Episode Transcript
Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast Podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message. You're with me?
That was so good, wasn't it? Yeah, I'm telling you, I really put a lot of effort into that one. You know, all week, all month, I've been talking to the Lord and just throw that down there.
I've been talking to the Lord and I said, Lord, I want to be more like Paul. God responded a month ago, you already are. What?
That's a very proud thing to say, isn't it? I want to be more like Paul. Second time I prayed, you already are.
Third week, I want to be more like Paul. You already are. This week, I want to be more like Paul.
I went and read the letter to Corinthians, first and second, and I began to read 2 Corinthians about Paul. And what he was writing to this church, and I've never identified with Paul before in my life. Paul said, I'm just gonna go there, I'm gonna cheat a little bit, got some notes in my Bible.
Paul greets everybody, offers comfort to everyone, He talks about how his plans are changing for the Corinthians church and his actions. He ministers the new covenant. He talks about how we're fragile clay jars with hidden treasures on the inside of ourselves.
He talks about the new bodies we're gonna receive, and this newness that we have. He tells us, he tells the church of Corinth that they're ambassadors. And man, I would think that everybody on the other side of this letter would be shouting by now, right? And then he says, he starts to talk about his hardships.
He briefly touches on it, and then he goes back to talking about where temples of the living God. He calls to give. And I think this is where Paul's mind writing this letter begins to shift.
He's asking them to give. And I think Paul is praying into and through the Holy Spirit and being inspired to how to write this letter. And I began to see the struggle.
I do not have a giving message this morning, by the way. Just so you can feel better. But I can begin to see the struggle because as I read it, I begin to see his language change.
He starts to talk about Titus and his companions and how they've come. And he talks about, you know, the collection of Christians for Jerusalem. He talks about, defends his own authority.
Right after giving, he begins to defend his own authority. I am called of God. I'm sent here to be a messenger.
He talks about false prophets, and then he lands again on his many trials to talk about a vision of the thorn of the flesh. When I began to read chapter 11, Paul begins to say, you've made me a fool. The more I love you, the less you love me.
I said, oh, I'm like Paul. I don't mean that for you. But as a pastor, the title brings some, hmm. weight behind it, some gossip behind it, some you should be better behind it, some you ought to not do that behind it, some, and Paul even then goes to say, I've given everything I've had for you.
I don't want your money. I said, I'm so much like Paul. I began to get happy.
And like Paul, I'm beginning to feel guilty for boasting because Paul said, I feel guilty for boasting. But then he said, he said, you love people that slap you in the face and do harm to you and lead you the wrong way. Are they Hebrew?
So am I. Are they apostles? So am I.
Are they this? So am I. I'm just too weak to slap you in the face. I remember having a conversation.
Y'all getting worried now. Where is he going? I'm going somewhere.
Don't worry. I'm not going to be mean. I remember talking to Tina.
I said, man, you got a boss in your life. And we're not going to say who, when, and where, and what time frame, because I don't want y'all to think we're talking about the one she has right now. He got things done.
You hated him. He got things done. But he got fruit out of you.
Maybe that's how I need to be as pastor. I just need to be meaner. Tina said, that's not how you need to be.
Where am I going with this? Then he started talking about, I started talking about, but everything I've been through and everything I've done, you ever felt like this? Y'all still wondering where am I going with this?
Right? Y'all with me? I'm going somewhere, I promise.
You ever felt like, does anybody ever see what I do? Anybody ever feel that way? Y'all wanna be honest, this is your moment to not be super saints and say yes.
Amen. Anybody ever say, did anybody ever see how hard I work, how much I give, how much I love, what I do for them, what I sacrifice? If you're a parent, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Amen. Amen.
Yeah. And Paul begins to talk about his trials. And he begins to talk about, then he says, I am reluctant to share with you in chapter 12 the revelations that I have received from God and how I went up into heaven and seen things the English can't even explain.
And he said, but I should boast here in this moment about what God's done. I should boast in this moment how good God is in me, but I will not boast before God has done something that allow me not to be prideful. And that takes me to my first verse.
2 Corinthians 12 and 9. Each time I said, so Paul is sharing about this revelation and talking about that, and I'm going to back up a little bit, Timmy. I know you probably don't have it in there, but I'm going to back up and read.
It says in verse 8. Can you get it or can you not? Probably not.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take away, and each time he said. Back up a little bit further. He said, I would boast about this, but the Lord has sent a messenger of Satan so that I would not be proud.
And what is Paul asking? He is saying each time he said, my grace, I've asked God three times to remove this thorn of the flesh from me. And each time God said, my grace is all you need.
