"Who Told You That?" - Rev. Dr. Nerissa Grigsby

54:51 Come on, give it up. You can do it louder so he can hear you. And for his wonderful wife, our first lady. Come on, Deborah P. Haynes, give it up for her. in their absence the first family Albany in her absence come on Mother Haynes Oliver is here come on would you bless God for her she been hanging with us all month long God bless you to Uncle Lattimore God bless you come on give it up for the first family I bless God for our executive pastor and his lovely wife, Lady Toya. God bless you. And to all of the staff pastors, it's an honor just to serve with y'all. Come on, give it up for your staff pastors.

55:37 If you wouldn't mind just to be seated for one moment, we're going to get right to the word. Just one moment if you wouldn't mind being seated. I bless God for every single person that serves. You know, from the parking lot when you first come in to the hospitality and the greeters to the communications, Brother Chris and Jack are around doing their work, AV, the musicians. Come on, all the people that serve. Security, can you just bless God for them? They work every single Sunday, and so we want to acknowledge them. But with, look, all the work that the babies do and all that they do and how they minister before you, I have to acknowledge the people that are behind the scenes doing the work. So, Ms. Gloria Shellman, would you please stand to Dr. Norfleet, Ms. Paige Henderson, Ms. Regina Foster, Ms. Chrislyn Henderson, to Mrs. Alexis Gates, Minister Saul Gates. Those are the ones who are working behind the scenes with our kids.

56:37 So, I want to bless God for them. And we're a part of the, I'm part of the Discover ministry. I have an awesome opportunity to serve as the children's pastor. That's the infants all the way up to fifth grade. And so I would not be able to do what I do without all of the Discover servants. If you are part of the Discover family, we are truly a family. Would you all please stand so I can recognize you? Come on, there's a whole bunch of them right here. If you serve. I love y'all. Look, if it was a competition, we'd win, okay? If it was a competition, we'd win. I love y'all. I love y'all so much. And will all of my Discover parents, will you please stand? Because we don't have a ministry if you all didn't bring your children. Come on, all of our Discover parents, please stand.

57:32 you all see it fit that it is important to not only be a part of school activities but also a part of church activities and so I want to bless God for you because there would be no children's pastor or no children's ministry if it were not for the parents so God bless you to all of you that co-labor in the ministry with me to Miss Vita God bless you our COO I love you dearly to Miss Michelle. We're going to get right into the word of God. So now if you would stand, there is one scripture, one scripture. You already heard the littles talking this morning about they know who they are. And every song has been something about their identity. And that's what this month is focused on, identity. And so I want to go to 1 Peter chapter 2 and look at one verse, verse 9. And from the NIV version, it reads this way. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. And I want to talk from the subject this morning. Who told you that? Who, who told you that? Let's pray. Father, we thank you and we honor you for this day. God, I don't take it lightly that I'm able to stand behind this sacred guest desk to proclaim your word. Now, God, hide me behind the cross. Remove Nerissa today that they don't see or hear me, but God, they see the God that lives within me. God, make my words your words.

59:17 make my thoughts your thoughts make my actions your actions that someone would hear your word and come running asking what must I do to be saved now God remove me out the way we plead the blood of Jesus God we pray that your people are edified that God you would be glorified and that the devil would be horrified in Jesus name we all said amen and amen please be seated in the presence of almighty God. Who told you that? Who told you that? For people that really know me, I mean really know me, I'm a big kid at heart. That's probably why I'm the children's pastor. I'm a big kid. I love to play games. I'm extremely competitive. I love cartoons and Disney movies because who doesn't like a good Disney movie, right? Now if I could use your imagination just for a second. What if every Disney character woke up tomorrow morning and forgot who they were?

