The Unforgettable Fire

Notes from Hillsong NYC

[occupytheory]

10/5/14 - I Need Some Space [Part 3]

8:30 PM Manhattan Center

Pastor Carl is on!

I Need Some Space (Part 3)

If we can create the right space in our life, then God can pull out brand new grace that'll change our lives forever.

Matthew 28. Jesus is all about expansion, no matter what you think about your life or what previous limitations have been there. Jesus has always said that there's more stuff in you than you know. If you're following Jesus, look forward to the Holy Spirit is expanding your borders.

Wherever there was a limit or boundary, Jesus would kick it down. In Matthew 28, Jesus faces the religious haters of his days, the pharisees and what not. Jesus tells them that the biggest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind. Right away, we're confronted with our lack of space.

Jesus wants every moment, vision, breathe - it all has to do with Him. If you're wondering about drinking, getting high, there you go. God wants all of you. And that's the first commandment.

Then there's loving your neighbor as yourself. All the law and prophets hang on those two commandments. Jesus is saying that if you let Jesus occupy your life, you'll overflow with love for even your neighbor.

None of us wake up as kind, generous people. Our generation might be the hoarding generation. Hoarding. Preserving a huge collection of things for future use. This life isn't about helping but hoarding stuff. Jesus doesn't want that because hoarding is where we end up without creating space for Jesus.

Have you ever seen that TV show Hoarders? These people think they need a whole lot of stuff that they don't and they're the only ones who think they do. You don't need a thousand newspapers or toothbrushes. These people didn't know that the root issue of their life is their hoarding issues.

Well ask yourself: can the Holy Spirit say the same about you? You see stuff that you don't need, old stuff you don't have, because anything God gave to you, was meant to be given to someone else by you?

Jesus is the only thing you should hold onto, everything else can go. You need more space.

Here's a space saver. Some of you need space saving and here's a way you can do it. You might not have chosen your current place but can God can still move in that place! If you look at where you are right now as a nowhere zone, rethink that right now. The job you have, relationships, etc you have may not have been your choice but that doesn't limit God from invading that space and blowing your mind with it.

You can't always control what's happening to you but you can control what's coming through you.

Here's a story from Acts that Carl loves. We have Paul and Silas and they are in jail - a space they surely didn't choose - for doing the right thing. You can be doing the wrong thing in the wrong place. If you are a Christian today and you don't have one fight or tension or stretching point, you might wanna check who you're serving. If you're being sanctified by God, there's gonna be areas of tension. That means God's up to something.

Back to Acts 16:34. So around midnight for Paul and Silas - when it was darkest, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Then there was a violent earthquake and all the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains went loose. Even people who don't wanna be free are set free - even the atheist cold hearted person, they get in the presence of God and they're freed.

The jailer woke up and he was about to kill himself because everyone of his prisoners were lost but Paul told him not to kill himself. Paul and Silas found themselves in a place they didn't choose - but rather than complain and sulk about it, they still believed that they could move in that space.

So they're not gonna put their eyes on when they wish they were, but they put their heart on God. There is a danger in our culture of people being so fixated on the future because they don't like what they are. They think about the future being better. Someday I'll get there and someday I'll be there.

All the while, they miss out on what's present and don't occupy anything. There was a study that said people spent 48% of their thought life somewhere else. That's why traffic happens. If God has you there and you have confessed you're a Christian, your season is now! Quit waiting for next when God has set you free now!

God specializes in using nobodies who came out of nowhere who point to somebody: Jesus. You can believe for something better and you can be a nobody in the middle of nowhere but God can do something.

Old Testament. God chose David in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere and made him king. Mary was in the middle of nowhere and she was made Jesus' mother. Jesus chose 12 nobodies to be God's messengers. You're telling me that God can't use you now? I don't care if it's your dream season, it's your now season.

You might not have chosen this thing but God can still move in it. You may not be able to control everything that comes in your space but you can control what you call it. More empowerment for Christians.

Everything you're seeing in your life is just life. Paul and Silas couldn't control being in prison but they turned it into their platform. They saw an opportunity when there was a prison. There's so many Christians who don't reclaim and reframe their space. They don't like anything.

It might look like a dead-end job to you but you have to claim it for what it is. Sickness is a chance for God to heal. Brokenness is a chance for God to make you whole. Your workplace isn't lost, it's just full of people waiting to be found.

You maximize the now and let God worry about the next.

It doesn't mean you don't dream or believe God for greater things. What it means is that you're content in your season. There's a difference between being content and complacent. Content is trusting God no matter what. Complacent is cursing God and calling him annoying.

You're not gonna miss out on how great that space was when you're content. You can think that the next season is the real one. One guy thought his next season was the real deal but he didn't realize how valuable the platform he had now. He started changing little things. He started playing sermons to the people he'd apprehend and they actually got saved.

What if there were people not complaining about their space but re appropriating their space? Not just a schoolteacher but a life-shaper, a difference-maker. If you're a single mom, your home isn't just a shelter, it's a chance to shape lives. If you're on Wall Street and wondering how it plays into the kingdom of God, just say that it's the day that the Lord has made and believe for great things. That's how a city starts to change.

Here's two things you can look forward to in the nowhere space. As they wait for next season. Don't look at it as a nowhere but look forward to two things - throw these two truths back at the Devil.

Here's what's God is doing in a nowhere season: He's refining you, whether you know it or feel it or not. God never changes - he's always loving.

Yay. People want instant deliverance and breakthrough. You're gonna get some refinement. Did you know how Paul and Silas got into prison? They came out differently. God isn't taking stuff from you - but he's clearing out the wrong stuff so that he can get more of him to you.

In the middle of the most uncomfortable season, when the walls start closing in, you put your hand up and say in this weird moment, God is making better and stripping away stuff you don't need: sanctification.

Refine means to strip away, to make brighter. You don't look at challenges anymore the same way. You learn more about God and faith so that when you see a situation that's challenging, you know that God is refining things. God is gonna bring some new faith.

What if you looked at stuff that used to weigh you down - wait a second, God hasn't abandoned me, he's with me here. What do you want me to hear in this season, God? Rather than write down what you're lacking, write down what you're learning. Carl promises that there are battles you're fighting today that'll help you win tomorrow.

If you've felt discouraged and confused, what God is doing in this moment, well, think about it. Paul and Silas would have gone into prison on the momentum of revival and people being saved, total deadkill. They would have stripped down to nothing but Jesus and they'd realize that they'd be alright.

Here's why it's so vital: It exposes what you don't need and reveals what you do need in your life. That's what refinement does, so if you don't want it, get over it. This is the life of a Christian. Everyone else is quitting, you're going forward, even though you don't know how it's gonna work out.

You start to love the refining fire of God when God has to pull you out of a season when you're being refined. Someone who's single might jump at the first relationship that comes by, but then they become content and don't jump into it.

What would you do if an earthquake showed up and an angel freed you? Where would you go? Sizzler's? The movie theater? This jailer who was with Paul and Silas asked them what he has to do to be saved. Paul and Silas could have ran and left but they stayed around to talk to their captors. What?! Can you imagine so secure in God that the situations that everyone else is running from, you still stay while taking care of other people?

We're in a hurry to leave some of these nowhere spaces but what if there's someone more miserable than you? Carl learned this the hard way. When he was saved, Carl thought that everything was his. He found out that God loves you more than you ever know, refining you in ways you'd never refine yourself. When Carl was 20 years old, he felt the call to preach but Carl was a tree transplanter. Horrible.

Carl was the lowest rung in the tree planting totem pole. He was all out there by himself, it was hot, there were bugs. Carl felt like that wasn't his calling or season. He wanted to do something real, to be a preacher. One day, Carl felt that God told him, “What if I'm showing you stuff that you need now for later?”

God knows what's going on with your life. So Carl changed his attitude. Turns out, Carl was getting ideas from planting trees and uprooting them for sermons. Another time, he had to explain salvation to another friend in 5 minutes. All the stuff he learned then was useful and Carl loved it so much that when God told him to go into the next season, Carl wasn't sure.

God is working you in ways you'll never, ever know. Trust him.

He is always refining you. Not forgetting you, leaving you behind. Paul and Silas got refined in that prison.

He is always in the nowhere season, always reminding you, always, always reminding you that sometimes we need to remember what God pulled us out of so we can build some faith for what he's pushing us into.

When all you see is nowhere, nothing, you need to remember what he's done. Christianity is all about the new thing, but remembering the old stuff is good too. Remind yourself that God can take you where you could never go alone.

Paul would have been really good at remembering when he was a murdering dude who killed Christians. He would have been really good at remembering that God knocked him off his horse. God invaded his path and look at where he is. Remember where God had me - look at where he has me now.

Some of you need to remember the pit God drew you out of and it'll give you faith that He hasn't forgot you. So it's really easy - if you can't see what he's doing, you'll remember what he's done. Remember how you used to treat people. You might not be where you wanna be tonight but remember where you were. You are different now than then.

The devil loves to trick people: you're not that different, you're not going anywhere. I am different. I do think differently. God rescued me there, he's gonna rescue me now. Have a recollection party. Have them tell you about you before you' knew about Jesus. God is gonna fix that, and that, it's the same. You don't need a new sermon: you need an old memory of how good he was. Same God!

How does Carl and Laura have such big faith for such a big, wild church? It's a huge organization, Hillsong NYC. In 4.5 years, Carl and Laura have huge memories of God's grace already. Look back to have faith for the future. Remember this time and that time? When Hillsong NYC started out as 30 people in a small room? That time when someone you loved got saved? Remember how God turned things around? It's easy to look at how far we've come.

Think about His grace and faith and you will stand in nowheresville and you won't forget his faithfulness.

Last thing: In the middle of nowhere, a little bit of space goes a long way. Leave with that thought. Let the Holy Spirit pry open some air in a suffocating season. If you don't think you're going anywhere, give God a little bit of space. Nowhere becomes now here. With a little bit of space between the w and the h.

God is trying to get us to remember that he is NOW HERE. God is NOW HERE. You don't have to wait to be healed, healing now, rescue, hope, now. Peace now. This is our God, here and now.

Nowhere seasons exist so that God can show up and say that he is now here. You are never forgotten. He was always there and in that peace comes power from heaven you've never known before. Occupy your space well and never forget that he is now here.

[occupytheory]

Away on Vacation

Hi Gang,

I'm away on vacation in Korea (hometown represent Seoul bigupyaself!) and Japan until the end of the month - there will be a hiatus on notes until then. God bless you ~ Thanks!

[occupytheory]

9/28/14 - I Need Some Space! [Part 2]

2PM at the Manhattan Center

Pastor Carl Lentz is on deck.

I Need Some Space! Part 2

People couldn't handle Jesus back in his time and they still can't handle him. Let's look at Luke 6:35-38. Jesus tells us to love our enemies - and that's tough. Help, and give without expecting a return. You'll never regret it - Jesus promises it!

Live the kind of life that God has lived towards you: space and grace. Third, fourth, fifth chances. Our father is kind, you be kind. Don't pick on people, jump on their failures or condemn those who are down, that hardness can boomerang. Give away your life and you'll find it given back with bonus and blessing.

Giving, not getting is the way. Generosity begets generosity. You need more space!

Jesus is immediately stretching peoples' minds when he talks about this. We want to have the kind of margins so that when God challenges us, we have enough resource and space to take those things on. It's not in our human nature to be nice. Period. Or kind, or generous. If you think you're high and mighty, you have your bad days too.

It's our sinful nature to get more and hoard more. Not one of Carl's kids have come out of the womb saying, “I wanna share!” It's always me, mine and mine. We have to teach young children now so that they don't become stingy adults later. God isn't trying to take stuff from you, he's trying to get better stuff to you and through you so that you get more of Him.

You need more space.

Don't be afraid of space. Do not be afraid of space. Dedication requires separation and after separation comes revelation. That's why you need more space.

It's hard for people to understand this concept. But if you're gonna follow Jesus truly, there's gonna be moments where you are gonna come to a door, a threshold, a moment where nobody from that old place can come into that new space. Dedication demands separation. If your faith is not separating you from the world God dragged you out of, well that's not good.

Then you need revelation that you're not alone in that space. But our culture doesn't do well with empty space. They call it emptiness. They don't get that it's called being a Christian sometimes. God sometimes works best when it's just you and God. Our culture hates everything to do with silence and space - every Apple product, invention is about connecting you and making sure you ain't lonely.

So we're never allowed to be alone and we build things in our lives that end up killing us down the road. Everything that was good in the Bible happened to someone who was alone. Paul was alone in a jail cell. The Psalmist David was alone on the run.

We no longer can deal with the root of the issue if we don't get space, we end up managing the fruit of the issue. There was a point where Carl needed too much encouragement from other people and without space, Carl wouldn't have been able to stand on his own. He woke up thinking about who was going to encourage him today and who would call him, and then he starting seeing everyone as faulty.

Instead, he should have realized that encouragement from people is fine but he had the right to get encouragement from heaven so that he wasn't looking left and right. What if God is drawing you into a new place where you realize that He's all you need? In that place of separation is a revelation that nothing can buy. If you get it now, you'll be better down the road.

There are some people who don't trust God enough to leave something that kills them because they're afraid to be alone. You have to get good with the empty spaces.

If there's overcrowdedness in your life, something's gotta go, and it's not Jesus. Here's an example from Genesis. A guy named Abraham wanted a son, and one day he got it, and then Genesis 22 happens. God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

So Abe listens, saddles his donkey and goes off to sacrifice him. It's the ultimate test for Abe. Abraham was walking into this test even though he didn't understand. Sometimes you just gotta walk even when you don't understand.

Well as Abe was about to kill Isaac, an angel called out and told him to stop. Is that not the most amazing moment you've read all day? We have a man who allowed God to separate him and in this place where it's just him and God, he finds out more about his faith and his provider than he ever could have - but it all comes from Abe being willing to be alone with God.

If you want God to open up new space in your life, you MUST create space to hear God. That comes through practice. Abraham had such a practice of being able to hear God that he was able to trust him.

Is there space for you to hear from heaven? If God were to call you and give you direction, do you know today that you can access him? Once you start to hear his voice, you recognize it.

Now Carl loves his iPhone and Siri. If you put anywhere you wanna go in the world and you give her the correct address, she'll give you the right instructions right? Wrong. There's other noises around you - from kids, from the cars on the street, from people, from buses, and that goes into the phone and Siri can't hear you.

Well if you had just got into a quiet room alone, Siri would have heard you and you would have been on your way. We're like that with God - there's so many distracting noises that we can't hear God, and we're being rerouted the wrong way because we can't figure out where to go.

