Transcription
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Welcome. I'm glad y'all are here. I normally wouldn't want y'all in here right now because it's a mess, but you're here, so we might as well talk for a minute. You probably can't tell, but there's value here. I know you see the mess. You can clearly see that there's some construction going on, but don't get it twisted. God is up to something.
If you'll do me a favor and go to Scripture, join me in Matthew chapter 7, starting at the 24th. First reading from the New King James Version. It says these words: "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall."
And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
Now I want you to go to Galatians chapter 5, starting at the nineteenth verse. "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
Galatians gives us a stark parallel between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus in Matthew 7 illustrates the parallel between a house that is founded upon the rock and that which is founded or built upon sand. Many of us in this church today, and those who are watching online, wherever we are on our journey to truth—and truth is not a concept, truth is a Man, His name is Jesus—wherever you are in that journey, most of us will be honest to say that we've made mistakes along the way. Some of us will say, others will remain quiet. But I'll give you a chance to join me. Many of us, if not all of us, have made mistakes along the way. And the truth is, many of us will not have the level of grace and forgiveness and mercy and compassion that are necessary to look like Jesus until we remember where we were when Jesus found us.
Many of you look great. You've put on an outfit this morning. Many of you had a choice of outfits to choose from, and you have come in to worship God, to lift up His name, to to encounter the Holy Spirit. Those who are a part of our relentless online family, you are here, you are engaged. This is your church. This is where you see, this is where you glean, this is where you connect, and we are grateful for that. But the reality is, I don't know what's going on in your life. I only know what you show me. We all have things that we're walking through. Some of us are battling with things that nobody would ever know. And unless you have a supernatural discernment in the Holy Ghost, the way I look belies what I'm going through. Most of us have learned the art of discretion, inasmuch as we don't want everybody knowing everything we're walking through. It's very uncomfortable to be exposed when you are dealing with deep issues, issues in relationship, or issues with identity, or issues with the posture of your heart, or or the healing needed for your soul, or just an addiction, or a habit, or an issue that just won't go away.
We come here because all of us have some of that, or most of that going on. We don't know what part, but everybody has something that they're here for. We are not here to do God a favor. We did not bring anything of value to the table. We are here because we need God. The one thing we all have in common is that we're all honest enough to say, "I need Jesus today." Can I get an amen on that one? I may not look like it, but I'm in rehab. This is Trap House Part 3: The Rehab.
Now, some of you are saying, "Hey, no, Pastor, was struggling with drugs." No, no. I struggle with Big Macs. Get that straight. There's nothing wrong if you are struggling with drugs. I'm glad you're here because the same struggle that I have with food, God can heal you with crack or cocaine or weed or alcohol or sex or whatever it is you are addicted to. And I thank God. I just felt the Holy Ghost shift something in here. Church is for the broken. It is not a museum. It is for the hurting. It is not a place for plastic people. It's a place for hurting people. It's a place for people with real issues, real needs, who need a real Jesus to show up in a real way. Can I get a real amen from some real folk on a real Sunday?
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Every person in here, you are represented as a soul, a unique, eternal expression of God's creativity. Every soul will bow down, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess. I don't care how much pride you have, how many degrees you have. You can make fun of us crazy church folk, silly faith people running around believing in invisible things. Where's my science? You know, science can't save you. Your encyclopedic knowledge of what is known cannot save you. It is the revelation of the Holy Ghost that you need, the blood of Jesus.
I am exhibiting right now in my expression this morning a modicum of self-control in that I am forcing myself, myself, to stay seated because it forces me to communicate in a different way than I normally would. The reason why is because one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. We assume self-control is only for bad things. Sometimes, even your great things require self-control. Let me tell you what I mean. I'm invited to preach every single day of the week, every light for the next few years. If I was insecure in my manhood and needed a preaching platform to validate my identity, then I would travel everywhere I could and get as many checks as I could for as long as I could. But because God has given me His identity, I now understand that I must exhibit self-control with the gift He's given me and begin to properly focus my attention on that which matters, which is establishing the local church.
