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You look good. You look planted in the house of the Lord. And he planted people. That's a buzzword around here. At Social Balance, we have a word for every year that shapes our year. And our word for 20, 25 is planted. And it comes straight out of scripture. And so we're going to read our verse of the year like we do every single Sunday, with uplifted voices. Y' all ready? Y' all ready? What about way up there at the top, top balcony? Y' all ready? I'm alright. Jesus. Y' all get to heaven before us. Come on, let's read it. 1, 2, 3. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Y' all sound good. Sound real good. Social. You're going to be blessed today by who is bringing the word of God. I know you're not supposed to have favorites, but I do have favorites. I love the way God speaks through this amazing woman of God. She is an author, she's an actress. Literally. This is not an exaggeration. Millions of people around the world are blessed by her ministry. But I love her because when you get up close to her and her family, you see they are the real deal. And I love the them so much. Two of her sons are in the building today and we honor them. But she'll. She'll introduce them. But I want you to put your hands together. She's our auntie. She's family. She's been here before, y'.
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All.
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Priscilla Shire is in the building. Come on, y'.
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All.
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Give her a social.
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Dallas welcome. Good morning, family.
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Good morning.
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I'm so glad to be here, to have the opportunity and the privilege to be back with you. We do consider you to be our family. You know, we go to church just down the street in Oak Party Cliff at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church. And we just feel like we're family with y'.
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So thank you for letting me come and be a part of your Sunday morning. I'm gonna read the scripture to you in a minute and pray and we're gonna dump right into this little simple thought from scripture that I hope will be a challenge to you as it has been to me. But before I do that, I just wanted to take a pa. You're standing to tell you something and to give you an opportunity to celebrate the fact that at this church The Lord has entrusted you to leadership that actually has integrity. Listen to me. I have the privilege, the joy of being in so many different kinds of churches, y', all, so many different denominations and backgrounds. And I am sad to say that it is becoming more and more rare to find pastors and leadership teams that actually love Jesus. Like, it's not about lights and stage and screens and microphones. Like they live in it on a Monday and a regular Tuesday. Like they're really honoring God when nobody's watching. And I just want you to pause for a moment and appreciate the fact that the Lord has entrusted the spiritual growth of your soul to leaders who are for real. So for just a moment, y', all, could you please join with me in celebrating the Madu family? We celebrate, y'.
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Keep honoring your marriage, keep honoring your children, keep honoring the house of God. And God is going to continue to pour out his favor and his blessing on the two of you. Thank you for living well. Thank you. And I honor your mom and dad too, Robert. I love these parents so much. Just, Lord, thank you. Thank you that in the next few moments you're getting ready to open up the windows of heaven and speak to your people. I can't get over the fact that you know us and you still choose to meet with us anyway. That you let us hear your voice. That you let us open up the Scriptures and know that this is not just some random book with random words, but it's the fresh breathed word of a holy, living God. Father, may we never take it for granted. We are sitting on the edge of our seats now, Lord, to hear what you will say to us. We have rolled out the red carpet for you in our praise and worship. Now we're asking you to come down and speak. We are so glad each other is here, but we didn't come to see each other. We came to see you. So speak Lord, in Jesus name. Everybody agreed and said amen. Amen. Amen. You may take your seats. In 2008, there was a hurricane named Ike. Ike was memorable because it swept through the south of the U.S. particularly Texas, was hit really hard. There was a particular town right on the shoreline on the coast of Texas that was actually destroyed. This little town is called Gilchrist. Gilchrist Community is a little serene, small community where folks in their retirement years really would go when they wanted to live those years in peace and quiet. Little teeny town, about 200 homes, brightly colored houses with perfectly manicured lawns and friendly sidewalks. The kind