You Are Rich

Open your Bibles to Proverbs 23, verse 7.

Proverbs 23:7

And the word of the Lord says, for as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

And we've been in a series that we have titled, Who Are You?

Or Who Am I? And you are as you think in your heart.

Now, who you are and who God says you are should be synonymous.

You should agree with who God says you are.

But our life tends to go in the direction of our most dominant thoughts.

And next week, we're going to get more into that statement.

But it is important who we think we are. Our identity is critical.

We live in a culture and society today that is trying to discover who they are,

by what they eat, by what they watch, by their sexuality, by their color of

their skin, by how they vote.

They're trying to really discover who they are by how they feel.

There is so much ambiguity in a lot of people's eyes about who they are,

and they don't realize that until you discover who you are in Christ,

you'll never know who you have been created to be.

And so if you want to know why you exist and why you were created,

the first thing you should do is ask the creator.

The creator himself will tell you why he created you.

He will give you identity. He will give you purpose.

But unfortunately, we are trying to locate and find ourselves.

But scripture says we are to find ourselves in Christ Jesus.

And identity is going to provide you with purpose. It's going to give you a

mission. Identity will give you direction.

And it's also how you see yourself, how you see yourself.

And so for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

How you see yourself is important for your identity.

Now, if you follow sports of any Be kind, there's a team that I follow,

I won't name any names, I'm a little ashamed of my team right now, but,

This particular team doesn't have an identity.

They don't know if they want to run the ball. They don't know if they want to

throw it. They don't know if they want to stop the run. They don't know if they

want to stop the pass. They can't do nothing, okay, because they lack identity.

When you know who you are and why you exist, it gives you purpose.

I want you to discover who you are. What do people say about you?

Find yourself in the scripture but then see if the fruit is abounding in your

life what are people saying about you when they hear your name do they think,

and this is a person that's honest this is a person of integrity this is a generous person

this is a person that's reliable and dependable or do they think oh stay away

from that person oh don't get around them oh they lie all the time oh they cuss

they'll cuss you out in a heartbeat

this becomes your identity and we need to discover who we are in Christ Jesus,

and then we need to conform to the image of his son.

We need to be like Jesus.

And so if you don't know who you are, life will beat you up.

So we must discover who we are in Christ Jesus.

And over the last several weeks, who does God say you are? We've been talking about this.

One we said is God says you are a new creation in Christ.

Old things have been passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 4, I believe is verse 16, says that we are being renewed day by day.

And so you are a new creation in Christ every single day.

His mercies are new every single day.

I don't care what you did last night. I don't care what you just did 30 seconds ago.

You are made new every single day.

And our job is to get our thoughts in line with God's thoughts and become who God says that we are.

And somebody say, I'm a new creation in Christ.

And then you said in order to become a new creation in Christ,

you must be born again. Say born again.

That means you are born from above, a spiritual birth.

You are not from here. You are from above. I use the example and the illustration of Mark over here.

I met with Mark and he said he was from the Newport News area.

I learned a lot about Mark simply by saying he was from the Newport News area.

That's a rough, tough area. And so when Mark told me that, I said,

this is a rough, tough guy right here, right? And so you know you cannot separate

your identity from where you're from.

You can't separate the two. So you and I are from above.

So identity comes from God. And so we are born again. We said that we are complete in him.

Say that I am complete in him.

You're not lacking anything. In him, you have everything you need.

You don't need them. You don't need her. You don't need him.

You don't need that house. You don't need that car.

In him, you are complete. and I don't lack a thing in him.

We've talked about who are you?

You are just like Jesus. You need to be conformed or to look like Jesus.

Who are you? Your life is not your own.

You don't belong to yourself. You belong to Jesus.

You are the body of Christ. So whatever he tells you to do is what you do.

You're a bond servant we talked about. We willfully and voluntarily and cheerfully

give our life away to Christ Jesus because of what he has done for us.

We want to give our life away.

This is who I am. I'm a child of God.

My life is not my own. I'm a bond servant. And then last week we talked about you are an heir.

You are an heir. That means there is precious promises and provision and protection.

Just specifically for you because you are an heir of Christ Jesus.

And today I am led to talk about something different that may be controversial,

but I'm not scared of you guys, nor am I scared of anyone else.

