Isn’t it interesting that we have such contradictions in our lives? Despite our massive victories, we have our messed-up vulnerabilities. Our lives may be fragmented, but our God sews the pieces together in congregation with our faith. But for God to make something beautiful out of our lives, we need to trust Him completely. Trust His plan, praise His name, and access the promise He lined up for you from the day of your creation.

[Music]

go to psalms 34 1-10 when you haven’t

shout amen

very familiar passage of scripture

i will challenge your understanding of

the text

but we’re going to go deeper into this

text today

i’ve been talking to the lord about this

text and more importantly god has been

talking to me about this text

i will bless the lord at all times

his praise shall

continually be in my mouth

my soul shall make her boast in the lord

the humbles shall hear thereof and be

glad

o magnify the lord with me and let us

exalt his name together

i sought the lord and he heard me

and delivered me

from all my fears

they looked unto him

and were lightened and their faces were

not ashamed

this poor man cried and the lord heard

him and saved him out of all of his

troubles

the angel of the lord encampeth about

them that fear him and delivereth them

listen to this close oh taste and see

that the lord is what

blessed is the man that what

trusteth in him

oh fear the lord ye his saints for there

is no want to them that fear him

the young lions do lack and suffer

but they that seek the lord shall not

want any

good thing

that means if you didn’t get it it

wasn’t good

that means if you didn’t get it it

wasn’t good

i’m believing god for some things right

now i told him i only want it if it’s

good

it looks good

but that’s what got even trouble

it’s pleasant to my eyes but that’s what

got her in trouble

it looks like it’s good for food but

that’s what got her in trouble i only

want it if it’s good i want to go back

to that eighth verse again

this is my focal point oh taste and see

that the lord is good

blessed is the man that praises

excuse me blessed

is the man that dances

[Applause]