I had a season for many years where all I did was travel an itinerant ministry, and there's nothing wrong with evangelism. There's nothing wrong with utilizing your gift to build the body of Christ around the globe. But what I have to do now is exhibit self-control. And when I say yes, you know why? Because my son cries now when I leave. My daughter says, "Dad, are you going again?" And woe unto me, and I see the sadness in my wife's eyes, even though she knows the calling. But God didn't tell me to go run around and preach to the whole world while my son is crying, my daughter has questions, and my wife needs me. That's not God, that's ego.
My mother's standing up because this is something she said to me many years ago, and I didn't listen because I didn't understand it. But it's the work of the Holy Spirit over time. Because here's what I've learned: people could tell you a whole bunch of stuff, but until God comes to deal with you one on one, I wish somebody else will shout for me because I can't shout for myself. You can talk to me till you're blue in the face, I won't hear you. Oh, but the Holy Ghost knows how to get my attention. And the Holy Ghost knows how to get your attention. And I'm speaking to everybody in here that the Holy Ghost has been trying to get the attention of this nation for many years now. But now the intensity of His knock is more pronounced. And so He sends and allows, He allows trial, He allows tribulation, He allows the uncomfortable, He allows the storm to blow away everything you thought you needed. And all that's left is one chair, and there's only room for you and the Holy Ghost. And you stop. And God will let you move till you face Him.
There's nothing more uncomfortable to a person used to running than a face-to-face encounter with the Living God. Rehab is uncomfortable because it makes you face your addictions. Rehab is uncomfortable because you must acknowledge your broken places. Rehab is not just about drugs, it's about your soul. Today, James, I'm talking to your soul. God wants to produce glory. But what I love is that He doesn't wait for you to produce good things on your own before He decides to move in. I got two amens, a smattering of applause. Oh, I'm so glad that He doesn't wait until I'm good. I'm glad He doesn't wait until I'm looking for Him. I'm glad that when I was in my mess, He would whisper in my ear, "I love you." I'm glad when I was doing wrong, He said, "I forgive you." "I know what I invested in you. I'm not going to let you go." Even when the devil was whispering in this ear, "Kill yourself. Give up. You have no value. You have nothing to offer." The Holy Ghost said, "Keep living. Keep breathing. Keep getting up because greater is He that's in you than he that's in the world." And the devil was whispering in this ear, saying, "There's nothing of value left in you." Oh, help me, Holy Ghost. Help me, Jesus. Yeah, y'all wanna well thought out, three points and a close. You're not getting that today. You're gonna get the real and the raw. You're gonna get rehab. We always want everything polished and perfect. Sometimes you need a couple of things on the ground. You need a couple of hammers and stuff. Give me some stuff thrown out. You need some caution tape because sometimes I'm in trouble, and I don't need you to get too close.
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Here's the thing: when God is rehabbing a person, He doesn't do that in public. This is a corporate expression of our worship, but God doesn't do rehab in public. God does rehab in private. He'll come meet with you at your in your prayer time. He'll meet with you when you're in your room. He waits for the TV to go off. He waits until you're not scrolling through your social media platform. See, He'll wait for you because part of your rehab is to get delivered from the opinions of the people you hope are pushing like. I don't know if it's a function of my old age or maybe my interests have changed, but I find myself watching HGTV. Y'all got to pray for me, Damron. You got to pray for me because, you know, my wife and I will be watching all them shows and Fixer Upper and, you know, and the Tiny House and all these other things. And, you know, I like to see—my wife likes the Property Brothers. Apparently, she likes them too much. I'm your property brother.
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By the by, this right here, I don't know the name of this word show, but it comes on late, and I was watching it, and basically, they, they go to a neighborhood, they see a house that looks a complete mess, and they buy it. It's like a rehab show. But what they do is they decide how much they're gonna invest, then they're gonna put it back on the market. And see what the devil wants you to do is see your current state and declare that there's no value and for you to give up. But I want you to know that there's a carpenter who's walking down your street, and He's got two pieces of wood and some nails, and He wants to stop by your house. And what looks like it has no value, He can assess because He is full of grace and truth. And He can determine that there's value. But because He's wise, He won't tell everybody because He doesn't want everybody to know what He's about to do. I need you to understand that Jesus is trying to establish something in your life, and He doesn't need permission of anyone else to do it. I need you to get excited because Jesus has decided to purchase your property. If you were gonna worship, that would be a great place.
