Transcription
[Applause]
When, um, James and John, James and John get called by Jesus, it says they're mending their nets with their father. It says they drop the nets, they leave everything, and follow him. And that's, that's what the calling is. It's that the reason you were alive, the reason you were born, was to be in the image of God, to know him, and to fellowship with him and walk with him.
Hey everybody, we're back. Uh, we haven't been here in a while, actually, have we? It has been a while. It has been a few weeks. Um, we're super blessed. We've got brother Dan here with us. He was with us last night and just, uh, wrecked us with a fresh perspective of the love of God. And so we're just going to hang, ask Dan some questions. Um, you guys are welcome to jump in. I've got a couple, but just, we're excited just to have you here, brother, and just receive what God's saying.
Um, something's on my mind 'cause I know this is something that's, um, a real heartbeat of yours, been something the Lord's really done among us, is this, um, restoration of the Gospel message, you know, just really at the forefront. Oh, you should, gonna say, you can't see your face. There we go. We good now? Can you see my face? Well, your face is kind of dark. There we go. That's fine. I'm okay with it. All right, I'll cut it in again. We'll just keep, we'll just edit that. Ready?
Um, you know, just something that I know is a big deal for you and something that was actually a big hallmark for us when we started was this restoration of the gospel. And, um, just really this, deny yourself, what is repentance, what is surrender, what is, you know, you were sharing last night about, um, being restored to the image of God. All that, you know. So, my, maybe, maybe if you can sh- share some of that.
One question I had that seems to be, um, just a lot of ideas on it that I don't know is, is really clear, and it's something we've been chewing on as a, as a community, is just what does it, what does repentance really mean? You know, you see this as kind of a hallmark in the teachings of Jesus, John the Baptist, the Apostle Peter. And, you know, I think traditionally so many times, you know, in modern Christianity, it's repentance was a one-time prayer, like you just said that prayer, and that was kind of like, again, you got your ticket. And it, there wasn't a, a shift of trajectory of the life, you know? So I'd love to just hear your heart on it.
Yeah, and even John the Baptist said to, uh, the Pharisees, you know, prove the fruits of repentance. Like, like show that there's repentance. In other words, it's not just a confession, it's an expression of life. Amen. So repentance is, it's a real turnaround. It's a turn from, turn to. We know the basic definitions, but when you look at how that applies to scripture. So it's like being renewed in your mind. So we're not conformed to the world. Amen. We're transformed by the renewing of our mind. That literally means thinking like we've never thought before. Amen. Or where we get new thoughts from new life from Jesus Christ.
When he came, you have to think too, when he came and spoke, it was so different to the people. They couldn't hear what he was saying. They're like, where's he coming from? Where does he get this stuff? Like, here's Jesus speaking the truth, and life was so perverted in sin and separation from God, that man had no capacity to hear his words. That's sobering. Yeah. So we were all trained by that mentality. So we were born into that mentality and trained by that mentality. So I, I call it homeschooled in the wrong home. So we were brought up in that lie. Jesus comes and speaks. So when you look at scripture, like, like, like we got things like, don't get your hopes up. And the Bible says, get your hopes sky-high. We got things like, well, what you don't know won't hurt you. We grow up hearing these things. And the Bible says, what you don't know is destroying you. So there's this subtle deception that's weaved into our mentality, our language, and what we actually believe, what we would call wisdom or truth. Yeah. That when you open this book, it's the total opposite. Amen.
So repentance is flipping that coin. Amen. So repentance is, man, I used to think from me, me, myself, and I. I used to come to you and want something from you for my sake. Repentance is, man, now I sincerely think for your well-being, in your sake. And I actually have your interest in my heart. That's a form of repentance. But now that's more than a confession, that has to begin to be an expression through my life where people realize, oh my goodness, this guy really cares about folks. Where before, uh, uh, repentance, one of the major repentance items that I see, and I, I don't call it repentance, but it is, uh, but if you can get somebody to change their mind, they can do it. It's not always boohoo and cry. It's repentance can be like, duh, what? No way. Oh my goodness, yes. That's right. That's a form of repentance because you're getting it. The bells are ringing. The, the light's coming on. Ding, ding, ding, ding. Oh, I see what I'm here for. Amen. Oh my goodness, that is why he sent his son. That's right.
