The Good Fight of Faith//9AM// 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. I think today is the best day

for transformation. Faith is not really faith until

the wind begins to antagonize your faith.

I was thinking about all the wonderful, powerful word that

God has been given us, and it has been wonderful and powerful.

And then you just kind of open your eyes the next day and you

like, whoa, trouble didn't go anywhere.

Oh, crap, temptation is still there.

Oh, bills are still there. Oh, that person actually still

get on my nerves and I'm filled with the Holy Ghost.

But faith is not really faith until the wind begins to

antagonize your faith. You can have a word, but you

still got to stand on it. I've seen some familiar faces

this morning and I wonder if the word is working for you.

Here's what I do know. The word is working for

everybody, but are you working the word?

You still got to stand on it. This is why it's called the good

fight of faith. You cannot call yourself a good,

good athlete, a good boxer, if you don't know how to stand.

If I can get you off balance, this is what the enemy loves to

do in our lives is get us off balance.

Somebody say off balance, Paul calls it the good fight of

faith. It's a fight, right?

Watch this. Your faith ain't good if you

don't know how to fight by faith.

I think everybody in here know how to fight.

And some of you really good at picking fights.

I could tell, I could tell. But can you let your faith fight

for you? The good fight?

Somebody say the good fight. And when the wind blows, here's

what it does. It challenges our posture.

So have you ever seen like these stories, tornadoes and Hollywood

exaggerates it and they're holding on to a pole and the

wind is blowing. Or you see those news anchors

whose jobs is to go report smack in the middle of a windstorm and

they're really reporting it. The wind comes to challenge your

posture. Don't be mad at the wind for

blowing. You should probably thank the

wind for exposing you actually aren't as strong as you thought

you was. You're not as healed as you

thought you was. That vice is not working as much

as you thought it was. So today I pray, Lord, that you

strengthen our faith and align our posture to the Word today,

for we need you not just today, but forevermore.

And he arose and rebuked the wind.

He arose and rebuke the wind. He arose and rebuked the wind

and said to the sea. He got up.

He rebuked the wind and said to the sea.

Somebody said to the sea, He said to the sea, Hush now.

Hush now is a little different than be quiet, please.

Hush now is a little different than why you bothering me still

Hush now, be still muzzled. And the wind ceased, sank to

rest as if exhausted by its beating, and there was

immediately a great calm, a perfect peacefulness.

Once you see this, he got up posture, he rebuked the wind

authority, He said to the sea, Hush, be still.

And the wind ceased. I need you to see something.

The wind was the source of chaos.

Now if you was to say, who am I in this story, I will help you.

You are the sea. The sea did not argue with the

rebuke. It did not negotiate with Jesus.

When the Lord spoke, the sea became what still.

And I believe the Lord is inviting us into the same

response today. So as the Lord spoke to the sea,

I sensed the Lord saying to many of us today, enough is enough.

Be like the sea and be still. Today I'm here to talk to your

soul. Whenever a person is anxious,

it's in the soul realm. Whenever a person is depressed,

it's in the soul realm. When you lose control, when you

are renewing your mind, it is saying you are renewing your

soul. It is your thinker, your filler,

your chooser. And it comes a point where you

have to rebuke the sea. God has to send a word to you

and say enough is enough, be still, Love quest.

We've thought peace is the absence of storms, but it's not.

And we've assumed stillness is the absence of movement.

But it's not. Stillness is a response to

authority, not to an emotional angst, although the angst may

trigger the revelation that I need to be still.

The peace of the Kingdom follows command, not effort.

And in knowing that stillness is enabled by obedience, I want you

to see calm was a result of stillness.

Stillness is not calm. Calm came after steel.

Stillness is what enthroned the king, and peace is the Kingdom

that expands within, overwhelming our lives.

Once he rules and he governs, watch this.

Peace is the Kingdom expanding. Stillness is what enthroned the

King. Peace is the result of the king

being enthroned. What'd you say?

The he is the Prince of peace. If the Prince don't got a seat

then peace don't have a place to roam.

Pay close attention. This means if peace is missing,

it's not because God is not present, It's often because we

are still moving anxiously and frantically, concerned where

He's already conquered and ruling.

What's this? If I'm not experiencing peace,

it's not because the Prince of Peace isn't present, it's

because I am still moving where he is ruling.

I am still trying to make stuff happen where he's already made

it happen. Peace is always present and if

you are not experiencing it, it's because you are still

moving where he has already settled it.

Stillness is not calm or inactivity.

Do they know Today's message is be still?

If I haven't said it already, it's be still.

It's be still, It's, it's be still.

And throughout this experience, you should probably just as the

Holy Ghost moves upon you, or if you hear it, if I trigger it

somewhere, just whisper under your breath to your soul, be

still. Because what's the truth is,

things are going to stir up. Things are going to come up

while I'm talking about being still.

Your anxious mind is going to have some moments, promise you

even now for some of you, here it is.

