Full transcript
0:00In the book of Judges, chapter number 6,
0:04verse number 11. It's right here on the
0:06screen. The angel of the Lord came and
0:10sat down under the oak in Orfa that
0:14belonged to Joash the Abbeazerite,
0:17where his son Gideon was threshing wheat
0:21in a wine press to keep it from the
0:24Midianites.
0:26Verse number 12. When the angel of the
0:28Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The
0:32Lord is with you, mighty warrior." The
0:37clause of concern is found in verse
0:39number 12. When the angel of the Lord
0:41appeared to Gideon, he said to Gideon,
0:46"The Lord is with you, mighty
0:50warrior." I want to put a tag on this
0:52text and teach from a few moments from
0:53this topic. On the way down to your
0:55seat, just repeat after me. After me and
0:56say, "He's picking on me."
0:58>> He's picking on me.
0:59>> He's picking on me. You may have your
1:01seats in the church. He's picking on me.
1:05I told you last week, and if you are,
1:07let's just start from the outset. If
1:09this is your first message in this
1:11series, because we started a brand new
1:12series last week entitled Chestnut
1:14Checkers. And if this is your first
1:15message in this series, then I want to
1:18just kind of catch you up with one
1:19specific thing that uh my brother, my
1:22older brother taught me how to play
1:24chess, right? Taught me how to play
1:26chess. And I told him that when he
1:28teaches me how to play chess, I'm going
1:29to be so good that I'm going to beat him
1:32after I learn how to play chess. Spoiler
1:35alert, I never beat him. Amen. It never
1:38happened. To this day, I cannot beat him
1:41uh in a game of chess. But one of the
1:43things that hindered me in beating him
1:48was that I took my checkers mentality
1:51into the game of chess. Two different
1:53games that require two different types
1:55of approaches. And because I wanted
1:58something to happen real quick like my
2:00brain and I don't know undiagnosed ADHD
2:02or something, I don't know. But I need
2:04stuff to happen fast. I don't have time
2:07for all of this patient stuff,
2:09>> right? I need it to go. Like let's do
2:11it. Let's make it happen. hurry up. All
2:13right. Uh but but one of the things I
2:15realized is that when I was playing
2:16against him, uh this is what would
2:19happen without fail. This is what would
2:21happen. I would make a move because I
2:24was already ready. So here's me making
2:26my move. Boom. And then what he would do
2:29is he wouldn't make a move. He would
2:31just sit there. And I'm tripping because
2:34I'm trying to figure out what's taking
2:36you so long to make a move. I didn't
2:40like that. So I'm I'm already I'm like I
2:42already have my move ready and he's
2:44taking forever to make his move. So So
2:47that is what hindered me. That's one of
2:48the things that hindered me from being
2:51able to win the game. It messed me up
2:52because uh it taught me that he was
2:55playing a game within a game.
2:58>> That's right.
2:59>> Now this is interesting. He was playing
3:00a game within a game. And the game
3:02within the game is the psychological
3:04game that is being played while you're
3:06playing the game of chess. If you don't
3:08know how to play chess at, don't even
3:09trip. I'm a master, so I'm gonna school
3:12you
3:14on the game of chess. Essentially, what
3:18my brother was showing me and what
3:20something I went to research and find
3:22out is that the grand chess masters play
3:26the game within the game.
3:29They they are not just playing the
3:32pieces on the board. They are playing
3:35the person that's playing the pieces.
3:37>> That's right.
3:39Are y'all with me?
3:40>> So, the grand chess masters are not
3:43simply playing the pieces on the board.
3:46They're playing the person that's
3:49playing the pieces. So, they are trying
3:51to win the game that's not on the board
3:54so that they can win the game that we're
3:56playing on the board. They are multiple
3:59moves ahead of their opponent. Now the
4:02reason that this is extremely important
4:04is because a grand chess master like
4:08myself, a grand chess master is not only
4:13playing the part or the piece that
4:15they're playing. They're not only
4:18playing the piece that they're playing.
4:20They're actually playing the piece that
4:22you might play after they play what
4:25they're playing.
4:26>> Right?
4:27>> Stay with me. It'll make sense in a
4:28minute. So essentially they're thinking
4:31multiple moves ahead. Why? Because it's
4:35important that they are not caught off
4:36guard by what it is that their opponent
4:38is doing. So the chess master
4:40understands that if they if they can
4:42understand the person, then they can
4:44understand that person's game. This is
4:47extremely important because a chess
4:50master moves at their own rhythm. This
4:54reminds the opponent that you don't
4:57control the pace, you don't control the
5:00play,
5:01>> and you don't control the pick.
5:07>> So, essentially, when a person has a
5:11handle on the game, I'm hovering over
5:13the text. They pick whatever piece they
5:17want to pick to play whatever role they
5:21want it to play.
5:23Now, I'm not talking about chess. I'm
5:27talking about God. Because God is the
5:30ultimate chess master. And the opponent
5:33is either uh it's either others or the
5:36enemy. And the pick is you and I. And
5:41God can pick whoever he wants.
5:43>> That's right.
5:45>> I thought somebody would receive that.
5:47I've learned something that's maybe that
5:48might not be deep for you, but I think
5:50it's it's coldblooded for me. Uh it
5:53might not be profound to you, but it's
5:54cold blooded for me. And that is God is
5:57freeing, too. Watch this. God does not
6:00need their permission to pick you.
6:06>> You missed your first shout early in THE
6:08SERMON. GOD DOES NOT need their
6:12permission to pick you. He He The
6:15creator does not need a cosigner.
6:19>> HEAVEN DOES NOT NEED THEIR HELP. WELL,
6:22>> ETERNITY DOES NOT NEED THEIR ADVICE and
6:25omniscience does NOT NEED THEIR OPINION.
6:28GOD DOES NOT NEED THEIR PERMISSION TO
6:32PICK YOU. BECAUSE IF GOD PICKS YOU, HE
6:35WILL PICK YOU WITHOUT their approval.
