Tap Out | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Can I preach to y'all a little bit today?

Can I anybody come in excited to hear from God today?

If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me in Genesis chapter 32.

Genesis 32 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 32.

Genesis 32 · chapter mention

We have baptisms today.

This is Baptism Sunday, so we're going to have baptisms and celebrate today at the end of today's service.

And for those who are joining us online, we're going to have that on Instagram Live, Facebook Live, all those all those wonderful things.

But we're going to spend some time in God's word before we celebrate what God's doing in our community.

In Genesis chapter 32, I want to give you some context and then let you know kind of where we are in this particular passage.

Genesis 32 · chapter mention

We're in week two of our series, Whole Life.

Turn to somebody and say, Whole life.

In other words, God is communicating to his people that I want every area of your life to move forward.

That's ultimately what is communicating.

So our heart's desire in this series is to help us to get a glimpse of what God wants for us.

He wants our mind, our body, our spirits, all of these things to thrive or to move forward.

And there's some things that we can do, some things we must do in order to experience the wholeness that God wants us to have.

Last week, Megan and I talked about the importance of order because we understand that order is the pipeline that the blessings of God flow through.

If we don't have order, we have leaks and we have clogs, and it's hard to experience God's best for our life.

So last week we talked about getting things in order.

So if you missed that, I want to encourage you to go back and check it out.

But this week, um, I believe that there's another component that helps us to experience the wholeness that God wants us to experience.

If you're familiar with the Bible and specifically the generational setup of God's redemptive plan and his blessings, maybe you've heard this phrase before, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

It's terminology that God would often use to communicate that the promise starts with one, but it continues to go to the next generation and to the next generation and to the next generation.

It's God's desire for us to recognize that our blessings are not just for us, but they are to go through us.

And so you have this lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

They're all relatives, and God spoke a blessing over Abraham.

It then went to Isaac, his son, and now that is now called upon Jacob.

But it didn't, it didn't start that way.

Um Jacob is.

Yeah, yeah.

Jacob, Jacob was a hot mess.

Jacob was was one of these guys, man, that that was incredibly ambitious.

Incredibly ambitious.

He had such vision and drive and things that he wanted to see happen in his life.

In fact, even while he was a twin in his mother's womb, the Bible says that he was fighting with his brother.

And back in this patriarchal system that existed back then, whoever was the firstborn was the one who was given a significant blessing.

Not only were they given a double portion of inheriting everything their father had, but there was also this spiritual blessing that was given to them.

So even in infancy, when his brother Esau was born before him, Jacob was grabbing onto his heel trying to take the lead.

This is even as a baby.

Some of y'all mothers are like, man, I thought my kid was bad.

Like this is as a baby.

Jacob is fighting with his brother trying to get out of the womb first.

You ever heard that term?

Like, man, I'm on his heels, I'm right behind him.

Jacob had this mentality that I'm right on it.

Like, and his brother was born first.

So he understood that there were certain things that were designated to go to his brother merely because he was born first.

So Jacob's ambition, Jacob's drive, Jacob's desire to be successful began to take that ambition to an unhealthy place.

You know, it's it's dangerous when our ambition begins to outpace God.

It's a dangerous place when I have drive and vision for my life, but I do anything besides the will of God in order to get there.

This is the best way that I would use to describe Jacob.

He literally manipulates and steals his brother's birthright.

In addition to that, he also manipulates and steals his brother's blessing.

Two completely separate things, birthright, natural blessings, blessing was spiritual blessing.

He managed to steal both of them from his brother because he had such hustle, he had such drive, he had such ambition, but he certainly wasn't operating the way that God had intended him to function.

He was out of step with the things of God.

So as a result of this, you can understand his brother is angry with him.

His brother literally says, I'm going to kill him.

So now Jacob is on the run.

This this man who has this ambition and drive and vision for his life, this man who steps out of the will of God for his life, this man who wanted to control his own destiny is now on the run because he made a mistake and his brother now wants to take his life.

So he goes on a run for 20 years.

And while he's on a run, he he ends up being deceived.

He's it's kind of like that sowing and reaping.

