Church Hurt | 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.

Right, all right, all right.

Church family, how you guys doing?

You guys doing good?

Oh, let's do a little bit better now.

You guys doing good?

All right.

I want to start off this message with a with a confession.

There's actually nothing in this cup.

I just wanted to flex that I was an Eagles fan.

That's all.

Um somebody, somebody's rocking with me.

Somebody's rocking with me.

Um, okay, we are in week two of our deconstructed series.

If you missed last week, I want to encourage you to go back and check it out as we kind of use it as the building blocks where we talk about the even the idea of doubt.

What does it mean to doubt?

And can God handle our questions?

And so it's a really good foundational message that I think sets the tone for the rest of our time here today.

And today we're we're gonna be jumping into a topic that Eileen already shared with you guys regarding church hurt.

But but before we jump into it, let me give you a little bit of context as to where we are and ultimately where we are going.

So, deconstruction, maybe it's a phrase that you're familiar with, it's the idea of dismantling something that has been assembled.

And so it's not something that's necessarily consistently connected exclusively to Christianity.

We see it in other um areas of life as well.

We even see people, as we call it, the um mass resignation, where people are just resigning from their jobs, they've deconstructed their career paths, they're evaluating what they want to do with their lives, and so they're stepping away.

And so deconstruction inside of the church in and of itself isn't anything new.

In fact, reformation, that idea was the result of ultimately deconstructing faith as we know it.

And even when we look at Jesus, when Jesus came on the scene, if we knew it or not, when he's doing the Sermon on a Mount, what we call the Beatitudes, that's him deconstructing what was taught to him.

You have heard it said this, but I say to you this.

So he's literally deconstructing what we have also always thought and assembling it in the manner that God wants it to be.

So deconstruction in and of itself is not a new concept or idea.

We see systems that were bold enough to deconstruct some things.

Hey, America, the idea of America is the result of deconstruction.

Remember that taxation without representation.

Let's deconstruct this thing and build something for the better.

Slavery was abolished because people had the heart to actually say, this is wrong.

Let's deconstruct this and make sure that we assemble something better.

So deconstruction in and of itself, when done the right way, is really life-giving because I believe that the truth should be able to handle scrutiny.

I believe the truth should be able to handle the weight of being questioned.

The truth should do that.

However, I will say this we have to make sure that our feelings are not the only metric of truth.

We have to make sure that our feelings are not the only metric of truth, specifically when it comes to our faith, because unfortunately, when our feelings are the metric of truth, we end up reconstructing God in our image instead of us being in his image.

We leave out parts that we don't like and we assemble something that's not necessarily consistent with scripture.

So we have to be careful.

Yes, let's push, let's probe, let's do all those things, but let's not become people who slip into idolatry, making God in our image.

Amen.

Amen.

So as we jump into today's passage, we're gonna be looking at the Gospel of John chapter 2, verses 13 through 17, and then we're gonna flip over to Luke chapter uh 19.

John 2:13–17

Starting at verse number 13, it says this in John's Gospel.

It says, It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.

So Jesus went to Jerusalem in the temple area.

He saw merchants selling cattle, sheep and doves for sacrifices.

He also saw dealers at the tables exchanging foreign money.

Jesus made a whip of ropes and chased them out of the temple.

He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers' coins all over the floor.

He turned over their tables.

Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, Get these things out of here.

Stop turning my father's house into a marketplace.

Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the scriptures Passion for God's house will consume me.

Flipping over to Luke chapter 19, telling the same story, but um at the end of it, Luke adds this element to it that I think is powerful.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

Looking at verse number 45, Jesus says, Jesus enters a temple and he begins to drive the people out, which we heard selling animals and sacrifices.

But verse 46 is where I want us to lean in.

He said to them, Scriptures declare, My temple will be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves.

What we have is Jesus showing up at his house and seeing that the religious people had brought a bunch of elements into the house of God that weren't supposed to be there.

They brought in some components that Jesus said, I never authorized these things to be in my house.

You have misappropriated, and you're doing some things that are not in alignment with my word and with my will.

See, today I want to talk about church hurt.

And it's a it's a weighty subject, it's a it's a topic that that is very prevalent in society and community, and rightfully so, because there's no shortage of people who have experienced pain and suffering, manipulation and abuse, abuse that has come at the hands of the church.

There's a correlation between this abuse that can happen in other authority figures.

So the idea is when we experience abuse from the people who are supposed to be the ones who care from us.

Now, what I want to also be very clear about is as we talk about this subject, I want to be very unapologetic that for me, the answer is Jesus.

Jesus is always the answer.

So when I approach weighty topics like this, I have a three-tiered approach.

I just want to lay it out in front of you.

I acknowledge it, we analyze it, and then we alter it.

Alter it means we bring it to the altar, we pray about it, we acknowledge what's going on, we're gonna analyze it, understand how we got here, what are some of the components, but at some point we have to take it to the altar because if we stay in analysis mode forever, then I can end up suffering in a place of being paralyzed and never moving forward.

