Are you paying attention to the thread? Are you paying

attention to the thread? The Lord is doing things if we will pay attention and

wake up. And you know, here's the thing, it's not only don't give if you're

not supposed to give, or give when you do give, but here's the thing, I

love the ability to be able to give and do it not just

generously, but cheerfully. I get to do it cheerfully because guess what?

It's not coming from me and my provision. It's coming from His provision.

Provision, and I generously get to sow in when He says, "Do this," right? And

so we want to be obedient in that. Guys, are you good this morning?

Is God good in your life this morning? Yeah? Are you glad to be here

today? I'm glad that you're here. If you're joining us on livestream, thanks for being

here, and like Katie said, you can still come on up here. We have a

seat for you. Guys, you're in for a treat this morning. I am so

grateful for the lady who's about to come and present to you.

I know that she has been wrestling with this Word. I know that she's been

soaking in this Word, and I know that the Lord has has something for us.

So if we'll prepare our hearts that they'll be pliable and soft for it, welcome

my sister from another mister, Vonda Coble. Come on

up here. That was great.

I love you. Oh well,

my stuff is over there and I thought somebody was going to bring it out,

so I'm just going to

Do a little dance until that time comes. It's fine.

How's everybody doing today? Good? Doing good? It's Saturday.

The Lord has pushed the rain. You know, I work with somebody who

would just simply say, "It's not gonna rain. It's not gonna rain." Even though the

forecast says it's gonna rain, "It's not gonna rain," and it doesn't rain. It's like,

"Okay. All right, Jesus." Pastor, thank you so

much. See? Where you want it at? Where's the seat? Right here.

This is good. This is good. Is my little clicker here? It's in my

pocket. Yes, it is. I thought you might need help. Thank you.

Thank you, Pastor Wayne. That was definitely an honor.

I met Pastor Wayne in 2002. But anyway,

we're gonna go ahead and get started, if that's okay with you guys.

Abide when he seems silent.

That's what we're gonna talk about this morning. If you would please stand

as we read the Word together.

We're gonna read John 15:5-8.

All right, here we go. I am the vine,

you are the branches. If you remain in

me and I in you, you will bear much

fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.

If you do not remain in me, You are like a

branch that is thrown away and withers.

Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire,

and burned. If you remain in me and

my words remain in you, ask whatever

you wish, and it will be done for you.

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear

much fruit, showing yourselves "to be my

disciples." Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so very much

for your Word. Oh, for your Word has

power in it. Thank you so much for the Word that

was read this morning because there's power because it

came from you. God, I ask that you open up our

eyes to see what it is that you have for us today.

Open up our ears, dear Heavenly Father, so that we might be able

to hear what it is that you have to say. And

God, soften our our hearts so that we might be able

to surrender and move under your molded hand.

God, whatever is from Vonda Lynette Coble, let it slide

to the side so that your Holy Spirit can be heard

this morning. In Jesus' precious name,

amen. All right, let's have a seat. You guys are

going to have to forgive me, um, as Pastor Kevin said,

um, I have been in this word for a while,

and it's kind of overwhelming me. So if you would, please

forgive me. And then the worship this morning just kind of

totally overwhelmed me. So I'm gonna do my best. I

got my tissue here in my pocket. So if you'll just ride

with me, we'll ride together, okay? So this

word that we read this morning from John 15:5-8

is really about answered prayers. It's about

having our prayers answered. And I think it's interesting

because in the Word, in the New Testament,

you'll find about 10 places— I found 10, you

might find more— that it says, "Ask anything in my name,

and I'll give it to you. Ask anything in my name, and

I'll give it to you." And so, I thought it was interesting. I tried

to actually get away from that section, and the Lord said, "No."

That's where I want you to read. So, I said, "Okay, God." So,

as I'm reading, I want you to notice a couple things.

The word "if." The word "if." So, let me

do a little background information, and that is, I'm gonna pull

this up a little closer. So, forgive me, 'cause I'm not as strong

as I look.

But I am a schoolteacher, pretty much, is what I've been

for 18 years. I taught in the classroom. So, you're gonna

see a lot of things. I dumb things down.

You could say that, but I also try to make it as simple as possible,

because an educator, we have a difficult task, and

that is to teach something, and

people learn so many different ways. So you have to teach something, and then

you have to assess to see if what was learned was learned. And then if

you realize it wasn't learned, then you have to go back and reteach, or you

have to enhance. So I'm a teacher at heart. So everything that

I do is kind of simple as much as possible for

my level. Level anyway, because I'm trying to teach.

So if you look at the passage there, it has a word that keeps

popping out, and that's the word "if." If.

If. And "if" is a conjunction. Okay?

So a conjunction is a joining word. So that simply

means stuff has got to connect. Okay? So I

looked up the word "if," and it says, "If."

Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. I went to— I went— yeah,

there it is. I'm so sorry. It's two things here. Forgive me. If.

And it is a conjunction. In the event that.

Allowing that. On the assumption that. On

the condition that. Right?

So, we have if. If you remain in me. If you

do not remain in me. If you remain in me. So, we've

got all of these conjunctions here, okay? And so, the

next thing is, if you remain "Remain in me, Jesus,

and my words remain in

you." So, we have something here where there's a

little connection that has to happen. So, my next question

is, "What is remain?" Remain

is exactly what it is. It's a verb. It's something we must do. And it

says, "To stay in the same place or with

the same person or group." So,

"If, if you remain in me and my words

remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will

be done for you." So then the question is,

does God speak to us?

