Becoming One

[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well thanks again for joining us today for what was supposed to be what we call young communicators Sunday we're not having that today I'll tell you why in just a moment but I am joined by a lot of our staff and some of our dream teamers here at the Grant's mill location this is the Sunday that we chose to bring some of our teams back and get them trained and ready to have in-person services in a kind of a coronavirus reality and so a lot of that training is taking place today but of course we're still at church online today and of course the plan today like we do every year is to invite some of our young students and young staff and because we have this value of investing in and developing young leaders let's let them preach you know let them have a Sunday where we hear from them and and we're gonna do that if it perhaps is gonna be next Sunday that's our plan we're just gonna move it once in fact we thought it might even be best because next Sunday is Father's Day what a beautiful thought that is to have some of our kids so to speak here on the stage speaking to us and our plan today too is next Sunday to begin these in-person gatherings unfortunately this coronavirus thing continues to shift every day so please stay tuned to the process every day check out the church website and the church social media platforms and there'll be announcements as things change but we're so excited can't hardly wait to have the room feel like I have it right now I have a few of you here I got to be honest with you it feels good to see some some live people y'all hey y'all y'all need to shout down everything I say all right I think I'll take it Amen on a bad point today okay I just I need a laughter because I like humor and I like laughter and I like you know response and it feels good even had the few of you that are here today like I said I was actually supposed to be on a vacation this week after we finished our services last Sunday where my pastor spoke I in fact I was kind of under orders so to speak by our overseers our apostolic elders like we go we only want you to have your phone we want you to get away and I'm telling you I wasn't there a day I'll actually woke up early one morning and the Lord put a word in my heart and I thought well if he's putting a word in my heart is it for Father's Day do I need to bring it you know then or what's that all about and I'm telling you I talked to Tammy about it and I just honestly I couldn't get you off my mind I couldn't get the church off my mind and the Lord gave me this message and I became more and more convinced that it was for this day so I had to apologize to the young communicators and tell them I know y'all ready I don't know you're you're ready to preach but if you could just please let me do to the circumstance we find ourselves in as a church and as a nation it's just not a good time for me to not be right here with you and so in fact the verse that the Lord gave me I'm going to share with you it's a short message it's got I think some meat in it I would love for you to get your Bibles out and look it up I would love for you to take some notes I think God's gonna speak to you not the things that I'm saying but he's gonna even speak beyond what I'm saying and I normally don't even use notes I memorize my messages but like I so desperately want to say everything that God told me to say I've got my notes up here so even that'll look a little differently but this is the verse I woke up with literally the first day that I was away and the Bible just simply says make every effort those are the two words that arrested my soul make every effort been making some efforts but I wasn't making every effort make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the and apiece it goes on to say seven different ones I want you to notice the ones here one body one spirit you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord come on somebody one faith one baptism and one God and Father of all who is over all through all in in all so we all know that there's not a lot of ones right now there's a lot across not just in America but around the world there's a lot of distinctive groups that have been formed or in people's minds different groups that like there's not a lot of one going on and the Bible tells us the church tells me as a pastor you know no you need to make an effort to kind of bring back the ones we got to get back to one we there has to be some more ones going on and so I sat down and I started writing out some of the ones like then what what what with all the division that's happening what what what are the ones in fact one of the ironies of this entire experience that that is happening not only in our nation but here at our own church is that for the last three months I was leading with some others an effort to bring unity to the body of Christ through prayer in this thing called unite 7:14 and while there was unity and leading unity around the world I had allowed disunity to happen even in my own backyard and in my own own church and own city and nation world and the Lord said no no no you you did it there but you need to do it here can I hear a good amen everybody I can't we got to get the ones back and I knew that's what I was assigned to do so I called my pastor I said he says you ain't he's supposed to have your phone like I know it I know it but of I feel like I'm supposed to go home and I feel like even you know even though my tank is on a little empty that God will give me strength to lead and I'm telling you I feel I feel energized over the last few days of what the Lord's done inside of me and I'm excited about it and what I'm gonna say