1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,000 Welcome to the First Apostolic Church podcast. 2 00:00:04,520 --> 00:00:07,960 Our church mission is to love as God loves showing compassion 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,480 every soul, thus winning those souls and equipping them to be 4 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,680 sent out to plant and to harvest. 5 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,000 Thank you for joining us today, and we hope that you are blessed 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:26,090 by today's podcast. We greet you all in here in this 7 00:00:26,130 --> 00:00:30,090 sanctuary and online in the lovely name of Jesus Christ. 8 00:00:30,930 --> 00:00:32,650 Give honor to our Bishop this evening. 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:40,800 Appreciate him years of sacrifice and of ministry and of 10 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,120 love. And you want to know what a 11 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,280 servant looks like? Look at your Bishop tonight. 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,760 I appreciate our pastor love and appreciate him. 13 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:56,280 So glad that they are back. I'm happy for them that they had 14 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,440 the vacation they did with the entire family. 15 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,200 We are so thankful that they are back with us. 16 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,519 Give honor to our youth pastor, Brother Alex and Sister Grace. 17 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,440 Love and appreciate them so very much. 18 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:14,440 Not just for the obvious, but for the ministry's sake, for the 19 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:19,080 the love that they pour into your students, your children, 20 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,280 your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews. 21 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:27,160 We love and honor that tonight. Tonight we are here to honor and 22 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:32,800 celebrate two very beautiful young ladies, and we are 23 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,240 thankful for them. They've got the VIP seating 24 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,600 tonight, all right, because we are, we are trying to be 25 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,480 intentional about celebrating them. 26 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,080 So I'm going to be ministering tonight for them. 27 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:48,960 Now, I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable now 28 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,840 because everything that I've got to say to them applies to you, 29 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:54,880 all right? But I am, I am probably going to 30 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,640 be at some point intentional about focusing on them. 31 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,280 I don't want you to feel left out, but it applies. 32 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,080 All right. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 33 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,360 #13 one very quick verse. The Bible says I can do all 34 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:16,560 things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. 35 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,560 I want to minister tonight with something I felt like the Lord 36 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:23,520 dropped into my spirit several weeks ago. 37 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:32,280 Embracing your limitations. Perhaps a bit of a unique 38 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:34,320 subject coming from this verse of Scripture. 39 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,280 Tonight I want to share what I feel like God laid on my heart 40 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:39,560 today. Would you lift your hands and 41 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:41,960 ask the Lord to touch US1 more time? 42 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:43,560 Mighty God, we're thankful for you. 43 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,920 We give you Thanksgiving and honor for what you're about to 44 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:49,880 do here tonight. We ask you to minister the Lord 45 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,120 in a way that only you can do. We're not fail to give you 46 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,000 praise and glory and honor for it Tonight in the lovely name of 47 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,840 the Lord Jesus and the church said Amen. 48 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,120 You may be seated. The Lord bless you. 49 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:11,720 So to Glenna and Mariah thinking through this service and this 50 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:17,000 this moment in time and the celebration that you have just 51 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,800 went through with graduating high school and that milestone. 52 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:26,400 It got me to thinking about when I was graduating high school. 53 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,280 I, I know that that's been a day or two, but my, my brain still 54 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,480 works sometimes. So I got thinking and 55 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,480 reminiscing about what that was like. 56 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,040 So I made a list of a few things of what I was like as a person, 57 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,360 all right, when I was 18 years old. 58 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:49,160 So I'm going to go through a few things here of when I was of me 59 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:56,200 then contrast to me now. And what I think you can learn 60 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,440 from that. Is that all right? 61 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:06,160 So me then, I absolutely hated school. 62 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,720 Hated. The joke's on me, yes, I know, 63 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:16,160 but I hated school. Me Now, somewhere, somewhere on 64 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:21,800 my journey, my bitter hatred for school disappeared or I wouldn't 65 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:28,720 have spent eleven years of my adult life in college for you, 66 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,880 for your future. How that applies is seek 67 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:39,800 personal development and growth. Always don't stop becoming 68 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:45,120 because no matter you know it's when you're when you're 18. 69 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,920 I'm not saying this is you. This was me when you're 18. 70 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,800 Sometimes it seems like I know everything I need to know. 71 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:57,640 I I think a parent could give me a nod right there. 72 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,080 I know everything I need to know and I'm just as good as I need 73 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:08,560 to be, but life has so much more Me then I hated reading. 