Full transcript
0:00Verse number 11 says this. When Jesus
0:02heard this, he was amazed.
0:07And he said to those following him,
0:08"Truly I tell you, I have not found
0:14anyone
0:15in Israel with such great faith."
0:20Wow. When Jesus heard this, he was
0:23amazed and he said to those following
0:25him, "Truly, I tell you, I have not
0:28found anyone in Israel with such great
0:33faith." Last week, I taught a text or a
0:36sermon from the topic of there's levels
0:38to this. I I picked up something that I
0:40couldn't put down. So, this week, I want
0:43to put a similar topic to this message.
0:47There's levels to this, too. There's
0:50levels to this, too. You may have your
0:51seats in the house. There's levels to
0:53this
0:55too.
0:57Um, if I were to take a subtitle,
1:02subtopic, I ask it in this form of a
1:05question. What if all it took was your
1:08faith?
1:12What if what if all it took
1:15was faith?
1:17If I would have asked a question, I
1:18would have pulled this room and I would
1:19come to each one, each person over here
1:22and asked you a question and I'd ask you
1:25maybe uh what is it that God wants from
1:28us the most? If I were to ask that
1:31question, just pass the microphone
1:32around. Some some people would say God
1:34would want us to thank him most. He'd
1:38want us to love him. He want us to study
1:41his word. uh he's want us to pray to
1:45him.
1:47God wants us to uh uh uh I don't know,
1:52praise him.
1:55And and all of those are true. All of
1:56those are real. All of those are right.
2:00But what if I told you that there's
2:01something that God wants even more than
2:03that?
2:05It's interesting.
2:07I want to pose another answer
2:11because all of us will have different
2:12answers for that question. Some of us
2:14will say we want God wants us to to to
2:17praise him. Some of us, if you're real
2:18churchy, you'll say God wants to be
2:20glorified. Amen. Somebody just say
2:23glorified. Glorified. That just feels
2:25churchy. I love it. All of those are
2:28right answers. But I got to suggest that
2:30there's there's something else maybe
2:31that God wants even more more than being
2:33understood, even admired. God wants to
2:36be, watch this, believed.
2:46God wants to be believed. God isn't only
2:49looking for worshippers. He is, but he
2:51isn't only looking for worshippers. He's
2:53looking for believers.
2:55Yes. Yes. He seek those who will worship
2:58him in spirit and in truth. And that's
3:00beautiful. But watch this. The truth
3:02about worship is this. Worship doesn't
3:05remind God of who he is. It reminds us.
3:10So, so worship establishes his worth in
3:13our hearts. What God really wants is to
3:15be believed. Watch this. Worship
3:16declares his worth, but faith proves you
3:20believe it.
3:23Worship declares God's worth, but faith
3:27proves you believe it. So, when I lift
3:30my hands, I offer worship. When I move
3:32my feet, I offer my belief.
3:36So I move on what I really believe. Are
3:40y'all with me? All right. So So when I
3:43sing, that's beautiful. That's my
3:44worship. When I stand for truth, that's
3:47what I believe.
3:49Um, you only really fight for what you
3:51really believe is yours.
3:55Okay? If somebody came into your house
3:58and they weren't supposed to be there,
4:02you're going to be upset and somebody's
4:03going to be in trouble
4:05because you are of the opinion that
4:08everything in this house belongs to me.
4:11So if you came in here and you did not
4:13get an invitation,
4:15then that must mean you are becoming a
4:17threat to what I believe is already
4:20mine.
4:24Stay with me. We're going somewhere.
4:26So, so, so while God deserves both and
4:31much more, I'm arguing in this
4:33particular talk, I'm arguing, I'm
4:35arguing that if there is one thing that
4:37God desires and deserves more, it is our
4:40belief. It's our belief or our faith in
4:43God that moves God.
4:46Our love for God doesn't necessarily
4:49move him. Our faith in God moves him.
4:55Oh, I'm gonna show you this in the text.
4:57I'm just hovering over the text. G God
5:00isn't impressed, uhoh, with our gifts.
5:03You know, God is not like, "Oo, she
5:05sound real good today. Oh, that was a
5:08good sermon." I mean, he is the word,
5:10right? Um, he's not impressed with my
5:13sermon. He's not He's not moved by my
5:15skills. He's not moved by my talent, my
5:18abilities. God isn't in heaven admiring
5:20my gifts.
5:24That I know that's bad news for
5:25somebody. Somebody was like, "Oh man,
5:28God is not up in the God is not in
5:31heaven like preach boy."
5:35He's not doing that. I got to establish
5:38this before we get to where we're
5:39getting to. Just kind of hang up with me
5:40for a moment. And and when we when we
5:42get God to move, we get God I'll say
5:45like this. We get God to move by how
5:47much we believe in him. Faith gets God's
5:51attention.
5:53Let's go to work. Faith gets God's
5:55attention. Faith activates God's power.
5:59Faith, watch this, causes God to stop.
