Full transcript
0:00All right, all right, let's get into it.
0:01Judges chapter number seven
0:03verse number three says this.
0:06And now therefore come
0:09proclaim in the hearing of the people
0:11saying, "Whoever is afraid
0:14and worried
0:16is to return
0:18and leave Mount Gilead."
0:22So, 22,000 from the people returned.
0:28But, 10,000 remained.
0:32Now,
0:33okay. Whoever is afraid and worried is
0:36to return
0:38and leave Mount Gilead.
0:40So, 22,000
0:42from the people returned.
0:45But, 10,000
0:47remained. I want to put a tag on this
0:49text on the way down to your seat. Just
0:51shout to the preacher, "It's your move."
0:54It's your move. You may have your seats
0:56in the house. It's your
0:58move. Family, we have been in a series
1:00entitled chess not checkers for the past
1:02few weeks.
1:03And in this series I've been
1:06I guess in a real sense just chronicling
1:08the life of me as a phenomenal grand
1:11chess master.
1:14Just really been using this series to
1:15talk about how great I am at the game of
1:17chess. That's all. I'm just teasing.
1:19But, while preparing for this series in
1:22this week today,
1:24there's a there's a axiom that kind of
1:27came to me and it's really lifted from
1:29the pages of scripture and uh
1:31and I hope that and I know that it'll
1:32kind of apply to what we're going to
1:34talk about today. And that is this.
1:36The course and the quality of our lives
1:39will be determined by
1:41how well we pick
1:43and how well we plan.
1:47Yeah, the course and the quality of our
1:49lives will be determined by how well we
1:52pick
1:53and how well we plan. I regularly repeat
1:57this, but I believe it to be true that
1:59we can't have a good life with a bad
2:03pick.
2:05Hello.
2:06Is my microphone on?
2:07>> [laughter]
2:09>> We can't have a good life with bad
2:13picks. Why? Because decisions determines
2:16destinations.
2:19The decisions we make
2:21determines the destinations we end up
2:23at, right? So, our choices can either
2:25chain us
2:27or change us. Think about it. In any
2:30area of our lives, think about this,
2:33our decisions can determine can
2:34determine that destination. You pick the
2:37wrong job,
2:38you got workplace drama.
2:41You pick the wrong friends,
2:43you got friendship drama.
2:46You pick the wrong church,
2:49you got church drama.
2:51You pick the wrong spouse,
2:54I'll keep going.
2:56>> [laughter]
2:57>> You pick the wrong school,
2:59you got educational drama.
3:02You pick the wrong hair stylist,
3:04you got hair drama.
3:07You pick the wrong business partner,
3:09you got professional drama.
3:11You pick the wrong lawyer,
3:13you got legal drama.
3:16You pick the wrong tax professional,
3:19again, you've got legal problems.
3:21>> [laughter]
3:23>> You pick the wrong barber,
3:25murder, homicide.
3:27It's real simple. [laughter]
3:30Whether
3:32because we understand this to be true.
3:33We understand this to be true that the
3:36the people, the profession, and even the
3:38places that we pick can either prohibit
3:41us from God's best or propel us towards
3:45God's
3:46best. Watch this. Whether we experience
3:49the abundant life or the redundant life
3:51largely depends on our ability to
3:54consistently
3:56pick what's right over what's right
3:58there.
4:00I got to run it back
4:02for the people in the back
4:04and the people in the chat. Whether we
4:05experience the abundant life or the
4:09redundant life largely depends on our
4:12ability to pick what's right
4:15over what's right there.
4:18THERE IS PAIN ATTACHED to the wrong
4:21pick. Can I get a amen right there?
4:25>> [laughter]
4:26>> There's pain attached to the wrong pick
4:28and then there's promise attached to the
4:31right pick.
4:34Because the right picks aren't always
4:36the ones that are readily available.
4:38It's the ones that are rightly aligned.
4:41I'm really preaching the text. I'm just
4:42hovering over the text. Stay with me.
4:44We're going to get into the text. And if
4:46the pick is important and it is
4:49then
4:50the pack the the the if the pick is
4:52important then the plan is essential. So
4:55I not only need to have the right pick
4:58but I got to have the right
5:00plan.
5:01And I'm convinced that watch this that
5:04the gulf between where we are and who we
5:07are and where God desires for us to be
5:10has to be crossed with the right plan. A
5:13plan is the difference between a great
5:16idea and a successful one.
5:21A plan is the difference between wanting
5:23to be closer to God and actually being
5:25closer to him.
5:27A plan is the difference between
5:30more life and a miserable life.
5:35A plan is the difference stay with me. A
5:38plan is the difference between
5:40everlasting peace and episodic peace.
5:45God is a master planner.
5:49>> Yes, he is.
5:51Let me say that again. God is a master
5:55planner.
5:56ALL THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE WE SEE PROOF of
5:59God's plan ability. You you you just
6:02just survey scripture and you'll SEE
6:04PROOF THAT ALL THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE GOD
6:07HAS woven into the pages of scripture
6:10this idea of him being a master planner.
6:13You looking at me like you need proof.
6:14All right. Noah
6:16was given dimensions and even materials
6:19and even measurements for an ark
6:23to survive a storm or a flood.
6:28Not only problem is there had never been
6:31rain before.
6:34A master chess player doesn't just think
6:37about the first move. They think
6:39multiple moves ahead. God is a
6:42grandmaster in life, not just chess. And
6:45when God gave Noah the dimensions and
6:48the measurements and the materials for
6:50an ark, he was preparing Noah for
6:53something THAT HE DID NOT EVEN KNOW WAS
6:55ever coming.