You need to hear from your own life. What does God sound like? He's def. not Australian? How do you know you're hearing from heaven? You might not leave with more facts, but you'll leave with more faith.

Boom! How about that? Abraham was hearing from heaven but he had no facts, but he had faith to go on. A Christian that has heard from heaven is unshakable, you can't convince them to do anything otherwise.

The whole point about talking with God is not that all the details are right but that God is with you. Plain and simple. You can have paralysis of analysis: you can hear God and still be worried about the details. How, who, what, when where? God is the detail.

A lot of people who want more detail actually are asking for the wrong thing. The more detail you give sometimes, the more you grow to hate it. Carl's kids always ask for details about where they're going to for vacation and the more they ask for details, the more Carl is stuck there explaining everything and killing the fun in it.

You're not looking to the left or right and you're finding yourself in places that you'd never expect to be? Your eyes were fixed on Jesus and now here you are. You are more prepared than you thought because God called you. Before you do anything: go to Jesus first.

Who do you run to today? Do you have enough faith and trust to go to Jesus and believe you'll get what you need from heaven?

You gotta create space to hear.

You gotta create space to receive as well, and you do this by giving.

Expand your horizons a bit here: if anyone is looking to create room to get, you'll be in trouble, because Jesus said generosity produces more generosity. Our world says you gotta get to get but Jesus says you get by giving. You give because you're blessed and you know where it came from so the desire isn't the stuff, but the one who sent it.

Money isn't our idol, our desire, and we give it away. You know what happens to Christians who stop giving? You get stuck.

This isn't about money. Our church isn't in trouble financially. The church will go on. God is all about your heart. He wants you to create more space so that you recieve. If someone walked into Heart For House with a hundred million dollars, Carl would still have the offering because people would be able to understand the joy of creating space and that blessing.

We give not so that God will love us - we give because He loves us.

Let's go back to the end of the Genesis story with Abraham sacrificing Isaac. God's already rescued Isaac and God provides a ram and Abraham sacrifices that instead. Abraham had no idea that God would come through like that, he just went up that hill creating space to recieve.

When Abraham was there, supernaturally, God had already provided that ram. When Abraham needed God to come through, he did. God was building trust in Abraham. Abraham didn't know about it - his eyes were all on his God.

If you are struggling up that hill right now and you are waiting for that blessing and breakthrough - don't stop climbing. Create space after space, even if you gotta pray all day, through tears, you have to trust that your God hasn't failed anyone and he isn't gonna start now. There is an answer on the way, a moment on the way, if you can just keep on creating space to hear and follow God. Don't give up.

[occupytheory]

9/21/14 - The Two Question Test

4:30 PM at the Manhattan Center

The Two Question Test.

Romans 14:10-12

Romans is a collection of doctrine - deep, sound doctrine. It's a 16 chapter book and Paul takes a short section to settle a dispute between two groups or two people. These people are judging each other and Paul says why should anyone judge each other? We all stand in front of God's judgment seat.

You're gonna have to stand before God about your own life, so put your own energy there, not in criticizing others. As surely as God lives, every knee will bow before God.

You know, every Biblical sign has been fulfilled now in our generation - it could happen at any moment you know. Every person who's ever lived will stand before God and there will be this moment in time when everyone realizes that Jesus is the Lord. So everyone will bow.

Then Paul returns and says since we're all gonna have to stand before God, there's gonna be this moment when God looks at you and He asks you what you did for him. But there's actually 2 questions that God's gonna ask.

You could totally have been a bad student in school. You can think that you're not blessed with intellect. So when he got to college, he wasn't doing that well either academically. Turns out, he understood the material but hated standardized tests.

There are many people who are smart but don't take tests well. His oldest son Michael got a 33 out of 36 on his ACT which gave him a full ride scholarship, and then he did so well in undergrad, he got his MBA with all As. This kid was so smart but what he didn't realize is that there's a trick to taking tests!

At LSU, some professors distribute their old exams so you can actually study them in advance! There's gonna be a moment in time when you're gonna need to test well - even if you don't believe what he's saying. It's gonna happen when you stand face to face with your Creator and He looks you personally in the eye and asks you some questions.

As a pastor, he feels that his job is to prepare people for that test. So what are the questions and the answers?

The first question is, “What did you do with my son Jesus?” People will give you tons of answers about Jesus, and God sent him to Earth on a specific mission: to take on the whole sin of the world and pay for it.

Sins aren't just forgiven, but they're paid for. The wages of sin are death, and so Jesus paid the bill. Hell is a place where people pay their own bill because they didn't want to take Jesus up on his offer to pay for yours.

So then how do you get in on that offer? How do you receive that payment? People will usually give a religious answer like that they went to a church every Sunday and sang songs. Those are all wonderful things but that's the wrong answer. Others will say that they read from the Bible and believed some of it. Some will even say that they believed in him but that's not enough - even the devil believes in Jesus.

So what is the right answer?

Down in the South, very few Christians go to church but everyone goes! It's like a country club. Well Matthew 7:21-23 says that not everyone who calls Jesus Lord will get in. That's a problem. Only he who does the will of God will get in.

Many will say to God that they prophesized, exorcised and performed miracles for Jesus. In modern day vernacular, we might have served, got baptized and gave money but that's the wrong answer. The condition for eternal life had nothing to do with church attendance - it has to do with RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.

It's a very intimate term: you have know God so intimately. So the answer to the test - the answer you're gonna want to give is that you loved him, you knew him, you allowed him to work in your life, you allowed him to be everything. You committed everything I was to serving him and knowing him.

If you answer correctly, you then get invited into his heaven and there's still another judgment - not a heaven or hell judgment but a rewards judgment. He'll ask you what you did with the stuff He gave you on Earth?

God gave you breath, life, the ability to life in America, the iPhone, etc. God wants us to be INTENTIONAL about how we use our stuff. Before you know Christ, your whole life is about finding Christ, now after you've found Christ, it's about making your life matter to make a difference.

Well you can think that going to heaven is enough, but take that up with Jesus. Jesus is giving rewards and he is excited to give it to those who stewarded their life. Not just money, but every part of your life. God intends for you to figure out ways to steward and leverage your talents, your ideas and energy for eternal purposes.

2 Cor 5:10 says that we all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and receive what we deserve for good or bad. The smallest acts of kindness means are huge. It means that your iPhone doesn't exist just for you but you're using it for larger, eternal purposes.

The smallest acts of kindness can make a difference in someone's life - so think that way! You can't approach next week the right way if you're not thinking of others!

What do we need to do to pass this test? Let's look at one word in this verse that does it: 2 Cor 9:7 says each man should give what each man has decided in his heart to give. Decided. People are fairly generous but it's not planned generosity - it's spontnaeous. That's okay - but there should be some thought put into the process.

Do you have a generosity plan? Send 1 txt a day to encourage somebody. Don't give out of compulsion either.

Why is it so important to make your life so Christ centered? It's because there's a gravitational pull to selfishness. We're disposed to take care of just ourselves. If we don't have some type of intentional generosity, we'll spend our life doing things that benefit us best. It's kind of embarassing.

We can be really good at being me. He was on a plane to Boston and he was fake sleeping, hoping that he'd get a seat mate that didn't suck. He got someone that knocked his arm and was obnoxious but when he found out he was a pastor, he started crying, this guy started confessing to him. Pastor Chris counseled him.

Turns out, this guy accepted Jesus at the end! This guy had a chain of toy stores in Boston. Don't think about the now - think about the difference you can make in every moment, every place, every opportunity. That's the message. If you don't know the Lord today, you need to be prepared for the test.

As a Christian, think about how you do your life more carefully. Be deliberate. Make every moment count.

[occupytheory]

New Notes Coming Soon

Hey gang, I really apologize for the lack of notes in the past two months. Just been super crazy busy moving and working lots on 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky Studios' next two films. Notes are gonna come soon - thanks for sticking around.

[occupytheory]

9/14/14 - I Need Some Space

12PM at the Manhattan Center

Pastor Carl Lentz is back on the field!

I Need Some Space

We're trying out a new service format so that we can go the long haul - so one week Carl's gonna preach in NJ and then he'll preach the night ones, and then the next week he'll preach the mornings in NY. That way, you'll be seeing Pastor Carl more consistently. It isn't about pastors or personalities but at the same time, Pastor Carl is our pastor.

So this is part 1 of a series that he began last week called I Need Some Space.

Let's go at Isaiah 54. This is the context. We believe that Jesus is the only way. A lot of Christians don't realize the power of the Old Testament, but it leads to Jesus, so the whole Bible is a giant love letter to you from God. Isaiah was a prophet speaking to a generation that was under pressure and Isaiah gives this prophecy that shakes a lot of doors and expands mindsets. It'll probably speak to you in the same way today.

Isaiah 54 tells the Israelities to clear lots of ground for your tents, dream big, think of big plans. You're gonna resettle abandoned cities. You're not gonna come out short.

If you're in a position to just maintain what you have or believe for little, welcome to the book of Isaiah where everything God is about is expansion.

One of the most underrated but essential parts of being a Christian is to have healthy boundaries and parameters where God can fill those spaces and take you further than you've ever been in your life. To create space, no matter how good or bad your houses are.

Have you ever been crowded? A subway going to Brooklyn where you realize you need more space? Sitting next to crazy kids on an airplane? Carl's found that when there's not a lot of space, there isn't a lot of peace. When Carl moved from Virginia to Brooklyn, he remembers going from big yards to compressed apartments.

The more time Carl and Laura spent in their apartment, the crankier they got. They started resenting their house because there was just no space. They needed to push out some walls - literally.

If your life today is so crowded that you're not getting God's presence, you might be due for a margin makeover moment where you create space for God. Even if God wanted you to forgive someone, you don't have enough forgiveness margin to do so. If God wanted you to give something to someone else, you don't have enough room to do so.

Hear the call from heaven: wherever you find yourself, you need more space so that you're not robbed of God's presence. Here's the definition of margin: it's what you have left over beyond what is nessecary. That's why we have Heart For The House offerings when we raise money to take care of other people.

If all you ever have is what's nessecary, how will your each out to everyone else? We have to keep believing God to give us more than what is nessecarly to reach as many people as possible. God doesn't want to just bless your little life, it's about the big God who wants to reach as much ground through you.

Do you have margin in your life so that you can be used? Here's Carl's proposal: You don't need more time in your life, you need better margins. You ever feel like you don't have enough hours? Wrong. God gave us enough time to do everything that matters, so you need better organization and margins.

You need to create space for the things that matter in this life. Here's an awesome margin example from Luke 10: 38-42: This is the story of Mary and Martha who greet Jesus. Martha was so busy in her kitchen that she couldn't hang with Jesus, and she asks Jesus to tell her sister Mary to help her in the kitchen. Isn't that crazy? This is JESUS.

Jesus tells Martha that she's getting worked up over nothing, and the only thing that matters is Jesus. These women are preparing for someone but only one of them has enough space to see the God-reality in front of her, and the other one completely misses the entire point.

Margin Mayhem: If the devil can't kill you or destroy from doing bad things, he'll distract and destroy you by getting you busy doing good things.

If he can't distract you with sex, drugs and rock and roll, then he can distract you with good deeds so that you miss God. Martha was doing good things but she didn't realize that all the fruits of her labor actually showed up at her table. Could you be so caught up in doing good things that you miss the actual presence of God?

Romans 12 says not the conformed to the patterns of this world. This world tells you to do more and more and in the process, we never enjoy any of the stuff in front of us. So fixated on the future that we forget what we're doing. You're building the church but you forget who the church is built on.

In marriage, you see both spouses working so hard to provide for the family but all the while that they're prepping for their childrens' future, they're missing the kids! If you're single, you're busy doing stuff trying to be un-single that they miss the beauty of building your relationship with Jesus.

You actually have Jesus with you right now! We land on this thought: if you don't choose your spiritual margins, this world will be happy to choose them for you. Social media tells you what to do, your comfort does, etc. You don't have space for God. Your kids don't pay bills or contribute anything to their household but they can stop your relationship with God.

You can't go to church anymore because it's nap time for Tommy! Bring him to church and put him with the kids ministry.

Laura and Carl were in this position a few months ago. When you're a minister, you can get your priorities mixed up. Carl doesn't want to miss his daughters' and son's childhood while taking care of other responsibilities.

It's awesome that you came to church. Seriously. There are people who are legitly too busy to go to church. But you chose to comee. You created space. Anything that matters in your life - you'll create space for. If your gift on your life matters, do you have time for God to breathe on that gift come to fruition.

If you are in love with someone, you'll make time for them. What's a non-negotiable in your life? Don't get caught asking God for things or desiring things that your margin can't maintain.

If God were to answer your prayer, it could kill you. You're not doing good with no money, how do you expect to be with money? Stingy broke, you'll be stingy rich! You're asking God to give you more of which you can't control now!

Stop buying stuff you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like anyway! What are you doing when you start margins in place? You're making room for God to bless you later.

There are single people who are praying for God to bring them that person. Your margins relationally aren't that good - you struggle to make time for what matters by yourself - what if you made more space for yourself so that you can have space for what you want so bad? What if God isn't ignoring your prayers?

God is gonna fill in the margins with grace. If you look at your spiritual life as a dashboard, you should look at your margin meter. Want to know how good your margins are? Take this test:

Your reaction to pressure is a reflection of your margin.

As a Christian, unpredictable things are gonna happen in your life. You can't control it all, but with healthy God given margin, you can actually respond from a place of strength because you had some spiritual faith equity. When God needs to grab faith and trust from you, you already had some. If you lose a job, you're not that Christian who's broken and devastated - although it's hard - you were ready. You brought faith to what was doubt, life to what was pain. That's what a Christian should be doing!

Too often, we are running from the pressure we were born to stand in. If you're reacting to pressure badly, you might need a margin makeover. If you're angry all the time, offended every single week in church, you need this margin makeover. If someone didn't say hi to you and you're pissed, if you're not on the worship team still, you need some margin.

If you are in traffic and you flip off people, you need some margin. It should be impossible to offend a Christian because they should be so full of life! We are supposed to be in the pressure as Christians. If you have no space in your life to be a Christian - take some inventory.

Carl needed to take a break a little while ago because Laura thought he was on edge. He took his family out to play basketball and he was getting mad that his daughters were wearing flip flops, giving them pressure to shoot the ball perfectly and get drafted in the NBA so they can pay for her college tuition and his son was lighting fires.

Well, his daughter Eva shot the ball in Carl's face and Carl was pissed off big time! He saw his wife shaking her head in disapproval. Carl realized that he should have just loved his kids, even if they were throwing balls at him and lighting fires.

Everything people see should be Jesus through us - there is no middle ground. You're doing better than you think you are. But you can have bad margins. You're living on edge in every area of your life. Mary chose the margins to listen to Jesus.

