Grace at the Threshold | Pastor Jesse Jernigan | 9.27.26 (Sermon)

Hey friends, it's Pastor Jesse from

Liberty Culture Church and I am glad

that you've joined us today for this

message. Listen, we believe that the

word of God is authoritative and the

power of the Holy Spirit is active and

available right now in this moment. And

I believe he's going to bring

transformation to your life. I believe

as you listen to this message, power of

the Holy Spirit is going to touch you,

minister to your life, and you're going

to see God do incredible things in your

life. So listen, let's go now into this

message and be blessed by the word of

God.

All right, I want you to grab your

Bibles, jump to your feet, go with me to

Luke chapter number 15. I feel an

urgency in my spirit to preach. If

you'll lend me the next 30 minutes, I

promise I will shake this thing out as

fast as I possibly can. Uh, but I

believe God is fixing to restore some

folk in the house today. Uh, there's

about to be a shift that comes to

somebody's mind and their heart. And I

believe that you're going to see the

gospel through a different lens today

than you ever have before. And it's

going to be something that's going to be

beautiful and speak grace over your

life. Luke chapter 15, uh, and we're

Luke 15 · chapter mention

going to start with verse number 11.

When you get there, say, "I got it."

>> All right. Anybody that may be a little

bit behind, that's all right. by the

time I get finished. It's all right. If

anybody's behind, it'll be all right. We

got it. We got on the screen. Luke

Luke 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15 11. The Bible says, "Then he

said, a certain man had two sons."

Somebody say, "Two sons."

>> And the younger of them said to his

father, "Father, give me the portion of

goods that fall to me." So he divided to

them, somebody say them,

>> "His livelihood." And the Bible says,

"And not many days after the younger son

gathered all together, journeyed to a

far country and there wasted his

possessions with prodal living. And when

he had spent all he had, there arose a

severe famine in the land, and he began

to be in want. Then he went and joined

himself to a citizen of that country,

and he sent him into his fields to feed

swine. and he would have gladly filled

his stomach with the pods that the swine

ate, and no one gave him anything. But

when he came to himself,

he said, "How many of my father's hired

servants have bread enough?" And watch

this, "They have leftovers." Come on.

And he said this, "And I perish with

hunger." And he said, 'I will arise and

go to my father and will say to him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven and

before you, and I'm no longer worthy to

be called your son. Make me like one of

your hired servants." He arose, came to

his father, and when he was still a

great way off. His father saw him and

had compassion on him, and ran and fell

on his neck and kissed him. And the son

said to him, "Father, I've sinned

against heaven and in your sight, no

longer worthy to be called your son."

But the father said to his servants, he

didn't say, "Excommunicate him. Get him

out of here." What did he say? He said,

"Bring out the best robe and put it on

my son. Put a ring on his hand and

sandals on his feet. And bring the

fatted calf and kill it and let us eat

and be merry. For this my son was dead."

>> And he said, "And is alive again. He was

lost and is found." And they began to be

married. How many thankful for the grace

of God in our life today?

I feel this is my assignment today and I

will preach this uh the way the Holy

Spirit has me preach it but I want to

talk on this subject. Grace at the

threshold. Grace at the threshold. Let's

pray. Father, thank you for your word.

Add blessings to it and I'll give you

praise. In Jesus name we pray. And

everybody says amen. Amen. You may be

seated in the presence of the Lord this

morning. I I want to talk a little bit

about my beautiful daughter Arley for

just a second and Arley's genuine love

and excitement when she sees the moon.

She gets so excited about seeing the

moon that she can hardly stand it.

She'll be looking for it. And even

sometimes in the house, I've noticed

that some of our uh lights that are on

our ceiling, some of our flat lights,

she'll look at it and she'll say,

"Moon."

And she gets excited and she just can't

help it. She loves to look at the moon.

She loves to see it. And so last night,

we took her on a bit of an adventure uh

toward the end of the evening and said,

"You know what? Let's go check this

out." Because it wasn't just any moon

that was taking place. Last night was a

significant moon. It was the harvest

moon. Uh so one of the brightest,

biggest moments for the moon to shine in

the sky. And so what we did is we took

adventure to the church here and we

said, "We'll just come up here." And we

sat over here in the parking lot and we

looked at the moon and she literally

would sit there and just stare at it and

point at it. And we were having a good

time and just enjoying the evening,

taking walks and having a great time.

And we stood there and we stared or we

sat there actually we sat we didn't stay

we actually sat and we stared at the

moon the harvest moon last night for a

little while and it began to take my

mind back to the word of God as I was

there and the Lord clarified what he

wanted me to say this morning as I as I

got to the office and begin to come in

here for prayer and seek his face. He

took me back to the very beginning the

book of Genesis chapter 1 verse number

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

14 where he said that the the stars and

the things in the heaven were not just

there just to look beautiful but they

were there as a sign and se to give us

signs and seasons to look at. Now the

word season doesn't just mean like a

scope of time like we talked about last

week of Kronos. It was literally talking

about a chyros an appointment or a

moment in time that was designated. So

even in the Old Testament, the very

beginning, God said there's something

significant about what's going on in the

heavenlies. The moon's not just there

for a reason. The moon is there to point

us back to something and tell us about

the sign. And so I began to read that

into that and pray into that last night

and this morning. The Lord told me

because last night was a harvest moon.

He said, "Now there is a green light to

go get the harvest in the last days."

Can I get a witness in the house? And I

want to ask you this question. Is there

anybody in the house that would say,

"Pastor, I'M READY TO SEE THE HARVEST

come in this house every single Sunday."

>> Oh, yeah. Amen. Amen. HOW MANY SAY,

"I'VE GOT SOME FAMILY MEMBERS THAT don't

know Christ THAT I'M READY FOR THEM TO

COME BACK and know Jesus. I'm ready to

see a harvest of souls." Let me go ahead

and let you into a into an agreement

with the Holy Spirit this morning. Let

me read the time that we are in, the

chyros that we're in right now. Matthew

24 verse number 36 says, "But of that

day and hour no one knows, not even the

angels of heaven, but my father only."

He says this, "But as the days of Noah

were, so also will this coming of the

Son of Man be. For as in the days before

the flood, they were eating, drinking,

marrying, giving in marriage until the

day that Noah entered the ark, and did

not know until the flood came and took

them all away. So also will the son the

coming of the son of man be. He said

this then two will be in the field. One

will be taken and the other one left.

Two women will be grinding at the meal.

One will be taken the other one left. He

said this. This is the imperative that

we have to watch out for today. HE SAID

WATCH therefore for you do not know what

hour your Lord is coming. BUT KNOW THIS,

THAT IF THE master of the house had

known which hour the thief would come,

he would have watched and not allowed

his house to be broken into. Therefore,

you also be ready, for the Son of Man is

coming at an hour that you do not

expect. I believe the heavens are crying

out that Jesus is returning. I believe

that creation IS GROANING FOR THE COMING

of the Lord. And can I tell you, it's

time the church get theirire yourself

ready and know that he's about to come.

Is there anybody that would say, "I'm

ready for him to come. I'm not ashamed

of it." AND I EVEN CRY LIKE THIS. EVEN

SO, COME LORD JESUS. I'M PREPARED FOR

YOU TO COME. SO, the gravity OF WHERE WE

ARE IN creation is this, that the

harvest season is here and Jesus is

about to return. But we must reap the

harvest, but also keep our eyes on

Jesus.

the context of where Jesus was talking

in the scripture. If you back up to the

very beginning of the chapter of 15 in

the book of Luke, Jesus is talking to

strategically two different audiences

that were before him in that moment.