My power is best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ can work through me. Amen.
I watched Paul write a letter to a church he loved, trying his best to explain to them what he was trying to say. And he finally landed in a place. I shall not tell you of what I've been through, even though I just did.
I shall not tell you of how hard it was, even though I just did. But what my focus is going to be is how I arrived here in this moment by the grace of God. Does that make sense?
So God's grace is sufficient. How would you like to hear, Lord, baby needs a new pair of shoes, light bills due, I don't know what to do, Lord. My grace is sufficient. Marriage falling apart, friends stabbing you in the back, my grace is sufficient. Feeling like you're left alone, ain't nobody answering the phone, my grace is sufficient.
Anybody know what I'm talking about? Somebody better say, I know. Amen?
But Paul had arrived in a place of maturity and revelation that says, I've moved on from the former things. I've moved on from what hurts me as a leader. And I've arrived in the fact that I'm doing everything for God and to be a gift to the body. Paul had went from selfishness He had left self-care and he arrived at a place as I give my life as a bond servant to Jesus and the body of Christ to be a gift to those that I lead.
And I said, Lord, you said I'm like Paul. I feel guilty even saying that out loud. You know why?
Because people don't see pastors that way. We're your midnight prayer warrior, we're your somebody died show up warrior, we're your baby dedication warrior, your baptism warrior, we're your problem warrior, we're your trench warrior, but when are we ever your friend? Can I call you at 3 a.m. if my tire's blown out?
I hope I can. How many of you are gonna answer my phone call at 3 a.m., oh, the Lord has said something to the pastor, I'm gonna go back to sleep, he must have heard my dream. I'm not going to answer the pastor's phone.
I ain't calling you at 3 a.m. unless I'm in trouble. And I'm going to call my roll dogs if I'm going to call at 3 a.m. People I know are going to show up. Amen?
So I began to feel like, okay, Paul, God, what are you saying to me through Scripture? That strength will overcome, not just survive. Grace will overcome, not just survive.
Grace is sufficient in all things. It's in your midnight moments. It's in your late night hours, it's in your joy, it's in your ups, it's in your downs, it's in your uphill climbs, your downhill slides. Grace is sufficient in every area of your life, good times and bad.
And if you have a strong foothold of Jesus and the power of the grace that God has given you, you will not feel so downtrodden, so depressed when life presents its trials. Amen? Well, nobody loves me.
Well, love yourself. confidently love yourself. Amen. Because God loves you.
You took my next sentence right out of my mouth. So grace is not a crutch. It's not an enabler to sin.
Grace is the power of for victory. Amen. Paul said, God has sent this message, but I believe what Paul was trying to say is God had allowed this so I never bring glory on myself, but I always bring glory to God.
Amen? That all glory and honor go to God. So we live in a world that applauds strength, independence, self-reliance, but life eventually brings us to moments where that God steps in, not just to comfort us, but to empower us. Amen?
I'm so sick of toxic people, negative people, negative texts, negative social media. I can't stand controversial pastors. Just getting up there and talking about things controversial.
I'm like, where is Jesus in your mouth? Just tell me about Jesus and how good he is. I don't need to know how bad everything else is.
It's full of sin, full of the devil, full of hell. Don't need to know. Need to know the love of God.
Amen? Did I just do that old church of God, love of God? Amen.
Lord Jesus, I just want to know the love of God. Do you want to know the love of God? Look at your neighbor and say, do you want to know his love?
Amen. So we live in this world that the lions roar and we respond, but they got dentures, not teeth. Amen.
I don't want to follow man. I want to follow God and his strength. So when God told the apostle Paul, my grace is all that you need.
My power works best in weakness. He wasn't offering sympathy. He was offering supernatural strength.
Hmm. Some believe that the thorn of flesh was a physical ailment. Some believe it was a physical ailment caused by demonic presence.
Some believe it was demonic presence. Some believe it was persecution that Paul faced everywhere he went. Some believe, I don't care.
God said his grace was sufficient. I don't care about Paul's thorn in the flesh. I care about how God supplied strength.
You're going through something right now and you need the grace of God to get through it. You're hurting the biggest you've ever hurt in life right now and you need the grace of God to get through it. You are at the top of your pinnacle of success and you need the grace of God to stay there.
Amen. So whether you're in the valley or on the mountain, you need the grace of God. Amen.
So be it. He wasn't offering sympathy. He was offering strength.
Grace is more than forgiveness, people. Grace is God's power, God's presence, his ability poured out into the lives to help us rise, endure, overcome, and thrive. I'm so jealous of my wife in this area.