6:57So then, he's a master planner. That
7:00means God doesn't need things to look
7:02like it in order for him to get you
7:03ready for it.
7:07>> [gasps]
7:08>> GOD DOESN'T NEED GOD HAD NOAH LOOKING
7:11CRAZY FOR A little while.
7:13And you'll always look crazy until it
7:15starts raining.
7:18Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So so every now
7:21and then God will start tapping you on
7:23the shoulder to get you ready for
7:25something that he already has ready for
7:27you.
7:28And you're trying to figure out Oh, I
7:29know why you're looking at me crazy. You
7:30know what I love? I seen this one time,
7:32right? I was watching this thing on It
7:35was something on YouTube or something
7:36like that. And this guy was up doing a
7:38painting, right? He was up doing this
7:40painting and I'm sitting here trying to
7:42figure out what the painting was.
7:45It was like while worship was going on,
7:47it's one of those artistic displays, it
7:48was beautiful. And they're singing the
7:49song, and I'm singing the song, and I'm
7:51trying to figure out what is this person
7:53painting? They're painting something. I
7:54look, and they get finished with the
7:57painting, and people started clapping.
7:59Now, I'm slow.
8:03Because they were done with He was done
8:06with the painting.
8:07And I'm still looking.
8:11I don't know what that is.
8:14So, they're clapping, and they're
8:15clapping, and I'm sitting here like, I
8:16know I'm not losing.
8:19And then, the artist does something. He
8:22takes the painting, and then he flips it
8:24around.
8:26And when he flipped it around, and then
8:28I got it. I WAS LIKE, OH, THAT'S
8:30[screaming] WHAT THAT IS.
8:33I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT A PAINTING, I'm
8:34talking about life. Sometimes you can
8:36look at life and say, God, I don't know
8:38what you're doing.
8:40But every now and then, God will allow
8:42it to look like he doesn't know what
8:44he's doing UNTIL HE STARTS TO FLIP IT
8:47AROUND TO SHOW YOU AND OTHERS THAT HE'S
8:50ALWAYS had a plan in the first place.
8:52LOOK AT SOMEBODY IF YOU believe in it
8:53and say, God is getting ready to flip
8:55some stuff around for you. I believe Let
8:57me prophesy, God is going TO FLIP SOME
8:59STUFF. I KNOW IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT. I
9:01KNOW IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT. IT MIGHT
9:03NOT EVEN FEEL LIKE IT. YOUR MONEY
9:05DOESN'T SAY IT, BUT GOD GETTING ready to
9:06flip it. I DARE YOU TO STAND UP AND SIT
9:08BACK DOWN AND SAY, FLIP IT RIGHT NOW. IT
9:14I'M believing God IS GOING TO FLIP SOME
9:15STUFF. I DON'T CARE WHAT THE DOCTOR'S
9:17REPORT SAID, GOD IS GETTING READY TO
9:19FLIP MY HEALTH. HE'S GETTING READY TO
9:21FLIP MY BANK ACCOUNT. HE'S GETTING READY
9:23TO FLIP MY MARRIAGE. He's getting READY
9:25TO FLIP MY MIND. HE'S GETTING READY TO
9:27FLIP MY MINISTRY. IS THERE ANYBODY
9:29[screaming] IN HERE THAT CAN SAY, GOD
9:31FLIP THIS HOUSE?
9:33UH-OH.
9:35UH-OH.
9:36UH-OH.
9:37BUT IN ORDER TO DO IT, GOD SAYS I GOT TO
9:39GIVE YOU A PLAN.
9:41YEAH. YEAH. The The difference
9:44between
9:45revelation
9:47and demonstration
9:49and implementation is a plan.
9:52A plan. A plan. A plan A plan is a
9:54well-thought-through
9:57strategy
9:58that takes into account the people
10:00involved,
10:01the problems that need to be solved,
10:04and the promise on the other side.
10:06I need you to hang on to this
10:08cuz this is the crux of everything we're
10:09going to talk about today. A plan is a
10:11well-thought-through strategy
10:14that takes into account the people
10:17involved, the problems that need to be
10:19solved, and the promise on the other
10:21side. God is a master planner.
10:25He's playing chess, not checkers.
10:29God is multiple moves ahead. As a matter
10:32of fact, Jeremiah 29:11 says this. You
10:34got this on your bumper sticker. Or you
10:36got a a band.
10:38You got a t-shirt with this on it. IT
10:39SAYS THIS, "FOR I KNOW THE PLANS
10:44THAT I HAVE
10:45for you,"
10:47declares the Lord.
10:49"PLANS TO PROSPER YOU
10:52Pastor Sonya says, "Preach, y'all." Look
10:53at she got a thing on the phone.
10:55>> [laughter]
10:55>> Lord Jesus.
10:57I can't
11:00>> [laughter]
11:01>> Preach. She just went like that.
11:03Lord have mercy.
11:05Is it WHAT WAS THAT? "FOR I KNOW THE
11:07PLANS
11:09>> [laughter]
11:10>> PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM
11:12YOU. Plans to give you hope and a
11:15future." You don't know how good that
11:17is. Uh I'm not going to bore you with
11:18the with with with with with the Hebrew
11:20there, but just understand that the word
11:22there, that word plans in the original
11:24language means thoughts. Means
11:25intentions. This what messed me up.
