Everything is Everything - Sermon Only

1:22 Simon said, Master, we've been fishing hard all night and haven't even caught a minnow. But if you say so, I'll let out the nets. It was no sooner said than done. A huge haul of fish straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boats to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch. Simon Peter when he saw it Fell to his knees before Jesus Master leave I'm a sinner I can't handle this holiness Leave me to myself When they pulled in that catch of fish All overwhelmed Simon And everyone with him It was the same with James and John Zebedee's sons, co-workers with Simon Jesus said to Simon There is nothing to fear from now on you'll be fishing for men and women.

2:24 They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them nets and all, and followed him. They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them nets and all, and followed him. Some translations say, and they left everything and followed him. You may be seated in God's presence. I want to put a tag on this text, and for a few moments with your prayers, I want to talk about everything is everything. Everything is everything. Last year at this time, I discovered in a fresh way, as I was recovering from prostate surgery, that every now and then, God will let you graze in the green grass. As a matter of fact, I'm not making that up. I'm borrowing and remixing the testimony of David who said that God as shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures.

3:33 I like that. God makes me lie down in green pastures. Because sometimes I don't have enough sense to lie down on my own. And so God will make me lie down in green pastures. The question becomes, when you lie down in green pastures, do you know how to enjoy the scenery of greenery? Last year, I'm privileged to do that. I'm in recovery after surgery. Three weeks into recovery and the doctor informed me that I was well enough to drive. I'm excited to drive and I know that the only way I'm going to be able to drive is to sneak and do it.

4:25 And so, Deb fortunately had a lunch to go to and as soon as she left for lunch and I allowed some time to go by, I got in my fly ride. I got in my ride. And when I got in my ride, it was a beautifully sunny day. That was a sign from God that I was supposed to be driving. And so I got in the car. And when I got in the car, I let down the drop top. I was digging the scene with my preacher lean. Woo, woo. And as I'm digging the scene with my preacher lean, enjoying the beautiful day that was sun-kissed, I'm driving, taking, of course, the side roads to get to the hospital because I had to go and have some lab work done. When I arrived in the waiting area of the hospital after parking, I sat down to wait after signing in. And as soon as I signed in, I noticed that every name in that waiting room got called except for mine. Of course, I'm in a waiting room and waiting is not easy. Most of life is spent metaphorically waiting. No matter who you are, how big your Bible is, you know something about feeling, watch this, alone in a waiting room. That's how I felt in that moment, alone in a waiting room and already I'm in somebody's Kool-Aid.

5:57 I've called out your flavor. And if you're honest with yourself, where you want to be and where you actually are have nothing to do with the other because you feel alone in a waiting room. That's where I was, alone in that waiting room. And then finally, my name is called. When my name is called, the woman says to me, she says, I did that on purpose because I didn't want everyone bothering you, Pastor. And so I got them out the way. And that hit me because sometimes we're alone in a waiting room because of who God needs to clear out. And so they were cleared out. And when they were cleared out, she took me back into the area where she had to draw blood and do the things required for the lab work. And as she was handling her business and drawing blood, I had to distract myself by looking away from the big needle that was going into my arm.

7:04 Don't judge me and look down on me. You watch a big needle go into your arm and see how you feel. And so I looked away and noticed up on her wall, check this, all of these sticky notes. But the sticky notes, watch this, had scriptures on them. She noticed me looking at the sticky notes and she said, yeah, that's what keeps me sane in this insanity. Every now and then, when they make me want to cuss, I go to God's word. Every now and then, when I hear what's going on in the world, I look at God's word. Every now and then, when I'm upset by what is happening in the White House that is impacting my house, I look at God's word and I ain't trying to mess with the sister. I say, amen.

7:58 She said, I'm serious, pastor. I look at the word. That's what keeps me sane in this insanity. And then without warning, she shifted and shared with me something that blessed me profoundly. And now I pass it on to you. She shared with me how, pastor, and these are her words. She said, has your cell phone ever gotten down to less than 5%? And so I said, yeah, less than 5%. She said, do you know at 1% that's when your cell phone goes into low power mode. Low power mode simply means that the other apps begin to go in the background and fade. But not only that, the camera screen darkens. It is saving power because you are low on power. And then she testified, that happened to me at a very bad time.