let me just say to you is not all that needs to be said it's one of the fears honestly I have right it's not nervous its I can't find the right word but but IIIi don't want you to hear what I'm hearing saying and and think that's all I'm saying that needs to be said I think though I think not only a whole lot needs to be said a whole lot needs to be done it does but can I just give you one slice of what I think needs to be said today just so please if you wouldn't judge it on the totality of it if you just let me just sit share what I'm thinking today and what I'm doing today I'm gonna tell a lot of stories and this message ain't gonna be real long but I think it could be impactful then I think it's so important right now we all know what divides us but what can bring us together jesus said this Jesus was even talking to his own disciples and they were out there going town to town village to village to in ministry and he was out there bringing unity to the to the to the broken and the hurting and he had the vision in his own team jitan about says he knew their thoughts and said to them every Kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself cannot stand and that's why even when in the last prayer that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ prayed of course his final prayer was Father forgive them they don't know what they're doing on the cross but on the night before he would go to the cross you know he spent that time in the Garden of Gethsemane praying and thank the Lord we have the recorded prayer in John chapter 17 but notice what he's praying he's not even really praying for all the ills of society he said I got to get everybody back to one and especially my church has to get back to one or y'all hearing me and he says my prayer is not for them alone I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message that all of them may be one father just as you are in me and I in you may they also be in us and if if they see the church come together and if they see us come together the world is gonna go wait a little wait a minute you guys you guys showed us how this happens are y'all seeing this that they may believe that you have sent me and he goes let's say I have given them the glory that you gave me what is the glory of God what's the anointing on our house what's the anointing on your marriage what's the anointing on your family your mommy your daddy whoever your neighbors it's when you when there's unity and he says I'm a the glory of God settles whenever they're one that they may be one as you know we the the Godhead the Father Son the Holy Spirit they're one and I in them in you and me this is the Spirit of God is that is that there's unity and so I sat down and I just asked when I'm preparing messages would I ask questions so I've taught this to some of the people who want to learn how to communicate and I don't claim to be the best communicator but but but but I I ask a lot of questions what would it take as Jesus went on to say what would it take here is my question what would it take for for there to be complete unity at church the Holland's what would it take for there to be complete unity in my home what it takes to be complete unity among the races what would it take for there becomes unity between us in our city Oh what would it take and and and again can I say it one more time a lot of things need to be both said and done this is not exhaustive this is just where I am today three ones write them down one enemy one enemy we know there's really at the end of the day there's not a lot everybody there's a lot of different groups have forms but there's one enemy the devil that there's only one thief who steals kills and destroys and there is the tendency to get mad hurt upset by I mean you that could happen to people to like people an upset can't believe you did that other good well I can't believe you said that well I can't believe you thought that well I can't believe you went there oh I can't wait you didn't go there but our struggle is not against your neighbor stop it's against the rulers against the authorities it's a against the powers there's there's an unseen realm my friends that is in operation laughing their heads off look at them fight and they're the instigators of it all I'm telling you and we'll never reconcile with each other until we can bind the one who starts this all in the first place our weapons are not the weapons of this world the Bible says but our weapons pull down spiritual strongholds and I really believe it to be true had a revelation got up yesterday morning before prayer at 4:42 a.m. exactly and and and and went down and and I was having some thoughts a lot of you guys know if you've been around you know the United 7:14 story that in own New Year's Eve of 2018 so 17 months ago on New Year's Eve a dear friend of mine who no one hardly knows an older guy who's truly operates in the office of a prophet of a prophet had the Lord speak to him on New Year's Eve 2018 he saw what happened with the coronavirus he saw the financial institutions ravaged he saw all recorded 17 months ago he saw it 17 months ago said 17 months 17 months 17 months he he preached it that night this like I'm telling you what I'm seeing he saw disease coming out of different parts of the world he saw it wrecking wrecking America so that when things started to happen even in January of this year when the first hints of this disease started hitting America he he he's like what my goodness this is it but it wasn't 17 months yet in fact in January - only 12 months 13 months that's and and so in the fifteenth months 14th month he he called I've told the story how he's called pastors together just a few ended up being about 25 