Watch this. Stillness causes your soul to

panic. So even me talking about being

still, if you pay attention to your soul, it's panicking.

Stillness is not calm. Stillness is not calm or

inactivity. It is the moment we stop or step

out of unauthorized authority. Yeah, yeah.

Stillness. It's not calm or inactivity.

It is the moment that you and I step out of an unauthorized

authority. Some of us in here and a lot of

us in here are entangled, busy, entertaining things, places, and

people. God never told you to help.

God never needed your opinion. He didn't need your hands.

He didn't need your money. He didn't need your time.

And you over here busy in areas God already handling stillness

is not calm or inactivity. It is the moment we step out of

unauthorized authority, right to watch this.

I'm about to help you with something.

There is a statement that has discipled us all our lives, and

some of you think it's in the Bible, but it's actually a

cultural proverb. It sounds biblical, but has

quietly reshaped how many of us live.

And here's the statement. God helps those who helped

themselves. You thought that was in the

Bible, didn't you? Cultural proverb.

God helps those who helps themselves.

Yeah, be still and pay attention to that.

How that really sound under the government of the Holy Ghost

right now. God helps those, but you've got

to help yourself. It's not scripture, but it has

discipled generations. It's a cultural proverb, not

scripture. Understand this?

This proverb teaches us responsibility equals control.

This proverb teaches us faith means staying in motion.

If I'm not moving, I'm not faith in.

If I'm not working, I'm not in faith.

This proverb teaches us, watch this, that stopping means to

fall apart. I got to be doing something or

my dreams will never happen if I don't do something.

I'll never get that account if I don't do something right.

God helps those who help themselves.

Let me ask you, how has helping yourself helped you and God?

This proverb also teaches us that saying no means you will be

left all alone. So I got to go and do this

because if I don't, I may lose a friend or I may never get this

opportunity again. I mean, never get a man again if

I don't take this one, this woman, if I don't take this one,

this opportunity, if I don't take this one, this amount of

money if I don't take this one. So let me sign the contract.

Let me let me date the person, let me marry the person, let me

have the kids now because I may never get kids because I'm

getting older. Oh, so that means you have not

submitted your womb to God. OK.

Saying no means left all alone. Watch this.

And we know seed time and harvest.

So there's fruit with this thinking.

So the fruits of this thinking produces restless souls.

The fruits of yeah, God don't help me, but I got to help me

first. In other words, I got to help

God help me. It produces restless souls.

It produces anxious minds. It produces.

Watch this. This is good, exhausted efforts.

Oh, I see you. I see you serving.

I see you showing up. I see you working.

But you're exhausted. Your efforts are exhausted.

Your efforts aren't maxed. Your efforts aren't potent.

Your efforts aren't anointed. Your efforts aren't strategic.

Your efforts are exhausted because you are not aiming your

efforts at divine purpose. You are aiming your, your

efforts and your your. Here's what it is You shoot dice

with your efforts, wonder why you crap out so much and hit

every now and then. When are we going to?

Where are we going to be still long enough to be efficient in

our planting the seeds and our efforts and our time and our

energy? Sure, if you shoot 100 times,

you're for sure going to make at least one.

And that's how we shoot in life is let's try all of these

things. It feels like faith.

It looks good to my peers because look at what I'm doing,

look at what I can do. But then you're barely

successful at 1:00. Watch this.

This is not because life is hard.

This fruit is not because life is hard, pay attention, but it's

because we are helping ourselves in places God never authorized

us to govern. I know you want to start that

business. I know you want to start that

ministry. I know you want to help them

people. I know you want to buy that

house. I know you want to rent that

place. I know you want to go here.

But let me ask you something. Did God authorize you to govern

that Whatever you take possession of, you are required

to govern? So if you understand that, then

you should understand that you need God to govern it or you

don't have the grace to have it and you are left sole ruler of

the thing. It's because we are helping

ourselves in places God never authorized us to govern.

Psalm 46 scripture says be still.

Somebody say be still watch this.

The scripture does not say pray harder.

It does not say fast more. It does not say sing louder or

strategize better. It says be still.

This is going to bless us today. It says be still.

No, go back to my slide. It said be still.

Be still is a command. Be.

Watch it, Be still and know that I am God.

It didn't say no, I'm God. Then be still.

It said be still. Then know.

Some of you wondering why you lack intimacy with God?

It's because you don't know Him, and you don't know Him because

you ain't still. He is not a whispering or

whispering a word of comfort or encouragement to soothe us.

Be still is not a word of encouragement or a word of

comfort or a word to soothe you. This is God asserting authority.

Oh God is throwing. When God says be still, he is

throwing his weight around. He is asserting his authority.

He is saying that this watch this.

Remember what we said, this is his year, not my year.

So since it's his year, he said I need you to what?

Be still. God's like this is my time and

you can't be running all around on my time.

Ain't got no time to chase you around.

This is 2026 is my year. Be still God's like every time

you in the way stuff get messed up.

Be still. What does be still mean?

I'm glad you asked. It means cease striving.

