9.26.21 - Let It Go

[Music] do [Music] do [Music] all are welcome to join us on wednesdays in october for virtual morning bible study at 10 a.m you may register on the church's website come join us on wednesdays in october for virtual bible study at 7 pm you may register on the church's website all ladies are invited to dial in to join us as we prepare for women's season beginning monday october 11 through friday october 15th at noon you may submit your prayer request to prayer request at mounteenan.org all single men and women are invited to our virtual singles bible study on tuesday october 12 at 7 pm join us for an evening of engaging conversation around the topic all eyes are on me love yourself you may register on the church's website in celebration of women's season join us virtually on saturday october 16th at 10 a.m for engaging fellowship spirit-filled music and powerful worship invite a friend to join you register at mount enin.org all are invited to join us on sunday october 17th as we celebrate women's day our theme is anchored join us for one of our virtual services at 8 45 a.m 11 a.m and 4 p.m invite a friend to tune in bless the lord o my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name good day mount enid it's another day's journey and i'm glad about it is that your testimony today are you glad to be in the service one more time well come on and celebrate the awesome god that we serve with me come on in magnify his holy and righteous name this is the day that the lord has made and indeed we are glad and we are rejoicing in it we glad because we serve an awesome god we're glad because we serve almighty god come on and magnify the god with me for he woke you up this morning he kept you in your right mind helped you through another week what a mighty god we serve hallelujah heavenly father we thank you we praise you we honor you and we glorify your holy and righteous name we thank you for this day that you have made we thank you for keeping us through another night we thank you for watching over our families oh god we thank you for waking us up to brand new mercies oh god and we thank you for this opportunity to virtually enter into this service oh god we thank you for another opportunity to come in to your presence lord so we thank you in advance for everything that's going to take place in this service we thank you for the songs that's going to be ministered to lift our hearts and our spirit we thank you for the prayer that's going to cover us and protect us oh god and we thank you for the word that's going to fall fresh on fertile ground have your way in this space have your way in our lives and we will be careful to give you the praise in jesus name we pray amen [Music] praise the lord mauinon we're getting ready to do our him onto sunday morning down at the cross [Music] down that's a crime [Music] now we're from clinton [Music] there to my heart [Music] together i'm singing glory [Music] [Applause] [Music] i am so [Music] at the wonderful [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh precious [Music] i am so glad i have [Music] entered jesus [Music] at home [Music] there to my heart [Music] come to this fountain so rich and sweetheart [Music] come on put your hands together [Music] [Music] glory [Music] [Music] hallelujah hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] uh [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] say [Music] is [Applause] [Music] it's working oh [Music] oh oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] is [Music] but i believe that it's working it's working [Music] so [Music] foreign is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh come on how many of you believe that it's worth it for my good all of the pain all the heartache all of it it's working for my good common giving praise [Music] oh my god [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] come on give god a praise right where you are at your kitchen table in your bedroom come on in your office give god a praise if you understand and believe that everything you went through it was so your goods [Music] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah come on i didn't understand it then but i understand now it was for my good all of the pain all the heartache every mountain every struggle every bird and every hill it was i'm stronger now i'm wiser now i'm better now glory come on this was from my good hallelujah yeah glory glory glory glory come on in the chat room come on just type in the chat it was for my good it was for my good the layoff with the breakup it was for my good hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah it was for my good listen child of god don't you despair for the storms that you're in or that you're going through you'll discover on the other side perhaps even while you're in it that it's for your good amen come on put your hands together give the lord a praise right where you are we bless the lord for each and every one of you you are at the right place at the right time i want to welcome all of our guests and visitors who are worshiping with us online look i want to charge all of you who log in faithfully every week i want you to become inviters every week when you come to church i want you to bring someone to service with you now look perhaps i could understand before you had an excuse not to bring someone to church you didn't want to go over their house and pick them up whatever it was but now you really have no excuse you can just take out your phone text your your colleague your co-worker your neighbor your friend just invite them to worship your girlfriend whoever your boyfriend invite them someone you met on friday night a happy hour invite them yeah to church on sunday i want you to become inviters amen someone that you know needs to know the affirmation of this song that what they're going through that is for their good amen and you telling them about that during the week is great but we want to make sure that everyone in your circle is in the atmosphere is getting the word of god and we believe that the presence of god is even transmitted online amen praise the lord so i want you to invite someone to worship with your parents let's make sure we are getting our children up together uh and around the television screen to watch if we're watching on our smart television or to watch on our phones let them know