Does God speak to us? Well, for

us, and I say us as believers, it's very

simple. The answer is in the Word. It's right

there. What I love about the

Lord is that any question that you

actually have, there's an answer to it. There truly is.

And for believers, for us, we can find it in the Word. So

I'm going to read to you. I'm gonna be doing a lot of reading, if

that's okay with you. I'm gonna read from Genesis 3:1-6.

So if you have your Bibles, you can turn there too. Genesis

3:1-6. 6.

Actually, it's not Genesis 3. I'm so sorry, that's another spot.

I need you to go to Genesis 1. That's it. Let me go back a

little further. Genesis 1, and we're gonna read 26 through

29. There we are. There we are.

It says, then God said, does

any "Or let us—" Push pause. So, sorry.

Let me rewind a little bit. I'm reading from the Amplified,

so it's going to be a little different, okay? So, please forgive

me. It's gonna be a little different. Unpause.

1:26, "Then God said, 'Let us,'" Father,

Son, Holy Spirit, "'make man in our own image, according

to our likeness.'" Not physical, but a spiritual

personality and moral likeness. And let them

have complete authority over the fish

of the sea, the birds of the air, the

cattle, and over the entire earth, and

over everything that creeps and crawls on

the earth. So God created man in his own

image. In the image and likeness of God he

created him, male and female. He

created them. And God blessed them,

granting them certain authority, and said to them, "Be

fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth,

and subjugate it, putting it under your

power. And rule over," dominate, "the

fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every

living thing that moves upon the earth." And

I looked up the word that I kind of messed up, and that's subject—

subjugate, and it means to control, to be under.

Okay. So interesting enough, right there we

see God is already speaking. How many times did we hear,

"And God said..." Talk to me, people. How

many times did we hear it? A lot. I know at

least 2. Okay. Also, just in case, you know, I also expect you to talk

to me like if we were in a classroom. And when you see me do

this, that means talk to me. Okay. So just so you know. So this is

what I want to know. What is God's image? What is God the

Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit? What's the image?

What is that image? Talk to me. Love.

Holiness. Pure.

Righteousness. Kindness.

Who? Peace.

Sovereign. Nice. Sacrifice,

relationship. Okay. All right. If I had to, if

I had to, if I had to take all of those things you all

just said, would the word good work?

Okay. So we were created in the likeness

of good, right? Purity,

righteousness, holiness, peacefulness, pure

love, right? That was the image. It was not this. This

wonderful thing that's going to dirt. It's not

this. It was the image, right? The likeness of

what we were created in, right? So when

he created us, he created

us to hear

him. Would you agree?

So let's look at— because he's the one who created us,

let's look at Genesis

2:8-9, for just a second.

Genesis 2 00:12:29

8-9, "And the Lord God

Genesis 2 00:12:32

planted a garden, an oasis in the east, in Eden,

Genesis 2 00:12:36

delight, land of happiness. And he put the man

Genesis 2 00:12:40

whom he had formed, created, there. And in the garden,

Genesis 2 00:12:44

the Lord God caused to grow from the ground every tree

Genesis 2 00:12:48

that is desirable and pleasing to the sight and good for food." and

Genesis 2 00:12:51

good, suitable, pleasant for food. The tree of life

Genesis 2 00:12:55

was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of

Genesis 2 00:12:59

knowledge, recognition of the difference between

Genesis 2 00:13:02

good and evil. Then I want us

Genesis 2 00:13:06

to go to 2:16, 2:16 and 17,

Genesis 2 00:13:10

okay? And the Lord commanded— there he is speaking again—

Genesis 2 00:13:15

the man, saying, 'You may freely,

Genesis 2 00:13:18

unconditionally eat the fruit from every tree of the garden,

Genesis 2 00:13:22

but only from the tree of knowledge, recognition of

Genesis 2 00:13:26

good and evil, you shall not eat. Otherwise, on

Genesis 2 00:13:29

that day you eat from it, you shall

Genesis 2 00:13:33

most certainly die because

Genesis 2 00:13:38

of your disobedience,' is what the Amplified says. Interesting.

Genesis 2 00:13:42

So, Does God speak?

Genesis 2 00:13:46

Yes! If we don't do anything

Genesis 2 00:13:50

else this morning, can we please clarify

Genesis 2 00:13:54

that? Does God speak?

Genesis 2 00:14:01

I'd love to say all the time.

Genesis 2 00:14:04

He definitely speaks. So, I'm gonna do a little

Genesis 2 00:14:08

bit of history, if that's okay with you. From Genesis to

Genesis 2 00:14:12

Malachi, there are 20— 39 books in the Old Testament,

Genesis 2 00:14:16

right? And I have another Bible

Genesis 2 00:14:20

that was my very, very first study Bible that I got years ago,

Genesis 2 00:14:24

and it's falling apart, and so I'm a little embarrassed,

Genesis 2 00:14:27

so I don't bring it in public. So I got this new Bible,

Genesis 2 00:14:32

this Amplified Bible, so you all see that. But my first

Genesis 2 00:14:35

study Bible, I I read, because

Genesis 2 00:14:39

from Malachi to Matthew, it gives a little bit

Genesis 2 00:14:43

of the history of just life in general, what

Genesis 2 00:14:47

was happening with the Israelites. And I read something that I wanna

Genesis 2 00:14:51

share with you that I thought was so interesting. It said this:

Genesis 2 00:14:54

For more than 400 years, the heavens

Genesis 2 00:14:58

seemed to close to the nation of Israel. They

Genesis 2 00:15:02

heard nothing from God.

Genesis 2 00:15:07

Now we know, we started from the beginning, we know that God speaks. We

Genesis 2 00:15:10

know that. We've already clarified that. He speaks. So

Genesis 2 00:15:14

the question is, what's happening?

