Latest / Pst T.D Jakes -The POTTER'S HOUSE / When God Develops You in the Dark Bishop T.D. Jakes

Transcript

When God Develops You in the Dark Bishop T.D. Jakes · Pst T.D Jakes -The POTTER'S HOUSE

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: I'm ready to go to work. Is that all right?
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: If you want to make me feel real at home,
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: get your Bibles or your iPads or your cell phones
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: or your eyeglasses, all these technologies they got today. I
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: don't know where you got your Bible here, but stand
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: up on your feet as we go into the Word
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: of God. We're going to read two scriptures, Acts 9,
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: 1 through 9, and we're going to read Isaiah 45
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: and 3. Isaiah 45 and 3 and Acts 9, 1
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: through 9.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Glory to God.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: I better get comfortable because I think I got to
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: go to work here.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Somebody say go to work.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: We'll read Acts 9 and 1 first and we'll read
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: down through the nine verses, a very familiar story, but
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: indulge me as I share it with you. I'm reading
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: it out of the King James Version, not that it
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: has any more power In the old church, the old
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: people used to say the King James Version was the
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: only real version of the Bible.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: That's not true.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: But by the time I learned it in King James
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: for the which cause and therefore and having these precious promises,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: I'm too old to have to relearn it in the
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: modern language. So put up with me as I preach
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: out of the King James. Is that okay? It means
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: the same thing. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus, to
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: the synagogues, that if he found any of this way,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: this way meaning Christians, whether they were men or women,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: he came near, he came near Damascus. And suddenly there
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: shined round about him a light from heaven. And he
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: why persecutest thou me? And he said, who art thou, Lord?
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: have me to do? And the Lord said unto him,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Arise and go into the city and it shall be
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: told thee what thou must do. And the men which
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: no man. And Saul arose from the earth and when
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: his eyes were opened, he saw no man. But they
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: led him by the hand, he was blind, and brought
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: and neither did eat nor drink. Let's go further to Isaiah,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Isaiah 45 and 3. Here we have the promise of
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: God delivered to us from the eagle-eyed prophet himself. A
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: promise that I want you to take with you. A
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: promise that is absolute and solid. And I will give
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: thee the treasures of darkness. I will give thee the
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: treasures of darkness. I didn't know darkness had treasure. I
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: will give thee the treasures of darkness and darkness. hidden
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: riches of secret places. I'm going to unlock stuff that
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: nobody knows but me and you. That thou mayest know
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: am the God of Israel.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Oh my God.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: I love you. For a few moments, I want to
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: talk about the treasures of darkness. Can we pray while
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: we're standing? Holy Spirit, direct our paths. We seek thy face,
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  Speaker 2: O God.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: You are in a class all by yourself.
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  Speaker 2: You're sovereign God. You're not an abstract idea. You're not
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  Speaker 2: a vague possibility. You are not God as we perceive him.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: You are not generic in your being. You are divine
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: in your composition. You are holy in your discourse.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: You are righteous. in your character.
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  Speaker 2: You are sovereign in your authority. You are the mighty
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: I Am, Prince of Peace, invincible ruler of the universe
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  Speaker 2: who sits on the circle of the earth. Have thy way,
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: oh God. I thank you in advance for what you're
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: about to do. Shake this place. Shake us till we're changed.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: Shake us till we're new. I believe you're for miracle
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: working power.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Have thy way. Thou art the potter.
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  Speaker 2: And I am but the clay. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 2: You may be seated in the presence of God. Glory
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: to God. And I will give thee the treasures of
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  Speaker 2: darkness and hidden riches of secret places. God has stuff
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: in places that nobody knows. I love to read in
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  Speaker 2: the book of Genesis when God got ready to send
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  Speaker 2: the flood, it was not just that the rain came down,
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  Speaker 2: but if you read it, the Bible says he broke
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  Speaker 2: up the cisterns of the deep, meaning that God had
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  Speaker 2: water in the earth that was prepared for such a
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  Speaker 2: time as that. And it wasn't just what came down,
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  Speaker 2: it was what came up. And it flooded the earth
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: because God had pockets of water that nobody knew where
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  Speaker 2: it was. I believe that God has pockets of blessings
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: that nobody knows where they are but him. And when
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  Speaker 2: he gets ready to bless you, he's got a thousand
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  Speaker 2: ways to bless you. It can come from every direction.
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  Speaker 2: It can come from the north, the south, the east,
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  Speaker 2: the west. It can come from friends or foes. It
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  Speaker 2: can come from haters and imitators and spectators.
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  Speaker 1: When God.
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  Speaker 2: Gets ready to bless you. He says to us an
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  Speaker 2: absolute promise. I will give you treasures of the darkness.
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  Speaker 2: Now Jesus teaches us clearly and succinctly for us to
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  Speaker 2: work while it's day. He says work while it's day
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  Speaker 2: for when night cometh no man can work. Work while
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: it's day for when night cometh no man can work.
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  Speaker 2: But he didn't say God couldn't work. Man can't work
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  Speaker 2: but God can.
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  Speaker 1: Can work.
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  Speaker 2: When God gets ready to work, he can work in
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  Speaker 2: adverse conditions. He can work without the benefit of surrounding support.
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  Speaker 2: When God gets ready to work, he doesn't need help
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  Speaker 2: from the environment. That's why Jesus said, I am a
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  Speaker 2: root springing up out of dry ground. When I get
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: ready to spring up, I don't need it to rain.
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  Speaker 2: When I get ready to bless you, I can bless
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  Speaker 2: you around enemies. I can bless you around witches and warlocks.
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  Speaker 2: I can bless you in any situation. I am God
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  Speaker 2: and beside me there is no other. I am God.
