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Hey, good people, this is Torre Roberts. Blessings to you and welcome to the ONE Podcast. I'm excited that you're here. ONE is a community of dynamic and vibrant thought leaders, preachers, teachers, and just a community of wonderful people all together. And we're excited to bring you this weekly podcast from our services from ONE in la. If you haven't been the one, I encourage you to check it out. You can go to one the Word one O N E online and find out all about the service times and all about the teachers and all the philanthropic things that we have going. I believe you're going to be blessed to be a part of it. And speaking of being blessed, we're getting ready to get into a teaching right now that I believe is going to bless you. So tune in, enjoy, and I'll be back with you at the end.
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I want to read to you quickly and then you may take your seat. From the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 1 through 4. This is a profound moment and we'll dig into it some more. But it's such a powerful scripture. Acts, chapter 2, verses 1 through 4. Acts of the Apostle. And it reads, when the day of Pentecost had fully come. Penta 50 they were all with one accord in one place. Footnote it matters where you're one in this season, and to be clear, you can be one with the wrong thing in this season. Oneness is not particularly attached to something that is good or bad so much as you come into agreement with it. And some of you are experiencing a season where God is challenging what you're one with. I'll leave that alone. Sorry. Sorry, twin. Don't do that. Sorry. Okay. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind. And it filled the house where they were sitting. Because the move of God often starts off as something you can sense. It was a sound. Then there appeared something you can see to them divided tongues as a fire. And one sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues. See the progression? The Holy Spirit moves through something that you can initially sense, then something you can see, and then eventually something you can speak. Some of you are in one of those three phases right now. God's been speaking to you about a new season that's coming, but you don't necessarily have the material evidence of what that thing is. Keep holding on and keep watching the movie, because in that space, when you can sense that something's coming, the enemy will try to get you frustrated. By something that you sense but you can't see. And then he'll try to distract you with a counterfeit. But if you're sensitive and patient, you can begin to see the thing that God is speaking to. And eventually God will give you language for the thing that he is speaking over you. I want to speak to you today from the thought powerful one. Powerful one. Let us pray. Spirit of the living God, let the meditations of my heart and the meditations of my mind be a reflection of your heart for this moment. God, I pray for exousia and dunamis. I pray for authority and power in the Holy Spirit. Let them see all of you and none of me. God, let me decrease so far in the back that all they can see is your glory. God, I pray for a word that changes a life, saves a life. Help somebody see the Holy Spirit moving in their life the same way that you caused Pentecost to move and change the world. Because there is a world changing spirit that is being released in the earth for such a time as this. We thank you for this and we pray for our communities to heal. Lord God. We pray for unity, we pray for love and we pray for to take part and take place. To not be compassionate by proxy. That we would exercise the light, turn on the light that we are called to have in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. So before we get started today, in terms of the main topic for today, I am somebody who absolutely loves nature. Okay. I love. Thank you. See I got one person. Thank you Jesus. It's like everybody else, like ah, I absorb it through the screen. Okay, quick thing about nature, first of all, it's beautiful. Other thing is I have been told that there's such a smell that comes with nature. Some of you understand what I'm talking about. Okay. Have you ever had somebody come up to you and say you smell like outside? What does that even mean? Like oh God, smell like baccarat? No, that's outside. It's really this interesting space for me because nature for me is where I first began to experience the presence of God. There's a passage in Scripture, Psalms 19:1 that says creation declares the splendor of who God is. In other words, we can have a worship moment and experience by being outside. Not outside, but like outside somehow. Jesus. But here's the thing. What I love about it is be. Nature for me is a source of worship and a source of inspiration. And by that I mean one of the things that happened to me when I was in college Is I took a course. You ever take a course with the intention of it being very easy and it was incredibly difficult. You're like, this is going to be so easy. And it turns out to be a nightmare. There was this course called Creative Technology. And one of the things that it began to illuminate was the fact that when we think about nature, we think about the context of God, but we think about it in the context of business. A lot of the inventions that we see nowadays actually came from observations in nature. How many of you grew up with Velcro? Velcro shoes. Amen. Didn't learn how to tie your shoes until 10 like me. I'm kidding, just a joke. But what's interesting is when you look at Velcro, it was not a technology that existed. It was something that they observed through a plant called the cockleburrow, because of how it hooked. And so there was a technology that was created from that. When you look at drones, drones are actually a creation that was inspired by hummingbirds and bees and dragonflies. So all of the technology that we begin to see in different spaces. It's amazing how God's creation allows us to be creative. And what I love about nature is it reveals