It means drop your weapons. Oh, the weapons of our warfare

are not carnal. We wrestle not against flesh and

blood, right? It says drop your weapons.

That's what be still. Watch this.

Drop your weapons. In other words, how you are used

to coping. Drop your weapons how you are

used to fighting back. Drop your weapons how you are

used to hustling to get by. Drop your weapons how you are

used to getting back at people that hurt you.

Drop your weapons. This may be the season that you

can't work the five points to get $1,000,000 because that has

become a weapon against God's plan.

Drop your means and then it means stop contending for what

God has already settled and conquered.

Stop contending. Oh, I don't know if I'm gonna

have time to get to it, but I'm so I'm gonna say it right now.

There is some stuff be still means stop praying for it.

Watch this. There's some people.

Stop praying for it. Right, right.

See you thought see here it is because you won't stop praying.

Here it is. Some of you are praying from

stress. You are praying because you

actually don't believe. You are praying because you

actually have doubts. So you're tossing up prayers

like God, I don't know if you heard me, but no, no, no, no,

like really get to the the why of why you keep on praying in a

way and a posture like he didn't hear you before.

So sometime we pray because we're stressed instead of

believing because we're stressed.

You are contending for a person that you have already fasted and

prayed for. Watch this your prayers, the way

you praying watch this. You got it.

You got to align your prayers with the word.

But you can't pray when somebody ain't working the word.

If God says if you if you eat from this tree, you will be

exposed to the knowledge of good and evil.

Just say Eve was my sister and I'm like over here like Lord

Jesus in the name of Jesus. She she eat from the tree and

then I'm praying she don't get the knowledge of good and evil.

Some of y'all praying for people who are living in sin and you're

praying they don't get a harvest from they sin.

So you're praying against the word, not the word.

Do you know how hard that is to pray against something that God

has already settled? The best thing I can pray for

your rebellion is Lord grace them to make it out right.

Don't, don't, don't punch me in my face.

Then pray it don't hurt. We have a lot of faithless

prayers and we're praying from a still less or a anxious soul.

Be still means to disengage. Drop your weapons or sorry,

disengage and cease your attempts to control the outcome.

Cease your attempts to control the outcome.

This has nothing to do with how what is going on.

This has nothing to do with how what is going on is making you

feel or what is going on and how it's making you feel.

This has nothing to do with that.

So I get it right. You continue to want to explain

how you feel and God's like that's why I gave you a word for

how you feel. My word overrides the feel.

So are you going to focus on my word or the storm?

Remember, he spoke to the see you.

He told you to be still, but what you then said, well make

the wind stop blowing. No, no, no, no.

When God is speaking this, he didn't tell the wind to calm

down, He told you to be still. Watch this.

The wind may not ever change speed, but I can still

experience calm if I be still. So instead of desiring the wind

to shift its force, won't you stop the angst inside of you so

that you can experience the wind differently, right?

Be like a sail and use the wind for your advantage.

If you posture yourself right, the wind can actually advance

you into the promised land. The wind can actually accelerate

you. Here we go, Here it is.

You ready? We struggle to be still because

#1 Trauma trained us to survive by control.

Trauma trained us to survive by controlling.

The moment you experience the wind, you start grabbing the

handlebars, right? You, you, you ever, you ever,

you ever in the passenger seat or even in the back seat.

You can be in the trunk and somebody about to somebody

driving about to get in the car accident and you automatically

start, you reach for the steering wheel or you, you or,

or have you ever have you ever, have you ever you, you in the

passenger seat, but you feel like you can put your foot on

the brakes. That's the scariest feeling,

That's all. I don't like people driving me

around because I I want to have control.

Trauma trained us. We struggle to be still because

trauma trained us. Trauma trained us.

I could, I could just put a period on that.

Trauma trained us. Trauma trained us.

Grief trained us to survive by controlling #2 we struggle to be

still because anxiety trains us to stay alert.

You see this, Michael? The anxiety trained us to be

alert. I'm so aware of the storm, less

aware of God's presence in the storm.

Anxiety taught you how to be alert.

You, you, you. Do you know somebody and if you

next to them do not look at them.

Do you know somebody that always makes you aware of problems?

Gossipers. You got that friend that always

share you. You need this.

Why the Drewski thing went viral?

Because all the people shared it.

Ain't it funny? Go look at how much how much

darkness you share and how much light you share, right?

We are so aware. We are so on pins and needle.

We're alert and the Lord says get rid of the swivel on your

head and focus on me #3 We struggle to be still because

fear trained us to never stop moving, right?

We play dodgeball in life, right?

We never stop moving. Watch this.

Why are you? Why do you think you're such an

easy target? Because you be still.

Do you know this? It's harder for the enemy to

detect a steel person in the Kingdom flipping around.

The more steel you are, the harder you are to detect in the

heavens. The enemy loves movement.

He knows anxiety. He knows.

He knows these running thoughts. He knows a person that just

can't be still. We struggle to be still because

performance trained us to prove worth.

