You are invited to let go of the need for control and instead find freedom in serving those around you. Practice humility daily by asking the Lord to show you where you can be made low for the sake of others. When you love like Jesus, you become a true follower and reflect His heart to the world.
Well,
we have a very special treat this morning. Some people will come to real church and be like, I've never even heard the pastor preach. And, David's like, yeah. He he read a book a while back, and it was basically, the lead pastor walked into his the church that he started, and there were it was a huge church. He walked in and and people were like, is this your first time here?
And he's like, no, I've been before. And David was like, that's like that's my goal. Because he's so passionate about raising up leaders and and people to carry the ministry of God. You know, it is the the job of the leaders of the church to equip the saints to do the works of ministry, and some of those works are teaching. Some of those works are delivering an encouraging message and helping us take steps forward in our faith.
Amen? And so, is right now, he's in Kentucky. If you were raise your hand if you were here for the Making Disciples event a couple of months ago. Okay. Several people were here for that event.
So David actually went to Kentucky, to Bart's Brothers Church, I believe. Bart Stampers Brothers Church, and they're doing a making disciples event, and he's preaching right now. So, that's where he is. Again, his bread and butter. He's he's training people to go out and make disciples.
You are all invited to do that with our team, Belong. I'll tell you a little bit about it later. But so, today, I'm not preaching, so that's what I was waiting on. Thanks, Kelly. So, today, 1 of my best friends, we call her Nah Nah, all the all the kids call her Nah Nah, Heidi Hunter is gonna be bringing the word.
So let's honor her this morning.
Am I on? Am I am I live? Thank you, baby, for standing up for me. That was amazing. Good job.
Can you grab me my water really quick? Thanks. It's right there. He said that's mine. Well, you just wait till you hear what I'm preaching.
Good morning, everyone. Good morning. So my name is Heidi, and I've I've hosted a little bit. So if you come to church on time God you. God bless you, brother.
Great place to sneeze. I love sneezing in church. Anyway, if you come on time or you might hear me during communion, so I do get to host sometimes, and the Lord today has something to say to you. And for some reason, he gave me the platform to say it, which a lot of you don't know me, but some of you do. So that's that that's pretty heavy.
But what I really like is he gave me the platform without the pastor. I mean, I've got Courtney, but she's my girl, you know. I want I was gonna say, where's my glasses? Before we pray, I just I thought it was really cool that the Holy Spirit kinda set everything up for me because I'm gonna tell you what you're saying. So sometimes I don't think we actually listen to what we say, what we're saying to the Lord, what we're giving the Lord.
And 1 of the things we said is, we "live for you". We sang it loud. We live for you. *Holy*, there is no no 1 like you. There's none beside you.
Open up my eyes and wonder, God. Show me who you are and feel me, and you even said lead me. Y'all gave a lot of permission to the Holy Spirit today, and that's good because he's got something to say to you. But then, this is the best 1, you said, I will "build my life upon you". You said that.
I that's a declaration that you made, and I am so excited to see now listen. Also, before we pray, I'm just gonna go ahead and tell you. I went to Georgia this week, and I was driving home yesterday, and every single time I tried to pray for today, I would just start crying. And it wasn't an I'm afraid cry. It was like the heart of God cry.
It was like Jesus weeping over the body of Christ because he wants he wants us to know some stuff about who we are. So to confirm that when I was getting ready, he told me to put on waterproof mascara, which I didn't wanna put on because I bought this really cool mascara, but it's not waterproof, and it makes these little tuby things. So he's like, alright. If you want little tuby things all over your face when you start crying. So who knows what god's gonna do?
I'm just gonna ask everybody to stand up again. And I'm gonna ask you to close your eyes and lift your hands to the Lord. And we're just I'm just gonna pray. Lord, we thank you for today, Lord. *God*, I honor you.
We honor you, the king of kings and the lord of lords. Open our eyes, lord, to see you. Open our ears, God, to hear your word. I pray for divine intervention, *Holy Spirit*. We give you permission to have your way in us today, and we love you.
In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Alright. You said it again. So I've been walking with the Lord a long time, but man, I don't I don't really even know first of all, how much time do I have?
I mean, there's a clock back there. Do we know? Okay. There's no time limit. That's what I heard.
So *God*'s been walking me through a lot of stuff, but what I really wanna share, and I'm not putting a plug in for real church, but I can tell you that the leadership of this church in the heart of your pastors is for God's people to know and understand their identity and who they are in him, not in what you say, not in what the world says, in him. And it's so important. We've been on this journey for 5 years, and I've been following the Lord for a while. Here it comes. And this isn't about me, but God has done like, I don't even know who I am.
About 3 years ago, the Lord told me because I used to be kinda controlling. And the Lord told me so clear 1 day, he said, it's not about you. And for some reason, like, I know that and you hear it, but for some reason, I knew it that day, and it set me radically free. And I was like, man, pastor David, I got this revelation. What is it?
It's not about me. He's like, praise Lord. My husband's like, praise. Right? And I thought that was it.
That was the beginning. That was the beginning of walking out, it's not about you. It was so freeing. So I have been on this journey, and especially recently, and time gets all wonky with me, but the most recent journey has just really been digging me deep into humility. And I love that God had Mariah Mullins preach the other week.
