I’m Doing Me

0:14 Chapter 12, verse 30 and 31. Mark chapter 12, verse 30, 31. We're going to read it together with uplifted voices. Come on, everybody. Let's read. Love the Lord your God. Verse 31. The second is this. Love your neighbor as yourself. let's read verse 31 again go back to verse 31 amen let's read it together the second is this Love your neighbor as yourself.

1:07 Let's read it the last time. I want you to say it from your chest. Come on, say it out loud. The second is this. Love your neighbor as yourself. Stop right there. You may be seated. Second is this. Love your neighbor as yourself. I want to preach for a little while today using as a subject, I'm just going to do me. I'm just going to do me. In Daniel Goldman's book, Healing Emotions, he captures an intriguing account of 400 Western psychologists and scientists and yoga instructors who went to a private invitation only mind and life retreat with the highly revered Dalai Lama.

2:06 On the last day of the retreat, one of the participants asked the Dalai Lama to give them some counsel on how to remedy the pervasiveness of self-hatred that has attached itself to this generation.

2:29 Three translators were sitting around the Dalai Lama. They were trying to interpret the question for him. And out of exasperation, the Dalai Lama divulged to the group that he didn't understand the question. Hear this. Because he had no frame of reference in his culture for the concept or the idea of self-hatred. How I wish that our community and our children had no inkling of what self-hatred is.

3:12 Sorrowfully, society has indoctrinated us with so much self-hate that we have to be intentional about self-love. It is not second nature. We think our nose is too broad. Our hair is too thick. Our stomach is too big. Our feet are too flat. Our car is too old. Our house is too small. our weight is too heavy our skin is too dark our accent is too thick our bank account is too thin all while forgetting we were made in the image and in the likeness of God part of Satan's strategy is to subdue you into getting into strife with yourself. I need you to hear this. He specializes in trying to self-sabotage the special. If there wasn't anything special on you, then he would not try to make you hate yourself. It's been logged into libraries. How Abraham Lincoln was afflicted with melancholia, now known as depression. It was so dire that his inner circle was concerned that he would commit suicide because Abraham Lincoln took everything personal. Franz Kafka described himself in letters as repulsive and unworthy of being loved. He pleaded with his friends to burn all of his work

5:19 after his demise because he thought it would have no value. Nicki Minaj has left herself vulnerable for a golden ticket from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. not realizing that she is tap dancing with no music. She is not laughing with them. They are laughing at her and all of the immigrants who are in her exact status that are facing deportation. Ladies and gentlemen, you got to be careful that the world doesn't make you hate yourself. America I wish America I wish to God America would just for a day love itself wish America would love itself and have some respect for themselves America love yourself enough to put Pam Bondi out of office because she told America six months ago that there was no credible evidence behind the Epstein files. Love yourself enough to have the decency to stop detaining children like five-year-old Liam Ramos, who has done absolutely nothing wrong, but believe that this was the land of the free and the home of the brave. America, you owe Kamala Harris an apology America, love yourself enough to return all of the ballots you stole from Fulton County in hopes of trying to rig the midterm elections.

7:21 Love yourself. Stop asking Haitians to self-deport when there are no resources available for them to be able to stand on their own. Love yourself enough. If you think that it was prudent to arrest black journalists like Don Lemon and Georgia Forte, if you can arrest reporters, then you need to arrest Donald Trump for raping children. love yourself impeachment is not enough it shouldn't be impeachment it should be imprisonment anybody who is raping children I don't care what position you have or how much money you make you cannot justify it and I defy any preacher who stands in a pulpit and tries to defend the raping of children. Jesus said it's better to put a millstone around your neck than to touch one of the children of the most high God. I stand today as a prophet of the living God that anybody that protects pedophiles may your tongue get stuck to the roof of your mouth.

8:41 may your harvest be bare may God cut holes in your pocket may your wounds be buried God is not going to roll over and play dead but you will be held accountable on how you treat the children of God you don't have to like me but you gotta love his children may the God of our salvation hold you accountable Whether you are a president, a former president, a CEO, or a rapper, you will not get away with touching God's children. No impeachment, imprisonment. There is, ladies and gentlemen, a hit on your self-worth.

