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Elbow the person next to you and say, I know I got the victory. You glad to be in God's house today? You look good, Social fam. You look good. Matter of fact, you look unshakable. You look unshakable. Well, I feel like preaching. I feel like preaching today. So glad that you're here. If it's your first time here, would you do us a favor just one more time? Just give me a wave. I just want to know if it's your first time, man. So glad that you're here. So glad you're here. Come on, all the way up at the top. First time. It is no easy thing coming to Social Dallas. You got to figure out what venue we're at. You got to fight through the parking lot. But you made it. You made it, you made it. And if you're new around here, we have a word that we have really shaped our year around. That word is unshakable. And it's not a random word. It's a word that comes straight out of scripture. And so we've been declaring this verse. Watch this. Every Sunday of the year, we have read this verse all different venues. But this is our first time to read it at Texas Trust. Yeah, it's pretty incredible. So come on, let's do how we do. Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 28, 29. If you don't got it memorized, it's going to be on the screen for you. Let's read it together as one big family. Read it like you had some caffeine today. You ready? Come on. One, two, three. Do you see what we've got? And do you see how not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God? For God is not an indifferent bystander. He is actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God. Y'all sound good? Sound good? Sound like you trust God up in Texas. Trust. You knew that was coming. You know how to do that. Hey, go with me to our text that we're going to be looking at today. And I'm not gonna be before you long because service is not over. After I finish preaching, y'all. It is Fall fest today, so all you introverts that love to sneak in and sneak out, you can't do that today, okay? Stay, meet somebody you don't know, hang out. We got the parking lot, I think, like, till midnight, right? No, actually, we gotta be about here at one, so. But it's gonna be Amazing. It'll be amazing. So make sure you stay. It's gonna be fun. But go with me to Mark, chapter nine. Which? Mark, chapter nine. I want to look at verses 14 through 29 because we need all of it. Mark, chapter nine, the gospel according to Mark, starting at verse number 14. When you're ready to read it, say, yeah. If you need time, say, hold on. It's on the screen and it says, and when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him that him is Jesus. And greeted him. And he asked them, what are you arguing about with them? And someone from the crowd answered him, teacher, I brought my son to you. For he has a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your staff to cast it out. And they were not able. And he answered them, oh, faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Hold on. Pause. Jesus didn't say that under his breath. He said that out loud. Y'all, that verse blessed me that the Savior of the universe said, I'm sick of y'all. I am tired of you. You getting on every one of my last holy nerves. He says, bring. Bring the boy to me. Bring it to me. And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him immediately, it convulsed the boy. And he fell on the ground and rolled about, foamy at the mouth. Jesus asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? He said, from childhood. And it is often cast him into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. And Jesus said to him, if you can. If you hit me with an if. All things are possible for one who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe. Help my unbelief. Go back. Go back. I believe. Help my unbelief. We ain't got to read the rest of it because some of yalls feet hurt. Spoiler alert. The boy got delivered. But I'm intrigued with this honest, transparent cry of this father who said, I believe. Help my unbelief. When I get to heaven, I want to meet this dude. It was so honest to tell Jesus, I do believe. This has been going on so long, some doubt and unbelief has crept in. In other words, he's saying the title of this message today. Jesus, the struggle is real. The struggle is real. I want you to look at the person next to you, whichever one you like the best, and just say, neighbor. Come on, tell them, neighbor. I gotta confess. The struggle is real. Just in case that neighbor was bougie and stuck up, didn't want to talk to you. Find another neighbor. Find another neighbor. Say other neighbor. I gotta be honest. The struggle is real. If you believe God can speak at Texas Trust, Would you give us some praise up in here, Father? Speak today, have your way, and help the Cowboys to defeat every lion from Detroit. In Jesus name, everybody said, amen. Are you judging that prayer? It worked last week. I believe we gonna win the Super Bowl. Help my unbelief anyway. The struggle. The struggle is real. Social fam. Have I told y'all that I am currently enrolled in school? Have I told you that? Those of you who know, you hear everybody going, yes, every single Sunday. PR. You have told us. We get it. We get it. Well, get used to it. I'm gonna keep telling you I'm enrolled in school and there's a strategic reason I'm doing it. I call it public accountability. Public accountability. How many know sometimes you got to be vocal in order to be accountable. I'm already preaching, y'all. If you hear me talking about, hey, I'm in school, I'm in school. As long as I'm talking about y'all, that means I'm still enrolled. But if I go silent and I stop talking about it, that means your boy has dropped out. Okay, I have dropped out. And if I drop out, I did not drop out because I did not try hard. I dropped out because y'all. Because the struggle is real. It is real. There's no other way to say it. The struggle is real. Right now, every week, your boy is writing sermons and writing papers. The struggle is real. Every week, I got ZOOM meetings for class and ZOOM meetings with my staff. The struggle is real, y'all. I am in school, and me and PT Are homeschooling. The