74 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,920 I hated reading. Don't hand me a book I hated 75 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,920 reading Me now I fell in love with reading somewhere because I 76 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:25,760 finally found what I like. So for you read, don't fall prey 77 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,520 to the lie. I don't like to read because 78 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,200 that's a lie. Anybody who says I don't like to 79 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,600 read, they're lying either to you or to themselves because 80 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,720 they read something every day. If if they're literate, they 81 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,040 read something every day. They read Facebook posts, read 82 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:46,080 newspaper. It's just our interests are 83 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:47,800 different. You put a fiction book in front 84 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:49,120 of me, I'm going to tell you I hate it. 85 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:54,360 Not reading it because I don't like it, but you put something I 86 00:05:54,360 --> 00:06:00,320 like me then. I love Big Macs, French fries, 87 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,840 and almost any meal that included mashed potatoes and Mac 88 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,800 and cheese. I still like the potatoes, Mac 89 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,040 and cheese part. I just try to temper it some. 90 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,400 I hated the thought this was me then. 91 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,600 I hated the thought of any meal outside the typical quote UN 92 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,440 quote American cuisine. Hated. 93 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:25,520 It was not me at all. Me now somewhere I developed a 94 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,080 more culture palette and affection for international 95 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,640 foods, traveling culture. So for you, don't be close 96 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,360 minded. Life is full of growth, culture 97 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:42,000 and opportunity today. It is a much smaller world today 98 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,440 than it once was. Your odds of interacting 99 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,520 internationally are much higher today. 100 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:55,040 So always remember that God loved the whole world, not just 101 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,480 Illinois. Me then. 102 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,560 I thought English was the only language that was necessary. 103 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,240 I tell you, I'm a different guy. Me now. 104 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,000 I've worked continually to hone my craft of the English 105 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,800 language. And it's actually, and I won't 106 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,360 get into this tonight, but if you're ever curious, you can ask 107 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,360 me. But that in and of itself was 108 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,800 the doorway to opportunities for me before I was ever qualified 109 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,440 to do anything. And along this journey, 110 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:30,480 somewhere I became an aspiring person who wanted to to learn 111 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,280 other languages and try to try to just grow myself. 112 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:35,920 For you, how does that apply? Hone your craft. 113 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,760 Whatever it is, hone your craft. But don't ever stop and say I'm 114 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,000 good enough. Because the people who stop and 115 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,760 say I'm good enough, they never grow and that's all they ever 116 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,440 become. Good is the enemy of great. 117 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,200 Yes, repetition is the mother of all mastery, but those who 118 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,240 practice that the most will tell you that they never are as good 119 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:03,440 as they need to be. So always aspire to be more me. 120 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,760 Then I submitted to the ideology that church people didn't need 121 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,600 higher education if they had God and were anointed. 122 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,680 Because Once Upon a time that was kind of the unspoken rule 123 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,080 that if you were Apostolic and you didn't, you didn't need 124 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,080 education. All you needed was God 125 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,560 somewhere, me. Then somewhere I learned that 126 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,920 God's anointing and education are not mutually exclusive. 127 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,440 You can have both and God can anoint both. 128 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,480 How does this apply to you? Continuous growth is in 129 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,760 alignment with God's Word, and we find this in Matthew 6 and 130 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:44,320 Colossians one me then, I was deeply insecure on the inside 131 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,800 and often tried to overcompensate for this on the 132 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,080 outside, and this behavior was often misunderstood and LED to a 133 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,720 lot of frustration. Me Now I've learned how to 134 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,880 become more comfortable in my own skin, up to and including 135 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,040 that I don't need the approval of everyone around me to 136 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:06,640 function. So how does this apply to you? 137 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:12,960 Be uniquely you because that's how God created you. 138 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,880 Avoid the comparison trap. Accept who you are as God's 139 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:21,480 design and who God wants you to be because he's not finished 140 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:26,320 with you yet. So there is a difference between 141 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:33,000 embracing your limitations and accepting your limitations. 142 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:40,520 Accepting is defined as the act of receiving to acquiesce or 143 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:45,120 surrender to. Embracing is defined as coming 144 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,640 from the act of giving and embrace. 145 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,840 I'm not recommending that you surrender to or accept your 146 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,520 limitations, but what I am saying tonight is that I believe 147 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,160 you should give from your limitations. 