Walk It Out Wednesday: Love Steps In - Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts

2:01 and I'm really excited about the opportunity to revisit the message that God gave me on Sunday and I've got questions and let's start with prayer. Holy Spirit, I need you. I love you. I can do nothing without you and I can do anything with you. So meet me, God. Give me wisdom. Give me prophecy. Give me revelation. Give me strategy. Help me to not be nervous, to show up in authenticity, that I may serve these, your great people. God, open their hearts that the dam that has kept your love from flowing would be removed in Jesus' name, and that they would walk out of this place with an overwhelming sense of your love, your peace, your presence, constantly with them. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Okay, so I haven't done a Walk It Out Wednesday before, so I know it's very loose, very casual, and so I brought my laptop because as I was looking at some of the questions, and I just scanned them. I didn't get a chance to really dig into them, but I got all of my, like, study software and my Bible and my tools, and so we're going to walk it out together and get answers together. Amen. So I'm going to give you a little recap of the message just in case you weren't here on Sunday. Sunday, I preached a message called Love Steps In. Love Steps In.

3:26 And the premise of this message began with the reality that the human experience means that we are, you've heard it before, products of our environment, right? And so our output, who we become, our behaviors, our thoughts, our actions are often directly correlated to the environment in which we grew up in. So when we start talking about wanting to change our output, wanting to change how we show up in the world, we can't just focus on I want to change the output without first taking inventory of what created me. We talk about being made in the image of God. Before I came to the faith of believing that I was made in the image of God, I was made in the image of a lot of things. If we had testimony service in this room, some of us would be honest enough to say, I've been made in the image of shame.

4:22 I've been made in the image of abandonment. I've been made in the image of rejection. So to come to a place where we say, I believe I'm made in the image of God is a faith move. Oh, that's a faith move. It is a decision to believe that I was created. Before I formed you in your mother's womb, there's a scripture in Jeremiah that we often quote. It is to say, I believe that before I took my first breath, that I started in heaven. And when I started in heaven, that God breathed the breath of life inside of me and said, I'm going to send you to earth and I want you to look just like me on earth. That was the goal. When he created humanity from the dust of the earth, he says, I want you to look like me. I want you to be fruitful and to multiply and to have dominion. That is God's design for humanity. We were supposed to be made in the image of God.

5:17 And then we see Eve, you know, sis was hungry, and she eats from the fruit, and then she gives the fruit to Adam, and sin has entered the world. Why is it important for us to recognize the implications of sin? And if you grew up in church like I did, you know, nobody wants to sin, nobody wants to sin, but we don't really talk about the issue with sin. Sin creates separation between us and God. So, I was made in the image of God, but sin got in the way.

5:51 Sometimes it wasn't even our sin because we're born into a fallen world now. Now, someone else's sin got in the way. Generational sin got in the way, and then I put my sin in front of it, and then when I was made in the image of God, there's this distance that keeps getting created because of sin, but love steps in. When we enter into the New Testament and we hear about this man named Jesus, John 3 16 tells us, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish. What part of them is perishing? The part of them that was made in the image of God is perishing. Their lives are perishing, but if they believe in Jesus, they will be saved from perishing. They will have everlasting life. That means that I got a home in heaven for sure, but also I have life here that I haven't tapped into yet. Ooh, that feels good to me. There's a life here I haven't tapped into yet because I've been made in the image of all of the things that happened to me, made in the image of what my parents could or could not do. Made in the image of my industry. Some of us are working in fields and industry where sometimes greed, sometimes betrayal is just the norm. And we look up and we have been made in the image of our industry instead of being made in the image of God.

7:18 But Jesus comes in, whosoever believes in me, if you believe in me, then you shall not perish, you'll have everlasting life. And so Jesus says they need a model. They need an example. They need to understand what it looks like to be made in the image of God, but navigating the real world with real haters and real temptation and real potential. I want to show them how to do this. I want to show them what their spirit needs to look like. I want to show them what their language needs to look like. I want to show them the heart posture they must possess for real success. Oh, goodness. So when I study Scripture and I'm looking at the life of Jesus, I'm looking at a model of how I should be showing up in the world. Let's turn to Matthew 5. I want to look at the Beatitudes. Because whenever I look at the Beatitudes, I be having an attitude.

8:16 Because, baby, by the time I get finished looking at what I'm supposed to be looking like, I struggle. So, I'm going to start with you. I'm going to start with 43. Matthew 5 and 43. And if you read all of it, this is the Sermon on the Mount. There's plenty of things here. So, if we look at it like Jesus is my example. This is what I'm supposed to look like. This is how I'm supposed to show up in the world. Matthew 5 and 43 says that Jesus says this. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. How many have heard that? That's in the culture right now. Love those who love you, hate those who hate you. And we have accepted that as truth. But Jesus says, I'm about to flip the script on that. Instead of you loving those who love you and hating those who, and hating your enemies, I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you.

