#S075 - “Able &
Willing” (Part 1)
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Luke, chapter five and verse 12.
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When you get there, just
stay past the room there.
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Luke Chapter five
and verse number 12.
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All right.
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The Bible says, and it happened
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when he was in a certain city
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that behold a man
who was full of what
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a man who is full of leprosy
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saw Jesus and fell on his face
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and implored him, say, Lord,
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if you are willing,
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you can make me clean.
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Then he put out his
hand and touched him, saying,
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I am willing be cleansed.
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Immediate.
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The leprosy left him and
he charged him to tell no one
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but go and show
yourself to the priest
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and make an
offering for your cleansing
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as a testimony to them,
just as Moses commanded.
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However, the report went around
concerning him all the more
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and great multitudes
came together to hear
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and be healed by him
of their infirmities.
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So he himself often did what
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withdrew into the
wilderness, and he prayed again.
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I'm going to read for
emphasis, verse number 12.
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And it happened when
he entered into the city
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that behold a man who
was full of leprosy saw Jesus
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and he fell on his
face and implored him, say,
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Lord, if you are willing,
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you can make me clean today's
saints for just a little while.
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I'm going to talk to
you under the subject.
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He's able and willing.
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He's able and he's willing.
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Let us pray together.
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Father,
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in this little while,
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would you please say much?
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Father, I pray that the same way
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you multiply the fishes
and the loaves and you feed
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everyone so much, so
that there was some left over.
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Would you take the little that
I am and the little that I have?
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I put it in your hands
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and I pray that you wouldn't
multiply it and stretch it
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so that the body
would be sufficiently fed.
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So, Lord, would you please hide
me in the shadows of the cross
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that Jesus alone might
be seen, that Christ alone
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would be heard?
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And at the end of our
time together, let Jesus alone
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be Priest, bless us.
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To this end, we ask, and
the one to full name of Jesus.
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Let those that
believe say together.
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Amen.
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Any man you may be
seated in the House of the Lord
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again, talking to you
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under the subject, able
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and willing.
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You know, friends, one
of the more difficult things
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to ascertain in any season
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is God's willingness
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to do a particular thing.
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Most of us ask of
God with the conviction
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that God is able, but sometimes
we're somewhat uncertain
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as to whether or
not God is willing
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so that we know
God is able to heal.
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But we're not always sure
that he's willing to heal.
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We know God is
able to open the door,
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but we're not always certain
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that it is His will
for the door to be opened.
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We know God is able to
make certain things stop,
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but we're not always
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sure that it is His will
for certain things to stop.
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And one of the
things I've come to know
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is that certain
outcomes are not determined
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just by how much
faith you have when you ask,
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but whether or not what you
ask for is in harmony with God's
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perfect will.
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In fact, that's
why first John 514 says
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this is the confidence
that we have, that whatever
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we ask, according to his will,
we know that he here is us.
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And the truth is, friends, that
I prayed for some loved ones
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and it was his will for them
to get better and be healed.
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And I prayed
for other loved ones
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and it was his will for
them to take their rest.
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I prayed at times for things
to work out in a certain way,
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and God did more than
what I could have ever hoped.
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But then there were times
I prayed it would go that way
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and it went in the
opposite direction.
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There were times where I
prayed that things would happen
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in a certain timeframe
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and God moved even
faster than my schedule.
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And then there are things I
prayed for that I am waiting
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for to this day to come to pass.
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And friends, what I've come
to believe is that your faith
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cannot be tethered
to a particular outcome.
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In other words, I'm at a point
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where I'm no longer saying,
I'm trusting God for a car.
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I'm not
trusting God for a house.
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I'm not trusting God for a job.
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I'm not trusting
God for promotion.
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I'm gone done
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trusting God for things
and I'm just trusting God.
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Y'all now hear me today.
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In other words, I'm not
just trusting God for a thing.
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I'm just trusting God
no matter the outcome.
