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hey family

i’m pt pastor toray roberts i’m the lead

pastor of the potter’s house at 1la

and denver on behalf of my wife pastor

sarah and myself we want to welcome you

to our channel and to this word i cannot

wait

for you to hear what god has for you in

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word god bless you

i’ll see you soon

hallelujah family i am so excited to be

with you tonight for activate

you know today is actually very special

for me it’s literally

six years to the date when i started

preaching

you know i remember that day so well

august 5th

[Music]

what was so fascinating about the

moments prior

is you know this was a season of my life

where first of all i had walked away

from what was my comfort

i had walked away from what i had known

and i was in this place of serving i was

serving as an usher many of you know

this story

there was a year of my life that the

lord told me to dedicate literally to

him

in the ministry to serve as an usher um

though

if you’re not familiar with church

culture you’re walking up and down the

aisles and you’re

you know greeting people and giving them

the offering basket or the bag

all that stuff right and so i did that

for one year

and actually i did it for more than a

year but the first year

the lord said to me never miss a service

right first one in

last one out i wasn’t always the first

one and the last one out there was a

lady named gary and she was child

i mean she could just have the award for

coming first

but i talk about this because it means

so much to me when i look back in that

season of my life and i

think about the instructions and how the

lord was leading me

because that was a time in my life i was

literally like god who am i

right i felt unsettled with where i was

and i knew that god was calling me for

more

i knew there was something beyond where

i was in that it was not about financial

security

it was not about what looks glamorous or

anything like that

that the depths of my identity i needed

to discover that

and in asking that question the lord

responds and he’s telling me hey

walk away from everything you know he

leads me to our church

community and he says serve here so i

served for that full year after that

year i continued serving as a

as an usher we called it back then a

gatekeeper right

and i was just being obedient in that

season i wrote a book i did all types of

stuff

and so during that time this is story

time with me right today is going to be

a little different this story time

during that time i had this little i had

two of my very close friends and like

sisters to me

and we used to pray together every

single day one is fatima and the other

one is mariah

they’re still very dear to me till today

and so one day we were praying and i

shared with them something i said hey

guys

um the lord told me something and

they’re like what’s going on i was like

i want

us to pray into this and i said he told

me that i’m going to start preaching

in august and they uh the phone went

silent you know

and they didn’t go silent because you

know the spirit moved

it went silent because they were like

stephanie you’re right

[Music]