What were these audiences? The first

audience was tax collectors and sinners.

They drew near to Jesus, the Bible said,

to hear what he had to say because they

knew there was life in his words. And so

that was one section he was talking to.

But there was another section that was a

little more indignant and that was the

Pharisees and the scribes. And so watch

this. You have one group that needs

freedom. You have one group that needs

redemption. You have one group that

needs the savior. And you have another

group that all they did was complain

that Jesus received the sinners instead

of talking exclusively to them. So you

have a split crowd. One crowd says, "I

desperately want to hear what he has to

say because something's drawing ME TO

HIM." HOW many know Jesus will draw

people to him?

>> I I believe this. IF WE JUST GET OUT OF

PEOPLE'S WAY, people will come to Jesus.

>> And so, I'm looking at a CHURCH THIS

MORNING, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET IN

ANYBODY'S WAY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO PUT NO

RED TAPE ON IT. I SAY THIS, IF YOU NEED

JESUS, today is your day. HE CAME TO

SAVE YOU. HE CAME TO DELIVER. HE CAME TO

SET YOU FREE. AND TODAY IS YOUR SUNDAY.

BUT THEN THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE THAT try

to insert theirel in because they feel

like they're the answer when really

they're just hindering the answer from

coming.

>> So you've got these two groups that are

in front of JESUS AND HE'S TRYING TO

DECIDE HOW DO I TACKLE BOTH groups at

one time. And I love how Jesus does it

because I want you to see the Pharisees

and the scribes. Let's understand who

they really were. They were quite

literally now they took this

responsibility upon themselves. So let's

let's understand that they were not

this. They took this on theirel as

religious gatekeepers,

>> spiritual gatekeepers. Pharisees were

lay religious um a lay religious

movement. They were scholars. They were

teachers that were devoted to the

observance of Torah down to the letter.

That was their job. If it's written in

Torah, if it's in the old scripture, WE

HAVE TO FOLLOW IT TO THE LETTER. Not

just those but the oral traditions as

well. They made sure everything was

matched up. So I want you to see this.

That was the Pharisees. The scribes were

professional legal experts. They would

copy things down. They would give them

the right interpretations. They were

interpreters of the law and the

teachings of the law from Torah and even

the oral tradition. So now you see the

complexity of where we are. You got

people that are so religious they can't

even stand it. And you got other people

that are backing them up in the

religious in religiosity.

And so they're standing in front of the

one who literally came to flip

everything on his head.

>> AND HE'S TALKING TO SINNERS. Come on.

And he's talking to tax collectors who

were hated by the people over here.

>> Talk about preaching to a tough crowd.

>> You got one side that's like, "Oh, this

sounds good to me." Other side say, "I

can't believe Jesus talked to that

person and not to me.

Got one side that's saying, "ALL I NEED

IS SOME HOPE AND SOME GRACE. I JUST SEE

SOMEBODY TELL ME THEY STILL LOVE ME."

AND the other side saying, "I cannot

believe that Jesus would even talk to

them."

>> Doesn't he know that we are the chosen

people?

Somebody picking up on it right now

already. I'm telling you, somebody y'all

like, "Uhoh, here it comes. Oh, it's

going to come. I'm gonna do a quick fast

and hurry." Here we go. This is what you

need to understand about the scribes.

They held a conviction.

Watch this. The the Pharisees were

religious gatekeepers.

But the scribes held a conviction of

keeping boundaries around Torah.

That was their job. We can't let

somebody in who don't deserve it.

>> Oh man, I feel this right here. I feel I

I feel like I'm fighting some religious

spirits right here. So, y'all better

pray for your pastor. Listen, they would

keep A BOUNDARY BELIEVING GOD'S favor

and covenant identity were maintained

through strict observance and clear

lines between clean and unclean,

righteous and sinner. And watch this,

THEIR FRAMEWORK THAT THEY BUILT around

their whole entire teaching was TO

PROTECT THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN WHO BELONGS

and who doesn't belong.

RATHER THAN SEEING THE SPIRIT OF THE

LAW, WHICH WAS TO GET PEOPLE IN RIGHT

STANDING WITH God and not to keep PEOPLE

OUT OF RIGHT standing with God. Come on.

THEY INTERPRET it from the wrong angle.

They didn't see the GRACE SIDE OF LAW.

YES, IT WAS STRICT. YES, THERE WERE OVER

600 COMMANDMENTS they had to follow and

they had to make SURE EVERYTHING WAS

RIGHT. AND THEY DID IT BECAUSE THEY

WANTED TO PLEASE GOD. BUT IT DRIFTED TO

A PLACE RATHER THAN PLEASING GOD. NOW

THEY WERE KEEPING PEOPLE OUT BECAUSE

THIS IS MY club and you can't come IN

HERE WITH YOUR MESS. BUT I WANT TO TELL

YOU SOMETHING'S ABOUT TO SHIFT IN THE

CHURCH AGAIN. I WANT TO TELL YOU THERE'S

A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ABOUT TO STEP

UP IN THIS CHURCH THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN

WELCOMED IN BEFORE. BUT I SAY BRING THEM

IN AND LET THEM KNOW THERE'S NO

BOUNDARY. THERE'S NO LINE. I SAY COME ON

INTO THE HOUSE CUZ JESUS HAS GOT SOME

GRACE FOR YOU.

I'm not here to say who belongs and WHO

DOESN'T BELONG. I'M NOT HERE TO KEEP A

BOUNDARY. I'M NOT HERE TO TELL YOU

CANNOT COME TO THE SAVIOR. THAT IS NOT

MY JOB. I AM NOT THE ETERNAL JUDGE. ALL

I'M HERE TO DO IS PRESENT A CLEAR GOSPEL

AND LET YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS NO

RELIGION, THAT THERE IS NO HUMANITY,

THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS HERE TO

HOLD YOU BACK. I AM HERE TO LOWER IT ALL

AND SAY, "BREAK DOWN EVERY WALL AND LET

PEOPLE COME STRAIGHT TO THE SAVIOR. COME

ON IN. HE'S GOT REDEMPTION FOR YOU.

So Jesus in his great way, he responds

directly to the complaints of the

Pharisees AND THE SCRIBES BY NOT SAYING,

"OH, I'M SO SORRY I HURT YOUR FEELINGS."

THOUGH HE SAID, "LET ME TELL YOU THREE

STORIES." AND HE TOLD ABOUT THE LOST

SHEEP. AND HE SAID HE WOULD LEAVE ONE OR

LEAVE THE 99 AND TO GO AFTER the one.

I'M GOING TO GO FIND THE ONE. THEN HE

TALKED ABOUT THE LOST COIN THAT WAS IN

THE HOUSE. HE SAID, "I'LL FORGET ABOUT

EVERYTHING ELSE AND SWEEP THE ENTIRE

HOUSE UNTIL I FIND THE ONE THAT'S LOST."

AND THEN WE GET TO OUR STORY THIS

MORNING ABOUT THE LOST SON. THIS WAS A

STORY ABOUT A SON AND A FATHER'S

relationship that appeared to be good in

one season, but then THE SON ASKED A

QUESTION IN ANOTHER SEASON. THAT

BASICALLY, IF YOU GO BACK TO JEWISH

TRADITION, when a son asked his father

for his inheritance while he is living,

what he is ESSENTIALLY SAYING TO HIS

FATHER IN THAT MOMENT IS he's saying, "I

WISH YOU WERE DEAD SO I COULD HAVE YOUR

STUFF."

