Sermon

The Making of a Disciple

CityLight Church, a Place for You

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  1. I'm going to invite you, if you can, just remain

  2. standing for a few more moments, and then you

  3. can sit down and relax in this not -so -cool

  4. weather. Praise God. Mark chapter 1, verse 16.

    Mark 1:16

  5. Mark chapter 1. We're in part 2 of our Called

    Mark 1 chapter mention

  6. series. Everybody say, Called. Mark chapter 1,

    Mark 1:16

  7. verse 16, reads as follows. And as he walked

  8. by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew,

  9. his brother, casting a net into the sea, for

  10. they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them,

  11. follow me and I will make you. Someone say, I

  12. will make you. I will make you become fishers

  13. of men. They immediately left their nets and

  14. followed him. I'm going to speak today on the

  15. making of a disciple. The making of a disciple.

  16. Somebody say amen. You may be seated in God's

  17. presence. Amen. I know everybody here likes a

  18. finished product. Isn't that right? How many

  19. of you like a finished product? Amen. Unless

  20. you're into Legos, then the whole point of buying

  21. it is so that you can make it when you get home,

  22. right? But for the most of us, we like a finished

  23. product. When we buy something, we want it to

  24. be complete and ready to go. Add batteries if

  25. it needs to be charged, but... I like it when

  26. it's already charged as well. I don't want to

  27. have to charge it. I want it to be ready to go

  28. when I turn that thing on, whatever it is, that

  29. gadget, that phone. Because there's an expectation

  30. that when you purchase something with your hard

  31. -earned money that it ought to do what it's supposed

  32. to do. But rarely do we stop to consider the

  33. ingenuity or the process that it takes to create

  34. these things that we enjoy. or that we depend

  35. on from day to day. I'm not talking about cars

  36. necessarily or cell phones. I'm talking about

  37. basic things, things that we probably take for

  38. granted from day to day. There's a documentary

  39. I used to love to watch. It might still be around,

  40. but I know you can catch it on YouTube and things.

  41. It was called How It's Made. I don't know if

  42. there's anybody here who is... All right, you

  43. got to be kind of a geek to know that you are,

  44. you know, so I'm a... I like this stuff. I nerd

  45. out on some of these things. You say, that's

  46. the boringest thing. But this is what happens.

  47. It takes viewers inside the manufacturing process

  48. of everyday items, right? From light bulbs to

  49. work boots, hand soap, tortilla chips, amen?

  50. They don't just grow on trees like that, you

  51. know? Toothbrushes. How about the paper clip?

  52. Amen? How many of you thank God for the paper

  53. clip? Just holds things together. Amen. And all

  54. these little things that we enjoy and need from

  55. day to day. And the show would offer an interesting

  56. behind -the -scenes look at how these things

  57. were made. And it takes you through that step

  58. -by -step process. Again, some people find this

  59. incredibly boring, like watching paint dry, right?

  60. It's just like, I don't care how it was made

  61. and just as long as it works. But I've always

  62. been fascinated by how things are made and how

  63. it came to be because behind every object, every

  64. invention is a story, an idea, a necessity. Someone

  65. once said that invention, right, is the, or excuse

  66. me, necessity is the mother of invention. It's

  67. the process that I enjoy looking at. And if there's

  68. one thing that this show reminded me of was two

  69. things, is that nothing just appears. Something,

  70. it had to be made. Didn't just fall out of the

  71. sky. And nothing makes itself. And I want to

  72. tell you that there's no difference in the kingdom

  73. of God. Somebody say amen today. Nobody just

  74. appears. They went through a process. And nobody

  75. just makes themselves. There are no self -made

  76. disciples. There's no such thing. No self -made

  77. ministers or preachers, soul winners and prayer

  78. warriors. There's no such thing as a self -made

  79. thing in pretty much every aspect of life and

  80. certainly in the kingdom of God. Nothing is self

  81. -made. In fact, I would stand before you today

  82. and tell you that who you see today, with all

  83. my flaws and blemishes, I'm not a finished product

  84. by any stretch of the imagination, but I am not

  85. here because of myself. I'm not up here because

  86. of myself, because I trained and poured into

  87. myself and made me who I am. I am, and I say

  88. this with all due respect, I am the product.

