Expectation: The Breeding Ground for Miracles || Pastor Daniel Groves

Where they're at.

Well, today we're honored because right now we're gonna get

a message. I really love focusing our baptism weekends on

getting in.

The water and baptizing.

So I don't tend to like to preach when we

baptize because I want to be in the water, focusing

on the moment everyone in our church being baptized. And

so today we have a special guest preacher who flew

in all the way from Houston, Texas. I got any

Texans in the house, any people from Texas.

Pastor Daniel is.

To me one of the best preachers of our day.

He's double gifted because.

He can also sing.

You ever get mad at someone where God God should.

Just give us one.

Gift, and then you meet people and they can sing

and preach and do everything else.

It's just not fair.

Favor isn't fair, but I respect it. I honor it,

which is why we have him here because he could

do something I can't, which is preach his tail off

speak about the love of Jesus. But also he could

lead us into worship as well. And so Pastor Daniel

is the senior pastor and his wife Jackie of Hope

City Church in.

Houston, Texas.

God is doing incredible things in Houston, just amazing things.

God is on the move, and we're honored that he's

gonna be delivering a word to us before our baptism moment.

So would you do me a patriot welcome? You know

we make noise, you know we lean.

Into the sermon.

Can we welcome Pastor Daniel Groves all the way? Let's

go Houston, Texas.

Now, come on, let's give God a bigger shot of

praise because he's really, really good. Now, come on, praising

like he's already set you free, Praising like he's already

delivered you. Praising like your walls have already fallen. Come on,

can we lift our hands.

Just from oment?

God? Thank you?

Ah, we woke up again today.

We took another breath, which is proof that you are

not done with us yet. Come on, wave at me

if you never should have made it. Come on, wave

at me if you know he rescues you. You know

he pulled you up out of a low place, a

broken place. I had a thought the other day I

was driving before you sit told my wife. I called her,

I said, have you ever had a moment where you

just whisper who thinking Jesus, Because y'all, I know I

never should have made it. Born into a messed up,

jacked up Jerry Springer sort of family, almost aborted twice.

Dad was a drug addict, alcoholic, hustle, did whatever he

could do to get his fixed. So when I I'm

caught up for just a moment, when I lift my

hands to worship, this is why we say this often.

Don't judge somebody else's passion, Say you know they're past

because I'm looking around this room today and I see

people that are set free, healed and delivered, and there's

something about the love of Jesus that and I need

somebody to hear this. Maybe you're not church, maybe you

came to watch your friend or family member get baptized today.

But God is not mad at you.

He really, really really loves you, and He still has

a plan and a purpose. He all his mercies were

brand new this morning for your life. Come on, there's

grace for all the goof ups. Come on, there's mercy

for all of the mistakes. So one more time, would

you give God a shout of praise?

Because he is good?

All right?

All right? High five A couple of people around you,

and you can be seated now, pastor out. And I

appreciate your incredible, warm introduction the Lord gave you, he said,

listen' gonna let you saying I'm much. You appreciate it.

But then he took my hair to keep me humble.

He was like, but I'm gonna gotta humble you somehow.

But he gave me this great beard. It gets weird,

like God is a sense of humor. You can't convince

me he doesn't have a sense of humor.

Just go to the mall and watch people. You know

he does.

So my family back home Houston, Texas, we passed for

an amazing church. Honestly, that feels like Patrio because if

you look around this room, if this is your first

time at Patriot, had any of the campuses, look around

the room.

This is what Heaven looks like.

And if this makes you uncomfortable, multicultural, multi generational, then

you're not gonna like Heaven. So you better get a

fixed here, because this is what heaven looks like. I

love your church. I love the diversity, because our church

back home looks like Heaven as well. We have multiple

campuses across the city we're planting more. We're in a

building project. We just keep taking territory. We just keep

making the devil mad. But listen, when the devil tried

to silence me in my mama's womb, I committed I'm

gonna kick him in the teeth every day, preach the gospel,

shout from the rooftops about his faithfulness and his miracle

working power. This is my family. Let me throw up

a picture of my beautiful family. Now, y'all are gonna

be surprised real quick. I think it's coming up around.

Now there are. That's my beautiful family, have.

Four amazing kids. I'm girl so far out of my league.

Like when we were first married, we went.

To the mall in a mull.

Security guard follow us around for about twenty minutes, and

then when I walked away for a second, he walked

over to her and said, excuse me, ma'am, is this

guy bothering you? And she's like who he's like that guy?

She's like, that's my husband.

You can tell.

He was like blink twice if you're in trouble, like

I've been trained for this, says my beautiful family. They're

watching right now. Can you show some love love. Your

baby's amazing. And I brought my oldest son, Brock. Can

you stand up real quick so everybody can see he looks.

Like Malibu Ken.

I've never been that handsome, smiledest boy said, man, you're

at the point now where you can.

Travel with dad. This is cool. I believe if.

Honor is in you, it comes out of you. You

can't fake honor. I would love to honor the founding pastors.

Come on up, Patriot. Can we honor pastors Diego and

Cindy for building this house on the rock? Because there's

something about the currency of transition and it looks like

honor and the next people I want to honor because

they're my friends and they're incredible, and you are in

phenomenal hands and the best days of Patriot are not

behind us. We're building from there. We're building from here

for a place called there.

Can you honor your.

Pastor's pastors Adam and Ashley.