He he sowed, he sowed corruption, and now he's reaping it.

So he's been manipulated.

But it continues to function in a way where he's got to maintain control.

Everything has to be on his terms.

Even in spite of that, God's hand was on his life.

It's it's wild to me that even though he had behavior that did not line up with the word of God, that did not line up with the will of God, the hand of God was still on his life.

There were consequences, but he was still covered.

There were setbacks, but he was still covered.

I don't know about you, but that's encouragement for me sometimes.

That helps me to understand that while I may have to reap consequences for some of the mistakes that I've made, I love the fact that grace says that we are still covered.

I may have got some setbacks in my life, but I'm still covered.

I may have struggled sometimes, but I'm still covered.

I'm trying to encourage somebody in here right now because the Bible is telling us that there's no condemnation to those who were in Christ Jesus.

And maybe there's somebody whispering in your ear right now and telling you that you've made too many mistakes.

There's no redemptive plan for you.

But even though you may have made some setbacks, you are still covered.

Your family is still covered, and it is not too late for you to come into alignment with the word and with the will of God.

Jacob was still covered.

So now he's at a point where after 20 years being on a run, God tells him, It's time for you to go back home.

You know that environment that you're running away from, it's time for you to go back to it.

You you got to go back and face it.

Some of us have been running a long time, and God's saying it's time for you to go back and face it.

So when he goes back, he now wanders into his brother's territory.

You know that brother that said he was going to kill him 20 years ago?

Jacob finds himself in this environment and he is he is terrified.

So he tries to bribe his brother.

He he sends him a bunch of gifts, he's trying to find a way to still maintain control.

It is it is with all of that context and with that understanding, I want you to hold on to it as we now read and to the text that God has invited us to read today.

During that night, Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servants' wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabok River with them.

And after taking them to the other side, he sent all of his possessions on the other side.

This Jacob left all alone in the camp.

And a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break.

And when the man saw that he could not win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket.

Then the man said, Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.

But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me.

What is your name?

The man asked.

He replied, Jacob.

Your name is no longer Jacob, the man told him.

From now on, you will be called Israel because you have fought with God and with man and have won.

Please tell me your name, Jacob says.

Why do you want to know my name?

The man replied.

Then he blessed Jacob there.

Jacob named the place Pineal, which means the face of God.

For he said, I have seen God face to face, and my life has been spared.

The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel when he was limping because of the injury to his hip.

There is a there's a lot to unpack.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna preach this thing fast.

And y'all can go back and listen to it later to get everything that we're gonna talk about.

But I believe God is gonna do something in here today.

If you're taking notes, I really want you to write this message title down.

Tap out.

It is it is time to tap out.

Let's pray and let's get into it.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for your people.

We thank you for this amazing community, and we thank you for opportunities for us to come and to gather in your name.

Your word declares that where two or three are gathered in your name, that you are in the midst of us.

So we celebrate that.

Holy Spirit, you're welcome.

And we ask you to inspire us, to challenge us, to change us.

So give us open eyes that we can see you, God.

I pray for open ears to hear you and open hearts to receive everything that you want to deposit into us.

It is in the name of Jesus that we pray.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

You know, I I grew up watching um wrestling.

Any any wrestling fans in the house, you know, I'm I'm I'm I'm a I'm born in the 70s, so I I go way back, man.

Mean Gene Oakerland, all that stuff, man.

Like I go way back.

I'm talking about the original, the original Ric Flair before all the cosmetic work.

The woo! Like I I grow, I go all the way back.

And and and I remember watching it, and my brother and I and friends in our community like play wrestling all the time.

You can only imagine the heartbreak when when one of our know-it-all friends decided to show up and tell us that wrestling was scripted.

I I was dead, I was devastated.

Like I you could not make me believe that what he was saying is true.

And there's a part of me that wanted to hold on to the fact that there's no way it's scripted.

I'm not saying it's fake.

What I'm saying is it's scripted.

The outcomes are already determined.

I said, there's no way you can make me believe that.

So I held on to this idea that that no, it's it's authentic and and and I held on to it for many years.

Even in the back of my mind, I didn't want to admit it.