11:27Means designs.
11:31So essentially HE'S SAYING, "FOR KNOW
11:33THE DESIGN THAT I HAVE FOR YOU."
11:35>> Come on now.
11:36Come on now.
11:37>> Jesus.
11:38>> [clears throat]
11:39>> I HAVE A DESIGN TO PROSPER YOU. LORD
11:41HAVE MERCY. I
11:42I HAVE A DESIGN TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND AND
11:45A FUTURE. He's saying, "I have an
11:47intentional design in my mind concerning
11:51you and I."
11:52>> Come on.
11:53>> Y'all with me?
11:53>> Yes.
11:54>> Okay. I just need you
11:57Here we go. Watch this. God gave this
12:01word in Jeremiah 29 and 11 to a group of
12:04individuals who were in bondage
12:07for 70 plus years.
12:12Imagine being in bondage for
12:1570-something years and you getting the
12:18word from God that says, "I know the
12:19plans." Don't look like it.
12:23If this is your plan, I don't like it. I
12:24want another one. Can Can anybody
12:27I need another plan. This one ain't
12:28going to work. This This is it? THIS IS
12:30YOUR PLAN?
12:31HAVE YOU EVER [screaming] FELT LIKE HAVE
12:32YOU EVER FELT LIKE, "GOD, I don't like
12:34this plan."?
12:37You ever felt like, "I did all that for
12:39this?"
12:41This is your intentional design?
12:46Sometimes you got to get ghetto. You be
12:47with God like, "God, I don't like this.
12:49This I I don't even know how to spell I
12:50don't."
12:52>> [laughter]
12:54>> And God says, "You don't like it because
12:57I haven't flipped it yet."
13:02So, so the course and the quality of our
13:04lives is not just determined by how well
13:06we pick, but it's equally determined by
13:09how well we plan.
13:12Pick.
13:13Plan.
13:15Pick.
13:16Plan. The right pick and the wrong plan
13:20equals limitation.
13:23You capped.
13:26The right pick,
13:27okay? the right plan, and the wrong pick
13:31equals frustration.
13:35The right pick and the right plan equals
13:38domination.
13:41I'LL COME BACK AND GET YOU.
13:43THE right pick and the wrong plan
13:51is limitation. What does that mean? That
13:53means you're only you'll get to a
13:55certain point and then you'll plateau.
13:58So, if you ever felt plateaued in
13:59business and in life,
14:02in [snorts] spirituality spirituality,
14:03sometimes it it's it's that it's that
14:05that combination that is not always
14:07there, right? The right plan
14:10and the wrong pick
14:12equals frustration.
14:14Here's where some of us are.
14:19You got the right plan.
14:24>> [laughter]
14:26>> You just might not have the right pick.
14:28Pastor, can you talk to me? I CAN TALK.
14:34LET ME GET BACK BEHIND HERE, so
14:38But, when you combine the right pick
14:40with God's plan,
14:43that's domination.
14:44That's dominion. That's what we were
14:46designed for.
14:48Are y'all here? That's what we were
14:50designed for. We were designed to
14:51dominate. We were created for a call,
14:53wired for work, and designed to
14:54dominate. Somebody shout back at the
14:56preacher and say, "Dominate."
14:59One of the things I've been I'll get
15:00back to your text. Uh I think,
15:02hopefully, one of the things I've been
15:03diving trying to drive into uh
15:06the people that I have influence with or
15:08whatever, I want you to catch this, is
15:10is just moving off of this survival
15:13mentality.
15:15This a little bit is just enough
15:17mentality.
15:19Like, you don't have to have anything to
15:20be my friend, but you got to want
15:22something.
15:25Not just
15:27Yeah, ain't nobody got no money.
15:28Somebody got money.
15:31Tell me are you that somebody?
15:34I just went over this 90s.
15:36>> [laughter]
15:37>> IT'S IT'S NOT JUST SURVIVAL.
15:40IT'S DOMINATION.
15:43IT'S DOMINION.
15:45THAT MEANS WHEN I WALK IN THE ROOM, ALL
15:47OF HEAVEN IS BACKING ME UP.
15:49I'm not JUST HAPPY TO BE AT THE TABLE. I
15:52WANT MY OWN. Y'ALL AIN'T SAYING NOTHING
15:53HERE. IS THERE ANYBODY IN HERE THAT CAN
15:55SAY THIS IS MY SEASON TO DOMINATE? THIS
15:58IS MY SEASON TO CONQUER. I'M TIRED OF
16:01JUST SURVIVING. [screaming]
16:06TIRED OF JUST getting by to get by.
16:08Tired of living check to check.
16:10Y'all ain't saying nothing. It's quiet.
16:12I'll preach anyway.
16:15I'm tired of having more bills than I do
16:17money.
16:19Tired of having more problems than I
16:20have solutions.
16:22God didn't call me to to to to just limp
16:25through life.
16:27When he called me, he called me royal.
16:28He called ME CHOSEN. HE CALLED ME ABOVE
16:31AND NOT BENEATH, THE LENDER and not the
16:33borrower. THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE
16:34SURVIVING. THAT SOUNDS I'M SORRY. I'M
16:36SORRY. THAT sounds
16:38Is the preach creeping up? That sounds
16:41like
16:42dominion.
16:44I got dominion.
16:46I got dominion. Repeat after me. Say, "I
16:47got dominion."
16:49Come on. Say it to Say it to your
16:50believer. Say, "I got dominion."