So I talk about the why behind God's heart in sending his son a lot. That's the restoration of the pure gospel. So where repentance is, it's like, oh my goodness, I was really living for myself. The, the biggest thing that I, I feel the biggest push in my heart from the Lord is asking people why they're a Christian. You'll find that the answers aren't solid across the board. Like so many, the, it's for well-being, protection, blessing, of course, to go to heaven. Rarely does somebody understand they're a Christian for his great name, like for his glory, to really be a manifestation of, of him. Most people are Christians for what they can get from God, instead of how they can become more like him.
So when we gather in a service, a lot of times the stir in the room is what God's going to do, what he's going to do, what I'm going to get from the Lord tonight, what I need. You'll hear a preacher say, had a very wise man a long time ago tell me to never say this, and I got it when he said it. I was like, whoa, because people say it all the time. Do you ever hear this? Like, listen, I'm glad we're all here, the music's right, and you can learn how to do church right. And the music's right. You say, you know, God is here to meet every one of our needs. And the truth is, that's not why he's here at all. Like, some of our needs are wants. They dictate our disposition, they dictate our outlook, our attitude, our encouragement level. Some of the things that we think we need are actually wants, and they become idolatries. And a simple definition for idolatry is letting something matter more than what matters most. That's right.
So, so that's idolatry. And, and, and, and this man of God told me years ago, he said, if you want to run Holy Spirit out of a meeting, just tell the people that he's here to meet all their needs, 'cause you'll just shut everything down. Because that's not why he's here. And then people keep longing for their need to be met. So they go to meeting to meeting, to anointing, to a speaker, to somebody that flows in this, flows in that, is what they say, because they're all looking to get something from God, instead of ever considering becoming something because of God. Amen. And that's what the Lord has me challenging. Like, the why behind your Christianity is huge. It's actually the big thing to me. Like, why do I go to God? Why am I a Christian? Why am I taking my children to church? Why do I even read my, why am I doing daily devotions? Like, a lot of times people are looking for protection, blessing, provision, and it's all about God taking care of them in life.
I've learned a lot of people have a survival mode. They're just trying to get through life. So they, they run to God to get through life. Did you ever see this scenario? Marriage is struggling. Guy hasn't read his Bible for years. Had to look for it and find it. And now he's reading his Bible. His marriage is struggling. He's going to church. He just got laid off. He's nervous. I got to get back to God, right? So we have this idea that we're going back to God when our lives are sinking, hoping he brings us back up to level water or something, right? And it has nothing to do with why we should come to God. We come to God because we've been living totally self-centered, but we're made for his image. We've had our own interest at hand. And even when we pray, it's for our sake. Rarely do we live with the conscious awareness that I'm doing something for his great name, to manifest him, so that when people see my life, they get a good look at who he is. Rarely is that the motive in a person's heart as a Christian. It's usually for me. That's why countenances are low. That's why there's countless discouraged people that'll go to church on Sunday tomorrow. Countless discouraged people will show up at church because life's not going the way they hope. And all their prayers are centered around God changing things for them.
You got to look at scripture. Paul said, I want to lay a hold of that which Jesus laid a hold of me for. Amen. Right in Philippians 3. Philippians 2 says, that it's God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. I haven't noticed that people are thinking that way. Amen. What's the difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25? It doesn't say that the sheep prayed the sinner's prayer and the goats failed to. It says the sheep saw the need outside themselves. They saw people that had need outside their own life and they stepped in. Amen. The goats never even saw, saw the need outside themselves. Amen. Was the only difference between the groups? Like, we've, I think we've even gotten religious with the sinner's prayer. We've made the whole, going to heaven, instead of becoming Christlike. Yeah. Amen. So heaven's not the goal. That's what we make it. We make it the carrot, and the goal. It's no, it's the transformation of life. It's life of God on the inside of me, in the nature and heart of God. Do we celebrate eternal life? Is it hope that we, we're held by the power of God, and we hold on to that hope? First Peter 1. Uh, yeah, absolutely right. So we're not mad at eternal life, but we're one with the Eternal One. That's why we have eternal life. And when I look at scripture, what I realize is God never made man to die. 'Cause he said, the day you eat that tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the day you surely die. Death wasn't in the picture where God's concerned. So God never made man to die. Adam was made to live forever. So if Jesus redeems all things, of course eternal life is in that package. But it's because there's a redemption of the relationship that we have with the Eternal One. So nobody's going to snatch me out of the palm of his hand. I have life in him. There's no death in him. Death comes through sin, because all sinned, all die. But now sin's removed.
