Release Your Grip//12PM// Pastor Terrance Richmond

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Love Quest International

Church Podcast, where we seek to love all nations, equip the

church, mobilize the equipped, and serve all.

We're super glad you're joining us from whenever and wherever

you're at in the world. Welcome to the family to get

your Bibles ready, get some water, get some coffee, maybe

some tea, and get ready to receive.

Let's get into it. Now, how many people understand

that you actually play a part with what flows through this

house? You play.

You play a part, Bible says if you're hungry and thirsty, you

shall be filled. So those that are in here, your

hunger and your thirst, your pull on the Word will cause God

to flow through this vessel to speak words that will activate

what he's trying to flow through your life.

There's things that he wants to speak to you today.

But what I do realize is God is not speaking to everybody per

SE. He is speaking.

He is here to feel the hungry and thirsty.

So if you just come to see community get just look next to

you, your mission is accomplished.

But if you've come here to be changed and you hungry for that

and you want to be edified and you want to hear something that

God says, guess what? Lean in and just know that you

are good ground. And by the blood of Jesus, He

has made a way. The veil has been torn so we can

come to the throne of grace boldly today.

Somebody say boldly today. Understand when you play with

the words you play with your life.

John 6 y'all forgot John 612. I believe it's 612.

I don't know. I just looked at it because I

was prompted to and then actually, you know what let me

let me let me let me find this real quick.

I promise you I got a prepared word, but I'm not in charge, so

I'm also going to. I want you really, really

quickly, really, really quickly. We're going to end up at John

612. Go to Romans 11/5 and go to the

order matters. Go to Romans 11/5 and then go.

To John 612. And then go to Isaiah 19.

You got that, You got that. All right, go ahead.

Yes, Lord, So too, at the present time there is a what?

A. Small believing minority right

you, you sound like you hungry because you you attentive right?

Small believing minority selected.

That's me, chosen by grace, by God's emeritus favor and

graciousness. There is at this time in the

earth. Go back a small there is a

remnant, a small believing minority.

Very specific. The remnant is not a small group

of people. A remnant is not survivors.

A remnant is a small believing minority.

So if you are in this place, at this time, in this city, you are

hungry, you're thirsty, you are after what God is after.

And you cannot wait to be used by God.

You cannot wait to be released by God.

You cannot wait to see what God is doing.

And you believe in God, then he's talking to you.

Say I'm the remnant. If that's you.

If that's you. If that's you, there is a

remnant. There is a remnant.

There is a remnant. There is a remnant.

OK, just so you can receive a little bit better for some.

This is not an offering compel. OK, so this is not about next

door. This is about you.

OK, awesome. Let's do it.

John 612 when they had all Hallelujah had enough.

This is when the miracle of feeding the 5000 plus it was a

little over 10,000, it was 5000 men and then there was women and

children. So too many to count but we can

count around 5000 men. So lots of people and two fish 5

loaves. When they had all had enough,

they all had enough. What does that mean in this

situation? They all were full.

It wasn't time to go back into the to the city because it was

getting dark. Everything was going to be

closed. And then God, I don't know how

many people shut down their businesses because they heard

Jesus was up the road, so a miracle was necessary because

they have been out all day, son, beaten on a baseball cap and.

The miracle fed everybody and then there was these baskets and

not only did it start with two fish 5 loaves, not only did it

start with not enough, it ended with enough leftovers to fill

baskets. Somebody say leftovers.

I love leftovers. Somebody say remnants, right, If

you get from a good southern house or depending on what kind

of culture you from, all grandma and them needed was some

remnants. A little bit of his, a little

bit of that, and she would make something something real good.

All she needed was some remnants.

She'd be like, baby, tell me what's in the cabinet.

OK, OK, bring that. Put that on the counter.

What's in the fridge? What we got left put.

OK, grab that. Go out in the garden, grab some

inn if you had that or something like that or some whatever basil

or whatever. All you needed was a remnant.

He says gather up now the fragments.

The broken pieces that are leftover.

Remember the scripture we just read?

There's a small believing minority that's still in the

earth, that still haven't fallen away from the faith, that still

got integrity, that still love God, that still fast and pray,

that still love they wife, that still love.

There's a small remnant left in the earth.

So now we see this and he says, hey, gather now the fragments.

Guess what God is doing in these last days?

He's gathering the, the, the remnants, the broken pieces that

are leftover, those that don't know you broken you, you've,

you've yelled in some areas, but you broke it.

You have some areas that are broken, but guess what Jesus is

doing? Watch this, watch this, watch

this. Just because you broken does not

disqualify you from being a remnant.

Watch this. This is the broken that still

remains. Hallelujah.

This is the broken and still hopeful, the broken and still

faithful. The broken.

The broken but still rooted, still believe in God.

That's leftover so, so that nothing may be lost, he says.

Gather the remnant so that nothing may be lost.

I just want, I just feel like God wants to encourage some of

you, all that you've been through.

All the broken pieces that you have, the Lord says gather those

so that no part of your story is lost.

I got some overcomers in here today.

Gather the priestess, gather the remnants, because what's being

gathered is going to be a loaf for somebody else.

Your testimony is going to bless somebody.

Your survival is going to test. It's going to bless somebody.

Come on, you still standing and wasn't taken out.

The devil meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

Look here, neighbors say, gather the remnants.

No, no, you might have counted it as Dong, but God says no, no,

no, Put it in the basket. Put it in the basket.

Put it in the basket. I still have need of you.

There is glory on the remnants. There is a glory on the It's

quite frankly, the strongest anointing is on the remnant.

Those that didn't give up on God.

Even though you wavered, guess what?

You still remained last. Scripture.

Encourage yourself man. Watch this.

Except the Lord of Hosts had left us a very small remnant of

survivors. Survivors.

We should have been like Sodom and we should have been like

Gomorrah. Watch this.

It would have been over. If it wasn't for a few

survivors, let me tell you something I don't.

I don't know. I've I've gotten too many

stories all the way up until last week.