9:13 Do good to those who hate you. And pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Pause right there. I'm made in the image of God. Jesus is my example. You're telling me that instead of going off on people, Huh? Huh?

9:33 You're telling me, instead of holding people accountable for the way that they did me, that I'm supposed to bless them. And not the way y'all say God bless people in Texas. If you're watching online and you've never heard a person from Texas say God bless you, you want to make sure that you haven't offended them. People in Texas will say bless your heart. They don't mean bless your heart.

9:56 They don't mean it like that. They mean get your heart out of here before I have to deal with your heart. But Jesus says, for real in real life, I want you to be in a place where you can bless those who curse you. Where you're not wishing that the same thing they did, a revenge and karma and all of these ways of the world that we use in our vendettas against other people. That we're supposed to be in a place where we say, bless those who curse you. Our job is to be made in the image of God. And what I was noticing when I was studying for my message on Sunday, and I'm going to get to the questions, but I just want to lay this foundation for the message, is that many of us don't mind saying, you know what? I want the power of God. So I'm going to study Jesus because I want to know how to cast out devils. And I want the wisdom and the authority of God.

10:50 So I'm going to study Jesus so I can recognize how to show up in powerful spaces. I want the intentionality of God. So I'm going to study Jesus to see how Jesus was about his mission. I do not often hear people say, I want to learn to love like God. Jesus is on the cross, and he says, forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.

11:18 Man. And so this message for me, especially coming off of PT's message where he talks about the love of many growing cold, was me really trying to take the time to examine what happens in our love, where it goes cold, where it waxes cold. What happens to our love? And so I use the example of Peter, and Jesus comes up to Peter, and Jesus says to Peter, do you love me? And he says, yes, I love you. You know I love you. He goes, tend to my sheep. Feed my sheep. And that word that Jesus is using, that word agape that is translated love, most of us know is agape love. But I want to show you the translation in the Greek. They're going to put it on the screen for me. The translation in the Greek of the word love is coming up. Boom shakalaka. It says that definition of love is affection or benevolence, especially a love feast charity dear love that means that when Jesus is saying do you love me do you have affection do you have benevolence there's a word that was actually highlighted in the text that I sent if you could pull it up it's from a root word that means I can pull it up on my phone if you guys don't have it I literally sent this on my way in and I know our team may not, they put it in a graphic because if you would have seen what I sent over, it didn't look nearly as professional and beautiful, but I love the Potter's House because they do things so well.

12:52 Amen. Okay, I'm pulling it up. This is why I have my laptop up here. Okay, so it comes from a Greek word, to love or to be love. So Jesus is asking Peter, can you be love? And when you hear anyone talk about agape love, they say it's unconditional love. And what I noticed in studying for this text is that unconditional love, sometimes when we use it, it's like can you love someone without any conditions where they can do whatever and you're still able to love them. And I want to say this, loving someone and having boundaries are two different things. I want to be clear about that. Jesus loved Peter, but when Peter started trying to keep him from going to the cross, he says, get behind me, Satan, for you are mindful of the things of men, not the things of God. You can love someone and still have boundaries. As a matter of fact, sometimes the only way that you can love someone unconditionally is if you have boundaries.

13:51 I want to love you good, so we need distance. And so he asked him over and over again about this agape love. And he finally gets to a point where he takes on a different definition of that word love, which means phileo, which is a brotherly love, more like connection. And it spoke to me that God will meet us where we are, whatever our definition currently is, right? Because everyone has a different definition of love. I believe that's why it's so difficult for us to come to a place of agreement on what it means to experience God's love and to give love. My father and I were talking today, and he was talking about for him, love was provision and protection. And I felt like love was present. So when he wasn't present, I didn't think that he loved me the way that I needed to be loved. But because love has different expressions, if we're going to experience God's love, we have to recognize that God's love has different expressions in different seasons.