amen make sure your family is continuing to get together around the word of god so invite someone to be with us each and every sunday well we're getting ready to enter women's season uh here at mount enan in the month of october praise the lord i want all of the women amen all of the women all of the women up in our church to know that we're going to have women's season prayer calls uh every day monday october the 11th through friday october the 15th at 12 noon every day that week i want you to make plans to participate in our prayer call you can get more information about that will be available but here's what i want you to do i want you to make sure that you submit your prayer request to this email address prayer request mountenan.org make plans to call in to our prayer call and then we're going to have a women's season celebration on saturday october the 16th join us for our uh engaging fellowship exp spirit-filled service of worship and praise on saturday uh october the 16th praise god 10 a.m on saturday october the 16th the reverend dr gina stewart you all know her man she is an incredible preacher of the word of god pastor gina stewart will be preaching for us on that morning saturday october the 16th at 10 a.m uh ladies tune in make sure you invite a friend to join us and then we'll celebrate uh women's day that sunday praise the lord amen now listen today is the fourth sunday of the month and we have the blessed privilege and opportunity to formally welcome all of our new disciples we are blessed as a church for every sunday over the last 17 and a half going on 18 years of my pastorate here at the church we have had new disciples partner with us in ministry amen what a blessing praise the lord and i want to formally welcome on behalf of our church all of our new disciples who have participated in your new discipleship class we encourage each and every one of you to embrace the mission of our church which is to gather grow give and go we want each and every one of you to gather regularly from worship whether we are in this physical space or whether we are online we still have a responsibility to gather regularly for worship you can do so live on sundays online on the various platforms but you also have the ability to connect with us on demand if you miss services on sunday all of our services are on demand on our church's website or on youtube you can go there and catch all of the back services i believe it kind of goes up on wednesday uh of each week i think youtube kind of goes on uh right away so you can watch anytime anywhere from anywhere amen if you miss the services so gather regularly for worship i want you to commit to growing in christ by staying connected to bible study and committing to personal bible study uh and you can do that by getting the the bible teaching guides on my website delmancoats.org i have prepared devotional sermon guides they have notes and outlines of all of the messages and teaching so if you need a word of encouragement and inspiration i want to encourage each and every person listening to me right now not just new disciples new members but all of our existing members sign up to get these free devotional guides go to dolmancoats.org so that you can get those free sermon guides it'll really bless your life then i want you to give to god by sowing into the work of god so that we can advance the will of god here with the church and then i want you to go be a witness welcome to all of our new disciples can you put your hands together and help me to welcome them and we bless the lord for each and every one of them amen well it's giving time given it shall be given unto you good measure press down shaken together will the lord put into your lap the bible says that the lord just loves a cheerful giver and so i just want to look out uh in cyberspace right now and see where the smiles of the people who are excited about the opportunity to give because listen y'all in a pandemic god has continued to provide sustain us even in challenging times for our nation and our world that's a blessing and so we prepare to come now some of you your testimony is that you are even prospering in a pandemic some of us know why we're prospering some of us aren't spending as much as we were spending before amen you're saying i'm not prospering i still make the same thing i'm making before well you aren't spending as much as you are spending before and that's a good thing actually i think our money matters class amen sister gina pryor would say it's not about how much you make it's about how much you keep amen and so in this pandemic we've been keeping more that ought to help some of us uh get out of debt amen so we have a tremendous testimony of god's provision so i want you to cont consider what you shall give unto the lord right now i want us to give uh generously unto the lord i want some of you to take out your checkbook i want to bless the lord for those of you who continue to mail your checks to the church others of you i want you to go to online giving right now on our website and click give online give right now some of you can sign up to give recurring on a recurring basis and others of you take out your cell phone join me uh in giving by text to give just text the amount of your giving right now to the number on the screen and look since we serve and above and beyond god i believe we ought to give in an above and beyond fashion praise the lord and so whatever you were gonna you were going to give i want you to take a step of faith and go above and beyond that amen praise the lord if you were planning to get fifty dollars give 55 give 60. if you were planning to do a hundred try 150 and i i want you to trust and believe that god is gonna meet you amen at the point of your giving the bible says give and it shall be given unto you good measure press down shaken together with the lord put into your lap amen that means that whatever you give the lord is going to make room for more deposits into your bank account amen god is going to make more room for the lord that would have been a better acknowledgement of that god is going to make more room for you amen so let us bow our heads and pray father in jesus name we thank and praise you for your people god i pray right now that you would bless every viewer every listener right now god i pray that you would meet us at the point of our need god