Voicemails. I cannot wait to get the full

stories of the family. That had the auto Body Shop next

door, their prayers for this building and we're in here.

But let me tell you something. I just believe that this block,

this city and our church is not the only people with with the

remnant that's being gathered, but Vancouver.

Without the remnant that God has put in Vancouver, Vancouver is

almost left to be like Sodom and Gomorrah.

But there is a remnant of people.

There is a remnant of people. Watch this.

Your family is one person away from being Sodom and Gomorrah,

but God left a remnant in your family, your coworkers.

The public school system is 1, just one, one person away from

being like Sodom and Gomorrah. But God has a remnant of people

to preserve a land. Come on, lift your hands and

say, I still believe. Last week we established

something foundational. We learned that stillness is not

calm and rest is not inactivity. Stillness is the moment that you

and I step out of unauthorized authority and motion.

Stillness in scripture begins when self governance ends.

We saw it in the storm. Jesus did not negotiate with the

sea. He commanded it to peace.

Be still. Peace followed authority.

Guys. Stillness came before the

atmosphere. Changed.

We saw it in the Prodigal Son. The famine was not punishment,

it was mercy. When authority was resisted, God

removed the very things that made running possible.

God removed the very things that made hiding possible.

Not to punish him, but to make stillness unavoidable.

I remember I've gotten a job before and it got me so busy.

I got out of the fullness of my purpose.

See some of you are are busy and you still love God and you still

serve God and you said, but you're not in the fullness of

your purpose. And I remember, watch this.

I was Jonah to my own dreams. I got in the boat of my own

dreams and because I was going another way, my dreams start

sinking. I was living in the land of just

enough and I was working for just enough instead of resting,

doing what I need to do and let God do what I'm not authorized

to do Hallelujah. Rest is the evidence that you

trust God to govern what you choose not to control.

That was forced stillness. It was forced to be still.

Otherwise, death by distraction. God stopping motion.

We refuse to stop. I don't think I'm the only one

in here today where you just was sitting there.

What happened? How did how did this stop?

How did I get in this relationship that I that that

like brought some value to my life and I thought we had a

bright future together, but then all of a sudden it seemingly was

snatched away. Might I have been depending on

it in a way that God didn't mean me to to to to depend on it?

Watch this. Did someone that I'm called to

disciple become a resource for me?

So now discipleship is compromised because now I need

you. So now you've become a business

partner and I can't disciple you because you, you got leverage on

me, right? But that was me trying to force

purpose, trying to make it happen.

And it happens all the time, right?

God. God will dry something up

because the context has gotten twisted either by you or others

are too immature to see and keep boundaries so things can move as

designed. Today we move into another

dimension. It's not crises, it's not

famine, it's not storms. It's everyday discipleship.

It's everyday devotion. It's just everyday distractions.

This is not about today. We're going to expose you

sinning. This is not about you doing

something immoral. This is about you doing some

good stuff. It's distraction.

Watch this. I need everybody to lean in on

this. I need everybody to lean in on

this because many of us do not resist God with rebellion.

We resist him with busyness. It's not going to pop up on the

screen because it's not I, I kept some stuff from you so you

can just listen. Watch this.

You're not rebelling, you're just busy, and your busyness is

resisting what God has to say. And you want God to speak loud

enough that you can hear over your busyness and you like, well

God must be permitting because he ain't said nothing.

No, he's talking but you. He's what?

He's going to talk at a volume that causes you to lean into

him. God is not going to turn up the

volume volume because you have turned up your busy.

So here's the warning, you might do it for one year, two years,

or three years, but there will come a time where you will you

will be forced to be still. Last week, Love Quest, God

enforced stillness, spoke to us about stillness, and then

throughout the week He dealt with us about awareness.

This week He invites you and I to release your grip and let the

Holy Ghost ride the whip. Look at your neighbors, say

release your grip. Let the Holy Ghost ride the

whip. Yeah, there are moments you can

start it. There are moments where God does

not stop the storm. Please, we've been begging God

to stop storms and then we get mad at him because he don't let

me help you real quick. This is not where I'm going, but

just a little drop of nug. He didn't start the storm, you

did. So sometimes you want the storm

to stop. Guess what you should do?

Be still. Stop storming, stop storming,

stop storming. There are moments when God does

not stop the storm. He does not send the famine,

right? Because some of you are like

God, if you just show me, I'll stop.

If you just if, if it just turned bad, you don't even say

this. But you know, if something

happened, you'll stop. So you saying God punish me and

I'll stop. Why would you want to build a

relationship off of punishment that God's not going.

You cannot manipulate God that way.

Well, if I get sick by doing this, then it must mean it's

really time to stop. No, when you sick, you, you sick

it ain't. It's been time to stop.

Now you sick because you didn't stop being sick.

Ain't a sign to stop being sick is.

It's too late to stop now you're sick.

Some signs, they're not warnings.

It's fruit. And some fruit remains.

Send the famine. He's not going to do that and

he's not going to command the wind to stop.

He just letting yo some of y'all both been rocking on the waves

for years and all you've done is adjust your seat.

You didn't been on the front of the boat, you didn't been on the

bow, you didn't been on the stern.

You didn't be you didn't bend all over the boat trying to find

balance when God is inviting you into his rhythm and it's not

going to work there there there. There are moments when God is

not confronting rebellion made my eyes are open.

I'm like, God really just let me do that.

God did not ask me to come out the club he didn't like Why God

asking you to do something you actually know not to do?

He not he's not entertaining that conversation right.

It comes a time with a child. If they keep on doing what you

asking them to do, you go like, OK, you just have to learn.

That's how I got a burn on my chest.

Hot grease poured on my chest when I was one years old freaked

my Mama out and she was on the phone doing what Nana do and and

you know she fried food and then you know when you fry food, you

pour the grease in the cup, let it cool off and it.

She poured it in my favorite fruit cup, my favorite fruit

basket. So she on the phone, busy doing

her thing. I go in the kitchen and I pull

it down and it was still hot. Oh man, rush me to the hospital,

third degree burn. And but guess what?