Genesis 2 00:15:18

Is it the speaking, or is it maybe

Genesis 2 00:15:22

something else, right? Seems. The

Genesis 2 00:15:26

word seems. That it means— it's

Genesis 2 00:15:30

a verb— the impression of being.

Genesis 2 00:15:34

Can we agree that that simply means it's not

Genesis 2 00:15:37

necessarily true? There's an impression

Genesis 2 00:15:41

of it, right? So it's not necessarily true.

Genesis 2 00:15:45

Why does God seem silent?

Genesis 2 00:15:49

Well, we already clarified

Genesis 2 00:15:53

that he speaks. Yes, do we agree? He speaks.

Genesis 2 00:15:57

So why does he seem silent? Well,

Genesis 2 00:16:00

we also recognize with the word "seem" that is

Genesis 2 00:16:04

not necessarily true.

Genesis 2 00:16:08

So, I believe the Holy Spirit has helped me with 3 things,

Genesis 2 00:16:12

3 points of why does God seem

Genesis 2 00:16:16

silent, because it's not him. Who is it,

Genesis 2 00:16:19

y'all?

Genesis 2 00:16:24

As they used to say in the good old days, "Womp, there it is."

Genesis 2 00:16:30

The problem is us. And so, I

Genesis 2 00:16:34

titled this "Spiritual Static."

Genesis 2 00:16:40

Spiritual static. We have

Genesis 2 00:16:43

spiritual static in our life.

Genesis 2 00:16:47

And with this spiritual static, I've broke it down, like I said, into

Genesis 2 00:16:50

3 places that I believe that we struggle with.

Genesis 2 00:16:55

And the first is we are deceived.

Genesis 2 00:16:58

Can you say deceived? Deceived is to

Genesis 2 00:17:02

cause to accept as true or valid

Genesis 2 00:17:06

what is false or invalid.

Genesis 2 00:17:10

So In Genesis 3:1-6,

Genesis 2 00:17:14

here we go. Now, here's Genesis 3:1-6. I knew I had it.

Genesis 2 00:17:18

Here it is. Genesis 3:1-6. I'm gonna read

Genesis 2 00:17:22

this. Now, the serpent was more crafty,

Genesis 2 00:17:25

skilled in deceit, than any

Genesis 2 00:17:29

living creature of the field which the Lord God

Genesis 2 00:17:33

had made. And the serpent, Satan, said to the woman,

Genesis 2 00:17:37

can it really be that God 'God has said you

Genesis 2 00:17:40

shall not eat from any tree of the garden.' And the

Genesis 2 00:17:44

woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat

Genesis 2 00:17:48

fruit from the trees of the garden, except the fruit from the tree which

Genesis 2 00:17:51

is in the middle of the garden. God said

Genesis 2 00:17:55

you shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise

Genesis 2 00:17:59

you will die.' But the serpent said to the woman,

Genesis 2 00:18:02

'You certainly will not die.' Now,

Genesis 2 00:18:06

in my book, there's an exclamation mark. So I'mma do that

Genesis 2 00:18:10

again. "But the serpent said to the woman, 'You certainly

Genesis 2 00:18:13

will not die! For God knows that on

Genesis 2 00:18:17

that day you—' or, 'On the day you eat from it,

Genesis 2 00:18:21

your eyes will be opened.'" That is, you will

Genesis 2 00:18:24

have greater awareness. Hmm. "And you will

Genesis 2 00:18:28

be like God, knowing the difference between good

Genesis 2 00:18:32

and evil." And when the woman saw that the

Genesis 2 00:18:36

tree was good for food, and it was

Genesis 2 00:18:39

delightful to look at, and the tree to be

Genesis 2 00:18:43

desired in order to make one wise and

Genesis 2 00:18:47

insightful, she took some of its fruit

Genesis 2 00:18:50

and ate it. And she also gave some to her

Genesis 2 00:18:54

husband with her, and he ate it. Now,

Genesis 2 00:18:58

y'all, That was a lot. That was a lot

Genesis 2 00:19:01

right there. And so I'm not even gonna try to unpack it all, okay? But

Genesis 2 00:19:05

I'm gonna tell you a couple of things. When I was reading

Genesis 2 00:19:09

this, the Lord reminded me

Genesis 2 00:19:13

at the beginning, what was the first thing that God said after he

Genesis 2 00:19:17

made them in the image? Does anybody remember what he said?

Genesis 2 00:19:23

Say it again. Well, he did say that. He said that a little later. It

Genesis 2 00:19:26

was something that I was reading, actually, this morning. He said, "To be

Genesis 2 00:19:30

fruitful and multiply." He actually said that second. Good job. You're with

Genesis 2 00:19:33

me. He said he

Genesis 2 00:19:37

was going to give them authority over

Genesis 2 00:19:41

what? All the things.

Genesis 2 00:19:45

Even the things that were crawling, that were creepy, right?

Genesis 2 00:19:49

The fish. You all, Eve had

Genesis 2 00:19:53

authority over

Genesis 2 00:19:56

the serpent. Things that make you go, "Hmm."

Genesis 2 00:20:02

Now, listen, I'm a teacher. I totally understand authority.

Genesis 2 00:20:06

I teach people this high. I teach people this high.

Genesis 2 00:20:09

Now, when I teach people this high, I don't have a problem with saying, "Sit

Genesis 2 00:20:13

down." Just like that.