One of the best things you can do as a husband is to give your wife space. Get her a babysitter and make some time for what matters so that God can get control in your life.

You have to create the space and time for rest. Break the Christian cycle of doing (which isn't a bad thing in itself) so that you can enjoy being in God's presence. You need to have a come to Jesus meeting. Matthew 11 says that Jesus wants to give rest to the tired, weary and burdened. He will restore to us new life. When you come to Jesus, there should be rest in your life. Who are you to think you don't need rest in NYC? Hear this, workaholics!

When there's no rest: stress increases and relational intimacy decreases. Marriages will go sideways when both sides work too hard and the last thing they think about is each other. It happens all the time. Don't fall victim to that.

If you think you HAVE to go to church, HAVE to serve people, HAVE to pray, that's a sign that there's no rest in your life or peace. It's important to have that rest margin/space in your life. You don't rest from church - you don't rest from the things that help you create rest.

What if God told you that you are the ambassadors for the kingdom of heaven. What if you realized you weren't doing anyone any good if you didn't have any fuel, encouragement or life? Don't do more to get more - rest in God's presence and he'll push you into more.

It used to be that the most tired and cranky Christian was the most “spiritual.” A kind of ascetic masochism. That isn't appealing at all to non-Christians! Jesus tells us that if you remain in him, new life will come out of all that you do!

Maybe it's wiser to take a moment and make sure you are filling your own tank instead of telling others that their cars are broken.

Carl's dad is a legend. Hardest worker ever. But he knew how to rest. He knew how to prepare for a road trip. Carl would want to just go without preparation but now Carl realizes that without preparation, his car would break down.

Forget about helping someone else out, forget about the lost - get your rest first so that you can be effective! Do you have margin to be able to breathe?

Here's one idea. Carl challenges us to 5 minutes of non-production every day. 5 minutes of being in God's presence. Don't do anything. Sit in God's presence. Be still and know that he is God.

What happens when you're still? You're creating a moment to prevent idolatry. If you can barely get around to God, your family, your job is your God.. By finding 5 minutes to rest in God's presence, you remind yourself that he is God and you're not. It isn't easy.

Christian meditation isn't emptying your mind, it's letting the Holy Spirit fill your mind. It was weird at first for Carl but by the end, Carl felt reset and grateful. When you're in the shadow of the most high,. we have the right to call on something higher than us.

Whatever you find rest in, do you have the space to walk into your world with fire in your eyes?

Choose to create space for rest. Choose to create space for faith. Push out the limits of your faith and comfort so that God can fill that place with some new faith. What's the latest revelation you had or the newest thing that God's done in your life? Some Christians are at the edge of their faith, maintaining what they had and not looking for more.

Look for God to speak for you because you have space for it. You need space so that God can fill this place.

God has something new for you if you're willing to let go of the old. Some people don't want to let go of the old. You might want a new relationship that's healthy but you don't want to delete those old phone numbers. You might want to take new photos but not have enough memory on your phone, so you have to delete old photos.

And then while you're deleting old photos, the moment passes and you don't take that photo? You aren't ready! What if you created some space for new faith when you start believing for your neighborhood and your life. What if you did what Ephesians 3:20 said you should do, saying that God can do exceeding and abundantly above what we think.

You create the margin, God will create that space and push out the borders. What's the miracle margin in your life? When you look at your dream, how big is the space for miracles? Is it ridiculously big? Would people laugh at you because without God, you don't have a chance?

You can dream small and not need God - that's not it. You need to dream so big that people might think you're a failure, but with God and only God, you can do it. What makes you think that you - you who come from a legacy of divorce - can have an awesome marriage? You're done with the old - push out the borders for something new! You need more space.

[occupytheory]

9/7/14 - the Everyday Struggle

2PM at the Manhattan Center

Pastor Josh Kimes is preaching.

The Everyday Struggle.

Life is an everyday struggle. Let's look at Romans 7.

Paul lets it be known that this faith journey is not easy. He's sharing from his own life, the challenges and what it means to follow Jesus in this confusing, complicated and corrupting culture.

In verse 15, Paul says that he doesn't understand himself. He does what he hates but he wants to do what is right.

Have you ever woken up with great expectations for the day ahead and as it unfolds, you want to go back to bed and you beg God that it didn't ever happen?

This July, Josh got a bus ticket to somewhere else and he was excited to take a trip. But he couldn't find the bus depot and it turns out it was in front of an Old Navy. As Josh was looking around, he noticed that there were some crazy people out at 11:30 PM. Josh is lost and confused but then he finds the line.

These people didn't look friendly but scary. Even the kids looked scary. Josh got a ticket for a seat on the bus and he felt good. This drunk guy walks by Josh and yells at his face which freaks him out. Josh jumps out of his skin. This drunk sees how much he's scared Josh, apologizes, tries to wipe off Josh's pillow.

Everyone in line thought it was hilarious that Josh freaked out and they're laughing at him. When is this bus gonna come? It doesn't come until 12:45 AM. Every single person runs to the bus. Josh feels like he's gonna get robbed on this bus. So stressful.

About two hours into the journey, the bus breaks down. What a great night. They were in the middle of nowhere. They fixed the bus and the whole time, Josh is thinking of his wife, who told him that he'd have a great time. He didn't sleep a second on that bus!

There's something in our human nature that knows when things are wrong and attempts to hide in order to protect and preserve ourselves. It dates back to the beginning of the Bible. Genesis 3 - Adam and Eve who hid from God because they knew they'd messed up.

Nobody wakes up in the morning thanking God that they're hiding from their fears and failures or thanking God that they can hide behind their success. Every single day, everyone wakes up fearful of the day ahead, feeling inadequate, passion and motivation. It's an everyday struggle.

Jesus did not hang on a cross so that we could be bound by fear and hiding from the circumstances and challenges that face us in life. Jesus came that we would have life and life to the full, John 10:10 says. God doesn't want us to hide but to live life to the full, full of purpose, peace, passion, potential and confidence.

Let's look at the book of Judges when the Israelites were hiding from the Midianites, fearful and oppressed by them. Look at Gideon in Judges 6 who was hiding in fear. Gideon was hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat.

You don't thresh wheat in a winepress. Gideon was afraid that he'd be caught and lose everything. That's what fear would love to do to you. Fear causes you to live afraid. Fear causes you to hide in life, live small and insignificant, binds you to the past and cripples your future.

God saw Gideon hiding in this winepress. Gideon thought he was out of sight but he wasn't. We cannot hide from God. We can try and hide behind our insecurities and fears, we can hide behind certain people, and we might do a great job of hiding who we really are from everyone around us. We can run but we can't hide.

God is omniscient.

God is omnipresent. God is in your past, present and future. God saw Gideon in his struggle, trapped and stuck, and God sees you. Gideon was trapped in an everyday struggle.

Here's two everyday struggles that we need to embrace in life. Struggle has a negative connotation but not always. Sometimes we need to stretch and grow through that struggle and learn something, get stronger. Two everyday struggles:

Embrace the struggle to learn who you already are. Judges 6:12 records the angel calling Gideon a mighty hero. Gideon might have been the wrong guy. Gideon was afraid and didn't feel like a mighty hero but he felt like a scrawny little guy. God calls him a mighty hero nonetheless.

When Gideon heard those words, he probably thought that God wasn't talking to him. It's interesting that God calls him a mighty hero. One of the Hebrew meanings of the name Gideon means mighty hero and mighty warrior. God was reminding Gideon of who he already was.

Some of us are so beat up by circumstances and seasons of life and we're told we're not good enough or have screwed up or can't ever make it. You can be confined and fearful like your identity is under attack. Maybe God is reminding you of who you already are. The Bible says you're already loved, belong, gifted, accepted, called and complete.

God has called you. You have to embrace the struggle to learn who you already are because you stop living fearful and you start rising above opposition, free of regrets.

Embrace the struggle to lead with the strength you already have. Gideon asks God if He's with them, why all this bad stuff has happened to him. God tells Gideon to go with the strength he has. Gideon didn't know the strength he already had on the inside to lead his people to freedom.

How many of us in life are hoping for breakthrough? Waiting for someone to rescue us when actually, the strength to overcome is inside us. What if you're the one you've been waiting for? That sounds great but you don't know me.

We feel weak, we don't feel strength inside. If that's your thinking, what if you're wrong? What if there is supernatural, internal, intrinsic strength that God has placed there are you don't realize it yet. Abraham didn't realize that he had the strength to father many nations. Noah may have not realized he could build an ark. And so on.

All these heroes of the Bible may not have realized that they could do it.

You'll never know the strength you have until you go with the strength you have. When you realize that you have strength that you have. You can doubt and counter every reason to believe, well, go forth. You don't know if she likes you, go in the strength you have! In those moments when you don't believe you have the strength, remind yourself of who you already are.

Remind yourself that God has placed greatness and strength inside of you. You don't always feel equipped, qualified and ready. In 1 Sam 30, David strengthened himself in the Lord. David encouraged himself in the Lord. Don't wait for someone else to encourage you. Don't be pissed that no one encourages you or acknowledges yourself. It actually works.

7 years ago, Josh was a middle school youth pastor in Sydney. Middle school youth is very tough. Kids would yell out at him during preaching, “I don't believe what you're saying!” One night Josh was driving discouraged, deflated and defeated and asking God what he was doing.

Well, Josh started encouraging himself and he started speaking scripture over himself. Josh realized that he could do it and he pumped himself to do it. As he started to encourage himself, he was bouncing around and it really shifted his mood. He started to feel strong again and started to encourage himself with this word.

In this everyday struggle to lead, remember you've already got what you need.

Like many of us, Gideon was still unsure. Verse 15 says that Gideon replied, “How can I rescue Israel? I'm the least of the least.” God says to him that He will be with him.

If Josh is brutally honest, we can identify with Gideon at times. We can wonder how God can use someone like me. Josh didn't come from a prestigious family, not a 8th generation preacher. He came from a very broken, messed up, ordinary family. His dad struggled to find work for the last 15 years. His family's had a history of depression, addiction, alchololism.

Josh feels foolish but think about it: God uses the weak things to humble the strong. God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. We've been called to live an adventure with God, a life of meaning, purpose and influence.

There are times when God has to remind us twice a day, maybe twice an hour, that he's with me. Every day we live in this struggle to unlearn and relearn certain things so that we know the truth of who we are and who God is. It's an everyday struggle to remain pure and faithful and loyal to our calling, to seek God first and stay positive even when the facts say otherwise and you're done.

It's great how Gideon's story end. When Gideon finally sees himself as God sees him, when he realizes that God is with him and that he had the strength on the inside, he goes to war. He goes to war with the Midianites. 32,000 Israelities vs. 137,000 Midians.

In return, God reduces the number of Israelites to fight. They were already outgunned, and God tells him to use 300 men against 137,000 men. Time out. 300 men against 137,000? Outnumbered 456.666667 to 1. This is impossible: 300 against that many people?

They're the Israelities, not the Spartans! His name is Gideon, not Leonidas. God was smiling in that moment probably because it was impossible. Gideon goes to war and he actually beats the Midianites.

God wanted Gideon to fight with 300 to remind him that this everyday struggle is impossible without the everyday savior. Jesus is with you every day, every day his grace is sufficient, he's on your side, his peace is yours. This everyday struggle is impossible without the everyday savior. Matthew 19:26 reminds us that with God, all things are possible.

So you can change, you can hold a job, you can contribute, you can rise above your past, you can be a good husband or wife. You can make it because Jesus is with you, and the same grace that saved you is the same grace that sustains you. The same power that conquered the grave lives inside you and will conquer whatever it is that's trying to conquer you in life.

Embrace the struggle to learn who you already are. Embrace the struggle to lead with the strength you already have.

[occupytheory]

8/24/14 - Bow Down For What?

Bow Down For What?

Pastor Josh Kimes.

Romans 12:1-2:

Take your everyday, ordinary life, your eating, sleeping, going to work life and place it before God as an offering .Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't fit into your culture so well. Instead, fix your attention on God. The culture around you brings you down to its level of immaturity but God brings out the best of you.

Daniel 3:15:

The king threatens Daniel and tells him if he doesn't bow down to him, he'll die in a blazing furnace.

Josh went for a cruise when he graduated high school, 10 days in the Pacific Ocean on a cruise. On this cruise, Josh danced to try to fit in with his friends, dancing underneath the stars. Josh hates dancing but he's trying to fit in. There was this girl who wanted to tuck him into bed and he walked to his room and felt great, and this girl comes in again!

She wanted him! Josh prayed to God and asked him to now, more than ever, give him the words and power to rise above temptation! As the girl leaves, she trips over and falls flat on her face and starts groaning, screaming and making all these noises. This sounds really bad right now!

It's not what it sounds like! Then there was a pool of blood starting to form and it turns out she broken a bone and Josh starts screaming like crazy! Finally, the paramedics came and helped her. Josh is locked outside of his room with his boxer shorts with his toothpaste.

This whole cruise is 10 days and everyone was trying to be cool and fit in but it felt so fake and unathentic.

We live in a culture that forces us to fit in, to bow down to what everyone else is doing. We feel a pressure to be a person that others want us to be? Have you ever struggled with that? For the most part, we will adjust our lifestyles without even thinking, even if we don't agree or want to because we long to belong.

We crave acceptance and approval in life. We bow to fit in and stay in. It doesn't matter what in is as long as we fit in somewhere with someone. And we're not just pressured to bow in life, we've been conditioned, coached, encouraged and told to fit in. In order for us to be at the top and taken seriously, you have to cut some corners and cheat and fit in.

So many of us find ourselves to the pressure to fit in, the pressure when it comes to relationships, etc.

Well, don't give in to the pressure to fit in when fitting in means raging against the person God's called you to be.

Daniel 3 contains the story of 3 young guys who refused to bow down to this evil dictator Nebuchanezzar. He had his entire nation worship him and if people refused to do so, he'd kill them in a blazing furnance. Twisted guy.

Everyone does this except Shadrach, Miscach and Abendingo. Bow down for what? These guys stand defiant. People and friends around them must have been frustrated with them, what are they trying to prove? Just bow!

They refused to bow. And here we are in August 2014. Will we stand unashamed or will we bow down to culture? We're not bowing down to golden statues but we're bowing down to the images of the media, the internet, television, advertising. Just fit in like this and bow down to this and that.

Romans 12 tells us not to be come so well adjusted to our culture that we fit into it without even thinking. Instead fix your attention on God and you'll be changed from the inside out. Let God change the way you think.

Our culture would love to tell you what to think, how to think and how you should live and who you are and aren't. And when you bow to culture, it starts to eat away at your identity. Believing in the labels that they put on you. Well, the only one who can label you is the one who created you. That's why we need the word inside of us.