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  Speaker 2: and besides me there is no other I am God
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  Speaker 2: nobody elected me nobody appointed me nobody moved me in
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  Speaker 2: nobody can take me out I can't be impeached I
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  Speaker 2: can't be removed I am God all by myself I
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  Speaker 2: was God before there was anybody there to tell me
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  Speaker 2: I was God. I was God before the thunder clapped
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  Speaker 2: his hands. I was God before the lightning flashed. I
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: was God before the clouds collided. I was God before
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  Speaker 2: there was a whale or wind or this or that
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  Speaker 2: or it or and. I was God before the angels
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  Speaker 2: sang their first hymn. I was God before you ever
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  Speaker 2: said hallelujah. I was God before the morning ever kissed
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  Speaker 2: the sunlit sky.
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  Speaker 1: I'm God!
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  Speaker 2: It's feeling churchy in here. My God, somebody is ready
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  Speaker 2: for a breakthrough in here.
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  Speaker 1: Shout hallelujah in this place.
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  Speaker 2: If God is going to give us the treasures of darkness,
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  Speaker 2: we must understand what darkness is. And I want to
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: challenge you because darkness is so pervasive. And even as
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: a child, it can be quite intimidating. I remember being
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: a child and being afraid of the dark. Everything changed
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: in the dark.
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  Speaker 1: It changed.
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  Speaker 2: My robe hanging over in the corner changed into the
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: Wicked Witch of the West in the dark. And I
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: wanted a little bit of light on so I could
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: see what was coming up and going on in my
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: room because everything looks different in the dark. And when
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: it really gets dark, you can't see anything at all.
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  Speaker 2: So what is darkness? Well, scientists teach us that darkness
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  Speaker 2: is not a thing. I know you thought it was
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  Speaker 2: a thing, but it's not a thing. Darkness is not
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  Speaker 2: a thing. It is the absence of a thing. Darkness
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  Speaker 2: is defined as the absence of light. It is only
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  Speaker 2: the consequences or the results of the absence of that
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  Speaker 2: which is legitimate. Light is a thing because it is quantifiable.
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  Speaker 2: It can be felt. It can be touched. It can
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  Speaker 2: be measured. It can be, it can be, how many
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  Speaker 2: watts is that coming at me? You can measure how
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  Speaker 2: much light, the decibels of light. Sound is a thing
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  Speaker 2: because it can be measured. Light is a thing because
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  Speaker 2: it can be measured. And it came at the speed
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  Speaker 2: of light. If you can measure its speed, it's a thing.
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  Speaker 2: You never hear anybody say it came at the speed
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  Speaker 2: of darkness. Because darkness doesn't have a speed. It doesn't
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  Speaker 2: have a decimal. It doesn't have a wattage. Because darkness
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  Speaker 2: is not a thing. It is the absence of a thing.
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  Speaker 1: So in order to.
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  Speaker 2: Experience darkness, it is when we go through something where
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  Speaker 2: we have the absence of a thing. It is what
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  Speaker 2: we don't have that makes it dark. It is when
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  Speaker 2: you don't have the absence. When you have the absence
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  Speaker 2: of a thing, it can be dark even if the
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  Speaker 2: room is lit. Because darkness is not a thing, it's
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  Speaker 2: a void.
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  Speaker 1: It's an emptiness.
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  Speaker 2: It's an ambiguous existence, a place whereby I cannot see
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  Speaker 2: my way clear. Not because the darkness has power. It
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  Speaker 2: has no power having neither light, having neither heat. It
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  Speaker 2: has no power.
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  Speaker 1: It's absence.
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  Speaker 2: How many of God's people are aching over absence? What
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  Speaker 2: isn't there can be as painful as what is. Now
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  Speaker 2: you have to have lived a while to understand what
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  Speaker 2: I just said. But what isn't there can be as
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  Speaker 2: painful as what is. And in this world, in this Instagram, Facebook,
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  Speaker 2: Twitter world, in this selfie world where everybody wants to
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: be in the light, and everybody wants to say, see me,
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  Speaker 2: and everybody wants to be on stage, and everybody wants
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  Speaker 2: to be up front, and everybody wants to be recognized,
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  Speaker 2: it is difficult to get us to appreciate that God
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  Speaker 2: does his best work, not in the light, but in
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  Speaker 2: the dark. In fact, when God gets ready to prepare
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  Speaker 2: you for light, he puts you in the dark.
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  Speaker 1: Like an old camera, when a camera.
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  Speaker 2: Got ready to develop the film, you developed it in
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  Speaker 2: the dark. You showed it in the light, but it
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: was developed in the dark. If you gave it too
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: much light too soon, you ruined the exposure because it
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: was developed in the dark. Some of you don't recognize it,
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  Speaker 2: but you're being developed.
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  Speaker 1: In the dark.
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  Speaker 2: You prayed for the light, but God is developing you
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  Speaker 2: in the dark.
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  Speaker 1: Do you hear what I'm saying to you?
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  Speaker 2: This season that you're in is preparation for what God
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: is about to do in your life. He's developing you
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  Speaker 2: in the dark. Oh no, don't put me up there
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  Speaker 2: too soon. I don't want light when I need darkness.
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  Speaker 2: God works in the dark. It's the first thing he
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  Speaker 2: teaches us about him in the book of Genesis. In
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and
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  Speaker 2: the earth was without form and void and darkness covered
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  Speaker 2: the face of the deep. It covered the face of
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  Speaker 2: the deep, but it didn't stop God from moving. Because
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: the Spirit of God moved in the midst of darkness.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: He didn't wait for a day before he moved. He
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: moved in the darkness. If you're going through a dark place,
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: if you're going through a void, if you're going through
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  Speaker 2: an absence, if you're going through an emptiness, it doesn't
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: stop God from moving. The Spirit of the Lord moved
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: upon the face of the waters. And God said, let
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: there be light and darkness.
