← Victory Church: Paul Daugherty
Victory Church: Paul Daugherty
I NEED A NEW CHAPTER IN MY STORY | PAUL DAUGHERTY | THIS IS MY STORY SERIES PT. 2
00:55:10
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Sam,
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Come on, everybody say, this is my story. If you got a Bible, go to John chapter 5. We want to welcome our online campus people watching all over the world this morning, as well as our Victory Manford campus, Victory north campus. And you know, as we look at this story in John chapter five this week, I kept thinking about all the stories in the Bible where Jesus changed the outcome. Jesus changed what was going to happen. Last week we looked at Acts chapter three, how this man had been laid at a gate called Beautiful every single day of his life. He had been lame and he stayed in the place where people found him until Peter and John introduced him to the power in the name of Jesus and his story was changed forever. Today I wanna look at this story of this man who has been stuck in a bad chapter in his life. And really the title of this message today is, the question I wanna ask you is how many y' all could use a new chapter in your story? A new chapter of God's grace, his mercy, his freedom, his victory in your life. So I wanna title this message, I need a new chapter in my story. I need a new chapter. I don't just need a new story. Because the truth is, you're not gonna get a new story, but God can change your story. To get a new story would mean you'd have to like, live a whole brand new life from birth till. But the good news is, no matter where you are right now in your story, God can change it and he can write a new chapter no matter how bad it's gotten. By the way, I was talking with someone this past week who's been through a lot of crazy stuff. And he was telling me, he said, paul, what I've realized is all the parts of my story that I wish I could change are also the parts of my testimony that remind me how graceful our God is, how merciful he is and what he has done in my journey, that he's writing a new chapter more than people need a new story, they need a new chapter in their story. John, chapter 5, verse 1. Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem, near the sheep gate. Everybody say sheep gate. Now, the sheep gate was the gate where sheep went through. You're like, duh. But not just any sheep. These were the sheep that were dedicated for sacrifice. These were the sacrificial lambs. Y' all remember when I preached with a lamb in my arms? If you missed that, you just got to go back and watch it. It was, I think I'm still recovering from holding that 40 pound lamb the whole sermon. But the sheep would enter through this gate. I think it's interesting that Jesus enters through this gate knowing that he's going to be the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the whole world. And he's going through a gate near a pool called Bethesda. Bethesda was a place of several pools and it was a place where people would go to find healing. Bethesda actually means house of grace, house of mercy. By the way, every time you come to victory, you are coming to a house of grace, a house of mercy. Which means that you can come with all your baggage, you can come as you are. You don't have to pretend to be better than you are. You don't have to pretend like life is better than it. You can come with all the junk but. But you don't have to stay with all of it. You can leave better than you came in. You could come in messed up, but you can leave set free. You could come in lost, but you can leave found. This is a house. How many y' all could use some mercy and grace in your life? So Bethesda was actually called the House of Mercy, the House of grace. Now John, who's writing this book was a disciple who followed Jesus and he wrote his book, the Book of John. Fifty years after Jesus had died on the cross, rose from the grave, ascended up to heaven, died. John didn't write this the night that it happened. He wrote this story 50 years later. So he had some time to think about his favorite stories with Jesus. He talks about Lazarus. He talks about the Samaritan woman at the well. He talks about the wedding in Cana when Jesus turned water into wine. He talks about Jesus washing the disciples feet. But he's the only one. Out of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Luke and John, out of all four gospels, he's the only one to tell the story that we're about to read. No other gospel in the Bible tells this story. I think it's really interesting. John thought this is important. People need to hear what happened this day. Because on this day, a man's story was about to change forever. A man who had been stuck in a bad story, a bad chapter for 38 years. This pool of Bethesda is surrounded by five covered colonnades. So imagine with me you're going to a pool, right? There's five pillars with five huge shades of all these people are spread out and you would think it's like, you know, the coolest club in town. But it's not. This is not a club of all the wealthy, affluent, influential people that are doing really good. This is actually a pool club for the broken and the disabled. Look at this. In verse three, it says. It says here a great number of disabled people. Disabled people used to lie. They weren't just lying there. This word has a double meaning. They were lying there, but they were also lying there. They were stuck in some lies. They were stuck in the lies that they had been listening to, the lies that the enemy had been whispering over them. And here's what the enemy loves to lie to us about. That you are what you've been diagnosed with. That you have no name. You're just the paralyzed person. You're the invalid person. You're. You're the alcoholic, you're the addict, you're the prostitute, you're the sex addict, you're the drug addict. You're the messed up person. You're the dysfunctional. And these people weren't just lying there, they were stuck in a lie. What have you been lying to yourself about? Cause sometimes it's not just the lies of the enemy. It's the lies of the enemy. It's the lies of I'm not good enough. I'm not qualified. I'm not lovable. I'm not even likable. I'm never gonna get out of this. I'm stuck in this chapter. Paul, I know you got some great testimonies on stage and you know, God