When we change the way we think, we change the way we live. It's great that Shadrach and his boys didn't bow down. They're face to face with death. If there was ever a time to compromise, this was it. But they're willing to die for their faith, even if God doesn't save them.

This is the first instance of gangsta theology ever! That's truly hardcore: willing to die even if God won't save them. Even if things don't turn out the way we thought they would.

We're gonna pray and believe and dream and ask for miracles, but even if it doesn't happen in our timeframe, even if we're single for another year, even if that relationship ends, even if we're broke, even if we're alone and doubting, we're not giving in. We're not bowing to the culture because our relationship with God is dependent on what God's already done and not what he can do.

Jesus's grace, peace and presence is more than enough. Well, this defiance made that king so furious and he heated the furnace up. What would God have been saying as he was watching it? Was he enjoying their faith?

Was God getting a kick out of watching Shadrach sweat? Were the angels pleading with God to do something? Well… God knew his timing was perfect. His boys get thrown into the blazing inferno.

They were in the flame but they weren't catching on fire. The only thing that burned were the ropes that were holding them back - isn't that interesting? In the midst of this fire, God shows up. Look at Nebuchadnezzar's response. He sees another person in the fire with the 3 boys.

Isn't it interesting that God chose to throw up AFTER they were thrown in the fire, not before? There's no doubt that Shad, Mescach and Abendigo were pleading with God. God isn't sadistic, he doesn't enjoy watching his kids suffer. God was teaching them something that would echo throughout eternity.

God was teaching them that there's moments when you're going through the fire when you stand up for what's right. You're gonna feel the pressure to give up but God wants us to know that we can find God in the fire. When we're feeling alone, God shows up. When you're in your darkest moment, God shows up.

Thank God we don't serve a disconnected, disinterested or distant God. There are times when we need to know God is with us, battling insecurity, fear, discouragement and loneliness. We need to know that God is present in our pain, to make sense of the sadness.

Every single time we fix our attention on God, every time we draw near to him, when we chose to fix our eyes not on what's going wrong but on Jesus, He draws nears to us. God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble. Psalm 139:7-8 says that God is omnipresent everywhere and everytime.

When life heats up and you feel like you're going through the fire, He is right there with you so don't give up. Don't give up on your dreams, on praying, on believing, on trusting, on your marriage, on yourself! We serve a God who always, always shows up.

Well, that sounds great but you don't know how many times I've messed up, what I've been through, etc. Josh doesn't know what we've been through, but we know what Jesus has been through. Because Jesus died and rose again, we don't have to bow, we can stand true to who we're called to be.

Think about 2 Corinthians 10:12 - not to compare ourselves to others. We can easily compare ourselves to others. Well, it's not helping to compare ourselves to others. We see ourselves as not as good as that person and we start disqualifying ourselves and thinking that God couldn't use us.

What you're doing when you compare yourself is you isolate yourself. You stop doing things. When you bow to comparison, you're putting your confidence in your limited ability instead of God's infinite power. Our culture craves authenticity, so don't give in. We were created in the image and likeness of God, so we have this incredible intrinsic value as human beings.

Our worth and value isn't based on our resume or portfolio, it's based on the fact that we were created in the image and likeness of God. So learn to love yourself, laugh at yourself, enjoy the journey and fix your attention on God. When you do - you stop comparing yourself.

You don't have to bow to a culture of comparison.

You don't have to bow to a culture of compromise either. When you bow to compromise, you cripple your character. 1 Corinthians 16:13 tells us to be courageous and strong and stand firm in the faith.

There's no doubt that those who were there in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, at least some knew it was wrong to bow down to him. Well, we've gotta be courageous and strength to stand. It's not wise to live this Christian walk out on our own.

Every time you feel mistreated or hurt, it's not wise to draw back and isolate yourself. That's why it's important to be at church and even volunteer. Be in constant community. We were never created to stand alone, we were created to stand and fight together.

Here's the big question: Will you stand? In this culture of compromise? Will you stand unashamed so that others will see Jesus? Will you stand?

Bow down for what? To fit in? You were never created to just fit in! Bow down for what? Your image? More money and stuff at the expense of all that really matters in life? What good is it you get the whole world but forfeit your soul?

The only one we'll bow to is the one who stood for me in my place on the cross, the one who knit me together on the cross. The only one we'll bow down to is the one who is always faithful, one who has a plan and purpose forever.

[occupytheory]

8/17/14 - There Are No Walls

4:30 PM Manhattan Center

Pastor Christine Caine is speaking! Always a pleasure to hear from her - the very first time I went to Hillsong NYC almost 3 years ago, she was the preacher speaking.

There Are No Walls

Joshua 5:1-15.

The Israelites enter the promised land and stop eating the manna God provided and live off the produce of Canaan. 40 years after eating manna, it's their first time eating something else.

Joshua is in Cannan near Jericho and is trying to scout the land. He runs into a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus. An angel wouldn't say that he's the commander of the armies of angels for The Lord. Only Jesus would.

Jesus tells Joshua to take his sandals off and Joshua does.

So Jericho is the best fortified city of ancient history. And still, God tells Joshua that Jericho has been delivered to Joshua. God gives you the promise while the circumstances are still tightly shut up - fascinating.

So God tells them to march around the city for 7 days (now we're in Joshua 6:1-27) and on the 7th day, blow the trumpets and Jericho will fall.

Think about this for a second. The Israelites aren't carrying guns or missiles, they're just carrying rams' horns and the ark around the most ironclad city in ancient history. God always does things contrary to logic - let's take a bunch of ragamuffins and misfits in the middle of NYC and asks us to do break down strongholds. It's a strange battle plan but God does it.

So as it is, the Israelities march around and then on the 7th day, they blow the trumpets and Jericho comes tumbling down.

Think about it: for 430 years, the Israelities were in slavery. It's one of the biggest emancipation projects in history. There were like 3 million that were freed. They were delivered into the wilderness from 400+ years of being mistreated.

Deuteronomy says that the journey from slavery into freedom was 11 days. The promised land full of freedom, abundance and prosperity was theirs. But the Israelities came out of slavery and got into the wilderness and because Egypt was still inside of them, God needed to get them out of Egypt and the remnants of it.

Well… you think you're free because you're out but you're just delivered from bondage. Now you need to get what was in bondage in you so that you can walk into freedom and not have anything come out.

So this 11 day journey to purify the Israelities took 40 years. They wanted to live like slaves because they didn't want to pay the price of freedom and detox. They thought like slaves, they acted like slaves, they still had that old mindset.

So now let's pick up the text in Joshua 5. So an entire generation has died and now Joshua's new generation is ready to pick up the promise.

Christine has found that when God wants her to go to the next level and claim more of the promise, there's 5 things that He does. These 5 things are also done with the Israelites.

God wanted to re-circumcise this new generation of Israelities because they hadn't paid the price yet and they couldn't rely on the circumcision of the last generation. Unless each generation pays the price, nothing's gonna happen.

We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses so we're to cast off the weight keeping us down. You get into a faith environment like Hillsong NYC and it pushes you forward.

If you're getting your direction from people not going in the same direction as you, they're gonna start weighing you down. Your next breakthrough here, so you have to adjust to it.

The same level of thinking that has brought you this far has become an anchor and is preventing you from going forward.

Or it could be a sin that's holding you back. What could that be? Christine was full of guilt and unforgiveness and bitterness after being sexually abused for many years. Abuse is never right, and nothing was right about it. But Christine could have died in the wilderness full of her gifts and talents and wisdom for others because of her bitterness and unforgiveness. Those two things are sins.

What's far worse according to Christine than the abuse was her carrying the bitterness and unforgiveness into the future every single day, ruining the future. We think of sin as external behavior correction but God is all about fixing and aligning your internal heart.

We don't like that but we don't understand the character and nature of God. We're not talking about judgment, we're talking about finding a cure for peoples' ailment.

If Christine had a bottle of poison and replaced the label with chocolate syrup, that'd be messed up. Well the milder the label, the more violent the poison. Well, Jesus sets people free. So in Joshua 5, God asks this new generation to cut away certain things so it doesn't chop them down in the new land.

The very rope that was used to catapult you this far becomes the anchor that'll kill you at the next level, so you have to learn to let it go.

So before they go into possess the land, Joshua and the men stop and fill themselves with Jesus. It's not about how famous and powerful you'll become, it's all about Jesus. We live in a broken and dark world, some of us need to turn off our radios and TVs and start filling ourselves with JESUS.

There is no excuse for you to fill yourself with Jesus. Podcasts, videos, sermons, books, etc. Jesus has gone further and has given you the same spirit that has raised him from the dead. The only way we're gonna make it is to fill ourselves with the risen Christ.

The manna ceases when the Israelites get to Canaan. Miraculously for 40 years, the Israelites didn't need food, clothing, etc. They basically didn't need to have faith that their provisions would come. God was very routine and formulaic in a way.

Well, God says that he's not gonna do it anymore. God is always doing a new thing. The manna ceases and it becomes stale and bad. It's time to move on.

In the wilderness, God dropped food out of the sky day by day. In the promised land, it's not day by day, it's abundance and overflow and more than enough. So here's some food for thought: a wilderness Christian in a wilderness church will never understand a promised land Christian in a promised land church.

You can get by day by day and not understand that God works day by day. Your body can be here in August 2014 but you can be held by that mistake in 6th grade, by an ex-lover, by words in the past. Think of U2's song Stuck In A Moment.

Next week, Christine turns 48. She was abused for 12 years. Jesus's blood doesn't give you amnesia. Nothing will change that fact. She's not been abused for 36 years, so why would you let the 12 years define her life when most of it hasn't been? Don't let one aspect or one episode define your entire life - God says move on!

Then Joshua sees the walls of Jericho and then sees Jesus. Some of us spend so much time looking at the walls that we can't see Jesus. Well you gotta get your eyes off that wall and look at Jesus. You can analyze the wall and spend your time studying it, but at some point, you have to look at Jesus.

You can see the disease, the state of the marriage, the fact that you've been single since Noah's ark, you can see all the depressing facts of reality. You can't see getting over this pain and suffering, all you see is this wall between you and the future?

What do you see after you went through a circumcision that's painful, after filling yourself with Jesus, after moving on? You hit a wall! That's where most Christians give up when they hit this final wall. People have given up so much for a promise on the other side but all there is is this thick wall. Bad ending. All is lost.

God brings you here and all is lost. What do you do when you hit that wall? Well, see what God sees. God tells Joshua that He's given Joshua the city. You've gotta see what's on the other side beyond the pain and suffering to the healing, the goal, the promise.

No one is denying the facts here. When Christine got her birth certificate at the age of 33, it had no name, just a number. She went through all this abuse and didn't have a name. How does that feel? It's incredibly existentially disconnecting and harrowing. The government didn't want her, the hospital didn't want her, no one wanted her. She was just a number.

When Christine started the A21 campaign, experts told her she was unqualified. Now the A21 campaign rocks the world and does huge work. You can look at what the government and others say, and that's a wall. It's real. But there's another black on white ink on paper reality called the truth of God.

Isaiah 49:1 says that God called us out and God qualifies us. Start looking at what the facts of what God says. His reality and his facts transcend the facts of this world. Nothing is impossible with God. There is no person he cannot save. There is nothing, there is no wall.

Keep praying, keep holding on, keep fighting for your dreams and marriage, your faith. Stay faithful and He will be faithful to you and that wall will come down in Jesus' name. The wall will come down in Jesus's name.

At the threshold of every transition of your life, the devil will send a spirit of fear to stop you walking into your Jericho. At the threshold of every transition of your life, you'll have to cut away and lay aside some sins and sometimes the very thing that got you here is the weight that's keeping you here that'll get you there. At every threshold, what's safe and familiar will keep you down.

God is gonna ask you to see what you see, not the facts, but the truth. God will give you a battle plan that is entirely illogical but you need to show faith. Doubt dies unborn if it's never spoken, so don't speak that doubt! Until your confession comes into alignment with the truth of God, you don't need to give voice to every thought!

God wants us to say what He says so we can have what he gives us. We need to see what he sees and when you do that, the wall that you are facing shall come down, not by might or by power but by the spirit of The Lord in Jesus's name. Amen!

[occupytheory]