I know I'm sinning when I say that. The Lord's working on me. I'm repenting, by the way.
For years, 25 years, I think, maybe not all 25 years, at least 20 years, I've been over the finances in our family. And we have survived very well. Yeah, we had what we needed, not always what we wanted.
And Tina, for the last five years, has been saying, let me do it, let me do it, let me do it. And I'm like, no, I'm doing good. Don't need your help.
I give it to her for two weeks and she turns everything around. But this is what she did. She wrote a budget.
She wrote this down. She wrote that down. She created a spreadsheet.
No, the first thing she did was confess and pray that all is well in the area of finances in the self household. And worshiped, which got on my nerves too. Amen.
But she applied grace to an area where man had failed, and grace produced fruit. Now guys, that doesn't mean give your wife the finances. If she's a spender, don't give her the finances.
I'm happy to say that she's the saver, I'm the spender, so she's like, I need to take hold this. Amen? So...
So what are we trying to say here? God's grace, enabled with trust and surrender, will produce fruit. Amen?
So God's grace is not a crutch, it empowers us to do. This isn't about barely making it, this is about living boldly, walking confidently, and overcoming challenges through the indwelling strength of Christ. Too many Christians are living weakly.
Too many Christians are living quietly. Too many Christians are living insecure. Too many Christians don't know how to dwell in the secret place of God.
We're still begging for God to provide when we need to surrender to the fact that he has. Amen? God gives us the ability to explore how grace gives strength when we feel depleted.
Provides peace in the middle of pressure. Fuels spiritual courage when fear nots. I'm never afraid.
Liar. I never worry. Liar.
I never get mad. The altar is open. Y'all wishing people happy birthday and telling them they're number one all every day on the road to damn one.
Those that know, know. It's in those moments when we surrender our anger, our depression, our fears, our worries, our doubts, our concerns, our cares, and we surrender all those humanistic things over to God and say, your grace is sufficient. If you've never worried, you've never loved.
If you've not been afraid, you've never been proud of what someone else is doing. I'm afraid every time my son gets in the car to drive. Not because I'm afraid he's going to wreck, but I'm afraid that I can't control keeping us safe.
I'm not talking about you, by the way. Amen? Grace supplies strength in the moments that we can't provide strength.
You've been successful in business. Now you don't know how to stay there. You're married.
You're about to have a kid. Not talking about y'all. Amen.
You know, I'm not talking about y'all. You either. You either. Oh, who's over here?
You're married. Not talking about y'all. What I'm...
Behind you. Amen. You're married.
You're about to have a kid. You don't even know if you can feed the baby. You barely feed yourself.
Y'all got three. Amen. The worry of a parent is how am I going to provide?
Grace gives us strength to do more than what our parents could do. Faith gives us the strength to stand in our biggest trials. Faith and grace balanced together give us the ability not to be the best parents in the world, but to know that we raised them under the word, that we raised them in truth and grace and the spirit of God, that we raised them that they'd know the right way and that they will return to it and eat the fruit of it, that we've done all that we can do and then we've turned them over to God's hands. That's what grace does.
Amen? Anybody want to shout me down? Go ahead.
Yeah, I've heard this before, I know. But if it's not working in your life, you need to hear it again. Too many people let knowledge with revelation never manifest.
Did I just say that out loud? Grace, the power to endure, the power to overcome, the power to do is not manifesting in our lives because we're still doing it our way. It's still hard.
It's still ugly. It's still angry. It's still frustrating. It's still this and it's still that.
The manifestation of grace is when you take the knowledge and the revelation and apply those two things and see God go to work in your life. Amen? To work through you.
Is anybody getting anything out of this? You weren't called to crawl through life. You were called to stand strong in the Lord and His grace.
It's more than enough. Grace upon grace upon grace upon grace. Ah, you sound like one of them grace pastors.
Next thing you know, it's going to be greasy grace. No, I got the balance of faith and grace. You need to declare.
You need to decree. You need to confess. You need to pray.
You need to intercede. You still need to fast, but not the way you were taught. You need to fast to get yourself out of the way so that God can move, to get your flesh dead so that God can be alive in you.
Amen. Amen. But grace is realizing that when I've done all that I can do, I trust God.
When I've done all that he has said to do, I trust God. It's not a manipulation and it's not a scheme and it's a push. It's a faith that is empowered by deep love for God and deep love from God.
Amen? That's so good. So Paul's revelation of grace is God's power in you.
Paul had a persistent challenge called the thorn in the flesh. He asked the Lord to remove it, but God answered with something better. Each time he said, my grace is sufficient.
