Latest / HOTLCAST / [SERMON] The Sword Isn't Enough: Finding Real Power Through Jesus | HOTLWOOD 2026: He-Man

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[SERMON] The Sword Isn't Enough: Finding Real Power Through Jesus | HOTLWOOD 2026: He-Man · HOTLCAST

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh today we are talking about um My Lil Pony.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Now uh I have a confession to make.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: I do love My Lil Pony, you guys know this.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: I I've talked about it, so I dress up as it.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh here's a reason why I like My Lil Pony, and it's because of He-Man.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: So back in the 80s, My Lil Pony, He-Man, they were both on TV roughly the same time.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Toys were all out in the stores, but we only had one battle cat for He-Man to ride, and then they had a purple battle cat for Skeletor, the villain to ride.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so then you had all these other figures because they wanted to sell and they sold hundreds of millions of dollars of toys.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: They played on our own um weaknesses as children to create a TV show organized because boys want power to sell us lots of toys.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: They tricked us and they they admitted it as adults, but who cares?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: I love it so.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so because I didn't have enough battle cats, I used my little ponies because the He-Man figures fit perfectly in the back of my little ponies.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, and then you had not only ponies, you had unicorns, and you had Pegasi, and you could fly around, and you it was that's how we did battles.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, I I'm not the only one who did it, I'm just the only one proud of it.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so but I I love both He-Man and my little pony because of it.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: But He-Man, as you know, it's uh well, it's out in Amazon Prime right now, so because they like to block things, you the clips will be short.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's kind of the way it works.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: But we but He-Man is a show about a guy named Adam who's just kind of an average kind of kind of crybaby, uh kind of weakling, and um he kind of turns into He-Man through a sword of power.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now, we actually have a sword of power, so uh yeah.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Right here.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I know you guys thought, but we have a sword of power.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: So now, yeah, look at this.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we got a sword of power.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the whole purpose of it is He-Man goes from Adam, just kind of this everyday normal guy, to this superhero who has the greatest power in the known universe, which is the power of eternity in the sword of power.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so, what he-Man would do, he would go, by the power of grace, God, I have the power.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, there we go.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's getting better, it's getting better.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, uh, so that's that's he-Man.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, now I mean, here's the cool thing.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody my age after service, like, you should have brought that out and said goodbye, because we all wanted to touch and hold the sword.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, after this service, you can touch the sword.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: So uh mine though.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, so but he-Man is all about finding your inner power because the truth of this of the story of He-Man is Adam, you the sword is great.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Skeletor, the villain, who's one of the greatest villains of all time, all he wants to do in the whole show is get this.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: And if he believes, if he gets this, he'll have all the power of eternity and he'll be a victor.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: But he often gets the sword, does not have the power because the real power comes from within.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's what makes Adam special, which makes him be able to become He-Man.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so the question I have for you is where does your power come from?
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like we all want to be powerful.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's why they made He.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: They literally got a bunch of people together at a toy company, and they came together and said, How do we sell toys to boys?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: And well, all boys want power, so let's create this toy line about power, and then let's give it the best, most creative names we could ever come up with.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: He-Man, Beastman, Merman, Skeletor, because he's a skeleton.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like they were really super creative.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: But as a kid, I loved it, and I still love it.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, that's the greatest name of all time.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: He-Man.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's so on the nose, right?
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's, and then they sold all these toys, and they were just, they were just preying upon the desires, the the wants of children to sell them a product, and that's what a lot of companies do to us.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: But it worked.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: They sold hundreds of millions of toys because all of us, boys, girls, men, women, we want power because they also made a She-Ra show, because girls also want power, and so they they want to be powerful.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, Tammy, Tammy is very excited about both of us, so right?