148 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:04,480 We'll return to this a bit later. 149 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,920 Learn something that doesn't come naturally to you. 150 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:13,880 Now, I, I didn't give you my disclaimer that I intended to, 151 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:15,480 so let me pause here for just a moment. 152 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,320 This message tonight is intentionally two parts 153 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:19,920 practical and two parts spiritual. 154 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:22,760 All right, So I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable this 155 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:24,320 evening. Just please understand that. 156 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,080 But learn something that doesn't come natural to you. 157 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,800 It teaches you how to deal with being uncomfortable while 158 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,360 avoiding the temptation to retreat when life isn't easy. 159 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:38,120 Because there will be times life will not be easy. 160 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,960 You will not understand what life means, what it's doing, 161 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,600 what God's plan is. Everything will feel dark, even 162 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,920 though the light still shining. Several years ago, I started to 163 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:52,080 teach myself how to do things with my left hand. 164 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,280 Guess what? Now those things are natural to 165 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,760 me, but they were very uncomfortable when I started. 166 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,040 If you only focus on things in life that are easy or that come 167 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:08,200 naturally to you, you will miss opportunities, you will miss 168 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,480 joy, and you will miss the fullness of what God has planned 169 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,120 for you. Live for today, not someday. 170 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,320 There are a lot of people. Well, I'm going to do this 171 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:29,000 someday. I'll do that someday. 172 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,760 But someday is the elusive mirage in the desert you never 173 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:39,160 reach. Someday ghosts as far away from 174 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:43,240 you forever as it does now. It never exists. 175 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:47,000 So live for today if you plan to do good in the world, and I 176 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,280 believe you both will if you plan to help people. 177 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:56,400 Learn how to deal with hurt, discomfort, inconveniences, 178 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,520 rejection, accusations. Learn how to lead yourself. 179 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,760 Learn not to follow other people's decisions to influence 180 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,480 your actions, reactions, mood, and behaviors. 181 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,600 You cannot control the outcome of the good you intend to do. 182 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:19,120 This is a lesson for all of us. Somewhere, someone, for some 183 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,600 unknown reason, will have negative things to say about the 184 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,800 absolute best good that you try to do. 185 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,560 What do you do about it? You just keep doing good. 186 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:38,800 Hebrews 13 and 16 says But to do good and to communicate, Forget 187 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,800 not, for with such sacrifices, God as well, please. 188 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,840 Doing good is a sacrifice. If it was easy, everybody would 189 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,360 do it. It requires character and 190 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,840 integrity, and it requires doing the difficult things when the 191 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:58,600 easy thing is to not do good. We all have limitations. 192 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:02,680 We all have. I don't know what yours are. 193 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:08,360 I know what mine are painfully, but we all have limitations. 194 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:14,600 If you argue for your limitations, you get to keep 195 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:20,880 them. How many times have you had 196 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:24,040 somebody, or maybe maybe you've said, I don't know, maybe. 197 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:31,040 Well, I can't do that. If I was to ask some of you to 198 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,720 take this microphone and come up here and take my notes and 199 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,520 finish tonight, some of you would say, all right, I'll do my 200 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,360 best. A whole lot of you would say no, 201 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:47,000 I can't do that. If you argue for the things that 202 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,680 you think you can't do, you will never achieve those things. 203 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:54,760 But if you refuse to do something because of some real 204 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,680 or perceived limitation, you don't allow yourself to move 205 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:02,120 beyond those circumstances. You stay right where you are, 206 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,600 Zig Ziglar said, the famous leadership guru. 207 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:09,480 He said evidence is conclusive that yourself talk has a direct 208 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:14,800 bearing on your performance. Proverbs 23 and seven tells us. 209 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:20,920 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. 210 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:28,000 We cannot talk about limitations tonight without taking a quick 211 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,760 inventory of the factors that cause us to accept our 212 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,680 limitations rather than embrace them. 213 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:40,200 Four contributing factors 'cause our confidence to collapse and 214 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,120 lead us to accepting our limitations as we see them. 215 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:49,320 One hyper criticism 2 Lack of competence 3 Lack of self trust 216 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,840 4 lack of self esteem. Hyper criticism is criticism 217 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:58,200 that is unduly harsh. I don't know about you, but I 218 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,960 hope in life that there's no one as hard on me as I am myself. 