I ain't never like. I like fried chicken, but I

ain't never touched that grease again.

How many times she must have told me state Terrence,

Terrence. And then one day, OK, it wasn't

like she was like, OK, go ahead, touch the grease.

But you going to learn one way or another and then you get

marked. I remember when I was so

insecure about the burn on my chest.

Now is it look good? Like it just it's a part of me.

It's like it's a part of me. Like Seal.

It's like, you know what I'm saying, but not quite.

Look a little better. It's just a little spot.

It's not, it's not, it's not going up.

Can you play some music right now, please?

Play some music right now. It's it's not no music, not

chimes. But that's the wrong spot to do

that. Amen.

But but I remember I remember I was so insecure about it.

I'm like, wait a minute, I'm it's like I got busted my head

right here. I got a scar here.

I got AI had chicken pox one time.

I was just picking everything and it just left me with it left

me with one mark. My mom was like, stop picking at

your chicken pox. OK, you gonna have a mark.

I got a mark. But then I learned like I'm I'm

I'm good, like whatever, It's a part of me.

But I remember when before I get in the swimming pool, I used to

wear my shirt all the way to the edge and I'll just be like, I'm

like, you know, I'm about to get underwater.

I'll just stay underwater just like this.

But now it's just like, whatever, I'm like, I'm just

flowing in the wind. I'm just good.

I'm good. But but, but that's how many of

us live, though. Some of us are so prideful.

We're willing to just cover the scar.

Don't mind. We got the scar because we got

the experience. But you don't understand the

venom that that experience has brought into your life.

And while you're covering it up, you still are dealing with the

trauma from not listening. You're still dealing with the

loss. You're still dealing with the

bankruptcy, you're still dealing with the third marriage because

you just didn't want can. You just couldn't let go of

control. And then kids suffer and then

people suffer and, and then you get to old age and then you just

regret because you cannot get your youth back.

You cannot get this time back. So he's not correcting

disobedience, guys. He is addressing control.

And that brings us to this mountain.

In First Kings 19, a hurricane wind ripped through the the

mountains, shattered the rocks before God.

But God wasn't to be found in the wind after the wind and

earthquake. But God wasn't in the earthquake

and after the earthquake. A fire.

But God wasn't in the fire. And after the fire, a gentle

quiet whisper. When Elijah heard the quiet

voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak in reverence,

went to the mouth of The Cave and stood there.

A quiet voice asked. Watch this.

So, Elijah. Now tell me, what are you doing

here? Like Adam?

Adam, where are you? God knew what Elijah was doing

there, and God knew what Adam where he was hiding.

But God needs you to trace your steps.

He's asking you a question because transformation without

ownership will not remain so He tells you or ask you, how did

you get here? There's not one place I've been

in my life that I look back that he's brought me out of and I've

overcome and I've conquered that I do not.

I have not traced the steps. I know exactly how I ended up in

that house. I know exactly how I ended up

with that girl. I know exactly how I ended up in

jail. I know exactly why I was

smoking. Wanted to stop, didn't stop

smoking. I knew exactly why I wasn't

honoring my wife. I knew exactly why I was.

Talking to her any old kind of way, I knew exactly why I was

running from being a present father.

Exactly why I would quit jobs and get another job.

I knew. Exactly.

I have come to a place of maturity where God has asked me

the question and I've had to do the hard work, not point the

finger. Oh, my dad wasn't there.

Oh, I grew up in Oakland. Oh, I grew up in poverty.

Oh, she shouldn't have talked to me that way.

Her, him, her, her, her, her, him him him.

And I finally realized that all them footsteps was mines.

My response is my responsibility.

So how long you going to blame your childhood?

How long you going to blame mental illness?

How long you going to blame how you was raised?

Was it raised? How you going?

How long you going to blame trauma?

How long you going to blame Canada?

How long you going to blame a diagnosis the doctor gave you?

How long are you going to blame the church?

How long are you going to blame the distance?

How long are you going to blame? How long are you going to blame

the wavering? How long are you going to blame

the anger? How long are you going to blame

getting whooped when you was little or beat when you was?

How long are you going to blame your husband?

How long are you going to blame your wife?

How how long are you going to blame not realizing you are not

enjoying something you chose to be in?

You watch this. No one gets to determine the

outcome from the beginning. This is why you got to count the

cost, This is why his death do his part.

This is why covenant is important, and This is why

obeying God because you do you know, who knows what's going to

happen 20 years from now in this relationship?

God does. He's all knowing.

So watch this. So to not confide in God for a

distance of time is absolute foolishness.

To get in any relationship, especially in the name of love,

and not get counsel from the Holy Ghost and let Him lead you.

Now you got to trace your footsteps and say what got me in

this relationship? What got me starting this

business? What got me, Was it fear?

Did I think I wasn't enough? Did I get into a season where I

was exhausted of singleness or I was exhausted from doing

business by myself? I was exhausted from trauma and

I made some decisions thinking partnership.

Would solve brokenness. God knew exactly how Elijah got

there, but he needed Elijah to be awakened to why he got there.

Elijah said, watch this. I've been working my heart out

for God, my heart out for family, my heart.

I've been working, I've been working, working, working,

working, working. And the God of Angel armies,

because the people of Israel, here you go pointing, but the

people of Israel didn't get them in The Cave.

Leading the people of Israel got them exhausted.

It is what he did or didn't do in his exhaustion that got him

in The Cave, destroyed your places of worship and murdered

your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now

they're trying to kill me. Brother, you not the only one

left, You not the only one that could do the job.

You're not the only one that can run your business.

You're not the only one. If I don't go do this, ain't

nobody going to do it. You're not the only one in

nothing. God got plenty of people right

and that's a syndrome. When you think you don't only

one, that's that's the problem. Watch this.

Here it is. We need to hear this, especially

our men, but all of us. No man is greater than his

prayer life. You don't got a prayer life.