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And see how
many of us understand
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that faith is
absolute trust in the belief
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that God does all things well
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and He makes all things
beautiful in his own time.
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And see, the truth is
that real faith does not choose
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a particular path.
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Real faith does
not regress that path.
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Real faith
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comes to God and says, In
all my ways, I'll acknowledge
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you and I'll trust
you to direct my path.
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Let me say it this way.
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Often times I travel,
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and often times I am
dependent on my G.P.S.
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But how many of us know that
when you put in the destination,
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I never tell the G.P.S.
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which way I want to go.
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I never suggest
a route to the GPS.
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I just put in the address,
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and it gives me all the
possible routes I should take.
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And guess what?
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I simply choose the one that
comes most highly recommend it
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because I trust that the
GPS looks from on high seas
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down West Low and it
knows which route is best for me
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and how many of us know
that if you can trust a G.P.S.,
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then you should be able to
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trust the g0d
because he sits up high,
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he looks down low,
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he knows the end from
the beginning, and he knows
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which way you should
take nature and say, man.
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And so if you
don't mind, go with me.
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Back to Luke,
chapter five and verse 16.
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We will be in
the good book today.
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Is that all right, Blue?
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Chapter five and verse 16.
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I just want to just
put a quick bug in your ear
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before I get back to
the meat of the word Luke.
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Five In verse 16, when you
get to a limit, you say, man,
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so the Bible says
so he himself often
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withdrew into the
wilderness and he watched.
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The more people
withdraw from you,
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the more you've got
to withdraw from people
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so that you can be refueled
and read the by the maker.
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Are you hear me today?
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Now remember Church,
you got to be mindful
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that the life of
Jesus was one of constant
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giving from the time he
was first spotted in the day
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his body vessel would be
tilted like a liquid pitcher
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where Jesus was constantly
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pouring into everybody
he came in contact with
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so that Jesus would be
pouring into His disciples.
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He would be
pouring into the masses.
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He would be
pouring into the afflicted.
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And even when Jesus
walked through a crowd,
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people would
pour and grope on him
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because they were
constantly making withdrawals
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from the Savior and
understand friends that even
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though Jesus was God,
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the Incarnation
created a hybrid,
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and that even
though He was 100% God,
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how many of us
realized that he was 100% man
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and because he was man, the
man that Jesus would get tired
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and the man
Jesus would get hungry
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and the man Jesus
could be overwhelmed.
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And the man Jesus
could have enough.
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And if Jesus did not withdraw
in order to get fueled by God,
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He would not have enough to
make it to the end of each day.
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And the thing I think
is not worthy to document.
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Has anybody
noticed that the man Jesus
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had no advance over
us so that the same place
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Jesus went to get
fuel is the same place
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we got to go to get
fuel the same way Jesus got
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shrimp is the same
place we go to get shrimp
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and see what allow Jesus
to thrive in public space
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was because he was connected
to God in private space
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as he.
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Friends, I need you to be
clear that while here on Earth,
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Jesus modeled two
very critical disciplines.
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First, he modeled the
discipline of prayer full
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and complete
dependance on his father.
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And the other thing Jesus
modeled was the discipline
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of ceasing his labors
and getting necessary rest.
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Are you with me today?
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Church As he sometimes
what we do is we invert
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the order in terms of importance
because what we sometimes do
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is we treat rest as a reward
for a job or a task complete it.
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In other words, we
operate with the belief
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that I can't rest or settle
down until the job gets done.
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But how many of us know
that if you don't rest, the job
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won't ever get
done or be completed?
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There are times when we
say, Man, I'm going to pray
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as soon as things
start settling down.
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But the truth is, things
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won't start settling
down until you begin to pray.
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And what I'm learning church
and tell me if I'm lying is
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that life never really
slows down, life never eases up,
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things never
just fall into place
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if you're still in work season,
the truth is you're going to go
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from tension to
tension and stress to stress
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and trial to trial
and heavy to heavier
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and sometimes the temptation
is to complain about the load
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we have to carry.