like what are you talking about you’re

preaching where i said yeah the lord

told me i’m going to preach my first

message

in august and in my mind right because

all the lord told me was

august that this is what’s going to

happen in august and so i was trying to

negotiate with the lord i said god

um you know if it’s in august can we do

the third week of

august and my friends are listening to

me and they’re like stephanie you sound

cuckoo right and i was like no guys for

real like i know the voice of the lord

and he showed me this and

august is right around the corner it’s

literally in in a few days

and they were like okay we will pray

about this and you know

when people are praying and they’re

questioning you is when their prayer is

also asking the lord to give you wisdom

and so this happened right a few days

from that day i received a message from

our pastor and he asked me he said hey

can you preach august 5th and on you

know in that year

it was that was our midweek service and

i was

panicking because in my mind i said no

i wasn’t panicking about preaching

because i’m like okay god you you showed

me this already

but in my mind i was preparing for the

third week of august

i said god i thought we were in this

together that we’re gonna work together

for this right

and i’m like this is too soon i’m not

ready i’m not ready no no no no no

and but next thing i was like yes of

course i can do that

and that day i preached a message about

you are more prepared than you think

because literally i felt like i wasn’t

and the lord directed me to a chapter in

my book that i wrote during that time

and that chapter was lit was you are

more prepared than you think

and i talked about it and i did all the

things i wanted to do

as a preacher all the things i heard

people do i said turn to your neighbor

maybe five times

i said hey this is for free oh this is

something like that and i realized it’s

all free right

it was all kinds of craziness i wanted

to do everything that i heard people do

but that moment you know looking back at

that moment looking back at that

that young girl who was just so excited

to serve the lord and so excited until

today right

but there was this thing in me like okay

god what is it but one of the things

i’ve learned one of the key

things that all these six years has

taught me

was trusting god and uncertainty

because i had a plan right it’s just

like this idea

there’s a difference right between being

prepared and being ready

right i had been prepared in the ways

that god was shaping me i didn’t even

know what i was preparing for

but unknown to me it prepared i was

prepared for that moment

but i wasn’t ready when the moment came

as soon as it did

right because the idea of readiness says

that and you are ready to go

right now you can do this thing right

now being prepared

gets you it it gets you to the place of

a bit of confidence that okay god

you know what i’m preparing myself for

when the moment comes

but when the moment arrives you may not

have the right outfit you may not feel

like you know you’re in the right state

of mind

your expectation might be different all

kinds of things so i felt like i was in

this state of preparation but i was like

god i’m not ready i don’t know how

they’re going to receive me i don’t know

what’s going to happen i don’t even know

what ready looks like right

but i felt like okay you called me to do

something i’ve been studying i’ve been

in you

i mean this is literally an overflow of

our relationship

right and the moment comes and what

gave me the willingness to get up on

that stage

and teach the word of god from the place

of relationship with god

was the ability to trust god with

uncertainty

i didn’t know how people were going to

receive it i mean i’m coming on the

stage that my pastors are preaching on

and i’m just this little kid that has

like her you know little

haircut going on and all kinds of things

what’s going on i had this color on my

hair that

i’m questioning my life about right now

but

in my head i’m like how am i supposed to

like represent my pastors

but i was able to trust god with the

uncertainty

of that time and of that season you see

i’m learning in life

that it’s the uncertainties of life that

often cripples us

when you think about fear for instance

the reason that people are afraid are is

really connected to what they are

ignorant of the rule of fear is always

tied to some level of ignorance

what you don’t know is often what scares

you

when you hear a report from a doctor

the fear of ah am i gonna recover from

this

this it seems like the doctors don’t

even know how to cure this

the fear of what what is on the other

side of this the uncertainty of the

outcome causes you to feel crippled

sometimes

now in our lives the reality is that

when you are walking with god

you’re going to go through so many

seasons of uncertainty

because in your walk with god you’re

going through a process of discovery

to discover what god knows about you

intimately

and that process there is on shedding

there is unlearning

there is learning now what the truth of

your identity is

and there is so much uncertainty tied to

that

and even as i think about today right i

was like

lord normally i’m just like god what is

it that you want me to share to your

people

and what i have in my notes is really

the scriptures that he gave me not

really the message

and i was like god but but what is the

message

and he said to me stephanie i’m taking

you back to that moment

i’m taking you back to how you felt in

that season

because the reality is that i’m not

defined by my strength

and you are not defined by your strength

i’m defined by who god is you see

sometimes we only feel the confidence to

take on something when we feel 100

ready for it when we feel like 100

confident i know what i’m going to do i

know what i’m going to say i know i’m

going to act i know what to wear

i i know the room i know the people in

the room i had lunch with somebody last

week

but what if that’s not the case and the

reality of life is that the biggest

moments in your life the moments in your

life that will define you

into your destiny into who god has

called you to be

is going to be filled with uncertainty

and we have to tap into the truth that

we are not defined by our realized

strength i am not defined by what i know

because the bible says this it says that

in my weakness

god is my strength and when you think

about that

i want you to look at that beyond just

what you read

on the bible because sometimes you might

say that like who

lord you might be in the gym and you’re

you know you can’t get those

reps going you’re like who in my

weakness god is my strength no

just go beyond go beyond your natural

imagination

if in my weakness god is my strength

then i

need god to realize everything that i am

if the strength of god if not if god is

attracted to weakness

then actually my weakness is a gift

because when god wants to come upon a

person

if he sees strength in you the spirit of

god is going to wait until

it sees weakness because strength means

you’re full

when you say like oh when you’re so

confident in your abilities

i got this i got it going on what it

translates

is that you are full and the bible talks

about they that hunger

and thirst for righteousness will be

filled

by who by god but if you are

only confident in what you find natural

strengthening you will miss it because

what is assigned to your life

requires your weakness i didn’t come

from a background of preachers

no my mom growing up i knew my mom to be

a politician

and a businesswoman right there was

there’s no preacher in my family line

but what i had was a relationship with

god

and i was like god whatever it is that

you say to me i want to walk it out

not because i have 100 confidence in my

ability

but i have confidence in your ability

and it’s interesting six years now six

years later

i see the lord pulling me into new

things that i have no knowledge of

i’m not strong in but he is

just the other day a friend of mine sent

me a message

she was asked to take on a huge project

and to lead something she has no

abilities in

the person behind it just took a liking

to her

and believes in her but that is not her

strength

she reached out to me and she’s like

stephanie what am i supposed to do

they want me to do this and i’m like

this this is beyond me

and i said to her don’t trust in

yourself trust in god

because this project requires creativity

and the holy spirit is the spirit of

creativity

all creativity comes from god and so

it’s not about what you have the ability