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I don't want somebody buying my broken property that doesn't have the resources to get the house better than what it was when they found it. I need somebody with limitless resources who can tear down everything that isn't needed and restore and bring in some new. "See, behold, I do a new thing." Do you not know it? Do you not see? I'm surrounded by rehab projects that the Holy Ghost has decided to purchase through the blood of Jesus. And I need you to get encouraged that even though you don't look like it, you got the set the market on fire.
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I figure about to set the market on fire. Stop looking at other people's houses because they are not your competition.
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You are a standalone, one-of-a-kind masterpiece. And the Master Carpenter is coming in with his hard hat and his poles, without the fruit of the Spirit, and He's tearing up everything that's not like God.
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Try not to cry, but if I do, don't mind me. Because people who buy properties, rehab them to maximize profit. But Jesus purchased you to maximize His glory. Many of us didn't realize what season we were in, so we didn't understand why people were walking out of our lives. The rehab season is designed for people who don't have discernment to leave your life. You got to understand the difference between being under construction and your grand opening. God wanted people to see you under construction so you could see them see you under construction so you could observe how they handle you under construction. Because if you can't handle me under construction, don't come to my grand opening.
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If you can't stay when I'm under construction, don't come when they cut the ribbon. I only want the people that can celebrate, fight for me, cover me when I'm under construction, when I'm still a mess. That's who's called to me. Don't show up when it's done talking about you pray.
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First Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Oh Lord, help me. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while—I'm here to announce today, your suffering is coming to an end. The chronic pain in your body is coming to an end. The arthritis that keeps inflaming your your your knuckles and kneecaps is coming to an end. The multiple sclerosis has to reverse in Jesus' name. The lesions on your brain and on your spine have to disappear. I'm coming here to tell you that your suffering has come to—it's in every devil has an expiration date.
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But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you've suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. Tell somebody, "He's perfecting me." I'm glad that my Savior is a carpenter because He knows how to shave down the rough edges. Tell somebody, "I'm under construction." See, here's the thing about a construction site: you can't walk on a construction site without proper authorization. Eldar, I'm getting ready to preach it like I feel it. You have to have the proper credentials to be on a construction site. Some of y'all are upset because you don't know why people can't come around. They haven't been given permission because Jesus isn't just the carpenter, He's the foreman. He's in charge. And the Holy Spirit's not going to let just anybody on a construction site. Single people, stop rushing to get in relationship when you're still under. I know she looks good, man, but I know he's handsome, and you've been waiting, and your ovaries are saying, "You need to get some babies and get married." He's under construction. He's not finished. A lot of times, it looks good on the outside, but there's no wiring on the inside. There's no plumbing on the inside. There's no walls on the inside. It's the problem with relationships today. We look at what it looks like on the outside, but we ain't checked inside. Realize that they're under construction.
But may the God of all grace, it's called you to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. When He establish, does that mean? That means He goes into the deepest part of the foundation. Tell somebody, "Dig deep." Tell somebody else, "Dig deep." I'm glad that Jesus doesn't mind going into the uncomfortable places, the dark places, the places other people don't have permission to go to. See, I'm under construction. And being under construction means it's lonely. It's isolated. Nobody understands. The people you used to hang with, you can't hang with them anymore. The habits you used to have, they don't fit. You tried to sin the way you used to sin, and it doesn't have the same pleasure because you've grown and didn't even know it. You've been coming to church too much. You tried to go back, and it don't feel the same. That's the work of the Holy Ghost. You under construction. I feel God in here. He's moving things around. And there's some people who can't handle the caution tape, so they leave. Uh, that's why you need people who have the blueprints.
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Secrets. When you have the blueprints, you're not concerned with what you see on the day you arrive because you know what the finished project is going to look like. You need to ask God to send the people that have the blueprints for yo calling, the blueprint for your life. Because if they don't have the blueprint, they won't have the grace or the patience to walk with you while the Holy Spirit is working on you. Oh God, are you being blessed by the word today?