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  Speaker 1: Red!
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  Speaker 2: Red! Darkness ran from the light. Darkness runs from the light.
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  Speaker 2: Darkness runs from the light.
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  Speaker 1: I want to tell every.
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  Speaker 2: Witch in the house, darkness runs from the light. Darkness
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  Speaker 2: whimpers like.
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  Speaker 1: A little girl and runs home from.
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  Speaker 2: The light because darkness has no existence. It's not a thing.
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  Speaker 1: It's an absence.
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  Speaker 2: The entrance of thy word giveth light. Only God can
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: work in the dark. And he does some of his
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: best work in the dark. When he got ready to
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: create the earth, he started the job in the dark.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: When God allows a woman to collaborate with him in
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: the creation of a human being, he places the embryo
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: in the darkness of her womb. And holds it there
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: for three trimesters. He's careful about not bringing it into
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: the light too soon. Because while the embryo is under development.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: He says I need to do it in the dark.
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  Speaker 2: God does his best stuff in the dark when the
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: lights are out, when the crowd is not there, when
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: the people are not around. He does his best work
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  Speaker 2: in moments like that. When God got ready to create
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: the first woman, he put Adam to sleep. And there
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: in the darkness, he pulled out of him what he
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: didn't even know he had in him. I'm telling you,
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  Speaker 2: you still got some stuff in you that you don't
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: even know that's down inside of you. And if God
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: decides to put you in the darkness, it's because he's
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: getting ready to pull something out of you that you
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: didn't even know was there.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: Whoa, man.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: Check that out. I didn't know all of that was
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: in me. I didn't know I could do all of that.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: I didn't know I was walking around with all that
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: potential in me, all that unrealized potential in me. I
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: thought I was who they said I was. I thought
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: I was a nobody and a nothing. I thought I
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: was a failure and a reject. I thought I was
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: the black sheep of my family. I thought I was
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: a criminal and an inmate. But then God put me
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: in a dark place and started pulling stuff out of
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  Speaker 2: me that I didn't even know.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Who am I preaching to in here today? As long as.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: You take a bag of seeds and keep it on
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  Speaker 2: a shelf, you'll never have a harvest. You'll never have
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: a harvest. You can take a bag of seeds and
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: put it on a shelf and put it in the
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: light somewhere and it will never produce. Because seeds were
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: designed to produce in the darkness. That's why seeds have
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: to be planted. Because in the privacy of darkness, seeds
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: begin to go through a metamorphosis that they could not
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: go through in the light. I just want to stop
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  Speaker 2: and thank God that he allowed me to go through
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  Speaker 2: my changes in the darkness. That you didn't put me
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: up in front of everybody and have to fix some
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: stuff in the public. But in the privacy of my
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: secret chambers, there he began to take me through all
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: the wrestling and the struggling that were necessary to make
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: me become who you wanted me to be. Because you're
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  Speaker 2: sovereign like that. And you said, I will give you
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  Speaker 2: the treasures.
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  Speaker 1: Of darkness.
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  Speaker 2: I came to preach to somebody that might be in
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: a dark place right now. I came to tell you
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: that weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: in the morning. I came to tell you that where
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: you are is not where you're going to be. That
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: God has given you privacy so he can bring some
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: things out of you that you didn't even know that
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: you had. I came to tell you that you got
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: hidden treasure. I came to tell you that your first
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: grade teacher might have lied when she said you couldn't
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: learn or you couldn't think or you couldn't be or
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: you couldn't do or your first boyfriend or your first
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: girlfriend might have lied when they said you were nobody.
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  Speaker 2: They met you before God put you in the dark.
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  Speaker 2: But after this, you shall come forth. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, God.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: When God got ready to go into covenant with Abraham,
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: he put him to sleep. And there in a unilateral covenant,
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: without any help from Abraham himself, God entered into covenant
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: with him that affected his children and his children's children
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: and his children's children's children. Some of the things that
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: you're going through aren't even about you. They're about who's
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: coming after you. They're about breaking curses off of your future.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: It's about that child you got. It's about that promise
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: you got. It's about things you don't even understand right now.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: But after a while, you're gonna be shouting the victory
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  Speaker 2: and saying it was good for me that I was afflicted.
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  Speaker 2: For had I not been afflicted, I would have never
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: seen the glory of God. Oh, I feel the presence
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: of God in this place. Something is about to happen
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: in this place. I can feel it in my bones.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: I can sense it in my spirit. Something is about
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: to happen. I'm just glad to be in the place.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: Set me in the balcony. I can still get my blessing.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: Something is about to happen. The transformative power of God.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: The ability to turn this into that is often done
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: in the dark. To bring Abraham out of Abram. To
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: bring Sarah out of Sarai. Oh, it's often done in
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: the dark. To bring the resurrected Jesus is often done
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: in the dark. He puts you in a private place
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: and there he begins to bring about change.