to do but it’s what god knows that he

can do

and how he can empower you you see in

the time of moses

there were times when the lord wanted a

certain thing done

and what did he do he put his spirit

in people and the bible will literally

tell us that

and he put the spirit of god in them the

spirit of wisdom

understanding and skills in all manner

of workmanship

that for what god assigned that he

provided the ability

what would life look like if you began

to be defined by the strength of god and

not by your strength

what would your life look like what risk

would you take what

what would you embark upon what are the

things that you will begin to say

yes to if you are not looking at life

through the lens of your ability

but god that because you recognize that

god you

said something to me and i’m not gonna

define myself

but what i find confidence in but i will

define myself

by you uncertainty

it happens to us all when we find

ourselves uncertain about the outcome

it might cause us to feel crippled a

little bit but the lord began to speak

to me about something

that answers how we begin to trust in

the lord

and that is our testimony you see i was

meditating

on second kings chapter one and second

cakes chapter one tells us a very

fascinating story i want you to read it

when you have some time

actually read it tonight okay you know

sometimes when you say that you just

allow the person to wander into eternity

but read it tonight in that scripture

there was a certain king

right and the king i have my bible here

i got this bible when i was ordained it

has my name signed on it is very cool

but second kings chapter one the king

ahaziah he

so he had an accident right he fell and

he was a little confused he was

wondering am i gonna survive this am i

not gonna survive it

and he called his servants he called

some messengers and he told them

to go to the god of ekron and this is a

lesser god this is the god that doesn’t

even exist this is just demonic right

he says go to the god of ekron and

inquire of him

if i would survive this accident if i’ll

survive this fall

when this happened the angel of the lord

reaches out to

a man named elijah the prophet elijah

the angel of the lord talks to elijah

and he says

go and meet the messengers that the king

just sent

and say to them is it because there is

not a god in

israel that you should seek out the god

of ekron

and because you have done this you would

surely die

when the messengers went back to the

king and they were like

look hey king you know this is what

elijah just told us

the king sent for elijah so first he

sends

50 of his men to go and get elijah

elijah is chilling on a hill right with

a pina colada and an angel

he’s sitting on the hill and the men say

hey

if you are a man of god come down right

now

elijah looks at them elijah is like if i

am a man of god let fire come down and

consume you

i mean this prophet’s a gangster right

it sounds all fascinating the bible

can you imagine just chilling on the

hill and you’re like fire

from heaven come down now and basically

fire comes down consumes them kills all

of them i mean this is straight

gangsta right now the king hears about

it he sends another 50 men

they show up they obviously they know

better

they say the same thing they’re like if

you’re a man of god come down

right elijah says he repeats himself he

says well

if i’m a man of god let fire come down

and consume you

so that happens the king sends another

50 men

those 50 they knew better right they

they took uh

maya angelou’s quote seriously when you

know better you do better

and so they come before elijah and they

say sir

please please don’t kill us right we

know what happened to the other people

please spare our lives and in that

moment

the angel said something to elijah that

really shook me

he said go down with them do not be

afraid

now this puzzled me because how is it

that elijah who is hanging out with an

angel of the lord

fire is coming down from heaven to

consume his enemies

but he has the potential of being afraid

matter of fact he was afraid

because when the angel said to him do

not be afraid the angel

recognized what is behind even some of

elijah’s words

elijah you’re afraid of what these

people could do to you but go

down with this group and do not fear and

this was so

fascinating to me why would a man

having a face to face conversation

the angel of the lord and you have

disposal to fire from heaven

but yet you are afraid of going down

with people to go

see a king in the natural and i began

asking this the lord this question why

was

elijah panicking why was he why would he

even have any fear in him

and the lord revealed this to me the

fear of uncertainty

not knowing what would be on the other

side when he goes to see the king

he literally just told the king you’re

going to die this is the word of the

lord

and now you want me to meet him face to

face the uncertainty of what that looked

like but what i love about

elijah is that he did not allow that

fear

to define him he did not allow that fear

to navigate

his next when the angel said to him

do not be afraid go down with them

elijah did

just that you see this is this is what

what it looks like when you are trusting

god

in uncertainty that god i recognize that

i don’t know what’s on the other side of

this

but i’m going to abide i’m going to

trust what you say

and that very word abiding you is what

the lord showed me

is the secret to trusting in the lord

and i want to read this scripture this

scripture is in john 15 from verse 4 to

verse 10

and the scripture says abide in me and i

in you as the branch cannot bear fruit

of itself

unless it abides in the vine neither can

you

unless you abide in me i am the vine

you are the branches he who abides in me

and i in him bears much fruit for

without me

you can do nothing i just want to pause

that for a second but we have so much

more to read

how powerful is that god is literally

showing us you see

one of the things that i have realized

very early on in my walk with god

is my need for him right it’s not that

god is having some muppet show party

or perpetual party and he’s trying to

see who he can manipulate no

we were created through him everything

there’s a scripture i love so much my

mother and i we talk

we say the scripture all the time that

in him i

live and move and have my being we were

created to serve the lord

we were created for fellowship with god

because he is the source of our life

and without him we can do nothing

and now nothing to god means nothing in

regards to what he knows your truth to

be

you see sometimes it might look like

your life could be fruitful

but fruitful to what degree because if

it’s

not connecting to what god knows about

you and what god has seen about you and

what god has said about you

it is nothing you see it’s so

interesting right when you look at a

chair

right a chair was designed by the

creator for people to sit in

but imagine someone using a chair as

a a dining table right or or something

something weird

like a toy or whatever now for them it’s

functional to whatever desire they have

but it’s not functional in the eyes of

the creator that’s not what they created

the chair for

so you might be using it for some random

activity right

as a as a cage or something i don’t know

the case that

it won’t even work as a cage you could

use it as an ant farm something weird

right you can use it for whatever weird

activity but if it’s not

used in the intention of why it was

created the creator will literally look

at this and not see it as functional

when god looks at us the whole essence

of well done my good and faithful

servant you may have heard people say

this that when i die i want to hear god

say that to me

that when i die i want god to look at me

and say it was good

that the way you lived your life that i

categorized that as good because i see

that you did

and you you lived in a way according to

what i know is your truth

and what god knows to be your truth is

your truth

it is your reality it produces the most

authentic

version of you and that is why family

you can’t just believe

any hype you can’t just have this idea

that you know i am whoever i choose to

be whenever i choose to be it

because you can be many things and not

be functional to your truth

you can desire to be i mean uh all kinds

of things you can decide to be a bird

you can just

walk around in cocoon i don’t know birth

cocoon but

that we have the liberty right because

we have free will we have the liberty to

say i can be