8:58 Pastor, I'm driving on my way to work. It is an unusually dense fog that has greeted me that morning while driving to work. The fog is heavy. The fog is dense. The fog is this thick and I'm driving to work in a dense fog. My dad calls me. We're talking, laughing, and having a good time. And then all of a sudden, my daughter calls me and my daughter let me know that my best friend had been rushed to the hospital in Denton. And when she told me that, I said, well, please make sure that you send me her address because I need to get to my best friend. It was then that my phone notified me that I was down to 2%. I had inadvertently forgotten to plug my phone in and get charged the night before.

9:56 And because I was low on power, I had to immediately tell my dad, I've got to get off the phone. My best friend is in the hospital in Denton and I only have 2% phone charge left. And that's when it hit me that I was down. I was experiencing low power mode. I want to just hang out there for just a moment because I'm talking to somebody who knows what it's like. Watch this. On the one hand, to feel that you are at the end yourself. No, in a real sense, you are in low power mode. No, in a real sense, you find yourself. I like this empty. That's where she was. She was empty, but not just empty. She told me that the day before she had worked a double ship trying to make some money for a trip she wanted to go on and Bill she wanted to catch up on.

10:59 And so she works a double ship and forgot to plug her phone into the charger to get some power. And now she is both empty and she's exhausted. I think that's what I want to unpack right now because that happens in life. No matter who you are, every now and then you are running empty. And to make matters worse, your life will leave you exhausted. Anybody been there where you are empty, running on empty, low power mode, and you don't have much to go on? But wait, it got worse because she's on low power mode. She doesn't have a charger in her car, and she's got to get all the way to Denton from Oak Cliff because that's her hood. And so here she is in Oak Cliff trying to get to Denton, but she knows she doesn't have the power where she will receive continued direction.

12:01 She knows she doesn't have the power to keep on going. And so one more time, she knows where she has to go, but she is both empty and exhausted. That's where I want to hang out because somebody came to church empty and exhausted. And if that's you, I want you to know that's exactly where Simon is in our text. The text lets us know what is it? verse 5 when Jesus has told him, I need you to let down your nets for a catch. And Peter says, Master, we toiled all night long and didn't catch a thing. Etymologically, I unpacked the word toil. Literally, it means that you are at the end. It means that you are empty. It means that you have worked hard and come up empty. It also has to do with being overwhelmed and overburdened with grief. Y'all not getting this. You have so much weighing down on you. You feel like you can't go on. Master, we have toiled. We are worn out. And then don't forget that they had toiled, but they called nothing, meaning for all of their work, they had come up empty. I'm preaching y'all just not getting this. Watch it. They are empty and they are exhausted. They are overwhelmed and they are overburdened. And that's where somebody is right now. Overwhelmed and overburdened, empty and exhausted. And that's exactly where we find Simon in our text. And y'all, to make matters worse, here it is, overwhelmed, overwhelmed and overburdened with grief, not to mention being empty and exhausted. And then something happens to make situations even worse. That's what happened to my girl there in the hospital because she had somewhere to go but not enough to get there

14:12 and something had happened when she was already exhausted and empty. Isn't that just like life that went as soon as we're empty and already exhausted, drained, and in pain? That's when something else will happen and we will find ourselves feeling like we ain't got enough to get where it is that we need to go. That's Simon, y'all. Simon is in that place. But watch what the book says. The book lets us know it's that way on the one hand because of the economy that he found himself in. Watch this. It was an economy, according to the brilliant New Testament scholar and activist Chad Myers. He talks about the fact that Peter or Simon was fishing in an economy of extraction and grip where those on the top were utilizing the law in order to weaponize it against those who were at the bottom.

15:18 Watch this. In a real sense, fishermen, according to the scholar Leah Shad, fishermen were those who were seen at the bottom of the hierarchy economically and socially in the Roman Empire. I need y'all to get this because these are fishermen who were already at the bottom of the hierarchy of value. And not only are they fishermen at the bottom, But the book lets us know that because of an economy of extraction, there was financial subtraction for those who were not among the elite at the top of the Roman Empire. I'm coming through real clear soon because understand they're already at the bottom. But while at the bottom, I love it because they have a creativity in that they form a cooperative. And if you look and read the text, you'll discover it's not just Simon and his brother Andrew, but they have hooked up with James and John, the sons of Zebedee, because doing the math, they came to the conclusion that if you get 100% of $100, but then you've got to pay $120 in fees, then you are going to come out always behind.

