The Good News Is The Bad News Was Wrong | Numbers 13:27,28 & 32 | Pastor Chris Lyles

Come on, man don't stop giving him praise.

Come on if you believe that it's good to be alive.

Somebody ought to give God a Shabbat praise this morning.

Come on 8 am.

I'm going to give you about 30 seconds to give God a Mary Death praise.

If you know it's good to be alive, hallelujah, open up your mouth and give God some praise.

Give him praise like it's good to be here.

Give him praise like he's good to be here.

Give him praise like he's brought you through something.

Give him praise like he's walking you up this morning, part of you on your way.

Hallelujah, it's good to be alive.

Come on, come on.

I can't even tell about three more.

Three more people.

It's good to be alive.

It's good to be alive.

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

Oh, they ain't talking to you.

Sign three more and tell them what is best to me.

Sign three more and tell them it's best to me.

Hallelujah, he came down to have life.

I'm wondering this Hallelujah, come on.

I wish you'd tell somebody Hallelujah, it's good to be alive, but it's best to me.

Hallelujah.

Long gone are the days where I'm struggling, trying to figure out how you ain't going to meet.

They're going to meet because he's already made them meet.

It's good to be alive, but it's best to live.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Glory to God.

Come on, it don't stop just because the music stopped.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, glory to God.

Come on, it don't stop just because the music stopped.

Hallelujah, if you really believe that this morning, that it's best to live.

Hallelujah With all that God has done, with all that God is.

It's good to be in the land of the living, it's good to be in the land of the living, but what good is it to be in the land of the living if we refuse to live?

Hallelujah?

I know it's early, 8 am.

Let that sit on you like some good grits.

It's good to be in the land of the living, but what good is the land of the living if you refuse to live?

Hallelujah, hallelujah, glory to God.

Glory to God.

We give honor to our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.

Once again.

Can we give God a hand of praise just for being God this morning?

Hallelujah.

And while we're clapping, can we praise God for our pastor?

Hallelujah, in his absence today.

Come on, let's make some noise for our visionary, for our leader, hallelujah.

And oh, what a special day it is.

Hallelujah for him, uh, as this is the day that he celebrates another turn around the sun.

Amen, y'all know how we do you know?

It's just like us, on your birthday, not to show up for work.

Pray for him, lord God, hallelujah, come on, let's celebrate our pastor.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, glory to God, glory to God.

Come on, let's celebrate our pastor, hallelujah.

Glory to god, glory to god, and we're thankful for him and for each and every one of you, the lord's people.

Uh, we're grateful for all of those leaders that have gone and seen something new in this past week in baltimore, maryland, and we're excited for what god is about to do in this new season and I would be remiss if I did not.

Don't take this moment to say thank you to my bride.

Hallelujah, glory to God.

I was trying to find something right to say, but the Spirit blocked my tongue so I wouldn't go too far.

Chris, hallelujah, you know, the Lord is a keeper.

Yes, he is.

Somebody say, yes, he is.

But I'm grateful for my wife, amen, for all of her prayers, love and support.

I encouraged her to go home and rest.

She's been working for the past 14, 16 hours, but she was determined to be here today.

So I'm grateful for that and I love you, amen.

Come on, let's turn in our Bibles.

This morning, 8 am.

We don't have much time, but we're going to have a good time.

Turn in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, chapter 13.

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

Numbers, chapter 13.

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

Elder Sherry, I was a little.

My nerves have been all over the place for the past few weeks, simply because the Lord had dropped this message in my spirit not long after Pastor had asked me to preach, and this was a few months ago and it seemed like there were countless times.

Either he or any of our guest preachers have touched on this chapter in some way, form or another, and as a preacher, that's sometimes the scariest place to be in when somebody doesn't preach your message.

But I believe that there's a word from the Lord today Numbers, chapter 13.

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

And I want to read verses 27 through 33.

And you're hearing, if it ain't Jesus, tell him you'll call him back.

Numbers, chapter 13, verse 27 through 33.

Numbers 13:27–33

As is our custom, we stand for the reading of God's word.

We're going to read it together.

Let us read.

This was their report to Moses.

We entered the land you sent us to explore and it is indeed a bountiful country, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Here is the kind of fruit it produces.

But the people were living.

They are powerful and their towns are large and fortified.

We even saw giants there.

The descendants of Anak, the Amalekites live in the Negev and the Hittites and Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country.

The Canaanites live also live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses.

Let us go at once to take the land, he said.

We can certainly conquer it.

But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed.

We can't go up against them.

They are stronger than we are.

So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites.

The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there.

All the people we saw were huge Verse 33,.

