Transcription
How's everybody doing this morning? Good. So, I kind of have a unique background, man.
So, my uncle uh who was heavily affiliated as somebody, right? And he kind of always raised me until he would go to prison cuz that's what heavily affiliated people do. And then my dad was an addict. And so, in his addiction, I my sister met her husband whenever I was about 9 or 10. And so, his family, which is a large Hispanic family, always kind of took me in. That's also my wife's family. I married my brother-in-law's sister. And then her oldest sister, who's 15 years older than her, her husband, his name is Curtis. He's a black dude. And uh and he was the house where all the kids that didn't have nobody could go eat. You know what I mean? I don't know if y'all had somebody like that in the neighborhood that that like that was a place where they made they didn't have nothing. You know what I mean? They never had nothing, but whatever they had, they they kind of collected neighborhood kids. And uh and so he was the only father figure my my my wife ever really had. And then also for me, he was a father figure. But then even in my addiction, whenever I would go uh uh whenever I would kind of go to war with people, uh because he was black and she was Mexican, I could stash my kids with him and I wouldn't have to worry about them getting hurt by anybody while I went out and handled a bunch of business. I don't know if y'all ever lived that kind of life, but uh so he was also a father figure to my my two boys and he died this morning.
And so which y I've talked about him before. He was going through it, but we got to see him on Father's Day and uh and it's funny because that whole article that like made it look like I was one the dude in the alley, right? Uh he didn't read the whole article. So I went to see him on Father's Day and he's like, "Man, you know, it's all right. you know, I've peed in an alley." And I'm like, Curtis, bro. I'm like, read the whole article. It wasn't even me. And he was like, well, I'm just saying like they didn't have no right to say that. Like, I know you wouldn't. And I'm like, look, I've done way worse before I found Jesus. But it was just funny because he was going to defend me no matter. You know what I mean? And so that was the last time I got to see him was on Sunday. And by 6:30 this morning, there was probably 25 people at his house. And I would say 10 of them were were different orphan kids. you know what I mean? Of all ages that were just there trying to love on his wife. His wife's name is Mary Jane. And uh and just kind of be available. And it was just it's just a unique experience, man.
There's so much going on right now in my life the last three or four weeks. I don't know like the further you get in this like you'll desire to speak like certain people or you'll desire to have a ministry like certain people or you'll desire to be effective as effective or like to have the stuff that other people have and you don't understand until you're walking in it what that sacrifice looks like what this what you have to endure and keep your hope placed firmly on him in order to be anointed to bring comfort in the midst of other people's distress. You know, that's the goal of the anointing. That's the goal of the ministry is to have people help help them be set free uh from whatever bondage it is that they're entangled. And so, it's literally uh it's just these things that we endure. I I I I don't know why, but I was thinking about Joseph this morning and what's going on with his dad and the fact that in this moment, like everything that he's going on with his dad as he pursues the Lord in the midst of it, there's going to be somebody that something like this happens to be able to look over. You're going to be able to put your hand on their shoulder because this is what happened to me this morning, right? Mary Jane's there and and Curtis's body is in the in the bedroom and I'm in the bedroom with her and I all I can do is put her hand on my shoulder and I say, "Listen, I can I actually know how you feel right now." Two weeks ago, my wife couldn't speak or walk and so I know that desperate feeling and I was like, "I just want you to know I'm here for you and that I love you and that whatever you need, I got you." And that's what you're going to be able to do for somebody. You're going to know exactly that place of the whatifs, of the I wish I could, you know what I mean? of if I ever get a chance again and you'll be able to minister to somebody in that place. That's the goal in the hope of ministry. And so to get to that place where you don't it's it c I caution you on covetousness, right? Oh man, I'm going to have a ministry like that. You don't know the sacrifice that it takes to get that. And so you better count the cost because there's a lot of suffering. But the good thing is like suffering on this side doesn't look like suffering on the other side. It just doesn't. I I realized this morning like this is going to be our greatest opportunity to minister to some of our family that doesn't that has heard about Jesus but doesn't really know Jesus because we get to be uh we get to be in the middle of it serving and caring for people. And uh and so I just wanted to share that.
I I wasn't going to come in today, but I remember today we teach communion and I felt like, man, what a mo what a what more powerful day would there be for me to be able to teach the word of God than this morning in the midst of all of these things? And what better to teach than communion? I think communion is the most powerful prophetic act that we can take part in as believers. And it is the most discarded and uh made common prophetic act. Nick, if you got to go to sleep, you got to stand up, bud. Because when I know what it looks like, you've been around too long for me not for me to miss it. Get take off the sweater. Stay cold if you got to. You got all bundled up and got warm on me.