whoever i choose to be but the the

reality of life

is that there is something that god

knows about you

and why you’re able to trust him is

because he is your creator

he knows the truth of your identity he

knows the truth of your authenticity

and so jesus is saying without me you

can do

nothing and he says that and he means it

he doesn’t he’s not saying that hey if

you don’t serve the lord many people

don’t serve the lord

and they’re out there doing amazing

things that are in our eyes right

they’re doing

all kinds of things in life but when

jesus looks at you he wants to see you

functioning in the authenticity of your

creation

that you are created with a purpose

you’re not random

the way you may have come may seem

random right your prayers got together

one night and you know they didn’t see

each other after that i don’t know it’s

up to them right

but god ordained every step

that led to the coming of you and your

life is not random

and so relationship with jesus is not

about a check

mark off of salvation of i’m going to go

to heaven

is so much beyond that is that lord

my life is hidden in you in order for me

to be effective

in the true nature and identity of who i

am

i need you and that’s what the scripture

is saying right

and so it says he who abides in me bears

much fruit

but without me you can do nothing and it

says if anyone does not abide in me

he is cast out as a branch when you

think about a tree and a branch when a

branch is broken off

the tree it loses fellowship with its

source

it says if you don’t abide in me you

have lost fellowship with your source

and we’re going to talk about this word

abide in just a second right

and so it says he’s cast off as a branch

and he is withered

he has lost the essence of his life

when something withers is no longer what

it’s supposed to represent

this is the beauty of abiding in christ

and abide as i said earlier is the

secret

to trusting in god in the midst of

uncertainty

he says he who does not abide in me is

withered you have

lost the true essence of life it is

possible to be living but without ever

being alive

that you’re doing stuff steve jobs said

something i love so much

he said that life is too short to live

someone else’s life

and many times we’re doing that outside

of what god knows

us to be you see even doing good does

not mean that

good is connected good in the sense of

just like a random

you know not not connected to how our

pastor talked about it just this past

sunday i’m not talking about

the you know from a philanthropic place

i’m talking about when you feel like you

know what

if i if my identity is connected to

anything that is seen

as is termed as good then i must be

doing what god said

but good to what standard good to whose

standard

right is it good in the in the reality

that when your parents said hey

if you do take this degree that is a

good thing for the family that’s what

i’m talking about

cultural standards of good when people

say if you take on this job that is a

good thing

if you take on this identity that is a

good thing when

saul wanted to give david his

armor he thought it was a good thing

that david

you’re about to go fight goliath take on

my armor when david put the armor on he

was like i

i don’t this is not me this is not my

identity

this is somebody else’s i need to take

this off in order for me to live

according to who god has called me to be

that’s that’s the context i’m using in

this message

that not just because your culture says

doing this

is the good thing to do not just because

your environment or social media or the

influences that are coming against you

are telling you hey this is the good

thing to be

no who has god called you to be

because in the true nature of who god

has called you to be

doing good is it is just the fruit of it

right if you haven’t watched my pastor’s

message this past sunday

you need to go watch that right now i

mean not right now but after the message

right

because then you understand the good

that is connected to the identity of

christ

but there is an idea of what culture

calls good

and it might not be good to your

authenticity

and so when we look at this the person

who does not abide in the lord

they are withered they lose the essence

of

life and we’re going to talk about that

right then it says and they gather them

and throw them into the fire and they

are burned when something is burned

there is loss

there is a loss of a reward there is a

loss of something that the lord

has for you that something has been

consumed

this is what happens outside of abiding

then it says if you abide in me and my

words abide in you

you will ask what you desire and it

shall be done for you

by this my father is glorified that you

bear much fruit so you will be my

disciples

as the father loved me and i also have

loved you

abide in my love if you keep my

commandments

you will abide in my love just as i have

kept my father’s commandments

and abide in his love there are three

things that are pointed out here

christ tells us to abide in him abide in

his word

and abide in his love now what is the

connection here with abiding and

trusting in the lord

right because in order to trust in god

in the in the in the midst of

uncertainty

it is the way you get over that hump of

fear

that when fear comes to you when

uncertainties come to you

that your trust in god gets you over

that bridge

that your trust in god actually builds

the bridge to what is on the other side

of it

that you are not crippled by your

weakness you are you are strengthened by

the lord

that you are not defined by your

strength you are defined by what god

by who god is and that makes you a

threat

that makes you a mystery that you can be

figured out by satan

you can’t be figured out by the enemy

you know something the lord was teaching

me when

he began to talk to me about why it is

important

that we are defined by his strength and

not defined by

our strength because when you are

walking

in the strength of your flesh you’ve

lost the battle satan has had

all the time in the world literally

he was there before we even got here

he has had the time to study you

he’s had the time to study human nature

and human behavior and the ways of the

flesh

that even if he didn’t study you he can

understand

the the patterns of your life just by

watching you for one single day

he has had time to master human behavior

he has had time to master you know if

you if by you doing this this this must

mean this

but what satan has not mastered is the

ways of god

because if he had a clue of the true

identity of the god we serve he would

have never tried to rebel against him

the very the very fact that he thought

he could out thrown the lord

tells you about his ignorance concerning

god

tells you that he was not even fully

aware of the god that he even

served and so if you are putting trust

in your own ability you’ve lost the

battle because

you’re going against someone who has

mastered the ways of the flesh

but when you put your trust in god’s

ability you become a mystery

you become a hidden weapon in the hands

of god

that he can place you anywhere and you

will thrive

because you recognize it’s not based on

what i

know you see many times i’ll even give

this example

when god throws you into a new industry

god throws a new project

at you the god puts something in your

heart that you are not strong in

how the how does the enemy get to you

the narrative this internal narrative

that says

you’re not the one for the job how can

you you’re not you’re not qualified

you’re not equipped for it he starts

using words against your experience

he says hey you don’t have experience in

this you’re going to fail you’re going

to make a fool of yourself

how many times have we walked away from

something

because that narrative became our truth

that god that’s not me i i can’t be the

person that’s supposed to do this i

don’t have experience in this

isn’t that what moses said moses

who was called to bring deliverance

moses said

lord i don’t even know how to talk but

he’s talking

he says i have a speech problem but the

lord is understanding him

where did that narrative come from our

pastor said something

i loved so much a few weeks ago and he

said

when did you become against yourself

that’s not you when did you

become your own enemy how is it that the

lord is telling you something and you’re

telling him why you can do it

when did you start speaking against

yourself that voice that message did not

come from you you’re just echoing

something that came from somewhere else

and so when you think about that when