did some awesome things in their lives, but not for me, Paul, I've been lying here for a long time. And you've not just been lying there, you've been lying to yourself, saying that you can't, by the way, is stuck circumstantial, or is it choice? Is being stuck a circumstance or is it a choice? That's a question I have for you in this story today. Are we stuck in our chapters of our life because of what other people have done? Because of the circumstance? Well, I just was let go. Well, Paul, I wasn't raised by the right. I married the wrong person. Well, Paul, I just made some mistakes. I mean, people did some stuff to me and it's all by circumstance that I am stuck. Or is it a choice? And only you can answer that. But I do know this. In the scripture today, this man is not just stuck in a chapter because of what other people have done to him. He is stuck in many ways. We're gonna find out because of choice. And then I get to verse four, and when I'm reading my Bible. My Bible actually doesn't include verse four. And I was looking through, I was like, where is verse four? Like, my Bible literally goes from verse three to verse five. Does anyone else have a Bible? It's like, wait, there's a hole in this story. There's a hole in your story. I need to hear the whole story to understand the hole in this story. I think some of the reasons why we're stuck is because there's a hole in our story. We're not telling the whole story. Ask that person next to you, is there a hole in your story? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because, like, when I'm having to deal with one of my kids that's screaming and crying and saying, so and so hurt me, da, da, da, da. I'm like, well, what did you do? I know that you want me to discipline them, but the other kid will come in and be like, there's a hole in this story. He actually hit me first. He called me a name. So I know he's telling on me, but he didn't tell on himself. And we get to verse four, and verse four is not there, which tells me I've got to find out why is verse four not included in my Bible. This only happens a few times in the Bible where a verse is not included. And you gotta do some digging. Everybody say, do some digging. You gotta dig into your story a little bit. You gotta go below the surface. There's people who come to the altar and they go, I'm surrendering. Just want God to change it. And I'm going, yeah, but what's beneath that? I know you're saying you're surrendering, but what's the part of the story you're not telling me, Paul? It's not my fault. It's someone else's fault. The reason why I'm down here is someone else is making me make bad decisions. Someone else is responsible for my condition. Someone else is responsible for the broken parts of me. It's not. And there's a hole. So I go down to the bottom of my Bible where it gives me, like, the small fine print. Little, you know, you gotta read. It's really little. And it says, some manuscripts leave out this verse. Some manuscripts don't include the whole story. Some manuscripts only include part of the story. But in order to have a good story, in order to have a story that changes, you got to get the whole story. So it says in verse four, here's what it actually does say from time to time, the people believed an angel of the Lord would come down, would stir the waters. So there was this belief in Israel that an angel would go and touch the pool. This angel would go down at a certain time, they believed. It didn't happen all the time, just certain times. And he would stir up the water. And if you were lucky, if you were lucky, whoever stepped in first, this is a really good legend. We used to have legends as kids when we were little. Like whoever's the first, you know, whoever's the first one to say this, whoever's the first one to do that, right, is the blessed one. Whoever is the first one to get into the water after the stirring of the water was made well of whatever disease he had. This was a belief in Israel. I looked into this because I was like, did they actually see angels? Because I. This is the only place this story shows up, is in the Book of John. There's no proof of anyone seeing angels. They saw the water change. And this is actually what happened in Israel. By the way, this is a verse in the Bible that Jesus didn't say. These people were holding on to a legend that never came from Jesus. You got to be careful holding on to promises that God never made. People were believing a lie that kept them stuck. People were believing, if I get to the water first, when the. So here's what actually happened. There were springs in Israel, underground springs. These springs like Old Faithful, if you've ever been to Yosemite, Old Faithful, this geyser, it just springs up at certain times. You never know when it's gonna spring up. Certain times the water springs up and it surges with water and then at certain times it just goes down and the water doesn't rise. And this is what was happening at the pool of Bethesda. The people were watching the spring, thinking it was an angel attaching their future healing to something that wasn't even from God. And they were stuck. And then in verse five, there was one, there was one, one who had been there. And by the way, they labeled him an invalid. This can be said two different ways. Invalid or invalid. Invalid means someone who's weak, someone who is dependent on somebody else, someone who can't change themselves. Someone who, like a person who is so sick, so disabled that they need a live in nurse or a spouse, becomes the nurse, changing them, helping them use the bathroom, feeding them, taking care of them. They can't do life on their own. But you could also say invalid. Invalid means it's not even true. Invalid means it's not even logical. Invalid Means this has no validity to it. And this is what people labeled this man. And this is what the enemy whispers, you are what you've been labeled. But God says your name when everybody else says your labels. Not even John. This. We don't even know this man's name. John doesn't even mention his name. But Jesus knows his name. Jesus knows your name. All these people that have been waiting, Jesus walks up to one. He always goes after the one. He goes after that one lost sheep. He sees you on the back row. He sees you on the front row. He sees you watching online from Florida.