16:53He He gave us dominion, but dominion,
16:56domination, conquering
16:59requires a plan.
17:04Let me give you a little context
17:05so that you can respect
17:07the content. Let me catch you up
17:09with what we've been talking about. If
17:11you missed the last week or so,
17:13then uh you got to go back to YouTube
17:14and subscribe
17:16and uh
17:17kind of peep where we've been going, but
17:19let me give you a little bit of context
17:20so that you can kind of peep where we at
17:21today. Israel is God's picked people.
17:25BUT GOD'S PICKED people picked
17:28problematic practices.
17:30They picked pretend powers and those
17:33picks placed them in a PERPETUAL
17:35PROBLEM.
17:37THEIR PROBLEM WAS PRODUCED BY THE PICKS
17:39THEY MADE.
17:41And now they're paying the price for
17:42poor picks.
17:47BUT WATCH THIS.
17:49WHEN THE PROBLEM GETS PAINFUL ENOUGH,
17:51GOD STEPS IN WITH A PLAN.
17:53HE FINDS A PERSON.
17:55HE MAKES A PICK
17:57AND STARTS A PROCESS.
17:59BECAUSE GOD DOESN'T JUST PULL US OUT OF
18:01OUR PROBLEMS, he walks us through a
18:03process.
18:04So he picks Gideon, pushes Gideon,
18:07prepares Gideon, not just for a battle,
18:10but for a plan.
18:12And the plan is for Gideon and HIS
18:15PEOPLE TO NOT JUST SURVIVE,
18:18BUT TO HAVE DOMINION.
18:20I'M PREACHING better than y'all saying
18:21amen.
18:25SO GOD
18:27TAPS GIDEON ON THE SHOULDER
18:29and says, "Gideon, I got a plan."
18:32Gideon says, "OKAY,
18:35WHAT THAT GOT TO DO
18:36>> [laughter]
18:36>> WITH ME?"
18:40AND GOD SAYS, "I GOT A PLAN
18:42and you're my pick."
18:45So Gideon, I just real real quick real
18:47quick, Gideon, uh the angel shows up and
18:49says, "You mighty warrior, Gideon."
18:51Gideon says,
18:53"I'm the weakest in my clan."
18:55God says, "You're a warrior." Gideon
18:57tells the angel, tells God he's weak.
19:01Now, God is a master chess player. He's
19:03multiple moves ahead of us.
19:05So when you look at the text in THE
19:06SEQUENTIAL OF THE TEXT, YOU see uh that
19:09God calls Gideon a warrior long before
19:13Gideon replies back that he's weak.
19:17It didn't make sense because if God is
19:19the ultimate chess master, he's multiple
19:20moves ahead, then it makes sense as to
19:22why he's speaking to Gideon about being
19:24a warrior before Gideon can reply back
19:26to him about how weak he think he is.
19:29HE SAYS, "GIDEON, YOU ARE WARRIOR."
19:32GIDEON REPLIES, "BUT BUT I'M THE WEAKEST
19:34in my clan."
19:36Why? Because God knows he has to deal
19:39with Gideon internally before he can
19:40deal with Gideon externally.
19:43He
19:44He knows that I got to deal Gideon, I
19:45got to deal with your impostor syndrome
19:47first.
19:50I got to deal with your low
19:51self-perception first.
19:53So So I'm AND THE WAY THAT I'M GOING TO
19:55AND THE WAY THAT I'M GOING TO do that IS
19:57BY SPEAKING INTO you what I see in you.
20:00SOME OF US ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT PEOPLE
20:03THAT WE SEE GREATER IN.
20:08Some of us Let me Let me Okay.
20:10Y'all feel me here.
20:12Some of us have people who are living
20:15suboptimally.
20:17They are living below what you know is
20:19in them.
20:21And sometimes that's frustrating.
20:23And that frustration causes us to almost
20:25lash out to a degree that we take a
20:27different turn We take a tone with them
20:30that God is saying is not the primary
20:32tone we should take.
20:33Sometimes we can go, "Come on, man.
20:35Don't you know who you are?"
20:38And sometimes we can complain about what
20:40people have not become yet.
20:44But we see a principle.
20:46Cuz when God shows up, what does he say?
20:48He says, "You are warrior."
20:52This is for the person that has kids
20:54that's going left when you trained them
20:56right.
20:58Maybe you need to start speaking the
20:59warrior inside of them.
21:02Yeah, this This is for the person with
21:04the brother that's doing everything else
21:06or or the cousin or the uncle, or or the
21:08parent. Maybe maybe maybe it's time to
21:11start speaking warrior language into
21:13them.
21:14SO, HE CALLS GIDEON A WARRIOR.
21:17GIDEON REPLIES, "I I don't know about
21:19all that."
21:20Um and what we see is before God gives
21:22Gideon a strategy for battle, he gives
21:25him a strategy for life. Let's pick up
21:28in the text. Judges chapter number 6,
21:29verse number 25. Watch what the Bible
21:31says. The Bible says this, "Now, on that
21:33same night, the Lord said to Gideon,
21:35'Take your father's bull and the second
21:36bull 7 years old and tear down the altar
21:39of Baal
21:41that belongs to your father and cut down
21:42the Asherah that is beside it. And build
21:45an altar to the Lord on top of the
21:47mountain stronghold with stones laid
21:49down in an orderly way.
21:52All right. Then he says, "Then, take the
21:54second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice.