  89. Of discipleship. I'm the product of. Somewhere.

  90. Someone. Taking an interest. In me. And. In response

  91. to that. Me submitting myself. Through accountability.

  92. Through submission and respect. To the one who

  93. was molding me. And discipling me. So it was

  94. definitely a two -way street. But I am not here

  95. on my own. And neither are you. Amen. This was

  96. the case for Simon Peter, whom this whole series

  97. is based on. And any disciple of Christ. Last

  98. week we heard about the new name that he was

  99. given, right? When the Lord first met him. He

  100. said, your name is Simon, but you shall be called.

  101. Caiaphas, which is also the same name for Peter,

  102. a rock. But that was just the beginning. When

  103. he changed his name, it was just the start of

  104. a process of making him into the man that we

  105. would come to know as the Apostle Peter, the

  106. first preacher of Pentecost. But it was a process.

  107. Some would say it's a process. Now when you look

  108. at Peter's origin story and how God began to

  109. work in his life, you may wonder why in the scene

  110. that we're reading today, this is after his initial

  111. encounter with Christ, why he is fishing again.

  112. If he had already met Jesus, why is he fishing?

  113. And the answer is very simple, is that Peter,

  114. or Simon Peter, had not yet received his formal

  115. or his official call to be a disciple. When he

  116. met Jesus, obviously he heard a word that changed

  117. his identity over his life. But that's all Jesus

  118. did in that moment. He just changed his name.

  119. He did not yet change his assignment. His name

  120. was changing. But if you read very carefully,

  121. go back to last Sunday and read that verse again.

  122. He didn't change his assignment. He didn't tell

  123. him to follow me in that first meeting. He didn't

  124. change his occupation. In fact, he didn't tell

  125. him to do anything. He didn't tell Simon to leave

  126. anything behind or to do anything or to go anywhere.

  127. And that first encounter was just about changing

  128. his name. But in this... episode, Jesus now takes

  129. him one step further. But I believe that this

  130. order is important for us today when we think

  131. about what God is wanting to do in our lives.

  132. This series is all about being called and being

  133. molded as a disciple. This is all about discipleship.

  134. Amen. And so I want you today to consider how

  135. important it is to follow the order that we see

  136. in Peter's life. First, his name was changed.

  137. You have to first discover who you are before

  138. you start to do what you think you're supposed

  139. to do. Oftentimes, what we want to do is we want

  140. to cut to the chase. You know, we want God to

  141. tell us what to do before we really understand

  142. who we are. We want God to send us somewhere

  143. to do something with us without being solidified

  144. and established and rooted in the identity that

  145. he's given us. And this is what will happen is

  146. if we skip that part, if we skip over the identity

  147. and straight to the assignment, eventually the

  148. assignment will kill us. Because all the enemy

  149. has to do is get us to question who we are. Which

  150. is why when Jesus was tempted in the desert during

  151. those 40 days, Satan began those temptations

  152. with the question, if you are the son of God.

  153. He was trying to poke holes in his identity.

  154. But of course, Jesus already knew who he was.

  155. And so knowing who you are will lead you to what

  156. you're supposed to do. I'll put it this way.