Come on, come on. Somebody just tell you so.

Be still. Be still.

Be still. Somebody say be still right.

Every time you yawn today after you yawn, be still, OK.

If you're yawner in here, you're tired.

That's fine. Just as you go, Michael, just

say be still, OK. Be still.

Somebody say be still. OK, We struggle to be still.

Michael ain't alert now because the Saints ain't in the

playoffs. Amen.

Not Amen. Hallelujah.

All right, all right. Chicago Bears in the playoffs,

though. All right.

As icebreaker is over. OK.

We struggle to be still because performance trained us to prove

worth watch. This and we struggle to be still

because the hustle trained us to outrun trust.

Oh, the hustle trained us to outrun trust.

And sometime the worst thing that can happen is fast success

because now you have a pattern that you going to try to rework

because it worked before. Not knowing that although you

can't, you reached your goal. You didn't develop trust for God

because you left him behind. So you got to prioritize what's

important. The season of learning to trust

God or the season to get from God.

Like I'd much rather as I get older, I understand the greatest

value I can have is the characteristics of Jesus, the

fruit of the Spirit and to learn how to trust God because more

often than not, I need trust to be still.

And the and when life get to life, and if you don't know how

to be still, you're going to be on some pills somewhere, be pill

instead of be still. Hey, man, I just, I couldn't

help myself. Hey, man, that's the that's the

creative in me. That's the creative in me.

Listen, before we keep going, let's look at what the soul is.

Some people just we lump it all together.

This is soul, spirit by air. It's all the same, OK?

The soul, the fesh in Hebrew, appetite, desire will, inner

drive, survival, instinct. When we talk about our soul,

it's our thinker, our filler, our chooser.

It's where our appetite, our desires, our hunger is in the

soul realm, we are a spirit, We possess a soul, we live in a

body, we are tripart beings, we are spirit.

We possess a soul and we live in a body, but we are spirit and we

possess a soul. That's where our emotions are,

That's where our thinking is. That's where we get jealous.

That's where we covet. That's when he say renew your

mind. It's to restore, renew, refresh,

get back to the garden. As it pertains to my soul,

appetite, desire, will, inner drive, survival, instinct.

The soul is my thinker, my feeler, my chooser.

Watch this. My soul is not merely sinful, it

is just untrained. See, we're so sin conscious,

Andrew, that we don't realize we're just really untrained.

Watch this. Because we were trained before,

we fail. So now we need the Holy Spirit

to renew our minds and train us so we can get back to garden

realities and garden behavior. The soul, Watch it.

An ungoverned soul never rests. An ungoverned soul never rests.

Psalm 23. Watch this.

He makes me lie down in fresh, tender, green pastures.

He leads me beside the still and restful waters.

He refreshes and restores my soul, my, my, my life.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness, uprightness, and

right, standing with Him, not for my earning it, but for His

name's sake. Watch this.

His name is on the line as it pertains to you.

So there comes a time where He takes control for His name's

sake, not for you to impress people, but His word is on the

line as it pertains to your life.

So God steps in and says be still because my name is on the

line and I got to do some stuff so people can know I am who I

say I am. I'm healing you for my name's

sake. I am advancing you for my name's

sake. I am intervening for my name's

sake. Yeah.

Yeah, it is for his name's sake. It's not so you can be famous.

It is for his name's sake. He wants to prosper you for his

name's sake. Watch this.

He makes, he leads. He restores.

He makes, he leads, he restores. That's order intentionally.

He makes, he leads. He restores.

He makes, he leads, he restores. Ain't no restoring if he can't

lead you. Ain't no leading if he can't

make you. If he can't make you sit down,

he can't lead you. So he comes in and he says be

still. Why?

So I can lead you. Why do I want to lead you?

So I can restore you, but we wanted to work backwards.

Lord restore me. He's like you trying to make me

act out of order. So watch this some of y'all like

restore my family. And he said OK be still.

Restore my finances, Lord. OK.

Be still. Restore my identity, Lord.

OK. Be still.

Restore my reputation, Lord. OK, Shut up.

Be still. Give me strength, Lord.

Be still, Lord. My marriage is falling apart,

OK, I got you. Be still.

Because watch this. Your trashy marriage ain't

helping my namesake so I'm I'm all for restoring my children

because you're my children and you got my name and you making

me look bad. So I'm very ready to help you.

But guess what you got to do? Be still Lord save my family but

but but why you you showing your family following God means

anxiety. They got anxiety without God.

They got anxiety at a bad church.

They got anxiety. So why should they follow you

and you don't know how to be still.

They got what you got without what you offering them

Hallelujah. Tell your neighbor.

I think you need to I think he talking to you.

I think he talking to you for sure.

He talking to you. Watch this.

He makes, He leads, He restores. Come on, say it with me.

He makes, He leads, He restores. Rest is not something the sheep

decide. It is something the shepherd

initiates. Hallelujah.