219 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:06,280 There probably is, but I I don't want to meet them because I know 220 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,120 how harsh I can be on myself. It's not the right things to do. 221 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,720 Typical behaviors of hyper criticism are setting lofty 222 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,320 expectations that we are unable to meet and then we become 223 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:19,840 critical of ourselves because we didn't meet them. 224 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,920 We overanalyze situations and view them as critical 225 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,600 experiences instead of learning opportunities. 226 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:35,560 Here's the thing, you are going to fail at something, but just 227 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:39,480 remember failure is an event not a person. 228 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:46,120 We judge ourselves as failures often times instead of looking 229 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:51,160 at the situation as it is. Lack of competence is often felt 230 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:55,480 due to the expectation that because we tried something it 231 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:58,960 shouldn't be hard or we should be as good at it as we think we 232 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:00,840 should be. Well, I can tell you there's a 233 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,080 few things in life that I've thought in my mind or that's 234 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:07,240 pretty easy. And then when I went to try it, 235 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:14,560 I realized that wasn't easy. Brother Malone A few years ago, 236 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,280 I I thought I was going to try my hand at yoga. 237 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,200 Now, some of you think that's funny, and it might be. 238 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,240 And it was at an hour of the morning where I had no 239 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:32,080 witnesses, I promise you. But I thought that's so easy. 240 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:35,480 Why? Why is this such a big deal? 241 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:40,800 They're just they're just sitting there or they're, 242 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,600 they're holding a, a position. What's the big deal about that? 243 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,440 I really, I sincerely thought this is this is pretty dumb 244 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,520 because this is just so easy. I don't understand the height. 245 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:59,160 I tried it. I didn't make it 5 minutes until 246 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:04,319 I realized this isn't easy. I've got a problem. 247 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:11,040 This app is telling me I need to hold this position for 60 248 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,240 seconds before taking a break. I'm at 15 seconds and I'm 249 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:19,000 huffing and puffing, sweating, dripping off muscles, cramping 250 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,839 and shaking. It was not a pretty sight. 251 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:26,960 Ladies and gentlemen, I promise you it was not easy. 252 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,560 I thought it was. Here's a few tips. 253 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:34,480 The more you practice a new skill, the more competent you 254 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,760 become. Hard work won't hurt you. 255 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,120 Higher competency boosts your confidence. 256 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:46,040 Higher confidence motivates you to keep practicing and to keep 257 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:57,440 improving your skills. I've been playing piano for 37 258 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,480 years, Bishop. I still practice. 259 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:06,520 I've had people ask me why in the world do you practice? 260 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:14,080 Because I'm not where I need to be yet I still play when you're 261 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:21,560 not around. Constantly trying to improve. 262 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,840 Lack of self trust as a result of not knowing, not doing what 263 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,240 you said you would do. Breaking a promise to yourself 264 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,160 erodes self trust and wears down confidence. 265 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,000 The result ends in procrastination, confinement to 266 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:40,840 your comfort zone. Comfort zone is a trap and an 267 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,040 avoidance of challenges. Lack of self esteem reflects the 268 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,120 status of the overall opinion we have of ourselves. 269 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,280 It's related to self respect, which is influenced by how well 270 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,360 our actions align with our core values. 271 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,720 According to Warren Buffett, there are three types of people 272 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:01,840 you should have in your life. Mentors, contrarians and people 273 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,480 with emotional intelligence. Mentors. 274 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,840 It's kind of obvious you need them for your development. 275 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:11,080 You need somebody that you trust to speak into your life that can 276 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:16,080 tell you right and wrong and to promote the good contrarians 277 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:17,800 makes me think of Abraham Lincoln. 278 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,680 Half of his cabinet when he was elected to be president were 279 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:22,560 people that he knew did not vote for him. 280 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,080 He wanted people at the table that he knew would not agree 281 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:29,400 with him all the time to help strengthen him. 282 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:36,040 People who value your friendship enough to refuse groupthink or 283 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:37,840 blind agreement are real friends. 284 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:41,640 People that will you allow to speak into your life, to 285 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,280 challenge you to become better people with emotional 286 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,160 intelligence. I could spend all night here, 287 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,600 but I won't. But hanging around people with 288 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,280 it will rub off on you and help you sharpen your ability to be 289 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:54,520 around and lead with other people. 