Just, I found out recently that there's a man that's making videos about me

and they're pretty bad. They're negative videos about me. Well,

praise God. I'm making an impact there, right?

My daughter, Zai, listened to one of the videos. She said, Dad,

don't listen to it. It's terrible.

And I was like, I won't listen to it. I'm just going to preach what the word

of God says. Say amen to that.

And so my goal today is to show you who you are.

Now, I've never preached this in this way, but I'm going to preach it very boldly

because I want to convince you with God's word of who you are.

Say amen. 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9 in the King James Version,

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9.

2 Corinthians 8:9

All these messages that I've talked about are on truelifefc.org,

and you can tap your phone if you're here today and grab the notes from today's message.

The Apostle Paul tells us, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,

so that you, through his poverty, might be rich.

Now, the commentators, the theologians, will take this verse,

and they will describe it this way. I don't believe this is.

I don't believe it's incorrect necessarily, but I do believe it's incomplete.

The theologians, the commentators would say that God through Christ Jesus was rich in heaven.

And when he came to earth, he was poor.

And so his birth in the earth is what made him poor.

And his birth in the earth is what made him poor so that you and I can have spiritual riches.

And I'm not saying that that is necessarily incorrect, Kendra,

but I believe that it's incomplete.

And we're going to talk about this. For you know the grace. That word grace

is unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor of God.

It's the preferential treatment of God.

You know the grace of God, of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,

that word rich means more than enough, abundantly supplied.

Yet for your sake, somebody say for my sake. Say it again, for my sake.

He became poor. That means he lacked in any area of his life.

He had little to no money, goods, or other means of support. That's what poor means.

For your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty, that is the condition

of one destitute of abundance.

That through his poverty he might be rich.

Now I told you the theologians and the commentators would say,

God left the riches of heaven through Christ Jesus and came to earth and became

poor so that you and I can receive spiritual riches.

So my question then would be, when on earth did he become poor? Right?

We know that Jesus was born in a manger. Do we know why he was born in a manger?

Somebody tell me why he was born in a manger.

Because there was no room for him in the inn. That's why he was born in a manger.

But religion will tell us he was born in a manger because he was poor.

We forget that the wise men brought Joseph and Mary gifts.

And these gifts have been roughly estimated to be about $2 to $4 million.

Gifts that the wise men brought him. We forget that Jesus had a house.

Now, I'm going to step on some religious folks today. Go to Matthew 13.1.

Matthew 13.1. Religion tells us Jesus was homeless, didn't have nowhere to lay his head.

Look what Matthew 13 says. On the same day, Jesus went out of the house.

This homeless man stepped out the house, and not only did he step out the house, he sat by the sea.

So if you step out your house, and you're standing by the sea,

what kind of house you got?

A waterfront property, beach house, lake house.

I'm just going to show you scripture.

Beach house. He stepped out the house and just stood by the sea.

Came out barefooted, walked on the sand, and sat by the sea.

When did Jesus become poor on the earth?

In John 12, verse 8, it'll be on the screen. John 12, verse 8, watch this.

John 12:8 John 12:8

Jesus distinguished himself from the poor.

For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always.

So he's distinguishing himself from the poor.

You're going to always have the poor, but you're not going to have me.

So he's born in a manger, not because he didn't have any money,

but because there was no room for him in the end.

The wise men brought millions of dollars to him. That's why they were able to

travel so often and so much. Millions of dollars were brought.

We understand that in his ministry, he steps out the house, and there are 10

other verses like that in the scripture I don't have time to go over,

at least of Jesus stepping out of houses.

This homeless man had a house. That doesn't make sense to me.

You can have a house, but Jesus can't.

That doesn't make sense to me. The only reason he didn't have nowhere to lay

his head because he said, I'm on the move.

I'm on the go. I'm not signing a 30-year mortgage right here.

I'm not going to be on this block for 30 years. I've got places to go and people

to see and to minister to. I'm on the move.

If you want to follow me, you're going to have to be on the move.

But he didn't say he was homeless. Matter of fact, Jesus was preaching in a

house and people tore the roof off the house.

Jesus had a house.

But we've been taught that he's been poor. Look at this.

Luke 4.18, it says, he came to preach the gospel to the poor.

This poor man came to preach the gospel to the poor. Does that make sense?

Oh, I know it's going to get quiet in here because I'm kicking down some sacred cows today.