1:00:18 Can you imagine that? I mean, what if Simba woke up one morning and said, you know what? I don't think I'm supposed to be king. I think I'm just going to stay here and eat bugs with Timon and Pumbaa. Children, do you think that would be a good movie? No, because Simba was created to, He wasn't just created to survive. He was created to lead. And what if Elsa woke up one morning and said, you know, I have these amazing gifts, but I'm never going to use them to help anybody. That wouldn't be frozen. No, that would be frozen in fear. She would really let it go. Y'all didn't even get it. Okay. See, I watched Disney movies. What if Woody said, I don't want to belong to Andy anymore. I'm just going to stay in the toy box. movie over what if Tiana said I'm not almost there I'm done and I'm gone it's over what if Moana looked at the ocean and said you know what I know I was chosen but I don't feel like going no adventure no courage no saving her people what if Coco said I'm not going to choose to follow my music dream I don't want to save my people it's over the movie is done And what if Mirabelle, but what about Mirabelle?

1:01:35 Y'all know that one? Yeah, what if she said, well, since I don't have the gifts like everybody else, I guess I don't matter. Movie over. Yeah, those would be some short movies, wouldn't they? Because every Disney movie asks the question, who are you going to become? Will you live like you've forgotten who you are or will you become who you were created to be? Now here's what's amazing people because Disney didn't invent that question. The Bible has been asking it for thousands of years because sometimes we all forget who we are. Because every day there are voices trying to tell us who we are. The culture has a voice and social media has a voice and the news and politics has a voice and the school hallway has a voice. And everybody else trying to tell us what to do with their own opinions has a voice. Our pain and our past has a voice.

1:02:28 Our failures have a voice. And if we're not careful, those voices will become louder than God's voice. We start believing what everyone else says. We start believing what people at school say and what our past has said and what our mistakes say. There are still voices trying to define our children before they discover God's purposes for their life. Some children are told they're behind before anyone even asks about their brilliance. Some are labeled with behavioral problems before someone recognizes their gifts. We constantly deal with systems that don't always see the full dignity and potential of every child. We still wrestle with achievement gaps that leave too many children without the support that they deserve. Some young people hear every day that they'll never amount to anything. Some hear you're just another statistic or you don't belong in that room. And some adults, if we're honest, we have carried some of those same messages since we were children.

1:03:28 And we start believing that our time has passed. And all of these voices are trying to create a story about who we are. The world has always tried to tell God's people who they are. Rome tried it, and Egypt tried it, and Babylon tried it. Jim Crow cried it. Segregation tried it. Redlining tried it. Labels in schools have tried it. And yes, even today, there are systems and policies and narratives that try to tell our children that they are less than, they are expendable, and invisible.

1:04:05 Sometimes we spend our whole lives searching for something that God has already given us. And that's our identity. We're looking for validation. We're looking for purpose. Looking for acceptance, worth, significance. Or for somebody to simply tell us that we matter. But before any system, before any policy or teacher or employer or social media algorithm, before any neighborhood, before any diagnosis, mistake, or someone else's opinion told you, God spoke and said that you are chosen. Peter reminds us to stop looking everywhere else that God already told you who you are. And when God speaks his word ought to outrank every other voice. so Peter says I need to remind you not of who the world says you are but of who God says that you are and look y'all this is Peter I'm gonna preach in a second this is Peter Peter y'all know the apostle Peter the one of Jesus's disciples who had his own identity crisis and knew persecution firsthand he was a fisherman who left everything to follow Christ he was bold and wasn't afraid to say what he thought. This is Peter, the one when he saw Jesus walking out on the water. He said, command me to come out to you. And when he started to walk, he ended up sinking because he became afraid. You know, Peter, the one who the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter pulled out his sword and cut off the servant's ear. That's what I'm talking about. Hood and holy all at the same time.

1:05:40 It's Peter, Peter, the one who even rebuked Jesus himself when Jesus talked about the coming suffering and death that he would have to endure. Peter, the one who insisted that he would never deny Jesus, but ended up denying him three times and cried bitterly. Peter had been beaten and jailed and had been threatened, but he knew Christ and nothing could shake his confidence in Jesus. And so he's the one that's writing to these believers who are experiencing their own suffering and persecution and he's urging them to stay loyal to christ he can write this because of his own experience that he had with god and he knows the one who gave him his identity and restored him so now you can understand what peter is saying so here's the context of the text it says peter is writing to christians to new believers that they're scattered all across roman empire they are scattered throughout Asia Minor, which is now modern day Turkey, and they're under pressure.

