The Breakdown: "Who Told You That?"

25:53 And we have some notes here that we took just some general notes. I'm going to read them. I'm not going to hang on all of them because some of them I want us to talk about in our discussion for tonight. All right. So coming out of 1 Peter 2 and 9, the points, here are the points, that you are chosen, you belong to the king, and you are different on purpose. Those were the three main points. And here are the notes that I believe you can find online. Will you live like you've forgotten who you are or will you become who you were created to be? You kicked it off. You started off asking us that question. I want to talk about that a little bit later. His words should not rank every other voice. Should not outrank every other voice. Correct. Outrank, yes. Should not rank every other voice. I want to talk about that a little bit later. Your trials will refine your faith.

26:47 That is good. So count it all joy. Look. Possibly. When we go through trials, knowing that it will perfect our faith a little bit. Absolutely. Our trials will refine our faith. That's saying something. That's really good. God defines your identity. God defines it. You hung on that for us enough. And you did it enough so that you made the next point. Repetition teaches identity. Yes. Repetition teaches identity. And so I thought that one was really good. We need to hear it over and over and over and over again. Sometimes we do that in the negative. Yes. And so we have to learn how to do that in the positive. over and over again. We can't do that enough. You can't love too much, right? There is no law against the fruit of the spirit. Yes. So, okay. Words are windows and windows shape how we see ourselves.

27:45 Yeah. That's powerful. Back to that repetition. Words are windows. What you see is what you believe, you know? Over and over again. Over and over again. Yeah. It's the window. So it's a real battlefield of the mind. You have to really protect the mind and take captive all the thoughts. Absolutely. Because what are we hearing, right? These are all just great nuggets. They all stand alone. Rejection can be the motivation for your elevation. Anybody ever use that as motivation, rejection? As motivation? Okay, you said no to me. What was that scripture? You don't want me now, but now I'm hot. Whatever, you know what I'm trying to say. Not a scripture. The song. The song, the song. Let me stay focused on the paper. Okay. It's all right, Pastor K. It's all right. Anyway, y'all know what I'm trying to say. Rejection can be motivation for your elevation. All right. Trying to do too much. Sometimes the people tell you to sit down. Sometimes the people telling you to sit down are the very reason you need to stand up.

28:46 Yes. That one shook me or resonated with me. I got excited about that one because I don't know about you considering the call that's on your life. But when I was growing up, people always told me I talk too much. I talk too much. You talk too much. And it hurt my feelings. And I'm just trying to share. I'm just talking, trying to be nice. Didn't know that there was a call in my life to talk, right, and to speak. Look, here you are being a preacher. Wherever somebody's trying to stop you and tell you to sit down, maybe that's where you need to lean in. Need to stand up and lean in. Absolutely. I really like that one. That was powerful. Don't let someone else's opinion become your identity. You did a run on that about all of the voices in our lives. Everybody that tries to tell us and shape us, but we don't want anybody else's voice. to become anybody else's opinion to become our identity because God told us who we were, our identity first. Stop rehearsing the lies and repeat God's word. We'll talk about that, I think, a little bit. But stop rehearsing the lies and repeat God's word that goes with the repetitive nature, which is why I'm glad it's showing up again.

29:45 Whatever story you keep reading will eventually become the story you keep living. Yes. Whatever story, and I'm repeating them for a reason. Whatever story you keep reading will eventually become the story you keep living. So we have to watch. Again, that repetition. We have to watch. Yeah. What are we taking in? What are we listening to? Somebody else's narrative. You know, that's not what God said. Yeah. You don't have to read every book. You don't. You don't have to. You can write your own story. Hallelujah. Okay. I love it. Okay. Darkness is anything that keeps you from seeing God clearly. And then you really pushed in for a stare that God called us out of that place. Yes, he did. Right. He didn't tell us to stay there. He didn't tell us to stay there. We're not supposed to choose it. Live there. Right. He called us out. He called us out of it. And so, and into his marvelous light. So I thought that was very powerful.

30:38 This text alone is so meaty. Clearly by all the things that you were able to extract from. One verse. One verse. Ooh, if we just read God's word and hang on to it. Sometimes God protects you by not letting you belong. not letting you belong where you were never meant to stay. That one was good. I think I might have shouted on that a couple of times. Some of us that might be listening have problems with, oh, people don't like me, I don't feel like I belong. You just have a rough time all the time. And busy, especially young people. We're talking about young people always trying to fit in. And maybe there's a reason God is not letting us get comfortable because there are places that we're not supposed to stay. Absolutely. And so sometimes maybe we can embrace the uncomfortable.