struggle is real. My youngest, Remy, the other day, and her work is by far the easiest. And she came up to me the other day, I mean, the cutest thing ever, she said, daddy, can you help me with my work? And I gotta be honest on the inside. Selfishly, I thought, who gonna help me with my. Who gonna help me write this paper? The struggle is absolutely real. But at least I'm still in the struggle. At least I'm still in the fire. I ain't quit yet. And recently in my organizational leadership class, something very intriguing happened. My professor posited this question. He said, I want you to name a leader, dead or alive, who has had the greatest impact and influence on your life. Said, name a leader, dead or alive has had the greatest impact on your life. And so the class just starts shouting out names. I mean, you know, names like Martin Luther, names like Martin Luther King Jr. Names like John Maxwell. I mean, powerful leaders. Names like Andy Stanley, all the greats. I mean, somebody even said, Robert Madu. It was just so many. No, nobody said that. And I noticed as people kept saying names, my professor was kind of smirking. I was like, oh, this must be a setup. And it was because he went on to say he's been teaching that class on organizational leadership for 20 years. Years. That every time he poses that question, name a leader, dead or alive, that's had the greatest influence on your life. He said, In 20 years of teaching this class, I can count on one hand how many times the name Jesus has been mentioned as the most influential leader. And the point that he was making that I thought was incredibly profound, is that we only tend to look at Jesus through. Through the lens of being a savior, but not necessarily through the lens of being a leader. But don't get it twisted. Jesus Christ was the greatest leader that ever walked the face of this earth. Who else but Jesus was fully God and fully man. Who else but Jesus had a clear mission and vision statement to seek and to save the lost. Who else but Jesus was kind, loving, patient, caring, consistent, had a high emotional IQ and iq. Matter of fact, he was the I am. Who else but Jesus led with clarity. Who else but Jesus led with empathy and authority? You know, you lead with empathy and authority when you go to the tomb of a dude you gonna raise from the dead, and yet you still take the time to shed a tear because you feel the pain of the people around you? Jesus, we. And then still said, lazarus, come on out that grave. I got empathy to feel your pain, but I also got power to call a dead man out of the grave. That is some good leadership. Who else led with creative, innovative leadership? Elon Musk can't touch Jesus. Look at what the dude just did with water. Turned water into wine. Another time the water was tripping and he spoke to the hurricane and said, peace be still. Another time he just said, forget the boat. I'm a walk on the water. Who else but Jesus built a team and led so powerfully and had such a great succession plan that hear me, with 33 years of living, three years of ministry, and he lived over 2,000 years ago, and guess what? Billions of people are still following him today. I would say that's a good leader, a real good leader. But hear me, we only tend to look at him through the lens of being a savior. And he was not just a savior. He was also a leader. Why is that important? It's important because the lens through which you look at somebody will often determine what you expect to receive from them. The lens through which you look at somebody will often determine what you expect to receive from a person and what you actually receive from them. And I'm afraid that many of us, us look at Jesus through the lens of being a savior, which he is. But he's not just a savior. He is a leader, and he is Lord. And if you only see him as savior, but you don't see him as Lord, it is going to determine what you expect to receive from him in your life. If you only see him through the lens of being a savior, that means when you get in the dysfunctional relationship and it goes bad, if you only see him as savior, Savior, you will cry out to him and say, lord, I didn't know he was crazy and he broke my heart. Can you please heal my heart? Can you please get me out of this dysfunction that I'm in? If you only see him as savior, you'll call him like it's 911 when you get in the problem. But if you see him as leader and Lord, before you date the dude, you'll say, God, would you give me wisdom? Would you give me clarity? I know he fine, but I want to know, does he have some character? I know he got abs, but does he have a prayer life? I know he got a job, but can he lead our family in the way of see, if you only look at them through lens of savior and not Lord, you gonna wait till you get in the bad financial situation and they tell you, hey, we're gonna have to let you go. And then you're gonna start saying, jehovah, Jireh, I need you. They only gave me two weeks because you see him just as Savior, but if you see him as Lord, before you even take the job, you will start seeking him and say, God, I know they're gonna pay me good, but I want the right job. That's for me. You are my source. This job is not my source. And I not being led by a paycheck, I'm being led by a Lord. Oh, see, I Ain't gonna get a whole lot of Amens right here. What are you saying, P.R. i'm saying check your lens. Check your L. Because the lens through which you see Jesus will determine what you expect to receive from him and what you receive from him. You got any more Scripture for that? Mark, Chapter six. Remember when Jesus went to his hometown and the Bible says something interesting? It says he could do no mighty work in his hometown. That ain't Mark. Chapter six, that. Luke, Chapter six. But that's gonna come later. I appreciate y'all being ready. That's my people. Mark, Chapter six. Jesus pulls up into his hometown and could do no miracle in his hometown. Why? Because of the lens they saw him through. They only saw him as. You ain't the Savior of the world. Please. You Mary's baby. You're just a carpenter's son. And their lens determined what they received from him. This is why I love the Gospels, y'all. If you've