6:39>> They let me say that one more again for
6:42the people in the back and the people IN
6:45THE CHAT. GOD DOES NOT NEED THEIR
6:47PERMISSION. HE will pick you without
6:50their approval or their endorsement.
6:52They don't have to like it, but you're
6:54still picked.
6:58>> They don't have to understand it, but
6:59you're still picked. SOMEBODY SHOUT and
7:02wake your neighbor up and say, "He
7:03picked me."
7:05>> All right. THEY STILL SLEEP. HERE'S YOUR
7:07reminder that God does not need their
7:11permission to pick you.
7:13>> But here's the tension. I'm hovering
7:15over the text. Roll with me. Here's the
7:17tension. Yeah, God does not need their
7:20permission in order to pick you. But
7:22watch this. God does not need our
7:25permission to pick us.
7:29>> Okay. Okay. All right. Okay. All right.
7:3310 o'clock. Shout it off this. We'll
7:35see. GOD DOES NOT NEED OUR PERMISSION TO
7:40PICK US. We are but mere pieces in the
7:44hands of the chess master. Amen.
7:48>> Imagine if God had to go had to check
7:50with us before he chose us.
7:53>> You'll be leaving God on red.
7:57>> YOU'LL BE CANCELING. YOU'LL BE
7:59CANCELLING uh calendar invites from
8:01heaven,
8:02>> declining assignments,
8:05>> logging out of God's Zoom
8:09>> has left the chat, right?
8:12>> We be procrastinating on purpose.
8:16As a matter of fact, watch this. Y'all
8:17roll with me as I hover over the text.
8:19As a matter of fact, many of us are
8:21waiting on something we will never get
8:23in order to do something God has called
8:25us to do.
8:31>> Many of us ARE WAITING ON SOMETHING WE
8:34will never get in order to do what God
8:37is calling us to do. We are we are
8:41literally falling into a permission
8:45pitfall.
8:46>> My god.
8:47>> A pit a pitfall. A pitfall. A permission
8:50pitfall. Okay, pastor. What's a
8:52permission pitfall? I'm glad you asked.
8:56We're waiting on a permission pitfall. I
8:59call them like the four C's of
9:00permission pitfalls. Peep this. I'm
9:01hovering over the text, but roll with
9:03me. We'll get somewhere. The first one
9:05is the permission pitfall is what I
9:07think I need in order for me to do what
9:08God has called me to do. The first one
9:09is this clarity.
9:14>> The second one is currency.
9:18>> Go on this side. The third one is
9:20comfortability.
9:23>> And this for the people in the middle.
9:25And the fourth one is company.
9:32>> Okay.
9:35PERMISSION PITFALLS MEANING MEANING I
9:38THINK I NEED SOMETHING THAT I may never
9:41ever get
9:43>> some of us are WAITING ON CLARITY
9:46CLARITY is needing a full understanding
9:48before full obedience
9:49>> when God only gives information on a
9:51need to know basis
9:52>> he'll give you enough information for
9:54you to start but not too much because if
9:56he does you'll never start
9:57>> so
10:00>> so God says I'm not going to REVEAL THE
10:03WHOLE SCOPE to you because if I do that,
10:06you will never walk in full obedience.
10:09>> Right?
10:10>> If you knew who was going to betray you,
10:11you would never step out.
10:13>> That's right.
10:14>> If
10:16>> is my microphone on? IF GOD SAYS THERE
10:20ARE SOME THINGS THAT I WILL NOT GIVE YOU
10:24IN TERMS OF CLARITY,
10:25>> RIGHT?
10:28>> All right.
10:30>> He gives information on a need to know
10:31basis. Some of us are in the the
10:33permission pitfall of clarity. Others of
10:35us are in the permission pitfall of
10:37currency. That's waiting on overflow.
10:39Waiting on an overflow of resources as a
10:42sign of God's endorsement.
10:45>> That's right.
10:46>> So I'm
10:49y'all All right.
10:50>> We good. I'm just checking. They looking
10:53at me crazy. Let me PREACH TO Y'ALL.
10:55SOMEBODY SAY CURRENCY.
10:57>> CURRENCY.
10:58>> BETTER WORD. SOMEBODY say money.
10:59>> Money. Okay, y'all said money real loud.
11:03>> WAITING ON AN OVERFLOW of resources
11:07before I'm obedient.
11:10>> AS IF GOD NEEDS THE WORLD'S RESOURCES
11:15>> TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL.
11:19>> SOME OF US ARE PARALYZED BECAUSE OF A
11:22LACK OF RESOURCES. AND GOD SAYS, I'M
11:24CALLING YOU TO DO IT WITHOUT IT.
11:31SOMEBODY SAY PITFALL.
11:33>> PITFALL.
11:33>> Some of us are in the pitfall of
11:35clarity. Others of us the pitfall of
11:36currency. Some of us in the pitfall of
11:38comfortability.
11:40That that's using our feelings to
11:41determine if it's God.
11:44So if I feel like it's God, then it's
11:46God. And if I don't feel like it's God,
11:49well, that can't be God.
11:50>> Well, if that's the case, who's God?
11:53>> You or him? Cuz God reserves the right
11:57for us to disagree with him.
12:01>> He reserves the right to put us in the
12:03pit of a problem without our permission.
12:07>> He He reserves the right to situate us
12:11in the middle of a season that we don't
12:13like.
12:15>> HAS DON'T say anything. Look at me.
12:16Blink if IF YOU FEEL IT. HAS GOD EVER
12:19PLACED YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING
12:22AND YOU'RE LIKE, "GOD, GET ME OUT." AND
12:24GOD SAYS, "NO, I LIKE YOU BETTER IN
12:26THERE. You pray more in there. You fast
12:28more in there. You read more in there.