9:41 And the enemy is so diabolical that the enemy wants you to be the victim and the assassin. It's a revolutionary act and a miracle at the same time to be black in America and still love yourself. I want you to lay hands on yourself and declare out loud, I love myself. One of the most radical and revolutionary songs ever recorded with James Brown. Say it loud. I'm black and I'm proud. You got to love yourself. It is so much in this society and world that is against you that if you don't love yourself, you are already destined to be defeated. But those of you who understand, if God be for me, who can be against me?

10:39 Come on. I want to kill every enemy that has been assigned to your self-esteem, which you just shouted out like, I still love myself. I made some mistakes. I had some problems. I got some issues. I made some poor choices. But guess what? I still love myself. I'm not jealous of nobody. I'm not threatened by nobody. I'm not in competition with nobody. I love myself. Jesus said what we must hear, that the greatest commandment is to love yourself. We keep being told to love our neighbor, but neglecting to love ourselves. In Luke chapter 4, verse number 6, the devil takes Jesus to the top of the temple and then tells him, throw yourself down. I wanted to show you something.

11:44 The devil takes Jesus to a high place. And when he takes him to a high place, he then tells him, throw yourself down. anybody trying to get you to harm yourself really doesn't love you the devil wanted Jesus to break his own bones wanted Jesus to second guess his own greatness wanted Jesus to ruin his own reputation to mar his own name how in the world would you say you love me if you keep offering me drugs? How do you say that you love me and you're trying to get me drunk? How do you claim to be my real friend and you encourage me to cheat in my marriage? How in the world do you say that you're on my side and you keep taking me shopping when you know I'm supposed to be saving? I needed you to pay attention. I needed you to pay attention that at that high place that the devil never pushed Jesus. He just asked Jesus to throw himself down.

13:02 See, the devil is shrewd and wise enough to know he couldn't push him because the Bible says, touch not my anointing. And the enemy is trying to get you to throw yourself down. and in your previous state of not having consciousness of who you were, you kept throwing yourself down. But I declare and decree for those who have ears to hear that the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the church, this ain't the year to throw yourself down. This is the year you got to stand up for yourself. This is the year where you understand that God has put me in such a position that the mistakes that I made in yesteryear, I cannot make this year. I can't throw myself down. Jesus refused to throw himself down.

13:59 And that's the position that I need you to be in. People think your standards are too high. Your standards aren't too high. You just love yourself. They think that you're too picky. You ain't too picky. You just love yourself. when you begin to love yourself your circle will get smaller because people will get irritated that you won't compromise yourself for what it is that you stand for because I love myself I ain't gonna let you talk to me any kind of way because I love myself I'm not gonna let you treat me any kind of because I love myself. Don't get mad because I am not going to allow you to think you're going to do to me what you did to all of them.

14:55 I am not arrogant. I'm not stuck up. I'm not standoffish, but I have wasted too much of my time reducing myself to other people's level when I now realize I'm better than that. It is not that I think I'm better than anybody else. I'm just better than who I used to be. You should have caught me when I didn't love myself. If you would have found me then, I would have fallen for anything. But now that I know myself, I love myself. Hallelujah. he's on the top of that high place and Satan tells him to throw himself down. And I don't want you to miss this. Jesus didn't doubt.

15:48 Not for one moment did Jesus doubt God would rescue him. But Jesus made a decision that a lot of us, it takes a long time to get to that place. Jesus didn't doubt God would rescue him but Jesus made a decision for himself that I am not going to put myself in a position where I need to be rescued y'all didn't like that sometimes you got to get to a place of maturity that I am sick of always being in a crisis if you are always in a crisis It ain't a crisis. It's a lifestyle. And you got to make up in your mind. I'm tired of always running behind. I'm tired of getting my heart broken.