1:06:45 They're under pressure. Some have lost jobs. Some have lost friends. Some have been rejected by their own family members. And they are being mistreated all because they follow Jesus. They are suffering persecution because of their faith. They are rejected by society, facing discrimination, losing jobs, family relationships, and social standing, and they're wondering, is it really worth it? You know, when things really get bad, we start thinking back. God, is it really worth it? They're at a point where they're wondering, Jesus, is it worth following you? You know, and some of you sitting right here in the congregation today are watching online. You're asking the same question. God, is it worth it? All the stuff I'm going through right now. God, is it worth it? God, don't you see me? Don't you see what I'm going through? Isn't enough enough? God, if it ain't one thing, it's another. God, when will it be enough? Don't you see me?

1:07:42 Is it really worth it? Peter is writing to people who are living under pressure. And not only are we under pressure, but guess what? Our children are under pressure. Every day they wake up in a world that is trying to tell them who they are. Some children are told they'll never catch up. Some are tracked into lower expectations before anyone discovers their gifts. Some schools still don't have the same resources as others. Some neighborhoods have fewer opportunities than others. Some children carry the weight of food insecurity before they even open up a textbook. Some families work two and three jobs just to keep the lights on. Some children have to learn to sleep with sirens. Some know what it feels like to lose classmates too soon. Some are dealing with violence. Some are carrying grief that no child should have to carry. And while we have made progress in some areas, too many families are still asking, why does my child have to fight harder for the same opportunities?

1:08:44 That's nobody in here. We still live in a world where not every child potential is seen, nurtured, or celebrated. We have heard promises of no child left behind, yet there are children who still struggle to read because they never received the support that they needed. Children are overlooked because they learn differently. Children whose gifts don't fit neatly into a standardized test. Some of our children aren't fighting battles just at school, but they're fighting battles at home too. Empty refrigerators and grandparents raising their grandchildren. and some go home wondering where mommy or daddy is or they go home with anxiety and violence and abuse and addiction and uncertainty. We got policies that restrict what books we can read and what we can teach. We got educational funding that has been cut but we have enough room and money for a new wing at the White House for your safety. I don't get it. We don't have money for the poor and for our children, but we got money for war. I mean, we just under pressure. Can somebody say under pressure? That's what Jill Scott said, pressure. She said it. Y'all didn't know I listen to Jill Scott. I like Jill Scott. So it's now Peter who writes these words to believers living under that Trump empire. I mean, Roman empire. Yeah. A government that was often hostile to them who needed to be encouraged to face the opposition.

1:10:21 Peter is trying to tell them that your trials will refine your faith. He's saying that the world may reject you, but God has chosen you. That's why Peter says, but you are, not because Rome said so, not because culture said so, not because society approved you, but long before America or anybody else tried to define us, our teachers or our employers or opinions, God has already declared that you are chosen, that you are royal, a holy nation, that we are his. Peter says, but you are a chosen generation. Don't move too fast. Don't read it. Don't rush it too fast because Peter wants every word to sink in. But I like that little word because if Pastor Haynes was here, he would tell us about what? conjunction junction uh-huh what's your function yeah because but means that everything that came before is no longer the final story somebody already missed it and that was your shout for this morning but means your past isn't your future but means your mistakes don't define you but means that your addiction wasn't the end but means that depression wasn't the end but means that failure wasn't the end but God has the final word he says but you are somebody point to yourself and say he's talking about me you are he's pointing to you he's talking about you Peter doesn't say might he doesn't say maybe he doesn't say it's a possibility but he says that you are a chosen people, a chosen generation, say I am handpicked by God. That's point number one, that you are chosen. Say I am chosen. Peter doesn't begin by telling them what to do. Notice that he begins by telling them who they are. Because if the enemy can confuse your identity, if he can make you forget who you are then he'll confuse your destiny then he can make you settle for less than what god