How about that? Honor message? And even before that, her husband, Gabe, preached on humility. I didn't even realize it. I'm like, well, we're getting another 1, but I don't even know if it's gonna end up like that anyway because that's what God does.
So it kinda goes hand in hand because all of that to me is just such a key to what God is doing in the body of Christ and what he wants to do in your life. And I'll tell you a little bit more in a minute. And, you know, God, the the if you will let the *Lord* work in you, he'll do it. He wants your yes. That's all.
Your yes. Yes, Lord. What the the the first thing that God showed me about humility is, you know, the first thing we have to do is just look at Jesus. Look at what he did. It it's really simple.
We just look at Jesus. So I can only imagine Jesus and God and the Holy *Spirit* talking 1 day up in the where they are. And, you know, they see what's going on, and they were like, man, how are we gonna make this right? Like, how are we gonna put this all back together? I mean, can you just imagine that conversation?
I heard Dan Mueller say it 1 time, and it was hilarious. But he was saying, like, God's like, Jesus, we're gonna have to send you. And Jesus is like, no, bro. Like, why do I gotta go? And the Holy Spirit said, you gotta go because then I gotta come and I gotta go in.
But if you think about it too, that that Jesus, is God, chose to humble himself and come to us in the form of a fetus inside a woman's body and be *born* a 100% dependent on his mother, a 100% dependent on the people that he's gonna have to whip into shape in a little bit. A 100% he was God, and he came through the birth canal. I'm sorry, but that's a lot. I mean, he was God, but he did that because he loves you. You know, I imagine and, you know, all the religious people, everybody thought, oh, he's gonna have on this white gown and come on his white stallion, and he's gonna have his crown.
It's not God. Like, it's so different than what we think. So I realized a long time ago that the first thing I had to do was follow what Jesus did. I'm gonna be reading scripture in the passion translation. Apparently, we don't have that translation on our stuff, so it's not gonna match up there.
But the first scripture I wanted to read was Philippians-2:6 through 8. He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead, he emptied himself of his outward glory By reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant, he became human. He humbled himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient. So he chose to humble himself in the form of a man, and not just a man, but he chose to come into the world in the same exact way a man does, through a woman.
And again, the God of the universe came that way, and it was his choice. So his first choice was to humbly come to serve you and me in the way he came. Just in the way he came, that was the very very first thing he did. He lived his life as 1 that continually put everyone else first. All through scripture, he served.
That's what he did. That's all he did. He laid his life down for the 1, the 1 that was in front of him, for the God that he served. How did Jesus do it? Sorry.
*John-5:19* in the passion. Jesus said, I speak to you eternal truth. The son is unable to do anything from himself or through his own initiative. I only do the works that I see the father doing, for the son does the same works as his father. This was Jesus talking.
So that means that's what you need to say. *John-15:1* through 8, I gotta look this 1 up. You guys should look it up too. I just really have been reading in the passion translation, and I just really love it. And, you know, I'm 1 of those, everything's gotta be safe, you know, so I'm, like, constantly doing that compare with my ESV version just to make sure, and it's and it's pretty spot on.
Alright. John-15:1 through 8, I'm gonna read this in the passion. I am the "true sprouting vine", and the farmer who tends the vine is my father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you.
Again, this is Jesus speaking. So you must remain in life union with me, for I remain in life union with you. For as a branch served from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined with mine. I am the sprouting vine, and you're my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you.
But when you live separated from me, you are powerless. If a person is separated from me, he is discarded. Such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire and burned. But if you live in life union with me, and if my words live powerfully within you, then you can ask whatever you desire, and it will be done. When your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that you are my mature disciples who glorify God the father.
If you go back to the end of verse 5, he says, I'm the sprouting vine, and you are and you are my branches. As you live in union with me, your source of fruit fruitfulness will stream from within you, but when you live separated from me, you are powerless. A more familiar version says, apart from me, you can do nothing. So we always look at, you know, *Philippians-4:13* that says, "I can do all things" through Christ who strengthens me. Everybody knows that.
Raise your hand if you know that. Raise your hand if you know the song. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Right? And that is true.
Anything that he asks us to do, anything that he calls us to do, we can do through him. But when you partners when you partner that with John-15:5, that says apart from me, you can do nothing. And I was thinking about that the other day, and I thought, man, we know that we can do all things, and we usually we remember that when it's something we can't do. Well, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Praise the lord.
But he wants me to know that apart from him, I can do nothing. So to me, that's saying the things that I feel confident in, the things that I feel like I'm good at, the things that I think that I know, which I'm finding out I don't really know a whole lot. Apart from him, apart from abiding in him, I can't do it. It doesn't matter how good I think I can. I can't do it.
You would think that I wouldn't be thirsty because I talk so much, but when I'm up here talking, get so thirsty. It is what it is. I'm gonna read this really quick, and it's just I'm just gonna throw these scriptures out because I had a clump of scriptures that talk about what Jesus did. So you don't have to look these up because I'm gonna fling through it, and you don't have them back there. The son can do nothing of himself, John-15:9 John-5:19.
I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I do not seek my own will. This is Jesus. That's John-5:30. I do not receive glory from men, John-5:41.