So, uh, so I want to kind of break into communion. It's going to be on page 25. Uh and and really I think I just have the I just have the the two uh the two scriptures, but there's a lot to dive into and then we're going to take communion. Uh the first scripture, well, let me pray. Father God, I thank you, Lord God, for your your Holy Spirit. I thank you for your presence. I thank you for a community that we get to endure hardships with. That we can walk through things together, Lord God. That we learn how to endure in in life's hardships with our hope and our eyes placed firmly on you. That you bring comfort. And the only one that can bring comfort in the midst of death is the one that overcame death. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Uh Matthew 26:26-28 says this. It says while they were eating Jesus took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying take and eat this is my body. Then he took a cup and wine he had g and and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out from many forgiveness for the forgiveness of sins. Uh there's a there's a part there's a part in this in scripture where it goes, you know, there's a lot of disciples that left after the first time that he did this. They didn't understand what it was and it was too hard of a teaching. And and what it is is it's way too intimate. It's it's way too intimate of a thing to be casually read and then not really d dove into to understand. If you casually read what this is without any understanding, you're going to pass it by like everybody else. and then you'll fall into the negative categories of what we'll read in first Corinthians. But if you can look at it in a in a term that that exits humanity that that exits the the the masculine and feminine version of what humanity is and we take into account that we as a people are supposed to collectively become the bride of Christ, I think that it paints a much better picture that there is in communion an exchange of blood and flesh of DNA. there's a there's a swap of who we are for who he is. And in that uh and we'll dive into that in 1 Corinthians where it talks about us being healed and and all of these things that we celebrate his death until his return. But as a groom and a bride, the thing is like there's a consummation of an intimate relationship and we only know that through sexual terms, right? But it's an ex exchange of flesh and blood. And that's just really what it is. If we can take out the connotation of perversion and and sexuality and just look at it that way that it could be what if just what if because it says every time you come together do this. So every time we come together as a bride to come together with the groom and have an exchange of flesh and blood to celebrate until his return. And I think if we do that we can start grabbing on to what it would be like to have an intimate relationship with him. That's the desire. That was the sacrifice. The sacrifice is so that we would get to experience intimacy. And for the first time in our lives in this program, listen, most of you can, some of you may have had intimate relationships, but I doubt it was to the level and degree that he wants you to have those. If you don't know him and fully walk in those things, how could you, right? Because it's usually falls more in the line with obsession than love. You know, communion is so heavy on my heart sometimes that there was a time whenever I couldn't even say the word uh eukarist because I would get it would over I would get overcome with an emotion and eucharist is what the Catholic church calls uh calls the the bread that you take, right? And and the thing is like there there are two first churches. There's the Orthodox and the Catholic. And that's just what it is. And you can argue it however you want to argue it, but the the the Protestant church didn't exist till about 500 years ago. The original churches were the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Catholic Church. And and that's just where it started. The Ethiopian unic uh meets Philip on the road and uh Philip baptiz him. He goes home. He witnesses and shares the gospel with the the queen of Ethiopia. And the oldest and first church in the world that stands to this day is in Ethiopia. I don't know if you knew that, but it's there right now. It's the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. And then and then of course at that same time period, you have the Apostle Paul beginning what it would be to have the Catholic Church, right? And and Catholicism. And uh one of the things that I'm really trying to get is uh so a very good close family friend kind of a father figure to me is a deacon at a Catholic church here in town. And I'm trying to get him to where he actually comes and teaches this class for me because they hold communion so holy. Now he wouldn't be able because the rules of Catholicism he wouldn't be able to give anybody communion. We would still have to do it ourselves but he would be able to teach the depth of what it is to take part in the flesh in the blood. And listen, the Catholic Church is raw and real about it. They've been killing people for thousands of years over them just saying it doesn't really turn into flesh and blood. Like Fox's board of book of martyrs is crazy. Like they'll pull your eyes out and burn you at the stake if you say it wasn't actually flesh and blood. It's crazy. So I just but I think there's some importance there, right? that it's if it's held that holy and I'm not talking about the religious structures of man but like if it we believe what we say we believe and if we choose by faith that we are partaking in his flesh and his blood by faith it should be something very very holy. It should be something held in absolute reverence. It should be something absolutely and completely honored. You understand that? If he's saying, "Do this until I return." This is you celebrating his death. Listen, who here celebrates the death of Jesus? It better be everybody. If not, there's no remissions of sin. Bro, look, thank thank the Lord for Jesus dying. Thank you, Judas. Bless you, Judas, for the betrayal. Free Barabus. Look, y'all better get owning that one. It's just what it is. And so we need to be able to celebrate it because that's what reconciles us to the father until his return. And in that the intimacy that can happen because we get to commune with him as a bride communes with the groom. You know who else has that kind of access to a groom? Nobody. Nobody does. We have a deeper level of access than anyone else. Look at the book of Esther. Esther because she was the bride went to the king and got what she wanted. Yeah. That's the access you have just to lose perspective.