heard me preach at all, you know the Gospels are my favorite. I love my boy, Mad Marky, Mark, Uncle Luke and Little John. I love the Gospels because the Gospels, hear me, are giving us four different lenses through which we see the same Jesus. He is not a different savior. But these four gospel writers give us a different lens through which we can see him. Matthew has given you the lens that Jesus is king, that he is the fulfillment of over 300 Old Testament prophecies, that the one you've been waiting for has finally arrived. Merry Christmas. He is the Messiah. He gives you the lens of Jesus being king. Luke gives you the lens of him being savior. Hear me of the world, both Jew and Gentile. John, I love John. He gives you the lens of Jesus being the son of the living God. That's why when you read John, Chapter one, it's like the boy is retweeting Genesis, chapter one. And he says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and made its dwelling among us. But Mark is my favorite. And Mark, he gives us the lens of Jesus being a servant, a servant, suffering servant. And so in Mark, chapter nine, in my text, today, we see Jesus, and he is with his crew. Everybody say his crew. He's with his crew. These 12 disciples, everybody say 12. By the way, you know, this is our 12th venue in three years. Ain't got nothing to do with the message. I just thought that was interesting. And these 12 disciples, watch this, are his crew. And he's following. He's leading. They're following 12 of them. Can you see them 12 dudes walking with Jesus? I often wonder how they walked. Was it like in a straight line? Was it like this? I don't know. But I do know that if I was One of the 12, can you imagine what it would have felt like to be picked to be one of the 12? Like, I know you're like, I'm chosen by God, but it's a different type of chosen. This is a different type of chosen. That of all the people that were in the earth during that time, he picked these 12 dudes. I'm telling we look back in retrospect, we like to clown these dudes and say, oh, man, I can't believe you had faith, Peter. Walk on water. Shut up. When did you walk on H2O? These are the 12 dudes that left everything to follow Jesus. He had a crew, 12 of them that he hand selected and picked to walk with him. Now let's put up Luke chapter six. Yeah, Luke chapter six. Find it intriguing that one day it says, Jesus went on a mountain to pray. And he prayed to God all night. That's the only time you will see Jesus praying all night. He prayed all night. And at daybreak, he called together all of his disciples and chose 12 of them. Your Savior prayed all night to pick 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Imagine being one of those 12. Imagine how you would walk if you weren't just a part of the crowd that got to hear the sermon. But you got to do life with him. Oh, you know. You know, you would be acting brand new. You would have sunglasses on inside. There's something intriguing happens this day as Jesus is with his crew. They're walking and they're walking and they get to a mountain and Jesus does something crazy, y'all. He looks back, says, hey, fellas, let's go up this mountain. They're like, alright, cool. And they get ready to climb. I can see it all 12 of them. And he goes, oh, I'm so sorry. Not all of you. Peter, James and John, y'all three come with me. You other nine stay behind. No explanation, no reason why I'm Lord. I can do what I want. Takes three of his disciples with him and leaves the other nine in the valley while the rest of them go up the mountain. He doesn't even tell them why. Read the Bible like I read the Bible. Can you put your feet in the sandals of the other nine who are left behind? I've been like, oh, really? Oh, just them Three. You just gonna leave us down here, Jesus, for real? You're not even gonna give us an explanation? What we supposed to do down here? Can we just empathize with the nine that have been left behind? Have you ever been in a season of life where you felt like God left you in the valley and he just went up on the mountaintop? Everybody else is getting blessed. Everybody else's business is popping off. Everybody else is talking about how it's an amazing season and you've feel like you are in the valley, left behind with other people that you really don't even like anyway. And you're like, why in the world would you leave me with no explanation? And here I am in the valley and God feels so distant from me. Oh, distance always creates a distortion. So you can always. You can just imagine what's going on through the mind of the disciples as they're in the valley talking about, what? What did I do? Did I not pray enough? What did I do? Should I have got out the boat too? I know Peter did, but dang, I can't swim. Why? Why do I not get to go up on the mountain? Before I really delve into the emotions of the nine, let's first of all look at the master's class that Jesus has given us on relationships. He's given us a master's class, and he's showing us that he has really defined his relationships in three groups. The crowd, the crew, and the corps. The crowd, the crew, and the corps. The crowd was everybody that he preached to. He loved the crowd. But just because I preached to you don't mean you get to hang out with me. Just because I gave you a miracle doesn't mean you get to ride on the boat with me. He loved everybody, but he had the crowd. The 12 was his crew, but within the crew was a core of Peter, James, and John. How do we just make that real practical for you? The crowd are the people you're in the world with. That's your crowd. Doesn't mean you can be rude to them. My goodness, show the love of Jesus to her. But you ain't got to be BFF with everybody. That is the crowd. Your crew, hear me, is who you do life with. And if Jesus prayed. If Jesus prayed all night for his crew, Can I ask you, how selective are you with your crew? Because how many know? All I gotta do is meet your crew and it'll tell me a lot about you. Oh, it's quiet in the church today. Your crew will tell me a whole lot about you, all my single people, I know you here. Don't just check them. Check who they hang out with. I don't care if they look like they the die