Full transcript
0:00Exodus 33 verse number 17 says, "And the
0:02Lord said to Moses,
0:04I will do the very thing you have asked
0:10because
0:11I am pleased with you
0:15and I know you
0:17by name."
0:19I'm going to read that one more time
0:21because you wasn't ready to hear what
0:22God just said to Moses. Watch what he
0:24says. He says, uh, "And the Lord said to
0:28Moses,
0:30I will do the very thing you asked
0:35because I am pleased with you and I know
0:39you by name. I will do the very thing
0:41you ask. I will do what you ask." I want
0:44to put a tag on this text to teach for a
0:46title. Uh, uh, look at somebody and say,
0:48"You can have whatever you like." Just
0:50tell them you can have whatever whatever
0:52you like. Your neighbor not saved at
0:54all. Just just just
0:56your neighbor is not saved. I promise
0:58you at all. Not even a little bit. If
1:00they knew what you don't even whatever
1:03you like.
1:06You know, one of the things that I don't
1:08like doing at all, just going to be
1:10honest. One of the things that I just
1:12Oh, it just boils my blood. One of the
1:14things I don't like doing at all is
1:16shopping.
1:18Amen.
1:19>> Oh, I do not like to go shopping. If it
1:25I'm one of those people that goes to the
1:27store and I buy whatever is on the
1:29mannequin so I don't have to go and
1:31search through. Oh yeah, I'm that bad.
1:34I'm a mannequin shopper. I figure if
1:36it's on the mannequin, it's good enough
1:38for me. Amen. Somebody somebody has
1:41already done the work. They put the
1:43outfit together.
1:46So, I I'm I I don't like going shopping,
1:48you know. Uh so, when I do go or when
1:51I'm forced to go, I uh I end up going
1:54with my amazing wife.
1:56Now, it's one thing to go shopping by
1:58yourself as a man. I think men spend a
2:01total most men, not all, most men spend
2:04a total of 1 minute and 47 seconds in
2:07the store
2:09>> because when we when we walk into the
2:12store and we see something we like, we
2:15immediately get it and head to the
2:17register.
2:19>> Well, I went shopping with my wife and I
2:23understood she showed me that that's not
2:25always the case
2:26>> and that there's another way to shop.
2:28Amen.
2:29>> So what she does is she goes into the
2:31store and she picks up the very thing
2:33she loves, puts it against her, puts it
2:37back, and then walk around the entire
2:40store,
2:42leave the store,
2:44go to another store
2:46>> to see if the other store has something
2:49similar for a better price. Ultimately,
2:536 hours and 37 minutes later,
2:57>> we go back to the first store
3:04>> and get the same thing we could have
3:06gotten
3:08>> and all the fellas said,
3:13>> y'all going to get in trouble.
3:15>> So, I I don't like shopping at all. I
3:18don't like shopping. Not even a little
3:20bit. I I can deal with a little online
3:22shopping, but I don't like the going
3:24through the store, this, that, and the
3:26third. Here's what happened. This messed
3:28me up. One day, I had to go shopping for
3:30a specific event that we had coming up,
3:32and I wanted to get something particular
3:34to wear to the event. Well, in this
3:36case, my wife wasn't able to go with me
3:38to uh the store to help a brother out,
3:42right? Don't act like y'all don't need
3:44help sometimes. I'm like, bae, does this
3:46match? I'm sending her pictures and all.
3:48Right? So, she wasn't able to go to the
3:50store with me for this particular time.
3:52And um now keep in mind, I almost was
3:55happy but a little bit disturbed as at
3:58the same time. I was happy because I
3:59know I can get in and out, but at the
4:01same time, I learned something that my
4:04wife uh has about shopping. This messed
4:06me up. Watch this. I get what I want to
4:09get from the from uh you know, the
4:11clothing store. I get up to the register
4:14to pay for it, right? I'm on the phone
4:17with her because I don't do anything
4:19without her saying, "Hey, you know, do
4:22this, do this." Because she always got
4:24something up her up her sleeve in a good
4:26way. So, I get to the register, I got
4:28her in my AirPod, and I'm saying to the
4:30lady, "Oh, okay. Thank you. How you
4:31doing?" Whatever. Ring this up. She's
4:32ringing it up. Cool. Right. And um so
4:37she says how much the the outfit is. So
4:42my wife hears the cost of the outfit
4:45that I just purchased and she said, "How
4:47much did she say?" And I said, "Well,
4:50she said xxx amount of dollars,
4:51whatever." And she says, "Oh, no, no,
4:53no. Do me a favor.
4:55Give her my number."
4:59>> I said, "Do you know her?" or something
5:01like, "Do you know who this person is?"
5:03She says, "Give her my number." And I
5:06said, "Okay." I said, "Yeah." So she the
5:08lady asked me, "Are you a part of our
5:11watch this rewards program?"
5:14>> I said I said yes.
5:19I gave her the number. I said 954
5:22says she goes to the thing. She
5:26Oh, okay. Yeah, I see. She looks at the
5:29She looks at her register then looks
5:30back at me and says, "You have some
5:33rewards.
5:35>> Would you like to redeem them? I said,
5:39"How much rewards do I have?"
5:42She said, basically, in essence, she
5:44says, "You have enough rewards to where
5:46this outfit that was hundreds of dollars
5:50is now only a few dollars."
5:53I said, "Oh,
5:54let me get that."