meet every every need every financial need meet every spiritually god someone right now is sowing a seed for a miracle for a breakthrough god right now god we are praying for miracles and increase and promotion someone else god is sowing a seed for debt cancellation god we believe that you are a debt canceling god god we pray right now that you are cancelling debt reducing debt right now in jesus name god we pray for favor upon everyone connected to this house may there be no lack may there be uh no decrease god we pray that you are increasing us right now in the name of jesus god and we will be careful to give your name thanks praise glory and honor truly you are worthy and we'll be careful to give you all the glory it's in your mighty and matchless name that we pray in the name of jesus hallelujah in the name of jesus that name before every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is lord in the name of jesus do it god provide god supply and god we know you can do it because you have done it before you have provided before god do it again lord that's our prayer did they do it again open up a door again open up the windows of heaven again rebuke the devourer for our sake again god in jesus name we pray amen and amen we are going to be blessed by ministry and song right now i want you to establish an altar right where you are i want you to begin to think about the goodness and the favor of god right where you are think about how god has kept you god has sustained you just begin to worship the lord right where you are as we are worshiping here in the physical sanctuary i want you to convert wherever you are right now into a pew imagine that you are in your pew in the sanctuary i want you to lift up your hands hallelujah i want you to open up your mouth right where you are at home just begin to love on god just begin to to honor him to magnify him to to make his name great right where you are come on i can't hear you online just begin to thank him praise him give him glory give him honor hallelujah listen we have been in this season for 18 months and the devil has not stopped the will of god the word of god and the kingdom of god from going forth i want you to convert right where you are into an altar and just begin to love on god as we begin to worship him right now i'll be right back to preach the word of god hallelujah we serve a great god of power he's amazing yes [Music] everything [Music] greater than yes you are [Music] oh [Music] [Music] there's nobody [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] yes [Applause] yes oh [Music] [Music] you're [Music] me [Music] [Music] right [Music] [Music] [Music] you are [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] yes [Music] the way you rescue us over and over and over again you are agreeing the way you talk to me even when we're not consistent he still covers us and he still loves us [Music] [Music] [Music] you are the greatest [Music] [Music] you are the greatest [Applause] [Music] come on take a few more seconds just to honor your king the one who is faithful to you lord we love you [Music] you're the greatest guy you're over and over again [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] you are [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen praise the lord come on put your hands together if you know he's a great god hallelujah amen you're a great guy amen let's get into the word of god today today's sermon comes from genesis chapter 19 in your quiet moments i really want to encourage you to read verses 15 through 26. right there in genesis chapter 19 is the focus for today's message and i want to talk today about leaving those things in our lives or in our past that aren't good for us how many of you can admit that you have something in your life or have had something in your life that you need to release somebody say release you ever had something you need to release ever had someone you need to release you ever had someone you needed to let go that's my title let it go come on tell your neighbor let it go or type in the comment section let it go that's what we are that's what we're talking about today and you know the older i get i'm learning from my doctors that that things that i could do in the past and things that i used to be able to eat when i was younger i can't do it any longer i have i have these regular checkups and i want to make sure that my blood pressure cholesterol glucose and other levels are all within range and i'm i'm finding out something i'm finding out that in order to stay healthy now somebody say now i cannot do and i cannot eat the things that i once did i used to be able to eat whatever i wanted whenever i wanted at whatever time of the night but now somebody say now come on somebody say right now yeah i can't eat the sweets that i used to be able to to eat i can just think about it the other day i went to the restaurant and uh i asked the waiter for the dinner for the dessert menu he said oh you want desserts i said no i just want to look at look at what you have i'm not going to order it or eat it i just want to that's what i have to do now i can't eat what i used to eat amen because it'll show up on the bottom line and so i now have to cut back and in some other instances i have to cut some things out all together if i want to be healthy i've got to cut some stuff out and i'm realizing that the key to having a more prosperous future not just in my diet but in general is realizing that there are just some things that we cannot do any longer you got to let it go yep yep it's like it's like some folks who have that receding hairline no no no shade but you know at a certain point you just got to let it go bruh it's just like cut it all off stop trying to hold on to it you just gotta let it go well when i think about this this struggle i sort of i'm sort of reminded of this story of this bald eagle that was gracefully soaring over the north western pacific in search of a food one day as it happened upon a very large salmon swimming just beneath the surface of the water and this eagle was a skilled hunter and so the eagles swooped down and securely placed its talons its claws into the back of this large fish and the story goes that when the eagle had attached its talons into the salmon that it tried to lift up into the air but it soon discovered that the salmon was too big for it to obtain