At some point, we have to acknowledge it, we analyze it, but we have to move forward from it.

So that's gonna be my posture.

I also want to say that I realize that there are countless books, podcasts, blogs that talk about this subject.

Some of those I borrowed from, but for the next 28 minutes and 51, 50, 49 seconds, I will not do it justice.

So I realize that there's gonna be some things that I brush over.

I'm just asking you to extend the same grace to me that we ourselves want to receive.

This is meant to start the conversation just for us to begin to stoke the fire and really get mind, God's mind and heart on this weighty subject.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray and let's dig into this thing.

Lord, we thank you so much for your word.

We thank you for your community, we thank you for your church.

And Father, as we um endeavor to speak about such a weighty subject, Lord, we pray um for open eyes to see you.

We pray for open ears to hear you and open hearts to receive from you.

We ask for your spirit to move and to strengthen and to do what only you can do.

Holy Spirit, you're welcome here.

Transform us, challenge us, inspire us, encourage us, build us up in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

I want to read a story to you about a couple named Michael and Angela.

They were both in desperate need of a touch from God.

They went through extreme efforts to find themselves in the household of faith.

They didn't have any transportation of their own, so they took a combination between um public transportation and walking because they were desperate to get into the presence of God.

When they arrived at the venue, there was a lot of commotion, there was a lot of activity.

Apparently, there was an event there.

So they had to wait in line in order for them to gain entry into the house of God.

When they get there after waiting for a couple of hours and when it's their turn, they are told that they have to pay in order to get in.

You can understand their confusion and their frustration as when they're processing through what they have personally heard.

If you can get to the temple, you can have an experience, an encounter with God.

So when they go through all the efforts to get to the house of God, to be told that they have to pay in order to get in.

You can imagine the confusion and frustration that came as a result of it.

They are told no.

They are told there isn't any room for them if they aren't willing to pay.

They begin to retort and say, We won't even want to take a seat, we'll just stand in the back.

We just we just need to have a moment in the presence of God.

They are told that they're not welcome there.

They are told to go back to where they came from.

See, it was recognized that they were immigrants, that they weren't from that area.

And so now questions about their nationality came into the equation.

So you can understand as Michael begins to retort and saying, I thought that this was supposed to be a place for all people, to which they are told, just go back to where you came from.

For a moment, I want you to imagine showing up at the house of God today, and you're met with that.

I want you to imagine that all week long you've been thinking, man, I need to get into the presence of God so I can pray.

I need to hear a word from God, I need to be in the presence of God's community to experience worship.

You all week were planning to get here, and when you get here, there's someone standing at the door that says you have to pay to get in, there's no room for you.

In fact, you don't even belong here in the first place.

Can you imagine the household of faith being a place that perpetuated such meanness and ignorance and hateful spirits?

See, this story is actually a parable of what a foreigner would have experienced when he went to the temple in Jesus' day.

It's no wonder why when Jesus shows up, he completely flips out.

Literally.

See, the court of the Gentiles was an environment inside of the temple that was designated for non-Jews.

And when they came there from all across the globe, that was a space where they could come, they could worship the true God, they could actually hear from God.

It was meant to be a place of community, acceptance, and love.

But when they get there, what happens is the place that is supposed to be a place for God's people to experience the presence of God, the church, the temple set up a business there instead.

So when folks are trying to get in, they're being told, There's no room for you.

When folks are trying to have an experience with God, they're being told that there's no space for you.

You can imagine the rejection and the pain and the suffering that these individuals have felt.

So when Jesus shows up and he sees people that are not welcome inside of his house, when he shows up and sees people that are standing outside when they should be inside praying to him, he is filled with so much frustration.

He literally assembles a whip of leather and of a rope.

Think about that.

I know a lot of times when we get visions of Jesus, we see him sitting on a rock with kids around him, stroking a baby lamb, maybe with a King James Bible in his lap.

But we see a Jesus who walks inside the temple and sees the people that can't experience the presence of God because they brought things into the temple that weren't supposed to be there, and he is filled with so much righteous indignation that he assembles a belt and he literally drives them out.

This should be a message to every one of us that Jesus is passionate about his church.

That Jesus is passionate about his people.

I'm so grateful that we have a Lord that when he sees mischaracterizations of his character and when he sees injustice, it compels him to act.

He literally grabs a belt, he begins to beat them, he turns over the tables and he drives them out of there.

Jesus is passionate about his church because the church is God's idea.

I want you to get that deep in your spirit that the church is God's idea.

In Matthew chapter 16, when Jesus is having a conversation with Peter, he says, Who do men say that I am?

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

They begin to respond with a couple of things.

He said, But who do you say that I am?

We say that you're the Messiah.

Great.

On this rock I will build my church.

I will build the that's the foundation of what the church is going to be built on, on Jesus being Lord.

The church is God's idea.

And what he says is the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

This is what we call the prevailing church.