Genesis 2 00:20:18

Now, when I teach people this high, I don't say it like that. I

Genesis 2 00:20:21

say, "You know what? I think it would be wise for you, at this

Genesis 2 00:20:25

moment, to have a seat." There's a difference.

Genesis 2 00:20:28

Okay? Now, both ways I told them what to do.

Genesis 2 00:20:32

But there's a difference. This serpent comes, all she had to say was,

Genesis 2 00:20:37

"Pfft. Nope. Sit down.

Genesis 2 00:20:42

Uh-uh." So, I said, "Lord, well—" That was the

Genesis 2 00:20:45

first time I actually paid attention to that. She had

Genesis 2 00:20:48

authority over.

Genesis 2 00:20:54

So Satan tempted her

Genesis 2 00:20:58

by getting her to doubt goodness. Now, looky

Genesis 2 00:21:02

here. Now, let's go back. Let's go back. What are all the things that God

Genesis 2 00:21:05

said could happen? You got authority. All of this stuff, you got authority over.

Genesis 2 00:21:09

See that stuff up there? Authority. Stuff right there? Authority. Then

Genesis 2 00:21:13

he said, be fruitful. Now, all the youth are gone, so I think I'm

Genesis 2 00:21:16

good. Okay, we all know what be fruitful means.

Genesis 2 00:21:21

Okay, that was fun. Not only are you

Genesis 2 00:21:25

authority, authority, authority, go have some fun. He

Genesis 2 00:21:28

blessed them. The Word says he blessed them. He gave

Genesis 2 00:21:32

them everything. All of this is yours, right there,

Genesis 2 00:21:35

yours, right there, that's yours, right in the back, yep,

Genesis 2 00:21:39

yours. But listen, this thing right

Genesis 2 00:21:42

here This— do not eat from

Genesis 2 00:21:46

this, because on this day you will know something that

Genesis 2 00:21:50

you haven't known. Now here's the key.

Genesis 2 00:21:53

Evil— because remember we said the image was good. Evil was

Genesis 2 00:21:57

already creeping around. Evil was

Genesis 2 00:22:01

already there. The problem was they had never been

Genesis 2 00:22:05

disobedient. We heard about

Genesis 2 00:22:08

disobedience this morning already. The evil was

Genesis 2 00:22:12

there, right? But they were all good, and they had

Genesis 2 00:22:16

authority, and they had everything. Don't be

Genesis 2 00:22:20

disobedient. But the enemy was able

Genesis 2 00:22:23

to deceive. One of our

Genesis 2 00:22:27

spiritual statics is we get

Genesis 2 00:22:30

deceived. Okay, there was a time

Genesis 2 00:22:34

in my life— I'm gonna tell you the last time I did a cartwheel. The

Genesis 2 00:22:36

last time I did a cartwheel. I was at a party, okay? I was at

Genesis 2 00:22:40

a kid party. I was dressed up as Barbie and feeling good, okay? It

Genesis 2 00:22:44

was a costume party, and I was like, "Yeah, I'm doing this." And they were

Genesis 2 00:22:47

like, "Do a cartwheel." "Sure!" Did a cartwheel. And then I— "Sure!"

Genesis 2 00:22:50

Did a cartwheel. And my girlfriend— thank you,

Genesis 2 00:22:54

Jesus— she said, "Vonda, do you think you're doing a cartwheel?" I

Genesis 2 00:22:58

said, "Girl, yeah, I'm doing a cartwheel." And let me tell you why I thought

Genesis 2 00:23:01

I was doing a cartwheel. I stood.

Genesis 2 00:23:05

I went, both of my hands touched the ground. My

Genesis 2 00:23:09

head felt that I was upside down.

Genesis 2 00:23:13

And I landed. Isn't that a cartwheel? Well,

Genesis 2 00:23:16

what she did was she videoed me.

Genesis 2 00:23:20

I was very appreciative to the video. I saw the video, and

Genesis 2 00:23:24

I saw that I was deceived.

Genesis 2 00:23:30

That was not a cartwheel. That was the last time I did

Genesis 2 00:23:33

a cartwheel. But it

Genesis 2 00:23:37

felt like it was a cartwheel. It felt like it to

Genesis 2 00:23:41

my body, my physical flesh. It felt like it to my

Genesis 2 00:23:45

brain. I was upside down.

Genesis 2 00:23:50

And my feet were off the ground.

Genesis 2 00:23:54

But I was deceived.

Genesis 2 00:23:58

We are deceived often.

Genesis 2 00:24:03

And we do not even recognize that we're

Genesis 2 00:24:06

deceived because the enemy has a way

Genesis 2 00:24:10

to present it. You all, we are human beings.

Genesis 2 00:24:14

The enemy deceived one-third of

Genesis 2 00:24:17

angels. Angelic! I still— it still

Genesis 2 00:24:21

blows my mind. What did he say to them?

Genesis 2 00:24:25

Because it's not like he was trying to give them any power, because he was

Genesis 2 00:24:28

trying to take it all for himself. He deceived them.

Genesis 2 00:24:32

Who am I, a human being without

Genesis 2 00:24:36

the Holy Spirit?

Genesis 2 00:24:39

He's already told us I can do nothing without him.

Genesis 2 00:24:47

We are also in places

Genesis 2 00:24:51

of lack of surrenderance due to our desire

Genesis 2 00:24:56

to be independent.