you’re resting in your own strength

the enemy has already won the battle he

says look i’ve mastered human behavior

i know what buttons to push to get you

to fall

i know what buttons to push to make you

weak

but when you put yourself in the

strength of the lord

he doesn’t have he he doesn’t have a

clue how to get at you

you become a hidden threat in everything

and anything god assigns to you

because you realize i’m defined

by the strength of god and so this

concept of abiding first the scripture

tells us

abide in christ jesus is saying

abide in me and i abide in you

that without me you can bear no fruit

without me you can do

nothing what does this word abide it

means to remain

it means to stay and you see when we

think about that right

if you’re someone that you’re saying

like lord i follow you right i love you

jesus of course i’m with you i’m in this

thing

but the lord began to show me that there

are so many things in life and in

culture that is fighting for your

devotion

that is fighting for your for for your

commitment for your surrender that is

fighting

for where you would lay your trust in

and so the problem is not that you don’t

love jesus

or you don’t you’re not saying that

jesus is lord

is the jesus and the other things that

you’re putting your trust

in you see the lord showed me a

scripture that blew my mind i have never

seen this in the bible before

it’s in isaiah 65 11 and listen to this

it says but it will be different for you

that forsake me

who ignores zion my sacred hill and

worship god and many the gods of

luck and faith that’s that’s the part i

want to hit on

in this scripture the lord is basically

talking about people that had forsaken

him

to worship the gods of luck

and the gods of faith that

in this time that the people

like almost personified luck

and this idea of faith that they began

to worship them as gods

it’s so interesting to me because this

captured my attention in such a unique

way

because there are times where you see

people who everything they do in life

they rely on luck and i’ll give you this

example

the idea of when you have a big decision

to make

and you pull out a coin you pull out a

quarter in in the united states

in other countries you know there’s

something you might pull out right

you pull out a coin and you say you know

what heads or tails

if it’s heads i’m gonna do it if it

tails i’m not gonna do it

in that moment you’re putting you the

the idea is that

if it’s if it i flipped the coin and its

heads then i must be lucky today is my

day

and this is just a random example but

what are the things that you have

personified to become a god in your life

what are the things that you run to as a

salvation

one of the things that you might say

okay i i yes i i i you know i’m i

believe in

jesus but i’m putting my trust in all

these other things

too and what does that look like when

there is something in your life that you

believe

is the source for something good to

happen to you

you have made that an idol

and it has pulled you away from the lord

unconsciously

when the when the lord says abide in me

remain

in me you started this journey with me

now remain in me

don’t put your trust in other things

because they will fail you

and they will lead you on a path that i

did not send you on

they will lead you on the path that

might that that the will of god is not

is not a part of

and then we find ourselves in these

cycles when you find yourself

going through cycles where it feels like

nothing is happening

because where have you placed your trust

in what is directing your life

what has a voice in your life is it the

lord that is guiding your steps

or have you given other things to direct

you

and even let’s not even go too big

let’s talk about even the impact of

unforgiveness

because to abide in god to remain in god

is to take on the nature of god

but when things like unforgiveness

bitterness

envy begin to pull us out of who

god is we might think about that it is

just

right and my ways are just before me

this person hurt me this person

um said this about me that is not worth

your heart it is not worth your

relationship with god it is not worth

your truth

that’s why they say forgiveness is not

even about the person it’s about you

what are the things that have the

potential to pull

you away from that place of intimacy

with the lord

this is a time to guard your space

to guard your intimacy to guard your

friendship with god

that lord i want to remain in you

you see there are things in life that

have the ability to pull us

away from god and all of a sudden pride

kicks in

and your ego begins to grow and even

though you’re saying jesus with your

words

but there is no relationship with him

through your life

you see in the bible when the people saw

the disciples

they didn’t even need to see them with

jesus

based on how they acted they said these

are the ones that have been with

jesus because relationship it changes

it begins to it begins to define your

own nature

it changes who you are and that is why

transformation

begins with christ it begins with

relationship with christ it’s not based

on

fear tactics when you’re in relationship

with someone

i remember when after we you know when i

first met my

first lady right pastor sarah in

relationship with her as my pastor as my

mentor and my

spiritual mom you may have heard me say

ciao so many times

and when i want to remix it i say chile

but why is that it’s almost second

nature i say that even to my mom i’m

like ciao

why because a relationship has also had

influence in me the relationship has

influenced me

in a lot of great ways this is just a

funny way right

and so when you have relationship with

the lord when you stay in relationship

with the lord

no one needs to tell you otherwise the

holy spirit begins to convict you

of ways that are not of god but we have

the ability of free will to either

respond and say you know what lord i

repent i’m going to change my ways

or we can shut god out and when we shut

him out what we don’t realize

is that we’re coming out of that place

of abiding

now this is the beauty of abiding first

in christ

because when you start taking on the

nature of christ

what will cause you to feel crippled by

fear

you realize wait i have peace in this

moment

because uncertainty comes and it comes

to disrupt your peace

that oh i don’t feel settled in this but

when you start taking on god’s nature

you realize i bring peace to the party

i don’t look for peace at the party

i bring peace to the storm and the storm

is not going to define

my posture when you start to abide in

christ when you start to take on his

nature

that is why when jesus there’s a

scripture when when there was a storm

and jesus and his disciples were in a

boat but jesus was taking a nap

it was nap time for the lord while the

disciples were panicking

because the lord recognized something he

said look

i am the peace the storm doesn’t come to

disrupt me

i come to give it peace and when he goes

to when he when they wake him up and

they’re like lord

we are drowning he’s like yo chill okay

chill out

and when he says peace be still

you recognize no no no no no you can’t

disrupt my peace

i set the atmosphere

so when something comes to try to

you you recognize like wait no

i’m not defined by this my peace

comes from within me i’m gonna keep

going

so abiding in christ and how do we do

that

first of all recognize what am i putting

my trust in

am i putting my trust in jesus and other

things

or am i putting my trust solely in jesus

second of all how am i guarding my heart

am i allowing is there unforgiveness in

my heart

is there bitterness in my heart is there

jealousy in my heart is there envy in my

heart

because these things pull me out of that

place of abiding

how do i guard my heart you see

forgiveness there’s this saying forgive

and forget i don’t know where that came

from i don’t think it’s in the bible

it might be i’m not sure you know we’ll

look for the bible scholars but

it’s not even if it says forgiven forget

that’s not what it means

how do you forget how do you erase how

do you have selective memory

by will it’s not possible but it is for

your actions to reflect someone who is

not holding on

to someone’s the way that someone

offended you

or the person the way that someone did

something against you

it is that you don’t live from that

place

because even when the lord talks about

your sins are in the seer forgetfulness

and all that stuff and we joke about

it sometimes in christian lingo right

but the lord is knowledge he knows all