8/11/14 - Nothing To Prove

12PM at Manhattan Center Ballroom Pastor Matt Bargis from Hillsong NYC's Montclair Campus. Nothing To Prove. Galatians 5:1-6. A little context: Paul is writing a letter to the Galatian church which has received Jesus and been set free but since then, there's been other teachers who have come along and told em' that they had to do things to show that you had favor with God. Paul writes to the Galatians that circumcision doesn't make you right with God, and if you try to find favor with God via circumcision and the law, you've been cut off from Christ and fall away from God's grace. When we place our faith in Jesus, there's no benefit to being circumcised or not - what's important is expression our faith in love. Did you have a friend growing up who had better things than you or did better things than you? Matt had a friend like that who had better things than he did. Tough competition. When Matt was 10 on his birthday, at that time it was the Summer Olympics. The American runner Michael Johnson was Matt's hero. For Matt's birthday, they decided to have a backyard Olympics. Instead of a 100 meter dash, they had a 20 meter dash. They were jumping over lawn chairs. Kind of a bootleg Olympic for kids. Matt won the hurdles but he didn't compete against his friend who was better at everything. Of course, this friend wanted to prove to Matt that he was better. So his friend said these two words which were like a knife to the chest: PROVE IT. When Matt's friend said that to him, Matt knew that he had to prove to him that he was faster than him once and for all. Unfortunately, Matt tripped over a lawn chair and it cut him up really bad. His day was ruined because of his friend and the need to prove himself. In our lives, we fall subject to the same things. You feel like you're free from the addiction and you're with Jesus, well the enemy will come around and tell you to prove it. The devil wants you to prove it. We become so consumed with our efforts to prove ourselves, our worth and our identity. We have to prove our manhood for example. Christians are some of the best at it when it comes to our spirituality. You'll wear two or three WWJD bands on your wrist, wear Christian t-shirts. Do those things actually prove their relationship with God? Do you have to listen to worship music when you lift heavy weights? We do everything to prove who we are. Paul speaks to this Galatian church and tells them that they don't have to prove anything. A lot of the Jewish rituals and customs were used to prove favor with God. Circumcision was one. People wanted to prove their standing with God. Paul said that you don't have to prove your worth anymore - we have freedom in Jesus. This faith is now meant to be expressed in love towards one another, not works and law. We now have the freedom of faith. Success is one of the biggest burdens of proof. If you think that God's on your side, you'd think that you'd have a successful business. But God doesn't want success, he wants obedience. You can suddenly find yourself in the storm and the winds and waves are pounding against your ship. We have a relationship with Jesus therefore we have nothing to prove to the people around us. We have nothing to prove to the devil who has no power over our life. We have nothing to prove when it comes to our standing with God. Here's three thoughts: You have nothing to prove when it comes to your identity. A few months ago, Matt was at his job in the city at Barney's NYC. There was this gentleman on the streets and he was a hustler. He'd do whatever he'd have to do: selling CDs, umbrellas, hot dogs, etc. Well, his friend starts talking with this hustler and they start looking at Matt. Matt is freaking out because it looks like a shady deal. His friend laughs and hands him $2. What are these? That's his cut! Turns out, the hustler was hustling on Matt's block and so he paid respect to him by giving him $2. When Matt realized that this was his block, Matt acted differently. He took ownership, pride and identification with his block once he realized it was his. It made Matt walk a little different. We don't realize what our relationship with Jesus is in a similar way. We have to start walking like the men and women like we really are. So many of us don't know our identity, but you know, this city is our block. We are the children of God and we're called to rise up and reach the lost and hurting. These hurting streets are on our watch. Jesus is our friend, we are the head and not the tail. We are God's workmanship, created in the likeness of God, a messenger to this world. All these verses in the Bible talking about who we are. A city on a hill. There is a new identity. You need to know who you are because you'll start to walk differently. You don't have to prove who you are because Jesus has stated who you are. We think that when it comes to what is attracted to our lives, we blame everyone around us. You never attract what you want, you attract what you are. Single people, let's be real for a moment! You don't attract what you want, you attract who you are. Man of God, start living like one. Stop looking around nightclubs. Doesn't matter what your past is, you have righteousness on your side. When you live like that, you start attracting that. Women, you simply walk in the fullness of who you are because of who God has made you. Watch what you begin to attract. When we know who we are, we aren't dependent on the circumstances to prove it, we just trust Jesus. When your bank account looks like its zero, you don't have to buy clothes or shoes to prove yourself. When the whole world is against you, you don't prove anything - you walk in your identity in Jesus. So from identity, we have to think about ability. You have nothing to prove when it comes to what you have to do. For the longest time, Matt wanted to dunk a basketball. Phillipians 4:13 says that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. Well, Matt's frustrated because he can't dunk a basketball! Can he really do all things? Paul's not talking about dunking basketballs or getting A+s - he's talking about doing all things when it comes to the purpose of the things in your heart. So you don't live based off your inability but in Christ's ability. Don't think about your past - you have Christ in your life. Doesn't matter how many times you messed up because now you're doing it with the strength of Jesus. Maybe you don't deserve to be at your job but you walk with the ability and favor of Jesus, you don't have to prove what you do or what you can create. You can just simply trust in Jesus. If Christ has called you to it, you can do it. It says in Matt 10:19-20, Jesus says that when you're handed over in trouble to defend your faith, Jesus will give you the words. It points to the power of God, that when you need the right words, Jesus will give you the right words. It doesn't matter if you're smart or not or a good speaker. You don't have to prove it, you can live it. You can walk in God's ability. When it comes to our strength, we don't think we can do it but you're not living in your ability but in God's. God's strength is made perfect in your weakness but if you don't know who you are, you'll fall for the enemy's idea that you have to do it yourself. Christians try to prove how knowledgeable they are with Scripture and they'll end up just tearing down others. The devil can try to confuse us for sure. We don't have to walk in confusion, we have nothing to prove. In Ephesians 1:18-20 Paul wants us to know the power of God and other things. These are all in accordance with God's power. We don't have anything to prove when it comes to who we are, what we can do and finally what we deserve. Paul's praying that our eyes will be opened to the glorious inheritance that comes from relationship with Jesus. We're told that we deserve the punishment for our past, our mistakes, the weight of this life. We deserve the torture of having to prove ourselves and we truthfully do, but the good news is that Jesus entered the scene. When we place our faith in Jesus, there's no benefit in being circumcised or not. What's important is faith expressing itself in love. We don't have to worry about what we're gonna get because we can live in the freedom he already gave me. You do deserve the guilt and pain but Jesus has paid the price. It's for freedom that Christ set us free. Matt was working with a good friend of his, Pastor Kane Keatinge. They were working on a basketball rim outside the house and they worked for about an hour. It was annoying because there were tons of screws and parts to put together. They finally put everything together and the very last piece, the backboard, was broken. Sucks. So they called the store they bought the basketball hoop from. Well, in order to return it, they had to disassemble it. They had to prove that it had been purchased. It could be an already-finished basketball hoop after all. So how did they do it? So Kane starts rummaging through the trash trying to find the receipt for the hoop. Digging through filthy trash. It's like us sometimes. We're trying to prove our favor and success and digging through the trash for that proof. Well, we have the receipt in the cross. When it comes to our life, we don't have to dig in those places. We can look in the cross because the price was paid in full there. Jesus' death paid the price once and for all. You don't know how you're gonna get the promotion, get the marriage up and running, but it's paid in full. We don't have to be consumed with proving ourselves, Jesus paid it all.

[occupytheory]

7/27/14 - The Struggle Is Real

3PM Manhattan Center

The Struggle Is Real.

Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows, problem-free philosophy. It can be a struggle at times.

You can get a manicure and an hour later it chips off, well the struggle is real. You can trip on your rollerblades and realize the struggle is real. You're rubbing up against someone's sweaty body on the subway and it's a struggle.

Life is full of decisions too. What to wear, eat, support, etc. But most of decisions we make don't later our eternal destiny but our decision to follow Jesus changes everything.

We have all these questions but the question is what is God's will for our lives? That's the most important thing. When Josh found his wife Leona, he went up to her and said, “My name is Will, God's will!”

Well Josh couldn't find his phone after he kissed his then girlfriend goodbye and he started freaking out. He was just praising God for a great night but now he was in a five-alarm freak out looking for the phone.

He found his phone in his jacket! His phone was never lost in the first place even though he was looking around for it on a huge treasure hunt.

We treat God's will the same way: we think we have to go on an epic journey to find God's will. We struggle and strive to come up with methods to find his will.

We have the open door method. If there's an open door, you think it's from God and you just walk through thinking it must be God's will.

Then there's the closed door method in which we think failure and rejection is the end, instead of seeing if we have to put up a fight and break down a door or two.

Then there's the shooting star method in which we wish on a falling star. Then you have the classic flick and pick method. You flick the Bible open to a random verse and think whatever Bible verse you come to means something.

If it doesn't line up with God's nature and character, it's not God's will. But what if finding God's will was never meant to be complex or even found because it was never lost!

Some of us are scared to search for God's will because we're afraid we'll mess it up. Well, God's will isn't trying to restrict your life or be a tightrope on which you fail and drop to the bottom.

Josh is fascinated by Ancient Rome. It was like NYC at the time. Rome was the dirt road jungle where dreams were made of. People could über a camel, do yoga in the coliseum.

So from this hotbed, people were used to living for themselves. Then when they met Jesus, things changed.

People realized that God cared for them. Paul says on discovering God's will in Romans 12 for us to give our bodies to God. Don't copy the behavior of this world but let God change the way you think and thus you'll know God's will.

So we worship by being living sacrifices? Not through music? We honor God with our body? And not by conforming to the pattern of this world?

When you change the way you think, you change the way you think.

You're not gonna think about the drugs, sex, etc. But you may be because that's all you've ever known. The more you don't wanna think about something the more you think of it.

How do we please God when it's so hard? Paul knew the struggle was real and in Romans 12:9-18, Paul tells us to love each other and honor each other. Don't be lazy and serve God. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. Help others. Bless those who persecute you. Don't let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good.

Don't just pretend to love others, really do love them like tourists and Mets fans. Don't fake it. There is so much pretense in our city - you have to be so genuine and authentic.

Don't be lazy but serve God and work hard. That means you have to work on your marriage, relationships, job, etc.

Laziness builds mediocrity. Who wants to be a mediocre person and Christian?

We have to be patient too. Nobody likes patience. God likes it tho. Have you ever read a worse sentence? We are gonna face some highs and lows. Be patient in trouble because it won't last a lifetime.

When God's people are in need, help 'em out. Don't just see a need but meet it. Bless those who hurt you. Pray that God will bless them.

Don't let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good. Because Jesus conquered the grave, you have the right to conquer whatever it is that's trying to conquer you.

Christianity is less about finding God's will and more about following God's ways. God's will isn't a cosmic treasure hunt. Far more important than knowing his will is simply knowing Him.

You want the details of your life but you have to know Jesus. You don't wanna know just about Jesus or religion, you want to know Jesus. Know God more than anything.

God doesn't care about the easy way of getting from point A to B, but he is concerned that we know him. Seek first His righteousness and all these things will be added onto you. It's about seeking him and God first.

Without a relationship with Jesus, the struggle isn't just real, it's impossible. People can't forgive and transcend their past, avoid the pressure and pain without Jesus.

The struggle was real for Jesus too. He wanted to avoid crucifixion too and he didn't want to suffer. He was in such agony. God's ways aren't easier, comfortable or convenient. But they are worth it because He is worthy. His ways are higher than our ways. It's not always gonna make sense but it's worth it. Knowing him is worth it.

[occupytheory]

7/20/14 - The Mask Has Got To Go

10AM Manhattan Center Ballroom

With waves of new growth we need to solidify with some old but revelatory teaching.

The Mask Has Has Got To Go

Matthew 5: 13-16

Jesus tells us why we're here: we have to be salt seasoning that brings out the flavors of the Earth. You're here to be a light, bringing out the God colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept - don't hide it under a bucket. You're a city on a hill.

Have you ever gotten to know someone and they're completely different from what you thought? Or you order something on TV and you get it and what's advertised is different from reality?

Carl was watching TV and saw people shooting Nerf guns and the ads make you look like a superhero in The Matrix. So Carl buys these huge Nerf gun but it turns out you need batteries and it's complicated to assemble. Even getting the guns out of the package was hard - who designs these evil packages?

So Carl shoots Eva in the eye accidentally, everyone is screaming, Carl's son is playing with the box. What the heck happened?

Well… When you're talking about Christians, it's the same deal often. We advertise freedom and life but sometimes you walk into church and it feels Iike a funeral.

We have a desire to put up masks so we don't show what's real. NYC can tell you to put up tons of masks so they don't find the real you. Show the best and hide the rest.

The only way people are gonna meet the real Jesus is if they meet the real you. The masks have to go.

Jesus came so you could drop the mask. There's a big mask on this city and people are tough and independent but inside they're really desperate for Jesus.

God can't minister to my mask.

What would happen if we really lived free of masks? That kind of church changes the game and changes the world. Being real lets you see the real Jesus.

Multi-masking is soul tasking. It's hard work being someone you're not and doing things you're not called to do.

Carl can't relate to crime movies because that life is so tiring. A movie about a liar, killer or criminal is taxing because everywhere they go, it's a lie. It's tiring. Similarly, we have so many people putting on masks and they can't figure out why they're tired.

Religion says put more masks on but Jesus gives us rest. Jesus had a disdain for two things: fronts and religious masks. Jesus doesn't want your mask - he wants to help people. He wants us.

Mark 8 - Jesus is telling his guys that he'll be betrayed, rejected, killed and resurrected. He spoke plainly about this and then Peter began to rebuke him on the side. That's ridiculous - Peter rebuking God!

Peter had on his messiah mask and came up to Jesus to start a fight. Who does Peter think he is? It's like your son coming up to you and telling you that you need to budget better.

We can look at Peter as having a messiah complex but you know, you look similar when you put on your mask.

Here's 3 masks that are common:

The strength mask: you can do everything yourself and don't need anything. You're self sufficient.

Your leg can be bleeding but you're saying you're fine.

The happy mask; your life is falling apart but if you show your pain, you'll be afraid so you don't show it.

The victim mask: you think you're damaged goods, you've been hurt, you're not gonna trust anyone. It's a weird manipulative circle because these people still want company.

Well what if all those masks God freed us from - what if you let the wind of heaven heal that space? The freedom is worth the faith jump.

It takes faith to live free. You can have a mask that identifies you but you need to risk it to live free.

Carl was in situations in high school and college where someone on his car had drugs but he didn't - and the car would get pulled over.

As a Christian man, the first time Carl got pulled over, Carl felt so good to be guilt free because he didn't have anything on him. It feels good.

Don't withhold aspects of you from Jesus because of them.

There are some who withhold parts of them from God because of other people. Well, let's give the Holy Spirit an all access pass to all of you. What if you didn't worry about how you looked or what others thought?

John 11:35 says Jesus wept. Jesus worked out his faith, his victories, discouragements, emotions, etc - he wept in public! You don't have to withhold anything.

Lose the mask so God can get to your core.

Young people now say “do you” now. Carl was listening to TD Jakes preaching about being free and being yourself, and TD Jakes said that he can't be fancy but he could be him.

His wife Serita Jakes stood up behind Carl and said “do you baby! Do you!” Be yourself! We think there's parts of us that don't measure up but God is telling us to just do ourselves, be ourselves.

You might have some areas of your life you've withheld but you have to let it go.

Think about 1 mask: let go of the mask called hypocrisy and feel the freedom of authenticity.

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus talks about how we treat people. Why criticize your brother for the plank in his eye when you won't remove yours? That's not fun!

The original Greek word for hypocrite meant drama team. Isn't that funny? Jesus said religious people of his days were the drama team.

Christians are accused about being hypocrites when we preach about love but love nobody. If you spend your whole life telling people to look at you, you're gonna have a small audience. But if you keep pointing to Jesus, that's when God really does stuff - he even uses your failures whereas a hypocrite wouldn't even think about doing it.

It ain't about me, it's about Jesus. You can fail as a Christian and truly have messed up, but then you just say that God is gonna pick you up and make you better.

Freedom of authenticity. You have this image of a Christian who thinks of themselves projecting an image of perfection.

Our world isn't interested in people's success, we live in a broken world so God is gonna use broken people to communicate with the broken world.

When the heat is on, the truth is gonna come out anyway. Here's the problem with hypocrisy: your humanity is eventually gonna show up in your Christianity. So rather than be exposed for being a fake, why not IMMEDIATELY talk about Jesus?

When you're a failure, you point to and talk about Jesus. When you succeed, you point to Jesus. That's consistent.

Carl went to pray for a mentally troubled friend of his and Carl brought two pastor friends of his. It looked like a supernatural crisis at hand.

One of his friends was ready, but faced with the intensity of the situation, another of his friends confessed he was sleeping around and wasn't solid. He wanted to stay in the car. What if the mask of hypocrisy left today?

This church without makes changes the city.