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: But we have we have power too.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And our power, though, the Bible is pretty clear about where our power comes from in Psalm 62, 11 through 12.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Remember, the yellow part is yours to read out loud and powerful, because it's, you know, today.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: So once God has spoken, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: That was not very powerful.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: First service did better, and they had half the people.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so twice have I heard this, that power belongs to God.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Much better.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: And that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love, for you will render to a man according to his work.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible makes it clear that all power comes from God, not from some mystical sword, but power comes from God.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And the power that comes from God, we know in the New Testament, comes through the Holy Spirit, which we receive when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead, you will be saved.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: And at that moment you receive the Holy Spirit and you get power, real power.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Real power not in this, but real power that comes through this God's living word.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: And so we have power.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so the sword of power in the movie, in the show, it's more than a weapon.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: I want to show you a quick clip here of the sword of power.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Legend said when Eternia was in its greatest need, a hero would step forth and wield the sword of power.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Told you, it's quick.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, but in the greatest need, in the greatest time when they needed a hero, somebody, some person would step up and take the sword of power, they would wield it and raise it and say, I have the power.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Come on back there.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Let's try this again.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: Cody said, do it more and they'll get it.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: So all right, I have the power.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: So what they believed is that little boy would grow up in the movie.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: He would grow up and he would become a man.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: He would become the greatest hero.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: The problem is he doesn't like to fight, he doesn't like weapons, he's not good at it, he's kind of a crybaby, and so he's kind of a weakling, and so he's not gonna grow up.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: They don't think he's gonna grow up to be this hero.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: But there's something about the sword of power that matters more.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: The sword, the real power, it's not contained in the sword, or skeletor could get it, the villain, and he could have the power.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's contained within the identity, the calling, and Adam's connection to home.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: The real power comes from within.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so when we look at this in the aspect of like looking at God's word and God's truth to help us understand like our world and our life, there's a lot of people who think just having one of these in your home brings power.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: If I could just, if I could just carry this with me, but we all carry these with me, and I have 15 Bibles on here.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: I actually have about 60 different translations on mine.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Doesn't give me power, right?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: Just having a Bible doesn't give me power.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so, in in the reality, possessing the sword alone, that's not enough.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: Just having the sword, Adam actually has the sword for a good bit of time in the movie.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't do anything, it's just a sword, and he's not actually good at it.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: I could call Dan up here this morning.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna do it, Dan, but I could call Dan up here and say, hey, we're gonna battle on stage for everybody, gladiator style.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give you the sword and I'll see who wins.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: But it's just a sword.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: So he's like, maybe he's uh maybe he took fencing as a kid.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Did you take fencing as a kid?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: So he's in trouble because I'm gonna win.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just kidding, but but the truth, the truth is, like just having a sword doesn't make you good enough.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's like all of us who love Star Wars would think if I just had a lifesaver, it'd be really cool.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, you'd probably cut your arm off, like the reality.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Because just making having a sword doesn't make you a swordsman, doesn't give you power.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: In the reality of the show and the movie, Adam must become the person who can carry its power.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's the same for us.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: If we want real power, the power that comes from God, we actually have to become a person who can attain that power through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so having something powerful does not automatically make you powerful.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: Just having the Bible doesn't actually make me a Christian.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: I don't even know this.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of people who have these on their shelf that aren't Christians, aren't living for Christ.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: This is the most published book in the world, it's the most sold book in the world, but it doesn't make you a Christian just because you have one.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so for a lot of us, what we're doing is we're living counterfeit faith.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: We're impersonating someone else's faith.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And the truth is you can admire someone else's faith, you can imitate someone else's language, we can say a lot of churchy things.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like one that always always really annoys me, I know it comes from a Bible verse, but it's like when we pray for a prayer, uh a hedge of protection.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, like, Lord, I pray that you put a hedge of protection around our mission team as they go.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: What does that actually mean?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Does that mean they're gonna be carrying shrubs through Jamaica?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, like, like, oh, here they come, pull up your shrubs, right?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we don't like we say these things because we heard someone else say them, but we don't always know what they are.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: We'll throw out these big churchy words and we're imitating someone else's language, someone else's relationship with the Lord, when the reality is it may not be coming from a true place for you, a real place for you.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you can repeat someone else's prayers.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: We do this all the time where we say the same prayers we heard someone else say, uh, like dear God or dear Lord, or or daddy is a new one.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: This is a new fad right now.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody calls God daddy in night in 2026, like that's a thing.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: You go online, like, hey daddy God.