21:57Lord have mercy. Using the wood of the
21:59Asherah, which you shall cut down."
22:02Then,
22:03Gideon took 10 men of his servants and
22:06did just as the Lord had told him to do.
22:08Okay.
22:09What did you just read past? I'm glad
22:12you asked. Let me tell you what what I
22:14just read. Okay. So, Gideon
22:18uh this is God talking to Gideon.
22:19Gideon, uh
22:21you're going to do something amazing. Uh
22:23victory's yours. It's assured. I got
22:27you.
22:27And um but the first thing I need you to
22:30do, Gideon,
22:31is uh I need you to go
22:34cut down
22:36those idols.
22:38No no, YOU YOU GOT DOMINION.
22:42YOU YOU
22:43YOU'RE GOING TO CONQUER.
22:46YOU'RE ABOVE AND NOT BENEATH.
22:48BUT THE FIRST THING I NEED YOU TO DO,
22:50GIDEON,
22:51IS CUT DOWN THE IDOLS.
22:54SO, the first first rule of of the first
23:00>> [laughter]
23:02>> I GOT TIME. THIS AIN'T 10:00. LET'S GO.
23:06The first thing that we need to do is
23:07remove idols and build altars.
23:11Yeah. Yeah.
23:13Notice the first thing that God called
23:16came for Gideon
23:18to do. THE FIRST THING THAT GOD CAME FOR
23:21IN Gideon
23:24was his idols.
23:28Are y'all with me? See See when we hear
23:30this text, a lot of times for those of
23:31us who grew up in church all that good
23:32stuff, we want to get straight to the
23:34battle. IT'S LIKE, "OH, GIDEON WON WITH
23:36300 MEN."
23:37OKAY, that's great. We'll get there.
23:39Maybe.
23:42The battle is all Spoiler alert, they
23:44won. Let's just tell you.
23:47Cuz when God says you're going to get
23:49victory, like you're going to win. Like
23:50that's just how that works. They won.
23:52All right, y'all got that? Cool.
23:54Now let's deal with this.
23:56Remove
23:57idols,
23:59build altars.
24:02What's an idol? Great question. An idol
24:04is anything that takes God's place in
24:05your heart.
24:07Anything you rely on more than him,
24:09run to before him,
24:11or trust instead of him.
24:16An idol.
24:17An idol.
24:19An idol. WE'RE IN AMERICAN
24:22IDOLS.
24:23>> [laughter]
24:24>> We got American idols.
24:27Oh, yeah. We We got some American idols
24:30that we got to deal with. Success.
24:33If I could just get there, I'll be good.
24:36Can be an idol. Money. Thinking our
24:38security becomes uh your savior.
24:42Relationships.
24:44Needing somebody more than you need God.
24:47Image.
24:48Living for perception over purpose.
24:51Did you know that comfort can be an
24:53idol?
24:57Well Well Well, I idolize my comfort
25:00zone.
25:02And anything that pulls me out of it got
25:04to be the devil.
25:07And God wouldn't call me. God said,
25:09"That's exac- exactly what I would call
25:10you to."
25:11Not only comfort
25:13uh cuz y'all looking at me strange in
25:15the middle section. I don't know the
25:16energy.
25:18Not only comfort
25:21but control.
25:24Did you know control can be an idol?
25:25>> Yes, it can.
25:26>> You you you you you got to be in control
25:28of everything.
25:30>> [sighs]
25:32>> Um
25:33Con- control is is interesting because
25:35control I didn't say this first service.
25:38They're going to be upset, but they'll
25:39be okay. Um
25:41control is is tricky
25:43because control isn't always birthed out
25:45of a nefarious place.
25:48Sometimes control is birthed out of a
25:50beautiful place.
25:51>> Yes, it is.
25:52>> Sometimes control is a result of what's
25:54happened in your life that you did not
25:56have control over.
25:57So, now that you do have more control,
25:59you want to have all control.
26:02So, sometimes when you've given away
26:04control and people mishandled control,
26:07when you get it yourself Are y'all with
26:09me?
26:10It's like, "No, no, NO, I GOT THIS."
26:12SO, CONTROL SAYS, "I GOT THIS." INSTEAD
26:14OF GOD, "I need you."
26:18>> My God.
26:20>> SO,
26:21GET IN BEFORE YOU WIN. BEFORE YOU
26:24CONQUER, BEFORE YOU DOMINATE, I need YOU
26:27TO DEAL WITH THE IDOLS.
26:30BECAUSE IDOLS ARE EXPENSIVE.
26:32>> YES, LORD.
26:36>> An idol will cost you more than you
26:38think and give you less than you
26:39deserve.
26:41I- idols, idols, idols, idols. An idol
26:45isn't always ABOUT SOMETHING YOU BOW TO.
26:48IT'S TYPICALLY about something you build
26:49your life around.
26:53>> Preaching now.
26:55>> It Most of us Most of us in here,
26:58dare I even say all of us in here, when
27:00we get home, we're probably not going to
27:03build an altar with the picture of
27:05Satan, whatever that looks like, uh
27:07pitchfork or whatever, and bow before a
27:10satanic altar.
27:12THAT THAT'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO
27:14HAPPEN.
27:17SO, then the idol can't be something
27:19that looks like an idol.
27:22Cuz we know better.
27:25So, the idol has to look like something
27:27we might want.
27:30Right?
27:31The idol can't look LIKE AN IDOL CUZ I'M
27:33LIKE
27:35I'M GOOD.