a few things. Number one, it reveals God's intention, God's design, and dare I say, God's character. And one of the things that I began to discover and I stumbled upon, and I wish that I could say that this was because of some deep research, some meditation, some spiritual place that I was in. No, not at all. I was scrolling. Mm, it really was. And there was this video that came on about agriculture and there was a technique called air layering. Sounds very strange. Turn your name and say air layering. Bet you've never heard that before because I sure hadn't. But what's powerful about air layering and this technique, number one, it is a 3,000 year old technique that has a seven step process. And what's interesting, and I want you to see this image behind me, is there is a process where you take a tree. So there's a tree, say it's about three feet tall. You get to a certain point on the tree and it's a very important point and you make an incision around that and then you cut away the bark. And then after the bark is exposed, you begin to scrape off portions of that wood so that way roots can spawn from it. You then take some kind of device, be it a cup, be it some type of cloth, and then you wrap it and put dirt on the inside of it, and then you seal it. And what happens is after 40 days you have a root system that has developed from a branch, and that very same branch is able to be planted as its own tree. What's interesting to me about this is the fact that you have a process where normally it takes years for a seed to become a tree. Some of y' all see where I'm going. Uh huh. But what happens is in the process of air layering. Air layering, you're able to experience having two for the price of one with nowhere near the amount of time. Turn to your neighbor and say acceleration. You see, sometimes we are so focused on a season of growth that we've experienced that we don't recognize the season of multiplication. Because what happens in this experience is normally you think that a tree is able to sprout from the ground, but because the tree was willing to endure a moment it did not see coming where an incision is made, he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. That the chastisement of our peace may be upon him. That something that started here was inserted here. And there's an entirely different shift and change that emerges from it. Because God is not wasteful. And sometimes we think that we have to go through an entire process, when in fact God in certain seasons of your life, will accelerate things in. In a way that you did not anticipate. The problem is, while it's wonderful for the farmer who's visiting the air layering process because now he has two trees instead of just one, can you imagine being the tree? I'm serious. Like, you know, if trees could talk, you know what I mean? Like, maybe it's just me. Okay, you're a tree, right? I don't know. Again, I'm trying to practice my method. Acting more classical. Okay, Point is, imagine being a tree. You're minding your tree business, okay? You have leaves, you know, you may even be fruitful so Jesus doesn't walk by and curse you. Okay? But imagine going through the process where you start off as a seed and there's a process where the shell around the seed has to erode and come off. So there's a shedding process that you have to go through in order to be fruitful. Many of you have experienced this where you encountered God. And the same friends that you started with are not the friends that you can rock with now because they were a part of that shell that was holding the true seed on the inside of you. And you had to make a decision that either I'm going to grow or I'm going to be contained and conform to the image and the likeness of this world instead of being transformed by the renewing of my mind. But because I choose destiny, I'm willing to shed this thing off. And you go through the process of shedding and you get rooted, and then you sprout forth and you see yourself growing, and you're growing and you're growing and you're. And then suddenly this gardener comes up to you. You're minding your business. You're living your best tree life, your tree. We won't go there. I'm trying so hard, you know, whatever that looks like for you. But then the gardener comes up to you, and you see a razor come out. Now, the neighborhood. Okay, we won't go there. Some of you are triggered. We have therapists. We're not gonna go there. But you see a razor come out, you see something sharp come out to something that requires tenderness. Have you ever been in a moment where God raises a knife where you would rather him water you? Have you ever been in a space where God is circumcising things off of your life, cutting back flesh, cutting back desires that drink that you used to drink, you can't drink no more. Because even though you drink it, it doesn't have the same effect. It doesn't have the same taste, it doesn't have the same experience. Those parties, those spaces and places that you used to go to the same crew. And to be clear, this is not from a place of judgment. I'm talking about your appetites changing. I'm talking about the things that God has allowed for you in one season to no longer be tenable in the next season because you are changing. But then God cuts it away. Now, have you ever been cut in a way where it's like, okay, this hurt, but I'm gonna reframe this? As you know, that was a bad season, right? Just. Ouch, you know, Heal me, Lord. Heal me. Then what happens is not healing. Nah, nah. He takes dirt and wraps it around you. Something dark, something isolating. And the thing that is supposed to heal actually hurts because you have to develop a new root system. So now what is painful now also costs energy to maintain. Because now it's not just me trying to heal. It's me trying to grow. It's me trying to get strong. It's me trying to progress. And I don't understand what you're doing, God, but I know that it hurt. And Know that it's. Number one, it surprised me. Number two, that it hurt. Number three, it's costing me something. And they wrap it in dirt, and if it wasn't bad enough, then they seal