1:12:32 has for you to become yeah this is that means chosen it is selected picked out intentionally chosen ones this doesn't mean that you're better than anybody else children it means that god intentionally pursued and selected you for a purpose. God didn't accidentally save you. You're not an accident. God didn't randomly choose you. You weren't God's last option. You weren't God's backup plan. Before you ever chose him, he had already chosen you. Your identity is found in him. Kids, you may be asking, well, what's wrong, Pastor Rissa, with finding my identity and the things that I can do and what I'm good at and the way that I look and who I hang out with and my friends. And that's because all of that can be taken away from you. Your actual identity, the part of you that truly and accurately describes who you are at the core of your being cannot change because someday you may no longer be the athlete that you were.

1:13:40 What you see as good looks may change because I swear, Pastor Kia, every time I see a brownie, I gain five pounds. I'm telling you. Yeah, you are chosen in all of the things that God has said. He said that you are chosen in his amazing power and wisdom. He looked at you and said you are chosen. You are chosen before your mama knew your name, before your daddy knew who you were, before your teacher called you, before anybody followed you on Facebook, before your employer hired you, he said, you are chosen. I chose you. Can somebody just thank God for a second for the fact that he chose you? I know that I was ratchet and messed up. I know that I wasn't all that I should have been. I did some bad things in my life. I made some horrible mistakes, but can I thank God that it chose me? I know you didn't have to God, but you did.

1:14:35 And I thank God that he chose me. Children, you don't have to become popular to matter. You don't have to be the fastest. You don't have to get followers to have value and become more and be in the in crowd or the click. Your degree doesn't define your worth. You don't have to prove yourself. Your paycheck doesn't determine your purpose. Your value isn't defined in how many zeros are behind your name or the job title that you have or the number of degrees behind your name. Retirement doesn't retire your calling. God says that I still choose you.

1:15:16 Who told you that your circumstances defined you? Who told you that your neighborhood determines how far you can go in life? Who told you that the diagnosis dictates what you can do? Who told you that? Because your father defines your identity. God says that you are chosen. You ought to repeat that until you get it in your spirit. Say, I am chosen. I am chosen. Who told you that? Yeah, God told me. Who said that you would never be nothing? Who told you that? God said that I am chosen.

1:15:53 I'm taking my time on this first point because I want to tell you that repetition, teaches identity. What you continually see and what you continually say eventually shapes what you believe. What you repeatedly hear becomes what you repeatedly believe and what you repeatedly believe becomes how we repeatedly live because what we repeatedly believe is what we end up seeing. Somebody's going to catch it later. Some of us have been reading the wrong story about ourselves. If every day our children only hear you're not enough, you're too young, you're too little, you're not smart enough, you'll never be anything. You're just like your daddy. You're just like your mama. You're ugly.

1:16:43 You'll never make it. Nobody likes you. if that's all they ever hear, words become windows. And windows shape how we see ourselves and how we live. But can I tell you that you're reading the wrong book? Because who told you that? You don't believe me? Come here for a second. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, both faith poverty, trauma, and rejection early in their life. She was told that she wasn't fit for TV and he was constantly rejected by the industry. But who told them that? Because now they're both billionaires. People saw their limitation, but God sees their potential. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity team because everyone said that he wasn't good enough. But who told him that? Because now he's considered the greatest basketball player of all time. Somebody y'all would argue with me about Kobe and LeBron, but just go with me for a minute.

1:17:39 Because rejection can become the motivation for your elevation. Serena Williams faced criticism and doubt throughout her career. But who told her that? Because she's considered the GOAT as well. Don't let somebody else's opinion become your identity. And the late, great John Lewis was told that activism was dangerous and that young black people should stay in their place. But who told him that? Because he became a freedom rider, participated in the March on Washington and the Selma Movement. He endured brutal violence and later served for decades in Congress. Sometimes the people telling you to sit down are the very reason that you need to stand up. Who told you that you couldn't do it? Who told you that you couldn't? Who told you that you wouldn't? Who told you that you weren't enough?