12:35>> I LET YOU GET COMFORTABLE. YOU STOP
12:37COMING TO CHURCH. YOU STOP GIVING. YOU
12:39STOP LOVING. YOU STOP SERVING. IT'S
12:41QUIET IN HERE.
12:44>> We guilty."
12:44>> So God says, "I got to keep you in
12:46something.
12:48>> I got to keep you uncomfortable. Cuz
12:51when you uncomfortable, I'm on the main
12:53line.
12:57>> Oh yeah. You you speaking in tong. You
12:58don't even speak. YOU SPEAKING IN
12:59TONGUES NOW.
13:02>> WHAT? Where that came from?
13:05>> A storm,
13:07a little chaos, A LITTLE DISCOMFORT. SO
13:11GOD SAYS, "IF I GOT TO KEEP YOU
13:12UNCOMFORTABLE SO THAT I CAN HEAR FROM
13:15YOU, GET USED TO BEING UNCOMFORTABLE."
13:18WOW.
13:19>> SO, WE can't say until when I feel like
13:22>> I feel like
13:26>> I feel like when I feel like God is it's
13:31like like God has to confirm with us.
13:35>> You got to be careful. Don't be a
13:36confirmation Christian.
13:39>> It's like God can't tell you anything
13:41you're not already thinking about. All
13:42right.
13:45>> God says God says if you're waiting on
13:48comfort
13:49>> to walk into my will and my purpose, you
13:52may never get that.
13:55>> You can be in purpose uncomfortable.
14:00>> You can all you can be in purpose and
14:02always feel like you're in over your
14:03head.
14:06>> You you Oh, it's quiet. Some of us are
14:09not waiting uh and not situated in the
14:12pitfall of uh clarity. Some uh maybe
14:15it's currency. Others maybe it's
14:17comfortability
14:18and and some of us maybe it's company.
14:22That's when you're wanting to drag
14:23familiar people into unfamiliar places.
14:28The reality is some people are not bad,
14:30they're just stuck.
14:32And um and if we're not careful, we'll
14:35try to drag
14:38people who have expired.
14:44>> We we have expire. They have expired
14:48as it relates to their connectivity to
14:51our lives at that degree
14:53>> because certain seasons calls for
14:55certain proper people placement.
14:58And just because you came into my life
15:00in one season doesn't mean that's where
15:01you're going to always be.
15:05>> You could level up
15:07>> or
15:11>> you can level down.
15:14Oh boy. I better just get to the text
15:16cuz this church is looking AT ME
15:19STRANGE.
15:21COMPANY WANTING TO DRAG
15:25familiar people people into unfamiliar
15:29places.
15:30And God often times shows us that when
15:35he's calling us to a higher place, you
15:38got to start considering, are they
15:40higher people?
15:44>> Okay. All right.
15:48I'm getting ready to go higher. The
15:51question is, do you have the capacity to
15:52go?
15:59>> I don't know.
16:01Abraham
16:03getting ready to sacrifice Isaac. And
16:05they got to the to the region that they
16:06got to the mountain where God showed
16:08him. He looked at the servants and said,
16:10"Y'all stay here. Me and my lad, me and
16:12my son are getting ready to go up and
16:14worship.
16:16servants had been with him for a while,
16:18but they got to a point in a
16:19relationship where Abraham says, "I got
16:21to go higher." The question is, can you
16:24go
16:25>> or if I take you up there, you going to
16:27stop me from doing what God is calling
16:28me to do.
16:31>> I'm getting ready to sacrifice and you
16:33going to come and interrupt
16:34>> because you don't understand. You're
16:36still thinking too low.
16:39>> All right, let me get back to the All
16:40right. So clarity, currency,
16:43comfortability, company. Most people
16:46think when these things are solved, then
16:49that must mean I'm cleared to obey.
16:53And God is like, yo, do me a favor. Um,
16:57I can't wait. Or or let me say it a
16:59better way. God is like, I can't wait
17:02until you feel like you're ready because
17:04you actually don't even really know what
17:06ready feels like. Come on.
17:09>> You might be waiting for a feeling of
17:11readiness that may never come.
17:16>> I'm just wait. I'm going just sit here
17:17until my season.
17:19>> God is like, you're going to be in the
17:21middle of your season and still not feel
17:23like it's your season.
17:31>> STOP WAITING TO FEEL READY. THAT'S ALL
17:34I'M TRYING to That's all I'm trying to
17:36say. I was trying to say that. That's
17:38what I'm trying TO SAY. BECAUSE FAITH
17:41DOESN'T NEED TO FEEL READY.
17:43>> GOD IS LIKE, "YO, YOU DON'T NEED THE
17:45FOUR C'S IF YOU GOT ME.
17:49>> YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE CLARITY. YOU MIGHT
17:51NOT HAVE COMFORTABILITY. YOU YOU YOU YOU
17:54LITERALLY MIGHT NOT HAVE CURRENCY. YOU
17:56YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE COMPANY, BUT YOU DO
17:59HAVE CHRIST.
18:01AND IF I GOT CHRIST, IT IS CHRIST
18:03THAT'LL PUSH ME. IT IS CHRIST THAT'LL
18:05PRO PROMOTE ME. IT WAS CHRIST THAT'LL
18:07PARTNER WITH ME. IT IS CHRIST THAT'LL
18:09PREPARE ME. LOOK AT SOMEBODY AND SAY, "I
18:10GOT JESUS, THOUGH. I I I GOT I got I got
18:13Jesus.
18:16>> I got Jesus.
18:18Who's going to fund it?" Jesus.
18:20>> Who's going to support it? Jesus.
18:23>> Where you get THE BLUEPRINT FROM? JESUS.
18:25WHO'S GOING TO ENDORSE IT? JESUS.
18:29>> SOMEBODY SHOUT JESUS IN THIS PLAY. COME
18:31ON.