14:48 sometimes God's love is him providing for you and sometimes God's love is him comforting you if you look at the beginning of Matthew 5 it says blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted sometimes the love of God is comforting you blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled sometimes God's love is him filling you up and so the question is never, does God love me? The question is, God, how am I experiencing your love in this season? Oh, man, when Peter, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked for him, to me, love is like, if Satan asks about me, you don't know me. You know what I'm saying, Jesus? Like,

15:30 but that's not what he says. He says, I've prayed for you that your faith wouldn't fail you. So, sometimes love is saving you, but sometimes love is preparing you before you walk into the storm. Sometimes love stops the storm. Sometimes love tells you to be steady in the storm because the storm can't cease. And I want you to know that this is what I have come to believe about God, that God does not allow us to go through loss or separation or pain that he cannot in some way restore. And this goes back to that definition of restoration. Sometimes it's not getting the things back, right? Restoration is my soul being restored, my spirit being restored. God doesn't allow things to happen to me where His presence, His spirit, and His love can't restore me. So, that's like a little bit of a recap of the message, but you can go back on Sunday and check it, or go back on YouTube and check it out if you'd like to. But the first question I got was from Genevieve.

16:36 And Genevieve wants to know how to change my input if the only thing that was put in me is all negative. Okay. I know because everybody's here and we just get to know each other that nobody wants to admit that that's kind of part of their little question as well. But if you just put up a church finger for me just so I know we in the right. Can anyone relate to Genevieve's question? Amen. Okay, that is something that many of us want to know. If my environment hasn't been healthy, if I haven't been exposed to healthy definitions of love, divine definitions of love, how do I change my input? This is where I go back to this belief, this faith that I was made in the image of God. The reason why you need faith to believe this is because when you worship, when you study, when you're in scripture, you are changing your input. If the only time you experience the presence of God is when you're in a room like this, you are missing out on the fullness of God.

17:44 What God does in this room is just a morsel of what God can do throughout your life. the presence of God is never far away from us. It's never just somewhere where we have to go and access it. It is an awareness that we must possess. And when we bring ourselves into the consciousness of this is an awareness that I am constantly in the presence of God, but I'm also in the presence of my doubt. I'm in the presence of my fear. I'm in the presence of my anxiety. Worship is when I make the decision to only focus on the presence of God. And when I make a decision to only focus on the presence of God, I am already beginning to change my input. If you think worship is just singing the songs, you're missing it. You can worship with no music. You can worship with no microphones. You can worship with no instruments. It is when I focus my heart and my mind on the goodness of God, where I begin to exalt Him and to elevate His name and to recognize who He is, that you put the fish in the sea and the stars in the sky, and yet you put air in my lungs.

18:54 God, I worship you. You are a way maker. You've made a way out of no, this is my worship. Worship has got to come out of your mouth, and I'm going to take it even further. Worship should come from your own language. You don't have to borrow anybody else's words to worship. Give God what you have. It may not be an old school church mother. It may not be something that's going to win a Grammy, but if it is from the sincerity of your heart, your way of saying, God, I know who you are. I know that you're great. I know that you're mighty. I know that you do miracles. I know who you are and I worship who you are. I bow down at your throne. There is nobody like you, Lord. I searched all over. I went to bars and relay. I mean, I really searched all over, and yet you were still there. I worship you. I acknowledge you. I love you, and you love me back.

19:53 How could you love me back of all the things I did? You know, the thoughts in my head aren't always pure, and you still love me. You still want to do life with me. God, I worship you. I bow down in humility that you would want to be in relationship with someone as imperfect as me. I worship you. And I want to be who I am in worship all the time.

20:22 When I'm in worship, I don't feel anxiety. When I'm in worship, I've had moments where I felt like I don't know if I should be here or not. when I'm in worship, those thoughts can't follow me into worship. And for some of us, it may just be a 10-minute break, but you got to notice, who do I become in worship?

20:47 What bothers me? What conversations can exist in my worship? That's who I want to be all of the time. And so I changed my input to match my output. So maybe you didn't, maybe you weren't raised in environments where people showed you good things, where morals and ethics were a part of the conversation. You are not at a deficit because the Lord will meet you wherever you are. And if we do this thing right, we'll all end up in the right place. You know what I mean? It doesn't matter where you start. It matters how you finish. I think Bishop says that all the time. It doesn't matter where you start. Your worship accelerates you. Your worship heals you. Your worship transforms you. One of the scriptures I used in 2 Corinthians talks about how we are being transformed into the same image as Jesus, being transformed from glory to glory to glory because we look at him as if beholding a mirror.

21:51 So worship is when I look at God, I look at Jesus, and I allow what I see to transform me. Oh, hallelujah. My worth, my identity, my idea of love is transformed. I'm able to forgive things I never thought I could forgive when I get in worship because God reminds me of how he has forgiven me. So if you want to change your input, and let me tell you something. Maybe the only thing you saw was negativity growing up. I am telling you the way so many of us just get on autopilot and we just get to going and going and going. Some of us, our input changes and we don't even realize it. I wish I had a really good analogy, but I'm just thinking about, oh, snow TVs. When you remember where we had to buy antennas on the television.