27:37BUT IF THE IDOL IS something that
27:39Oh, every man is drawn away
27:42by his own lust.
27:46>> [snorts]
27:47>> So, then the idol might be something I
27:50might be drawn to.
27:52So, the idol might be attractive. The
27:54idol might have six-packs.
28:00The idol might
28:01The might have
28:02>> [laughter]
28:04>> The idol might have long extensions.
28:09>> [laughter]
28:11>> The idol
28:14The idol typically, watch this,
28:18is what you're secretly
28:21praying that
28:24God
28:28I got to stay here.
28:30The idol
28:32can be the thing you're secretly praying
28:35God, or hoping, God, don't ask me for
28:37that.
28:38See, some of us won't even pray about
28:40certain things because we're afraid God
28:41might take it.
28:45Be in a relationship with somebody, you
28:46don't even want to pray about them
28:47because God going to tell you no.
28:49>> [laughter]
28:51>> You're not EVEN GOING TO PRAY LIKE,
28:52"GOD, JUST SHOW ME IF SOMETHING GOING
28:54ON." NO, you're ain't praying. Uh-uh.
28:57Nope.
28:58>> [laughter]
29:01>> All right.
29:05It's what you're secretly praying that
29:07God never asks you for.
29:10And that's the first thing God asked us
29:12for.
29:14It's expensive.
29:16It cost you.
29:17Cost you time with God.
29:22An An idol can cost you the benefit of
29:24community.
29:26When you idolize isolation,
29:30it can cost you peace.
29:34Idols are expensive. Idols are
29:35exhausting.
29:38I'm convinced I'll get to the text. I
29:40promise you, I'm going on time. I'm
29:42convinced
29:44that much of our exhaustion in this
29:46generation
29:48is not coming
29:50from our itinerary.
29:52>> [clears throat]
29:53>> It's coming from our idols.
29:56It's not from our schedule.
29:58It comes from who we're serving.
30:02>> [snorts]
30:04>> There is a grace on our lives for what
30:07God has called us to.
30:09Make that make sense. Okay.
30:12All right.
30:13When God has called you to something,
30:15that's not to say that you don't get
30:16tired from doing it. We're human.
30:19But when God has called you to
30:21something, you can do it when you're
30:23tired as if you're not tired.
30:28When When If If If God If If you awoke
30:31up in the morning, 3:00 a.m. in the
30:32morning, somebody wakes you up, you're
30:34able to do it. You're still tired, but
30:35you're able to do it. There are things
30:37that God has wired us with, the skills
30:39he's given us, and abilities, gifting.
30:42And God says, "I put a grace on you to
30:44do it."
30:45Some people are graced to teach. You can
30:47teach kids who other people run away
30:49from.
30:51And they actually like, "How in the
30:52world do you put up with that group?"
30:55And you're sitting there like, "They're
30:56good for me. I don't have a
30:58I've never had an issue. What do you
30:59mean?"
31:02It's not because it's not tedious,
31:05but there's a grace for it.
31:07You see that example? It's not because
31:09it's not hard. It is, but there's a
31:10grace for it.
31:12Right? Juxtapose that to something I'm
31:15not graced for. So, now I'm running
31:18myself crazy in a lane that I'm not
31:20graced for.
31:22And now the people that love me the most
31:25get me the least.
31:32Chasing the American Idol.
31:38Chasing
31:39the American Idol. Idols are exhausting.
31:41Idols are expensive.
31:44They're expensive.
31:46They're expensive, and then idols are
31:48empty.
31:50They're empty. They they have a whole
31:52bunch of promises, but they don't have
31:54the power to keep any.
31:57They are expensive. I got to move,
31:59y'all. I got to move.
32:02But Gideon,
32:03before we do anything,
32:06I need you to go deal with that idol.
32:08What idol? Oh, let's look at the text
32:10again. Can we read the Bible in church?
32:12Watch this. Judges chapter number six.
32:15Same verse. Now that same night the Lord
32:16said to Gideon, "Take your father's
32:18bull, the second bull seven years old,
32:20and tear down the altar of Baal that
32:21belongs to your father, and cut down the
32:23Asherah which is beside it." Y'all
32:24missed it.
32:26Take your father's bull, the second bull
32:28seven years old, and tear down the the
32:30altar of Baal that belongs to your
32:33father.
32:34I'll come back.
32:36Take down and tear down
32:38the altar of Bale, false god, that
32:41belongs to your father.
32:44This idol wasn't in the city, it was in
32:46his father's house.
32:48GIDEON DIDN'T HAVE TO GO FAR.
32:50HE DIDN'T HAVE TO CONFRONT STRANGERS.
32:53GOD SENT GIDEON TO HIS OWN HOUSE.
33:04This wasn't a public issue, it's a
33:06personal one.
33:09Yeah, no, this word ain't for everybody,
33:11it's for us.
33:13This ain't just a word that's going out
33:15to the masses.
33:17This is for us.
33:18So so peep this. Peep this. He says, "GO
33:23INTO YOUR FATHER THE IDOL THE STATUE
33:26that was constructed was in his father's
33:28backyard.
33:30His father's backyard. Now, I don't have
33:32time to deal with this,
33:34but if I did have time,
33:36I don't have time, but if I did,
33:38I I would I would tell you that his
33:40father, watch this, his father was a
33:42Midianite.
33:45All right.
33:45Um
33:47Let me see if I can make it make sense.
33:49Okay.