Each time he said, my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. Paul come to a powerful revelation.
And so did I. Even when life didn't change, he could because God's grace gave him strength that wasn't his own. If things aren't changing around you, stop thinking about what you need to do and start thinking about letting God do more.
I'm going to say that again. If you're taking notes, write this down. If things aren't changing in your life, it's time to let God do more instead of you do more.
If things aren't moving in your life, it's time to let God cause them to move. Apply anything there. It's time to let God take place of your hurt, to take place of your triumph, to take place of your failures, and to take place of your success. If you are successful and want to stay there, put God in the first seat.
Amen? So Paul came to that Revelation. He realized that weakness wasn't something to fear or hide.
Instead, it was an opportunity for God's power to get center stage. The thorn in the flesh didn't disqualify his victory. It became a platform for God's strength to be displayed.
Now, many people have preached this and said, God's going to take you through many various different things. He's going to give you sickness. He's going to give you poverty.
No, God's not going to give you those things. If I read this correctly, Paul was presented with things in his life that would remind him not to be proud and boast about himself, but boast about God. It was never labeled a sickness.
It was something that was to remind him to remember this is not of you. None of this good is of you, but everything good and in your life is of God. Everything successful in your life is of God. But there's a step further that I believe after I've read this.
I believe if Paul wasn't so, oh, am I going to say that? Should I? Y'all want me to say it?
No, do you want me to say it? Paul was so guilty and ashamed of persecuting the Jews, he was afraid to rebuke them. And you can see it through each letter to Corinth.
When shame and guilt get out of your mouth and out of your heart, you're able to say whatever God says and do whatever God says. Let go of your past, let go of your failures, and know that God, through his grace, has covered it. Amen?
Do we believe that? Is that good? I know when y'all get quiet, I know this isn't a ooh-la-la message, but when y'all get quiet, you're learning something.
You're realizing something. I can tell you if you sow today, you can get some 30, some 60, some 100-fold. If you come touch my shoulder, you'll receive a blessing.
And all that's just a lie from the enemy, and it's manipulation. I would rather tell you what will get you the power of God operating in your life. Is that what you want?
Then give God a hand clap of praise. Okay. Huh.
Huh. So Paul could boldly say after this revelation in 2 Corinthians 12, 10, that's why I take pleasure in my weakness and in the insults, hardships, and persecutions and the trouble that I suffer for Christ. Underline that for in your Bible, highlight it in your Bible, and we're gonna talk about it.
For when I'm weak, then I am strong. I'm about to say a revelation that's gonna change your life. I'm about to say something to you that's gonna shift the way you think, and if you can receive it, everything in your life is going to change.
Sacrifice without purpose and love attached to it will amount to nothing. sacrifice without purpose and love attached to it will amount to nothing. The Bible says when you're called to ministry, weigh the cost. That is the only sacrifice he's asking for.
It's gonna cost you your time. It's gonna cost you to not sleep. It's gonna cost you to have to run out and give to others. It's gonna cost you being on the phone all the time. It's gonna cost you leaving your family at the dinner table and going to someone else's dinner table.
That is the cost of being a minister of the Bible. The minister of the Bible is not the pulpit, the books, and the fame, and the Instagram, nor the TikTok. The ministry of the Bible is when you actually give and say, for these things, I have been made weak so that Christ can be strong in me. That is the ministry of the gospel.
that I know that I know nothing, but God knows all things, and with him I can achieve all things. That is the ministry of the gospel. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?
Ministry has become so puffed up and weak, we're making celebrities out of every pastor and shank. Not going to say it out loud. We need to stop making celebrities and we need to start making Christians.
We need to stop having image and we need to say that we are in the integral persecution and we are moving forward to stay, remain, and full of God. Amen? Too many celebrities, too many image-based stuff.
I don't care about algorithms. I want people to have the information of God at their fingertips. I don't care if it sounds good or if it's pretty.
I want people to be changed by the power of God. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care about all the foolish things of this world. They're all done compared to the grace of God.
Man, Jesus, hallelujah. How do you give yourself an offering? Oh, you just take it from one pocket and you put it in the next pocket, amen.
Do you understand what I'm saying? God is calling you. to stop complaining and be complicit and say, I am the righteousness of God.
I am called of God. I am more than a conqueror. I am and I have all that this Bible says that I have.
I will not deplete or delete or stray back from what it says in me because what it said in me and done in me is more great and precious than what the world has to offer. I receive everything that it has to have. And if it costs me things in this world, then let it burn, baby, let it burn because it ain't gonna meet you in heaven.
