← Church of the Highlands - Sunday Messages - Audio
Church of the Highlands - Sunday Messages - Audio
Real Resilience Begins With…
00:43:01
Part 2 of Soul Good Summer
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Sam.
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Hey, church. Jill and I are so grateful for everything God is doing through Highlands this year. And we believe he's going to keep moving this summer through our small groups, Summer Blast, Serve Day, Motion Conference, and more. So we encourage you to stay connected and keep leaning in.
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Now.
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I'm so excited to preach next week on Father's Day as we continue our Soul Good summer series. But today, here in our second week, I cannot wait for us to hear from Pastor Jamil from our Woodlawn campus. Jamil and his wife Ana, are such an important part of our Highlands family. Jamil is a Highlands College graduate who first served on the team at our Birmingham Dream center. And now, for over a decade, he has served as our Woodlawn campus pastor. He leads with such a supernatural love for people, and I know we're all going to leave church today encouraged as he unpacks how to find real resilience and to help us flourish in every season. Our prayer is that this message meets you right where you are today. So let's open up our hearts to the word, put our hands together and welcome Pastor Jamil to the platform.
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Come on. Does anybody love Jesus in the house today? Wow. Good morning, church. So good to be with you. I want to look into the camera and say a big hello to all of our campuses that are watching us and everyone tuning online, and especially a big hello to our men and women in the correctional facilities. We love you all so very much. Hollins, can you do me a favor? Can you put your hands together, help me welcome everyone who's joining us today? I do want to take a moment and give honor where honor's due. I do want to take a moment and honor I lead. Pastor, we have a special, special man of God leading us. He loves Jesus so very much. It's the way that he loves us as a church, the way he prays for us, has great vision for us as a church. I'm just telling you, the Lord smiled upon us when he blessed us. With Pastor Mark as our lead pastor, can you put your hands together and help me honor our lead pastor, Pastor Mark Pettison? And y', all, I got my mama here with me today in this service. And so all the way from Mississippi, I just. I got. I gotta give honor. Mom, I love you. Thank you for everything. And a special honor to my queen, Ms. Anna Gilliland. And I got my two girls with me, Jamiah and Jaylen. Thank you all for your sacrifice, allowing me to be able to do what we do here for Holland. So Y' all put your hands together, help me honor my family. And I just love you all. Excited about this message series that we're in Soul Good Summers. All about our our soul. And Pastor Mark really just teed us up well with part one, really just focusing on rest. I call it a timely word, timely words. When you receive something in season, you know when you really need it most. And even though it's summertime, I think sometimes we have to learn how to rest. And so his message was really good and practical on really how to receive rest. So if you missed that message, strongly encourage you to go back and watch it online. It's certainly worth the time spent there. And today I have the opportunity and and the honor to bring to you part two. Part two of this message series of Soul Good Summer. And I believe the word that the Lord has laid on my heart this morning is one that allow us to make a great difference in any environment that we're in. And obviously I would also say help us to be able to overcome any circumstance or situation that we may face. Before I get into our topic, if you all would bow your heads with me just for a moment of prayer. So, Lord God, we. We need you. We ask, Lord, that your spirit fills the room, that even if you whisper, may we hear it. If you nudge us, may we feel it. I pray, Lord God, that you allow us to be able to sit at your feet today. Allow your word that goes forth from out this place today. I pray that it guides us and shapes us and molds us. Let it mark us today that our lives may be forever changed. We give you all the glory and all the praise. And Lord, right now I ask that you move me out of the way so that your spirit can have its way. We love you, Jesus. May all of this be for your name. We pray and ask all of this in Jesus mighty name. And everybody said, amen. Amen. Our theme scripture for this series is really out of Psalms 23, verse 3. It says this. It says, he refreshes my soul and he guides me along the path of righteousness for his name's sake. You know, the Lord's a great shepherd. Can I get Amen? And he desires for your soul to be refreshed. But I think the challenge is we oftentimes go through different scenarios, situations, circumstances in life. It kind of allows our once refreshed soul to be emptied, be drained, or to be depleted. So here's the question. How do we retain the refreshments that the Lord desires to give? That's a great question. Answer to that question is what our topic today is all about. And the word is resilience. Everybody say resilience. Resilience. It's the resilience in our souls that keeps us moving forward when it feels like life keeps pulling you backwards. Resilience is having the faith that God's purpose still will prevail even through difficult circumstances. The prophet Jeremiah tells us what it looks like to have a soul that's resilient. Have your bibles. If you turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 17, I'm going to read verses 7 and 8. Ask the team if they'll put it on the screen and it reads as follows. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green, has no worries in a year of drought, it never fails to bear fruit. If Psalm 23 is the promise that God refreshes our soul, then Jeremiah 17 is the picture of what a resilient soul looks like. Speaking of a picture of resilience, I asked the team if they'll show this photo. I came across this photo of a rose. The rose didn't get an opportunity to determine where it would be planted. And also it didn't know that it would be faced with conditions that would be so challenging to overcome. But somehow, some way through it all, it found a way to still thrive, blossom and flourish. And I think we all can relate to the rose. I think that oftentimes we can find ourselves in some difficult situations that we didn't plan for, maybe some challenging scenarios that we didn't expect. I don't know if anybody here in the room today or watching has been a situation that I face where you're taking a trip and you are on a two lane road. You get stuck behind someone who feels like the speed limit is just a suggestion, not a lot. And they decide to go 20 miles slower than the speed limit. Speed limit 55. They're going 35. And you're trying your best. Look, you want to pass them, you know how you do, you kind of nudge over the side lane, see if you can take it. Like, should I risk it? Nah, I'm gonna move back. I'm gonna move back. Right. But it's challenging. You didn't plan for that to be the case. And in my case it was like a long road trip. I was behind that car for about another hour and a Half. I almost wanted to pull the car over myself and give him a ticket for impeding traffic. You know there's an actual ticket with that, right? You get a ticket for going too slow. But maybe it's not something like traffic. Maybe you all have the unexpected circumstance of trying to potty train a toddler. I don't know if we got any parents out there with toddlers right now that are in a stage of potty training, but I'm telling you, slow traffic has nothing on trying to potty train a toddler. I'm just telling you, any parents out there with toddlers, you know the struggle is real. You know the struggle is real, right? You're so excited about the milestone of them finally coming out of diapers and pull ups so you can save some money. But what you wasn't expecting was the mess it was gonna make everywhere else. Now you bring a change of clothes everywhere you go. You know, it seems like the kids would use it anywhere else but the toilet. I don't know what that's about, but maybe you don't have challenges like traffic. And it's not a toddler, but it's an unexpected health diagnosis that you received that you didn't expect, that you can't stop thinking about. Maybe it's family issues that you're dealing with that seems to be pulling the family apart. Or maybe it's the pain from your past that you still are navigating through. You still struggle with it and it's keeping you from moving forward. You know, a plant has a difficult time being able to withstand and endure the challenges of something as difficult as concrete. And people oftentimes have a challenge having the resilience in their soul to deal with the difficult circumstance they're placed in. But what the photo of the rose blooming through the concrete reveals to us that beauty can still arise from tough situations and your soul can still prosper and thrive and be refreshed wherever you're planted. There's a couple verses I want to share with you out of Genesis, out of the Old Testament of about a man named Joseph. Joseph found himself in situations he didn't plan for, circumstances he didn't expect, but yet his soul remained resilient and he was able to prosper wherever he was planted. Have your Bibles turn with me. I got quite a bit of text I want to share with you this morning. Chapter 39. Start with verse one. And it says this. Now, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials. The captain of the guard bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. Just to give you a brief synopsis of kind of what brought us to this point, I do encourage us to read this story. It's a fascinating story. But Joseph's dad buys him a jacket that the other brothers didn't receive. The brothers get jealous of him and they begin to come up with a plan to betray him. They take his jacket, they basically give him to the Ishmaelite traders. And then he's thrown into a pit where he's then later purchased by Potiphar. I guess you say with