elevation and to go higher and with every flap of its colossal wings they were continually hitting the water as the eagles struggled to go higher and higher and to get to the next level well eventually the eagle realized that the fish was too heavy and the eagle decided that it wanted to detach its sharp talons from the salmon so it could could go after some smaller prey but unfortunately its claws were so dug in to the salmon that it couldn't detach its talons from the animal and so as the eagle was frantically flapping its wings trying to fly higher the salmon that was attached to its claws was flapping its body and was fighting back and so despite wanting to fly and go higher eventually the weight of the salmon caused the eagle to lose altitude and drug it back into the water are you listening to me that eagle drowned at church because it could not separate itself from what was holding its down and otherwise successful fisher and otherwise expert hunter the eagle was tragically pulled to its death simply because it did not have the capacity to let something go and in my life i've discovered that there are a lot of people all around us who struggle with this eagle's dilemma his dilemma parallels the struggle that many people face in their everyday lives many of us some of you listening to me right now find yourself in pursuit of something that you think is more attractive pursuit of something that we feel will be more advantageous going after something that we believe will be more prosperous only to discover that what you thought would add value to your life has sadly taken away from your life y'all not talking to me here today only to realize that what would that would that you thought what you thought would take you up and higher is only dragging you down and taking you lower now some of you are at the table with that person or you're in your bedroom with those people but just keep looking at the str at the screen and the major factor that is causing the problem and is keeping us weighed down burdened down and held down is our inability to let it go that's my title let it go come on type a second time in the chat let it go come on tell your neighbor say neighbor let it go let it go someone listening right now has been in a relationship that you know is toxic no one else has to tell you about you know this constant arguing there's constant disagreements you cannot get on one accord it hasn't just been a week this been going on for years and yet despite the toxicity you keep going back someone else is listening dealing with some kind of addiction of cigarettes and alcohol unhealthy food the doctor has been saying you got to cut out fried foods or addicted to gambling and shopping and spending money you don't have trying to impress people who ain't even thinking about you anyway and this addiction is ruining your life and despite that you cannot give it up well the key to taking off in life god wants me to tell you is to be found in your ability to recognize your hindrances and having the ability to let it go that i think is the real dilemma that i believe confronted lot's wife right here in the 19th division of the first book of the bible hers is a tale of someone who suffered from the inability to separate from the moments and the memories the people and the places in her past and as a consequence it led to her demise she is mentioned in the bible only by this reference right here as lot's wife she she she isn't given a name we don't we don't know her background i imagine that she did some great things in her life but but her legacy is only captured here by her struggle and the only identity she is given in the word of god is found by her struggle we don't know her name where she is from or who her people are but we do know that she struggled with a bad case of kate helpings you've been there yeah can't help but i gotta have this i gotta gotta gotta do that she was unable to walk away from something that did not add value to her life the tragic details of her life are captured in this scene during sodom's destruction where the text says that the angels of the lord instructed lot to take his wife and his two daughters and to leave the cities of sodom and gomorrah without haste in other words don't uh don't don't collect your belongings don't get any don't pack a bag the angel said escape for your life right now don't delay don't look back or stop anywhere in the valley escape to the hills lest you be swept away then the bible says in verse 24 that the lord reigned on sodom and gomorrah sulfur and fire from from the lord out of heaven and he overthrew those cities all in all the valley and all of the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground verse 26 but lot's wife lot's wife the bible says looked back and because she looked back she turned into a pillar of salt what a sad picture of what what very likely could have been a loving and a wonderful woman we have no reason to think that she was a bad person but she missed her moment shirt she missed a great opportunity at pursuing a fresh start in life and a new future all because she could not let it go we are told about her i want to suggest not so that we can make fun of her we are told about her here not so that we can shape out shake our proverbial finger at her and to tell her i told you so but we are told about her so that we can learn from her because her struggle is our struggle if we are honest someone listening to me right now knows what it's like to have a future in front of you and a pass behind you and you find yourself constantly glancing back looking back at the things that are behind you and i want to tell you that if we are to make it to the place of refuge that god has for us if we are to make it to and through the next season of life that god has orchestrated ordained and arranged for us you have got to have the power to let let it go have i got a witness here and i want to tell someone listening that there's a new city on the other side of where you are there's a new environment there's a new territory there's a new place there's a new promise there's a new promotion there's a new person a new relationship more money another house that is on the other side it's filled with peace and joy and happiness and pleasure it's stress-free it's not gonna give you any drama you ain't gonna have to worry about where they are because they