This poor man showed up and started to preach the gospel to the poor.

That does not make sense.

He met the needs of others. How many poor people you know meet the needs of other people?

He met the needs of others. Poor people can't do that. He had 12,

at least 12 full-time employees who left their jobs to follow him,

and he took care of them.

My question to the theologians and the commentators are, when did Jesus become poor?

You said when he left heaven, he came to earth, he became poor.

When did he become poor? Stay with me now.

Jesus' ministry financially assisted the poor regularly.

He regularly helped the poor. That was consistent of his ministry to help the

poor. If you are poor, you cannot help the poor.

Jesus had a full-time money manager,

a treasurer, traveling with him everywhere he went.

Do you, is your treasurer following you everywhere you go?

Your money manager walking around with you everywhere? The money man was traveling

with this poor man, Jesus.

Poor Jesus had nothing, but he had a money manager that was traveling around with him. Poor Jesus.

And the poor man with the money manager, the money manager was stealing everything.

Stealing the money that the poor Jesus didn't have because he came here poor.

Stealing the money he was stealing so often that Jesus didn't even say nothing

to him about it because he had more than enough.

And when he finally got called out about it, they said, you know,

Judas, you know, he must be going out doing what? Giving money to the poor.

This is what he did often. He cannot be poor if he's helping the poor.

He cannot be poor if a money manager is traveling with them and this man is

stealing the money and Jesus has so much extra, talk to me now,

that the ministry still continues on.

You can't be a poor man and let that take place. Amen.

Acts chapter 10, 38. Watch this. Acts chapter 10, 38.

Acts 10 · chapter mention Acts 10 · chapter mention

It says, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,

who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Why?

For God was with him. Notice he went about doing good.

You know what it means to go about doing good? I did a little study on this.

To go about doing good means philanthropy.

He was a philanthropist. Did I say that right? He was close.

He went about doing good. This is what Jesus did.

On the earth, walked around doing good.

Whatever needed to happen, this poor man that theologians are trying to tell

us was broke, busted, and discussed, had nowhere to lay his head,

was going about doing good stuff for people.

That cannot be the case.

Jesus, I was limited. Well, I was debating what I was going to tell you this,

but I ain't scared of y'all. I'm going to tell y'all this one.

Jesus rode a donkey that had never been ridden before.

That means he had some new stuff. Say amen to that.

He had some new stuff. It's okay to get something new. Amen?

When we first started the church, this was 2011, July 2011, we were meeting

in a band room at Community House Middle School.

We literally started with absolutely nothing.

And when I say nothing, I literally mean the word nothing. We didn't have a bank account.

We didn't have speakers. We didn't have microphones. We didn't have nothing.

I had a man give me $1,200 cash for the ministry, and I couldn't put it anywhere,

because we didn't even open up a bank account yet.

I said, Lord, I got to get a bank account open at least to put this money in it, right?

We started with nothing. And the Lord spoke to me.

He said, as true life gets going, I want you to start buying new stuff.

Now, my mind said, you know, it's more economical to get the used stuff, right?

Just, I mean, I'm calling all the churches all around, you know,

that would be more economical. Let's get all this used stuff because we need

stuff. I'm not against used stuff.

Hear me clearly. The Lord gave me a word to get new stuff. That was a word for me.

I knew. So here we are. we're going on we're about three months into the ministry

and we don't have any speakers i'm just talking without any speakers we don't have a microphone,

and somebody wanted to give me some speakers man that's awesome but i had a

word from the lord said new and we had a little money in the bank account,

and the lord spoke to me and he said why is money sitting in the bank account

and you ain't got no speakers Thank you.

Well, I'm saving money, right? We're saving money, Lord. He said,

I didn't ask you to save money.

Money is only good when used for services.

Money sitting in the bank account does nothing for anybody. And so he said, buy new.

And from then on, we just started buying. We bought some speakers.

And from then on, everything you see in here is what? New.

And it's all what? Paid for.

Let me say it again. It's all what? In Jesus' name. Amen.

It's new and it's paid for. Why? Because God is not opposed to you and I having something new.

I want to penetrate your mind and we're going to talk about it next week but,

I want to penetrate your mind to get over the fact that it's okay to get something new.

We're so used to hand-me-downs and nothing wrong with that. And we're so used

to getting borrowed stuff and nothing wrong with that. But it's okay to get something new.

