What If It's Messy_ Release (Part 3)

1:30 Are you ready for the Word today? All right, let's go to the Bible. We are starting week three of a series of vision series that we are calling release. Everybody shout at me release. We are believing and gathering our faith around this one word for the entire year. And this word release was given to me by God as I begin to pray and seek him. And he said three things that he wanted to do this year. He said that this would be the year that we would be released from the place of bondage So whatever bondage you've been in this is the year that we're believing god is going to release you From the place of bondage and not just the place of bondage We believe that this is the year that god is going to release you from the perspective Of bondage because how many know that it's one thing to be out of a place, but you can still think like you're in the place Okay, so we want god to release us from the perspective of bondage And then we want God to release us into, everybody say into, into the promise of our blessing.

2:36 And as we gather our faith, some of you are like, well, I haven't seen it yet. We're only two and a half weeks into the new year, okay? This is the year of release. And we believe that God is about to do something special as we do this. But I need to break it down because we've been saying release and release and release. And I need to give you really the heart of it. The heart of release is healing. This is the year of healing. Like the only reason that God wants things to be released from your life and for you to release things from your life is because bondage leaves scars that usually make people stay in a certain place. But God's saying, I want my people, my children. I want them healed. Everybody say healed. That's physically. That's emotionally. That is spiritually. That is financially. God wants you. Everybody say healed, but he cannot heal you from something you're still suffering with. That's why if you're, you have a disease or a dis-ease, they have to find where the dis-ease is coming from and they have to rid you of the disease so that you can be healed. They have to find antibiotics to be able to attack the very thing that has been coming to attack you.

3:54 And what God is saying is some of the things that I'm going to reveal and do this year, there are going to be places that they have hurt you. It's going to be places that have been dis-eased. There'll be places that you begin to live with, but I'm coming to heal those areas. And so what I'm asking you to do is not hide the areas that actually need healing. And I know you've been the same way so long that it may seem like, well, maybe I don't want to get cut open. Maybe I don't want anybody to see that part of me. Some of y'all have anger. I call you the Hulk because you have anger issues that only a couple people get to see. Everybody thinks like if somebody would say, do you know Bobby? Like, yeah, Bobby is so sweet. And their wife is like, it's because there's areas that we don't show everybody that they can come out and and only you god and a few people know about it and god's saying don't keep don't don't put that off limits to me this year let me heal that area let me heal the pain let me heal the abuse let me heal it and so when i looked at this scripture. God gave me a scripture that was in Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 17 that spoke to me about God wanting to release in our life. And he said, I will give you back your health.

5:20 I need you to hear me say this, that God says, I'm about to give you back what has been stolen from you. Some of you, your innocence was stolen at a very young age because somebody perverted your view of something and maybe molested you or did something wrong or showed you something. God says, I'm about to give you back your health. You don't even know what it's like to look upon a man or look upon a woman and not see the things that have happened to you. But God says, I'm about to give you back your health. You don't know what it's like to handle finances and not think in poverty, but God says, I'm about to restore to you the factory settings of how I made you. He said i'm gonna give you back your health and i'm gonna heal your wounds says the lord This is what release is all about and I just want to I want to hit it at a heart level this morning Is that that release is not so that we can get something from god release your blessings release overflow It's more about Release the thing that'll heal me release the thing that'll take me from how I am and how I, how I hate to act and how I hate to respond.

6:34 And this anxiety that it seems to, I've tried to pray and I've tried to fast and, and it just seems like anxiety and depression just stay right here. And at the moment I get free from it, it's like, it's not gone. It's just hovering. And, and like, I want to be released. God says, that's what I'm here to do. I'm here to heal you. And I'm here, To give you back your help. So Pastor Mike, okay, I know God's asking me to do something as a part of that. Yep. One of the main definitions of release is to let free. Everybody say let free. And so we're going to adapt that a little bit more. And we want God to release. We want to let God free in our life this year. Look at the definition of release. It means to allow or enable something or someone to flow freely from confinement. What areas have you confined, God?