1:18:33 Who told you that you weren't gifted? Who told you that you weren't enough? Who told you that you would never amount to anything? Because sometimes the greatest battle isn't getting other people to believe in you. It's getting yourself to stop believing the narrative that other people placed on you. I feel like preaching. I'm losing my voice. Who told you that? Somebody just say, who told you that? Who told you that?

1:19:09 We got to stop believing the narrative that other people placed on us. People told them what they thought they would never become. But they kept moving. They kept believing. They kept working. And eventually their lives became the evidence that the voice that they said they can't was wrong. So listen, Peter gives us, Peter gives us, all of us in here today, Peter gives us a different story, a different narrative to believe. Peter says, stop repeating what the world says. Start repeating what God says. Peter says, I don't know who told you that, but read this instead. You are chosen. instead of saying I'm nobody say I'm chosen whatever story you keep reading will eventually become the story that you keep living So stop repeating what the enemy says.

1:20:07 Who told you that? Start repeating what God says. What you keep seeing is what you will keep saying. And that will be eventually what you believe about yourself. So stop rehearsing the lies and start repeating God's word. Family, can I tell you why Emerging Generations Month is important? Why it matters? Because children don't discover their identity by accident. they discover identity because somebody keeps reminding them and keeps repeating it over and over and over again and it gets ingrained in them they get it memorized parents tell them and teachers tell them and grandparents and mentors and youth leaders we tell them but as the church we must also keep telling them tell them who god says that you are because if we don't the culture will. If we don't, social media will. If we don't, someone else will gladly write the story that God never intended. Church, our assignment is to help every generation remember who God says that they are. And I don't know about you, but the first thing we have to do is trust God. You got to lean not into your own understanding, young people, but you got to acknowledge him. And in all that ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for his good works for I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a hope and a future you gotta challenge yourself to make better choices every day to watch the people that you hang around to not let someone else write your story because listen to Corey and Kendall and Zion and blaze you got to believe in dream like Martin all of my serenities and Luke and Eric you got to fly high and soar to the stars like May to my Camerons and Kendrick and Jonathan and Paisley and joy you got to speak up like Malcolm to Maddie and Drew and Caden and Delilah you got to write like Maya to Sarah and Savannah and Dakota

1:22:20 and Skylar and Braden and Miles you gotta invent like George to all my Sydneys and Camden and Milani and Jordan and Thailand and Kingston you gotta inspire like Lewis to Zoe and true and Lanaya can I call out my kids Paige and Layla you gotta challenge like Rosa to Carter and to Taylor and to Suave and to Peyton and to Genesis you gotta stand like Nelson Malia and and Kaysen, and Kai, and Morgan, and Kennedy. You have to educate like W.E.B. To all my Discover kids. You can run like Jesse. You can fight like Muhammad. You can protest like Angela. You can play like Jackie. You can be everything that God has called you to be because you are chosen, and you can write your own story. Say I am chosen!

1:23:19 Pastor Kia, I know you've passed over chosen, but they chosen. Everybody chosen. Say, I am chosen. Say, I am chosen. All right, now look, sit down. The next two points are going to go bad real fast, all right? Real fast. How much time I got, Pastor? How much time I got? You are chosen. second point say I belong to the king he's saying as Christians as followers of Jesus you now belong to an entirely new family your identity is that you belong to God's family when society tries to reduce children to scores to statistics and to stereotypes God says no I see sons I see daughters God says do you know who whose child this is they belong to me cause every child is made in his image we belong to God Peter says you're a royal priesthood can I tell you what Peter is doing cause it's real strange pastor he's using two words that should really never really go together royal and priest it's two significant roles but very different functions kings ruled but priests prayed kings had authority but priests had access i'm going somewhere priests serve god and help people get connected to him royal speaks to identity to authority to position and representation as God's royal people we are called to represent the king and to live according to his kingdom but priest speaks to service to intercession to worship and to access to God royal speaks to who you are but priest speaks to what you are called to do I feel like preaching Peter says that in

1:25:29 Jesus, you got both. You don't have to choose when you belong to the king. Because if you have accepted him into your heart, you have both authority and access. I get excited about that because I got authority and access to the king. Because look, the father is the king. A prince doesn't wonder where his meal is coming from. Why? because he knows who his father is. Who told you that you always need to be worried? Who told you that you always need to be confused and always be questioning where things are going to happen, how things are going to work out? Who told you that you always need to be worried? Who told you that you always need to be afraid? Don't you know that you belong to the king? God has got you.