We even saw giants there huge Verse 33,.

We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak Next to them.

We felt like grasshoppers and that's what they thought too.

Go back to verse 32 for me, please.

It says so.

They spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites.

The land we travel through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there.

All the people we saw were huge.

If you don't mind, on your way to your seat, I want you to nudge somebody next to you and tell them the good news is, the bad news was wrong.

The bad news was wrong.

Look at somebody else and tell them the good news is, the bad news was wrong.

Hallelujah, you may take your seats in the presence of god of God, aaron, can y'all do something for me real quick?

I'm going to give a shout out to our media team.

I ain't going to bother them too much this morning.

I want to do this and go and get it out of the way, because you know, sometimes short folk, they want to see what the points are and then that tell them how long service is going to be.

So I want to get that out of the way.

Can I do that real quick?

The first point is going to be to get to greater, we must denounce doubt.

To get to greater, we must denounce doubt.

The second point is doubt makes us deaf to hearing, dumb in doing and blind to belief.

Doubt makes us deaf to hearing, dumb in doing and blind to belief.

And the third point is the good news is the bad news was wrong.

Somebody clap your hands and give God some praise All right.

Wrong.

Somebody clap your hands and give God some praise, All right.

I start there because it seems that no matter what we hear, no matter what we go through in this journey of life that's filled with its ups and downs, all of us love to hear some good news.

But the reality is, as much as we love to hear good news, the truth of, sometimes, our circumstance is the bad news seems to be what we gravitate to the most.

I've heard it said that good news travels fast.

You've heard that before, but when, in my research, I realized that good news does indeed travel fast, but not faster than bad news.

The term bad news travels fast is first found in print in the English author's Thomas Kydes play the Spanish Tragedy, and this was written sometime between listen to this 1582 and 1592.

And it includes these lines If he lived, the news would soon be here.

Nay evil news travels faster than good.

There's something about our human consciousness that causes us to gravitate to like a moth to a flame, to negative or bad news, no matter how good or positive the news may be.

Some of us would rather focus on the bad.

Now, although Israel is a highlight of our scriptural reference today, what I find oftentimes is that when we look at moments in the Bible in the Bible, we find ourselves turning up our nose and saying how dare they?

How dare they turn their back on a God that's done everything for them?

We look down our noses at the experiences that we find in scripture simply because we already know what the end is going to be.

We already know what the end is going to be.

We find ourselves being very judgmental when it comes to the life experiences that we see illustrated in scripture.

But can I remind you a little bit this morning that we are no different than the children of Israel, many of us today, especially those that are living in this social media age.

Uh, if you made a post, uh, and and, and you, uh, uh, uh, you, you look every day, you look every minute, every hour to see how many people have liked it and and, god forbid, uh, it's, it's a birthday picture.

Come on, put that up, pastor walt, so we can like it and we can share it.

Uh, but, but god forbid, you put something up that you think would get a, a good, that you would get a good response from.

And what we find ourselves doing is scrolling through all of the good responses and we somehow seem to focus in on that one hater.

We find ourselves focusing in on that one bad comment.

It could be thousands of people that said, oh, you look good, oh, you did good with your cooking, or you look good in your outfit, but we find the one person that said I can't believe you put that on.

That don't match, that, don't go together.

I'm so glad.

I'm so glad.

I'm so glad to be amongst those mature folks because I don't see many of you nodding your head.

I'm so glad to be among the mature folk that aren't bothered by the naysayers, that aren't bothered by the negativity.

You just find your way to press on.

But I do believe that there's some other folks that get stuck every once in a while because you get stuck between what's good and what's bad.

You get stuck somewhere in between the good report and the bad report.

No matter how much promise or potential we see in someone else, oftentimes we struggle because the good that we see in others.

Sometimes, if you're not in a good place yourself, you find that negativity rubbing off.

I hope I'm not talking to anybody in here, but I've been around some folk that they can't see your good news because they're stuck in their bed.

They can't muster up a word of encouragement because they themselves are struggling in their own self-defeat.

Am I talking to anybody in here this morning?

We can't help ourselves Because they themselves are struggling in their own self-defeat.

Am I talking to anybody in here this morning?

We can't help ourselves.

Unfortunately, we find moments and situations where we unfortunately give the best response to the worst situations.

I know that don't make sense.

Sometimes we give the best response to the worst situation.

Here's what I mean Many of us.

If you done found your boo thing and you want the world to know, and you want the world to know and not many people would celebrate because they themselves ain't found theirs yet.

But you mess around and show everybody, tell everybody about your good news, and they don't respond in kind.

But it's typically that one friend you got that you was waiting to give you the good response.