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like to me, that's just weird.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's weird.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: I only had one daddy, and then I quit calling him daddy when I became a teenager.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, it's like, because then I got made fun of.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, like but like we we impersonate and we we repeat, but the truth is you cannot survive spiritually on someone else's relationship with Jesus by impersonating it, by having a counterfeit faith.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's someone else's.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: And we see this in scripture in a passage that maybe you've never heard before.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: It is not a popular passage.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's from Acts 19.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna read it.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Remember, I want to hear you read the yellow part out loud.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: This is from 1911, and Jesus, or Paul is traveling around, he's doing these amazing things.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: And we pick up the story there.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: It says in 11, and God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that I lost my place, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them, uh, and evil spirits came out of them.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who are.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: I did that, I did that first service too.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go back.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: So what's happening here in the story is God's power was moving through a person who God knew, Paul.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: God knew Paul.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Paul had a relationship with Jesus, they had an intimate relationship, they're close, they know each other.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: They uh Paul is praying to him regularly, he's serving the Lord, he's sacrificing for the Lord, he's being obedient to the call of the Lord.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, so because of that, God's power is flowing through Paul and miraculous things are happening.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: But people are seeing that.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: And just like the rest of us, who I want to have my own power because I have the power.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: We all want power.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's why they sold so many toys.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody wants power.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: They made shows about it.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: So these seven sons of a Jewish high priest called the sons of Skeva, they're itinerant Jewish exorcists.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: They travel around doing exorcisms, they travel around the area to kind of doing these mystical exorcisms.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so it picks up in the story in Acts 19, they're witnessing this, they're seeing this, and they want power too.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I want to be powerful like Paul.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Paul's powerful.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: So in verse 14, it says this seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Skeva were doing this.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: But the evil priest answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: So here's what happens.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: These seven sons of Skeva, they try to impersonate, they try to counterfeit Paul's faith.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: They try to use the language, they try to say the same prayers, and it didn't work.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: It goes, we see that they're mastered, they're overpowered, and they end up running away naked because they're trying to do something that's not real.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's counterfeit.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: They want to hold the power, all the power, but they don't want to have the character, they don't want to have the relationship, they don't want to acknowledge God the way that Paul does.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: And in Acts 19, 15, it says this.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'll go back to that verse.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: But the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: But who are you?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's one of the most devastating questions in scripture, right?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Who are you?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: This is a terrible thing in the world.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we like to be known, we like to be respected, and we like to have power.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: And if we go somewhere where we're supposed to be known, and someone's like, Well, who are you?
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Well, you should know me.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: I belong here, right?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: I've got a membership at the beach and boat club.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's not anything impressive, but I do.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: When I go there and I'm like, hey, I drive in, I don't go there very often, so that's probably why they don't know me.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: But I go there and like, what's your name?
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, shouldn't you know me?
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: I belong here, right?
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I probably would if I went more often, but like, you want to be known, you should know my name.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: And and there's a lot of times when people come to church and the first time they're like, Well, who are you?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, just the guy with the mic, right?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, um, but like maybe they've never watched online, maybe they've never been on the website, they've come the first time, but who are you?
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we want to be known, we want to have a name.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: And what happens is like when I when I go back to like my high school, there's a picture of me on the wall.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: There's like a shrine to Kyle on the wall back at my high school, it's a thing.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but if I go back to my high school and I walk down the hall, hey, my shoes are on the wall.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: My my like my singlet from wrestling's on the wall, my jersey's on the wall.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like, hey, why don't uh why don't you know me?
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, who are you?
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: They but they don't know me.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so we all have that moment in life where you go somewhere and you expect it to be known.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: And like we even, Patty and I, we even have a secret plan, she can tell you, this is true.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: If you come up to me and I don't know you and I should know you, instead of saying, Hey, who are you?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Because I don't like when people do that, because like you should know who I am.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: I've met you 17 times, Kyle, right?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what I do.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: If I could if I come up to you and I say, Hey, this is my wife Patty, and Patty will go, Hey, I'm Patty, how are you?
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then you'll introduce yourself because naturally that's weird if you don't.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: Then you'll say your name, and then I know what your name is.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, that's who you are.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: So and then, like, then May will be like, oh, hi Patty, I'm May.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, hey May, how you doing?