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He sees.
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He sees you on the 10th row. He sees you if you're young. He sees you if you're old. He sees you if you're put together and rich. He sees you if you slept under a bridge last night, you're poor or homeless. He sees you and he cares about you. He cares about you. And this man had been stuck here for 38 years. Now, notice that it doesn't say he was born this way. In other words, he had a healthy condition at one point in his life, but somewhere along the journey in his story, something bad happened that caused him to get stuck for 38 years. That's a long chapter. I've read some books that have some long chapters. That's a really long chapter. And Jesus knows it too. Verse 6. When Jesus saw him. Jesus sees you. He sees you lying there, but he also sees you lying there. He sees you lying in your condition. He sees you lying to your husband. He sees you lying to your wife. He sees you lying to your parents. He sees you lying to yourself. He sees you lying to that counselor. He sees you lying to your boss. He sees you lying to him, and you go, well, that is so harsh, Paul. Well, the good news is God doesn't judge us in our lies. He sets us free from our lies. He didn't come to condemn us. He came to save us. I'm so thankful that the mercy, mercy of God is greater than the judgment of man. The labels of people cannot hold the power of Jesus over. Listen, Jesus shows up and he sees the lies, and he also sees him lying there. Stuck. Stuck in a bad chapter. And Jesus learned that he had been in this condition for a long time. So Jesus knows this guy has been stuck for a long time. At this point, you would go, man, I bet Jesus is just gonna walk up and heal him. I bet Jesus is just gonna wave his magic wand and go, be made. Well, get out of this bad season in your life. But Instead, Jesus walks up and he asks him a question that I want to ask you today. Do you want to get well? The audacity for Jesus to ask this question to a man who has been stuck for a long time. 38 years is a long time to be stuck.
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Stuck.
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Why would you ask him if he wants to get well? Because Jesus knew that he could heal this man. But Jesus wanted to know, does this man even want a different story? Has this man become so comfortable in his dysfunction that he acts like he wants to change at the altar, but underneath that pretend act, he knows he's going to go back and keep doing the same thing and telling the same story? When I was working on this sermon this last week, I came across this video by a very famous comedian named Theo Vaughn. Now, Theo Vaughn is, like, he's got millions of followers on Instagram and YouTube, and he interviews every celebrity you can imagine, and he hangs out with, like, the Hollywood crew. Someone sent this video to me, and it is a video about him literally talking about what I'm preaching about today. And I thought, well, I can't get Theo Vaughn to come to church here, but I'm going to tag team preach with him a little bit and in service. So for all the religious mindsets, we're gonna break it today. I edited out all the cuss words, but I want you to hear what he has to say because his words connect with this message in such a powerful way. So I'm gonna let Theo take it from here. Go ahead.
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You know, I've been struggling, man. The past, like, couple years I've had, You know, it's been a struggle in certain ways with certain behaviors that I'm just not proud of, right? Or really just behaviors that I didn't want to do anymore. I couldn't change it. I couldn't change the cycle. And even as I say this, I'm afraid that I'll fall back into those behaviors. You know, sometimes I realized for myself, I would pray to God to help me get away from certain behaviors in my life. But at the same time that I was praying, there would be a part of me that knew I was probably going to do those things again. So I started praying like this. I started praying like, God, please help me with this. You know, this is a broken part of me that I bring to you. I need help with it. And then I would add to my prayer. I would say, and even God, even as I pray to you right now, there's a part of me that knows I'm going to do that behavior again. So can you come into that part of me and help me there? And I don't know if that sounds crazy or not, but I started to think that, like a connection between us and a higher power, it's so. It's such the realest. It's like in my life, it's one of the realest things that I've ever witnessed, right? Like, you go in. Like, I'll be in meetings and. Or a recovery meetings or. And you see people's lives change. You see something happen. You see. You see miracles, right? I couldn't change. I could. I tried everything. I tried everything to change. I would tell myself, I'm going to do it different. I'm going to do that. And it wouldn't. It just. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it by myself. And my whole life I'd done everything by myself. I thought. I thought I had. And so something that's just been helping me recently is just praying differently. But. So, yeah, so I've just been praying that God comes into those parts of me. Don't just come into, like, the water inside of me. Come into the. Come into the well, come into the walls of the well, come into the mortar or whatever that's between the bricks. Because I'm broken all the way there. I don't know. I'm starting to just feel something different. And then I was also. I was looking on this Bible and there's a story called John 5, and it's about a guy who's at these pools and. And Jesus is at the. Is at the pools, and it's in Bethesda. And they're like, there's a sick man there, and he's been sick for a long time. And Jesus asks him, do you want to be healed? He asks him, do you want to be healed? And that's a crazy question because, you know, if I get healed, then I'm different. You know, if somebody gets healed, they have a new story. So that's just been something that I've been having to ask myself. It's like, do I want to be healed? Do I really want something different? And sometimes a lot of the answer is no, I don't. I want something different. But I don't wanna. I don't know if I'm scared of it. I don't know what I am. I don't know if I don't wanna do what it takes to get out. I can't even tell what it is.