oh

let me see

blessed is the man that trusteth

in him can you say amen

my subject this morning is the dividends

of trust

the dividends of trust

trust is extremely important

and yet we say very little about it

we talk a lot about praise we are

commanded to praise that’s something

that we can do

praise is about doing

trust is about being

there is a dividend that god will give

you

on trust

on trust

on trust

how many people trust god

the dividends

of trust there’s some dividends you’re

gonna reap if you trust him

particularly if you’re in a tough time

god says trust him if you’re in a

painful time

trust him if you’re in a scary time

trust him if you’re in a time of

uncertainty

trust him you know why he that had began

a good work in you

shall perform it until the day of jesus

christ

god is consistent so you can

if i sat in this chair and it gave way i

wouldn’t trust it but because every time

i’ve ever sat on it it held me up i

didn’t check the legs before i sat down

i trusted it’s not a conscious effort

it’s a result of consistency

your god is consistent great is our

faithfulness lord unto me

oh when i wake up in the morning new

mercies i see all i have needed

the hands have provided great is thy

faithfulness

lord unto me let’s pray while we’re

standing would you pray with us too

let’s all pray together spirit of the

living god

fell fresh on us this morning

endow us with the grace of delivering to

your people what you have deposited in

me

release the kind of unction

that causes people to be rejuvenated

not just emotionally but spiritually

help us to understand beyond our present

comprehension

what you are able to do

in the name of jesus we pray

amen

you may be seated in the presence of god

yeah get ready get ready get ready get

ready i want you to keep that text out

and look at that text i’m going to start

with the text

psalm 34 1-10 i’m going to read it again

and then i’m going to go down the road

it occurs to me

that psalms 34 1-10 is powerful

but strange

it’s it’s it’s a collective of ideas

that don’t necessarily

coordinate with each other

it almost seems contradictory

it is

fragments of truth

elements

of orthodoxy

individually

all of them

have truth in their own merit

but when they are brought together and

read together

they almost seem contradictory and yet

they have been woven together into one

passage for example i will bless the

lord at all times

his praise shall continually

be in my mouth it makes good sense my

soul shall make her boast in the lord

the humble shall hear thereof and be

glad makes good sense oh magnify the

lord with me and let us exalt his name

together makes good sense

i sobbed the lord and he heard me and

delivered me from all of my

fears wait

you were scared

i thought you was praising him

now the same guy who says i will bless

the lord at all times

says that he went through a period

where he sought the lord he heard him he

delivered him

he was afraid next verse

they looked unto him and were lightened

and their faces were not ashamed next

verse

oh

this poor man cried

wait you was praising i will bless the

lord at all times this prayer shall

continually be in my mouth does not go

with

this man this poor this poor man

cried

and the lord heard him and saved him out

of all of his

troubles

this guy’s in trouble but

he was praising god before and the

praise was always in his mouth

the angel of the lord encounters round

about them that fear him

and delivereth him this man had to be

delivered but a moment ago he was

talking about his praise shall

continually be in my mouth he sounded so

happy a moment ago he didn’t sound like

he was a poor man crying

he didn’t sound like he was full of fear

he didn’t sound like he had trouble

old taste and see that the lord is good

blessed is the man

that trusteth in him

fear the lord ye his saints for there is

no want to them that fear him i get that

the young lions do lack and suffer

hunger but they that seek the lord shall

not want any good thing

that’s that’s that’s

interesting

and yet it seems contradictory

they are

fragmented truths

a piece of polyester and a

piece of wool and a piece of silk

and a piece of cotton

and and and all of them are laying out

there

in the same

text several years ago i had the

privilege of hosting one of africa’s

first elected females presidents if not

the first

her excellency president ellen johnson

sirleaf

and it was amazing we attempted to

entertain her in our home in the manner

that reflected her prominence and

honored her position but the truth of

the matter is we had never had a

president in our house before

so we were really my wife said just you

you crazy

so we were really spit shining

everything and trying to get everything

nice to entertain this historical figure

that will go down in history as the

first elected

female president in africa there were

some that became president by default

and inherited the position because the

previous president died for short

interims of time but ellen johnson

sirleaf was the first

elected president

of a country in africa and it hit the

news worldwide and she was in my house

while we were having dinner she

presented me with a very meaningful gift

she gave us a quilt

and when she gave us the quote she

explained something to me

she explained that in liberia

the quilt is a symbol

of liberty

not just the flag but the quilt itself

reminds every liberian of their liberty

you see liberia is lauded by the

distinction of being africa’s first

republic

it was its first republic it was a

country founded by freed slaves

who were assisted in returning back

to the motherland

and they went back to the motherland and

received their freedom you don’t hear a

lot about that but there were not not

all the slaves that left africa went to

brazil or went to the caribbean

or went to america there were a group of

slaves that were blessed to return back

through the aid of an organization out

of the uk they were able to come back

hence liberia

liberty

is called liberia because they were

liberated

slaves

okay and their their their gift is

symbolized by a quilt and i’m going to

tell you why

you have to understand

the verses in the texts remind me of

liberia in part because one moment he’s

talking about his praise shall

continually be in my mouth the next

moment he’s talking about his fears

you look around again if the same man

that wrote the first part about his

praise shall continually be in my mouth

turns around and says this poor man

cried in isolation the statements don’t

even go together

sounds like a quilt most of us live our

lives in fragmentation

we have fragments of joy we have

fragments of peace we have fragments of

holiness and we have

fragments of carnality

nobody wants to wave their hand but it’s

true

we have fragments of great courage

and even the most courageous person

wrestles with fragments of fear

we have fragments of happiness

followed by

fragments of great grief

depending on which piece you pick up in

our lives you will say oh he’s so joyous

but you just picked up a fragment

if you catch me at another moment you’ll

say oh he’s depressed

isn’t it amazing how you can go from one

extreme to the other

without warning in the same person

forget the same passage or the same

verse in the same person that’s why it

takes years to know a person

you dated him in the sunshine but you

married him in the rain

[Applause]

you’re on a date long enough to see how

people are when they’re happy and see

how they are when they’re sad and see

how they are when they’re depressed and

see how they are when they’re angry i

don’t want to date anybody i have seen

mad

because some of the nicest people can

turn into a guerrilla when they get

angry and shock you and you would never

believe that they would turn that you

married a tarantula

like people’s personality life is

fragmented it’s a little bit of this and

a little bit of that and a little bit of

the other a little bit of the other that

doesn’t even go together and some of us

get stressed out because the pieces

don’t match

they don’t go together

you can’t even explain yourself because

when people ask you how you are you

would sound schizophrenic if you

answered

somebody called me the other day and

said how do you feel about it i said i’m

happy and nervous and glad and sad and

and scared and excited and and and

adventurous and intimidated and and

vulnerable and and victorious and all of

it at the same time all of that stuff

conglomerated into one place william

shakespeare said it this way life is a

tale told by an idiot full of sound and

theory signifying absolutely nothing he

just gave up on it he says crazy

somebody said it’s crazy

he said it’s just crazy it doesn’t make

any sense it feels like it was told by

an idiot

that is the feeling of this text

the feeling of this text is so

discombobulated

discoordinated not synergized if you

submitted this text to an english class

they would mark it all up because the

thoughts are frayed

there are so many people sitting in this

room right now whose thoughts are frayed

a little bit of polyester a little bit

of wool a little bit of silk and a

little bit of cotton and you’re

complicated

because when you present yourself the

pieces don’t go together

how many people are honest enough to

admit to yourself that the pieces of you

don’t go together

i put on my coat this morning and

and the white stuck out real good on

this side but it doesn’t show on this

side at all it’s nothing wrong with the

with the clothes it’s something wrong

with my arms

[Applause]