family members like that talking about family issues, who needs enemies, right? Brother sold him. Nonetheless, Joseph finds himself in a place that he didn't expect. Let's see what happens next. Go to verses two through four. It says the Lord was with Joseph, so that he prospered. And he lived in the house of the Egyptian master of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him, that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of all his household and entrusted to his care everything he owned. So now here Joseph, even after being placed in the pit, he. He prospered. Potiphar made him in charge of everything. Things seemed to be getting better for Joseph. Then all of a sudden, it took a turn for the worse. Where the story goes, while Joseph's in the house, he has an encounter with Potiphar's wife. And during their exchange, Potiphar's wife takes his garment. But then she accuses him of something that he didn't do. But Potiphar finds out. Let's see what Potiphar's response is. In verse 20, Joseph's master, being Potiphar, took him and put him in prison. The place where the king's prisoners were confined in prison. Tough environment, Something he didn't expect. He was once in a pit. Now he finds himself in prison. I don't know if anyone can relate to Joseph's situation where it seems like once one thing was bad and once it gets better, something else falls apart. When I grew up, they would always say the term if it's not one thing, it's another. You all grew up in the same neighborhood, it seems like. Yeah, it's not one thing, it's another. I don't know if you've ever been there that it seems like the car breaks down. Once the car gets fixed, then it seems like the Kids start acting crazy. You're getting calls from schools. Once you get the kids in line, all of a sudden you get a call that one of your parents is sick. Once they get better, now all of a sudden the marriage is falling apart. Once you get the marriage to be able to be improved, now you get a phone call from the jobs, and they land off in your area. I don't know if anybody here other than me has lived life long enough that you realize that if it's not one thing and it's another, Joseph, he finds himself in a situation where it seems like if it's not one thing, it's another. He was once in a pit, and now he's in a prison. And I'm sure you're probably wondering, I wonder how he's gonna hold up there. Wonder if he's able to prosper there. Let's keep reading. In verses 21 through 23, it says this. The Lord was with him, showed him kindness, and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. So here in prison, Joseph succeeds again, thrives again. He prospers. Just so you know how the story goes, while he's in prison, Joseph meets the chief cupbearer that's associated with Pharaoh. But that cupbearer is in prison, and he interprets the cupbearer's dream. Well, when the cupbearer gets released from prison, he realizes that Pharaoh has dreams that needs interpreting. And he remembers Joseph. He says, all right, I gotta tell you about this man named Joseph. Well, then Pharaoh basically says, well, then, let me bring Joseph to me. So Pharaoh then gets introduced to Joseph. Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream. Pharaoh becomes so impressed with Joseph that he releases him from prison. And then he appoints him to be prime minister over all the land. So here it is. Wherever Joseph went, wherever he was planted, he prospered in the pit, he prospered in the prison, he prospered in the palace, As a prime minister, he prospered. He prospered every place he was planted. So you may say, all right, Jimmy, what's the big deal? Here's the big idea. Joseph's story basically demonstrates to us that just because we're God's elect does not mean we're exempt. We're not exempt from difficult Circumstances, we're not exempt from challenging situations that we didn't plan for. But here's the deal. Joseph did everything right. He still found himself in prison, but the prison. What appeared to be a setback was actually a setup that led him to his purpose. Think of it this way. The prison, basically, it looked like an interruption in his life, but it was actually an introduction to God's plans and purpose for his life. The prison was not blocking him from his destiny. It was building a bridge to it. Yeah. You know, God can use your problem. Turn the person beside you and say, he can use it. He can use it. Yeah, he can use it. He can use that, too. Yeah. I wanna. I remember a time, my wife, who's here with me today, her grandmother, we called her Nana. And Nana was teaching me something about being able to. Let me say, she was teaching me how to garden. Let me just put it that way. All right? And her thought was, and Nana passed away a couple of years ago. But her thought was, you know, I want you all's yard to look nicer. That was her hint of saying, I'm gonna bring rose bushes to y' all's yard. Now, I'll admit. I'll admit. All right. I'll go ahead and be on record. There was a season where our yard wasn't the nicest in the neighborhood. All right? We probably had one of those homes that when you're passing by, you're like, oh, Lord, they gonna