290 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,560 The scripture text I read in your hearing tonight is quoted 291 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,840 often in many circles of life. Over the years, it has become 292 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:08,000 frequently quoted by churchgoers and athletes and anyone facing 293 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:10,320 the proverbial mountain to climb. 294 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,320 It has become fuel for a motivational mindset bent on 295 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:17,800 overcoming an obstacle. Whether the hurdle is a 296 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,720 competitor or a personal record that needs to be broken or 297 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:25,120 whatever the situation is, Philippians 413 has become a 298 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:30,680 form of positive self talk. But I'm stopping to pause here 299 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:35,360 tonight to ask us, is that what the Apostle Paul intended for 300 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,440 that verse to be? I've done it. 301 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,560 So I'm not judging anyone or pointing fingers tonight, but 302 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,440 I've done it. I I've talked to people and 303 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,480 they've struggled and, and I just don't know if I can do this 304 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,360 and what. And I've pulled Philippians 413 305 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,520 out of my toolbox and said I can do all things. 306 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:56,680 I've done it more often than not. 307 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:02,320 And come to realize through study and research that I'm not 308 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,800 exactly sure that that's what the apostle Paul was intending 309 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:09,760 for us to take away. Is it possible that Paul's words 310 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,880 have become like a spiritual rabbit's foot with the best of 311 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,160 intentions? The phrase is often rehearsed as 312 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,680 an assurance of God's enablement for our personal pursuits. 313 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:24,640 And while I think God cares about our personal pursuits, I'm 314 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:29,520 not sure that Philippians 4413 is a vehicle by which we can 315 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,240 just say if I want to do it, I can do it because he's with me. 316 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,680 That would be like me saying untrained that I'm going to do 317 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,480 open heart surgery on you because if God's with me, I can 318 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:43,520 do it. I know that's a bit extreme 319 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,560 tonight, but just trying to prove the point. 320 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:48,960 So context is king. We hear our pastor talk about 321 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,720 this often. Like any portion of the Bible, 322 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:55,040 the meaning of the passage is determined by the author, not 323 00:21:55,040 --> 00:22:00,920 the reader, and is limited by what comes before and or after 324 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,120 it. So if we want to get at the 325 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:06,200 intended meaning of the message, we need to broaden our scope 326 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,680 just a bit. So what does Paul mean? 327 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,200 And how does this apply to our our our graduates tonight? 328 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:17,840 If we include verses 11 and 12 along with 13, we get a bit of a 329 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:22,400 clearer picture of the Apostle Paul's intent reading in your 330 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,720 hearing tonight, verse 11. Not that I speak in respect of 331 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:30,160 want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am there with 332 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:35,440 to be content. I know both how to be a based 333 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,640 and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. 334 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:45,560 I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound 335 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:50,960 and to suffer need. I can do all things through 336 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:57,120 Christ, which strengtheneth me. Despite the well meaning use of 337 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,040 the words, this text does not teach that a Christian is 338 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:06,200 empowered to accomplish any task simply because they are saved. 339 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:11,400 Paul's aim here is contentment, not achievement. 340 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,360 And with that in mind, here are a few very important things to 341 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:19,320 consider for all of us, and specifically for our two 342 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:24,160 graduates tonight. Both poverty and prosperity come 343 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:30,080 with serious snares. Poverty can leave us bitter, 344 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:35,360 resenting the lack of whatever it is we don't have and that we 345 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:39,600 want. Prosperity can trigger pride in 346 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:44,880 self-reliance and complacency. Either way, we are in trouble if 347 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:49,680 we fail to see our circumstances the way the apostle Paul is 348 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,960 demonstrating them to us in the word of the Lord. 349 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,360 Contentment is not promoting apathy or mediocrity. 350 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,360 A lot of times we think contentment is, well, I just got 351 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:02,320 to be happy where I'm at and I'll just stay there. 352 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,120 But after we've done all that we can do through whatever means 353 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:10,440 God enables us, we are to be content with the outcome. 354 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:16,080 Because again, you cannot control every outcome of every 355 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:21,240 situation in your life. Trust in God is the key to our 356 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,960 joy. Trust in God when I'm poor and 357 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:29,480 I'm impoverished is the key to me living a life that's not 358 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,440 bitter, living a life that is content in the state that God 359 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:38,280 has equipped me for so that I can say I can do all things 360 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:40,440 through Christ who strengtheneth me. 361 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,480 What am I doing? I'm still worshipping God when 362 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:47,040 I'm in, when I'm not employed as well as I am when I've got a 363 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:51,040 paycheck in the bank. I am worshipping God and I am 364 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:57,000 content with the life He's given me, all because He is in 365 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,440 control. Can somebody say Hallelujah? 