on a call like like I think this is about this virus and God was warning us so that we could pray and a unite united prayer effort began and and it turned into hundreds of millions of people in fact on Pentecost day Friday the 29th I was actually speaking to via video to they estimate somewhere between is the big range by the way a hundred and ten million and two billion they don't know but it's at least this and it could be as much as that and and which is mind-boggling coming together in prayer we thought because of this coronavirus in fact the prophecy 17 months ago was that that by if well if the church will pray now listen close to this if the church will pray that by Passover Easter for Christians the there would be a shift in the in the disease and there was or we through it no but there was definitely a shift right there on that date and that by Pentecost something would happen that we would all say only God and I and even this prophet and others all believed well that's the day the whole of disease ends and that's the day that we will have the breakthrough of breakthroughs and all the churches are going to be open well guess what that's not what happened on the week of Pentecost is when this tragedy with George Floyd happened and and we all thought it was a shift of breakthrough and freedom and we're back in our businesses but really what happened was for 40 days earth all of Earth was quarantined the word core the core apart of quarantine is for the word 40 40 days that's in fact it was it was used to in in in before there was the advanced medicine we had the day that's how they fix disease or 40 days get away from people 40 days and that and the disease can be mitigated but what happens in 40 days all throughout scripture 40 is the number of testing breaking discipline softening because even the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt we're came out with all the riches of Egypt with their chest stuck out we're not slaves anymore and God says you're not ready to go into the promised land yet and for 40 years they wandered with braking and testing and mistakes and victories and they had to be changed during the quarantine softened for an event that could be history-making and I truly believe I had a pastor an african-american pastor friend of mine named Bishop Ken Omer we were on the phone yesterday for an hour and a half and he passes a great church out in California and he said Pastor Chris please tell me this is gonna be different this time and I said pastor ken bishop Omar I really believe it is because God brought us through a stripping of our selves we were in her homes we were we were going through a breaking up we lost things we only to soften our hearts so that that event that took place in Minneapolis could be history-making never the same again and I truly believe the whole prayer effort I could be wrong I'm neither a prophet nor the son of a problem so I could be wrong but I now believe that God that that prayer if it was never about a disease I think the prayer effort was so that the disease I don't think God created it by the way but the God would use it to have us in a place of desperation so that when something happened there was a prophecy on our church staff you'll remember this that that God was going to bring Hyland's to new places of harvest before there was highlands there had to be lowlands you'll remember that and this was before this was two months ago when we heard this and you can't really get all that God has until something is stripped from you till you're humbled tested and disciplined I don't want to it's hard to explain you kind of your own journey and again the fear is always being misunderstood but I'm just telling you God has I am NOT the same Chris Hodges I was two weeks ago do I have a long way to go yes sir but I can look you in the eye and say I've been tested stripped disciplined broken I cry two times a year and usually just with a movie you know I'm saying that's and I have Tammy Kent a sitting right here on the front row buckets for days buckets and I know I know it's a it's really been one of those painful things I've ever been through my life and I know God is is is is disciplining me breaking me a broken and contrite heart is the is the pathway to the presence and the anointing of God and I think God's doing it to America I think he's done it to people that don't even know God that we're shaken and I really believe God is doing something I'm so encouraged today I've truly believed the devil is going to be defeated and we're going to see not only a healing from a disease but I don't think our land is ever gonna be the same again I truly believe it will see lasting change can I get a good Amen everybody one enemy our battle is in the heavenly realms it's not here on this earth here's the second one and that is we don't have to look alike we don't have to act alike but we do have to have one heart Tammy now is different as night and day if I'm hot she's cold if she's cold I'm hot if she wants to spin I want to save if she wants to spin I want to say like I said we are on the disc profile which I know is now out and they got the India gram which I'm not a cliff not even I don't have it a clue what I am never tell us something I got you got a wing now with a wing I don't know about no wing but anyway but but on the disk you know I was the DI and she was the SC we spelled discs we were so different but can I tell you we have one heart we love the same things we value the same things and people are talking about even this current racial divide listen to me unity is not uniformity we don't have to be alike we just have to love alike the believers were one and Co say they were yellow out loud with it