That is until the rise of UFC.

When UFC came out, I began to watch that, and I recognized, like, okay, these fights are a little bit different.

Like when you begin to compare, you recognize that, okay, this this looks a little bit different than than people coming down with span decks and all that.

Like this, this is this is a little bit different.

And I still remember watching this particular fight where this guy was in this submissive move.

He was wrestling with this guy, and and they were like, oh, he's trying to get him in one of the submissive moves, and he got him in this move, and he had his arm trapped.

And as I'm watching this, and I heard the commentator say, like, okay, he needs to he needs to tap out.

He he needs to tap out.

And and the guy refused to tap out.

So as I'm watching this in real time, there's that moment where you just hear this pop.

Woo.

I I was like, an arm is not supposed to bend that way.

There's there's there's something that that's not supposed to happen that way.

And that guy refused to tap out.

And so the commentator's like, like, why won't he tap out?

And and and I was looking at it and I was thinking, like, man, just tap out.

You ever like just find yourself screaming at the screen?

Like, man, just tap out.

Like, why why are you putting yourself through all this?

Just just tap out.

Maybe maybe it's because in that context, tapping out to him meant that he lost.

Tapping out to him meant that he was defeated.

Tapping out to him meant that he was ill-equipped, that that he was outmatched, and so his pride didn't want him to tap out.

His his desire to win was was superseding his discomfort, and he decided, I'm not going to tap out because if I tap out, that means that I'm a loser.

But interestingly enough, as I look at this and compare this to what does it mean to be a follower of Christ, it is actually the complete opposite.

It is our ability to tap out that allows us to tap into God's strength.

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 that when Paul is asking for the presence of God to remove this burden from him, he says, My grace is sufficient.

2 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

And in fact, he says that my strength is found in your weakness.

That is such a unique paradigm for us to think about.

That God is saying that when we tap out, that he actually taps in.

That the posture of the follower of Christ is that we're able to experience strength when we understand the power of surrender.

To me, there's nothing greater than knowing your limits.

Because I can now recognize where I end and where the power of God begins.

But when my I'm not able to do that, then what I end up doing is trying to fight everything in my own strength.

And I can find myself in uncomfortable positions, and I can find myself suffering, and I can find myself hurting, and all I need to do is tap out and surrender it to God.

So even though we have this understanding, even if we read enough passages in the scripture that reveal the need for us to tap out, it's still something so difficult for the follower of Christ to do.

And I can't help but to wonder why is that?

What is it about us that we understand that we find strength when we're able to surrender, but yet that's the one thing that we are so hesitant in doing?

Is it because we feel like it's a sign of weakness?

Is it is it because we feel like it makes us too vulnerable?

Maybe, maybe we feel like it's because it's a it's a sign of us not having control.

I think it's all of the above.

I think it's our need of being in control that keeps us from truly living a surrendered life.

And you know what motivates control?

Pride and fear.

Pride and fear.

When I am overly controlling, it means that I have pride and I have fear.

Here's what pride says Pride says it has to be my way.

It has to be my way.

My way is the only way.

And if it's not done my way, it's not the right way.

It's my way.

That's that's pride, that's exaltation of self.

And then fear says, if I don't do it, then it won't get done.

If I don't do it, then it won't get done.

So somehow together, my my pride saying that my way is the only way, and my fear saying that if I don't do it, it won't get done.

That allows me to live in an ecosystem where I am both hero and victim at the same time.

Hero because look at what I'm doing, victim because no one's here to help me.

But we've created an ecosystem of control where it makes it so difficult for anyone else to get involved because we've made the lens so, so narrow.

And what I understand is when we are living lives of control, there's a fine line between stewarding our influence and exerting control over someone.

As a husband, as a father, as a pastor, as a leader, as a boss, and all these categories that God has entrusted me with, I understand that God has given me a platform and access into people's lives that I carry so dearly.

And you know what happens in all of those roles when people come to me and ask me for opinion and insight and perspective, there's a deep side of part inside of me that says, do this, do this, and do this.

You do these three things, it'll all work out for you.

If you do this and not that, it's all gonna work out for you.