You're going to end up in the pig pen sometime soon.

No man is greater than his prayer life.

Watch this God is saying this to this man, Elijah, this prophet,

this mighty man of God, you. Did not arrive here by

obedience. You didn't get to this cave.

I didn't be. I didn't lead you to this cave.

You arrived by overload. Your life got so consumed you.

You didn't plan to be this. But nobody planned to be this

busy. But you got to be able to see if

I do this, then that's going to lead to that, the potential of

it. And then be honest with your

motives. I'm doing this because I want

this to be big. I'm doing this because I want it

to be successful. But a lot of times we make

commitments at the lowest form of what we hope and now we're

working against ourselves because I actually can't handle

if it grow, but I want it to grow.

So the best thing to do is allow God to grow you and it at his

pace. Elijah fought for God publicly

without resting in God privately.

He fought for God. He did ministry.

He loved his wife. He he but, but privately, he

didn't rest in God. To the public he was successful.

Oh, wow, look at what God's doing through your hands.

No, look at what God's doing for God for his name's sake.

And the worst thing is that you can be successful to the public

and look like you got it all together, but in the private God

is not pleased. God slowed him down to save his

life. I thank God, I thank God for

slowing me down. I thank God for pressing pause

in areas of my life. I thank God for certain losses.

Because if it if I was successful at that one thing or

if I stayed in that one thing, it would have took me somewhere.

Watch this shut doors guide you as much if not more than open

doors open. Doors can be deceitful to the to

the immature right Them closed doors is what shape you right

you, you, you you play who my son, he's shooting, he's

shooting 500. He's shooting shots and shots

and shots. And when we working out, I'm

like, bro, that miss is a Rep. You mad it didn't go in.

You should be excited. You got the Rep up because it's

the reps that align you for game time because the game winner you

see Kobe make, how many did he miss in that same spot?

So is it worth missing 1000 in private?

Is it worth being with God alone in private and he expose you

versus parading through life and getting the fame and approval of

others. And then God say, OK, I'm gonna

let them be your Lord. And he like where you go, Oh,

that's drought season. God had to.

Allow removal of the thing that allowed you to keep running.

Yeah. God, thank you.

Thank you for snatching that old booger bear out of my life.

Well, I was like, I was trying to hold on the booger bear and

I'm like, all of a sudden she was gone.

And I chased her for a little while, and then I was like,

booger bear is bad for me. I was smoking.

Weed with booger bear. I was doing it.

She wasn't reinforcing Jesus to me.

Like no, but I was hurt, I was hurt and I was like, praise God,

folks will walk out your life and you like no, because you got

rejection issues, but you see the hand of God like no, you was

actually in that you was allowing me to ignore what God

was trying to do in my life. Thank God for the pause.

Thank God for the droughts. Thank God that when I needed the

money, it didn't come right away because it caused me to learn

some things about myself. It caused me to lean on God in a

different way. If it would have came too soon,

I wouldn't have learned how to depend on God without the money.

Now I know how to depend on God. Like Paul said, whether it's

good, I'm good. If it's bad, I'm I could like

it. Don't matter.

I am not moved by provision. I'm not moved by God vision.

I'm not. I'm not moved by none of it.

And that's where God's trying to get some of you.

You are too moved by if things working, if it ain't working

even in my marriage, OK. If if I'm in a good mood, my

wife ain't in a good mood. Hey, babe, how you doing this?

Yeah. I don't want to talk to you.

OK, I'm not going to talk to you.

But I'm not about to give you my joy today and vice versa.

We both, we watch this. We have also given each other

permission. So if my wife is like, oh, you

crappy today, I'm gonna leave you alone.

I have to also give her permission to leave me alone.

Immaturity is like, no, you can if you leave me alone.

You contributed to my funkiness, so it's this manipulative game

because I want you here, but I don't know how to get rid of my

funky. So I give her watch this.

I give her permission to create boundaries that protect her

piece. So I'm not going to ask her to

come to my side of funky because I want funky and I want her.

I'm talking at least two people. Two people, two people.

There's two. Exhaustion.

Exhaustion will also always exhaustion will always distort

perception. I've made some terrible

decisions simply not because I was insane, not because watch

this, not because it was a bad idea.

I was exhausted. Have you ever went on an

exhausted date? No, no, just everybody picked

right the first time. You just like you.

You never went out with somebody because you was tired of looking

and it was just like, well, this person want to hang out, so

let's go hang out. They kind of cute, so whatever

it don't it wouldn't hurt to have some ramen with them.

Yeah, yeah. That was an exhausted date.

That was an exhausted date. You ever make an exhausted

business decision and then you came to your mind, you like, why

did I just do that? You ever have kids and they

wearing you out and they want something in the store and you

like, just go ahead, get it. Go ahead, get it.

Go and play the video game. Go on.

Go ahead. Yeah.

Exhaustion always distort perception.

He was exhausted. The Bible says if you look up in

the right corner, he fell asleep under the loan broom Bush.

He was exhausted. He was running.

He had just watched this. He ran after victory, he fainted

after breakthrough. Watch this some of y'all think

you won't breakthrough but you not ready for the warfare that

comes with the breakthrough. Now he gets a letter from

Jezebel saying I'm about to kill you.

He runs along the way God feeds him and strengthens him.

Watch this. Don't get it twisted because

God's still providing and you're going the wrong way.

He's a good, good father, so he's going to provide so many

times we've like God broke me through.

No God provided He's. Going to get kicked out your

house. He was going to be starving.

God is committed, but them steps he didn't order.

He ordered you some food, but not them steps.

Jesus Christ, you better get it. We have made God a God that only

provides if we do what he say. I'm a good parent and I don't

even do that. The extra stuff, sure, he's a

better. Father than me, he provides even

when you're rebelling. Oh, think back in some of your

nasty days and you like, wait a minute, I was still kind of

blessed there. Yeah, he provided.

God was not absent from the storm.

He was just refusing to be known through the storm.

God refusing to be reduced to spectacle.