22:44 Y'all don't want to talk to me today because y'all got Hulu and Netflix, but I remember when you went and put that TV, that the antennas on top of the TV. Why was y'all putting foil on top? Who told y'all? Let me tell you, y'all been in steam a long time because who told y'all that foil was going, it was already silver. What was the foil going to do? Something. I don't know. and then you would put it on the auto scanner to see what channels would come up. Then you move it again to put it on the auto scanner because you know channel four should have shown up and must be something to move the foil. That's what it's like when we're going through life sometimes. It's like sometimes our input is changing because we're so busy in the motion of things that I started off making God my atmosphere. I started off wanting to be like Jesus and now I just got stuck or I got hurt or I experienced some type of trauma and now I've moved, I've shifted. We're walking with Jesus. We're not arriving. And because we're walking with Jesus, you begin to thank God for conviction. Because conviction lets me know I changed my input.

24:02 it. Conviction lets me know I got off track. Conviction lets me know that I'm doing somebody else's work. I'm no longer doing the work of the Lord. And so we need conviction. Lord, search my heart because I could think I am okay and I could be absolutely wrong.

24:25 Your faith, your energy, your creativity, your mind could be hijacked and you not even know it. So if we are not in relationship with God, where we're making sure that I've got the right focus, I've got the right mentality, I've got the right desires, then we could end up off track and not knowing it. But God is so good and so gracious that he gives us another chance to get on track. Okay. The next question is from Tatiana. Tatiana wants to know, what can I do to truly change as a person? I keep trying. I even thought I'd change, but after a little while, I end up going back to being the same. I think this goes back to keeping God in front of us. Help me to say it real good, Lord. That it's not just a religious routine, that we're in relationship.

25:22 If we find ourselves in the same situation over and over again, to ask God to help me to understand how I keep making this same choice. That means somewhere in there, there's a default setting. And when I feel afraid, when I feel judged, when I feel this, I do that. God, help me to understand the pattern that exists in my life that makes me shift my focus from being centered around you and now I'm producing outcomes that I no longer agree with or no longer want in my spirit. So if you really want to change as a person and you keep trying, I want you to know that one, there's nothing wrong with you. Because sometimes if you grew up like I did and you just couldn't get right, was it the movie Life Can't Get Right? You got a can't get right spirit on you. Everyone's had a can't get right spirit on them. Don't let these folks fool you. Everybody at one point in their life has had a can't get right spirit. I just can't get right. Sometimes you got to ask God, help me to lose the desire for this thing that I know is breaking me. You want to get right, but you still love it. And you can't get right if you still love it. But if you say, God, help me break my heart for what breaks yours. God, I want deliverance from this thing. You got to recognize that that pattern is a war against your identity, that that pattern is a war against what God wants to do in your life, that that pattern is quite literally something the enemy has planted in your life. And I want to break covenant with the thing that feels good, but breaks me when it's all said and done. I don't want to love you anymore. I don't want to do this. I don't need an escape anymore. I want to be like God. And you got to be real about where you are. God, I still like it. God, I still love it. But God, I want you more than I want that.

27:19 So help me to begin to shift my focus. We talk about that scripture, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves. But it says you got to turn from your wicked ways. Sometimes we're asking for our pattern to change, but we aren't turning. The turning is your job. The turning is your job. So God, what do I need to turn away from? How do I need to be transformed? Where do I need the power of God to break this stronghold in my mind? And don't be afraid to ask someone to pray with you. Because can I tell you another thing? And I know not everyone has the relationship for this, so if you don't have it, this is something for you and God to work out.

28:14 But there is sometimes a spirit of pride that keeps us bound. And there is beauty, I'ma say it, in accountability. And saying I can't beat this devil on my own, but where two or three are gathered, he'll be in the midst, and I've been trying to beat it by myself, but I'm asking if someone else can touch and agree with me that this stronghold will be broken, that this chain will be broken off of my mind, But I will be set free and delivered. If that's you, I want you to just pop up. You want someone to touch and agree with you. Touch and agree. Come on, somebody. Now we in a room full of believers. Y'all could wait for me to get to the person who stood up, or y'all could start touching and agreeing with them right now. I believe that the curse is broken. I believe that the stronghold is destroyed.