5:58I said, "Let me get that." So, she puts
6:00the number in. I get the, you know, the
6:02discount reward points or whatever. And
6:04then, uh, take my bag. I'm cool. I'm
6:07loving it. I left with an outfit that
6:09was this and it was all it ended up
6:11being literally it was under like 20
6:13something dollars. It was crazy. One of
6:14them crazy things, right? So, watch
6:16this. I said, "Oo,
6:20I wonder
6:22if she has rewards at another store."
6:33So, I just so happen to be going to
6:34another store.
6:36And I saw some shoes I liked.
6:39And I said, "Hey, could you do me a
6:42favor this time? Could you check my
6:44number?"
6:49Oh yeah, I'm saying it big, too. Yeah.
6:50Check Check Check the number. Check the
6:53number. The number. 954 is the number.
6:56He said, "Yeah, you got you can 10 15%
6:58off." I'm like, I'll take that cuz I was
7:00buying them anyway, right?
7:02>> I'll take 15. I go to Publix. I didn't
7:05even know Publix had a
7:11>> shopping up stuff.
7:13>> Shopping ain't that bad. I went to
7:15Publix, got whatever it is I came to
7:17get. I said, "Hey, I got a phone number.
7:22I've Every store I've been going to,
7:25I've been giving them this number."
7:28Receiving the perks of something I
7:32didn't even sign up for.
7:34Come on.
7:36>> I've been redeeming the coupons
7:40for something I didn't even know about.
7:42I didn't do anything to earn it.
7:45>> As a matter of fact, I ran up a bill.
7:49>> I ran up a bill that somebody had
7:51already put something in place to take
7:54care of.
7:56>> Y'all think I'm talking about shopping.
7:59>> I'm talking about favor.
8:02Ah, favor is when you have ran up a
8:07bill, but somebody somewhere has already
8:10taken care of what you never could.
8:15>> Okay, I'll get to the text in a moment.
8:17I got to give you this. This is going to
8:18mess you up. I told I told somebody I
8:20told some of you this before. Uh maybe,
8:22but I think this is important. Uh my
8:24kids have at their school a lunch tab.
8:29They have a lunch tab. So each week you
8:31can load up the lunch tab with money and
8:34then they go through the line and they
8:35can swipe the little card and they can
8:37buy what it is they want for lunch. All
8:39right. Okay. So first week of school I
8:42give it uh to Jace. I say Jace, hey
8:46buddy, you uh you got this amount of
8:48money on your lunch tab. He said cool.
8:51He goes to school gets some meatballs.
8:53He loves it. Few days later, I said,
8:56"Jace, I got a notification that um you
9:00have overdrawn
9:05on the lunch tab." I'm getting to the
9:07text in a moment. Just stay with me. On
9:09the lunch tab, he says, "Oh yeah, you
9:12would be proud of me." I said, "What
9:14happened?" He says, "Well, there were
9:18some kids in my class
9:20and uh they needed some meatballs, too.
9:35So he said, "So I brought my meatballs
9:41and then I got some extra ones
9:44>> for the people that didn't have
9:47meatballs for lunch."
9:50Now, here's the problem.
9:53The problem is I put enough money on
9:55there for you to eat.
9:58I didn't know that this was a community
10:00card here. I didn't. So, it's community.
10:04He said, "You be proud because I was
10:07being generous."
10:08>> I said, "You were." Now, here's the
10:11issue. The issue is his father now has
10:14to pay for a debt that they ran up.
10:23I have to pay for a debt his classmates
10:28ran up.
10:30In the theological circle, they call it
10:32substitutionary atonement.
10:36Substitutionary atonement is the idea
10:39that as a substitute for the sins we ran
10:42up, Jesus Christ came and paid a debt
10:46that we cannot pay.
10:51This is so good. So, this idea, I'm
10:54getting to the text in a moment. This
10:56idea of substitutionary atonement is
10:59this idea that you and I have been so
11:03ratchet
11:05>> that we did not have the resources to
11:07take care of or to satisfy the father's
11:11wrath. So Jesus said, "I'm going to put
11:14on flesh, come down through generations
11:18to take on the punishment that you can
11:21never take on." So the reason that I'm
11:23getting ready, Lord have mercy, the
11:25reason I'm getting ready to run out of
11:27this room is because substitutionary
11:30atonement is a picture of favor. Just
11:34like I ran up a bill in the store, just
11:37like Jayce ran up a bill in the
11:40cafeteria, all I'm sorry, all have
11:44sinned and fallen short of the glory of
11:47God, but I wish I had 15 people that
11:50would say, "God, thank you for
11:52substituting yourself. Thank you for the
11:55favor, I'm sorry, favor of God that
11:58covered my mess, covered my issues,
12:01covered my trauma, covered my troubles,
12:04covered my tribute. Is there anybody in
12:07here that can say, "God, thank you for
12:09favor."
12:12>> The favor, we've been in a series
12:15talking about favor. Fa favor. Favor is
12:18absolutely interesting. It's one of
12:20those things uh that we don't often
12:23times realize that we're experiencing.
12:26I'm I'm going to suggest that many of us
12:28are experiencing the benefits of God's
12:32loyalty and rewards program and we don't
12:35even know it.
12:38I I I I genuinely believe this this
12:41matter this this major idea here. Watch
12:44this. that that even though favor is
12:48available, I still have to access it.