I love y'all so much. We're fam for real now.

I told my.

Wife, I said, and Pastor Adams the kind of guy

that like, I mean, he's he's he's saved, he's he's

a lead pastor. But if I was ever in a

fist fight in a Walmart parking lot. I'm calling it,

and my wife said, now you'd be calling Ashley. Come on,

because my wife and Ashley are very much wired the

same way that you.

Boys. Sit down.

I got this, But I love your pastors. They're incredible.

I want to I want to shout because this is

Kingdom before we jump into the word, we've seen this

is incredible. Last year at our urge, because again this

is Kingdom, we saw five thousand, one hundred and fifty

two people give their lives to Jesus in our in

person services. Come on, we're filling up Heaven this year.

In the first ten weeks, we've already seen over fifteen

hundred commitments to Jesus. So this whole moment right here today,

I'm excited. I'm just gonna be like I may jump in.

There with them.

I'm excited about this. And let me just say this.

If you didn't sign up, I don't want you to

feel like that you don't have an opportunity. Maybe today

you would like to take your next step in your

public profession of your faith.

One thing I love about.

Patriot is ye know we've taken all the guestswork out

of before you. We got you a shirt, we got

you shorts, we got all changing zones, we got aquinet,

we got gel and moose. You want crunchy bangs when

you leave.

Here, you can have them. We got something for your weave.

It's gonna be amazing.

But listen today, everybody say today, today is my day

because you're gonna receive from the Word. God is gonna

breathe into your family. But if you want to take

the next step and join, come on, make some noise

for everybody signed up and ready to go. So before

you roll out to the Golden Corral, you can also

get water baptized. You can still sign up. You can

spontaneously be a part. How many all ready to jump

into the word today? You know, I'm fully convinced. I

was driving the other day and I told my wife,

I said, I'm fully convinced that God is still doing

miracles today.

How many all believe.

That that God is still taking marriages that looked like

they were falling apart and He's causing them to fall

into place. I believe that God is still delivering and

healing and restoring and writing victory in stories I'm fully convinced.

Because why are you so convinced, Pastor Daniel, Because we

serve in a live God. I will say it one

more time. We serve in a live God. Because a

dead God can't heal you from cancer, a dead god

can't reverse heart disease, a dead God can't breathe life

into a broken family. A dead God can't restore a

breakoff addiction in your life.

But we serve the one true God.

And Jesus said, I'm the Way, the Truth and the life.

That's what we believe here at Patrio. There's a lot

of feel good emotionalism moments tied up with other religions,

but here at Patrich all gods do not lead back

to one god because we believe that Jesus is the way.

Come on, somebody, the truth and the life. But I'm

fully convinced. So I have four kids. You saw him

on the screen.

My daughter Daphne is eight, and she's sweet, sweet like

my oldest daughter is sweet, heat like she'll put on

lip gloss and can fist fight like her mom. But

little Daphne, she's just sweet. So I was reading the

story about a family who went to a church like Patria,

and they had a little girl that was around Daphne's

age and in the kid's ministry, which, by the way,

if you have kids in the kids ministry, they're not

just s along to veggietails, y'all. They're getting equipped with

the word worship. They're being trained in the things of God.

It's not just free daycare, y'all. They're getting equipped in

the same word that we're teaching here in the main

room across all of our campuses. But there's this little girl,

and the teacher at church said, Hey, today we're gonna

learn about a man named Jonah.

A little girls like what she's like.

Jonah refused to go to a place called Nineveh. God

spoke to Jonah and said I want you to go

to Ninevah. And Jonah's like, hmm, pick somebody else. So

God sent this big fish a whale swallowed him up. Look,

goals like what this is amazing. So later on in

the car, the whole story is unfolding, and the mom

was like, actually, we learned about obedience today because, by

the way, obedience isn't always fun, but it is always fruitful.

So the more you follow after.

God's way, because his way is so much better than

your way. Amen, help about the person nexting and say

that was for you. You're gonna just sense it just felt that,

it felt like it was just for me. So the

mom's like, we actually learned about Jonah today as well.

So the next day, on Monday, this.

Will go goes to public school.

The teacher gets up and goes, today, we're gonna be

talking about multiple different kinds of fish in the ocean.

We're gonna be talking specifically about whales and the soul.

Girls like like this is my I'm God's favorite, like

two days because now she felt equipped.

So the teacher's going through everything.

And the teacher made this statement and she didn't realize

this girl was armed and ready. So she says, uh,

did you know that a whale's esophagus is so small

it would actually have a tough time swallowing the human being.

She was like, boom, hand up. So teachers like, anybody

have any questions comments. The little girl's like, I do

have a question, maim what about Jonah? And the teacher said,

excuse me, She said, what about Jonah? She said Jonah,

She said Jonah in the whale. She said Jonah in

the whale, little goes Joanah in the whale, Jonah refused

to go to Ninevah. He was disobedient. God sent the

whale swallowed him up. He hung on the belly of

the war for three days on his iPad, which her

theology was a little off from that, but I appreciate,

I appreciate the content. And she's like and then she

he was like, fine, God, I'll go, and God spiting

him up on Jonah in the whale. The teacher goes, honey,

where did you hear this story? She's like the Bible?

And the teacher says, you can't believe fictitious books, and

the lulga goes, okay, all right. So towards the end

of this moment, who put that table there?

Okay? Was that there last night?