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Sometimes we complain
about how much is on our plate.
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Sometimes we're
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tempted to complain about
how much we have to do and see.
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The problem is not that
God has given you too much.
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The problem is that
because we don't have
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good rhythms, we
don't have enough to give.
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In other words,
friends, I need somebody to know
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is that God doesn't
need to decrease your load.
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You just need to let
God increase your capacity.
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In other words,
through prayer, fullness
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and consistent
rest, what God will do is
00:12:04.85\00:12:06.99
give you the
fuel and the capacity
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to handle the load that
has been assigned to you.
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And how many of us know that
your load ain't going nowhere?
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And I preach.
00:12:19.37\00:12:20.17
Anybody that
knows that your load
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ain't going to get smaller,
00:12:21.94\00:12:23.51
your life is probably
not going to get easier,
00:12:23.54\00:12:26.51
your situations are not
going to get less complex,
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but you just need to say, Lord,
00:12:30.38\00:12:31.68
I need you to
enlarge my capacity
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to handle what's in front of me.
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And this is why your load
isn't going to get smaller.
00:12:39.22\00:12:42.42
Because how many of us
know that the size of your load
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is commensurate with
the answers to your prayers
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and other words?
00:12:50.60\00:12:51.40
The size of your load
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is because of the
things that you prayed for.
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All your acting
brand new today. All right.
00:12:55.27\00:12:57.47
Do you realize that
when you prayed for a spouse,
00:12:57.51\00:13:00.38
you were praying for
more responsibility and work?
00:13:02.24\00:13:04.98
Y'all didn't know that today
00:13:05.01\00:13:06.58
when you prayed for
God to give you kids,
00:13:06.61\00:13:09.65
you were praying for more
stress and financial sorrow.
00:13:10.75\00:13:13.59
When you asked the Lord
for all that house you need
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ask asking for more
house that need to be clean.
00:13:18.99\00:13:20.96
When you ask God to
make you your own boss,
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all you asked for was a
whole lot of stress and overhead
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that you had to take care of.
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When you pray,
Lord, make me like Jesus.
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You are asking for a weight
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that was bigger than
when you were unlike Him.
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Are you hear me today and
see the thing I love about
00:13:40.25\00:13:43.99
Jesus is that Jesus
did not let life stresses
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interrupt his rhythms of
prayer and his rhythms for rest.
00:13:49.39\00:13:52.59
So it didn't matter what
was happening in Jesus life.
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The Bible says that while
it was before day that Jesus
00:13:56.80\00:14:00.17
would find a solitary
place, and there He would pray.
00:14:00.20\00:14:03.94
In fact, Hebrews says the reason
he was ready in the morning
00:14:05.14\00:14:07.88
is that he spent
entire nights in prayer
00:14:08.74\00:14:10.61
so that he never allowed the
stress to disrupt his rhythm.
00:14:11.85\00:14:14.85
Do you realize that Jesus
was so consistent in his rest
00:14:16.05\00:14:18.92
that even when it
was storming on the ship,
00:14:19.89\00:14:21.99
Jesus still
decided to take a nap?
00:14:22.82\00:14:24.89
Y'all missed out on SAP.
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In other words, never let
stress disrupt your rhythm.
00:14:26.76\00:14:31.10
You got to let your
rhythm disrupt your stress
00:14:32.13\00:14:34.30
so that if you've got a
rhythm to your prayer life
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and a rhythm to your rest
life, it gives you the capacity
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to disrupt the stresses
that are overwhelming you.
00:14:45.01\00:14:47.52
And see, the thing I
want to just say to somebody,
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as we move into
this mental health space,
00:14:51.52\00:14:53.09
I need somebody to know
the most righteous thing
00:14:54.09\00:14:56.12
you can do, the most
spiritual thing you can do.