So when Jesus has a vision of his church, that statement was made literally at a place where human sacrifices took place.

He was very strategic in his messaging.

They were standing at a place where humans were often killed there as a sacrifice to false gods.

So as Jesus is claiming that I'm going to build an institution that carries my name, that's going to war against the spirits of darkness, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

The church was Jesus' idea, and his vision for the church was a church that was anointed, a church that was filled with power, a church that was filled with character, a church that was filled with power, a church that was filled with equality, a church that was filled with unity, a church that was filled with accountability.

That was the vision that Jesus has for his church.

That's the vision that Jesus has.

But the problem is the moment that man got involved, the church got a little bit off track.

The moment that man got involved, they began to bring things into the church that weren't supposed to be there.

How do we get so far off track from being a church that sends a message to the adversary, that is supposed to pray for people and see blind eyes open, that are supposed to bind up wounds, that are supposed to be a place where people are welcome and loved and cared for, but it turned into a marketplace, it turned into a business, it turned into a growth strategy.

The religious leaders brought elements into the church that Jesus never authorized.

It got off track.

I want to read something else to you.

Here's a couple of comments that I pulled off of varying blogs and um off of social media.

Listen to this.

It says, I used to be a passionate follower of Christ.

That all changed when I attended that church.

That is in quotes because it actually gives the name of a church.

It says, The leaders in the culture are so narcissistic and toxic, I realize that I'm actually happier being set free from an environment that breeds manipulation and sidesteps accountability.

Here's another comment.

I stopped going to that church when it turned into a political rally.

Since when did we start draping Calvary's cross with the American flag?

Has anyone else noticed that whenever you see some of the most mean-spirited, bigoted, intolerant comments, they always seem to come from Christians?

Why would anyone want to be a part of that?

Another one says, I have never felt so undervalued in my life.

The moment that I shared with my leaders my concerns and questions, and overall what I felt, I was labeled and all but thrown out of the church.

Why is it okay for the church to demand so much of you but require nothing of itself?

I will never put myself in that position again.

Here's the fourth and final one I'll read to you.

Organized religion is a scam, especially Christians.

It's all about power and money with those people.

Hashtag taxall churches.

No.

Um here's the truth.

This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what people are saying about the church.

As I stated, Jesus cares about what people are saying.

Matthew 16, what are people saying about me?

If Jesus were to pose that exact same question to us right now, this is what some of the response would be.

And I believe that it grieves him at his core when he looks at his church and what people perceive it to be.

Sometimes it feels like the church is like a reality TV show that's been scripted by Tyler Perry and Shonda Rhimes.

I don't know.

Like it's just a lot.

It's just a lot of scandal and stuff going on.

It's a hot mess, if we could be honest with us.

And it hurts us so much.

And the reason why it hurts us is because we esteem the church in the same way that we do other influential authority figures in our lives.

Think about our parents.

These are people that are meant to build us up, to mold us, to help us to become what we're supposed to be.

So whenever the church misappropriates its authority and it perpetuates abuse and pain, it's sometimes so hard to shake free from it, it can damage our hearts in ways that we didn't anticipate because we allowed ourselves to be vulnerable.

When people whom we trust manipulate, shame, reject, and use others for selfish gain, the effects are extremely painful and confusing.

It hits us where we are the most tender, causing us to question God, ourselves, and the church.

Can the church be trusted?

When I see comments like this, when I see people who experience moments like this as a result of things getting into the church that aren't supposed to be there, it grieves me at my core.

When I open up the internet and I see another scandal that has broken out in the church, it grieves me at my core.

It seems like every day there's a new podcast, there's another documentary, there's another blog that speaks about this abuse and sin that takes place in the church, and it grieves me to my core.

But then I find myself reading this passage.

Because what we see is that in spite of all of these things, in spite of the religious leaders allowing the temple to become something that God never intended it to be, we see that Jesus still shows up.

See, Jesus shows up even in this environment that took upon a purpose that he didn't intend it to, and the Bible says that he publicly deals with it.

I want you to hear it.

I'm always conflicted when I see something in public.

I hate to see it.

But then God began to say, What if what you're seeing in the media is the exact same thing as when I went into the temple and publicly turned over the table and drove those things out of the church because I wanted to send a message to the people that are in the church.

I'm not gonna tolerate this anymore, but I also wanted to send a message who were outside of the church that you're welcome to come back here because I am passionate and committed about my church.

And when I see things that are not supposed to be there, I'm gonna publicly drive it out.

God is at a place where he's tired of giving a green light pass to the mess that he sees in the church.

So Jesus is doing now what he was doing back then, where he's going in, he's pulling together public beatings, he's flipping over tables and he's driving some things out.

He's saying, I've seen narcissism in the church for too long and I'm driving that mess out of there.

I've seen abuse for too long, I'm turning the tables over, I'm setting the light on it, and I'm driving that mess out of there.

I've seen manipulation for too long, I'm putting a light on it, I'm turning the tables over, and I'm driving it out of there.