People that need to see signs and wonders in order to know

that he is with them. God was correcting his

expectation rather than withholding power.

Power does not always announce itself with noise.

Silence wasn't the lesson. Better yet, discernment was the

lesson. Elijah had to learn how to

discern God without drama. He's used to fire.

He's used to earthquakes. He's used to God doing the MARAC

like crazy stuff. And God said no, we're going to

a new level. So I have a new lesson.

You're not going to continue to know me moving in your life the

same way I used to. God did not move Elijah out of

the circumstance. He just adjusted his perception.

Sometimes God will not change our circumstances.

He changes who we're listening for.

God does not correct him immediately.

He recalibrates his perception. First we want to get out the

storm. When the storm is the project,

it's the Lesson plan. Oh, the storm is the Lesson

plan. The storm is the Lesson plan.

Watch this. He he turns everything for what?

So even that joker you chose, he like great.

I didn't plan this for you, but Lesson plan, Watch, watch this.

His purpose is to mold you like to be like him.

So you can let him choose the Lesson plan or you could choose

the Lesson plan, but he works everything together for good.

And I've given God some lesson plans that I'm like, Nah, why

did I? I didn't even want to go to my

own class. Yeah, not when I'm the

assignment. Like, I don't want that class.

I don't want that class. Now, I got to sit in this class

for a semester, and no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And we said it a while ago. There's already planned testings

for your life. Stop adding extra homework.

All right, We're going to go through this really quickly.

I want to get to a couple of young ladies you've heard about

before. You can listen to this.

I went over this this morning, but I wanted to do a little

review, but I could park here all day and I don't want to do

that. So I'm about to throw it in,

drive and move forward. And if you really want to get

this section of the word, you can start listening to it

tomorrow. From the first experience last

Sunday, you heard about Peace be still.

Stillness is governance and unity of heart, not emotional

calm. Stillness is not self-discipline

per SE. So it's not me doing less.

It is me being aware of who's in charge and letting him be a man

and Hallelujah. I feel like I'm in a room where

there's some folks may not think that they don't got no control

issues and I'm I know I'm not in here in a room where God is in

control of everybody's life. I know that for a fact this will

be one of the greatest lessons you can learn this year because

this reveal stillness reveals if you really trust God, you want

the Holy Spirit to comfort and calm the storm and he was sent

to you to confront and cause reform.

Stillness begins when you release the rains of the Spirit,

now by might, not by power, but by His Spirit God Zechariah 4 In

your own time, study it. Stillness is spirit dependence.

Spirit dependence, Those that are led by the Spirit are what?

Sons of God. I know I'm a son, I'm a son, I'm

a son. Can anybody said I'm a son

because I'm LED? I'm a son not because I'm a

Christian, but I'm led by the life of the Spirit.

You cannot produce stillness while governing yourself.

Stillness is where the Spirit fixes our focus.

He fixes our focus stillness. Is where the Spirit fixes our

focus. I've come to understand that it

will be hard to be still without the Holy Spirit helping you be

still. Because being still is not like

we try to make kids be still. Being still is about governance.

It's about who's in charge. It's about taking your hand off

the whip, off the wheel and let the Lord drive.

Luke 10. Yes.

Luke 10. I'll wait till they pull it up.

Luke 10 As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village.

A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him.

And made him feel quite at home. Look at Martha, she made Jesus

feel quite at home. Not just feel at home, but quite

at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat

before the Master, hanging on every word.

He said. So who's the 2 characters here?

Martha. Mary.

Mary Martha, who's the main character in this script Look,

he's so cute. Jesus, you guys are so cute.

Oh my God, Jesus, you so proud of yourself too.

He's like Jesus, that is too funny.

Watch this Mary was. Sitting at Jesus feet, Martha

welcomed Jesus into the house and made him feel quite at home.

I just got, I don't know why I get a certain picture of of her

when Jesus walked through the door and how she made him quite

at home. But she made Jesus feel so at

home. It made the scriptures.

He felt so welcome. He felt like watch this.

Jesus found a place he could rest.

Now watch the tension though Now Jesus found a place he can rest,

so I'm assuming he's sitting down on the couch.

And then Mary sat before the Master, hanging on every word he

said. See, watch this.

This is what I believe. Spirit filled people who really

bought that business. Don't just share Jesus at

church. Like he just chilling and he

must be saying something so quality that she is sitting to

hear everything that's coming out of his mouth because he's

not wasting any words. But Martha was pulled away by

all she had to do. Now watch this.

Who's Martha? I just go on here and say it.

Don't be scared. Come on, marry sister.

OK, you watch it. I only want to look at some of

y'all y'all. Like you tell me.

You tell me. I just read it, Huh?

That that's just a test. It means that means that it's

not sticking. So we got to start over, not

from the top of the sermon, but just at the top of this.

Go, go, go back. It's very important.

I said it this morning. Many of us need to read our

word, not like our app, like study, sit with Jesus, take our

time. Some folks trying to read a book

of the Bible a day, man, if you don't sit down and read one

verse, just one verse, guess what?

Jesus is in Genesis and he's in James.

Like read one verse and and and if you can take apart one verse

and then and then zoom out and get contacts, man, I'm telling

you. And then go research words and

Hebrew and Greek and get definitions and Herman

hermeneutics and and exegetic and expository.

And then by the time you finished that man, you would

have been. Sitting there for 4-5 six hours

on like 3 verses. You over here trying to I read

Genesis. No, you.

And you listen to Genesis while you texting.

Amen. All right.

Whoever that's foe hungry and thirsty, hungry and thirsty,

hungry and thirsty as they continued their travel Jesus

into the village and a woman a woman by the name of Nice

welcomed him and you guys going to like this part and made him

feel she. I could tell people are good

readers in here. You said quite at home she had a

sister. What was her name who sat before

the master hanging on every word he said some people was like we

only supposed to read that was underlined PT yes every word he

said next verse next verse. Watch this but Martha was pulled

away by all she had to do. Who's who's the two young ladies

here? Martha, Mary, Mary.