00:14:56.16\00:14:59.93
The most holy thing
some of us can do is commit
00:15:01.03\00:15:04.20
to 8 hours of sleep every day.
00:15:04.23\00:15:06.87
Oh, see?
00:15:08.57\00:15:09.60
See, the problem is, you
don't see rest as righteous.
00:15:09.64\00:15:11.47
The truth is, you
ought to do yourself a favor
00:15:12.44\00:15:14.74
and do us a favor
00:15:14.78\00:15:17.81
by getting enough rest to
handle what you need to do.
00:15:18.95\00:15:22.75
I hear me today.
00:15:23.18\00:15:24.02
And if you
can't, if you're like me
00:15:24.05\00:15:25.62
and you can't get 8 hours sleep
straight, give you a 15 minute
00:15:25.65\00:15:30.09
power nap and it
won't revive your soul.
00:15:30.13\00:15:33.73
And what I'm saying is,
we've got to commit to certain
00:15:34.86\00:15:36.33
rhythms. You've got
to get enough sleep.
00:15:36.36\00:15:38.07
Can you say, man,
you've got to develop a hobby?
00:15:38.10\00:15:41.34
Can you say, man,
00:15:41.37\00:15:42.84
you've got to take a
Sabbath from your device?
00:15:42.87\00:15:45.47
Oh, you all go get
married, you hear me today?
00:15:45.51\00:15:47.68
Take a Sabbath from your
devices and you've got to take a
00:15:48.81\00:15:51.51
Sabbath day to refuel.
00:15:52.08\00:15:53.28
And the thing I need somebody
to see today is that rest is not
00:15:53.31\00:15:57.62
lazy, rest is righteous,
00:15:57.65\00:16:00.52
rest is spiritual, rest is holy.
00:16:01.22\00:16:04.53
Rest is how God designed
us to complete our task.
00:16:05.63\00:16:08.60
Are you are hearing me today?
00:16:08.63\00:16:09.73
I see one of the
things I need to kind of pause
00:16:10.87\00:16:12.83
and say is because, man,
00:16:12.87\00:16:14.37
I've kind of
spoken Aaron Lee already,
00:16:14.40\00:16:16.24
because what I've done is I've
talked about rest and prayer
00:16:16.27\00:16:20.58
as if there are
two separate activities
00:16:21.44\00:16:23.51
since I talked about it,
00:16:26.48\00:16:27.68
as if you got rest on one
hand and prayer on another hand.
00:16:27.72\00:16:31.79
But how many of us know
00:16:32.35\00:16:33.39
that rest and prayer
are not two separate things?
00:16:33.42\00:16:36.59
Rest and prayer are
the exact same thing.
00:16:37.83\00:16:40.90
See what some of us
have failed to realize?
00:16:41.80\00:16:43.77
That prayer is how
Christians find rest.
00:16:43.80\00:16:47.60
Oh, Lord.
00:16:48.30\00:16:49.34
Oh, God,
00:16:49.64\00:16:50.47
I can't hear
what I'm saying today.
00:16:51.31\00:16:52.44
Friends in other words,
00:16:52.47\00:16:53.71
I need you to
kind of look at it.
00:16:53.74\00:16:55.94
And I've always
seen this as a bad thing,
00:16:55.98\00:16:58.01
because the truth
is that I can't rest
00:16:58.05\00:17:00.28
as long as I'm
looking at my phone.
00:17:01.15\00:17:02.58
I can't rest as long
as I'm looking at TV.
00:17:03.55\00:17:05.92
I can't rest as
long as I'm on a device.
00:17:06.86\00:17:08.86
But as soon as I
get ready to pray,
00:17:09.69\00:17:11.13
all the
00:17:12.09\00:17:13.33
oh, I automatically fall asleep.
00:17:14.00\00:17:16.16
And I always saw it
as a negative thing.
00:17:17.10\00:17:19.27
But the truth is that as
long as your mind is fixed on
00:17:20.37\00:17:23.07
other things, you will
never be able to find rest.