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It's hard for me.
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Some of this stuff's a little bit hard for me to say. I think. I don't even know why, but I think I want a new story. You know, when I was growing up, like my mom, something was wrong with her. I love my mother, you know, but she didn't connect with me. She didn't, like, look at me, you know, she wouldn't hold me that much, and she didn't look. She. She wouldn't look me in the eyes, right? And so as a kid, I felt like. I felt like something was wrong with me, you know, I felt like, oh, if. If the person that created me won't even look at me, then something must be so wrong with me. It gave me like a lot of. A lot of low self worth. And honestly, it made it tough for me to even have a self because the only person that I only knew who I was if you reacted to me well. Right. Like, I became just a people pleaser because I didn't have any feelings of self worth. So the only way I could get my worth was from you, right? From somebody else. And it made sense because I didn't have a me, you know, I didn't have a big sense of self. And so I got myself from who you thought I was. I needed everybody to like me because I didn't know if. I didn't know if. I didn't know if there was a one person that didn't like me, if one of the plates stopped spinning, if it was all gonna fall down. But the thing that also happened was that whole. All of that energy, that negative energy, that uncertainty that became my story, right? And it gave me like a chip on my shoulder where it was like, you know, I'm going to show them, you know, I'll do this and I'll. You know, it gave me all of that. It gave me all of that energy. Like, I'll prove to them, I'll prove to somebody that I'm. That I'm worth something. I just want to look in somebody's eyes and have them be pleased with me. That's what I wanted. I think it's all that any kid wants. I wanted to just look in somebody's eyes and have them be pleased with me. And. And all that gave me a chip on my shoulder, you know. And so anyway, so it gave me all this energy. It was like, you know, I'm gonna figure this out. I'll never. I'll do it myself. I'll figure, you know, and all that stuff served me well until, I think just until now it's like, I don't know. I'm just tired of living that story, man. I'm tired of that story. It's been a good story and it served me well, but I don't want that story anymore. You know, I want something different
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because
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the more I just tell that story, it's just like, you know, I stay in that world. I stay in that cycle. And it's scary to say that I want to have a news story because I'm so used to, like, how those other feelings work. I know who to be angry at. I know how to operate here and I know how to operate there, and I know who to not give love to. And I. But I think I want a new story, dude. And it's crazy for me to even say that. Yeah, I'm asking God for a new story, right? I'm asking God for the next part of.
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Come on, come on, give that. Yeah, it's powerful, man. I got emotional watching that. Every single service. I'm asking God for a new story. Really, what Theo is asking for is a new chapter and the story. A chapter that God can redeem what he's walked through. Theo can't relive the last 30 years and neither can you or me. We can't go backwards in time and. And unlive what we've lived. But we can have a redemptive chapter. This is where this man is at in John chapter 5. He has lived for at least 38 years, but we know it happened after he was born. But because after this miracle, Jesus says, you used to be healed and, well, used to be healthy, and then you went through this 38 year period where you were stuck for 38 years. So this man could be in his mid-40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, or, you know, early 40s. The point is, is he's been stuck in this chapter. And Jesus is asking this question. Do you even want a new story? Are you ready to stop telling your victim's story? Are you ready to stop rehearsing what your mom did, didn't do for you and what your dad didn't do for you or what they did to you? Are you ready for a new chapter? Are you ready for healing? Are you ready for transformation? Or do you just want to stay here? Do you want to keep lying here? Do you want to keep lying to yourself? And so the man responds to Jesus in verse 7, when Jesus asks this question, he says, sir, and again, he's still labeled the invalid. You are not your labels. You are not your issues. You are not your diagnosis. But this man is still rehearsing it. He says, listen, I have no one. I'm gonna stop right there. Too many of us live in this place. I have no one who cares about me. I have no one who truly sees my pain. I have no one who knows the good, bad, and ugly about me and actually believes there's greater days. I have no one to help me. Everybody's left. My mom left me. My dad left me. If you ever play a country song backwards, you get your wife back, you get your dog back, you get your house back, you get your money back. You know, because it's true. It's such a victim story of, everybody's left me, everybody's abandoned me, Nobody's helping me. It's everyone else's fault that I'm stuck here. It's everyone else's fault that I battle these addictions and dysfunctions. And it's my dad's fault. It's my grandpa's fault. It's my mom's fault. It's the reason why I keep going after the wrong people and stuck in the wrong relationships. And every time there's a stirring in the pool, every time there's this mysterious, superstitious possibility that I might get healed, other people get in front of me. Other people steal my miracle. Other people steal my blessing. Other people, yeah. God. God healed Erica. God bless Daniel's marriage. God restored jazz. God helped Kunle. God. God's doing stuff for other people. They're all getting in front of me. They're all getting something that I want, and