of community where folks would get on their golf cart, you know, and drive from house to house, and the neighbors know each other and see each other. Just a little sweet, serene, peaceful community. That's why folks went there. But then 2008 came and there was a storm. The storm was so devastating because the winds didn't just blow, but they burst against the homes in that neighborhood. The sky opened up and the rain fell so extremely that the floods rose and the hurricane wiped out 199 of the 200 houses that were in this neighborhood. It looked more like a swamp the next day. In fact, someone went to visit who had been in that neighborhood the day before, and they didn't even recognize what they were looking at. It didn't look like a neighborhood. It didn't look like anybody had lived there. It was complete and utter devastation. After this hurricane, there was only one thing that gave a little bit of a nod to the fact that a neighborhood had actually even existed there. Of the 200 houses that had been there before, one remained. And it was the only hint that there had been a neighborhood. They couldn't believe the sight of it. I have an image here that they're gonna put up for you to see because it is the most odd, devastating, remarkable sight to see one house sitting where 200 had been the day before. And it begs the question, what is it about this house that made it so that when the same storm hit the same neighborhood, there was one house that had the stability and the strength through the storm? And if I had time, I'd tell you the whole story of the builders of this particular home, the homeowners who had been through previous hurricanes. And because they had been through previous hurricanes, they knew the damage the storm could do. They had taken the extra time, the extra investment to sow, the extra resources needed to retrofit their house so that their house could stand steady when the next storm came. Something about having been through a storm makes you become a wise builder. Jesus tells A Tale of Two Houses in Matthew chapter 7. This particular passage, very familiar portion of scripture, comes at the tail end of what we now know to be one of Jesus most famous and memorable messages. It is the Sermon on the Mount. This is where Jesus spent. 111 verses, red letter words in our Scriptures. 111 verses where he is talking about everything from the Beatitudes to teaching them how to pray the Lord's Prayer, to talking about how to love your enemies, talking about the cure for anxiety. This is where he said, listen, if I clothe the lilies of the field and Also, I make sure that if one sparrow falls from the sky, I know exactly where that one sparrow has landed. That's basically his way of saying what you got to be anxious about. I'm taking care of everything down here and everything up there. Your life is in the palm of my hand. This is where he had said to the masses, you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world. He has covered a wide range of topics in this most memorable message to a multitude that is gathered in on Galilee's hillside, hanging on every word that Jesus is saying. Because wherever Jesus went, a crowd followed. Not a couple dozen multitudes. Thousands would gather wherever Jesus was. And they were never sitting like you all are this morning, calmly and sedately, casually listening to God speak. Uh, cause it was Jesus himself. There was an authority, there was an awe that they had never ever heard before. They wanted to be like that woman with the issue of blood who pressed her way thinking, Think about a whole multitude of people trying to get as close as they possibly can to this Jesus. Because they know if they get close enough and reach out and touch the hem of this man's garment, power will leave him and come to them and change the entire course of their lives. This is a clamoring, chaotic group of people trying to get close to Jesus because even if they did not quite know if he was the Messiah, they weren't sure about this whole kingdom of God is at hand business. They didn't know about all that. But what they did know was that when Jesus showed up, blind people could see. What they knew for sure was that when this guy showed up, deaf ears were hearing and lame folks started walking and dead people were being raised. They couldn't wait to get as close to Jesus as they possibly could. And when he, he spoke, it was different than the religious leaders of the day. They heard good preaching before, but they ain't never heard nothing like this. Think about how you'd feel if Jesus were your pastor. He shares with them 111 memorable verses. And at the end he does not try to rouse them to a standing ovation like many teachers, preachers, communicators, speakers who might try to put a punch in the end just to get an emotional response out of the people. He doesn't call them to consider a standing ovation. He calls them to the topic of obedience. He'd rather them sit and ruminate about whether or not they are actually going to do something with the 111 verses he just said, rather than having everybody cheer for it, but not live in alignment with it. Matthew chapter 