I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, John-6:38. My teaching is not mine, John-7:16. I have not come of myself, John-7:28. I do nothing on my own initiative, John-8:28. I have not even come on my own initiative, but he sent me, John-8:42.
I do not seek my glory. John-8:50. The words that I say to you, do not speak on my own initiative. John-14:10. And the word which your heart, the word which you hear is not mine, John-14:24.
That's just a couple. Like, I was getting so overwhelmed with all of the scripture about serving because there's so much. I didn't know where to go with it. *Romans-15:1* through 3 in the passion says, now those who are mature in their faith can easily be recognized for they don't live to please themselves, but have learned to patiently embrace others in their immaturity. Our goal must be to empower others to do what is right and good for them, and to bring them into spiritual maturity.
For not even the most powerful 1 of all, the anointed 1, lived to please himself. His life fulfilled the scripture that says, all all the insults of those who insulted you fall upon me. Let's let Christ's mindset motivate you, not society. I know, I think, Mariah or somebody brought this up recently, but everything is about self. Or they'll say, you know, "I do me", "you do you".
You worry about you, I worry about me. It's all about my wants, needs, desires, seeing how many pictures I can take care of my take of myself. My life should be a 100% focused on others. Why? Because that's where the focus was for Jesus.
It's not a hard message. I mean, I get to do the easy ones. Walking it out is I'll tell you about that too. *Luke-14:11 and the passions, just with Jesus*, he said, remember this, everyone with a lofty opinion of who he is and who seeks to raise himself up will be publicly humbled. And everyone with a modest opinion of who he is and chooses to be and chooses to humble himself will be raised up before all.
1 of the the the most powerful things that the Lord has been showing me is that I call it a key. Humility unlocks something in the spiritual realm. Humility is like this key that you have to find. That's how it's been for me, and that's what I'm here to share with you, what he's showing me. It completely unlocks the fruit of the spirit.
Come on. There's 1 fruit, but there's a lot of benefits. Peace, patience, kindness, all of them. I don't know them all by heart. I'm learning them now because he's walking me through them.
In *Luke-9:23* and 24, Jesus said to his followers, if you truly desire to be my disciple, you must disown your life completely. Embrace my cross as your own and surrender to my ways. For if you choose self sacrifice, giving up your lives for my glory, you will discover "true life". But if you choose to keep your lies for yourselves, you will lose what you try to keep. This this this is a tough message, but there's so much life in it, and I have to share it with you because I'm experiencing it.
I'm walking it out. 1 of the first ways I started serving was in the church, even though a lot of you don't know me. I forgot about that. But you might have heard part of the story about or Courtney, you told it. Courtney's so good to tell the story about how I didn't like people.
And pastor David, we're sitting at my kitchen table, and he's like, man, you should really serve and greet. And I'm like, nope. Jerry would love that. Jerry, here, Jerry, you you can go. I'm like, I don't really like people.
And it and it's really it's funny now, but it was it's sad because I believe that. I was led to believe that as a prophetic person, I didn't have to like people. But I said yes anyway because the pastor was sitting at my kitchen table 1 month. I mean, I did tell him, I don't wanna do it, but I'm gonna do it for you. And literally, the first day, was like, I like people.
I and then the Lord showed me, he's like, I love people. How can you not love people? I am in you. And it's just been a fun ride ever since then. Like, I'm the biggest hugger now.
I almost sometimes out be Jerry in the hugs. I mean, I just I know. That that was stretching it. You're right. You're right.
But, you know, that was the first place that I served. But then the most recent stuff is is, you know, as you say yes to the Lord and you do it anyway, he's gonna show you the character of him that is within you. I'm learning so much about who I am that I had no idea. And recently, it's been more like serving my husband. *God*'s God's putting us into full time ministry together.
And in my job, I started working from home. And when he's at home, and I'm trying to work, we have a little bitty condo. It can get tough. But it's so good because the Lord is showing me all of the ways he he started showing me all the selfish ways that I am with myself, all the things, all my wants, needs, desires, and how I'm so self serving. And when and I asked him to do that.
I didn't ask him that specifically, but I said, Lord, I want your love. I wanna know your love so deeply. So he started showing me all this stuff. And so even little every single little thought, what if you will ask God to show you, he'll show you every single little thing that you do. And it's not bad because he he has to reveal it to you before he can walk it out with you.
Right? So, like, this is just an example, and it's kinda a little bit funny, but this is a tool of the Holy Spirit. You guys know what this is? Yes. This is a this is a gift of this is a tool of the Holy Spirit in my life because my husband loves to leave these for me all over my house.
They're in the dryer. They're in the washing machine. They're in the cracks of the couch. They end up in the bed. They're in my car 1 day.
I'm like, you haven't even been here, and here's the thing.
He hasn't let them all the time. He's like and then the sound. Right? I'm like, sitting on the couch, and I'm like so the Lord's like, serve him. So 1 night, he was taking a shower, and I was getting ready, you know, to eat.
We sit on the couch, and we have our little spots because that's what we do because we're older. And I was the Lord's like, set up his little spot. And I'm like, okay. And he's like, go get him a toothpick. And I'm like, I rebuke that in Jesus' name because he eats and then he likes to clean his teeth out.