7:32 Because he's saying, release me. Stop containing me. Stop putting me in a box. Stop making me your Sunday, God. stop, stop, stop putting me in this little construct that you've made of who your higher power is. Let me free in your life. And the words there say allow and enable. And that means that you have a part to play in it. When somebody has to be allowed to do something, that means permission has to be given. A funny story is my daughter Isabella, she's very smart, and she has been around iPhones since she was a very small child. And so one of the things that iPhone has a feature of is that you can have your phone on, but if you do not have the right access, you can't get in to the phone to do what needs to be done. And so my daughter, so many times, she'd be like, Daddy, let me see your phone. Daddy, let me see your phone. Daddy, let me see your phone.

8:35 and I'll give her her phone, but she stands there because she started to realize that she had to be allowed into my phone. And used to be, she would get my phone and run away because she thought she had access. She thought like, I have it. I have the phone. Let me go use it. But then she got wise. She said, those were wasted steps.

9:06 That was pointless movement. Because if I do not, if I have not been allowed to get into what's happening, I'm going to have to come back anyway. Some of y'all have been getting a word from God or saying, God, you can flow freely in my life. And God says, you got to give me access. and what my daughter does is she looks at the phone and if there's a certain screen if it's not there all she does she don't even say nothing no more she just holds it back up and she says i need to be allowed and what i do is i enable her i i allow her to have access to all that is in my phone the question god's coming to you and saying is i'm ready to move Will you give me access Will you allow me will you type in the code to your heart Will you will you face identify will you put your face up to this thing And let me see who you really are not to counterfeit you Not to counterfeit you I need your real face

10:22 And so when I begin to look at this I said, okay, God, you want us to allow you to be free in our lives at another level. He said, that's all I've been asking. At what level will you let me free in your life? And so I begin to look in the Bible and God took me to this story in John. And this story is about a man who was in a bondage and God was about to make him free. But I want us to see what happens for us to be made free and what we need to do. I want you to go to John chapter nine, verse one through seven. I'm going to read the whole thing. And then I'm going to preach this word from my heart because I believe it's going to set some people free in this building. The title of this is Jesus heals a man born blind. He says, as Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. Rabbi, his disciples asked him, why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins? It's got to be one of them. Jesus said it was not because of the sins of his parents or his sins. This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the task assigned to us by the one who sent us. The night is coming and then no one, no one can work. He said, but while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world. Then he spit on the ground, made mud with saliva and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes. He told him, go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam. Siloam means sin. So the man went and washed and came back seeing.

12:08 The title of today's message as we talk about release is What If It's Messy? what if it's what if the release God has for you what if it's messy what if it doesn't fit inside of our perfect little comfortable box of what we're wanting God to do and as I look at this story I have to start at verse one and I'm gonna give you a few points and I'm just gonna walk line up on line precept on precept on this story and I think some of it's gonna relate to at least a few of us because it wrecked me as I was preparing for it verse 1 says as Jesus was walking along he saw a man who had been blind from birth write this down point number one I couldn't go past it release is the result of Jesus seeing you not you seeing him like like this is the thing that i want everybody to know is the bible tells us that jesus was walking by it wasn't even jesus's destination to meet this man it was just the grace and the compassion of our god that sees us in whatever state we're in and and i know religion tells you you need to clean up and you need to see God. But this man, I believe the Bible was trying to give us a very vivid picture. This man was not just spiritually blind. He was physically blind.

13:38 So he couldn't see Jesus coming. He could not see the answer. He could not see his way out. Even if he had eyes, he couldn't see it. But God wanted us to see you could be double blind. And I see you.

14:00 This is the unmerited, undeserved favor and kindness of God in action. And I came to tell somebody today who feels like you're in a blind spot, that you can't see anybody, and you feel like nobody sees you. That God sees you. He sees you. He sees your pain. He sees your frustration. He sees your isolation. He sees what you're going through. and you've been trying to, somebody please, somebody please, somebody please. And God said, you ain't even got to do all that.