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  Speaker 1: Now, to my text.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: In my texts this morning, ladies and gentlemen, there is
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: a very interesting gentleman, a man of note and notoriety
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: and intellectual as it were. He is known in the
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: gates amongst the great thinkers. He has been educated at
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: the feet of Gamal. He would have been known by
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Socrates and Aristotle. He is an aristocrat and a nobleman intellectually.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: He is bilingual. Five different languages he spoke in. He
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: was respected amongst the scholars and the thinkers for his intellect,
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: for his capacity, for his power. He is a Hebrew
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: of Hebrews. He is a Pharisee as it relates to religion.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: Concerning the law, he is zealous. As it relates to aristocracy,
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: he is of the tribe of Benjamin. That means he
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: comes from the order of kings. That's why he is
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: called Saul, reminiscent of the first king of Israel. Saul
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: is his Hebraistic name that lets you know that he
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: is somebody.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: But he is wrong.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: He is also the same little boy that held the
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: coats while Stephen was stoned. Those early impressions leave depressions
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: and demarcations in how we see the world. He started
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: out early seeing Christians killed. And when you teach children
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: to hate at early ages, it is hard to get
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: it out. And so he grows up a religious hater.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: A religious hater. He is religious, but he is a hater.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: Don't be shocked. Religion often hates. Religion often kills. Religion
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: starts wars. Religion burns innocent women and calls them witches
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: and finds out later they was wrong and never apologizes.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: Religion can be a murderer. Religion is a dangerous thing.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: That's why Christ did not come to give us religion.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: He came to give us relationship. And whenever somebody has
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: relationship with God, somebody who only has religion will try
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: to kill them. That's why the most dangerous enemies Christ
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: ever encountered were religious people. The sinners loved him. The
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: winebibbers loved him. The wayfaring people loved him. It was
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: the religious people. That hated Jesus and sought.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: To kill him.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: And that is the irony of the text because now
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: we're dealing with the next generation of the same story.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: The little boy who was holding the coat when Stephen
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: was stoned has now grown into a man. And the
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Jesus that he has taught to hate is now ascended
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: and seated on the right hand of the majesty on high.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: But the fight continues. The fight continues. You see, Saul
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: is a terrorist. He is what we would call a
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: terrorist today. He would be on our terrorist list. He
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: would be on our flight list. He would be on
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: our warning list. Saul is a terrorist of Christians. And
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: he thinks he's doing God's service. Beware of people's ministry
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: that is defined by who they are against. Your religion
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: should not make you hate, it should make you love.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: Your religion should not make you hate, it should make
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: you love. Your religion should not make you hate, it
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: should make you love. Anytime you stick your chest out
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: and brag about who you don't like, you don't know Jesus,
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: you just know religion. And so Saul is on his
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: way to do some more killing Not more, more. There's
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: a difference between more and more. Don't worry about it.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: It's African American colloquialism. We'll explain it to the white
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: folks later. More is what you say when you can't
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: afford RE. He's on his way to Damascus to do
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: some more. killing he has threatened them because terror lives
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: in an atmosphere of fear he has threatened them and
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: he needs him to be afraid and he's gotten the
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: paperwork guess what from the priest to go Christian killing
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: to drag them in chains back to Jerusalem and persecute
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: them He is going to destroy them. And while he
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: is on his way, God stopped him. Now let me
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: tell you something. I don't mind you shouting about what
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: God did. And I don't mind you shouting about what
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: God gave you. And I don't mind you shouting about
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: what you're driving. And I don't mind you shouting about
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: what you got on. But let me shout about what
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: he stopped. There were some things that were headed my
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: way and just before the enemy snatched it, God stopped it.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: Is there anybody in here that you could see calamity
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: coming down the road, but just in the nick of time, God.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: High five somebody.
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: And tell them God stopped it. He stopped the cancer.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: He stopped the AIDS. He stopped the suicide. He stopped
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: the depression. He stopped the fear. He stopped the anguish.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: Just in the nick of time, God stopped it. Somebody
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: give him three minutes of craving. He stopped it. He
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: stopped it. Tell everybody you can reach. He stopped it.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: He stopped it. He stopped it. He stopped it. He
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: stopped it. He knocked it down off his feet. He
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: laid it out on the ground. He stopped it. He
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: stopped it. They said I wouldn't make it, but he
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: stopped it. I got to praise him because he... Anybody
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: been through what you've been through should have had a
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: nervous breakdown, but God stopped it.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: My God, my God.
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: Oh my God. It's some almost folks in here. Almost destroyed.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: Almost lost your mind. Almost faded. Almost collapsed. Almost died.
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: But just in the nick of time, just when hell
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: thought he had you, just when Satan said, I'm coming
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: in for the kill.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: God!
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: God!
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: God!
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: God!
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: I could spend the rest of my life thanking him
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: for the things that didn't happen, that could have happened,
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: that should have happened, that would have happened, but God
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: stopped it. If he doesn't do anything else, I'll thank
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: him for what he stopped.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: He knocked Saul down.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: While he was yet a little ways from Damascus. it
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: was a close call he almost got there and God
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: stopped him and knocked him down and he said who
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: is it Lord who is this and he said I
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: am Jesus Whom thou persecutest. Now, wait a minute, wait
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Throughout all
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: of the Bible, you will never read where Saul ever
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: attacked Jesus. And yet Jesus said, it is Jesus whom
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: thou persecutest. Saul never attacked Jesus. He just attacked the
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: believers in Jesus. That means, that means that if Jesus said,
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: you're persecuting me when you're persecuting my people, that means
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: when you jump on me, You jumped on him. That
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: means that the battle is not mine. It belongs to
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: the Lord. That means I got back up in the
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: time of trouble. That means when you attack me, God
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: takes it personal. That means I don't have to fight
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: you back. That God will fight on my behalf. My God.
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: Look at your neighbor and say, you better lead me along.
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: I'd hate for you to get out here on 40
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: and God have to stop your car in the middle
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: of the road. I'd hate for God to have to
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: shut you down to get some sense in your head.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: I'd hate for God to have to put you in
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: a hospital to get some sense in your head. You
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: thought I was by myself? No, baby. I ain't never
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: by myself. No, I ain't never by myself. I'm always packing.
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: I'm always loaded. I'm always ready. You thought you was
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: picking on a nobody? I love the way Jesus shows
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: up people say I'm a bit animated and I can
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: be a touch theatrical but that's me being like the
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: Lord Because, I mean, the Lord could have just appeared,
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: but no. He sends a great light. He makes a
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: grand entrance. He sends a great light. I know it
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: was a great light because it was greater than daylight.