16:44 But wait, if you form a cooperative and four of y'all get $100, then somehow you can form that cooperative and pull ahead even though you're behind. And that's what we've always done to make it in this country. We've always known how to cooperate. in community, look out for one another. And when we did that, we were able to pull ahead, though the economy was trying to pull us behind. And, y'all, that's what's happening in the text. But hold on. I'm not even done because not only is it an economy that benefits those at the top, I guess I'll make it plain since y'all not getting it, it's a Trump economy. A Trump economy, in a real sense, allows a crook in office to make $1 million a day from the presidency and call the affordability crisis a hoax. It's only a hoax when you are pimping the American public by getting money yourself and then destroying the economy in the process.

17:59 I'm letting y'all know right now that's the kind of economy that Simon and his partners were operating under. But then it got real bad because they went fishing one night and came up with nothing. Imagine that. They would cast their net, pull the net in. Nothing. They would cast their net, pull the net in. Nothing. They would cast the net, pull the net in. Nothing. Cast the net. Pull the net in. Nothing. It's a cycle of frustration. It's a cycle of heartbreak. It's a cycle of emptiness. They are exhausted and they are empty and they have nothing. Don't miss it. They're not fishing for sport. They're not fishing just to have a fish fry. They are fishing because this is their livelihood.

18:54 If they don't get fish, they don't eat. They don't pay bills. They fall behind because they still have fees to pay. They still have taxes to pay. They still have a responsibility to handle up on everything, even if they do not catch a fish. They had to pay fees for their boat, fees for their nets, fees when the fish came in. They came up empty. They came up with nothing. But y'all hold on. Here's the beauty of it. They allowed Jesus in their boat. And because Jesus was in their boat, the book lets us know that Jesus says, I can transform an empty boat into something that will blow your mind so that everything is everything. Now, now I got to help y'all because everything is everything.

19:49 I knew that the ushers were having their annual day and that the silver tones were singing. And so I got old school folk with me today. And so for those of y'all not old school, you don't even know everything is everything. That's old school right there. That's old school. When somebody greets you, what's happening? And you respond, everything is everything. Really, if you're real old school, you know that comes from what? The song What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gaye had upset Barry Gordy at Motown because Marvin was tired of brothers dying and mothers crying and they not addressing it. And so Marvin Gaye decides to drop a conscious album and the album is called What's Going On. Y'all, it's a classic, What's Going On.

20:50 Inner City Blues, it's a classic, y'all. He even sings about climate change and ecology back then. Marvin is throwing down back then. But I love what's going on because this Conscious album, when it plays what's going on, it starts, watch this, with the party. Y'all haven't heard it. Listen to it when you get home. A party is going on and all of a sudden one of the brothers from The Whisperer says, hey man, what's happening? And then Lim Barney and Mel Farr of the Detroit Lions, they respond, everything is everything. Everything is everything. I had to unpack that thing and talk to some old school cats and find out what do you mean when you say everything is everything. And Uncle Lim, I discovered everything is everything is one of those black-favored-flavored phrases that can mean a whole lot depending on the context.

21:55 When somebody says everything is everything, it could mean it is what it is. It's just a, it's the phrase that portrays reality as it is. And so I'm saying everything is everything because it is what it is. But hold on, sometimes everything is everything, it means it's all good. Y'all still not shouting. Everything is, everything can mean it's all good, meaning as bad as stuff looks. I'm not defining my reality by what's going on. I'm looking beyond what is because I believe it's all good. I'm trying to help somebody right now because here's what gets me. It all takes place. Watch this.

22:46 A conscious album. What's going on? inner city blues, make me want to holler, throw up both my hands. All of that is going on and it starts off in a party. Black folk are something else because no matter how bad stuff is, mothers crying, brothers dying, war going on, black folk going to find some joy and know how to party no matter how bad things are. We're going to find some joy. Okay, okay. Listen, I got to do this. I got to do this. I had not planned on doing this, but I'm going to do it anyway because it just blew my mind. Earlier this year, we had Easter, and y'all, on Easter Sunday, unbeknownst to me, Dallas Morning News, they covered us.