It's that one that was your ride or die, that don't say much or nothing and it leaves you to wonder are you really happy for me?

When you say that you're happy for me, but in the good situation you'll give me a bad response.

But watch this.

Wait until something go wrong in your booing and relationship.

Wait till something goes bad, wait till something goes down.

It's that same friend that you ain't hear nothing from will be the same one that say let's pull up on him, girl, let's go key his car, girl, let's go put some sugar in it.

I ain't hear nothing from.

Will be the same one that say let's pull up on him, girl, let's go key his car.

Girl, let's go put some sugar in.

I ain't hear from you when things were going good, but time when things go worse, you give me your best response.

I needed that support when things were good, not just when it's going bad.

I needed that energy, match that energy when everything looks good, not when it's going bad.

I needed that energy, match that energy when everything looks good, not when it goes bad.

But I realized that one of the reasons and we're quickly going to get to our points here One of the reasons that we find this contradiction between good news and bad news oftentimes believers, is because of our perspective.

It's it's it's caused because of the way that we see things, and oftentimes I struggle, mother Fennell, oftentimes I struggle is because we want others to see what we see and respond the way we respond.

We want others to see the good, we want others to see the great, but when they don't see it the way we see it and when they don't respond the way we respond, there's an issue that we have, but it's all because of perspective.

When I looked that word up, here's what I got back.

The definition for the word perspective says a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something, a point of view, the state of one's ideas, watch this and the facts known and having a meaning interrelationship.

And then, thirdly, the faculty of seeing all relevant data in a meaningful relationship.

And I dug a little further and I found that, in context, here's where perspective really makes a difference, and I pray that it will make a difference in our lives from this day going forward.

You see, there are three phases of perspective that we have to take account.

One, when things are in perspective, meaning we show a right relationship between how things are interconnected.

But when things are out of perspective, there is a wrong or an incorrect view of those very same objects.

But here's the third we have to be willing to put them in perspective.

You sometimes, despite the things that you hear, despite the things that you know, despite the things that you go through, you can literally make the difference between your coming and your going, your winning and your losing, your getting and your not getting, all simply because of how you put it in perspective.

Do we see things the way that we're supposed to see them?

Do we see things the way we're supposed to see them?

Bishop Jenrite was here with us a few weeks ago and I loved as he concluded 8 am.

I think he did it for the 8 am and not the others.

As he concluded 8 am, I think he did it for the 8 am and not the others.

As he concluded 8 am.

In his message he began to quote from the book of Robert Kelly, a song by the name of.

I believe I can fly, but what was interesting is as he began to preach the lyrics of the song, something stood out to me, the very first part of the bridge of the song.

He says if I can see it, then I can do it.

He said if I just believe it, there's nothing to it.

Let me do that again.

If I can see it, then I can do it.

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it.

Do you see it yet?

See, what this suggests is that the importance of proper perspective allows us to be able to see the impossible.

But what I also realize is that there's a correlation between us doing and us seeing.

Yeah, yeah, there's a connection between what we see and what we do.

Do we agree?

But if we agree on that, there's a connection between what we see and what we do.

I submit this argument this morning before I get ready to take my seat.

The argument is simply this If we do based on what we see, then there's a disconnect between what we see and what we do.

But even greater between the seeing and the doing is the divide.

There's a divide between what we do or don't do.

Watch this Because of what we believe.

Because of what we believe.

Do you understand that there's a connection between what you see and what you do?

It's all based on what you believe.

We can talk about, possess the land and we can even visualize it based on the words that Pastor Walt gives us, but oftentimes we won't get to moving forward.

We won't get to the doing, because many of us are still struggling with whether we believe it.

And here's the challenge when it's hard for us to see it in the church that we serve, in the church that we love in the church that we love in the church that we minister and work together.

If it's hard for you to see it here, guess where else?

It's hard for you to see it.

At home.

It's hard for you to see it when God says it's time for you to step out on this new business idea.

It's hard for you to see it when the doctor comes back and gives you a bad report, but God says you will live.

It's hard for you to see it when you don't believe it.

And here's where we find the children of Israel today.

Here's where we find our issue.

I submit that our issue is not necessarily with the bad news, but our issue, rather, is whether or not we believe it to be true.

If bad news travels fast oh, I got to say this one.

I usually don't preach according to my notes, but this one was a good one If bad news travels fast, watch this.

It's spread by others who think just like you.

We find ourselves here, numbers 13.

If you've followed this story, israel has been delivered from Egypt and as God has delivered them from this place of bondage and slavery them from this place of bondage and slavery God has literally performed miracle after miracle after miracle, so much so that one of the greatest miracles that I could imagine a human being could ever witness would be to stand at the threshold of a sea and God lift the waters.