I should be happy. He's a very clean man. And I said, yes, lord. Okay. I mean, now it's gotten to be where I'm just like, even things like this that get down to you, god's like, serve your husband.
Go get him a toothpick. I'm like, alright. I go get a toothpick. I set it on there. Stuff all day long.
Go wash his clothes. Go put this away. Do these dishes he didn't do. I'm like, okay. Yes, Lord.
And the more I do it, the more I wanna do it because I'm serving him, and I know that it's doing something in me. It's developing the character of God in me. It's showing me to how to go low like Mariah said, how to be humble like Jesus did, and that is required. You're not gonna get very far if you don't learn how to humble yourself. And it starts with obedience because he will show you, but you have to say yes.
You will be a toddler for the rest of your life if you don't. Okay. It reminded me of that because I was at my daughter's, and she's got a 3 year old and a 2 year old. I'm like, *Lord* have mercy. I have been a troubled toddler until recently.
I still I I still feel like I'm just a "brownie baby Christian". I better move this screen up or we're never gonna get done. So when you start doing that, your eyes are open to a a new perspective on the world and on yourself. You begin to see and believe who you are in Christ, and you begin to see others through that same lens that God does. Serving makes you confident and makes you want to serve and love more.
1 of the main things for me was you start to see yourself change and become the image of *God* that he sees you as. He already sees you as that. When you said yes to him, the old man died and is gone. And at that moment, what he sees is Jesus. Psalm 1 39 13 and 14, we're gonna read the same version, ESV.
I had ESV on that 1. For you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well.
Paul said that we are being transformed. This is 2 Corinthians-3:18. Paul said that we are being transformed by going from glory to glory to a greater glory. But we all, with unveiled face, the holding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transported formed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the spirit. So I have a little grandson.
Let me give you a little side note first before I say this. I some most of you probably don't know this about me. This is just a quick couple minutes of my past. I grew up in an extremely dysfunctional household. My dad wasn't a part of it.
My mom was an alcoholic and a drug addict. I lived in poverty. I was in a lot of foster homes as a child, And I'm 50, so that was a long time ago, so they don't even have the stuff that they had to try to protect. I don't even know what you know? It was tough.
It was tough. And then as I grew up, I started doing my own things. I mean, I've had addictions, I've done terrible things that are not in the character of *God* because I hated myself. I didn't know who I was, but I hated myself. I wasn't loved.
I wasn't told I was beautiful. I wasn't told all of the things that that a good parent tells their children. And the reason I'm telling you this, because I know that we have a lot of speakers that that grew up in the church and grew up in the body of Christ, and that is important. But I didn't. I had nothing.
So when I started following Jesus, I didn't care what anybody said. I didn't care about the religious people because the religious people were telling me all kind of things that didn't go out with the word of God and I'm like, no, this is what the bible tells me. This is what I want. So it's made me passionate. I get really passionate.
The other side of that is the not Jesus part, you know, that needs to go away that God's cleaning out is very passionate too. But I just wanted to give you that quick story about me because when you hear about this, you're gonna understand more that I know you know, you you can't be out there saying I don't you don't know. You don't know where I've been. You don't know what I've done. You don't know what I've done.
You don't understand. Look at you. I get it. I know. And none of that really even matters because he sees, he knows, he understands.
That's what he's teaching me. So my grandson I have another grandson in Mississippi. My my firstborn son, his name is Nathan, he lives in Oxford, Mississippi. He's an athletic trainer at Old Miss, and I'm so proud of him. He he went there and did tennis for a while and cheerleading until, like, his goal, like, I wanna be on that field, and he's on that field.
So I watch all the old miss games and be like, there's Nathan. There's Nathan. Somebody get hurt so I can see Nathan. Not really. I'm kidding.
I don't say that. I promise. But my grandson, his name is William, and he is 3. And Jerry and I were up there a couple months ago or over there, whatever. Courtney knows I don't do that stuff.
She had explained the continents to me, like, what, 2 weeks ago, Heidi pulled up her phone. She was like, what? We didn't know where Australia was. I know. I didn't know Australia was down.
I didn't know that. So anyway, we were getting ready to go to the football game, and of course, my son's wife, Courtney, and William, they have these badges, and it has their picture on it. And William, he looked at that and he said, oh, that's William. I'm like, yeah. He goes, that's me.
I said, yeah.
I said, do you love you? And he said, uh-huh.
And all the way to the to the football field, he's like, that's me. That's William. And I'm like, yeah. And, like, on your phone, he loves let me see.
That's William. Like, yeah. Isn't he amazing? I'm like, yeah.
And I realized *God* brought that back to me when he was showing me that he wants to produce in me his image because I am called to "bear his image", because he made me in his image. And he wants to give me that revelation. Right? In Romans-8:5 through 9 in the passion translation, how do I move from being me focused to him? Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue the benefit what benefits themselves.
Is this getting to anybody? Yeah. It is. It's so good. Like, really, really and truly, all you gotta do is read the bible.
Like, I'm not even do I'm reading the bible. That's it. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities for the sense and reason of the flesh is death. Death. But the mindset controlled by the spirit finds life and peace.