29:07 Take a minute and really touch and agree with them. They want deliverance. They want the power of God to help them be free for real. I want you to take 10 seconds and pray in your own way that the presence of God would invade their heart and their mind, that they would begin to experience the freedom that God has for them, that in the name of Jesus, every stronghold that has kept them bound, every stronghold that has them repeating patterns will be broken in the name of Jesus. And if you have faith, I want you to ask God for instantaneous deliverance. right now in the name of Jesus. If you don't know what to pray, just say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Because you know what? Jesus knows how to fix it. Jesus knows how to cure it. Jesus knows how to break it. Jesus knows exactly what happened and exactly how to get on the other side. In the name of Jesus, I am touching and agreeing that the will of God for your life will come forth. In the name of Jesus, I am touching and agreeing that no weapon formed against you will prosper. In the name of Jesus, I am touching and agreeing that you are covered by the blood. You are not covered by fear. You are not covered by suicidal thoughts. You are not covered by anxiety. I bleed the blood of Jesus over your life. I ask God to put a hedge of protection around your marriage, around your family, around your finances, in the name of Jesus. What you couldn't do in your own strength, I'm asking for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit flow like never before.

30:50 Holy Spirit release like never before. I believe it and I decree it. I believe it and I decree it. Now if you believe God's already beginning to shift the soil in this room, if you believe that God's already beginning to shift the atmosphere in this room. Let's take a minute and take it to another level. Let's take it to another level because it's going to take the power of God to get it done. It's going to take the presence of God for there to really be breakthrough. Let's take it to another level. And God, while you're in the room, if there's anything in me that doesn't look like you, I give you full permission to break me out of patterns of self-sabotage to break me out of patterns of doubt to break me out of patterns of rejection to break me out of patterns of abandonment watch out if you're changing your input you better watch out if you're changing your input and when you change your input you better believe that it's gonna change your output you may walk out of this room free you may walk out of this room with a new way of thinking you may walk out of this room with a new way of believing You Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water, says God.

32:08 The river's flowing, the river's flowing, the river's flowing, the river's flowing. The river's flowing. Stir up the gift of God that's on the inside of you. The river wants to flow in your life like never before. The river is flowing, the river is flowing. rivers flowing the river is flowing and you shall be like a tree you shall be like a tree God says I'm gonna root you I'm gonna plant you and you shall be like a tree no more being tossed to and fro God says I'm gonna plant you in love. I'm going to plant you in hope. I'm going to plant you in peace. I'm going to plant you in grace. You shall be like a tree. You may have never even saw any trees growing up, but God says, I'll make you like what you never saw. You shall be like a tree.

33:09 And your fruit, your fruit will remain. When you let God do the planting, your fruit will remain. And at the end of the day, that's what Tatiana's asking. Is how do I get to a place where my fruit remains? I gotta be planted. And sometimes you need a little help getting planted. And you don't have to do this on your own. You wanna talk about love stepping in? It's opening yourself up to the possibility that you were not meant to figure it out on your own.

33:57 that I may need to come into places like this. That I, you know, you can experience the presence of God on your own for sure, but maybe there is something about being in a room full of other believers that increases my faith, that helps me to see that the same God that did it for them can do it for me where I don't have to do it on my own. Sometimes we miss out on the way that God wants to allow love to step into our lives because we insist on doing things on our own. Don't be afraid to say, I need someone to touch and agree with me. And like I said, if you're in a season where you're like, I don't have anybody, then I want you to know that presence will meet you right where you are.

34:47 And don't be afraid to pray those if prayers. sometimes our faith we don't know if God will meet us where we are I know you met me then but will you meet me here don't be afraid to say God if you see me if you love me if you hear me reveal yourself to me be careful about just asking God to show up by giving you something just reveal yourself to me I want to see you. I want to know you. So I can know what's not you.

35:29 The more you get to know God, the more you know what's not God. And I study the Bible because I want to know what's God. He don't have a history of leaving people. he doesn't have a history of condemning and shaming people. Yes, he holds us accountable. Yes, I'm not saying that we won't have to go through a process of restoration. But even if I make my bed in hell, he's with me. He don't leave me. He sees me to the other side. So if the same God that was doing it in that book thousands of years ago is still showing up in people's lives now, then maybe I can trust that he can meet me where I am too. Amen? Amen.

36:20 Okay, let's see. I like this. I think. Don't, mm-mm, hold on. Let's see, because some of these I feel like we're answering on accident on purpose. How do I make what God says about me the end-all, be-all? Why doesn't it feel like enough? because renewing of our mind takes time. It is a process. And I think the reason why some of us don't experience that planting is because we receive the Word from God, but we don't meditate on it day and night. We receive the Word from God, and then we want to go out in our own strength without constantly being in relationship with God. But that renewing of our mind, it is a process. And when we recognize that it's a process, it will be enough. One, I want you to realize that sanctification is a journey. And that will stress you out because you'll get delivered from one thing, child.