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: It has to be a mighty great light to be
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: great light in daylight. It was a light so strong
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: that it knocked Saul down to the floor. It was
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: a light so strong that Saul knew he had never
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: seen anything like it before and it was the last
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: thing he saw before everything went dark and he went
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: blind and it was dark it was dark but it
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: wasn't over it was dark but it wasn't over it
• 33:01
  Speaker 2: might be dark for you right now but it's not
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: over You might be going through a season since darkness
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: is the absence of a thing. You might be going
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: through a season of the absence of a thing that
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: you legitimately need. But it ain't over. You may have
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: to function for a while without the absence of the
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: thing you adore. But it's not over. You might have
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: to go up without what your neighbors have. but it's
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: not over. It's just that God has created the treasures
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: of darkness. And in order to create the treasures of darkness,
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: he has to take away light so that he can
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: incubate what he's about to do in your life. Lord,
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: I'm preaching better than you shout. You see, they once
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: asked a blind woman, they said, it must be terrible
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: to be blind. I can't imagine what you must go through.
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: I feel so sorry for you. She said, oh, it's
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: not so bad to be blind. She said, it is
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: better to be blind than to have sight and not
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: have vision. I'm quoting Helen Keller. Helen Keller said, I'm
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: better than you. I'm just blind. You got eyes and
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: have no vision. Listen at the profundity of what she
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: had to say. She has made a clear distinction between
• 34:59
  Speaker 2: eyesight and insight. Saul has lost his eyesight completely. so
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: that Paul might find his insight. Sometimes you have to
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: go through something to really get your insight, to find
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: out who you really are, to find out what you
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: really got, to find out that you're tougher than you
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: thought you were, to find out that you can do
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: more than you thought you could do. Sometimes you have
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: to get away from your eyesight because your eyesight informs
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: you of your circumstances. Through my eyesight, I connect with
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: that which is around me, not that which is within me.
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: And sometimes I cannot be delivered by that which is
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: around me. I can only be delivered by that which
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: is within me. If I look around me, I see circumstances.
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: If I look in me, I see hope. So sometimes
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: in order to really get your focus, you have to
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: shut down your eyesight to build up your insight. Or
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: we could say it this way, the just shall walk
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: by faith and not by judgment. If you've been looking
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: at some things that's been discouraging you, shut your eyes
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: to what you see and turn on your insight to
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: what you believe. For greater is he that is in
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: you than he that is in the world. The power
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: that's going to deliver you is coming from the inside. Amen.
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: When they first came to Mary and the angel came
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: to Mary and said, hell, Mary, you've been highly favored.
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: You shall bring forth a son. She used her eyesight
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: and said, how can these things be? Seeing as I
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: know not a man, she's looking at her circumstances. And
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: then she used her insight and said, nevertheless, be it
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: unto me according to thy word. And because she yielded
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: to this time of being misunderstood and talked about and
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: ostracized by her neighbors and almost divorced by her would-be husband,
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: because she was willing to go through all of that,
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: she delivered that which would deliver her. There is something
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: in you that will deliver you. But in order to
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: produce it, you have to go through the dark place.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Who am I talking to today? Let me go a
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: little bit deeper with this. Saul gives up his eyesight
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: that he might gain insight. He starts out leading men
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: to do that which he thought was right but was
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: really wrong. And then he ends up with the men
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: he was leading, leading him. But when they started leading him,
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: he had, in spite of no eyesight, he had greater insight.
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: And for three days, he stumbled around in the dark.
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: I have gotten my greatest blessings stumbling up on stuff.
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: I didn't plan it. I just happened to be at
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: the right place at the right time. I didn't know
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: I was going to meet somebody that was going to
• 38:34
  Speaker 2: change the trajectory of my life, but I stumbled.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: Up on something.
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: I want every person in this room that ever stumbled
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: up on a blessing to make some noise.
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: In this house. Yeah. Yeah.
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I stumbled on it. I stumbled up on it.
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: I stumbled up on it. I stumbled up on the treasure.
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: I stumbled up on a miracle. I stumbled up on
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: an answer. I stumbled up on deliverance. I stumbled up
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: on wisdom. I stumbled up on a new job. I
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: stumbled up on a business. I stumbled up on an opportunity.
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: I just stumbled. I feel something about to happen in
• 39:28
  Speaker 2: this place. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: you're about to stumble up on something. Something that the
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: devil thought you would never get. But God's going to
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: let you be in the right place at the right time.
• 39:40
  Speaker 2: You didn't plan it. You didn't orchestrate it. You didn't
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: even expect it. But oops, there it is.
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: Oops, there it is.
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: Crashed down, shaken together, and running over.
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: Oops, there it is.
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: I feel a prophetic utterance in this place that God
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: is going to give you hidden treasure.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: And you're just going to stumble up on it.
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: And he doesn't want you to wait till you get
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: it to praise him. He wants you to praise him.
• 40:40
  Speaker 2: Like it's already done.
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: Like it's already. Like it's already. Like it's already.
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You gonna stumble up on this, baby girl.
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: You gonna stumble up on this. Tell all your haters
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: I can't help it. I tripped over it. I stumbled
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: into it. I fell across it. I had to get
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: into my little Pentecostal shout-in right there. Because it occurred
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: to me God might be talking to me too. And
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: when praises go.
• 41:38
  Speaker 3: Up.
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: Sit with me, I'm almost finished. You must understand that, yeah,
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: I'm with you. I feel it too. Is he on
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: your roll?
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: I feel it. Is he on your roll?