7, verse 24 through 27, says this. Therefore Jesus says, everyone who stands on this mountainside and hears these words of mine, an ax upon them, may be compared to a wise builder who built his house on a rock. The rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew, burst against the house, and yet it didn't fall because it had been founded on a rock. Verse 26. Everyone who hears these words of mine, he says, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish builder who built their house upon sand. Why would anybody do that? And the rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew and burst against the house, and great was its fall. Jesus ends his message with this little parable to call them to this topic of whether or not they're going to act upon or not act upon everything that Jesus has just said in the previous message. And everybody hearing this parable would have known exactly what Jesus was trying to imply. Because in ancient times, in Judea, which is the region that they were standing in at the moment of this message, the climate was volatile. They knew that in certain seasons there were going to be outrageous storms. The storm clouds were going to gather. They were going to unleash voracious storms that would always result in flooding, that flooding would always cause erosion to any of the structures that were in and around this particular community. So when Jesus is saying to them, the storm came, the flood rose, the winds burst against the house, they knew exactly what he was referring to. They knew that it would be a foolish builder who would only pay attention to the structure above ground without paying attention to the solidifying of the foundation below ground. Not in a climate like that. Not when it's a question of whether or not there will be storms, only a question of when the storm will come. Y', all, we live on earth. Life is out here. Life, and can I get a witness? Life is out here doing the most. It's not a question of whether or not there will be a storm. Come on, now. It's only a question of. Of when the storm will come. Like when life happens, when the clouds gather over your life and through betrayal or loss or grief or financial devastation or a health struggle where life bursts against your house. You're gonna have to make sure that you don't just have all the bells and whistles above ground, but that you actually have solid foundation below ground. Because the storms of life will happen. Jesus said, in this world, John 16:33, you will have trouble. You don't have to, like, go Looking for trouble. Just keep living the trouble has a way of coming to find us, doesn't it? In fact, in a room this size, you need to know that every single one of us that are here are in one of three places. You're either right smack dab in the middle of a storm, on your way into one, or on your way out of one. Because it's the cadence of life, which means before the storm, you must have thought about the kind of foundation you want to have. I have never seen a builder pouring a foundation in the middle of open skies. You got to have decided that before the rain falls, before the flooding, before the winds are bursting against your house. Jesus looks at this group of multitudes gathered on Galilee's hillside 2,000 years ago, and he basically asked them the same question that the Holy Spirit's asking you and me today. What kind of builder are you? And the thing is, in a room this size, we can fool each other because we can have standing ovation without dealing with the issue of obedience. Only you know whether or not your Monday reflects what you heard Jesus say on Sunday. Only you know whether or not the way you're navigating your relationship on a regular Tuesday navigates and reflects what Jesus said on Sunday. Only you know if the way you're handling your finances on Wednesday and the path you're choosing on Thursday, and the entertainment choices you're making on Friday and Saturday. Only you know if they're lining up in obedience. It's easy for us to celebrate in here. Ain't no storms in here. The question is, in the regular rhythms of life, y', all, are we living in a way that reflects that? We're not just hearers, but we're doers of the word of God. In this passage, there are two builders, two different people, yet they have the exact same goal to build a house. They have access to the exact same resources to get the job done. They have the same measurable success because both of them actually have a house. They must live in the same neighborhood because they're about to be subject to the exact same storm. It's described the exact same way. The storm falling, the flood rising, the winds not just blowing, but bursting against the house. And by the way, can I just tell you, that's the definition of a hurricane. And there are times and seasons in life where we're in a storm. You know, there's something happening that doesn't feel too good. And then there are times where, when it's a hurricane, because it's not just one Thing, it's another thing. And then just when you deal with that thing, it's another thing. And then just when you take care of that thing, you turn this way and there's another thing. Everywhere you go, it seems like you've been surrounded by inclement weather. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? This is a storm that Jesus is describing, and there are two people experiencing the exact same storm. They both see the need to build. They both have the skill to build. They both have to crafted a design worth building. They both have the financial resources to build this building. They both have the resolution, the determination, and the patience to see the project through to the end. And when they get to the end, they both seemingly have the exact same results. And that's the scary part, because we can look at our building projects, our lives, and with folks looking in from the outside, it looks like we all have the same results. But it turns out brick and mortar don't reveal the difference between the wise and the foolish. You can have a spectacular house, a spectacular life built on a shoddy foundation, and most of the time, the only way you can really tell the difference is when there's a storm. Then we know the shortcuts you took. Then we know the investment into the deeper internal parts of your relationship with God. You actually didn't pay attention to that. You undervalued. We'll be able to tell when the storm comes. Those of us who just sat up in here playing church, but actually didn't cultivate a real friendship with Jesus, who actually didn't have a thing going on with Jesus, you know, where you didn't just read a verse a day to keep the devil away, but you actually asked the Holy Spirit, what is it that you want to say? Say to me, how do you want to mold me? Where you didn't cultivate a prayer life with the Lord, where you not only speak to him and know he hears you, but you've actually inclined your ears so that you can hear the voice of God too and have a rapport and a relationship with Him. You know, I. I have had. We've had a lot of loss in our family. In the past five years, we've lost 10 people back to back. Just every four to six months. It seems like another person in our family was passing away, some suddenly and some progressively. Two of those people were my mothers, my mom, and then my husband's mom passed six months apart from each other, and both of them individually apart from each other. And another woman that was a friend of mine, an older, wiser woman in my life, there were three women that were going through very hard things all at the same time. And of course, I was tending to each of them, talking to each of them individually and. And both of them can remember my mother saying to me that she was so glad before, in her case, she was sick with cancer in the last months of her life. She said to me, priscilla, I'm so glad that before this I already had a thing going on with Jesus. She said, I'm so glad. Because there were some times she literally physically couldn't keep up with actual Bible reading. So she was so glad his word was hidden in her heart. She was so glad. Every now and then, y', all, I remember when mom was on medication and she was sort of unconscious because of the medication she needed to be on. She was just in a deep sleep. Sometimes she would come up out of the sleep mid hymn already singing the hymn that she was already singing in her spirit, but now it was coming out of her mouth. She was so glad she. She knew some things. She'd already walked with Jesus and talked with Jesus, had rapport and relationship with Jesus, so that at the worst of times, there's something on the inside of you that can bubble up and carry you through. Jesus says, you gonna need a firm foundation, y'. All. We can't be out in these streets playing church. Life is too hard for that. Earth is too ghetto for that. We gonna actually have a real relationship with the Lord so that when our marriage is fragile, we have a walk with Jesus. And when our kids are wayward and haven't done the thing we've hoped that they would do, we have a thing going on with Jesus. And when our heart is broken because of the betrayal, that person that said they wouldn't abandon you, and yet they have, and they've betrayed you and abandoned you and your heart is broken, you gonna have to have a thing going on with Jesus. And when the economy tanks and your finances are not what you prefer and you're trying to find your way, and business is hard and ministry is struggling and all of life seems to be closing in on you, you're going to have to have a real relationship with the Christ, the son of the living God, to carry you during hard times, it's the only way we're going to have houses that's stay standing. That's why I'm so endeared to the parents like the medus over here. That's why I'm so endeared when we See mothers and fathers in the house of God. People that have not just followed him for a season or a year or a decade, but they've gone a distance with Jesus. And they've been through sunny days and rainy days. They've been through mountaintops and they've been through valleys and they've lived through to tell the story that serving Jesus is worth it. They're not bitter. They're not skeptical of the church. They are still tender and sensitive