The Bible says that he did it in such a manner that they were able to cross.

Watch this on dry ground.

I need for you to understand just how powerful your God is.

But not only did he perform this miracle, but even as they came through this channel, even as they arrived to the other side, moses now their leader is going before God to get some more instructions about what to do next.

And it's in these instructions that God tells him I've got something special planned for you.

I've got a place that I've set out just for you, and here's some.

Here's some guidelines, some requirements that I'm going to give to you, to give to them, so that you can make your way to this place that I've designed for you to be when I've designed you to be there.

Now you've got to get this part, because oftentimes, when we think about the things and the promises of God, we want what God has described.

We want the things that God has set up for us to get, we want all the best that God has for us, but the problem is, we want God's promises but not his requirements.

God says I'm going to give you the best of the land, but you've got to be willing to obey my commands.

The Bible says that, as they progressed and they sojourned through this wilderness, that with each and every moment, each and every day, they grew weary.

They grew weary because God has taken too long for you to bring this promise to be, taken too long for you to bring this promise to be.

God has taken too long for you to do what you said you were going to do.

And with each and every day, with each and every step that they began to sojourn through this wilderness became a day that they uh uh, became each day that they continued to complain because God hadn't come through fast enough.

Can I bring a sense of reality to this perspective for just a moment?

How dare you, israel, how dare you chosen city, how dare you, people of God, complain that God's promises aren't coming fast enough?

When you just spent 400 years in captivity, you weren't complaining then.

But time God brings you out with each and every step.

You ought to know that God is the same God that can not only lift the sea but could do what he said he was going to do.

But yet we complain because it's not happening fast enough.

I wish about 25 people would be grateful enough to say God, I'm waiting on your promise, I'm waiting patiently for you to come through.

We find here.

We find here that as we get to around chapters 11 and 12 into 13,.

God has reminded them time and time again and I'm sick of your complaining.

I'm sick of you complaining and, I hope, some of you.

This story was so long, I had to break it up into three segments, so I hope some of y'all I know you got collard greens and some other stuff waiting on you, but I hope some of y'all will stick around at 10, because there was so much I couldn't put it all in one message today, so it's going to be a different message at 10.

So I want you to come back, alright, but I'm going to give you just a little bit.

So they complained a whole lot.

And here God now tells Moses I want you to send 12 representatives from each tribe out to now survey this land.

I want you to go and bring back some logistics.

When I realized that number one, god had given them a promise of a new land, that should have been enough to tear the walls down off the church right there.

You were in bondage for 400 years.

And now God says I'm about to give you your land of your own.

I'm about to give you your own 40 acres.

Don't you worry about the economy, don't you worry about the government.

I'm about to give you your own land.

I'm about to do it for you when no president ever could, when no Congress ever could.

I'm about to show you that I'm God.

That's good enough right now, god.

That I'm about to show you that I'm God, that's good enough right now, god, that's good enough to lay me out, to make me thankful that you still have me in mind.

But he didn't stop there, deacon Jones.

He didn't stop there.

He said to Moses send out 12.

When I thought about it, that too was good news.

Why was it good news, bro Chris?

It was good news because God allowed the, the, the, the, the ancestral fathers that made up Israel, these twelve tribes.

He said, just so you won't think that I'm just making stuff up, I want you to get your kinfolk.

I want you to get not only your kinfolk.

I want you to send your best kinfolk.

I want you to send the best one, that you rely on their insight and their judgment, and I want each one of these representatives to go out and see it for themselves.

Some of y'all sending the wrong folk we can start there.

Some of y'all sending the wrong folk, some of you sending the folk that you know ain't nothing but negative dances.

You know they ain't nothing but doubting Daryls, but you're going to put them up there to send them out anyway.

They ain't never had nothing good to say about nobody.

But you're going to go and ask them their opinion and their advice about something to say about nobody.

But you're going to go and ask them their opinion and their advice about something.

But it was good news that God says I'm going to allow you to pick your own representative and I want you to go and go and spy this land.

The Bible says in chapter 13 that begin to name all of the 12 representatives that went out, and of all those 12 representatives, 10 of them came back with a bad report.

What's crazy about this bad report, paul, is that it came back with the bad report.

But they had good fruit Y'all.

Finna play, I'm gonna need some help here in a minute.

Alright, your boy's struggling up here.

Listen.

They came back with a bad report.

But watch this.

It said in, I believe, chapter I'm sorry, chapter 13, probably verse 10.