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: Is he touching your spirit? Do you feel him in
• 42:07
  Speaker 2: your belly? Shout yes!
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: Shout yeah! Shout yeah!
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: Oh!
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: Y'all gonna make me go somewhere. Y'all gonna make me
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: lose my mind. Up in here. Up in here. I'm
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: about to shout.
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: Up in here. Up in here. You gonna make me
• 42:33
  Speaker 2: do my dance. Up in here.
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: Up in here. You gonna make me leap for joy.
• 42:56
  Speaker 2: At this, my brothers and sisters, sit with me three minutes,
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: because you got me excited. You're about to make me
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: mess up Lakewood. Y'all been paying all that insurance all
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: these years? You're about to need it this morning, because
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: there's some folks out there about to tear this church
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: up in here. Because they're standing on the verge of
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: a supernatural.
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: Press down.
• 43:41
  Speaker 2: What I want you to get as I regain my composure.
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: In a nutshell, I'm trying to teach you the power
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: of insight, of inner illumination, of listening at that which
• 44:14
  Speaker 2: comes from within. The power of vision is not a
• 44:20
  Speaker 2: sensual thing.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: Vision is a spiritual thing.
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: It has nothing to do with what you taste, smell, hear,
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: or see. In fact, it often contradicts everything you touch, taste, smell,
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: or hear. The enemy will try to come in through
• 44:47
  Speaker 2: your eye.
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: Gate, ear gate, nose gate.
• 44:50
  Speaker 2: Your senses will contradict what God told you in your spirit.
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: So Paul gave up his eyesight For his insight. Fast
• 45:02
  Speaker 2: forward many years later. He will write to the church
• 45:05
  Speaker 2: at Ephesus. And he will say I pray. That the
• 45:11
  Speaker 2: eyes of your understanding. Might be enlightened. Why does he
• 45:18
  Speaker 2: pray like this? Because he has had this experience. On
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: the Damascus road. That teaches him the value. Of enlightenment. Amen.
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: He says, I pray that the eyes of your understanding,
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: of your understanding of how you see the world might
• 45:37
  Speaker 2: be enlightened. This prayer comes from a man who saw
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: the world wrong. And God used him to set it right.
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: The craziest thing about it, of all the people for
• 45:51
  Speaker 2: God to use, he used the very person's Pharisees who
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: hated him to lead the New Testament church to write
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: the majority of the epistles to establish the fundamental doctrines
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: of the Christian faith were all developed by somebody who
• 46:16
  Speaker 2: used to be a Christian killer your enemies have a
• 46:23
  Speaker 2: purpose That's why God doesn't want you to hate them.
• 46:35
  Speaker 2: Because he will make your enemies. Oh, y'all know the
• 46:39
  Speaker 2: word up in this church. Y'all know the word up
• 46:42
  Speaker 2: in this church. Y'all know the word up in this church.
• 46:46
  Speaker 2: Y'all know the word up in this church. And if
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: you're not speaking to your enemies, you might miss your footstool.
• 46:59
  Speaker 2: The disciples were afraid of him when he got converted.
• 47:03
  Speaker 2: God had to speak to them to get them to
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: let him come in. Because they didn't know that God
• 47:10
  Speaker 2: had given Saul the treasures of darkness. They thought he
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: was still who he was. Always leave room for your
• 47:19
  Speaker 2: enemies to change. Because what God has for you is
• 47:34
  Speaker 2: too big for you to be small. What God has
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: predestined for you is too big for you to be petty.
• 47:53
  Speaker 2: It's too big for you to hold a grudge. Because
• 47:57
  Speaker 2: God in one chapter is going to take one guy
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: who's got a chain and get ready to kill you.
• 48:04
  Speaker 2: And then make him a servant to write the New
• 48:08
  Speaker 2: Testament to feed you. That's what this text means. This
• 48:15
  Speaker 2: text means that people change. This text means you ought
• 48:20
  Speaker 2: to forgive. This text means you ought to let go.
• 48:25
  Speaker 2: This text means that we have this treasure in dark places,
• 48:33
  Speaker 2: in earthen vessels, that the excellency may be of God.
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: And not of us.
• 48:42
  Speaker 2: This text means that when you walk out of here
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: expecting this blessing that I just prophesied over your life,
• 48:51
  Speaker 2: don't just open your door to your friends. Because God
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: may use your enemies to bless you. So if you
• 49:12
  Speaker 2: stay angry at your ex-husband, uh-oh, I lost a man, Jesus.
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: I had the whole 35.
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: Minutes, but when I brought up that ex-husband, all the
• 49:25
  Speaker 2: joy just went right out the exit door. A blessing
• 49:33
  Speaker 2: is coming your way. A hidden treasure is coming your way.
• 49:41
  Speaker 2: And the darkness that you're in is just a sign
• 49:46
  Speaker 2: that is coming your way. In my book, I talk
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: about the same to the observer, to the observer, to
• 49:55
  Speaker 2: the outer observer. Planting and burial look the same. Outwardly,
• 50:07
  Speaker 2: it's the same action. You dig up the earth, you
• 50:13
  Speaker 2: put something in it, you cover it up. But when
• 50:17
  Speaker 2: you're burying it, you're covering it up for it to stay.
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: When you're planting it, you're covering it up for it
• 50:25
  Speaker 2: to change. The Lord said to you today, you have
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: not been buried. you have been planted. I want you
• 50:50
  Speaker 2: to stand up on your feet as I remind you
• 50:52
  Speaker 2: of what Job said, there is hope for a tree
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: that if it be cut down at the smell of water,
• 51:07
  Speaker 2: it will sprout again you might be in a dark
• 51:20
  Speaker 2: season but I prophesy.
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: You will sprout again not only that you will laugh
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: again I.