Genesis 2 00:24:59

Eve was deceived because she had a

Genesis 2 00:25:03

desire, because the enemy said,

Genesis 2 00:25:07

"You'll be like God." Here's the thing, we

Genesis 2 00:25:11

are created in his image, so we all want

Genesis 2 00:25:15

to be 'Like the image, but we

Genesis 2 00:25:19

are not God.' But he

Genesis 2 00:25:22

deceived her, and she thought,

Genesis 2 00:25:26

'I—' You know what? 'Yes, I

Genesis 2 00:25:30

can be like God.' And

Genesis 2 00:25:34

that is because the exact same thing

Genesis 2 00:25:38

that was in the enemy, he deceives us

Genesis 2 00:25:42

with, and that's called Independent,

Genesis 2 00:25:45

every woman. You know, sorry, sorry, that's a song. I just

Genesis 2 00:25:49

thought about it, you know. Independency. There was a

Genesis 2 00:25:53

song that Whitney, and I am a Whitney fan, I will tell you.

Genesis 2 00:25:57

Sad story, but beautiful voice. That whole song,

Genesis 2 00:26:00

I'm every woman, it's

Genesis 2 00:26:04

all in me. Lies! It

Genesis 2 00:26:08

is not! I wasn't created to be

Genesis 2 00:26:12

all in me. I know that is not

Genesis 2 00:26:15

true. And so many times we take small little

Genesis 2 00:26:19

things, we take them for truth, and then we start walking in them.

Genesis 2 00:26:23

No, I was created

Genesis 2 00:26:26

to be dependent.

Genesis 2 00:26:31

Created to be dependent. I'm not

Genesis 2 00:26:34

independent. In Matthew 16:24, I'm gonna read

Genesis 2 00:26:38

this for you. It says, then Jesus said to

Genesis 2 00:26:42

his disciples, if anyone wishes to follow me as

Genesis 2 00:26:45

my disciples, he must deny himself,

Genesis 2 00:26:49

set aside selfish interests, and take up

Genesis 2 00:26:53

his cross, experiencing the willingness

Genesis 2 00:26:57

to endure whatever may come and

Genesis 2 00:27:00

follow me, believing in me,

Genesis 2 00:27:03

conforming to my— conforming, excuse me, to my

Genesis 2 00:27:07

example and living and if need be,

Genesis 2 00:27:11

suffering or perhaps dying because

Genesis 2 00:27:15

of faith in

Genesis 2 00:27:19

me. The reason why

Genesis 2 00:27:22

Jesus said this to the disciples is because the cross

Genesis 2 00:27:26

actually meant something in the Roman time.

Genesis 2 00:27:31

What the cross actually meant in Roman time was

Genesis 2 00:27:36

Death. When you saw someone

Genesis 2 00:27:39

carrying their cross, they were going

Genesis 2 00:27:43

to die. Period.

Genesis 2 00:27:49

It was a commitment.

Genesis 2 00:27:52

We think carrying our cross is, "I got to carry the

Genesis 2 00:27:56

burden." Now, that

Genesis 2 00:28:00

can't be true because in a different place, It actually says

Genesis 2 00:28:04

I'm not supposed to carry the burden. He actually says he'll carry the

Genesis 2 00:28:08

burden. So there's confusion. That's why it's very

Genesis 2 00:28:11

important to find out and read, my brothers and

Genesis 2 00:28:15

sisters, because this is a

Genesis 2 00:28:18

committed death.

Genesis 2 00:28:23

If you're gonna follow Jesus, you are

Genesis 2 00:28:26

committed to dying. What,

Genesis 2 00:28:30

Vonda? What are we gonna die to?

Genesis 2 00:28:34

Don't get me started. I gotta die to

Genesis 2 00:28:37

my feelings. I gotta die to my flesh.

Genesis 2 00:28:41

I gotta die to my opinion, even in

Genesis 2 00:28:44

America. I gotta die to my pride. I gotta

Genesis 2 00:28:48

die to my fear. I gotta die to my unforgiveness.

Genesis 2 00:28:52

I gotta die to my— I gotta die to my

Genesis 2 00:28:56

I got that to my— I got that to my— right, dot, dot,

Genesis 2 00:28:59

dot. That means there's more to follow.

Genesis 2 00:29:03

Me, it's a committed death,

Genesis 2 00:29:09

but we have static because we don't

Genesis 2 00:29:13

surrender, because we want to be

Genesis 2 00:29:16

dependent. Now listen, I'm very big on—

Genesis 2 00:29:20

I am a very black and white person. The Lord helps me with the gray.

Genesis 2 00:29:23

I'm very black and white. And so to me, if I don't know how something

Genesis 2 00:29:27

works, I need to go to its original purpose.

Genesis 2 00:29:31

Because if you do not know the original purpose of something, you will

Genesis 2 00:29:35

abuse it or it will abuse you inevitably.

Genesis 2 00:29:40

So I was originally created

Genesis 2 00:29:43

to be dependent. So every

Genesis 2 00:29:47

time I try to be independent, I

Genesis 2 00:29:51

will either abuse myself or someone else.

Genesis 2 00:29:58

We already clarified that God

Genesis 2 00:30:02

speaks. Yes? Yes. Let's

Genesis 2 00:30:05

clarify. Let's today— let's today

Genesis 2 00:30:08

let it be known and hold on to it.

Genesis 2 00:30:12

God, help us. Help us today to

Genesis 2 00:30:16

start with the reality The truth that we

Genesis 2 00:30:19

were created to depend on you.

Genesis 2 00:30:24

Help us, God, to get that settled in our spirit,

Genesis 2 00:30:28

settled in our mind, settled on our

Genesis 2 00:30:32

lips. In Jesus' name, amen.

Genesis 2 00:30:36

We were created to depend

Genesis 2 00:30:41

on God.

Genesis 2 00:30:48

We have static because of

Genesis 2 00:30:52

a lack of maturity in and with faith.