6:05Faith will cause, you need Bible, the
6:09woman with the issue of blood, right?
6:11Mark 5, Jesus was going to heal somebody
6:14else. The woman of God, the woman with
6:15the issue came and touched the hem of
6:18his garment. And when she touched him,
6:21she he stopped.
6:25He wasn't out there to heal her, but her
6:28faith in his ability to heal made him
6:32stop what he was doing to attend to her.
6:36So faith allows Faith makes God stop.
6:40Not only that, but faith also causes God
6:43to move.
6:45Okay, we're getting somewhere. Uh faith
6:48causes God to move. He causes God. It
6:50causes God to move. In other words, our
6:53faith is what can initiate or ignite
6:57God's movement in a particular area of
7:01our lives. And I don't know about you,
7:03but I'm believing that this year of my
7:05life, I'm only making faith moves from
7:08here on out. I don't know about you.
7:10I'll testify for me, but I've made
7:12foolish moves for prior years of my
7:15life. this part. Okay. I I don't have
7:18any more oops I shouldn't have done in
7:20my future.
7:23I done used up I'm talking about me.
7:24I've used up all of my my I didn't think
7:27that was going to happen excuses in this
7:30season of my life. And for 15 people
7:32that'll catch it, I'm only making faith
7:34moves. I'm only moving at the speed that
7:37God gives me a yes.
7:43What if all I'm sorry, I'm teaching.
7:44What if all it took was faith? What What
7:48if What if your next move needed to be a
7:51faith move?
7:53What if you want too many answers?
7:57What? Uhoh. What What if you want too
8:00much of a description?
8:04God has given you a picture and you're
8:06waiting for him to fill in the caption.
8:09He says, "I ain't giving you a caption.
8:10I'm giving you a glimpse."
8:14All right. So, sometimes God will give
8:17us enough information for us to start,
8:21but not too much. Because if he does,
8:23we'll never start.
8:27If he tells you what you're going to
8:28have to go through when you get what
8:30you're praying for, you'll stop praying
8:31for it. Yeah,
8:37everybody wants the promotion, but you
8:40don't know with more promotion comes
8:41more pressure.
8:44You didn't know with more responsibility
8:46that comes more hands out. With more
8:48financial overflow, bless me indeed.
8:51Bless my bank account. Well, do you know
8:53how to say no to people that that love
8:56you?
9:00You want more money, but you still
9:03suffer with people pleasing.
9:05And God is like, "How am I going to
9:07bless you with that if you can't say no
9:10to them?"
9:13Is my microphone on? Y'all good? Is it
9:17all right? Somebody just shout, "Faith
9:20moves." Faith moves. So So then when
9:23watch this, he declares something
9:25through his word, we would do well.
9:28Watch this. We would do well. Please
9:30hear me. We would do well not just to be
9:33aware of it, but to believe it. Okay?
9:37Because there's a distinct difference
9:39between being aware of what God says and
9:43believing what God says. There are some
9:45scriptures that we are aware of, but we
9:48don't always believe. Weeping h may
9:51endure for a night. I can recite it, but
9:53can I
9:56do I believe it when it's night?
10:00They that wait on the Lord shall renew
10:06their strength, they shall mount up upon
10:10wings like
10:13and soar. They shall run.
10:18They shall walk. Y'all quit walking on
10:21the scripture
10:23and nothing.
10:27But when I have to wait, I don't feel
10:30like quoting that.
10:34When I'm waiting, I'm like, God, did you
10:35forget?
10:39When I'm waiting, when I'm waiting, I'm
10:41like, God, I don't know. lay that weight
10:44upon the on you
10:48like Lucifer in heaven. The the
10:51scripture says we saw we saw Lucifer uh
10:55uh uh fall like lightning from heaven,
10:57right? Quick.
11:00If you can expel somebody out of heaven
11:03quickly,
11:06y'all act like this. You You ever felt
11:09like, "God, can't you do something for
11:11me quickly?
11:14So, it's one thing to be aware, it's
11:15another thing to believe.
11:17When it says, "I and the Father are
11:19one," don't just be aware of that
11:20scripture. Do you believe it?
11:22Don't just know that he is uh uh he is
11:26somebody else's Lord. Is he yours?
11:30When he says,
11:32"As the Father has loved me, so have I
11:34loved you." Do you believe that you're
11:36loved?
11:38Now, that sounds that sounds crazy
11:40because we're in church and uh most
11:42people don't come to church and they
11:44don't believe that God loves them. They
11:45believe most people who walk into a
11:47church believes that whether the
11:48relationship is what we believe that
11:50ultimately, but watch this. The question
11:52is not whether or not you believe that
11:54he loves you now in church.
11:57Do you believe that he loves you when
11:59the people you love walk away?
12:03Can you not project your father's pain
12:06on your heavenly father?
12:11Because he always lied. Do I think that
12:14God is?
12:16It's quiet in here. I don't know what's
12:18I'm sorry y'all. This ain't a summer
12:20message.
