know who he was

I’ve gotten to know who my father is

I know that in Genesis he is the breath

of life I know that in Exodus he is the

Passover land I’ve seen that in

Leviticus he is our high priest and in

numbers he’s the fire by night and

Deuteronomy up I saw that he was

Israel’s guide and Joshua he’s salvation

choice and judges he is Israel’s guard

and Ruth I saw him as the kinsman

redeemer at first and second Samuel he’s

a trusted prophet and kings and

chronicles I saw he’s suffered in Ezra

he’s the true and faithful scribe in

Nehemiah he’s the God who rebuilt walls

any rebuilds lives in Esther I see that

he’s Mordecai’s courage in job he’s the

timeless Redeemer and Psalms I saw he’s

my morning song in Proverbs he is my

wisdom in he cleans the ste that I’m in

a season in Song of Solomon he’s the

lovers dream and Isaiah he’s the Prince

of Peace in Jeremiah he’s the weeping

prophet in lamentations he’s the call

from sin in Ezekiel he’s the cry for

Israel and Daniel he’s the stranger in

the fire in Hosea

he’s the forever faithful in Joel he’s

the Spirit’s power in amos he’s the

strong arms that carry in Obadiah he’s

the Lord

and Jonah he’s the great missionary in

Micah

he’s the promise of peace in nae him

he’s our strength and shield and

Habakkuk and Zephaniah he brings revival

in Haggai he restores that which was

lost in Zechariah he is our fountain and

in Malachi he’s the son of righteousness

rising with healing in his wings and

that’s just who he is in the Old

Testament

amen

because if you flip over a couple pages

and if you’re waiting about 400 years

then you’ll see in Matthew Mark Luke and

John he’s no longer just God now he’s

your Messiah in the spirit box he’s the

reigning fire from heaven in Romans he’s

the grace of God Corinthians he’s the

power of love Galatians

he’s freedom from the curse of sin in

Corinthians he’s the power of love in

Galatians and Ephesians he’s our

glorious treasure in Philippians he’s

the servant’s heart in Colossians he’s

God and the Trinity and Thessalonians

he’s our King and Timothy Titus and

Philemon

he’s our mediator and our faithful

pastor in Hebrews he’s the everlasting

courage in James he’s the one who will

heal you when you are sick in 1st and

2nd Peter he is our faithful Shepherd in

John and Jude he’s the lover coming for

his bride and in the revelation in the

very end when it’s all over and said and

done he was

Shawn says you got to know who your

daddy is you got a person and know who

your daddy is so that when the culture

tries to water down our God you can step

back and say that’s not my god because I

have taken time to know who he is

[Applause]