Genesis 2 00:30:56

Now I gotta go here. We don't always like to go here, but I'm

Genesis 2 00:31:00

going. James 1.

Genesis 2 00:31:05

Oh, it's like I can't get away from it.

James 1 00:31:10

2-8.

James 1 00:31:14

Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you

James 1 00:31:17

fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of

James 1 00:31:21

your faith through experience produces endurance,

James 1 00:31:25

leading to spiritual maturity and inner peace.

James 1 00:31:29

And let endurance have its perfect result and

James 1 00:31:33

do a thorough work so that you may be

James 1 00:31:36

perfect and completely developed in your faith,

James 1 00:31:40

lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom

James 1 00:31:44

to guide him through a decision or

James 1 00:31:47

circumstance, he or she is to ask

James 1 00:31:51

of the beloved God, who gives to

James 1 00:31:55

everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and

James 1 00:31:58

it will be given to you. But he must ask

James 1 00:32:02

for wisdom in faith without doubting.

James 1 00:32:06

Huh. Or the one who doubts

James 1 00:32:09

is like a sea that is blown

James 1 00:32:13

about and tossed by the wind. For such a person

James 1 00:32:17

ought not think or expect that he will receive

James 1 00:32:20

anything from the Lord, being a double-minded

James 1 00:32:24

man, unstable and restless in all

James 1 00:32:27

his ways. Everything he thinks, feels, and

James 1 00:32:31

decides Let's break

James 1 00:32:35

that down. Consider.

James 1 00:32:38

Consider does not mean it has to be. It means think.

James 1 00:32:42

Think about it as pure

James 1 00:32:46

joy. When you are faced with many trials,

James 1 00:32:49

with various trials—

James 1 00:32:53

thank you, Lord, you didn't tell us to do it. You told us to think

James 1 00:32:56

about it. Just think of it as joy. Why, you ask?

James 1 00:33:00

Because there's a process that's happening. And the process

James 1 00:33:04

is that you are being tested. Your

James 1 00:33:07

faith is being tested. Push pause. I just wanna

James 1 00:33:11

fix something really quickly. The world has been saying that God

James 1 00:33:15

is like a teacher when he gives you a test, and he's silent.

James 1 00:33:19

That's not true. I've

James 1 00:33:23

heard pastors say that, and I'm a teacher. Now, Some

James 1 00:33:26

teachers do that. Some teachers are very quiet during a test.

James 1 00:33:30

But in my opinion, which I can give an opinion because I've been in education

James 1 00:33:34

for about over 2 decades, the best

James 1 00:33:37

teacher is the one that when a child has a question,

James 1 00:33:41

she asks or he asks another question to cause them to think.

James 1 00:33:46

See, I'm not trying to give the kid the answer,

James 1 00:33:50

but I want them to think. So for me to just

James 1 00:33:53

say, don't ask me nothing, be quiet, we're taking a test,

James 1 00:33:59

versus I can't give you an answer, baby doll, but I can tell

James 1 00:34:03

you this, or I can ask you this. Because sometimes the Lord will

James 1 00:34:07

ask you questions for you to think.

James 1 00:34:11

If you look in the New Testament, you will

James 1 00:34:14

see all kinds of question marks in red.

James 1 00:34:19

Jesus is wanting us to think. Think.

James 1 00:34:22

Unpause. So,

James 1 00:34:28

the testing of your faith happens for you to produce

James 1 00:34:32

endurance, patience. And then

James 1 00:34:36

endurance must finish its complete work

James 1 00:34:40

so that you can be mature.

James 1 00:34:47

Because it messes up our hearing.

James 1 00:34:50

So we know, does God speak?

James 1 00:34:54

Who has the problem? Okay, and

James 1 00:34:58

we have 3 that are just standing out here. We are deceived,

James 1 00:35:03

we won't surrender, and we're not

James 1 00:35:07

mature. Now I told you a while ago I'm a first grade

James 1 00:35:10

teacher, so I've got I got something to share.

James 1 00:35:15

And that is— oh, thank you, Lord— his Word.

James 1 00:35:19

It says, "I am the vine. You are the branches. If you

James 1 00:35:23

remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

James 1 00:35:26

Apart from me you can do—" Say it, people. "Nothing." Say it

James 1 00:35:30

again. "Nothing." "If you do not remain in me, you

James 1 00:35:34

are like a branch that is blown away and withered.

James 1 00:35:37

Such branches are picked up thrown into the fire and burned.

James 1 00:35:41

In other words, they're not about nothing. If you

James 1 00:35:44

remain in me and my words remain in you,

James 1 00:35:48

ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

James 1 00:35:52

This is to my Father's glory, that

James 1 00:35:55

you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be

James 1 00:35:59

disciples.

James 1 00:36:03

Active listening. When I was in first grade, I

James 1 00:36:06

taught this every year. Active listening. What does it mean

James 1 00:36:10

to active listening? Because remember, it's not that the Lord

James 1 00:36:14

doesn't speak. It's us. It's because we are not

James 1 00:36:17

listening. So what is active listening? What does active listening look like, sound

James 1 00:36:21

like, and feel like? I'm an educator, so I try to break everything down.

James 1 00:36:25

So here are a couple of things that I'd like to share with you. Active

James 1 00:36:29

listening looks like So

James 1 00:36:32

take all hearing out. What does it look

James 1 00:36:36

like? Reading the Holy Bible.

James 1 00:36:40

It's what it looks like. A person reading

James 1 00:36:44

if they want to. Active listening. Fellowship with

James 1 00:36:48

other Christ followers. It's what it looks like.