It said that, as they came back with the logistics and this report of the land, that they were carrying figs and grapes that were so big that one person couldn't carry it for himself.

They had to put it on a stick, carried by two people.

The fruit and the result of this place was so huge and so large that one person couldn't contain the blessing all of himself.

I can't understand it.

How is it that you can carry something that's bigger than you but still not believe in a God that can deliver it right into your hand?

Right into your hand?

How is it that you can carry something that will not only meet your need but help you go into the next, but you not believe God?

It was carrying the fruit but still had a bad report.

Help us God.

Help us God.

The Bible says that they came and they said the fruit look good, but we got some other problems in the land that I don't think we'll be able to overcome.

What do you do, david, when your doubt paralyzes you to the blessings of God right in your face?

What do you do when everything that you are and everything that you've been around is telling you that God is able to do just what he said he could do?

He's able to fulfill every promise to you?

Don't give up on God, because he won't give up on you, but you still find a way to doubt it anyway, because of what you see, because perspective was off.

We see here in 13, y'all can have a seat.

I'm almost done, I promise.

Here's a point that I talked about.

In order for us to get to greater, we must first denounce doubt.

We must first denounce doubt.

Can you pull up media team for me?

Uh, verse thirty.

I want you to see this.

This blew me away when I realized it.

It said they were spreading the bad report.

Moses, you're sending us to this place, but the fruit.

But we don't know if we'll be able to do it or not.

But look at this it says but Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses.

Here's what he said let's go at once to take the land, he said we can certainly conquer it.

I'm going to read it again, because I had that same response y'all had just now when I read it the first time, and it didn't.

Because I had that same response y'all had just now when I read it the first time, and it didn't.

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses.

Let's go at once to take the land, he said we can certainly conquer it.

Let me read it one more time, one more time, one more time.

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses.

Let's go at once to take the land, he said.

We can certainly conquer it.

Listen, listen.

You remember when I told you before that you got to be careful about who you seeing as your representative, about who you listen to for advice.

You remember when I told you that each tribe had to select one person to go to represent them to spy out this land?

It hit me right between the eyes when I realized what verse 30 was really saying.

In the midst of all of the bad news that these leaders was trying to spread about going into this new place here, it was Caleb that was trying to quiet their negativity.

He was trying to quiet their bad report and encourage them.

And here's why this messed me up, why it's because Caleb was from the tribe of Judah.

Caleb was from the tribe whose name meant to praise god.

Caleb was from the tribe that god had uh designated to be the one that would sing and shout forth his praise.

So it wasn't unlike the person that's designed to give God praise, to stand in the midst, in the center of negativity, and shout forth a praise.

Here's where you got to be careful.

If you've got any negativity around you, if you've got anything swearing trying to get you to doubt the things of God, you've got to now tap in to the spirit of Caleb.

You've got to tap in to the spirit of Judah, you've got to tap in.

Tap in to God's praise, despite the doubt.

The Bible says that he first quieted them.

In the midst of any negative report you get.

The first thing I want you to do, chosen City, is be strong and courageous enough to tell it to shut up Now.

I ain't tell you to tell them to shut up now.

Don't do that unless you got them hands.

But listen, tell it to tell them to shut up now.

Don't don't do that unless you you got them hands.

But listen, tell it, tell it, tell it.

You remember when jesus uh was amongst the crowd and a man said come, oh, my daughter is dying.

And when he gets to the room he gets in the room but he puts the negativity out the room.

You've got to be willing in this season of your life as God is trying to show you now what your new next is going to be.

You've got to not only be careful who you're sharing the report with, but you've got to be mindful not to allow the negativity and the doubt to keep you from moving forward.

The first thing you need to do is be willing to silence it, and in silencing it he was denouncing their doubt did in realizing this is that doubt.

Watch this makes us deaf to hearing, dumb in doing and blind to belief.

The Bible declares that faith comes by hearing.

Watch this and hearing by the word.

I'll give a equation again.

Faith comes by Come on, it's eight o'clock.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the.

Come on, let's do one more time.

Faith comes by and hearing by the word.

What happens is doubt comes to make you deaf to the word of God.

Doubt comes and the enemy uses doubt to make you now numb and desensitive, desensitized to the word of God, no matter how much the choir sings.

It's good to be alive, but it's best to live If you've got doubts about tomorrow.

You've now become deaf to the word of God.

This is why Jesus said to him that has an ear, let him hear, because he realized and knows that the beginning, the genesis of your faith starts with your ability to hear him clearly.