But I've learned specifically as a father that that me and my kids are not the same.

That we're wired differently, that we think about things differently, we process things differently, we approach life differently, we're from a different generation.

And so, because of that, I have to be mindful that I am stewarding my influence and I'm not trying to control them.

Because if I'm not careful, if I'm not careful, what appears to be influence can actually just be me trying to control them.

You know the biggest difference between control and influence?

Influence inspires, control manipulates.

Influence inspires.

If I'm adequately stewarding my influence, I am inspiring the people around me to hear from God and to take their next God-given step.

Manipulate, on the other hand, that's when I use fear as a tactic to control your decision making.

And it's so hard to, it's so hard to not step over that line.

When my kids come to me and they're saying, like, hey, this is what I want to do, it's so hard to not say that is stupid.

Can I can I tell the truth in sure?

That is a terrible idea.

And let me tell you four ways why that's gonna fall.

You know, y'all used to hear me give three points of encouragement.

You should hear me at home.

Let me give you a four-point sermon on why that's a terrible idea.

Point number one.

And and watch this if I'm not careful, every one of those points will have a measure of fear connected to it.

And that fear begins to manipulate, and that fear begins to control.

But from an outside perspective, I just I just want them to be successful.

But what I've learned in my life is that it's called self-control is a fruit of the spirit, not other control.

I God didn't call me to control anyone else, but he's called me to steward my influence.

And what happens with us sometimes, our desire to control everything around us can lead us to a place where we manipulate, a place where we end up stepping beyond the boundaries of God, where we end up forcing people to live into constraints that God had never intended them to live in.

You notice that people who are ultimately very controlling, they don't really have a lot of peace.

They don't they don't have a lot of they don't have a lot of relationships, they don't they don't have a lot of that because what no one wants to be around a controlling person.

No, no one wants to be around someone that doesn't give them the freedom to express their unique giftings in the context of the environment that they're in.

No one wants to be around that.

So you'll find that very, very controlling people, they're lacking peace because they're not giving people the freedom to be themselves.

It has to be done my way, and if it's not done my way, it's the wrong way.

That's not the way that God had ever intended us to function.

Jesus, listen to me, Jesus is the most influential leader of all times, but he didn't control his people.

He never exerted control on society, on government, or on people.

He said, I want to steward my influence, and as I can change hearts, that can change the environments that we're in.

Jesus was not a controlling leader at all.

He trusted what he put in them, he trusted that the Holy Spirit was at work, and when they made mistakes, he trusted that he would be there to help them every step of the way.

God is not a God of control.

So why is it that we still continue to wrestle with this?

I believe that Jacob serves as a cautionary tale that reminds us that it's okay to have dreams and have aspirations, but if we're not careful, we will slip into a place where we're trying to control everything around us, and it comes at the expense of our own character.

It comes at the expense of our integrity.

I want us to look at this for a moment.

Jacob wanted to be successful.

He, from a very young age, he wanted to be successful.

So you know what he did in order for him to be successful?

He manipulated.

He began to control his relationships around him.

He he stole something from his brother.

He got everything that he wanted and then some.

And now, 20 years later, the Bible says that he is up all night.

He's restless, he's afraid because he lived a life where he was trying to control, and things are finally coming to a head where he doesn't have any control.

The text tells us this that he's in the territory where his brother lives at, and while he's there, he's up.

And as he's up, he looks and he says, Okay, I need to I need to put some distance between my family and my resources.

So he puts his wife, his children, and all of his wealth that he accumulated across the river.

That river is called the Jabak River.

Jacob is on one side, his family, his resources are on the other side.

The reason why that's noteworthy is because that word Jabak means empty.

Jacob had everything that he ever wanted from the time he was a child, but he still was empty.

Have you ever got to a place where you've gotten what you wanted, but you still feel empty on the inside?

Have you ever gotten to a place where you checked the boxes, but maybe God didn't inspire you to check those boxes, so now you still feel that there's this measure of emptiness that exists on the inside of you?

Have you ever had a goal that you had to compromise just a little bit in order to accomplish it?

And now that you've accomplished it, you don't have any peace because you didn't get it the way that God had intended you to do it.