in their hearts out here praying over people serving the house of God because they walk with them long enough to tell the story that serving the Lord is worth it. We need some witnesses that can testify. The older and older I get, the less impressed I am with the famous. I'm impressed with faithful. I'm impressed with integrity. I'm impressed with character. People that have some backbone, some strength in the scaffolding of their spiritual life. Jesus says there are two different people, but they both look like they have the same results. Then the storm comes. Anytime in the Scriptures, when Jesus repeats himself or when the word repeats itself, that means you need to know it's not because God likes to hear himself talk. If it's repeated, it's because he intends for you to lean all the way in, pay real close attention to it. He's trying to get you to grab hold of it. Something like, when you see in the Scriptures, truly, truly, I say unto you, repeated, pay attention. The same is true, by the way, if something is contrasting, if it appears to be different and contrasting and conflicting with each other, the Bible is inerrant. So if it appears to be contrasting, that means lean in. Pay attention. There's a reason. Okay, in this passage, a bunch of stuff is repeated. For example, the storm. It's exactly the same storm. Okay, there's something else that is repeated at the top of verse 24 and at the top of verse 26, here's the line. Everyone who hears these words of mine. Okay, he says it again. Everyone who hears these words of mine, same line. I want you to see this in layers. Everyone. Everyone who hears. Everyone who hears these words of mine. There are layers for emphasis. We find ourselves in these layers and it helps to give us a key on what it means to have a firm foundation or what is required for us to have a firm foundation so we can make sure our houses are still standing. Whenever in heaven we were all being fearfully and wonderfully made. I think there was a day where people were supposed to stand in line to get the math and science wiring in their brain. I missed that whole day. I don't know where I was. I wasn't in that line. So for me, math is just not my situation. It is not my jam at all. Anytime my kids have come to me through the years and they're like, can you help me with this math problem? And I see an X or a yeah, I'm out. One of the very, very few things I remember from math growing up is concentric circles. Concentric circles are circles that are different sizes, but they share the same midpoint. So they have different radius and diameter, but the midpoint is the same. So it's a large circle. There's a smaller circle within it, a smaller circle within that, and so on. I want you to see Jesus words as concentric circles. He starts with the biggest. Everyone. Everyone includes believers and unbelievers alike. He says, all y'.
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Okay, everyone. This is what Romans chapter one calls general revelation. That everyone is privileged to experience. It is why the psalmist says, the first fool says in his heart, there is no God. Because general revelation means through the things that God has created, you are able to see a reflection of the invisible God. The visible realities of Earth actually tell us there's got to be a God somewhere. It's like when you go on vacation. Have you ever stood on the beach and looked at the ocean and thought, oh, my goodness, so vast, so powerful, so majestic. Marine biologists have already declared that even with advancements in technology, they will never be able to plumb the depths of the ocean because it is absolutely too overwhelming for the human mind to comprehend or technology to fully navigate and search out. It is so overwhelming. Have you ever stood there and thought, how in the world is this enormous, powerful body of water being held back from overcoming the Earth? There has to be a powerful hand that is holding back the water from encroaching upon the Earth. You shouldn't be able to see that and not know. There has got to be a God somewhere. The universe itself declares the heavens declare the glory of God. There are neighborhoods in the galaxies that scientists don't even know exist. They don't even know it's there. And the God of the universe is hanging every single star in the sky, making sure that every one of them is at its post, making sure that the sun rose this morning and it will stay in position all day long till it swaps places with the moon later on tonight. He is the one making sure that the Earth right now, while we're sitting in this room, is turning on its axis at just the Right, Speed to make sure that we can maintain life while we're sitting in this room. And that great, powerful almighty God who is in control of the universe through the visible realities of the earth, he is reflecting his creative genius and power. It's the fool who says in his heart, there is no God. After you've seen all that, you should be everyone who knows there's a God. The sphere closes even further. Because he doesn't just say everyone, he says, everyone who hears. He's not talking about physical