Hallelujah. I mean, the first time we bought a brand new car.

Glory to God. I had to fight because I was so used to buying the cash car.

Get the little beat-up car and fix up on it. That's what I was used to don't

laugh too hard you the same way I,

I need a little cash card. We got to fix up on it. AC don't work. I need to fix AC.

I need to get up on it and all this. And I just felt like, my goodness, I want this.

The Lord said, get something new.

I said, man, I had to fight myself. Then I finally went into the car lot at

this particular time. And what had happened was the car that I had was breaking down.

But I was going to hold on to that car.

And it was breaking down. I went into the car lot, got it, and once I went into

the car lot, long story short, the man started showing me a new car,

and we were having another baby at the time, so we needed a van.

It's the car Stacy drives now.

We needed a van, and the man started telling me about this van,

and he offered it to me, and here's what he offered me.

It was new. I was like, oh, I don't know about new. I don't know about new.

You know, I need something used, right?

I don't know about new. He said, we'll give it to you at 0% interest.

I had never heard of that before.

I had to Google that thing.

I said, what? They said, yeah. He said, your credit qualifies for 0%.

I said, well, either give you $25,000 today or $25,000 in four years.

I'll give it to you in four years. Amen. Right?

All right, we can break it down, right? Right? Zero percent interest,

and that was the first car that we bought brand new. Amen.

Jesus came. He rode in on a new donkey. Say amen to that. Amen. Listen.

Nobody ever rode this donkey. Listen, Jesus was so well taken care of on the

earth that when he was on the cross,

they started casting lots for his clothes.

If you're poor, you don't want a poor man's filthy rags. Why would I cast lots for that?

They said that his, what is it called? Did I write it down?

I want to say turban, but it's not turban. What's the thing that goes from shoulders to knees?

Yeah, there you go. Let's just go with robe. The robe was one, it was one seam.

That's how beautiful it was. It wasn't multiple stitched together.

It was perfectly with it. And then you remember they were like,

well, let's cut it up and settle. They said, no, no, this is so nice.

We need to keep it as it is.

We're talking about poor Jesus who came to the earth poor.

I submit to you, and I've got more, I just don't have the time.

I submit to you that Jesus wasn't poor on the earth. Do you agree with that?

When he came to this earth, he was not a poor man. So when did he become poor?

I believe the only moment that we can consider Jesus to be poor on the earth

is when he went to the cross.

That's the only time he became poor. Why?

He was beaten, he was whipped, he was stripped, and he was naked.

You know, Jesus was naked on the cross. How humiliating.

At that moment, he is destitute, he's lacking, he's in need, and he is poor.

Even the father said, I mean, even Jesus said to the father,

you know, why has you forsaken me?

Now there's a separation even from the father. This is the only time he became poor.

Don't tell me Jesus walked this earth poor. He was never lacking on the earth.

He became poor on the cross.

Now, here's what's important.

Jesus wasn't poor because he lacked something.

He became poor because he was giving something.

Stay with me now. Stay with me. Stay with me. He became poor because he was giving something.

One purpose of his death, burial, and resurrection, watch this, was to make you rich.

Stay with me. Don't be afraid of this word rich. Somebody say rich. Rich.

One reason for his death, burial, and resurrection was to make you rich.

Let's go to 2 Corinthians 8.9.

Put it back on the screen, guys. 2 Corinthians 8.9. for we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that though he was rich yet for

your sakes he became poor so that by his poverty he could make you what?

Rich. Say it louder. Rich. Say it like you mean it. Rich. Now I didn't say that. I didn't write that.

And if you want to stay poor, stay poor. That's between you and God.

But scripture is telling me

that on the cross, one of the reasons he died was to make you and I rich.

You are a new creation in Christ. You are complete in him.

You are a child of God. You are a bond servant.

You are an heir and you are rich. Somebody say, I am rich. I am rich.

Say it again. I am rich. I am rich. Say it like you mean it. I am rich. I am rich.

I am rich. That's right. You are rich. I wish I got this at his age.

Praise God. Hallelujah.

Oh, but, you know, my mom was telling me she was, you know, a little old Baptist

church and she took a vow of poverty.

And the vow, you heard about these things, and the vow is I will always be poor

and I'll always be broke and busted and disgusted and lacking and begging and poor.