>> That's what he's saying to his son in

this moment. I want you to hear what

spirit ears. THE YOUNGER SON ASKED for

his inheritance. But then the father

through his love and grace and mercy to

everybody. He gave his younger SON THE

INHERITANCE. BUT HE ALSO GAVE HIS OLDER

son the inheritance. Now we begin to

read the word of God and see what it

says that the Bible says the younger son

not too many days after gathered his

stuff, made his way outside the house

and journey to a far country. Now,

anytime you disconnect yourself from the

father's love, something bad's about to

happen.

>> There is NO GREATER PLACE THAN TO BE IN

THE HOUSE OF YOUR FATHER AND KNOW HE'S

GOT YOUR BACK. I know THAT WE FACE

DIFFICULTIES AND I KNOW WE HEAR REPORTS

and I know our families go through

turmoils and there are some of you that

are sitting here in THIS HOUSE TODAY

THAT YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH

INTERNALIZING WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH

and the enemy has put it in your mind

that THE LORD DOES NOT LOVE YOU. BUT I

WANT TO TELL YOU, YOU CAME TO THE

FATHER'S HOUSE AND THERE IS LOVE FOR YOU

THAT IS DEEPER THAN YOU CAN EVER

IMAGINE. WHATEVER YOU'RE FACING TODAY,

DON'T LEAVE THE FATHER'S HOUSE. STAY IN

THE HOUSE AND LET HIM TOUCH YOUR LIFE.

>> The Bible SAYS THAT HE GATHERED HIS

STUFF, LEFT AND WENT TO a far country.

And the Bible says when he got there, he

started having wild parties. Come on. HE

GOT TO A PLACE WHERE WHAT HE WAS USED TO

BEFORE, the grace THAT WAS THERE, THE

PROTECTION that was there, the covering

that was there, HE IS OUT FROM

UNDERNEATH IT. NOW HE'S making his own

decisions and he is wasting everything

away.

>> The Bible says that he didn't just waste

some of it. The Bible says he wasted it

all.

>> And if the Bible says all, that means

>> Home Dog was broke.

I remember this little video that used

to go around and it's this little little

fella on the on the thing trying to

figure out math and anybody's ever sat

down with your kids to do math at the

table. That's a struggle. Can I get a

witness in the house? Sometimes you want

to just light the book on fire. If there

even is a book that you can learn from,

I'm just saying. I'm not not grievances

aired out here, but there you go. If

anybody we need a book to follow, that'd

be great. They sat there and he said the

question was like, "Jaden has this many

pennies and this many nickels and blah

blah blah. What is Jaden?" And the

little kid said, "Jaden's broke."

So I'm going to say this, "The prodical

son is broke. He don't have any money

left over." So he is not just He not

received his inheritance and walked away

and began to spend it. BUT NOW HE WENT

FROM HAVING everything to having nothing

in an instant.

>> He went from being chill and everybody

loves me and everybody wants to be

around me because I got my inheritance.

I can spend all this money. I'LL TAKE

CARE OF YOU TO NOW HE HAS NOBODY.

AND THE BIBLE EVEN SAID NOBODY gave him

anything, right? Not just TO THE POINT

WHERE ALL HIS FRIENDS THAT WERE WITH THE

WITH him in the partying time, they were

there and they were supporting him. But

when he lost everything, he found out

who his real friends were and they were

not present

>> in his situation. Can I tell you, and

this is a side note, people love you for

what they could get out of you. A lot of

times there's genuine love that really

comes and when you find it, you hang on

to it. Can I get a witness?

>> But most people will love you, have a

relationship with you as long as they

can get some out of you.

>> And he found that out the hard way

because he was left with nobody. Nobody.

He was broke and without pleasure from

sin. Had nobody in his life. So he was

desperate. And he had a choice to make.

Do I go back to my father's house or do

I connect myself here and try to find a

living because I know I'm going to be

ashamed walking back into my father's

presence. Come on. This is where he's at

in HIS MIND. AND SO HE WAS FORCED in

that moment into NOT JUST RUNNING BACK

TO THE FATHER AND looking for grace and

looking for love and looking for

acceptance. He was forced in that moment

to outside of the father's protection TO

COME INTO COVENANT WITH SIN rather than

come in covenant with his father. And

watch this. He was forced to feed swine

when he got in covenant because the

Bible says he connected himself to a man

of that country.

Whenever you are in sin, that's one

thing when I mess up and I and I make a

mistake. But when YOU COME INTO COVENANT

WITH THAT,

>> it starts to take you down a road that I

promise you, you don't want to go down.

Come on. Do I have a witness in the

house?

>> How many can say, "Pastor, I've been

down them roads before." Uh-huh. Just go

ahead. It's all This is a testimony

service. I've been down those roads

before, but you know what? Today, I'm

saved by the grace of God. Anybody have

that testimony? My my I feel the spirit

of God in that right there. That ought

to be a witness to somebody in the house

that yeah, you may be there right now

yourself, but God sent this preacher

here this morning to let you know, you

do not have to stay in that pig pin,

baby. You can come on out of that thing.

You could come to redemption. You could

come to grace through the eyes of

Christ. But the Bible says that he got

to a point that he connected himself to

a man of that country. And not only did

that man accept him, he accepted him. Oh

yeah, it was good and it was great and

it was wonderful. He accepted him. But

what happened in that moment is he began

to take

and put him in a situation

that many people that were Jewish would

never even allow themselves to think

about

>> because the Bible says he put him in the

field feeding swine.

>> If you know anything about Jewish

culture, if it ain't kosher, we don't

touch it.

>> Amen.

>> And so that's where he's at. He's not

just connected and broke and have no

friends and now he's in covenant with a

man who is not his father who cannot

cover him spiritually who is a gentile

by the way of another belief system. He

has made himself a covenant with that

person. BUT NOW THAT PERSON PUT HIM in

the place where he'd have to do what

would be known as the most humiliating

thing on the planet for a Jewish man to

do. And that is being a pin with swine.

and not only be in a pin with swine, but

feed them their food. It's one thing to

chunk it in and run away, but he was in

the middle. He had to feed them. AND THE

BIBLE SAYS THAT HE WAS SO HUNGRY. He was

so hungry and nobody gave him anything

that if it was up to him, he would have

ate what the pigs were eating.

Not only is it demoralizing, not only is

it a place where he is humiliated being

in the pen WITH THE PIGS, BUT NOW HE HAS

GOTTEN TO THE lowest of lows to where

he's not just in the pig pin, he's

starting to act like the pigs.

>> Come on, somebody.

There is a place that you can go in sin

that will put you in a spot where the

things that used to look at you used to

look at them and absolutely shun them

and appore them, it will start to look

enticing TO YOU CUZ YOU'VE ALLOWED

YOURSELF TO go down a slippery slope.

Can I tell you if you are in that place

today that the things you used to say no

to that you're saying yes to today, the

things that you used TO ABHORE YOU AND

YOU YOU USED TO SHUN THOSE AND SAY, "I

WILL NEVER ACT LIKE THIS." IF THAT'S

WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF THIS MORNING,

CAN I TELL YOU, YOU ARE ABLE, YOU HAVE

WENT DOWN A SLIPPERY SLOPE to a point

that YOU'RE NOT ONLY WITH THE PIGS, BUT

YOU'RE STARTING TO ACT LIKE THE pigs

this morning.