In fact, the mindset focused on the flesh fights God's plan and refuses to submit to his direction. What does that sound like? Sounds like a toddler to me, cause I've been seeing a lot of that in the last couple days. But why does it do it? Cause it can't.
It can't do it cause it doesn't know. For no matter how hard they try, God finds no pleasure with those who are controlled by the flesh. Oh. But when the spirit of Christ empowers your life, you are not dominated by the flesh, but by the spirit. And if you are not joined to the spirit of the anointed 1, you are not of him.
You died with Christ when you said yes to him. All old things have passed away. You now live for Christ. You are not a slave. The enemy is a liar.
In *2 Peter-1:3* in the ESV, it says, his divine power has granted to us all the things pertaining to life and godliness. I quote that all the time. And the other day, I just was reading it, and I'm like, oh, through the "knowledge of him". Through the knowledge of him. I always say we have everything pertaining to life and godliness.
It's on the inside of us. Through the knowledge of him. That's important. Who called us to his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises so that through them you may become partakers of his divine nature. I wanted to read that because there there was a time in my life where I already told you guys I didn't like myself.
So I didn't even like to look in the mirror. I didn't I was literally a chameleon. Like, when I was in high school and all that, I could, like, fit in with any crowd because I didn't know who I was, and I didn't like myself. I just wanted to be loved. I wanted somebody to love me, and I did a lot of things to get love that were not beneficial for me, but I just wanted love.
And I didn't like myself, and I didn't know who I was. And then I got as an adult, I started going to this church, and I remember for the first time loving myself, but I still didn't even know about the *kingdom* stuff. I didn't know about identity. I didn't know who I was in Christ. I just knew that there was this Jesus that died for me, and I wanted to get saved every week.
Because apart from that, there was nothing else going on in church. I mean, it was just a bunch of, you know, you can get healed a little bit, but you still gotta do all this other stuff. And I mean, it just was like I'm like, son's not right with this. And so, you know, I started reading the word of God. But I wouldn't even like to look in the mirror, like, when you I I would just cry because spiritually speaking, because I didn't wanna look at myself because I didn't like myself.
I kid you not, I don't know, it was I don't know, a couple months ago. I remember because I've been walking this out and serving, and I've been saying, yes, Lord, to every single thing. I don't care if it's somebody on the road that that's trying to cut you off. That's a tough 1. I know it for everybody.
But I'm telling you, when you obey God, it starts getting easier because you start seeing yourself differently. And I walked into pastor David's house, and I was
like, guess what? He goes, what? And I'm like, I'm so kind.
And I meant that. And that is not pride. I started seeing myself as God does. That's humility. Yep.
Because I I didn't I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about Christ in me. I'm so kind. I let somebody go with me. Because at that point, you know, when you're first being obedient, you know, it's like, yes, Lord. But that's where the key is.
Because you keep saying, yes, Lord, and then it's like, all of a sudden, you're Courtney Phillips, I love this lady, and I'm telling you, I've never met a person like her. Watch how she does life. Because she has the most innocent, pure heart for people. Her eyes are so Jesus on looking at people, and it's and it's and it's so scriptural. That's a gift that God has given her and she's been serving the Lord all the a long time and I'm not trying to give her, you know, creds, but I love to watch her because I learn from that.
It's genuine. She doesn't struggle to do it. And as I kept saying yes to the Lord, then I really wanted that for people. I began to see people I don't know in cars. Come on, you know.
Who knows what who knows what they've been through? Who knows what they're going through when they walked in this door? Who knows what life's doing to them right now? Who knows what they're struggling with that they don't understand? That's the heart of God.
That's what he wants to produce in you. That is the fruit that comes from the heart of God. So now, when I I can look in the mirror, I wanted to bring a mirror and I'm like, it's too much trouble. I wanted to bring a mirror because I can literally and this I could have never told you this because I would have been so full of fear of what you're gonna think or your opinion of me, and it just doesn't matter anymore because I know his opinion of me, and I know what he thinks of me, and I know what he has called me to do. So so really, I'm fifth almost 54 years old, and I am just now in my life I call myself a **"brand new baby believer"** because I'm looking at myself.
Like, I can be like, oh my goodness. I look like Jesus. Hey. That's me. That's you.
We look like Jesus. Yeah. And it's beautiful. You're so beautiful. Close your eyes real quick.
Ask the Holy Spirit, Lord, how do you see me? Just sit here and let him show you. How do you see me? If it doesn't look like Jesus, it's not God. Throw it out.
Amen. It doesn't belong to you. Remember, you're dead. You have no equation in the whole thing. You're dead.
You're dead. *God wants to show you. This is what I've been so passionate about, and I know that the key is humility*. Serve everybody that you can serve as much as you can serve. I mean, some people have to set up a church every week and need people to serve.
It's the
truth. Yeah.
If there is a need, god, I wanna fill it because I know what you're gonna do in me. And that's not about me, but I know what's on the other side. Yeah. Yeah. I know that that is required to produce the image of God.
It's huge. That's how it's worked for me anyway. They didn't give me a time limit, so I just wanted to share a couple of examples. I remember recently, I probably Jerry probably gets super nervous when I speak because about to share another story. Okay, boo?