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's been good to see you.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Because it'll instantly connect.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really good at it.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: So um, now you guys are gonna start calling me out on it, and that's okay.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it works, it works really well, doesn't it, Patty?
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: Took a while for me saying who are like awkward conversations until we figured it out.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: But we want to be known, and the reason we want to be known is because we believe we are have power and people should know us and we should have prestige and power.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: We should be known in the community.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's the reality.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we we're in a big church in a small town.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: I go through town, people don't know me, right?
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's okay.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: But there are people who would be really offended if they weren't known because like this is a small town.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, like I was told I was Lake Leanne famous, which I don't know why, but that's a thing.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's probably a bad thing, but I'm Lakeland famous.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um but when we look at this scripture, when this who are you, this is the evil spirit saying, but who are you?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have real power.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Paul has real power, God has real power, and the reality is hell is not intimidated by Christian words spoken without a Christ-centered life.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: If you want the enemy to be afraid of you, your faith has to be real.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: No, the enemy's not afraid if you got just a toy sword.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: This one's not even sharp.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: The enemy's not afraid of a toy sword.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: The enemy's afraid of real, actual power that comes through the living God, the creator of all things, who is all power, all knowing, and everywhere.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's what the enemies are afraid of.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Counterfeit faith, it'll always collapse under real spiritual pressure.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: If you're living a fake, fake faith, a counterfeit faith, someone else's faith, if you're imitating church to make it to fit in, but it's not really your character, your life, your relationship, it's gonna collapse.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: See it all the time.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Twenty-one years ago, my daughter passed away, and it was the worst moment of our lives.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: If I had counterfeit faith at that time in my life, I wouldn't be here today.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'd have fallen apart.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: The truth is, real faith, real power helps us get through the hard seasons.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's the reality.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I see this all the time in counseling.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: I see people, they have they have real spiritual pressure for the first time, and then their just whole relationship with God falls apart because it's counterfeit.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: They're imitating, not living, not being transformed by it.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And then what happens is when you're when your life falls apart, you blame God.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: God, it's your fault.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you really had power, you would never let this happen to me.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: And the truth is the world's broken.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: There's evil in the world.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible makes it clear in Acts there's evil spirits in the world.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And they just will say, Well, who are you?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: I don't see any real power there.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Good luck standing up against this.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because the seven sons of Skeeber were mastered, we overpowered, they ran away naked.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Some of us, that's us.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: We have been mad at things, we've been overpowered by them, and they've sent us running away naked and afraid in our life.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then we get mad and blame God.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Counterfeit power can fool people, but it cannot defeat the enemy.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: This sword can look really good if you wield this around and you're in a battle.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: But if you don't know how to use it and there's no real power, it means nothing.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: And the reality of how we do that, we use a lot of spiritual language, we wield that a lot.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: But spiritual language is not a spiritual life.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: You can say the right things, but not actually be transformed by Jesus.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: We need to say it and live it and be transformed by it.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: So you can do religious things without knowing Christ.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: You can pray, you can go, you can go to church, you can sing songs, you can do all those things, but still not know Christ.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I share this often, but when I get together with pastors over time over the years, we've sat and talked about like what percentage of people do you believe in your church are gonna be in heaven?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like what percentage?
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's like 20, 30 percent when these guys all share.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's because they you look out at a crowd, you think, I wish more of these people were transformed with the real power of God.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: We're living it, we're sacrificing it, we're being obedient to it, and really have seen God move in powerful ways.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: And the truth is there's a lot of counterfeit faith.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of counterfeit power.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: And real power transforms families, it transforms lives, and it makes changes to your schedule, to how you spend your money, how you spend your time, and how you use your talent.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Matthew 7, I don't have it in there, but I'll have it in the screen for you.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: Matthew 7 says this.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: This is Jesus talking in his most famous sermon, saying this.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: And then I will declare to them, I never knew you.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: What Jesus is saying is there's gonna be a day when counterfeit faith, when counterfeit power, it's not gonna get you in.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's not gonna be real.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: He's gonna say, I don't know you.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: He's gonna look at you, me, those of us who are living counterfeit, and say, Who are you?