it. I mean, you know, just let the dirt fall, but then you seal it. What happens when you're stuck? What happens when you're in a season where the wounding happened? You're getting filled with things that you'd rather not be filled with. If that's not. Cause you kind of feel a little dirty now, and you're having to put energy to something that you didn't necessarily want to put energy to. And then suddenly, at the same time, you're stuck. Have you ever been stuck in a season that God wants you to be stuck in? There's no. Okay, all right. Y' all awfully quiet. I don't know. To be clear, I'm here also. Okay. This is me preaching to myself. This is good therapy. Have you ever been in a place where you feel stuck, but you're called to be stuck? Because what's important to understand about this phase is it's 40 days. I remember hearing about 40 days in some other process that took place where when you look at Matthew, chapter three, Jesus had been baptized. And there was this beautiful, pinnacle, climactic moment where you see the Trinity for the first time depicted in Scripture, where God the Father sees the sacrifice and says, this is my Son in whom I'm well pleased. And that dove, that presence, that ruach, that wind, that thing that we were talking about in Genesis descends like a dove upon Jesus. And there's this amazing moment. And then the next words that you say is, jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. That's not the climax I was hoping for. You know, I wanted a feast. I wanted Prince of Egypt. That's what I was going for. That's just me. But very few times in your life will God reward you in such a way. Because the greatest compliment that God can ever give you is a problem and testing. And Jesus is led into the wilderness. Jesus is allowed in this moment to be sealed by the Holy Spirit. And then he's led away for 40 days for new root systems to develop. Because prior to this, Jesus had not been yet. He had not been yet released into his ministry. Do not confuse. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Be careful when you confuse moments of coronation and celebration, because celebration is what happened when he was baptized. Coronation is what took place in the wilderness. You will never fully arrive at the potential of who God has called you to be if you do not endure the. The cutting and the sealing and the rooting and the isolation. Because what happens, similar to the air laying process that we just described, is Jesus. After he resists the devil, he's cut off from that, just like a new tree and planted and able to flourish in his new ministry. And this is where we are in the text today, because it is very difficult to be a tree. Amen. But. And yet. And still God describes us and says that we are to be like trees planted by the rivers of living water, that there's something distinct about being a tree. But what's interesting is Pastor Trey spoke this. And this is a very amazing moment that I got to witness. I got to travel with him recently and he preached a sermon. He said, blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. When you look at that, there's a progression. Blessed the man who walketh not. So you're walking, then you're standing, and then you're seated. When you're not where you're supposed to be, your movement stops. And many times, comfort has a way of allowing us to think that we're in the right place because we don't want to be cut. And what I want to share with you all tonight and this morning, rather, is that we are going through a season where you are witness and witnessing a level of cutting that is taking place in the world. The first thing I want to talk to you about, if you're taking notes, is cutting. See, we come to the text, as I mentioned, the Book of Acts, in a time of absolute chaos because Jesus had been Crucified. We're only 50 days. We're at a point before we get to Pentecost. We're at the point where Jesus. I'm bringing you back to Acts, chapter 1. Jesus had been crucified and people were looking like God. What just happened? Because you were supposed to be the king, they had hope that he was going to give them back something. Have you ever had an expectation of God in a particular season that didn't turn out the way that you wanted it to, where you expected this to happen, and then that happened. And similarly, they're expecting Jesus to take his place as the king of Jerusalem, to take back the territory, to take back and to fulfill all the prophecies, and then he is king. Have you ever watched something that you believed in die have you ever watched something not just die, but suffer a long death? And you try to find hope and you try to find refuge and you try to find strength, and yet, and still it dies. I'm trying to bring you into where they were and where their hearts and their mentation were. They were completely distraught. There was trauma, there was confusions, there was factions. There was people who once believed Jesus, who now had to completely deny him. There were people who secretly still believed in Jesus. And then Jesus, Jesus comes back with all power in his hands. And guess what? People think, game back on, the plan is back on. Look at him. He got up, he rose. But what happens with God is when we minimize his authority and his divine providence to our plans, we have a really, really interesting and frustrating experience, which is God is still God and God is still sovereign and what he wishes and what he desires will come to pass. And so what happens is again you have Jesus here for 40 days, again that 40. There was a wounding that took place in their spirit and then there was a 40 day period where he wrapped them with his presence. He poured in his presence his love and then began to wrap that thing and to seal it, and then says that I must go, that the comforter must come, and that they must go to pray for the Holy Spirit to come. Can you imagine what it felt like to say, wait a minute, hold up. So you're leaving again. I mean, you know, you're going, God, why would you go? Why would you leave? And many times in our life and in our experiences, we have that kind of