Towards the end, she lifts her hand again. She said, hey,

you already asked a question. She said, man, this is

not a question, it's a statement. She said, when I

get to heaven one day, I'm gonna walk right up

and dap Jonah and say, hey, what was it like

to be in the belly of the whale like.

Mike Chop boom?

And the teacher goes okay, if you're gonna get sassy

like your mom, she goes okay. So you're saying is

going to this place called heaven. But what if Jonah

didn't go to heaven? What if Jonah went to the

other place? What if Jonah went to Hell? Well, then

what are you gonna say? She goes, oh, I won't

say anything. You're gonna have to ask him.

Let's go. You don't have to ask him. I won't

be there, He'll be there. Amen.

Fully conness, somebody say, fully convinced. The Bible says in Isaiah,

chapter forty, verse thirty one, I love the amplified version.

I typically don't preach specifically out of the amplified but

I'm gonna tie this together before we jump into the tank.

But those who wait, how many y'all love the waiting season?

Don't lie to me? No, bloody one guy was like,

I think I do.

I don't think you understood my question, because those that wait, y'all,

in our humanity, we don't like waiting. I don't like traffic,

I don't like waiting in lines. What's this little coffee

place that Pastor Sam invited us through the other day?

Was like forty people outside. I'm like, this is wild.

People are just out there like, no, this is normal.

Coffee is my favorite color. I'm like, great, there's like

forty people outside. But those that wait, now, let me

encourage you with this. If God has you in a

waiting season, a waiting season does not have to be

a wasteed season, because God will equip you. He'll add

weapons and tools to your arsenal here for a place

called there, because again, he knows so much better. But

those who wait for the Lord who expect. By the way,

you can come in as a spectator today and walk

out exactly like you came in, like entertain me. They

didn't do any songs that I know. I didn't sing along.

Who's this guy I wanted Pastor Adam to speak? Is

his beard even real?

And stuff like that. But expectation the.

Person who didn't come in as a spectator but walked

in with expectation. You know, expectation is the breeding ground

for miracles, signs in wonders. I did not fly here

from you, Houston, Texas, to play church to just go

through the motions. Y'all came with expectation today that somebody's

going to get their miracle today. I came with expectation

today that somebody is going to get set free, healed,

and delivered today. But those who wait for the Lord

to expect, look for and hope in him say this

line will gain.

Y'all.

That's promise. Y'all realize this is a promise. It's not

just a hope. So God's promises don't have expiration dates

on them, and God's promises don't break. When you lean

on them, you'll gain new strength and renew power. Renew

literally means reset, restart.

Begin again.

I know on the iPhone, if you have a droid,

I can't. I don't know your life. If you have

a droid, you can just put it on the floor

and kick it under your seat. Actually, we'll pick it

up later and recycle it.

Amen, it's ridiculous. I don't know why.

My wife's like, stop making fun of droid phones, and

I'm just like, I can't stop that.

In cats. I don't know what's going on.

But if you ever have an issue with your iPhone

and you call droid as well, if you call customer service,

they'll say, excuse me, ma'am, excuse me, sir, did you

do a hard restart?

Did you do a reboot? A reset? Y'all?

Every single day, I want you to say this out loud.

I have access to new strength. Write this down, number one,

write this down, kicking out notes. We have access to

new strength. We have access to new Strength. Have y'all

ever had access to something that you didn't access like

you find out.

In the aftermath? Like I really had access to that.

I was sitting outside of Delta, the Delta Sky Club

where they've got like lattes and like seventeen different kinds

of croissaults, and I was like seeing people go in

and I was like, man, you guys are living in

your best life, Like that's amazing, Like I don't have

that access. And then I was talking to my buddy

on the phone. He goes, bro, you're not Delta Scott,

You're like.

A million miler And I said, yeah.

I don't know.

I just don't have it.

He goes, what kind of card do you have it?

So I have the Delta like and I told him

what kind of card I had? He said, Bro, your

visa card gives you a free pass every year. How

long have you had that card? I said, who? Like

premium three years. He said, you've been missing lattes and

croissants for three years. So y'all rolled up in there

like this, Like I was, like I walked into smell

Acroissan and threw it out. I didn't have to eat it,

but I had access. Wait that mean if you've ever

had access to something, and maybe you did an access

Pastor Adam and I am pastor saying we go to

a couple of leadership meetups throughout the year, and they've

got him in San Diego, which is the one I

always like to fly into, and then Colorado and a

few other places. While I was in Montana on one

and we're all out there. It's a leadership moment. I'm

gonna bring the word. One night they asked me to

lead worship and I'm just happy to be there. Will

They send a little email with like a small little

list of things to pack because they said we're gonna

of her other things. I didn't read the we're gonna

cover other things in that little small little text. It

was the same size text as everything else. I just

didn't read it. So Jackie's like, well, looks like they've

covered some things. So she packed like a small little

thing for me. She's like, you're gonna be good, y'all.

We went there. The hand of God had lifted off

the region. It was forty below zero. I was I

thought my fingers were gonna break off.

I was having conversations like, guys, if we end up

stuck outside, y'all gonna have to eat eat me.

It's cold.

Do what you gotta do to survive. This is terrible.

God clearly does not like this region any longer.

This is awful.

So I'm out there in the middle of nowhere and

everybody is just having a blast. They're super warm, they're laughing.