And you wonder why the storm don't cease when you ready to be

still. No, no, no, no, you don't

decide. You don't get to decide when

rest that no God initiates, right?

He says, hey, it's the season 2026 be still.

I'm ready to give you rest. I'm I'm ready to give you peace.

I'm ready to transform some things in your life.

But you going to need to be still.

Rest is not something the sheep decide.

It's something the shepherd initiates.

Watch this. Still waters are not resort spas

and vacation destinations. I need y'all to know this is

real Bible talk right now. OK, this is real Bible talk.

This is not still waters, right? You looking at this beautiful

picture right here, you're like, Oh my God, I want to raise all I

want to get all this money because I want to go.

I want to go to Italy. I want to go to Greece.

I want to go. And you see the Kardashians

jumping off of boats and you see all these people and you like,

wow, they must be really enjoying their lives.

Really. You think they are.

I think they are, but understand this.

Still waters aren't resorts, spas, vacations or destinations.

Watch this. This is so powerful.

Still waters are waters with no threat.

When the Bible talks about still waters in Hebrew, it means

waters with no threat. He leads me.

He is trying to lead you to a life.

No matter the waves or the storm, it's no threat to you.

When is life going to stop being a threat?

When is that person rejecting you going to stop being a

threat? It doesn't mean rejection won't

hurt, but when rejection becomes a threat to your identity, you

are not trusted in God. It just mean He's leading you to

a place that there's no threat. The soul rests not because

danger disappeared, but because authority has arrived and

abides. I enter rest not because the

threat or danger has disappeared, but because

authority has taken its seat in my soul watch.

This stillness feels unsafe to a nervous system that learns

survival through motion. Oh, buddy, I'm tell.

Let me just start with me. I have trouble not doing nothing

right now. I'm not telling you stillness is

not doing nothing. But I have.

I like my soul, shall I say, wrestles on a day where I decide

to be still. My soul is just like what we

doing like get moving, you lazy you.

No 4:00 AM, fool, get up at 4:00 AM.

No, I'm not getting up at 4:00 AM.

And it's just this wrestle. And before at the end of the

day, you have lost all your nerves because you've been

wrestling on the inside. You have not trained your soul

to be still, right? Ask Andrew.

How many people come to a spa do all this, Really.

You relax while you're there. You relax because you have

resources to relax, right? Some people got weed to relax.

And then when it goes down, you got to smoke some more.

You got to buy some more than you got to walk out the weed

dispensary like this, like you Hollywood or something with your

hat on. Because you, you go to church

and you don't want nobody to know you.

You'd be shopping for weed, right?

So you already Hey man, OK, you get what I'm saying?

So then people people will leave the spa and within 24 hours all

the calm his space provided. They give it away because we

think that peace and rest is a spa or it's in quiet or it's

breath work. Those things should be

supplementary to the church. It should not be the source to

the believer. For those that don't follow

Jesus, it's the source. But man, I might not be able to

make it to the to the spa. I can't wait till I can go.

Some of us can't afford to spy. I might not be able to wait to

get to Andrew or to get to Pasadena or to get to my

trainer. To have some peace, to have some

rest in my soul. When last time some of y'all

been on a like a vacation? Not a staycation, a vacation.

You got up out of everything familiar.

When's the last time, right Time, money.

Some of y'all got kids and you think you going to get rest when

they grow up? No, you actually going to be

more stressed out. Watch this, he says.

For God alone my soul waits in silence.

For God alone. For God alone, for God alone is

the only one I'm waiting for. For God alone my soul waits in

silence. From Him comes my salvation,

from Him comes my peace, from Him comes my prosperity, from

Him comes my strength, from Him. So because it comes from Him, he

is the only one that I surrender my soul to, to be at rest.

Inner settling. Silence, right?

This word Silence here means inner settling.

The cessation of noise. This is going to be so good.

It's going to bless a few of you.

The cessation of noise you like. Well, cessation.

What's cessation? Sensation.

PT. You spelled that wrong.

You mean sensation? No cessation.

I know what I'm talking about. Cessation.

Everybody say cessation. Watch this.

This means voluntary stopping under authority.

Oh God's going to initiate. He ain't going make you.

This is you making a choice to stop under authority.

Watch, Watch this. This cessation means an

intentional end. No, Watch this this way, he says

stop wavering. No, no, I am going to make a

decision today. It this has to end.

I'm not going to wait. Well when they get older or when

the sun come out or or or when they stop leaving me alone or if

they stop calling me. I don't need you to stop calling

me to have peace. If you don't stop calling me,

I'll change my number if I got to but I am not going to lend

you my soul until you ready to give it back.

Oh I can't wait till school is over.

These terms stress me out. Test week is so stressful

because you let it be stressful. Well this is exam week, most

stressful day of the year because you make it that way and

then you pass and then you pass and you like I got my peace

back. You know you didn't have peace

in the first place. What's this cessation?

It's intentional. And I don't stop because

something failed. I stopped because it is no

longer required to keep moving in it.