00:17:23.10\00:17:26.24
But when you get your
mind state on Jesus, it's
00:17:27.21\00:17:31.25
when you're finally able
to settle and find your solace
00:17:31.28\00:17:35.25
in the Lord Jesus.
00:17:35.28\00:17:36.35
I hear me today, friends,
00:17:36.38\00:17:37.92
and that's why
you've got to take a look
00:17:37.95\00:17:39.89
at how it is that God introduces
himself in the Scripture.
00:17:39.92\00:17:43.32
In Psalm 46, He
says, God is our refuge
00:17:44.23\00:17:47.23
and our strength, a very present
help in the time of trouble.
00:17:47.30\00:17:50.90
And first, Peter, five eight
00:17:51.57\00:17:52.73
he says, cast all your cares
upon him, for he cares for you.
00:17:52.77\00:17:57.01
Jesus has come ye all
who labor and our heavy laden
00:17:58.07\00:18:02.08
and I will give you rest.
00:18:02.71\00:18:05.81
In other words,
00:18:06.25\00:18:07.28
God is saying saints
that I want to be your rest.
00:18:07.32\00:18:11.09
I want to be your retreat,
I want to be your solace.
00:18:12.22\00:18:16.26
I want to be your peace.
00:18:16.83\00:18:18.56
And the way to get that peace
00:18:19.26\00:18:20.80
is through the
portal of prayer, fullness.
00:18:21.73\00:18:23.57
And see, one of the
things that we've got to do,
00:18:24.80\00:18:26.17
Francis, is we got to move
away from counterfeit rest.
00:18:26.20\00:18:29.60
See, there are some things
I've learned this this week, Dr.
00:18:30.77\00:18:33.14
Tyner, Nixon laid it out
that there are some things
00:18:33.17\00:18:35.41
that we do to wine down
that actually wind us up,
00:18:35.44\00:18:39.11
see how many of us
know friends of mine
00:18:40.78\00:18:42.38
it's got some will say
man I risk using social media
00:18:42.42\00:18:45.92
social media
don't help you rest.
00:18:46.72\00:18:48.56
In fact, studies
00:18:48.59\00:18:49.62
show that when you
scroll, it actually increases
00:18:49.66\00:18:52.39
the rate of your heartbeat
and it inflames your jealousy.
00:18:52.43\00:18:56.13
As you look at everybody's life
that's fake and perfect online.
00:18:57.40\00:19:00.50
Come on. And same in today.
00:19:00.54\00:19:02.34
And other words, you can't
rest by watching television
00:19:02.37\00:19:06.04
because the TV puts
thoughts in your mind
00:19:07.01\00:19:08.98
that you're still processing
while you're still sleep.
00:19:10.15\00:19:11.95
Young people, you can't
rest by playing video games
00:19:13.05\00:19:15.65
because the
imaging and the stimulation
00:19:16.58\00:19:18.35
has your brain
working at such a pace
00:19:19.22\00:19:20.69
that you've got to settle down
even after you're done playing.
00:19:21.92\00:19:25.19
And what I'm saying
00:19:25.73\00:19:26.80
that somebody is that
we've got to stop appraising
00:19:26.83\00:19:29.20
counterfeit rest
00:19:29.63\00:19:30.70
and realize that our
real rest is in Jesus Christ.
00:19:30.73\00:19:34.97
And see,
00:19:36.14\00:19:36.94
we got to develop
the rhythm of prayer
00:19:36.97\00:19:38.51
and we've got to
develop the rhythm of rest.
00:19:38.54\00:19:40.64
And when you
develop both rhythms,
00:19:41.48\00:19:42.88
God creates hybrid
sources that enable you
00:19:43.85\00:19:46.61
to finish the race that
God has given you to run.
00:19:46.65\00:19:50.22
But you got to be strong,
not just in one or the other.