>> AND LET ME TELL YOU, that is not God's

will for your life.

>> I have come to give you a LIFELINE THIS

MORNING. I HAVE COME TO LET YOU KNOW,

YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO THAT WAY. YOU DON'T

HAVE TO CONTINUE IN THAT PATH. YOU DON'T

HAVE TO CONTINUE IN THAT SHAME. CUZ I'M

NOT HERE TO PUT SHAME ON YOU. I'M HERE

TO LET YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZE IT, BUT THEN

CRY OUT TO THE ONE WHO CAN CHANGE IT

ALL. AND HIS NAME IS JESUS. HE CAN

CHANGE IT ALL THROUGH his power.

Now, hear my heart. In this moment, this

man found himself in a place where he

was wondering what was next for his

life. Because I want you to know that

there will be a season that sin is

pleasurable,

>> but when it ends, it will end in death.

John 10:10 lays out the enemy's plan to

John 10:10

steal, kill, and destroy our lives. But

Jesus came that we could have life and

have it more abundantly. Amen. Anybody

thankful for that today? I'm thankful

for the life that he gives us is more

abundantly.

He was forced to feed him. The slop he

was feeding the pigs began to look

appealing and appetizing to him. And

what used to disgust him started to

entice him. And so I say this, if you're

in that spot right there today,

something has to shift.

>> Something has to shift. You can't keep

staying in it and be ready for the

coming of the Lord. So I've come today

to CALL YOU OUT OF THAT INTO a beautiful

relationship with God that's going to

change your life. I want you to know

this sin will take you further than you

want to go and it will keep you longer

than you want to stay. But something is

about to shift in THIS ROOM. SOMEBODY'S

LIFE IS about to shift. I'm declaring

somebody's family tree is about to shift

today. The things that USED TO HAVE YOU

BOUND, YOU SAY, "WELL, that's a

GENERATIONAL CURSE. MY FAMILY'S BEEN IN

THIS FOR A LONG TIME." HE'S ABOUT TO

BREAK ALCOHOLISM RIGHT NOW THROUGH THE

POWER OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. HE'S

ABOUT TO BREAK PORNOGRAPHY OFF OF YOUR

LIFE. HE'S COME ON. HE'S ABOUT TO BREAK

ADDICTION OFF OF YOUR LIFE. HOW DO I

KNOW? CUZ HIS POWER IS ABLE TO BREAK IT

ALL. HIS GRACE IS ABLE TO BREAK AMAZING

GRACE. HOW SWEET THE SOUND THAT SAVED A

WRETCH LIKE ME. COME ON. I ONCE was

lost, but now I'm found. I was blind,

but now I see. SOMETHING SHIFTED IN THE

mind of this young man. His heart

changed in a moment because of a memory

that he had. The Bible says in Luke

Luke 15:17

15:17,

"But he came to himself."

He realized when he looked around and

looked at his state, everything that was

around him, HE SAID, "I AM STARVING

WHILE MY FATHER'S SERVANTS have food and

can take leftovers to the house and put

them in the fridge." Come on. He said,

"I HAVE NOTHING TO EAT, BUT THEY HAVE

LEFTOVERS." HE SAID, "I AM IN A COVENANT

WITH A FOREIGNER FEEDING PIGS. MY FATHER

IN MY HOUSE AND MY COMMUNITY WOULD BE

APPALLED BY LOOKING AT my life." And he

needed to break the ties that he had

with the world. But watch this. Some in

here need to break the ties with the

lies that the enemy has spoke over your

life.

>> That your family will not be blessed.

That's a lie from the devil.

>> Come on. I'm going to say this. Some of

the enemy's lies are your body will

never be healed. The devil is a liar.

Come on. I'm going to declare this. Your

children will never get saved. Oh no.

The devil is a liar. I'll never be

blessed. The devil is a liar. My

business will never succeed. The devil

is a liar. My marriage will never

flourish. The devil IS A LIAR. MY

CHILDREN WILL NEVER SERVE IN MINISTRY.

THE DEVIL IS A LIAR. I'VE COME TO DEBUNK

EVERY LIE OF THE ENEMY and let YOU KNOW

THERE'S ONE WAY YOU CAN DEBUNK IT AND

SAY, "BECAUSE CHRIST SAID SO, I WILL BE

BLESSED. BECAUSE CHRIST SAID SO, MY

FAMILY WILL BE BLESSED. BECAUSE CHRIST

SAID SO, I WILL BE THE HEAD AND NOT THE

TAIL. I'LL BE ABOVE AND NOT BENEATH.

BECAUSE I TRUST IN THE NAME OF THE LORD

OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. THE EARTH IS THE

LORD'S AND THE FULLNESS THEREOF AND ALL

THOSE THAT DWELL THEREIN. THAT'S YOU AND

I THIS MORNING. CAN WE LET OUT A PRAISE

FOR THE FACT THAT HE WILL BREAK EVERY

CURSE OFF OF OUR LIFE? I SAID HE'LL

BREAK EVERY CURSE. HE'LL BREAK EVERY

CHAIN. HE'LL BREAK EVERY BONDAGE. HE'LL

BREAK EVERY ADDICTION. WE JUST GOT TO

TRUST IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.

>> HALLELUJAH, SOMEBODY. WE GOT TO TRUST IN

the name

>> and that name will set you free today

>> because if he did it for me, he'll do it

for you.

>> Come on, somebody look at your neighbor

and say, "He's about to do it for you.

He He's about to do it for you." Yes, he

is. Cuz I feel the Holy Spirit saying

something in my spirit right now that

somebody in the room, you got to make

the decision that the prodical son made.

And that was not a decision to stay in

the slop. That was a decision to get up

and say, "I'm going back home today."

Somebody came in here saying, "I'm going

to give church one MORE SHOT." CAN I

TELL YOU, "COME ON HOME TODAY." BECAUSE

THERE'S A PASTOR THAT IS SAYING A SAVIOR

WHO IS IN THIS ROOM BY THE POWER OF HIS

HOLY SPIRIT SAYING, "COME ON BACK HOME.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE HERE THE SAME

WAY. YOU CAN LEAVE HERE CHANGED." AND

KNOWING THAT THE FATHER'S LOVE IS

greater than anything that could come

against your life. You say, "Pastor,

M

hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

For I say to you today that my grace is

sufficient for you. That my arms are

extended to you today. You may have been

running. You may have made a mess of

your life. You may have turned away from

my grace time and time again. But I say

to you today, my grace is extended to

you one more time in this house. receive

what I desire to do. Come back to my

house. Come back home today. FOR I LOVE

YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE. AND I PAY

THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE SO I could be in

relationship with you today. Run to me

and I will run to you, says the Lord of

hosts. Hallelujah. Can we give God

praise? Can we give God praise? Come on.

Can we give God praise? Come on. Don't

ever TAKE IT FOR GRANTED WHEN HE SPEAKS

IN THE HOUSE. Give him glory in the

place.

Hallelujah. Thank God for his word.

Thank God for his word. Some of you may

say, "Pastor, I understand that he got

in the pig pin and then he came to

himself. Why did he not come to himself

before he got into the pig pin?" I'm

glad you asked me that story. Why didn't

he make or that question? Why didn't he

make the decision earlier? Because I

want you to understand there was an

unseen tension behind the scenes. Before

he got in the pig pin and even when he

got in the pig pin he had two choices

and that was to join with someone of

that country or go home to his father.