God is looking at the church and saying that this is my commitment.

I'm driving things out that are not supposed to be there.

For you religious leaders that are bringing elements into the church that aren't supposed to be there, I'm driving it out.

If you brought anything in there that's not supposed to be there, I'm driving it out.

Jesus is showing up and he's cleaning up his church, he's cleaning up and he's doing an inventory and saying that's not supposed to be there, that's not supposed to be there.

I'm driving this mess out of my church because my church is my bride.

My God is committed to his church.

He's saying, I am tired of the church elevating charisma over character because there's so many people that stand on a platform with a message, but they don't live the life that they talk about, and I'm driving that stuff out of the church.

I'm so tired of the lack of accountability.

So I'm driving that stuff out of the church.

Jesus is shedding a light on the things that are not like him, and he's publicly driving them out.

It's not comfortable.

It certainly doesn't feel good, but it also is beautiful to know that we have a God who is committed to his church and he's driving those things out that aren't supposed to be there.

So, what does moving forward look like?

For those of us that may have been on the fringes and we're still trying to figure out how to engage church because we've experienced it, we've seen it.

For those others of us who have never experienced it, but now we're being exposed to it, how do we respond?

And then there's others that may be perpetuating it.

How do we respond when we are seeing such public displays of Jesus driving things out of the church?

Well, I think first and foremost, if you are in an abusive situation, you have to get yourself out of it.

Let me say that again.

If you are in an abusive situation, you have to get yourself out of it.

Let's look at David for a moment.

The Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart, that David was a man who functioned with honor, he functioned with integrity, he knew how to operate, he was loyal.

But watch this.

The moment that Saul threw a spear at David, David left.

Don't allow your loyalty to allow you to stay in an environment where you're gonna continuously be abused.

That's whether it's a church, that's even whether it's a relationship.

David was loyal until a spear was thrown at him.

If you're in an environment, listen to me, where you're feeling that Spears are being thrown at you, it is not being loyal to stay somewhere until death, get yourself out of there and get into a safe place.

But let's move on from that.

Provided that you moved on, provided that you're beginning to figure out what putting the pieces back together look like.

I believe there's a couple of principles that I think can help us as we begin to re-engage what moving forward is for us in Christ-like community.

Here's the first thing I want you to write down Look to Jesus.

Look to Jesus.

Now in all that we do, we have to look to Jesus.

Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, I'll summarize it, ultimately tells a story about how these followers of Christ are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses.

Hebrews 12:1

Now in Hebrews chapter 11, that's referred to the hall of faith, where the writer breaks down some amazing people of the faith that did some incredible things.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

So when you get to Hebrews chapter 12, as it begins to unpack these things, it says, We want you to run the race that God has given you, and you will be successful as long as you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Here's why this is so important.

You would imagine, after highlighting these amazing characters in chapter 11, that they would say, So be just like Moses, be just like Abraham.

But the writer doesn't say that.

He says, You can look to them to be inspired, but you're only going to finish this race if you keep your eyes on Jesus.

Because in chapter 11, every single person that was mentioned, though they did some incredible things for the kingdom, they also were flawed people.

There's also another side of the coin that exposes their flaws.

As we said, Moses was a murderer.

Abraham actually tried to sell off his wife twice and took matters into his own hand.

Every single person that's a hero of the faith also made some significant mistakes.

So what it's saying is be inspired by those people, but you have to keep your eyes on Jesus.

Because the truth of the matter is, it is inevitable that if we put our eyes on people, people will let you down.

It is inevitable that if we focus on the church exclusively, the church is going to let you down.

I think when we think about a table setting, if we're looking at who's at the head of the table when it comes to our faith, a lot of times we're putting the pastor at the head of the table or we're putting the church at the head of the table, and Jesus is a little bit further down.

But the truth of the matter is, Jesus has to be in his rightful place.

If Jesus is in his rightful place, then no matter what I face, I can continue to move forward because I know that Jesus is Lord.

There is nothing special about me.

You know what my job is?

I am a glorified crossing guard.

I stand in traffic and point people to Jesus, but I'm not the one that's bringing you to safety.

Only Jesus can do that.

I realize that I can let you down.

The church can let you down.

It's inevitable, it's going to happen.

I remember in 2019, in the midst of all the pandemic and racial tension.

What's the church's response?

Keith, what's your response?

What are you saying with all the racial tension?

Man, if I if I say something that I shouldn't have said something, or I should have said something more, it's inevitable I'm going to let somebody down.

What's the church's position on this?

It's inevitable you're going to let somebody down.

And when you do that, we can elevate the church higher than it's supposed to be.

The first pulpit, the very first platform that was ever built is in Nehemiah chapter 8.

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

Go check it out.

And when it was built, the purpose of it being built was to gather the people of God around.

And the platform was built so that Ezra the priest could stand up and project his voice so that everyone could hear the message.

He was surrounded by 12 people.