hearing, he's talking about spiritual ears to hear and discern what the Spirit of God is saying. This is conviction. Conviction is where your heart warms up because you feel like you're the only person sitting in the room. Conviction is when you and your spouse just had an argument this morning. And when you come into service, the pastor reads what the verse is for the day and you feel like, did the church bug my house? How did they know? Has that ever happened to you where you're maybe having your quiet time and you read a verse that you have read a million times before, but on that day it feels like the Holy Spirit has taken out a highlighter and has highlighted that one verse to speak directly to you? This is because you have spiritual ears to hear the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This is why in the book of Revelation, the writer keeps saying, he that hath an ear, let him hear he that hath an ear. Not physical ears. Spiritual equipping to be able to hear what the Spirit of God is saying. When you place faith in Jesus Christ, you get spiritual ears to hear. When I was growing up, my siblings, a bunch of them, were here earlier for the first service. There are four of us all together, so I have three siblings. When we were growing up, we did not watch television during the week. That was one of the rules in our household. Mostly just because mom and dad. It was four of us. We had homework to do and there were dinner dishes and we had stuff to do. They were like, this is just a distraction. It's getting in the way. So we could only watch TV on the weekends. And one hour a week. It was the same hour every week that mom and dad and the four of us sat down on that couch and watched television. It was the same hour you were sitting down watching television because it was Thursday nights at 7 o', clock, from 7 to 7:30, the Cosby show was on. And then from 7:30 and 8 it was Dwayne and Whitley. All day, baby. A Different World was what we would watch. Then so that was our hour of TV. We didn't have cable. We didn't have DirecTV. We didn't have any of that in our house. Which is why after I went through graduate school, I was getting ready to get married, and I moved into what would be our first apartment right over here off Swiss Avenue. We're moving into our first little apartment. And the very first thing I wanted to do was get cable. I mean, that was, like, the excitement of my life. I wanted cable. And so I called the cable guy one day and I said, hey, come, you know, hook this situation up. And this is back in the day, y', all, when the television was a whole box. Like, it wasn't nothing flat screen about it. It was a whole huge box. And it had to go in a piece of furniture. So I had an armoire. Y' all remember back in the the day? And that piece of furniture was in the corner of what would be our bedroom. The cable guy came. Oh, the glorious day that the cable man came. I let him in. He walked into the bedroom, moved the piece of furniture, hooked up a bunch of cables and stuff behind there. And then when he was finished, he moved the piece of furniture back. He came around to me and he handed me the remote control. He said, ma', am, push the guide button. I pushed the guide button, and Lord have mercy. All of these channels, all of these shows, all of these options fleshed across the screen, hundreds and hundreds of them. I couldn't believe. All of these channels that were available to me now, they didn't just magically appear in that moment. They'd already been there. But I just got the hookup. It's not that they weren't already there and available. It's just that if I didn't have the right hookup, I wouldn't be able to pick up on their frequency. Do you understand that? God is always speaking? He is always moving. He is always preparing a way and ordaining steps and aligning things. But if you don't have the hookup, you won't be able to pick up on the frequency. The Holy Spirit is the hookup. Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 13 and 14, says, the moment you place faith in Jesus Christ, you get the hookup. The Holy Spirit of God, he takes up residence on the inside of you. And the Holy Spirit, y', all, is not a ghost or a wind or a fire or a dove. He's often symbolized by those things in the scripture. But don't minimize him. That ain't who he is. He's the third person of the Trinity. Not third because he's least in value, just third because he's the last to be revealed in the pages of Scripture. But all of the power, all of the grandeur, all of all of the authority of God the Father is in the person of the Holy Spirit. And when you place faith in Jesus, you receive the greatest gift you will ever receive. This side of eternity, you receive the person of God himself. And the Holy Spirit, he takes up residence on the inside of you and he gives you ears to hear everyone, Everyone who hears even smaller, everyone who hears these words of mine. Jesus needed to clarify this for them. The exact same reason why he needs to clarify it for us 2,500 years later. Because back then there were celebrities, religious celebrities, who were saying things that were charismatic