James 1 00:36:51

It looks like what's happening right now, us getting together.

James 1 00:36:55

It looks like avoiding places that do not honor the

James 1 00:36:59

Holy Spirit. I was talking to somebody. And

James 1 00:37:03

I was talking— we were talking about a show, and they said, "I can watch

James 1 00:37:06

that show. I didn't let the Holy Spirit see that."

James 1 00:37:11

I was like, "Okay, come on." There are places that you don't need to take

James 1 00:37:15

the Holy Spirit. Okay, I'm just saying.

James 1 00:37:19

I'm just saying. Can you go? Yes. My brother this morning

James 1 00:37:23

said, "There's a lot that I can do, but should I?"

James 1 00:37:27

There are places that you should not take the Holy Spirit.

James 1 00:37:31

Being silent, being still, thinking.

James 1 00:37:36

That's what it looks like. It looks like when

James 1 00:37:40

we're actively listening to God, that we're really slowing down in

James 1 00:37:44

life and we're taking time to listen.

James 1 00:37:48

It looks like tears, frustration,

James 1 00:37:52

joy. Praise, expression.

James 1 00:37:58

When you're listening to God, I just want you to know you're not gonna hear

James 1 00:38:01

everything you want to hear.

James 1 00:38:06

So it may look like, oh, oh God,

James 1 00:38:12

did you not hear what he said to me?

James 1 00:38:16

Did you not hear? And so my face is distraught,

James 1 00:38:21

because that's what it looks like sometimes when you're listening to the

James 1 00:38:24

Lord. Sometimes it looks like this

James 1 00:38:33

because you're overwhelmed. That's what it looks like

James 1 00:38:37

when you're listening to the Lord. It looks

James 1 00:38:40

expressive. It

James 1 00:38:43

looks like Fruit of the

James 1 00:38:47

Spirit. You can see kindness. You

James 1 00:38:51

can see patience. You can see

James 1 00:38:54

goodness. That's what it looks like. Active listening, what does it

James 1 00:38:58

sound like? So this is, you don't see anything. What do

James 1 00:39:02

you hear? What does active listening sound like when

James 1 00:39:05

you're listening to the Lord? Speaking God's word,

James 1 00:39:09

quoting his word out loud. I told

James 1 00:39:13

Jonathan this morning, "Jonathan, I enjoyed

James 1 00:39:16

reading all that last night." He said, "Yeah, I thought there would be a

James 1 00:39:20

couple." I said, "Do you know why?" Sorry, this is where I get

James 1 00:39:24

emotional. There is power,

James 1 00:39:30

real power in the

James 1 00:39:34

Word. Every time you

James 1 00:39:38

speak speak it, power comes into

James 1 00:39:42

the atmosphere. And so this is why people like

James 1 00:39:45

us, we need to stay away from sayings, you know,

James 1 00:39:49

"It's all good." No, it's not all good. But all things

James 1 00:39:53

do work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called

James 1 00:39:55

according to his purpose. Called according to his purpose, Vonda, check. Love the

James 1 00:39:59

Lord, check. It will work out for my good, but this whole "it's all

James 1 00:40:03

good," no, it ain't. Have y'all not seen the world?

James 1 00:40:06

It's not all good.

James 1 00:40:10

But there is power when I say, "All things

James 1 00:40:14

work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to

James 1 00:40:18

his purpose." There is power in here.

James 1 00:40:22

So, when things happen in your life, speak the

James 1 00:40:26

Word. If you haven't memorized it, get it and

James 1 00:40:30

say it out loud. Watch the atmosphere that you're

James 1 00:40:33

in change because there's power.

James 1 00:40:37

It should sound like you're speaking it. I'm sorry,

James 1 00:40:41

I told you I'm already overwhelmed for the things that the Lord

James 1 00:40:44

is saying to me, but there is power and I

James 1 00:40:48

have authority. I have power because

James 1 00:40:52

of who lives in me, so I can say greater is

James 1 00:40:55

he that lives in me than he that is of the world,

James 1 00:40:59

because there is power in

James 1 00:41:03

this, and I got it.

James 1 00:41:09

It sounds like discussing words

James 1 00:41:13

for a better understanding.

James 1 00:41:18

And I said discussing for a better understanding because

James 1 00:41:21

I'm not gonna argue about what God said.

James 1 00:41:26

I ain't got to argue with nobody about what the Lord said. I ain't got

James 1 00:41:29

time for that. I think it's interesting how people think you got time. Listen, I'm

James 1 00:41:33

a principal at a school, and I have to talk about people's dress

James 1 00:41:37

attire, right? And they'll say, "Well, Miss Copeland, she always gets on me." And I

James 1 00:41:40

think to myself, do you really think I get up in the morning and say,

James 1 00:41:43

"Ooh, I'm going to work today, and I'mma find 3 people out of dress

James 1 00:41:47

code"? Is that really what you think I

James 1 00:41:51

do? I want you to logically think of

James 1 00:41:54

that. I ain't got time for that. I got a lot of stuff I have

James 1 00:41:58

to do. I don't have time to explain and

James 1 00:42:01

argue what somebody else said.

James 1 00:42:05

But we can discuss it and unpack it. That's what we're doing right

James 1 00:42:09

now, y'all. That's all we're doing. That's what it should sound

James 1 00:42:13

like. Got time to be arguing with somebody about the Bible.

James 1 00:42:17

It sounds like silence.

James 1 00:42:30

People get very uncomfortable with silence,

James 1 00:42:33

but if you plan on listening to the Lord, you better shut your mouth.