23:44 Dallas Morning News covered us on Easter Sunday. And when they covered us on Easter Sunday, it showed up on Monday. Showed up on Monday. And I want to read to you what the Monday front page headline said about our worship and about what was going on in the world. I'm trying to find this thing, but it's not trying to find me. So I'm going to find it anyway. And so here, oh yeah, here it is right here. Here it is right here. On Easter Sunday at the very top, it says that Trump, watch this. Yeah, it starts off like that. So you know it's going to be bad news. It starts off with the name Trump. And so that let me know the stuff wasn't going to be good. Let's me know that Trump is the lead headline. And it talks about Trump and this war that's going on.

24:40 So that's the very top of the Dallas Morning News, the Monday after Easter. But that's not the end of the story. Roll on down and there's a picture of y'all worshiping, praise dancers dancing, choir singing, and under that it says giving glory to God through it all. Trump giving glory to God do it all Trump is treacherous but people of faith are gathering and saying I'm going to give God praise anyhow because Jesus is the center of my joy all that's good and perfect comes from you oh is there anybody here who can just testify.

25:36 It may be hell out there, but when I get in here, I got joy that the world didn't give and the world can't take away. Everything is everything. So, so, so how does that work, Freddie Haynes? I'm glad you asked. I'll give you a few and I'm through. Tech says when everything is everything, it begins with what you do. Oh, my God. With your platform even when you're empty.

26:09 Tech says something mind-blowing. It says that Jesus, who was fresh from his announcement in chapter 4, when he preached his inaugural message, I've been anointed to preach good news to the poor, to set the captives free, to heal those who are broken, open the eyes of those who are blind, deliver the downtrodden, proclaim the year of economic justice. justice. And he announces that and says, today, this is fulfilled in your hearing. And now, on the heels of that amazing announcement and sermon, in chapter 5, the crowds are pressing in on him to the point where on the beach there at Lake Gennesaret, he's about to get pushed into the water. He sees Simon and his partners who were, what, cleaning their nets. And they are in the water cleaning their nets because ain't no fish in them.

27:06 And the text lets us know. He says, Simon, I need to use your boat for a pulpit. And so he gets in the boat while Simon is cleaning his net. The boat is empty. If it had fish in it, it would not have had room for Jesus. But now it is empty. And because it's empty, Jesus gets in the boat. And the text says he begins to teach the Logos to them, the Word of God to them. He's teaching the Logos. Don't miss that because I'm coming back to shout you in just a moment. He's teaching the Word of God to them. And while teaching the Word of God, you know Simon is sitting there. And Simon is ear hustling as the Word of God is being taught. And Simon ought to ear hustle because in chapter 4, his mother-in-law had been healed by this same Jesus. And so Simon says, yo, if you can heal my mommy-in-law, I'm going to just sit here, clean my net, and get my word on.

28:11 And the text lets us know he's cleaning and Jesus is teaching. He's washing and Jesus is teaching. He's mending nets and Jesus is teaching. and the word is getting to him. But then it hit me that all of a sudden, Peter's boat had become a platform for the word to go forth. I'm talking fast, so you missed your shout. Peter's workplace became a platform for the word to go forth. Okay. Peter's job became a platform for God's will and work to get done. God is so good. God will bless you with what? A boat. But that boat ain't all just for you.

29:05 The boat, watch this, is to serve as your platform for you to allow God to use you so the word can go forth so that lives can be changed. Y'all not getting this, but you do recognize that we ain't where we are as a people without those who were courageous enough to say it's not just about me collecting fish. It's about me using what I have as a platform to make the world a better place. I'm so glad that Muhammad Ali used his boxing ring as a platform for black power. I'm so glad y'all not shouting that Tommy Smith and John Carlos went down to Mexico City and they won gold and bronze. But when the national anthem was played, they took off, watch this, a shoe, because they were standing in solidarity with those who were poor. and they raised their gloved black fist in the air as the national anthem was played because they used their platform to be a blessing to other people.