Sometimes as a business person, you have the ability to move that dot over just one bit, and it can make your books look a different way, but it positions you to get the loan that you need, and you can convince yourself all that you want that it's a great idea, but you recognize that you stepped out of the will of God and your ambition has outpaced the grace of God.

And now that you have it, you're looking over your shoulder and you don't have peace.

This is exactly where Jacob finds himself.

He's been in control of his life doing things on his own terms, but he doesn't have peace.

There's still emptiness separating him from everything that he ever wanted.

And what scripture says is that there's a man that emerges from the shadows.

Now Jacob is not sure if this is his brother who's coming in to kill him.

He's not sure if this is an assassin, he doesn't know who it is.

So Jacob goes on the defensive.

His fight or flight kicks in, and Jacob is like, I don't have any more stamina to run, so I'm ready to fight.

So what the Bible says is that when this presence shows up, that Jacob begins to fight.

Now I want you to understand that up to this point, Jacob has had several God encounters, several of them.

God has confirmed his calling on his life, God has spoken to him multiple times.

Jacob was familiar with the presence of God.

When the presence of God shows up, and when God shows up, it's never to bring condemnation.

When God shows up, it's never to destroy us.

When God shows up, it's never meant to bring Bring us harm, but nonetheless, when the presence of God shows up, Jacob goes on a defense.

What is it about us that even when God shows up, we get defensive?

That even when God begins to speak things over our life, we get defensive about.

And sometimes he'll use a messenger, sometimes he'll speak to us in a dream, sometimes he'll speak to us in varying ways, but you know when you can recognize the area where you need to have the greatest submission is the area where you have the greatest resistance.

What is your response when someone comes to you and tells you that you need to make a change in your life?

Do you fight it?

What do you do when something comes into your life and says, listen, you've tried to live life on your own terms, and this is where you're at?

Restless, the absence of peace, the absence of breakthrough.

Look at where you are.

You need to make some adjustments, you need to learn to surrender, you need to let it go, you're holding on to the wrong things.

And what is it about us that we still want to hold on to the very thing that has caused us the brokenness that we're experiencing?

Because we understand that if I let go of it, it's gonna cost me something.

That if I let go of it, it's gonna change something.

And even though where I am at is a place of suffering and discomfort, it's still something I'm familiar with.

It's interesting how quickly we can get comfortable in living beneath God's call for our life.

And even though we know it's not God's best, but it's what we are used to, and we'll just walk it out.

And God will continuously find ways to step into our world to say, but that's not my best for your life, but I'm defensive.

But I got more for you, but I'm defensive.

And God will continue to disturb our comfort until we can finally get to a place where we surrender.

The Bible says that that Jacob and this presence of God, this angel of God, fought all night long.

Think about that.

They Jacob fought with him all night long.

It's not natural to fight all night long.

I I remember when I was in middle school and I got into my first schoolyard fight.

Like anybody remember like the schoolyard fight?

Like, I'll meet you outside at three o'clock.

So this is the days before social media.

This is the days before all the build-up.

But it was just like, man, like me and this dude had beef.

And so we missed a window, but like the next day, it was like, hey man, they've they're fighting at three o'clock.

I remember going home and I was like, okay, I'm fighting tomorrow, three o'clock.

I put on like Bruce Lee entered the dragon.

And I started prepping.

I'm like, okay, look, now listen, I know that we are in the household of faith, and we absolutely believe in turning the other cheek, but we also believe in laying hands.

So I'm at I'm at the I'm at home.

I'm at home and I'm practicing.

I'm I'm getting myself ready.

So now the next day happens.

It's three o'clock.

He sees me, I see him.

You know, that big circle begins to open up.

And we're walking around each other with our shoulders next to each other, like you do something.

He hit my shoulder, it's on.

He hit my shoulder, it's on.

Like we're just walking around for almost five minutes, just like saying, You go, you go, like you go, you go.

And then I think one of my friends who just was instigating stuff, he pushed me into the guy.

So now me and the guy are like scuffling.

The guy gets me in a headlock, and like, listen, I got what they call little man strength.