So if you've now been faced with not being able to mobilize or move forward in the things and the promises of God, I would suggest that the first thing you need to do and as you quiet the noise, as you quiet the negativity, first you've got to be able to ensure that you're hearing him clearly, because the moment you allow the enemy to speak, his speech causes us to be filled with fear and doubt.

We see this as Caleb is now at his wit's end, because they've allowed what they see to formulate bad thoughts, their belief, and now they're unwilling to go.

I'll say that again They've allowed what they see to formulate bad thoughts, their belief, and now they're unwilling to go.

But Judah says we can conquer it when you hear the voice of the Lord that says this is what I've set up for you.

His word is clear and his promises are true.

That I brought you to, I can bring you through.

What I bringing you through, I can absolutely deliver you into.

Doubt not only makes us deaf to hearing, but it also makes us dumb in our doing.

It makes us dumb in our doing because what we find here is, with this bad report, that they began to spread and now began to socialize this doubt of whether or not they could actually obtain the things that God said that they could get.

Watch this.

They were even so convinced now that it would be better for them to go back to bondage.

I want to talk to about three or four people in the room that have considered going back to the place that God had delivered you from, simply because the promise that God has spoken seems so far-fetched.

Don't allow doubt to cause you to be dumb in your doing.

Don't allow doubt to cause you to be not only so fearful about where you are, but to find a place of comfort, to go back to your place of bondage.

Don't allow doubt to cause you to be dumb in your doing.

Don't allow doubt to cause you to be dumb in your doing.

The bible says that we walk by faith.

We do by faith and not by sight.

We, we go based on the word that he's placed in us, not based off of how we see.

And then, thirdly, doubt causes us to be blind to belief.

That stood out to me when I think about this.

Human experience that we have is challenging in and of itself, and oftentimes it takes God to open our eyes for us to be able to see greater.

God has been whispering some things inside of you in and for your new and next season, and I don't care if you're 8 or 80, if God has spoken something to your life for you to obtain and get.

God is faithful at his word.

God is faithful at his word.

God is faithful at his word, and all we have to do is find a way to believe it.

Here's what the challenge is If you don't know his word, it's hard for you to be able to believe what you don't know, because what you'll then begin to do is start to confuse your good idea with God's promise.

You'll then begin to confuse your thoughts from God's voice.

It's it's hard for you to discern God.

Is this you speaking, or is it just something that I want?

And if you've ever found yourself in that place, the first thing that we have to do is go back to the Word of God and ask that the Holy Spirit would open up our eyes and ears of understanding to know what he's saying specifically for us.

What I find is that, as Jesus is walking with these 12 disciples, there was a moment, after he had died, after he had ascended and come back to visit them, that, as he's now dining and sitting with them, watch this.

The Bible says that in that very moment he opens up their eyes so that they can believe what he had been saying all along.

What I'm simply suggesting to us today is that there's some God-sized things that we need God to do.

There's some God-sized things that he said he would do, and what we have to find ourselves committed to doing in this season of our life is destroying every ounce of doubt that would cause us to not believe that God can do what he said he was going to do.

But watch this also to depend on the spirit, to open up our heart, to show us the greater of what he's promised for us to do.

So, in my conclusion, I simply want to share with you 8 am crowd is that for all of you that have been faced with negativity, all of you that have been drowned with doubt and discouragement.

I want to leave with you this morning that the good news is that the bad news was wrong.

The good news is you're still going to make it, despite what you went through.

The good news is that God still has a way to bring you out, even despite the pain you may feel in your body.

The good news is that, despite everybody that has something to say about what it is that you were going through and wasn't even sure if you would make it out, the good news is their bad news was wrong.

There wasn't a hater in hell that can stop you from doing what it is that God has designed for you to do.

It ain't a bad report that the doctors can give that can overcome the good news that God says you will live.

There is not bad news enough that the enemy could spread that will keep you from moving into this new season of your life.

You've got to take hold and know that the good news is the bad news was wrong.

A songwriter said they said I wouldn't make it.

They said I wouldn't be here today.

They said I'd never amount to anything.

Anybody ever had some bad news spread on them before, anybody ever had to deal with folk talking about them before Anybody ever had to deal with some negative situations in your life before?

Well, the good news is the bad news was wrong.

No matter what they said, it didn't stop you from getting here today.

No matter what they said, it didn't stop you from moving forward.

No matter what they had to say, it didn't stop you from seeing the hand of God.

The good news is the bad news was wrong.

I need for somebody to get excited about that and get that in their spirit right now.

The good news is the bad news was wrong.

The good news is the bad news was wrong.

The good news is the bad news was wrong.

If you don't mind, why don't you tell about three or four people that the good news is the bad news was wrong.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Come on, everyone standing on your feet.