Am I in trouble yet? Am I in trouble yet? Oh, Jesus.
This wasn't, Paul's revelation wasn't passive suffering. It was active empowerment. Too many Christians talk about what's going on in their life.
It's just so hard. Man, I do it. I call Jeremy.
Where's Jeremy at? Jeremy, where you at? I call him once a week, having my little pity party.
That's what assistant pastors are for. They're your complaint box. Sorry, man, I'm kidding.
Not really. My wife got tired of hearing it, so I went on to him. Bless Jeremy in the name of Jesus.
Hallelujah. But Jeremy, we complain way too much. We're so blessed.
Somebody sent me a thing this past week. And I'm so gonna start doing it. This leader of a large Christian group said that every time that there's a problem, there's someone in his camp that comes and says, oh, you know what, there's a problem, we can't do it.
Good. Well, we're not gonna be able to get the LED screen and the stuff we need, nor do we get funded for the mission. Good.
Well, you know, so-and-so left and they took about four or five families with them. Good. Oh, well, you know, we don't have the money we need for the new computer, good.
Finally, the assistant pastor came to this pastor and said, I'm no longer gonna tell you what the problems are of the church because I know what you're gonna say. He said, what am I gonna say? Good.
So I'm no longer gonna tell you. Well, good. He said, no, I need to know why you're saying it.
And the pastor looked at him and said, I'm still breathing, so it means it's still possible. These things that are not happening right now are still achievable tomorrow. It's opportunity to grow.
It's opportunity to prepare. It's opportunity to move forward. Just because we didn't get it right now doesn't mean we won't get it later. So good, because I know that a good God will make it happen.
Amen? God's grace is sufficient. This empowerment that God had in Paul gives us the strength to reach past ourselves and That's why Paul could say what he said in 2 Corinthians 12 and 10.
In other words, let's look at it again. When Paul said, for I take pleasure, and let's go back to 12 and 10. That's why I take pleasure in my weakness.
In other words, when Paul reached the end of himself, he tapped into the beginning of God's limitless power. He was not saying, I'm gonna talk about all the bad things about me first. He is actually saying, I'm gonna stop talking about all my weaknesses, and I'm gonna make sure I talk about all the goodness that God can do.
Because I know that I can fail. I know that I can get angry. I know that I can get depressed.
I know that I can get down. I know that I can act like a fool. But you know what?
I know that if I present all those things to God, God will take those offerings and supply strength. Amen? So what is the call today?
Is the call to stop complaining? No, the call is to start believing. Amen?
This wasn't passive suffering. It was active empowerment. Paul wasn't celebrating pain. He was celebrating the power that comes in the midst of persecution. He was celebrating power that comes in the midst of going forward with a goal. He was celebrating power that comes when it doesn't look like there's a way, but God makes a way.
You tell me anytime the name of Jesus isn't worked. And you're like, well, it doesn't work. It didn't work here.
Hey, you still got that problem? Good. Because eventually the name of Jesus is going to work in God's timing.
Amen. It's just not happening on your timing. Don't give up on God and his grace just because it isn't working when you want it to.
So you can't get the car you want. So you can't get the house you want. So you don't get the job you want. So it didn't work out the way you want.
Good. God's doing something greater. God's doing something more.
Or he's perfecting the thing that you want. Amen? Oh, that's so good.
I'm gonna just give myself another offering, praise the Lord. Yeah, you shouldn't tell that joke. Well, I'm going to because I like it.
You don't control me anymore because I don't have approval addiction anymore. I've been delivered. Amen?
I don't have the fear of man. I'm gonna say what the Bible says. And I'm gonna love it.
Amen? Amen? But what does God's empowering grace look like?
It's strength for our daily lives. If we look at Philippians 2 and 13, look at this. For God's working in me.
Is that what it says? Only me, only Pastor Kyle, only Tony, only Tina, only Patty, only Peter. No, it says for God is working in who?
You. You. giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
God, I can never do what I'm supposed to do because you're still doing it your way. God has given you and is working in you the ability and has surrounded you with people that have that same grace and God, I just don't think, I don't know where to get it. Look around you.
There's carpenters, painters, bankers, investors, owners. Look around. There's real estate agents.
I'm sure we got a doctor hidden in here somewhere or going to school for it. We got a dentist I already know. I ain't gonna say that next joke.
Amen. We got everything you need. Web designers.
Right around you right now, grace has supplied all that you need and it's supplied it in you. You just ain't looking for it. You ain't believing in it.
you're going out there chasing the world for it. Amen? Grace isn't passive, it's power in motion.