31:28 What's the word I'm looking for? Not being comfortable. We should embrace that, right? Absolutely. God might not want us to stay there. And so if we get comfortable, we ain't going to go nowhere. You know, we get comfortable. Stay stagnant. And then we end up, we're not moving. We're not growing, not evolving. And so Pastor Kia, in that text, for those watching online and hearing the congregation, when you're looking at this text, this context of what Peter is dealing with, you know, there's social pressure that's there. We talked about the pressure a little bit, that believers are faced with rejection, exclusion, and the pressure to conform all because they believe in Jesus. Right. And so if we're thinking about today, you know, we're still dealing with that, right. With, um, this very evangelical kind of movement, um, and the narratives that are being placed on us by others that claim to be Christians, but what Jesus are they believing in? Right. And so kind of that social pressure, exclusion and the pressure to conform. They're also dealing with scattered believers all around.

32:25 And so he's writing to Christians, to believers of Jesus throughout Asia Minor. So they're all scattered everywhere. And then he's dealing in a Roman rule, a Roman empire in this world where they're living under that authority and cultural influence. And so God, you know, through Peter being that mouthpiece, God is redefining their identity where he specifically calls them chosen, royal, a holy nation and God's own, that he's their special possession. And so Peter acknowledges, you know, that what they're going through is real, that it's not, you know, pretend. But he's saying, hey, you got to understand your identity before you get instruction. And so that's kind of the context of why Peter is saying this in that one verse. So that will kind of help you understand why he's saying what he's saying and what they're dealing with during that time.

33:22 That's good. Yeah, that's good. So let's talk more about it. Let's go. Let's go from it. So thank you for the backup. So or for the context. So when we were looking at this, one of the things, again, you said and you kind of started out about who are we becoming? and that that was a good question that the scriptures ask us first, even before all of the movies and the theatrics and that sort of thing that kind of challenge us about who we're becoming. But there was an important line that you said when you were preaching and you talked about how some of us are living who we were not intended to be, right? And we talked about that, that we're living out somebody that we weren't intending to be. So how do we recognize when we are not walking along with who God has called us to be? And how do we begin the steps back to purpose and back to who God created us to be? How do we start back to get back to who God called us?

34:18 Yeah, well, I think to answer that question, Mike, it's a lifelong process. One, right? It's a process of allowing God to transform who you are from the inside out. Um, and so it's, it's being self-aware, right? Acknowledging what you're actually dealing with. Cause a lot of us are in denial. If we would be honest, right? Um, I think some things that we go through, we just internalize and then we shrug it off. Oh, that's just me. Or that's who I am. That's just where I came from. I'm always going to be that way. Um, and so it's, we really have to become self-aware and say, no, am I living, um, in this or am I doing this or acting this way because of something, right? What is really the root of the issue as to why I do what I do? And so if we become self-aware, um, then we can say, okay, God, I need you to help me in this area. I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to change.

35:17 I want to evolve. I want to grow. And so in order to grow, you got to ask God to transform you, Right. The scripture automatically says in the New Testament that to be transformed, you got to do it by the renewing of your mind. It's a constant but intentional act that we need to do. And so I think, again, becoming is a lifelong process of trying to reevaluate yourself if you want to become better. Because some of us, again, going back to your stagnant part or we're comfortable with being uncomfortable. We're OK. Right. We're comfortable with being uncomfortable. We don't want to move what I'm dealing with, the trauma, the dysfunction. I'm okay with it. I'm okay with the dysfunction. Just let me be because this is how I am. But if we really take an assessment of it and really want to change, then we can say, hey, God, I need you to help me. And it allows God to change us and transform us into who he really created us to be, our true purpose and our destiny that he redeemed us by.

36:19 And so it's not simply about achieving more. It's about being transformed more and more into the likeness of him. Okay. So you're talking about, and I want to actually go back. I wanted to ask you a question before we dove in. That's okay. But since we're there, I want to ask you, you talked about this self-evaluation and understanding where we are. Is there anything that we can do? Or are there notes or signs that we can do to realize that we're living in this false world, that we have substituted what God has for us for the uncomfortableness of life? Like, how do we recognize that this is not who I am? This is not who God called me to be. How do I jerk myself back into reality so that I can do the self-evaluation? because if we get comfortable with being uncomfortable, we may not even realize how far off a course we are. So how might we find that?

37:14 And that's exactly where I was going to start, that some of us don't realize how far off we are because that has just become our reality, right? But I think some of us do it innately, and especially our young people. They do it automatically by comparing, right? So if they compare and they see their peer and they're like, well, wait a minute. why is she doing that or he's doing that or, you know, it becomes when they start to compare why their peer is either advancing and they're not. Adults do it all the time. Hello. Adults do it all the time, whether it's in your career, whether it's in materialistic things. Right. And so when you're starting to compare and look and see something out of trigger to say, wait a minute. And it's not in a negative way. And I'm not saying negative. Right. Not to compare in a way that makes you envious or makes you greedy, um, or try to covet what somebody else has. That's not what I'm saying. But when you compare and look at somebody's life, I begin to say, man, I love their relationship with God, right? That I, I look at someone and I say, wow, I want that kind of relationship with God that they have. Um, and that allows me to say, okay, God, what do I need to grow and evolve to have that kind of intimate relationship?