Would you say that eternal life starts now then? Totally. When you get born again, because you were dead on the inside. Eternal life is when you get restored back to the one that's eternal. Amen. So what did Jesus call eternal life in John 17? Eternal life is knowing him. Amen. Amen. We've made eternal life a destination. That's right. Jesus said it's the restoration of a relationship that was always intended to be. Amen. So I can be one with him. And the Christ that's in me is the hope of the glory of God. So the Christ that's in me is the hope of manifesting God to me. This is the restoration, the gospel. I, I feel like the gospel has got so overlaid with self-centered intention that make me cry. That 90-some percent of Christians, without realizing it, it's not evil, it's not hypocrisy, it's not evil, without realizing it. Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do. The way we've preached the gospel over generations, 90-some percent of Christians are clueless that they're a Christian for their own sake. They're a Christian for their own well-being, like they're a Christian for God to serve them, instead of God to transform them so they can actually manifest him in their life. Amen. So they're not convicted by an attitude that's detrimental to the kingdom. They're, they're not, they're not convicted by, they, they have a storyline that justifies their disposition. Because if you'd have been through what I've been through, you'd look like this too. Mhm. You see? But you can't make that fit with Jesus.
So I've learned over the years that a large percentage of, of people that believe Jesus, believe the cross, and see their need for a savior, have a wrong motive in why they pursue him. They pursue him to get something from him. Countless, countless teachings on blessings, provision, using your faith to get things. And I'm not against God blessing, he, but he does that on his own. Yeah. I, I need to pursue more of him. When I hunger and thirst, it should be for righteousness. It should be to have more of him, and more, more of an expression of Christ in my life, not just more cash in the bank. That's right. Like, that doesn't change my life. Amen. That can actually become a stronghold. Like it. So I don't talk about this much, but in my personal life, I don't ask for any of that stuff. I've never even had a conviction. I just have what I need. That's right. And I have plenty of what I need. And I don't know that I've ever asked for anything that way. The only thing I've ever asked for is more of him, more of an understanding, more of a revelation, more of an expression, a clearing, clearer hearing ear. I just want to manifest you, God. That when somebody sits beside me on that plane and we get chatting, that somehow they see you. Amen. That's what I care about. Amen. That when I'm done wrong, I don't live done wrong. Amen. And I don't have to call you, Ben, and tell you the story and ask you to pray for me and weep on the phone because I've been done wrong. That's the average response in a Christian. Yeah. Thank you, Lord. If you've counseled it all, you're the counseling is people struggling with people. That's right. And it's an indictment against us that we don't understand the gospel. And I feel like the Lord's restoring, bring the gospel of repentance back to your original. It's simply changing your mind in all these things. This is a true expression of practical repentance. Waking up in the morning, getting your eyes on scripture, and going, wow, I'm not alive for me today. You woke me up and gave me another day to look more like you. This is amazing. It doesn't mean I can't do something recreational. It doesn't mean I can't take a walk, have fun, and just stroll through the park. I'm going to work, I'm holding down a job, but everything is about you. Amen. This is amazing, God. Nobody today owes me a thing. Amen. And I owe no man anything but to, to love. And I'm going to shine today. Thank you for your life that's on the inside of me. Amen. Like that's repentance. That's, that's turning from the traditional waking up, oh no, another day. Calling this prayer, God, I got a long day today, and I got so much on my plate, God. Oh my goodness, if you don't move, I'll never make it. Lord, I need your grace to empower me to get through my schedule. Oh my gosh. That's right. And I got to work beside Tommy, God. What did I do to work beside Tommy? What did I ever do to deserve that, God? I'm praying someday that changes, please. That we call that prayer. Yeah. And have no conviction that that's our mentality. That's right.