I don't know how to get it. And I love in this moment. Like, I remember when this pastor came to our church that I really admired. He pastored the fastest growing church in America. It was like 40,000 people a week that went to his church. His name was Chris Hodges. Pastor Chris came to preach for me one weekend several years ago, and I was so excited and nervous, and I was hoping he was gonna say something really encouraging, like, you're doing a great job. After he got done preaching, he met with our staff, and he gave me a list of critiques, no encouragement. And I was so sad. I was so sad. I was like, don't you know what I've been through? I lost my dad. I've been through a lot of hurts and pains. And we got through, and we barely made it through this. And I was listing all the reasons why I was upset that he didn't encourage me, and he was critiquing me, and I was so upset over it. And he just looks at me and goes, paul, he's like, I'm not here to affirm you. I'm here to help you get better. He said, do you want a mentor or do you just want, like, a cheerleader? Because if you want a mentor, you gotta be willing to accept constructive criticism. He said, do you want to get better or do you just want affirmation? Because there are people that will affirm you even in your dysfunction, because they put a ceiling on themselves and they keep a ceiling on you. And the second you break that ceiling, the second you break the limitations, it is a threat to the people who have not broken their own limitations. So he said, paul, do you want to take the ceiling off of victory? Do you want to take the ceiling off of your leadership? Do you want to break the cap that you've placed on your capacity? Like, is this as far you're going to go? Are you ever going to get better? And I was like, wow, thanks. Thanks for the honest feedback here. And he said, I'm serious, Paul. Do you want to get better? And I said, yes. He said, that's all that matters. He's like, that's what I'm impressed with your willingness to get better. I'm not impressed with anything else. I'm impressed with people who want to get better. Jesus wasn't looking for people who wanted to stay sick. He was looking for someone who wanted to get better. So he asked the question, do you want to get better? The man goes, I can't. It's everybody else's fault. Can't get to the pool in time. Everyone gets in front of me. Besides, I don't have anybody to help me. Everybody that was supposed to help me left me. And this is where I'm at. And I'm lying here, and I'm lying to myself and I'm lying to my family members, and I'm lying to my spouse and I'm lying to my kid, and I'm lying here. And Jesus doesn't even sit and feel bad for his victim story. The next verse, Jesus doesn't even talk to him about all of his excuses and reasons why he hasn't changed. Jesus looks at him in verse 8 and he says, get up. And I love that there's an exclamation mark. It's almost like a command, a shout. Get up. Jesus was saying, you don't have to stay here any longer. You can get up out of this dysfunction. You can get up out of these problems. You can get up out of this sin. But you've got to choose to get up. You got. You gotta. I'm not gonna lift you up. You gotta get up. Somebody said, get up. Now, this is so empowering. I want to give you some points on how to let God write a new chapter in your story, because this is the key. I don't want you to just be inspired by his story. I want God to write a new chapter in your story. So, number one, for God to write a new chapter in your story, you gotta be honest with God about where you need his help. You gotta be honest about. I loved how Theo Von was just so honest. He's like, here's the truth. I'm asking God to help me. But underneath that, I know I'm gonna go back and do the very thing I'm asking God to help me not do. So now I need God to go to that part of me, to the bottom of the well, to the mortar around the bricks, because that's where I'm broken. And I need God to help me stop lying to myself that I want to change when I don't respond, want to change. I need him to help me want to change in a real way. Be honest. God loves an honest and a contrite heart. You know, he rejects religiosity, you know, how you doing? I'm doing great. Blessed and highly favored. I'm sure you are, but what else is going on? What else do you need God to show up in? Number two? You gotta own the areas that need to change. You got to own it. Stop blaming your parents, stop blaming your spouse, stop blaming your ex, Stop blaming the last church that hurt you. Stop. But you go, well, Paul, 99% of the reason that I am where I am today is everyone else. So you only own 1%? Paul, I've, like, barely ever made a mistake in my life. I am the most innocent, sinless person said, no, you're not. You're lying to yourself. Paul. It's. It's. He. He's a narcissist. She's a narcissist. They're manipulative, they're deceptive. They hurt me, they broke me. They're abusive. But where in your life have you ever missed it? Or. Or are you the most perfect, like, messiah? No, you're not. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And. And the longer you won't own this, the longer you stay stuck, you go, well, how much percentage do I have to own? Like 5%? The more percentage you own the more healing you will get. We're having a counseling session for free today. The more percentage you own for where you're at today, the more healing and transformation can happen in your life. But the more you blame it on everybody else, you stay stuck. You want to get unstuck, just own. There was this true story. There was this king in England who went to the prison in Potsdam, and he went to go and interview the prisoners because he was planning to secretly pardon several prisoners that day in the prison. So he goes to the prison in Potsdam, and he begins to interview prisoner after prisoner after prisoner in England. And this is King William. Every prisoner that was brought before him claimed, I'm innocent. I'm in here because of somebody else. And they were pleading for pardon. The king was just