38:33 Because there are some places I have a best friend right now. She's in California. And when I tell you, I'm like, she, she knows Jesus. And I've been preaching, you know, pretty much not all my life, but I've been preaching since I was 13, 14 years old. You were born under the pew. I was, I was born under the pew. But when I look at her and her life, I'm like, man, I aspire to be like that. And so sometimes in our careers, we aspire to excel. And that's not necessarily wrong, right? We should want to excel and grow. And with our kids, they should want to excel and grow in their studies and in their schoolwork. So if I'm comparing my grades with someone else in the class, okay, God, then what do I need to do to be a better student? What do I need to do to be a better worker? What do I need to do to become a better steward of God? And so I think that kind of helps start when you start to look at what others are doing or what others have as far as that comparison.

39:37 So it's okay if we use people as role models. Role models, correct. Look, you articulated that so much better. A place to aspire to, right? Things that aspire to, but we don't want to take on the personality because God has called us to our own work. Yes. I love it. Now, I do have some other questions here, but I do want to back up. And I wanted to back up because, you know, preaching the way that you preach and you can't get it all out all the time. And I know as preachers, when you sit down, instead of just appreciating what God has done, you start reflecting on what you missed or what you didn't say. And so I wanted you to kind of walk us into, get us back into the text and the scripture to say what were some of the points that you wish you had made or we may have missed. As Pastor Magruder would say, left on the cutting room floor. What are some things? And he's here. Hello, executive pastor. But I, so again, yes, we are our own worst critic. And so the one thing that I said, I was like, man, I wish I would have drilled home a little bit more that Peter is not negating the suffering that they're going through, right? He's not saying their suffering is not real. He's not saying that he's not minimizing the oppression. He's not saying to get over it, right? To overlook it. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is that if you understand your identity in God, it will first prevent you from reacting out of your fleshly nature because now you're trying to put on, right? To become like Jesus, to have his characteristics and to portray those characteristics. So again, what I feed myself is going to be what I end up exuding out on the outside. So if I continuously feed myself with bitterness or angerness or jealousy or envy, then I'm going to be an anger, angry, bitter, jealous, envious person. Right? So I want to take on, and we talked about the fruits of the spirit, I want to take on his characteristics of love, truth, uh, gentleness, patience, self-control, love, all of those, uh, fruits of the spirit. But when you're, when you're not, uh, when you

41:47 don't know your identity, when you don't know your identity, you become, uh, reacting out of that fleshly nature where you react out of anger or bitterness or personal offense when you face injustice. And so when you know who you are in him, your worth and security come from an unshakable source rather than a worldly fairness. Okay. And so that's why he deals with identity first. Cause I don't know if you know that song, but I've, uh, my grandmother used to sing all the time that um she said you want to be uh like like a tree yes planted by the rivers of water yeah that you shall not be moved so that means when the waves of life come and the waters begin to flow because they will right when they begin to flow when you know who you are in christ it doesn't matter what comes or what goes you're gonna be like a tree you're gonna be rooted and grounded in god so that nothing on the outside begins to shake you or move you that's right and so that's what Peter is trying to get to your identity is in God first, which provides your security, which keeps your focus clear, which stops bitter reactions and gives you steady strength. And then how it changes, it changes how you face injustice. So it then promotes justice with grace. It protects your heart and then it allows for true forgiveness. And so that's what I think I really wanted to hone in on on Sunday and just completely, I think, missed over that. I don't think you missed it.

43:18 I think we got it, but thank you for bringing it back around. We don't mind listening to it again. And when you were talking about it, what I was thinking about is the scripture talks about it's not getting tossed to and fro with every win. So every time something happens, you up, you down, you all around, you can't stabilize yourself, but we can if we find ourselves rooted in Christ. Absolutely. Identity in Christ. Yes. I love it. Thank you for that. Thank you for going back and grabbing it in that Sankofa moment, going back and getting it. Again, at the beginning, you kind of talked about the question that we have to ask ourselves, who are we becoming? Can you talk a little bit about becoming and what that is about? Yeah. So, again, it goes back to do I really want to portray the likeness of God? Do I want to exhibit him? Because we are all made in the Imago Dei. The Imago Dei is the image of God. And so if you believe in Jesus Christ, you have been ingrained in kind of in him.