and clever and cute, but they weren't truth. They didn't reflect the Christ. And people were absorbing them because they were said charismatically and said poetically and said cutely. And Jesus would say of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the religious leaders of the day, Matthew 23, he would say, y' all are like whitewashed tombs that you look impressive on the outside, but inside you're just full of dead men's bones and all kinds of uncleanliness. And that's the people that folks we're listening to. And y', all, I fear that we live in a day and age of white watch tunes. There are folks out here talking a good game. It sounds clever and it's charismatic and the posts look refreshing and perfectly lit. And we're sitting out here absorbing everything we are hearing just because it sounds cute and clever and it's said charismatically without taking seriously whether or not it's actually his word. And so their packaging lies in the veneer of truth and making it sound so close to God's word that if we are not discerning, if we are not careful, if we are not wise, if we are not invested in whether or not what we're hearing is God's Word, they will take us on a ride. So it is responsible for the speaker, for the deliverer of God's Word, to make sure they're being responsible to the text. But it is also incumbent upon you and me as the listener, to make sure we're not absorbing everything we're hearing just cause it's charismatically said, but that we're discerning, testing the spirit by the spirit, anything that contorts God's character, anything that diminishes His Standard. Anything that tries to mold and morph and modernize God so that he is no longer the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and them boys. He's the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. So you make it your business. When you hear even what I've said today, don't just believe me. Go back to the book and be a student and say, lord, is this what you said, y'? All? We're gonna have to be responsible not to just hear and absorb in our lives, but to ask ourselves, is this reflective of Christ and his kingdom? Everyone. Everyone who hears, everyone who hears my Word and does them. Why is the circle so small? Why are there so many of us across Dallas, Fort Worth? We got mega churches on every corner. Why are there so many of us in church every Sunday, but not the same amount of us out there through the week doing what he says. So many of us, including me. We don't need to hear one more sermon. We need to do what God said in the last 20 sermons we heard. Are we or are we not going to be obedient disciples? Because this is the difference between being a believer and being a disciple. Because being a believer. Thank you, Lord. It's a free gift, placing faith in Jesus Christ. You receive salvation. It's free. Discipleship comes at a cost. This right here is deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. It means the decisions I'm actually making in my reactions, in my relationships, how I steward my finances, how I govern the decisions I'm making in building this business. To make sure it's with integrity. You're gonna have to decide, am I gonna be a disciple or am I just gonna play church every Sunday for the rest of my life? And this little pinprick of invitation and opportunity will determine whether or not you and I have houses that stay standing, whether or not we have foundations that are secure. So that when the skies open up and the hurricane comes, our house is built on solid rock. And I don't know about you, but I want my house to be standing in Jesus name. Will you bow your heads with me, please? If you are in this room and you already know the area of obedience that the Lord is calling you to consider, like there's something on your mind right now and you can not been surrendering it and you feel God saying, surrender, obey, build a firm foundation. If that's you, would you just raise your hand and let me pray with you and for you, no matter where you are, from the top to the bottom, just raise your hand if that's you. Lord Jesus, you see every hand that is raised and you see the heart that it represents, represents, you know, the area of obedience or disobedience that you are calling them to surrender. So I ask right now, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Lord, that you would loosen any shackles that are on their lives, that are keeping them from walking in the full abundance and freedom and victory that you have called them to. Every habit, every addiction, every lifestyle that is out of alignment with your word. I pray right now for supernatural recalibration in Jesus name. And then I pray that in these next days there will be practical application. Put accountability in their life, Father. Give them courage to say no and to say yes to you, Father. I pray that there will be victory and freedom in the name of Jesus Christ in every areas of their life, Father. And help us all to build our life on solid rock. You are worth it. Not just in one season, but every season for the rest of our lives. In Jesus name. All God's people agreed and said amen. Thank you.