getting exhausted listening to all the stories of, like, blaming and shifting all of the ownership to other people. Until one prisoner looked at him and said, I am guilty. I am guilty. I deserve to be here. And the king, King William looked at the prison officer and he said, get this guilty man out of this prison before he corrupts all these innocent men. And the man was set free. See, ownership is such a. It's such a freedom because you just go, man, the truth is, like, I've not been the most perfect guy or girl. Like, the truth is, there's areas of my life where I have. I have let myself stay in some beliefs and mindsets and dysfunctions. So you got to own it. Number three, you got to surrender the pen. If you want God to write a new chapter, give him the pen. Give him the pen. Is he the author, or are you the author? Because as long as you're the author, you gotta fix the story. But when he's the author, I'm telling you, he can write a better chapter. He can change your story. What does it mean to surrender the pen? You're saying, God, I give you control. Now, this is a scary thing for all the control freaks in the house, because, you know, I got five kids, y'. All. I don't know if I told you this, and they're amazing. I love all my five kids. I got three of them in service with me today, and they look great. And Ashley's out of town preaching in Brazil, so pray for your boy who's been holding it down for the last, like, seven days. She's coming back. It's been so fun. But I look at one of our kids, and, you know, each one of them has different personalities. Some of them are like anything, like, whatever. But there's like, maybe one in our family that really likes things in order and just likes to keep everything very organized. And when one of the kids comes in and pushes through things out of order, it is. It like, we have moments like, don't mess with my desk and my pencil and my room. I know you came in here. I see the footprints there, you know, and so. So something that I've had to learn because even in my own life, because I. There's moments where I crave control over my environments and people doing everything that I want them to do. And when they deviate from my plan, it can throw me off. And. And something my dad used to tell me that I'm telling my kids, blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape. Flexibility to say, God, I can't control this. I can't control everybody's actions and reactions and their words and the way they treat me, but I can control my response. And my response is to give you the pen. To say, God, you're. You're in control. And I release the need for perfectionism in my story. I release the need, need to have it all go the way that I preferentially want in every person, every character. I'm giving you the pen. I'm letting you be the author and the finisher. Number four, embrace his grace and act on his word. This is where we're at right here. Embrace his grace. The grace of God is not a permission to stay in dysfunction. The grace of God is not, oh, well, God's cool with it. His grace is there. That's greasy grace. That's sloppy grace. His grace just lets me keep on doing what I know I shouldn't do. And it's the grace of God that lets me just stay in my sin. No, his grace is empowering you to win. His grace is lifting you up, saying, get up. By the mercy and the grace of God, pick up your mat and walk. When I embrace the real grace of God, it gives me the courage, the strength, and the power not just to say, I want to change, change, but to change and to say, God, I'm changing from this day on, and I'm accepting your grace. For me to walk this out. Number five, trust the author's narrative and walk it out. Trust the author's narrative. We're all a work in progress. I am absolutely. I am like the roads of Oklahoma. I am under construction in every single part of my life. If you drive down the streets of Tulsa, you will see construction now almost on every single road. Our roads need Help. And so does your soul. Oklahoma will stay under construction for the rest of your life. I'm telling you, don't be thinking they're going to finish anytime soon. Because once they finish one project, they're working on another project. And that's what God's doing in your life. That's what he's doing in your pastor's life. I don't want to get off this construction. You come into my soul. I got orange tape everywhere, orange cones, every saying, Paul is under construction. He's growing as a dad, he's growing as a husband, he's growing as a pastor, he's growing as a friend. He's growing in anyone else in the room. You got a lot of construction where God's up to some great stuff. He's not finished with you yet. And so you gotta trust the author's narrative. Here's where it gets really good. When Jesus says, get up. Everybody say, get up. Pick up your mat and walk at once. The man was cured. And he picked up his mat and he started walking. And when he picked up his mat. Come on. He picked up that mat and he started showing what God has done. You need to show what God has done. If you've been delivered from some stuff, I want you to stand up. If God's blessed you in some ways, if God has helped you in some ways, if he is working in your life, I want you to pick up your mat for a second. This is my mat right here. Pick up. Pick up whatever you've been sitting on. And he says, I want you to testify. Testify. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. Look at what the Lord has done. Come on. You say goodbye yesterday. I'm never going back. Watch this. The people that look at him, the religious people, they're confused because this was on the Sabbath in verse nine. And the Jewish leaders, this is a story within a story within a. A story. So Jesus had to do this because he was actually confronting a bigger story. By the way, you're not the main character. Some of y' all got main character energy. You're not the. Tell the person. Actually, you're not the main character. I do too, sometimes. And. And. And I'm thankful for, like, people in my life. Like, you're not the main character, bro. Like, you're a supporting actor. You know who the main character is? It's Jesus. So this guy's like, whoa, standing up in the Michael Jackson movie theater, like, doing all the dances in front of Everybody, you're not Michael Jackson, okay? But here's the point. Here's the point. Some of us are making the story all about us. It's not about us. It's about Jesus. So Jesus sees, as the religious leaders say, it's the Sabbath. It's a Sabbath. You're breaking the rules. You're doing something you can't do. And the guy is like, exactly. I'm doing something I haven't been able to do for 38 years. I haven't been able to do this. And I am breaking the rules. I'm breaking all the rules, because I should still be lying over there. I should still be stuck over there. But today, he broke the rules for one guy, and I'm not going back. And this is what the Lord has done. And they ask him. They say, who told you you could do this? Who told you you could change? Who told you you could get out of that dysfunction? Who said, you can't go back? Who. Who got you out of that junk you were in? And I love what he says in verse 13. He says, the man who was healed had no idea who it was. He didn't even know it was Jesus. I love that. I'm telling you. God's doing a work in Theo Vaughn right now. And I think he knows it's Jesus, but you could even feel it in his heart. There's people that maybe you've written off, people that are really. I don't know, maybe it's you. You've written yourself off. You've just made so many mistakes, or you just feel so lost. This man was so. So overwhelmed by the goodness. He didn't know who it was. He says, I don't know who it was. It was this man. There goes that man. There goes that man. There he goes again. He's still moving. He's still. He's still making something out of nothing. I was listening to another podcast someone sent me from John Mayer. And I like John Mayer. I liked his music when I was in high school. And he said, someone got me hooked on this new song by a girl named Abby Gamboa. He's on his podcast. He goes, I don't know who she is. Some, like, worship leader or something, but she got this new song called There Goes that Man. And I think he thought it was about, like, a boyfriend. But I'm like, listen to the song. The whole song is about Jesus. I'm like, jesus is working on John Mayer's heart. He's working on Theo Von. He's working on he's working on Elon Musk. He's working on the people that you've written off. He's working on the President. He's working on a lot of people, and he's working on you. Tell the person next to you he's working on you, too. This man goes, I don't know his name, but I know that when he told me I could get up, I got up. I don't know his name. I just know there's power that flowed out of him. When he said, pick up that mat and walk. And then Jesus found him and he said, you are well again. In other words, you used to be well. Then you had a really bad long chapter. Long 38 chapter. 38 years, stuck in the. But you got a new chapter, so live in this new chapter and don't go back. That's my word for you today. Don't go back. Even in this service. I feel like God's been speaking to some of you. You've been listening to testimonies and God's saying, I'm writing a new chapter in your life. Walk out of this room and don't go back to the way things were. Would you close your eyes all over this place? If you're here today and you need God to write a new chapter in your story, you need God to change something. Maybe it's in your health, maybe it's in your marriage, maybe it's in your finances. Maybe right now you're single and you're just going, man, God, is there ever going to be a right person for me? Will I ever find a spouse? Maybe you're married and you've not been able to have kids, and you're going, God, are we ever like, is that dream ever going to come to pass? Like, is there any future chapter where things turn around for the better? Or maybe here today, and you go, honestly, Paul, I've been lying to myself with a smile on my face, but secretly I've been battling some dark, depressing, suicidal, lonely thoughts. Maybe you're here today and you just. You. You've not had a lot of joy lately, or maybe not a lot of passion. You've just lost that excitement for life, and you've been going through the motions and you've been trying to figure out how. How do I just get out of this stuck place I've been in, Stuck emotionally. Stuck in my marriage, stuck in my. My beliefs, stuck in my mindset. And that's this. That's. That's the message today. I think that's What Theo was even saying, God, I want to. I want a new chapter in my story. I'm ready. I'm ready to stop telling the same story with every head bowed and every eye close to whoever I'm talking to. Even if it's just one. If it's just one person. Today, Jesus gave this message for one person. If that's you, I want you to just lift your hand up. Be honest. God already knows, but he just wants to know if you're willing to admit it. Be honest. Today you say, yeah, Yeah, I actually really do want God to write a new chapter. Hands going up all over this room. Is there anyone else? You say, God, please. Please help me. Please change me. Please help me. If you raised your hand or you wanted to raise your hand, or you just need to get to this altar, I want you to leave your seat, come and meet me at the altar. Who would have thought that Theo Vaughan was going to help give an altar call Victory Church. But today, there was something about his honesty that I think all of us in this room could connect with. God loves an honest and a broken and contrite heart. He exalts those who humble themselves, and he opposes the pride. So today, humble yourself. Just say, God, I want you to write something new. In my mind, in my heart, my life, whatever area it is. There's still room at the altar if there's anyone else. You might have been saved for 38 years, but there's a part of you underneath all of that great salvation that still needs healing, still needs victory, still needs freedom. Come and join us. Let's just worship. Let's just let the Holy Spirit minister to us.