The good news is the bad news was wrong, and I want to encourage somebody.

I feel in my spirit that somebody in here right now that feels stuck and you've been stuck for a minute, not really sure how to put one foot in front of the other here's my encouragement to you.

There's another songwriter that said it won't always be like this.

The Lord will perfect that.

Concerning me, he says sooner or later, I need somebody that's convinced that there's a later, there's a sooner and a later that's coming.

Sooner or later it's going to turn in your favor.

It's going to turn in your favor.

I don't care what it look like, it's going to turn in your favor.

It's going to turn in your favor.

I don't care what it look like, it's going to turn in your favor.

I don't care what you've been through, it's going to turn in your favor.

I'm a witness, hallelujah, for all that I've been through.

Sooner or later it's going to turn in your favor.

Hey, he's turning it around for me.

Anybody got that in their spirit this morning.

He's turning it around for me.

Come on, I need I need about 10 of y'all just to get that in your spirit the next time you face with doubt in your life, just the next time you face with doubt in your life, just the next time you face with some difficulty in your life.

Just sooner or later, the good news is the bad news is wrong.

I need you to hear this If it were left up to the devil, he would have taken you out a long time ago.

If it were left up to the devil, he would have taken you out a long time ago.

But many of you are carrying a seed of faith.

That would not only be the victory for you, but for that tribe you represent.

This is why you can't give up now, because there's a tribe that's waiting to hear your good news.

There's a tribe waiting to hear how God brought you out.

There's a tribe waiting to hear how God healed your body.

There's a tribe waiting to hear how you made it out of divorce.

There's a tribe waiting to hear how you started that business in the midst of the economic downfall.

There's a trap waiting to hear how you started that business in the midst of a economic downfall.

There's a trap waiting to hear that your God is greater than every circumstance.

Come on, sing that Sooner or later.

It's turning in my favor, it's turning around for me.

Yes God, yes God, yes God.

Hallelujah, yes, yes, hallelujah.

He will always be like this.

The Lord will perfect what's concerning you.

Sooner or later, it'll turn in my favor.

It's turning around for me.

Hallelujah.

If you believe that, if you believe God's promises for your life, you've been struggling with doubt and discouragement.

You believe that.

You want to believe that.

You want to believe that God is going to do what he said he was going to do.

But you're in a place in life right now where you just need a little, a little more help.

It's not a place to be ashamed.

The man that had the sick son came to Jesus Cried out Lord, help my unbelief.

It's indicative that through this walk, sometimes we face with things that seem bigger than us.

Sometimes we're faced with things that seem bigger than us.

If that's you, I want to pray with you this morning.

I want to pray that God will open your eyes and ears of understanding and for you to know that he is a God of his word.

If that's you, I want you to meet me here at this altar and we're going to pray that God do what he said he was going to do.

This has to be a moment where nothing to nobody else matters.

What Israel found out is sometimes that place of doubt.

What we don't realize becomes a place of life and death.

Many of us had a point in our life where we can't afford to doubt.

There's too much riding on it, there's too much hanging in the balance.

We can't afford to doubt.

We can't afford to doubt.

But you're willing, like that man, to stand in transparency and full humility and say Lord, help my unbelief.

And if I'm talking to you here at this altar, I want you to lift your hands.

This isn't a spiritual exercise, religious exercise, something we do just because we ain't got nothing else better to do.

But the lifting of the hands is a sign of surrender.

The lifting of the hands is a sign of surrender.

The lifting of the hands is an acknowledgement to God that you're done trying to figure it out While he's already worked it out.

I want you to lift your hands now, not unto me, but unto him.

Now, unto him who is able to do it.

As you lift your hands, let that rest in your spirit Now unto him.

God, I'm lifting my hands to you because I believe you're able to do it, and before we pray this prayer, I want you to be convinced in your heart, one that God is able to do what he said he would do.

There's a scripture that says that he that comes to God if you hear this altar, he that comes to God must if you hear this altar, he that comes to God must first believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Lifting your hands as a sign of surrenderance Hallelujah.

Because we know he's able.

We know he's able.

We know he's able.

We know he's able.

We know he's able.

Come on, in your own words, just begin to talk to him.

I want you to first start out with Lord forgive me, please.

Forgive me of my unbelief.

Help me, help me in the areas of my life that I was supposed to give to you.

Help me in the areas of life that I allowed doubt to come in.

Come on, just talk to me.

Talk to me, lord.

I'm sorry.

Talk to him, lord, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for not allowing praise, your praise, to go forth in the midst of my doubt.

Please forgive me.

He's doing it right now.

He's doing it right now.

He's turning it around right now.