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Think about rehab, is that costs money, Milton. It costs money to build up a house, especially one that's been torn down. And I don't know how you and I have been torn down, but I'm gonna be honest with you, I need the Holy Ghost to come in here and do some major work. I'm 45 years old, still have daddy issues. I was the last person to see my father alive. From December 7th of 2000, I know he's not alive. And sometimes I still look out the window wanting him to drive up so he can tell me he's proud of me. I want him to see what I've become so I could say, "See, you didn't have to leave me." Then I sit there with my old son trying to figure out why I let him sometimes, and I don't have patience, why I expect him to know everything already because a part of me doesn't know yet how to teach him certain things. And it's because I wasn't taught certain things. And why am I talking to y'all about things that are close to my heart? Because pastors keep talking this surface stuff, and nobody gets free. So I'm gonna put my big-boy pants on and my hard hat and say, "You're not the only one with daddy issues. You're not the only one struggling in your relationship. You're not the only one that wonders if God made a mistake when He called you."
I want you to know that there's a difference between what you see and what Jesus sees. Because you see yourself as is, He sees you as a finished work. "For He that began a good work is faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." Jesus counts up the costs before He starts the project, so He knew what you would do, when you would do it, and how you would do it before He ever decided to move in. So stop trying to kick Him out, 'cause He's not leaving. Tell somebody, "Rehab."
See, sometimes when you're under construction, Jesus needs to come in and gut the place. Anybody ever been gutted? Something just hit you in your soul, you weren't ready for it. You ever been gutted? You ever been hit so hard you didn't think you'd recover? Your life was fine, and all of a sudden, the devil came through and just wreak havoc. A storm showed up unexpectedly, and now all you're left with is exposed beams, mold, rotting wood, and a promise of deliverance. As long as you got that promise, hold on to your promise. It's good to have homeowners insurance. It's better to have blessed assurance. I wish I had some some church folk in here. Less and assurance, Jesus is mine. Or what a foretaste of glory divine, heir of self-purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is the part I love. This is my, this is my soul. We gotta organ up there, praising my Savior all the day long. No drums, just to organ. This is my stop. This is my soul.
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This is my story. You need to know that when Jesus is finished with you, you will have a testimony. So stay under construction. Don't leave the construction site too soon. He's giving you a testimony. The best rehabs I've seen is a mix of the old and the new. Sometimes they'll strip all paint off to to expose the original woodwork, then they add some new touches, so so up-to-date stuff. See, what I love about Jesus is He mixes the old and the new. He'll leave you just enough scars to keep you humble, but then He'll add just enough mercy, new mercy, 'cause His mercy is new every morning. He'll add some new stuff with the old stuff. So when people come in, it'll feel like old, but it also feels like the future. See, some of y'all want Him to tear everything down, and they won't even remember it's you. No, that's not a, that's not a rehab. See, rehab means you looking at what you used to see, but now you see it differently. Like, is that John Gray? Is that so-and-so? It looks like them, but then it's not acting like them. They look the same on the outside. Something must have changed.
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Let me tell you what changed. I got some fruit of the Spirit on my construction site. Where I was bitter and broken, I got some love. See, 'cause when love shows up, joy shows up. And when joy shows up, peace shows up. See, if God is gonna build your house, He's gonna build it with these three foundational things: love, joy, and peace. Now, I need a lot in my house, but the thing I need the most is love. I need to be able to love my wife like Christ loved the church, and that love is agape, the highest form of love. But love that God has for us and the love we should have for Him in return. I want love in my house. Did you hear what I said? When I walk in my house, I want it to feel like home. And just because you have a house doesn't mean you have a home. You need love in your house. You need the spirit of love that comes from the Holy Ghost. So when you walk in, you glad to see everybody, and everybody's glad to see you. And let me just say this to the wives: y'all don't understand what it takes for men of God to be in a world that hates God and in a world that hates Christian manhood. We battling all day. The last thing we need when we come home is to have to fight with you. We don't want a battle when we come home, we want love when we come home. And give us a second to get the day off of us before you start asking us a whole bunch of stuff. It's not that we don't want to hear you, but we've been fighting all day. That was free.
