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are things that we know about our lives
that we haven’t activated yet because we
don’t know what’s waiting on the other
side but when you use what you know it
starts to lead you into the direction
that god says he’s calling you towards
the most powerful thing that any of us
can do when we have this feeling
is to go
anyway
yeah
so mary
doesn’t feel qualified but she goes
anyway
she goes not knowing how she’s supposed
to take this
baby and turn it into a king
when the angel of the lord appears to
mary
he tells mary everything that that child
is going to be
but she doesn’t receive the promise in
the form that god said that it was going
to end up in god help me to say it
there are moments when we receive
something from god that doesn’t look
like where it’s going to end oh i feel
like that’s a word for somebody
that you’re looking at the baby
wondering how the baby’s going to become
king
you’re looking at the small thing trying
to figure out how is that ever going to
become the big thing
god you told me that i would be the one
that would break the generational curse
but right now i look like every other
generation that came before me how am i
going to take this small thing and turn
it into a big thing god you told me that
you would bless my business but i can’t
even get the financing i need god says i
didn’t give it to you the in the form
that is going to end up in i gave it to
you in the form that would grow you up
into the person who could raise it into
everything that it could be i feel like
somebody’s got to get that down in your
spirit do not despise the days of small
beginnings that it started off small so
that you could grow with it
because when you grow with it
it grows you up
when you grow with it it grows you up
and so mary teaches us the power of
going anyway she questions her ability
initially but ultimately
she chooses to trust god’s plan for her
life
mary chose to just
go anyway
sometimes you have to just
go anyway
god gives you what you need as you go
and sometimes we want all of the answers
and god i want to know how you’re going
to do it i’m not saying i won’t go i’m
just saying can you tell me exactly how
it’s going to happen and god says i’ll
tell you how it’s going to happen when
you start moving because god is looking
for someone who he can order steps along
the way
i feel like there’s someone in this room
that if god gave you all of the steps
right now that you would feel more in
control than you actually are when you
go anyway it is a sign to god that i
don’t have to have all of the answers i
just want to be where you tell me i am
supposed to be god i don’t know how
you’re going to do it in my marriage i
don’t know how you’re going to do it in
my family but i am going to go anyway
and when i go you meet me where you told
me you were going to meet me when you go
god meets you
he’s calling you
to where he is
that’s why we have to go because god
calls you to where he is
and when we move in that direction it is
assigned to him that we can be trusted
because there are moments when god
orders our steps
but we got to take them first
i gotta
forgive i gotta go anyway i wanna stay
stuck in this bitterness i wanna stay
stuck in this pain but i can’t stay here
so i gotta
go
anyway
and mary starts
going anyway
and so some of you are wondering okay
i’ll go anyway i’ll do what god told me
to do i don’t know how he’s going to do
it i don’t have all of the resources
that i need in order to do it but i want
to go anyway and so mary teaches us a
valuable lesson
and if you’re taking notes i want you to
write this down because what mary
teaches us
in those moments where we have to go
anyway
is that the power in going
starts with you using what you know
mary begins to just follow the customs
of the jewish people at that time
god gave her something that is going to
ultimately deliver
israel but right now she doesn’t know
how it’s going to become a deliverer
and so because she doesn’t know how
she’s going to get from a to z she just
starts working what she knows she knows
that when i have a baby that i need to
wait until my time of purification is
over and after that i need to go into
jerusalem and i need to present the baby
she works what she knows while she goes
the most powerful thing that any of us
can do is activate what we know
because when we activate what we know it
gives god permission to show us more and
to teach us more
imagine had even in the garden and she
simply activated what she knew
there are things that we know about our
lives that we haven’t activated yet
because we don’t know what’s waiting on
the other side but when you use what you
know it starts to lead you into the
direction that god says he’s calling you
towards
that means the relationship has to end
that means that we have to have the
forgiveness down in our heart even
though we don’t believe that the person
is truly sorry our forgiveness is not
predicated on whether or not that person
is actually sorry my forgiveness is
predicated on the fact that i’m going
anyway that i’m not going to stay stuck
where that pain met me i’m not going to
stay stuck where that disappointment met
me i’m going anyway
so mary begins to go
anyway and she’s using what she knows
because learning how to go anyway and
using what you know i think is one of
the most powerful things that any of us
can do
so after she’s come out of the presence
mary begins the task of living out what
god said to
god said to do
and so in the process of doing this she
is presenting this child jesus into
to simeon
and i have to be honest when i read this
text i felt like
i felt like it was out of order
because simeon says in verse 29 he
identifies with mary
and confirms with mary what god already
said about what she was carrying
she says he says lord now you are
letting your servant depart in peace
according to your word for my eyes have
seen your salvation which you have
prepared before the face of all peoples
a light to bring revelation to the
gentiles mary already knew all of those
things that that is what she was
carrying and that’s who the child would
become so in many ways this is
confirmation for her
but then simeon says something that