one arm is longer than the other i put

on my shoes i put on my left shoe first

because my left shoe is just a wee bit

bigger than my right foot and so if it’s

good on the left it’s going to be good

on the right because they

they they don’t uh

they don’t match

they they don’t go together and just

like my body looks like it doesn’t match

sometimes my personality doesn’t match

how can david love god so much that he’s

dancing on the mountaintops writing

poetry to god and singing songs

and then turn around this poetic person

who is such a

left-brained creative individual can

turn around and get so mad that he

caught up cut off a hundred foreskins

and threw him down at saul’s feet

extremes extremes was he bipolar i don’t

know i’m not a psychiatrist i can’t

diagnose his behavior but but but it

doesn’t match up how david could be so

committed in one area and then be on the

rooftop looking over at bad sheba

talking about

lord have mercy

how he could care for lambs and and

fight lions for lambs and and do all of

these wonderful things and be so kind

and so caring at one moment and then be

so vicious and cunning at another is

beyond me

but such is life

such is life and shakespeare just

concluded it doesn’t make any sense i

give up on it i can’t explain it life is

a tale told by an idiot

if i presented this text to an english

scholar they would give me an e

because there is no synchronization of

thought

how can his praise continually be in

your mouth and yet you admit this poor

man cried

how can i praise and cry

praising and crying doesn’t even go

together it doesn’t make any sense and

yet it’s in the same text and worse

still it’s in the same man

but shakespeare was wrong when he says

that life is a tale told by an idiot

he was completely wrong in spite of the

fragmentation of human experience life

is not a blanket

it’s a quilt

it’s it’s a quilt

it’s not a blanket you can’t get it to

all match up

and anytime you see something where it

matches perfectly it’s always synthetic

people

that match perfectly

are always synthetic

anytime everything lined up just the way

it’s supposed to be and there is no mar

and there is no fluctuation and there is

no deviation run

this psalms is not born from a moment of

great faith nor is it a moment whereby

david’s destiny is unfolding quite the

contrary instead

hidden between

the admonishment to bless the lord and

admonish us to praise him

is emotional chaos

when i talk to my spiritual father about

how things are going and maybe several

people have died in the church and

somebody’s in the hospital and one of

his kids is sick he says life is doing

what life does

jerking you around

from praise to prayer

from victory to discouragement

from crying like a poor man

to blessing the lord

all of that is a part of life

and how you manage the inconsistencies

determines how well

you are stable

as a person

if you’re waiting for life to light out

like a blanket

you’ll never get anything done

you have to be able to thrive in chaos

you have to be able to deal with the

confusion

you have to understand that you’re

always going to be a quilt

but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be

stitched together

it’s impossible not to know the fact

that david remains consistent in his

behavior praise while his emotions

are reacting to peril

so he’s crying and praising

if his praise is continually in his

mouth he’s crying and praising

that means if if god delivered him that

means he’s praising and bound

if he delivered him from all of his

troubles that means that he praised him

in trouble

david is talking to us about certain

things that we need to understand about

god in order to be able to go forward in

life and they are very important things

to be realized certainly there’s a deep

admonition of praise

but that’s becoming a discipline and

when you become a disciplined praiser

you praise him no matter what which is

what they were singing about today

but the clarion call is not just to

praise him it’s also to trust him

to trust him praising him and trusting

him is two different things

i’ve seen people praise him all over the

church and get in the car worried sick

i’ve seen people praise the lord and

haunt their horn because the traffic is

moving too slow in the parking lot or

yell at our parking lot attendance or

curse them out

i’ve seen them talking tongues at the

altar and curse out the parking lot

attendant

[Applause]

some of them are here this morning and

[Applause]

it is possible to have unrelenting

praise and still have a battle

to trust the god we praise

see i’m not just talking about praising

him

i’m talking about

trusting him

i’m talking about trusting him now tr

you don’t know how much you trust him

when things are going well

trust is not proven in good times

trust is proven in bad times

trust is not proven when you get a

promotion

trust is proven when you get laid off

trust is not proven when you’re engaged

trust is proven when you’re about to

divorce

i’m can i talk to some real people today

trust is not proven when you get what

you want

trust is proven when you lose what you

had

can you trust him in sorrow

can you trust him in grief can you trust

him with a lump in your breast

can you trust him with a tumor

can you trust him with a hernia can you

trust him as you go up under anesthesia

up under anesthesia you can’t go up

under anesthesia talking in tongue if

you’re going up under anesthesia you

have to go up under anesthesia your

mouth can’t be moving you got to be

ready to trust him in your

head

i i trust god don’t get me wrong now

praise praise is wonderful and praise is

important and we just got to doing it

and i hope we do it again

because praise summons god into our

circumstances

the bible says at midnight paul and

salas prayed and sang praises unto god

and god came where the praises were

and anytime you praise god it summons

god psalms 22 and 3 says that god

inhabits the praises of his people

inhabits inhabits god moves into praise

we are not don’t misunderstand us

onlookers and spectators we are not

praising god because

we are

emotional

this has nothing to do with whether

you’re an extrovert or introvert whether

you’re a quiet person or a loud person

the bible said

let everything

that has

breath

praise ye the lord

because when you praise him you call him

somebody praise him for a minute right

now

[Applause]

yeah

yes

yes

yes

yes

yes

yes

you’re summonsing him

you’re sending the batman signal into

the air

he’s coming to rescue you when you

praise him you summons god

you you provoke god to action

you provoke god to move when you praise

him you summons god and you don’t have

to be in church you can be in your

living room you can be on your couch you

can have some run-down shoes on stepping

on the backs of the heels but if you

praise him you can be in prison but if

you praise him he’ll come in a jail cell

you can be in a hospital and if you

praise him he’ll come in the hospital

you can be an awake but if you praise

him he’ll come in the way you can be in

a funeral and if you praise him he’ll

come and awake because praise summons

god

not only that

not only that

praise is a weapon

[Applause]