pediatricians will often tell mothers

with their new babies listen resist the

temptation to stand them up on their

feet and bounce them too quickly on

their actual legs because their bones

are still soft so if they put too much

undue weight on those bones too soon

they may actually walk with a twist or

with a limp their entire life because

they were ready for all that weight and

I think we have unfortunately we’ve got

a generation of Christians who are

trying to grow up too soon they are

skipping this stage of just getting to

know who their daddy is they already

trying to disciple people and preach to

people you know you just need to sit

back and get to know your father

don’t walk don’t walk before you ready

that pressure can make you live for the

rest of your life so if you’re in the

fledgling stage in some area of your

life just remain there until he releases

you because you gonna need a firm

foundation and the reason why is because

you are going to graduate John says in

verse 13 to become young men the

original word means adolescence this is

puberty

this is teenage years he says you gonna

need some fortification because here’s

how you know when you’re a teenager he

says in verse 13 he says you have

overcome the evil one he reiterates it

in verse 14 and he says you are strong

he says this is when you get some muscle

on your spiritual bones my boys are now

the picture they showed you earlier was

a pretty old picture my boys are now the

oldest 2 or 6 foot 2 inch tall Giants

and they walk around my house with this

big deep voice mom I need a sandwich

then they always got their shirts off

these days there’s muscles everywhere

and all this definition it’s just

nastiest gross nasty so they’re towering

over me and I’m still trying to be the

boss but it’s kind of weird go clean

your room and they’re up there you know

but they just got all this girth about

them now their muscles are showing their

dad has been real engaged in their

sports life because they have been

sportsmen from the time they were pretty

young they love sports and so he’s been

very careful with her coaches and people

who are training them about what they

would and would not do he would not

allow them until just the last year or

so my oldest is getting ready to be 17

my middle is 15 now Jerry and Jude our

youngest is now 11 years old

but with my oldest two he would not let

their coaches or anybody allow them to

lift weights until just in the past year

and a half or so they did push-ups they

did lots of other resistance things but

they did not lift weights until him last

year now they have been strong for a lot

of years they’ve been able to pretty

much hurl me over their shoulders throw

me on the couch we’ve wrestled together

they are strong but it’s not until the

past year that I have seen the strength

that was always in them start to take

shape on the outside of them it was

there but we just couldn’t see it until

we added resistance

John says you know when you’re in the

teenage season of your journey when

there’s some weight on you you feel like

you just can’t lift when there’s

something on you that honestly you’d

rather pass off to somebody else because

that those squats you just can’t squat

all that weight so it seems to you he

says remain during infancy but also be

steadfast and remain during the

adolescence because this is when you get

some muscle on your spiritual bones this

is when you get some scaffolding in your

house that will be able to restrain and

resist when there is a hurricane that

comes flying through this is when the

fortification that is in you by the

Spirit of God begins to take shape on

the outside of you and you’re able to

see the spiritual muscle that is

rightfully yours as an adopted daughter

or son of the Most High God he says

remain during the resistance that weight

that is on you keep on lifting it sis

that’s how you gonna get some muscle

that struggle that you’re having in your

marriage or in your finances or on your

job that issue that you’re having

relationally would you know that

sometimes it’s the enemy but sometimes

it’s God allowing you to go through some

stuff so that he can have a body of

believers who have some muscle

infancy is for intimacy with God but

adolescence what it’s for is for

accruing power and accruing strength and

getting fortified so that when the rains

pounce you when they hit you you know

you do not easily topple over and so if

you find that there is weight on you

right now remain through the resistance

stay steady sis

stay steady brother don’t throw in the

towel right now at the stage and your

marriage or raising those kids are

pressing into the ministry God has set

before you or the job that he’s asked

you to build the book that you’ve been

writing the thing that you’ve been

cultivating don’t give up now this is

where your muscle comes this is when you

get fortification stay remain when

everybody else falls away cuz this is

the time when they fall away when stuff

gets tough when there’s weight on people

that’s when you see folks going by the

wayside they don’t they’re not they’re

not able to recognize that the almighty

Spirit of God the Holy Spirit of God

lives in you to do what you cannot do in

your own strength and power to help you

resist under the pressure it’s God’s own

spirit that will help you be steadfast

and immovable and always abounding in

the work of the Lord stay remain during

the resistance and the reason why you

need to remain through infancy and then

remain through adolescence is because

John writes we need some father’s some

spiritual mothers

what happened to the days where we came

to church and everybody wasn’t a

millennial

what happened to the days when you came

into the house of God and there were

some mothers in the house there was some

spiritual fathers in the house some

folks like my granddaddy who had been

walking the thing for a while

who’d been with his wife and has raised

his children and is looking at his

grandchildren and his

great-grandchildren and is able to see

decades history of the faithfulness of

God who is able to say I can tell you

something I prayed in 1950 that God has

answered in 2019 we need some sense to

have walked the road for a little while

some people that have a testimony do you

understand that you and me are the ones

that are gonna have a testimony we’re

the ones that will just hang in there

we’ll be steadfast through this struggle

that we’re having right now I’m having

one in my life you’re having one in your

lives if we can just stay steadfast long

enough there is a day that’s coming when

we’re gonna sit in this room and there’s

gonna be somebody in their 20s looking

at us in hopes that we will share with

them a story about the goodness of God

please notice that John doesn’t say

adults he says parents the implication

is that there are people who are not