It's not just God standing by, it's God actively working on the inside of you. Energizing your heart, sharpening your mind, and fueling your spirit to do what you should never do on your own. I just, well, you just ain't in my mind.
If you could get in my mind, it's like a tornado and a cyclone having a party, hallelujah. And I feel like maybe there's even a monsoon happening in there too. Peace be still.
Change what you're thinking about. The Bible says renew your mind daily by what? With the word of God.
Maybe shift who you're talking to. Shift what you're reading. Shift what you're watching.
And get in the word. And you might see a change in the storm in your mind. Stop thinking about who you haven't forgiven.
Start forgiving them and move on. Stop being angry just to be angry. Stop being a jerk just to be a jerk.
Stop. I'm going to tell you what. There's people around the world right now.
They just mean to be mean. And I went to a Christian thing, and I'll tell you what. I saw about four or five of the meanest Christians I've ever seen in my life.
Just because they're Christian doesn't mean they surrender. Amen. So what am I saying?
Grace doesn't give you the power to tolerate. Grace gives you the power to walk through, to overcome, to break through, to endure, to do all the things that God's called you to do. Stop judging everybody around you and start tapping into the power that's in motion. Grace gives you the desire to keep moving forward.
I got 10 minutes. The wisdom to make right decisions and supernatural strength and to keep standing even when you feel like quitting. Philippians 2 and, did I give you this one?
Philippians 2 and 13, Timmy, did I give you that one? Did I read that one already? For God is working in you.
Oh, yes, I did. I'm gonna read it again. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what is pleasing to him.
Moving on. Grace isn't a nice idea. It is the very engine of God's power working in your daily life.
I got a V8 of grace. Or as Patty would say, I got a Harley. Chevy, Lord bless her.
In the name of Jesus. No, I'm kidding. At least you didn't say Ford.
I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Peace.
What grace looks like in our daily lives is peace and pressure. Isaiah 26 and 3 says... You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in the Lord, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. If we believe that grace is all the strength we need, if we believe that grace is favor that ain't fair, if we believe that grace is something we don't deserve, don't have to earn, don't have to work for it, then we can actually be at peace.
I was able to sit down with a young man the other day, and I was talking about some things, and he said, how are you at peace? I stopped for a second. I said, huh, I want to say I don't know, but it's the grace of God. I'm at peace because I know God's with me.
When offerings really, really, I'm going to say it. I'm going to say it. I'm going to say it.
I'm going to say it. I'm going to say it. Please, Jesus, help me.
I feel like Paul right now. Pray for me, brother. When offerings low or people think that that offering is going to me and they don't give and only 150 bucks comes in, you know what I do?
I trust God. And you know what happens? God every time sends it through another resource.
Paul said, I'm not asking you to give because I want your money. I'm giving you the opportunity to sow and receive from the kingdom of God. We don't actually need your money.
God will meet our needs. And if you don't sow because you don't like giving the pastors because of what some pastor did to you, then that's a problem in you. John said, the quarrel is in you.
I'm no longer gonna live afraid to talk about giving. Giving is an opportunity to joyfully, cheerfully give into the forward motion of the spreading of the gospel. Amen?
Peace when there's pressure. Through grace, it says to us, grace is a steady hand of God holding you together when everything around you is falling apart. It anchors you.
Through grace, you don't just survive storms. You stand firm in them. God's presence surrounds your soul like a shield.
Is this good? Isaiah 20, oh, I've already been there. It says you will keep perfect peace for those that trust him.
Grace brings peace, not just because the situation is easy, but because God is near and he is in control. Hebrews 13 and six says this. If I've lost any of you, I love you.
God bless you. Amen. Look at this.
So we can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do? There was a time in my life that if I didn't have money, I felt better when someone says they were gonna give me some.
I didn't feel good until mama said yes, daddy said yes, brother said yes. When I was broke and car was needing a battery back when I was an addict and drug addict and drug dealer gang member. I remember my stepfather, a man that I hated, showed up and said, here's a new battery.
Put that battery in there. The first thing I did is went and picked up the drug dealer. And we were racing back and the battery goes dead.
So my stepfather has to come pick me back up. He said, what'd you do? I said, I don't know.
The battery ain't ready. He said, it must be your alternator. I didn't love him.
He knew it. And so he went and got an alternator. Brought his tools over to my apartment that I was staying at.
Put the alternator in. I didn't say thank you, didn't say I love you. I got in the car, went and picked up the drug dealer again.
Then I wrecked the car into a tree. You know who the first person was that came and picked me up? Set father.