18:32>> AND GIDEON is proof. Gideon is proof
18:36>> of what it looks like to be obedient
18:40when all you got
18:42is Jesus.
18:43>> Oh yeah.
18:44>> All All you got is God. To be more
18:46specific. Gideon is getting picked on.
18:51Gideon is being picked on. And by the
18:52time of our text, ladies and gentlemen,
18:53we are or by the time of our text in
18:56Judges chapter number six and seven
18:57where we'll be kind of navigating.
18:59Israel is in a bad place. They are being
19:02worn out and worn down by the
19:04Midianites. Stay with me. It has been
19:07years of oppression.
19:09>> And every time, watch this. Every time
19:12Israel plants crops, the Midianites will
19:15come and take them.
19:18>> Imagine that. Planting crops, waiting
19:22months. The Midianites will wait months
19:25to see the crops grow. Then they would
19:27come in and they would take it. And
19:30every time the Israelites would build
19:32some type of structure,
19:34the Medidionites would come and destroy
19:35it.
19:37>> They were under extreme oppression.
19:40Now, now watch this. Watch this. So now
19:44the Israelites have resorted to hiding
19:46in caves, living in fear. They are
19:50literally thinking more so of survival
19:52than they are thriving. They they they
19:55are living a suboptimal
19:58life under pressure and underperforming.
20:02They are under pressure and as a result
20:05they are underperforming. Israel is
20:08consumed and constrained.
20:11They're living under limits. They're
20:14living under limits. And one of the
20:16aims, God, this is one of the aims of
20:20the enemy is to keep us consumed and to
20:24keep us capped.
20:27Consumed with constant difficulties.
20:30Some of us know what that feels like.
20:32Consumed with constant difficulties and
20:35then capped under the idea that there is
20:38no way out. Israel has found themselves
20:44in a situation where they are being
20:46oppressed. They are being worn down and
20:49they don't feel like there's any way
20:52out. The Medidianites were not
20:53necessarily trying to uh they were not
20:56necessarily trying to eliminate Israel.
20:59They were just trying to exhaust them.
21:04I'm coming. Don't worry. The Midianites
21:06were not trying to end Israel. They were
21:08just trying to erode them, wear them
21:10down. The Midianites were not trying to
21:12extinguish Israel. They were trying to
21:14empty the Israel of all she HAD WORKED
21:17FOR. THE GOAL OF THE Midianites was to
21:20eliminate or or to or to limit There we
21:23go. The goal of Israel of of the
21:25Midionites was to limit Israel's freedom
21:29and suppress Israel's faith.
21:33They were trying to stop Israel from
21:38thinking that they could ever have more
21:40than what they actually are
21:41experiencing.
21:44That That was the goal. That was the
21:46goal. Don't kill them. No, no, no. Don't
21:48kill them. Just make them get used to
21:51living with lack.
21:54No, no, don't don't wipe them out. Just
21:56help them get used to uh poverty
22:00and not abundance.
22:03Yeah, y'all with me?
22:05>> No, don't don't don't kill them. Just
22:07let them live limited.
22:11>> That's the situation that they were
22:13trying to do. So, the Midionites, here's
22:15something here's something that it shows
22:16us. It shows us that sometimes the
22:18enemy's aim isn't to kill us is to cap
22:20us.
22:22Yeah. Sometimes Sometimes he's he's not
22:26simply out to kill, steal, and destroy.
22:28Sometimes
22:29>> he's out to diminish.
22:33>> He's out to limit,
22:35>> to stop us from asking, praying, and
22:38believing for more. So, he'll keep
22:41constant difficulties in our lives.
22:45>> Stay with me to I think I think Satan
22:48wants our belief system to be capped. Oh
22:50yeah.
22:52>> Um because capp belief causes
22:56suffocation in the believer.
22:59See belief and faith is like oxygen for
23:01the believer. You got to have this
23:03belief that it won't always be like
23:05this.
23:07>> So the enemy is after that.
23:10So he'll let you live. Just live
23:13limited.
23:15And contextually that's what the
23:16Medidianites were doing. The is the the
23:18Medidianites wanted to stop Israel from
23:20believing that they can get out.
23:23They wanted Israel they wanted Israel to
23:26uh be demoralized, not dead, hopeless,
23:30not hurt.
23:32Now, now, now this is extremely
23:34important. Y'all stay with me. I got to
23:35give you context before we go where
23:36we're going. Israel is in a place as a
23:39people. They are in a place of
23:42limitation. They can't seem to get any
23:44traction. And it feels like every time
23:47they do something good, plant the
23:48harvest, plant the seeds, something
23:50comes and steals the harvest.
23:53>> Every time something good happens, they
23:55get used to something BAD HAPPENING.
23:57HAVE YOU EVER FELT LIKE
23:59>> if it ain't one thing,
24:03>> it's another.
24:06>> If it's not this, then it's that. And
24:08then when we live in A CONSTANT STATE OF
24:11THAT MINDSET, WE START to live our lives
24:14looking for chaos.
24:19>> So we're no longer expecting God to do
24:21something good. We're just existing
24:24waiting on something bad to happen.
24:29>> So that's the mindset of Israel.
24:31Got to understand Israel's mindset. This
24:34is the chosen people. These are the
24:36people God picked.
24:40the the these are the picked people. And
24:44it is in that IT IS IN THAT UH
24:47SITUATION, that environment, that
24:49mindset MINDSET THAT GOD TAPS GIDEON on
24:54the shoulders.
24:56>> He taps Gideon on the shoulders as
24:58Israel is deprived, dispersed, uh almost
25:01feeling dead AS A NATION. HE TAPS GIDEON
25:04ON THE shoulder because Gideon
25:06represents a principle that many of us
25:08know uh and some of us even shout about
25:11and THAT IS IS THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS have
25:14always got another move.