bring the property value of the neighborhood down. I can see it. I can see it. I can see it. But I remember my wife would get on me a little bit more like, baby, you need to try to get in the yard a little bit more. Now, look, don't judge me. But I was like, but, baby, you know, I got allergies. I got severe allergies. I can't. Y'. All. I'm telling y', all, I was on the struggle bus, y'. All. I was. I'm telling you, I basically look like I had a hazmat suit on out there. I had goggles for my eyes, face mask. I had so much protective layer. I think, at least for a year, people probably thought I worked for the CDC center of Disease Control. They was like, what is he doing out there? Banana comes to give us a little help, and she teaches me a lot about planting. I think it ties into Jeremiah's scripture. I think it ties into the rose blooming through the concrete. I think it ties into Joseph's story that we can prosper wherever we're Planted. First thing that Nana tells me is basically she tells me that where she wants to put the rose bushes in the. Like, Nana, you can't place them over there. She's like, why? I said, it won't grow. So you got rocks and dirt. It won't grow. What she begins to do is she. This is our first point. So if you're taking notes, I want you to take notes of this. Because a resilient soul gets water and it waters the area. So what I want you to realize is just as plants need to be watered, so do your souls. Jeremiah says it this way in his verse, tells us 17, 8, the image of a resilient soul. He says that they will be like a tree planted by the water. Everybody say, water by the water. Your soul needs to be watered. You know, just because your environments are dry doesn't mean that your soul has to be. You know, we can be watered through meaningful relationships that help build resilience in our souls. We need to be watered. And some of us. I know we have a lot of people sometimes that we're pouring out to. But do you have anybody that's pouring into you? You know, even the rose through the cracks in the concrete was receiving rain through the concrete, through the cracks, it was being watered. So even though the concrete was surrounding it, it had a watering system that caused it to flourish through it. I don't know if you know this or not, but God's watering system for your soul is healthy community. That's why I love that we have small groups in the summer. It's not just so you can have something on your calendar, but it's to water you. It's to water you. So the question I have for us today is what ways this summer are you planning to be watered by meaningful relationships? Is it a small group? I know you're taking vacation and all that, but you still need community. Is it a spiritual mentor if you don't have any? If you can answer the question of who's pouring into you, I want to challenge you. Ask God to reveal someone to you. Make a phone call to someone. Say, I just need someone poured into me. Like, as strong as you are. I know this is the holy room, right? As holy as you are, still need to be watered. As smart as you are, still need to be watered. So I want to encourage you. Don't try to outlast a hard season alone. Be watered by meaningful relationships. It will help you to prosper wherever you're planted. Second thing that I want us to note down Is a resilient soul, grows deep roots. Nana was telling me that after she watered the soil, it was preparing it so that it would be able to have deep roots. You know, there's something to be said. Even with plants, even if they have a good watering system, if their roots are shallow, you know, they topple over anytime a storm comes. Storms have a way of really revealing the depth of your roots, not just with plants. You know, the same is true with us, some of us. All it takes is for a storm to come by. And we lost our hope, lost our faith. That's a revelation of the fact that it's revealing that our roots just maybe need to be a little deeper. Wanna encourage us to be able to have deep roots? Have deep roots. I put down this in my notes. We need to have deep roots in our faith in order for our souls to become resilient, to withstand the storms we experience in life. Gotta have deep roots. One of the ways that that occurs is through reading God's word. And if you all missed the message that Pastor Mark delivered on how to read my Bible, my goodness. I want to encourage you to go back and watch that online. It is worth the time spent. He really teaches us the practical way of using your Bible to help grow your roots deeper as a part of the let's Talk about it series. And I want to make sure that you recognize the importance of growing your roots deeper, because deep roots produces a soul that holds its shape under pressure. When you don't have deep roots, the problems you face always seem bigger than the God you serve. You know, thinking about Joseph's story a little bit. You know, some people believe that the greatest miracle wasn't that Joseph made it out of prison, but that the greatest miracle was that he didn't let the prison get inside of him. That his heart stayed tender even though his circumstances around him was hard. That he didn't allow