And she said, man, I cannot believe I took this vow because,

you know, it made me feel like I'm closer to Jesus. Right?

Jesus never lacked not one thing on the earth until he was on the cross.

Then he lacked everything on the cross.

Somebody say, I'm rich. It's not what you possess. Now stay with me. That makes you rich.

It's not what you possess. It's what Christ has accomplished for you.

It's not what you possess is what he has accomplished for you being rich doesn't

mean you currently have everything,

being rich means that in christ you have access to everything you need to fulfill your assignment,

let me say it again being rich doesn't mean you currently have everything.

It means you have access to everything you need to fulfill your assignment. Somebody say, I'm rich.

Somebody say, Jesus made me rich.

Come on. Now, this is the mindset that I want to get inside of you,

that you begin to think, I'm rich.

So we're so used to saying, well, how you doing? I'm trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents.

How you doing? I'm just trying to be like you.

How you doing? Well, I've got more month than I've got money.

How you doing? Well, watch this. How you doing? Well, I'm exhausted.

Well, you're supposed to be rich in strength. It's not just money.

When you hear rich, your mind all imaginable goes to money, but you're supposed

to be rich in strength, rich in mercy, rich in grace, rich in kindness,

rich in patience, rich in wisdom, rich in knowledge, rich in understanding.

Should I keep going or can I stop?

See, rich is a Bible word. It just means to have abundance.

And so I'm exhausted. Well, that means you are lacking strength.

And the Bible says, let the weak say what?

What does the Bible say? Let the weak say what? I am strong.

So you are rich in strength.

It's not what you currently possess. It's what he's accomplished for you.

This is your identity.

Who are you, Rose? I'm rich in health.

I'm rich. Who are you? I'm rich. There was one particular time there was this

guy I went to college with.

And for some reason, we used to pick on this guy. I don't even know why we picked on him.

I mean, he wasn't a small guy. He was a nice-sized guy. But the guy always had some cash on him.

Now, we were in college. I didn't have nothing. I barely.

Listen, I didn't have no cash. on me in college. We used to go to William's Chicken.

William's Chicken, two piece and a fry was $1.50. And I used to have to find

them quarters to get that $1.50.

William's Chicken was the spot. Now, I tried William's a few years ago.

My stomach. I can't do it no more.

That cheap chicken couldn't do it no more.

This particular individual always had a little cash on him. So we used to call him millionaire.

Oh, millionaire. There go millionaire, millionaire. And he never stopped us from saying that.

I started to notice. Well, shoot, call me millionaire.

Amen, right? Say that to me. Call me that, right?

Nobody ever did. But nevertheless, in college, you know, not for sure.

Now, I started to, as I got a little older and I started to notice these things,

in Scripture, the Lord has made you and I's identity to be rich.

Now, that doesn't mean a millionaire.

Listen to me now. Being rich doesn't mean I'm saying you are a millionaire.

You are a billionaire. Now, God's not opposed to you having money.

But some of you can't handle the $10,000 you got.

And if you get a million dollars, I mean, more money might mean more problems for you.

If you can't be faithful with what you got, God will be unjust to give you more.

So if you're not being a good steward of the $50,000 that God has allowed you

to work with for a year, you get a million dollars, you'll probably be dead in one year.

Because you don't know what to do with it. So God would be unjust to give you

a million dollars. So I am not saying, when I say you are rich and you say I

am rich, I'm not saying you're a millionaire.

Now, I'm also not saying God doesn't want you to increase financially. I believe he does.

But you're saying I am rich because Jesus became poor so that I could be made rich.

Rich. So why am I rich? Not because of what's in my bank account,

not because of what I drive, not because of the house I live in.

That's all stuff that's fleeting. Could be here today, gone tomorrow.

I'm rich even when I don't have a job.

You better listen to me today.

This is where your identity is. I'm rich without a job. Amen.

The car I'm driving right now, It might be raggedy, but I am rich with this raggedy car.

Hallelujah. I used to drive a Ford Pinto.

Man, and it didn't have any hydraulics in the back. That thing was bouncing in the back.

And you remember if you hit it in the back, it would explode, right?

So I did not want to get re-ended. Man, I took care of that Ford Pinto.

You would have thought that thing was clean.