25:17>> GOD ALWAYS HAS ANOTHER MOVE. Oh yeah,
25:22>> GOD ALWAYS HAS another move because just
25:26because it seems unattainable,
25:29unachievable or unimaginable
25:32DOESN'T MEAN GOD can do something
25:35unbelievable.
25:38Let me say that again. Just because it
25:41seems unattainable,
25:43>> unachievable, or unimaginable
25:46DOESN'T MEAN GOD CAN'T DO SOMETHING
25:48UNBELIEVABLE.
25:50GOD CAN TURN YOUR LIFE FROM UNDESIRABLE
25:54TO unbelievable in just one move.
25:59>> Touch somebody and say, "God always has
26:01another move."
26:03>> You You don't believe me? You need
26:04Bible. ASK THE ISRAELITES IN EXODUS IF
26:08God has another move. God, they were
26:10literally sitting with the Red Sea in
26:12FRONT OF THEM AND PHARAOH BEHIND THEM.
26:15AND GOD SPEAKS TO MOSES, "STRETCH OUT
26:17YOUR ROD. STRETCH OUT YOUR STAFF. AND HE
26:20PARTED THE RED SEA so that they can get
26:22through. Look at somebody and say, "God
26:23has got another move."
26:26>> You need Bible. THINK ABOUT THINK ABOUT
26:28ABRAHAM WHEN ABRAHAM WENT TO SACRIFICE
26:31ISAAC AND THEN HE GOT TO THE MOUNTAIN
26:33AND HE BEGAN TO SACRIFICE ISAAC, BUT
26:36THEN HE LOOKED UP AND HE SAW A RAM
26:38CAUGHT IN THE THICKET. SO HE DIDN'T HAVE
26:40TO SACRIFICE ISAAC. WHY? Because God,
26:45y'all ain't SEEING NOTHING. GOD HAS
26:47ALWAYS GOT ANOTHER MOVE. I ASKED JOSEPH
26:50AND JOSEPH TOLD ME THAT HE WAS THROWN IN
26:52THE PIT. HE WAS THROWN IN THE PIT, SOLD
26:55INTO SLAVERY, with then went to prison,
26:58but ultimately ended as the second
27:00number TWO IN EGYPT. WHY? Because God
27:04>> SOMEBODY SHOUT BACK AT THE PREACHER AND
27:06SAY, "GOD'S GOT ANOTHER MOVE."
27:08>> OH, I get it. I get it.
27:11>> I get it. I messed up because you're
27:14like, "I don't even know Abraham.
27:16I I don't know Joseph.
27:18I I don't know Daniel in the lion's den.
27:22I I I don't know any of that. But what
27:24if I told you that you're sitting next
27:26to
27:27>> proof?
27:30>> I guess I'll have church by myself.
27:32YOU'RE SITTING NEXT TO PROOF THAT GOD
27:35has got another move. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN
27:37DEAD, SLEEPING IN MY GRAVE, BUT GOD HAD
27:41ANOTHER MOVE. I WAS SINKING DEEP IN SIN,
27:45BUT GOD HAD ANOTHER MOVE. I SHOULD HAVE
27:48BEEN INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE, BUT GOD HAS
27:50GOT ANOTHER MOVE. I SURVIVED THE CAR
27:53ACCIDENT BECAUSE GOD HAS GOT ANOTHER
27:55MOVE. I SURVIVED THE DOCTOR'S REPORT
27:58BECAUSE GOD HAS GOT ANOTHER MOVE. IS
28:01THERE ANYBODY IN HERE THAT CAN SAY, "GOD
28:04HAS GOT ANOTHER MOVE."
28:10>> AND IN THE TEXT
28:12IS PROOF
28:14>> THAT THE MASTER CHESS PLAYER God
28:18>> has been thinking multiple moves ahead
28:22>> of the opponent.
28:24>> All right, I guess I'll give you the
28:26text then. Can we read the Bible in
28:28church?
28:29>> Judges chapter number six says this.
28:31It's going to mess you up. Verse number
28:33one and two. The Israelites did evil in
28:36the eyes of the Lord, and for seven
28:38years, he gave them into the hands of
28:41the Midionites.
28:45>> Okay, wait, hold on. I I I I uh I don't
28:49like this
28:51because the text says that the
28:53Israelites
28:55did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
28:59Okay? And for seven years he God
29:04gave them the Israelites
29:06>> into the hands of the Midianites.
29:10>> I don't like that.
29:15>> I just got to be honest because um that
29:18that I don't like that. Um cuz I I serve
29:23a good God
29:26>> who's able to do
29:28>> exceedingly
29:29>> and abundantly above all.
29:32>> We can. All right. This is the great God
29:36that I serve.
29:37>> Mighty,
29:38>> strong and mighty.
29:40>> Oh, he's awesome.
29:42>> Okay.
29:43>> Yes.
29:46>> The Bible says that that God, the lily
29:50of the valley
29:52Come on, CHURCH. THE BRIGHT AND morning
29:54star.
29:56>> The wheel in the middle of a wheel.
29:58>> The rock in the weary land.
30:01>> The rose of Sharon.
30:05>> My burden bearer.
30:07>> Come on now.
30:08>> My heavy load sharer.
30:09>> Come on now. Watch it.
30:12>> That God,
30:14>> that God
30:15>> gave
30:17his chosen people
30:20>> what they asked for
30:27>> all right.
30:30He gave the Israelites did evil in the
30:33eyes of the Lord.
30:35Well, the question becomes,
30:38I'm nosy.
30:40What's evil?
30:42>> Because that can be anything,
30:44>> right? When So, I had to do some
30:47research cuz I wanted to find out when
30:49the text says that they did evil,
30:52>> what evil
30:53>> caused God to hand them over
30:57>> for seven years?
31:03>> Okay. Well, upon a little bit of
31:05research, the first thing that we see in
31:07terms of evil is they turn to idols.
31:12>> Baal,
31:13>> the god of rain, crops, and provision.