00:19:50.25\00:19:53.56
You got to be
strong in the secret place
00:19:54.49\00:19:56.39
and you got to be
strong in the rest place.
00:19:57.29\00:19:59.03
Are y'all hear me today?
00:19:59.06\00:20:01.10
It's just kind of like this.
00:20:01.13\00:20:01.90
I remember I was going to preach
00:20:01.93\00:20:03.97
as the Bible would put
it, in a certain place,
00:20:05.00\00:20:06.70
and that's my host.
00:20:07.80\00:20:09.40
Pick me up,
Malcolm, from the thing
00:20:09.44\00:20:11.97
we got inside of the car
00:20:12.01\00:20:13.58
and he told me we had about a
00:20:13.61\00:20:14.74
two and a half hour drive
where we were trying to go.
00:20:14.78\00:20:17.28
And so as we were
getting ready to go, we're
00:20:18.21\00:20:19.21
moving down this country road.
00:20:19.25\00:20:21.12
And I'm one of those
brothers, has a bad habit.
00:20:21.15\00:20:23.05
I don't like it.
00:20:23.08\00:20:24.05
I just happened to
look over at his gas gauge
00:20:24.09\00:20:26.82
and I noticed that we
were almost out of gas
00:20:27.82\00:20:29.62
and we got two and a
half hours left to go.
00:20:30.59\00:20:31.89
And then we passed
by this one gas station
00:20:32.86\00:20:34.73
on this country road
called Last Stop Gas Station.
00:20:35.83\00:20:39.63
In other words,
they're saying that
00:20:39.67\00:20:41.27
you after you pass us a
no gas, nowhere close by.
00:20:41.30\00:20:45.81
And so, man, my
eyes are as big as plates
00:20:46.74\00:20:48.94
because he goes
00:20:49.38\00:20:50.48
past the gas station and
his gas needle is already on E!
00:20:50.51\00:20:54.42
And so I'm trying to be
cool and stay in my lane
00:20:55.48\00:20:57.29
because I don't want to be that
guy that's a backseat driver.
00:20:58.52\00:21:00.46
I swore I would not be that guy,
00:21:00.49\00:21:02.56
but I'm peaking
over and the gas tank
00:21:02.59\00:21:04.63
is getting lower and lower
00:21:04.66\00:21:06.29
and eventually he puts
a big smile on his face
00:21:06.33\00:21:09.03
and he says, Pastor, I
see that you're worried
00:21:10.07\00:21:11.30
about the gas detail.
00:21:11.33\00:21:12.77
But then he reminded me,
he says, Pastor, this is a
00:21:12.80\00:21:16.60
hybrid automobile built in
other words, it's a hybrid.
00:21:16.64\00:21:21.11
So it runs by gas
and it runs by battery.
00:21:22.01\00:21:24.88
All y'all not hear me?
00:21:24.91\00:21:26.21
So he says, I had a full
tank and I had a full battery,
00:21:26.25\00:21:30.52
so that even though
the gas is going out,
00:21:31.49\00:21:33.22
I got enough battery to
make it the rest of the way.
00:21:34.29\00:21:36.36
And how many of us know
that we are hybrid vehicles?
00:21:37.49\00:21:40.60
You got to have a
full tank and a full rest
00:21:41.56\00:21:44.73
tank so that
you can run the race
00:21:44.77\00:21:47.77
that God has
put in front of you.
00:21:49.30\00:21:50.91
Are you hearing
me today, friends?
00:21:50.94\00:21:53.07
Second thing this
text teaches us about love,
00:21:53.11\00:21:55.08
it is that you can't
put your desire for privacy
00:21:55.11\00:21:59.58
above your desire for wholeness.
00:22:00.35\00:22:04.65
See, friends of all
00:22:04.69\00:22:07.22
the ancient
diseases of the East,
00:22:08.06\00:22:11.43
leprosy was the worst one.
00:22:12.16\00:22:15.66
Leprosy was
irreversible and curable.