  157. Your who determines your do. And so now Simon

  158. Peter, he knows that his name is being changed.

  159. He's in a process. And now that he knows that,

  160. he is in a position to hear the formal call of

  161. God upon his life. Jesus meets him along the

  162. Sea of Galilee and says, follow me and I will

  163. make you. And those words, I will make you, I

  164. haven't been able to get away from them in my

  165. reading and my meditation of this text. Because

  166. what Jesus was telling him is that to become

  167. the man, to become the person that I have called

  168. you to be, Peter, that preacher, that soul winner,

  169. that bridge builder, that apostle to the Gentile,

  170. that man that you were born and destined to be,

  171. you're not just going to become him because you

  172. are called. You're not just going to become him

  173. because I changed your name. You're not going

  174. to become him because of who you know and what

  175. connections you have. You're going to become

  176. him through a process of me making you. I must

  177. make you. And the first thing that we must understand

  178. in the making, in order for the making to begin,

  179. number one, my first point today is that we must

  180. leave the nets. Someone say, leave the nets.

  181. So Jesus approaches him and says, follow me.

  182. And I'm going to make you a fisher of men. I'm

  183. going to make you a bridge builder. You're going

  184. to be a soul winner. You're going to be a disciple

  185. maker. And in response to that call, without

  186. Jesus having to tell him to do this. and point

  187. it out for him and spell it out for him in detail,

  188. something within Peter understood the gravity

  189. of the call of God upon his life. And he realized

  190. that if I'm going to follow this man, if I'm

  191. going to be his disciple, if I'm going to walk

  192. with him, live with him, shadow his every movement,

  193. I cannot do that and hold on to my old life at

  194. the same time. Come on now, somebody. He said,

  195. I've got to let go of these nets. Sometimes we're

  196. waiting on God to tell us or a preacher to tell

  197. us and spell it out. ABC, this is what you have

  198. to let go of. But don't you know that you've

  199. got a voice inside of you that's already telling

  200. you this is what you need to let go of. It's

  201. not complicated. We understand that there are

  202. things that are tying us up. Come on. Things

  203. that are holding us back. Things that if... We

  204. try to take them with us. They'll eventually

  205. pull us back into the life that we were living.

  206. And so this statement may sound like just another

  207. footnote in the story, but I can assure you that

  208. this action was no small matter. He had to leave

  209. these nets behind. And in those nets represented

  210. everything about what his life was prior to that

  211. moment. In those nets, if I can just point out

  212. a couple of things for you, in those nets represents

  213. his financial stability as a fisherman. You've

  214. got to understand that by leaving those nets,

  215. Peter was leaving money on the table. Why? Because

  216. he made a living catching and selling fish. That

  217. was his job. That was his paycheck, a predictable

  218. paycheck. I'm sure that there were good seasons

  219. and bad seasons in the fishing industry, but

  220. he always knew that this is how I could make

  221. a buck. This is how I could put food on my family's

  222. table. This is how I can make a living, put a

  223. roof over my family's head and do nice things

  224. with my children and provide for them. So he

  225. knew that this was a financial thing for him.

  226. And so those nets represented financial security

  227. and a predictable future that he could build

  228. on. And so by leaving those nets behind, what

  229. he was essentially saying, whatever it was that

  230. I was depending on before to put food on my family's

  231. table and clothes on their back, I've got to

  232. put my trust in somebody. that is greater than

  233. all of that it also had personal implications

  234. because being a fisherman was more than just

  235. a job that you clock in and clock out of it was

  236. a whole lifestyle it was a it was a culture it

  237. was an ecosystem that that Simon Peter had identified

  238. with for so many years. Trades like this were

  239. often passed down from one generation to another.

  240. It was a family thing. This wasn't just a job,

  241. you know, a side hustle that he did to earn a

  242. couple of bucks. This was like a family institution.