31:17All right. So, so, so they I need you to
31:20they are already oppressed and it seems
31:23like every time they make a few dollars,
31:25something come steal it.
31:27>> Can I modernize the text? God.
31:30>> And because of that, they started
31:32leading to Baal, which was which was the
31:36which was they they thought the false
31:38god of provision,
31:40>> right?
31:41>> So they went to where they can get they
31:44thought they can get provision from and
31:47neglected the God of provision.
31:50>> So they just said, "Let me go work more
31:52hours.
31:56Come on.
31:58>> They said, "Let let me just put in more
32:00time.
32:03>> Um,
32:05let let me let me do overtime plus time.
32:09>> Let me take a couple shifts." And um, so
32:12they ran there. So that's one thing.
32:14They they chose they they picked they
32:17picked
32:19they picked another god. And then not
32:22only that, they began to compromise
32:23their convictions.
32:25um they they begin to compromise their
32:27convictions. So the Israelites did evil
32:30and God gave them the consequences of
32:33their actions.
32:35>> Stay with me. These are God's chosen or
32:38God's picked people. So the Midian the
32:41Midionites behavior was a result of the
32:45Israelites
32:47picked.
32:49THEY PICKED A FALSE GOD
32:53AND GOD GAVE THEM WHAT A FALSE GOD WILL
32:56GIVE YOU.
33:02>> OPPRESSION.
33:05They were in this situation. I got to
33:07teach right here because they pick
33:09wrong.
33:13>> Okay, let's see how I can walk here. How
33:15can I maneuver this?
33:18THEY
33:19THEY THEY HAD SEVEN YEARS. I'M SORRY I
33:22don't teach. They had seven years of
33:25oppression
33:26>> because they picked wrong.
33:29>> Now, if this was Bible study, it's not.
33:31But if it was, I would take you back to
33:34Exodus,
33:35>> where we first meet them, the
33:37Israelites.
33:38>> They're in bondage because they picked
33:40wrong.
33:41>> So, they picked wrong in a previous
33:43season,
33:44>> didn't learn, got to a new season, pick
33:46wrong again. And God says, "I got you
33:49out last time. What else you want me to
33:51do?
33:52>> So now I got to LET IT GET BAD ENOUGH.
33:57>> Are y'all with me?"
33:59>> So he's like, "I CAN'T PULL YOU OUT
34:02RIGHT NOW. YOU GOT TO SIT THERE FOR
34:04SEVEN years
34:08>> because every choice, I said it a
34:10million times, I'll keep saying it, is
34:12pregnant with the potential to produce a
34:15season.
34:18That's why I don't know if I say this. I
34:21get in trouble. Uh I got in trouble the
34:23first service. I got in major trouble
34:24when I said this. The camera's rolling.
34:26Here it go.
34:28Every pick is pregnant with the
34:32potential to produce a season. You know
34:35that that's true. That's why you don't
34:37like your baby daddy.
34:39>> Come on now.
34:41>> Your baby mama.
34:42>> That's right.
34:44You ever look at somebody you used to be
34:45with and ask yourself, "WAS I HIGH?" I
34:47THINK I was
34:49>> I was on something. I promise you, I was
34:52smoking and snorting
34:54>> at the same I was super high.
34:58>> What was wrong
35:00with me?
35:02>> I love my baby, but Jesus
35:06>> from Nazareth.
35:10So then many of us will UNDERSTAND HOW
35:14ONE pick
35:17>> can cost you seven years,
35:20>> 18, 21,
35:22>> 30, 60.
35:25>> Lord Jesus, help us.
35:29>> SO ISRAEL'S PRO I DON'T HAVE TIME. I GOT
35:31TO ROLL. ISRAEL'S problem is is because
35:35of who and what Israel picked.
35:39They made an ungodly alliance with
35:42idols.
35:43They made an ungodly alliance. Okay, I
35:45got to hurry up. I got to hurry up.
35:46Let's go. Let's go. Um, the Bible. Yeah.
35:50Genesis, uh, Judges chapter number six.
35:52Uh, VERSE NUMBER 11 AND 12. HERE'S WHAT
35:54GOD DOES. THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CAME AND
35:56SAT DOWN UNDER THE TREE OF OPRAH. Let's
35:57go to verse number 12. WATCH THIS. WHEN
35:59THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO
36:01GIDEON,
36:03he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty
36:07warrior." All right. Now, this is
36:09interesting. This is extremely
36:11interesting. I don't have time to really
36:12dig into Gideon's life. This really,
36:14this sermon really deserves four weeks
36:16of unpacking. Maybe we'll do that later.
36:19I don't know. But I just want to hit it
36:20real quick. Um Um Watch this. Ah, God.
36:25All of this happening. The Lord taps
36:27Gideon on the on the shoulders and says,
36:30"The Lord is with you, you mighty
36:32warrior."
36:34Here's what Gideon replies.
36:38Verse number 13. Pardon me, Lord.
36:43But uh if the Lord is with us, why
36:48has all this happened to us?
36:51>> That's a real question.
36:54>> This is WHAT GIDEON SAID. GETTING LIKE,
36:56"HOLD UP,
36:58THE LORD WITH US." WELL, THEN WHY IS ALL
37:00OF THIS HAPPEN? WHERE ARE ALL THE
37:02WONDERS AT THAT OUR ANCESTORS TOLD US
37:05ABOUT?
37:06>> THEY THEY THEY WERE BRAGGING ABOUT DID
37:07NOT GOD BRING US OUT OF EGYPT.
37:10Can you do that again?
37:13>> Can you do the liberation thing?
37:16>> Cuz we're oppressed. Listen to Gideon.
37:19Listen to I want you to hear Gideon. I
37:20want you to hear
37:22where it's coming from. That's why I say
37:25I really need four weeks. But hear this.
37:28Gideon says, "If the Lord IS WITH US,
37:31WHY HAS all this happened to us?" And
37:34then he GOES ON TO RECOUNT WHAT THE
37:36ANCESTORS told him about how God brought
37:39them out.