12:52That I could have went through the line
12:54and paid for that meal or paid for those
12:57that outfit and they would have never
13:00mentioned the opportunity for me to
13:02save. Right. Right. So, so I still have
13:07to do something not to earn the favor,
13:11but just to access it. That's extremely
13:14important, right? So, this is good. This
13:17is right here on the screen. Even though
13:18favor has been released, it still must
13:20be redeemed.
13:23Even though it's been released, it still
13:25has to be redeemed. In other words,
13:27watch this. In other words, in other
13:29words, favor is free, but it's not
13:33automatic.
13:36This is so good. Free means it cost you
13:40nothing. You didn't earn it. You didn't
13:41buy it. You don't deserve it. Cool. Not
13:44automatic means you still have to
13:46respond with the appropriate behavior to
13:49walk in it.
13:52>> So when I say that favor is free but
13:54it's not automatic, that means I still
13:56have to respond with the corresponding
13:59behavior to the favor of God that's on
14:02my life in such a way that I'm able to
14:05access what God has already put up in
14:08store for me. Just because it's for me
14:12doesn't mean I'll always walk in it.
14:16Imagine imagine imagine a loved one
14:19leaving or transitioning, passing away,
14:21but then they leave you an inheritance
14:24that you don't know about.
14:26It's still yours, but you haven't
14:29accessed it yet.
14:31And I'm suggesting that many of us have
14:34favor unaccessed.
14:38We want to get to the text. I want to
14:39show you something that's absolutely
14:41interesting in the text. Uh but before I
14:43do, I think that this is important. Uh
14:46favor ain't fair.
14:49That's what we were taught. Some of some
14:52of us, who in here has been heard that
14:54cliche, favor ain't fair, right? Cool. I
14:57ain't mad at that. Me, too. Right. I
15:00start thinking about something
15:01biblically and I start challenging that
15:04thought.
15:05The question becomes, is favor fair? As
15:09soon as something happened on the job,
15:10what girl? Favor ain't fair.
15:15I got that. Hey, man. Favor ain't fair.
15:17I'm telling you, God is just Hey, God.
15:19Okay.
15:21The question that we have to wrestle
15:23with in this series entitled favor is,
15:27is favor fair?
15:30Well, let's look at it. Deuteronomy 32
15:32and 4. It's not on the screen, but take
15:33a note. Deuteronomy 32 and 4. Um, uh,
15:36Deuteronomy 32:4 says this. He is the
15:38rock. His works are perfect. Talking
15:40about God. And all his ways are just.
15:44Wait a minute. All God's ways are just.
15:48A faithful God who does no wrong, who is
15:51upright and just. Okay, so all that God
15:55does is just. Stay with me. Stay with
15:58me. Uh, Psalms 89:14. It's not on the
16:01screen, but this is good if you know
16:02what I mean. Watch this. Righteousness
16:04and justice are the foundation of his
16:07throne.
16:10Trip on this. So Deuteromy is telling me
16:12that all of his ways are just. Psalms is
16:17telling me that uh righteousness and
16:19justice are the foundation of his
16:21throne. Then that means to me that favor
16:24must be fair.
16:27It has to be fair because it's coming
16:29from God.
16:34And if God extends fa Are y'all all
16:37right?
16:38>> If God extends favor to whoever God
16:42desires to extend favor to, then that
16:45must mean that favor is in fact fair
16:48because God is.
16:52Okay. All right. Okay. All right. When
16:57you look at the life of Noah, you see
16:58that Noah found favor with God. The
17:01question can be asked, why did God
17:03choose Noah to build an ark. It wasn't
17:07simply because of Noah's behavior.
17:09Because we have pictures in the Bible
17:11about Noah's behavior that was not
17:14necessarily always in alignment with
17:16what God desired for him to do. So then
17:19it can't so favor cannot be released
17:22solely on what I do uh externally.
17:28This is so good. When you look at the
17:31life of Joseph the dreamer, uh, and
17:34everywhere he went, he found favor,
17:36right? That Joseph had a dream. This
17:39whole idea, he kept telling his
17:40brothers, uh, stop telling them. He kept
17:43telling his brothers and ultimately a
17:46series of events happened. I don't have
17:47time to preach it. It's on YouTube
17:49series called Dreamchasers. And, uh,
17:51they throw him in the pit. He leaves
17:53from the pit, gets sold into slavery, go
17:54to slavery, go to the palace. this whole
17:56thing and everywhere Joseph goes, he
17:58finds favor.
18:00H that's interesting.
18:03Favor is when God blesses you because he
18:06wants to.
18:08>> And this is why I got a teach today,
18:10y'all. This is why you got two cousins
18:14and one friend that's still like you.
18:19because they know that you don't deserve
18:23how God has been blessing you, but he's
18:26been blessing you anyway.
18:30>> Now, insecure people think you're
18:32bragging just because you're describing
18:36what God is doing.
18:38>> Let me say that for this side.
18:41Insecurity will think you're bragging
18:43just because you're describing what God
18:45is doing. So when I tell you you won't
18:48believe that they are considering me for
18:50the promotion, you you can determine
18:52whether or not a person is 10 toes down
18:55solid or insecure by their response to
18:58God's favor on your life.
19:02The problem is we're in circles with
19:04people who can't handle God's favor. So
19:07you're hiding your God's favor. You're
19:10sneaking about you're sneaky about your
19:12success because you don't want them to
19:14feel a certain way about what God is
19:16doing in your life. But the devil is a
19:18ball head lie. This
19:25>> did he say ballhead in church?