  243. People were invested into this thing. People

  244. were connected to this thing. It was a family

  245. thing. It was ingrained in who he was. And Peter,

  246. this is all the life that he knew. He didn't

  247. know anything else. It wasn't another trade school

  248. in town, you know, that he can get like an online

  249. degree from. You know, and walk out and start

  250. applying for new jobs. This was it. This was

  251. everything. This was his whole world. Everything

  252. kind of had come down to this right here. You

  253. hear what I'm saying? And so he had to make a

  254. very calculated decision in that moment that

  255. I'm going to leave all of this behind and follow

  256. this man so we can sit here today and argue,

  257. ah, it's just a bunch of nets. No, no, no. Those

  258. nets represented everything to Peter. And it

  259. wasn't so easy just to walk away, just like it's

  260. not easy for us to walk away from things that

  261. we have poured our heart and souls into. Oh,

  262. we can walk away from things we don't really

  263. care about, right? That feels like a relief,

  264. like, whew, finally someone took this away from

  265. me, my gosh. Walking away from that car payment

  266. I don't want anymore, finally sold the car, amen.

  267. Got rid of it. I'm not talking about things you

  268. want to get rid of on your own. I'm talking about

  269. things that you're attached to, things that you're

  270. invested into. And it's not so easy. It's complicated.

  271. There's multiple layers involved. It's not so

  272. easy. But these are the very things that could

  273. prevent you from fulfilling God's call in your

  274. life. So I got to ask you today, what are those

  275. nets in your life you need to let go of? Because

  276. the making begins when the nets hit the ground.

  277. ground. It will not start before that. It will

  278. not start one millisecond before. I'm talking

  279. about the making. Someone say the making. I'm

  280. talking about the making of you being the disciple

  281. that God wants you to be will not start officially

  282. until you're willing to drop those nets. When

  283. the nets hit the ground, you are now ready for

  284. the next phase that God wants you. I don't know

  285. if I'm talking to somebody here today, but I

  286. need to address some of the nets in your life

  287. that have been holding you back, that have been

  288. depriving you and tying you up. Oh, I can preach

  289. all day long just about the nets. I'm talking

  290. about the safety nets. Some of you got to say,

  291. you know what your safety net is? It's your backup

  292. plan. Some of you need to burn up, tear up, shred

  293. in the paper shredder your backup plan. If this

  294. whole thing doesn't work out for you, you need

  295. to shred that backup plan. Shred, plan, Some

  296. of you got plan B. Well, in case city light don't

  297. work out, I got plan B over here. In case this

  298. thing don't work out, I got a backup plan. In

  299. case serving God is not what I thought, I got

  300. a backup plan. You need to put that backup plan

  301. in the shredder and say it's Holy Ghost or it's

  302. nothing. It's Holy Ghost or it's bus. It's Jesus

  303. or it's Jesus or nothing at all. Come on, somebody

  304. give them some praise today. The safety net.

  305. Some of you, it's a net. You know what? It's

  306. a net that looks like a hammock. How many of

  307. you like a hammock? Oh, you go on vacation. You

  308. get on one of them hammocks, huh? And the ocean

  309. island breeze is hitting you. And you're swinging

  310. from one side to the side. And you're all up

  311. in your hammock. And man, this life is good.

  312. And some of your spiritual life looks like that.

  313. Come on. Hey, hello, somebody. Are you going

  314. to preach with me here today? I'm just getting

  315. started. Hallelujah. You got a hammock spiritual

  316. life. You're so comfortable. You're all tied

  317. up in your nets. And your official making process

  318. will begin when you decide that comfort is no

  319. longer your king. my God that swinging from one

  320. side is no longer the God of your life because

  321. for some of you comfort is your God and ease

  322. and convenience is what you worship but God said

  323. if I'm going to make you if I'm going to mold

  324. you if I'm going to produce glory in your life

  325. come on somebody preach with me here today you

  326. got to be willing to put your comfort to one

  327. side and follow me all the way hallelujah somebody

  328. somebody someone say leave the nets That's right,

  329. leave those nets. Leave them where they are.