James 1 00:42:40

Period. It sounds

James 1 00:42:44

like the fruit of the Spirit. We have

James 1 00:42:49

an interesting saying: "Is my name

James 1 00:42:53

safe in your mouth?"

James 1 00:42:58

It sounds like

James 1 00:43:02

the fruit of the Spirit. Not just what we see, but

James 1 00:43:06

now I should hear someone say, Oh, well,

James 1 00:43:09

that doesn't sound like Pastor Barbie to me. I've never known her to

James 1 00:43:13

slap somebody in the face. But that's what you say happened? Oh,

James 1 00:43:17

well, I've never known her to slap anybody.

James 1 00:43:22

Not— I'm sorry, what? She slapped who? Girl!

James 1 00:43:35

Sorry.

James 1 00:43:39

Sorry, I apologize. It

James 1 00:43:42

sounds like the fruit of the Spirit. Active

James 1 00:43:46

listening feels like— now before I show you any of these,

James 1 00:43:50

I'm using the word feel. I want you to pay attention

James 1 00:43:54

to what active listening feels like.

James 1 00:43:59

It feels purposeful.

James 1 00:44:05

It feels like I was created to

James 1 00:44:08

depend on this God-breathing

James 1 00:44:13

stars being,

James 1 00:44:16

and I'm not here for nothing,

James 1 00:44:20

that I'm on earth with a purpose,

James 1 00:44:24

and I don't have to do it by myself.

James 1 00:44:28

Because I wasn't created to do it by myself,

James 1 00:44:32

but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens

James 1 00:44:36

me. It feels

James 1 00:44:40

purposeful. It

James 1 00:44:44

feels important

James 1 00:44:48

that it's not about me.

James 1 00:44:52

But it's about Him and the glory that He

James 1 00:44:56

gets. And He gave me an

James 1 00:44:59

opportunity to say

James 1 00:45:02

yes and to be used

James 1 00:45:07

in any way He chooses, because

James 1 00:45:10

He created me. I didn't create

James 1 00:45:14

Wanda. He did.

James 1 00:45:20

So it feels important.

James 1 00:45:24

It feels like I'm heard.

James 1 00:45:28

My brother said on his way home,

James 1 00:45:32

he said, I want you to get him a suit because

James 1 00:45:36

they need to know that I hear them.

James 1 00:45:42

God hears you.

James 1 00:45:46

He created you. He

James 1 00:45:50

hears you.

James 1 00:45:59

But what a glorious feeling to know that

James 1 00:46:02

God heard my cry,

James 1 00:46:07

that he hears me when I Call him,

James 1 00:46:15

that he sees me.

James 1 00:46:19

And even though I say, Lord, that hurt, that hurt,

James 1 00:46:23

he said that and that hurt.

James 1 00:46:27

And if I'm listening, I can hear him say,

James 1 00:46:31

Wanda, give me your heart, for I'm the

James 1 00:46:34

healer of the brokenhearted. Heart. For

James 1 00:46:38

I'm close to you, Wanda, because I'm close

James 1 00:46:42

to the brokenhearted. So

James 1 00:46:45

it feels like

James 1 00:46:49

I'm seen.

James 1 00:46:53

It feels like I'm loved.

James 1 00:46:58

It feels like I'm loved.

James 1 00:47:02

That I'm cared for.

James 1 00:47:08

Guys, God speaks all the time.

James 1 00:47:16

Where is our hearing?

James 1 00:47:24

Please understand, I'm not saying

James 1 00:47:28

that life is the way I think it should be, and that's probably part

James 1 00:47:31

of the problem.

James 1 00:47:36

Because he has a purpose.

James 1 00:47:40

I get to choose to be obedient,

James 1 00:47:43

and there is satisfaction and pleasure

James 1 00:47:48

in obedience. Stand to

James 1 00:47:51

your feet.

James 1 00:47:59

When we abide in him, when we remain in him,

James 1 00:48:04

we can ask anything

James 1 00:48:09

that aligns with his will,

James 1 00:48:14

and he'll give it. He's not quiet.

James 1 00:48:19

Open up our ears, Lord. I know we're about to have worship

James 1 00:48:23

and we're gonna close in prayer, but I personally

James 1 00:48:28

repeat the prayer from the beginning. Open up our

James 1 00:48:32

eyes to see you. Open up our

James 1 00:48:35

ears to hear you. And

James 1 00:48:39

God, soften this desired

James 1 00:48:43

heart to be independent to be dependent, to settle

James 1 00:48:48

with the fact that you created us to be dependent upon

James 1 00:48:52

you. In Jesus' name.

James 1 00:49:04

So in response to that word, if you will just gather together

James 1 00:49:07

with 2 or 3 around you, uh, right now, go and find 2 or

James 1 00:49:11

3 around you. Move. That's a moving word.

James 1 00:49:16

2 or 3 around you and lock hands with them. And

James 1 00:49:20

this is what we're going to do. We're just going to take a few moments

James 1 00:49:23

here with the Holy Spirit,

James 1 00:49:27

and we're just going to ask the Lord to help us to surrender

James 1 00:49:31

our will to his and that he would give us

James 1 00:49:34

ears to hear when he is speaking to

James 1 00:49:38

us, that our voice would become quiet and his would become

James 1 00:49:42

much louder. So let's just take a few moments and pray.

James 1 00:49:45

Lord, we surrender our will to you.

James 1 00:49:49

Our voice, we surrender it. We silence ourselves and we ask,

James 1 00:49:53

Lord, that your voice would be louder than

James 1 00:49:56

all other voices and we would listen.