don't have the sense to come home or to be where they told you they gonna be it's gonna be stress-free but if you are going to possess it if you are going to experience it if you are going to realize it you're going to have to have the capacity to leave the things that are unhealthy unpleasurable that are painful and toxic so that you can walk in your god-given purpose and future somebody shout let it go let it go let it go let it go i've learned i've learned in life that one of the best things you can do sometimes is to cut some stuff off yeah yeah sometimes by by trying to hold on to things and by trying to hold on to people and by trying to hold on to certain ideas wondering why didn't work out and uh you can end up making things worse rather than better somebody listening you've been holding on to some stuff uh uh try try you've been holding on to a memory and a moment you have been replaying that same take over in your mind trying to figure out where you went wrong and where where they went wrong and where y'all went wrong and as a consequence you are not walking in to your future and that kind of thing it can breed resentment and bitterness if you're not careful that that kind of thing can breed self-pity it can cause you to blame other people to blame yourself to blame god and in the end it can block you from your blessing but god sent me on assignment today to tell someone don't you let a person a situation a problem in your past block your blessing holding on to things and to people that have lasted past their expiration date someone listening someone listening you gotta treat some stuff like milk that has expired you need to look on the label and if the expiration date has passed you need to throw it away and get some more somebody that's your word i need to throw it away and guess god wanted me to tell somebody that it's time to throw some things away and get some more it's time to throw some old habits away and get some new habits time to throw some old associates away and get some new partners uh time to throw some old relationships away and get some more come on somebody type in the comment section i'ma get some more yeah get some more get some more now here i know you're listening you're saying preacher it's easy to say all of that but letting go is not easy i know that's why you're looking at me with that tone of voice you're saying preacher it's easy to preach about releasing some stuff but you don't know how long they've been around you don't know how long i've been in this and so i understand that letting go is not easy but i do want to tell you that letting go becomes possible when you understand why it's so necessary that's what i want someone to really grasp out of today's message see the reason lot's wife and her family were in this situation in the first place that is having to flee sodom and gomorrah get this is because their existing reality was destined for destruction i need y'all to give this you can you can rewind a few chapters before and and earlier god had already decreed that the cities were going to be destroyed so where they were their present reality was already destined for destruction the handwriting was already on the wall for sodom and gomorrah god had already decided to destroy the cities it did not matter that sodom and gomorrah had great potential i need y'all listen oh we have so much great potential yeah she got so much great potential like if we can work this and work that and i can i can make her into what i need he got so much look sodom and gomorrah had so much potential but all of that did not matter all of that was gone now they were no longer capable of fulfilling fulfilling their potential they were no longer being the bastions of hope and peace and equity god wanted those cities to be and it was time to cut ties with those cities it was time somebody say it was time i can't hear you somebody say it was time for them to let go of their losses and to let it go sometimes church we are holding on to things that god has already declared are over y'all not talking sometimes we keep people around that we know in our spirit are not in line with god's will for our lives we say well let me try to call them again let us have one more meeting one more conversation maybe if we get them can get them to talk to the lord we know it in our spirit that we have come to the end of the road but yet we keep people around when god has already spoken to our spirit that it's time to let it go y'all not here i suspect that lot's wife struggled walking away because of familiarity yeah see the reason she struggled going forward is because she was familiar with that city back there and her familiarity made it more difficult for her to walk away i'm trying to help someone here today and i think that's why we stay too long that that's why i think we stay in situations too long i think that's why we keep looking back because we are so familiar with things that aren't good for us look there in verse 13. i believe verse 13 says that the angel of the lord described the cities as their playing field which means that they were intimately familiar with the territory where they were even though everything behind her was bad she was fixated on it because she had invested a lot of time there yeah she had a home there with furniture that she had bought and purchased she had photo albums back there she had friends back there she had memories back there and because of the investment of time and energy i'm trying to help someone who was stuck on a person back there you bought them a robe and you bought them flowers and because of your investment of time and energy and money it can make moving on very difficult and the prospect of change can be more daunting than promising sometimes people conclude that the devil they know is better than the devil they don't know they conclude that the issues they got with this one is better than it is is better than the issues they don't know with the next one and since moving forward will require you to learn new methods new ways and new techniques we choose to stay in places and with people that are familiar to us because we are afraid to go out there into a new world that god has ordained and assigned for us y'all not talking to me here today fear keeps us trapped because we're afraid to embark on a new world where we would have to learn about stuff that didn't exist 