33:50So so his father
33:52had a little bit of this and a little
33:55bit of that.
33:57Paganism
33:59with a little bit of what's called
34:00syncretism.
34:02So sync the different religions into his
34:04line of his his his brain. Like he
34:06believed in a bunch of stuff.
34:08So
34:09he believed in everything. So he had the
34:11statue in the backyard just in case.
34:15IF BALE IS RIGHT, I'MMA SERVE BALE.
34:20IF IF SAGE IS OKAY, I'M BURNING SAGE.
34:25IF MANIFESTING IS FINE, I'M MANIFESTING.
34:29I JUST NEED SOMETHING THAT'S IT'S TO
34:30WORK.
34:31>> [laughter]
34:33>> OKAY.
34:35All right.
34:36Um
34:37Yeah.
34:38Go into your father's backyard.
34:40Um which means this wasn't a cultural
34:43idol, it was a close one.
34:46Um some idols aren't public, they're
34:47personal. I want to show you something.
34:49Now, what's interesting is God is
34:51multiple moves ahead of all of us.
34:53He's multiple moves ahead of all of us.
34:55Peep this. Peep this.
34:57He's multiple moves ahead of all of us.
35:00And through his sovereignty, Gideon's
35:02name, I didn't tell you what Gideon's
35:04name meant.
35:05That's why I messed up.
35:07Gideon's name, watch this, means
35:10cutter down.
35:17It is to cut down
35:19something.
35:22So, in Gideon's identity was already
35:26everything needed for him TO ACCOMPLISH
35:29HIS ASSIGNMENT.
35:34>> [laughter]
35:36>> Watch what THE BIBLE SAYS. THE TEXT SAYS
35:39CUT IT DOWN.
35:41ONE VERSION says tear it down. Another
35:43version says destroy it.
35:46But neither version says just deal with
35:49it.
35:51GOD DIDN'T SAY ADJUST IT.
35:53GOD DIDN'T SAY RENAME IT. GOD DIDN'T SAY
35:56REFRAME IT. GOD DIDN'T SAY KEEP A LITTLE
35:58IDOL ON THE SIDE. HE DIDN'T SAY KEEP A
36:00LITTLE IDOL FOR THE WEEKENDS. HE DIDN'T
36:02SAY EXCUSE IT AWAY. HE DIDN'T SAY COVER
36:04THE IDOL WITH CHURCH LANGUAGE. HE DIDN'T
36:06SAY GOD KNOWS MY HEART. HE DIDN'T UNDER
36:12HE DID NOT SAY CODDLE THE [screaming]
36:15IDOL. HE SAYS KILL IT.
36:19CUT IT DOWN. I'M SORRY.
36:23HE SAYS CUT IT DOWN.
36:27Stop
36:28coddling what's trying to kill you.
36:32>> [applause]
36:34>> It's not just I'll go here. IT'S NOT
36:36JUST WHAT I do socially.
36:38It's trying to kill you.
36:40Have you Have you DID AN INVENTORY? LORD
36:42HAVE MERCY. HAVE YOU DONE INVENTORY ON
36:44YOUR GENERATIONAL PATTERNS?
36:50WHEN YOU DO WHEN YOU DO A
36:53When you do a legit I got to talk. When
36:55you do a legitimate inventory beyond
36:59uh ancestry.com. That's great.
37:02Ain't nothing wrong with that. Do that.
37:03That's beautiful. Do that. But taking a
37:06taking a legitimate objective inventory
37:09on what's running through your family
37:11and what you playing with.
37:16I I I had to do I HAD TO GO FAR TO FIND
37:19MINE.
37:20I HAD TO GO FAR. I JUST HAD TO LOOK
37:22AROUND. I LOOKED AROUND and I said,
37:24"Okay, everybody deals with
37:26this is divorce is kind of a thing, huh?
37:30Oh.
37:31Substance Oh, I see that. I see I see my
37:33Oh, I see my Oh, I see my
37:37I see my Oh. I started looking around
37:40and I said, "I'm going to make some
37:41mistakes,
37:43but I'm not going to make those."
37:45Because I don't know
37:48This might be too real. It doesn't
37:49matter. Y'all Y'all here, so you can't
37:50go nowhere. Close the doors. Watch this.
37:53>> [laughter]
37:53>> Watch this.
37:55I don't know what it takes to get me
37:57hooked.
38:00And some people spend their lives trying
38:02to defend their idol.
38:05AIN'T NOTHING WRONG WITH A LITTLE OKAY.
38:12ALL RIGHT.
38:15I TELL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME I'LL GET BACK
38:16TO THE TEXT. I PROMISE. I TELL PEOPLE
38:18ALL THE TIME
38:20I work with uh I work with people with
38:22substance abuse issues for over a
38:24decade. And I've never met one OF THEM,
38:27NOT ONE. SOMEBODY HOLD UP A ONE. I'm
38:29just one just I've not heard one of them
38:33that tell me THAT THEY THE FIRST DRUG
38:35THEY TRIED was
38:37heroin
38:39or crack cocaine.
38:42Never happened.
38:44It was always something else.
38:47Always. Okay, let's take it off
38:49substance.
38:50Cuz y'all like I ain't never doing that
38:51like that.
38:54What runs in your family line in terms
38:56of behavior?
38:57In terms of personality type?
39:02What what what what's evident?
39:05GIDEON, BEFORE YOU GET VICTORY,
39:08I NEED YOU TO DEAL WITH THE IDOL.