00:22:15.70\00:22:19.03
In fact, they
actually called it the stroke
00:22:19.93\00:22:22.27
or the finger of God, for
they believe leprosy was God's
00:22:22.30\00:22:26.24
judgment upon the
immoral of that particular time.
00:22:26.27\00:22:30.01
And once somebody was diagnosed
with leprosy, they had to
00:22:31.18\00:22:34.15
maintain social distancing
and they had to out themselves
00:22:34.18\00:22:38.55
to the community by declaring
themselves to be unclean.
00:22:38.59\00:22:43.43
And see.
00:22:43.46\00:22:44.53
The thing about leprosy
is it created a separation
00:22:44.56\00:22:47.50
from the community because
once it reached a certain point,
00:22:47.56\00:22:51.47
you were
sentenced to a lepers colony
00:22:52.33\00:22:54.60
where you would ultimately die
without the support of company
00:22:55.87\00:22:58.84
and friends.
00:22:58.87\00:23:00.04
And see the thing I need
you to get about leprosy is that
00:23:00.08\00:23:03.18
it had three very
difficult stages to it seemed.
00:23:03.21\00:23:07.12
Most people believe that
leprosy was a skin disorder.
00:23:07.15\00:23:10.49
That's not what it was.
00:23:10.52\00:23:11.69
It was actually an attack
00:23:11.72\00:23:13.49
on the nerve trunks
that showed up on the skin
00:23:13.52\00:23:17.23
and said, the
thing about leprosy
00:23:17.99\00:23:19.16
is that the first dangerous
phase was a phase of denial.
00:23:19.19\00:23:23.73
What do you mean
when you say that, Pastor?
00:23:24.70\00:23:25.97
Because it
showed up on the skin,
00:23:26.00\00:23:28.27
sometimes a leper would
get into this delusional place
00:23:29.44\00:23:32.51
of denial
00:23:33.71\00:23:34.81
because the assumption was
these early scales are rashes,
00:23:34.84\00:23:38.85
was maybe a form of psoriasis,
or they hope that maybe it was a
00:23:40.08\00:23:44.09
rash, or some would assume
that maybe it was shingles.
00:23:44.12\00:23:47.72
And even though it was
clear they had the disease,
00:23:48.82\00:23:50.96
they operated
00:23:51.39\00:23:52.46
in a state of desire,
hoping that it would get better.
00:23:52.49\00:23:56.03
But then number two, they would
go into a phase of covering
00:23:57.23\00:24:00.50
because as it
became more progressive,
00:24:01.40\00:24:03.17
a leper would wear longer
sleeves and get more garments,
00:24:04.37\00:24:07.51
and they would keep people
at a distance because at a point
00:24:08.68\00:24:11.28
you spent more time
not fighting the disease,
00:24:12.31\00:24:14.42
but fighting other
people's perceptions.
00:24:15.35\00:24:17.19
And then the third phase was
this false phase of pretending
00:24:18.42\00:24:21.89
while your very
life was falling apart.
00:24:22.79\00:24:24.46
So what happened is
once you got full of leprosy
00:24:25.46\00:24:27.93
and the nerve
tracks were damaged,
00:24:28.73\00:24:30.07
your extremities
would literally fall out
00:24:30.10\00:24:33.74
without you knowing it.
00:24:35.14\00:24:37.17
So you would reach out
to grab hold of an orange
00:24:37.21\00:24:39.97
and fingers would fall off.
00:24:40.01\00:24:41.88
Teeth would come
out of your mouth
00:24:41.91\00:24:43.78
without you knowing
toes when they got dragged
00:24:43.81\00:24:46.72
or be left behind,
00:24:47.22\00:24:48.45
sometimes the nose would
literally fall off of your face.
00:24:48.48\00:24:52.35
And the crazy thing about
a leper that was in covering
00:24:53.52\00:24:55.92
face is they would walk around
trying to hold things together
00:24:55.96\00:25:00.23
while everything was
literally falling apart
00:25:01.20\00:25:03.26
and see.