He had two decision or a decision he had

to make between two choices. And I want

you to understand because of religious

culture and customs of that day. He had

convinced himself that his father would

reject him due to the actions that he

had laid out in his life. I want you to

understand, don't forget the audience

Jesus is talking to. He's talking to

sinners and tax collectors, but he's

also talking to the religious crowd of

that day who knew what Torah would say

about this young man that had wasted the

living had prodical living and wasted

everything that his father had given

him. That is the perspective of the

young man in this story. He is broke. He

has wasted everything. He is labeled a

prodal not only in his OWN RIGHT BUT BY

GOD AND BY HIS village and his community

that he had left. So he knew in the back

of his mind what awaited him when he got

to the border OF HIS CITY COMING BACK TO

HIS FATHER. HE KNEW IF I COULD GET TO MY

DAD FIRST everything was GOING TO BE ALL

RIGHT. BUT HE KNEW THERE WOULD BE A

COMMUNITY of people that knew what he

did AND HOW HE HAD TRASHED his living

and ran away. But he had that in the

back of his mind. This religious custom

that was there. AND HE IS TEACHING this

to these two different communities that

were right in front of him. BUT ALL THE

WHILE THE SON WAS THINKING THIS, THE

FATHER HAD A DIFFERENT IDEA FOR THE way

it was going to play out. WHILE HIS SON

WHILE THE SON FELT THAT HIS FATHER WAS

LOOKING AT HIM FROM CONDEMNATION, THE

FATHER WAS ACTUALLY SITTING ON THE PORCH

LOOKING FOR HIM EVERY SINGLE DAY,

EXPECTING HIM, LONGING FOR HIM BECAUSE

HIS LOVE FOR HIM WAS GREATER THAN ANY

RELIGIOUS CUSTOM OF THAT DAY. AND I WANT

TO SAY THIS. IF THE SON HAD KNOWN THE

FATHER'S TRUE FEELINGS AT THE MOMENT HE

LOST IT ALL, HE WOULD NOT HAVE EVEN

ENDED UP IN THE PIG PIN. BUT HE WOULD

HAVE RAN BACK AND RETURNED TO HIS FATHER

SOONER. BUT CAN I TELL YOU, RELIGION

WILL KEEP PEOPLE AWAY FROM GOD BECAUSE

THE CHURCH HAS MISREPRESENTED THE GOSPEL

OF JESUS CHRIST. LET ME GO ON A PATH

WITH YOU OF RELIGION VERSUS

RELATIONSHIP. BECAUSE RELIGION HAS A WAY

OF DRIVING A WEDGE BETWEEN US AND THE

FATHER'S LOVE. BECAUSE RELIGION REQUIRES

YOU TO DO SOMETHING, BUT RELATIONSHIPS

LIFTS ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OFF OF YOUR

LIFE. RELIGION DEMANDS PERFORMANCE, BUT

RELATIONSHIP OFFERS HIS PRESENCE.

RELIGION MEASURES DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU

AND GOD, BUT RELATIONSHIP SAYS, "I'M

GOING TO CLOSE THE DISTANCE AND I'M

GOING TO CLOSE THE GAP." RELIGION

PROTECTS BOUNDARIES, BUT RELATIONSHIP

CROSSES THE BOUNDARIES. RELIGION SAYS,

"YOU DID THIS, SO YOU DON'T BELONG." BUT

WATCH THIS. RELATIONSHIP SAYS YOU'RE

MINE SO YOU DO BELONG. IS THERE ANYBODY

IN THE HOUSE THAT WOULD SAY I'M THANKFUL

HE SAID YOU'RE MINE SO YOU BELONG. SO I

WANT TO TELL YOU TODAY THE FATHER IS

SITTING HERE LOOKING OUT OVER THIS

CONGREGATION. THE FATHER IS SITTING HERE

LOOKING ONLINE SAYING DON'T YOU LET

RELIGION KEEP YOU AWAY. COME ON TO THE

FATHER. I'VE GOT ANOTHER PLAN FOR YOU.

OH COME ON. IF YOU'RE THANKFUL HE HAD

ANOTHER PLAN FOR YOU. GIVE HIM A LITTLE

PRAISE IN THE HOUSE.

Come on. I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE ABOUT

15 SECONDS AND THANK GOD FOR THE FACT

THAT RELIGION DIDN'T HAVE THE FINAL

WORD. RELATIONSHIP HAD THE FINAL WORD IN

MY LIFE. HALLELUJAH.

The father is looking for you today. The

father had you on his MIND WHILE HE WAS

DOWNLOADING EVERY BIT OF THIS INTO MY

SPIRIT. BUT I want you to see what THE

WORD OF GOD SAID. I FEEL LIKE PREACHING

a little bit right now. Oh my god. Luke

15 and verse number 20 says, "BUT HE WAS

STILL A GREAT way off. WHILE HE WAS

STILL A GREAT WAY OFF, HIS FATHER SAW

HIM, HAD COMPASSION ON HIM, and ran and

fell on his neck and kissed him." I want

you to really get a clear picture for

what the Jewish people were seeing. The

the Pharisees AND THE SCRIBES WHEN THEY

HEARD JESUS SAYING THIS, THEY were

thinking one thing. The tax collectors

and the sinners were thinking, "Oh, THAT

SOUNDS BEAUTIFUL TO ME. THAT SOUNDS LIKE

A PICTURE OF WHAT JESUS is trying to do.

What did the PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES

SEE? THIS IS WHAT THEY SAW WHEN THE

FATHER RAN. THEY SAW HIM BEING

SCANDALOUS in the community.

>> Come on. I let me let me unfold this.

You fixing to see something that you had

never seen before. And I pray maybe you

have seen this and that's great. You

already know where I'm going and you're

just so so SMART. BUT HERE'S WHAT I WANT

YOU TO SEE. THE JEWISH FATHERS AND MEN

OF ESTEEM IN THAT TIME THEY DID not run

publicly especially when they were

dressed to be the leader. It want you to

understand this it would it was

considered unbecoming to pursue people

as people were expected to pursue their

elders rather than the elders PURSUE THE

PEOPLE. THE FATHER RISKED HIS REPUTATION

in that moment because he WAS DETERMINED

TO BEAT RELIGION TO HIS SON. Oh my god.

I feel something right there.

I FEEL IT RIGHT THERE. I THINK FOR TOO

LONG WE'VE ALLOWED OUR SONS AND

DAUGHTERS TO DIE IN RELIGION WHILE

SITTING BACK AND WATCHING IT HAPPEN. BUT

I SAY IN THE NAME OF JESUS RIGHT NOW, IF

YOU'RE A SON AND DAUGHTER, YOU'VE BEEN

RUNNING FROM GOD, COME ON HOME. I'LL

MEET YOU RIGHT HERE. I'LL TELL YOU GOT A

PURPOSE. I'LL BRING YOU INTO THE KINGDOM

CUZ I BELIEVE THAT GOD'S GOT A PURPOSE

FOR YOU TODAY.

OH, COME ON. I DARE YOU TO PRAISE HIM

FOR THE FACT THAT HE BROUGHT YOU HOME

AND HE'S GOING TO BRING ME HOME.