Watch this. You can have your strength on 10

like you can have like, like this is the cool thing.

God will then ask you to see something when you have all the

resources to keep going. He'll ask you to leave something

while it's at its peak in good, right.

This is like we're not going to do Michael Jordan.

We're not going. We're not we're not going to

come back and and come inside this.

That's a bad analogy. Some of y'all don't know who

Michael Jordan is. And if you don't, that's that's

a shame. That's a shame.

And some of y'all got Jordans on it.

Didn't even know it was Michael Jordan.

He thought it was. No, no.

Listen guys, this is what I'm learning.

Can I help somebody? Don't let it end on you.

Don't let the thing make you retire.

Retire after you want a ring. Determine when something's done

before it expires. Determine when a relationship

it's time to evolve or kick rocks versus it turning sour.

Now somebody that used to be a friend becomes an enemy because

you didn't realize it was time to transition at AT bare minimum

to shift your relationship into a different context.

So in one season we were this. In another season, we might have

to be this. And some of us have trouble with

transitions because we not ready to let it go.

See, I was never the dude. I was never the dude that would

break up with a girl. Now I didn't have a lot of

girlfriends. I was I was a good dude.

I'm I'm serious. What y'all talking about?

I heard the little Yeah, right. TT I'm glad you think I'm worthy

of a lot of women. OK, whatever.

Get out of here. He's like, yeah, right.

P TS lying. He's from Oakland.

He's a tall black man. He's has fashion.

Stop judging me. But I would never ever.

I just couldn't do it because I was raised by women.

I'll talk about this. And yeah, anyway, I was raised

by women. So I I just never did it.

I was like, if I'm going to break up with someone, when I

break up with them, it's over. Ain't no, ain't no back and

forth. Ain't no make up to break it

ain't no and I don't care if the relationship was trash.

I'm like, I'm going to keep trying.

I'm going to let her break up with me.

Then I'll be good. See what I'm saying?

Like there's things in your life that aren't good for you and

you're waiting for it to leave your life or somebody to walk

out of your life, or you're waiting for this thing that you

need to say. Enough is enough, but you should

never get to the point where you're leaving something out of

anger or trauma. You should be paying attention

enough that you see when seasons change and you initiate

transition. But I remember one day I'm back

and forth and I and I was just like, no, you're not.

I had a dream that the girl was, you know, fooling with somebody

and she thought she was going to play me.

And then she. Yeah.

And I asked her and she couldn't lie to me.

And I'm like, man, we went to college together.

Now. I was AI was a professional

baseball pitcher. And I had a.

If I have some in my hand when I'm mad, it's not good.

Now I've grown, I've grown, I've grown, but there's times I had

to till I grew, I had to drop it.

If I got mad and I had some in my head, I had to drop it.

And I just remember the girl, she told me and I'm like, watch

this because I tried and tried and tried and tried hoping in

you while I was hoping in you, you was moving on.

So I'm more angry that I stuck around and man, I walked away.

I was just so mad. But I knew it was over.

Had a tennis ball in my hand and I threw a strike.

I threw, I threw, I threw it. I threw that tennis ball hit her

right on her forehead. It bounced up, hit the wall and

rolled into a classroom. It was right in front of a

classroom and I walked away and we haven't talked ever since.

Watch this. But I waited till it failed.

I didn't listen to my Mama. I didn't listen to my friends.

The end came because it failed, not because I listened to wisdom

and made a decision to say this is no longer going to benefit

me. Well, no, I promise I'll change.

You need to change, but you're going to change without me

around. Stop being manipulated into

staying longer than you supposed to stay because someone has

potential. Cessation is the soul coming to

rest. This is not inactivity, this is

alignment. Sensation is stopping self

initiated actions, ending unauthorized effort and laying

down labor because authority has taken over.

Watch this God, man, I, I, I, I've been, I've been tracking

God a little bit and he will help you in something.

He's not making the phone call for you, but he'll prepare a

heart for you to say it's over or you'd be surprised the person

you're scared to say it's over already thinking it's over, but

they not brave enough to say it's over.

God will orchestrate a situation and if you're not paying

attention, that was your perfect time to transition.

He gave you a reason, you know, sometime when you don't want to

go to work and all of a sudden the weather is bad and you like

like it's snowing, but they ain't called a snow day yet.

But you like they, they haven't, they haven't plowed my street

yet. So I'm not going to be able to

go to work today. But you all you see, you watch

this. You took advantage of an

opportunity to be released without costs.

And God always makes it a way. Makes a way.

But are you paying attention? Watch this restless, somebody

say. Restless is when the soul does

not learn stillness. When the soul does not learn

stillness, it will seek relief through control.

So you control circumstances, right?

You can practice you got kids. You can practice stillness

today. Let your baby cry for a little

bit and keep enjoying yourself. Now if they in danger, don't let

them cry. Help them out.

See see watch this. That threatens some parents, but

some of y'all have let your kids steal your peace.

Watch this, watch this, watch this.

Let them throw a tantrum. Watch this.