Now, how are you going to go when you're dreading Tommy and you have so much on your plate, you're praying for grace to get through the day? How are you ever going to shine on your job? Amen. When you're whole, see, 'cause that's not even prayer when you're doing that. That's actually like a belly ache. That's like a, and you think that's prayer, you think that's spiritual 'cause you say you're talking to God, but it's so self-centered and self-consumed that you're so fragile, your personality, your disposition, so fragile in your day. I'm just discouraged. As soon as you get done praying, you're already like, here we go. Face my day. My day. Yeah. Instead of realizing that it's God working in me both to will and to do for his good pleasure, that my day is my mission field. I don't have to be an in-place missionary in another country. I'm a missionary in my sphere of influence every day. It's a mission trip. I have a sphere of influence. We do, there's two, three, four, five of us sitting by the table, and one over here at the camera. That's six people. That's a big sphere of influence. Amen. If, if you multiply the people we brush against, touch, and walk by in a five, six-month period, I don't know how you can measure that. That's right. But if we're living in active Christianity, and I'm not even talking about like just knocking everybody down. You used to talk to some, some of my friends live that way. But just, just living Christ opens the door to so much. Amen. When your, when your mindset isn't self-focused, when you're going through a trial, and you're not carrying that trial on your face, and you're not identifying with the trial, because you see the trial through the reason you're here, and you're, you're called, and you're in Christ, so you're always going to face everything from him. You're going to live through him, right? So now you're not going to God, God, I got so much going on, I need you to change this. God, you need to empower me. I got three things going on at once. No, you're already this way. You're, you're living this way. So you're responding to those three things in Christ. They never have advantage of you. You see what I'm saying? Like, like you're not even talking about those three things. Those three things aren't your moment. Yeah. That's right. Like somebody says, how you doing? Oh, man, I'm going through it right now. Man, I'm doing amazing. I appreciate you asking. Just have a good view on life. God's working in my heart, and I just feel close to him. Like he is, he is, he, he is in me, living through me, and it's amazing. I feel so privileged. And yet I feel like he's privileged 'cause it's what he's always wanted. It's just an amazing thing going on right now. And then, and but you don't hear a Christian ever talk like that. And if a Christian would talk like that, people go, oh, he's trying to be super spiritual. That's right. Yeah. You know, 'cause I've seen people put on the, I'm doing great, I'm blessed, going in, going out, praise God, I'm blessed, I'm the head, not the tail. And they quote all these scriptures, and it almost sounds like they're a robot, and they have that memorized. That's right. I'm just talking about real authentic. Wow, I'm glad you asked, Ben. I'm doing amazing today, man. I woke up and just saw the privilege of my life in him. And God is going to do something today, man. It's going to matter. Like heaven's going to remember today. I just feel it. Throw. Yeah. Good, man. And, and the whole time I got three things going on, and two of them I don't even really see an answer. I just know he's the Lord. That's right. But I didn't even mention that. And it's not because I'm in denial, and it's not because I'm so super spiritual. I just have a healthy perspective. If my eyes are single, my whole body's flooded with light. It doesn't say, unless of course you're challenged and faced with many issues today. No. If I see clear, I'll be clear. Amen. Yeah. So it's, it's just, it's, it's just an amazing thing. Repentance is misunderstood. So it's a great question. Sometimes people think repentance is crying for three days and and feeling sad or dragging into an utter crying your eyes out. You can, but you can repent and not even feel like crying. You can actually repent and be excited because you see new truth. Amen. I've seen people repent because they just got it. Yeah. That's right. And they're like almost rejoicing, like hop, skipping, and jumping repenting. That's right.
When I got saved, I was sin-conscious for a moment. I saw my need for a savior. I looked into my heart and never wanted to be that man another day. And I admitted for the first time in my life, my life was zero. That makes me emotional just remembering it. It was 29 years ago because it was such a wretched picture of my heart. And I knew I was never going to be that man again. So when I called out to the Lord, and he put, go, a sense of God reality in my testimony, the rest of the next five minutes was repentance. It was me jumping and spinning and freaking out, going, oh my goodness, you're so real. And I kept saying, I'm never going to be the same. I just know I'm never going to be the same. Come on. Kept saying it over and over and over. That was all just me putting on something new. Amen. Putting on something new.