moment. We have that kind of experience where God begins to move in a way that we didn't expect. Because at the time of chaos, social and political unrest, what I have found is great moves of God almost always come on the heels of great devastation in the earth. Where you are seeing devastation, beloved, is not a reason for you to sit down. Blessed is the man that walketh not, nor standeth, nor sitteth. This is not a time for you to stand or sit. This is a time for you to really understand that there is seismic changes that are taking place. Because what I've come to understand, I wanted to share this with you all, is there's a difference between layers and levels in God. See, air layering versus levels. How many of you? Well, this is gonna get my age up. So there's a thing called Super Nintendo. Can I get a praise on Super Nintendo, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Boom shakalaka. That's not tongues. That's what they would say when they would Dunk. We'll cover that later. There's also a thing called a library card, Dewey Decimal system, things like that. But when you're in a video game, what would happen playing Super Mario Bros. Here's your player. What would happen is you would get to a certain checkpoint and if you died, you came back to the same checkpoint because you had reached a certain point in the level. But with God, that's not how God moves. And so some of us in our walk, it's disorienting because you come to a situation that you thought you had already graduated from and God represents it. Again, because we deal with a God who doesn't work in levels, he works in layers. When you think about layers, layers are different. How many of you like lasagna? Can I get a lasagna praise in here? Gluten free lasagna for those of you who may need it. But lasagna is delicious nonetheless. Could you imagine being served lasagna? Here's a layer of cheese, and you scrape that. And then here's some pasta and you scrape that. And then your face, your face said, must hurt. She's like, oh, God. Like, that's not how I eat it. To be clear, she looked like she was judging me. But the point is, there's a distinction between levels and layers. God works through layers. The experience that you had in childhood. Mm. That experience that you had with this thing over here and that thing over there. And God works all things together for the good of those who love him and are calling according to his purposes, through layers. But what I love about this is when we think about how God moves in this way during times and that 40 day period of time, there's so much taking place that is disorienting for the plant that was in existence before. Have you ever heard of a thing called metamorphosis with butterflies? You know, it's a really, really frustrating thing because you only see the cocoon on the outside of it. But when you're in process with God, what I have found is there's a space and a place where, for all intents and purposes, you're not quite butterfly enough to know what you are there. But you're too far removed from being a caterpillar. And you're in this place of limbo that is disorienting because there is disorder that God is using the spirit of God to hover over, but you can't quite tell what it is yet. And some of you are in a place like that right now where you're not quite this, but you're definitely not that. And you're in this in between phase, and you're trying to understand what you have to do at a particular level to graduate to a point where it's going to make sense. But God is saying, this is not about levels. This is about layers. And there's things that I'm adding to you daily that if you would just pay attention to and keep watching the movie. There are things that I'm allowing you to do for my ultimate glory and the expression of who you will ultimately be. But you have to hold on during that 40 days. You have to hold on during the cutting. You have to hold on during the point where there's a slicing that takes place around you. It's not just in one part. When you look at air layering, they didn't just cut one part. They cut the entire thing around. Both the point that it's connected to and the thing that it will eventually become are severed. Have you ever gone through a severing a place where things are still close enough but not quite the same? And it's important to recognize that you may be in a season where God is layering you, where that cutting takes place. And there's a process and there's an intentionality to it. But what I love about how God moves from that is we begin to see the next thing, which is connection. See, the cutting took place for those who were assembled at Pentecost, where they had to really understand that the person that they thought Jesus was gonna be in their life was not gonna be the way that they expected him to. And they had to find connection with each other as the 120, as they thanked God for the 40 days, but there's now 10 more days without him, where you've got to take what you learned with your walk with him and apply it. And we don't talk about this walk in this. We don't talk about this part in discipleship where it's much beyond. Archy, Archy. Barky, Barky. Have you ever been in a place where, Sorry, some of you understand, some of you guys grew up in vacation Bible school, like Arkansas. Barky. Archie. Barkey. Barkey. Okay, two by two. Okay. Point is, there comes a point where you get past the pediatrics of faith. There comes a time where grandma's prayers ain't gonna cover it. There comes a time where you going to church as a child ain't sufficient for where you are right now because there's been a separation that takes place. And you have to step into your own faith. And there's prayer and there's consecration. And here's the thing, it's disorienting if we're honest. It's a place where it's. We were walking with Jesus. Can you imagine what it felt like to be them? We have the luxury and the blessing of having the Holy Spirit right now. They didn't. Some of you have been in a place where you are praying and you're seeking God and you don't hear anything. That is a very scary place to be. I'm just gonna keep it