his heart to be hardened just by the hard circumstances. You know, I want to say this. Just because it's around you doesn't mean you have to allow it to affect what's in you. Yeah, it may be around you, but don't let it. Don't let it get in you. Because whether he was in the pit, the prison, or the palace, his character stayed the same. But watch this. It wasn't because of where he was planted. It was because of where his faith was rooted. He had deep roots in his faith. Deep roots. And when you have deep roots in your faith, you'll begin to realize that you're not shaken by what you see in your circumstance because you're settled by what God says in Him, His Word. You know, my girls who are here with me today, I learned a lot from them, actually, as they were growing up. I would learn some of the words that are trending at the time. And so they went through a phase that whenever something was final, whenever something was completed and nothing more needed to be said about it, they would say the word, period. Right, kids? Right. So to give you a little bit of an example of what some of these conversations would sound like in the house, it would be okay. All right. Well, dad, the dress I want for homecoming. Dad, it's a vibe that is everything, period. I'm like, okay, I guess the dress is nice. I'm trying to catch on to the language. Then I may ask, well, how did the dance recital go? How did you do? Oh, Dad, I ate that up, left no crumbs, period. I'm like, I'm catching on. I think I understand. I think I understand that anytime something was settled, they would say, period. Well, I want to encourage somebody today. I don't care what your circumstance is showing you. What's already settled about you is what God's word says, period. Period. So I don't know what your past may be saying, but what God's word says, he's chosen you and not rejected you. That he has plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans give you a hope in a future, Period. And if you're in one of the correctional facilities, you need to know God's word says that you're his masterpiece. You created to do good works. You're a child of the most high king, and you are greatly loved. Period. And if you feel defeated by the environment that's surrounding you, God's word says you're more than a conqueror. You're the head and not the tail. You're above and not beneath. And with God, all things are possible. Period. We need to stop putting commas in our circumstances where God has already placed a Period. Period. When you have deep roots and you're resilient in your soul, you realize the place that you're planted in can't limit the power of the God you serve. If he said it, that settles it. Period. Period. You greatly loved. Period. We'll prosper wherever we're planted. Period. Period. I know it can be tough, but God says he's with you. You will make it through. Period. Period. We gotta have deep roots. Deep roots. The other thing that Nana taught me, resilient Soul produces fruit in its environment. Yeah, produce fruit, you know, a plant in order for it to grow in these. Plenty of water, deep roots, but, you know, it also needs fruitful soil. She went over to the area that had the rocks and the dirt. After watering it, said, nana, it's not going to change anything. She opens this bag of topsoil, pours it over the area. I'm like, why do you think that's going to change something? She says, jamil, the topsoil is filled with fruitful nutrients that it'll take an environment that was once dry and make it a healthy space where things can grow. You know, at that moment I began to realize that if you change the soil, you can change an environment. You know, a soil's purpose for its existence isn't for its own self to thrive. It's to help everything else around it grow. Same is true with fruit. Fruit isn't produced by itself for its own benefit. It's produced for the benefit of others. I don't know if you know this or not, but you can change the condition of the soil that you're planted in by the fruit you're willing to produce in it. Yeah. So I want to challenge us to produce a fruit of the spirit into the soil of every challenging environment that you're planted in. If your environment is harsh, add gentleness to the soil. If your environment is unreliable, add faithfulness to the soil. If your environment is discouraging, add joy to the soil. If your environment is hateful, add a little bit of love to the soil. Regardless of the condition of your environment, the resilience of your soul is revealed by the fruit that you're still willing to produce in it. I'm afraid that some of us are walking away from environments that God has called us to change only because we didn't realize that we just simply need to add a little bit of fruit to the soil. Walking away from jobs when all it needed was a little bit of fruit produced in the soil. Walking away from marriages, and we didn't realize all it needed was just better soil. Walking away from healthy community that God has called us to be a part of. Not understanding all it needed was just to improve the soil. We're walking away from the entire pot. When God said, I called you there to produce fruit into the