it’s a strategic attack on the enemy

when you praise god praise as a weapon

you can use it for warfare

israel used it when they said send judah

first judah means praise and when they

started praising god things begin to

happen praise is a weapon when you’re

under attack is no time to be quiet

there’s no time to fold your arms it’s

no time to cross your legs when you’re

under attack praise is a weapon because

the enemy wants to take the praise out

of your mouth and so you enter into his

gates with thanksgiving and his points

with praise and be thankful unto him and

bless his name because praise is a

weapon are there any warriors in here

are there any soldiers in here is there

a military brigade in here i’m a soldier

in the army of the lord i got my warm

clothes on in the army of the lord if i

die let me die in the army of the lord

i’m sanctified holy in the army of the

lord i’m a soldier and a baptized

soldier

y’all don’t know that about that

number three praise is a deterrent to

isolation

it’s how you remind yourself that you’re

not alone

it’s how you remind yourself that you

are not alone

for the angels of the lord and camp

about those that fear him that fear is

reverence when you reverence god angels

wrap around you

so even if you’ve been telling people

you live by yourself if you praise god

you don’t live by yourself because

whenever you praise god he takes his

luggage and moves in the house with you

when your head hears your mouth praising

god you know somebody else is in the

house

oh no i heard voices in there somebody’s

in there yeah you’re right when you

start praising god you’re not riding in

the car by yourself you’re going to work

with angels anybody in here ever rode to

work with

angels

praise reminds

the soul

that you are not isolated in a world

filled with isolation

we are so isolated and yet we got more

ways to contact each other than we ever

had before

[Applause]

i’m i’m on instagram i’m on facebook i’m

on linkedin

uh i haven’t gotten on tick tock yet

because i’m tired of people talking

so i didn’t tick so they couldn’t talk

but there’s so many ways to get in touch

you can text you you can tweet you you

can call you you can yell at you there’s

so many ways to communicate and we have

this huge community of what we call

friends and followers and yet beneath

all of this conglomerate of human

species we are more lonely and more

isolated than we have ever been in all

of our lives

how can you have 5 000 followers and

still be lonely

how can you go into a crowded north park

mall and still be lonely

we fight isolation

because there are all kinds of people

that are connected to us

but they don’t have intimacy

we have lost the art of intimacy

intimacy

but when god comes in he’s already seen

everything

there is nothing hidden from him with

whom we have to do the bible says all

things are naked before him all things

are exposed i don’t care if you cut off

all the lights pull all the blinds pull

all the windows shut jump up under the

blanket he can see up under the covers

good there is nothing hidden from him

with whom we have to do

what praise is not it may be uh

it may summons god in your circumstances

it may be a weapon in the time of battle

it may be a return to isolation but what

praise is not

is a panacea

it is not a panacea

a panacea is something that is that says

it is a universal cure

it’s a cure-all

it’s a cure for all eels the word

panacea that we use today actually comes

from greek mythology

panachia was a greek god who allegedly

was supposed to be able to heal anything

she is the daughter of asapias and in

greek mythology a panacea had the

ability to be able to heal

anything

praise is not a panacea

yet it’s all we sing about it’s all we

talk about it’s all we mentioned it’s

all we allude to but praise is not a

panacea praise does not necessarily

create trust

you can praise god and still be worried

you can praise god and still be scared

you can praise god and still be sick you

can praise god and still be nervous you

can praise god and still have hand

tremors you can praise god and still

have a pinched nerve you can praise god

and still have your check bounce you can

praise god and still be evicted you can

praise god y’all aren’t going to talk to

me come on i want some real people in

here

praise is not a panacea it is not a

cure-all it doesn’t fix everything it

doesn’t straighten everything out the

real truth of the matter is there’s a

great deal of difference between praise

and trust praise is an action

trust is a noun

trust is a state of being

do you understand what i’m saying

when i talk to you early and i begin to

talk about president sirleaf and her

coming you must understand that she was

not the first one to bring a quilt

in the early

1800s

she had a predecessor who brought a

queen who brought a quilt to queen

victoria

it took her 50 years to be able to do it

she was a former slave a liberal former

slave not second third generation a

literal former slave

who who put together a quilt for queen

victoria her name is martha ricks

and she brought the first quilt from

liberia to the queen and here she is a

former slave in the room with the queen

of england

[Applause]

she walks into the room with the queen

of england with a quilt a quilt that was

made out of satin and embroidered with

coffee trees with berries

berries and a border of passion flowers

a quilt that she had stitched with her

own two hands to bring to the queen

a quilt made out of different substances

and different fabrics all different

colors woven together

and she made something beautiful out of

rags

and when i read psalms 34 i begin to

realize

that psalm 34 is teaching us that life

is a quilt

and that we are quilts

and yet god can make something beautiful

out of rags

one person sees disjointed disconnected

rags

in the text

and the other person sees a quilt

god is a quilt maker

no wonder jacob made for joseph a coat

of many colors

he took colors that had nothing to do

with each other and stitched them

together until they became a coat a coat

of distinction its distinction was its

variation

i never will forget when i was a young

boy my mother gave me one year for for

christmas uh

a savings book to kanawha valley bank

and she gave me you remember canal

valley bank she gave me a savings book

to canal valley bank and every time i

would cut a lawn or do grass i would put

five dollars in it until i got enough

money in it for christmas time so that i

wouldn’t have to give her her money back

for christmas

[Applause]