a buck with you. Like in my own journey and my walk with the Lord. There's a passage in scripture that says, take not thy Holy Spirit. This is David literally saying, I know I'm messy, I make mistakes, I do all kinds of things. I see people taking baths, I do weird things. But all the things that I do sinfully, God, please, with all the mistakes I make, don't take that Holy Spirit from me. Because as scary as that would be for me, I can't even fathom not having your presence. I can't even fathom not having you with me. I can't even fathom not being able to cry out and know that there is a God who loves me. And yet still inside of pentecost, they have 10 days where they don't hear a thing. And I want to encourage you in that time, for some of you who are watching online or in here, is you've got to hold on during those 10 days because it won't last always, because there's an outpouring that's coming, there's an infilling that's coming. There's a spirit of presence and grace unlike anything you can imagine. But if you allow the enemy to distract you in that 10 day period of time and rob you of the experience of being filled, it's so important, beloved, to hold onto that. Because that's how God moves through spaces and places. What I love about God is when we think about connection, we go from them being able to sense that God, they go, there's some seasons that you manage through obedience. Jesus said, go. So they went. And what I love about this experience that they have is there's wind, there's fire, and then there's filling that takes place. Wind, fire and filling. Wind is something that you can't feel, hear or experience, but it's something that you breathe. Have you ever just taken a deep breath and see how it fills the space within you? There's A filling that is coming to your. To your life right now. There's a feeling that you have been seeking. There's a feeling that you have been desiring. And I want to speak to you, and I'm just going to prophesy this over you, that there's a wind that God is sending to you that is going to be so refreshing, that is going to be so filling, that is going to be so transcendent that you're going to have a peace that makes no sense. You're gonna have a peace that surpasses all understanding. You're gonna have an intuition that is not gonna be anything that is goosebumps or feeling. You're gonna walk into rooms, and God is gonna speak to you in real time. The thing that you need to understand for that particular deal, for that particular interaction, for that particular family member, because God is going to breathe in you, because you allowed yourself to be in a place through obedience to find connection. But what's powerful about fire is fire is God's presence. And fire is an interesting thing because fire, on one hand, provides warmth. On the other hand, it consumes. And my encouragement with you is to be able to hold tension in the season between the two. There are some things that are going to comfort you that the Holy Spirit does, and then there are going to be some things that burn you. Sorry, I'm just, you know, so I grew up. There's no other way to say it. Like, you know, it's like, it's gonna be hot, but it's gonna be worth it. Like, you know, if I held a match to your hand right now, it's worth it. Like, that's not helping you in that moment, but if you could endure. See what I have found. We talk a lot about generational curses, but we don't understand that generational curses are really generational makeups. So we think of yourself as a substance. When gold is heated up at a certain point, what happens is the impurities do what they come to the surface. Mm. Some of you are in a season where your impurities have been coming up to the surface. And it's a good thing. It's a holy thing. It's a wonderful thing. Be careful when Bible see, God works through conviction. The enemy works through condemnation. Conviction says, I saw that. I messed up, and I can change, but that's not who I am. Condemnation, on the other hand, says, that is who you are, permanently, now, and forever. As a matter of fact, your mama was like that. And you just, like, see, condemnation has a Different tonality. Be careful when you begin to allow the enemy to use God auto tune on his voice versus God's. God auto tune. What does that mean? God auto tune is when you think it's coming from God, but it's not. Because you're not checking the way that it sounds, the way that it lands, the way that it hits your heart. Because it sounds like something that you think God would say to you, not recognizing the love that God has for you. And if you're listening to the wrong voice, you take on the wrong identity. So then the thing that you would not do is the thing that you continue to do. And the thing that you would like to do is the thing that you can no longer do. Because at the end of the day, you are mishearing the voice of God because God is calling you higher. Holiness and wholeness are one in the same. What I have found is we think that our true identity is what we did before we found Christ. And now we're just walking into something new. What if I told you it was the opposite? The person that you are now is who you've always been, but the person that you were then is how life shaped you and molded you. That's why God says, be ye not conformed. Confirmation necessitates that. There's something that bends you, that something that shapes you, that breaks you. Question what shaped you? What broke you? What molded you in a way that is other than how God intended for you to be? Because we are not to be conformed. We are to be transformed. You see, what I love about that is the filling that takes place. You see, what's so important is to understand that. And I'm gonna say this respectfully, Twin, help me just in case. Respectfully, some of you are too available. And I don't mean that. I don't mean that as a gotcha. I mean, like, literally, you're too available. Okay. Okay. Do you lock your door when you go home at night? Okay. Amen. Okay. If you don't, let's talk like we're just gonna trust the grace of God. No, no, let's not tempt God, shall we? Like, you