19:29>> I'm sorry. Touch somebody and say,
19:31"Favor is fair."
19:32>> Favor is fair. Favor is not God blessing
19:37me simply because he likes me. Favor is
19:41God blessing me because he can trust me.
19:48>> Favor is when God extends blessing into
19:51our lives that is comprehensive. Meaning
19:54it isn't just in one area of my life. So
19:57when I say that I'm favored, I'm not
20:00only saying that God is blessing me uh
20:03in my career. I'm not only declaring
20:05that God is blessing me in my health.
20:07I'm not only declaring that God is
20:10blessing me and giving me peace. I'm not
20:12only declaring that God is blessing my
20:14family. I'm not only declaring that God
20:17is blessing my children. When I say that
20:18I'm favor, that means everything about
20:21me is getting ready to go to the next
20:23level. I wish I could prophesy over 15
20:26people that will stand up and sit back
20:28down and say next level. Next next level
20:30in my family, next level in my marriage,
20:33next level in my ministry.
20:38>> Going to the next level. Been down there
20:41for too long. And why do I got to stay
20:43down here for us to be friends?
20:46>> Why you can't come up
20:52favor?
20:54though it is in store for us, still must
20:58be accessed.
21:00Now, this is extremely important because
21:02uh when we look at the life of an
21:04individual, we're going to kind of
21:05navigate through today. We're going to
21:07see something. We're going to see a p
21:09some powerful principles. Uh watch this.
21:12We're going to see that the favor that's
21:14given to you is not just for you.
21:18>> The favor that's on you is not just for
21:21you. Let me say that one more time.
21:23That's that's that's that that that's
21:25going to hang on everything that we're
21:26going to deal with today. The favor
21:28that's on you is not just for you,
21:30right? Favor is not a crutch.
21:34It's a commission.
21:38Favor is not a crutch. It's not a couch.
21:43It's a commission. A crutch is something
21:45that you lean on because something
21:47doesn't work the way it should.
21:50Right? I I don't I don't say I don't
21:53have to work. I don't have to work hard.
21:54I don't have to do what I need to do. I
21:56don't have to be disciplined. I don't
21:58have to have the right habits. Well, I'm
22:00favored, so I don't got to do that.
22:03>> No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
22:05no, no. You can't just show up for the
22:07test and say, "Well, I'm favored,
22:08professor."
22:10>> That that F don't stand for favor.
22:16You You want the promotion. You want the
22:18position but you're not preparing
22:19yourself that that you can't just say
22:22I'm favored right you know you want the
22:24house right so start positioning
22:28yourself
22:30touch two people and say credit just say
22:32that just
22:34>> just you all right there are some things
22:37listen this is important
22:39>> and I know listen please hear my heart
22:42go do whatever he wants to do
22:44>> he can change the hearts of the king be
22:47clear.
22:48>> But I just want to let you know
22:49something.
22:51Most times
22:53you want to do something like that, that
22:55type of purchase, you're going to need
22:56some credit.
22:58>> And not just some credit.
23:00>> You're going to need
23:04now. You showing up talking about uh I'm
23:06favor.
23:10Do me a favor. Apply again next year.
23:14I'm God. It must not be in your will.
23:16this must. No, no. God is like, "No,
23:18it's it's yours,
23:20>> but you just have to access it. You have
23:23to respond to the favor on your life
23:25with the corresponding behavior."
23:30>> Right? It we got to go. It's not just,
23:32"Oh, I got I got faith. I got faith. I
23:34got great amazing. Hallelujah."
23:38But preparation is faith in action.
23:42>> Yeah.
23:43If you really have faith, you start
23:46preparing for what you have faith for.
23:49>> Are y'all right?
23:51>> So favor is not a crutch. Oh, I'm
23:54favored. It doesn't matter what I do.
23:55Wrong.
23:57It matters. All right, y'all. All right,
24:00everybody. Good. All right, hold the
24:02doors. Don't let them run out.
24:06It's not a crutch or it's not a couch.
24:08It's not something you sit on. You can't
24:09sit idly by and expect elevation,
24:12right? Laziness, we did a whole series
24:15on on this. Laziness is training for
24:18poverty.
24:25>> Laziness is training for poverty.
24:27Poverty. It's It is. I'm practicing
24:30staying poor.
24:33>> Look at somebody say, "I don't need no
24:34more practice. I done been po." I
24:36promise you, I am an expert. I'm good. I
24:38I want to practice on something else. I
24:41got generations of practice. The devil
24:44is a liar. I I'm not
24:46Oh, Jesus.
24:48I'm not practicing.
24:52I'm not practicing. I I I am not
24:54participating. Yeah. No, no, no, no. But
24:57when I walk in favor, I understand that
25:00yes, God has called me to something
25:02greater. I I realize that so much so
25:06watch this that I start getting myself
25:09ready for it now.
25:11I don't wait for the door to be open. I
25:15get myself ready and watch when you get
25:18ready the door opens.
25:22>> I remember we used to go to Target.
25:30>> You remember that? It was like 1960.
25:32When was that? It was a long time.
25:35>> And when we used to go, it was crazy. We
25:38used we we used to go and
25:49>> you can walk up the target
25:52>> and the sensor automatically knows
25:55you're there and then the door slides
25:58open. The door ain't sliding open until
26:01you start walking towards it.
26:03>> Now, I can be favored as I want to be
26:06>> in the parking lot,
26:07>> door still closed.