climbing in the rough. There's a reason why they hanging out with him. Check the crew. Check the crew. So the crew is who you do life with. But then there's the core. And the core watch. This is who you are vulnerable with the core. Ought to be the people that can tell you, hey, outfit popping today, but your breath now. You know I love you. You know I love you. Here you go. Here. Here's some mess. These are the people. Watch this. That you ain't got to put your Superman cape on. You can be your real self with you, and they can hold you accountable. And if Jesus had him a core, you think you can survive without a core? Without somebody that you can be vulnerable with? And you can say, this is where I bleed and this is where I hurt. Come on. If you gotta pay for your core, I pay for one of my core people. A therapist. Amen. Because this thing will take you out. I want to know, do you have clear boundaries in your relationships? The crowd, the crew and the corps. This three, group of three. I don't know why Jesus picked them. I do know they saw him in some intimate moments. I do know that they were the only ones in the room. When Jesus does his first resurrection and raises Jairus daughter from the dead, I do know that when they got up on that mountaintop, check out what Jesus did. All of a sudden, without warning, Jesus starts glowing in the dark. His essence, his glory starts coming through. For the very first time on Earth, he allowed those three to see who he really was. How many know that wasn't a brand new miracle? That was actually the cessation of a miracle that was already going on. The real miracle was that for 33 years, he wasn't rocking around the earth, glowing in the dark and letting his glory come through. He just looked just as normal as you and I, but for one moment with a core of people that were his ride or die, that he could be vulnerable with. He said, let me show you the real me. This is the real me. And he let his glory shine through. I want to know, do you got somebody that can handle the real you? The other moment these three were with him was right before the crucifixion, when he's in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the savior of the universe says, hey, can you pray with me? The savior of the world, the one who calms storms is now dealing with an emotional and mental storm and needed his disciples, these three, especially, to pray with him. And look what they were doing. Appreciate you core, they were sleeping. It's wonderful to be the three. But if you're honest, most of us often feel like we're the nine in the valley left behind. And God feels distant. And there's a part of you that's like, this is not fair. I shouldn't be going through this. It's not fair. Jesus, you're not there. You should have taken all of us up the mountain. News flash, Jesus ain't fair. God is not fair. He is good. He can be trusted. But y'all, this text proves one thing, he ain't fair. If he was fair, everybody would have got to go on the field trip to the top of the mountain. God is not fair. And some of you are frustrated right now because you're like Jesus, you should be fair. And if you're waiting on fair, you are never going to walk in the fullness of what God has for you. The Bible doesn't say we walk by fair. It says we walk by faith. So that means when I feel like he's distant, I still gotta trust him. When I feel like he's up the mountain, I still gotta say, you're faithful. I still gotta say, I don't understand it. This don't seem fair to me. But you didn't promise me fair. I just gotta be faithful and let fair be on you. So all of a sudden, here they are. Can you see them? Big mad. I can see them stuck just looking up the mountain. Can't believe this. And watch this right as they're standing in their rejection, in the moment where the struggle is real and they're low key, wanting to go off on the fact that they got left behind. It's in this moment. They get a tap on their shoulder, they turn around, I can see them. What? Oh, sorry. And it's a father who has a son. And they can look at his face and see his tear stained cheeks and the desperation in his eyes. He says, this is my son. He is possessed by a demon. Can you please help? Isn't it crazy? In their feeling of rejection, Here comes a moment of ministry. You will do your greatest ministry. In your moments of misery, you will be demanded to give joy to other people. In your greatest seasons of depression, you will be demanded to give life to other people. And they don't even know you going through hell yourself, you will be in the unemployment line and people don't Even know. And they'll be hitting you up saying, can I borrow some money? And they don't even know. You don't know how you gonna pay your bills next month. Something about life. God will put you in a place when you need ministry the most. He will demand of you to give ministry the most. But that's where your strength comes in. Your strength comes in your moments of weakness. What do you think the gospel is about? Our Savior on a cross is doing his greatest ministry in his greatest moment of misery. And here they are being demanded to cast out a demon when they are mad that Jesus left him. So they turn around to the father and let's just feel the pain of this father, his baby boy. His son has been dealing with this for years. His son, watch this has not just the physical ailment, it's a demonic assignment. Every parent in here will attest to the fact that when your baby is sick, y'all, it's just different. It is different. I'm telling you. There's some parents who will testify that your child will go through some sickness and keep you up at night. And it'll make you say, God, please just take the sickness from them and put it on me. I don't want to see my baby going through this. I can't stand to see it. And this father has been dealing with this whole knows how many sleepless nights he's had watching his son not just deal with the physical ailment, which is pain enough, but then he perceives this is not just a physical ailment, this is a demonic assignment. There is a spirit attached to this thing because watch what this demon is trying to do. This demon is trying to get this boy to throw himself in the