16:41 I'm tired of being taken advantage of by people who should have never had my number in the first place. I don't want to be rescued when I can already see the trap coming. When you love yourself, when you love yourself, you take care of yourself like someone you are responsible of taking care of. You just missed what I said. When you love yourself, you take care of yourself like someone you are responsible of taking care of. second time lay hands on yourself declare out loud i'm a caregiver what does that mean it ought to show up in the decisions you make for yourself i gotta make sure i eat right i gotta make sure i go to the doctor i gotta make sure i'm taking my medication i gotta make sure i lock my door i gotta make sure i don't leave my children with strangers I gotta make sure watch this that the same thing I tell an old member of my family is the same thing I'm gonna tell myself go lay down you ain't gotta answer the phone where you think you going this time of night y'all ain't saying nothing you better talk to yourself with some sense make sure you're not being manipulated last week while we were snowed out Thank you.

18:17 we snowed out last week and uh i thought i was gonna be fancy for the very first time for the very first time i decided to pay my tithes through zell it's my first time ever doing it i i'd always done it through gibbler fire i've never done it through zell i'm halfway through the process of paying my tithe through Zelle. And it dawned on me that Zelle is more concerned about me than I've been for myself. I'm getting ready to send the Zelle to the church for my tithe. And midway of it going through, a question pops up. Do you know this person? can you trust them are you sure it's not a scam y'all ain't saying nothing to me the same way that you got to go through these kind of questions before you send somebody some money you better ask yourself them same questions before you give people access to your body and to your mind and to your time. Do you know this person? Are you sure it ain't a scam? Are they trying to take advantage of you? You better be clear before you go into it.

19:45 God, love yourself. Love your neighbor as yourself. I got to ask you a question. We just talking. I got to ask you a question. I got to ask you this. Seriously. I want to know it. How in the world have you forgiven somebody who cheated on you? How'd you do it? How'd you forgive somebody that lied to you? How did you forgive somebody that manipulated you? How did you forgive the person that never paid your back? How did you forgive the person that gas lit you? How did you forgive the person who used you? And the question I need to know, listen to me, is how did you forgive them and you still haven't forgiven yourself?

20:44 You treat yourself worse than you treat your biggest enemy. Forgive yourself for not finishing. forgive yourself for falling short forgive yourself for playing the field forgive yourself for defaulting on the loan forgive yourself for getting the elf god is asking me to ask you god is saying if i've already forgiven you why won't you forgive yourself you got to give yourself some grace and those of you it's been hard for you to do it but you finally come to the place that I am worth another chance. I am worth another opportunity. I am worth getting a reset and a refresh. You gotta forgive yourself. When you love yourself, you learn how to talk to yourself with kindness.

21:50 Sometimes parents don't recognize that self-hate has crept in. Sometimes you're laying right next to your spouse and you got no idea what's eating them. you've been close to that friend for years and you have no idea how they are being auctioned off to be a slave to self-hate and the reason why you can't tell is because um the voice that keeps stripping their self-esteem is in their head. it's in your head that you keep telling yourself i'm not worth it it's in your head that you keep talking yourself out of what god keeps trying to escort you to in your head you're not gonna like it you keep dating at the level of your self-esteem and instead of talking yourself out of it god wants you to start talking yourself into it first samuel chapter 30 verse number six says david encouraged himself and that's what you got to do you got to encourage yourself before you go in the office sit in the car for a minute start talking to yourself i got what it takes i'm anointed for this i'm the head and not the tail the deal ain't gonna go through unless i am involved i am an asset and not a liability whoever comes in contact with me their whole life is gonna improve blessings are mine Whatever I speak it shall come to pass.

23:47 Whatsoever I loose in heaven it shall be loose in the earth. Whatever I bind in the earth it shall be bound in heaven. Victory is mine. Victory is mine. Victory today is mine. I told Satan get thee behind. Victory. today is mine hallelujah you ain't gonna believe it it's a lot of people who are dressed up with no self-esteem a lot of people are making a bunch of money but they got no self-esteem they got the whole alphabet behind their name but they got no self-esteem you you gotta walk in the room like you were born to be there you you got to stop apologizing and dishonoring yourself when you know God told you you were supposed to have it it don't matter who don't like you it doesn't matter what they said about you it doesn't matter watch this if the rumor is true if God wants you to have it no weapon formed against you shall be able to prosper because you were supposed to have it I wanted to wake up the giant in you.