14:36 Because before you ever were looking for me. I was looking at you. And this is why we're here today. I don't care what you believe. And some people in the room and some people watching, I'm an atheist. And I don't believe. And I'm agnostic. It don't matter. You don't have to see him yet. He sees you. You don't got to believe yet. He sees you. You think that this moment was not orchestrated before the foundation of the... You don't think he saw the molestation and the problem and the hurt and the pain. You don't think that he's so good that on his way somewhere else, he sees you.

15:27 And the problem is so many of us are convinced that God has forgotten about us. and that somehow our blindness has made him blind to us. But I want you to see God's grace, and it's explained in Romans 5, 8, where the Bible says, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Let me give you the remix, the MLT version. While we were still blind, he saw us. I came to tell you today Wherever you are However, you're hurting Whatever blindness you have Whatever prayer you feel like it's not getting through God sees you In the boardroom He sees you in the crack house He sees you Laying down in another Another's bed He sees you Struggling through college He sees you in abuse right now. He sees you. You've been isolated for a long time. I feel this in my spirit because this ain't for everybody to get hype right now, but somebody was on the edge of losing hope. God sees you. Somebody just say it in faith. Say, God sees me. No, say it again. God sees me. I know you only have enough money to make it through this week, but God sees you.

16:52 and I want you to get the picture of this Jesus is walking by the blind man doesn't even know that Jesus is around him but Jesus takes an affinity to this man's element and he says um yeah disciples we about to take a take a detour and whatever we're about to do and look at these raggedy disciples look what they did now I want you to see it because this is how some church people do right here. Well, Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Why are they in that position? Why are they always dealing with this same issue? I know. I know why. They're sinners. they're sinners they ain't close to god they're blind to the truth of who you are god we love you we worship you matter of fact it's got to be his sins or his parents sins this is generational huh god why is he blind god because of his sins or his parents sin and look how jesus shuts this whole thing down like like he shuts this whole thing down like god's shutting down all the naysayers in your life right now like like like like all the people who don't understand why god's coming to visit your situation and because you have the faith to believe this is the year of release that he's coming to that situation watch how he shuts this thing down I love it he says it was not because of his sins or his parents sins he said this happened everybody say this happened now I know this messes with a lot of your theology but we live in a fallen world and so a lot of times we're always trying to figure out why things happen and did God allow this or did God make this and all this other stuff, but you're about to see a layer of God's sovereignty right in this moment where he does what he wants when he wants to, but it's for his glory. Everybody say, this happened.

18:56 This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. I came to give you my second point, and I could get stuck here for the next 18 minutes, but your problem is not a punishment. It's a platform for his power Yo, I don't know y'all didn't hear me Your problem the sickness the frustration it is not a punishment It's a platform For his power to be seen in your life And there's been so many people that have felt like the problem you're in right now is a punishment for god And this happened for one reason and one reason only because god knew you could take it and he knew he was going to see you through it. And he said, I had to choose a vessel that was fit enough, that would get the moment of cracking. They would get down on their knees and believe that there was a purpose in this pain, that this thing that I'm going through right now is not to take me out, it's to take me in.

19:55 It's the thing that God is going to use. And so many of you have chopped your problem up to a punishment. I guess this is a result of the time I messed up And I guess this is because I didn't pray enough Those are all lies of the enemy Your current problem Whatever issue you're going through right now If you would allow God free in your life If you would let him really use it See you're trying to protect it God's trying to use it You're trying to you're trying to keep people from knowing that it happened And my Bible says we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the words of our testimony. God says, stop trying to hide what I'm using. Stop trying to keep secret what I want to use to make my power be seen. But I know too many of y'all are bougie and you don't want nobody to know you're a real person. You don't want nobody to see your scars.