Like I was a little dude, but I was strong, so I picked him up.

I'm like, oh, you're like picking up a child.

So I'll slander them all over the place, put them on the ground, and then they broke it up.

That fight lasted all of maybe seven seconds.

I was tired for two days afterwards.

I was like, man, who won?

I would I was so exhausted, something so quick, something so what appears to be insignificant, but when you're facing resistance, you use adrenaline, but at some point you're so exhausted.

So I can't imagine me getting into a seven-second fight and needing to go on a sabbatical afterwards, being like Jacob and fighting all night long, refusing to let go, refusing to give in.

I'm like, man, aren't you tired?

Like, I mean, boxing, they have breaks.

UFC, they have breaks, but bro, you fought all night long, aren't you tired?

Jacob, aren't you tired?

You've been fighting all this time and you still haven't won yet.

Aren't you tired?

Let me rephrase that.

Church, aren't you tired of running from God?

You've been running him from him your whole life.

Aren't you tired yet?

Haven't you got to a place where you recognize that I've been fighting in my own strength all the way up until this moment and I don't have the breakthrough that I need?

Maybe my next step is to surrender.

Maybe my next step is to let things go.

What the Bible says is after they have this significant battle, that Jacob is like, I'm not going to let you go until you bless me.

This again is Jacob's desire to control the narrative.

Jacob's desire to get the outcome and to do whatever he can do to manipulate and get what he can out of the situation.

And the presence of God says this What is your name?

What?

What is your name?

See, this this question has such power to it.

Because, spoiler alert, God doesn't ask us questions to get information for himself is to bring revelation to us.

What is your name?

He says, My name is Jacob.

The significance of this can't be missed.

Because up to this point, Jacob literally became his brother in order to get the blessing.

The Bible actually says that he says, I am Esau.

He he became someone that he's not in order to get what he thought that he wanted.

His entire life shows evidence of someone who manipulated, who cheated, who stole, and who had to become someone else in order to get what he thought he was supposed to have.

But now, for the first time, we see in scripture that he confesses who he is.

I'm Jacob.

That name Jacob means trickster, deceiver, manipulator.

So you can almost say that Jacob lived down to what the expectation was in his life.

It was when he confessed that that God then said, That is not who you are.

Going forward, your name is going to be Israel.

It's amazing to see what can happen when we begin to repent of who we were and allow God to lead us to who we are to become.

Jacob understood.

I can't continue to control everything around me.

And the quicker we can come to that resolve and understand that I cannot continue to do things my way.

And that surrender brought him to a place of true empowerment.

What scripture tells us after he has this encounter is that God changes his name.

You see, it is impossible to have an encounter with God and stay the same.

Jacob walked differently now.

Jacob had a new identity now because he had a God encounter and he truly surrendered his way for God's way.

I got one point for us and one point only, and I'm going to invite the worship team to come back and to join us.

Here's the point let go and let God.

Let go and let God.

Letting go doesn't mean giving up, it means giving in.

It means yielding.

It means, God, you go first.

Let go and let God.

When we tap out, God taps in.

It is impossible to be whole if we have to stay in control.

And what I recognize is that there's some among us that we have been trying to hold on to control our entire lives.

We've been doing life on our own terms all the way up until this point.

And God is saying, it's time for you to let it go and allow me to begin to have access to your life.

Let go of that fear and let God begin to lead you to a place of boldness.

Let go of that condemnation and grab a hold of God.

Let go of everything that the enemy has spoken lies over your life and grab on to the truth of God's word.

Let go of the past so that you can cling to the future hope that God has for you.

Let go of the pain that you've experienced in unforgiveness and grab a hold of the God who forgives all.

Let go of everything that the enemy has tried to bring into your life and grab a hold of God and let him usher you into something different.

It's time for us to let go.

It's time for us to tap out so that God can tap in.

Aren't we tired of running?

Aren't we tired of fighting?

Aren't we tired of doing things our way?

Let's put down our pride, let's let go of the fear, and let's let God have his way in our lives.

I believe that God wants to change some things in some of us today.

He wants to give us a new identity, and I believe he wants to give us a new walk.