Martha. Who's the main character here?

You're so cute to me. I think we got some children's

ministry workers in here. I'm telling you, I hear them.

I hear them. I hear them.

Some teachers in here. But Martha, Martha, Martha was

pulled away. Now, who was Martha in the first

couple scriptures? Who was Martha?

I marry sister, The one that made them feel quite at home.

She made him. Watch this.

She's serving Jesus. She is serving Jesus.

Watch this. Both people are serving Jesus.

One is serving him by hosting him and making and making sure

he has his needs. Water comfy seed he served

attended to another one is hosting his presence and his

anointing and she's hanging or watch this you didn't think

receiving was serving. Let me tell you something that

makes me more happy when I go to to to deliver something to my

children and they give me back the the greatest attentive

gratitude focus. They served me well.

Receiving and sewing is acts of service, but Martha was pulled

away by. All she had to do, all she had

to do. Remember, Elijah had.

He was the only one doing all. He had all the work for Jesus.

And here go Martha way later, doing all the work for Jesus in

the kitchen later. She stepped in.

Who is she stepped in? Sure.

In interrupting them, Who is she interrupting?

Jesus and Mary and Mary and Jesus.

Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen

to me? We can go so many ways we can

deal with leadership right now. We can deal with all kinds of

stuff right now. Right now we just dealing with

stillness right now. We can deal with all jealousy

and we could deal with we could deal with wrong motives for

serving. We could deal with all kinds of

stuff. Both people serving Jesus right?

You know the folks be like I don't want to serve because I'm

a miss the word, but both people serving Jesus right tell tell.

Her Jesus, she she's snitching. She like she just, I'm like tell

her to lead me, lend me a hand. Tell her to lend me a hand.

Tell her to lend me a hand. I love Jesus.

He always gives right answers when he is in the middle of

stuff. Tell her to lend me a hand next,

the master said to Martha. Wait, did he?

She said. Martha said tell Mary Jesus

responds to who? So all the Martha's listen.

I got a feeling we got more Martha's than we got Mary's.

Amen. Amen, Martha.

Dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself

worked up over nothing. Don't don't you hate it when

people don't agree with you and they won't go do what they don't

want to do The Dirty work, but they're there.

Here's the kind of people you need in your life that will

reframe your mindset. What you want is a Jesus that's

going to go tell them. Yeah, Martha, you just sitting

here staring at me while I'm talking and I feel weird right

now. You need to go help your sister

because. Because right in the Kingdom,

the, the, the, the, the greatest is a servant.

That's what he said. The one that's serving, he

corrects her and says one thing only is essential.

So what we talking about right now?

Essential. Watch this.

If the speakers was upside down, guess what that ain't essential.

If the music is too loud, guess what that ain't.

And the body of Christ is in division all over stuff that

ain't essential, right? I get it.

You. Oh, why you dressed like that?

Is that essential? Is the word of God coming out my

mouth? Oh, service is long.

Is that essential? Are we preaching Jesus?

Are we pursuing Jesus? What does the fruit say?

One thing and only is essential. Why you over here getting upset

because you chose to do what you doing now you resentful because

somebody else know how to? Rest and Mary has chosen.

Watch it. It is only one thing that's

essential, and Mary has chosen it.

It's the main course. What Mary is doing is the main

course. It's the main thing.

It's the main thing. In other words, if you don't get

this part, it don't matter how, how, how well you hosted me.

It don't matter how well your worship was.

It don't matter how how long you was at the altar on your face.

It don't matter how many goosebumps you got if you don't

got the essentials, if you don't got the one thing, if you don't

got the main course and won't be taken from her.

It won't be taken from her. It can't be taken from her.

It won't be and it can't be. Watch this, the master said

Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing.

And then he goes forward. Watch this.

And he corrects her and watch this.

You guys, Martha's activity is not rebuked.

You notice what was. Rebuked her focus no I'm here

today to let you know stillness ain't less activity so so you

might hear so cuz you walk away last week and you like Dang God

what would you have of me to lie down at the.

Altar, Where's the Lord? I lay it all down.

He's like, OK, first of all, you ain't really laying it down.

Martha's activity is not rebuked.

This should set somebody free. God, watch this because there's

plenty of people in the Bible that was busier than all of us.

You think you busy? Martha's activity isn't rebuked,

it's the focus that's off center.

So he rebukes her focus. The truth of the matter is,

guys, there's people who God is graced with the capacity to do

multiple things. Mary's, I love this.

Mary's stillness isn't laziness, it's attentiveness.

Come on, come on, come on. Walk with me, guys.

Walk with me. Mary's stillness isn't laziness,

it's stillness. I mean, it's attentiveness.

Oh, I love this. Stillness is maintained by

fixation. Those that fix their eyes on

here. Stillness is maintained by

fixation. The Bible tells us if we keep

our eyes fixed on Him, He'll keep us still.

Yeah, we've been listening. We see.

See, I love the intercession of Jesus because he didn't let

Martha's complaining jump on Mary's discipline to stay fixed

on Jesus. When the wind blows, guess what

happens? God's using the wind to get you

fixed. The complainers is using the

wind to get you off center. Stillness is maintained by

fixation. Isaiah 26.

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace.

Whose mind both his inclination and it's character is stayed.

Somebody say stay stay. Didn't didn't Jodeci have a song

called Stay? No, no, somebody don't even know

what Jodeci is that. Y'all think that's a cough

medicine or something? All right, I'm sorry.

I got distracted. I got distracted.

Inclination and its character is stayed on.

You stayed on, you stayed on. You stayed on uninterrupted.

For how long can you stay focused?

On man, it's so many people, man.

Sure you was locked in for a while, but can you?

Can you backtrack your steps and see where offense came?

A wavering or fatigue or tired? Where did it creep?

How was you so strong in this season?

And then all of a sudden now you doubting if you want to be where

God called you, if you want to do what God called you to do.

Now it's it's it's it's you second guessing it.