12:22So, so, so, so, so I I want to make
12:25faith moves. I'm just I'm hovering over
12:27the text. I'll get to the text in a
12:28moment. I'll get to the text because
12:30remember I gave you this but I think
12:31it's good and worth writing down that
12:32God will allow you to live on whatever
12:34level your faith settles for.
12:37My mentor said that and it it messed me
12:40up. I said, "You mean to tell me that
12:42God won't make me believe in him?"
12:46I said, "You mean to tell me God won't
12:47won't won't supernaturally just make me
12:50have more faith?
12:52God will allow us to live on whatever
12:54level we settle for.
12:57If you settle for some faith, you will
13:01live in some.
13:03If you settle for little, you will live
13:06in little.
13:08If you settle for maintaining, you will
13:11live in maintaining. If you settle for
13:14survival, you will live in survival. You
13:17ever talk to somebody and they said,
13:19"Hey, man. How you doing?" You're like,
13:20"I'm just out here trying to survive."
13:23Some of y'all have a cousin like this.
13:25soon as you you talk about doing
13:26something else, they girl, don't don't
13:28do that. Ain't nobody got no money for
13:31all that.
13:32Why Why you wanna uh go back to school?
13:35You know, you got kids now. You can't be
13:37Why are you trying to do this, that, and
13:39the third? You don't understand. You got
13:40Why? You got You got to be careful
13:42because some people will put their
13:43limits on you.
13:47He will let us live on whatever level we
13:49settle for. I don't know about you, and
13:51I'm supposed to teach today, so y'all
13:53bear with me. But I don't know about
13:54you, but I'm in this season of my life,
13:57I'm just testifying. In this season of
13:58my life, I'm moving from some to
14:01surplus. I'm moving from little to
14:03lavish. I'm moving from ideas to
14:05implementation. I'm moving from a little
14:08to a whole lot. Is there anybody in here
14:11that can say, "God, I'm making faith
14:13moves.
14:14I'm not settling for that
14:18because I believe that God has something
14:21in store for me." Now, I move
14:24differently when I believe that. Not
14:27just when I'm aware of it.
14:30I don't move differently when I'm simply
14:32aware of the promises of God. Lord have
14:35mercy. I move differently when I embrace
14:38and believe the promises of God. So,
14:40when the Bible says that he'll make me
14:43the head and not the tail, I don't just
14:45memorize it. I walk in it. When he says
14:49I'm the lender and not the borrower, I
14:51don't wait till I have lending amount of
14:53money in order to steward my life with
14:55the financial principles of a lender.
14:59I'm preaching better than y'all saying
15:00amen.
15:02When he says I'm above
15:05and not beneath, that means I carry my
15:09Lord have mercy. I carry myself as
15:11above.
15:14I dress like I'm above.
15:17I dress like I want to be addressed.
15:20I speak like I'm above. I raise my
15:24speech to mirror my savior.
15:28Ain't nobody got no money. Somebody got
15:30some money. You just don't. Hello.
15:35It's a bad time to be buying houses. Not
15:37for people with money.
15:41Is my microphone on? Uh-uh. Don't buy a
15:44house right now. Uh-uh. Don't do that.
15:46That's what
15:52I'm trying to get our this this whole
15:54these two messages is is it's is about
15:56faith. I'm trying to get us to the next
15:58level.
15:59No, maybe you shouldn't.
16:03I don't know your situation.
16:06Don't run out of here, y'all. And I
16:08don't know your savior.
16:13I don't know your pockets. and I don't
16:14know your Lord, but I do know mine.
16:18And in this season of my life, I'm
16:20making faith moves. In other words, when
16:22God says go, I'm gone. I don't consult
16:25you. I don't need a cosigner. I Y'all
16:28ain't saying nothing in here.
16:31I don't need a cosigner on what God
16:33promised me.
16:38Okay?
16:40God will allow us to live on whatever
16:41love our faith settles for. And in the
16:43text, we see an individual who was
16:46operating on a different level of faith.
16:50I I mean it it's strange. It's strange.
16:52It's strange. Um it's strange because
16:55before we get to Matthew uh chapter
16:57number uh uh 8 uh we we travel to
17:00Nazareth and I gave you this but uh
17:02Jesus is from Nazareth. He goes back to
17:05Nazareth where he's from. And uh the
17:08scripture says Matthew 13:58 says that
17:11he did not do many miracles there. Um
17:14and uh why didn't he do many miracles
17:16there? Well, the Bible says he did not
17:17do many miracles there because they're
17:19lack of faith.
17:21One version says belief. Often times the
17:23Bible uh synonymously use those two.
17:26It's it's both. It's it's sometimes it's
17:28faith, sometimes it's belief. Sometimes
17:29it's belief, sometimes it's faith. And
17:31in Nazareth, the place where he was
17:32from, Jesus went back to do miracles.
17:38got there and could not do them because
17:40they didn't have faith. So, it's
17:43possible for God to want to do something
17:45in our lives.