20:52 You would rather people think you're perfect and live bound than to be free and let all your business out there. And God says, you're robbing me of my platform. You're robbing me of my platform. See, the reason that I stand up here is because it's a platform. It's a raised position. I could speak to you right here, but there's a lot of people that can't see it. y'all can't see me especially y'all in the back y'all like oh i wish we had raised seating even the people online they can't see me because i'm not on a platform god said when you don't allow me to flow freely in my life you rob me of the opportunity to raise an ugly situation but put it in a place where people can see it because when it gets on a platform, then I can do a miracle that allows my power to be revealed. I need somebody to believe with me. It's not the problem that's the problem. It's the fact that you won't let God use it.

22:04 The problem is you won't let him use your dysfunction. You won't let him use your marriage problems. You will not let him use. the hurt and the pain. and he said you thought this problem was a punishment this one the bankruptcy wasn't to take you out it was for me to show people the greatest comeback story in history how i can take a nobody and bring them from nothing and take them to i'm trying to tell you god's strength works perfect in our we you won't be weak you won't say i need god i've been married 10 years But I still don't know how to communicate Your pride keeps you at a place where you won't allow God To work in the problem. So you rob him of the platform to show his power

23:02 And this man sitting right here He didn't know even know why he was blind and some of you don't know why you were dropped You don't know why you were abused You don't know why the scholarship didn't go through you don't know why you've been married three times You don't know. I'm just trying to help somebody. I'm about to give you an answer right now You don't know why somebody was allowed to plant those images in your head You don't know why you hurt and feel so isolated Can I tell you why that problem came so God's power could come that problem was allowed so that God's power could be released in your situation if you would allow it if you would release that's why that happened my problem is his platform for the rest of the year I want you to say that my problem is his platform they lay you off the job God you just got a brand a new platform for your power to be made big. Oh my God, they found out who I was. God, you just got a new platform. It is a moment for you to come on the scene and for your power to be seen. And until as believers, we get that perspective, we will allow the enemy to convince us that the problem's a punishment. And then we come in here and sing songs like Good, Good Father, but we don't believe it in our heart. Oh, come on. You're a good, good father.

24:46 It's who you are. It's who you are. Like, we sing the song, but we don't believe it in our heart because the problem has overtaken our view of who God is. But today, like this blind man who was born like this, God told his disciples, like I'm telling y'all, this was designed for my power to be seen in this man. but what if what if for a second that this man took our disposition and we got so frustrated with God that when we found out he was walking by and he wanted to release us from our bondage and and it was time for us to come into this new thing but we had this old problem what if we were like nah I don't I don't I don't want you I don't want you to do anything because if you were a good father, you wouldn't have let me go through it. If you really could heal, why did this happen in the first place? And God said, and this is the thing I need you to know,

26:07 the reason why is not as important as what he's about to do. the reason why it happened, that's what the disciples were trying to find out. Why did this happen? And Jesus was trying to say, watch what I'm about to do. Why did this happen? Watch what I'm about to do. And look what he does. I just need you to see this. He wanted his power to be released in the man. I came to tell everybody that when we let God free, And so his power can be released in you. He wants to take the most unlikely person, individual, and allow his glory to be seen through you. And so look what he does. Verse 6. Then he spit on the ground, made mud with saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes. What?

27:08 No. Mm-mm. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm. Now, God's done a lot of miracles. why would he choose this way to release me?

27:30 I want you to get the picture. The man wasn't deaf. He just couldn't see. So when Jesus turns to him and he's about to heal him, he can't see what's about to happen, but I believe he could anticipate. And he's like, oh, my God. Jesus is here. Come on, somebody. I'm about to get healed. What?

27:55 He's standing there because he's probably heard of other people. And this is not the first time God's healed a blind man. You've got to realize that God healed a blind man in Matthew 9, verse 23. And this blind man, he just touched him. And he was healed. And then there was another blind man in Mark chapter 10, verse 52. And he just spoke the word. And that man was healed. So he's standing here. boy, I'm about to see, Lord. 2020? Thank you, God. And look what Jesus does. He takes dirt. Come give me some dirt, please.