366 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:06,960 So when I hear or read the statement, I can do all things. 367 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,600 This does not mean that God gives us a supernatural strength 368 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,920 to accomplish whatever we want or to whatever we believe that 369 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,840 we need. So what can I do becomes the 370 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,680 question tonight. I can find contentment in my 371 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:28,960 limitations, knowing that my strength when I am abased, when 372 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:33,600 I'm when I'm abased, I'm low, I'm I'm I'm I'm poor, I'm I 373 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:35,960 might not have things that I need. 374 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:40,840 I can find contentment there equally as the apostle Paul as 375 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,240 when I abound. Said differently, there are 376 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,680 chapters of life that you will walk through valleys and there 377 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,320 are seasons of life you will walk on the mountain top. 378 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,160 I will be honest with you. I hope your life is different 379 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:55,960 than mine. Not trying to be negative 380 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,640 tonight, but there are seasons of life that I feel like the 381 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,720 valley experiences outweigh the mountain top. 382 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,240 That is why we need to learn spiritual contentment. 383 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,080 That is why we need to learn by the word of God how to be a 384 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:14,480 based and how to abound. I need to understand by God's 385 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:18,400 grace how to live without a paycheck and how to how to live 386 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,480 when I've got a paycheck. And it's not all just about 387 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:23,840 money. That's just a good nice quick 388 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,960 example, but I can find contentment. 389 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,960 You can find contentment in your limitations. 390 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:41,720 Acts chapter #3 verse one we read now. 391 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,440 Peter and John went up together in the temple at the hour of 392 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,480 prayer being the 9th hour and a certain man laying from his 393 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,360 mother's womb was carried whom they lay daily at the gate of 394 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:56,360 the temple which is called beautiful to ask alms of them 395 00:26:56,360 --> 00:27:02,840 that entered into the temple. Who seen Peter and John about to 396 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:05,640 go into the temple asked and alms. 397 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:11,400 He's asking for an offering. He's sitting outside the temple 398 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:18,560 gate and he is got his offering pan out and as the people are 399 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:22,760 walking by he is saying alms, alms. 400 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:28,400 For a man that has been lame from his mother's womb. 401 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,840 Somebody has sent him there because they didn't believe he 402 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:37,040 had any more potential than to just sit at the gate and beg for 403 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:42,320 money. So he sees Peter and John coming 404 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,960 to go into the temple at the hour of prayer, and he, as it 405 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:53,680 was his custom, reaches up with his pan and he says alms, alms, 406 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,600 not knowing perhaps who it was he was speaking to. 407 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:02,560 And Peter, the Bible tells us in verse 4, fastening his eyes upon 408 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:08,400 him with John said, look on us, pay attention to what I'm about 409 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,520 to tell you. And he gave heed unto them, 410 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:15,400 expecting to receive something of them. 411 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,800 Now if we pause right here, what's the lame man expecting? 412 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,880 The man is expecting alms. The man is expecting an 413 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,640 offering. The man is expecting the exact 414 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,800 same thing from Peter and John that they get that he got from 415 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:35,160 everybody else that would walk through the gate to the temple. 416 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:40,240 But then Peter said silver and gold have I none, Sir? 417 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:43,040 I don't have any money, Sir, I am. 418 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,040 I have got some limitations in my life right now. 419 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:51,160 I am a beast. I am in the will of God and I am 420 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,920 where God needs me to be. But I don't have any money. 421 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:58,360 I, I, I am at a low, I am not in an abounding state right now. 422 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,160 I'm not in a position where that I've got free will offering that 423 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,720 I can just shell out. I am trusting God for the shoe 424 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,400 leather I've got on my feet right now. 425 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:12,360 I don't have anything that I can give you, but I will say to you, 426 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:16,720 silver and gold, have I none? But what I do have I'm going to 427 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,960 give you. And in the name of Jesus Christ, 428 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:24,760 he said, rise up and walk. Often times, ladies and 429 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,400 gentlemen, we deny ourselves opportunities when our 430 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:32,840 circumstances don't support our goals or preferred position in 431 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,280 life. An example would be when you're 432 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,920 down and struggling, you don't allow yourself to see anything 433 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:43,080 but what's wrong in your life. All you see are the 434 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,200 frustrations. All you see are the limitations. 