17:48And the only thing that's stopping him
17:51that's tying his hands is not his
17:54ability, but our faith.
17:58And then we get mad. God, why you ain't
18:00do it? God is like, why you ain't
18:01believe?
18:06So he said, so Jesus shows us in Matthew
18:0813 that he went home to bless uh oh Lord
18:12have mercy. He went home to bless the
18:15people who knew him the most.
18:20The closest, but because they couldn't
18:23get over what they knew about him, they
18:26missed the blessing of the new him.
18:31There are some people in your life that
18:33can't get over your used to be that they
18:36can't even benefit from who you are now.
18:39I'm preaching better than y'all saying
18:41amen.
18:43So, here it is. This context, Jesus is
18:45like, "Oh, man. I wanted to do
18:46miracles." Jesus was so sad because he
18:48he came there to be a blessing and he
18:51could not bless or he did not, I should
18:53say, bless the people the way in which
18:55he wanted to. So then Jesus leaves. He
18:58says, "I'm out of here because I'm not
19:00going to sit around where I'm tolerated
19:05and not celebrated."
19:08That's what somebody came home, came
19:10here for today. Jesus says, "You don't
19:13want what I have." Cool. Not arguing,
19:17deuces.
19:18It It's been real.
19:23So, so here we are. We find Jesus in
19:24Capernium. Capernium becomes Jesus's
19:26headquarters. his headquarters for
19:28ministry. Capernium. Capernium is where
19:31Jesus starts to perform. Jesus begins
19:33and and begins to perform this various
19:36mir miracles. So too many to name. He he
19:39goes and heals all types of people.
19:40Physical healing and and freedom giving
19:43casting out demons and so the Bible
19:45literally said many demons were casted
19:47out. I don't even know what that number
19:49is. So all of these things Jesus was
19:51like backed up with miracles because of
19:53Nazareth.
19:56Y'all gonna catch that later. Jesus like
19:58y'all didn't want to be extra. You know
20:00what I mean? Right. So, so, so, so
20:02here's what happened. Here's what
20:03happened. We see that Nazareth, I'm
20:05sorry, Capernium. Capernium. Capernium
20:08is this bluecollar economically modest
20:10town. We're talking about summer in the
20:12city. Here's the city. Fishers, farmers,
20:14artists, influencers, all of that is in
20:16Capernium. They had a reputation of
20:18being religious and gentile. It was both
20:21mixed in there. uh they they they they
20:23they were spiritually though lukewarm
20:27um um they were spiritually lukewarm and
20:29it's interesting because they had a lot
20:31of exposure to God. This is crazy. I
20:33love this. I I I love this. But Jesus
20:35chose Capernium. This is good. Jesus co
20:38chose Capernium uh for not for its uh
20:42affluence. He chose it out of
20:43assignment. He chose it out of
20:46assignment. God had an assignment to
20:49accomplish in Capernaum. So, he placed
20:52an individual there that could
20:54accomplish the assignment. And you're
20:56wondering why you are in some of the
20:58spaces you are in. God says, "I put you
21:01there on purpose." For a purpose.
21:05You're wondering why am I at this job I
21:08don't like.
21:13Amen. with these people that get on my
21:16nerves. Maybe God says, "I trust you
21:20enough to give you some trouble in the
21:22workplace."
21:25So the question becomes, do you see what
21:30God is trying to do inside of you?
21:35Because sometimes he leaves us in a
21:36place to do something in the place and
21:39sometimes he leaves us in a place for
21:41the place to do something in us.
21:45And if you're one of those people that
21:47run from places you don't like all the
21:49time, you'll be running your entire
21:51life. God says, "Sometimes I will place
21:54you in the pit of a problem without your
21:56permission to get something that's in
21:59you, out of you that you don't know
22:01lives there." Ezekiel Ezekiel 33 Ezekiel
22:04the hand of the Lord was upon me. He
22:07picked me up. Ezekiel says, "And he
22:09placed me down in the middle of a
22:10valley, and lo, it was full of dry
22:12bones." Ezekiel has this vision of the
22:15hand of the Lord picking him up and
22:17placing him in the valley. I got a
22:18question. If the hand of the Lord is on
22:20me, why in the world would you put me in
22:23the middle of a valley?
22:28Because that's what we want. We want
22:29God's hand on us, Lord. Keep your hand
22:31on me.
22:34Wherever I go, keep your hand on me. And
22:36God says, "I got my hand on you." In
22:39that valley,
22:42dry bones, meaning dead things,
22:46he placed Ezekiel in the middle of his
22:50assignment.
22:54Now, I got two.
22:56If you stay in your assignment, you
22:59ain't got nothing to worry about.
23:02But if you leave your assignment, you
23:04got two things you got to worry about.
23:09Ezekiel is in his assignment and he's
23:12trying to figure out why in the world
23:14would God place me here? Then God gives
23:17I'm getting back to the text in a
23:18moment. Then God gives Ezekiel a word.