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: Mean belly laugh I mean joyous laugh. I mean hilarious laughter.
• 51:48
  Speaker 2: And if you can handle that, I'm going to throw
• 51:50
  Speaker 2: something else on there. You will dance again. You will
• 51:56
  Speaker 2: dance in your own house. You'll get in your shower
• 52:00
  Speaker 2: and start dancing. You'll be in your house and dance
• 52:04
  Speaker 2: without music. When you see what God brings up in
• 52:08
  Speaker 2: your life after this, you will rejoice again because the
• 52:13
  Speaker 2: Lord sent me to Lakewood to tell you I'm going
• 52:15
  Speaker 2: to give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden secrets.
• 52:23
  Speaker 2: that have been hidden from everybody else, I'm going to
• 52:26
  Speaker 2: give it to you so that you will know that
• 52:28
  Speaker 2: I am the Lord your God and I am the
• 52:31
  Speaker 2: God of Israel. Clap in this house if God blessed
• 52:35
  Speaker 2: you this morning. I said clap in this house if
• 52:43
  Speaker 2: God blessed you this morning.
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: I said clap in this house if God....
• 52:58
  Speaker 2: Reach out and touch someone as we prepare to close.
• 53:01
  Speaker 2: The person you're touching right now. As good as they are,
• 53:09
  Speaker 2: as gifted as they are, as talented as they are,
• 53:12
  Speaker 2: as blessed as they are. There's so much more in them.
• 53:23
  Speaker 2: There's more wisdom and more life and more joy and
• 53:26
  Speaker 2: more potential and more possibilities than what they've experienced. And
• 53:31
  Speaker 2: no matter how they grin at you, they go through
• 53:37
  Speaker 2: some dark places sometimes. When they're not going through somebody
• 53:44
  Speaker 2: that they love, it's going through a dark place. And
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: when they go through a dark place, they wonder where
• 53:49
  Speaker 2: is God? Jehovah Shama, the Lord is there He's present
• 53:55
  Speaker 2: in trouble. Squeeze that hand. He's right there right now
• 54:01
  Speaker 2: developing your next blessing. Developing your next season. Developing your
• 54:08
  Speaker 2: next place of increase. Developing your overflow season. It's happening
• 54:13
  Speaker 2: right now. Don't mess with it.
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: Don't touch it. Don't touch it.
• 54:18
  Speaker 2: It's in the development stage. Don't expose it too soon.
• 54:22
  Speaker 2: Don't talk about it too soon. It shall come to pass.
• 54:29
  Speaker 2: It shall come to pass. It shall come to pass.
• 54:34
  Speaker 2: Squeeze that hand. Lord, I shared with them what you
• 54:47
  Speaker 2: shared with me. And I tried to tell them what
• 54:51
  Speaker 2: you told me. And I asked the Holy Spirit to
• 54:54
  Speaker 2: take my little feeble attempts and add the increase. Let
• 54:59
  Speaker 2: this word go home with them. Let it get in
• 55:02
  Speaker 2: the car with them. Let it get in the house
• 55:04
  Speaker 2: with them. Let it go to work with them. Let
• 55:07
  Speaker 2: it get in their business decisions. Let it get in
• 55:09
  Speaker 2: their personal life. Let it get in their finances that
• 55:13
  Speaker 2: they might be going through a crushing, but you're getting
• 55:15
  Speaker 2: ready to make some wine up in here. You're getting
• 55:18
  Speaker 2: ready to make some wine up in here. You're getting
• 55:21
  Speaker 2: ready to make some wine up in here.
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: I thank you.
• 55:33
  Speaker 2: I thank you, Lord, I'm not tripping. And then again,
• 55:39
  Speaker 2: maybe I am. Let me trip on this next blessing.
• 55:44
  Speaker 2: Let me trip on this next opportunity. Let me trip
• 55:48
  Speaker 2: on this next door. Let me trip on this next
• 55:52
  Speaker 2: situation that you're bringing into my life. Just when I
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: thought it wasn't going to happen, I just tripped up
• 56:00
  Speaker 2: on something. Lakewood, I leave you with nothing but treasure.
• 56:15
  Speaker 2: I can't make you take it. I just put it
• 56:18
  Speaker 2: in your reach. If you receive it, clap your hands
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: and take it in right now. With everybody standing and nobody.
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: Leaving, if you're in this room and you don't know Jesus.
• 56:54
  Speaker 2: While heads are bowed and eyes are closed, if you're
• 56:57
  Speaker 2: in this room and you drifted away from the Lord,
• 57:02
  Speaker 2: if you're in this room and you've been going through
• 57:04
  Speaker 2: some dark places and it made you kind of doubt
• 57:07
  Speaker 2: sometimes and it made you kind of cry sometimes, It
• 57:12
  Speaker 2: made you kind of wonder, does God even love me sometimes?
• 57:19
  Speaker 2: It's no mistake that you're in this service today. You're
• 57:23
  Speaker 2: in this service because God has a plan for your life.
• 57:27
  Speaker 2: And you'll never get there being a backslider and you'll
• 57:31
  Speaker 2: never get there being a sinner. You'll only get there
• 57:33
  Speaker 2: if you can say yes to the Lord. You may
• 57:37
  Speaker 2: not even be from Houston. You might be visiting this
• 57:40
  Speaker 2: city from out of town. Let me tell you something, sweetheart.
• 57:43
  Speaker 2: This was a setup. God gave you the time off
• 57:54
  Speaker 2: and sent you to Houston to get this word so
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: you could come out of that funk you've been in
• 58:02
  Speaker 2: and move into your destiny and into your purpose. And
• 58:09
  Speaker 2: I ask the church to pray because I know that
• 58:13
  Speaker 2: Satan doesn't want to let you go. I ask the
• 58:19
  Speaker 2: church to pray because when you've been a little boy
• 58:21
  Speaker 2: and certain things happen to you as a child, it
• 58:24
  Speaker 2: affects your perspective as a man.