28:37 He takes, he takes dirt. Yeah, that'll work. The thing that seems insignificant that he's standing on. What did God make man out of? He took the lowest part of him. The most insignificant part of him. He said, yeah, that's enough.

29:02 Alash box as well. I bet that's how he acted. And I bet that's how the people around him acted. Do you know how much spit? It didn't say he put dirt on his eyes. It said he put mud on his eyes. He took dirt, but had to put enough spit in it.

30:01 to make mud. Now, I know some of you are grossed out right now, and this is why the title of my message is, what if your release is messy? What if God, see, some of y'all, some of y'all would rather it look nice than be healed. some of you would rather everybody still think good about you than actually be free from the pornography addiction some of you would act some of you would rather smell good and look good than actually be good and feel good and God's saying what if the release I'm about to do in your life is messy what if it's going to take you actually going back and apologizing What if it's going to actually take you going back and admitting you were wrong?

31:00 What if it's going to be so nasty that I take the rawest form of you and mix it with the least part of me? Why he keeps spitting? Somebody ain't never gonna pray right there ever again. But do you know what happens?

31:30 This blind man honestly didn't have anything to lose. he had everything to gain he had nothing to lose by looking foolish to everybody else because he couldn't even see how he really looked anyway And so when we come here to this point, I need you to write this down. Don't let the method of release keep you from the miracle of release.

32:10 Some of you, God's going to ask you to go to counseling all year. I don't need nobody telling me about myself. Don't let the method of release keep you from the miracle of release. Some of you, God's going to put you in addiction program. He's going to allow you to get in a small group. I don't need accountability like that. They don't know me. Don't let the method that God's trying to release you keep you from the miracle of your release. Why would I leave this high paying job and start serving in the church? Because God's trying to change your character. Don't let the method of release keep you from the miracle of release. And some of y'all are still so bothered.

33:04 So bothered that I'm over here touching on what God chose to use. He could have used it. This wasn't his only option. But he chose to use it so his power could be revealed through your jacked up situation. And this is the thing that I learned in this story. Brent, come here. Brent the blind man. this is the blind man some some of y'all don't have the faith for this that's why i can't use you but this right here close your eyes you're blind this represents however god is going to choose to heal you and at this moment the blind man's not stupid after he heard all the spit he had to know he had to know it was coming he chose not to run away my question is at what level are you going to allow God free you can run away at this point when God says this is the year of release you can say I don't want it or you can say it don't matter how you have to do it God if you got to expose my pain if you have to go back and expose something there was a something last year that happened to me when I was a young boy that God revealed to me in a time of prayer and I left this office In the middle of the day and I told my wife I said, babe, I got to tell you something She was like what?

35:00 I said, I just got to come home and tell you and I told my wife something that I told nobody else Because God said for this to be released. You got to let it out. You can't keep this to yourself and be like, oh, God's just going to heal me from the inside. He said, that's not released. That's holding. That's still got you in bondage. And every time the enemy would suggest that, and I went to her, I said, babe, this is what happened. And I had to walk. this is what Jesus told this man to do. This is nasty, messy, and really unnecessary.

35:38 But what he said, I want you to just stay right there, Brent. Look at verse 7. He told him, everybody say, go. Say it like you mean it, go. He said, go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam. And Siloam means sent. Go to where I'm sending you. What do you mean, Pastor Mike? Write this word down. Write this message down. God's asking all of us in this year of release to walk with mud in your eyes. Like, do it even though everybody can see that your miracle is messy right now. Do it even though it doesn't, like I couldn't see before. And now you put something else on me?

36:36 And sometimes it feels like God puts more on us when we were already in a blind situation. But he said, I want you to walk with it anyway. Brent, take a step. Take another step. Now why would God ask him to walk and go somewhere and didn't lead him there? you're blind i'm blind in this area why wouldn't you take me by the hand and walk me there because god said your deliverance and your healing is going to be a process and that's why he said this is the year of release not the moment of release not the time and some of us will rather be clean than have a messy miracle and he said go Brent Walt he didn't tell him how to get there he just said go go go to the place I'm sending you stop and he told him to wash off, pull the mud off your eyes.