Ron had a new paint job. It was clean. and I had some tens in the back too.

Watch out now. Boom, boom, boom. I had it going.

People used to make fun of my Pinto. Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, look at him with that Pinto.

Ha, ha, ha. I said a slow ride is better than a fast walk. Amen.

I acted rich with the Pinto. Say amen to that. You need to act rich right now.

It's not about what you possess. It's who you are. Jesus was rich before he

came to the earth, and he was rich while he was on the earth.

He became poor only on the cross. Why?

Why? So that you and I might be made what?

Oh, you're not convinced. Let's put it on the screen one more time,

guys. 2 Corinthians 8.9, the King James Version. 2 Corinthians 8.9,

the King James Version. Watch this. I want you to see this.

This is not my words. I didn't write this. The Lord wrote this through the Apostle

Paul, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is very generous of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,

for your sakes he became poor. I believe that was on the cross,

so that you through his poverty on the cross might be rich.

So I'm not saying that. The Bible's saying I'm agreeing with the Bible.

The purpose of Jesus or one of the purposes of Jesus getting on the cross for

you and I is for us to be rich.

Don't be afraid of this Bible word rich. Say it again. Rich.

Say it one more time. Rich. Don't be afraid. This is a Bible word.

So notice Jesus was rich.

He became poor. Why did he become poor? For your sake.

It didn't say he became poor for his sake.

Scripture, I mean, if you just read it, it really explains itself.

He got on the cross, became poor for you.

Why? So that through his poverty, you might be made rich.

His sacrifice changed who you are and what belongs to you.

His sacrifice changed who you are and what belongs to you. and what belongs to you is rich.

And it says here that you might be rich.

This includes money, but it also includes 2 Corinthians 9.8.

Let's take a look at that. 2 Corinthians 9.8.

The apostle Paul tells us here, and God is able to make all grace abound toward

you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work.

So his richness and you being made rich includes all grace,

all ways, all sufficiency, all things, every good work. Are you getting this?

It's not just about money, although 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, and I encourage you

to read 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 tonight before you go to bed, read those two chapters,

it is talking about giving,

the grace of giving, the joy of giving, excelling in giving,

giving when you don't feel like giving, giving because that is your heart to give.

Both chapters are talking about giving, and so we can't separate that Jesus

is not including money in this passage.

It includes money, but it's not limited to money.

If I am making sense, say amen.

All grace. So what are you rich in? All grace, all ways, all sufficiency,

all things, every good work.

You come into it rich. When we started this project to get in this new building,

and the Lord led us to this building, and I told you what I said.

I said, I'm not waiting on the banks. You remember that?

The banks weren't working with us. I said, I ain't waiting on the banks.

This is what God has for us.

We went for it. At that moment, we weren't the poor trying to get rich.

We were already the rich.

And God was supplying and providing for us.

We didn't come from, oh, won't you help me now? I need some help.

If somebody would give something, I need you over there to give.

We didn't do none of that.

We didn't do it. My mic just falling off. It got me preaching.

The devil said, Mike, fall off. Don't let them get rich up in here.

Somebody say, I'm rich. We started from a position of being rich.

Amen. And then God did what? Provided.

You got to know who you are. Biblical abundance means you have all grace,

always, all sufficiency, all things, every good work.

Rich doesn't mean millionaire.

You are rich because heaven's resources are available for your assignment.

You have everything you need for your assignment. Say that, I have everything I need.

You don't even know what you need right now, but you have everything you need.

You can't even predict the future right now, but you have everything you need.

You have everything. You have the energy it takes. You have it.

I remember when we were deciding to have our last child, Zage.

Notice I said last. Zage, our last one.

And I remember I was talking to the Lord. I said, Lord, I just don't have the energy for another kid.

You know, Marcel, how much would it take to raise to it? It ain't no joke, right?

I said, I don't have the energy. And I heard the Lord say, you have everything you need.

Amen. As soon as she came, the energy came with it. Say amen to that.

And so you are rich because heaven's resources are available for your God-given assignment.

So you're rich. Somebody say, I'm rich. I'm rich. You're rich in grace.

You're rich in faith. You're rich in wisdom.

You're rich in peace. You're rich in relationships.

You're rich in the spiritual operation of the gifts.

You're rich in opportunity. You are rich in purpose. You are rich in material resources.