soil. Oftentimes it's not the location we're in that's the problem. It's just the soil that we're surrounded in. It's the soil. It's the soil. And what I love About Joseph's story is that he produced fruit in every place he was planted. He never waited for things to improve before contributing. He became the contribution. I want to encourage you all to be the change you are wanting to see in your place. Yeah, because a soul that keeps giving in a difficult place stays alive in ways that a closed off soul never does. Resilience in our soul grows the strongest, not by what we receive. It grows by what we're willing to release. That's why we need to produce more every time. Let me say it this way, every time we produce love, joy, peace and patience into our environment, whether you know it or not, your own soul becomes more resilient. So we have opportunities like summer blast and serve day and motion conference. It's not that our kids and the students in our community don't need us, because they do. But producing fruit, y', all, it's just good for your soul. If you ever been in any of those spaces, you know what I'm talking about. Serve day. You walk it out. You walk out feeling a little different. When you're in the arena, you see 17,000 plus students calling on the name of Jesus, lifting up the name above every other name. It builds something in you. Like, I can endure this a little bit more. It gives you a perspective you didn't have before, that somehow, some way, God is gonna carry me through this. Builds resilience in our soul. I bring this question to you all today. What's one way this week that you can add value by being fruitful in the environments that God has placed you? What's one way this week? Maybe look at your calendars, like, hey, you know what? I could do this, be intentional about it, but I'm telling you, it'll change the condition of the soil. Maybe it's your home, maybe it's your marriage, maybe it's your job, but say, I'm going to produce fruit in it anyway. What Joseph realized and what's important for us to understand is that God has already placed inside of you everything you need to produce fruit into the soil of the environment surrounding you. It's in you already. Turn to the person beside you, tell them, say, it's in you, it's in you. Yeah, I know it's challenging, but you can still produce fruit in it. And the fourth point that I want us to take notes on, a resilient soul stays under the sun. Stays under the sun. You know, even a rose with good water, deep roots, and fruitful soil, it still needs the sunlight. That rose never would have made it through the concrete if the sun didn't shine on it. You know, I would say that same is true for us. Just like every physically, every plant needs sunlight, spiritually, every believer needs the sun. S o n being Jesus Christ in your life in order to have the resilience in your soul to be able to prosper anywhere that you're planted. Jeremiah says it this way. 17, 7. It's the first thing he says when he begins to give this image of what a resilient soul can look like. He says, but blessed is the one who trusts everybody. Say trust. Who trusts in the Lord whose confidence is in him. See, Joseph put all of his trust in the Lord. The only way Joseph made it out was because of the God he was under. Yeah, he made it over because of the Lord that he was under. When you stay under the sun, everything has purpose and nothing is wasted. You know, Nana, I don't know if she knows. Well, I'm almost getting a little emotional thinking about her when many years ago she was with us. But she taught me a lot that day. Taught me a lot. She told me, she said, jamil, you know the manure of cows? And I said, well, wow, now this conversation take a drastic turn. I don't know where we're going with this. She said, you know, even cow manure, that when it's placed under the sunlight, he said, you know what actually turns into fertilizer for the plants to grow? I said, wait a minute. That doesn't make sense to me. How could something so bad that most people avoid, like manure, that when placed under the heat of the sun, actually turn into something so good that would help the plant prosper? Then I thought about Joseph's story that every time he had a moment of adversity because he was under the sun, S o n Ben, Jesus Christ the Lord used it for his advancement. You may say, how so? Jamil, let me share with you. I don't know if you caught this pattern, but in Genesis 37, his brothers took his coat from him. The first time he was thrown into a pit, but because he was under the sun, the Lord used it as a promotion to allow him to become the primary attendant of Potiphar. But then two chapters later, in Genesis 39, Potiphar's wife takes a garment from him. Second time he's thrown into a prison. But because he stayed under the sun, the Lord used it for promotion, allow him to become prime minister over all of Egypt. Ms. Hmir, what's the big deal? I want to give you this revelation. Every time Joseph lost a coat, it was preparing him for a crown that he was about to receive. That means your problem is preparation for promotion. He can use it, stand under the sun. Being Jesus Christ, it