00:25:04.70\00:25:05.73
The most painful thing
about leprosy, my friends,
00:25:05.77\00:25:08.37
is the stigma that
was attached to it.
00:25:09.20\00:25:12.11
What made it worse
was that folk perceived
00:25:13.01\00:25:14.84
you as under divine
censure and judgment.
00:25:14.88\00:25:18.81
In other words, you
had done something wrong
00:25:19.81\00:25:21.72
in order to incur this
particular type of wrath.
00:25:22.78\00:25:25.52
And so if you had leprosy
friends, you will not share
00:25:26.69\00:25:29.69
your pain with
anybody because of the stigma.
00:25:29.72\00:25:33.06
You had to keep
the issue to yourself.
00:25:33.96\00:25:35.46
Because of your stigma,
you had to suffer in silence.
00:25:36.63\00:25:39.20
Because of the stigma.
00:25:39.77\00:25:41.27
In fact, one of
the goals of a leper
00:25:41.30\00:25:43.84
would simply be to
disappear and die with dignity
00:25:44.91\00:25:48.98
and see friends.
00:25:50.11\00:25:51.11
One of the things I'm
come becoming to believe
00:25:51.15\00:25:53.78
is that sometimes
in church community
00:25:54.68\00:25:57.75
that sometimes we create
spiritual lepers in our time
00:25:58.89\00:26:02.72
because we apply
stigmas to things
00:26:03.93\00:26:07.93
that are just the common
course of human experience.
00:26:07.96\00:26:11.30
It's crazy.
00:26:11.33\00:26:12.07
I'm quite
literally says that once
00:26:12.10\00:26:14.07
the man passes out in
public and he shows up to Jesus,
00:26:14.10\00:26:18.74
the folk literally
fall back in horror.
00:26:19.64\00:26:21.58
But the one thing
I like about this man
00:26:22.41\00:26:24.71
is that he
prioritized His Holiness
00:26:25.55\00:26:27.95
more than he
prioritizes privacy. Hmm.
00:26:28.78\00:26:32.15
In other words, at least he
was willing to say, I need help.
00:26:33.36\00:26:36.93
At least he was willing
to admit something was wrong.
00:26:37.99\00:26:40.96
At least he was willing
to go in public to the one
00:26:41.00\00:26:44.80
who was able to make his issue.
00:26:45.50\00:26:47.37
Well, are you
hearing me today, friends?
00:26:48.24\00:26:49.47
And see what I'm
saying today, beloved,
00:26:50.34\00:26:51.64
is that there are some
among us that are like lepers,
00:26:51.67\00:26:54.71
because we have agreed
to the lies of culture,
00:26:55.68\00:26:58.08
that there is a stigma attached
to our particular struggle.
00:26:59.28\00:27:02.28
What we literally do
is we suffer in silence.
00:27:03.22\00:27:05.69
We will literally
try to die with dignity.
00:27:06.65\00:27:08.86
We will allow
ourselves to displace,
00:27:09.66\00:27:11.16
be displaced from community
00:27:11.83\00:27:13.36
simply because we
have so much pride
00:27:13.40\00:27:16.26
that we don't want folks to know
00:27:16.97\00:27:17.80
that we're
struggling with something.
00:27:17.83\00:27:20.14
Thank you for joining
us for The Breath of Life
00:27:20.17\00:27:22.97
Television Ministries broadcast
with Pastor Debleaire Snell.
00:27:24.17\00:27:27.28
We hope and pray
that you have been blessed
00:27:27.31\00:27:30.28
by this powerful message.
00:27:30.91\00:27:32.45
Join us next week for
part two of “Able and Willing.”
00:27:32.48\00:27:37.19
You don't want to miss
00:27:37.75\00:27:38.69
it!
00:27:38.72\00:27:39.99