1:26:25 He says that you are royalty. Look, in the Old Testament, people, in order for them to get to Jesus, people had to go through the priest in order to get into God's presence. Now, because of Jesus, you can go directly to him. You don't need a priest to give you access. You don't have to wait until you're grown young people to talk to God. You don't have to carry every burden alone. He says that every child, every teenager, every single mother, every father, every widow, every believer, you have access. Can we just thank God for access? I mean, Jesus doesn't have an access denied sign because Jesus has already opened up the door. When he died on the cross and the veil was split straight down in two, he said, now you have access. it's not because you're perfect but it's because Jesus said I love you enough that I want you to freely go to me look he says that you're chosen you're hand picked intentionally he said you're royal but then he says something else he says you are holy he says you're holy now look before anybody gets all nervous you know before everybody gets nervous and says oh holiness that means I gotta wear a long dress I can't wear makeup yeah you can't smile you can't have fun yeah you can't dance hello uh let me tell you that is not what peter means holiness means being set apart for god and living in a way that reflects his character it means reserved dedicated holiness is living differently because you belong to god I'm gonna quote my uncle Al he's a reverend uh the reverend at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church I'm gonna quote my uncle Al because he just said this in his sermon he said we got to be real careful how we treat young people yeah we got to be real careful how we treat young people because we can't confuse holiness with age hello come here because some folk could do the same

1:28:40 thing, if they could do the same thing that young people could do, they would do it. They just can't do it no more. My uncle Al says that we got to be real careful how we treat young people who are trying to get it together. Cause the truth of the matter is somebody ought to be grateful up in here, up in here that God didn't snatch you out when you were 16 or when you were 20 or when you were 30. Cause we was out here clubbing. We was out here sleeping with any and everybody. We was out here smoking and drinking y'all don't want to be real in here he says you ought to be real careful when we was wiling out doing what we wanted to do in partying it was still God's grace who kept us you got to be grateful that God's grace is covering you so we got to know that our kids you got to be holy you got to be set apart but while they're trying to figure it out give them grace. Give them grace the same way God gave you grace. You didn't have it all together and some of you still don't got it all together now.

1:29:49 Give the kids grace for their struggle on their journey. Let them find themselves and discover who God is for themselves. He says, you are a holy nation.

1:30:15 Holiness is not first about what you don't do. Hello. Holiness is first about who you belong to. that's what it's really about it's it's not about what you don't do it's about who you belong to because i don't know about you i'm one of seven i'm one of seven i'm a pk all i know is church i'm a church baby that's all i know i was born under a pew praise the lord and so anytime we went anywhere we got the pep talk did y'all get the pep talk some of y'all don't know what i'm talking about uh my mother would say you better not act up when we get in here you better act like you got some sense don't you embarrass me when we get in here oh y'all had a mother like mine you you better remember who you are and who you belong to because you better act like you know you you better act like you got some home training you better act like you know because she wanted us to have a certain demeanor because of who we belong to because we were representing her so peter tells us look you are a holy nation its value is in the covenant that it represents peter is saying that you belong to god that you've been set apart not because you're better than anybody else, but because God has claimed you as his own. Peter is quoting Exodus 19, five and six, where Israel was called God's chosen nation. A nation was significant because Peter is speaking to all different kinds of ethnicities, just like in here, all different kinds of backgrounds and cultures and social positions. And he says, now in Christ, you have a new spiritual identity and allegiance to him. We represent the king who we belong to. So our conduct, our speech, our justice, and our treatment of others, hello, should represent him. Holy nation

1:32:23 means that you are part of something bigger than yourselves. Who told you that you don't belong? who told you that you don't have any family because there is a we in this identity that's why I love the song that says that I need you and you need me we're all a part of God's body you gotta stand with me and agree with me because we're all a part of God's body it is his will that every need be supplied you are important to me and so I need you to survive your identity is rooted in God, not your performance. And then it's obedience that ought to flow from that identity, not the other way around. A Christian's identity is grounded entirely in God's mercy and gracious calling, not in your personal merit of what you can do and how good your abilities are.

