I Renounce

0:00 Brace yourself and buckle up. You are about to hear a life-changing, history-making, world-defining message from the New Birth Podcast. Tell everybody you know, things will never be the same. bless his name would you clap your hands if you know there is no name that is above his name at his name every knee must bow every tongue must confess you may be seated in the presence of the lord pastor ashton thank you so much for leading us in worship this morning I want to ask all of our cancer survivors, would you stand? All of our cancer survivors. come on let's give God glory for I want you to shout for men and women that are standing we're thankful for your life and thankful that God has added years to your life amen they are evidence that God is still a healer and for that reason we give God glory just two weeks ago my mother-in-law went in for testing and called us with the praise report that there was no cancer in her body.

1:30 I'm believing that her testimony is going to be your testimony. Those of you who believe God can make your whole family cancer free. Would you give God glory for it even now? Amen. We take this to heart just a few weeks ago marked the two-year anniversary of my mother's transition having contended with a breast cancer but I'm grateful that we serve a living savior and because he lives all of our fears are gone life is worth the living just because he lives amen anybody ever been sick of anything you just just been sick of life amen sick of people amen and we thank God for his healing power would you join me in thanking God for those who are worshiping with us from around the world online today How many of you need a word from God today?

2:37 You need a word from God today. Would you accept my personal invitation to join me in the book of Judges, chapter 7, as that you'll stand for the reading of God's word. Judges chapter 7 I want us to focus in on verses 2 and 3. Judges 7, verses 2 and 3. Old Testament book, Judges. once you found it once you say I got it if you can't find it say hold up preacher amen judges seven for your convenience we have made the text available for you on our screen judges seven verse two and three let's read together the Lord said to Gideon Amen.

3:46 Let's read verse number three again, please. now announced to the army. Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. the Lord said to Gideon, you have too many men. I can't deliver into their hands or Israel will boast against me.

4:46 I think they did it on their own strength. Now announced to the army, anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead. So 22,000 men left while 10,000 remained. I want to preach with a declaration today using as a subject, I renounce. I renounce.

5:17 I recently heard an interview with a revered journalist by the name of Charles Glass, whose expertise centers around World War II. He disclosed a truth to my ears that I had never come in contact with.

5:38 And that is while the United States and the United Kingdom won the war against the Nazis, what nobody discusses is that 100,000 British and 50,000 American soldiers, totaling 150,000, gave up before the war was won.

6:05 They gave up not realizing that they were going to win. Walked off the battlefield, took off their fatigue, laid down their weaponry, and just disappeared. regrettably there's a pandemic all over the planet of people who are quiet quitting having absolutely no understanding that in the end, they're going to win. none of these soldiers held a press conference or published a manifesto or did a Facebook Live. They just laid down their sidearms and threw off their fatigues.

6:57 What people don't account for is the toll it takes to have to fight every day. black people in america understand that more than anybody else the stress of knowing that if your son gets killed there'll be no investigation the toll of seeing those in your circle not survive,

7:27 reporting to a job where you don't feel respected, having to get out of the bed when you dog-tied, perpetually wore out, stressed out, left out, can be depleting. And it is in those moments that you have to remember to be not weary in well-doing. For in due season, you'll reap if you faint not.

7:59 What Mr. Glass disclosed in the interview is that most of the men gave up because they had been robbed of rest. Most of the men who walked away from the battlefield were just exhausted. It wasn't a conflict of consciousness. They weren't suddenly opposed to war. They were just tired.

8:27 And every now and again, you just get tired. Tired of fighting to make your vote count. Tired of seeing unqualified white women get jobs as press secretaries. while 500,000 black women who are qualified, competent, and capable lose theirs. You get tired. Tired of seeing your zip code being redlined by the banks. Seeing the administration penalize institutions that want to give you access to home ownership. You become quiet. People don't understand that there's nothing against them. You just don't have anything to say.

9:20 Tired and irritable. So now anything going to tick you off. Your short temper is not because there's anything against them. You're just tired. The question I've got to ask is why is rest in peace reserved for death? we're tired but still have the admonition that we have a responsibility to stay in the fight and be very clear it's not been a battle it's been a war people who are in the row behind you don't know how much energy you have to exert just handling stuff, fixing stuff, managing stuff. Got no idea how it tolls on your body and on your head and on your mind that you got to carry the whole weight of the family on your shoulders and nobody ever says thank you or seize your sacrifice. Langston Hughes from a one-bedroom apartment at Lenox Avenue, Harlem, New York.