37:39>> Come on.
37:40>> Gideon has selective memory.
37:43>> CUZ IF THEY TOLD YOU HOW GOD BROUGHT
37:45THEM OUT, I KNOW THEY TOLD YOU WHAT GOT
37:48THEM IN.
37:49>> RIGHT. RIGHT.
37:52Let me get back here so I can teach. Um,
37:56okay. It says, um, "Did not the Lord
37:59bring us out of Egypt?" That's what they
38:01say. Uh, but now the Lord has abandoned
38:03us
38:05>> and given us into the hands of Midian.
38:09But the Lord says in verse number 12,
38:11"You mighty warrior."
38:13Gideon's reply, "Well, why is all this
38:16happening to us?"
38:18Um, so one of the things about the game
38:20of chess is like chess is interesting.
38:22It's not so much like checkers. Because
38:23in chess, if you have the right pieces
38:26on board, you don't need all the pieces
38:27on board. So in chess, you can have a
38:30board that looks like you're losing, but
38:32actually you're setting them up to win.
38:35And this is what a setup looks like
38:37because God, the master chess mover, is
38:39moving multiple moves ahead. Watch what
38:41he says. Watch what he says. He says,
38:44"If you with us, how come all this is
38:47happening? How come I got more bills
38:49than I do have money?"
38:50>> How come I got problems and I got no
38:54answer for? If you with me, how come?
38:57You ever ask God, DON'T SAY ANYTHING.
38:59YOU EVER ASK GOD HOW COME? JUST LIKE WHY
39:02IS ALL THIS HAPPENING?
39:07>> The Lord turned to him and said, verse
39:08number 14, I I got to read this. The
39:10Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the
39:12strength you have. I don't have time.
39:13Lord have mercy. Go in the strength you
39:15have and save Israel out of Midian's
39:17hand. Gideon was not a military man.
39:21Gideon was a farmer.
39:25>> Gideon did not have experience. Gideon
39:28had an ear
39:34>> because HE FOR WHAT GOD IS CALLING HIM
39:37TO DO. GOD is equipping him.
39:39>> SO HE DOESN'T NEED THE experience of a
39:41warrior. But it need the ear of a
39:44prophet.
39:48>> So he needs to be God. He needs to be
39:51able TO HEAR AND WATCH WHAT G WATCH
39:52GIDEON SAYS. SO GOD IS TALKING TO GOD IS
39:55TALKING TO GIDEON ABOUT um
40:00y'all I need like three minutes. Can I
40:01borrow three minutes please in Jesus
40:03name? Okay. All right. Okay. I got to do
40:06some some service here. All right. The
40:08Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the
40:10strength you have
40:12and save Israel."
40:14>> You missed your shout.
40:16>> The Lord turned to it to Gideon
40:18>> and said, "Go in the strength you have
40:21>> and save Israel." So, you mean to tell
40:23me I already have whatever I need to do
40:27what GOD CALLING ME TO DO?
40:29>> YOU DON'T NEED NOTHING YOU DON'T have
40:31already. I WISH I HAD ABOUT 15 PEOPLE
40:34THAT WILL GIVE GOD PRAISE FOR WHAT YOU
40:36DO HAVE. NOT WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE, WHAT
40:38YOU DO HAVE. DON'T POUT ABOUT WHAT YOU
40:40DON'T HAVE. Praise about what you do
40:42have.
40:48>> Go in the strength
40:51you have.
40:53>> I don't have time to unpack the
40:55strength. Lord,
40:57save
41:00Israel
41:01out of Midian's hand.
41:05SAVE YOUR FAMILY,
41:08>> my God.
41:09>> Out of the hand of the enemy
41:11>> with what? With what I already gave you.
41:15>> Because am I not sending you?
41:20>> You're so busy looking at what you don't
41:22have,
41:23>> you don't even understand what you do
41:24have.
41:26You're so busy scrolling on Instagram at
41:29what other people are doing
41:31>> and God is saying, "Why you so busy
41:33looking at them?
41:34>> God,
41:34>> look at what you got.
41:37>> You're so busy trying to have somebody
41:38else's marriage.
41:42>> All you see in your spouse is their
41:43faults.
41:49You're so busy trying to get married.
41:52You ready to say the yes TO SOMEBODY SAY
41:54WOULD YES YES.
42:06You so ready to say yes. You don't even
42:07understand what you do have in your
42:08single season.
42:11>> You don't understand the peace you got.
42:14When you put something in the
42:15refrigerator, it's there when you get
42:16home.
42:19>> Hallelujah.
42:21>> You can go home and say, "I'm not
42:22talking to ANYBODY TODAY.
42:24>> I'M NOT PICKING ANYBODY UP FROM SCHOOL
42:26TODAY. AIN'T NOBODY CALLING ME TELLING
42:28ME INTERRUPTING MY DAY. COME GET THEM
42:30OUT THE CLINIC.
42:33>> I don't got TO CHECK WITH NOBODY ABOUT
42:34WHAT WE'RE EATING TONIGHT.
42:37>> Spend whatever money I want to spend."
42:42Okay.
42:44>> What do you have?
42:47>> I WILL BLESS WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND.
42:53>> OKAY, I got to move. Y'all gave me three
42:55minutes. Start my three minutes now.
42:56Here we go.
42:59That first three minutes didn't count.
43:03Here's what Israel says. I'm sorry.
43:05Here's what Gideon says. Verse number
43:0615. I LOVE THE BIBLE. PARDON ME, MY
43:09LORD.
43:10AGAIN.
43:12>> But uh
43:15how can I save Israel?
43:17My clan is the weakest in Manasseh. Not
43:20only that, but I'm the weakest in my
43:22family.