That 12 people represented accountability, and it also wanted to make sure that if you fall, someone will catch you, but if you fall, it's going to fall publicly.

Somehow we've taken the platform and we've gotten lost in the message, and now the platform has somehow turned into celebrity preachers and being all about me.

And now we're wondering that when people fall, there's no accountability and they're falling publicly.

But if we're doing things God's way, the platform is simply to be the place where we're elevating the message of God.

There is nothing special about me.

This is why John the Baptist says, I am not the light.

I am merely a person who is working the night shift.

See, as a pastor, I realize that I am merely a moon, but Jesus is the sun, and I am simply reflecting the light from the sun.

If I get prideful, it can eclipse the sun's glory in my life.

I am not the light.

I am not the one.

Don't you dare look to me.

We keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Jesus is the one who will never let you down.

Jesus is the one that will never disappoint.

We keep our eyes on Jesus.

We hold each other accountable, but we keep our eyes on Jesus.

Jesus showed up in the temple after he drove everyone out and he began to teach in the people, they kept their eyes on him.

The other thing that happens when I look at Jesus, I begin to look like Jesus.

I want you to hear me.

The more that I look at Jesus, the more I look like Jesus.

Yes, I'm talking about grooming and beginning to pick up his characteristics, but there's another layer to it.

The more that I look at Jesus, I look like him.

I begin to see people the way that Jesus sees them.

I begin to extend forgiveness that was extended to me.

I begin to extend grace that was extended to me.

This is why the answer is looking to Jesus, because as I look to Jesus, I can then begin to see the people that he created, the same love and compassion that he has for them.

I remember, man, I remember years ago, my wife has shared this story where she was under some abusive, toxic relationship.

We're working at the church, we're working for Celebration Church, not at this location, but we're working for Celebration Church.

A terrible leader, an abusive leader.

It was exhausting to watch this.

And I remember me wanting to get involved.

It was a husband and wife that both work there.

And I'm Pentecostal, so I believe in laying hands.

You take that how you want to.

You mess with my wife, man.

I'm like Jesus flipping over tables.

I'll get whips, I'll get whatever it takes.

But I remember that.

And I remember being frustrated and wanting to get involved.

And then Megan's mentor came to her and said, I want you to begin to read the word of God and I want you to begin to pray for her.

And you know what happened?

The more that she read God's word, God's word began to change her, and then she began to look at that woman the same way that Jesus looks at her.

She's a broken woman who needs salvation and grace the same way that you do.

Extend the same grace that you want to receive.

It's a beautiful thing that happens that when we look at Jesus, we begin to look like Jesus.

We begin to see people like Jesus, which gives us grace and capacity, even in the midst of their brokenness.

We don't get to sit on the sidelines and point out everyone's flaw without acknowledging our own.

We have to be willing to do the work and allowing the word of God to be a mirror to reflect us, allow us to get better, but also see people through the lens of the finished work of Christ.

We have to be willing to look to Jesus.

The next thing we have to do is we have to pursue healing.

We have to pursue healing.

Healing is a part of the package deal when we say yes to Jesus.

We just took communion together as a family.

By his stripes, we are healed.

Healing is available to every single one of us, but you know what?

Healing has to be pursued.

We don't have to work for it, but we do have to pursue it.

Has anyone ever noticed that the best food doesn't get delivered?

Like, have you ever, like, man, like I'm really hungry, and I'm looking at the options of the varying delivery components, but the best foods aren't the ones that are even on the list.

So yesterday I'm like, okay, like we we we didn't plan well, I didn't know what we were gonna do, so I'm sitting there, I'm thinking, like, what are we gonna eat?

I'm beginning to look at all my apps, and I'm like, man, I know what I have a taste for, and I got one of two options.

I can either settle for what's on, what's available to me, and it's convenient, but it's not gonna satisfy, or I can get up, go to the grocery store, get the ingredients, bring them home, and do the work so that I can truly be nourished and satisfied with what I want.

Am I the only person that's ever ordered food, had it delivered as you're eating it?

You're like, I'm I've failed in life.

There's there's there's a certain fast food chain that all right, Matthew.

I'm still trying to get an endorsement deal for now, man.

Relax.

Okay.

But when I'm eating it, I realize that I'm eating this and this is evidence of failure in my life.

I did not prepare appropriately.

This is this is mere desperation and it never satisfies.

It's convenient, but it doesn't satisfy.

Watch this.

Healing is inconvenient.

You can't just sit home and think that healing is going to be delivered to your house.

You have to get up and go and get it.

What the Bible says about the woman with the issue of blood in Mark chapter 5 is that she actually was trying to get healing delivered to her house by other physicians.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

And what the scripture says, she actually didn't get any better, she actually got worse.

But she heard about Jesus.

And the Bible says that she got up off of her feet and she said, If I can just touch the hem of his garment, then I know that I'll be saved.

This is what it looks like to pursue healing.

I'm not gonna just sit home and think that it's gonna get all better.

I'm not gonna jump on blog posts and think that's gonna get better.