Stop trying to calm your kids down because they're throwing a

fit at your nose. Yeah.

Hey, man, you see how you can feel it in a room?

Some parents are just like, no, my baby's crying.

OK. Your soul is too.

So here it is. So we love busy.

Some of you might not want to admit it, but you love busy.

We love to feel productive. Like being busy means

productive. No busy means busy.

Busy looks like that. Oh, I learned something in

parenting. It's OK to let the laundry sit

for a day or two if it means I need rest.

Yeah, yeah, it's OK to let laundry sit and the baby crawl

instead of doing laundry with the baby on my hip with the

phone like this. Yeah, watch.

Hey, here's God. He's initiating rest because

some of y'all are trying to even parent in ways God never gave

you permission to parent. Yeah, take it.

Take some lessons from somebody who's parented for a little bit.

Busy is not productivity, it's self protection.

What are you running from by staying busy?

Some of you watch this. I love cleaning.

You know, you to, to to not feel something.

You mean you will wash that sink for three hours?

You did and then got the nerves to be mad at somebody else.

They don't see mold like you see it how you find that mold and

then like the PJB like did you see that mold?

I'm like, no, it was in the shower.

I'm tall though that she was in. It was in the corner right

there. I don't I don't get in the

shower and be looking around. You ain't going to catch me

cleaning in the shower. Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah.

I'm in the shower to clean me. Not the Amen.

Amen. Busy is not productive, it's

self protective. I'm just saying it's OK.

We should all be clean. We should all want to take

walks. We should all but but but make

sure you are not using a blessing as an escape.

A chore should be no my house is dirty, I just need to clean up

and I'm going to have peace in the chaos.

But some of you clean up man. And if you married or got

family, everybody got to pay when you clean up.

Yeah, I'm hitting the nerve today.

You cleaning up and you serious? You just somebody walk on around

your little dust pile. You.

First of all, nobody asks you to clean right now.

And then you want to look, you ain't going to help me.

Well, I didn't. We didn't schedule clean up

time. The game is on right now, right?

So watch this, you're not doing it with joy, you're actually

cleaning with resentment. So won't you talk about who you

mad at because the house is dirty and then clean up with joy

because it's a blessing you got something to clean up.

Hallelujah we helping people today.

Watch this when rest is not learned through trust.

It will be learned another way. Somebody say control, how are we

going to land this plane? A restless soul.

And this is where we're going to pick up in the second

experience. But I want to get it to you real

quick. A restless soul.

We have one of the most misunderstood verses in the

Bible, and it's one of the most popular verses in the Bible.

I'm going to start it and then we're going to pick it up in the

next experience, one of the most misunderstood stories Jesus ever

told. Then he said a certain man had

two sons. The younger of them

inappropriately said to his father, Father, give me the

share of the property that falls to me.

So he divided the state between them.

Watch this. He asked for it.

His father said, here you go. It was out of time.

But his father said, here you go.

I ain't going to argue with you. A few days later, the younger

son gathered together everything he got, everything he got his

inheritance, and he got everything that he had and

traveled to a distant country. And there he wasted his fortune

in reckless and immoral living. Oh, this is going to bless you.

Watch this. A man had two sons #1 We see

covenant. Father, give me the share #2 we

see entitlement. Oh, see yourself in this.

OK. When we pray, we pray with

entitlement. Why this ain't showing up yet?

God, why you put me in this situation?

He like that, I'll put you in this situation.

He gathered everything and went to a distant country.

Watch this. He gathered everything.

Here it is control. We see covenant, entitlement and

control. Watch this.

Is this really rebellion or immorality?

Which one do you think this? The way we preached it, we

preach it either him coming home and we preach about God's grace

and we preach about the covenant and we preach about rebellion.

And we love to tell this, this, this story to our children.

And we got prodigal sons and daughters and we're believing

for them to come home because they're rebellious and they're

immoral. Watch it.

Before he rebelled, his soul was ungoverned.

He got to the place of rebellion because he lived with an

ungoverned soul. Watch it.

Here's the pattern. Inheritance without covering, he

got it. Resources without relationship,

he got it. And then there was movement

without permission. Watch this.

The father did not resist his restless desires.

The father did not control him by holding on to what he was

asking for. Watch this.

And some of you call it a blessing because God released it

to you. Watch this.

He didn't give it to you. He released it to you because

you wanted it so bad. So he's like, since you not

going to let me teach you the lesson, I'm going to let it

teach you the lesson. Oh, this is going to bless some

people today. The promise was more important

to him than the present. The adventure was more important

than the advantage of waiting. He could not wait for the

appointed time. Because restlessness always

masquerades as freedom. Restlessness always masquerades

as freedom, and then we call it blessing.

I'm restless to get to my dreams, so I'll take a

counterfeit before I get there. And then now I got it.

I'm like, I'm free. I got what?

Watch this. I got what I wanted, watch this.

He did not leave angry y'all. He did not leave broken.

He left authorized in his own mind.