fire and throw himself in the water. You know, it's a demonic assignment when it's trying to get you to self harm, when it's trying to get you to destroy yourself, yourself. When it's trying to get you to not see the value that you hold, that you are an image bearer of God. And this father realized, I've been to every doctor I know to go to. I must need to go to somebody else that's not just a doctor, but is a deliverer. I need somebody that has supernatural power to set my boy free. Because this physical ailment is a demonic assignment. And he heard the stories of a Jesus who demons trembled whenever he walked in a room. And he said, maybe, maybe if I just get my baby boy to Jesus, he'll be set free. I wish somebody would take A praise break. And just praise God. Like, you know that God can still set people free today, that the delivering power of Jesus is still available today. Oh, I'm telling you, sometimes you don't need a doctor. You need somebody to do some deliverance. And this father had enough wisdom to know this is a demonic assignment. And he goes to disciples and say, please, can you help? Where is Jesus? And can you see them talking about, well, Jesus is up the mountain. He look busy right now. But anyway, don't worry about it. Give us the boy. We got you. We got you. Give it. Bring the boy to me. We got it. He's over there foaming at the mouth, man. Bring him over here. Here's how I know. Here's how I know. They were confident to cast it out. You better back that thing up. Biblically to Luke, chapter 10. Jesus has already given them authority to cast out demons. They've already done it. They've already been healing the sick. They've already been casting out demons. They have done this. They have taken demonology one on one. They have cast out a whole lot of demons. Read it when you get to the crib. Luke, chapter 10. The Bible says that after they went on a ministry tour and they cast out demons, they actually came to Jesus excited. Say, guess what, Jesus? Even the demons run away when we call on your name. You ever notice what Jesus said back to them? He didn't go, great job. He says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yo, that's me. I'm like, what's Satan falling from lightning got to do with me casting out demons? A couple of things. One is, why are you so excited, you casting out demons? The devil's already been defeated. You shouldn't be shocked. The demons run when you call my name. Because the enemy has already been defeated. I saw him when he fell from heaven. That's one thing he's saying, Lawrence. The other thing he's saying to him, since they so hype we did it. He's also saying, be careful, watch your pride. Don't be so excited that I am using you. Because the ultimate thing for you to be excited about is not just that I'm using you. The thing you should be excited about is that I redeemed you. And your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. So don't get it twisted and get prideful just because you had some success. And I think because they casted out some before, they're like, bring that boy over here. Stop. Ain't nobody scared. All that Come on, bring him over here. And that boy comes to the disciples. I don't know who went first, but they go, in the name of Jesus, come out that boy. Like, oh, okay, I've seen this before. Just sometimes takes twice. In the name of Jesus, come on out. He's spitting at him. Probably like, oh, wow, okay, we got somebody spitting. Okay, come on, Peter. I need. I mean, no, he up the mountain. Never mind. Come on, Bartholomew. He don't ever get a shout out. Come on, Bartholomew, come on, we gotta. Gotta attack this demon together. In the name of Jesus, come out. This boy keeps rolling on the ground, foaming at the mouth, y'all. Crowds are showing up going, what's wrong? How come they can't cast them out? I don't know to what links they went through. In my mind, they're like, maybe we should spit on them and get some mud that works for Jesus. Maybe they. I don't know what they doing. I just know it's not working. And a crowd is forming. And not just the crowd. The scribes and Pharisees. Can you see them walking in? They're failing. This boy been on the floor three hours now. In the name of Jesus, come out. And here come the scribes and Pharisees going, oh, what's going on here? Jesus biggest haters have now showed up to watch his disciples who are failing over something God gave them authority to do. Oh, y'all, it's one thing to fail. It's a whole nother thing to fail in front of your haters. It's a whole nother thing to be humiliating, humiliated in front of people that you don't like, and they don't like you either. And here they are failing, and the scribes and Pharisees are going, oh, you must need your savior to come off that mountain, because something's going on. It's not happening. They get so mad and watch what they do. They turn from this boy and his father and start arguing with other church folks. They turn from the assignment of ministering to the hurting and the broken and start arguing on Instagram, trying to bring it to the 21st century with other church people. Can you imagine the pain of this father who brought his son to Jesus? Jesus is not there. And then he comes to the church, and the church turns his back on his boy who is possessed by a demon and starts wasting energy fighting the scribes and the Pharisees. Oh, can I tell you, this is an indictment on the church. Today we got to know which battle we're supposed to Fight. Many of us are wasting our energy fighting other church people when we need to get busy setting people free and healing the sick. You better know which battle you fighting. I don't have time to argue with you when I have an assignment to set people free. I, I, I don't have time. I know some people do it, and it's amazing. You got a wonderful career with it and the YouTube things are bringing you money. I don't got time to be online critiquing other people's sermons. That really wasn't the context. I think that was isis. Let me do a whole blog about it. I'd rather preach a sermon than waste my time critiquing somebody. And they're wasting their energy, they're wasting their time. And this father fades to the background, and