30:14 Y'all still not shouting. I'm so glad, hallelujah, that Rosa Parks, I'm going to use my platform and transform this bus seat into a place that ignites a movement. Y'all still not shouting. I'm so glad that the Reed Daniel Favors says I may be on radio, but I'm going to use my radio time in order to teach people how to socially analyze and critique injustice in the world. Karen Hunter, use your platform to economically and socially empower the people. Use your platform because it ain't just about you. I got to shout right now. I'm so glad, hey, that Crystal Mason used her platform. Injustice grabbed her, sent her to prison. But when she came back out, she came back out and said, there's something wrong with the voting system in this nation.

31:17 And as a consequence, she took what happened to her. And God is using her to make sure that we all vote, especially right there in Tarrant County where they so treacherous that they're trying to make sure that they wipe out voting precincts where we go to vote. But thank God for Crystal Mason. Thank God she took her platform and used it for a higher purpose. Y'all still didn't shout. So I gotta give y'all another one, another one who know their platform and used it for a higher purpose And that's what Peter did. Peter said, here you go, Lord. Use my boat as your platform. But here's something that messes me up. Is that the boat had to get empty.

32:13 because sometimes life will empty you of what you had so it can be filled with the presence of the Lord. Oh my God. Oh my God. Jesus is in the boat using the platform of Peter's job. That's all I'm asking you. What is your job doing for other folk? What is your job doing for causes that are greater than you? I got to shout out Macklemore because Macklemore had the audacity. Yeah, Macklemore said, I'm going to stand for Palestinians who are suffering and suffering from genocide.

33:15 Say the word genocide. That's what's happening in Palestine. I know we're not supposed to talk bad about Israel, but I got to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And even though they allowed a war criminal to speak in New York at the United Nations this week, Netanyahu and Trump, both of them are war criminals. They allowed them to speak at the United Nations. But the bottom line is we ought to call for Palestinian freedom. Why? Because the question becomes, do you want to be free or do you want everyone to be free? And when you want everyone to be free, you stand up and use that platform.

33:59 Use that platform. And you use it. You use it for others. This is real good. I'm going to see if I can make this real plain. And that is when you use your platform for others, God has a way of blessing you. before before the pandemic this happened and it tripped me out uh this sister it was real sister uh she was in this store uh in Cali and so she's in this store in Cali and while she's in this store in Cali uh she tells uh the story is that uh she gets pushed out of the way when she's in line by someone who's rude but she has so much in her arms that because you didn't get a basket, that it falls over and the person gets in front of her. She wants to cuss him out, but she is there, watch this, picking up food from her job because she wants to serve the unhoused.

35:01 And so what she's doing, she's picking up everything and she says, if I cuss this person out, I'm about to go and serve the unhoused. and something wrong with serving people in the name of Jesus and you just cuss somebody out. And so she decided not to cuss the person out, even though I would have said go ahead. And so she, or I'd have done it for her. But anyway, she decides that she's going to just hold her peace and then that person is out of the way and they bring the next person up and she puts her stuff on the counter and they begin to do this. And before you know it, balloons start to fall and confetti goes everywhere because she is the one millionth customer in the history of that store. Y'all not shouting. She's number one million. And because she's number one million, she won $10,000 and a year of free shopping at that store.

36:02 And they also gave, watch this, $1,000 to her favorite charity. I hope y'all getting this right here. She got pushed out of the way into a blessing. Come here and let me grab you because some folk call themselves pushing you, but God is upgrading you to be a blessing through you to somebody else. I got to keep it moving because the text says, watch this, that Jesus after teaching says, Simon, here's what you do. pull out into the deep and let down your nets for a huge haul of fish. And that's when Simon says, yo, gee, I know you a preacher and stuff, but fishing is what I do. And we toiled all night long, have not caught near fish. That's what they said in the old day, ain't caught near fish. And yet you want us to do this?

36:56 And the old King James says, nevertheless, at your rhema. okay okay all right verse one he sat and taught them the logos the word verse five he says nevertheless at your word your rhema y'all know rhema rhema is what a a a custom word It's a specific word. It's a tailor-made. It ain't off the rack and everyone else can fit it. It's a word that is just for you and your situation.