  330. And once you leave the nets, you can do number

  331. two, is that now you can start to learn from

  332. him. I don't know about you, but I got some things

  333. I still need to learn. I didn't hear any amens

  334. out there. I said, I got some things I still

  335. need to learn. How about you? After Peter left

  336. his nets. Now, the order's important. Don't try

  337. to learn with your nets. Let those things go

  338. first. This order is divine. Now you can start

  339. to learn from him. Watch what happens in verse

  340. 21. After Peter left his nets, he began to follow

  341. Jesus. The Bible says he entered the synagogue

  342. and taught. Jesus did. And they were astonished

  343. at his teaching. For he had taught them as one

  344. having authority, not as the scribes. So the

  345. people are there gathered in this synagogue,

  346. and now Peter finds himself sitting under the

  347. teaching of Jesus Christ. And he, like everybody

  348. else in the room that day, realized that the

  349. one who was teaching was more than a man. This

  350. was someone teaching with authority. He wasn't

  351. just teaching something he had learned. He was

  352. teaching because he is the teacher, the lawgiver,

  353. the word maker. Amen. God in flesh, the word

  354. made flesh, is now teaching them. And being a

  355. disciple, what it means is enrolling in Jesus

  356. University. I wonder if you've enrolled in Jesus

  357. University. But Jesus University is not a university

  358. that you enroll in, pay tuition, get your credits.

  359. Complete your coursework, and then you're done.

  360. You graduate, walk across the platform in four

  361. years or more. Hallelujah. I heard someone say,

  362. how about another couple years of that? No, because

  363. it's not over. We don't walk across the stage

  364. until we get there. And he says, well done, my

  365. good and faithful servant. So it's a lifelong

  366. journey of learning how to love him. Can I tell

  367. you something? You don't become a Christian,

  368. I don't care how long you've been one, and just

  369. automatically know how to love God. You have

  370. to learn. Someone say, I got to learn. You got

  371. to learn how to love him. You don't just get,

  372. my God, I'm going to mess with someone's theology

  373. now. I'm going to mess with some of the things

  374. you've been hearing in the non -denominational

  375. world and everywhere. You don't get to love him

  376. any way you want. This isn't just love him like

  377. you want to love him. No, God's got a way that

  378. if you're going to love him, you've got to love

  379. me my way. With all of your heart, with all of

  380. your soul, with all of your strength. My God.

  381. So you've got to learn how to love him, and it

  382. takes years. It takes years to learn how to love

  383. him. You know you've got to learn how to worship

  384. him. You don't just get baptized like you did.

  385. A couple of weeks ago, Brother Mikey, he's a

  386. worshiper. I've seen him worship. But when you

  387. get baptized, brother, you're not just an expert

  388. worshiper. You've got to learn how to worship

  389. him. You know why? Because in the beginning,

  390. man, anybody can worship the Lord when you're

  391. riding on a spiritual high, when you're still

  392. wet from the baptismal tank, amen, and you're

  393. still speaking in tongues on the way to work.

  394. I mean, you should do that even now, hallelujah.

  395. But when you got drunk in the Holy Ghost and

  396. you didn't care, anybody can worship him like

  397. that. But you learn how to worship him when the

  398. going gets tough. Come on now. You learn how

  399. to worship him when life gets hard and the bills

  400. are due and the kids are sick. losing your mind.

  401. Anybody know how to worship him like that? In

  402. fact, why don't you give him some praise right

  403. now? Why don't you open up your mouth right now?

  404. Why don't you love him right now? Why don't you

  405. say, Jesus, I love you, God. I worship you, Lord.