HE WAS DETERMINED TO OUTRUN RELIGION

THAT WAS AFTER HIS SON AND THEREFORE

AFTER HIS INHERITANCE AND AFTER HIS

HERITAGE. HE RISKED HIS REPUTATION GOING

AFTER THE SON. AND WATCH THIS. I KNOW

PEOPLE LOOK AT THAT AND SAY, "OH, THAT'S

POWERFUL." IT IS POWERFUL. BUT THE

FATHER'S RUNNING WAS NOT JUST MERE

EMOTION BECAUSE he loved his son. It was

A STRATEGIC ACT TO DISMANTLE A RELIGIOUS

SOCIAL MECHANISM of something called

exclusion. WATCH THIS. HE RAN TO

INTERCEPT HIS SON BEFORE THE KZA

CEREMONY COULD OCCUR. Somebody say,

"What's the KZA ceremony?" I'm ready to

preach right now. I I just Oh, I already

got it in my my house going to go. I

just want you to see this. The KZA

ceremony was simply a Jewish community

practice of exclusion with profound

social consequences that would come to

the person that the con that the

ceremony was performed in front of. It

was performed IF A SON WATCH WHAT THE

RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE

thinking the entire time they were

building up to see the KZA ceremony take

place so that they could say, "Oo, LOOK

AT THAT. HE GOT KICKED OUT AND HE

DESERVED IT." BUT WATCH THIS. The the

this KZA ceremony WAS PERFORMED IF A SON

asked for and squandered HIS INHERITANCE

AMONG GENTILES AND then attempted to

return back to his home.

>> Can you SEE WHAT JESUS IS SETTING UP? HE

SAID, "LOOK, you're mad at me cuz I'm

with them, but I'm going to tell you,

I'M MAD AT YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE trying to

kick them out."

>> Come on. Can I just BE HONEST WITH YOU?

JESUS HAD PROBABLY HAD IT UP TO HERE. HE

SAID, "I'M GOING TO TAKE ONE STEP

FURTHER and let them know, YOU THINK YOU

GOT THE UPPER HAND, BUT LET ME TELL YOU

REALLY, IT'S ME." AND HE looked at them

and HE SAID, "THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON."

SO THE KIZA RITUAL WOULD BE LIKE THIS.

VILLAGERS WOULD GATHER AN EARTHWEAR

VESSEL, sort of LIKE THIS, A POT,

SOMETHING THEY HAD IN THE HOUSE, AND I

don't have it filled UP WITH THIS, BUT

THEY WOULD FILL IT WITH BURNT NUTS and

corn. AND THEN WHAT THEY WOULD DO WOULD

BE ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Because in

that moment, you have to understand the

the things that are going through the

mind of the hearers, but the thing

that's going through the mind of the son

when he's COMING BACK TO THE BORDER OF

THAT COMMUNITY, HE IS RUNNING UP TRYING

TO GET TO HIS FATHER. AND ALL THE WHILE

HE'S SAYING, "IF I DON'T HURRY AND

SOMEBODY ELSE SEES ME, if religion sees

me, they're going to enact KZA." And in

that moment, I will never be able to

make it back TO MY FATHER. I WILL BE

DISCONNECTED AND PUSHED OUT. IT

LITERALLY MEANS WHEN YOU TAKE THE WORD

KEZAH, it means to cut off.

And so what did they do, pastor? They

went up TO THIS MAN, WHOEVER IT WAS THAT

SQUANDERED THEIR LIVING. AND THEY HAD

THE PRODICAL SON WHO SQUANDERED

EVERYTHING. AND THEY CAME TO HIM AT THE

BORDER OF THE COMMUNITY. Remember I

talked about earlier, the scribes and

the Pharisees, they were about

protecting the border and letting nobody

get in. Oh, I feel this right now. Cuz

here's what they would do in that

sermon. They would run out to that

border and they would see him coming and

they would run to him. They would meet

him and they would act the the ceremony

of Kzah and they would take that pot AND

THEY WOULD SMASH IT right at his feet.

>> I want you to remember that sound.

They would smash THE POT AT HIS feet in

acting

saying you went out there AND YOU TOOK

YOUR father's inheritance what he

entrusted to you and YOU DIDN'T JUST

SQUANDER IT, YOU SQUANDERED IT WITH

GENTILES. AND BECAUSE YOU SQUANDERED

WITH GENTILES, now you are no longer

worthy to be welcomed back into the

family.

>> Come on. Can you see what I'm talking

about? BUT HERE'S WHAT'S SO BEAUTIFUL

ABOUT THIS PICTURE IS THAT THE FATHER

DIDN'T SIT on the set ON THE STEPS OF

HIS HOUSE AND WAIT FOR SOME RELIGIOUS

fanatic to meet him out there and say,

"Where you been?"

>> Come on, somebody. My my my I feel like

preaching right now. Some of y'all need

to understand this in this house this

morning. I know I'm going to mess people

up right now, but I want YOU TO

UNDERSTAND THAT there are people in the

church today that would like to point

their fingers at somebody else,

FORGETTING THE FACT THAT YOU USED TO BE

THAT SOMEBODY ELSE.

>> Come on, somebody. Oh my my. I feel this

in my spirit because there is a group of

sons AND DAUGHTERS THAT ARE ABOUT TO

COME BACK IN HERE LOOKING FOR ONE MORE

CHANCE, LOOKING FOR ONE MORE HOPE. AND I

DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYBODY IN THIS HOUSE

LOOK DOWN YOUR NOSE AT SOMEBODY ELSE

SAYING, "HOW DARE YOU?" BUT YOU LOOK AT

HIM AND SAY, "BABY, I USED TO BE RIGHT

WHERE YOU'RE AT. AND BECAUSE I WAS RIGHT

WHERE YOU'RE AT, COME ON BACK INTO THE

HOUSE. IS THERE ANYBODY THANKFUL THAT

GOD IS ABLE TO RESCUE US FROM

OH, come on. I DARE YOU TO PRAISE HIM. I

WISH I HAD SOME FOLK THAT WOULD GET ON

THEIR FEET AND PRAISE GOD THAT KZA NEVER

FOUND YOU.

KZA NEVER FOUND YOUR FAMILY. KZA NEVER

FOUND YOUR CHILDREN. KZA NEVER FOUND ME.

HE MADE A WAY IN MY LIFE. Now hear my

heart because if it happened like that

it meant destruction and it represented

the irre the irreplaceable irreparable

breakdown of the relationship between

the son and the community. AND ONCE THAT

THAT THING WAS ENACTED was enacted the

person was shunned treated as dead to

the community unable to do business and

barely acknowledged. This was the

religious red tape THAT A COMMUNAL

SOCIETY USED TO PUT PEOPLE OUT THAT THEY

didn't think BELONG IN THEIR HOUSE. But

I WANT YOU TO KNOW SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.

WHEN THE FATHER GOT OFF THAT PORCH AND

ran and hugged HIS SON AND KISSED HIS

SON, IT WAS NOT JUST A DISPLAY OF

EMOTION, BUT IT WAS A LEGAL STATEMENT TO

EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WAS

WATCHING IN THAT MOMENT. HE WAS SAYING,

"THIS IS MY SON. MY SON IS RESTORED. MY

SON IS IN GOOD STANDING AND DON'T YOU

DARE TOUCH MY SON IN JESUS NAME. SO I

BELIEVE SOMEBODY'S ABOUT TO GET A HUG

FROM THE FATHER TODAY. HE'S ABOUT TO

KISS YOU AND LET THE DEVIL KNOW THIS IS

MY SON. THIS IS MY DAUGHTER. COME ON

SOMEBODY AND PRAISE HIM FOR THE FACT

THAT WE'RE MADE BRAND NEW. OH, COME ON.