just adults but people who have as their

mission to pour into the lives of

somebody else people that have their

eyes open to see there’s somebody

counting on me do you know there are

sons and daughters grandchildren in the

house of God that are counting on us to

have houses that still stand they’re

counting on us to have a view of what it

looks like to honor God not just in one

decade not just for one year not just

for the season when it was when it was

convenient for us to honor God but no we

stayed the past not perfectly but

purposefully and intentionally we kept

setting our God before us we focused our

eyes on Jesus who was the author and the

finisher of our faith

John says this is what father’s do

he said they know the one who was from

the beginning he’s talking about Jesus

he says this is what father’s do they

pass on not just a general view of

religion they pass on Jesus he says that

these are the ones who have not just

come to know a program or a platform not

a religion not just to rich routine

these are the ones that have come to

know Jesus not just in theory not just

in a Christmas nativity scene not just

through the testimonies of other people

no they have lived long enough they have

remained long enough they have walked

with them long enough to tell the story

about the one who is from the beginning

Jesus and in a world and in a culture

and in a day and age that has sought to

water down the gospel in a culture that

seeks to generalize God so that he is

one of many God’s not a singular

unmatched entity without comparison and

with no counterparts we need some

Christians who have walked the road long

enough and who have enough years with

God underneath their belt who have tried

him and they’ve seen for themselves that

our one true God still has a specific

name and whether or not it is

politically correct makes no difference

to us because we have no problem

standing in front of kings and queens or

in front of people and saying the name

that is above every name demons tremble

he is the one who was from the beginning

he is still the chief Cornerstone he is

still the lily of the valley he is still

the bright morning star he is still the

one of whom profits folks he is still

the one that was crucified on Calvary

and he is still the one that on the

third day was raised up and who is now

seated at the right hand of the Father

full of grace and truth his name is

Jesus

and we got to remain because he’s coming

listen to me y’all this ain’t no joke

I’m saying he for real coming remain

don’t throw in the towel yet have some

integrity have some character ask the

Holy Spirit to give us some resilience

so that we can have some houses that

still stands if you are in this room and

you’re just about to throw in the towel

there is an area of your life where you

know doggone good and well if God

doesn’t step in you’re just about to

throw in the towel you’re just about to

turn your back on following him or turn

your back on something you know he has

assigned to you because things are tough

right now and you want to have a house

that still stands you want today to flip

the script in the story of your life if

you need prayer in that regard would you

please just race down to the altar I

cannot wait to stand with you and agree

with you in prayer that we’re gonna have

houses that still stand that we’re gonna

remain in a leaving culture is there

anybody that needs prayer

I will wait for you is there a couple

that wants your house to still stand

race down to the altar

[Applause]

[Music]

don’t quit this remain safe

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

we’re gonna stay I’ve decided I’m

staying staying we’re gonna remain

when everybody else turns back we’ve

decided we’re following Jesus we’re

gonna say

[Music]

I want you while those that are are

still coming or coming y’all come on as

they come listen I you know what your

thing is where you’re about to throw in

the towel

would you just before the Lord quietly

in your heart before I pray over us

would you just say just be honest with

him Lord I don’t I don’t want to do this

I can’t do this I’m prior to doing this

I’ve been praying about this a long time

you haven’t changed this would you just

talk to the Lord about it can just

confess to him the reality of how you’re

feeling in this moment authenticity

doesn’t scare him

[Music]

Lord Jesus I lift up my brothers and

sisters and I pray right now in the name

of Jesus Christ that you would lift

discouragement off of their shoulders

for every single one father who has

tears falling down from their eyes I can

see them right now I pray right now you

would dry those tears in Jesus name

that’s just proof father that you were

with them that you see them that you

were for them you are not against them

you will never leave them nor forsake

them no matter what season of maturity

they are in you will never leave them

nor forsake them you see them father

thank you that you see us as a loving

father your grace is sufficient for us

Lord thank you for the deep wide-open

spaces of your grace so father I pray

you and lift discouragement and would

you replace it literally with a

supernatural encouragement right now in

Jesus name help them to feel a joy in

this that they’ve not done before help

them to feel an assurance in this that

they’ve not done before father I pray

that whatever assignment the enemy has

against my brothers and sisters to cut

them off at the pass to take their house

down to keep them from finishing well I

pray that that assignment would be

canceled right now in Jesus name and by

his blood shed on Calvary and then

father I pray for some spiritual muscle

I pray right now Jesus you would give us

some backbone father help the rain to be

no match Lord for the spiritual fiber

that you’re going to give us in Jesus

name

Lord we’re committing by your spirit to

stay it ain’t gonna be easy but we’re

gonna stay it’s not gonna be convenient

sometimes what we’re gonna stay Lord I

pray for the marriages that are on the

brink snaps them back from the brink

right now in Jesus name I pray for the

single mother that is on the brink Lord

help her to be steadfast in Jesus name I

pray Lord for the the son or daughter

the teenager who’s just about to go with

the peer pressure that surrounds them

and not stand in integrity for you I

pray right now in Jesus name you would

fortify them father

I pray for any addiction any sin any

happen any lifestyle that’s gonna take

our house down I pray right now in Jesus

name you and I loosen those shackles

over our lives set us free father so

that we can walk in wholeness and

integrity and in advance father already

looking forward to the finish line we

thank you that when you come we’re gonna

hear well done good and faithful

servants in Jesus name in Jesus now

everybody agreed and said amen