23:19He says, "You see those bones?" Ezekiel
23:22says, "Yes." You see those students that
23:24wi with the learning disability? The
23:27teacher says, "Yes." You see this
23:28criminal justice system that's downright
23:30criminal and never shows us any justice.
23:33Lord, you see these yet to be United
23:36States where I placed you in certain
23:37rooms and environments. Do you see it?
23:41See, sometimes we're too busy
23:43celebrating where God has taken us
23:44instead of seeing.
23:48Do you see what's dead around you?
23:52Then he says, Ezekiel, do you see it?
23:55Ezekiel say, "Yeah, I got you. Here's
23:57what I want you to do. I want you to
23:58speak to it.
24:03Speak to the thing that where life used
24:06to be. And I want you to call out of
24:10death life.
24:14I want you to call out of darkness life.
24:17I want you to speak into nothing and
24:19make something. Okay? And this brother,
24:23man. Oh my god. And this brother in
24:26Capernaum shows us what faith looks
24:29like. It's it's crazy. It's crazy. Watch
24:31what happens in Matthew chapter number 8
24:33verse number five says this. He says
24:35this. When Jesus had entered Capernium,
24:37a centurion came to him asking for help.
24:40Watch the language of this centurion.
24:43Check out the centurion speech. Lord, he
24:46said, my servant lies at home paralyzed,
24:51suffering terribly.
24:54Jesus said to him, "Shall I come and
24:56heal him?" All right. Keep that there.
24:59Amen. All right. So, so there's there's
25:02a few different levels of faith. There's
25:04levels to this. We talked about this
25:05last week. I'm not going to unpack it.
25:06Just want to give it to you if you
25:07missed it. First level of faith is faint
25:09faith. Right. Second level of faith is
25:11flickering faith. Third level of faith
25:13is full faith. All right? Ask somebody
25:15who was here last week for the notes. I
25:16promise you they'll bless you. Uh and if
25:18they don't take notes, point them out to
25:20me.
25:23Amen. This brother uh comes to Jesus and
25:28he says to Jesus, this centurion says to
25:31Jesus, "Lord,"
25:35he said, "my servant lies at home
25:40paralyzed,
25:42okay? Suffering terribly." And Jesus
25:46said, "Shall I come and heal him?" If
25:50you knew how good that was, you would
25:52have snatched your neighbor's wig clean
25:54off.
25:58This centurion
26:00came to Jesus and said to Jesus, "Lord,
26:05my servant is at home suffering and
26:07paralyzed." Jesus suggested to the
26:11centurion.
26:12Do you want me to come heal him? Jesus
26:15was already thinking about healing him
26:18before the centurion made the request.
26:24Why would Jesus be thinking about that?
26:26Because of the first word of the
26:28centurion's request. He says, "Lord."
26:34Oh.
26:36Oh. So you're not calling him Lord
26:39unless there's a level of relationship
26:41that you have in these times today.
26:45Okay,
26:48in the text historically you're not
26:52calling him Lord
26:54unless there's a relationship that you
26:56desire to have with him. Right. Right.
27:01Okay. First thing we see in the text,
27:03man, this is good to me. first thing we
27:05see in the text because we want to know
27:07we want to know um how do I get God to
27:11do
27:12what he did for the centurion. I think
27:15intelligent people would want to know
27:16that. Uh so the first thing I see in the
27:18text is I see spiritual sensitivity.
27:22I see I see this idea of being
27:24spiritually sensitive. Watch this. This
27:26centurion uh was a Roman soldier. He he
27:29did not grow up worshiping God the way
27:31that the Jews were. He was by all
27:34accounts an outsider.
27:36The centurion uh if we would have put a
27:39label on him, the centurion was in these
27:41streets
27:43but still spiritual.
27:45Right.
27:48Cention the centurion. The centurion was
27:51outside. The centurion uh he he he knew
27:55about God. He knew about this faith
27:58thing. But the reality is the centurion
28:01had this dual nature thing going on. I'm
28:05not preaching to anybody in here.
28:08Just just look straight at me. He was
28:10like, I I Yes. Yes. He's my Lord
28:14and I want him to have mercy. And then
28:16he was like, Lord, have mercy.
28:20He He had this. Are y'all right? Y'all
28:24okay? He he he had this he was he was a
28:28gentile, meaning he was not raised uh
28:30Jew. He was raised outside of that. Yet,
28:33he still had exposure to that. Even
28:36though he was in the streets, he never
28:37lost his spiritual sensitivity. That's
28:39not just him. But if the reality is
28:42that's many of us that we've gone
28:44through seasons and some of us are in
28:46seasons now where sometimes we in the
28:49streets.
28:51Is this too real for y'all?
28:53Is this too real? Sometimes I go places
28:57I don't supposed to be.