44:16 And so I want to walk like him. I want to talk like him. I want to be like him. And so then that means that transformation, I have to ask him and seek God to become what it is that he would desire of me. And first, that's exhibiting his characteristics. But then it's also asking him, okay, now, God, what's my purpose? What am I supposed to do? Um, where, where am I supposed to be? Where is it that you would have me? Um, because too many of us make decisions right out of what we want, what we desire. And so if I'm really rooted in him, my desires become his desires. There's a scripture that says that, um, uh, help me. It just came, left my mind. Lord Jesus, the desires of your heart, he will give you the desires of your heart. But when you really seek God and he becomes your heart, he becomes your desire, then your desires change to match his. It's not the other way around.

45:13 God doesn't say, okay, now I'm going to bless what it is that you want. He might. Right? He might. But he's like, hey, no, if you desire me, then he becomes the desire. And then you want to please him. It's not about what I want in my flesh and, you know, making sure that I'm happy. all the time. It's now whatever it is that pleases God. And if what I'm doing does not please him, then I need to change that because my desire is his. And that's that process of becoming a constant evolution and transformation to be more like Christ. Delight yourself in the Lord. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Yes. Amen. I love it. Yes. Which is why it's so important. And since we're talking about delighting ourselves in God. Again, it was in the notes. Um, and I thought to highlight it, um, as well, when you talked about God's voice has to outrank everybody else's voice. And I wanted us to deal with that in light of it being, it was children's Sunday and this is emerging generations month. And that is, um, and I, I'll share a story and I shared it with you, but I want to share it here. And that is, I remember when, um, one of my nieces, she was in, I think elementary school, elementary school.

46:28 and I put her hair in Bantu knots and she was so beautiful and so cute and you know the family just loved on and like oh you you're gonna be you the birthday right kind of thing going to school in the best way and uh of course that went out then but um anyway we talked oh my gosh she was beautiful she was cute she was in her Bantu knots going to school and she was happy And she was smiling because we had affirmed her and all the things. But when she came back home, she was sad. And she wanted us to take her hair down. And she never let us put the Bantu knots back into her hair. And in that moment, and I'm sure parents have had those moments with their children, when you do all that you can to affirm your child, and when they step outside that door, another voice gets into their head and is now elevated above yours.

47:24 And I was thinking about that when you were talking about making sure God's voice is elevated. And we know the struggles that we have with our children. So how can we possibly elevate God's voice over the voices of everybody else when we see the struggle of our children with our voice? And so can we talk a little bit about that, about how we kind of face that struggle? Yeah. I mean, when you allow, you know, social media and friends' opinions, adults, we do it all the time, right? Because when we get into trouble, who do we call first? We pick up the phone and we call our best friend or we call our significant other, right, to have that conversation. And we allow their opinions to really outrank God. Why? Because we didn't seek him first. You know, the scripture says to seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And then all these other things will be added unto you. And so it's not just materialistic things, but it's discernment.

48:18 It's wisdom. It's, you know, the knowledge and understanding that we need to be able to make decisions every single day. And so when we are not seeking Christ and asking him first, then we will allow the opinions of others to dictate our actions. And that is what, again, part of the transformation and being self-aware is supposed to do to say, God, I need to seek you in every area first. Before I make this decision, if I need to go here, God, what do you say? Right. And do you do I have peace about this in my spirit? Do I have clarity? Right. In this decision. And if I don't feel peace and if I don't feel you with me or any kind of answer. Right.

49:10 Because we can get answers from, you know, being silent and God just affirms it, whether it's a scripture that we pick up, whether it is a confirmation from a word that we get from someone else. Somebody would call that, I'm from that kind of back to coastal. And so they would say a prophetic word, right? So if somebody gives you a word of affirmation or an encouraging word or prophetic word, sometimes they confirm what God has already told you. And so there's different ways that God speaks, but are you open to hear it? Right. Are we open to hear it? Are we so closed off because we want to hear everybody else's voice? and that's where I think we have to be honest again self-aware and honest with ourselves God am I seeking you first in all things yeah before I make a decision before I make a move before I react yeah hello before I react in anything right am I seeking you first and then am I am I acting the way that you would want me to act am I displaying and portraying your characteristics over my fleshly desires am I living who you call me to be absolutely or am I living like I forgot who I was called to be. Yeah. Which I still love that. That is so good.