You are a testament to God's grace. When you overcome, don't forget who gets the credit and glory.

Ephesians 3:20 - to him who is able to do above and beyond, to God be the glory forever. This is a throwaway unless you realize that God is using you to do great things.

People can credit you for your skills, talent and discipline, but you need to get rid of the mask of praise of people. If you get the glory, you ain't helping anyone. Only God can heal.

When you get glory and you feel like taking the credit, it's about God. It's God's grace that redeemed our lives and it will forever be.

You can say it was all God but God used you - you the broken, limited, finite human, so you can say thank you to Him.

When you see me, make sure you see God because he can do the same thing for you.

[occupytheory]

7/13/14 - When Crowds Collide

10AM Manhattan Center Josh Kimes is up. When Crowds Collide Luke 7:11-17. Jesus gets to the village Nain and he sees a woman with her dead son. Jesus tells the dead son to get up and the dead son sits up and begins talking. Everyone realizes that God's at work amongst them and news of his work spreads throughout the country. Have you ever known someone with attachment issues to their favorite phone, pair of jeans, routines or foods? Or maybe they have attachment issues with their favorite sports teams. Josh was on the subway and ran into a bunch of fully decked Rangers fans and it was embarrassing lol. With the World Cup, we see this and we see people devastated. When Brazil lost 7-1, Josh was legitimately concerned for his Brazilian friends and told them Jesus still loved them. Josh was at a Premiere League football game and he was at a West Ham United game when Josh was at Hillsong London. West Ham United fans are known to be the most passionate, out of control fans. They have organized hooligans. So Josh is going to a West Ham United game and he's stuck in the middle of a West Ham fan club mass crowd. There were police everywhere and different fans had to go through different entrances. There were barbed wire fences, everyone was wasted and it was crazy. Apparently both teams' fans bring darts and throw them at each other when the opposing team scores. This is war. It was more than a game, this team was their family, future, hope, identity, everything. There's something in our nature and makeup as a human being that has to attach itself to someone or something. So we find people and teams we can hang onto and anchor ourselves to so that we can feel secure, stable and significant. But you have to understand from this story in Luke 7 that this mother thought of her son as her everything. In the days back then, this woman's son was her only security and provision as a widow, her only hope for the future. She was on her way to bury it all with nothing but unanswered questions of how she'd survive. Have you ever been plagued by unanswered questions because the one thing you were holding onto fell through? Who will you be? Who will fight you? Josh is attached to this church, his family, his baby girl, etc. But if you're attached to everything that's good in this life but not Jesus, you're selling yourself short. No matter what crowd you're rolling with, without Jesus at the center, without relationship with God, you'll always feel that something is missing. If you feel like you were called to something more than what you're experiencing, look again. Look at the collision course God sets up in this situation in Luke 7. You have a funeral procession and Jesus's gang - death and life. One crowd had just seen Jesus perform miracles and were celebrating him, but the other crowd was grieving for a dead son. Is this not the picture of humanity? Have you ever been loving life while someone else was going through hell? You can be super happy and order the happy meal at McDonalds but the cashier can have the worst day of their life and the happy meal isn't that happy and it's more like eating Chicken McNegatives… You can have an awesome life and have everything and then realize the person sitting right in front of us could be at the lowest point in their life. Whether you're on a high or feeling low, know that we don't serve a disinterested or disconnected God. Psalm 118 says that God is close to the broken hearted. Psalm 46:1 says that God is our refuge and strength. See - God had already figured the situation out in Luke 7. This mother didn't realize she was bound on a collision course with Christ. Can you imagine how disrespectful Jesus' crowd must have come off to the funeral procession? But when Jesus saw the mother - Jesus sees you by the way, he sees you not with eyes of pity, judgment or disappointment but of grace and hope - Jesus' heart broke. He tells her not to cry. Interesting words to say to a grieving mother: Don't cry! Really? You're gonna say that to this woman? Who are you? Jesus doesn't back up at all though - Jesus goes over and touches the coffin. Jesus was doing everything wrong in this situation. In that day, if you came across a funeral procession, you'd stop and follow along and start weeping. You'd never tell mourners not to cry. And you'd never, never, ever touch a coffin because that'd make you unclean and dirty. What's interesting is that Jesus, God in the flesh, touches this dirty coffin. Is this not a picture of the gospel? We serve a God who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty for you. We serve a God who doesn't mind getting involved in the mess of your life. Jesus came not to make bad people good but to make dead people alive in him. Imagine Jesus touching the coffin - everyone must have stopped and stared in disbelief. Then Jesus says the words and the dead son sits up and begins talking. This is crazy stuff. Tears of grief turn into tears of joy. This woman's worst day became the best day of her life because when you're at your worst, Jesus is at his best. Revelation 21:4 says he'll wipe away every tear from their eyes, there will be no more sorrow or pain. All these things will be gone forever. If it matters to you, it matters to him. If it hurts you, it hurts him. Even when you're so low and broken and discouraged, even unable to voice your prayer. God is intimately involved in the intimate details of our lives. He's doing more than you think he is. Here's 2 things that collide when you collide with Jesus: Hope collides with hopelessness. Josh prays that he'll never forget what life felt like without Jesus, when Josh tried to put his hope in everything but Jesus. Josh felt hopeless on the inside and though he hid it for a long time - it was there. Josh was craving acceptance and approval and he found himself feeling hopeless. Without Jesus, without hope anchored in Jesus, hope is just a fairy tale, a facade that we long for on the inside but never attain on the outside. Hope can be snatched away in a moment. One discouraging season and hope can vanish, leaving memories of what should and could have been. But when life collides with Jesus, hope collides with hopelessness and everything started to change. Josh got rid of this victim mentality he'd adopted, his speech started to change, everything started to change about him. He started to encourage himself and others because his hope was in Jesus. When you speak different, you think different and become different. Psalm 52:9 says that we have to hope in God's name - not our career, team, reputation or person. Our hope has to be in Jesus. Isaiah 49:23 says that anyone who hopes in Jesus will never regret it. Matthew 12:21 says that the sound of His name will signal hope. When Jesus is your hope, the end of something is not the end of everything. Your past doesn't disqualify you from God's plan for your life. God's plan is bigger than your past. Jesus doesn't change pasts, he changes futures. When your hope is anchored in him, the potential and possibility for your future is limitless. Hope collides with hopelessness. Life with collides with death. Maybe you've been in a discouraging season and you're giving up hope - looks like the relationships, dreams and visions are dead. Romans 4:17 says that God brings the dead back to life and creates new things out of nothing! God brings the dead to life! God might be saying to someone in here today that hope is about to collide with hopelessness and life is about to collide with death. Whatever it is that seems dead in your life, Jesus is about to put his hand on it and make it rise. Get up! Get up! God is with you and for you! Get up! Grace collides with guilt, faith collides with fear, love collides with hate. Jesus changes everything for everyone. Back in Luke 7, after Jesus performs his miracle, everyone realizes that they're in a place of holy mystery - quietly worshipful and outwardly celebratory. There's a lot of people making a lot of noise about a whole lot of things but it's about time we make some noise about Jesus, his grace, his faithfulness and goodness. Your life and generosity and compassion should make some noise so that news of Jesus will spread throughout the entire world.

[occupytheory]

7/6/14 - Faith For The Middle

10AM Manhattan Center Ballroom! Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. is back! Mark 4:35-41. Jesus decides to go over to the other side of sea of Galilee in a boat with his disciples and a furious storm rises on the ocean, threatening the boat. Jesus sleeps, his disciples freak out, and then Jesus rebukes the storm and it stops. The storm stops and Jesus asks his disciples why they have no faith, and they freak out because even the wind and waves obey Jesus. Faith For The Middle Have you ever been doing good in life and you feel like you're finally where you want to be spiritually and then all of a sudden, something really bad happens to test you. That ever happen to you? Stuff like bad traffic. Rich never thought he had a demon until he got in traffic. That really tested him. Even though no one can hear you, you're yelling at the top of your lungs? Rich doesn't like traffic and waiting. It's always the really normal people that behave the worst in traffic - like soccer moms? This 85 year old woman flipped Rich off in traffic the other day! Rich doesn't flip people off - he's given off “spirit fingers” - but he doesn't do it. No one likes to wait. The other day Rich was flying to LAX and he went to AVIS for a rental car. He gets in the line and the line starts to move, but the dude in front of him didn't move. He coulda been moving but he wasn't moving. What is it about waiting? One of the toughest spots to be in life is when you're ready to move and yet there's something stopping you, something preventing you from moving forward. Maybe you've come to church this morning and you're in that predicament: you see the light at the end of the tunnel, the big world that God has planned for youin front of you, but something is stopping you from getting from here to there. That place is called “the middle.” Some of us see the middle as a season of 6 months or 6 years. It represents the boring moments, the plateaus, the times when nobody notices at all. But it's the times that nobody notices that creates the highlights that everyone notices. We are the ESPN generation. None of us actually want to go through the process, we all just want highlights only. History only just records highlights, not the lulls, plateaus or boring moments. Well, if you're ever gonna do anything great for God, you need faith for the middle. Don't ask God to make the middle shorter, let God make the middle purposeful. Get faith for the middle. Mark 4 is interesting because Jesus is with his crew and they're going to the other side. Wherever you're at today, God has another side in mind for you. There's a big world in front of you - the question is, are you gonna obey Jesus? As these guys cross the boat, they encounter a massive storm. This is all in the sea of Galilee. The cold air from the mountains collides with the warm air from the sea of Galilee and causes frequent storms. The disciples were pro fishermen and were used to storms but this storm was beyond anything they ever expected. When you start trusting Jesus, you don't know what's gonna come your way. You're gonna go through storms every once in a while. There's the parable of the wise and foolish men building their houses on rock and sand. Your church, husband, wife, possessions can't prevent the storm. You can't prevent storms but can you prepare for it? You gotta realize that there are people around you who get to the other side. People you're doing life with ensure that you get to the other side. A lot of people don't have faith for the middle because they're on the boat with the wrong people. Your friends are either pushing you forward or pushing you back. Who are you boating with? The person you marry will be your greatest asset or greatest liability. Some of you girls will actually have to learn to stop talking to stupid dudes, man! Here's the best Christian way for girls to deny a guy: Next time some guy hollas at you, tell them that God's got a better plan for you! This works for every sphere of life! LOL. You're gonna have to make a decision to walk in purity and falling into vicious relationship. Give boundaries. Don't lay or he'll stay and next thing you know it's day and she's given birth to Ray Ray! LOL. Jesus gets into the boat and there were other boats around Jesus' boats. You can have the best boats but if you don't have Jesus, it doesn't matter. You can be around Jesus but not be alone with Jesus, not be with Jesus. One of the scariest places you can be is feeling like you're on fire for God but it turns out that you were just feeding off the heat of others. If you're in Jesus's boat, he promises to get you to the other side, no matter how long and bad the middle gets. If Jesus gets in your boat, you have nothing to fear. A couple of years ago, Rich was going to Australia. He doesn't like flying. He gets on the flight and realizes that Bishop TD Jakes is on his very same flight. When he saw Bishop TD Jakes, Rich said, “ah we're good! The bishop is on our flight!” He felt so safe LOL. The plane is hitting turbulence on his flight and it didn't matter how bad the turbulence got, but Rich was unfazed. It's amazing how encouraged Rich became just knowing that TD Jakes was, but think about how much more encouraged you should be knowing that Jesus Christ is in your boat, in your plane. Storms may come, waves may rise, but if Jesus is with you, he'll get you to the other side. No weapon formed against you shall prosper - they'll be formed, but they won't prosper. If Jesus is in your boat, believe him at his word: He will get you to the other side. They're in this storm and it is going off. People are freaking out. They're wondering where Jesus is at. They find Jesus down underneath the boat asleep. When they see this, they get frustrated. “Hey! Jesus! Don't you care if we drown! Wake up!” Some of you know this feeling completely - Jesus sleeping on the clock. These dudes start to panic at the thought that Jesus doesn't care anymore. When you panic, you say really stupid stuff and think stupid stuff. How crazy is it to look at Jesus and ask if he cares. Some of you are in the middle where it's toughest and you go into this panic mode. Rich hates going to the doctor's office. He just doesn't like needles - forget it. He had to go in for this stress test and he needed to get blood drawn. After a whole lot of manipulation and sedatives, they took the blood out of his arm. His face is going white and they laid him down on a bed. In that lying down posture, he came back to his senses. This might be a word for you all today. What's interesting about Jesus is that in the middle of the biggest storm, what does he model for you and me? He models a posture of rest. This is so counterculture to our thinking! When we get in a storm, we gotta fix it! We yell orders and get people in action. That's why your worship looked like you were constipated! Jesus is saying that he's sleeping through this storm to say that we can sleep through our storm. When you're in a storm, don't try to fix it, don't try to panic, don't get your worry and anxiety get up, make a decision to be like Jesus and turn this storm over to Jesus and God and rest. God give me faith for the middle. We wanna run and stride and fix stuff for ourselves. When we're in a storm, we need to stop and listen to Jesus. Jesus is actually with you out in the middle. Rich's brother has this daughter named Israel “Izzy” and he lives in an unsafe neighborhood. Rich's brother went to Wal Mart and got a gun to protect his family. One night he's out at this Chinese takeout restaurant and as he's driving home he's being followed by this pursuing car. This car doesn't give up and he goes on a huge chase, and this car won't stop honking at him. He gets his kids and wife under the couch, gets out his gun and the driver knocks at his door. Turns out, the driver was this guy from the restaurant and he said, “Sir you forgot your shrimp fried rice!” Can you imagine what blessings are in store for you in the middle of your storm? Jesus is not surprised by anything you're going through - he's with you. He cares more than you care. That's what's beautiful. Jesus wipes the sleep from his eyes and with just three words, he changes the entire circumstances. He says, “Quiet, be still.” In one moment, the storm becomes completely calm. This could be translated as dead calm. That's impressive. Have you ever looked at water before that's so smooth that you can see your reflection? It's one thing for the wind to stop and rain to cease, but we're talking about going from the worst storm to the deadest calm in a moment? That's who Jesus is! Some of you today, all you need is just one word from Jesus and your entire circumstance can cease, your entire situation can become dead calm. Jesus says: “Quiet, be still.” Well, the disciples become terrified at Jesus who controls nature. They're afraid in the storm and they're terrified in the calm too! Why? You're taken aback by the bigness of our God. Cancer seems big today but Jesus is bigger. Marriage that seems rocky is big but Jesus is bigger than that problem. Your student or kid seems like they'll never return to God but Jesus is bigger. Jesus is bigger. When you realize the bigness of your God, you discover that your saviour is so much stronger than the storm, you realize that Jesus is the God who can quiet and still the storm with just his words. Some of us have been afraid of the storm but when you realize Jesus is greater, you're terrified of his power. Are you gonna jump ship and quit your problems, faith and dreams? It's easier to jump ship than to trust Jesus and believe he'll get us to the other side. If you haven't thought about quitting, what you're doing is probably not worth it. If Jesus said it to you, then Jesus means it. If Jesus promised you something, you can take that to the bank every day. Are you gonna listen to him or look at the storm? It's about hearing Jesus' voice and believing whatever he says. There was this guy who was climbing a mountain and as he was falling to his death, at the last moment, he reached out for a branch and it held him. He was holding onto this branch for an hour and screamed, “God! If you're real, help me!” and he heard a voice from heaven telling him to let go. He heard it audibly and asked if there was anyone else out there. Well eventually the fog cleared and it turned out this guy was just 6 inches from the ground! You're closer than you think to the other side. Trust Jesus.