37:21 And God will be like, now that you got that together, I've been meaning to tell you, you real raggedy when it comes to something else. But it keeps us humble and it keeps us dependent on God. And so we have to lose out of our mind the cultural expectation that we will arrive. Oh, come on, somebody. There is a cultural expectation that if we get the degree, if we get the marriage, if we get the bank account, then we will arrive. And then we try to apply that to our relationship with God. And we say, I said the prayer of salvation, now I have arrived. But then I'm still in battles and I'm still struggling. And then we begin to worship and God helps us to overcome lust. But then God reveals that maybe there's another issue in our life. we have to learn the beauty of process, that he begins to work with us and he completes it until the day of Jesus. That means this is going to be an ongoing process. Love is a journey. It is not a destination. If any of you all have had the privilege of having children, you know this firsthand. You don't even have to have the privilege of having children. If you have had the privilege of knowing people. Love is a process. And if we're going to experience God's love in our different states and conditions, then we have to be willing to journey with the Lord. So be okay with this being a journey, that there may not be no end-all be-all, that there will be a constant renewing, that there will be a constant God revealing Himself to you and you to Him, and Him constantly changing and transforming the way that we show up in the world.

39:07 When she said, get in God's presence and worship, when you say worship, do you mean playing gospel music, how do I worship? We talked about, girl, I hope you saw that, because worship is so beautiful, and it doesn't require the music. I mean, it's beautiful. I thank God for our worship team, because y'all don't want me up here singing. But you know what? The beauty of worship is not just when people can sing, right? Because anybody can sing. We got people who sing everywhere, and they're not singing worship songs. And it's not just picking the right songs, because there are all types of songs. Worship leaders, when they are showing up in the fullness of who they are called to be, are inviting you to experience their worship. I wish I, I think I said that the way I meant it. They're inviting you to view what their worship looks like. And it just so happens that God has given them a gift.

40:05 But I grew up going to higher ground, always abounding assemblies in Columbus, Ohio. And there would be people who got up there to sing. And they wouldn't necessarily be going to American Idol. Not necessarily. But baby, the anointing and glory would fall. because their worship was an invitation. That's what I'm praying for. I'm praying to be so free in my worship that I'm not worried about how it sounds to someone else, that my worship is just so good that I think that anyone who catches it could be swept into the presence of God, that my worship could be the overflow for someone else. So no, you don't necessarily need the songs you need. Worship is a heart posture. It's an awareness and an acknowledgement. that you have to practice. Practice your worship muscle in the car. That's my favorite time to worship is I drop the girls off at school and I get in the car and that's my time to worship.

41:04 And you have to practice it because at first it may feel awkward and foreign. You know, maybe you only have done it in church or you've only had it with music and you've only had it with singers. But to practice what does worship look like, take 10 minutes, take five minutes, take 30, it'll grow. Because let me tell you something, the more that you experience worship, the more that you want it. I have to remember sometimes that we're supposed to come up here and do announcements and speak and stuff because the glory will hit this place. And all I want to do is just be in the presence of God. Nothing hurts there. When I'm in the presence of God, everything is clear there. But you can practice worship to get that muscle strong. And you might as well because we practice everything else. We did everything else multiple times. You try to worship one time, you give up. You say, worship is not for me, but you didn't give up one time on the one time when the people was doing what they was doing and you was out there doing what you did.

41:59 If you caught it, you caught it. If you didn't, God bless you and come up here and preach because righteousness is your portion. But some of us tried many things many times just to make sure it wasn't good for us. You know, maybe time has changed things. Maybe. Okay, so you might as well try worship over and over again. Okay, here we go. I think I got time for a few more questions.

42:23 Oh, I'm going to let PT answer this one. PT, you ready? Because he grew up in a Baptist church too, and that's not my portion, okay? He said, this question says, I grew up in a Baptist church. I do not truly understand being holy and speaking in tongues. I want that in my life, but if I don't really understand what it is, I don't really know what to do to achieve that holiness. Yes. Come on, PT. Yes. I will say this. Yes, can you give a round of applause? Oh, Tristan had a microphone for you.