  406. You're my all and all and my everything, and

  407. I'm nothing without you. Blessed be the name

  408. of the Lord. Somebody shout hallelujah. You got

  409. to learn how to serve him. You don't just get

  410. born. and again and know how to serve him. You

  411. got to learn how to serve him. This is what discipleship

  412. is all about. It's learning how to serve him,

  413. how to be obedient, how to be submissive, how

  414. to be responsive, how to be repentant. Oh, we

  415. got to learn how to pray without ceasing. And

  416. I can go down the list of what we've got to learn

  417. how to do. But it's a process where you don't

  418. just become more educated. The goal of God is

  419. not to educate you in all religious matters so

  420. that you just become a walking book. The goal

  421. of God is that you learn how to live and be like

  422. him. Oh, Jesus is not interested in just merely

  423. making more students. God's not interested in

  424. filling a lecture hall full of students. God

  425. wants to make disciples who imitate his every

  426. move. In Ephesians 5 and verse 1, the apostle

  427. Paul says, therefore, be imitators. Someone say

  428. imitators. Be imitators of God. dear children

  429. in the same way that a child mimics the actions

  430. of his parent his mother or father which is why

  431. parents we got to watch what we do and say right

  432. because we got little eyes that are watching

  433. us and they try to be like us and do like us

  434. and so whatever it is that we do they try to

  435. copy us and do the same thing this is what a

  436. christian education is really all about this

  437. is what christian formation is all about is us

  438. learning not just through head knowledge, but

  439. learning how to imitate him. And this is why

  440. Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 11, imitate me

  441. just as I also imitate Christ. The goal of Jesus

  442. is not simply to transfer knowledge, but to reproduce

  443. himself in all of you. Are you hearing me today?

  444. So in Jesus' university, you don't advance to

  445. the next level simply by completing the coursework.

  446. But when you start thinking like Christ, oh,

  447. hallelujah. That's why the Bible says, put on

  448. the mind of Christ. When you start acting more

  449. like Christ, that... is the measure of growth.

  450. Not how much you know but how closely to him

  451. you look. The making continues as you walk in

  452. his footsteps. It begins when the nets hit the

  453. floor and it continues as you walk in his footsteps.

  454. Somebody say amen today. It's been said that

  455. imitation is the highest form of flattery. Highest

  456. form of flattery is somebody to copycat what's

  457. been done. Right? The highest form of flattery

  458. is to somebody to imitate. And it's the same

  459. in the kingdom of God. Imitation is the highest

  460. form of growth. Nothing makes God, nothing pleases

  461. him more. Not just the volume, hear me, of our

  462. praise. Not just the repetitions of our prayers.

  463. But nothing pleases. I don't think anything puts

  464. a smile on God's face more than when he sees

  465. us trying to be like him. When he sees us trying

  466. to talk like him. Love like him. Forgive like

  467. him. Serve like him. Minister like him. And Peter,

  468. as an official student now, enrollee of Jesus

  469. University, being made into the man that God

  470. has called him to be, we will see from time to

  471. time in his life how it wasn't really the notes

  472. he was writing or the books he was reading, but

  473. the actions that he was replicating in his life.

  474. When we see Peter, for instance, stepping out

  475. of the boat and walking on the water, We read

  476. that story and we go, wow, what great faith Peter

  477. had. I want to be like Peter. No, the goal is

  478. not to be like Peter. It's to be like Jesus.

  479. Because the only reason why Peter was out there

  480. was to imitate what he saw his master doing.

  481. And so that's why he said, Lord, if it's you,

  482. bid me to come. Hallelujah. I wonder what things

  483. God would do in our life if we say, Lord, I want

  484. to do it just like you. I want to step out into

  485. the waters. I want to step out in faith, believing

  486. that it's your word that is holding me up. When

  487. we see Peter lifting that lame man in Acts chapter

    Acts 3 chapter mention

  488. 3 at the temple gate called beautiful. We focus

  489. on how powerful it was. And we preach about,

  490. well, man, he lifted him up. And he jumped up

  491. and down. And they leaped. And yes, that's all

  492. wonderful. But all Peter did was imitate what

  493. he saw his master do. Oh, when he would heal

  494. the sick and raise the dead. He was just imitating

  495. what he saw him do. And this is my final point

  496. today. But this might be the most. important

  497. one because for Peter to have issued or to have

  498. been a facilitator a channel through healing

  499. to flow to the life of others he first had to

  500. let that healing hit his own house and his life

  501. and this brings me to my my last point which

  502. is that you have to lead Jesus home someone say

  503. lead him home come on say it again lead him home

  504. the question today is not whether you found Jesus

  505. in this church the question it is Will you take

  506. him home? Peter followed Jesus to the synagogue.