25 years ago when we met the person before there was online dating and social media it's too daunting so we just stay with the people that are familiar with us and it was that mindset it was that familiarity with sodom and gomorrah that caused lot's wife to look back and yet despite the investment she made despite the experiences she had and despite the familiarity she had with the city god says it's over god had decreed that he was going to destroy the city where they were and there was nothing she could do about it church when you realize that where you are is about to implode and fall on you when you realize that the situation that you are in is crumbling and is about to lead to your demise that is when you will come to your senses and let it go and the reason you need to walk away church is because where you are going glory to god this is where god where you are going is even greater than where you have been i want to tell someone listening that god has greater for you god has greatness ordained for you in your future and the reason you need to walk away from some stuff is because it is hindering you from greater it is hindering you from getting to your next opportunity see god had prepared a place for them it's called the city of zoar it's right there in the text it was a city that was southeast of the dead sea where lot and his family were headed so are was the ordained place somebody say ordain the place zohar was the place that god had orchestrated and designed for them before they were even born zohar was uniquely positioned and arranged to be the place that god would provide as a as a refuge for them god had ordained a place that was greater than where they were so child of god don't you let people make you think that you can't leave them that your life won't be any good if you walk away and play the places don't let people think and don't consume that places in your past can cause you to keep keep you from walking into your future let you never forget that whatever god requires us to leave palestine in comparison to what god has prepared up ahead did y'all hear me what god had the relationship that you leave appeals in comparison to the relationship that god has prepared up ahead the job you walk away from the situation you walk away from if it is ordained by god pales in comparison to what god's got up ahead glory to god this is in part why the angels tells them don't look back that's why the angel said don't spit when you get when y'all leave sodom and gomorrah don't look back don't hesitate don't stop along the way don't spend your don't stop in the valley because where you going is going to be qualitatively greater than where you have been have i got a witness here one simply cannot go forward continuing to look in the rearview mirror it is why your windshield is greater than your rear view mirror you just supposed to glance that you ain't supposed to stay stuck there you're gonna have an accident you're gonna cause problems for yourself and other people if you get stuck and fixated on what is behind you but god sent me on assignment to talk to 300 people listening to me right now who can shout and thank god that where i'm going is greater than where i've been i haven't got a witness here and you need to walk forward with your eyes fixed on what's ahead of you sometimes the best thing you can do is keep moving forward sometimes the best thing you can do is take a big leap of faith without hesitation without reservation and without looking back simply forget the past and reach forward to what is a up ahead have i got a witness here someone listening you've been debating some major issue debating some major decision or some major dilemma it comes from the fact that you are stuck on the experiences you had but god says don't let your experience resist from the path you hostage god's got something greater up ahead god has got something greater for you right around the corner and you might not be able to see it and you may not be able to touch it but if you have faith in god god wants me to tell you that greater is calling you come on type in the comment section greater is calling me come on pat yourself on the chest come on come on pat yourself on the chest and say greater is calling me yeah god's got something great and i can prove it in the text the text says right there in verse 6 17 the angels told them when you leave this city i want you to escape to the hills it's right there in verse 17. i want to tell you that the hills are a metaphor for that which is elevated the hills are a metaphor for that which is high and lifted up y'all not here see where they were was in the valley where they were was in a low elevation and if they wanted to avoid doom they had to look to the hills and get to the hills so that they can make it to higher ground anything that's low you ought to walk away from anything that's low low self-esteem low down people uh low energy activities god says you got to get out of the valley and get to the hills i haven't got a witness there's somebody listening needs to testify it's time for me to go higher have i got a witness there is time for me to raise my consciousness it's time for me to go higher in worship higher in praise are higher and is there anybody listening or who can testify that it's time to go higher you gotta separate so you can go higher and when i think about how separation can actually be a pathway to something better it causes me to think about how babies are weaned from their mother after breastfeeding for quite some time leaving releasing is a pathway to something better something greater it's this baby has been getting milk from its mother day after day week after after week month after month but but but one day it becomes clear that that the baby needs some deeper sustenance it needs something more substantive so that it can go to its next level and so the mother has to do something that might be difficult for the baby it has the mother has to wean the baby from the milk so that the baby can start eating whole foods or not here the baby now needs uh vegetables the baby now needs a fruit and and the separation process can be hard and perhaps it can be painful but none of us today somebody say today none of us today would go back to only drinking milk now now that we have dined on something greater god has something a greater with your name on it have i got