Yeah, guess what probably happened.

You stopped. You took your eyes off of him

and you start listening to the noise.

You start listening to the fire, you start listening to the

earthquake, you start listening to the wind.

And God said in this season, I'm going to let all the noise

surround you. But where I'm at is I am going

to be in the quiet. Watch this God was around the

drama. He only spoke in the quiet.

Watch this, God was around the drama.

He was in it. But He spoke over here because

it has been a season where he is retraining you how to or

introducing a new form of communication with him.

Watch this Intimacy with God is supposed to elevate.

As my children get older, our conversations evolve.

Talk. To me, somebody.

You know, sometime Nana, if you watching Nana, I love you, but

sometime Nana to today walk in the house to to to to to 20 year

old Malia and 18 year old Malachi and 11 year old Micah

and say, how about Nana's bananas doing come here, give

Nana's bananas or kids give Nanas.

No, no, no, no, no, she is 20. She's not Nana's bananas no

more, right? At least say it with a little

right? It's just like, man, how my

Nana's banana's doing? Come here.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No.

Hey, how you doing, Malia? Good to see you.

Nana's bananas. Come, give.

Come. Give your grandma.

Give bananas a bananas a kiss. I love you.

Look at you, girl. You all growing up, right?

Our conversations evolved. Now we talking about certain

things that we couldn't we couldn't talk about.

Watch this. We didn't talk about certain

things just because they were young.

We didn't talk about them because they didn't have the

capacity to hold the conversation.

I will talk to a young person about sex if they have the

capacity to hold the conversation, right, right.

Do you like our young people need and and this this thing

like they can't sit in church. What how they sit in class

without the Holy Spirit orchestrate in the classroom.

Stop you fooling Why? Right, right, right.

They can't know. We got to play, play, play.

No, no, no, no, we got to teach them young about the Holy Ghost.

The bet the quicker they know about the Holy Ghost.

See, when you older and learn about the Holy Ghost, you still

you got control issues, so you got you got to lodge, you got to

filter Holy Ghost through. But when you learn as a young

kids, kids are more like how God want us to be with his Spirit

than us, us adults. You'll see kids randomly walk up

here, run from their parents and lift their hands and just look.

And then there's adults back there where God is pulling on

them and they just stuck. Because God is trying to, he got

to get through all of this hurt and all of this trauma and all

this reasoning and all it is crap.

All it is fear, all it is timidity.

But little kid is just like, hey, no boundaries stay fixed

because he commits himself to you, leans on you and hopes

confidently you. I love.

This at the top he will take. It upon himself to guard,

protect, Garrison and keep diligently.

Keep him in perfect so he has a responsibility for my peace and

my stillness. Watch this.

But my part, Here's my part, Here's my part, your part.

Stay fixed. So you mean to tell me that my

hardest test is going to be stay focused on him, what he said,

what he called me to do? And then you mean he going to do

the other side of that? The fruit of fixation is going

to be peace that transcends all understanding, because I can't

produce peace that transcends all understanding.

Let me help somebody. You cannot produce this.

He said stay fixed on me and I'll assure sometime that mean

because you stay fixed on me, I'm moving people out your life

sometime because you stay fixed on me.

I'm closing doors that you watch this like Noah didn't have the

strength to close the door on his neighbors and the rest his

family. So God had to shut the door.

But when you stay fixed on me, there's things that you don't

have the strength or capacity to do and I have to do it because

it's for my namesake. What if I told you this week?

Your main job is to stay fixed on Him.

Sounds simple, but busy is competing with your fixation on

Jesus. So it's time to lock in.

Somebody Say lock in one more time.

Say lock in stillness is sustained by what the mind is

fixed on, not by how much life slows down.

Yeah, say like, you can write it down.

You can. Stillness is sustained by what

the mind is fixed on, not by how much life slows down.

Get this. It's hard to be still constantly

focused on moving targets. It's hard to be still constantly

focused on things that's forever changing.

That's why he's called the Rock Firm Foundation.

You fix your life on his word that stays the same yesterday,

today, and forevermore. Guess what happens?

You can't be moved. Why?

Because he can't be moved. But when you're constantly fixed

on things, that will change. The market will change, Friends

will change. People's emotions will change.

They'll like you today, not like you tomorrow.

Watch this. Everything is changing around

us. But he's not.

We have the one short thing in this world that's Jesus Christ.

Everything's changing, right? You might have a business right

now and there's a need for it five years from now, depending

on what happened. There's no need for your

business. COVID happens.

Is that a is that a COVID, COVID safe or COVID?

Proof, yeah, there we go. COVID proof business, right?

God knows how to start a business that's going to make it

through any storm that's coming, right?

So everything's forever changing.

Economy is forever changing. Leaders are forever changing.

Visions are changing. People's motives are changing.

People are maturing. People are losing their minds.

People stability is changing. Finances is changing.

Kids are growing, grandparents are dying.

You're getting older. All this is changing.

There's only one sure thing. So the only way to have peace in

a forever changing world is to be fixed on the one that's not

of this world. Yeah, clap about it.

Absolutely. And so the Spirit makes us still

by making God present and apparent.

This is why we going to put our awareness on Him.

We'll close with Exodus 33 and 2nd Corinthians 5 and the Lord

said my president shall go with you.

Watch it and I will give you rest.

Anybody out here leading hundreds of thousands of people

across the open ocean? Anybody ever had that

responsibility? Huh?

Next week. OK, Right.

We're right. Anybody else?

Any anybody. OK, My presence shall go with

you And and I will give you rest by bringing you and the people

into the promised land. See.

Watch this. The same Holy Spirit that helped

Moses lead hundreds of thousands.

It's the same Holy Ghost that can help you lead one kid.

What you tripping for? Right, same Holy Holy Ghost been

helping, Holy Ghost been leading millions of people and you

stressed out about the one that you got.

No Holy Ghost to help you. He got strength for you.