here they are arguing and fighting with the Pharisees. If this father was alive today in the spirit of this age, today, you know what he would have done? He would have left, said, this is ridiculous. I tried to come to the church and look at what the church did, and in no way, shape or form. And I'm making excuse. They should have been available and should have been able to do it. But thank God that this father did not leave until he got his miracle. Some of us leave and we don't wait for Jesus to come back down. Some of us, us get offended and we leave the very place that God wants to give you the miracle in. What if the place you got offended in God actually has a miracle and a breakthrough in and the offense was a setup from the enemy to get you to walk away from your place of breakthrough? Oh, I'm so glad that this father didn't leave, that he waited. And because he waited, guess who came back down the mountain? Here comes Jesus coming back down the mountain. And I'm glad the father was there. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but you better wait on Jesus. You better wait for his glory. You better wait for his presence. Jesus comes down, and I love it because the Bible says that the crowd ran to Jesus and the disciples kept fighting who they were so busy fighting, they didn't know his presence came back. They were so immersed in the fight, they didn't know that he was down from the mountain to the point it's in the text. He had to get their attention. Say, hey, what y'all arguing about? You ever been there? You ever been in a fight and you forgot what you was arguing about? They notice Jesus is there. Worship team, join me. You there, Barrett, come On make this sound real pretty. Watch this. Jesus comes down, gets their attention. I love it because it says that everybody stood in awe of Jesus. The crowd did. They stood in awe of his presence. Some scholars think that perhaps he was still radiating, much like Moses when he came off of the mountain and the glory of God showing on Moses. And when he came down, his face was still glowing. Some people think that they could still see traces of his glory. And there was something different about Jesus when he came down that day. He said, what y'all arguing about? The disciples had no answer. The Father spoke up. I tell you, I brought my boy who was hurting. I brought my boy who's been dealing with an issue for years. I brought him to you, Jesus. And when I brought him to you, you weren't here. So I came to the church. And they tried, but they got distracted fighting a pointless battle. Here I am, left in the pain of my boy who's been dealing with this a long time. Jesus says, oh, faithless generation, how long do I have to be with you before I get to the vulnerability of this? Father? Can I thank God for the vulnerability of Jesus, for him to be honest enough to say, yes, I love the whole world so much so I'm going to give my life for you. But in this moment, I'm a little annoyed. I'm annoyed by this faithless. One Version says, unbelieving generation. And who is he talking about? Everybody. Because the disciples lacked faith, this father was leaking faith. The scribes and the Pharisees had no faith. He was surrounded by unbelief. And Jesus goes, bring the boy to me, y'all. This is where the miracle breaks down. Because in my mind, if the disciples have failed and this boy has been convulsing violently, when Jesus says, bring the boy to me. Come on, y'all. This ought to be the moment where those demons run away and the boy comes to him, and they maybe even floats to him and kisses Jesus on the forehead and says, thank you for setting me free. But read it. That is not what happened in the text. The Bible says that when the demon saw Jesus, the boy started convulsing more violently when Jesus showed up. What do you do when you bring your problem to Jesus and it didn't get better, it got worse. What do you do when you brought your issue to the church and to Jesus? And it. It was no Cinderella story. It was no overnight miracle. You brought it to the feet of Jesus and the boy did not get better. In that moment, it actually got worse. I believe God was doing something on the inside of that Father. He was trying to build a resilient faith to say, are you gonna walk away when the church hurts you? You gonna walk away just because it didn't get better the moment Jesus showed up? Are you gonna trust and believe me even when you see no evidence for it? It got worse. That's the message nobody preaches you can actually bring it to Jesus. And it gets worse. We only put up the testimonies where it says, I was an alcoholic, I prayed, and the next day I was completely clean. Praise the Louia. I've never touched it again. We only put up the stories where, hey, I sold in the offering. Oh, and it was amazing. God bless my business. We don't ever tell the stories where people say, yeah, I obeyed and I came. And it did not immediately get better. It got worse. The boy shook violently. He fell on the ground. And Jesus, while the boy is convulsing, ask the Father a question. How long has that been going on? Jesus, stop playing. First of all, deal with the boy that's foaming at the mouth on the ground. You got the power. And why you asking 21 questions you already know? Not only do you already know the answer, you know how long it's been going on. Why are you doing this? Jesus, he was making that father process. The answer wasn't for him. He was making that father process every sleepless night. How long it's been going on. You hear it in his answer. He says, from childhood, Jesus, the great teacher, is asking this pointed question because he knows that this man has bought into a lie that some of you have bought into. And that is that the longevity of the problem will hinder God's ability to fix it. There are some of you that have bought into the lie that because your problem has been chronic and it's been going on for year after year after year, that it is too late and the clock has run out and God can't perform the miracle. But I'm so glad that Jesus put this story in the Bible to let. Let somebody in here know. I don't care how long it's been. Don't you ever let the longevity of the problem make