43:25Now, now, now I got to move. Now, I need
43:27you to see something. I need you to see
43:29something. I
43:32The weakest clan. Okay. um this this
43:36this this articulation of him being the
43:39weakest clan is not some type of
43:43sociological report. Like there's nobody
43:45that has literally uh what's the word?
43:48Nobody has literally did a census and
43:52determined whose clan is the weakest.
43:55>> There was no poll sent out.
43:59>> There was no survey done. SO GIDEON'S
44:02ASSESSMENT IS BASED on his oppression.
44:07>> HE'S BEEN WORN DOWN so much that he's
44:10communicating it now.
44:13>> Wow.
44:15>> I GOT TO MOVE. BUT OKAY, I GOT TO GO.
44:19BUT GOD, I'M EXCITED. GOD CALLS HIM a
44:22mighty warrior. Verse number 12.
44:26They say my three minutes up. I said
44:28START IT NOW. GOD CALLS HIM A MIGHTY
44:31WARRIOR IN VERSE 12.
44:35Um and uh GIDEON REPLIES WITH HE'S THE
44:39weakest in uh verse 15.
44:41>> Right. Right.
44:43>> God says mighty warrior.
44:46>> 12
44:47>> 12 15
44:49he says I'm weak.
44:53>> God says warrior. Gideon says weak.
44:56>> SOMEBODY LYING.
45:00AND SOMEBODY'S not
45:01>> right.
45:04>> What do I do WHEN THE ENEMY IS TELLING
45:06ME I'M ONE THING,
45:08>> BUT GOD IS TELLING ME ON SOMETHING ELSE
45:11>> BECAUSE GOD WAS MULTIPLE MOVES AHEAD OF
45:13GIDEON. SO, HE STARTS SPEAKING INTO
45:15GIDEON WHO GIDEON WAS IN GOD'S EYES SO
45:18THAT THE SO THAT THE WEAKNESS THAT
45:21GIDEON SAW IN HIMSELF WOULD NOT USURP
45:23THE WARRIOR THAT GOD IS CALLING HIM to
45:25be.
45:27Lord.
45:30>> All right. They said my three minutes
45:33up.
45:37>> I don't have time. I have to finish.
45:39I'll finish next week. Maybe.
45:42What am I saying? I'm saying
45:45that
45:47God
45:49picked
45:51Gideon
45:52and God did not need Israel's approval
45:57or permission.
45:59He didn't need the Midianites
46:02permission.
46:03Watch this. He didn't even need Gideon's
46:06permission.
46:08He looked at Gideon and said, "Mighty
46:09warrior."
46:12and Gideon start coming with all of his
46:13excuses. But but if if I was that and
46:16then and then you don't understand we've
46:18been seven years has been like this and
46:20um meanwhile it's not even clicking to
46:22Gideon that he's talking to an angel.
46:27So it's like you got heaven's ear.
46:31Why you worry about what you don't have?
46:39This is God talking to you.
46:42Why are you concerned about what you
46:44don't have?
46:46Why why why does why does lack invade
46:50your mentality so much
46:54when I picked you?
46:57He picked you.
46:59He picked you.
47:01He picked you.
47:04He picked you. Come on, put your hands
47:06together if you receive that word, guys.
47:10Would you stand to your feet? I want to
47:12pray.
47:20I'm thinking
47:23I'm I'm literally thinking
47:25about the people
47:29like me that can identify with Gideon.
47:34It's like, God,
47:37you pick me.
47:39I promise you, one of the things I
47:42always say, you know, we got this
47:44Kingsman pinning ceremony coming up and
47:46we're going to celebrate the men that's
47:48been rolling in our disciplehip program
47:50for like 10 weeks at this point. Yeah.
47:52Yeah. I'm excited about that. May 3rd.
47:55And one of the things I always tell the
47:57guys is I say I say I tell them I say
47:59fellas,
48:01if you understand
48:04that y'all see me up here with a
48:06microphone preaching,
48:08I promise you God could have picked
48:11somebody else way better,
48:16way more gifting,
48:19way more whatever whatever whatever the
48:21thing is. He had better choices.
48:26But for whatever reason, he picked me.
48:30>> Now, this ain't about me.
48:33>> I said that to say, if you identify with
48:36Gideon the same way I do,
48:39and for whatever reason
48:41in your family, God picked you.
48:45So, yeah, you're the one that everybody
48:46calls.
48:48You're the one that has to give the
48:49encouraging word.
48:51You're the one they're calling you for
48:52advice. You're like, "Well, I need to
48:54call somebody, too."
48:57And they're like, "What? What should I
48:58do? What do you think?" And you're
49:01sitting there trying to figure out why
49:02don't how I'm the youngest. Why Why is
49:04everybody calling me?
49:07Because he picked you.
49:10He picked you. He called you.
49:14He called you out.
49:17He picture
49:21with every eye closed, every head bowed.
49:26I want to pray for the people
49:29who can attest
49:33to the pain of being picked.
49:37That it doesn't feel comfortable.
49:44That it hurts.
49:55who can identify
49:58with the isolation and the loneliness of
50:01being picked.
50:02Nobody understands.
50:05I try to give language to it, but nobody
50:06really gets it, man. It's like it's like
50:08it's I'm trying to tell. It's like, man,
50:10but no, it's not the loneliness of being
50:13picked, the pain of being picked.
50:18And some of us deal with the weight of
50:20being picked.
50:24It's like, God, I'm managing it, but
50:25it's heavy.
50:28I'm I'm getting I'm I'm I'm trying, but
50:30boy, listen to me. It's It's this right
50:33here. It's tough.
50:37And then there's others of us
50:39who say, "I I I sense that I'm picked.
50:44But God, I need you to continue to equip
50:46me for what I don't know is coming
50:54>> because I'm going to be on the front
50:55lines. I'm the one cho I'm the chosen
50:57per I'm the one for us. I'm the one. And
51:02God, I don't know what's coming, but I
51:03NEED YOU TO EQUIP me for what's next.