50:17 And, um, okay. And it's important that we seek him first because to your point, he's the one that spoke first. He's the one that spoke. And so if we're going to believe God, if we're going to trust God, that's the voice that we draw to. He's the first one that told us who we are. Absolutely. We got to seek him to find it. Um, we'd like to turn to every other thing first. And God is like, no, come back to your first love. Come back to me. That's a revelation. Come back to your first love. Remember when you first got saved. Remember when I first brought you out of darkness. Remember when I first revealed myself to you. Because I remember, you know, you should be able to look back over your journey and say, God, I remember when you first met me. I remember when you first met me on my Damascus Road experience and what I was doing and where I was. And if you have not had that yet, I really pray that you seek God for it so that way you can grow and develop in him. because what I'm telling you, just an experience and an encounter with God alone will be able to start your transformation to say, God, I know you're real. It's not because my mama brought me to church. It's not because my daddy or my grandma brought me to church. It's not because everybody else is praying for me, but God, I want to know you for myself in a real way, right? In a real way that it is clear to me and it's real to me. So now I want to follow you.

51:36 And that's what we have to get back to, remembering where we first were when we met God. And if we have not had that encounter or that experience yet, asking God to meet you where you are. I love it. And while you were talking, you know the song that came to my head. Take me back. Take me back, dear Lord, to the place where I first believed. I got to go back. And since that was in my head, let me, and I want us to get to the scriptural basis for affirmation. We'll just maybe touch one or two of them. But before we do, we cannot get out of here and out of this conversation without talking about the title. Who told you that? Who told you? And so, I mean, is that a rhetorical question? Or is it one that we really should be contemplating and thinking about answering? Tell us about the importance of answering that question if we should.

52:31 Yeah, I think it's both. I think it's a rhetorical question. It's something that does legitimately need to be answered because you do have to question, right, why am I doing this? What is the reason? Who told me that I'm not smart? I can remember being in sixth grade, and I thought I was doing great in school because I was a straight-A student. I had learned to read. My daddy taught me how to read. I'm a daddy's girl. he taught me to read when I was three years old and so I was the nerd in school I was the nerd and so when I went to sixth grade I'm like oh I got this you know elementary school was nothing I got this sixth grade the first class that I had was math and that teacher told me to my face you will never be good in my class if you walk out of here with a d it might you you know and I was just like what are you serious so he's already telling me based upon how I look based upon his own perceptions based upon his own biases and guess what that entire year I cried every time I went into his class I had an issue because I would pull my hair out while in there because I was stressed out I was so anxious that I I was like no I can't do it and then I would you know bite my nails and pull my hair out and every single test I got an F and then he was like you need to come to tutoring I was like I don't want to do tutoring with you like I don't want to be there. It just made me feel like I couldn't do it all because of his words. Wow. And so if we let somebody else's voice, if we let somebody else's voice, somebody else's words outrank the ability that God has already given you, then if I really, really, really knew and listened to that Grigsby growl that I did every morning, I should be able to stand in front of that teacher and say, no, who told you that I can't learn math? Who told you I can't do algebra? Who told you I wasn't smart?

54:20 Just because you think black people aren't smart, just because you think young girls aren't good at math. He told me I would never be an engineer, that my ideas were dumb. And I never said anything, and I just succumbed to what he said. But how many young people and then adults are there who have now lived with that same voice in their head of somebody else's opinion saying what you can and cannot do? When God said that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. That's exactly right. So it is a question that you have to think about. It's a question you have to legitimately ask. Who told you that? Who told you you can't read? Who told you that you can't comprehend? Who told you that you can't learn? Who told you you couldn't open up the business? Who told you that at 50 or 60 you can't go back to school? Who told you that you can't get a degree? Who told you?

55:13 These are things you have to really ask yourself, and I think it's both ends. Yeah, so you can go back and deconstruct the lie. Absolutely. Deconstruct the lie and figure out where is the root of this coming from? Right. We really have to ask ourselves, where is the root of this coming from, Pastor Kia? Because sometimes it's generational. Yeah. It could be a generational curse and we don't like to talk about it. It could be a generational issue that now, OK, my great grandmother went through it. Then my grandmother went through it. My mom went through it. And now it's going to be me. The last stops with me because I'm not allowing this to continue. And we have to be adamant about that. And so adamant about seeing, again, that self-awareness and wanting to transform and wanting to be better. We have to stop the lie and stop believing it and really question, wait a minute, why am I doing this? Why do I act like this? Do I want to be like this all the time? And then who told me that?

56:06 Is this something I picked up? Is this something I'm doing? Or do I need to change? We really need to ask ourselves. And I'm glad you're sharing all of that, and I'm sure you're just touching hearts and minds all over everybody that's listening. But you said something I thought was important. You talked about it was the teacher when you got to sixth grade that tried to break you down. And it was for me. It was middle school as well. I had an English class, and my parents didn't allow C's in the house. You could do A's and B's but no C's. And I was taking an English class, and I'll never forget the man's name. But in any case, I don't know if I should say it or not, but I'll never forget his name. But I'm sure, anyway, I was going to say something. I know. Focus.