29:01I say things
29:04that I'm not supposed to say and I know
29:07I'm not supposed to say it, but it feels
29:10so good. You ever wanted to say
29:12something and it came from the back of
29:14your heel and it just raised up and the
29:18momentum was already going. So by the
29:20time it gets here, I just got to go
29:21ahead and
29:25You ever you ever had a good one right
29:27here in your back? And the the first
29:30person Okay.
29:34He had this this this this going on this
29:37this thing this this this this thing
29:39going on to where it is. He's he's here,
29:41but he's there. And um he believes uh
29:44and it's not a matter of unbelief. It's
29:46just that there's something else living
29:47with my belief.
29:50There's my y'all. Right? Is this too
29:54real? I just need to know if this too
29:55real. There there's my flesh hanging out
30:00with my love for my father.
30:03And sometimes I reach up and I grab on
30:08to my father. And other times
30:13I'm gonna go preach to another church,
30:14man. I
30:17I reach up and I grab the flesh.
30:22Centurion was spiritually sensitive
30:24though. Has God ever bothered you while
30:28you was in the streets? He wouldn't let
30:30you do what you decided to do. God ever
30:34gave you uh oh, watch. I get I'm going
30:36to get in trouble here. God He wouldn't
30:38let you. Has God ever bothered you while
30:40you was in the club?
30:42You ever been in there like, "Man, I
30:44should have just stayed home."
30:51You ever been at their house
30:54and conviction just hit you? You in the
30:57streets, but you still spiritually
30:58sensitive. You can't help it.
31:02You It's quiet in this dog church.
31:07You ever been You ever been somewhere
31:10you had no business? I'mma look at
31:11y'all. Let me go to this side. You cuz
31:13they going they not going to keep it
31:14real with me. You ever been somewhere
31:16you had no business and you're like, "I
31:19don't have no business in here.
31:22You in there praying?"
31:25You ever been praying?
31:28You're like, "Lord, I'm getting ready to
31:29go do something real stupid right now,
31:31but would you help me
31:35in the streets, but spiritually
31:36sensitive to the degree that it feels
31:39like even though you've done I see where
31:41my real church is. even when you've done
31:44some stuff wrong that there always was a
31:46point you're like now wait a minute now
31:47I ain't doing that
31:50[Music]
31:51you
31:53you you a you you're able to go so far
31:56then it feels like you'll be running and
31:57something just pulling you back. That's
31:59because you're just sometimes we are in
32:01the streets but we're spiritually
32:02sensitive. I'm so glad that God will
32:04always snatch me whenever I found myself
32:08go oh y'all ain't going to be real. I
32:09preach to this side. I'm so glad that he
32:12loved me enough to snatch me out of my
32:14sin, to snatch me out of my sorrow, to
32:18snatch me out of my pit.
32:20[Music]
32:23He'll convict you in the middle of what
32:28you're in the middle of. Oh, it's quiet.
32:31You know what? Somebody said this. I
32:33can't remember who said it, so I'm going
32:34to say I said it. And uh
32:38quote it to me until I figure out
32:44he said satisfied flesh is always sorry
32:51say oh that was pastor he won't mind.
32:55Thank you for that pastor.
32:57He said satisfied flesh is always s. You
32:59ever wonder how once you get satisfied
33:01you always
33:04All right let me get back to the Bible.
33:05Y'all don't see when I go off I lose
33:07them. Let me get back to the text.
33:09Spiritually sensitive. All right, let's
33:10go back to the centurion. Let's talk
33:12about the centurion because y'all was
33:13happy we was talking about them. Um,
33:17has God ever had to snatch you out of a
33:18DM conversation?
33:21Has God ever had to stop you from
33:23blasting somebody online because they
33:26posted lies and you know the truth?
33:30Has God ever stopped you from showing
33:32the receipts?
33:34Has God ever had to send you a migraine
33:38headache so you don't go through with
33:41All right.
33:44It's too real. That's okay. Uh, aren't
33:47you glad that God loves you enough, you
33:49and I, enough to snatch us out of some
33:51stuff? Put your hands together if he
33:53ever snatched you out. Yeah, they want
33:56to clap for that. You see, I don't like
33:59this church.
34:01I don't like it. First thing, be
34:03spiritually sensitive. Number two, we
34:04see we see in this centurion the heart
34:06of humility. Verse number eight, the
34:08Bible says this. The centurion replied,
34:11"Lord,
34:12I don't deserve for you to come up under
34:15my roof."
34:18But just say the word and my servant
34:22will be healed. Now, I got a problem. I
34:24got a question. Who told the ser who
34:27told the centurion that this was
34:29possible? Where did he see Jesus doing a
34:33word healing?
34:36Which means he hadn't seen it.
34:39But just because he didn't see it didn't
34:42stop him from believing that God can do
34:44it.
34:47We've got to get to a point to where we
34:50realize that what we have seen is
34:53scratching the surface of God's ability.
34:57that God desires to do more in us and
34:59through us than what we've seen him do.
35:02So, so watch what he says. Watch what he
35:04says. Uh, I got to get out of here.