I'm like, what's the matter with you guys? Like this

is the worst. They have an emergency line that you're

only supposed to call in the event of an emergency,

so they would like life flight people out And I

found the phone. I hid behind the wall and I

called Jackie. I'm like, babe, you're gonna have to send

the chapola like I was in trouble, like I could

note this. I'm three days in. I'm refusing to go out.

They're like, hey, we're gonna climb the mountain. This bald

eagle up there.

You can pet.

I'm like, I'm not interested. I'm gonna die on the

way up. This is not gonna work.

So I'm I'm I'm Have you ever had one.

Of those days where you're just negative, you're just frustrated?

How many all have had one of those weeks? How

many all are like this since twenty eighteen? Like, stop

it time for you to get water bounties. Now I'm

just having a I'm like, really really negative, I'm frustrated.

I don't know why I'm here. Clearly, Miss God, this

is not worth it. This is frustrating, y'all. We're a

few hours away from jumping in the shuttle to head

back to the airport, and I noticed that all these

brothers are sitting at breakfast in matching fleeces.

They're wearing matching boots.

I'm like, oh, y'all have been texting each other like

matching hats and gloves. Everybody looked like they were on

the same team. And I'm over here in the door

the explorer snuggie trying to stay warm, and I'm like, y'all,

where did you get all this? And they were like,

you're for real and I'm like, now, where'd y'all get

all this. The guy's like, Dan jel, are you joking?

Is this why you had a terrible time? They're like,

come here, and they all walk into my room. Now

they had this huge bed with like thirty decorative pillows.

Now I get those decorative pillows off that bed as

quick as possible. By the way, decorative pillows are not

to snuggle with. I'm giving you pearls here. If you

stand in Airbnb, do not snuggle with that pillow because

people put those pillows in places. Okay, it's a good

way to get the flu, pink eye, and other things.

So I knocked them off the bed and I covered

up this cedar box. I promise we're gonna get into

the word. I promise what we already did, we already

said one verse.

Hold on. So there's a cedar box that looks like

it's from the Chronicles in Narnia.

And I open this box up. I can hear angels

like everything. Watch this everything I needed. I had access

the in entire time. The entire time I was freezing,

going to sleep through his the heated blanket, the entire

time I felt like my.

Hands were gonna break off. They had heated gloves.

They had a coat that you just hit a button

and it warmed up. Had a plug for your cell phone.

I'm gonna get out her boots in my size, everybody's

magic sweatshirts, hats, all of it was in that chest.

And for five days I complained, murmured, and was frustrated,

and I had access to something that I did not access.

Y'all, I got good news for you.

You've got new strength available to you by the Holy

Spirit for your marriage. Come on, single folks, You've got

new strength for you to overcome what you need to

now to be prepared for marriage. Come on, single moms,

as single dads and mamas and dads, you have brand

new strength. Come on, wave at me if you need

some new strength. Come on, and we don't have to

borrow it from yesterday. You don't need to reach into tomorrow.

You have brand new strength according to the world right now.

Come on, somebody say today, I'm choosing to access new strength.

Bran new strength, and the word goes on. In Isaiah forty,

verse thirty one says they will run and not become weary.

I'm not a big runner. I only run if I'm

being chased, but.

I love this line.

They will run and not become weary, they will walk

and not grow tired because every day has daughters and

sons were accessing new strength. I need it as the

husband Jackie and I just celebrated twenty years.

I need it.

I need it to be the dad to our four babies.

Come on, somebody, I needed to pasture this thriving, growing, diverse,

beautiful community. God's entrusted us with I cannot rely on

my own strength because how many all have ever relied

on your own strength and we always come up short.

Now you may have some little wins, but there's no

longevity in your strength, none.

Zero. You have to rely depend trust.

God because you can write this down for taking our notes,

and if you're not the person next, you can get

I like an eyeliner and say I need something. I

gotta write down something on my arm. I need you

to hear this. God will never give you a life

where he's not necessary, to never give you a life

where he's not necessary. But sometimes we live like he's

not necessary, and we break the box on the wall

that says break in case of emergency, and we get

in his presents. We like God, I need you because

you're in a crisis. I need you because you got

a diagnosis. But what if every single day you leaned

into His presence and you received the peace you need,

the I'm preaching better than you're responding, the hope you need,

the courage you need, the fight you need, the boldness

you need. So how do we access this new strength?

I know they threw it up on the screen. Number two.

You write this down, we have to live an open

handed life.

Well what does that mean? Open handed?

Can I use you as a as an exambit here

the one that just was like, yeah, she's like shotting

me down. Yeah, she's like that's good. White boy, Like,

I like it. I need that. So this is surrender.

But could you just lift your hands open handed? The

beautiful thing about open handed is it makes room. Let's

act like this is.

Just already in your hand.

It makes room for God to say, hey, that's not

part of your assignment. Let me pull that out, let

me remove that, because that's been robbing you of your joy.

In Nami e Tennami eight ten says the joy the

Lord is your So that's been robbing you of your strength,

that's been messing with your joy.

You haven't laughed in a while, you.