Praise the lord. Jerry and I gotten this tiff, and our tiffs aren't even bad. But I don't even remember what it was. I think I I was telling him something, and he was doing something, and not, like, even thinking and answering wrong, and I'm like, you're not even listening to me. I'm no.
I know we're the only ones. But anyway, that the point that wasn't the point of it, but we both got just we're both very intense people. God didn't give us our our household a a quiet, subtle 1, and a loud obnoxious 1. We got 2 leaders in my house that lead in our jobs, and we feel like people are supposed to do what we say, but God's, you know, showing us different. But anyway, the the point of the story is I left because I had to be holy and go make the church deposit because I'm serving the church.
And I had called and talked to a a girl at a at 1 of the branches and found out she had cancer, and I'm like, girl, I'm coming. She's like, don't come. Don't it's it's too far. Was like, there is nothing that I would rather do than to come and pray for you. And she's like, okay.
And then we had the little disagreement, and I grabbed that bag and I walked out, went and prayed for my friend, the Holy Spirit was on me. How many know we can act stupid, but the Holy Spirit still shows up? That girl got saved. She got born again
that day.
So the enemy, I'm a single because after that happened, I'm like, how am I gonna go pray for somebody now? The Lord said, do it anyway. She got born again. Yeah. And I came back and and on the way home, I was asking the Lord, why?
And I'm sure there are people that can understand this. My insight, I didn't say a lot because I have a lot of control. Right? Getting better. I I I'm I'm I'm kinda I'm better at holding my tongue, but my insides, like, if my insides could have spoke, it would have been very vile, and that bothered me.
I can work with being obedient to God. I can say, yes, Lord, and follow you up, and I said, God, what is this in me? Because it was ray it was burning, and it comes up a lot. Right? I'm like, what is this, God?
I know it's not you, and I don't want it. And he's like, **"lay it down"**. Lay down your need to be understood. And I'm like, but God, I'm I'm trying lay it down. Lay down your need to be heard.
I hear everything. I understand everything. Lay it down. And so I got home, and Jerry was working out or something, and I was making my salad, and I was looking out. We have we live on a lake, and I was looking out how beautiful, and I didn't even wanna live there.
I was mad when we moved there. That's listen. I'm telling you, God if this I mean, it's so beautiful, and I just began to cry. And I was like, Lord, I don't wanna miss this season. Thank you so much for giving us this place.
I could just see Jesus out there, and I just stopped cutting, and I went and sat on the porch or it's not a porch. What? Lanai. That's what Florida has. And I went out there, and I just sat down, and I just started crying.
And Jerry came out, and he sat down next to me on the ground, and he put his arm around me, and we cried. And I told him what the Lord had showed me, and this happens all the time. Like, we share with each other what God is doing. So it's getting God God has restored our our relationship and our marriage because God's doing something in us individually. And so this is just like a brand new marriage all the time, and I was sharing to him what God showed me.
I didn't have to be right. I didn't have to be understood. He didn't have to do the thing that I thought he should have to do. And he also showed me, you might be wrong. Maybe he wasn't acting some kind of way.
Maybe I was thinking that because there's still something in me that God wants to set free. And I'm not gonna know. I serve. My **job is to serve**. His job is to do.
He doesn't mean what needs to be done. My job is to lay my life down. And if Jesus did it, we can do nothing less. 1 time he went to go take a shower, and I've been working all day long, and he's going in the bathroom, and he's like, how about "cutting up that avocado"? I'm like, how about cutting up that avocado?
Like, I just got done working and just sat on the couch. How about cutting up that avocado after he went and rode his bike and worked out? Oh, I'm sorry. You worked out. I'm playing.
I'm not, but I am. So I
was like, this is this is terrible,
but I we gotta do this. Right? We gotta do life. So I was like, I don't wanna say no, so I'm just gonna go take a shower. Because if I take a shower, he'll get done.
He'll cut up his own thing avocado. Right? So then that's like a halfway good thing. Right? So I'm in my room getting my clothes to take a shower, and the Lord's like, no.
And I'm like, but God, this would be a funny story. He's like, no. I'm like, Lord, but he's like, no. And I'm like, so by that point, I was already getting in the shower, so I I turned on worship music because I know that's another thing, get in the "get in worship music". I turned on worship music, I'm in the shower, Lord, I am praising the Lord.
I mean, I got the towel all over, I sound good. I'm praising the Lord in the shower. The Holy Spirit comes and ministers to me. I don't know what, but I just start crying. I'm just praising, and I get out and I forget all about it.
I'm like, hey, baby. It's out of shower. I'm like, hey. And we're in the kitchen, I open the fridge, I'm like, you still need me to cut up
this avocado? He's like, yeah.
Because I got in the presence of God. Yeah. Yeah. It's so fun. It it might not sound fun, but it is fun because the life is immediate, and the life will last if you continue to walk in that.
I'm having the best time following Jesus. It is so fun. Pray and listen. I'm gonna go through some of this stuff really quickly. *Worship*, that's very important.
Anything that you can do to spend time with the Lord. If someone wants to serve you the Lord just gave me this when I was writing this. If somebody wants to serve you, don't be like, no, you don't have to do that. Yes, you do. Let them serve you.
They're being obedient to God. God's working something out in them. I keep pointing to you guys. Y'all must have a lot of stuff. I just realized I keep pointing over there.