10:31 Said life for me ain't been no crystal stair. Said tax in it. Splinters and boards torn up. And places with no carpet on the floor bare. But eyes still climbing. And reaching landings. You've got to get to a place where you make up in your mind that you've got to stay in the fight. That's what I wanted to tell you this morning. You've got to stay in the fight. quitting is not a option for you resignation is not a option for you you gotta stay in the fight there are people who are depending on you you gotta stay in the fight your nameless ancestors who died before you for the right to vote and now you talking about you ain't gonna do it you got to stay in the fight people were lynched and houses were burned and crosses were torched in front of their church you got to stay in the fight how do you think your blunt line is going to be better if you quit now you got to stay in the fight your grandchildren are looking to see what did you do in the face of all of this racism and white supremacy and hatred you got to stay in the fight i know it's hard i know it's difficult i know it ain't easy but you got to stay in the fight would you look at the person beside you and tell them stay in the fight i know they're coming at you i know they are raising war against you i know you gotta dodge bullets but you got to stay in the fight you are a five-star general you deserve a purple heart you are no limit soldier from the 99 2000s you got to stay in the fight long before world war two long before world war two there was another battle

12:41 taking place where the midianites were tussling with the children of israel and god raised up a man by the name of gideon to raise up forces to turn it around he enlisted 32,000 men to go against their rivals 32,000 it's what Gideon was able to get but the enemy had 130,000 I want to pause right here don't get intimidated by people who have more than you that's just because they have more than you don't mean that they better than you Y'all ain't saying nothing to me. God will do something for the underdog. Rick Jackson has put $110 million of his own money in the campaign, thinking that he could silence and sideline a black woman.

13:42 Keisha Lance Bottoms only raised $9 million, but is looking that billionaire in the face, saying if God be for me who can be against me don't let people think that because they got money they got more favor You only had 32,000, but the enemy had 130,000. And the Lord inspected the troops, announced to Gideon's amazement and shock, dropped his jaw. Because the Lord said, even though the enemy has 130,000 and you have 32,000, he said the odds are not slim enough. you're not gonna want to hear it but i gotta tell you god doesn't like a fair fight he wants your enemy to get so comfortable that they actually believe that they got a chance to knock you out do you know how many people thought that they had a plan to get rid of you but you will weep a wobble you will stumble but you'll bounce right back up because in spite of all of the traps in spite of all of the lies you keep landing on your feet the odds i want to be honest with you i love you too much to lie to you the odds are against you but god is for you you didn't hear what i just said the odds are against you but god is for you i'm waiting for somebody to get that in your spirit the odds are against you but God is for you.

15:38 The system is not broken. It was designed to hold you back. But somehow or another, you ought to look at the God of your salvation in spite of everything our people have gone through. Look at you. You still got a degree. You still got a house. You still got a family. You still got your right mind. You think you gonna lose it now? This ain't your first time in a fight. Shake yourself off and remind yourself of how great you are. I said, I know. I know it's 130,000 to 32,000, but the odds are still not slim enough.

16:26 Gideon was instructed to tell every person who was afraid, every person that's afraid, you can leave. no questions asked. We are not going to put your name in the paper. If you ain't got a heart for this, just walk away. Don't even worry about it. And the record reflects 22,000 men left, but 10,000 remain. I don't want to spend any energy this morning talking about who left. And you shouldn't either. You should just celebrate who stayed. whoever left you they didn't have enough heart to be with you they didn't have what it takes for somebody who carries your level of anointing and brilliance and greatness that is on your life whoever left send them a homebuck thank you god you freed me to be myself Don't be moan and grieve who left.

17:42 Celebrate who stayed. And I need to pause and put it out there that the overwhelming majority, y'all ain't gonna like it, people lie, but numbers don't lie. The overwhelming majority of the soldiers who quit in World War II were white soldiers. But the black soldiers stayed on the front line. Come on, y'all ain't saying nothing in here. I want to thank God for the soldiers who, in spite of everything, you refuse to quit. We hear all this negativity about black men, but I want to thank God for the black men who stay on the front line. The black men who are taking care of their family, taking care of their business, taking care of their responsibility. Black men get beat up all week long. they shouldn't get beat up in church this ought to be the one place that we celebrate the men that stayed in it even though they were bloodied and broken but they were unbowed would you join me for one moment and just celebrate the men that are here the men that refuse to quit the men that stay fighting for their lives still here every black man shout out loud I'm still here I'm still I'm still here the requirement you may be seated the requirement the Lord gave to Gideon is everybody who's afraid can leave but if you're not afraid stay whatever else might be said about you they will not be able to say you were afraid it did not say the best shooters it didn't say the best runners nor did it say the most muscular it just said those who are not afraid stay and i am so thankful that every now and again you

19:53 got to remind yourself i may not be the best i may not be the strongest i may not be the best looking but at least I'm not afraid. Come on, I can't hear nobody in here and I'm so tired of these mealy-mouthed people who are so afraid of the system that they refuse to speak truth to power. But even out of Birmingham and Montgomery and Selma, they would shout in the face of the sheriff, we are not afraid. Before I be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave. anybody in here you ain't afraid of what's getting ready to happen Dr. King said, like anybody, I want to live a long life. You got to get to a place where you have to let the enemy know I am not afraid.