See, later on in life, even though I hated him for everything he did to me when I was a kid, later on in life, he got saved. And I didn't know that the love of the Father was working through him. I didn't actually realize it until probably two years ago.
And when I wrecked my car into a tree, same man showed up. When I messed up with Tina and, oh Lord, I've never said this in public. Two weeks before we got married, I decided that I didn't want to get married and went and started dating a cocktail waitress at the bar I was bouncing for.
Guess who showed up to tell me I was stupid? My stepfather. When I did get married, guess who drove me to get married?
Guess who picked me up? Stepfather. Grace will show up every time, even when you don't want it to.
And there's been times in God's life he showed up and provided strength and you couldn't see it because you didn't want to. You thought you did it. You thought your best friend did it. But God has sent everything good into your life and has given you the power to overcome.
He never was going to leave you stranded, even when you didn't deserve it. For when we were yet sinners, he died for us. And then I realized when I became a pastor, I still didn't, at this point, I was still working on forgiveness and I became a pastor and My stepfather came up to me and said, I'm so proud of you.
I said, thank you. When he died, right before he died, I called him and I said, I just want you to know I love you. I couldn't make it to him.
I was here in Australia, and I'd made the decision that I wouldn't go back home because I would stay here with the church. I have to tell you that I regret that decision, and that's not what God told me to do. I thought I was doing something honorable, but grace was telling me to go home because the church didn't need me.
They had Christ. But even then, God showed up, created a moment. He provided 18 more hours for my father so that my brother could get there and that they could reconcile.
And I'm talking about they fought. I'm talking about picking up logs of wood and hitting each other fought. And they, my brother got there, he's Baptist, this is the power of grace.
My brother got there and called me, said, what do I do? He's gonna call me, he ain't gonna wake up. I said, let's pray.
And you repeat after me and lay your hands on our father. He went and he said he did this like this. Now, James, you wake up.
We need to talk. Baptist boy. That's all he knew to say.
He didn't notice how I used my authority. I have the believer's authority. He didn't know what to say. And I'm in the background praying in tongues, freaking my brother out.
And guess what happens? James opens his eyes. Hey, son.
And for 18 more hours, they sat and they talked about 23 years of pain, struggle, and persecution between each other. And as my father was being wheeled out the room, he looked at my brother and he said, I don't believe I'm coming back from this one. Be sure to tell your little brother I love him.
Make sure to take care of your mama. He died on the operating table. Grace shows up every time.
It may not look like you want it to, but it gives the power for victory. The greatest victory was for a Baptist boy to know that he can call on God and pray. Because when his wife got cancer, he needed to know how to pray.
And guess what? His wife's still alive and well and healed in Jesus' name because a little Baptist boy knew how to pray. That's why, well, Lord, am I there?
2 Timothy 2 and 1 says, My dear son, be strong through grace that God gives you in Jesus Christ. Grace equips you. Grace supplies armor for you.
Ephesians 6 and 11 says this. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. Do you know that you are worthy to be in armor, to be a soldier for God.
He has wiped the slate clean and given you strength. He's given you endurance for any season. As Isaiah 40, 30, and 31 says, even youths will become weak and tired, but those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
Catch that, Captain. I'm going to outwork you, Alex. Whoa!
That even when the youth fail, those that trust in the Lord will be able to move and work and be strong because it's God's grace. You know why you're such a good mom? You need to hear this.
Because you are a good mom. But in those times when you don't know what to do, when you don't know how you're going to get up, and you just don't, am I doing it right? God's grace is sufficient. That's why you're such a good mom. Actually, you're a great mom.
The Lord would have me tell you, I'm sorry to do this in front of people, but the Lord would have me tell you he's well pleased with how you're raising your children, and I'm not there to see it. Me, Kyle, you're a great mom, and son, you're a great husband. Oh, you've had your trials just like anybody else.
Doesn't mean God's not great in you. Amen. God doesn't just give us temporary boosts of strength. He renews our strength. Stay dependent on God.
Speak God's word over yourself. Surround yourself with encouragement because God's grace is more than enough. Philippians 4 and 13 says this.
I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Father, I thank you that your grace is all I need. Let your power rest on us today.
Let it flow from us and within us today because it's not something that's coming. It's something we already have. Let us replace fear with courage, foolishness with wisdom, weakness with strength that only you can provide.
I declare and I decree that we are more than strong in the Lord and the power of his might. We will not give up because your grace is sufficient and empowering us every step of the way. In Jesus' name, amen.
About four, Tina, when did you get back? How long has it been now? A month.