If he has strength for David to take out Goliath, he got

strength for you to take out little Mama, little man, whoever

it is, no, no, no, no, ain't nothing in this world got the

power. He said.

I have deprived the world of power.

So my presence shall go with you and I will give you rest by

bringing you and the people into the Promised Land.

Here we go again. I'm going to take initiative to

make sure that you get into what I promised you.

I will give you rest. Watch this.

I will give you rest in the pursuit of the promise that I

promised you. I will give you rest.

Exodus 33 And Moses said to him, If your presence does not go

with me, do not lead us up from here.

I ain't going nowhere without your presence.

For how then, Danny, can it be known that your people and I

have found favor in your sight without your presence?

Watch this resting up on us. Here it is.

Is it not by your going with us, or is it not by your presence,

so that we are distinguished? How are we as stressed as people

without? The spirit, that's a fixation

problem. How are we as worried as the

people without the Spirit? We got somebody who is

committed, the Creator of the heavens and the earth is

committed to get us to what he promised us.

Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is,

you know what emancipation is, right?

So that's freedom from sickness, disease, depression, poverty,

freedom. This is this is freedom, this is

freedom. This is where the Spirit of the

Lord is. There is liberty.

There is. Come on, you can lift your hands

and you can where the Spirit of the Lord is.

This is how we keep our eyes fixed on Him.

We lift our hands, we pause, we createspace for him.

No, what? What?

What is it that you give God the first hour of your day, but

don't talk to him the rest of the day?

Or we stay fixed on you. Our part is to remain fixed on

you. Not fixed on you because you're

going to do something for us. But I think the greatest thing

that anybody can have in this world is peace that transcends

all understanding. I think that's the greatest

asset in this world right now and forever is the peace that

I'm not moved by no circumstances.

I might be in pain, I might be crying, I might be hurt, I might

be sad, but I got peace, right? This peace.

I could have tears rolling down my face, but I'm still solid as

a rock. I can feel a little bit of

stress, I can have fear knocking at my heart, but as long as I

stay fixed on him, there's a peace that just don't make

sense. How am I not moved?

How I'm not moving frantically? How am I not cussing you out?

How am I not quitting? How am I not throwing in the

towel when I should? Everybody's quitting.

Everybody's walking away. How am I still standing here

fixed on you? And I have Peace of Mind.

I'm not losing my mind. I got tears and a smile.

I got tears and joy. I feel anger, but I'm sinning

not. I fear anger.

I feel anger, but I still can lift somebody else's spirits up.

I am not vacant of the presence of God.

When other people need me because I'm going through

something, I got the presence of God so I don't disappear on

people I'm called to. I can stand with you.

I can walk with you. And like Jesus, if it gets so

heavy, there is somebody in the crowd that God is called to help

carry my cross. Life gets heavy.

Just like the cross got heavy for Jesus.

But guess what? Jesus stayed fixed on the

Father. Because rest is not geographical

people. Rest is knowing God is here and

He's governing. We are yielding to the Spirit

who governs us. And when God governs, stillness

follows. May we be aware.

May we be aware and this is our last confession.

We move, but we do not drift. We work, but we are not ruled by

pressure. We move, but we do not drift.

We work, but we are not ruled by pressure.

One more time. We move but we do not drift.

We work, but we are not ruled by pressure.

I am still because he reigns. Lift your hands right where you

are. Lift your hands right where you

are. I am still because he reigns.

I am still because he's in the driver's seat.

Jesus don't crash out. Jesus is stable.

He's fixed, guaranteed. Every morning I wake up, he's

pleased. It needs to see me get up.

He's pleased to see you get up. You're still fearfully and

wonderfully made after your worst night.

Like his love for you never changes, His promises are never

changing. He's mindful of us.

Come on, lift your hands. He's mindful of us.

He's mindful of us. The Bible says he doesn't sleep

nor slumber. He's mindful of us.

When others are asleep, He's still watching over us.

When people aren't picking up the phone, he's there.

Yeah, when people don't call you back to give you some wisdom in

a situation, don't freak out. Just pause.

The Lord is there, He has the answer.

Maybe He allowed them to miss that phone call because He needs

you in this situation to hear exactly what He needs from you.

Be still and know that I am God. Lift your hands.

Be still and know that He is God.

Can we take the next 60 seconds and pray in our heavenly prayer

language? Come on, lift your voices.

Lift your voices. He's here.

We're not inviting him. He's here.

He's here, He's here. Come on.

We turn our attention towards you.

We turn our affections towards you.

We turn our hearts towards you. We turn our hands towards you.

We turn our feet towards you. Here we are, Lord.

Come on. Come on, sons and daughters.

Come on, sons and daughters, come on.

You can 2026 before we leave out of January.

This will be the most stable, stable year of your life.

Lord I I make a choice. I make a choice to stay fixed on

you when you're still. You Can Dance even when it's not

going your way, when you still, you could shout even when they

don't feel good when you still. You can clap even when people

walk out on you, when you still, even if your house is breaking

apart, you can still find a praise because you stay fixed on

him. What the enemy wants you to do

is focus on circumstances. But Isaiah 60 says arise and

shine from your prostrated position because the glory of

the Lord is up on you, love quest.

The glory of the Lord is up on you.

Love Quest Glory of the Lord is upon your household Love quest.

The glory of the Lord is resting upon your life love quest.

The glory of the Lord is resting upon your family love quest.

The glory of the Lord is resting upon your finances, love quest.

The glory of the Lord is resting upon your marriage love quest.

The glory of the Lord is resting upon your children love quest.

The glory of the Lord is resting upon your relationships Love

Quest. The glory of the Lord is here.

The glory of the Lord is here. The glory of the the Lord is

here. Thank you so much for tuning

into this week's sermon. We pray you were challenged,

equipped and encouraged. Make sure to follow us on all

platforms. That's love Quest Intl church.

We out here for real. We're really doing it.

That's Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

You can find us anywhere you need to find us.

But until next time, you know the drill, you know the motto.

Get your love fixed man and we'll see y'all real soon.