56:47 So, but he would always tell me when I walk in, and I would try my best and do my best to get my A or B in the class. And every time for grade period I walk in, he would always look at me and say, you don't have anything to worry about. You have a solid C in my class. I was like, a solid C? What are you talking about? That was a problem for me. That was a problem. I can't go home with a solid C. I'll get a solid C. I'm dealing with. But in any case, but I wanted to stay there for a second because what's important for us to know, I want to encourage parents, be involved in your child's life. Because I think all of us have shared stories about a poor educator. And so don't be that parent that always thinks the adult is telling the truth and the child is lying. Come on. How about being on the side of your child for a change? That's good.

57:38 Or at least asking the questions so that you can get to the truth. Come on. Because, and don't, and be the parent that shows up. So that they know that their child has somebody that loves them and cares for them. And I dare say, I'll put us both on the line, that when you can't, that's why we're here. We go into the schools. We go into the schools. We'll be willing to talk to the teachers. Or at least tell you and prepare you about how to go in there. We do. But don't you let somebody run roughshod over your child. And then you beating them down. and they're trying to tell you somebody has tried to change their identity. And tell them that they were somebody else. So I just really appreciate all of what you're saying and speaking because when you said that, that was a trigger for me. And that's so good, Pastor Kia, too, because even last week when we were talking about mental health, right, and knowing the difference between, you know, accurate stress and actual, you know, mental health issues, that is one thing that if, you know, I failed to ask that question there as well, which bleeds into this conversation, that if, you know, you're not, maybe you're not good at having conversations with your child.

58:38 Maybe you're, you don't have that open, honest relationship. How do you build it? How do you get there? And I think it starts with affirming, right? Creating, we talked about creating safe spaces where you can talk to your children, but maybe if you can't do that, maybe it starts in the car. If you can't do it at home, maybe it starts on the field before you drop them off at football practice or cheerleading practice. Maybe it starts there to say, you know, I believe in you. And once you start doing it a couple of times, they'll pick up like, wait a minute, this is different. This is strange. You never said that before. Tell them I love you. You know, tell them I support you. I'm here if you need anything. It starts with them really understanding, hey, is she really here? Is he really here for me? And so as you start to open up and have those conversations, then the child will open up about the experiences that they're having at school and with their peers. I'm glad you're telling us how to do that. Can you just go ahead then and take us, we're going to try to turn this corner and walk on you. Sure, sure, sure. Talk about why it's important to affirm the child. So I think one, again, since we're talking about identity this entire month and that scripture really calls out who they are, that they're chosen, the royal, they're a holy nation, a royal priesthood, and true treasures or possessions of God, I think affirmation is key and really critical because it builds positive identity, right?

59:58 It helps children understand their worth, that it's not defined by stereotypes or circumstances or other people's opinions. It strengthens their confidence as well, right? Because if they know who they are, then they'll be confident to stand up, to take a stand, whether, you know, with their teachers or with their peers or with anyone else. And especially as adults, when you know who you are, then you have the confidence to stand in front of somebody down at the city council building and say, hey, no, we demand X, Y, and Z. Because now you have built up that confidence to be able to now speak truth to power. And so it starts with identity first and then leads into confidence. And then it counters all of the other negative messages that they hear. So the more that you do it repeatedly, the more it gets ingrained in them. so it'll cancel all the other negative messages.

1:00:52 And then it also creates a sense of belonging. Like, again, there is a we in this identity that we talked about on Sunday. And so this we is this community that we have. So that happens when you affirm. And so affirmation is not simply telling children what they want to hear. It is consistently speaking truth about who they are, whose they are, and then who they can become in the process. I love it. I love it. Thank you. That's important. Yes, that's very good. So we talked about sharing how the scriptures affirm young people. And so in light of the time, I want to share one, but then I want you to close out with your thoughts. Well, let's give it to them first. Let's give them all of them, and then you break down the one you like. Okay, wait, let's do that. We didn't have time to go through them, but we're just going to show it to you on the screen. Maybe you could take a clip of it. But the first text is 1 Timothy 4 and 12. So write that down so that way you can read at home in your free time.

1:01:48 Again, Bible study. So let's look at multiple scriptures. Amen. First Timothy four and 12, read that one. Then look at first Samuel three, one through 10. First Samuel three, one through 10. Then the next one is Matthew 19, 13 through 15. Again, these are all areas where, again, we're affirming children, affirming what they are. Joel two, 28, Joel two, 28. And then the last one we have is Psalm 8 and 2. So, again, there are a myriad of different scriptures, but these are specifically the ones we pulled out because it talks or touches on children in some way, shape, or form or youth or young adults and getting either into leadership or affirming their gifts and strengthening them who they are. So out of those scriptures that we just gave to the people, which one would you say that you want to break down real quick?