Next scripture is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. It says, "In the following directives, I have no praise for you." So he's like cutting them, right? It says, "For your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you. And to some extent, I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. It's funny that he says that because the reality of it is like God approves us through the blood of Christ and nothing else. So then when you come together, it is not the Lord's supper you eat. For when you are eating, some of you go uh go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. You ever notice how when they set out food in there, you have that one dude that'll grab three or four of everything, no matter what it is. Even if you don't like it just so he'll have something and then it's okay when somebody else comes down and there's nothing, he'll never speak up and give up one of his. Y'all know what I'm talking about, right? Listen, I've been around too long. I know y'all know what I'm talking about. But the truth of it is like, who more should share with everyone than people that everything they're given is free to them? Everything here is absolutely free. So it should be shared without question amongst the brothers because it's the one place where it cost you nothing. Amen. When you come together as a body and the believers and take part in a communion, it costs you nothing. And if we believe what we say we believe, there shouldn't be anything that divides us. We should eagerly desire the one who knows the least and it's the most rebellious to have the greatest encounter to know the love of Christ because he doesn't know yet. Instead, we get irritated with looking at ourselves cuz that's what you're doing. You're seeing you and him and you're irritated. I can't stand that dude. That's cuz it used to be you. And the crazy part is you can recognize it and you don't even understand that you have all authority to intercede on his behalf so that he would have victory because you've overcome that place. That's why you can't can't stand it. That's why listen in scripture it talks about hating sin. Think about it. It listen who Tyler was a know-it-all still kind of he teeters, right? Uh and so he's going to get to where he can't stand to know it all. Yeah, that dude that comes around that talks about what he used to have. You'll get to where you can't stand that dude because that dude used to be you. You'll see your own inadequacies that you've overcome in the face of the men around you. And you'll get to where you can't stand it because you re your discernment recognizes it for what it is. But you have a unique gift and a unique unique anointing and authority in that moment to intercede because you have victory over it. And you can share in your victory with that person. But instead, we break up into factions, into what do you call clicks. And you you'll see it more by the guys that have been here longer. You'll see them clicked up. And it's cuz we go through some traumas together, right? We go through some some hardships and and some parts of the program. But if this program is real, you should actively be reaching out to the newest men in the program, regardless of whether or not they get on your nerves. Because they only get on your nerves because you see you. You get it? Annoyed. Oh, it says, "Don't you," it says, uh, "As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliate humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus on the on the night he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, "This is this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me." It's like me me telling you that you're doing a good job, but you can't even share with the newest man, right? Like this is my thing is do you want to live up to all of it? Do you want to make your very best attempt to live up to the fullness of what you're called to be? It's a real question. Yes or no? You got to listen. You got to start asking yourself real questions. If not, there's going to be a gray area that you operate in that allows you to never operate at the fullness of your potential because you want you're not willing to ask yourself the hard questions. Do I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Have you really asked yourself that question? Like that's I'm going go around the room. Have you asked yourself that question? Have you need to you need to you need to ask yourself, do I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Because there's nothing there's no there listen there's no casual Christianity. It's just not. And I'm not saying you're you're going to be the guy that goes out and preaches on the street corner, but you're going to be the guy sharing the gospel somewhere according to your gifting and where he places you. What about you, Patrick? Have you asked yourself that question? Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? You you need to ask yourself, do you have you asked yourself? What about you? Old school. Yeah. What about you? And this is the thing. If you have not, you need to or you're wasting your time here. And you're going to get to the end of this year and you're going to go make the same piss poor decisions that brought you in the door. And it's going to be super hard for you to come back because you're going to be like, I don't want to shave my head again. I don't want to do this again. I don't want to. Then they tell me what to do and blah blah blah. I don't I like to smoke. And the reality is and then it's going to get real hard. It's going to get real desperate. And then you will come back again. And that's not me trying to prophesy death over you. I'm just trying to speak everything that we know happens. If you're not counting the cost of what it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ right now and making that choice, you're entering into the same cycle of insanity that's kept you going in and out of these places for the last to how many ever years. And if this is your first one and this could be your last one if you really ask yourself that question. And this is the thing. He'll leave the choice in your hands. If you don't, you don't get up, walk away, go to a rehab. You can live whatever idea of a of a of a good good life that you can. And he'll allow you to do it. His grace is so good. He'll let you be just this side sideline Christian. And you'll have all most freedom, but you'll get stuck in cycles of desperation and restlessness because you'll know you're not walking in the fullness of your potential. But if you're not willing right now to say it. Like if you're not willing to say right now, I want to or I don't want to, then you're wasting time. You just need to get a little more. You need to get a little more life, whether it be good or whether it be bad. And then you'll get back to that point where you got to ask yourself that question. What I as myself, do I have what it takes to be a disciple? Do you know how? Do you know how you you they'll know if you're a disciple? How you love one another? Don't look. Everybody thinks what all I'm going to have to get up. What all I'm going to have to do. Jesus himself, he said you'll they'll know you're my disciple by how you love one another. Not by how you don't cuss, don't smoke, don't drive nice cars, don't have gold chains, none of that other stuff. It says they'll know you're my disciple by how you love one another. But that means I've got to surrender everything in obedience to find out what that means. And then to follow his command. He says, "My command is this, that you love one another." That's so simple you can miss it. And you can't even love one another unless you know the love of the father. So that commandment says, "Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind." You can't even get to step two unless you're at step one. So you have every single thing it takes right now. But it is a real decision that says, "Lord, teach me how to love them. Teach me how to love them." I don't know. They got to be real emboldened, and honest, I don't know how to love. That's okay, man. I don't either. Some days, God's qualified me, not the other way around. He didn't present me where I could have done all this. Bro, this has been so hard. I can't even really articulate in a short amount of time everything we've had to endure for this. But the question has always been every year, how do we make it better for the men? Cuz he says the way they'll know you're my disciple is by how you love one another. And if I keep my focus on it being better for every man that comes through those doors, everything in my life always gets better because I got to seek him out in the mornings. I got to seek him out. You know, I get frustrated with some of the staff. And you know what makes it where I don't get rid of them and I just trust God in it? It's because I trust every single person on staff is seeking the Lord in the morning. I don't even trust them. I trust that and he's going to refine it. So, it's not about can you or are you good enough or can do I have what it takes. You do. It's just this all it takes. This is all that it takes to qualify you as a disciple. Yes, Lord. Just saying yes. And then being open, honest, and transparent when you have when the fantasies kick in, whenever you know you're not supposed to be talking to that girl, whenever you you God's starting to minister to you and show you that the music and this and this and this. The beautiful thing is he's taken you and set you aside for a year. And if you'll just hang on to what you got here and not pick and choose and go back to the things. Listen, some of that stuff, the reason why a dog goes back to his vomit is because you remember something tastes good. The reason why you're going to go back to the music, the reason why you're going to go back to the hood, the reason why you're going to go back to the cars, the reason why you're going to go back to those same environments, movies, everything else is because you remember some of it was enjoyable, but it's vomit. And until and you'll eat it. You'll you'll eat it until you get disgusted with it and that and it changes in your mouth. Cuz listen, when you go to eat vomit, you'll know it's vomit. You're just chasing the memory of what was good. Does that make sense? Y'all know that's a scripture, right? As a dog returns to his vomit. It says, "This cup is the covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So, so then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. Now, what does that mean? Religious guys are kicking themselves in the nuts right now. I'm so unworthy. No, no, no. It's this simple. Y'all ready? I'm put you on game. You ready? Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus? If so, you're already aware of the things that aren't right. So, in this circle, we just lay those things out that aren't right. We say, "Yes, Jesus. Yes to him. I want to be your disciple." And then, I I know that I'm struggling here, here, and here. I surrender it. I surrender it to you. We can pray that we be healed. And then in that place, we take communion. You understand? Because to have that place, that secret place, and my pride get in the way where I take communion anyway, that's to take it in an unworthy manner. That's what it is. Cuz you know it's a lie. If you haven't said yes to being his disciple, you know it's a lie. Does that make sense? Anybody? Is everybody tracking? Is everybody getting what I'm saying? I mean, I know you may have a simple understanding, but there's is there any question in it? Is there any lack of understanding? It says, "Seek above all things, seek understanding." Is there a lack of understanding and what it is to to take communion and what it is to present ourselves worthy of the blood and the body? Anybody? I hope I'm I'm I'm I hope I'm communicating the importance and the heaviness of what it is and the the holy moment that's going to occur when we take communion. I don't want you to be unaware. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why am many among you are weak and sick. Listen, it says, why does it talk about weak and sick? And I'm going to tell you, it says by his stripes were healed. So if I present myself as a living sacrifice, Lord, I want you. Yes, I want to be your disciple. Search me out. Make me a pure heart and a right spirit. Oh God, this I know this doesn't line up. I know that I I'm I shouldn't be mash. I know that I shouldn't be uh want, you know, stealing or or whatever it is, right? That look, it's it's only the little in this place, it's only the little stuff now, you know, because we eliminate the big stuff. So it's only a couple two or three different things that can be keeping you. So so he's already made you aware of it. You just lay it out. That is what uh and and then it says by his stripes we're healed. So if we do that then the infirmities in our body it's we are healed by his stripes. Do we believe that? Do we believe that it's a Jesus that wants that does not want us to be sick or weak? And a number of you have fallen asleep. Man, there's so many people that'll show up on a Sunday and take commune and don't have an intimate relationship with Jesus because they're not holding it holy. It's not them eating the body and drinking the blood. When I first started getting into it, I thought the Catholics were crazy for that. How dare they try to kill people because they didn't believe that. But the truth is, I'm not saying we need to burn people at the state for it. I'm saying we need to treat it a lot more with greater reverence. that this would be by faith his body and his blood. But if we were more discerning regard ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. What it says is like even when we drink that judgment on oursel, there's going to we're going to feel the distance. We're going to feel the I believe this is what he's inferring is that we'll feel the separation that it will become callous. And what is it? What is the greatest hope of a of anyone that believes the greatest desire of my heart is to commune with him. Like all the other stuff like a wife, kid, all that is secondary. This is how I know because the first thing we do is we seek him. And we're worried and we have all these things and these concerns with life, but if we seek him and encounter him, all those go away. So the greatest priority of a believer is to seek him in intimacy. So that judgment on me when I'm not authentic with him would be distance in my relationship with him. And he does that and he lets us draw away from him so that we get desperate because our own ways and methods make us frustrated and overwhelmed with worry and anxiety. And so then I come clawing desperately back to the to the garment, right? So that I can feel his presence again. So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home so that when you meet together, it may not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give further directions. We're going to I got all the communion elements. Uh I've got all the communion elements that we're going to bring out here in a minute. And I I just listen. Who here wants something different? Yes, Lord. Then it's gota you've got to grab on to it in a different way. You got to grab onto it in a different way. And listen, and the deepest thing that I'll ever tell you as a husband is I have a greater desire for my bride than she has for me. Not because she doesn't desire me. Listen, men are hungry and thirsty in different ways. Well, we're the bride and he's the groom. So, who has the greater desire for who? When you go to pursue your woman, do you want her to be like, "Well, just get it over with." Heck no. You want her to want to engage, right? We're the bride. Let's not just get it over with. You know what I'm saying? engage intimately in this thing and receive everything that comes with being in that kind of covenant relationship that we would be covered and protected and provided for. That's what I mean. I'm not talking about the perversion of it, right? I'm talking about everything else. The supernatural thing that sets your family at order.