know. You know, just. Why do you lock your door? Because. Not that everybody's bad, but there's just enough bad out there that you don't want to get in. And the challenge that some of you have is because you think. You think that spirituality is the same as face. You leave yourself open, and if you're not careful, you use the creation to be an expression of the Creator. And you invite things that mimic God but are really from the devil. And if you're not careful, there's a torment that you experience. And then you turn more to the created things rather than creator because you find comfort in things that you don't have to have faith in. You can naturally see and touch. And then you're lost. And you invite yourself into spaces and places where demons sound like angels. And then the things that begin to move in your life begin to put you in a back in a place of condemnation. And you're stuck in. In a cycle that you can't break out of. And you come in places like this and you think that you're having a profound experience. And you are. But then you go back to these other disciplines that remove the spirit of God from that place because you're vacant. You see, in Matthew, chapter oh lord. Matthew, chapter 12, amen. There's a scripture that talks about when a spirit is cast out of you and it leaves, it will go and get seven stronger spirits to come back and reoccupy that place because again, it's vacant. That's why the Holy Spirit is nothing for you to play with. Because if you are not filled, you are vacant. And if you're vacant, you're available. And if you're available, you sometimes experience the presence of God. And then you experience other things. And then you're in this limbo place where your soul is being wounded and you're not able to hear clearly. And worst of all, you're disconnected from the God that you were to going called to have connection with. I'm asking you today to shut the door. Shut the door, shut the door. And not because of some kind of religious pretense. It's how we were divinely made, because we are called to be occupied, to be filled by the Holy Spirit. But what's powerful? Beloved, as we begin to transition and wrap up here, the thing I want to wrap up on and highlight is the role of the Holy Spirit is so important. I worry that we don't understand the distinction between moisture and oxygen. See, Jesus came and he would say things like, out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. See, the disciples knew water. They knew water because they had seen water turn to wine. They knew water. They knew water because for some of them, they had been commanded to step out on the water and be able to step out in a word. Because when you step out in faith and understand that God will order your steps and architect your steps because of a word of obedience, He Stepped out on the water and they had an amazing moment. They had a great relationship with water that out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. The difference is we are now changing language. See, sometimes we get stuck on one experience of faith, not recognizing that there's a new season for us to step into and a new dimension of God for us to experience because we're so comfortable in the water that we don't recognize the wind. There's a fresh breath that God is breathing on your life. And that breath is something that you can feel, it's something you can sense, it's something that you can see. But if you're not in a place where you're willing to experience the Holy Spirit at a level of grace, greater level of depth, it's not that you'll miss it. God is. I'll tell you what. I don't do this, you know, twin. I don't do this thing. I'm very cautious as a pastor. Have you ever. Okay, there's things that I've heard not from this ministry, praise God, but from other spaces. If you miss it this time, it'll never come back. I don't know why that voice came out. It's just. I don't know why, but it came. It just. It was organic, it was authentic. The God that we serve is so gracious. The God that I serve, we serve will send out an invitation. We'll send out an opportunity. We'll send it back again. We'll send it out again. The God that we serve is not petty. He's not looking like, well, wait a minute, you missed it the last time. The God that we serve is faithful. The question that I have for you, with all due respect, is how much time do you want to waste? It's not an issue of his goodness and it's an issue of we all have a sand clock that has started and how many times shall we encompass this mountain? I'm the kid, okay? I was not the kid. You had to whoop that. You had to spank. Just talk to me. I just need just one good one. Just tell me one good time, okay? I ain't trying to be hard headed because a hard head makes a. Not that we encourage that because we don't. We want a gentle parenting. No more trauma visited upon our children in Jesus name. So I just like, you know, I'm still growing, like, yes, ma'. Am. Like, we don't want that. But I share that with you because you're in a very important season of your life, very Important season of your life, your time right now matters. All the things that are taking place in the earth right now. Do you think it's accidental that you're here? Do you think it's an accident that God forms you here? See, Dr. King had a speech called I've Been to the Mountaintop. And one of the things that he talks about is that he. If God gave him the opportunity to take a survey of human history up to now, that he would still choose the period of time that he was born in. Despite being stabbed in the chest and almost murdered, despite being bomb threats, despite all the things that he experienced. He said that he would turn to God and say that I want to live right here, right now. And for some of you, you have got to have that same kind of conviction, which is, I'm here for a reason. And the things that I'm seeing right now, I gotta turn on my light and allow the glory of God to shine through, because I am purposed to be here. What I love and what I want us to understand is that the Holy Spirit gives you capacity that you didn't have authority that is