So, you, you, you obviously know Bill Johnson, Bethel guy and stuff. So Bill, Bill shares on repentance. I thought he was very clear. Read the little prefix, re, recycle, rehabilitate, recover. You're running it through again. You're, you're running it through, you're doing it over. Right? And pen is the high, highest, uh, floor on a high-rise building. It's a penthouse view. Repent, rethink from the highest view. So seek those things which are above in heaven, where Christ is seated, not the things of the earth. Set your mind on things above. That's, that's Colossians 3. That's a scripture of repentance. Is it continued? Absolutely. In the renewing of your mind. Repentance isn't always boohoo, I'm sorry. Yeah. In fact, boohoo, I'm sorry is more regret if there's not a new way of thinking attached to it. Amen. So the boohoo, I'm sorry can actually make me nervous sometimes. I'm personally not a huge altar call fan. I think we're very emotional in a lot of our altar calls, and I think we've turned altar calls into a church thing that we need to have an altar call. Yeah. No, your altar is your heart before the Lord, and right where you're at, and your convictions, and that inner man, and that conversation you're having in your heart. That's your altar call. Amen. Can you have an altar call? Yeah. I'm not against them. I do them when I feel prompted, but it's very rare because most of the time, they're, they're emotional. People are coming up crying, and we think because they're crying, it's a move of God. So I personally, I, I check things out. Like, I'll go to somebody that's crying their eyes out at all. I'll slip my arm around them and say, hey, there's a lot of people up here. You're really crying hard. I see a bunch of people crying, but you're losing it, man. What's going on? You know what I've been told by countless people when I do that? They're not crying because they're overwhelmed, thankful, grateful, being washed, cleansed, oh my goodness, my life will never be the same. That's what the ministers are interpreting. They're saying, what a move of God. We had 55 people up at the front crying like uncontrollably. Okay, why is that a testimony? Why were they crying? I put my arm around. This has happened many times. Why are you crying so hard? I just can't picture my life ever changing. Despair. I just feel like I'm so lost. I'm just hoping God touches me here. When they walk back to their seat, they're in the same mentality. That's right. Y, y. They're in despair. How are they going to go to work and shine when they believe they're a wreck and they can never change? Wow. So sometimes the things that are going on, the altar, we need to look into and say, is this really a move of God? Yeah. Is emotion just always a move of God? Sometimes the motive behind. I'm a motive guy. Like the Holy Spirit, the first thing he ever taught me was, if I didn't have love, I have nothing. The second thing he taught me is, I can't rise above my motive. So the why in my life means everything. It's my ceiling. It's as high as I fly. The why will find me out. Like, why do I do what I do? When I stand, when we stand before the Lord, gentleman, is it going to matter what we did, or is the why going to matter more? Because you know, people are going to do things for their own sake, their own name. There's people that are going to build kingdoms, but they build them for their own name. That's right. There's people that look like they went the extra mile and laid down their life, but it's because of what they got out of others. Amen. You can have a guy serving in the church, and he just wants act, he wants appreciation. Yeah. We don't realize what's happening. We're saying, man, we would be nothing without you, buddy. God sent you to us. You're a God-send. You are the glue that holds this thing together. And if we didn't have you, we'd be, we'd be. And this guy needs that. And we don't even realize we're being genuine, but he needs that. And it's actually why he's doing what he's doing now. He's going the extra, extra mile 'cause he needs that. And the day you don't give him that, or the day he's not, and he went the extra, extra mile, now he's shattered and broken because he laid down his life and people don't appreciate him. Now he's hurting hard and won't even go to church. Yeah. I've seen that happen to people. Your motive is huge. And we're responsible, every one of us as individuals. What's making me tick? Amen. Why am I so involved? Why am I opening this up? Yeah. You know what the Lord told me? He said, don't ever read your Bible to preach a sermon. That's right. Only ever read your Bible to know me. That's right. And only ever speak out of who I am in your life. Amen. And that'll carry weight. That's, that's motive. You see what I mean? Yeah. Motive. The why in your life.
I've learned that a lot of Christians don't even understand the full meaning of why God sent his son. If you ask a Christian, why, why did God send his son? To forgive our sins, so we can go to heaven. We have taught people that over and over and over. And most pastors, when I say that, would listen to this and go, well, that is why he sent his son. What are you saying? That's blasphemy if you're saying that's not why he sent his son. We're making that the main goal. Forgiveness is, is, is a main goal. That's a first step. You can't get to God if you're not forgiven. If your sin's not removed, you have no access, right? But he didn't forgive us so we can go to heaven. He forgave us so we can get back to the Father. Why can't we get back to the Father? Because that's what he created us to be, so that he could reveal himself and manifest himself through us. So if you ask a Christian, why God sent his son, you won't get, so that our nature can be transformed, so we restored back to the original value of why God intended and created man in the first place, so we could all love one another and walk in love. So God modeled who he is through Jesus, and Jesus modeled our lives for us and told us to follow him. Amen. See, you understand. Jesus played three major roles: the Lamb, the revelation of the Father, and the revelation of what our lives were intended to be. That's the three parts that Jesus played on the earth, specifically that I can see loud and clear. He's the Lamb slain. When you see me, you've already seen the Father. So he's the absolute, he's the visible image of the invisible God. Right? And then he tells us to follow him. He calls himself the Son of Man. So he's a man empowered by God, doing things through the power of Holy Spirit, which is often missed. We feel like we can't even preach that 'cause we're somehow encroaching on Jesus's deity. Nobody's stealing Jesus's deity. He's the Son of God, make that clear. But he laid down his glory, made himself of no reputation, came as a man, didn't take a shortcut, came through the womb of a woman, waited 30 years to even be announced, because he did this thing as a man empowered by God, or we could never follow him, right? Amen. So he modeled the life we were created to live. He showed us who the Father is, and he's the Lamb that took away the sin of the world. Amen. Come on. That is so phenomenal. So we can't miss that.