they were one in and in their minds and I want you to take notes on this because I I've I've grown in fact I think you get I think you've become one in heart by doing three things I want you to get these three words down and I plant I I intend to model this in front of you but then also say don't watch me I need you to go do this two three three L words that can put you in one heart the first is learn learn I've I promised in my letter and I've already made good on it so far and plan to do even more I've had a lot of conversations forums I called him a letter Tom's Rogers sit with people they can testify let them testify to it I literally sat there and said tell me what I don't know oh I want to hear I want to hear and these aren't like a few minutes I'm talking three four hours just sitting sitting at the table to just talk to me I want to with my staff with dream teamers with coaches with pastors with our pastures with other pastors with with with my neighbors I mean like I'm reaching out to any group that we'll just talk to me and and and and I want to grow I want to learn I want to talk I'm gonna hear and I want to look at you and say I need you to do the same that the promise that I made to people I think all of us thing to say tell me your story tell me what it's like the Bible says that my dear brothers and sisters every one should be say the yellow out loud they should be quick to there's a lot of fast speaking right now and honestly guys they want you to speak fast you get fussed at if you don't speak fast enough I'm just gonna tell you I'm not going to speak fast because if I tell you what I know right now I'm gonna have to change it in about a week because I'm learning and to learn you got to slow down we live in a society that wants instant feedback and I'm gonna tell you how I feel right now tell you got to delete it just slow down a little bit I beg everybody slow down be quick to listen slow to speak in the coming weeks when I say me but when we're not finished learning we're never gonna finish learning but we when we get to a point where we feel like we have something to say you gonna hear it we will we've already we've already planning to put our positions and our changes and our initiatives on a web star website we do it for kovat 19 why can't we do it for racial reconciliation it's gonna be that it's gonna be there we go but-but-but-but I'm begging you to let it slow down a little bit and let us let us learn and I'm asking you don't gonna be so fast right now this is not the time to go through this fast and act like well we're through that no we're not we need to learn can I get an amen somebody but when you learn learning is right here that's not enough I've learned because you also have to feel lament you've got to get to the place where it's not just oh well I didn't know that it's a god that's how I made you feel that's how you read that and I'm not going to get into the details today of my very intimate and beautiful conversations that I've had but I was several nights ago had our four campus pastors who happened to be we I'm pausing because they were they were even arguing among themselves whether we should say african-american or black it was so funny that they obviously not it's funny to use it was does that night but but they were like I was just sitting there in the middle like and they go well I'm not from Africa well I like it well I don't like the oh so right now as I was thinking which one do I say but they don't pass her black congregations because we don't have any black congregations they they they they were there they were the four african-american black couples that pass through our church with me and we were sitting having this conversation and we had this moment this intimate moment where I was just kind of I was I was expressing my own like like I just did right there I don't know how to say I want to say it right I really want to say things from I don't hear right and and then and it was Courtney Winston I was going to tell you it is this Courtney Winston who's the Spitfire man that girl and she is sat upon the edge of her chair she goes Pastor Chris we don't need you to say anything I said well that's what I thought she goes we just needed you to feel it we just needed you to be there and the first thing that came to my mind was funerals because when you have I got I've been doing this 37 years there's a lot people have been killed in a car wreck died of cancer like and the worser or sudden deaths when they you didn't even know they were sick they're just gone like a shot like a child killed in a car wreck and when you go there to the service you never try to give them an explanation because there's not one you're just there and I thought like I grew because I realized my role isn't to craft the right statement or was it was to call my team invite them to my house and y'all Finnerty knows that we needed to we didn't need to answer we needed to feel first there's the place by the way where you do step out and start creating statements I'm not saying those look and you will see those but man you got to learn you got a lament you've got a bear one another's burdens I got to feel it I got to know it and I'm gonna tell you something Church you can't speed that up either I have had at least six different intimate conversations and have have dozens more planned and I told everybody I'm just going to take my time I'm not gonna rush anybody through the process as systematic as I am I'm slowing down and I'm getting to know my own team I had this moment with one of our worship leaders this week and he just sobbed his face off and said as I was telling him what I was doing to bring healing and I said yeah we did a zoom call