1:02:44 I love them all, but I'll be very quick with 1 Samuel 3. Yeah. 1 Samuel 3, 1 through 10. So this is where God is calling Samuel forth and getting ready to basically ordain him for the work that he's going to do or prepare him for the work he's going to do. And so he's been serving in the tabernacle. He's been serving in the temple. And he hears this voice. the scriptures tells us you can go and read that that he thinks Eli is the one that's calling him and he keeps going to Eli and saying did you call me and he did it three times Eli no I didn't call you Eli tells him no I didn't call you and so he goes back and forth you know you keep calling me here's his name God is the one that's calling him I think that's important because sometimes we hear God's voice and we're trying to ascribe what God is speaking to us to man and so but it was God that was calling him. But Eli, being a man of God himself, understood it. After that third time, he said, wait a minute, go back. And if you hear the voice again, then let him know that your servant is listening and ask God what it is that he desires. And so that's what Samuel did. Samuel, God called Samuel again. Samuel said what Eli told him to say. And what's exciting about this text is then God talks to Samuel. Samuel says, I'm here, I'm your servant. And God lets him, this is part I absolutely love. God tells him, I'm getting ready to do a thing in Israel so that the ears, the two ears of the people that hear will tingle. And so it's so amazing because God is telling a young person. God is telling a teen that I'm getting ready to do something that's going to be astonishing, that's going to make people's ears tingle when they hear But he's not telling Eli.

1:04:31 He's telling it to the young Samuel that's coming forth. Eli was there and mentored him and let him know how to get closer and hear from God, how to respond and answer to God. And God spoke to him. I think it's important that, and we talked about this a little bit in our staff meeting about whether our children are next or whether our children are now. And I'm kind of of the one that God can speak to them now. Let's not be dismissive. And then there's reasons why they're next. they're becoming. But that's where we were. I'm not making my point because I got the mic. But God here in this text is telling Samuel, Samuel, a teen that he's getting ready to do something. And so I think it's important. It causes us to lean in, to hear, because a lot of times we're trying to solve the world's problems and trying to figure out what's next. And it just may be that God has spoken to one of our teens. And so I love to give them voice. I want to hear from them what are your ideas and what are your thoughts because our answer may be in their belly in them and so you got to open up the space and get so i'll pause there i want to hear from you and um and just i want to hear which scripture kind of speaks to you and then then can you kind of close out again with any final thoughts or something that you want us to take home and wrap up um who told you that uh i love the the first timothy four and twelve text because it literally says, don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech and conduct and love and faith and impurity. And that's what we talked about Sunday, you know, knowing your identity and then exhibiting those characteristics of God that then becomes an example for the older ones. Um, and so Timothy was relatively, uh, you know, a young person, a minister serving in the church at Ephesus. And in that ancient society, it was often placed, those people placed greater authority and credibility on the older people who had more experience. And so the leadership challenge was that Timothy needed to lead faithfully despite his youth. And so there were church pressures that he's dealing with in his

1:06:41 leadership where the church at Ephesus, you know, had false teaching. They had disputes and fights and questions about proper Christian living, same things we have today. Right. And Paul then affirms his calling. Paul tells Timothy to not wait until he's older to have influence. And so that's a word for our young people, that they don't need to wait until they're older to have influence, that it's character over age. Yes. Hello. Yes, yes, yes. Online. Yeah. Character over age. That was good. Which goes back to, again, the holiness point on Sunday. Right, right. That holiness is not about age. That's right. Because if some of our older people could do it, they would do it. They just can't anymore. It's not a choice. It's not a choice. It's not because they did it because they wanted to. Right, right, right. So Timothy's example here in this 1 Peter 4 and 12, he's saying, look, Paul's telling it and urging him, continue on and lead, but then lead by example in your faith, in your purity, in your love, in your conduct, and in your speech. So for our young people, and this is how I would close it, you know, you may be young in age.

1:07:47 You may be little in height. For our youth, right, you may be young, but you are never too young to lead by example. That's right. And so your character and who you are, your identity and God sets you apart because, again, you are different on purpose. So that's what I would leave with. And that's how you can get in rooms before they do. Like your character will go before you. I'm sorry, go ahead. No, no, no. your character goes before you. That's good. You were getting me excited. Come on, take this home. Well, I hope you all enjoyed the breakdown and the recap for the summer. I wish we had more time, but hopefully prayerfully you guys will go back and look at all of those scriptures, uh, to be able to really read God's word and hear what the Lord says from different perspectives, different, uh, apostles and different writers about what the word says about our children, our youth, in our young adults.