Haven't had peace and boldness in a while. So it

makes room for him to remove, and it makes room

for you to receive a deposit. But this open handed

posture is like, God, take anything out now, you're not

this is mine. You can't have that iPhone? All right,

give her hand, You're a blessing. She's awesome. But I

love that that posture is a debit from the Holy

Spirit and a deposit from the Holy Spirit. But the

problem is, we live our lives so close fisted. We

live our lives we become Holy horders. So when Pastor

Adams said, hey, thanks for giving into Patriot, thanks for

sowing into what God's doing here, You're like, woo, I'm

glad somebody else is doing it. With Alvacavo's being thirty

dollars a piece, I don't think I can do it.

I don't know if the thirty dollars a piece, but

they're a lot. But this close handed posture, it's a

refusal to.

Release what's in our hands.

And if we refuse to release what's in our hands,

God can't release what's in his hands. God can't bless, heal,

or pour out his spirit. If we're close fisted all

the time, y'all, it's time for us to live open handed.

John chapter three, verse thirty says this, he must become greater,

and I must become less and less. What does that mean?

It means his way is so much better. It means God,

open handed. I need you more than I need my

next breath. Because in you I live, I move, and

I Breathe forgive me for ever trying to do this

in my own strength. I'm gonna choose to allow you

to become greater and greater as I become less and less.

Be y'all, it's a choice. Because God's not a forcer.

He will not force himself on your life.

But you know what he is. He's a filler.

If you'll make room, he'll feel today you need peace.

Make room he'll feel today. You need some tenacity, you

need some joy, you need some courage, you need some discernment.

Make room he'll fill today. I see people all the

time come in and out of our church, and we.

Didn't feel anything. How comes she got set free?

You know, just because you're caught up in your emotions,

you're caught up and God, I just need you to

show just you need to just prove yourself. Look around

the room. God is flexing and throwing his weight around

this room. People are being set free. But we have

to make a choice to say God surrendered open handed.

Become greater and greater, become greater and greater? Is I

become less? And I get out of the way.

My quick story, I'll just do a snapshot, give you

a cliff note.

I said it earlier in my opening prayer.

But my mom found out she was pregnant by accident

for the third time, had my brother David, had my

sister Angel, and my dad was convinced it wasn't his.

And family was like, we should probably, you know, do

some paternity tasks, like a mari Povitch moment, like you

are the father, like the whole thing.

And so y'all remember that Marie Povitch.

Read the Bible. Get stop watching. Haven't heard from the

Lord in the walk? Quit watching mariy Povich.

So my dad, this.

Is my My dad asked my mom, Well, didn't ask

told her?

I want you to abort this baby.

There's zero reason we can't even afford these other two babies.

We have my mom Now, we aren't churched people like

we said things like higher power, big man upstairs. We

lived with a very agnostic, almost pagan sort of perspective.

And my mom one day after my dad had said

you're gonna do it. You're gonna abort this baby or

I'm out of here now. Him being out of here

meant no more drugs, alcohol, womanizing, abuse, like he's out

of his mind. So my mom's like she said, She

gripped her stomach and said, big man upstairs, higher powers,

some call you God, if you're real. I want to

keep this baby. I believe there's a purpose and a

plan with this baby's life. Went to the doctor appointment.

They confirmed the baby me, they confirmed how old, how

far along, And as my dad went to pick up

the car and told the doctor we're not gonna keep

the baby, the doctor leaned over to my mom and said,

I never in twenty seven years have said this to anybody,

but I think you should seriously cons her.

Aborting this baby.

My mom went outside and she said, you know what,

I'm choosing to keep this baby. So she kept telling

my dad, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go. She would

drive to the abortion clinics sit in the parking lot.

She did that twice, like she would sit there and contemplate.

She kept telling my dad she was gonna go. She

missed the deadline. I don't ever promote lying, but this,

in this situation, I'm glad that she didn't follow through

on it. So she ends up following through. She she

ends up happening. Somebody're like, what happened?

I made it.

I'm not a hologram, like I'm here like I made.

So my dad ends up getting.

More out of control, more violent, more affairs, more alcohol.

Whatever he could do to get his fixed.

And my mom is at a grocery store called Kroger,

and she's in the cereal oule. Now, we were broke, broke,

we were like broke as a joke, trying to figure

out how to she's trying to figure out as a

single mom had to feed all of us. And so

she's standing in front of Captain Crunch a lot because

we couldn't afford you know, Captain Crunch. So she's standing

there and this seventy six year old lady walks over

to her. Can I just give a shout out? Now,

this woman's in heaven now, but I'm grateful for people

to still talk about Jesus.

In the marketplace.

This seventy six year old woman walks over to my

mom and says, excuse me, ma'am. I've been watching you,

And she said, why I owe you money?

Like, what do we do?

She said, I've been watching you and your babies. She said,

God sent me over here.

Now.

My Mom's like, come on, Gods, let's get away from

this lady league. She said, I've been watching you, and

I thought I came here to pick up a few items,

but I realized today God sent me here for you.

She said, can I invite you to be my guest

to sit next to me at my church? And my

mom said, I'm sorry, man, people like us don't go

to church. She said, what do you mean people like you?

She said, really messed up, jocked up, broken people. People

like us don't go to church. And she said, well,

my church is perfect for people like you. And my

mom said, what do you mean. She said, because our

pastor always says, no perfect people are allowed at our church.