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: Little girl, it affects the woman you become.
• 58:31
  Speaker 2: Saul held the coats and became a killer. Whatever happened
• 58:36
  Speaker 2: to you affected Satan. where you're at right now. But
• 58:40
  Speaker 2: that is not your destiny. That is your history. And
• 58:47
  Speaker 2: I call you out of your history into your destiny.
• 59:00
  Speaker 2: Watch this for just a second. Don't clap, just pray
• 59:03
  Speaker 2: for just a moment.
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: Just pray.
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: God wants somebody in this room. And he wants you
• 59:11
  Speaker 2: real bad. And I can tell by the feel of
• 59:15
  Speaker 2: the anointing that's in this place. The call of God
• 59:18
  Speaker 2: is on your life. And if where you are right now,
• 59:23
  Speaker 2: you sense that God is talking to you. And you're
• 59:28
  Speaker 2: not a Christian or you used to be a Christian
• 59:30
  Speaker 2: or you're that special category that we make when we're
• 59:34
  Speaker 2: backslidden that you think you and God have a special
• 59:37
  Speaker 2: arrangement that you don't. Because God wants to be full time,
• 59:43
  Speaker 2: not part time. Not a chick on the side. He's
• 59:51
  Speaker 2: calling you. And if you have a heart to say yes,
• 59:59
  Speaker 2: slip your hand up in the air. Say, I want
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 2: to be saved. I want to be saved. I want
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 2: to be saved.
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: I see you.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 2: I see you.
• 1:00:11
  Speaker 1: I see you. I see you. I see you.
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 2: I see you.
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: All over the building. All up in the balcony. I
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: see you. I see you.
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 2: Pray this simple prayer with me. Lord Jesus. I invite
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 2: you into my heart. I confess my sins. I repent
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 2: of them. I'm sorry. I've been stubborn. I've been foolish.
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 2: But today, I see a great light. Today, I say
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 2: yes to you. I'm going to serve you as my
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 2: Lord and my Savior. Because you died and rose up again,
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 2: so will I.
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 2: Give him all the praise you got.
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: Love you, Lakewood. Let's tell Richard Gates how much we
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: love him today. Thank you.
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 4: Thanks for coming out. We love you very much. If
• 1:01:24
  Speaker 4: you prayed that prayer, get plugged in here at Lakewood.
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 4: Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 4: keep you. May the Lord watch over you and give
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 4: you his peace. May the Lord show you his favor
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 4: and you have a blessed, faith-filled week.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: We love you. God bless you. We'll see you back
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: real soon.
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much for making Lakewood Church a part
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 3: of your weekend. We believe your new week will go
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 3: better because you did. If you just prayed that prayer
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 3: with Pastor Joel, we'd love to hear from you. send
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 3: us an email through our website, lakewoodchurch.com. We know that
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 3: God loves you, has a plan for you, and we'd
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 3: be happy to help you on your walk with God.
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 3: I'm Terry Williams, co-director of volunteer teams here at Lakewood Church,
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 3: and I'm so excited to share with you some of
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 3: the great things we've got coming up real soon here
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 3: at Lakewood.
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 5: One of the awesome ways that Lakewood Church invests in
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 5: you spiritually by helping you with your walk with Christ
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 5: is through Monday Night Bible Study. Monday night is a
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 5: continuation of Sunday, We go a little bit deeper into
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 5: biblical studies. And if you are here in the Houston area,
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 5: we encourage you to come and join us on Monday
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 5: nights on the fourth floor. If you are not, it
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 5: will be streamed free online.
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 3: Our ninth annual Youth and Young Adult Conference, Hope in Life,
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 3: is descending on Lakewood Church this June. June 19th through 21st.
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 3: Come on out for three incredible nights. We have incredible
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 3: speakers coming to join us. Louie Giglio will be here.
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 3: Pastor Mike Todd from Tulsa, Oklahoma will be here. And
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 3: our very own young adults pastor from Lakewood, Nick Nilsen,
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 3: will be speaking as well.
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 2: My anchor is.
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: The cross where Jesus died.
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 2: And that's the place where the love of God was demonstrated.
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 2: Because if I'm getting out of here and it took
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 2: you to get me.
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 1: Out of here, I must be moving into something better.
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: Love will push through fear. to rescue.
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 2: Love will push through fear to men.
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: And that's what peacemaking will require.
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 2: It will require the spirit of God and the.
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: Love of God.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 3: We've got incredible music from artists like Torrin Wells, our
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 3: very own, as well as Social Club Misfits. You don't
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 3: want to miss it. And believe it or not, this
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 3: conference is absolutely free. If you're not in the Houston area,
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 3: book your flight and get here. You won't want to
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 3: miss this life-changing conference.
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 5: We are so excited to share with you that Pastor
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 5: Victoria's new book, Exceptional You, is out and available anywhere
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 5: books are sold. Make sure to grab your copy today.
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 3: Thank you again for making Lakewood Church a part of
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 3: your weekend. We strongly believe your new week is going
• 1:03:54
  Speaker 3: to go better because you did. Our pastor believes in you,
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 3: loves you, and wants to see you reach your full
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 3: God-given potential. Thank you so much for tuning in. And
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 3: if you're ever in our area, we encourage you to
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 3: come on out and be in the rooms. It's so
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 3: good to take in great worship and an awesome message,
• 1:04:10
  Speaker 3: but there's nothing like being in the room, present with
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 3: thousands of believers, going all in in a moment of worship.
• 1:04:16
  Speaker 3: We love you and thank you again for tuning in.