What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna get up.

I'm actually gonna begin to see where I can go that's gonna help me to get better.

She pressed through the crowd.

The Bible says that the crowd would have been the crowd that ridiculed her.

You've been dealing with this for 12 years and you still ain't getting any better.

There's something that must be wrong with you.

She had to deal with the crowd in her mind that told her that she would never be good enough because of the affliction in her body.

But she made a decision to press through the crowd and say that, but I am going to get my healing.

I don't care how uncomfortable it is, I don't care what the challenges are, I don't care what the naysayers say, but I can't stay here and expect to get my healing.

I gotta be willing to get up and go and get it.

Every single one of us, we have to be willing to pursue our healing, and healing can look a lot of different ways for some of us.

For some of us, it may be going to counseling.

I'm a big fan of that.

Find yourself in an environment where you can have a Christian counselor speak to you that can unexpose some things and help you to develop the routines that's gonna help you to get better.

It may mean getting connected to another group of believers that have walked through something similar, but they have actually walked through it.

You gotta always talk to people that are a little bit further ahead than you.

Because if I'm walking and talking with people that are dealing with the same pain as me, Jesus defines that as the blind leading the blind, and we all end up in a ditch.

So I gotta talk to people that have gone through it so they can lead me through it.

We gotta position ourselves with people that can help us.

Maybe healing looks like your next step may be going to our equipment night where we're talking about mental health and how do I integrate faith as I'm talking about anxiety and depression.

What I'm saying is that the church is bringing things into our reality where my faith, but also utilizing tools, are the only way that can help us to heal.

We got to be willing to pursue our healing.

Our deliverance can be delayed if we're not willing to get up and pursue it.

Here's the third and final thing reclaim your spiritual practices.

We have to reclaim our spiritual practices.

I was about five years into my walk with God when I first realized that pastors weren't perfect.

And I and I don't say that as tongue-in cheek.

I realize that pastors aren't perfect, I realize that churches aren't perfect, but what I mean by that is when I was exposed to a threshold that made me reevaluate whether I still want to continue to be a part of that particular church.

It was eye-opening to me.

So yes, I've realized that people make mistakes, people are flawed, but it was five years into my walk where it was like, oh, I can't I can't stay here anymore.

And I gotta tell you, man, that that wrecked me.

It was a substantial gut blow to me and Megan.

You know, up to that point, like, we're opening a church, we're closing a church, we are we are praying two hours and 40 minutes a day.

I'm reading the Bible, we're leading to we're we're involved in the church.

But when that happened, man, it was like getting leveled, laid out.

So I remember one week goes by, two weeks goes by, and I didn't realize back then, because this is obviously over a decade ago, but we're dealing with like we're dealing with like church hurt, we're dealing with religious trauma.

So we didn't even know how to navigate through it.

So I never lost the fire of my faith, but that flame certainly went down to like a single flicker.

I didn't, I didn't I didn't read the Bible often.

I I didn't even really pray as deeply as I used to.

I kind of had like these like, you know, like Hail Mary throw up prayers, like, hey Lord, thank you.

But back in the day, I used to be a person of prayer.

Like if somebody came into me and like, man, I'm hungry, I'm like, man, let me pray for you right now, brother.

May the Lord provide.

He is a like now.

It was like, man, I'm hungry, I'm like, man, good luck.

Hope you get something to eat.

Like, things have shifted substantially for me.

But then one day I played a game of Bible roulette.

Anybody pay Bible roulette?

It's just when you just open the Bible up and see what scripture you're gonna be like, that's the Lord speaking to me.

You can't, you you can't do that with like a digital Bible, it's really hard.

But a paper Bible, a paper Bible, you just kind of flip it open and see what happens.

And and I found myself at first Samuel chapter 16, verse number one.

1 Samuel 16 · chapter mention

And and and what it said is I gotta I want to read it to you.

Um, it's not gonna come up on the screen, but it says this.

Now the Lord said to Samuel, You have mourned long enough for Saul.

I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with oil, go to Bethlehem, find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.

Now, when I read that, I understood the context.

The context of it was this that in chapter 15, God had told Samuel, I'm done with Saul.

Saul has made too many mistakes, he was a leader who was profoundly flawful, he doesn't live up to my standards.

I'm done with him, I'm moving on from him.

Powerful, powerful moment.

But Samuel was a prophet, and he was the one who identified and anointed Saul.

So he took this really hard because he was also like a mentor to him, so he took it like, man, like God rejecting Saul is also highlighting the mistakes that I've made.

Did I pick the wrong guy?

Like, so he felt some type of way.

So the Bible says he goes into a time of grieving.

Now, scripturally speaking, the time permitted for grief is typically 30 days.

It doesn't say how long he grieved, but the fact that God came to him and said, How much longer are you gonna stay here?

would imply that he was there longer than 30 days.

So he's there, and I don't know how long, and I don't want to infer, but he's there longer for 30 days.