seems like it is contradicting
what he just said
because he says behold this child is
destined for the fallen rising of many
in israel and for a sign which will be
spoken against yes a sword will pierce
through your own soul when the angel of
the lord came he didn’t say nothing by
no swords
that’s the ebonic’s version slipping out
again
god when you gave me the promise
when you told me what i was carrying
when you told me who i would become when
you told me i was fearfully and
wonderfully made when you told me that
all things were going to work together
for my good you you didn’t tell me about
the swords that were going to be a part
of the journey this feels like a
contradiction from from what you said i
don’t know if anyone else in this room
has ever been in a position where god
made you a promise but then a sword came
and the sword didn’t look like the
promise and the trauma didn’t look like
the promise and the bankruptcy didn’t
look like the promise god how am i
supposed to lay hold of the promise with
a sword piercing through
my
soul
i felt like
simeon should have given the bad news
first
and then the good news
i felt like he should have said all of
these things are going to happen but
he’s going to be resurrected and
everything’s going to be okay in the end
but for some reason it doesn’t work like
that
he gives the revelation and the promise
first
and then he gives the process afterwards
because it is not on simeon to remind
you what the promise is
it is on us to remember what the promise
is in the middle of the process
when i was studying all i could hear was
god said i put the butt first i put that
thing that you thought should be the
butt at the end of the bad news i said
it first and then i started looking back
over my own life and all of the moments
where i felt like a sword was piercing
through my own soul where i was waiting
for god to say but this is going to work
out in the end and but you’re going to
be healed and and but all things are
going to work together for your good but
god says i’m not going to repeat what i
already told you i put the butt first
and i just came to fort lauderdale
florida to let somebody know that i know
it took a lot for you to get into this
room and i know you’re wondering how god
is going to work it out but i hear god
saying i put the butt first that when i
wrote in the scriptures that all things
were going to work together for your
good i wasn’t just talking about the
people in the text i was talking about
the people who would hear my voice and
follow what i said to do that means that
at the end of the day the bed is still
on at the end of the day the promise is
still yes and amen that means that no
weapon formed against you will prosper i
put that in there first i know you’re
looking at the weapon but i’m telling
you it won’t prosper i know you’re
looking at the depression but i’m
telling you the joy of the lord is your
strength i know you’re looking at the
struggle but i’m telling you that when
it’s all said and done though he slays
you you can trust in him i put the butt
first that means that you got to start
telling your situation i know what it
looks like but i know what god said
first and i’m hanging on to what god
said first in the middle of what’s taken
place i don’t let the middle shake me i
remember what god said first god said i
was fearfully and wonderfully made god
said that i was going to make it to the
other side god said that his spirit
would overtake me and it would show up
right on time i put the butt
i put it first
tell somebody that there is treasure
hidden in these earthen vessels
i came to tell you that by god’s spirit
there is gift and there is power that
that has been entrusted to you that is
available to you available to me as
daughters of the most high kingdom you
need to know that even if you do not
believe what the scriptures declare to
be true about your treasure if you don’t
believe that you’ve been forgiven or
that you already have the victory or
that the enemy is already underneath
your feet that there is no condemnation
for those of us who are in christ jesus
or that you have been made competent by
the spirit of god
i came to tell you that even if you
don’t believe it the enemy does
he knows who you are what ashamed it
would be for him to know and us not to
so it’s time for us to open up the
drawer and start pulling out the
treasure the treasure we’ve been
ignoring the treasure we’ve been calling
insignificant the thing that we’ve said
is not enough not valuable lord if i
could just be like her lord if i could
just be like that if i could just have a
bit more of that if i weren’t me then
lord i’d be enough he says uh-uh you
have enough you just have to open up the
drawer
pull out the treasure
there is a story in scripture that is
going to be very familiar to you it’s
the one that the lord has been using in
my own life to remind me about how he
will compel me and he will compel us to
open up the drawer and reach in and pull
out the treasure and see what it’s like
when he uses
what he has already entrusted to us
luke chapter nine verse one
and two
says this
and he called that’s jesus he called
somebody say he called
he called the twelve together and he
gave somebody say he gave
he gave them power
and he gave them authority
over all demons and to heal all diseases
verse two and then he sent somebody say
he sent
he sent them out
he called them
he gave them treasure
and then he sent them out
verse 10 says and then when they
returned to him they gave an account to
him of everything they had done
and taking them with him he withdrew by
himself to a hill called bethsaida
the multitudes were aware of this verse
11 says so they followed jesus because
you know wherever jesus went a crowd was
sure to follow they weren’t quite sure
he was the messiah but what they didn’t
know was that when this man showed up
blind people could see
what they knew is that when jesus showed
up the lame could walk and the death
could hear the dead were being raised so
wherever jesus was they came
the crowd followed and welcoming the
multitude jesus began speaking to them
about the kingdom of god and curing
those who were in need of healing verse
12.