you doubt my ability. I don't care if it's been 38 years and you sat by a pool of Bethesda and all of a sudden you've given hope of walking again. I will stir the waters again. I don't care. It's been 12 years and you've had an issue of blood and doctors could do nothing. But if you press your way through, I'll make sure you get your healing in. It doesn't matter how long it's been, God is still able. I wish somebody would get up on your feet and give God some praise. If you know our God is still able to make a way, even if it's been years. Who is this message for? Today you, just like this man, have bought into the lie that if it was a year into the problem, if it was a year into the issue, God could have done it. If it was two weeks, God could have done it. But because it's been years, God you can. And I came to tell you, the devil is a liar. The longevity of a problem does not hinder God's ability, ability to bring healing and power. He thought it was too late. He says it's been going on since childhood. But if you can do anything, have mercy. He was not questioning God's willingness, He was questioning God's ability. There was a leper that questioned his willingness because he was outcast and nobody would touch him. And he said, jesus, if you're willing, nobody else would touch me. If you're willing, you can heal me. And Jesus says, ain't nothing but a thing. You know I'm willing. Come here. Nobody else will touch you. I will come here, heal the leper. This man is not asking the question of the leper. He is questioning God's ability. He says, if you can. And Jesus hits him back with the same energy. If, if, if. I love Jesus. Because he flipped the if. You talking about if I can? I'm gonna flip the if and say if you can believe, if you got the faith. I got the power. Don't you ever doubt my ability. It's not if I can, it's if you can believe that even though this has been going on for years, I still got the power to heal your boy. It doesn't matter how long it being. If you can just believe Jesus flipped the if back on him. If. If you can believe and then watch the honesty. What I believe will help my unbelief. If this dude was in church today, we would have thrown him to the side. What you mean unbelief? You can't have any doubt at all. Obviously you can have some unbelief mixed with some belief. This dude says the struggle is real. He's saying, jesus, I'm bringing my real self to you. Yes, I believe. I know you got the power. But this has been going on for so long and the longness of the problem has made me wonder if you can still do it. And can I thank God? God, that he can handle my honesty. He can handle the contradiction that on the inside of me. Yes, I know you're a healer, but I'm wondering, can you heal this disease? Yes, I know you're a provider, but I'm wondering, can you step in now? I came to tell somebody, God can handle your doubt. He can handle your doubt. I wish you had some more scripture for that besides this text. What about a Thomas, by the way? His name is not Doubting Thomas. Y'all put the doubting on her because that's how people do. They'll define you by one moment in your life and think that's who you are. What about a Thomas? He says, I know Jesus showed up for y'all and showed you his scars, but I ain't believing until I see it myself. If I was Jesus and I just got up from the dead for your sins, I'd be like, forget you brought. I ain't got nothing to prove. Here comes Jesus through a wall. Come here, Tom. Come here. Get close. Put your finger in my side. Touch my hands. I'm big enough to handle your doubts. It's never been about the size of your faith. It's always about the object of your faith. It's made. God can work with a little bit of faith. He's big enough to handle your doubts. In other words, you serve a savior that knows the struggle is real. I believe. Help my unbelief. And because of a moment of honesty and not perfect faith, but honest faith directed at the right person, Jesus looks at that boy and commands, watch this. That demon to come out of that boy and then does something that he has never done with anybody else. It would have been miracle enough just for Jesus to say, come out of that boy. But that's not what he did. He didn't just deliver him. He completely restored. And he gave this command. I completely command you to never enter him again. Do you see what Jesus can do with somebody that's honest and vulnerable with where they are? He says, not only am I going to set your boy free, I'm going to make sure you ain't ever got to worry about this ever coming back again. You going to sleep at night. Because our God can do full deliverance. He can restore. But it starts with honesty, starts with vulnerability. He knows the struggle is real. He can handle just your little faith and even the doubt that start to creep in. He can handle your doubts. Here's the thing. Just don't let your doubt drive you to complete unbelief. Look at what he says. I believe. But Lord, you help me in my unbelief. In other words, I'm bringing my little bit of faith and my doubts to you. I know you're big enough to handle it. I'm gonna ask heads be bowed and eyes be closed today because I feel like this message is for somebody. Maybe it's just one person, but if you're honest, your soul has been saying the struggle is real. Your life feels like a major contradiction because on one hand, watch this. You believe God is able. You know he's able to bring you a spouse and somebody that's going to honor you and cherish you and love God. But it's been so long that just like this man, you're saying, I believe. But Lord, help my uncle unbelief. You know he's a healer and he's able to heal. But you've been dealing with the sickness for so long now, you're starting to doubt his ability. God told me to tell you the longevity of the problem does not affect his ability to heal. But if you come to him honest with your fears and your doubts, he can handle it. Heads about, eyes are closed today. But if you be so honest to say, hey, P.R. this message is for me and I need to bring him not just my little faith, but even my doubts. See, the enemy would love for you to have doubts and let those doubts drive you away from his presence. But you