But then I need some joy. Just somebody get your joy back. Do it again. Joy. Do it again. Come on up here. Love. Secrets. When I got my love, and I got my joy, it doesn't matter what the construction site looks like, 'cause I got my joy. And my joy is the fruit of the Spirit. It's not contingent upon what it looks like. You can take all of this, but if I got my joy, the world didn't give it. I wish I had a church that would praise God. And I got love. I got agape love. I got a godly love on the inside of my soul. So I see you differently. I treat you differently. And now I got joy. Some people don't like you when you have joy because you're smiling when they think you should be sad. So don't like people who have joy because they can't take your joy, and they'll try you. They'll throw everything at you, but they don't realize that you have graduated from their attack. They keep trying to get in to the old house, to the old you. Try and old stuff, but they don't know you changed the locks. And if you try me, I got peace at the door. May the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your heart and your mind. Peace stands in front of the door while God is doing the work. So even when the storm comes and sweeps everything away, I still got my peace. Nothing but a chair, but I got love. I got joy. So do what you want to do, Holy Ghost. Work on me. Use me. Build me. But don't take my peace. Don't take my joy. And don't take my love. It's rehab. He'll strip off the walls and tear down everything that's not like Him. Sometimes you got to sit alone. Love, joy, peace. I don't go nowhere. Just stay right in here. This is exactly where Jesus wants you. By yourself, all alone, free from distractions, free from all these people that keep pulling on you, tugging on you, people who scream that they need you, but they just want to keep you distracted.
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Because as long as you're distracted, you can't get a word. As long as you're distracted, you can't get a revelation. As long as you're distracted, you can't get clarity on what to do next. Love, joy, peace. These are the foundational ingredients to a Jesus rehab. He wants to move in, and He's going to start with these three: His peace to guard your heart and mind, the joy of the Lord, which is yours, and the love of God, which is manifest through the blood of Jesus, made available to you.
Please bear in mind, even as we prepare to meet the needs of those who have been impacted by hurricanes, some houses didn't make it because the wind was so strong that it blew the houses off their foundations. And almost all the beach houses in Mexico City were destroyed because you're taking a gamble when you build on sand.
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They said it might be eight months before some of the places get power in Panama City. Eight months. My mind's family, they coming up here. Only God knew that that was going to happen. Just happened to have family a few hours up the roads. They come on up here. We'll cover you. Relentless is already covering people and helping them to recover while their houses are in rehab. And even as their natural houses are in rehab, so shall their spiritual houses be. My prayer for you today is that you will take this picture and allow the Holy Ghost to keep doing the work on the inside. Let love, joy, and peace, and keep everybody else out.
Between the ages of 12 and 30 years old, we have no record of Jesus in Scripture. We know He was there, but a lot of the work of the Holy Ghost was done off the grid, behind the veil. Stop announcing everything God is doing in your life. Be quiet. People don't want to hear it anyway. If people aren't doing well in their own life, it's very hard for them to celebrate. If you keep winning, it makes people mad. You win once or twice, they're happy. But you keep telling them, I'm like, mmm. So be quiet. Let the work of the Holy Spirit be its own witness. Sometimes all you have in rehab is one chair, one choice, and one chance. This is my chair. I've made my choice. I'm gonna sit here till the Holy Spirit is finished with me. And I got one chance to offer the same peace I have to you.
With heads bowed and eyes closed, pray with me. Jesus, for the people that are here and those that are watching, it's a part of our relentless online community. I pray that You will speak to the souls of Your people. And even as we're under construction, whatever our issues are, whatever it is in our flesh that does not look like You, we give it to You. We do not change the word to fit our sin. We lay our sin down at the feet of the cross. I will never preach an unholy, heretical gospel that changes scripture to fit man's sin. Lord, I've sinned against You in so many ways. I don't ask for You to make my sin okay. I ask for You to free me from sin, forgive me of sin, and restore my soul. And as David said, "Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me." Then I'll teach transgressors Your ways. So in essence, God, come move in. And if there's anything of value here, keep it. In anything that has no value, get rid of it. And however long it takes for You to build me up from the inside, do it. And when You're ready for me to be back on public display, You open the door. But until then, there are areas of my soul that are off-limits to the public.
But for those of us who need to make a public declaration of our faith, this moment is for you. If you've never given your life to Jesus, or you need to rededicate your life to Jesus, or you need, or you know that Relentless is your church, I want you to get all of your things, and I want you to make your way to the front of the church. If you're online, you can literally become a member of the Relentless online family right now. If you've never been saved, you can accept Jesus Christ as Savior today. I said all of those things to say, this is your moment. This is your choice. This is your chance. All come to the.
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Y'all gonna do better than men.
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