strengthens in our soul the resilience we need to have to know that difficult moments of your life will ultimately be used to serve a greater purpose for your life. Joseph, once he gets this realization, he gives his brothers this last verse. Genesis, chapter 50, verse 20. He says, you intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so that I could save the lives of many people. Joseph basically saying that they meant it for evil, but God used it for my good. Now I'm gonna give you my translation of what Joseph probably said when he saw his brothers he came into the room. He said, you tried to throw manure on me, but God turned it into fertilizer for me. What you thought would break me actually blessed me. What you thought would punish me actually pray prospered me. I'm here to encourage somebody today that when Jesus is with you there in a circumstance on earth you can't prosper through. If problems surround you, you will prosper. If the styles are stacked against you, you'll prosper. If storms hit you, you'll prosper. If you had a correction facility, you can still prosper. Because when God is with you, his favor is also for you. His word says you'll be blessed going in and you're blessed coming out. That you are blessed in the city and you're blessed in the field. Eyes haven't seen, ears haven't heard what the Lord has in store for those whose souls are resilient. How does this summer we gonna prosper where we're planted? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We can make it. Yeah. Period. Period. Period. Period. I don't know who's in the room with us today, but I came on an assignment. You can still make it have resilience in your soul. I don't know if someone's here today and maybe you're discouraged by the situation you're facing. Maybe you wanted to change and it just hasn't. Maybe you wanted your life to change. No matter how hard you try, you feel like you're stuck under the country. Can I question you with this? Have you ever tried completely putting yourself under the sun in Jesus Christ? Have you ever truly given him your whole heart? Because when you do, what you'll see is the rose inside of you will be able to blossom and grow through the concrete surrounding you. If Joseph was here, he would tell you, with Jesus Christ as your savior, you can prosper wherever you plant, every head bow and every eye closed. If you're here today and you're willing to open your heart, let Jesus come in. If you've never received him, if you're having challenges where you are, if you feel like you're stuck where you are, I want to give you an opportunity to receive the greatest difference that your life will ever encounter. And there's a man named Jesus Christ. He can help you prosper wherever your heart is planted. I'm not gonna ask you to stand. I'm not even gonna ask you to come down front. All I'm simply gonna ask is you lift your hand to let me know. And our campus pastors know that we can be praying for you. I'm asking our campus pastor join me on stage at this time. If you're here today and you're willing to say yes to Jesus, lift your hand when I count to three. One, two, three. Anyone here today? Anyone? Awesome. I see you in the back. God sees you. He would do all of this just for you. Anyone else? He'll make a difference in the marriage. He'll make a difference in the job if give him a try. Put your heart under the sun. Watch him help you prosper through it all. All right, you can drop your hands and you repeat after me. You can say your own words. I just actually speak from your heart. He's listening. Say something like this. Say, jesus, I need you. And thank you, Lord, for being with me through it all. I thought I was alone, but now I realize you've been carrying me the whole time. So, God, today I open my heart to you. Today I say yes to you. I ask you, Lord, to be my Lord and my Savior. I believe that you are the son of God. I believe that you died on the cross so that my sins may be forgiven. And I believe that you still live. So I now ask, would you come and live inside of me? Use my life for your glory. Tell them this. Starting today, I am forever yours. Every head bow and every eye continue to be closed. I want to pray for us all. But I ask, Lord, that you allow your word that went forth today to rest on our hearts. God, we ask, would you give us the resilience we need in our soul, that we can make a difference wherever we are. God, help us to be able to be watered with meaningful relationships. God, help our roots to go deeper so that when the storms come, we're able to remain resilient in our faith. Know what your word says about us. God, allow us to bear good fruit in every environment. May we live open handed. May we keep tender hearts. Lord, lastly we ask that you allow us to remain under the sun that even in this summer season may we forever be connected to you. We love you Jesus and we thank you for all that you've done here today. We pray and ask all these things. In Jesus mighty name we pray. And all of God's people that agree said together. And all of God's people that agree said together. Come on church, let's put our hands together. The Lord has done here this morning.