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know you.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: Be gone.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because this is for people who know me, who love me, who live in me, like Paul.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: See, God is not looking for people who can use his name, he's looking for people who know his heart.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's the truth.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to really have the power of Jesus, you gotta know the heart of Jesus, it's gotta change your heart.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so, what does this mean for you?
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: Why are we talking about it?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: One, I've always wanted to have a sort of power.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh truthfully.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now we have one.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's wonderful.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: We'll use it.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: But I hope that we really know God's power.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's transformative.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like when I come up here and stand on stage, I actually do the things I tell you to do.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: I really try hard not to be a hypocrite.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: You could try you could ask my family.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: You're always welcome to ask my family.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: We try to be the same people on stage as we are at home.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's why we're kind of weird at times as a church, and it's okay.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's why we do the MGR thing.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: We don't care that no one else does it.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's our thing, it's weird, it's corny.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: We love it.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because we really want.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: To be the same people because we want our faith to be real.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's the faith we have at home, it's the faith we have at work, it's the faith we have at play, it's the same faith because that matters.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: If not, it's counterfeit.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm pretending I'm playing a dress up with Jesus when I'm really not changed by Jesus.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: We want people to be transformed by Jesus.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: I have been, for the last few weeks, I've been praying that prayer.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: I challenge you guys to pray.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, interrupt my plans with yours today.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: I've been doing that.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Others have been doing that.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's rocking my paradigm.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: Right it is.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it is for the people.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's been crazy.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'll just be honest with you.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's been wild.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: But if you believe God has the power and you follow him, you follow his lead.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: You let his plans be your plans for the day.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to know his power, his real power, this is how you do it.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: You've got to get into scripture.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: You've got to read your Bible.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: You can't just take it with you.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: You can't just have it at the shelf.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: You can't just carry it around in your pocket.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: You actually got to read it and you got to interact with it.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: You got to love it and you got to pray that it transforms you.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: And then you've got to pray and talk to God.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: Not using big words.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Some of you pray hedges of protection.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not against that.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's actually a Bible verse, that's why they pray it from the Old Testament.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: But it has to be a real authentic conversation with you and God.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like I joke around with God in prayer and I and I claim the promises of Scripture in prayer because guess what?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's who I am.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's how He made me.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm goofy.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: I might get in trouble for that.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, like, you should have been more serious.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: But like but the truth is, I'm talking to God regularly and having a relationship with my God, who is the source of power.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Then we gotta worship.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now, reading the Bible is worship, uh, serving people as worship, coming here and singing songs of praise, worship, getting here, listen to a sermon, worship.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta worship regularly, daily.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: You have to worship.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: Then you've got to be obedient to his word.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of us are like, well, I'll read the Bible, but I don't like what it says right here.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in a relationship and we don't want to do this part.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna skip that.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: And then we're like, well, you know, I don't know, I like to hang out with my friends and we like to, we nope, we don't want to do that either.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Or right, well, I like to cheat on my test at school.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Nope.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: I like to like get a little extra money at work.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Nope, right?
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we like to like pick and choose what actually we we obey.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: We have to obey it all.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's the key.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: We have to be obedient to it.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: And when we're not being obedient, we know we're messing up, we repent.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: We actually have to say, I'm sorry, please forgive me, Lord, and I'll do better, and then actually do it.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: The same we have to do with each other.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then we need Christian community.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: The reason we do all this goofy stuff that we do, the reason we do like voting with friends and dinner with friends and Bible studies and life groups is because community matters.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: Twenty-one years ago, we would we would have never survived the loss of our daughter without the 50 people at our church who poured into us for months and loved us and loved us and loved us and cared for us and brought us meals and asked us questions and sent us flowers.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: We needed that.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't have Christian community, you're gonna you're gonna fail.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta have Christian community.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we do things like boating friends, yeah, sign up, say, I'm gonna get in a boat, drive around the lake in circles with people, and we're gonna talk, right?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: And just do life.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's how you get through the the dark moments of life and survive.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: And then you gotta surrender daily.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: You literally daily gotta wake up and tell God, it's not my plans that matter, Lord, it's yours.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: What am I gonna do to serve you today?