greater than your own exousia in the Greek power that you cannot create. Dunamis and connection to and compassion for people who are not your own. Amen. Got a lot of people claiming Jesus, but don't move like them. Got a lot of people saying that they have certain convictions and beliefs, but not love. Because for some, there's discrimination around who's worthy of love and who's not. And when the Holy Spirit is present, what is powerful is. When we look at this passage as we begin to wrap up for the day is what's beautiful is it said that the Holy Spirit descended upon them as divided tongues. What this means is that people were speaking languages that they did not learn. See, okay, I've seen this from. I've seen people who. There's a gift that the Holy Spirit. Or I've rather heard that there's a gift of the Holy Spirit where people will literally speak a language that they did not understand. I'm not fluent in Persian, for example. Okay. If I started preaching in Persian, that would make absolutely no sense because I've never learned it. But what happens at Pentecost is you begin to see how God moves and how God cares about the nations. Because on one hand, they were expecting Jesus to remain planted as the tree that he was for their people and for their community. God said I wanted to redeem the world. God said I wanted to reach the nation because There was a feast that was called Shavuot that was taking place where you had people from Liberia, you had people from all around the world gathered in Jerusalem at this period of time. And they were able to hear the wind. It wasn't just the household, because when there's a move of the God, there's such a powerful demonstration of who he is that other people who weren't even invited to the party become privy to it. Because there's something powerful about God when he moves and they all see this mighty rushing wind and then come and assemble and they hear their language. See, it wasn't necessarily the presence of God that got them. It was the fact that they heard their language and they were able to see themselves reflected in the heart of God. And I'm here to tell somebody who's watching, God is calling you to the nations. It's bigger than you think. The unrest that you see, maybe even for some of you in this creative community, the movie, the script, the things that you're doing, it's bigger than just a territory or Golden Globes or all the other kind of things. It's bigger than that business. It's bigger than politics. It's bigger than your city, it's bigger than state. It's for the world. God is calling you to a global lampstand where you would actually see the power and the majesty of God. I want to do an altar call today because the sermon title for today is Powerful One. And what I have found is if we are not powerful with two Ls, we're not necessarily equipped to step into the places and the places, the spaces and places that God has called us to. Because it's not about your gifting, it's not about your ambitions, it's not about your desires. It's about how are you resourced through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit to do what God has called you to do? Have you ever tried to do something in your own strength and it was a word that you had and your heart was right, but you stepped into that thing and you quickly realize this is gonna take more, and that's okay, because the God that we serve is so gracious? I wanna do an altar call for a few different types of people today. And that altar call is simply for people who feel like they're the ones in a season where they have been cut. You're experiencing something that you didn't see coming. You're experiencing something that there's a loss, there's a hardship, there's a difficulty. For me, I'm just gonna be transparent. My dad's birthday was yesterday. And my dad passed away earlier this year unexpectedly. Was not expecting it. And I share that. Not for pity so much as context. It's powerful how God can sometimes move things that weren't necessarily in the way. But with my dad being gone, I'm having to step into a new level of authority that I didn't want and I didn't ask for. It was a cut that I didn't see coming. It was a cut that I didn't want. But now stepping into a place where now I'm the covering for the Guilford line, where I'm the covering for my family, there are moments, beloved, that you don't ask for, that God allows you to step into and it's okay because he's with you. But if you don't acknowledge the cut, what I have found is most people, again, think about air layering. If you don't acknowledge that was a whole cut and it cut around me too, like. And if you don't acknowledge the cut, you most certainly won't receive the scraping. And the scraping is necessary for you to be able to develop new roots such that the wound wasn't wasted. There's nothing worse, in my view, than allowing than something divine and God ordained happening. But it being wasted because we don't embrace it, because we don't trust how God can use it. Because in our finite wisdom, we don't understand how something that hurt could be holy. We don't understand how something that could hurt could be helpful. And so I want to invite somebody who has been cut in this season. I also want to invite people who feel connected to something old while trying to navigate new growth. That you feel and see it's not that you're better than this is not that. Nothing more irritating. I'm with the Lord. Like, how are you gonna operate in pride for something holy? I'm better. I'm me. Like, that's wonderful for you. But there's new growth that's undeniable. You see, my sister, baby sister, she's expecting. So her and Pastor Roosevelt, for those of you who know, are expecting. Amen. I'm going to be a whole uncle. I love children, too. I think I saw Nalani in the back or some baby that we dedicated. And I love seeing children inside of the church because it means that we're growing, we have longevity. But what happened is my sister, who is pregnant, you can try to act like that's not a thing. You know, I Mean for those who've experienced it, not me. Um, but things begin to change because