Youth Revival | "Speak Life" 6PM | Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III 08/09/26

58:15 Don't go anywhere. Trinity, I want you to meet this brilliant and wonderful violinist. This is Liberty Razor. She is 15 years old. Gifted young lady. And Liberty, why don't you share? You play more than one instrument, is that correct? I play the violin, viola, and the bassoon.

58:47 And you plan to... What do you plan to do in the future? I plan to become a surgeon and continue music. Come on. Now, there's a gentleman you know over here. Who's this gentleman on the piano? That's my father. Father and daughter. Won't you give it up for this wonderful family? You are really a gift. Thank you for blessing us today. Amen. Thank you so very much.

59:24 And our choir did such a wonderful job. We praise God. We praise God for you. Before we go to the Lord in prayer, there's a couple of things I forgot to mention during our announcement time. Coming up on August 28th, we will have our Jazzapalooza. And we are excited about Jazzapalooza this year. We have, hey Mike, where's Mike? There's Mike, okay, all right. How you doing, Mike? Yeah, okay, Mike's band is going to be one of the bands that will be playing during Jazzapalooza.

1:00:02 We also have saxophonist Isaiah Collier, An absolutely gifted young man who is also the featured artist for the Chicago Jazz Festival. And he will be presenting here for our Jazzapalooza. He attends Trinity, and he is presenting a brand new work entitled Joy that I know you are going to be blessed by. We have several other artists that we are going to announce. You'll hear about them next week once we lock down everything with them. But it's really going to be an amazing time. We also will have a variety of vendors. And there will be a bouncy house out there also. For those of you who have little people, they can bounce. They'll get tired.

1:00:55 They'll go to sleep after Jazz Palooza. So you can bring them and just say, go on to Bouncy House. I'm going to listen to some music. and we are really looking forward to Jazzapalooza. It closes out our summer and our travel group, we welcome you back. Jazzapalooza is fantastic. We welcome you back to be with us. Also, I had several people ask about this shirt. This is from somebody in our village. Deanna Robinson presented this shirt. Can you just give a brother five minutes? Can you give a brother just five minutes? And immediately after the benediction, if you can just give me all I need is amen amen we praise God that we are in this space today amen let us go to the Lord in prayer at this moment with every head bound and every heart open let us go to the Lord search me oh God know my heart and try me and see if there is any destructive way in me.

1:02:03 When you discover what does not belong in me, may you cut it out and may you cast it into the sea of forgetfulness as far as the east is from the west that it may never return again. But the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. Lord, you are my strength, and without a doubt, you are certainly my redeemer. Holy Spirit, do thy will. Holy Spirit, do thy will. We offer this prayer in the mighty, the magnificent, the blessed, healing grace filled peace providing liberating marvelous magnificent wonderful phenomenal name of Jesus who is the Christ we offer this prayer and the people of God who love God may say Amen.

1:03:25 Amen. We want to take a moment and lift up a passage of Scripture, just one passage of Scripture, coming from the 18th division, the 18th chapter of the book of Proverbs, the book of wisdom, known as Proverbs. Chapter 18, moving to verse 21. There's a couple of translations we want to look at. the New Revised Standard Version, the Updated Edition, the Message Translation, and the OM3 translation of this. That's the Otis Monson III translation of verse 21. And it reads as follows, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. The message translation reads this way.

1:04:26 Words kill, words give life. They're either poison or fruit. You choose. The OM3 translation reads this way, death can be found in your speech. Life can be found in your speech. And those who love it will eat of its fruit, either poison or nourishment. So therefore, you better watch your mouth.

1:05:14 Death and life are in the power of the tongue. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of God's holy word. You may be seated in the presence of the Most High God. I want to place a tag at this moment upon this scripture for our lesson today. I want to deal with this simple idea of speak life. Speak life. If you would be so kind as to turn to your neighbor at this moment, just turn and look at you. You're looking at me. Look at your neighbor. That's the person next to you. There you go. There you go. look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, oh neighbor, speak life. Amen.

1:06:07 Now find another neighbor. It may be the same one, even the one who's not looking at you trying to look like they're taking notes and whatnot. Let's say to your neighbor, say neighbor. Neighbor. Oh neighbor. Oh neighbor. Speak life. Speak life. Speak life. Now find that first neighbor again.