[occupytheory]

6/29/14 - Keep It Real

10AM Manhattan Center Ballroom. Keep It Real 2 Kings 5:9-15 Naaman is a king that has everything, women, money, power, but he has leprosy. You could become an outcast in society from having it - but he hears word that someone can heal his disease. Imagine, he's trying to hold onto everything and hide his leprosy. Naaman has taken this long journey to get healed by the prophet Elisha. Elisha tells him to dip in the Jordan river 7 times and although Naaman refuses to do it angrily at first, he does it eventually. He's healed and praises God. In John 10:10 it says that a theif is only there to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came so that we could have real and eternal life. More and better life than they could ever dream of. Matt has this memory of when he was a child and he was 5. His parents took him to an amusement park and he was living it up on the teacup rides, the big swing, easy money. Loving life with the kiddie rides. His dad had this brilliant idea that they should go to the Scooby Doo Roller Coaster. Initially, this sounds great. Matt was a huge Scooby Doo fan, he had all the t-shirts and lunch boxes and even boxers decorated in Scooby Doo art. However, the closer he gets to the Scooby Doo Roller Coaster, he starts getting super nervous. He hears kids screaming, swears he sees a kid going out on a stretcher. Matt was terrified on the ride. Matt held on for dear life. He was done. That was the end of roller coasters for him. Yet, fast forward to 6th grade when you start caring about what your friends think. He was with his friends and a girl he liked and he wanted to join in and not look like a wuss. He realized this was going to be his last ride. The one roller coaster that was going to break down. The truth was, he actually absolutely loved every second of it. He realized that he had been missing out. He wanted to hop back on the roller coaster. Now he wanted to go for the tea cups, he's going straight to the roller coasters because that's where true life and joy is. We look at life and Jesus in a similar fashion. We look kind of unsure and scared at the challenges. The first time Matt was confronted with life and the decision to commit to Jesus - it was scary. But if you give Jesus a real chance in your life, you can have true life, a life that goes beyond anything you've ever experienced. The idea of Keep It Real means there's no front, no mirage. I want what is real. As Christians, we should keep it real. With Jesus and following him, we can live in a way that keeps it real. With Naaman, he has this life and everything seems so amazing but yet he has this disease that pulls him away, he has what seems like real life but isn't real life. It's life with a hindrance on it. Naaman is kind of a walking dead man with everything he wants but the disease at the same time. You can actually have everything - the great job, the great car, the supermodel girlfriend, you can have everything but still not have your life. On the flipside, you can come from a past of hurt, a past of what seems like hopelessness. You might not have a good portfolio or resume, hurt and pain, but because of Jesus, we can have access to real life and life in the fullest. Jesus is the great equalizer of all of humanity. True life comes from Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. If all you're experiencing is life, you're getting ripped off. There's so much more for us as believers, for you wherever you are. There's real life. Let's keep it real. There's 3 ingredients for keeping it real. Hope. Hope is a person or thing on which expectations are centered. Where do you look at for hope? Have you ever looked for things in the wrong place? When Matt and his wife Lindsay first moved to the city, their car got towed in Brooklyn. Suddenly, he has to find his car at 9AM in the morning. So he hops on the train, trying to figure out the trains, and he hopped out of the subway station where he thought the impound was. Suddenly, he doesn't think he's in the right place in NYC. He doesn't feel safe. He's in the wrong neighborhood and lost! When we look for hope, we look in the wrong place. Naaman looked in the wrong place for his hope. When he showed up to the Prophet Elisha, he has this entourage and riches and clothes, he thinks that's ultimately gets him to his healing. Prior to this, he goes to his king, his best friend, and asks him to hook him up. So often in NYC especially, we think we can find our hope in other places. Naaman has been through this pursuit and yet he's left with one last option for his hope: dip in the Jordan River. Why the heck would Naaman dip in the Jordan river? It wasn't the cleanest river on the planet. Naaman wasn't too excited about that. The Jordan is also a symbol of Christ in the old Testament. The people of Israel couldn't get to the promised land except by crossing the Jordan River, so that's the only way to the promised land. Naaman's looked to kings, possessions and religion and didn't find hope. But hope for Naaman was in the water. You don't have to look anywhere else but to Jesus. What do you turn to on Monday morning for hope? Instagram? Social media? Email? Texts? Where's the first place you turn? It isn't in your apartment, paycheck, job or hope - it's in Jesus. Naaman is informed of where he should find his hope but he doesn't want to dip in the gross water. Here's a question: When it comes to not knowing or not understanding, are you humble enough to go through with it anyway? To surrender? Naaman was so proud of who he was that he expected special treatment, he didn't deserve to be thrown in a dirty river. He expected Elisha to just wave his hand, easy and comfortable, and be healed. Humility is key to keeping it real. Matt loved American football and he needed eye surgery to keep his vision well. He was struggling to tackle the right person, which is an issue if you're a defensive player. He was in hot pursuit of the quarterback and the quarterback actually didn't have the ball! He got contacts ever. Will you choose to look through the lens of humility or pride? Matt was so proud of himself that he didn't think he needed corrective lenses and it screwed up his football game. Naaman had the same deal. Where has your pride taken you to this morning that you're missing out? It says that the servants of Naaman came to him and asked him why he wouldn't dip in the river. Naaman would have done something much more difficult anyway. Sometimes humility is obedience. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says that the words of the cross are foolish to those who are perishing but it's everything to us. We might not understand God but we should give him the chance. God can do far beyond anything we can imagine. Sometimes though, the command and thing in front of us seems so absurd or simple. Naaman was confused as to why it was so simple to get healing. Just dip in the water. Yet, us being full of who we are, we don't want to give into the simple things. Something so simple can be written off, but Jesus is true. Seems absurd to give and expect our worlds to get larger but that's what he calls us to do. You might need friends and relationships in your life and you don't wanna join a connect group, but it's as simple as that. You think you need peace in chaos, sometimes it's as simple as praying. How am I ever going to get through this time and prayer? It's praise. Why does it work that we praise in our problems? We'll just do it, doesn't matter what the subway or kids were like, we're gonna just lift our hands and praise. We don't know but God does. Naaman humbles himself and dips in the water. We want to check our pride at the door and stay humble. Naaman goes through with this and dips himself 7 times. Hunger. Salvation is an instant but sanctification is a process. What that means today is that we can be saved in a moment by Jesus but there's this process to seeing this full, real life come through. The command was for him to dip 7 times. You have to have a hunger for your hope and life. As the deer pants for the water, our soul longs for God. As wild animals long for water, that's the only way they can survive and make it. The deer won't make it to tomorrow if it doesn't find water. We want to have living water inside of us, experience the fullness of who Jesus is and needing that hunger. See everything that he's called me to be part of. Do you have a hunger this morning that drives you? Naaman would have had no change dipping 3 or 4 times and see nothing. You might be doing the right things and not see any change. But keep dipping. You've done everything to do let go and break this addiction but there's still nothing - well keep doing it. Just keep doing what you're meant to do. Maybe you wrote that song that would be a hit and no one else saw it - keep doing it. Maybe you had failures, keep on keepin' on. Your marriage seems like its in shambles, well keep dipping. In Jesus, he came to this Earth and he went through the process. If you were God and came to the Earth, you might do things differently. You'd come through in a week instead of 30 years, get that cross over. You'd also probably want to fly and have superpowers. But Jesus humbles himself and goes through the process. Jesus just keeps dipping and does exactly what he said he'd do, even as the thorns were pushed into his brow. Even when people wanted to stone him, even when he was writhing in agony in the garden, he kept on. He knew that real life couldn't be obtained except for his sacrifice on the cross. You can have dipped 5 or 6 times and you're on the way to the moment you get the answer, the breakthrough and the healing. Just keep doing what you know you're meant to do. Naaman does this and he sees a miracle. His skin is brand new and fresh. He realizes that he now has real life - this life he didn't think was possible. He thought he'd be left to disease and pain. At the end of the passage, Naaman comes back to Elisha and says that he now knows that there's no other God than the God in heaven. When we begin to live this life we're called to, there'll be no doubt that there's a God who is good. When people look at you, people will say that there is no other God but Jesus. Our lives should be known for not what we did but what Jesus did for us. Wherever you're at - real life can be your portion, despite where you're coming from. Make the decision to let Jesus be who he's meant to be. Possession and money are great but without Jesus it's nothing. You can find Jesus and find your fullness.

[occupytheory]

6/22/14 - It's Time To Take A Shot [Part 2]

5:30 PM at the Manhattan Center Ballroom

Pastor Carl Lentz is it.

Sometimes Father's Day is tough in our country because there's broken relationships or death. God will give you courage to keep believing for the next chapter.

The best of a church isn't the Sunday but the Monday through Saturday. Do life with people, welcome home is our prayer.

You can go to a stoic church another day. We believe here that God, in his ridiculously scandalous grace, God can do anything explosively. Don't look professional and sophisticated - you can be yourself.

It's Time To Take A Shot [Part 2]

Carl believes that the longer we look at the essence of what it means to follow Jesus, we realize that being a Christian isn't about the big break or moment, the mountaintop experience. Jesus was our big break when he broke through the grave. Our lives aren't strung between big moments waiting in the shadows.

Following Jesus is about taking small shots here and there, a little courage here, a little forgiveness there, a little thing there. That all cumulates in us being in places we shouldn't be but for the grace of God, long term.

Let's realize the heaviness of the moment we're in right now in this country. God has opened a door for true believers to change the world. We need to keep taking shots at the city, the clubs, poverty, slavery, these places where no one else cares about - that's what our church is gonna do.

If this is your church, there's gonna be moments this year, this summer when the Holy Spirit will open doors and will ask you to take a shot. Take a shot on dreaming, serving, hearing God again. Little shot after little shot becomes a massive Jesus-filled life.

Have you ever been in a long line at the airport? You're in that TSA line and it's ridiculous. You're going through the line and see a million signs of what you can't have or what you can have. What you can't go through the metal detector with. You're sitting there for ages.

You finally get to your turn to take a shot at the metal detector and the person in front of you has been waiting for half an hour doing nothing, acting stupid, acting like they didn't know they could take their metal nose piercing through the metal detector!

You've got the mom who's got her baby and far too much stuff like 19 strollers, cribs, 47 bottles. Really? You didn't know that by the time you got here you couldn't take any of that through?

Is it really that much different from God's perspective?

He sees Christians who aren't ready for the opportunity.

Like we didn't know that Jesus is the open door. Why are walking around like this is a game? Like there might be another shot? Can you imagine an army of faithful believers like this who are extraordinarily imperfect but ready to take a shot when the Holy Spirit opens the door?

When God starts challenging our church to do stuff they've never done, open up stuff they closed long ago - walk into new territory. Someone needs to take a shot.

What if this summer, you took a shot on sacrifice? Whatever you're holding onto, whatever you had, is not worth missing out on what he has and who Jesus is.

Nothing you have, nothing you're holding onto dearly tonight, is worth missing out on who Jesus is.

Mark 10: 17-31. The story of the rich young ruler. A young man asks Jesus what he has to do to get eternal life. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments and the young man says, “I have from my youth, kept them all!”

This guy was super. Jesus went on to look him hard in the eye and love him. Good for you to know that even if you say dumb things to God, God still loves you and doesn't give you the stink eye.

Jesus tells this man to sell everything he has and the man walks away sad. He was holding onto many things tightly and wasn't willing to let go.

Jesus then tells his disciples how hard it is for anyone who has everything to get into heaven. The disciples are shocked but Jesus tells them if they let God do it, they have all the chance in the world.

Does God care about money? God isn't worried about his finances right now. He's worried about what you care about. God chose to use a story like this so that 2,000 years later in Manhattan, we can talk about - not money - but sacrifice and surrender.

You got some stuff God wants you to lay down.

You have to get to a moment as a Christian when you realize that this life isn't about what you think is important, it's about what He thinks is important.

If God is asking you to sacrifice something - it would behoove you to take a moment and say, “Ok God, if you want me to lay something down, I need to lay it down!”

Pray what it is God wants you to put down. God is gonna knock on the sacrifice door day and night. We believe Jesus loves you just as you are but loves us too much to leave us like that. God is always gonna be taking stuff from us. Will you answer the door?

Sometimes, things get lost in translation. Think about being a dad and talking to your kids. The kids don't get it - especially when you're trying to get your kids to go to bed. What you say and what they do is different.

The parents tell the kids to go to bed but the kids think its the end of the world and they're gonna freak out. The parents tell the kids to put on their PJs but the kids decide to try every single clothing item in the house. The parents tell the kids to take a bath and the kids decide to run around naked.

Then your kids ask you for water because they're suddenly dehydrated. It's not that much different from adult Christians from heaven's perspective.

God says forgive all but we hear that we forgive all except that one guy we can't stand. God says surrender all but we say surrender some. We have to get on our knees and say Lord, whatever it is, however hard it is, if you need me to lay it down, I will lay it down.

The sin that we've tried to ignore, however good it feels, we'll lay it down. Take a shot at allowing God to be God and let the healer heal. Every day you hang onto something is another day you miss out on what heaven was gonna pour out. Every day you sit on that eHarmony, every day you date that person that's done nothing but hurt you and destroy your self-esteem, you're missing out on what God has.

One more day of missing his peace and love. Even with Carl and Laura, they've been better at times than others with sacrifice. When God called Carl to go from beautiful Virginia Beach to NY, Carl wasn't sure. Carl had a house and a great church, why leave? It doesn't always feel good after you sacrifice, but it's right.

Carl got his car broken into his first week here. He got lost all the time. But he remembered thinking that if God said it, we have to do it. Couple years later, Carl has everything and awesome people and he says he thanks God for letting him listen.

Maybe it isn't money. Maybe it's your lack of grace or your judgmental spirit. Let it go.