1:08:42 And so that hopefully will help us as a congregation to lead them to continue to affirm them and who they are. And so now maybe you heard the word tonight, whether you're here in the congregation, we got a lot of people here tonight, or those watching online, maybe something touched you, something pricked your heart. And you said, you know what, God, I need to be transformed. I need to be more like you. And there are some ways, God, that you're showing me right now that I need to better myself. We are all a work in progress. And so if that's you, you can join that number right there. You can use the QR code. Or if you're here in the sanctuary, we have our ministers that are here that can receive you with open and welcome arms to be able to embrace you and welcome you into the body of faith. And so is there one? Is there one tonight? Maybe that word touched you.

1:09:35 Is there one tonight? Again, those online, call, join, or use the QR code. If you want to be a member, join us. You can also do the website, friendshipwest.org slash join us. Well, amen. Let's give a hand clap of praise because we're all a part of the body of Christ in here. We bless God for you. We praise God for you. And as we continue in that worship vein, it is now time for giving. Forgiving. Come on, clap your hands. It's a joy to give. It's a privilege and a joy to give. Yes, it is. And so we ought to give with a grateful heart. And so on the screen, there are the ways that you can give. You can text to give. You can use our Givelify app. You can also go on the online or church app and give. There's a QR code here in the building. You can use those ways as well. Or our deacons, our wonderful deacons are in the aisle right now, ready to receive your gift if you have it in your hand.

1:10:36 As all hearts and minds are ready and clear, we're going to pray over our offering and receive those gifts. Father, we thank you and we honor you, Lord God, for the opportunity to be able to give back to your kingdom. God, you see the work and the labor, Lord God, of what we are doing, not only for our children, our youth, our young adults. Oh God, but this ministry as a whole and how we fight for our community. Oh God, how we give and how we want to continue to do so. So, God, we ask that every gift that is given on tonight, whether in-house or online, that you would bless it and that you would do what your word says. Press it down. Shake it together. And let it run over. That we would not have room enough to receive it. Bless the giver and bless those that don't have to give. That on the next time you would bless them with a major portion. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. As our deacons are giving and those online, we have a couple of announcements. Family Field Day.

1:11:31 We are closing out. It is hard to believe, Pastor Kia, that August is over already. Let me tell you, time flies when you're having fun. And we had a lot. And we had a lot, as y'all can see at the beginning. But there is the QR code. Everything is free. Say free 99. Free 99. It is free. We want you guys to come out. We want to close out Immersing Generations Month with a family-filled day. Join us Saturday, August 29th from 9 to 3 at our 616 Keese location. We want to make sure that everybody stays cool with this 108 and 110 degree weather. So we're going to be inside at our 616 location for a day of family-filled fun. Don't just drop off your kids. If you have to, we will take them. But come on and bring them out as a family so that we can participate in our activities for the day. It's all indoors.

1:12:23 We'll kick things off with a special session led by CEO and founder of Beyond the Ball. It is called the Game Plan for Raising Triple Threat Athletes. And then we'll get ready for a basketball tournament, three-on-three, tug-of-war, and a family obstacle course. And guess what? We have prizes, so you got to come to get a prize. You got to come. And so it's completely free. No registration for the workshop or the day's events. We'll have lunch. Diop is also going to be there and hosting some food as well. So bring the whole family. Bring the whole family. Let it be a day to celebrate and close out the incredible Emerging Generations Month. And bring your skills. Bring your skills. Look, bring your skills. I'm going to get there one of these days. I'm telling you I'm going to get there. Okay, and lastly, we only got two announcements tonight. Lastly, everybody say Freedom Summer. Freedom Summer. Justice Revival. Justice Revival.

1:13:15 Oh, I need to hear y'all for real. Freedom Summer. Freedom Summer. summer justice revival justice we want to see you online come out to the church that's not a night to stream we want this house to be filled friday august 28th so come and get the revival and then you can come on saturday and work it off you know what i'm saying so uh friday august 28th at 6 30 the freedom forward election ready boot camp and training will be that day and then um saturday the 29th again from 9 to 4. They have breakfast and lunch that will be provided as well as giveaways. And so you don't want to miss. It's just a weekend full of activities. And that is going to be here at 2020. 2020 on Friday, August 28th at 630. So we want to see you in the house. Anything else, Pastor Kia? No.

1:14:07 You did another, just again, did an amazing job. And it was my pleasure sitting with you here tonight for the breakdown. I want to see y'all on Sunday because Pastor Key is preaching Sunday. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. All right. Well, all hearts and minds are clear. Let's go ahead and pray out. And again, we want to see you on Sunday. Father, we thank you for what our eyes have seen, what our hearts have felt, oh God, on tonight. We ask that you would continue to allow this word to just meditate and permeate within us, oh God. That, God, we would just take root in you. That we would be like that tree planted by the rivers of water.