He's turning that situation around right now because of your sign of surrender.

He's turning it around right now.

But watch, even as I say this, you can't allow doubt to come in and creep in to, to, to negate what I'm saying.

Right now he's turning it around, even though you might not be able to see it.

He's turning that situation around.

He's turning that circumstance around.

He's turning that situation around.

He's turning that circumstance around.

He's turning that heart around.

He's turning hallelujah.

He's turning that thing around.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah, come on, let us pray, god, we thank you.

We thank you for allowing us even to be in this place.

We thank you for allowing us to be here before you.

Oh God, as we surrender our heart before you right now, we pray that you would open up our minds, open up our hearts to hear you clearly, to see you clearly.

We thank you for the promise that you've given us.

We thank you, dear God, for the deliverance you've given us.

We thank you for the breakthrough that you've given us.

We thank you for the brand new start.

We thank you for the brand new day.

We thank you for the brand new outcome.

We thank you right now, god, for what you've already done.

Even though we might not be able to see it right now, we praise you in advance for what you've already done, for what you're getting ready to do.

We thank you right now for doing it.

We thank you for turning it around.

We thank you, dear God, for giving us the good news that the bad news was wrong.

We thank you right now, dear God, that you've overturned that bad report, that you've overturned that negative outcome.

We thank you right now for doing it Like only you can, and even now, god, as our hands are lifted before you.

It's a sign that we let it go.

I want you to lift your hands high.

It's a sign, god, that we let it go.

We let it go.

It won't trouble us no more.

It won't trouble us no more.

It won't bother us no more.

We let it go.

And even, as you displayed in your scripture, oh God, that the lifted hands before you, you signified that you identified that as a praise, dear God.

So let our lifted hands be a praise before you, oh God.

It once was a place of our burden, dear God, but we now thank you that it's a place of our breakthrough.

We thank you right now that these lifted hands, dear God, is an indication that we'll praise you no matter what.

We'll praise you no matter what.

God, we'll praise you no matter what.

Hallelujah.

Thank you for doing it.

Thank you for doing it.

Thank you for doing it.

Come on, somebody open your mouth.

Thank you for doing it.

Thank you for doing it.

Come on, somebody open your mouth.

Thank you for doing it.

Thank you for doing it.

Thank you for doing it.

Thank you for doing it.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

We call it done.

In the matchless, mighty name of Jesus.

It is done, it is so, it is well.

In name amen.

Come on, why don't you put your hands together and celebrate?

Come on, family, even though you may not have been here at this altar, we stand with them.

We stand in victory, hallelujah glory to God, glory to God, glory to God, glory to God glory to God.

We're getting ready to go home, but before we do, in the same posture of surrenderance, if there's one here under the sound of my voice that does not have a relationship with him.

You've heard about God's promise, but it hadn't really resonated yet because you haven't said yes to his call.

He's been calling you this whole time, but it hadn't connected because you haven't given him a yes.

If that's you here under the sound of my voice, I want to now offer this invitation to accept him as your personal Lord and Savior.

Hallelujah, if you're here, I want you to meet me here at this altar.

So that we can pray.

Pray you into your new life, pray you into your new life, pray you into your new destiny.

If you don't have a relationship with him.

And then if you're here and you haven't connected yet With the church body of believers that will love on you, that will fight with you, that will see the very best for God in your life.

If you haven't connected yet, come on, meet me here at this altar, so that we can get you connected here at Chosen City Church.

If you're joining us online, you are now at a place, place where you want to connect, even virtually.

We have our digital campus pastor that's available and responding to your request.

Now Put in a comment.

Let them know that either you need to be saved, you need to be connected, or any prayer request that you may have.

As we used to say in church, if all hearts and minds are clear, hallelujah, let's look unto the Lord to be dismissed if you did not have an opportunity to give.

Our giving baskets are in the back again.

We are grateful to God for the opportunity to give back into him a portion of what he has given unto us.

Come on, let us go before the Lord in prayer.

God, we thank you for everything that you've allowed our ears to hear, our eyes to see and our hearts to feel.

We pray, oh God, that you would keep us as we leave this place.

Whenever you're present, continue to remind us, dear God, of your good news, of the things that you've said before us.

Let us not be distracted or dismayed by any of the negative or bad news reports.

We thank you right now, in victory.

We thank you in victory and in faith that all of these things are done in the mighty, wonderful name of Jesus.

Now may the grace of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ, in the sweet communion of his Holy Spirit, rest, rule and abide with us henceforth, now and forever.

Let us all together say amen, amen, amen.

God bless you.

God bless you.

Hug somebody before you leave.

God bless you.