37:42 Man, I thought that was good. Y'all didn't get that. So I'm going to do something I've done before in case you didn't hear it. So back when I was in college, so here's the deal. And I'm just being honest with you. Like I pledge Jesus' fraternity because the Bible says he's alpha. And so, so, so I get that. And, and so Uncle Lem, so, so, so, you know, y'all in the queues, y'all weren't on campus. And so, so, so alphas, we, we ran the yard. We ran the yard. I mean, of course, we ran the yard. We first, so we gonna run stuff. So we, we ran the yard. We were scholarly, smart, sharp. Hmm. And we could socialize. The three S's, scholarship, socialize, service. We did it all.

38:39 We did it all. And y'all, when we threw a party, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I mean, everybody looked forward to when the alphas were going to throw a party. Because ain't no party like an alpha party. Because an alpha party don't stop. and all, all, all, all, Penny, all the, Penny was an alpha angel, she knows. And so, so all the fine honeys would come to our parties and all that stuff. And, and Marvis and I, we would DJ, we'd be throwing down, we'd be DJing. Cause I could do that thing. I could do that thing, DJing. And so, so one of the things that happened is that this is back in the day where people actually danced together. And so, no, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, y'all remember that. Okay, so back in the day, what would happen at a party, a sister would basically be standing, song comes on, brother comes up and says, may I have this dance? And so she either says no or yes.

39:37 And so sometimes if she said no, got the wrong brother, that would be a bad thing because he would say, what you come to the party for if you just here and you ain't dancing? And sometimes I wonder that about folk who come to church, like what you come to church for if you're just going to sit there and do nothing. But that's not in my sermon, okay? That's not in my sermon because I see folks sitting up like a lump on a log in service. And it's like, well, what you come here for? So, but that wasn't in the sermon. I promise you that wasn't in the sermon. And so, so, so, so. But sometimes, sometimes a song would come on. and when the song came on, the sister wouldn't even wait for the brother. The sister would snap her finger and say, that's my song. And when she said, that's my song, she wasn't waiting on nobody else. She just start having a party all to herself, by herself. Y'all, it hit me that when you know God for yourself and a word starts to come to you that speaks to you in your situation, sometimes you want to say, that's my word.

40:42 But that ain't the sermon. Here it is. Peter lets down his net and the fish haul is so great, the boat starts to sink. The fish haul is so great, it's exceedingly abundantly above all he can ask or imagine. Y'all, it's mind-blowing. A moment before, he was empty and exhausted. it. Now energy has been mustered to bring in a hole that's more than he could catch. So check this out. Check this out. Minding my business, minding my business as I do on a flight and while I'm minding my business, going to Detroit this past week on a flight, minding, plus it's early. I got to catch an early flight because I got to preach at noon on Tuesday and while minding my business. Person next to me says, hey, what's your name?

41:39 Put it in tain. Ask me again. Tell you the same, man. Because, listen, it's early in the morning. I'm sleepy. Do not bother me early in. Can you, early in the morning, we're not talking. But he wants to talk. And so he wants to talk. And so, and then, you know, nowadays, I don't know who going to recognize or find out who I was. So I said, okay, I'm Frederick Haynes. Frederick Haynes. he said that name is familiar I said not really I doubt it uh and and he said but he said this he said he said that he said do you ever go mountain climbing no no I mean it's out of nowhere out of nowhere do I look like I just want to have conversations with people and so he said do you ever go mountain climbing so I said no I don't I don't I don't go mountain climbing he says I do he said I went mountain climbing like three weeks ago and I can't wait to go I'm going in December and December is the good time because that's when snow is abounding and all of that.

42:45 So I said, man, I'm happy for you. God bless you. And I hope that you have a good time when you go. And y'all know by now that Melanin and him weren't acquainted. And so as a consequence, he's just a talk. And he's just a talk. And he says, so what do you do? And I said, oh, my God, if I tell him what I do, that's going to be another conversation. So I said, I'm an attorney. He said, oh, yeah, what law? No, I am. I'm an attorney. He said, he said, he said, what law firm? I said, I said, well, I came. I came. I quoted Gardner Taylor. I said, God and son. You a preacher. So I said, yeah, I'm a preacher. He said, he said, I knew I, he said, I knew, I knew I heard about you. And so I said, okay.