We're all covered by His grace and his mercy and

his redemption and the power of the blood. So she

invites my mom and my sister's like, what's church? My

Mom's like it dead matter, and we walked off and

the lady told her the name of the church where

it was. It says, I'll have a seat for you

every Sunday till you show up. Six weeks went by,

the hell that we were living in was getting more

and more chaotic at home, and one Sunday my mom

was sick of you ever been so sick and tired

of being sick and tired? And my mom was like,

you know what, today I'm taking all of you. So

she gets all of us kids right in my desk

of where you going, She sad, don't worry about it.

She pulls into church, and y'all, it's the most beautiful experience.

She tried church this one time, and she didn't find religion, y'all.

She found relationship with a savior who had never ran

out on her, who had never given up on her,

who was there for her and not mad at her.

And she gave her.

Life to Jesus and begin to raise my brother and

my sister and me in that church because she said,

even if David's jacked up, as for me and my

house we're gonna serve the Lord.

Yeah, Mom's I'm gonna I'm.

Gonna prophesy that some fire in somebody y'all's homes. Thanks

for showing up, Thanks for pulling up on one of

the campuses, Thanks for watching online. Come on, if there's

breath in your lungs, God will give you the Holy Spirit,

will equip you with what you need for your babies.

So they used to put me up on.

A little stool, and I was husky, y'all, and I

wore multiple watches on each arm. Pastor at them, I said, Mom,

that's your fault. She's like, I don't know, you love time, like,

that's still your fault.

Like, and I'd get in on that.

Stool and I'd say, amaze seeing grace, how sweetes see

the rich li me Ah, I once was lost, Now

I'm found.

Blind, let me see. And I was seeing these little songs, and.

But I was husky and little, so I'd be like

a lot of her Brada. So my mom goes to

the pastors. Now she's now tapping into new strength. She's

now living open handed. Your way, not mine. You're a greater,

I'm less. She's growing in the things of God, she's

reading the Bible. She goes to the pastor and says, hey, uh,

as I'm reading the Bible, it looks like I can

leave David. I mean, he's an adulter, he's messed up.

I think I can move.

Forward confident, confidently that the word.

He said, Well, hold up, hold up, hold up. Before

we even talk about that, he asked his wife to

come over. He said, we're gonna pray. Call some of

the elders over. He said, we're gonna pray. He said, Barbara,

I need you to prepare yourself. I like to call

this prayer the dangerous prayer. And my mom said, oh,

is it gonna kill him? Because I don't know you

clergy had that sort of I got a few more

names to put on the list.

Aymen, this is a true story. Is gonna kill him?

The pastor said, well, nobody's gonna make him miserable.

Come on, let's pray. This is what he prayed.

God, You're not the god of condemnation, but a good,

healthy dose of conviction would be good right now for David.

Arrest him, God, draw him in.

Like Romans, Chapter two, verse four says that the goodness

and love of God is what draws a man's heart

to a place of freedom and repentance. If he's sitting

in a bar, and make him sick, if he smokes

a cigarette, make him sick. If he drinks, don't let

him get drunk. If he shoots up, don't let him

get high. It's till he comes to know you as

his personal Lord and savior. Yeah, I feel like some

of us need to pray some bold prayers. And my

mom left fired all the way up lest she was excited.

Now true story. I was in a conference and I said,

I feel like there's some people here that we need

to pray some bold prayers over family members that are lost,

And so I said.

Can we pray?

And afterwards, this lady walks up to him and she said,

I don't like that prayer, sir. She said, I don't

appreciate and I think it's very intense. And I said, well,

what's your story? She said, well, my son's my son's

in prison. And I said, well, ma'am, would you rather

pray a God draw my son's heart back to you

or would you just want him to continue on the

track he's on. She said, would you pray for my son?

I said, let's pray. So I said, God, I thank you.

I'm like, I thank you for Brian. I said, God,

I thank you that.

You convict him.

When I said convict, she said, constanpati Lord. And I said, ma'am,

let me pray. Said right where he's at, God in

this sale, constanpat him. I said, no, let me let

me pray. It's a true story. A year later, I

went back to that conference. Brian walked up and shook

my hand.

He was healed.

And I leaned in and I said, did you get constipated?

I didn't ask him that, I said. He said, I'm

grateful for a praying mama, and I'm grateful that somebody

cared enough to contend and pray from my life.

This is what open handed looks like.

My mom would send my sister or Angel in every day,

every single day to talk to my dad. And every

Sunday my sister would say, Daddy, will you go to church.

With us today?

And my dad said, I don't want God and God

doesn't want me. Tell your mom never going to church,

y'all are wasting your time. So Angel would roll back

in and he say, we're wasting our times he's a

little one Sunday, my dad said he looked up and he.

Saw God in my sister's eyes.

He said, hey, real quick, would you tell your mom,

I'm gonna go today. So you put on a John

Deer hat and a John deerevest because it was good

enough for the sizzler, he was good enough for church.

Amen.

And he rolls out in the living room and says,

I'm gonna go with y'all today. My mom's like, I

don't know, Like we're not called. We can't call, there's

no email, there's no text message. We'll prepare people ahead

of time that he may fist fight somebody in the

parking lot because he was unhinged to cut him off

a traffic he'd follow you home and beat you up

in your own driveway. I'm six four, my dad's six six.

He's a big dude.

So we pull up the church in this By the way,

can we just celebrate and honor everybody who serves at

Patriot across every campus every single week, knock. We can

honor him better than that. Thank you, Thank you for

showing up. Thank you for showing up, because you knew

people were gonna.

Show up today. This guy walks right up.