And I believe that those moments transform us forever.

With every head bowed and every eye closed, I want to pray for us.

I truly believe that there's not a single person that's here with us today that is here by mistake.

I truly believe that there's not a single person that's that's here with us, watching us online, that you're watching this by mistake.

I believe that this is a divine appointment.

And if you really were honest with yourself and you were to do inventory inside of your heart and look at your life, maybe, maybe there's something that the Holy Spirit is bringing to the surface that is revealing this is an area that you haven't let go of just yet.

I've spoken to you, I've inspired you, I've challenged you, and you're still you're still holding on to it.

You're you're still being Jacob and you refuse to let it go.

But if you can tap out, then I can tap in.

Maybe that's you.

Maybe there's an area of your life that you know that you need to surrender it to God.

God, I I need to surrender my finances to you, God.

God, I need to surrender my relationships to you, God.

I need to surrender my ways to you, God.

There's there's areas of my life that I need to let go so that you can truly begin to move through me.

If that's you and you know there's an area where you need to surrender your life to God, that area of your life.

I want you to lift your hands up on a count of three so I can pray for us.

One, two, three.

God, there's areas that I need to surrender.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

God bless you, God bless you, God bless you.

You can put those hands down.

Here's here's my here's my next question.

There's other of us in here that that maybe we've been living our entire lives on our own terms.

And right now we know that we are away from God, that we're not walking in fellowship with God.

I believe that today is the day of salvation.

That God is saying, Would you please just lay your life down and allow me to live through you?

If you're in here with us today and you know your next step is to simply live the life that God wants you to live by surrendering yours.

It doesn't mean that you got it all figured out, but what it does mean is that you're gonna let God begin to move through you.

If that's you and you want to surrender your life to Christ, I would love for you to boldly lift your hand up on a count of three.

One, two, three.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Church, we put our hands together celebrating those who are who are making that powerful decision.

Here's what I want us to do.

I want us all to stand on our feet.

And we're gonna go back into worship after I pray over us.

But there's some of us that are in here.

You came here today prepared to get baptized.

You knew that today was baptism Sunday and you came prepared.

Maybe you invited some friends.

We would love to invite you to go ahead and slip out and start um getting dressed.

We have a team out there that would love to give you your next steps.

So you can go ahead and slip out and make that.

But but here's what I also know for those of us that raised our hand, for those of us that that know that, man, I need to have a moment that marks me.

Maybe this is a moment that's just for you.

Maybe you didn't plan to get baptized, but God has a plan for you to get baptized.

Let go of trying to control the narrative, let go of trying to control, but maybe this is a moment where you can just simply say yes to God and allow this moment to be the moment that changes the way that you walk, that changes your identity, that changes it all.

Don't overthink it.

Just be obedient.

If that's you, we want to invite you to go ahead and slip out.

As a family, we're gonna all celebrate.

But I want to pray over us, we're gonna worship together, and then we're gonna go out and celebrate people taking that next step.

Heavenly Father, with every hand lifted up, I want you to receive this.

Lord, you see your people.

You see those of us who have tried to fight to stay in control of our lives, and it's brought us to a place where we don't have peace, where we're still experiencing emptiness because we understand that the emptiness that we feel is meant to be filled by the presence of God.

Lord, I pray over every area of our lives where we need to live a surrendered and submitted life, that we can tap out so that you can tap in.

Give us the boldness, give us the strength, give us the courage to truly let go and let you have your way.

Father, I pray by the Spirit that you can give us the ability and the stability to stand on the conviction and recognize that God, this is a God moment that is meant to change us, to change the way that we walk, to change the way that we talk, to change the way that we think and understand that this I am laying at the foot of the cross in the name of Jesus.

Father, I also pray for those who are surrendering their lives to you.

Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit begins to activate and stir on the inside of them, that they take their next step and get baptized.

Even today, God, as a sign of obedience and as a sign to mark that their lives have been changed.

Father, I pray for boldness in our church.

I pray for inspiration in our church, I pray for obedience in our church.

I pray that we are a submitted church that you can have your way.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's put our hands together, let's worship together.

Thanks again for listening.

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