435 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:50,720 Well, I can't because of this. I can't because of that. 436 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:55,240 And we don't allow God an opportunity to work through our 437 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,040 life to will of His good purpose. 438 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:02,720 And when you accept those limitations, they become indeed 439 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,840 limiting. But watch this now. 440 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:09,120 When you embrace your limitations, you become what God 441 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:14,840 wants you to be and you work from those limitations. 442 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,600 Somebody say Amen. So I submit to you tonight in 443 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:25,560 closing, that if Peter and John had money in their pocket, if 444 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:32,880 Peter and John had not had limitations, maybe even we could 445 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:37,240 go as far tonight to say if Peter and John had not embraced 446 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,560 their limitations. If they had accepted their 447 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,360 impoverished state. If they had accepted the fact I 448 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,720 don't have any money. If they had not embraced the 449 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:53,080 position that God had put them in, or if they had money in 450 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,680 their pocket, if they would likely have given the man an 451 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:02,320 offering and walked right on by into the temple to pray, the 452 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,520 man's life, ladies and gentlemen, would have remained 453 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:09,080 changed. And Acts chapter 3 might not 454 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,480 have been written the way that it is. 455 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:16,000 But since Peter and John didn't have money to give, and since 456 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:20,680 they did not allow the lack of funding to limit their faith or 457 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:25,440 to hinder an opportunity to serve others, my God, I feel the 458 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:30,480 Holy Ghost, they embraced the limitations and they began to 459 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,760 work from their limitations. And because of that, they said, 460 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:39,920 silver and gold have I none? But by the power of God, get up 461 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:45,960 and walk. There are some of us in this 462 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:47,920 house now I'm talking to our church. 463 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:52,160 We need to stop accepting the limitations that life has put on 464 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,000 us and start embracing the will of God. 465 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,880 Because God's will for you seasonally is going to look 466 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,400 different than what it looks like for me. 467 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,840 Don't compare the will of God in your life to someone else except 468 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,200 the will of God. Embrace the limitations God has 469 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,600 put you in and allow God to anoint you. 470 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:22,840 You are going to have limitations, but as the people 471 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:28,680 of God, we need to stop allowing limitations to hinder our walk 472 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:34,480 with God. I can do all things through 473 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:42,040 Christ who strengtheneth me. When they worked from their 474 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:46,280 limitations, they didn't take a seat in the back row of 475 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,720 indecision. They didn't walk by and say, 476 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:55,760 yeah, sorry man, I just, I just don't, I just don't have it 477 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:02,560 because that's what being distracted by your limitations 478 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,200 does. It causes us not to witness 479 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:07,600 opportunities where God has put us in the right place at the 480 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:11,040 right time. And if we're focused so much on 481 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,160 what we can't do, we will not focus on what God can do. 482 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,800 And in this hour, there's, there may, may not be any more 483 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:23,600 important hour than today for us to realize in our daily walk 484 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:26,800 with God, not on a Sunday, but on a Monday and a Tuesday and a 485 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:28,440 Wednesday and a Thursday and a Friday. 486 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:32,160 There may be no more important hour than for us to walk with 487 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,720 integrity and walk with anointing in spite of our 488 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:41,960 personal conditions. I want to embrace my 489 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,680 limitations. I'm not accepting them. 490 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:48,560 Contentment isn't apathy. I'm not sitting down and saying, 491 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:50,400 well, I don't have it. I just can't do anything. 492 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:54,360 I'm saying I'm not going to grieve over my position in life, 493 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,720 and I'm going to allow the anointing of the Holy Ghost to 494 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:04,640 order my steps because when I embrace my limitations, God will 495 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:09,040 direct my steps to our graduates in our church. 496 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,040 Folks alike, Tonight I would say allow God to direct your steps 497 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:16,360 and allow you to do His will and His purpose and work from His 498 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:25,239 anointing from your limitations. Allow God to be in the space 499 00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:28,280 between your limitations and your actions. 