because you know you are buying your own

christmas presents when your kids give

you something most time when they’re

little

i decided i was gonna break that trend

and i brought her this it’s what leather

was suede it was a suede coat and i

never will forget i don’t know why i

remembered it but there was a tag on the

coat that said do not be disturbed

by the variations of colors

or discolored spots it is proof of its

authenticity

authentic people are complicated

authentic people have variations

authentic people have differences

authentic people are poor men crying and

yet continual praise in their mouth and

in trouble and delivered out of trouble

authentic people have ups and downs and

peaks and valleys and winter and spring

and summer and fall authentic people

talk faith and go home and lay down in

fear authentic people believe god and

yet they help my unbelief authentic

people are quagmire of disjointed

disconnected things authentic people are

schizophrenic authentic people are

bipolar authentic people are the kinds

of people it depends on when you catch

me what you get authentic people one day

you get war one day you get sill one day

you get leaves one day you get plain

authentic people are complicated and yet

we are fearfully and marvelously made we

are created in the image of god

our god is love

our god is love

but our our god is also a god of wrath

our god gives life

and our god takes life away our god is

authentic you cannot tie him down that’s

why he told moses i am that i am don’t

try to explain me don’t try to make a

blanket out of me i’m a quilt i am that

i am before it’s over before your life

is over you’re gonna sell bread and the

moment you think i’m bred you’re gonna

find out i’m water and the moment you

think i’m water you’re gonna find out

i’m a cloud and the moment you think i’m

a crowd i’m gonna turn in the fire our

god we were created in the likeness of

god we are quilted we were made we were

fearfully and marvelously made in the

image of a god who is a quilt one moment

you see god saving babies he saved

hagar’s baby in the desert and you would

know that god loves babies until you

read exodus where god killed all the

babies in egypt

oh y’all quiet god killed all the babies

in egypt and told pharaoh i’m gonna kill

all your sons until you let my son go

that don’t sound very nice that don’t

sound very loving that sounds like god

is mad

sometimes god gets mad

and the anger of the lord was kindled

against the people and the anger of the

lord rose up and the anger of the lord

and yet god is love

he is the prince of peace

and yet the prince of peace said i came

not to bring peace but a sword

god is complicated

he killed some people for doing other

things the same thing that somebody else

did he let him get by with it because

our god is complicated

oh

stay with me

now the thing about quilts i grew up

with

my grandmother’s head quilts both of my

grandmother’s headquarters my last

memory of my mother’s mother was sitting

in a chair in a rocking chair with a

quilt over her legs and it was made out

of remnants and rags and fabrics that

she’d taken from different places and on

one side it was colorful and it was

beautiful and it was ornate and stuff no

doubt with cotton and then it had the

backing the backing was always solid

somebody knows what i’m talking about

you don’t see a quilt that’s quilted on

both sides

something has to be solid something has

to be stable something has to be

consistent something has to be unmovable

something has to be unchangeable and uh

while it is unchangeable everything else

can have variations in it but you take

that which is a variable and sew it into

that which is solid and then you have a

quilt

this text is a quilt

and so when i read the quilt and saw how

many different fabrics were in the text

i wanted to check the back

so my next question was what was going

on with david when he wrote this text

so let’s flip the quilt over

[Applause]

can i go deeper with this

thing let’s flip the quilt over and see

why david’s front end sounds so schizo

we’ve got to get to the back end to see

what provoked the text to be written in

the first place

the reality of the matter is david does

not write this while he’s dancing on the

mountaintop david does not write this

while he’s killing goliath david does

not write this as he’s playing the harp

in the palace david does not write this

as he has crowned the king of israel no

david writes this at a time that saul is

still alive and trying to kill him

and he is on the run from saul

and he is rather run from his own people

and there is no rejection like the

rejection of your own people

nothing hurts as bad as a rejection of

your own people because you think your

own people are your backing

but god had to show him that your own

people are not your backing

oh america hear me today your own people

are not your backing at a time that

we’re breaking down into tribes and

you’re either for us or against us and

we’re fighting over black and white and

brown and democrat and republicans and

masks and no man and all kinds of stuff

your own people are not your backing

because people change and they fluctuate

and they go back and they go forward and

if you put all your hopes in the group

you attach to you will always be

disappointed they will always let you

down they will always sell you out they

will always leave you hanging because

you cannot count on people to have your

back i know they love to tell you i got

your back but the devil is alive they do

not have your back the only one who has

your back is god god has got your back

somebody shout god has got my back

my front can have many textures it can

have many colors it can have different

feels you can have silk and corduroy you

can have corduroy and wool you can have

wool and polyester and you can still

make the quilt but when it comes to the

back it has to be one fabric consistent

and stable that holds it all together

there’s one thing that’s been holding

you together there’s one thing that kept

you from losing your mind there’s one

thing that kept you from having a

nervous breakdown there’s one thing that

kept you from committing suicide there’s

one thing that kept you from becoming an

alcoholic there’s one thing that kept

you from driving the car off the cliff

that when everybody forsook you with my

mother and father forsake me the bible

says the lord will take me up when my

own mother and father forsake me the

lord will take me up so stop crying

about what your daddy did and what your

mama did because even if they didn’t

have your back god sent me to tell you

i’ve got your back

[Applause]