1:33:20 Who you are is God's chosen, holy, treasured child, and you belong to the covenant family. God chose you and so because you belong to him you ought to represent some of his characteristics that means like the fruits of the spirit we ought to see some love in you we ought to see some joy and some peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self control we ought to see his characteristics float out from you I don't want to act like I got some sins because I represent the king of kings. I want to act and look my best because I represent him. I don't know about you, but I want to talk like him. I want to walk like him. I want to act like him. I want to live like him because I bear his image. All right. Y'all didn't like that. First, first point was I am chosen. Say I am chosen. The second one is that say I belong to the king. And then the last point is you are different on purpose. Young people, you're different on purpose. Peter says, not only are you holy, but he says that you are God's special possession. Some other versions say you are special treasure that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous or wonderful light. Being God's special possession means that you belong to God and that you are valued to him, that you have worth, that you have been chosen for a purpose.

1:34:57 It speaks to your identity and your worth, your value. You're not ordinary. You're not forgotten. You are set apart to represent God, to reflect his character and to make a difference in this world. God called you. I wish I could run because Peter, Peter doesn't say you found the light. He doesn't say that you found it. He doesn't say that you earned it. He doesn't say that you just jumped into it. He doesn't say that. He said that God called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. There used to be him that said, Father alone, we'll all know all about it. Father alone, we'll understand why. if you cheer up my brother and live in the sunshine, that we'll understand it better, better by and by. Yeah, because he called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

1:35:56 Darkness is bigger than the absence of sunlight. Darkness is anything that keeps you from seeing God clearly. Darkness is addiction. It can look like abuse. It can look like anxiety. or depression. Darkness can look like bullying or look like racism. It can look like hopelessness. Darkness can look like you're believing that you don't matter, that you're not enough, that you'll always be this way. Darkness says nobody loves me. Darkness says that your life doesn't matter. Darkness says that you ought to give up. But who told you that? Because you've been picked on. God says that you are chosen. If you ever felt that you were left out, God says that you belong. If you've ever thought that you're not smart enough, God says, no, I created you. If you've ever cried yourself to sleep, God says, no, I am with you. If you've ever wondered, does anybody see me? God says, I know your name because I called you. Listen, have you ever been in a dark room and it's been so dark that you couldn't even see your own hand in front of your face? Have you ever seen that?

1:37:05 And no matter how hard you would squint, you still couldn't see, but all it takes is one light. One light changes everything. Darkness doesn't have a vote. Darkness doesn't negotiate. Darkness doesn't argue. Light doesn't argue with darkness. It simply just shows up. When light shows up, darkness has to leave. Jesus didn't come to manage darkness. He came to overcome it. And so Peter says he didn't just bring you out of darkness, but he brought us into his marvelous light not a marvelous light but his because salvation isn't just leaving something behind it's entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ Christ purchased us with his blood on the cross and we are his priceless treasure and his possession and so he protects it and he loves us because he we are we are his and so we are precious to him and god sees each and every one of you like his children and so can i tell you something that even though you may feel like you don't belong or that you're not like everybody else or that you don't fit in you don't have to compromise to be accepted sometimes the reason you don't fit in is because you were never designed to fit there in the first place. Some doors close because they were never your doors to open. Some friendships die because they were never your assignment.