42:58 Thank you. Well, first of all, we thank God for the Baptist Church. Let's just start there. Many of us got our foundation, and if you don't have a foundation, you ain't got nothing. So I'll start there. Holiness is a really interesting thing. God says, be holy for I am holy. so if God says be holy for I am holy let's talk about what he's not saying God has never had sin at all completely sin that not even connected to sin in any type of way at all so what he is not saying is be me he's not saying be exactly like me because that that's impossible, but he is saying to reach for a standard. He's saying to pursue, to be like me, to pursue holiness. Now, God also, Pastor Sarah talked about process. God also understands the reality of process and the process of sanctification or the process of becoming. The Bible says we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. As a man thinks, so is he. So there's a connection between how we think and who we become. Notice he doesn't say do holy. He says be holy. So we're talking about a being. So as it relates to, you mentioned a couple of things. You mentioned be holy. So hopefully that gives some clarity there. And speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is different. We're talking about an expression of the Spirit, which has a number of benefits. One of the benefits is you can edify yourself by praying in your heavenly language. I wish I had about two hours with you. I'll really break it down. But it's for edification. You want to be edified. And so there are times when I don't know what to pray, but I know I need something.

45:08 there are times where I may you know it might be time to preach and and I've studied and I have prepared and I've gone over my thought maps but I need the Holy Ghost and so I'm edifying myself so a lot of times with tongues it comes down to why do you want tongues why do you want to speak in tongues or you want to speak in tongues because you feel like some sort of way that's going to validate who you are spiritually, right? So forget about the fact that it edifies you. Forget about the fact that when you speak in tongues, you speak mysteries. And sometimes what God wants to do in the spirit, you don't know, but there's a breakthrough in the mystery of speaking in tongues. It's not that. It's I want to be, and that's my testimony. I want to speak in tongues because I want to be spiritual.

45:58 I want to be, watch this, a Christian elite. because only the Christian elite speak in Nado-do-do-bo-sha, and it never happened. And when I gave it up and I said, God, you know what? I want everything that you have for me. And I went to pray in English. I went to pray on the level of my prayer. I got on my knees and opened my mouth to pray, and tongues flowed. So, again, to be holy is about understanding that we're called to become like our God, which necessitates a process. Worship, as Pastor Sarah talked about, getting the word of God, meditating on the word so that your mind can be renewed, which will bring about transformation. and tongues is an expression of the Holy Spirit. I believe that everyone who has the Holy Spirit has the potential to speak, pray, sing, worship in tongues.

47:04 Your motivation has to be right. Ask God for it. Ask Him why you should want it, and I believe He'll give it to you. Thank you.

47:43 We'll see you next time.

49:21 Everybody on Zoom understands what it's like to keep the camera up from here. One of the questions that came through is, how do I get my family to hunger for God's love the way I do? Isn't this, I think everyone's question, right, It is like God's doing something in my life and my heart, but maybe it's not showing up with the same strength that it's showing up in the lives of other people. I want you to know that making your mission to convert them may be challenging when it took God to convert you. You know what I mean? Sometimes we can become hyper fixated on they got to get it, they got to get it, that they got to get it, that we miss out on the reality that God does things in his perfect timing and in his perfect will. However, I will say this, if you are in their life, I believe that God has placed a light in their life because they are in darkness, whatever their darkness looks like. So let your light shine brightly.

50:20 If you want to make them hungry, show up with God and in God with so much beauty and so much love and so much power that they become curious about how you're showing up the way that you do. How do you have that joy? How do you have that peace? Didn't you just get bad news? I have an anchor in the Lord. And if you want that anchor too, it is available to you. If you want to make other people hungry, baby, set the table. If you want to make people hungry, live a life that makes them hungry for what you got. And unlike the world, we don't have to gatekeep. I will tell you in a heartbeat that the grace of God is on my life, that goodness and mercy was following me, and I finally let it catch up with me. And now I look 10 years younger. I'm not stressed anymore. I got peace in the middle of the storm because I messed around and allowed my yoke to become his yoke. And now my burden feels easier than it actually is.

51:20 Set the table with your heart. Set the table with the way that you show up. And let people become curious about what God's doing in your life. The only reason why I say it to do it this way is because I think if you're asking this question, And a lot of times your family already knows that you're in relationship with God because we make it a point to let them know that they sinning.

51:42 And we don't agree. I would caution against condemnation, judgment, and being critical. And I would challenge you to ask yourself, what does loving kindness look like? Because that's the way that God's going to meet them. and if God's going to use you as the tool that leads them, as the bridge that leads them to him, you ought to look as much like God as you want them to experience in God. There was one more, and then I'm going to leave you guys with a few scriptures that I think will help you on your love journey.

52:24 This question says, how do we walk in love each day? What does that look like? You know, when I'm reading about the love of God and the way that Jesus' love shows up in my life, I end up asking myself, in bite-sized pieces, what part of my life doesn't align with what I just read? If you're taking notes, I want you to write that down. If you're watching online, type it. Type it on the line, as Bishop would say. Type it on the line.