500 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,320 Would you stand with me tonight? Musicians can come. 501 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:52,280 The lame man was healed. The lame man was healed not 502 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:56,760 simply because he was there begging alms. 503 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,040 Yeah, he had to be in the right place, and I believe God 504 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:08,280 orchestrated that. But Peter and John, 2 505 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:17,080 churchgoers, two church brothers who were walking by the sidewalk 506 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:23,320 outside of the church building and about to enter in and he's 507 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,080 sitting there. Can you give? 508 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:32,240 I don't know if his eyes were closed or open, but he's he may 509 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:37,640 have just been so used to rejection that it was just kind 510 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:49,200 of a pathetic request of alms because he knew if he didn't get 511 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,560 money that day, somebody's going to bring him back to the temple 512 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,560 tomorrow. He had dependable 513 00:35:55,560 --> 00:36:02,160 transportation. My mind, somebody's going to 514 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:04,000 bring him, somebody's going to take him back home. 515 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:09,040 So getting back in that position was not a concern for him. 516 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,360 He's going to be there all day long every day and he's going to 517 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:15,600 be waiting on people that's coming to pray at the temple 518 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,240 alms. I, I get this picture in my 519 00:36:19,240 --> 00:36:21,000 mind. I don't, I don't think he was 520 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,640 energetic. I don't, I don't think he was 521 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:29,640 saying, hey, can you give? Because Peter had to say, Hey, 522 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:35,040 look at us. So that that's why in my mind's 523 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:39,600 eye I see him saying, can you, can you give some alms? 524 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:43,480 I could. I could really use some help. 525 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:49,400 Can you alms? Peter and John had the option to 526 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,240 say, Hey, buddy, we're just going to pray. 527 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:55,760 I'm sorry, I don't have any money for you, but we'll pray 528 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:00,880 for you. That's good. 529 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,320 That's great, we need to do that. 530 00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:13,000 But because Peter and John embraced their position in life 531 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:20,200 with contentment, because even before the pen of the man had 532 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:24,520 wrote the words, they knew, because they spent time with 533 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:32,920 him, I could do all things. My calling is not contingent on 534 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:40,320 my status and life. Your calling of God is not 535 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,840 dependent on where you're at, what season of life you're in. 536 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:49,400 Call of God is there regardless of whether you're in the valley 537 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:54,520 or if you're on the mountain top because they embrace their 538 00:37:54,520 --> 00:38:00,440 limitations. He wasn't just healed, He 539 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:05,280 received a miracle. His life was changed. 540 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:11,200 He went from being a beggar to A to a common citizen. 541 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:22,160 He went from being someone that could not do anything for him to 542 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,680 someone who could finally stand on his own 2 feet and say maybe, 543 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:29,120 maybe instead of holding a pan out for alms, now it's job 544 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:30,560 applications. Hey, Sir, are you hiring? 545 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:33,880 I'll be an apprentice. I'll be an apprentice for 546 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:34,680 blacksmith. I'll. 547 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,400 I'll do whatever. I'll do whatever you need me to 548 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:38,160 do. I'll tie, shoe leather. 549 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,760 Don't make any difference. I can work now. 550 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:45,360 I can do something now. Every one of us have an 551 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:47,280 opportunity to do something in this life. 552 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,200 God has ordained a calling for every person in this building 553 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:55,160 tonight, and that does not exempt the two of you. 554 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:58,560 God has called the two of you for something. 555 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,920 I can't tell you what that is, but what I can tell you is in 556 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:07,240 the valley and on the mountain top, he's still God. 557 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:11,560 And don't allow the valley to make you bitter. 558 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,000 When you walk through the valley, you have as much faith 559 00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:18,800 as you do on the mountain because in your next valley 560 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:20,760 you'll look over your shoulder and say, I feel a little bit 561 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:26,800 stronger on this journey. I feel just a little bit better 562 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:28,720 that I did my last valley experience. 563 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:31,400 Why? Because I can do all things. 564 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:36,640 I can be content in the state wherewith I am. 565 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:41,320 And because of that, I've got strength that only comes from 566 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:45,520 God. I can do all things. 567 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:49,480 This altar is open tonight. Would you come if you need 568 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,080 something from God tonight? Come if you don't need anything? 569 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,840 I'd ask, why don't you just gather around our graduates 570 00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:58,080 tonight, lay your hands on their back, support them, pray for 571 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,840 them, uplift them. They're about to start a new 572 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:03,920 journey, a new chapter. And I believe in the power of 573 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,080 the Holy Ghost tonight that God's going to. 574 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:08,960 Thank you for listening. If you would like more 575 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:12,160 information about our services and activities, you can find us 576 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:17,000 on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with the username FACMC. 577 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:21,640 Again, that's FAC MC Thank you and have a blessed day.