Y'all got a lot going on. These are my faithful mediums. I'm playing. Don't do that. That's not humility.
That's pride, actually. Let somebody serve you. They wanna buy your lunch, let them buy your lunch. They wanna give you 1000 dollars, let them give you 1000 dollars. Seriously.
Don't be like, no. It's okay. That's disgusting. Don't do that. Let them get the blessing of the God that they're trying to be obedient to.
That was it. I'm serious. Right? I heard somebody say this the other day, whatever you are not changing, you are choosing. There is nowhere in this word of God that says you have to struggle and struggle and struggle and struggle with addiction, Well, all the things that aren't got.
I was just like, addiction can encompass everything. I gave up diet coke recently. Why? Because it was an addiction. I couldn't stop drinking it.
I'm not kidding you. I smoked that 1 time. It was just as hard as quitting smoking. But I said, no. That man is dead.
This flesh that you have, it does what this and this tell it to do. It's not the boss. If somebody is telling you that, they lied. Addiction is from the devil, and you are seated at the right hand of God the father in the kingdom, and there ain't no devil there. You are called to bring the kingdom to this earth, and there ain't no devil that can cut you there either.
Anything that is not God, he might and I'm not saying well, yeah, I'm saying get rid of it. You know, I I feel like when people preach, they're like, oh, you know, ask the Lord. I'm a tell you what the Lord's gonna say. Put it down. Turn off that pornography.
Church can be an addiction. If it's not held in the right place, I think Mariah might have. Who knows? Ask God what it is and lay it down. I had this, like, nervous habit of chewing on my lip.
I've done it for years. I don't sometime after I met Jerry, it started. It did. I'm just telling you the truth. And I realized after I quit drinking Diet Coke, I just said, yes, Lord.
I'm not gonna drink it. Is is is it a sin for me not to drink Diet Coke? Yes. If the Lord told me not to drink it, but it's not healthy for my body. Am I judging you for anything you do?
Nope. This is between me and god, all this. But that happened, and I'm like, 1 day I realized, because I do it all the time not even realizing it, and I'm like, I don't have a nervous habit. I'm filled with the *holy* God almighty. I don't have to chew on my lip.
And I didn't realize it took me like 3 days. I mean, literally, do it all the time and I'm like, this is not of God. I don't have to do it. I can walk in complete *freedom* and so can you. There is nothing holding you.
You just have to say, yes, Lord. However the Lord wants to set you free of it, say, yes, Lord. You have authority. Your soul has to be obedient to the Holy Spirit that is on the inside of you. There's no excuses.
That's it. It's true. It's true. Is God gonna not love you if you don't quit doing whatever it is today? He's still gonna love you.
But y'all, you got this mirror standing right here, and you're not gonna see yourself the way he sees you until he can start getting rid of that kind of stuff. Okay. You're being obedient. Okay. Now I can use you here.
Okay. You've done this. Now you understand my love because you've laid down your life, and I can send you here. I can send you there. I can trust you because I know you're gonna hear me, and I know you're gonna be obedient no matter the cost.
*Humility*. Humility and honor is not a pride thing with God, it's who he is. That's why Jesus did it, to show you. He came here to show you all of that. I'm almost done, I think.
Get in the word of God. Talk to him, worship, and just get quiet in here. I started reading on my bible app. They have the New Testament in chronological order. I don't know that I've ever read the bible in chronological order.
I tried to do the old testament, but I said that's gonna have to wait. Let me try the new testament. It's so cool because we preach a lot of we throw out a lot of different scriptures, and we do a lot of cross references and stuff. But I'm telling you, I've been doing this for several months now and like, I feel like I know these guys. The reality of the fact that Jesus, literally was a person that walked on this earth.
That Jesus like I said that 1 time when I was hosting, Jesus really died on that tree. He was really here. Those apostles, they were really there. Me and Paul, we're tight. I'm like, bro, that's good.
I'm gonna have to get some holy spirit in me like that so I can write letters like that. I feel like I know them and I understand what's going on, and I know *Jesus* because that's who they're talking about. That's who we're talking about. That's how people are gonna know about him because we're talking about him. Our life being lived out is how people are gonna see Jesus.
Because I bet you, if you start asking him like I've been doing, you're gonna be like, oh, lord. I need you. Like, there's a lot. I'm so selfish. Here's my life, lord.
Help me with this because I don't know what to do because I've lived my entire life like this, and I thought I was so humble. It's like when that's funny because pastor David said last week when I was like, I win because I clapped the longest. He's like, oh, yeah. You're the most humble 1 the group. And I'm like, oh, that's what I'm preaching on.
Humility, a lot of people have heard this. Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's "thinking of yourself less". Right? So you can have a godly perspective on who you are, and that's powerful.
But it also means you're gonna lay down your life, and that's how people are gonna know that you love God, by how how how are you serving. And I didn't mean to say if you're if you don't serve on Sunday, you know, there's God's got everybody in different stages in their life. You've got different things that God is telling you to do, but if God tells you to do it, you better do it. God gets it all done. Be free from pride filled opinions, this Philippians-2:3 through 5, for they will only harm your cherished unity.