He prayed about it, He asked for it, but he authorized himself

watch this. He asked for something he wasn't

going to take no for it. Some of y'all praying to God

knowing even if he says no, you're not going to take it.

You almost have courtesy prayers.

Lord, I know I got to pray to you, so let me just let you know

what I'm doing, but I'm a format as a question.

Can I help you? Our soul is addicted to motion.

What's next? Where it's at, Where he at?

How much more, more and more more is addicted to motion.

Watch this. When authority is resisted, God

will sometimes take it off this slide.

Take it off this slide because we have really fast readers.

I need y'all to really get this next statement.

I need y'all to get this. If you don't get nothing else

today, before you go, please get this.

When authority is resisted, God will sometimes remove the very

things that made running possible.

Not to punish us, but to make stillness unavoidable, I says.

When authority is resisted, God will sometimes remove the very

things that made running possible.

It's not to punish you, but it is to make stillness

unavoidable. Some of you are here today.

You are in this very season, and I'm about to explain to you

really quickly what this mean. Watch this.

You go on into Luke 15. It says now when you don't even

have to play right now you'll know when to play.

Now when he had spent everything, now the money gone,

God permit a severe famine. See, watch this.

You saw the inheritance. You didn't see the famine that

was going to eat your inheritance.

See, sometime when God is withholding, it's because He

sees stuff that you don't see. A severe famine occurred in that

country, and He began to do without and be in need.

Oh, that person you really wanted to be with.

Watch this. What they fed you in the

beginning, they no longer satisfy you.

Watch out. And you've been praying God fix

this and he's like no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Now you're eating the fruit of your desire because you didn't

want to wait like I asked you to.

So now I tried to give you stillness 3 years ago, but you

insisted. So I let this lead you to

stillness because it no longer feeds you no more.

The excitement has replenished, the joy has to play.

Watch this there. The attraction for them has the

plenished. They don't talk sweet to you

like they used to no more. And God like I knew this day was

going to come. But by this time now, if you

waited on me, they would be who you I wanted them to be, or you

would be where you wanted to be. Watch it.

So he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that

country who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

And he would have gladly eaten the pods that the pigs were

eating. Watch this.

But what he was eating in that season did not satisfy his

hunger. Some of y'all here you got what

you thought you wanted, but you are not satisfied.

The blessing of the Lord makes rich adds no sorrow.

But you got what you want, got the house you want.

You got the man you want. You got the the the city you

want you you some of y'all even thinking about man.

I'm a move because they got more opportunities out there.

OK. And God's like you can do what

you want to do. No one was giving anything to

him. I've been in that season where I

know they got it, but God has said Nope, don't give it to him.

I have had to make some very hard decisions when people have

come to me in need. But I knew God showed me they

were where they were because of rebellion.

And God said if you bless them in this moment, the lesson that

I am trying to teach them right this point right here, I am

trying to lead them to stillness.

And so now all help runs out. But when he finally came to

himself, he came to a senses, he said I am dying here of hunger

and watch what he says. He said I am dying here of

hunger. But he says, how many of my

father's hired men have more than enough food?

I decided to go take this over here.

And these people that decided to be still, look at how they're

prospering. Watch this.

I may have more than them, I don't have the joy they have, I

may have more than them, I may even be having more fun than

them, but look how satisfied they are.

Next experience will jump in. And he came to himself, and that

mean he came into himself. Watch this because stillness led

him to revelation, not movement. God is not trying to keep you

still because he is trying to keep something from you.

He's trying to keep you still so he can get something to you.

If you believe that, lift your hands right where you are and

just say peace be still. Worship team, say peace be

still, not worship team. You can come up but everyone say

peace be still, peace be still. As we sing this worship song and

respond to the Word, I challenge you to imagine yourself and make

a decision to lay your burdens down.

Man, it was it was stuff you could stand to your feet.

It was stuff that I was thinking about over the last during this

fast. And it's stuff that I'm paying

for monthly that I was like, sometimes that thing you wanted

a while ago that you thought was so cool and now you're paying

for it. You ever thought about selling

it or giving it back or releasing it to somebody else?

Right. Increase is not all about

income. Sometimes increase is about

release and God is challenging some of us in here today that

you have some stuff that you've been holding that he's like, I

didn't make you responsible for that.

You're just codependent. I didn't ask you to rent that.

I didn't ask you to buy that. I didn't ask you to go there.

Release it. Or are you going to let that

thing become the thing that forces you to be still?

Lift your hands right where you are.

I speak over you and I speak directly to your soul today, by

the authority of Jesus Christ, by the blood of Jesus, be still.

Be still. Be still child of God.

Release it to him. Be still.

Be still. He's still on the throne.

Be still. Tell your soul.

Be still. In a world full of chaos and

movement, Be still. Genesis 1 showed this perfect

picture of chaos in the world and darkness, and God was just

still, and he spoke and there was light.

In this first month of the year, make a decision that the battle

was the Lord's, not yours. 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.