I wish I had some folk that would just

praise him right there. Come on. Praise

him for the FACT IT WAS YOU. PRAISE HIM

FOR THE FACT IT WAS YOUR FAMILY. PRAISE

HIM FOR THE FACT THAT SOMEBODY

SOMEBODY IS ABOUT TO RECEIVE IT TODAY IN

JESUS NAME. Look at your neighbor and

say no KZA in my family.

No KZA in my family.

And I'm going to tell you this. There

will be no KZA ceremonies in this

church.

We ain't going to cut one person off. We

going to be standing there with wide

arms wide open saying, "I know you're

struggling. I know you're battling. I

know you made mistakes, but blessed be

the name of the Lord. The same blood

that covered ME, BABY, IS THE SAME BLOOD

THAT'S ABLE TO COVER YOU. AND WHEN YOU

KNOW THAT, THEY WILL BE FREE.

>> THE BIBLE says they will know the truth

and the truth shall set them free.

>> And so today, my hope is this is that

number one, we will see oursel in this

story

>> and we will understand that every one of

us deserve to have a pot thrown at our

feet.

>> I don't want you to ever forget that

sound. When you're dealing WITH YOUR

FAMILY, YOU'RE DEALING WITH A HARVEST.

DON'T YOU EVER FORGET that crack and

that crush.

>> Don't you ever forget the sound of

cutting off because that is the sound

that we never ever want to hear and we

never want to be a part of.

>> I don't control the gate. I'm not a

gatekeeper.

>> Come on.

>> I don't get to say who gets in heaven,

who doesn't. I am not the judge. He is a

judge. I'm just called to be faithful

and present his truth. And today, I'm

going to tell you, if you're in this

house and you feel like you've been cut

off by the by the world, and let me say

this. You feel like you've been cut off

by the church, today that ends.

>> I said, today that ends. Come on. Today,

that ends in Jesus name.

Hear my heart in this house. I want you

to understand that the enemy would love

nothing less than for you to come in

here and somebody look at you and recall

your past trying to make you guilty.

>> Watch this. When Jesus forgives you and

his blood covers it, he does not

remember it anymore.

>> And if he doesn't remember it anymore,

neither should you and I.

We should forget it and move on and say,

"Let's thank God that we're not on our

way to hell, but we are on our way to

heaven

>> today. The grace and the mercy and the

power of God is extended to this room.

It's extended to our live stream today.

And I declare over somebody that's

watching, somebody's in the room, today

is a brand new day for you. You're

standing on the edge of this of the

city. You're standing on the edge and

wondering, do I get let in or do I not?"

Can I tell you, I've got the father's

vid image in my mind of him getting up

and taking off running and saying, "You

don't have to worry. I'm going to meet

you right where you're at." Oh, come on.

I'm thankful he met ME RIGHT WHERE I'M

AT. AND I'M THANKFUL HE'S ABOUT TO MEET

SOME OTHER FOLK RIGHT WHERE THEY'RE AT

THIS MORNING. SO, everybody stand to

your feet if you would. I'm done. Just

play me out, son. I refuse to let my

legacy be a legacy of pots that are

shattered.

I refuse to let anybody hear a breath of

Liberty Culture Church and feel like I'm

judged my that they've been judged out

the door.

>> The devil is a liar.

>> Matter of fact, I better not hear about

that.

>> If that happens, you got more to deal

with than just your emotions.

>> You got a pastor that's going to come

right to you and say, "How dare you?

>> Don't you forget where God brought you

from."

He said, the the writer said, "Such were

some of you." Such were some of us in

this house. But if it hadn't been for

the blood of Jesus,

>> we would be lost and we'd be broken. Can

I tell you that when he made that legal

statement

here, here's the beauty of somebody

that's saying, "I'm still unsure,

pastor, if I'm allowed to come home or

not." I'm going to tell you, this is

what this is what pushed me over the

edge to let me know that the Lord loved

me. when he kissed him and held him, he

said, he was declaring, "This is my son.

He is restored. He is in good standing.

Don't you dare touch him." But I want

you to see something beautiful

is that when he did those things,

he didn't come back and agree with the

son

and look at him and say, "No, you're no

longer worthy to be my son." What did he

do in that moment? The Bible says he got

back to the house and he told his

servants, he said, 'Go get my best robe.

Go get a ring. He said, 'And get some

sandals to put on his feet.' Why did he

do that? What does that represent?

Whenever he took that when he took that

robe, come here, Sawyer,

just come here and turn around face that

way. When he took that robe, what he was

really saying that robe represented when

he put it on him like that, he was

covering his son's shame.

>> He was covering his shame. And then he

said, "Where?" Oh, your hands are

disappearing. Can I have your hands?

Let me see one. This I'm not marrying

you. I'm just gonna put it over here on

this weird finger.

He put a ring. I know it's a diamond

ring. It just just pretend like it

ain't. It's fine. Don't look at it

weird. It's fine.

He took that ring. He put it on his

hand. What did that mean? That

represented the fact he he's not just

anybody. He's my son. Which means the

same authority he had when he was in my

house before he wasted my money is the

same authority he has now after he did

waste my money. Oh yeah. DID HE MESS IT

UP? DID HE HAVE A LOT OF SHAME? OH, I'M

sure he did. Absolutely. I mean, who

wouldn't in that moment? But his father

said, "I'm not going to listen to that

shame. I'm going to put a robe on you

and I'm going to cover that shame. I'm

going to put a ring on your finger and

say you've got the same authority." And

watch this. He put sandals on his feet.

Why is he didn't want his son walking

barefooted? No, it had nothing to do

with that. He didn't want to they wanted

to catch HIM A COLD. NO, THAT AIN'T WHAT

HE was doing. Servants in those days

walked around barefooted. That was how

you were telling the difference between

people that belonged in the house

>> and people that served the house. And so

he wanted everybody, they saw the row,

they saw the ring, but he had a choice.

The father had a choice. He could have

left him barefoot,

but he said, "Oh no, sir." He said, "You

put a beautiful pair of sandals on him

because I want everybody who looks at

him to not be able to look at any part

of his life and say that I put shame on

my son. I want them to look at every

section of his life and say, "This is

not just anybody. This is the son of the

father." And I want TO CALL YOU BACK TO

THAT TODAY. THE LORD WANTS TO BRING YOU

BACK IN. HE WANTS TO COVER YOUR SHAME.

HE WANTS TO CALL YOU HIS SON. HE'S NOT

GOING TO PUT YOU OUTSIDE AND SAY, "LIVE

OUT THERE." HE'S GOING TO SAY, "COME ON

INTO MY PRESENCE."

And so today, every head bowed, every

eye closed. Thank you, buddy. Thank you.

Every head bowed, every eye closed.

Somebody is in this place today and

you've been teeter tottering back and

forth whether you should accept the

grace that's at the threshold or not.

And that's the title of my message today

is grace at the threshold. This is a

year of sacred thresholds. And

somebody's about to cross a sacred

threshold. You've been playing games

with the Lord. You've been wasting your

life away. You've been doing things that

are unf that are frivolous and don't

mean anything. You've been trying to

live as close to the world as you could

and keep one foot in the in the house.

Let me tell you today, SHIFT THAT AND

COME BACK TO THE FATHER. My job is not

TO LIVE AS CLOSE AS I CAN TO THE WORLD

AND FIGURE OUT IF I CAN STAY IN THE

HOUSE. MY JOB IS TO LIVE AS CLOSE AS I

CAN TO JESUS AND REMAIN ON THIS PLANET.