So so God comes and taps him on the shoulders like, hey, how much longer are you gonna stay here?

How how long are you gonna how long are you gonna grieve the past uh when I've called you to move forward into the future?

How long are you going to let what happened to keep something new from happening?

Just because I'm no longer with him doesn't mean that I'm no longer with you.

How long are you gonna stay here?

He says, I need you to get up, I need you to get some olive oil, I need you to go to Bethlehem, I need you to go to Jesse's house, I need you to ordain David.

That's a lot of components that if I had time, I would break down how each of those elements represents spiritual discipline.

He says, I need you to re-engage your spiritual practices because there's work to do, because there's a new king that has been established, there's a new movement that I want to give birth to.

And right now, you not moving forward, is keeping what I want to do amongst my people from moving forward.

So I need for you to get up and be able to re-engage your spiritual practices.

What that means practically for some of us is that there's been some of us that have stopped praying to God altogether.

God is saying, I miss our fellowship.

Can you just start praying with me again?

Can you start reading your word again?

Can you start worshiping at home in your room again, like the way that you used to when everything was good?

Because I certainly want to download some things into your spirit.

Can you start journaling and writing songs to me the way that you used to?

Because even though they made a mistake, I am still good and I am still with you, and I still got some work that I want to do through you, but I need you to meet me in the place where I can speak to you.

Maybe for some of us, that next step is getting connected to a community that can pray with us, that can walk alongside of us.

But God is simply saying, I need you to re-engage in my presence.

In my presence is the fullness of joy.

In my spirit, I will provide healing and liberty and freedom.

And as long as you keep staying here, you won't do what I'm calling you to do there.

It is time for you to get up and begin to re-engage my presence.

Don't overthink it.

I'm not asking you to jump back into membership in the church.

I'm not telling you to jump back into a serving team.

What I'm asking you to do is can you get back into my presence and allow me to do the work inside of you because I am not done with you yet.

There's work that still has to be done, there's still an anointing and a calling on your life.

I haven't asked you to lay it down, get back into my presence so we can get back to work.

God tells, He tells Samuel, it's time to get up.

And I believe that God is telling some of us, how long are you going to talk about this?

It's time to get up.

I realize what was done to you.

I realize the abuse that you explored.

I realize what you've gone through, but I am still good.

Don't you forget the time that I rescued you out of bondage, I am still good.

Don't you forget that in spite of all of that, I was still moving in your family.

I am so good.

We have to be mature enough to make a distinction between the flaws of man and the perfection of a loving God.

He says it's time for you to get up and to move forward.

You know, when I look at when I look at the history of the church, this idea of people being hurt at the hands of the church, that's not a 21st century concept.

Let us remember that Stephen was stoned to death by religious leaders.

When you read the New Testament, every letter that is written, maybe with the exception of Romans, is literally written in response to drama that's happening in the church.

Let me give you an example.

The Galatians, they were dealing with legalism, the Colossians, they were dealing with heresy.

Second Timothy, they were dealing with the issue of not understanding transition of leadership because a new leader came in that was not the founding pastor of the church that was there.

When we're talking about the Philippians, we're talking about selfish ambition and pride working its way into the church.

First and second Corinthians, that church was a hot mess.

A hot mess.

We just took communion together.

Do some research on what communion used to look like for them back then.

They turned into some weird stuff that I won't even mention because I see kids in the room.

That was happening in the church in 1st and 2 Corinthians.

That's not even to mention in the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, where Jesus offers his critique of the church.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

There's one church that Jesus says, You are so ineffective, I would rather throw up than look at you.

You would think that with those critical observations, Jesus would wipe his hands clean and say that I'm done with the church.

But somehow he still says, I'm coming back from my church without spot or blemish.

The church is still my bride.

That even though it is filled with flaws and a bunch of people that do some jacked up things, I'm driving them out, but I am committed to the church.

God is perfect, people aren't.

God is perfect, the church isn't.

And Jesus is simply saying, I am committed to this church.

I'm building my church.

And if anything is in my church that's not like me, I'm driving it out of my church because I love my church.

You know, when Jesus died on the cross, it was very public, it was brutal.

He was beaten unrecognizably, he's his beard was torn out.

It was it was a brutal display.

But then there's this moment after he dies on the cross where we see this guy come up and put a spear in his side to make sure that he was dead.

Scripture says that blood and water comes out.

We fast forward a little bit further, and then there's a man named Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, Nicod Knight from John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

They go to Pilate and they say, Hey, can we get the body of Christ?

Now, Jesus is bloody, he's been brutalized, hung like a criminal.

So why would anyone want to go and be associated with that mess?

It's because they had a revelation that there's something about this man that I'm not giving up on.

So they went and delicately brought down the body of Christ.

Scripture says that they wrapped him up in fine lemons and anointed his body.

They then put him inside of a tomb, and then what was once dead was resurrected.

I want you to catch this.

The church is referred to as being the body of Christ.