52:57 What part of my life doesn't align with what I just read? And to be honest, there will probably be many parts, right? But let's take it one piece at a time. God, as it relates to forgiveness, as it relates to meekness, Lord, I want to experience transformation in this area. And then I'm going to ask you to pray this crazy prayer, and that is to ask God to give you a chance to walk out. Come on, walk it out Wednesday. his love in that area. Now, that's a crazy prayer because when you ask God to give you a chance to show, to love in the way that he's able to forgive those who curse him, and then you ask God for an opportunity to do that, you may find yourself your default setting. You got to remember you got a default setting, but to say, you know, God, I want you to give me a chance to exercise God's love in this way, and then keep your heart open for the opportunities that you've had throughout the day to show up in God's love. We reverse engineer that to go and assess your day at the end of the day. God, was there anything I did today that didn't reflect your love?

54:22 And to apologize, to correct. And when I say apologize, I don't mean the way you say, I'm sorry, Lord, I mean you may have to go to someone and to demonstrate that level of humility because that's how serious you are about walking out that love. That it's not just taking inner accountability in my relationship with Lord, that my faith without works is dead. And if it's just something that stays between me and God and never lives outside of me, then it'll never be my output. But if I really want to change my output, and let me tell you something specifically for people in leadership, whether you're leading your family, leading teams, that when you demonstrate the humility that you want to see in your organization, it gives other people permission to do the same. In your relationship, if that person has a problem apologizing and owning their stuff, Not that PT ever experienced that, but hypothetically speaking, if he did, I had a problem with that.

55:28 And I would know I was wrong in my heart, but saying it out of my mouth was just not my ministry, you know what I mean? But all of that was connected to my worth and my performance, and if I own this, does this mean you change the way you feel about me? Does this mean I'm less worthy? And so I had a difficult time owning my stuff. but when I realize that I want to believe that I am more than my performance. I want to believe that I can make a bad choice and not be a bad person. I want to believe that. And so if I truly believe that when I make a bad choice, I apologize because I believe that wasn't me. I believe that I can be better than that. I believe that I can do better than that. So walking in love each day requires us to take an opportunity to ask ourselves, how am I not showing up in love? How can I show up in love differently? What boundaries may I need in order to show up in love in that way?

56:22 And so take that inventory. Either ask God, study scripture, look at the way that Jesus shows up. There's a few scriptures about love that I wanted to give you anyway, but look at the way that Jesus shows up and then ask yourself, you know, this is an area where I know I feel convicted. I know that my life doesn't align with what is said in this scripture. And God, I'm asking that you would give me deliverance in this area. And God will do it. I don't want us to be so heavy on the process part of our walk with the Lord that we get to a place where we're like, if I'm always in process, what's the point? Because we really do graduate. We graduate from one level of brokenness, and God may reveal something else, but you can have mastery over an area where you were once in bondage. Oh, you got to believe this. that God can really deliver you. I know this, there is no way in the world that I would have ever felt like I could be up here in this role after all that I have gone through, after all the shame I dealt with, after all of the identity issues that I possess.

57:28 I told myself, I absolutely will not. Then I got pneumonia after we got installed and I said, I wish the devil would. I know that I am supposed to be in that position and I cannot be tricked out of it. I cannot experience enough warfare to make me get off of my square. The Lord really delivered me from shame. I'm not playing. I tell my story and I don't cringe about who I used to be anymore. The Lord really delivered me from anger. The Lord really delivered me from depression. The Lord really delivered me from anxiety. And I talked to my therapist, but I believe that God used my therapist to really deliver me. So if you need to talk to the lady, please call the lady so that you can actually get deliverance. But deliverance is real. Church, if you don't hear nothing else, I don't want you to allow the enemy to make you believe that you gotta stay trapped forever. I don't care how long you saw someone else be in bondage.

58:24 If you hunger and you thirst for righteousness, you will be filled. I dare you to get hungry for it. It is not optional that you be holy. To not give yourself a way out. Make it mandatory. I got to get my heart right. I got to get my mind right. I cannot afford to stay addicted. I cannot afford to keep lying and calling it people pleasing. I cannot afford to keep manipulating. I cannot afford to keep playing it small. I want to be delivered. I want to walk in real power. I want to walk in real authority. So before I ask God for power outside of me, God, let your power fall in me. Break down my walls. Break down my strongholds. Break down my chain, my mentality. God, fix me from the inside out. So that I can be fortified for the journey ahead. I hear God saying, and this is a prophetic sound.