so the day starts to come to a close and
the 12 come to jesus and say now jesus
you’re going to have to send this
multitude away they’ve got to go into
the surrounding villages and countryside
and find lodging they got to get
something to eat jesus come on now here
we’re in a desolate place
verse 13 jesus said to them
uh-uh
you give them something to eat
they said jesus we have no more than
five loaves and two fish unless perhaps
you let us go and buy food for all these
people because you know we’re not enough
as we are right now
there were about five thousand men
scholars say the reason why luke
specifies men is because there were
women and children too so there were
probably about 15 000 hungry people that
day
jesus said have them reclined to eat in
groups of about 50 each so they did so
had them all recline and then he took
the five loaves and the two fish
and looking up to heaven he blessed them
and then he broke them
and he kept giving them to the disciples
to set before the multitude and verse 17
says they all ate
they were all satisfied and just so you
know how satisfied they were they went
by and picked up all the leftovers
because there was overflow
in this story we meet a hungry multitude
a multitude that is placing a demand
they have a need there is a lack that
needs to be filled and most of the time
when this proportion of the scriptures
is looked into the multitudes who we
concentrate on the five loaves and the
two fish and how they were satisfied
with it but just for a few moments
tonight i want to talk to
you about the 12 disciples
those who walked with jesus and talked
with jesus those who were in close
communion with jesus those who would
come out on a friday night to be in the
presence of jesus amongst the people of
jesus i want to talk to the disciples of
jesus
the disciples on this occasion had been
called to jesus by jesus they were
having a conversation with each other
jesus entrusted them with power and
authority and then he sent them out i
love that this uh gospel is one of the
synoptic gospels the synoptic gospels
are those that tell there are three of
them matthew mark and luke these three
tell some of the similar stories in a
similar tone in a similar way so that
we’re able to get more layers to the
story i love the gospels in that way
they give us layers
just like if someone were to offer you a
chocolate cake but they gave you options
you could have a one-layer chocolate
cake or a seven-layer chocolate cake
which one you gonna choose
seven every single time because the more
layers there are
the more rich and delectable the
experience becomes mark chapter six is a
layer of chocolate cake for us it tells
us that this is the experience when
jesus called the disciples to himself
and then he sent them out in pairs do
you remember two by two into the
neighboring towns and communities they
were supposed to teach and preach and
perform miracles that would authenticate
the deity of jesus christ mark chapter
six our layer of chocolate cake
tells us that they expended themselves
y’all they were busy from sun up to
sundown they were about the task of
doing what it was that jesus had
assigned to them they wanted to be
diligent about it so much so that when
they came back to jesus they gave an
account to him and jesus recognized
their exhaustion
he saw that they were tired in fact
jesus himself commented that they didn’t
even have time to eat because they had
been so busy
they were depleted and they were tired
and they came back to jesus and they
gave him an account
for how they’d handled the assignment
that he had entrusted to them
if you’re a believer in jesus christ
you got an assignment
and don’t let anybody tell you that your
assignment isn’t ministry just because
it happens to be in a corporate setting
mother of small children who’s chosen to
stay home with those kids don’t let
anybody tell you that a ministry
every single time you make that chicken
for dinner and you set it on that table
and you teach those kids a bible verse
before bedtime don’t let anybody tell
you that that ain’t ministry
corporate woman when you sit around that
board room table and you’re the only one
that has a set of ideals that lines up
with the truth of scripture at a table
with those who are thinking and acting
and planning in a way that is left of
god’s word don’t let anybody tell you
that you around that boardroom ain’t
ministry that’s ministry
high school student college student
you’re the only student that stands for
truth when your professor says this is
the way it is and you say no that’s not
the way it is don’t let anybody tell you
as the light on that college campus that
you are not in ministry
every single one of us has an assignment
and the day is
coming we’re gonna have to give an
account it is so important that you you
encourage yourself because in this day
and time in this day of social media in
this day where you are bombarded with
negativity constantly every minute every
second no matter you don’t even have to
look for it it is it’ll define you and
you carry it on your person sometimes
it’s in the pocket close to your heart
yeah
the you pull your phone out and there it
is close to your heart you have got to
you have got to encourage yourself and
protect yourself from all the negativity
because if you let all of that in it’s
very hard to
find yourself worthy find yourself
believing and knowing that you can so
when i first came here the last studio
i’ll tell you this story real quick the
last studio was over on greenbrier uh
the green bar
near greenbriar mall and i went there
one night and you know the neighborhood
the place was all run down it was
horrible i was like i’m not buying this
place i went home
and couldn’t sleep tossed and turned
know that’s god because i usually sleep
pretty good i can snow her really good i
get it in
and
i went back
and i said i don’t need this place i’ll
never grow it it’s too big i’ll never