43:37 And he said, so check this out. You ought to go mountain climbing sometime. And so I said, no. And he said, no, no, no, because you can watch God in a powerful way. And he told me about his friend. Watch this. His friend, according to him, his friend had been mountain climbing an avalanche. When the financial snow came down, it covered him. When the snow covered him, his friend survived. He did not die in the snow that covered him. How did he not die? He carved out what he called an air pocket. And he said, the friend, because your inner ear is thrown off, you don't know which way is up and which way to climb. When you don't know which way is up and which way to climb, he said, you have one thing to do that will save you, spit. because when you spit, the saliva only knows one direction. It goes down.

44:30 And so you start to climb out in the opposite direction of the saliva. So you spit, watch where the spit goes, and then go in the opposite direction. By now, he woke me up because I used this as soon as I got to Detroit to preach. And I got to give it to y'all because it hit me that what Peter was doing, He was listening to Jesus spit. But then once Jesus gave him a specific word, he spit to Peter, let down your nets and you'll catch a huge haul of fish. And so if you obey the Lord when the Lord goes to spitting, I guess y'all not getting it. But now I'm in the culture now because in the culture, every now and then, when somebody is dropping a bar, someone will say they spitting. Will someone watch this will say something heavy and deep. They will say, he's spitting knowledge.

45:27 When they're dropping knowledge, they will say, yo, he's spitting right there. And so it just dawned on me every now and then when life throws you off and you don't know which way is up. All I'm going to say is God knows how to spit. Because if you watch God spit, go ahead and spit, God. And when God goes to spitting, God will give you a word that speaks to you and your situation. Spit, God, even the youth shall faint and be weary. Young folks shall fall, but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. Run and not get weary. Walk and not faint. Spit, God, yea, though I walk through the valley and the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. Spit, God. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

46:19 Spit, God. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble. Spit, God. Order my steps in your word, dear Lord. Order my steps in your word. I've got to quit. Here's the last thing. I'm done. Finally, the text says this, and it shouts me. text says that Peter, watch this, had a platform. He then pivoted and now the text says he's promoted into purpose.

46:53 Jesus says something and I'm going to slow this down because this is the part that a lot of us have been brought up under a teaching that is white evangelical. It's white Christian nationalism. and ain't got nothing to do with the deal. Here it is, here it is. He says, from now on, you're going to fish after people. And so the Billy Graham types, they've made this into an evangelism text. From now on, you're going to win souls. Fish after people. No. you've got to remember a biblical text addressed an original audience that had an original understanding relative to the culture they were in what they had read and understood and so when Jesus used this fishing after people terminology he's using terminology that's rooted in the Hebrew Bible. I'm going to read some passages to you that are going to blow your mind because these passages let you know exactly what is going on and who Jesus is talking to. In Amos chapter 4 verse 2, the prophet warns the elites of society who oppress the poor that God will take them away with fish hooks, hauling them like sardines to judgment. Ezekiel 29, 3 and 4 goes ham on the Egyptian Pharaoh and says God will put hooks in your jaws and pull you up from your rivers along with the fish they claim exclusive rights to. Habakkuk chapter 1 14 through 17 laments how the emperor of Babylon over fishes feeding in conquered peoples and then Isaiah Jeremiah 16 16 envisions God sending for many fishermen to catch leaders of Israel who have polluted the land.

49:03 The common thread in all of that is that God is overthrowing those who are oppressing those who are weak and wounded. It is all about Jesus saying, I need y'all to join me in a movement that will overthrow the forces of oppression and evil. This is revolution time. This is reconstruction time. I'm about to shout right now because what's happening in this nation is what Greg Carr calls demolition derby. They demolish all of the pillars of justice, freedom, and democracy. But after every demolition is reconstruction. Y'all, it's reconstruction time. It's time to reconstruct this nation. Okay.