elbow somebody telling me he’s got my

back

if you jump on me you got to jump on him

cause god has got my back if you fight

me you gotta fight god because god has

got my back if you hate me you hate god

because god has got my back if you got

your foot on me you got your foot on god

because god has got my back he’s got my

back when i’m right he’s got my back

when i’m wrong he’s got my back when i’m

weak he’s got my back when i’m strong

he’s got my back when i’m scared he’s

got my back when i’m faithful he’s got

my back when i’m consistent he’s got my

back when i’m unstable

that’s why i’m here to praise him

because he is the one that has my back

now let everything that have bread

[Applause]

yes

i came to tell every one of you who was

in the valley when they were praising

god and he had to hold your hand up and

you said you were in the valley i came

to tell you god’s got your back

god’s got this

you’re going through trouble but god’s

got this you’re in a low place right now

but god’s got this you’re backed up

against the wall but god’s got this you

got a tumor but god’s got this they said

it was cancer but god’s got this your

heart is overwhelmed but god’s got this

your heart isn’t got the right beat but

god’s got this your blood pressure is up

but god’s got this you’re about to be on

dialysis but god’s got this your mama’s

in the hospital but god’s got this your

daddy’s got cancer but god’s got this i

need 30 seconds of crazy pray for the

back of the quilt

yes

yes

yes

i want you to say it three times god’s

got this

again

again

i wanted your ears to hear your mouth

say god’s got this your blood pressure

just dropped down your nerves just

calmed down your peace just began to

invade your soul you’re not in this by

yourself god’s got this

shallow hallelujah

david writes this text david writes this

[Applause]

see it’s y’all’s fault i can’t finish

fast cause y’all make me shout and

holler and stuff

hallelujah

oh my god

i think i needed to hear it myself god’s

got this

is there anybody else in here that

needed to hear god’s got this

that the battle is not yours it belongs

to god

hallelujah

though a host shouldn’t camp against me

my heart shall not fear the war should

rise against me and this will i be

confident one thing have i desired in

the lord that what i seek after that i

may dwell in the house of the lord all

the days of my life because if i can get

to god i know god’s got this

if i call you you might not answer if i

text you you might not respond but every

time i call god

every time i calm down

every time i call him

every time i call him

every time i call him

every time

every time i call him

[Applause]

elbow three people and tell them god’s

got this

god’s got this

god’s got this

god’s got my back

god’s got my backing i might be unstable

but god’s got my backing i might act

crazy but god’s got my back i may talk

like an idiot but god’s got my back i

may talk out of my head but god’s got my

back i may contradict myself but god’s

got my back my front might be many

colors but my back is stable my back my

back my back my back my back my back my

back

[Applause]

can i go deeper sit down and let me go

deeper

[Applause]

here

[Applause]

somebody needed to hear that this

morning somebody needed this word from

the lord i know i got a word from the

lord i could feel it when i was getting

it i could feel it in my hands i could

feel it in my head i could feel it in my

feet god said you’re gonna give an

answer to what somebody’s been praying

about tell my people i got this

[Applause]

i want you to feel this

david is running

from a man he protected

david is running from a man

he admired

david is running from a man that he used

to play for

david is running from a man whose demons

he was familiar with

whose musical ability had cast the

demons out of him

the only way saul could get to sleep was

for david to play for him

in one season

[Applause]

then the season changed

and the same man who hired him

is now trying to kill him

i wish i had a witness in this place

have you ever had people turn on you

have you ever had people switch on you

have you ever had people try to destroy

you the very people that you admired and

had an emotional investment in are now

trying to destroy you it makes you

nervous it makes you scared it makes you

flowful to open up to people because you

can’t tell what they’re going to do next

david is now running from saul

which means he’s running from saul’s

army

which means he’s running from an army he

used to lead

he’s running from his own people

the people who ate like him and dress

like him and dance like him and move

like him

and motion like him

he’s running from his own culture

his own background his own ethnicity is

trying to kill him

what

it is so bad

that david ends up hiding amongst the

philistines

the philistines had always been an enemy

if you’re not careful the rejection

of your people

will drive you into the camp of your

enemy

come on with me

come on with me

come on i’m just showing you the

backside of the text

and there he is in the situation with

the philistines and he gets with the

philistines and he thinks maybe if i go

into the philistines they won’t hurt me

maybe they won’t hurt me

maybe they won’t remember

that i killed goliath

[Applause]

but as soon as he moved in with the

philistines the first thing the priest

did was say

aren’t you

see that’s the trouble with backsliding

if you ever really get saved

[Applause]

you can go back in the strip club if you

want to

but you dance like a deacon in the strip

club because once god puts his hands on

your life they gonna know you’re not

really one of them

you can play strip poker if you want to

but take off all your clothes and you’re

still gonna be a child of the king once

god puts his hands on you

it will never come off

it’s indelible it’s immutable it’s

unchangeable it will never pass away ask

peter you can warm yourself by the fire

but they’ll point you out and say you’ve

been with jesus if you’ve ever really

been with jesus you could never get that

out of your skin it’ll come out of your

pores when your car slides your hollow

jesus everybody in the car be cussing

but you’re hollow oh jesus is there

anybody in here that’s been with jesus

david had

a reputation

for military pro-s

he had led the armies of israel

that he’s now running from

and the priest says to him

the priest priestess to him

[Music]

uh

you ain’t no philistine

every backside in this room i want you

to know

[Applause]