- [44:37]
A
Oh, we want more of you, God. Oh, we're open to you. Oh, we're open to you. You can have our hearts. Lo right. Oh, My heart is an open space for you to come have your way. I'm. I'm open. My heart is an open space for you to come and have your way. Way. I'm open. I'm open. My heart, My heart is an open space for you to come and have your way. I'm open. I'm open. My heart is an open space for you to talk and have your way. I'm open. I'm open. My heart, My heart is an open space for you to come and have your way. I'm open. I'm open. My heart is an open space for you to come and have your way. I'm open. I'm open. So do whatever you want to do. Say whatever you want to say. Move and change whatever you want to change. Don't do don't do whatever you want to do and say whatever you want to say. Want to move yes far and change whatever you want to change. My heart is an open space for you to come have your way. I'm mo.
- [47:30]
B
I'm mo.
- [47:34]
A
My heart. Heart is an open space for you to come have your way. I'm open. I'm broken. You are way maker, miracle work Promise keep light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. Waymaker, miracle worker promise keeper light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. Oh, you're waymaker Waymaker, miracle worker promise keeper light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. Oh way maker, miracle worker promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. Oh, you're the way maker, way maker, miracle worker promise keeper light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. W way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. And that is who you are. And that is who you are. And that is who you are. That is is who you are. And that is who you are. Well, that is who you are. Well, that is who you are. That is who you are. Even when I don't see it, you're working. Even when I don't feel it, you're working. You never stop. Stop. You never stop working. You never stop. You never stop working. Even when I don't see it, you're working. Even when I don't feel it, you're working. You never stop. You never stop working. You never stop, you never stop working. Even when I don't see it, you're working. Even when I don't feel it, you working, working. He never stop. He never stop working. He never stop. He never stop working. Even when I don't see it, you're working. Even when I don't feel it, you're working. He never stop. He never stop working. He never stop. Cuz that is who you are. Well that is who you are. That is who you are. That is who you are. And that is who you are. And that is who you are. That is who you are. So come alive in the name of Jesus. Come alive in the name of Jesus. This is the house of miracles. We bring everything to the feet of Jesus. Everything in the name of Jesus. This is a house of miracles.
- [51:22]
B
This is a house of miracles. You know, some people came to me as I was praying for people at this altar. And I want to say it. There are legitimate hurts from people that have. That were never your fault. So I'm not saying in this message that you should own something that someone else did to you that is not your fault. You are not the one to blame for an abusive dad. You are not the one to blame for an abusive husband, whoever it was, mom, wife, a brother, a sister, anyone who did harm to you. It is not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. And I am sorry. I'm sorry that happened to any of you. I've hugged and prayed for a lot of people in our church that have experienced some deep wounds and pain at the hands of someone else. And I would never look them in the eyes and say, you need to own that. So I just felt to make sure that I clear up the air. Don't own something that was not your fault. Don't own that. Don't own that. Don't apologize for someone else's hurts to you. But let me say this, if you will take what they did to you to the cross and say, Jesus, you owned it. You owned sins that you never committed. You paid for the sins of the abusers in my life, the people that hurt me so bad that. That they should never deserve grace. But you did pay for their sins. And I'm telling you, this will set you free. You don't own it, but you put it on Jesus because he owned it. He owned it for us. And you take those wounds that are still keeping you in a place of hurt and being stuck, and you say, God, I don't know how to forgive them, but I give it to you. And I ask you to help me forgive the people that wounded me or my mom or my dad. My dad or my family. Because maybe it's not even the wounds that you incurred. Maybe it's the wounds you're caring for someone else that you feel so bad, what they. What they went through. But you take it to the cross and you say, God, I own my part, but I do not own the other parts of what people did. I give it to you because you paid the price for their sin. And I believe that by the blood of Jesus, even the worst sinners can get saved. Even the worst criminal can find mercy. They still have consequences. And I minister in the prison, as a church. We're in the prisons almost every other week. And when we go in those prisons, I'm telling you, some of the criminals that have done some of the worst stuff, they're finding the mercy and the grace of God. They still have a consequence But I'm telling you, they're going to heaven. They're getting saved. They're getting set free. They're finding Jesus in prison. Let's pray this together. Together. Say Jesus. Thank you. That you're not finished with me yet. You're still working on me. You're still writing my story. And I believe that you have a new chapter for me to step into. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and those who sinned against me. So I repent and I receive your forgiveness. And I forgive those who have sinned against me. Jesus, I'm all yours. Even the deepest parts of me. Change me. Renew me. Make me more like you. Help me to love and be loved the way that you created for me to be. I surrender. In Jesus name, Amen. And amen.