1:38:44 Some crowds reject you because your calling is bigger than their popularity. You can't confuse rejection with God's absence because sometimes God protects you by not letting you belong where you were never meant to stay in the first place. Peter says he does that so that notice something he didn't just save you for you. God blessed you so that you could be a blessing to everybody else. Identity becomes your assignment that God didn't save us merely for your benefit. He says he saved you so that you could represent him and now that you got the light you got to bring other people two and two. Your entire life becomes a testimony. Peter says so that you can declare the praises of him. You got to declare, you got to tell somebody, you got to announce it, you got to live it. Don't hide it. Don't whisper it, but you got to live it. The Bible says let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Come on, if you're redeemed by the hand of the Lord, if you're redeemed by the Lord, we ought to say so. We ought to live it in our family. We ought to live it in our workplace.

1:40:01 We ought to live it up and down our neighborhood. We ought to live it in our schools. We ought to speak his words and live what he says with our transformed life because we now are with him. to declare means to publicly speak or proclaim what you believe to be true about God and his promises don't hide your light young people because even as little as you are you still have a powerful voice God wants to use it you're you're not strange you're chosen you're a priceless treasure because you belong to God and that's why you don't fit everywhere. All right, I held y'all too long. So look, I told you I'm one of seven and one of seven and, and my dad, he would stay home with us while my mother went to work because he was full-time pastor. And so he would get us ready in the morning. And so Miss Juanita, when I was growing up, um, we had a daily routine. We had a daily routine and my siblings every morning before we went to school, we would gather together downstairs we would gather together and my dad would pray over us but then we would get into the circle and we would put our arms around each other's shoulders like in a huddle and we would go back and forth and then he would say, he would give us affirmations today is going to be a good day you got this and God got you and because got you, I got you you not going out these doors by yourself and we would huddle back and forth with our arms around each other's shoulders and then he would say, okay, on three, we're going to do the Grigsby growl.

1:41:38 He would say one, two, three, and we would go. before we walked out the door that's what we did we got in a circle my daddy prayed over us and then we were finished we would huddle together we would put our arms around each other and he would say one two three do the grigsby growl and i'm not talking about that angry ground talking about this family growl we every single morning we did this growl some mornings we didn't feel like doing it some mornings we woke up and we woke up on the wrong side of the bed some mornings we were tired and we was mad about something the night before that happened and we didn't want to do it but my daddy didn't care how we felt he said y'all gonna we gonna pray y'all gonna gather together and we gonna huddle up and we gonna do this Grigsby growl now on three one two three and when we finished with the growl something happened it wasn't that our problems disappeared it wasn't that we had suddenly become superheroes but something changed on the inside because my daddy was reminding us that you are a Grigsby he was reminding us that you belong to this family he was reminding us that you don't walk out of this house by yourself you walk out knowing who you are and whose you are and I didn't realize it then but my daddy was teaching me something about my identity because children's because uh some other people whatever the people say about you that's not your identity you are not what somebody else has said about you you're not somebody because you have the most friends you're not somebody because you're the smartest in class you're not somebody because you got the newest jays or the best outfit you're not somebody because somebody follows you on social media and you be trending you're not somebody because somebody They picked you from their team, but you are somebody because God says that you are.

1:43:31 You're somebody because of who God says that you are. So every morning when you get up and those questions begin to circle in your mind, you got to do what the Bible says and take every thought captive. And you got to say, who told me that? Because we are only listening to what God says. I'm not listening to negativity today. I'm not listening to your opinion of me or what you think about me. but I'm listening to what God says because this is why I love it because the growl was fun for us as kids but now that I'm older it's more about what happened before the growl my daddy gathered us together my daddy prayed over us my daddy brought us together my daddy reminded us of who we were and then my daddy sent us out now I don't know about you but Sunday morning this is our church huddle where we are getting together.

1:44:28 God has gathered all of us here together. Our daddy, our heavenly father is speaking over us. Our God is telling us who we are. And then our God is sending us out into the world. And so God is saying, before I go, before I let you out of here, I got to tell you who you are. My daddy taught me that you got to walk out the door knowing that you're somebody. And my heavenly father is telling me, I've been telling you that all your life, just like your daddy would gather you together every morning and remind you who you are. I'm reminding you today in this huddle that you are chosen, that you are royal, that you're a holy priesthood, that you're a holy nation, that you belong to God, that you are somebody. When you know whose you are.