My heart is this today is that there is

somebody in here that the enemy has

tried to put shame on your life and

tried to tell you you're not worthy. But

I've come to let you know the devil is a

liar. And my father is standing here

with a robe. He's standing here with

some ring. And he's standing here with

some shoes to let you know that he's got

you covered in every area of your life.

But today, you've got to grapple with

the question, have I wasted it all? Have

I HAVE I WENT DOWN A ROAD THAT I DON'T

WANT TO BE ON THIS ROAD ANYMORE, PASTOR?

I'VE MADE SOME DECISIONS THAT ARE THAT

ARE NOT RIGHT, AND I FEEL MYSELF

DRIFTING TODAY, AND I DON'T WANT TO

DRIFT ANYMORE. Can I tell you he sent me

here to help you redirect and get back

to the place that he desires for your

life. So with every head bowed, every

eye closed, if there's somebody here,

you can say, "Pastor, I've drifted away.

I've not done what I need to do, and I

feel myself being pulled away. I feel

the enemy drawing against me, but today

I want that robe. I want the ring. I

want the shoes. I want to walk out of

here uniform for the glory of God." I

want you to lift that hand and say,

"Pastor, when you pray, pray for me

today." Come on. Anybody in the room?

Come on. Anybody in the room? I saw

hands going up. Go ahead. Anybody else

in the room? You say, "Well, I'm not I'm

not where I need to be. I've drifted.

I've I've let things get in between me

and the Lord." Anybody? Hallelujah.

Amen. Amen. God sees you. God sees you.

Now, I'm going to ask a really important

question. If you're here in this house

and you've never committed your life to

Christ,

I'm coming after you today because I

want you to know you belong here.

>> Let me say it. I want you to hear the

voice of the father. You belong in the

house.

The devil will tell you one thing, but

God say he's saying something completely

different right now. You belong in the

house. And you say, "Today, I want to

make my life right with the Lord. I want

to have a relationship with this father.

I want him to run off the porch and meet

me." And guess what? He will. Oh, he

will. He'll show up in your life. And

you say, "Pastor, I'm I I don't have a

relationship with him, but today I want

to start one. I want to be brand new. I

want you to slip your hand up and slip

it right back down just so I can see

anybody. Anybody I'm praying for today?"

Hallelujah. Anybody in the house?

Anybody in the house? I'll yield it for

a second cuz I want to make sure I don't

miss anybody. Today is your day. Today

is your day. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Now, everybody look at pastor for a

second. There's people that raised their

hand and and here's what we're going to

do. We're going to come as a family

today as a church family to the house to

the altar.

But I want to give some instructions to

everybody in the house.

We will not be a church that smashes

pots in front of people.

>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

For my love for you is unending. My

mercies are brand new every morning. I

have called this house I have called

this house to be a beacon of hope, a

beacon of liberty to those that are

bound, those that are broken, those that

are hurting. Let your light so shine so

that they can see me. They can see my

love and they can run to safety, says

the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Can we just raise our hands and thank

him for a second? Can we raise our hands

and praise him for a second? Some may

say, "Pastor, I don't want to be

confused. I don't know what's going on."

It's part of the gifts of the spirit in

operation in this house. We believe when

there's when there's a message in

tongues as inspired by the Holy Spirit,

the Lord will give an interpretation to

follow of what he's speaking directly

into that moment. And today, we receive

both of those that took place in this

house. We receive that according to the

word of God. But I want to tell you

this,

the son approached the village concerned

about being cut off by his father and

the entire village. The border of the

village was a sacred threshold where he

was approaching and giving it his one

last shot.

I'm going to tell you before now and the

coming of the Lord, there going to be

people that walk in here saying, "I'm

giving it one last shot."

And so,

>> can I ask you

to meet people at the threshold with

grace?

>> Will you help your pastor

meet people at the threshold with grace?

Because if we meet them with

condemnation and guilt and shame,

they may never know the freedom that we

experience.

And I need you to help me do that.

People are going to walk in struggling.

They're going to walk in hurting.

They're going to walk in not knowing

which way to turn.

But if they walk in and they find

condemnation, they're going to know

exactly where not to go.

And can I be honest, the church has

gotten a bad reputation because we have

been those border guards.

We've been border guards for too long.

Spiritual gatekeepers saying, "Well, you

don't look like me. You don't you don't

come from the same socioeconomic

background as me. You didn't vote the

same way I voted in the last election.

Quit it.

>> Stop.

>> I'm sick of it.

>> Just be honest. I I'm I run the risk of

getting in trouble and I don't even

really care at this point. I'm sick and

tired. And especially in the South,

people saying, "We got a dividing line.

You're Republican. They're a Democrat,

so they're not saved. And you're not

you're the best person this has ever

been." Let me tell you something. God is

not looking at your voting card. He's

looking at your heart.

Now, don't get it twisted on the other

side that I'll rub other people the

wrong way. It matters how you vote.

>> It really does. You got to vote what the

word of God says and vote your

conscience.

>> But we are not to use that as ammunition

in the KZA ceremony to say you can't

come to Jesus.

That's not going TO BE MY POT THAT I

THROW DOWN.

If I throw down any pot, it's going to

be the feet of the devil.

>> And say you get no entrance into this

house.

>> But I'm asking you, please,

please

help me give grace at every threshold.

>> Help me give grace at every threshold.

That is the heart of the father. He

said, "I'm not willing that anybody

should perish, but that all should come

to repentance."

What happens, pastor, whenever I give

somebody grace at the threshold, we

preempt rejection.

>> We preempt rejection because they

already are worried about it coming in.

>> And again, I I love you. I'm going to

work on us. We're going to be we're this

church is going to be known as the most

gracious Christians ever.

>> We're not going to carry the reputation

a lot of churches carry as the most

judgmental people ever. Amen.

>> We're going to carry the one as the

gracious people.

>> That's where we're going to go. If you

want to know my heart is if you can't be

gracious, then hey, alter.

>> Amen.

>> I'm just being honest.

If you can't if you can't love people

right where they're at, I'm not talking

about not having standards. That's not

what I'm saying. If you can't love

somebody when they're broken, get in the

altar.

>> That's my only answer. Don't come to me

and say, "Can you They did this and

that." I don't care. Go to the altar.

>> That's going to be my answer. There's no

religious talk that we can get through

and make you feel better about telling

somebody they ain't going to heaven. No.

Get in the altar. Get your heart right.

>> That's it.

So today, I'm recruiting some people

that will say, "I will give some grace

and threshold." Listen, thanks for

joining us for the message today. And I

believe the power of the Holy Spirit

begin a transformational work in you

through the word of God. And we want to

help you walk that process out. We

believe in the power of the local

church, disciplehip, walking together in

our journey with Christ. So, we invite

you to come connect to this beautiful

family of God at Liberty Culture Church.

If you'd like more information on how to

connect and uh different ways to take

next steps, even how to give, you can do

that simply by visiting our website,

libertyculture.urch.

Listen, all the information is there.

It'll help you connect and you can be

part of a beautiful family where the

power of the Holy Spirit is here. And

listen, freedom is seen and freedom is

evidenced in every single life. Listen,

we simply believe at this house that

families are going to be restored, lives

are going to be transformed, and because

of that, generations are going to be

launched. This is Liberty Culture

Church. Come be part of the family right

here. Built on presence, bound by love.

See you soon.