26:09>> I can be as anointed as I want to be
26:11sitting in my bed, door still closed.
26:14And the reason some of us are sitting in
26:16a season of frustration is not because
26:19God is not trying to do what he said he
26:21wants to do, but you've got to get up
26:23off of the couch of and you got to start
26:26walking towards preparing yourself for
26:30getting the degree, getting the
26:32certification, getting the trade,
26:35learning the ski. Y'all, is this my
26:37microphone on? Is it
26:40>> touch somebody and say get ready for it?
26:42Get ready.
26:46It just ain't my season. God don't want
26:47me in there. No, God wants you there,
26:50but you got to get ready for it.
26:56>> They They don't give that position to
26:57people like me. No, they do.
27:00>> You just got to be ready for it.
27:04>> In the text,
27:07we find a very interesting passage of
27:10scripture. The people of Israel have
27:12just experienced
27:14uh the self-inflicted
27:16trauma of worshiping the golden calf.
27:20It's crazy. It's crazy. Mo Moses has now
27:24gone up. Moses has gone up to pray. Uh,
27:28and because, watch this, Moses was
27:31taking too long to come back down,
27:34they decided to get their jewelry
27:38um um and make a golden calf.
27:43All because
27:45Moses was at the top of the mountain
27:48taking too long to get back to them in
27:52the valley.
27:55Here they were, the people of God,
27:59chosen,
28:01called out.
28:03They were waiting. Stay with me. They
28:06were waiting on a man.
28:09And because the man
28:12was taking too long,
28:18they figured they'll make something
28:20that'll work until God sends what
28:25they've been waiting on.
28:27>> Let me come back this way. See if I They
28:30were in the valley waiting on God to
28:34send a word through Moses.
28:36>> Okay. And because God was taking too
28:39long, they decided to come up with a
28:42method themselves.
28:45>> So they created a substitute
28:49to hold them over until God did what God
28:53wanted to do.
28:54>> But they didn't understand by putting a
28:57substitute in place, they were negating
29:00what God was trying to do.
29:02How many of us
29:05have refused to stop waiting on God? So,
29:09we made a substitute instead of the real
29:11substance.
29:13>> He's not the man I want God, but he's
29:16the one that's going to do.
29:19>> She not the woman I really want, but
29:22she's the one that's going to do.
29:26Let me get back over here. Let me let me
29:29let me get over here. So, what ended up
29:31happening is the people of Israel, I
29:33leave that alone. Y'all come back next
29:34week. Somebody else will touch that. Uh,
29:38Canaan was God's promise, God's
29:41preference for them. Canaan was God's
29:44preference for them. But look at them.
29:47Look at the people of Israel in this
29:48particular text we're going to deal
29:49with. They are choosing a calf over
29:52God's Canaan.
29:54>> They're choosing a calf over Canaan. So
29:57that got me to thinking, how many times
29:59in life have we done that? Have we
30:00chosen a calf over Canaan?
30:03>> How many some people in our phone, we
30:06need to rename them.
30:09>> Just put calf.
30:12>> No, that ain't Leroy. That's a calf.
30:15>> That ain't Kha. Sorry, Kesha and Lero. I
30:17just picked these names. I don't know.
30:18But that's a calf.
30:20How many times have we chosen a
30:22substitute? A substitute instead of the
30:24real substance.
30:26How many times have you sat in a season
30:28granted by your own decisions?
30:31And here Israel is, watch this, in a
30:35season that has been produced by their
30:39behavior. Devil didn't do it.
30:42It's who do you blame when it's you?
30:47It's like, who do you rebuke? Like, you
30:49know what I'm saying?
30:51Who do you behind? You know, like I
30:53bind. I rebuke you, Satan. But what if
30:56it's you?
30:58What if it's me?
31:01So, here we find them
31:03out of Egypt, but not in Canaan.
31:07Out of bondage, but not yet in the
31:09promise.
31:11Moses goes to Mount Si. He's wrestling
31:13with God. And and we get to peep in in
31:16the text. We get to peep in on a private
31:18conversation that Moses is having with
31:21God. This is extremely important because
31:23Moses shows us, this is so important.
31:25Moses shows us what it means to have, to
31:29obtain, and to walk in favor. Watch what
31:31the Bible says. Exodus chapter number 33
31:33verse number 12 says this. Moses said to
31:35the Lord, here's what he says. Uh, at
31:37this tent of meetings, watch what he
31:39says. You have been telling me to lead
31:42these people, but God, you have not let
31:45me know whom you will send with me. You
31:49have said, "I know you by name and and I
31:52found favor with me and you found favor
31:54with me." And verse number 13, "If you
31:57are pleased with me," watch what Moses
31:58says. "Teach me your ways
32:04so I may know you and continue to to
32:06find favor with you. Remember that this
32:10nation is your people." Moses is Moses
32:14is saying, "You keep telling me that
32:17I've got favor with you,
32:20but you're sending me somewhere I've
32:22never gone
32:24because you God never told Moses about
32:27Canaan. God told Moses about getting
32:30them out of Egypt.
32:32So Moses is clueless. He's like, "You
32:34keep saying, I got favor with you, but
32:37here I am in an unfamiliar space. You
32:40got me out here." You ever felt like
32:41this? God, you got me out here and uh
32:44I'm only out here because you called me
32:47out. I'm only doing this because you
32:51told me to do it. And here I am, not
32:55with any more information.
32:58What do I do? Moses is is bewildered.