things

but the lord does not treat you like

your sin

he doesn’t treat you like your past and

so forgiveness first comes from

recognizing look

this person will not do this to me from

a place of even wisdom

or love but secondly i am not going to

treat you

according to the moment of my pain that

was caused by you

i’m going to think a higher thought

concerning you

i’m going to treat you i’m going to see

you the way god sees you

you have to guard your heart guard your

heart from the things that will try to

contaminate it

and then the lord says this abide in my

word

to abide in the word of god first of all

you have to know the word of god

right to study the word i want to i want

to challenge you with something a simple

practice

every single day read the word

i know when you get to you know um

chapters like numbers

let’s just go there for a second right

there are some chapters that just seem

so irrelevant let’s let me let me pick

one out

actually even the the relevance of it

might seem too long

when it just gives you all these

chronicles of stories and you’re just

like

what is this talking about lord can you

make it make sense to me

read it because the crazy thing

some of the scriptures that i used to

feel like god this is

so irrelevant to my life all of a sudden

the holy spirit

does what feels like a puzzle piece that

something i read

randomly i’m like oh my gosh that is

what it means here

oh this random person like even in when

you go into chronicles and it starts

giving you and he begot he and this but

got that one and that one begot that one

but all of a sudden when you are

committed to studying the word

the holy spirit starts putting it

together like puzzle pieces

every single day and i’ll actually

challenge you start in the book of

proverbs

if reading the word is not something

that you are committed to starting the

book of proverbs

go into the gospels there are bible

plans available on

even like the bible app commit yourself

to reading the word why is this

because you start to understand the ways

and the nature of god

you start to understand there are some

things you don’t have to always pray

about

if you understand the character of god

there are some things that you don’t

have to be confused about and have

anxiety about god is this your will is

that not your will

if you understand his consistency in his

nature

and you get that from reading the word

there are some things you would have

confidence in

that your prayer goes beyond a request

it becomes a declaration

because you know the the nature of the

god that you serve

that god according to your character

you will you would be with me in this

thing

that is why there was a man named joshua

in the bible when he was fighting his

enemies

he was he the bible actually said he

it was like a demand of god that he

requested the sun to stand

still and he did this in front of the

people

he had such a confidence in him that

look

we’re not done fighting this war i need

the sun to stay here

and the bible says and god obeyed his

request

when you start to study the word just

make it a habit it could be five minutes

it could be ten minutes but you will see

that the holy spirit

will begin to open your eyes to the

nature of god

to the ways of god that your life will

have this confidence

when you speak about the things that god

has called you to do

your life will have a confidence when

you call upon help

when you say god i need you to step into

this situation

that you would have you would have this

confident understanding

that god is with me and that is why the

scripture said this

it literally said if you abide in me and

my words abiding you

you will ask what you desire

and it shall be done for you

if you abide in me and my words abide in

you

whatever you ask it will be done why is

that

it’s not a genie situation but it’s the

reality that because i’m abiding in the

words of god

these are these are not just words on on

on pages

that i’m recognizing oh my gosh lord

this is who you are

i can confidently decree a thing

because i it is it is it is the truth

i’m not just speaking from a place of

uncertainty

but god even when uncertainty comes up

against me

when i’m faced by a challenge when a

mountain comes up against me

i can confidently rebuke it that when

something wants to

shake me shake me in a way that you have

not assigned and you have not declared

that i can say this is not the will of

god

and i can begin to speak against

whatever troubles me

you see i remember a time in my life and

this was during the year that god told

when god told me to

walk away from everything i knew and all

that stuff i

left the business i left so much i was

living off my savings

and there was a moment where i couldn’t

pay my rent

and i first of all i would say this

as a disclaimer when there’s a word that

comes from god

that literally turns your life upside

down

behalf make sure it came from the lord

you see before god could give me a word

that disrupted my whole life

i had a journey i had a process

of knowing the voice of god and seeing

the fruit of his instruction

this started when i was nine years old

before god would give you a word that

would disrupt your life

there is a confidence you would have in

recognizing

the word of god and the fruit that comes

from his word

in little things little small things

it could be as random as when you’re

going somewhere and the spirit of the

lord tells you

get off the freeway right now and you

get off the freeway and all of a sudden

there was someone who needed help

that is the lord working and engaging

your senses to strengthen your hearing

and i say this and it’s very critical

because sometimes

a person becomes a new believer and the

next thing they say

is that you know i received this life

shaken message and that could alter your

life in a crazy way

and they believe it came from god and

the fruit of it does not reveal the

source was god

and they start questioning and they’re

doubting that why would god tell me to

do this

and it left me with disappointment and

heartache and all this stuff

one thing i’ve learned about god god is

for you more than you are for yourself

he does not want you to fail at hearing

from him

and so he will train your hearing he

will train you in understanding

now there are special moments and those

special moments

it becomes very supernatural it’s an

undeniable message from the lord and

that is when

maybe an angel will come up to you or it

will not come up to you but

you will show up or the lord will show

up something very

drastic but in many seasons and if not

and many could be 99 the lord trains

your hearing before he tells you

something

that can shake your whole life and so

when i say

this i say this with caution because

the shaking that i experienced needed to

come from a place of confidence

and so when i experienced this time in

my life that i couldn’t pay rent

and it was like three months going on

and

if i had called my parent my mom or my

brothers i’m sure i would have been

solved

but at that time they were confused

about what i was doing

and so i was like god what am i supposed

to do

and so it was like three months i

received an eviction notice and i’m like

god you sent me here

and i’m living off my savings and you

know it’s running out i can’t put this

to us

right now um and i’m like i felt so

defeated right i called a very close

friend of mine

and i called her and i said i don’t know

what to do um

i got an eviction notice today and i

think

i might have to go back like i don’t

know where maybe i have to beg my

brother that i made a mistake

um you know can i could i stay on this

couch

or something and just get my life back

on track that maybe this is not what

it’s supposed to be

and i allow that moment for a second to

to shake me and defeat me i was like

this is not it and my friend you have to

have

strong voices in your life i can never

forget this

and she said stephanie what are you

talking about you don’t leave that place

until you desire to

leave she said god don’t don’t question

don’t question the nature of god because

you’re having a moment

she says remember who you are and speak

to that letter

and speak to the situation you have to

let it come from the depths of you

from the person who heard from the lord

that this is what you’re supposed to do

who

leaves a great source of income to

pursue what is unknown to them

and when she said that i i was filled

with faith

and i said wait i’m tripping you know

sometimes you have to look in the mirror

and say girl you tripping

right or boy you’re tripping you know