The question isn't what God is trying to take from you - it's what is God trying to GIVE to you? OH MAN.

God doesn't need stuff from you. The question is what is God trying to get to you? Will you be a consumer Christian or conveyer belt Christian?

A consumer Christian just wants more. They'll feel their churches aren't feeding them. It's all about them.

A conveyer belt Christian enjoys what they have. They know the source of it all. Life isn't a pie with a limited pie. This life is a river of God's blessing so I can keep on giving because this river of his anointing is never gonna stop.

Here's another shot: Take a shot at being comfortable with being uncomfortable. The reality of being a Christian is that it's uncomfortable. What God demanded from this rich young ruler was so uncomfortable that he didn't go. In NY, we're all about comfort, so we'll toss out anything that isn't.

Well whoever said your feelings come into play as a Christian? God will never want you to sacrifice what you want to sacrifice? We'd ask God to sacrifice sacrifices! Can we sacrifice being nice and patient? It don't work like that.

As a Christian, you have to find a way to be content with Jesus. Some of you are uncomfortable with your Christianity. The only comfort we have is following Jesus through the discomfort.

Two things that true sacrifice requires:

Sacrifice is following Jesus.

It requires SECURITY.

Sacrifice demands security in Jesus. One of the reasons the rich young ruler couldn't sacrifice his wealth is apparently, that's where his identity, security and esteem was. God didn't care about his money, he cared about his soul.

God doesn't care if you have things. He cares if those things have you. If the things have you, then the things give you identity. And what's the one thing that the world can't take? Jesus. You stay locked and loaded with Jesus and you can handle sick or poor, health or discomfort. Your security won't be in the things of Earth.

At that time in that society, how you got security was based on your performance. Where's the rabbi with the heaviest yoke? Who makes you the most miserable? Jesus showed up and said no more stuff, I am the thing. So the people who found security in their religiosity were threatened by Jesus.

God doesn't want your obedience, he wants you. It's like an elaborate handshake. A lot of the young guys that Carl hangs out with have complicated, elaborate handshakes that Carl doesn't get. Carl is trying to be relevant when he hangs out with these guys and ends up looking like's convulsing.

He gets so frustrated that he just goes in for the hug. Religion is the elaborate handshake. Jesus is the hug!

All the stuff, very little contact. A hug is full contact and no stuff. When you have security in Jesus, you can have stuff and you should use it for God's glory - nothing wrong - but you can give it away because you know where you got it from.

Let the Holy Spirit tell you where you can take a shot at being secure, at finding your security from heaven.

True sacrifice requires submission.

Talk about a word you don't ever hear anymore: submission. Submission? I'm from NY, Staten Island! It was even more preposterous to the rich young ruler! He ruled his own world but when Jesus said to drop all of it, whether Jesus wanted his money or not is irrelevant. Some scholars believe that Jesus could have actually let him keep his money or multiply it.

In Mark 10:27-31, Jesus says that anyone who sacrifices for His sake will get it back many times more. And then the bonus of eternal life! This isn't about money or stuff - it's about Jesus!

Those who sow will reap, not just here, but on an eternal level. So when people can't submit to God almighty, this isn't an upstart CEO. It's God. When you understand that, it becomes easy to submit your relationships, pride, financial situation, etc.

Have you ever been around someone who's better than you at anything? Maybe you're the best at what you do. Newsflash: God made you. He sits higher. Let there not be any area of your life - your club life, your financial life, your Tuesday night life, nothing that isn't under Jesus's control.

Take a shot at letting Jesus take control of your entire life. You can come to church and believe but you may not have submitted it all. God can only drive the car, he doesn't want to be part of your life, he is either Lord of all or not at all. Things might not be clicking and it could be because you're not fully submitted.

We should have empty pockets but full hearts. Ancient Egyptian culture dictated that the richest man would die with their wealth - they were buried with their money. King Tut died with like miles of gold in his tomb. He died with everything he had. He never spent it nor did anyone. That's what it's like when we're afraid to bring the creator of it all everything we have.

Whatever you have is not yours, it's his. Give it to him so that he can do something. You know, the wealthiest places in NY are the graveyard. So many people die with the dreams in them, with the money they were supposed to give that wasn't, forgiveness that was supposed to be given.

There's a graveyard in Brooklyn with elaborate, massive tombs. Can you imagine if we were the generation that had similar tombstones for everyone, where you wouldn't have to look at the tombstone to see their legacy? But you'd have to go to the streets, the schools, all over the world to see their legacy at work because they gave everything they had to the God who made it all.

Why would you not submit to the God that bankrupted heaven for your life? Do you know how much he loves you? He is the Lord of your life and the master, whether you say so or not. Will you accept it or not?

Let's not be a church with one church in submission and one foot in the world. Take a shot at letting God having everything in your life. Take a shot.

[occupytheory]

6/15/14 - Take A Shot [Part 2]

5:30 PM at the Manhattan Center Ballroom Pastor Carl Lentz is it. Sometimes Father's Day is tough in our country because there's broken relationships or death. God will give you courage to keep believing for the next chapter. The best of a church isn't the Sunday but the Monday through Saturday. Do life with people, welcome home is our prayer. You can go to a stoic church another day. We believe here that God, in his ridiculously scandalous grace, God can do anything explosively. Don't look professional and sophisticated - you can be yourself. It's Time To Take A Shot [Part 2] Carl believes that the longer we look at the essence of what it means to follow Jesus, we realize that being a Christian isn't about the big break or moment, the mountaintop experience. Jesus was our big break when he broke through the grave. Our lives aren't strung between big moments waiting in the shadows. Following Jesus is about taking small shots here and there, a little courage here, a little forgiveness there, a little thing there. That all cumulates in us being in places we shouldn't be but for the grace of God, long term. Let's realize the heaviness of the moment we're in right now in this country. God has opened a door for true believers to change the world. We need to keep taking shots at the city, the clubs, poverty, slavery, these places where no one else cares about - that's what our church is gonna do. If this is your church, there's gonna be moments this year, this summer when the Holy Spirit will open doors and will ask you to take a shot. Take a shot on dreaming, serving, hearing God again. Little shot after little shot becomes a massive Jesus-filled life. Have you ever been in a long line at the airport? You're in that TSA line and it's ridiculous. You're going through the line and see a million signs of what you can't have or what you can have. What you can't go through the metal detector with. You're sitting there for ages. You finally get to your turn to take a shot at the metal detector and the person in front of you has been waiting for half an hour doing nothing, acting stupid, acting like they didn't know they could take their metal nose piercing through the metal detector! You've got the mom who's got her baby and far too much stuff like 19 strollers, cribs, 47 bottles. Really? You didn't know that by the time you got here you couldn't take any of that through? Is it really that much different from God's perspective? He sees Christians who aren't ready for the opportunity. Like we didn't know that Jesus is the open door. Why are walking around like this is a game? Like there might be another shot? Can you imagine an army of faithful believers like this who are extraordinarily imperfect but ready to take a shot when the Holy Spirit opens the door? When God starts challenging our church to do stuff they've never done, open up stuff they closed long ago - walk into new territory. Someone needs to take a shot. What if this summer, you took a shot on sacrifice? Whatever you're holding onto, whatever you had, is not worth missing out on what he has and who Jesus is. Nothing you have, nothing you're holding onto dearly tonight, is worth missing out on who Jesus is. Mark 10: 17-31. The story of the rich young ruler. A young man asks Jesus what he has to do to get eternal life. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments and the young man says, “I have from my youth, kept them all!” This guy was super. Jesus went on to look him hard in the eye and love him. Good for you to know that even if you say dumb things to God, God still loves you and doesn't give you the stink eye. Jesus tells this man to sell everything he has and the man walks away sad. He was holding onto many things tightly and wasn't willing to let go. Jesus then tells his disciples how hard it is for anyone who has everything to get into heaven. The disciples are shocked but Jesus tells them if they let God do it, they have all the chance in the world. Does God care about money? God isn't worried about his finances right now. He's worried about what you care about. God chose to use a story like this so that 2,000 years later in Manhattan, we can talk about - not money - but sacrifice and surrender. You got some stuff God wants you to lay down. You have to get to a moment as a Christian when you realize that this life isn't about what you think is important, it's about what he thinks is important. If God is asking you to sacrifice something - it would behoove you to take a moment and say, “Ok God, if you want me to lay something down, I need to lay it down!” Pray what it is God wants you to put down. God is gonna knock on the sacrifice door day and night. We believe Jesus loves you just as you are but loves us too much to leave us like that. God is always gonna be taking stuff from us. Will you answer the door? Sometimes, things get lost in translation. Think about being a dad and talking to your kids. The kids don't get it - especially when you're trying to get your kids to go to bed. What you say and what they do is different. The parents tell the kids to go to bed but the kids think its the end of the world and they're gonna freak out. The parents tell the kids to put on their PJs but the kids decide to try every single clothing item in the house. The parents tell the kids to take a bath and the kids decide to run around naked. Then your kids ask you for water because they're suddenly dehydrated. It's not that much different from adult Christians from heaven's perspective. God says forgive all but we hear that we forgive all except that one guy we can't stand. God says surrender all but we say surrender some. We have to get on our knees and say Lord, whatever it is, however hard it is, if you need me to lay it down, I will lay it down. The sin that we've tried to ignore, however good it feels, we'll lay it down. Take a shot at allowing God to be God and let the healer heal. Every day you hang onto something is another day you miss out on what heaven was gonna pour out. Every day you sit on that eHarmony, every day you date that person that's done nothing but hurt you and destroy your self-esteem, you're missing out on what God has. One more day of missing his peace and love. Even with Carl and Laura, they've been better at times than others with sacrifice. When God called Carl to go from beautiful Virginia Beach to NY, Carl wasn't sure. Carl had a house and a great church, why leave? It doesn't always feel good after you sacrifice, but it's right. Carl got his car broken into his first week here. He got lost all the time. But he remembered thinking that if God said it, we have to do it. Couple years later, Carl has everything and awesome people and he says he thanks God for letting him listen. Maybe it isn't money. Maybe it's your lack of grace or your judgmental spirit. Let it go. The question isn't what God is trying to take from you - it's what is God trying to GIVE to you? OH MAN. God doesn't need stuff from you. The question is what is God trying to get to you? Will you be a consumer Christian or conveyer belt Christian? A consumer Christian just wants more. They'll feel their churches aren't feeding them. It's all about them. A conveyer belt Christian enjoys what they have. They know the source of it all. Life isn't a pie with a limited pie. This life is a river of God's blessing so I can keep on giving because this river of his anointing is never gonna stop. Here's another shot: Take a shot at being comfortable with being uncomfortable. The reality of being a Christian is that it's uncomfortable. What God demanded from this rich young ruler was so uncomfortable that he didn't go. In NY, we're all about comfort, so we'll toss out anything that isn't. Well whoever said your feelings come into play as a Christian? God will never want you to sacrifice what you want to sacrifice? We'd ask God to sacrifice sacrifices! Can we sacrifice being nice and patient? It don't work like that. As a Christian, you have to find a way to be content with Jesus. Some of you are uncomfortable with your Christianity. The only comfort we have is following Jesus through the discomfort. Two things that true sacrifice requires: Sacrifice is following Jesus. It requires SECURITY. Sacrifice demands security in Jesus. One of the reasons the rich young ruler couldn't sacrifice his wealth is apparently, that's where his identity, security and esteem was. God didn't care about his money, he cared about his soul. God doesn't care if you have things. He cares if those things have you. If the things have you, then the things give you identity. And what's the one thing that the world can't take? Jesus. You stay locked and loaded with Jesus and you can handle sick or poor, health or discomfort. Your security won't be in the things of Earth. At that time in that society, how you got security was based on your performance. Where's the rabbi with the heaviest yoke? Who makes you the most miserable? Jesus showed up and said no more stuff, I am the thing. So the people who found security in their religiosity were threatened by Jesus. God doesn't want your obedience, he wants you. It's like an elaborate handshake. A lot of the young guys that Carl hangs out with have complicated, elaborate handshakes that Carl doesn't get. Carl is trying to be relevant when he hangs out with these guys and ends up looking like's convulsing. He gets so frustrated that he just goes in for the hug. Religion is the elaborate handshake. Jesus is the hug! All the stuff, very little contact. A hug is full contact and no stuff. When you have security in Jesus, you can have stuff and you should use it for God's glory - nothing wrong - but you can give it away because you know where you got it from. Let the Holy Spirit tell you where you can take a shot at being secure, at finding your security from heaven. True sacrifice requires submission. Talk about a word you don't ever hear anymore: submission. Submission? I'm from NY, Staten Island! It was even more preposterous to the rich young ruler! He ruled his own world but when Jesus said to drop all of it, whether Jesus wanted his money or not is irrelevant. Some scholars believe that Jesus could have actually let him keep his money or multiply it. In Mark 10:27-31, Jesus says that anyone who sacrifices for His sake will get it back many times more. And then the bonus of eternal life! This isn't about money or stuff - it's about Jesus! Those who sow will reap, not just here, but on an eternal level. So when people can't submit to God almighty, this isn't an upstart CEO. It's God. When you understand that, it becomes easy to submit your relationships, pride, financial situation, etc. Have you ever been around someone who's better than you at anything? Maybe you're the best at what you do. Newsflash: God made you. He sits higher. Let there not be any area of your life - your club life, your financial life, your Tuesday night life, nothing that isn't under Jesus's control. Take a shot at letting Jesus take control of your entire life. You can come to church and believe but you may not have submitted it all. God can only drive the car, he doesn't want to be part of your life, he is either Lord of all or not at all. Things might not be clicking and it could be because you're not fully submitted. We should have empty pockets but full hearts. Ancient Egyptian culture dictated that the richest man would die with their wealth - they were buried with their money. King Tut died with like miles of gold in his tomb. He died with everything he had. He never spent it nor did anyone. That's what it's like when we're afraid to bring the creator of it all everything we have. Whatever you have is not yours, it's his. Give it to him so that he can do something. You know, the wealthiest places in NY are the graveyard. So many people die with the dreams in them, with the money they were supposed to give that wasn't, forgiveness that was supposed to be given. There's a graveyard in Brooklyn with elaborate, massive tombs. Can you imagine if we were the generation that had similar tombstones for everyone, where you wouldn't have to look at the tombstone to see their legacy? But you'd have to go to the streets, the schools, all over the world to see their legacy at work because they gave everything they had to the God who made it all. Why would you not submit to the God that bankrupted heaven for your life? Do you know how much he loves you? He is the Lord of your life and the master, whether you say so or not. Will you accept it or not? Let's not be a church with one church in submission and one foot in the world. Take a shot at letting God having everything in your life. Take a shot.