39:10WHAT'S THE IDOL? I'm done when I tell
39:12you this. I got to finish next week.
39:14Lord have mercy. We had one verse today.
39:16Okay.
39:18>> [laughter]
39:18>> Uh what what's the idol? Idol. Cuz he
39:21didn't just say idols and leave us there
39:22because there were multiple.
39:24There was plenteous, right? HE NAMED
39:26SPECIFICALLY BAAL.
39:29BAAL. OKAY, let's deal with Baal then
39:31first. Okay. Baal. Baal. Baal is the god
39:35of what what the false god of fertility,
39:39right? And the false god of watch this
39:42provision.
39:47Oh.
39:49Okay.
39:50So, here are context, here are the
39:54Israelites in need of provision.
39:59Because every time they would plant
40:01something, the Midianites would come and
40:03take it from last week.
40:05Every time they would build something,
40:07they would come destroy it. So, here
40:09they are in need of provision.
40:12And there's a god that provides it.
40:21>> So, uh
40:24what ends up happening is
40:26God tells Gideon
40:27I'm trying to I'm trying to wrap up, but
40:29I got one thing to say.
40:30And I'mma let y'all go.
40:32I think.
40:34No, for real.
40:35God tells Gideon
40:38Baal
40:39represents what was tied to provision.
40:42Okay?
40:43They thought Baal controlled the rain.
40:46They thought Baal controlled the crops.
40:48They thought Baal controlled, watch
40:49this, the economic stability.
40:55They thought
40:58that the economy
41:01was resting
41:02ON A FALSE GOD.
41:07THEY IF THEY'RE NOT CAREFUL, THEY WILL
41:09BE LOOKING at the government
41:12TO DO WHAT GOD'S WORD IS SUPPOSED to do.
41:17I'll come get you.
41:19Now, now, that does not mean that we
41:20shouldn't we should not be aware of
41:22what's happening.
41:24We should be. As a matter of fact, we
41:26need to pray.
41:29Joker's trying to redraw maps from the
41:31the the Voting Rights Act 1965, ALL THAT
41:33STUFF HAPPENING. THERE'S CRAZINESS
41:35HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON.
41:38And Florida.
41:42But guess what?
41:44I'm not putting my trust
41:46in the government.
41:49In Baal.
41:51I'm putting my trust in THE LORD. THE
41:53EARTH IS THE LORD'S AND THE FULLNESS
41:56THEREOF. I'M NOT LEANING TOWARDS
41:58[screaming] THE UNDERSTANDING OF TRUMP.
42:00I'M LEANING TOWARDS THE UNDERSTANDING OF
42:02MY LORD AND SAVIOR.
42:08CUT DOWN THAT idol of a THAT GOT YOU
42:11EXHAUSTED.
42:15Some of us
42:18we research everything that's happening
42:20in the economy.
42:21And nothing happening in God's word.
42:26We know mayors.
42:28We know congressmen and women, which we
42:29should and that's beautiful. I love it.
42:33But we don't know
42:34what scripture to pull on.
42:40He says, "Cut down this bail."
42:43That got you up at night, can't sleep,
42:45concerned about what's going to happen.
42:47Oh Lord, they don't cut the benefits and
42:49they don't do this and they must be
42:51about to do this next. I'm not saying
42:53that that's not we shouldn't be
42:53concerned about those things. Absolutely
42:56we should, but be careful
42:59that it doesn't consume you.
43:01And you remember who's in control.
43:04The God of provision. He says, "Bail is
43:06the God of provision. I'm done."
43:09This is the idea.
43:11Because remember idols will leave us
43:13uh exhausted.
43:16This is the idea that I'm running after.
43:19I'm chasing after
43:21provision
43:22in a false god.
43:25So now
43:27I work every hour you ask me to in
43:29overtime.
43:30And then I don't have time for the
43:31things God desires for us to have time
43:33for.
43:35That's me
43:36chasing after bail.
43:38That's when I'll I'll I'll extend my
43:40resources and and my my my funds to
43:42things that are beneficial to me only.
43:46But I withhold them when it got
43:47something to do with God. That's me
43:49chasing after bail.
43:53And he says, "With all this dominion you
43:55have
43:57it would seem like since you know you
43:58got the victory
44:01I I ain't have time I'll deal with the
44:02altar next week.
44:04I'll deal with the altar the week.
44:07It would seem like
44:09you would go to those spaces and build
44:10an altar, a place, make room for.
44:14Make space for.
44:17For me to do something.
44:20God says, "I gave you the victory. I've
44:22given you the victory."
44:23That's my move.
44:26But you got to cut down the idol.
44:28That's your move.
44:30No, no, no, YOU'RE GOING TO CONQUER, BUT
44:32WILL YOU CUT?
44:37Cut what, pastor?
44:40What came to your mind?
44:43That.
44:46That.
44:48The thing that you're like,
44:51Some of us like, "That's confirmation."
44:55Some of us is not confirmation.
44:58It's just God showing us how much he
45:00loves us enough
45:02to pull that thing from out of the back
45:03of your mind to the front of your head
45:05and say, "Oh, okay."
45:08It's not confirmation, it's
45:09clarification. God says, "I've given you
45:10the victory, but it's your move."
45:13Will you put space between you and them,
45:14you and it?
45:18But they ain't did nothing to you yet.
45:23But it's not bothering me. It already
45:25got you. You don't even know how much
45:27it's bothering you.
45:34Would you stand to your feet? I want to
45:35pray over you.