35:06Watch what he says. He says, "Lord, I
35:07don't deserve for you to come up under
35:09my roof." That's breaking all types of
35:10social and spiritual laws. I I haven't
35:12got time to give you the context between
35:14the Gentiles and the Jews and and and
35:16and a and a Jew wouldn't necessarily
35:18walk into the house of a non-believing
35:21Gentile and all this good stuff. And
35:22there's a lot of things that will kind
35:24of fly in the face of what Jews
35:26traditionally believe in this particular
35:28text. Uh but Jesus asked him a question.
35:30He says, "You want me to come heal him?"
35:31He says, "No, you ain't got to do that.
35:33Uh just send a word and uh I know my
35:37servant will be healed."
35:41His word was enough for the centurion
35:46to believe.
35:48He didn't need to have ever seen proof
35:50of God doing a healing miracle. His word
35:54was enough question.
35:56Is his word enough?
35:59Is Okay, let me go. I got five minutes
36:01and I'm out of here. For for I myself,
36:03he says verse number nine, the centurion
36:05goes on to say, come just say the word
36:08and my servant will be healed. Watch
36:08what he says verse number nine. For I
36:10myself is am a man under authority and I
36:14got soldiers under me. I tell this one
36:16to go and he goes and I tell that one to
36:18go and you know he goes. I tell that one
36:19to come and he comes and I I say to my
36:21servant, do this and he doesn't. Um he's
36:25he's showing Jesus, I understand
36:28authority,
36:29but I'm not crazy enough to think that
36:31my little bit of authority here on earth
36:34is greater than the authority that you
36:36have in heaven.
36:38He says, I'm a centurion. I'm I'm I'm
36:40I'm in charge of a hundred or so uh
36:43military.
36:45Um Lord have mercy. I'm the captain, so
36:48to speak, over a hundred. So I tell them
36:52what to do. Um I got I got at least a
36:56hundred following me. I got followers.
37:02I got influence over them. But I'm not
37:05crazy enough to believe that my little
37:06bit of influence on earth is anything
37:09compared to the influence that you have.
37:11Then the authority. So he shows a level
37:13of humility. He the centurion has
37:15hundreds of people following him. He has
37:17a hundred at least a hundred people
37:20following. Watch this. But it means
37:22nothing to have hundreds following you
37:24if you're not following one.
37:29It doesn't matter how many people are
37:31following you if you're not following
37:33one. I know you're an influencer, but
37:35what are you influencing people to do?
37:41It it it's it's interesting. I gotta go.
37:44I got to go. Lord have mercy. I got to
37:46go. Um he strips himself of his earthly
37:51title.
37:53He says, "Man, I ain't nothing." It's
37:55the ghetto version. He says, "I'm
37:57nothing.
38:00I I'm literally nothing. This little bit
38:02of authority here on earth means
38:03nothing. He's not going to God with this
38:07sanitized version of himself.
38:11Sometimes we offer God our filter
38:15when God is asking for our filth.
38:21Sometimes we offer God our filter. We
38:23come to God. God, you know, I've been
38:25doing all of this and I've been coming
38:27to Bible study and I've been paying my
38:30tithe. So Lord, you got to do something
38:35for me.
38:37But that that's not what got God to
38:38move. We see a heart of humility. He
38:40comes to God offering his brokenness,
38:42his his his frailties, his fragility.
38:45And then the last thing I say is believe
38:47before you see it.
38:49Believe before you see it. This is tough
38:52because the centurion had never seen uh
38:55he had never seen this type of miracle
38:58take place before. So he has to fight
39:00through something. He had to fight
39:01through what we call faith fatigue.
39:05Have to fight through faith fatigue.
39:06Faith fatigue. Faith fatigue is
39:08interesting, man. Faith fatigue is a
39:10spiritual exhaustion
39:12that sets in when you've been believing,
39:15praying, and waiting. But watch this.
39:19But then you start to feel worn down by
39:21the delay or the disappointment or even
39:22the silence.
39:24Faith fatigue is not a lack of faith,
39:26but it's a weariness of holding on.
39:31Faith fatigue. So this centurion is
39:34asking for God, asking for Jesus to do a
39:36miracle he's never seen him do. And he
39:39don't know how long it's going to take
39:41in order for it to happen. If you even
39:43do it, how long will it take? Because
39:47time is of the essence.
39:49because not only is my servant
39:51paralyzed, I told you I told you in the
39:54text he's suffering.
39:58So essentially, he's like, "Hey, um, you
40:02don't have to come to my house. That's
40:03going to take forever. You have to
40:04walk." And then, "Do you even know you
40:06got Map Quest or something? Google Maps?
40:10Did I just date myself a map quest?"
40:13All y'all need a Google Map Quest.
40:16He said, "We don't have time for that.
40:17just send the word. I got enough faith
40:21in you that if you send the word, my
40:26servant will be healed. There's nothing
40:28in the text that tells us what the
40:30servant even believes. We don't know if
40:33the servant is a follower or not. Jesus
40:36never goes through his religious resume.