So watch this. If God made man in his image, in his own likeness, and that got lost through sin, Jesus took away sin to get that back. Then it makes sense. So Jesus said, you see me, you see the Father, why? Because God is manifesting himself through people. So when we follow Jesus, we're following Jesus, but who are we manifesting? And who ultimately are we revealing? The Father. The Father. That's right. Is that amazing?
So you look at the prodigal son. The story of the prodigal son. We all know it. In your subtitle of your Bible, to say the prodigal son, it should say, uh, a father like God, you know? Because the whole story is about the father. That's right. Because if you take the father out of the story, you just got another sad story of a youngster that blew it all and has no chance for redemption. Right, right. You take the father out of that story, and that's a sad story. That's right. We all make it about the prodigal son 'cause we all feel like we've been that prodigal son. But all the more we should see the glory of the father and say, wait a minute, if that father is the point of the whole message, then why can't I be that father? Amen. So is that the point of the story, or are we just supposed to look to God and worship him? Are we supposed to model that and say, that's supposed to be me in my life? Amen. Man, at one time I was the prodigal, and I received this. Now I see the beauty of this. I've become this. This is how I'll be for others. It doesn't have to be your physical son. Just be anybody that's lost. You just see him through the father. Amen. So isn't the goal of that story to show the father? And that's where we have hope. That's where we have redemption. That's where we have a future. Isn't that how we're supposed to see others? That's called the why in our life. If I don't have that in my life, I'm going to be overrun by circumstances in time. I'm going to give up, fall short, go weary and well-doing. And I'll have a story that justifies my disposition. And my disposition doesn't look like Jesus. That has to be deception, right? Amen. They'll say, well, you don't know what I've been through. Well, you need to back off. It's been a long time. I've been going through this a long time. And people are justifying where they're at. And yet, you can't find that mentality in Jesus. That's right. So this is repentance. So change that mentality. Amen. Because it's not the circumstances that's eating you up, it's the way you're seeing it. You, 'cause your eyes aren't single.
Would you say, you know, I'm just kind of hearing this, would you say that, like, a hallmark of repentance would be leaving self-centeredness to God-centeredness? Well, that's the whole point of the cross. Jesus said in Matthew 16, we say, forgive us, anybody that's listening, all us preachers that have said this for generations, we say, if you die tonight, don't know where you're going, pray this prayer. And we make, we actually teach a self-centered thing. We make it about what we can get from God. We make it all about what we get from him. Yeah. Amen. Yeah. So, so Jesus, Jesus doesn't preach the gospel that way ever. I can't find Jesus making it about that ever. He says, if you're going to come after me, if you, if you're liking what you're seeing and you feel inspired to like be with me and hang out with me, then I need you to do something. I need you to deny yourself. Pick up your cross. So what's that mean? 'Cause he died on the cross. Why do we just pick up ours? We take on his mentality and have this same mind in us. Yeah. That was also in him. Amen. Who, being in the form of God, didn't consider it robbery to be equal with God, but instead laid down. In other words, he didn't need to be acknowledged as God's son. He didn't come. Yeah. He's born in a manger. He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. He didn't come on the white revelation horse. Yeah. That's right. He didn't bring a backing and have choirs of angels singing behind you. He didn't announce himself. He came in low. Yeah, yeah. Made himself of no reputation. Here's repentance. Haven't we all, at some level in our lives, sought reputation? Yeah. Amen. Wanted to be noticed, acknowledged. That's right. Even in arenas, be the best, be just somebody, accolade. Oh, feels so good. We've all lived for reputation. Here's Jesus, the total opposite. So when I see that, repentance says, wow, reputation is zero important.