whoever somebody’s tripping

right and i took a moment i got off the

phone

and i said wait god you sent me here

you gave me an instruction this is not

gonna shake me

and i looked i literally i looked at

that eviction letter and i spoke to it i

said i am not leaving until i decide to

leave

i said lord wherever resources will come

from send it

if you could put money in in the mouth

of a fish

if you could do if you could feed 5 000

with only a few pieces of bread and fish

then god

you’re going to fix this and it was a

declaration

i wasn’t praying from a place of fear or

anxiety

like oh god i don’t know maybe you’re

hearing me there was something that came

out of me

because of the word that i chose to

abide in

and within a week i got a check in the

mail

from only god knows they had my name on

it that’s what i know

i got a check in the mail and that check

cleared everything

abiding in the word it gives you a

confidence

of who god is that yes the storms will

come the bible literally says

no weapon formed against you shall

prosper

but what it also says is weapons will be

formed against you

but they wouldn’t prosper so when the

weapon is

formed you have a choice

on how to react you can let the weapon

prosper by even

by bowing down to it before it ever hits

you

or you can choose to rise up and say not

today

satan not today you see there was this

movie

i watched i think the name was

breakthrough or something like that

it’s an amazing movie if you research

the story line you’ll find it

a lady who had been praying for a child

she gets this child

and one day the child drowns and the

babe the child dies

but the lady goes into the hospital room

the doctors tell her it’s it’s done this

is

a wrap she said no and she prayed

and at the top of her lung she said holy

spirit

give me back my son

and instantly life came back into this

boy

and he got up and the doctors

i mean what should have been natural

consequences of his body

was not his reality can you imagine

if the woman allowed what looked like a

weapon formed against her

if she forgot what the word of god

told her that this would be a son

the words that god had given her about

that child

if she succumbed to what the situation

looked like

would you we would not have that movie

the movie is inspired by a true life

story that actually happened

but she remembered the word of the lord

and she said not today

holy spirit you give me back my child

and life came back into the boy this is

consistent with jesus

when lazarus died

funny enough while lazarus was still

sick

the word came to the lord and he

actually delayed

four more days because the lord knew

that even though he might die in the

natural

i’m gonna bring him back there’s a plan

for this it’s not what it looks like

the family thought that the weapon

formed against lazarus prospered but

when jesus showed up all he did was

lazarus get out of there and lazarus

came

out after being dead for a period of

time

life came back to him when you abide in

the word

your prayers become declarations

when you abide in the word you begin to

understand

the heart and intention of god you begin

to understand the ways of god

the consistency of god the nature of god

the will of god and when you’re praying

you’re not praying like a beggar

when you’re praying you’re praying like

one who knows who they’re calling upon

abiding in god and why is this important

to trust in god in uncertainty

because when something comes to try to

shake you up you would say not today

satan

this is not what god promised me this is

not what god showed me

and you begin to declare a thing and

some some of you might ask the question

but why

why do we have to go through all of that

because you are formed in the likeness

of your creator

in creation what did god do he spoke

he would have there i mean first of all

you have to understand that and

god is god he could have thought about

it right

the bible could have said and god

thought about the waters and god thought

about light and there was light

but it said and god said let there be

light

and there was light and that word is

light

reveal yourself that you are there

somewhere but you need to reveal

yourself

and you are created in his image and so

by

right there are certain things you would

only experience when you

speak it there are certain things you

would only understand

you would only come into the reality

when you begin to declare it

the same way the lord said in the

beginning

let there be lights you also have to

begin to declare over yourself

and over the things that god has

assigned to you let there be

an investor let there be a book deal

let there be a platform for this let

there be

whatever it is that god is connected to

what god has assigned to you

you begin to proclaim it that day when i

was looking at that eviction paper i

said god

in other words my prayer would have

would have as well said let there be the

finances

because i said god not today i don’t

leave when this letter tells me to

i leave when i choose to you are created

in his likeness

and so by right some things are

experienced on the other side of your

declaration

but that declaration the confidence of

that declaration

comes when you abide in the word of god

and the last thing it says is abide in

my love

jesus said abide in my love and check

this out right he said this

if you keep my commandments you will

abide in my love

if you keep my commandments you will

abide in my love there is a popular

saying that we know

it says that love is a decision right

love is not a feeling

it’s a decision when we identify love as

a feeling we

are you know easily just pulled into

whatever direction

that is why it’s so fascinating when

something good happens in your life

you’re like thank you jesus oh jesus i

love you so much

you feel encouraged to worship you’re

like oh god

and all kinds of things right when

something unexpected happens you’re like

you start questioning your salvation you

start wondering god are you real

why would this happen to me because you

have looked at love as a feeling

you have identified your love

relationship with christ based on a

feeling and feelings

they’re connected to the happenings of

life right

if this happens oh man i sure love me

some jesus

today right i sound very country saying

that for a country

family you know sure love you jesus

today

but the reality is that love is a

decision and that’s what jesus is

showing us

he says if you keep my commandments you

will abide in my love

now first of all there is the awareness

of the love of god right the love of god

says this the when you continue reading

that whole

that chapter it goes on to talk about

when jesus said look

no greater love than the one who would

lay down his life for a friend

jesus is saying i’m not trying to

command you into doing something that is

against you

i’m for you i lay down my life

for you and so he said in the tone

you are attracted to jesus because of

his love

and when i say his love you are

attracted to jesus

because you recognize you are for me

that in you i find my truth in you i i

discovered the authentic nature of who i

am

and through you i can do it all you

realize that god you are not against me

and so to abide in it is not to be

easily swayed by happenings that when

something unexpected happens then you

choose or you

you become you know um you start

wondering maybe today i would i would

follow through

with my integrity for the lord or maybe

not maybe today today doesn’t feel like

a good day to have integrity you know

because i’m upset with jesus what i

expected him to do he did not do so i’m

just going to wild out

right oh you know what god i was praying

for this thing and you did not do it

so why why should i why should i follow

your ways

love is not a feeling it’s a decision

one of the things that i had to settle

in my heart

is that god will never be against me and

what that means is

even when situations seem hard

even when the unexpected happens it

doesn’t

change my commitment to him it doesn’t

change my commitment in what he has

assigned to me

it doesn’t change how i steward what

he’s placed in my hands

it doesn’t change my my posture before

him

i don’t lose my integrity because i’m

upset

i don’t lose my way i don’t lose my head

because i don’t understand

you see there is a process to becoming

you and that process is going to be

challenging

and that process is going to it’s gonna

be unlike what you would have expected

that’s why the lord tells us my ways are

not your ways

but you have to trust the god that you