every runaway girl every prodigal son

they looking at you saying

you ain’t no philistine

he says to him

the priest says to him

do you want

the sword because we’ve got the sword

that killed goliath

but david cannot win

this battle with the sword

david is afraid that when they find him

they’re going to imprison him or worse

deal

they’re going to kill him

and if ever was a time

that he needed a sword

it was now

[Applause]

but god had a plan

[Applause]

i don’t know who this is for

god said you cannot fight today’s battle

with yesterday’s weapon

what used to work will not work in this

situation

god said you’re gonna have to come back

to me because i’ve got the plan for the

problem you’re facing right now

and the plan was

david pretended to be insane

so he started beating his head

against the gate

just banging his head up against the

gate and they were bringing him to achis

the king and when the king saw him david

was beating his head up against the gate

and then he started scribbling all over

the wall just anything just writing all

up down his sideways on the wall and

then he starts dropping spittle into his

beard

until his beard was covered with spit

his head was banging against the wall

and his hand was scribbling

the philistines wanted

nothing

to do with him akish the king said

can’t you see he’s crazy

[Applause]

why did you let him in here

don’t you think i have enough crazy

people already

in in philistia that you would bring him

in here amongst us i don’t need another

crazy man

put him out

he was like the liberians

he escaped because god had his

[Applause]

you’re not going to escape because of

your sword

you’re going to escape because god has

your

hands

i want to go deeper with this

he managed to escape he got away

you are going to get out of this

wait a minute

without your sword

samuel 21 8-10 says he got the victory

without fighting

stop

fighting

the strategy of the lord

is smarter than that

see when god has a plan it’s always

a crazy

plan am i talking to

the lord told me to tell you he’s going

to give you a crazy plan

god’s plans sound

mad

stuff like

build a boat

in your backyard

noah

elisha leave your inheritance and all of

this property and all of your relatives

to go take a menial job

washing the hands of a prophet

that’s crazy

or

elijah go to a bankrupt widow and there

i’m gonna sustain you

that’s crazy

or elijah throw a stick in the water to

retrieve an ox head

that’s crazy

or i’m gonna send a backslidden prophet

to run a revival in nineveh

that’s crazy

or moses stretch forth a stick and the

red sea is going to get up out of your

way

that’s crazy

or

go down across

an innocent man

so guilty men can be saved

that’s crazy

or

i’m gonna call a christian terrorist to

write most of the new testament epistles

that’s crazy

or humble yourself

so i can exalt you

that’s crazy

or whosoever loses his life

shall find it

that’s crazy

or give me two fish and five loaves of

bread and i’ll feed 5 000 people

that’s crazy or

go to the tomb where you buried your

brother and roll the stone away

that’s crazy god has a crazy plan it’s

not gonna make sense to you all you

rational people you’re gonna have to put

your rationality behind you and go with

something that sounds totally crazy

because god is gonna bring you out of

your situation god is gonna bring you

out of your trouble god is gonna bring

you out of your dilemma

if your ego doesn’t stop you from being

willing to do something crazy nudge your

name and tell them i’m about to do

something crazy

i’m about to do something i never did

before

i’m about to act mad

i’m about to bang my head against the

wall

i’m about to spit in my own beard

i’m about to write up and down the side

of the wall whatever god has for you

it’s a crazy blessing

they didn’t hear me i’m gonna tell you

whatever god has for you

is a crazy blessing

they kind of heard me i’m gonna try

y’all whatever god has for you

is a crazy blessing

you’ve got to be crazy

you’ve got to be crazy if you’re going

to do this you’ve got to be crazy i’m

looking for some crazy people

paul said i’m a fool for christ

is there anybody that’s ready to act a

fool

we’re in a season of trouble

finances are crazy

gas is going up

the recession is on our heels

but god said if you’re willing to act a

fool

i swear i’m gonna bless you

i’m gonna pull you out of this rut

i’m gonna pull you out of this hole

i’m gonna pull you out of this dilemma

but you gotta be willing

to act a fool

paul said i’m a fool for christ

i wanna preach to a room full of

a room full of people that’ll step out

of a boat

and walk out on water

don’t have no bridge

don’t see no rocks

but i’m going to walk on it anyway

god to get ready to take you away

that would blow your mind

i need a crazy praise

up in this place

[Applause]

i need a praise online

i need a praise in your living room

i need a praise on youtube

i need a praise on facebook

this is a time that god

is going to elevate crazy people

not people who play it safe

not people who play cool

not people who play it easy not people

who color in the lines you gotta get

outside of the lines

i’m tired of coloring

in the lines

i’m gonna get out the lines and do my

own thing it may be scribbling but it’s

gonna work for you

it may look bad

but it’s gonna work for you

i need 30 seconds of crazy praise in

this place

[Applause]