  507. But watch what happened afterward. After Jesus

  508. followed, or excuse me, after Peter followed

  509. Jesus to the synagogue, afterward, after they

  510. dismissed service and everyone fellowshiped like

  511. we love to do and talk, guess what happened?

  512. Peter said, hey, I need you to come to my house

  513. now. I need you to come over. To my home. The

  514. Bible says that Jesus went to his home. And there.

  515. His mother -in -law. Peter's mother -in -law.

  516. Was laying sick with a fever. Probably unto death.

  517. It was critical. It was a situation. That needed

  518. a miracle. A situation. That needed. Divine intervention.

  519. I bet you they tried everything they could. To

  520. reverse that fever. I bet you they did everything

  521. within their power. To get mom back well. I bet

  522. you they tried everything they could. To try

  523. to heal her. And try to get her back on her feet.

  524. They did all they could. But nothing else worked.

  525. So Peter says. If this all is what it is supposed

  526. to be. If this man is who he says he is. And

  527. if this life is worth giving up all of my life.

  528. To live. Then I'm going to see if this is really

  529. worth it all. So he brings Jesus back to his

  530. house and he shows him, okay, Jesus, here I have

  531. a problem in my home that needs healing. One

  532. would think that of all the places Peter would

  533. want to go, it would be anywhere but back home.

  534. You would think that if Peter was now following

  535. Jesus, we're going on to bigger and better things.

  536. Maybe he would have thought, like some people,

  537. where's the next venue we're going to visit?

  538. Where's the next town? And what's coming next?

  539. He did not imagine, though, that he would be

  540. right back in his home in his own reality. But

  541. this is the way that God works. And I want to

  542. tell somebody here today, as I prepare to close,

  543. that no matter how great your calling is in this

  544. life, and no matter who God has assigned you

  545. to be, your marriage and your family and your

  546. home and your ministry, you will never be greater

  547. or never accomplish those things at the expense

  548. of the health and the condition of your home.

  549. If you don't hear anything I say today, you better

  550. not miss what I'm about to say right now. If

  551. you don't let God heal what's going on in your

  552. home, you have no business offering it to anybody

  553. else. Don't tell me about a God who forgives

  554. while you haven't forgiven. Don't preach to me

  555. about a God who heals and you won't open up the

  556. hurting areas of your life so that he can heal

  557. it. Don't you tell me and preach about a God

  558. who can do miracles and yet you're still trusting

  559. in man and you're still trusting in your employer

  560. and you're still trusting in your degree and

  561. you're still trusting in who you know. Don't

  562. you tell me about a God who can do all those

  563. things and yet there are doors and rooms in your

  564. own house that you have not yet God get in. I

  565. want revival as much as anybody else. Come on,

  566. preach with me here right now. I said, I want

  567. revival as much as anybody else. I want to see

  568. these pews filled up as much as anybody else.

  569. But it's not going to happen until I let the

  570. healer and the restorer and the miracle worker

  571. do what he's got to do in my own life. so that

  572. I can be the conduit that God uses to bless and

  573. help somebody else. Give God some praise right

  574. now. Come on, somebody magnify him. Somebody

  575. glorify him. Somebody bless him. I'm talking

  576. about the real power of God. I'm talking about

  577. the real goodness of God. I'm talking about the

  578. faithfulness of God. But God is saying, if you

  579. want me to show you what I can do through you,

  580. you've got to first let me do it in you. And

  581. if we let him do it in us, let me ask you, what

  582. area of your home, you see, the making becomes

  583. real when Jesus comes home. When his presence

  584. follows you into every part of your life. Where

  585. things are still hurting. And things are still

  586. broken. But can I tell you today, as the musicians,

  587. come get ready. Just the keys for right now.