Some people talk about me and how I minister and how I live. Like, I don't do media. I don't, I don't feel called to that. St, I'm not against it. I got friends that do TV stuff. I just feel like God told me to stay away from all the, the, the God TV stuff and media stuff. And I don't post myself. I don't, I'm not trying to build anything. I've never put myself on the internet. I don't, I don't post testimonies as a highlight reel. Yeah. I just live Christ, get invited to talk about it, and all I do is talk about how we can live Christ. Amen. And, and because the thing is, there's need out there, and people have different motives. So when you build a ministry, when I highlight on all those things, what I notice is people come to you for what they can, how they can get God through you. They come to you for God. And it's a teaching out. I mean, it's like, you got, man, you got to go where the rivers run and press through the crowd and grab the hem of that man's garment if you see God in his life. Get a, so I got people driving 12 hours. Yeah. Well, it's just, it's just that stay and low thing I saw in my Bible. So we were talking about repentance, and, and I want people to understand that it's not just always crying, saying you're sorry. Like, if you don't have a change of mind, if you don't have something to turn to, your repentance will turn into condemnation in a while. Your sorrow, because you'll feel like, I'm still the same, I haven't changed. You'll cry over the same thing three times, and then you'll think, I'm not going to change. And, and then you'll start judging your heart and weighing yourself by yourself. Now you take a test that God never laid on your desk, and you grade your score, and that's your identity and value. That's a bummer. So I don't teach repentance that way. It's not crying and saying you're sorry. It's seeing different. It's thinking like you've never thought before. So, so you, you coming in low because you see Jesus, he made himself of no reputation. So you got to settle in your heart in prayer that God, as much as I understand, I don't want accolade. I don't. And it's funny how you can feel it. Like you can see people sincerely thank you for your life, and then there's people that do over you. You can almost always perceive the difference. And the one just feels, uh, you know. And I don't always address it, but if it gets too gross, I address it privately, quietly. Yeah. I say, listen, do you understand? And I might even weep and say, listen, right now, I know you're calling this honor, but he's feeling like this to me. And then, and then they might weep because they actually know that they're idolizing me or something. Amen. Yeah. You don't want that. That's right. You don't want that. You don't want men to follow you. Paul said, only as I follow Christ. So that's not super spiritual, that's just real. Who are they following then? Christ. The Christ in you. So they're not just making a fuss over your gift, and you don't want that. It's no man would have a gift if God didn't give it. That's right. You wouldn't see if he didn't let you. You wouldn't have a word of knowledge if he didn't give you the insight. We're making much of the people carrying the gift. That's right. We're like elevating people. That's right. There is no boasting in men. Amen. Zero. No man has a thing unless God's given it. It's a humble seat, man. But the thing is, that he wants me to manifest him through it all. So can we honor those and they're laboring, etcetera? Yeah. There's a true thing of honor. But, but honor, when I see honor, it's honor a righteous man in the name of righteous man, you'll receive his reward. What's that mean? Everything you honor about him in righteousness and his life lived in righteousness begins to be the pattern of your own life. So everything you honor begins to be your reward, and you start to see the very thing that you're honoring in your own life. That's, would that be a payday? Reproduction, multiplying each seed after its own kind.
So here's what we got to understand. So, so when Jesus comes to the earth, he says, carry your cross. This is what we're talking about. He died on the cross. He just told me to carry mine. So what's he saying? Take on my mentality. Take on the why behind my life. And let this mind that I came in be in your, your mind. And you'll carry your cross all through life. So you'll tax you through, you'll never let sin against you give the right to produce sin in you. You'll never repay evil for evil. You'll overcome it with good. Amen. You won't tone down, or you always tone down a harsh word with a kind word. You won't retaliate with another harsh word. In other words, I carry my cross. That's my sign of repentance. I have a different reason for being. I have a different motive in life. Now I see Jesus. I see the cross. I'm carrying mine. I'm not letting anything change who he is in me. In fact, everything's going to make a draw on who he is in me. Amen. That's true repentance. That's spirit living. Amen. That's called following him. He said, pick up your cross and follow me. I have fun with it. I say, do you ever put metal in a microwave? People go, no. Say, did you ever do it? Yeah, pretty scary for a second, right? Yeah. So if you keep letting the fork on the plate or a foil on the bowl, what are you going to do to the microwave? You're going to destroy the product. Why read the manufacturer handbook? It wasn't made for metal. It's something about the way it works scientifically, and the waves in there, it's a reaction. It'll cause a fire, and it'll spark, and it'll end up blowing up the, that's right, the thing, right? So I say, read the manufacturer's handbook. People weren't made to live for themselves. It's the same as metal in a microwave. It's that dramatic. Wow. You were never made to live for you. You were always made for his image.