25:10 Who knows but you were born for such a time as this. You don't even understand that generations unborn are going to rise up and call you blessed because of the oil that's on your head. You better brace yourself. You are anointed to break generational curses and to step in the territory that nobody ever thought was possible are doable. You don't know you are a child of the king. That God done brought you through danger, sea and unseen. If God wasn't for you, you would have had a nervous breakdown. If God wasn't with you, you'd be in jail right now. If God didn't have a plan, you'd be in rehab. But God is in your bones. And though he slay me, yes!

26:07 how do you come to love yourself how do you fall in love with yourself I don't know why Jesus loves me I don't know why he cares I don't know why he sacrificed his life but I'm so glad that he did It's the last time I'll ask you to be seated and we'll go home. you keep wondering why people are so vicious and so mean and so nasty. I've solved the case.

27:02 They don't know how to treat you because they hate themselves. y'all didn't hear what I just said I feel bad for them they hate themselves you would go further if you would just recognize who I am and know that I could be a benefit to your life yet you done burned the bridge that was supposed to bring you over baby love yourself and get back to me Thank you. love yourself do you really think that these ice agents love themselves that they can hog tie innocent children what is in the mind of a grown man that would want to have sex with a nine-year-old you don't love yourself and i ain't just talking about epstein island I'm talking about grown men who are in the rooms of their children and their nieces.

28:07 Something is broken inside of you. Something inside of you has been thrown off. And it is not just the victimization of young girls. But what we don't talk about is the molestation and the rape of our sons and our nephews. That they don't feel safe. They don't feel protected. They don't feel loved. Something is wrong with this society. After I love myself is when I figure out how to love my neighbor.

28:48 How can two walk together lest they agree? I want you to turn to the person beside you for the first time in this sermon. I want you to turn to the person beside you and tell them I agree. Now stay with me. My lecture's over. I'm getting ready to preach now. how can two walk together unless they agree look at that neighbor and tell him i agree now here's what's crazy y'all the person who just told you they agree don't even know what they agreed to they they agree watch this they agree that you are worth the effort they agree that you are worth fighting for. They agree that you deserve to be happy. They degree, watch this, that the best is yet to come. If you agree with all of that, turn back to them and tell them, I agree. Now we can't get into that position until I first love myself. How can two walk together unless they agree.

30:05 I agree that I love me and you agree you love yourself. Now let's go take a walk. That's the first step. Now after we done walked and agree, now I get to the final frontier. Here it is if two or three will touch and agree. But I ain't gonna let you touch me until I'm clear on what we agree about. Y'all ain't saying nothing. I don't let everybody touch me. You got to have some value in who I am and understand what's getting ready to happen in my life. For the first time in this sermon, would you grab that neighbor's hand and tell him I agree that you are worthy to be loved. But I also agree that loving you should not harm me. so when I give God this praise today I need you to know I'm not like the rest of your friends I'm not jealous of you I'm not in competition with you I'm not threatened by you and to prove it to you I'm giving God glory that everything you are supposed to have is getting ready to come to you press down taken together and running over.

31:32 And because I love myself, I don't care what you get. Because I love myself, I'm not going to try to take away what God has added to your life. A shout is getting ready to happen because you're getting ready to bless God for the people that are on your road, not with cars, clothes, and money, but bring people into their life that will love them the same way God sees them. If you can't see the best in me, you don't deserve the worst in me. But I dare somebody in this room to give God glory like your children will never have low self-esteem, Like your children will always love themselves Like your children will make themselves a priority I am I am I am I am You lift that hand, I am This message has been heavy on me for the last four days.

32:54 I didn't know who was coming. I didn't know whether the ice was going to stop us, whether the roads were going to be closed. But I had to get this out. I'm going to open up this altar. Listen to me. Not for you to join the church, not for you to get saved. I'll do it in a minute. It's the craziest thing. I'm telling you, it's the craziest thing. I had to wrestle with God to get this. But I'm going to open up this altar for people. Hear my intention. Who have fallen out of love with themselves. you have mastered brushing your teeth without looking in the mirror you don't even know how to accept compliments you have become so broken that you don't even deserve think you deserve to be loved God says today I'm getting ready to perform open heart surgery I hope you are energized that you don't need an energy drink 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.