praising

praising

praising praising

praising

praising

praising

praise him

praise him

praise him until hell gets nervous

praise him till the devil knows you know

something that he don’t know

praise him till they turn you a loose

praise until your handcuffs come off

praise him till your shackles fall

praise him to your feet move

praise him to you get your mind out

i rebuke the spirit of worry

i rebuke the spirit of fatigue

i rebuke the spirit of discomfort

because what god is getting ready to do

for you is absolutely crazy

what god is getting ready to do for you

is absolutely crazy that’s right

walk around like a crazy woman

hannah acted like she lost her mind

she came in the temple

and staggered like she was drunk

but she got her baby

and if you’re willing to go crazy

god will do a new thing in your life

i’m gonna give you a minute

to find your crazy self

and unlock your crazy self

your believing self

your trusting self

your dependent self

you ain’t got no choice

but to go crazy on this devil

look at your name and tell them i’m

about to go crazy on this devil

i’m about to go crazy

on this sickness

i’m about to go crazy

on this fear

i’m about to go ballistic i’m about to

go off

i’m about to flip out

i’m about to do something you never saw

me do before

where am i crazy

yes

yes

yes

it may look crazy but i’m gonna do it

i may have to walk around the wall

seven times

but i’m gonna do it

i may have to shout at the wall

but i’m going to do it

i may have to speak to the bones

but i’m going to do it

i may have to scratch up a man

but i’m going to do it

i feel a miracle

in this house

for somebody today

who’s gonna get their miracle

who’s gonna get their breakthrough

who’s gonna get that touch from the lord

who’s gonna get a super

natural release

from god the lord is looking for

somebody

that will open up their mouth

and shout out to god

open your mouth

[Applause]

if you go crazy

if you go crazy if you go crazy

if you go crazy

if you go crazy

go crazy on sunday

god will bless you on monday

go crazy on sunday somebody’s looking

for a blessing on monday

this is your chance

to play yourself

go crazy

i’m praising for the lord

i’m crazy for my healing i’m praising it

for my miracle

just crave it for my breakthrough

lift your voice

like a trumpet

yes

yes

here comes

the spirit of release

the spirit of release

the spirit of release

whatever had you found

whatever had you

i had trained

tied up

i feel the spirit of release

make some noise

all day

let your neighbor and tell them you

ain’t crazy enough

you ain’t crazy

and your shackles fall

you ain’t crazy cause the walls shake

you ain’t crazy enough

can the walls come tumbling down

go crazy on that devil

[Music]

crazy this sunday if i don’t get crazy

they’re going to kill me if i don’t get

crazy i’m going to jail if i don’t get

crazy i’ll never be nothing if i don’t

get crazy i won’t get a breakthrough all

of you that have been bound

bound by drugs bound by lust

bound by trouble

bound by alcohol you got to be as crazy

as the devil is that tied you up

you’ve been through too much to be cute

let the cute folks cross their legs go

crazy

dance on their pocketbook

shout on their shoes or tell them give

me some room

you sitting by crazy man

david find himself to be crazy he

started acting a fool

until they turned him a loose

god said i command every devil

that had you bound

to turn you loose

in the name of jesus praise him like

you’re a loose woman

praise him like you a loose man

praise him like he just called you out

the grave and you came out leaving

praise him like you lazarus praise

you

[Applause]

so

i’m

tonight

yes

yes

yes

yes

yes

god’s about the president

god’s about to bless you

god’s about to pay you

double for your trouble

god’s about to lift you up

god’s about to lift you up

higher than you’ve ever been before

i can’t hear you

yes

i’m crazy like a fox

i’m crazy

this

have not heard

he’s

[Applause]

i’m crazy

[Applause]

[Applause]

i just need a thousand crazy folks to

jump out in the aisle

and take over this church a thousand

crazy

lunatic

lost your mind

ain’t got nothing to lose

might as well bang my

before i go back

[Applause]

get your increase

get your increase

there’s a dividend that god only gives

people who trust him are some trusted

chariots some trust in horses but i

will remember

the name of the lord

i

i trust you i

trust you

i trust

[Applause]

i trust you

we will

we will

[Applause]

[Music]

i don’t care what my neighbor’s saying

i’m going to trust you

i’m going to trust you

i’m going to trust you if i got to stand

by myself

oh taste and see

that the lord is good

blessed

is the man

that trusteth

in him

i’m gonna do a senseless who trusts the

lord

[Applause]

who trusts the law

who trusts the law

lord i trust you

[Applause]

i don’t understand you but i trust you

i don’t know how you’re gonna do it

better trust you

i trust you enough to drop my sword

i trust you enough to follow your plan

i trust you enough to do things that

don’t make no sense

what you gonna do with that lunch

what is this lunch against so many

people

why are you gonna roll that stone away

by now he stinks

what is shouting at a solid wall gonna

do

why you want me to build a boat in the

backyard stop asking so many questions

and just get that crazy

trust

[Applause]

that though he slay me

[Applause]

yet shall i

trust him

i’m gonna trust you

i’m gonna trust you

the boat is kind of rocky

but i’m gonna trust you

the winds are boisterous

but i’m gonna trust you

my heart is broken

but i’m gonna trust you

this poor man cried

and the lord had him

and delivered him

[Applause]

he delivered him

out of all

of his troubles

all of his troubles not some of his

troubles

all of his troubles

he delivered him out of all of his

troubles

lift your hands and open your mouth to

god and begin to praise it

all of my troubles

all of my troubles

king achis said let him go

let him go he’s crazy

let him go he lost his mind

let him go he’s a fool for you

let him go he’s beside himself

let that woman

go turn that man loose

turn that better loose

turn that crisis a loose

open your mouth let god hear your voice

he knows your voice he knows your voice

he knows your voice

[Music]

you