1:06:30 Yep, yep, yep. Find that one again. Get a nice smile on your face. There you go. There you go. And say neighbor. Neighbor. Oh neighbor. Oh neighbor. I want you to know. I want you to know. I promise. I'm going to. Watch my mouth.

1:06:52 Watch your mouth now. Speak. Life. Speak. Life. It is writer and thought leader Marianne Williamson who years ago wrote a poem. It was a part of a speech, I believe, a poem entitled Our Deepest Fear. Marianne Williamson says this, Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are more powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

1:07:49 We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us. It's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

1:08:53 I may say it this way, your future may rest on what you choose to manifest in your life. I was given a simple word to share with you by the Spirit of God. one phrase, two words that have the power to transform our, your, our collective existence. God is calling God's people to simply learn to speak life. That is almost everything I got to say this morning. Now, I'm not going to stop just yet, but that's just about everything I got to say. Speak life. The wisdom literature, Dr. Thomas, the wisdom literature of the scriptures, drawn from the Judaic tradition and also from African sources of what we would call Ethiopia, Kush, Kemet, or Egypt today, offers virtues, principles, life lessons, and application gathered in this collection of sayings known as Proverbs.

1:10:02 Most of it shaped as a parent speaking to a child. This is what you need to know before you go into the world. This proverb, so simple yet profound, says death and life are in the power of the tongue. Words kill, words give life. poison or fruit it's up to you to choose what you say has profound effect upon your life as a matter of fact the words you speak are not arbitrary they will shape your reality as a matter of fact science backs up this idea a neuroscientist by the name of dr. Andrew Newberg studies spiritual practices and the brain.

1:10:59 A spiritual space, if you function in a spiritual space where the words love, the word peace, gratitude are spoken and practiced, or music is played and sung emphasizing joy and thanksgiving, it begins to regulate your emotions and at the same time in your brain begins to release certain chemicals that actually improve your immune system. If practiced enough, these words become lodged in your subconscious. But if you are in a space where the words of hate and anger and fear is constant, it will trigger what is known in the brain as the amygdala. The fear center causing a release of cortisol and adrenaline. When you state words such as I can't or I always or absolute words, you never, I never, it releases more cortisol and adrenaline in your system.

1:12:08 And literally, you will find yourself anxious and tired, and you will also find yourself sick. If you are around a negative person, they will draw energy from you, and you will not be able to function at full capacity. This gives new meaning to the words, you make me sick, because there is science to back up this idea. But I'm here to share with you that worship, especially within the African American tradition, worship is and was designed to speak life. Whether we were in the hush arbors or in small spaces of churches that we founded, from the invocation to the benediction, it was designed to pour into you so that you would not have what the world is saying about you determine what the ceiling is of your opportunity and what God desires in your life. Worship is designed to speak life.

1:13:26 I saw it today. When you heard Clark give the call to worship this morning, I saw people lean in and start smiling. When you witnessed Aubrey and Oliver giving the welcome, something happened in the congregation as I was looking at everyone. When Liberty was playing that violin, something was moving in your spirit. When you witness the young people sing, something was touching you deep in your spirit. That worship is designed to speak life. And you have a choice every time you come into the worship space. Now, I know that there are some who bring some weight upon their shoulders. I get it when you come into this space. But I'm here to let you know that when you come into God's house, when you come into this space, you can make a choice to allow the words and the songs and the prayers and the fellowship to speak life to you.

1:14:35 No matter what you experienced in the parking lot, on the street, in your house, you step into this space. And when you think of the goodness of God in your life and how the Spirit has moved in ways that blow your mind, it begins to release things out of your life. But then you are open to new things that God is pouring into your life. Let me just ask a question here. Do I have two witnesses up in here? that have made the choice that when they show up to worship, that what you want to do is open your spirit to the goodness of what God is doing in your life. And whatever happened last week, last year, last month, a few days ago, suddenly is moved to the margin, and now you are focused on thanksgiving and the goodness of God. And what's amazing about it is that the enemy gets frustrated every time you end up in worship because they've thrown everything at you, but you still, in the words of Maya Angelou, you walk like you've got oil wells pumping in your living room.

1:15:46 Is there anyone in here? I'm trying to speak some life into somebody today. that God is saying that worship is designed to speak life. It's designed to speak life. This is why you got to watch your mouth. You have to watch what you say because what you say you may end up manifesting in your life. Watch your mouth. But here's the thing, here's the thing that I share on this day that we celebrate our young people, that you, you, the word, the focus is speak life. But before you speak life to somebody else. You got to learn how to speak life to yourself. You have to learn how to affirm who God made you to be.