- [41:46]
A
Come on. Would you show your appreciation to Priscilla? Sh. For that word, foreign. I'm gonna ask every person that can, would you stand? And we're gonna dismiss in a moment, but I'm really gonna ask if you could just honor this moment. Because hear me, that is not a random sermon. That is a message for this house and this season and not just. I just feel like there's some of us that need to respond in a deeper way to what we just heard. So here's what I'm going to ask. I'm going to ask every head be bowed and eyes be closed just for a moment. God has made his word clear today. As she stated, you can look at creation and you can see the hand of God. But I believe in this moment. He's speaking to hearts and it demands a response. We cannot be a people that just hear good messages, clap, and then walk out the same way. And so with heads bowed and eyes closed, I want to be real specific. And if you're here today and you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, I want to give you that opportunity today. I want to give you an opportunity to build on a solid foundation. We say it all the time here at social. You can always come home. You have to wait to get yourself together. God set up this moment. He's speaking to your heart, and I believe he wants you to respond today. So when heads bowed, just for a moment, and ask closed, if you'd be so honest to say, hey, pr. If I look at my life, Christ is not my foundation. I need to give him my heart today. I don't care if it's just one person. You would be worth it today. But if that's you, would you just do me a favor? Lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I could see it saying, today's the day. I've got to give him my life. I'm tired of running. You know, when he's speaking to you, I see that hand. I see that hand. Thank you. Anybody else looking in the balcony? Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. Don't wait for the storm to check the foundation. This is a moment where God is speaking to your heart. He says, the day you hear my voice, don't harden your heart. Respond. Anybody else? Thank you, God. So many hands. Here's what I want to do, because discipleship comes at a cost. There's no storm in here. This is the easiest place to walk it out. So when you go out of here, that life happens. I want to give you an opportunity to leave your seat and just come up here to the front and respond to this message today. Why? Because I think there's something powerful about leaving where you're sitting and just going to a new place. It's a picture that says, the old me is in my. See, the new me is ready to step into what God has for me and to build with the right foundation. I'm tired of going to relationships for the foundation. I'm tired of going to the club trying to find the foundation. God, you are my foundation. And I'm not ashamed to let anybody know that you are my life. So if you lifted up your hand, hear me, or you should have lifted up your hand, I'm just going to count to three. And I just want you to come find me the space right here at this altar. I don't care if you're at the top and you got to walk all the way down. I promise you every single step is worth it. Because you're stepping into your future. You are stepping into a new life. You're stepping out of darkness into his marvelous light.
- [45:34]
B
So come on.
- [45:34]
A
If you lifted up your hand or you should have, one, I want you to come. Two. Don't worry about what anybody else thinks. This is between you and God.
- [45:41]
B
3.
- [45:41]
A
Come on. I want you to come. I want you to come.
- [45:43]
B
Come on.
- [45:46]
A
Come on. God loves you so much.
- [45:50]
B
Come on, church.
- [45:52]
A
I want you to clap like that was your brother, like that was your sister, like that's your friend. Coming down. Come on, Come on. Don't stop clapping until they stop coming. This is why you had to be here today. I promise this works.
- [46:09]
B
It.
- [46:10]
A
I promise it's worth it. I promise it's worth it. Those of you at this altar, could you just lift up your hands if you feel comfortable just like this? I. I love lifting up my hands because it is the international sign of just surrender. When I lift up my hands, I'm saying, God, I give up. Tired of trying to build things on faulty foundations. I'm tired of trying to do things in my own strength. But it's also hands lifted because every parent knows that your child doesn't even have to say a word. Sometimes they just lift up their hands and you know that you will come and lift them up. And so I'm lifting up my hands to my father, saying, I need you. I need you today. I'm going to lead you in this prayer, but I want you to say it from your heart. I'm giving you the words, but you declare it. Would you say, jesus, I need you, Lord. I know that you are the only sure foundation, Lord, I'm tired of building my life on things that don't matter and that will not last. Jesus, today I acknowledge that. I need you, Lord. Thank you for living the life that I was supposed to live and for dying the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place. So this is my response, is to give you everything. My heart, my mind, my soul. Forgive me of my sin. Make me brand new. From this moment forward, I'm walking with you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
- [48:18]
B
Come on.
- [48:18]
A
Would you give King Jesus the best praise that you got today? No, I mean, just really just praise and thank God.