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then watch how that changes you.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's how you know real power.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's how this thing becomes charged, and then you have real power.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: But it's the real power, your sword, is in your heart.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: So God's power is not found in pretending to know Jesus, it's found in personally belonging to him.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's the real power.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: And counterfeit power works until real power enters the room.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how, I mean, I play card games.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: I've told you guys this, I play card games on Friday nights, Saturday, sometimes.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I go, there's some people who think they're good.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: But think they're good.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Until the pros show up.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: And they go in.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it looks like they're good, and everybody thinks they're good until somebody who's really, really good comes into the room, and then they just obliterate everybody.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: And you're like, oh, that's that's what real power looks like.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: I've had that happen when I first started playing.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now I try to be that guy.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, but the truth is, some of us, that's how we're living our life.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: We're just kind of walking through life, like, oh, I got my sword, I got power, look at me, look at how cool I am.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: Until real power shows up.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: And some of you need to recognize that the real power that shows up that needs to be in your life, it needs to be Jesus.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: I got a clip here from the end of the, well, from part of the movie where you can see Adam transformed.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's looking down to the six-pack.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: We were gonna we were cut that out because uh I don't have a six-pack.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: So uh yeah.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: We didn't see all that.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: We were actually going to try to do like an actual like transformation, and then I was like, nope, no six-pack.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: We're not doing that.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so I want you I want you to say this with me.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um I want you to say this with me on count of three.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'll get out of the way.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: Say this with me.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because we're not being the man, but we have power.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: We have Jesus Christ, the creator of the cosmos and everything in it, who gives us life, who sustains life, who gives us life everlasting, who can conquer death and everything that has ever been created because he's God.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's real power.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: So if you believe that, I want you to say I have the power.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna say that in California.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: You ready?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: One, two, three.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: I have the power.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: I have the power.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: You need a real and transformative relationship with Jesus Christ.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: You need real power.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't have it, don't leave today without it.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Don't don't leave here being one of those people where the enemy would say, but who are you?
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: I don't look like Alex, but who are you?
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you want the enemy to know your name because the enemy is afraid of your power through Jesus.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: And you want God to know your name because you're in a relationship with Him.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're not in a relationship with God, don't leave your day without one.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: I tell you, the real power is transformative.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: And when you understand the real power of God, you really won't question God.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's the great thing.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: When you really see God move, when He really transforms you, transforms your heart, you're not gonna question God.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna recognize, I mean, I don't question God, I'm gonna die knowing God's real.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: I have seen so much that God has done.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen miracles, I've seen absolute life transformation by people who are beyond hope for many.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: But God has transformed them.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: God is real, his power is real, and you need to have a real transformative relationship with him to know it and experience it.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: So as we pray, I just want you to think about it.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to think, do you have the power?
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Or is it counterfeit power?
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: Or have you not started a journey with Christ?
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: And having power is just acknowledging God as Lord, recognizing that He is He is the creator, and then telling somebody about it.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's how you that's how you have a relationship with the Lord.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Walk out of here transformed.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: And some of you, if you think, oh, I know Jesus, I got my Bible, I'm in the club, but I'm not really in the club because it's fake.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's a counterfeit.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Some of you got it, you got one of those driver's licenses that's doesn't that's got like somebody else's name on it and just your picture, right?
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's a counterfeit license.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: When you really need to have a real relationship with Jesus that belongs to you.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: So let's pray.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: Heavenly Father, Lord, I just pray that we can be people who understand how amazing, how good, and how wonderful you are, that you're our provider, you're our Lord, you're our sustainer.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, you comfort us, you strengthen us, you love us, and you give us hope for a future.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, we just pray that every person here, we just we just wrestle with our own faith, with our own power, our own relationship.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: Who are we?
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know us?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know our names?
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: Are we in relationship with you?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: Have we started a relationship with you, Lord?
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I just pray as we we each wrestle with different questions in our own hearts and our own souls, our own minds, our own guts this right now, Lord, that you just speak to us.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: Allow us to understand real power through Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, his death, his burial, his resurrection, and the knowledge in your word that he's providing and planning for our future for eternity with us.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: We pray, Lord, we can just give over our hearts and our minds to you and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord so we can understand the transformative nature of your power.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, pray all this in Jesus' name.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.