33:02Moses is confused. Moses is trying to
33:05figure out why, God, do you have me in
33:08an unfamiliar season? But watch this.
33:11Unfamiliar does not mean unfavored.
33:18>> See? See? See? Unfamiliar does not mean
33:22unfavor. As a matter of fact, often
33:24times God sends his most favored people
33:28into unfamiliar territories,
33:31environments that they are not used to.
33:34Why? Why? Because favored people don't
33:37need familiarity to flour. flourish.
33:41>> Huh? Favored people do not need
33:44familiarity in order to flourish. When
33:46you know you're favored, it doesn't
33:48matter if you're the only one that looks
33:50like you in the room. You can still
33:52flourish when you know you're favor. It
33:54doesn't matter if they've never hired a
33:56person like you. You can still fl when
33:58you know your favor. It doesn't matter
34:00if they don't believe that you have the
34:02ability. You're still favored. Push
34:04somebody and say, "I'm still favored.
34:07I don't need a familiar circumstance in
34:10order for me to walk in favor.
34:14>> I I can walk. So here it is. Moses is in
34:18the unfamiliar place. Um and watch what
34:21he says. Verse number 12 says this. If
34:23if you are pleased with me, then teach
34:27me your ways so I may know you and watch
34:31this. continue to find favor with you.
34:36This is so good. Moses links favor with
34:39God's ways. He's saying this. He's
34:41saying this. He's saying, "Don't just
34:43bless me." Watch this. Guide me.
34:47>> Uhoh. You see the distinction? He's
34:50saying, "Don't just bless me, direct
34:53me."
34:55>> Don't just bless me, teach me.
34:59And if we're not careful, we'll settle
35:01for God's blessing
35:04>> and not desire his teaching.
35:07>> And he says, "Yes, I want to bless you,
35:09but I also want to teach you because if
35:12I give you a blessing without a
35:13teaching, what you thought was a
35:15blessing will become a burden."
35:18>> So, you'll get what you're asking me
35:20for, but then the thing that you just
35:22got got you.
35:28So then when you get see
35:31he says I I don't just want to bless
35:33you. I want to teach you
35:35>> how to handle what you're asking for.
35:40>> So when are y'all with me?
35:43>> And often times we jump down on our
35:45knees. Let me say this speak for me.
35:48I've jumped down on my knees and say God
35:50bless me and do it and then do this and
35:52then God if you don't mind do that and
35:54then God and do this too and then do
35:57that in the name of Jesus. Amen. But I
36:00never sat there and talk and talk to him
36:02about and then teach me how to handle it
36:06>> and prepare me for it.
36:08>> I don't just want to be running over
36:10financially. That's good. But then do I
36:13know how to manage it and steward it? Do
36:16I know how to say no to people who just
36:19want what I have?
36:20>> Or am I still a people pleaser to the
36:23degree that the thing that God blessed
36:25me with is going to turn into a burden?
36:30So Moses says, "Don't don't don't don't
36:32don't just bless me, teach me.
36:36Help me, direct me. G give me give me
36:40guidance." We live, I'm sorry, in an
36:44era, in an age, in a generation where we
36:48want blessing but no teaching.
36:51We got more conferences,
36:53more convocations,
36:56more podcasts,
36:58more more content,
37:01less power.
37:07>> It would seem like since we have Are
37:10y'all here? It would seem like since we
37:13have more access, you can go on your
37:15phone right now and find out the Greek,
37:19Hebrew, Aramaic, uh you can find out
37:22anything you want to know about
37:24scripture.
37:26Yet, we don't see the miracles that we
37:30see in scripture.
37:34>> That's interesting. It would seem like
37:37since we have so much more knowledge
37:39available that we can access that we
37:42will be walking in more power. But it
37:45seems like the inverse has happened. It
37:48seems like the more knowledge we get,
37:50the less power we walk in.
37:55>> So Moses is saying, I'm not just going
37:57to shout over you blessing me. That's
38:00good. and I want to be blessed, but then
38:03teach me.
38:05Maybe our prayers got to include a
38:06little bit more of teach me.
38:10Maybe, maybe. So, so I look and I see
38:12Moses. Oh, I'm good on time. I I see
38:13Moses. I see number one, the first thing
38:15I see is that favor is found in
38:17following God's path.
38:20Favor is found in following God's path.
38:23Right? Um there's this phenomenal uh uh
38:26preacher and teacher uh historic even
38:29classic one of the greatest minds of
38:31Christendom. Uh her name is Pastor
38:33Sonia. She says this. Y'all like what I
38:36did there?
38:39She says essentially to sum it up. She
38:42says our route gets our results but
38:45God's routes get God's results. And we
38:48got to determine whose route we're gonna
38:50take.
38:52Right? Following God's path is seen in
38:57Exodus chapter number 13 verse number
38:5917. It's right here on the screen.
39:00Basically, essentially, let me summarize
39:02it. Essentially, when Pharaoh let the
39:04people of people of God go, Israel, the
39:06people of Israel, God sent them the long
39:09way around.
39:10He did not send him uh through the way
39:13of the Philistine country, though it was
39:15shorter
39:17because God said if they face war, they
39:21might change their minds
39:26and return to Egypt.
39:29Okay. God's path. If I'm honest,
39:31sometimes I don't like God's path. Take
39:34too long.
39:37>> Can y'all keep it above? God's path.
39:40Nah, come on, man. I I don't want that
39:43path. That path right there. This is why
39:46this is the problem. I'm looking at the
39:48scripture and the text says, I'm sorry.