20:49 What I found striking in that interview with Mr. Glass is that he is a British journalist. And what confused me was his choice of words. Had to pull the car over while I was listening to him because I wanted to make sure I heard him right. He didn't say the soldiers quit. That is not the language he used. He said the soldiers renounced. To renounce is to walk away, to reject, to disconnect, to put down a title, a responsibility, or a relationship. he said they renounced. It was alien to my ears because given that understanding of its definition I find it peculiar that the only time you hear the word now renounce is in relationship to the divine nine.

21:59 And Greek-lettered organizations. Nobody else says anything about renounce unless you're talking about a Greek organization. Recently, a smattering of individuals have taken to the World Wide Web to renounce their affiliation. announce aka omega sci-fi sigma delta alphas iotas zetas which of course is well within their right to do they assert that they made oaths to demons and that their colors were a covenant that is illegal to the cross. I go on record that we can't take lightly if somebody was abused and suffered physical, emotional, or spiritual damage. Hazing is not holy. It's greatly egregious that some have died in the process and to ignore that would be irresponsible, absent of compassion, and not reflective of the love of Christ. Others have been scarred for life and the church should be a safe space. If you or your child endured that level of diabolical harm to your body, to your mind, or to your spirit, I apologize for the good of the community. We should renounce it. Whatever is dehumanizing because as a community we have been through enough violence and horror and trauma by outside people that we shouldn't be doing it to ourselves. On the other side of the coin, let's not discard that the D9 has given away untold millions in scholarships to fiscally challenged students who would otherwise not have access to higher education.

24:06 The AKAs, if you're in the building, you ought to stand. You launched a childhood hunger initiative to feed our babies. And for that, we're grateful. Any Omegas in the building, you ought to stand. Because they have a college endowment fund to help young men who do not have male presence in their life have an opportunity to make a better man of themselves. Deltas, if you're in the room, you can stand because you have been vigilant about supporting African refugees and building schools across the country. Alphas, if you're in the building, you should stand. You've been building systems for seniors who have come to the end of their life so that they can have a better quality of life.

24:59 Zetas, if you're in the room, you should stand. You are providing retirement preparation and estate planning for our senior sisters and brothers across this country. I can't believe y'all ain't clapping. The men of Cap Alpha Si, if you're in the room, you should stand. for you are lending research for people to be able to outlive cancer and find a better way of life for themselves with disaster relief and emergency assistance. Our owners, if you're here, you can stand. You are leading and partnering with cancer research with the St. Jude Foundation more than any other organization in this nation. Sigma Gamma Rho, if you're in the room, you should stand. You have been committed to a project called Cradle Care for prenatal education and to improve birth outcomes because there's an infant mortality rate that has not been addressed.

26:03 Sigmas, if you're here, you can stand. You have pledged to make black businesses bigger and better as well as to ignite entrepreneurship in the face of unemployment and to land economic empowerment. I got to ask you a question. Tell me how you curse the people who are doing the work, but you don't curse the system that makes their work necessary. Be careful. Be careful of black people who use their platforms to demean the DNA of those who fought for your liberation and fought against oppression. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. Dubois, Barbara Jordan, Zora Neale Hurston, Bobby Rush, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, Jesse Jackson, Maya Angelou, Benjamin Mays, Ralph David Abernathy, Shirley Chisholm, Kwame Nkrumah.

27:14 Every single one of them was in a black fraternity or sorority. They were not under a demonic spell. They were used by God to fight the demon of white supremacy. I pray that God give me a double portion of these black freedom fighters who were able to speak truth to power and understand their responsibility I want you to do me a favor would you cheer for our ancestors who made a sacrifice W.E.B. Dubois, Josephine Baker, Richard Wright, James Baldwin. W.E.B. Dubois, Josephine Baker, Richard Wright, James Baldwin. All of them renounced their citizenship.

28:12 they all renounced their citizenship to this country but they didn't demonize the people who didn't they made a personal decision i want to say a word to those of you who have renounced your affiliation said that you were convicted in your consciousness put down your colors threw away your paraphernalia i want to say to you you have a right to do so in this nation and under the doctrine of free will. If that's what you choose to do, in no means am I asking you to rejoin. Stay over there. The question I wanted to ask of all of you who have renounced your D9 affiliation, I just want to ask you, I want to ask how you renounce your D9 affiliation, but you have not found enough Holy Ghost conviction or discernment to renounce not one Trump policy.