To my dad in the parking lot and says, what's

your name? My dad said, David. He said, I've been

expecting you. My dad said, who told you I was coming?

Like he got a weird quake. He said, no, I

just I was waiting for you to get here. I

got a seat saved just for you. My dad, that

first impression was amazing. We walked into the room. They

had a front row seat. My dad said, now this

is where lightning strikes. I need to be a little

further back in the middle of the sermon. It's a

true story. Now my mom is new strength. She's open

handed my dad in the middle of the sermon, and

you can't do this here, you'll get tackled and pepper sprayed.

Heymen, my dad gets up in the middle of the.

Surface and just walks down the aisle sirts yelling at

the pastor like they're having a whole dialogue. And the

pastor is eye level with my dad and he's standing

on the stage.

He was like Zachias.

He was little, my dad's big, and my Dad's like,

you're lying to these people. You were lying to all

of these people. The pastor was like what'd you say?

I'm like, oh God, this is where it goes down.

And my dad says, are you lying to these people? Anybody?

Anybody can be saved.

Anybody can be healed, anybody.

Can be delivered. The blood still works even for me.

And he walks to the front and my dad begin

to throw everything he had in his pockets, cash, so

much change.

I don't know if we were going to laundry out or.

Chuck e cheese y'ah he had like a buffalo nickel

or like, where did you get those are collector coins?

Sir?

He's like throwing it. You can hear it hitting the wood.

Floor, and my dad, who I'd never seen it emotional

or cry in his life, begin to cry out, is

this enough for me? Maybe you're in here today, maybe

you're one of our campus, Maybe you're watching online and

you feel like you're too far gone, that your shame

is too heavy, that what you've walked through and decisions

you've made have disqualified you. My dad's crying out is

this enough for me? The pastor couldn't get my dad's attention.

He said, David, David, look at me, Look at me.

This gift's already paid for in full. Jesus already paid

it all. You can pick up all your change and money,

and you can put in the offering. He didn't say that,

but I wish you would have. I think that would

have been hilarious. Who says already been covered? You know,

my dad went to church that day high as a

kite and left completely sober. And thirty eight years later,

he's never sipped another sip of alcohol. He's never done

another drug. He has stayed faithful to my mama. Everything

shifts and everything changes. Because the blood, the blood's to works,

you can cover anything. Our part is to live open handed.

Our part is to live surrendered. Our part is to.

Access what He's providing for us. Last part. John fifteen

to five says, I'm the vine.

This is God's word. We're the branches. If we it's

a choice. If we remain in him and Him and us,

we will bear.

Much fruit.

So our part is to lean in and stay connected

to the vine. Will used to at your feet for

just a moment you lit your hands one more time

towards heaven. This is your opportunity to connect to the

vine today. This is your opportunity to lean in, lay

down some shame, lay down some condemnation, passtadana. You have

no idea what I've done.

You don't know where I been.

I don't, but he does, and it doesn't catch him off.

Guard at all.

He's the God of the again. Some of you haven't

laughed in a while, but you're gonna laugh again. He's

the god of restoring joy again, healing and setting you

free again. And with our hands lifted today, will you

just begin to receive that new strength that you have

access to. Lay down the shame, lay down the things

that you think have disqualified you, and just begin to

receive bright new strength and now open handed, would you

begin to release anything in your life that you know

should not be there, anything in your life that's been

trying to put a lid on your worship, that's been

trying to smother out your praise. And I'm gonna have

the worship team. We're gonna jump back in singers, y'all

coming back with me. We're gonna jump back into a

time of worship. As Pastor Adam, Pastor Sam are water

baptizing across all campuses, and today, if you want to

take your next step in your public question of your faith,

Today is the day that you can lean in.

We're gonna just lead worship.

We're gonna lean into this moment and we're gonna live

open handed. And some of y'all in this room from

the balcony to the front road. You're gonna receive new strength.

You're gonna get your joy back. You're gonna receive hope today.

Jesus we love. Can we do that? Daniel? Can you

jump in on that? Oh Howie.

You are the one.

So Jesus we love Jesus, we love.

Love, how we love O? Come on room, can we

just worship? To slip your hands with Sene?

You are the one?

Come on, patreet, y'all lead, y'all lead a safe said.

Jesus, we love love, how we love or.

How we love?

You are the one?

You are the one.

To Jesus, we love you.

Jesus we love are know we love you all how

we love you?

And you alone.

You are the one.

Part And.

George, Jesus we love you.

Prob Jesus, we love you or how we love She

heard you are the words you love?

A sup patrickon miss the tracks and just leading leading

leading a sign.

Oh fatch urges vault poor lout on the feed of

Cheus our Batch rdy vaults on the seed cheus pr

mention party holation or.

Jesus our Utch party motion board out on the pisus

oattion arty ATIONU on.

You don't have day.

She's a sweet.

Boy.

We love.

You are the one.

To do.

Because we love.

She's ask me love.

She's a sweet.

Oh you are the She's a sweet.

How we wh do.

Bs?

She was below the same Jez that sweet.

Who?

How weird.

You?

Why don't.

She sweep up you?

That sweet?

Wow?

Who?

How weird you are?

The one out.

Turns to dogs my frounty.

Crisis, my firm founty.

Soorah long bitch has with everything around me.

I've never been.

I I love this part, says ipn't my baby cheess.

Just never let me down.

He's he's stanful troop.