got to bring your doubts to him and ask him for help. He will give you strength in your time of need. Heads about, eyes are closed. But if you be so honest to say this message for me and I need strength to bring my doubts to him. The struggle is real. If that's you, would you lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it? Father, thank you. Thank you, Father. I thank you that you see every person, God, you know, every need. God, thank you that you don't need perfect faith, you don't need perfect people. But you do need honesty. Thank you that we can be honest and vulnerable with you. You're big enough to handle it. Father, I pray for my brother and my sister that their doubts would not make them go on a detour to unbelief. But Father, we're they model what you did on the cross that even after you felt the Father turn his face towards you because of our sin, you did not stop talking to your heavenly Father. You said, my God, my God, why have you Forsaken me, Father. Help us to keep coming to you, even with our doubts. Trust us, trusting that you'll fill in the gaps, that you will be our help in Jesus name. Head still bow, eyes still closed. If you're here today and you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, today would be an amazing day. On the day where we're about to celebrate and go outside and hang with family, you can actually be adopted into a beautiful, beautiful family. On a day where we just happen to be in a venue called Trust Theater, you can put your trust in a savior who's not waiting for you to be perfect and cleaned up to come to him, but just waiting for you to admit that you need him and confess your faith in him. So with heads bowed and eyes closed, please, everybody, just respect this moment. Nobody moving. If you're here today and say, hey, P.R. today's the day I need to give him my life. I need to surrender all that I am to him. Dashie, would you lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it? Come on. Thank you. I see those hands. I see those hands. Come on. Maybe there's a season you were walking with the Lord and you turned away, but right now you feel God speaking to you, saying, come on, daughter. Come on, son. Anybody else, lift it up and put it right back down. Thank you, Jesse. Jesus, I saw so many hands. Come on. I just believe there's something powerful about leaving where you are and taking a step. Come on. This father would have never gotten the breakthrough if he wouldn't have walked to Jesus with his son. So here's what I'm going to ask. If you lifted up your hand that second time, saying, I need to give Jesus my life. Come on. When I count to three, I just want you to make your way right up here to the front. Because I'm believing the old you is going to be in your seat and the new you is stepping forward into what God has for you. I don't care if you're all the way at the top. I promise, every step you walk down, it is worth it. Come on. They're already coming. 1. This is your moment. 2. The day you hear your father calling, please don't deny it. 3. Would you come? Would you come? Come on. I wish I had a church that would do what the angels in heaven are doing right now. Come on. Come on. I promise it's worth the walk. I promise it's worth getting out of your seat. Come on. Thank you, Jesus. I'm putting my Trust in him. He knows every tear that you cry. He knows the struggle is real. And with open arms, your Savior is still calling for you. He's still calling. Come on, Church. Don't stop clapping until people stop coming. Come on. This is a move. This is a miracle. These are his sons and his daughters responding to his voice. Come on. Come on. I see mothers coming. I see fathers coming, coming. Thank you, Jesus. I see children coming. Come on. This is a destiny moment. Thank you, Jesus. Come on. They're still coming. They're still coming. Come on. This is how I fight my battle. Thank you, Lord. Anybody else? Anybody else hear me? Just real soft. Thank you, God. I've learned to pause and wait because I know the enemy loves to make you think it's too late. Love to make you think you've been dealing with this for so long. Why else would Jesus, who knows the answer to every question he would ask, why would he ask his Father, how long has this been going on? Trying to get him to understand the longevity of the problem does not hinder my ability. I don't care how long you've been stuck in your sin, how long you've turned away. When you hear his voice calling, you respond, respond, respond. Anybody else? Anybody else? I just want to wait a few more moments. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Thank you, you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. I'm telling you, he loves you so much. He loves you so much. I promise it's not too late. I promise it's not too late. Thank you. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. Thank you, Father. Anybody else? Those of you at this altar, could you just. With your hands lifted? Come on. Yeah, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. I wish you could see generations that are going to be changed because of this moment. I wish you could see stuff that's breaking off of family lines because of this moment. I wish you could see the ripple effect of what this one moment is gonna do. Anybody else? Those of you at the front, could you just do me this favor? Just lift up your hands just as a sign of surrender. We come to him with all of us. In fact, can we all do it just to join those here at the front? I'm going to lead you in this prayer. The power comes from the words coming from your heart. And would you just say this? Say, jesus, my hands are raised because I surrender. I surrender. All that I am to you, Jesus. I believe you are the son of God. I believe that you lived the life that I was supposed to live. You died the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place. So this moment is my response. I give you all of me. Come into my life. Make me brand new. Forgive me of my sin. From this moment forward, I'm walking with you. Thank you Jesus, for being big enough to handle my doubts. My hope, hope, my faith, my trust is in you. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Amen.