40:39He never asks the ser asks the the
40:41centurion, "Well, how much has he ever
40:44given?
40:47Does he attend the synagogues
40:51synagogue service? He never asks
40:53anything like that. He sees the faith of
40:56the centurion
40:58and says, "Whoa,
41:01this kind of faith will make me break a
41:03rule.
41:08This that's a different level.
41:11There's faith. Watch this. There's faith
41:13to believe.
41:15There's faith to believe that God can
41:18come lay his hands on the servant and
41:20heal him. That's faith.
41:25That's one level.
41:27There's another level of faith that says
41:30Jesus could send a pill or some medicine
41:33or some type of medication
41:36to heal the servant.
41:38That's faith, too. Don't leave here
41:40thinking, "Oh, well, I'm I got faith. I
41:42ain't taking medicine." Okay? Let God
41:44tell you that. Cool.
41:47Then there's another level. All you have
41:50to do is say the word.
41:52Yeah. There's levels to this. Not bad,
41:57but there's different levels.
42:00And this level says God just sent a
42:02word. And he does. And the text says
42:05immediately or at that moment the
42:08servant was healed. The servant was
42:10healed. The servant was healed. Now,
42:12often times what you need to understand
42:14is whenever Jesus does a healing, he
42:17doesn't just heal one thing and leave.
42:22Play something, bro.
42:24Cuz I pre I got
42:28just heal one thing and leave. As a
42:30matter of fact, often times when Jesus
42:33heals, he addresses something else.
42:36There was a man who was lame and the the
42:39the guys picked him up and they couldn't
42:41get him into the house because it was
42:44too many people. So they climbed up on
42:45the rooftop and they made a hole in the
42:48roof and they let the man down in front
42:51of Jesus while Jesus was teaching. And
42:53Jesus looked at the man at the man and
42:55said, "Your sins have been forgiven."
43:01They didn't bring him to Jesus
43:04for sin,
43:07but Jesus saw a greater need. So then I
43:09must think
43:11because it's in line with his character
43:14that when Jesus says this servant was
43:16healed.
43:19Sure, he got his physical healing.
43:22But what if all it took was faith
43:26for him to get the spiritual one he
43:28needed to?
43:31I'm done. Y'all stand to your feet. I
43:34want to pray.
43:41What if all it took
43:44was faith?
43:46I can imagine like the woman with the
43:48issue. I can imagine
43:51centurion exhausted all of his resources
43:53because the centurion had resources. I I
43:56didn't I didn't get to tell you this,
43:57but in Luke, he tells us that this
44:00centurion built
44:03an entire synagogue for the Jews.
44:07So, he has money.
44:10What if I can tell you that he's
44:11exhausted all of his finances and still
44:13didn't get the answer?
44:16Maybe it wasn't a money issue. Maybe it
44:18was a faith issue.
44:23I want to pray for somebody.
44:28I want to pray
44:31that God takes your faith
44:34to believe him
44:36for it to another level.
44:40Some of us are experiencing faith
44:42fatigue.
44:45Some of us, some of us, our faith is
44:47fragile. It's like I believe and then
44:49something happens like ah it got me
44:52and I stay in this space of great faith,
44:55no faith. Great faith, no faith. Great
44:57faith, no faith. And I want to give you
44:59opportunity
45:01to take your faith in him to the next
45:04level. I don't know what you are facing.
45:06I don't know what your situation is. I
45:09don't know how big it seems. I don't
45:12know. I don't know how how large it is
45:15in comparison to where you are. I don't
45:17know what needs to happen. I I I don't
45:20know. And guess what? The the beautiful
45:22thing is I don't need to know
45:25because your faith is not in me.
45:28Your faith is in him.
45:31The one who can do exceedingly
45:34abundantly
45:36above all.
45:38With every eye closed, every head bowed.
45:41If you're in one of those spaces and
45:43you've been experiencing faith fatigue,
45:44like, God, I need you to do something.
45:46I've been,
45:48it's not that I don't believe you. I do
45:49believe you, but man, it's taking
45:52forever.
45:54And if I'm honest, sometimes I
45:57I get fatigued on this journey. If
45:59you've experienced faith fatigue or
46:01maybe you've experienced the fragility
46:03of faith, meaning like, man, I believe
46:05greatly and then something happens,
46:08then I get a bad ah man.
46:13And you want 2025 to be a year where you
46:15believe for real,
46:18where no matter what comes, your faith
46:19grows even deeper.
46:22Friends may come, money may go, but my
46:25faith in you is growing deeper. I want
46:26to pray for you. Would you meet me at
46:27the altar? I just want to agree with
46:29you. If you want to go to the next level
46:31in your faith, come on, meet me right
46:33here at the altar. I just want to pray a
46:36prayer of agreement over you
46:39that God, I'm believing that this season
46:41is going to be a season where I'm so
46:44rooted