So when you fail me now, Loo, come on, everybody

shut this out, saying now.

He won never has never will no no, no.

He all.

He all.

He won't.

Christis Christ.

Christis my birth. Dowdy shot don't go wrong?

We shot everything for everything brown me shame, I say.

I've the birth.

The shock is what I said.

I put my baby she's she's never ran out on mesday.

Everything Now he says, way broad show my birth shout out,

safety walks.

She walks, Oh no, no, he wanted.

The ray.

Kay we you my house was spelled an't you huh

saved wee here So.

I'm gonna make it through. Come on, every boy, say.

Ray kay boy.

My house love me?

No, come on, declare that.

Some of your family say, I say woe, I'm gonna

be re me.

Come let me say say king by my housewisbills. You're

on the road, say hi, say cue, I'm going up make.

I'm calling on make. I'm called up bake so I'm

standing strang you doing making. I'm calling out back those processes.

By house bastill I'm all you say, I'm all days.

I'm standing straw.

I can trust see you consent.

I'm going out bad because my family. I'd like to

see my house spy hour basting say why she's not

birth found shot? So I called away shot say everything

every shake, crown.

Shake shut people.

But I.

Love lies.

I trusted Jesus.

He had.

Stay b from cats so long.

When he fit me.

What every boy?

Every boy shout out.

Second he walk.

Le he won sup.

He won't pay.

He won't.

Oh no, he won't.

Come on, let's keep him praise.

Let's just continue to rejoice and celebrate all that he's doing.

You never have, never will, you.

Won't yess.

He and the spirit was moving over the word spirit,

Come move over rose coresstonus comorstonus. As the spirit was

moving over the word spirit, come move over rose comratinus

comratine us.

Calm down, Spirit.

When you move, you make my heart pound, when you

fill the room, Come here and I know you want

to move in. I'm here and I know you will

feel bad.

Come down, Spirit. When you move, you make my heart

come when you feel the room.

You're here.

I'm here and I know you want go here.

I'm here and I know you film me.

You will feel me the see.

As the spirit was moving.

It was booming over the word spirit.

Compoop over from a rest restant carestant.

The rest of the d was to step.

It was walking over the words steam, comboo, overalls, come

rest on us, coming ready, I just don't yeah, coming

to her.

B bart.

Start and just don.

Wait coming down away, yeah, okay, astor.

Stop Maybe when you do you make my heart bound.

When you build a body young bed Oh God, I hear.

I know you would build back down. You make my

heart when you build a word.

I know you.

I know you want to.

Spearit.

Holy speed red comress on us.

You're all we you, You're allway sing Holy Spirit.

Speed, come rest, you're alway, you're a.

You're all we wall, You're all sing.

Holy sparewse speed.

You're away, you're watching, You're away, Holy Spirit ball.

Callress your walk.

Your way wad.

Holy Spirit spa pass stop wa come here back stop

y away.

Now.

I know we had some people come here today that

fully just expected all support someone or maybe I'll come

to church at Sunday. But as you're here, this feared

of God is talking to you, and you know the

spirit's pulling on you to say come come out in

the water. And you're thinking of every excuse why not, Well,

these are my favorite pants.

This is my purse, where my purse gonna go?

Or I don't want my jewelry to decay from the chlorine.

Whatever you're thinking, Auntie right now, don't let that be

an excuse. If Jesus were to stand before he said

out Jesus, I didn't get baptized because I was wearing

my favorite jacket that Sunday, or I have my phone

in my pocket. We have a change of clothes for

you on the other side, So don't let that excuse me.

Our team they're gonna have a back for you. You

put all your stuff in it, They're gonna give it

to you on the other side. If you know that

God's talking to you this morning, that I want to

encourage you, come.

Out of your seat. You may need a friend that

need to say, hey.

Well you just walk down there with me. Tell your

friend I walk down with you.

Maybe ask the person next to you if you feel

like you want me to.

Go down there with you.

But come down on the aisle right here on this side,

and we're gonna worship a little bit more.

We're gonna create space for you to get baptized.

Don't let no excuse in your head be the reason

why you.

Didn't get in this water.

Don't wait till June to.

Do it again.

Come do it right now.

There's already people coming out of the aisles. We're gonna

continue to worship. We're gonna continue to celebrate a move

of God. Let's worship some more as people get baptized today.

Think home, ste.

When you building you, I know you, I know you men,

you know your neighborhood.

When you build up up, hereties.

You.

No, he's going there, rams on the sheets, rams on

the start.

And the Spirit is food and over the lot. Yes,

the Spirit is move.

It's all over the world, thank God, at the scary

host move it's over the world.

Nay.

And the Spirit is movies over the lot of that at.

The Spirit of moments, and the spirit.

And the Spirit is at the spirit bo Oh my god,

this spirit spirit bird and the spirit is bob.

And the spirit is Spirit is booming. Do sing it again.

And the spirit and the spirit over.

Book on the spiry air.

Come on and Kinny and the.

Spirit head boom time and Chucky in the.

Spirit come move over the rusty, come the rust Spirit, come.

Boom, Spirit, come boom over where Stanny.

Come bove on the rise.

Spirit, come boom over, rid spelling, come boom.

Over the red sparry come over.

Spelling, coming boom overhead Sparry, coming boom of all the red.

Yeah, but whom yeah

Ye spearing love living God, oh frish spearing, lovely living God.