1:16:52 Let me help you out. My father told me a story. I believe it was in 1963 that he was traveling back into the United States. I believe it might have been in August or September. I'm not sure when the date was, but it was in 1963. He said he was coming through New York, and he had a layover in New York where he had to stay overnight. So he made his way to Harlem, to a hotel in Harlem so he could stay and then get on the plane to make his way back home in 1963. As he was coming into the hotel, there was a young man standing outside. He didn't know who he was. He was saying, take my autograph. It's going to be worth some money one day. You need to take my autograph. Take it right now. It's going to be worth money someday. He figured he's in New York. That's what people do. Everybody's always trying to hustle left and right. And so he went into the hotel and, fellas, he went on back home. But then it was in February of 1964.

1:17:48 He turned on his television, and then he realized that he had seen the young man that he saw in New York on TV. That young man was standing over the body of a person by the name of Sonny Liston. He was in a ring. That young man was Cassius Clay, and he had just become the heavyweight champion of the world. And my dad said, I wish I had taken that autograph right then and there of that young man. But here is the thing. Cassius Clay was saying, I am the greatest. But when I read a biography about Cassius Clay who becomes Muhammad Ali, you must understand that he didn't say he was the greatest once he won. He started saying he was the heavyweight champion when he was 12 years old. That when he was in eighth grade, he would stand in the lunchroom and announce to everybody, don't you know I'm going to be the greatest boxer you've ever seen? People would tell him, shut up, be quiet, Cassius, you ain't going to do nothing.

1:18:50 But he said that I know what I'm going to do. And that was something that he kept in his mind. He was a great boxer, but he said in the biography that one of the things that allowed him to achieve the elements that he was able to achieve was the fact that he was able to speak life to himself. That he was able to say, I'm the greatest. But here's something I've got to help you with. There were moments when Cassius Clay, who becomes Muhammad Ali, didn't think that he was the greatest. Because he got hit so hard in the ring, there were moments he said, this ain't going to work. But what he did is he had somebody who was not his trainer, but his corner man. Not his cut man, that's different. It was his corner man by the name of Drew Boudini Brown. Drew Broudini Brown, his only job was to whisper into Muhammad Ali's air and say this, you need to remember you're the greatest.

1:19:51 You float like a butterfly. You sting like a bee. I know you've been beaten up in this first round, but you need to get ready because you need to know who you are. You still missed what I said. You see, he spoke life to himself, but there were moments that life ended up beating him up. but he had somebody in the corner that kept reminding him of who he is. You still missed what I said. You think you got here by yourself. If it hadn't been for somebody in your corner who kept reminding you who you are and what you shall be, you would not be where you are right now. It might have been a mother, a father, a grandmother who was always encouraging you. Is there anyone in here that can give thanks for every corner person in your life? That when you were down and out, they were willing to lift you back up.

1:20:48 But let me give you something to shout about. If somebody's been your corner person, then it's your responsibility to be somebody else's corner person. Don't just affirm yourself. You've got to learn how to affirm somebody else. It doesn't take anything from you to affirm the brilliance and wonderment of somebody else. Every once in a while, you need to thank God for what God's doing for your neighbor. You need to thank God for how God is moving in the life of the person next to you. Is there anyone in here? Can you thank God for what God is doing for your friend, for your neighbor, for your husband, for your wife, for your brother, for your sister, for your uncle, for your aunt, for your goddaughter, your godbrother, whoever it may be, we've got to learn the power of speaking life. The power of speaking life.

1:21:50 You've got to know that what you say is not arbitrary. It creates worlds. But you also have to learn before you can speak life to somebody else, you've got to learn how to speak life to yourself. You need to be able to look up in the mirror and say, you like what you see. That you love yourself. Because this world is going to try and tell you there's something wrong with you. But you need to know that when God created you, God, like a masterful painter, when God got done with you, God said, look what I did. I've just made someone that I've never made before that if they come into contact with the gifts that they have, they will transform this world. You need to know you are something magnificent and wonderful and marvelous and amazing. And don't you ever allow the enemy to tell you you are nothing.