first encountered

that when i encountered you i

encountered someone who is

for me and now against me someone who is

with me and would never forsake me

and so when it seems like you have

forsaken me

i’m not going to lean into the narrative

of the enemy

i’m going to know that god you are still

with me and so i will

keep my integrity i will keep my

commitment

i will keep walking with you even when

it feels

hard and that is why

the bible talks about the sacrifice of

praise

it’s easy to praise of of course if

everything is going good

if if i just got you know the some of

the things i’ve been waiting on if

someone just dropped it in front of me

the next day i’ll be dancing you know

and emphasizing you know just

emphasizing the dance right

but when things don’t work out the way i

desire

there is a sacrifice of praise but the

sacrifice the willingness to praise god

comes from the reality that god you are

still for me

and for some of you in a moment we’re

gonna worship

for some of you it’s been difficult to

find your worship again

to find your praise to find your shout

because you have allowed the happenings

of life

to cause you to question your

relationship with god

you have allowed the things that are

happening around you to cause you to

wonder god are you still for me

that is a fact that is a foundational

fact and a foundational truth

he is for you he will never leave you

nor forsake you you knew that when you

met him

don’t allow what you don’t understand to

shake you out of that

don’t allow to uproot you out of his

love

because when we choose to lose our way

because we’re questioning god

we are not abiding in his love anymore

we start saying god i i don’t know i

don’t know if you’re real you know

you could pack it all up jesus no

we’re not going to understand everything

and the bible makes it plain

his ways are not our ways it’s that’s

the fact

but he is for you and in order to abide

in his love

is to keep his commandments keep your

integrity

keep your commitment be a good steward

over

everything that god has placed in your

hands don’t start

wilding out because you’re acting now

acting out of hurts acting out of a

fence no

keep keep your heart pure before the

lord

and in this family you would discover

it would be it would be organic to you

that your go-to would be trust

your go-to in the face of uncertainty

would be god me and you we got this

we got this lord jesus by abiding in him

abiding in him abiding in his word

and abiding in his love it’s a game

changer

and so i want to pray for you i believe

that

there are some of you watching and one

you’ve lost your praise

because you connected your praise to

happenings

when something happened in the way that

you liked it you found a shout

you know you’re just you know shouting

you know just who

you know just however you shout i’m not

a shouter

i try to shout sometimes it doesn’t work

i still sound like a little child

but if you had you you connected your

praise to things that were happening in

your life

and in the midst of one of the hardest

times that is when god is requiring

a sacrifice of praise because it’s going

to keep you rooted

it’s going to keep you rooted in the

truth that god is still for you

and even when you don’t understand it’s

working for your good

and so for those of you i want to pray

with you for some of you

you’ve disconnected yourself from the

intimacy of

friendship with jesus because you have

put your trust in so many other things

that there are certain things that you

carry with you and if you’re not holding

it you’re like oh

no i need to get this i need to before

you walk out the door

there’s so many things you’re grabbing

right because you have put your putting

your trust

in them you have idolized it and made it

a god

but get back to the roots

get back to the place of lord i want to

abide in you

i want what what makes me confident in

walking out of the door is that oh i

spent time with you today not what i’m

grabbing and what i can

get my hands on before i get out the

room but knowing that i spent time with

you today

i committed this day before you god we

got this we can do this thing

right and for some of you you know

reading the word is is what you do when

you’re watching a message and they show

the word on the screen

you say oh that’s a good passage right

there

[Music]

i want you to take on this challenge

five minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes every

single day

just open the bible right or go

have a bible app plan just study the

word meditate on the word

it is a game changer for you you’re not

trying to get

um you know uh brownie points before the

lord

right it changes you it makes you

confident in what you’re praying for

it it turns your prayers into

declarations

that you begin to understand god this

not

this does not look like you i reject

that and you can do that in confidence

it turns you from being a beggar to

being one that is

a son and a daughter of the kingdom

abide in the word doesn’t matter start

proverbs start somewhere child

if i just open my bible right now it

says isaiah 64.

oh that you would rent the heavens and

that you will come down that the mount

is my sheikh your presence

so look at that that is so beautiful

right

and you can just read that one verse and

say god what does this mean

oh that you would rend the heavens that

and you will come down and the mountains

will shake at your presence

that is a prayer you can just read that

and say you know what god one of the

mountains in my life this is

this is a a practical um thing right now

application i just opened the word and

it went to isaiah 64

and this is what it says then you begin

to internalize that god

oh that you will come down and whatever

seems to be against me lord shake it let

the

spirit of the lord be in my atmosphere

and

shake everything that works against me

you begin to read this and you begin to

declare it

that is i just opened that right so open

your open your word

now sometimes you might open the word

and you might fall into jeremiah

and it’s going to be a rebuke and you

myself not today lord okay something

else

read it learn about it why did lord

rebuke the people

understand his nature right so let us

pray

let us pray and if you’re watching this

and you’re like lord jesus i want to

know you

i don’t know you i want i wanna i wanna

know who you are

i stumbled upon this message but i wanna

get into

real fellowship with you right it starts

with salvation it starts with

embracing the lord as your savior it

says first

abide in me for without me

you can do nothing i want to pray for

all of you

and if you’re watching that i just want

you if i’m speaking to you just put in

the chat that’s me

that’s me hallelujah heavenly father

we thank you so much for your goodness

we thank you for your love

we thank you o god that you are here

with us

we thank you lord that entrusting you in

the midst of uncertainty

it is to abide in you it is to abide in

you

first of all as our lord and savior to

abide in your word and to abide in your

love

and so lord i pray this for every one of

your sons and daughters who are watching

this message

who were listening to your word that

lord god

that they will begin to take on this

discipline

of what it means to abide the heavenly

father this will be their testimony

and i thank you for the fruit that would

be on the other side of this

the fruit oh god that would speak about

the

wisdom of the lord when we abide in you

the wisdom of the lord lord god what

comes out of abiding

that we begin to take on your nature we

begin to take on your likeness

that we become confident when we speak

to you

that heavenly father i just thank you

that we would be people who are faithful

and not easily swayed by the happenings

of life

and i thank you for those that are

saying that lord i want to commit my

life to you

i want you to be lord and savior in my

life

that lord god i thank you that they are

receiving right now that you are the

lord jesus

the lord you are the one who died on the

cross for their sins

and that when you rose up you rose up

with them

that lord god you buried everything that

could keep them bound

everything that could keep them slaves

that you defeated it on the cross

and lord god as your resurrection speaks

to their resurrection

resurrection from bondage from addiction

oh god

i thank you heavenly father that you are

having your way in the lives of your

children

thank you jesus continue to do a mighty

and powerful work

in and through their lives in jesus

mighty name

amen