So we say politics is the biggest problem. Christians get so caught up in politics and prove that they've never established their heart in love. They're cynical towards politicians. They, they, they, instead of pray and have compassion on the president, they make fun of him and mock him. I'm not even saying I agree with the president. I'm saying he's a living soul, and he needs compassion from people. People sarcastic jokes, they actually talk about him having dementia, can't hold two sentences together. And I've heard Christians mock that. And if that was their grandfather, they'd be crying in intercession. Yeah. But because it's the president, they feel disdained because he's a different party or they don't agree. Yeah. And fly, prove that they don't even understand how the kingdom works. That's right. But they might be an elder in the church, and they might be a leader in their fellowship. That's right. But they're sure not leading in that. You see what I mean? So, so, so this is all repentance. Changing the way we think is how I see repentance. It's thinking like we've never thought before, and ultimately running it through Jesus. So if the way I'm thinking, I can't make it fit. This is what I teach. I've been teaching this for years. If the way I'm thinking, and, and, and, and, and motivated, if I can't make that fit in Jesus, if I can't take the words that want to come out of my mouth and make them fit in his mouth, then I don't want them in mine. Amen. If I can't see him thinking that way, then why am I okay thinking that way? Now, you, you, you, and me are accountable to walk that out to ourselves. I don't need you to make me accountable to walk that out. I live within me, right? I'm my best accountability partner in the thing we're talking about. Amen. That's why there's a judgment. That's, and that's not to freak people out or scare people. That's why we stand, stand before God someday and make an account for what we've done in our life, whether good or bad. So how we lived our life ultimately is going to decide if we were in faith or not. Faith isn't just always to get a new job. Faith is to live your life in Christ. Amen. So it's not just always to get a healing. It's to live your life in Christ. So when I stand before God, my life lived is going to reveal what I understood and believed true. Amen. Yeah. Amen.
So that's a wonderful answer. Super long answer. That was a beautiful answer. It's just, I want to try to give, when I give an answer, I want to give the heart of it and not just a quick, absolutely. You got to see the heart of the gospel. You got to see the heart of the intention of God, right? Amen.
So you got Jesus here, and he's saying, look, if you guys want to come after me, I need you to do something. Deny yourself. First on the list. Deny yourself. Why? Biggest problem. Amen. People say it's politics, racial conflict, they say it's the wars. No, the biggest problem is every day men wake up and live for themselves, when in fact, they're made for the image of God. Amen. A bigger problem is Christians do it. Amen. And when you get right down to it, Christians, not 'cause they're evil, not 'cause it's intentional, Christians are tricked into being a Christian for their own gain, their own self, just for peace of mind, for well-being, for blessing, provision, protection. Yeah. But you let one of those things get out of order, their disposition falls. That's right. That's a sign of idolatry. That's actually grave deception. We don't even realize it. Because now your circumstances dictate your expression. So if you're the enemy, what do you do? Poke, prod, poke, prod. And then people lose heart and say, nothing ever goes right for me. I've been trying and trying. I've been praying and praying. Pray. And now they're melting down. Yeah. Because they have a whole list and scenario of adverse circumstances, and they're identifying their life through them instead of him. And not understanding that they're to be a manifestation of him in the middle of the circumstances. Amen. So if I'm done wrong and live done wrong, then I don't understand what I'm saying, right? But if I'm done wrong, and you have no idea I was undone wrong, because it's that I don't even see that. I see responding in the midst. I see, forgive them, Father, they know what they do. And living in Christ and praying for those in authority instead of mocking them. Mhm. That's, that's a true sign of repentance. That's called bear the fruit of repentance. He called the Pharisees, you brood of vipers. Was he being mean and evil? Nope. What he was saying is, you guys hide behind language, and your lives don't look like anything you preach. Amen. Bear the fruits of repentance. That's right.