39:50The text says God did not lead them
39:54through Philistine country,
39:56though it was shorter. So, God is not
39:59concerned with their timeline.
40:03>> I'mma Cardi beat this microphone.
40:06God is not concerned with their
40:08timeline.
40:10>> He's only concerned with his.
40:13>> He says, "I'm not going to get you there
40:14quicker." And I know that's what you're
40:16praying for. But if I get you there
40:18quicker, you won't be prepared for it
40:20>> because there's something that happens
40:22to you inwardly on the long way.
40:25>> And he says, "I got to take you the long
40:26way so I can get your heart healed. I
40:28got to take you the long way so that I
40:30can get peace in your mind. You just
40:32want that." But God says you can't
40:33handle that yet. I'm sorry
40:37>> though it was shorter.
40:41>> The reason I can't give it to you
40:43quickly all the time is because watch
40:46this.
40:48If you face a fight that you did not
40:51know you were going to have to face,
40:54>> your mind is going to change.
40:57>> You're going to get out there and say,
40:58"Now hold on now. Wait a minute. I
41:01didn't know about all this. And God
41:03said, "That's why I got to take you the
41:04long round. I got to take you all the
41:06way around. The the all the way around
41:08is not just to to to put off your
41:10desires and all of that." He said, "I
41:12got to get you ready for it. I love you
41:13too much to give you something too
41:14early."
41:19So, here it is. The number one, favor is
41:21found in following God's path. That's
41:24obedience. Can we say obedience?
41:26>> Obedience.
41:26>> Can't be disobedient and say, "I'm
41:28walking in favor." No, you're walking in
41:30disobedience.
41:32>> All right.
41:35Okay. Number two, favor.
41:38Favor is only found in God's presence.
41:42Watch what he says. Exodus 33:14 says
41:45this. The Lord replied to Moses. This is
41:47what Mo This is what the Lord's reply
41:48was. My presence will go with you and I
41:52will give you rest.
41:55Right. Right. There's a place you get
41:57into in your relationship with God that
42:00you say basically, God,
42:03I want you more than I want it.
42:11Talking about favor, you gonna say, "I
42:14want you more than I want them."
42:17And God, if you got to put space in
42:20between me and them so that I got room
42:24for you, do what you got to do.
42:28God, okay, let's see what Let's see what
42:30Moses says. Watch what Moses says. Moses
42:32shows us this. Moses shows us this.
42:34Verse number 15. Then Moses said to him,
42:36watch what he says. Watch this. If your
42:39presence does not go with us,
42:42don't send us up from here.
42:46How will anyone know that you are
42:49pleased with me and with your people
42:52unless
42:54you go with us? Watch what he says. What
42:59else will distinguish me and your people
43:04from all of the other people on the face
43:06of the earth?
43:09Listen to this conversation Moses is
43:11having with God. Moses is saying,
43:13"What's going to be my distinguishing
43:16factor? What's going to make me
43:18different from anybody else traveling,
43:20anybody else trying to get the position,
43:22anybody else trying to move forward,
43:23anybody else trying to do this?" He
43:25says, "What's going to make me
43:26different?" The the the the difference
43:29has to be is that you're with me.
43:34Now, see, if you were trying to get into
43:36a club, y'all never been to clubs
43:38before.
43:40Let me talk to this side. They've been
43:41there.
43:43You try to I can't talk to y'all either.
43:46Okay, let me start the LED wall. If
43:48you've ever been to a club
43:51and uh you knew the person in charge,
43:53you can tell somebody, "Hey, I know such
43:56and such that'll get me in."
43:58>> Right. Right. That's what distinguishes
44:02you from all the other people in the
44:04line because you walk past them looking
44:05at them like, "Look at y'all." Right.
44:08Right.
44:10That's what distinguishes you by who you
44:13know. Who you know? Who you know? Who
44:16you know? Who you know? And Moses is
44:18saying, "Okay, you're getting ready to
44:20send us somewhere and I don't even want
44:22to go unless you're going
44:26now. I can pray for something, but
44:28ultimately God, if you're not going to
44:31go with me, I don't want it."
44:35Because I understand that the favor of
44:37God is found in the proximity to the
44:40father.
44:42Meaning how close I am with God is going
44:45to determine how favored I am. So I'm
44:48not trying to take his favor apart from
44:50him.
44:54>> Last I'm done.
44:56Um verse number 16 says, "How will
45:00anyone know that you are pleased with me
45:02and with your people unless you go with
45:04us? What else will distinguish me?"
45:08The third thing that we see is that
45:11favor is for God's people.
45:17Favor is for God's people.
45:21Moses says, "How will I know that your
45:24presence is with me and with your
45:27people?" He says, "This is not only" He
45:31says earlier, he says, "And remember
45:35God, these are your people."
45:38Constantly and consistently on Moses's
45:41lips, it's not just him,
45:44it's his people.
45:46So, watch this.
45:50Favor
45:52is more than for me.
45:54It's for we.
45:58It's for all of us.
46:01It's more than just
46:03let me get my let me do this for me. Let
46:06me let me take care of me. No man, it's
46:10for all of us. That's important. So
46:14essentially Moses is having this
46:15conversation with God and they're going
46:17back and forth and God is and Moses is
46:19like, "I'm not going one step unless you
46:21go with me. I can't do this except you
46:23go with me."
46:26And not only go with me, but go with us.