and i went back late at night i’m
standing there in front of the gates and
i’m i’m i get out of the car and say
okay god what are you telling me and i
started praying
and i look at the gates my hand to god
this happened i look at the gates and
there there’s paper taped to the gates i
walk up closer to it
and they’re bible scriptures taped to
the gates and my favorite psalm 91 is
there wow i’m like okay god you’re
speaking to me i’m i’m just gonna do it
so i called them the next day and said
that i want to buy the place i was like
no it’s not for sale some pastor from
new orleans had bought it this was this
was not long after katrina somebody
pastor from new orleans about it he’s
going to trust a pastor from new orleans
so i called bishop port morton paul
morton who was my childhood pastor i
said do you know anything about this he
said oh that’s god i was just there
yesterday
we don’t want the entire place we just
want there’s a building on the other
side that we want and all the property
that you want uh you can you can go
ahead and buy and and we can work this
thing out and it will really be helpful
to the church
so i bought it
i’m saying i said i’m never going to
outgrow it wow two years later
we’re all over each other not enough
room for anything call the mayor say i’m
leaving he says well come take a look at
this place i don’t want i’m not going to
say anything so we came to this army
base fort mcpherson army base we’re
driving around and i’m looking at this
place and
the first time in my life i didn’t feel
overwhelmed because god had given me the
steps to get here wow god god i thank
god he didn’t take me here first and go
this is where you’re going i went from a
little building to a building that was
bigger to build i had to grow into it
thank god that he allowed me to grow
into it because i don’t know what would
have happened had it all been just
thrown at me so i i came here
it had been abandoned for seven years
the army had moved out it was overrun
and a mess and bought the place and
every day people don’t know this but
when they come in
and they’re standing on these stages or
they’re walking around or they’re riding
or they’re moving all through there’s
bibles buried everywhere come on now
when you when you come through the gates
you’re riding across the word when you
leave you’re going across the word when
you’re standing in the lobby you’re
standing on the word when you’re on one
of those stages the word has been
planted on the under the foundation
because because for me
that’s what it’s built that’s what it
has been built on you know the word and
just believing so so having this moment
get a place where thousands of people
lived
many many people died and families and
pain and hurt and army and
you know who were in the in the military
and armed servicemen to have this be
given to me and to be responsible for it
it’s huge
and i’m grateful on so many levels it’s
a
it’s been a burden
but it’s been a tremendous blessing and
i don’t know anybody who has not had a
tremendous blessing that didn’t come
with some sort of a burden so wow i’m
trying to do my best to honor wow that’s
so awesome well we’re talking with our
friend tyler perry tyler’s got a
fantastic book out it’s called hire is
waiting you can pick it up anywhere but
before we go any further i gotta i gotta
brag on tyler tyler gives millions of
dollars to charities and to help people
all over the world so when we had the
big flood in houston one of the first
calls i got was from tyler perry and he
gave a very generous gift to help the
people of houston so on behalf of all
the houston people that were affected by
the flood thank you for it thank you for
your heart a
heart of gold and just um
tyler love lives what he you know he was
gonna say he lives where you preaches
but you’re not a preacher but you just
exemplify you know giving back and just
uh being a person of inspiration but
victoria we were talking during the
break that was a great question yeah you
know tyler you talked about your mother
taking you to church and she did the
best she could with what she had but i
just wanted to ask this question you
know there’s a lot of people out there
that
they don’t know how to take their kids
to church maybe their kids don’t want to
go to church do you have any anything
that you could say about that which is
so scary right now because because
here’s what i know for sure
the bible says you get a few days on
this service and some of those days are
full of trouble is that right yeah
there’s going to be trouble in your life
if you don’t teach your child how to
deal with trouble they will turn to
something
we’ve got an opioid crisis we’ve got
drugs major drug issues so if you’re not
going to give them god and faith and
christ and believing and teaching them
about the bible where do you think
they’re going to turn yeah
so i would i would i would ask in an
appeal to parents even if you are not
big on
faith or church or you have problems
with the church
take your children to church teach them
about god even if you don’t know let
somebody else teach them but take them
to sunday school listen we got dragged
if we didn’t want to go so especially
when you’re at an age in the early age
because the bible says you know when
they’re older they won’t depart from it
if you train them in the way that they
should go so i think it’s very important
and and it is so selfish of those of us
who have god who know god
to not invite others
to
bring their children to learn the same
thing it’s really really selfish because
i promise you if you don’t give them god
they’re going to turn to something yeah
they’re going to turn to something and
wouldn’t it just better that it’s god
and faith you got to worry about being
strung out on it come on although some
people are yeah you know what i mean
it’s it’s it’s it’s really it’s
you you have to you have to really think
about that yeah