37:45 And I want you to see something. At this moment, Brent's pulling off things that he didn't put there. but he's pulling off what God meant to heal him there.

38:06 Pastor Mike, what are you saying? Many of the miracles that God's about to do, he's not going to do without you. He touched you. He put his DNA on you. He sent you. But the last part of the release depends on you going.

38:30 Go to counseling. Go to a B group. Go say I'm sorry. Go ask for forgiveness. You want the healing, right? You want to see? Go. So many people want to see and want to stay Stay the way you are Stay right where you are Stay with the attitude you have And God is saying the opposite Everybody shout at me go Shout at me go Go And he said when you wash off When you do what I say When you participate in the journey of release He said you're going to turn around Brent turn around oh i bet the first person that he was able to see after he was sent to go wash off was jesus and i want you to think about what happens at this moment he does not care that Jesus spit on the mud, does not care that he was on his way somewhere else, does not care.

39:45 He just knows that something happened that hasn't happened one time in his whole life. is he was blind, but now he can see. I came to tell you today, write this down, it's a little long, but the rawest version of you, that's dirt, mixed with the least part of Jesus, his spit can release you from what you've always been. this is an eternal picture.

40:27 Today, I didn't want you to jump and holler and scream and yell. I just wanted to ask you a question. What if the release is messy? Will you still allow God free? What if you have to tell your wife something that you've been holding back for 10 years? Will you let God free? What if you have to go back and apologize to a boss who you accidentally got fired because you actually stole the money out of the register? Well, God, that was so long ago. He said, what if this is messy? What if there's consequences?

41:04 I know church people don't want to hear nothing about this. But what if there's consequences for the action you did? but you want it so bad that you're going to get free. What if it hurts? What if it's not convenient? Will you still let God free in your life? The reason I'm bringing this to you today, God began to speak to me that this is the year of release but it's only at the level we let him.

41:42 I want to pray for every person in this room because I believe in this last seven days of us praying and fasting. This is going to be more about us allowing God to do what he's been wanting to do in our lives. And it's going to, some of it's going to suck. Let me be, let me be, let me, y'all see why nobody's talking right now? And everybody's real because all of us have areas in our life that we were blind in. That we couldn't see God in. And he sees you. And he says, I got the remedy. But what if it's messy? Father I'm asking you I feel God doing work on people's hearts right now. I'm asking you, Father God, to let us trust you, even if what you're about to do in our life is messy.

42:41 Even if we don't see how it's going to work and how you're going to reconcile it and how you're going to bring it back together, I'm asking you right now for us not to be so concerned with the method of release that we miss the miracle of release. Expose whatever you need to expose, God. Bring to light. You said you were the light of the world, so bring the light to our situation and show us the areas, Father God, that are broken in us. Show us the places in our relationships, in our marriage, in our thought process, Father God, that have us all messed up and we've been bound by. But Father, today we want to be released. so I thank you that we'll be ones that won't fight you if you decide to do it in a messy way I pray for every marriage right now I feel this right now in the name I pray for every marriage father as you begin to allow healing to flow in marriages I thank you that you will divinely bring bring alignment to people's lives and marriages right now I'm praying for every person who was abused I'm praying for every person who's walking through a hard season And I'm praying for every parent who felt like they neglected their children or were neglected.

43:56 Father, as you begin to dig deep in the inside of us. Father, as we begin to get exposed to some things, Father God, that we even forgot were there. I'm thanking you, Father God, that you're not doing this as a punishment. Father, you're trying to get a platform. And Father God, we're saying you can use our life. You can use our story. You can use our mistakes. You can use our pain. Because if we could ever get the perspective that you are trying to use our problem as a platform for your power, we could see miracles happen in our life. So God, today, we're committed to our release. Somebody say, I'm committed to my release. Come on, just say it one more time. I'm committed to my release.