a witness here and you cannot go back to the way things were to the way things it used to be because god has something greater but someone's listening and you're saying preacher how do i do it i hear what you're saying and i understand why i need to do it i understand that my present situation is headed for doom and destruction but my dilemma is with how how how do i do it how how do i give up the addiction how do i give up the associations that i've had and sometimes that's the greatest how how do i move forward without looking back well i believe this passage implies gives us a tip some keys on on what you and i need to do if we're going to release some stuff and i believe this text implies that if you want to release some stuff you're going to have to cultivate your relationship with god you got to let go of this but you got to get closer to that yeah you got to let go here but you got to draw closer to god over here i want to prove my point if you're going to move forward you got to cultivate your relationship with god see what stands out to me about this text is that in this entire episode in lot's life and that of his family they never seem to do any of the essential things that his uncle abraham the father of faith did throughout his journey with god you go back to chapter 12. we've been walking uh and we've been looking at abraham as lot's uncle we have been looking at his journey and at every juncture in the last seven chapters or so whenever abraham would move and whenever abraham would encounter a challenge and whenever abraham would encounter a dilemma or an obstacle abraham would build an altar every time abraham encountered an enemy or a dilemma abraham would consult the lord he'd build an altar or he'd consult the lord you're not here he would worship god or he'd pray to god i need y'all to get this here but lot but lot somebody say but lot lot who is a beneficiary of his family's wealth yeah a lot he he was the recipient of of the legacy and the heritage of the people before him he is the heir he is the great the grandchild of terror he is he is he is the heir and the legacy of of wealth and position and status lot seems oblivious to the need to prioritize god and to honor god he needs ought to get this here a lot yeah he's living out and living in houses that his grandfather could never have he's riding driving cars that his grandfather could never drive i mean he's living a lot he's shopping in places he's dining in restaurants that his ancestors are never dying to end before and what stands out to me church is that this blessed brother who who's trying to now save his daughters and his wife to this blessed brother who needs to be an example for his family nowhere i am the genesis narrative do we see or hear of lot doing anything to demonstrate his commitment to worship nowhere somebody say nowhere nowhere nowhere does he follow the example of his uncle abraham which suggests that that lot is trying to ride the spiritual coattails of his uncle i need y'all i need y'all to get this here lot is trying to get to the next level by riding on the prayers by relying on the relationship that abraham has you know that year yeah he's trying to get to the next level he he's trying to be blessed but he's trying to do so without nurturing his own relationship with god his relationship god is derivative and it is not organic he goes to church because because abraham took him to church he prayed he heard about prayer and so he is trying to walk into his promise based upon the derivative prayers and praise and worship of his uncle and at a certain point church you have got to get god for yourself i'm trying to talk to somebody here look i thank god for the example of my parents i thank god that lewis and maxine kept my sister and i and i thank god that they kept us in sunday school they made sure that if you go out on saturday you're going to be in church on i thank god for a praying mama i thank god for a praying father but at a certain point i realized that i had to get god myself and i want to talk to someone listening and i want to tell you that the reason you're having the trouble that you're having the reason you're having the challenge that you're having is because you are relying on your grandmother's prayer you relying on your mama's relationship and i want to tell you that if you're going to get to the next level you can't have derivative worship you got to have your own worship come on here you can't have a derivative praise you got to have your own relationship with god haven't got a witness here mama may have and papa may have but god bless the child just got his own you got to get your own you got to get your own you got to get your own you're going to have to get your own favorite scripture and the reason that's key church is because if you're going to move ahead then you need to be clear about what god has told you to do are y'all listening to me here you read the story for yourself in the opening verse of chapter 19 lot received a clear and explicit instructions he received clear and explicit news about what god was going to do in sodom and gomorrah he was careful to apprise his wife and the other family of the details regarding the destruction of the city in verses 12 through 14. there is no way possible for lot's wife to have been unclear about what the outcome was going to be how y'all listening and i want to suggest to you today when i examine this text i want to tell you that you know why i think she looked back i think she looked back also because she didn't take god's word seriously see in verse 16 the bible says that when lot lingered that the angels grabbed lot his daughters and his wife by the hand somebody say by the hand yeah come on say by the hand by the hand yeah the bible says the angels of the lord grabbed them by the hand and was walking them out of the city and for some reason it seems that lot's wife was able to look back because she let go of the angel's hands she let go of the hands of the angel of god just long enough to get a glimpse of what was behind her and because she let go of the hands of the angel of god it cost her gravely you cannot afford a child of god to let go of the hand of god you cannot afford if you're moving forward to let go of the hand of god that's why we say hold to his hand god's unchanging hand because you got to build your hopes on things that