there's something growing on the inside of you that's undeniable. It doesn't make you better than. It just makes it true. And some of you are going through growth that you cannot deny, and you have to embrace it because God wants to do something different. My encouragement, however, for some of you prophetically, is God's gonna allow for that growth, and then he's gonna cut you from places that you've been in and move you into places that you're called to be. And you have to embrace the transplant because God wouldn't allow the wound to happen, the rooting to take place, if there wasn't an intentionality behind it. The last group that I want to call are those who are feeling called in this season. God is cutting you away and calling you to bravely step into something new that he will plant you in. And so for those of you who this may have resonated, I want you to come down to the altar as you feel led, as you feel comfortable, because there is a grace that. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, God. And for those of you who are watching online, I want you to touch the screen. I want you to hold hands with that family member. I want you to maybe even share the link with somebody that you want to come in agreement with, because there is power in touching. Thank you, Holy Spirit. There's so much transformation that you're experiencing right now. And for some of you, the enemy has been telling you that you're behind. For some of you, the enemy has been telling you that what God promised to you is off. The enemy has been whispering that you're off base, that you're not in the right place, that you're any number of things. And if you're not careful, those lies that God auto tune will make you feel like God has forgotten you. There's a scripture that says hope deferred makes the heart sick. In other words, the moment from you getting a promise or being hopeful for something, and the time that it takes for that thing to come to pass, if you're not careful, it can turn into sickness. But there's a B part of that verse that says, a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. And I'm here to say that through air layering with the Holy Spirit on the power of Pentecost Sunday, that there are things that God is wrapping around you. There are things that God has already sealed for you, and there are things that are going to come to pass because there's a new tree, not a new seed that's coming from you. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Father, I just want to say thank you, God for this move that took place today. God, I want to say thank you for the Holy Spirit hallelujah that is flowing in and through this place. Place. I thank you for the mighty rushing wind that is flowing in this place, Father God, I thank you, Lord God, for it resting and falling upon people that if they have a holy language, it's starting to come forth. In the name of Jesus, I thank you, Lord God, that you're giving them clarity, that you're giving them vision, Lord God, that tears are flowing that have needed to flow. Lord God, I thank you for allowing them to be able to move in the power and the authority that has been promised to them. Devil, you are rebuked off of them. In the name of Jesus, we thank you, Lord God, for generational attacks canceled in the name of Jesus. Generational assignments canceled in the name of Jesus. We thank you, Lord God, for your hedge of protection. We thank you, Lord God, for open doors. We thank you, Lord God, for new things, new blessings, new increase, new places, new spaces, new people or who are going to be sent. I hear God saying, be open to where I send you. And to be clear, sending doesn't necessarily mean that you're moving to a new location, but it could. Sending doesn't necessarily mean that you're moving from a new job, but it could. Sending looks like you are showing up in a place, maybe even thank you, Holy Spirit. I hear God saying some of you are going to show up in the same place in a new way. That's the difference between how I'm sending you. Hallelujah that you're going to be sent with a new authority. You're going to be sent with a new power. You're going to be sent with a new level of strength. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I want you to pray this prayer with me because it's so important to understand that if you have not asked for the Holy Spirit to come into you, your house may be nice, but it's vacant. Your house may look good, but it's vacant and it's time for it to be filled. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Pray this prayer with me. Father God, I come to you now thanking you for your son, Jesus. I believe that he lived, I believe that he died. I believe that he got up. I believe that he rose with all power in his hands. I believe that when he got up. I got up. I praise him. I worship him. He is Lord of my life, the light of my life, the guide of my life. He is my Savior and father, God. I pray for the free gift of the Holy Spirit. Come into my heart. Come into my life. Come into my mind. Come into my mouth. Speak your spirit. Give me love. Give me light. Give me grace. I receive you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Family. Family. Family. God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. God is so good.
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B
Hey, family. Well, I pray that you were just as blessed by this teaching as I was. I'm just so grateful again to be a part of a dynamic community full of love, full of revelation and wisdom. One has been a movement that's been blessing people for over two decades, and I'm so glad that you got an opportunity to experience it. I also have a podcast called the called it's right here on wherever you're listening to this Spotify or Apple or wherever you're listening to this podcast, you can just look up the called T H E C A L L E D with myself, Ture Roberts. This is designed for entrepreneurs, leaders and business people. It's a weekly podcast and it will bless you. But hey, I enjoyed having you here. Meet us here next week. Check out the call. Much blessings to you. We'll catch you next time.