1:22:47 You need to know you are God's child. God put so much energy into making you. As a matter of fact, you shouldn't be here. It is a statistical anomaly that you even made it into the world. You should not be here. But yet you are, and here you are. You need to know that our God puts special emphasis upon you. Speak life to yourself. I know it's challenging, especially in a world that is always saying there's something wrong with you. especially in a world that does not affirm that if you are a person of African descent to say that there is something wrong with you no, God ain't got no problem with you as a matter of fact God is waiting for us to realize that we are fearfully and wonderfully made learn to speak life to yourself But here is the thing that we must understand collectively within this collective village in this body.

1:24:06 That when we learn to speak life to ourselves, when we learn this and know that words are not arbitrary, they can manifest and create worlds. We've got to learn, especially on a day such as today where we celebrate our young people, to speak life to our children and to our youth. We cannot pass this on to someone else. It is our responsibility to speak life to our own children, to our own youth, to our young adults, and remind them how extraordinary they are. That is why I love the Freedom School program so very much, and I want to congratulate all of those who worked and volunteered for our Freedom School program. they do something as they've done the research, the Children's Defense Fund, because there's something unique in the curriculum of the Freedom School program because it is a speak life program, a speak life curriculum.

1:25:13 Because you will notice for anyone who has visited our Freedom School, you will notice that they never call any of the children who are present students. They call them scholars. and if someone calls you scholar long enough you start acting like a scholar because you've been hearing the words over and over again so then you must make the assumption that I must be a scholar so I must function as a scholar that is intentional in the curriculum as they have done the research and understand that children rise to the words that they are given. That if you tell them that they are smart, then they say, I guess I am smart. If you tell them they are a scholar, they will function as a scholar. And when you go to the Freedom School program, the opening program is so beautiful.

1:26:08 I had the opportunity to do the Read Aloud program and read this wonderful book about Henry Boxcar, the gentleman who literally mailed himself to freedom. I had the opportunity to read this to our scholars at our Freedom School program. And when you're done at the Freedom School program, they have this special ritual where every young person, every scholar, everyone in the building, even those who don't want to join in, have to join in, where they sing this song by South African singer Labi Sifri. It's a song entitled Something So Strong Inside. Something Inside So Strong. And it says, the higher you build your barriers, the taller I become. The more you refuse to hear my voice, the louder I will sing. My light will shine so brightly, it will blind you because something inside so strong.

1:27:07 Something inside so strong to me. And this is what we need to remind our young people. there's something inside so strong that we are, we are, we are excited about what God is doing in your life. And I want to say, I want to say, I want to say to Clark, you did a magnificent job with that call to worship. and Aubrey and Oliver and Liberty. You need to know that you are brilliant. You are bright. You are beautiful, a blessing. You are extraordinary, exceptional, fabulous, phenomenal, gifted, magnificent, marvelous, remarkable, wonderful. You are the answer to our prayers. You are the dream of our ancestors.

1:28:01 You need to know that you are magnificent. And when you come into a village like Trinity, you need to know that you shall be affirmed as a young person in this space. It is our responsibility to speak life to our children and to our youth. If we want to see them soar, if we want to see them rise higher, we must be the ones to speak life to them. not negativity but positivity and remind them how wonderful they are tell them the lineage that they are part of let them know that they are part of a lineage of brilliant people they're not the exception they are the rule that when you're doing something wonderful You are not out of the ordinary.

1:29:02 You are operating within the lineage of who God made you to be. And when we begin to affirm our young people, something begins to happen in our community in the process. Now, some of us must learn how to affirm, because we've never been in spaces where we were affirmed. And so we even have to learn how to practice to affirm ourselves so we can affirm the people that we come in contact with. That we must learn how to speak life to ourselves and learn how to speak life to our young people. But here is the final thing. I'm done, and may the Lord bless you and keep you. We must learn how to speak life in these areas, but also we must allow our God to speak life to us. Allow Jesus to speak life.

1:30:02 I must bid you good day. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the road rise to meet you. But can I tell you that when you allow the Lord to speak life to you, If you spend a little time going through Scripture, there are some life-affirming words in Scripture that will bless your life from now until. Don't you know that the Word says, for I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope. That's speaking life. they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as eagles they shall run and not get weary they shall walk and not faint that's speaking life come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest that's speaking life trust in the Lord with all thine heart lean not unto thine own understanding and always acknowledge God and God will make your path straight.

1:31:15 That's speaking life. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in God so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's speaking life. And we know that in all things, God works for good of those who love God, who have been called according to God's purposes. That's speaking life. Let me give you another life-affirming word. Do not be anxious about anything. But in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Can I give you another one?