  588. Can I tell you? That's your first ministry. Brother

  589. Isaac, your first ministry is at home. Sister

  590. Abby, your first ministry is at home. Brother

  591. David, it's at home. Brother Mike, it's at home.

  592. Pastor, I thought my ministry was right here

  593. at City Light. No, no, no, no, no, no. Don't

  594. you come in here preaching and wanting things

  595. you're not doing at home. Someone say it's at

  596. home. You know, it's at home where there's no

  597. Instagram to capture it. Oh, I just lost some

  598. of you right there. You just say, oh, Lord. I

  599. can't post it on Instagram? Well, maybe you can.

  600. But it's at home. Someone say it's at home. That's

  601. where your ministry is at. Husbands, your ministry

  602. first is to your wives. Hear me. And those of

  603. you who are not married, you better hear me too.

  604. To your wives. Do I have everyone's attention

  605. right now? Husbands, your ministry is to your

  606. wife. Don't depend on a preacher or a pastor

  607. or someone else to do the ministering to your

  608. wife that God assigned you to do. If she's hurting,

  609. minister to her. If she needs encouragement,

  610. minister to her. And by golly, even if it's your

  611. mother -in -law. I heard some who's out there.

  612. He healed the mother -in -law, Brother Rico.

  613. All kidding aside, you see, it's at home. Wives,

  614. it's to your husband. You have no business. And

  615. I say this respectfully going out, praying and

  616. ministering. When your husband's depressed, you

  617. got to stop everything else you're doing and

  618. get well at home. Don't step on the devil's turf

  619. until you first have healed yours. I feel the

  620. Holy Ghost right now. I'm operating. I'm operating.

  621. I'm operating. I'm operating. I'm operating.

  622. I'm going to close my nose so you don't think

  623. I'm not planning on saying anything I've said

  624. in the last 10 minutes. I didn't plan on saying,

  625. but it's the Holy Ghost talking to somebody right

  626. now. Your children are sick. It's not the pastor.

  627. It's not the bishop. It's not the president of

  628. the apostolic assembly. It's nobody else's job

  629. to minister to your children but you. All you've

  630. got to do is bring Jesus into the kids' room.

  631. You need to do, Brother David, you need to practice

  632. laying hands on your children. You got a child,

  633. you practice laying hands on them. At night,

  634. you rebuke that fever in the name of Jesus. You

  635. rebuke that condition in the name of Jesus. You

  636. rebuke it. Don't wait for the evangelist to come

  637. and make a special altar call. No, honey, you're

  638. going to be waiting all your life if you do that.

  639. You have been anointed. You have been empowered.

  640. In fact, stand up right now. I feel the Holy

  641. Ghost in this place. You have been anointed and

  642. appointed by God. Take Jesus into those places.

  643. And with authority. Say sickness, you're no longer

  644. allowed here anymore. Depression, you're no longer

  645. allowed here anymore. Anxiety, I'm serving you

  646. an eviction notice as of now. Depression, I'm

  647. serving you in eviction notice as of now. Diabetes,

  648. I'm serving you in eviction notice as of now.

  649. Because God has been too good to me. And his

  650. plan is too great for me to be handicapped and

  651. sidelined by this issue in my heart, in my marriage,

  652. in my life. So in the name of Jesus, I... Rise

  653. up with faith in this house. Somebody needs to

  654. rise up with courage and boldness in this place

  655. right now. Lord, I feel the Holy Ghost. I feel

  656. his fire right now. Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah.

  657. If you live by yourself, you say, Pastor, I'm

  658. a single man or a woman living alone. sickness,

  659. sick and tired of the doubt, oh, sick and tired

  660. of the disabilities, sick and tired of what the

  661. doctor told you, sick and tired of what the economy

  662. told you, sick and tired of the anxiety you feel,

  663. the anxiousness in your gut, oh, the questions

  664. and the doubts and the uncertainty, and you're

  665. ready to take back your life today and say, God,

  666. I want you to use me, but first I want you to