Yesterday, uh, I was supposed to marry my oldest daughter. So, check this out. Nikki and Frank, man, I've been I've been pouring into Frank for several years. They got four kids together. And uh and I He's just like me in my 20s. And uh and instead of going against him, the Lord said, "Why don't you be that father that he never had?" And so I've just poured into him, poured into him, poured into him, getting them to set everything right. Right. They come to church on Sunday. Well, they're they're their ceremony is September 20th, but they they need our help. Like they're trying to get into this house and stuff. I'm like, "Look, you got to be in covenant for I'm willing to do that. there was this plan. They're like, you know, please what if we just go ahead and do the vows uh so that and then we just have the ceremony. And I'm like, okay. And as soon as we establish that, she starts like there's some manifestations of deliverance like vomiting and some different stuff. So yesterday she's going through it all day, right? And she calls me and she's like, I know this is spiritual. I can feel the spirit of God delivering me from stuff because I've made this commitment to do this. And it was it's wild, right? And so they ended up not getting their license in time, so I'm going to do it today. But like in the midst of all the things going crazy, right? Curtis died this morning, but I married my oldest daughter to set their their life in order and in covenant. And and Frank is highly intelligent, right? He's got Adam. Adam is actually working for him. Uh that that's here in the program because he owns a couple trucks and and and he's a good dude, but everything is always chaos because it's not in order. And God can bless him but can't bless her. And so that's what I'll tell you like in this relationship when we come together in covenant we get we get the same blessings of Christ. We're the bride. He's the groom. Independently we're his children together. We're the bride. There's something powerful in that. And so I just challenge you to do it differently this time. Whenever take a minute you got a man to the right left of you. Let God examine your heart while we're just stay quiet. Stay in your chair and uh and while I get the communion elements and get them passed around, you just need to have the Holy Spirit search your heart, right? And then just lean over to the guy left and right and say, "Hey, I know that this is what God God is uh that I'm supposed to be laying down." And and I and yes, I choose. If you do choose, I'm not I'm not forcing you to say that you want to be his disciple. Don't say it if it ain't real. But what I'll tell you, if you're not ready for that step, then all this is a lie and you're just wasting time. And so, lean over to the man to the left or right of you and say, "Yes, this is what I want and this is what I need to lay down." And then it says, "Confession says one another. Pray that you may be healed." So, pray together real quick. And then we'll we'll take communion and we'll pray together and we'll do this thing that's supposed to be more holy than than the world teaches right now. And and I and I and I look the way you guys that have been here for a long time know how I believe that I see you as far as biblical prophecy is concerned. I believe that you you men are the generation that Jesus himself prophesied about. I believe that with everything I am, there's nothing that dissuades me from it. that God literally waited a millennium designing everything that it took to make just you so that you would share his message throughout the world and change the entire world before his return. I just need you to know that. So either say yes or say no, but make the damn choice. Don't let it be casual. See, I'll just sit, reflect, pray, talk to the guy left right of you. I'm going to get the communion stuff. I very specifically said don't get up. Yeah. Gently. Amen. That means You are a great two Whoa. So you get you would be you could be both, but it's not both. So everyone's a disciple or a saint if they choose to be. But then there's the gifts of Christ which we go over in like a few days which is apostle, prophet, uh uh evangelist, preacher, teacher. So evangelist is an office and a gift from Christ given through grace to certain people. Yeah, you have to start with a disciple. Everything has to start with being a disciple. We're good. Get one. Yep. Just get one. Everybody get one. What? Okay. Okay. So, who do I Yeah. So, you Yeah. You just speak with him. So, and it's okay not to believe. You know that, right? I mean, I I ain't put him out there like that. No, I let him. Yeah. You just I said left or right. Skip a chair. Yeah. Just after everything, you know. I've never heard it put it put that way. So, I mean, I'm not going to do something. I mean, you said straight up, don't be fake about it. Yeah. Yeah. Which a little bit shows your belief in God, by the way. Just saying. I knew you were going to say is that everybody? Is there anybody else in the bathroom? Okay, I'll just set it over here for now. It's okay. Don't worry about it. Okay. So, As you finish there, no rush. But as you finish, go ahead and stand up so I'll know whenever we're ready. So if you're done and you've prayed and all that stuff, just stand up. No big deal. No rush. So like it it's easy in this program to get confused about leadership, right? And then and it looks sometimes like you're going through the motions and you're forgotten about. This is my truth. My hope for myself is the same as yours. Family, birthday parties, you know, fellowship with God to know him better. Like it's it's all the same. My hope for you is that you'll know him to the level that I've gotten to know him. And it's been through radical belief and and simple obedience in in little bitty things that then we're called to greater things. And so this for me just represents an opportunity to grow in that relationship, an intimate relationship. Listen, no matter what, when you begin a relationship, you have to get to know the person you're in relationship with. If we believe what we say we believe, then we're trying to desperately grow in that relationship. And I'm surrendering to his direction, which means I need to clearly discern his voice. So in scripture and as the bride, it it says that uh that this is his body broken for us. He says, 'd do this in remembrance. He says, "This is my blood that shed for the remembrance of sin. Do this in remembrance of me." Father God, that I pray that there is the most holy manifestation in the communion of covenant relationship as bride with groom. That you begin to cover us in ways that are undeniable. that we begin to grow in our desire for you as brides eager for her groom. God, that we would be able to discern your voice, that we would want to pursue you, that you would do the miracle that no one else could do. God, I thank you for being a real God and a God that speaks. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.