50:02 I know what's happening because I'm really preaching my heart out. But I know what's happening. Y'all concerned about that sister who had the sticky notes and she had run out of power on her phone and she's talking to her dad and she's trying to get to her best friend in Denton and y'all want to know, did she make it to Denton? Yes, she did. Her testimony is that while she's talking to her dad, she says, Dad, I got to go because I'm low on power. Her dad says, well, you don't read the Bible that I put in your car? And she said, Dad, I'm sorry, but the Bible ain't going to help me right now. I'm low on power on my phone. She said, I know you haven't opened up your Bible because if you open up your Bible, you'll have what you need. She said, Daddy, what are you talking about?

50:55 And that's when she opened up the Bible. Out of the Bible fell, watch this, one of those flat magnetic power chargers. And he said to her, I've been telling you, you always need to save power around you. I got power set up all over your apartment. And so I put that in your car, in your Bible. And she said, Pastor, at that moment it hit me. My daddy had placed power in the Word. I'm done. I'll see y'all next time my daddy placed power in the word. And because he placed power in the word, I've got power to keep on keeping on. I put that power next to my phone and made it all the way to Denton. Because there's power in the word. Y'all have a great week. But just remember there's power in the word.

51:50 All things work together for good to those that love God. There's power in the word. Be anxious for nothing, but by everything, with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passeth all understanding will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. There is power in the word. Cast your cares on God. God cares for you. There's power in the word. Delight thyself in the Lord. He'll give you the desires of your heart. There's power in the word. No weapon for the Christian shall prosper.

52:39 Everything is everything. It is what it is, but it's all good. Shall we pray? God, thank you. Thank you that there's power in your word. Your word gives new life. Your word heals us when we're hurting. Your word lifts us when we're down. Your word gives us grace. When we're grief-stricken, your word gives us joy in our sorrow. Hope for tomorrow. Thank you for your word. God, please move now with power. Let no one leave here the same way they came.

53:34 Go ahead, Holy Spirit, move. Save the lost. Bring home to your church. those who don't have a church home have your way have your way in Jesus name if you are online and you know it's time to give your life to Christ it's time for you to allow God to change your life let me just put it this way if you want your life to be transformed empowered purpose filled and fulfilled you need our Savior and we offer Christ to you dial that number 972-228-5217 email us at join us at friendshipwest.org as a matter of fact you can even use the QR code right there and we will hook you up with our Savior connect you to our family it can happen beginning today so go ahead and do that we'd love to have you I'd love to be your pastor if you're in the house and that's you you came to church today it ain't no accident God planned it God planned on you getting to church because God knows that in your life you know what it's like to feel what overwhelmed and overburdened you know what it's like to be here it is empty and exhausted and then something else happens you just can't take anymore it's just all too much I serve a savior who's put some power in the word that power will rejuice you and give you what you need to keep on keeping on.

55:07 And so if you're here and you're not in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you're here and you know good and well it's time for God to change your life. I offer Christ to you. You want someone who will come into your life, change your life, transform your trajectory, give your life purpose and meaning? We offer Christ. And so if you're here and you're not saved, won't you right now stand up, step out of the aisle you're in, come on down front and give your life to Jesus Christ. please don't wait, don't hesitate, don't vacillate. Now is the time for you to say yes to Jesus. Now is the time for you to get your life straight with God. If you're here and you know you want this Savior who will transform you, this Savior who will power you up to live on purpose, if that's you, won't you right now stand up, step out, come on down and give your life to Christ.

56:00 Preacher, here's my deal. I feel led to join church today. We'd love to have you. I'd love to be your pastor. So won't you right now stand up, step out, come on down, and let's join church. Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Don't vacillate. Today's a mighty good day to join church. How are you going to make it without community, without a Christian cooperative, as it were? If you want to make it in a world that's trying to keep you behind, we serve a Savior that will give you power, purpose to push on forward. Preacher, I used to go to church. I stopped going, but I feel God leading me to get back in church. Today's your day to get back in church. Preacher, but here's my deal. I've been wounded by church. I know the feeling. Church folk will hurt you because ain't nobody perfect in church. Matter of fact, there's only one perfect person who's ever lived, and that's Jesus Christ. And so ain't nobody perfect, but here's the good news.

56:59 We ain't perfect either. but the good news is we serve a perfect savior and we're striving together to bring out the best in each other so that we can become more and more like him every day so i'm sorry for the wounds but listen we're here to help heal