And I believe that if we were to take a step back and look at the church, we could say the church is being publicly brutalized and it's a hot mess right now.

But we have an option to either be that soldier with the spear who continues to poke holes at the church, or we could be Joseph and we could be Nicodemus and say, Give me the body.

I know it's bloody, I know it's a hot mess, but I'm gonna care for these wounds.

I'm gonna see the church resurrected, I'm gonna see power happen in my community because Jesus is committed to the church, and so am I.

I know it's messy, but I'm not gonna keep poking holes at it.

I'm gonna care for it, I'm gonna use what I got to nurture this thing back because a revival is coming to the city of Orlando, a revival is coming to the nation of America, a revival is coming across the world.

But it only happens when we who are in the church do our part in caring for the body, hold each other accountable, and begin to see people come back to Christ.

Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I'ma draw all men to me.

Not if I'm lifted up, not if my platform's lifted up, not if my influence is lifted up.

But if we can lift up Jesus, we're gonna see a city transformed, we're gonna see blind eyes open, we're gonna see revelation come to life in our own life.

It is time for us to stop poking holes and to start covering up wounds and watch the body of Christ get resurrected.

Jesus is not done with his church, and neither am I.

The truth of the matter is, those comments that I read earlier, one of them came from comments about our church, not specifically here in Orlando, but our church family.

And as I look at these things that are spilled out and I'm filled with conflict, I find myself coming back to the same passage where Jesus is saying, This is my church.

I'm committed to it.

And anything that's not like me, I'm going to drive it out.

Keith, let me work.

I'm driving out arrogance.

I'm driving out pride.

I'm driving out bad systems.

I'm no longer going to put performance over power, but we are driving some things out.

None of us are exempt from needing the grace and power of God.

And I'm one who embraces the correction of God so that we can get back on track, get back on mission, and see lives radically change.

We are the church.

And I want us to lean in.

Because maybe you're joining us online and you're listening to this podcast later.

Maybe you came here specifically to hear how we talk about it.

But we acknowledge what has happened.

And I I am so sorry for wherever you've endured that abuse.

We analyze it.

We recognize that people sometimes with corrupt intentions or the enemy corrupting our intentions have brought things into the church that aren't supposed to be there that have hurt people.

But we also are going to bring it to the altar because God has also called us to move forward.

We don't give up on eating because we had a bad meal and we don't give up on our marriage because we had an argument.

We keep moving forward.

That's what we're going to do.

Let me pray for you.

Lord, I thank you so much for your goodness.

I thank you, God, for your grace.

I thank you, Father, for the peace that surpasses all understanding.

And I thank you that you are coming into the church, shedding a light, examining things that are not like you, and you're driving them out.

Father, we repent right now for bringing things into this church that are not of you, bringing systems into this church that are not of that are not you, bringing character in this church that is not of you.

Father, we repent.

And Lord, we ask for you to be Lord.

God, you are the king of the church, Father.

Pastors aren't the kings of the church.

So, Father, we ask for you to be the head.

In the name of Jesus, Lord, I pray for every person that has experienced any level of spiritual abuse, manipulation, or any pain, Father.

God, I pray that you heal them in the name of Jesus.

Give them the courage and the clarity to step into the environments that's going to bring them hope and health and healing, Father.

God, I pray, Father, even for leaders who are sometimes doing the best they can, but sometimes falling short.

God, I pray that your grace and mercy, while correcting them lovingly, puts them back on track, Father.

Because when we said yes to you, we weren't thinking of moving lights, we weren't thinking of big screens, we just simply wanted to be Jesus.

So, Father, help us.

Help us to be Joseph, help us to be Nicodemus, clinging to the body of Christ, nurturing the body of Christ, loving people in the body of Christ, not poking holes at the body of Christ.

Father, help us to move forward.

Father, I come against the enemy right now as he tried to silence the church, but we're gonna continue to speak up.

Devil, you are a liar.

People are getting saved, people are being set free, blind eyes are open.

We're declaring that this is the year of the Lord.

We're declaring Jubilee in the name of Jesus.

Father, I command by the power of your word that if there's anything in our lives, you drive it out.

Drive it out of our homes, drive it out of our hearts, drive it out of our churches.

God, allow us to be more and more like you every single day.

So, God, we exalt you, we honor you, we celebrate you.

This is your church, you're committed to your church, we're committed to your church, and we're gonna see your church prevail.

We're going to see people who are captive set free in the name of Jesus.

Church, if you believe that, would you stand on your feet and give God praise right now for the next 10 seconds?

Give God some praise if we believe that we're gonna see revival.

Give God some praise if we believe we're gonna see breakthrough.

Give God some praise if we're looking to see a revival take place in our church.

Let's give God some praise and give him all glory, honor, and praise in Jesus' name.

Thanks again for listening.

We hope you enjoyed today's message.

We'd love for you to subscribe to our podcast and review and share what you heard today.

If you'd like more content like this, or you'd like to connect with us, go to celebrationorl.org.

We hope you join us next time.