Four weeks ago, I do this a lot in my life, so don't do what I do. Four weeks ago, I got up and I preached, and I felt horrible. My heart was having a party.
The bottom part was beating like this, and the other part was beating like this, and they were beating together. I was in AFib. My heart wasn't doing good.
Doing this. I couldn't breathe properly. I told Patty, I got to go to the hospital.
I don't know how many of you I told. I'm going to go to the hospital. I called two people.
I said, pray for me. I don't want this all over the church. I went to the doctor, called my wife, said I'm sitting out in front of it.
Actually, Patty was going to drive me there just to make sure I was going, and Tina stayed on the phone until I went in because they know me. I'm stubborn. No need to know a doctor.
They took my blood, checked my breathing, listened to my heart. You need to go to the doctor. Why?
Son, I think you might need a pacemaker. I said, you're a liar. And what it sounds like, you've got scarring on your lungs, and you may be living with permanent damage on your lungs.
On top of that, we found some problems. With what you're saying, we need you to go get your bloods checked. Went and got my bloods.
They came back. They told me I had type 2 diabetes. I said, you're a liar.
You're a liar. No, that's not God. That's not my God.
And for a month, I've prayed. And I can tell you for the first day in one month, my heart is beating in rhythm. Amen?
So, what does that mean? I'm going to go to the doctor in here and tell me I don't need a pacemaker. I'm not telling you that you need to do that.
I'm telling you that sometimes you've got to stand firm in what you believe because people that practice medicine Hear the word, practice medicine. We'll try and tell you and get you to believe that something's wrong with you when the word says you're healed. I don't fight for healing. I fight from healing. For a whole month, I've been fighting from healing.
I've showed up to work with my son and said, I got to go home early. And I've cried in front of him. Feeling weak.
What's that scripture again? My grace is sufficient. For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.
They've been telling me I need a pacemaker for over 25 years. And for 25 years, I've proved them wrong. 25 years, I go back every time and they tell me, well, must have been tired.
Must have been something you ate. You must have been dehydrated. I say, it must have been God.
Amen. Plus, I know the power of a loving, believing, praying woman that says, I ain't letting go of you yet. Reach down and pray.
I believe she'd raise me from the dead if I tried to die. Then she'd be mad at me for dying. And he would pray.
Grace gives us strength. Every head bowed, every eye closed. I've been raised from the dead.
I've been healed of seven different deadly diseases in my body in the last 25 years, things that have tried to kill me. I can now add another notch. But I no longer glorify the things that the devil's tried to do. I glorify my healer.
So this morning, if you're walking in a valley that you're not talking to anyone about, every head bowed and every eye closed, whether it be emotional, physical, financial, raise your hand. Thank you. Thank you.
If you have overcome such things, raise your hand. Everyone stand to your feet. Just about everybody in here raised their hand on one or two occasion.
So we're gonna do something together today. Every head bowed, every eye closed. Do you believe in Jesus?
Raise your hand. Put it back down. Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? Raise your hand.
There you go. Put it back down. Do you believe that God can?
Raise your hand. All right, now that we've gotten a workout, Open your eyes. Naomi and Ruth were gathering, what was it, barley or wheat?
I can't remember. Wheat on the edges. And every year with a harvest, what they'd do is they'd grab two stalks in each hand of the harvest and they'd lift it up and they'd wave it. You know that's where we got this from?
a thankfulness for the harvest that we've received. Where did this come from? Did we just grow up not knowing why we did it? This was because a great harvest was taken up and we lifted up our hands and gave God a wave offering.
Sometimes we do this, sometimes we do this, sometimes we hold the TV, sometimes we lift up Simba, I don't know. But this came from receiving. Raise your hands. Close your eyes.
Father, today, I give thanks for the abundant grace in my life that gives me the strength to endure, that gives me the strength to overcome. Somebody better start getting thankful, honey. That gives me the strength to move forward, that it gives me the staying power in my success and the moving power in this valley. I give you thanks, God, right now in the name of Jesus for what you've done, what you're doing.
I no longer have desert mentality, poverty mentality. I have grace that's sufficient in me. I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. He will supply all my needs according to his riches and glory.
God will. God can. And even if I got to go into the fire, God will take me out of the fire like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because I know my God can.
Somebody better give him some praise right now. If you're believing that you're going to come through your valley, if you're believing you're going to stay on the mountain, if you're believing that God has staying power in you, give God some praise right now. Father, we thank you for this message. We thank you for these people That you will shine upon them.
That your peace will be present in them. We give you thanks, Lord, for all that you're doing. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. Amen. Thank you for tuning in to today's message.
To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchangers.life. Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team, and may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.