46:29Guide us.
46:31Favor is not just for you. It's not just
46:35for you.
46:36It's not just for you. It's for the
46:39people that you're connected to. It's
46:42for your family. Yeah,
46:44>> it's for those that you have deep
46:45intimate relationship with. How can I
46:48change my generational line through the
46:50favor of God that's on me? Well, I got
46:52to put myself in position so that I'm
46:55able to leave something. You see what
46:57I'm saying? And they just walk into
46:59favor that they didn't earn. They're
47:02able to get the perks from a reward
47:05system that they had never put the work
47:07in for.
47:09>> That's what the favor of God is. It's
47:11not just for me. is for we would y'all
47:14put your hands together in the house.
47:18I want to show you something. I want to
47:20say one thing before we dismiss.
47:23We're getting ready to do something as a
47:24church.
47:26And and I we're Pastor S and I we're
47:29like so excited about what's about to
47:31happen here as a church.
47:33We're getting ready to do exactly what
47:36Moses did to put himself and his the
47:41people in position for what they know
47:43God is getting ready to do. You got me?
47:46For what they know God is getting ready
47:48to do. Our word for 2025 is what?
47:52>> One more time. You got to say it with
47:53your chest. Our word is what?
47:55>> Believe.
47:56>> Believe. We're believing. Meaning
47:58trusting Christ and totally convinced.
48:01And what we what what we are doing as a
48:04church on the heels of this favorite
48:08identity is we're putting our requests
48:10before God. Now we have a believe wall
48:13in the back. And if you have not place
48:15your personal prayer request or what it
48:17is that you're believing God for, we
48:19want you to do that before you leave.
48:21Thank you. And that's on the back wall.
48:23You'll see it when you head out. Then
48:25there's another wall right in front of
48:26it. Right. If you just turn around,
48:29you'll see another wall. It says Fresh
48:30Church. She says, "I believe God can and
48:32I believe God will." Here's what we're
48:34going to do on that wall, right? We're
48:36on that wall, we're going to take those
48:38same notes and we're going to put our
48:41request before God for his house,
48:46specific to his house. Right? So on that
48:49wall, we're going to put our request for
48:51God for his house, for his church, for
48:54the fresh church. There's a few things
48:55that we're believing God for. We're
48:57believing God to be in the position that
49:00when we walk up to the door that it's
49:03open.
49:04>> So, what does that mean? That means
49:06we're going to need resources. We'll
49:07talk about all this as we roll
49:08everything out. We're going to need
49:10resources to be prepared for what we
49:12believe in God for. Faith is preparation
49:15in action.
49:17Right? The last time we stood up in
49:19front of our church, we stood up in
49:21front of you. Some of you were there and
49:23said, "Hey guys, we're getting ready to
49:25uh launch a generosity campaign and this
49:28that and the third and the whole church
49:30rallied around it and we have been
49:32portable for seven years and it is out
49:34of that campaign that we ended up here
49:36permanent." Well, you know, in this in
49:38this space
49:40because of God's grace and your
49:42generosity.
49:44>> Yeah. No, that's that's a big deal. That
49:46was the bigger God campaign.
49:48Yeah. Uh, so we went from tearing up,
49:50setting down, uh, you know, breaking
49:52down and building up every single week,
49:54every week, every week, every week.
49:56Seven years, every week, every week.
49:57Then pandemic hit. Boom. Then we get in
50:00here. But because, watch this, because
50:03we were already prepared
50:06where unfortunately many other churches
50:10and places of worship had to close and
50:14never reopen their doors because we were
50:17prepared when there was an opportunity
50:19when when when we had the whole
50:20permitting situation. Some of you were
50:22there and it took months longer than we
50:25anticipated it taking because we we
50:28believe faith is preparation and action.
50:30We were still with those things in mind.
50:33What was it? Nine months. It was nine
50:35months of no church after the pandemic.
50:39And just because there's no church don't
50:40mean there's no bills. Amen.
50:45>> A brand new building. So renovations,
50:49but we were able to sustain. Why?
50:52Because we believe faith is preparation
50:54and action. We believe in getting
50:56ourselves ready. Because don't tell me
50:58you believe God is going to do
50:59something, you ain't getting ready for
51:00it. So on that wall, here's what I want
51:03you to do. I want everybody to do it
51:04that stands in faith. Um I want you to
51:08take a sticky note. I want you to put on
51:10that wall what you're believing for for
51:11this church. We are believing for a few
51:13things. Some of those are immediate and
51:16then some of those things are future,
51:18right? Either way, we got to be ready
51:19for e both all of them, right? We want a
51:22space that can house more, right?
51:29>> Yeah. We want a space that can see more.
51:32We want a space where we can have, watch
51:34this, fresh start academy so that we can
51:36have our children who come and get
51:38Christianbased
51:40biblical
51:42education,
51:43>> right? That could be a community
51:45resource hub and all of that stuff. We
51:48want to do that without the stipulations
51:50of certain things that I'm not going to
51:51get into in terms of red tape and all of
51:53that. But the reality is we do have some
51:55things that we're believing for. So as
51:57you are praying, as you are believing
51:59with us, those are some of the things
52:02staffing even.
52:04>> Yeah. Yeah. Employing so that we can
52:06have employed staff on our teams. I'm so
52:10grateful for our fresh team and all of
52:12that stuff. But yo, the next level is
52:14calling us.
52:16is calling us. Anybody believe? Do I
52:18have anybody