You are rich is your identity.

I didn't call you rich. The Bible called you rich.

Somebody say, I'm rich. Well, pastor, I don't feel rich.

You can have little in your possession and still have a rich identity.

You can have little in your possession and still have an identity as I am rich.

I was reading this. I just, I love this. Well, I don't know why I'm telling

you this, but I'm going to tell it to you anyway.

I was reading this article about Will Smith, okay? Will Smith, the actor.

And he, at the time, you remember he had a great musical career first.

This guy's had two A-level careers, really.

Musical career, and it kind of tanked, and then he became an actor.

And he tells the story how he became an actor.

Someone walked up to him and said, do you act?

No, he didn't act. He said, do you act? He said, yeah.

I said, man, that's a man that knows his identity. He said, man, I can act.

It was three-something months later is when they started Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Just from a man asking me. Now, what if you say, well, you know,

I'm really poor, you know, and I'm busted and disgusted, and I don't have no... No, no, no, no.

His identity made him feel like he could act.

Amen. Somebody asked you, do you know what to do here? No, I don't know what

to do here. No, yeah, I do know. I know what to do here.

I'm rich in wisdom. Well, let us know. I'll let you know in a couple days, you know?

But I know what to do in this situation. I'll tell y'all we're going to have

a meeting, and I'll tell y'all what to do here. Amen.

Because I'm rich in wisdom.

Amen. And so you must distinguish between your current circumstances from your identity.

You got to distinguish between your current circumstances from your identity.

Your identity in Christ will change your circumstances.

Did you hear that? Your identity in Christ, I am rich, will change your circumstances.

Stop identifying yourself with what you don't have.

Well, I don't have knowledge. I don't have this. I don't have the money.

I don't have the time. Stop identifying with what you don't have and identify

yourself by what Jesus has provided. Say amen to that.

Say this after me. I do not identify.

With what's in my bank account.

I do not identify with what I lack.

You know, we need to stop identifying with what we lack. Well,

I lack the knowledge of this, or I lack the experience, or I lack this,

and I lack that. Stop identifying with that and identify with who Jesus says you are.

Say this out to me. What I don't have does not determine who I am.

I do not identify with my current situation.

What I'm going through is not who I am.

Jesus became poor for me.

Now think about that for a second. For you, he became poor. For you,

he suffered a gruesome death on the cross.

For you, he was whipped and beaten and separated from his father.

For you, he went to hell and conquered death, hell, and the grave.

And stripped the devil of the keys of the kingdom and brought them back up and

brought Moses them back up with them. He did it for you.

Not for himself.

And I want to submit to you through the scriptures, he did it to make you rich.

I thought I'd get a hearty amen on that one.

Don't be afraid. This is why he did it. So he said this out to me.

Jesus became poor for me. So that I could be made rich.

Because of Jesus. I am rich. I am rich in grace.

I am rich in purpose.

I am rich in wisdom. I am rich in favor. I am rich in the promises of God.

I am rich financially.

I am rich. Say amen to that. Glory to God. I'm rich.

1 Timothy 6, 17-19. 1 Timothy 6, 17-19. This mic trying to fall off while I'm preaching.

I'm about to work on it, praise God. devil is a lie.

People need to hear this. Amen? Well, I'm a victim.

I'm just a victim. I'm just someone that's just my circumstances or I'm beneath

my circumstances. No, that's not who you are.

I'm just from this neighborhood and this is what I'll always be. No!

I was born in Mississippi, one of the poorest states in America.

Don't mean I have to be poor.

I'm rich. Say I'm rich. Now watch this.

Because you're rich, scripture says, teach those who are rich,

that's you, not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable.

Their trust should be in God who richly gives us all we need,

watch this, for our enjoyment. Amen. We are supposed to enjoy life.

What is our theme for this year? Enjoy the journey. Right? Now watch this. Go to the next one.

Tell them to use their money and save it and hoard it and put it under your

bed and bear it under the back and let somebody know you're so poor,

although you got a lot of money buried in the back of the yard. No.

Tell them to use their money to do good.

They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need,

watch this, always being ready to share with others.

He says, I'm supposed to tell the rich. That's you. This is what you're supposed to do, rich folks.

By doing this, they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for

the future so that they may, read it with me, experience true life. Hallelujah.

Glory to God. This is how you experience true life.