Don't allow self promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility, put others first and view others as more important than yourselves. Abandon every display of selfishness. Possess a greater concern for what matters to others instead of your own interests, and consider the example of Jesus, the anointed 1, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation. I talked about at the beginning how Jesus came, and the very last thing that he did was the last supper with his disciples.
And the bible talks about how they were reclining. I didn't even know this till I was studying it. So they all the pictures that we see where they're sitting at a table, you know, with their little chairs, they were reclining. So probably had like a pillow. It was probably a low table, and they it says they were reclining at the table.
I'm thinking recline, but no. And and they were probably leaning. So they're all like facing each other kinda leaning. And *Jesus* starts washing their feet. And the only people that washed feet back then were the slaves, like the lowest of the low, because their feet were dirty, y'all.
You've seen their little sandals they wore. Probably some of them didn't even wear those. They were walking in them all day. Their feet were dirty, and the slaves were the ones that would come and wash their feet. And Jesus started washing their feet.
I think it was Peter or somebody who said, no, or John, or I don't know who it was. They're like, no, lord. You can't wash my feet. He said, I have to. I have to wash your feet.
So imagine what that looked like. They're all around this table and they're all like leaning in, so they're probably all facing each other as Jesus is. And it took a long time to wash their feet. And Jesus humbled himself, and he's washing their feet. And then he gets to Judas, and he's at the table, and he knows what Jesus Judas is about to do, and he washes his feet.
Jesus Judas was at that table, and Jesus served him because that's the heart of God. And then the next day, Jesus was crucified for you. His entire purpose that he came so that you could be 1 with him, so that you could become what he created you to become, which is to be his image bearer. You look like Jesus. You look like Jesus.
Every single 1 of you looks like Jesus, and he wants to show you that. It is so freeing. It is so fun. And I know he keeps saying that, and and parts of the stories don't sound fun. 1 more scripture.
*John-13:34*. So I give you now a new commandment, love each other as much as I have loved you. For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving 1 another, and everyone will know that you are my "true followers". Jesus set a new standard of love. This is the standard now, to use his love measured by how we love 1 another.
Think about friends, parents, peers at work, how can you focus on and serve them? Be intentional about practicing humility daily. Ask the Lord, and then be willing to say, yes, Lord. James-4:10 says, be willing to be made low before the Lord and he will exalt you. Humility is produced by knowing God and placing great importance on every person.
I don't want you to come out here yet. I'm on so I want I just want everybody to stand up, and I wanna say a prayer over you. I was gonna say I used to have a James on here and thought it was lost. I want you guys to close your eyes. You have becomes let's see.
Wrong 1. Keep your eyes closed. Don't look. Sorry. It's not in James.
Dear friends, my name is Paul, and I was chosen by God to be an apostle of Jesus, the Messiah. I'm writing this letter to all the devoted believers who have been made holy by being 1 with Jesus, the anointed 1. May God himself, the heavenly father of our Lord Jesus Christ, release grace over you and impart total well-being into your lives. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly father, the father of our Lord Jesus, all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all of our hearts.
I pray that the father of glory, the god of our lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the "spirit of wisdom" and the spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling. That is the wealth of God's glorious inheritance that he finds in us, his holy ones. I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God's power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense powerful as it works through you.
This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him. *Lord*, I just thank you so much for for you, for who you are, and for what you do. *Holy Spirit*, I thank you that in the midst of this message that you imparted things in each and every 1 of us because you love us, and we desire you. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you always are here and you're always faithful, and that you're willing to commune and you want to commune. *Father*, I pray that these words would not fall on deaf ears, but would be walked out.
I thank you, God, for the testimonies that we will hear, that we will hear from every single person in the sound of my voice, whether in this building or on podcast, because it is your desire for us to walk in the complete fullness of who you are and go out and serve others so that they can know who you are. We love you, and we glorify you. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
[Speaker 2] [01:07:00] Thank you. That was a word, man. That was straight from the heart of God. Before we dismiss, I wanna let you know some, some deadlines that we have coming up. Ladies in the house, we have our annual women's retreat, But the final day to register is today.
There's a 50 deposit that's needed for that. So to register, ladies, for the women's retreat, visit the website, realchurch.us, and on the drop down menu, "click on connect". That'll take you to actually, all of you, that's almost a menu of what's happening at Real Church and how you can get connected. In a group this size, we kinda have to keep it all digital, and so that is the best way that we found to do it for now. So, definitely visit the site, realchurch.us, and click on the drop down menu, and click on connect to sign up for all the things.
Also, what she was saying, if I think that serving in the church is a stepping stone into serving with our lives. Some of us grew up in the church, and it's just all we know how to do is we serve the local church. It's it's something that we're called to do as believers. And so if that's you and you're saying, like, I'm ready. I wanna do I wanna take part in this during the week, on Sundays, maybe once a month.
If that's something you wanna do, the first step into doing that is to joining us for our monthly belong our our monthly established dinner. That's gonna happen next week, and registration is also on the website by clicking on connect. Again, all of our sign ups, our our prayer team, our our belong, which goes out into the community ministering to people and and discipling new believers, All of those sign ups are on the website by clicking on connect. Thank you guys so much. Y'all have a wonderful and safe week.
You are dismissed.