29:19 You watch Trump ask people to pledge allegiance to him and none of you tap dancing Negroes renounce that or ask anybody else to renounce him. And so I want to be clear. I stand before you today as a born again, Holy Ghost filled, fire baptized, tongue talker with miracle signs and wonders as evidence and a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi. I came to renounce, but it's not what you think. I renounce principalities against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. I renounce every weapon formed against black people and oppressed people and marginalized people and undocumented people that they will not prosper.

30:26 I renounce false accusers, the high-minded, the lovers of pleasure, the pious, the arrogant, the stuck-up, and those who are unthankful and unholy, and the lovers of pleasure more than the lovers of God. I renounce the codlers of Mitch McConnell who allowed him to be absent for 92 days and get the best of medical treatment while 5 million people don't have affordable health care. I renounce every person that is trying to keep minimum wage in Georgia for a lousy $5. I renounce the protection given to pedophiles. and the predators on Epstein Island in an attempt to normalize pedophilia in America. I renounce the relax.

31:21 of support given to black farmers I renounce food deserts I renounce savings program I renounce the secretary of health who is under qualified and lacks common sense and is allowing black people to die when health insurance ought to be available to everybody. I renounce Hexf being an illegal secretary of defense. calling for public execution knowing that it falls in line with the lynching of black people in the days of old I renounce the rogue gang known as ICE, shooting people, killing babies, and impregnating minors in ICE custody. I renounce!

32:21 I renounce us spending taxpayers' money on illegal wars. I announce the Justice Department not investigating the death of Nolan Wells or the lynching of black people all over this country. I renounce! I renounce the spirit of heaviness, the spirit of despair, the spirit of resignation that has attacked black men. I renounce the spirit that tries to make black women feel unloved, unbeautiful, and underqualified. Let God arise and all of the enemies of black people be scattered. I renounce the spirit of cancer. That cancer will have no authority over your body, over your bloodline, over your reproductive organs. I renounce fibroids and thyroids and cancer and low cell phone.

33:26 I renounce. I renounce black preachers who are preaching a white evangelical nationalistic agenda without having any heart for the people you are called to serve To renounce is to walk away. You may be seated. To renounce is to walk away. You're going to have to walk away from some thinking.

34:23 Walk away from a mindset. Walk away from a pattern of behavior. if my people who are called by my name humble themselves seek my face turn from their wicked ways I'll hear from heaven and I'll heal the land Jesus walked into some lepers the other day and he said to them as you go you will be healed I don't know where you are in this room or whether you're watching online but God said when you walk away from some stuff you're gonna be healed from some stuff look at your neighbor tell him I feel better since I walked away from some people I feel better since I left that job I feel better since I left that old way of thinking that things I used to do I don't do anymore and places I used to go I don't go anymore soon after Jesus was arrested it. Peter was by a campfire and a little girl walked up to him and said, didn't you used to walk with Jesus? And Peter renounced and said, I never knew him. Another woman walked upon him and said, you look familiar to me. Weren't you with Jesus? But Peter renounced and said, I never knew him. I don't know who he is. A third person walked up on Peter and said, you sound just like him. But Peter said, I don't know him. And he renounced who he was.

36:02 I stand to tell somebody today, I've been through too much to renounce Jesus. Now he's been better to me than I've been to myself. Would you grab your neighbor's hand and say, neighbor, he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me that I am his own. I got to tell you the truth. Can't nobody do me like Jesus. And can't nobody do me like the Lord. I started out a long time ago the road is rough and the going gets tough and the hills are hard to come But I decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.

36:58 No turning back. Don't you let nobody tell you that Jesus wasn't a black man. He had skin of copper, hair of lamb's wool. He wasn't no blonde hair, blue-eyed European. But he was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities And at the cross, at the cross Where I first saw the light And the burdens of my heart rolled away. It was there by me. faith I've received this sight and now I'm happy all the day when I give God glory I'm renouncing what the devil tried to do to me if you don't praise him you can accept your sake.

37:57 But if you know praise is an act of civil disobedience, you ought to praise him like you renounce depression, you renounce poverty, you renounce sickness. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Say so. Say so. Hallelujah.

38:26 Lift up your hands. Musicians, if you'll begin to play, my hope is built. Come on, Christ. is sinking on Christ I hope you are energized that you don't need an energy drink.

39:31 What you just heard should have you off and running, chasing your dreams, pursuing your purpose and answering your call. If this was a blessing, share it with somebody else. Don't be selfish. This is what God gave you so that you can be a blessing to somebody who needs it worse.