are eternal you got to hold to god's unchanging hand have i got a witness come on is somebody listening who can thank god and who can testify that you are where you are that you you have or what you have cause you're held the hand of god have i got a witness here is there anybody listening who can testify that you got your peace you got your promotion and you got your property because you held the hand of god have i got a witness here you got to let go but you got to hold on let go of the word world but hold to his hand god's unchanging hand good day church may the lord bless you real good but i stopped by to tell somebody let it go let it go and don't look back because all things are working for your good have i got a witness the bible says that because she looked back she turned to a pillar of salt she became hard and callous cause she looked back and god sent me to tell somebody don't look back god has something greater for you come on put your hands together and give god some praise come on put your hands together and give him praise yeah don't look back because where you're going is greater than where you've been god wanted me to tell someone listening that greater is up ahead let all of that go let the past go let the shame go let the hurt go god's got something ahead of you then that's greater than where you have been come on put your hands together and give the lord some praise today listen i want to invite someone listening to me right now who's who's not saved someone perhaps listening right now you've been holding on to some hurt in your past i want to pray for you right now father in the name of jesus god we pray that you would help us to tear down every stronghold we pray that you would help us to release every hindrance every burden every bondage that is keeping us from walking into our future help us to let it go help help us to let the pain go help us to let the memories go help us to release what was so that we can walk into what will be lord get us out of this valley and help us to escape to high ground in the hills god we're looking to the hills because we believe that you've got something higher for us god i pray right now that you would help someone release the disappointment the frustration the anxiety release the fear right now so that we can walk into our future lord we thank you we praise you in jesus name amen and amen listen if you desire to give your life to christ if you desire to unite with us in fellowship and in ministry i want you to send us an email right now to join at mount enan.org it's the email address right there on your screen let us know that you want to give your life to christ or get connected we'll contact you help you pray the prayer of salvation and help you get connected to our church praise the lord we thank god in advance for you i want us before we conclude this service i want us to take a moment to give right now because someone listening right now you were blessed by that message you have been holding on to things that god has already decreed are over now if there's still potential there that's fine but there are some things that you know in your spirit god has already decreed destruction over and god wants me to tell you just let it go let the anxiety the fear the thoughts of what could have been what should have been just god says let it go he's got something greater for you in the hills amen so let's sew right now i want you to take out your phone right now don't log off make sure that before you leave this moment that you sow into the kingdom of god take out your phone give my text to give others of you click give online right now on the website others of you prepare your checks so go above and beyond and place it in the mail this week i bless god for each and every one of you and i want you to make sure sure that you are making plans to be with us next sunday god has given me another word for this house as we endeavor to become people of power next sunday we celebrate communion the lord's supper so join us right here next sunday as we celebrate the lord's supper let's pray father we bless you we adore you we thank you we thank you for this mountaintop experience as we go back down into the to the valley as we go down into the world rather we pray that you would anoint us be with us give us the power the capacity to let those things that are holding us down go help us to release it someone needs to release the hurt someone needs to release the pain right now we let it go thank you lord help us to let it go in jesus name now may the grace of our lord and the sweet communion of the holy spirit rule and abide with us henceforth and forevermore let all of god's people say amen amen and amen you'll be blessed and go in peace we'll see you next time let it go amen have you downloaded our app just visit your apple or google play store via your mobile device type mount in baptist church and hit download for all the latest information visit our website at www.mounteen.org and for those who are local to the dc metropolitan area you can catch up on previously aired sermons you can tune into channel 8 at 4 p.m on sunday all are welcome to join us on wednesdays in october for virtual morning bible study at 10 a.m you may register on the church's website come join us on wednesdays in october for virtual bible study at 7 pm you may register on the church's website all ladies are invited to dial in to join us as we prepare for women's season beginning monday october 11 through friday october 15th at noon you may submit your prayer request to prayer requests at mount enin.org all single men and women are invited to our virtual singles bible study on tuesday october 12 at 7 pm join us for an evening of engaging conversation around the topic all eyes are on me love yourself you may register on the church's website in celebration of women's season join us virtually on saturday october 16th at 10 a.m for engaging fellowship spirit-filled music and powerful worship invite a friend to join you register at org all are invited to join us on sunday october 17th as we celebrate women's day our theme is anchored join us for one of our virtual services at 8 45 a.m 11 a.m and 4 p.m invite a friend to tune in [Music] you

Channel: Mt. Ennon Baptist

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Length: 85min 19sec (5119 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021