with some of the arc pastors and we talked and I love Dom and he just sobbed and I I thought he was sobbing like way to go pastor he goes but you didn't call me and he had a death so to speak and I didn't go to the funeral and I right there repented to him for just not going to the funeral he didn't need anything else from me but for me to be there are y'all here in my heart today we learn we lament and then only then can we love now it there's trust there's forgiveness there's repentance there's healing there's protection because that's what love is y'all do it love is is is I'm affirmed you got my back I got your back like now we're to a level in the relationship which America I'm crying out to you learn lament and let's get each other's backs again let's let's protect one another again aye aye aye aye aye we all need to strive toward the greatest of every quality in the Bible Faith Hope and love but the greatest of these is unconditional agape and that love always protects always trusts always hopes always perseveres can I get a good Amen somebody one enemy one heart by doing three things and the last one is what we we do need to continue to do and do even more and it's what really brought us together as the church we are today and that is one purpose like we got a we got a not let this moment pass us by and act like it didn't happen and at the same time got to get back to know God find freedom discover purpose make a difference to all people in Alabama and around the world can I hear a good a man team yes well that's what because that's who we are that God created us not just to heal that needs to happen but to join him in the work that he's doing that he's really gotten us ready to this honestly I think we're gonna be better at it than before we're gonna be better at reaching people I was on the phone two days ago with Pastor Rick Warren what a man of god what a beautiful friend and and he was just bubbling through the the zoom screen talking about that they Saddleback has seen 4500 salvations in the last three months way way way at food delivery food banks alone and then he says and we baptized a thousand people I'm like we ain't baptized nobody since Corona because I didn't know you could do it during Corona so I said how are you doing that hey though Pastor Chris we line them up in boxes that six feet apart in a line and you know with the red tape line like they do he says and and they come up to think I was just wait like how have you figured out this he says I'm standing outside the tank and they come in the tank and they and and then he says and then I just don't I don't touch him he says you know Chris there's not a verse anywhere that says the pastor who or the person baptizing has to touch him like you're right you know I he goes so I just say we baptize you in the name of the Father Son the Holy Spirit in the precious name of Jesus he says and they back and they dunked themselves they just go down like and then we take a picture and I go how the what a great and a fire lit up in me again that I have it felt in three months honestly like we got to get to our purpose and now I have a new fire too I'm saying this to be accountable to you I've got a fire to see real in fact I have the first hope in my 56 almost 57 years that we can actually move the ball down the field in this racial reconciliation thing y'all believe that I really do I really really do have a fire in my belly that the valleys every person who feels marginalized or low will be exalted and then all the high places the arrogance and all hatred brought low the crooked places made straight and the rough places smooth and it goes on to say in this in the scripture the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh the lost people are gonna see the church lead the way in this the mouth of the Lord has spoken and everybody said amen preach longer than I thought my apologies I'm just passionate today and um one enemy one heart by learning lamenting by loving and then get back to our one purpose that has brought us together in the first place while you're in the room so in 1961 the Berlin Wall was built divided Germany into two nations East Germany West Germany and then the Berlin Wall even this capital city of Berlin was divided there was a West Side and an East Side I'm familiar with it because Tammy and her family were missionaries in Germany I proposed to Tammy in Germany in 1986 the wall didn't come down to 1989 we used to go on dates in Germany when I was when I was courting her convincing her is what you won't I noticed what you won't right and and we used to go to these border walls we used to wait at the guards in the towers there East German guards it was actually quite fascinating but I have the firsthand experience an account of it being there well communism fell let me say it this way communism became illegal and that separation became illegal but the wall was still up like it was a year after the thing became from the time the thing was illegal to the wall came down and one day a group of people young people got a little discouraged about with this this is not who we are anymore than why is that still there and they got him um little pick axes and the wall was ginormous I mean it was it was forever long and it looked almost insurmountable to tear the whole thing down they didn't worry about that they just took out their own section of it they did their part until all of us brought it down in fact when it did come down in 1989 the missionary friend that Tammy and I supported his name is on the back of this little plaque this is an actual piece of it that I used to have on display at my home in Baton Rouge and when we moved to Birmingham it ended up in a box and it has not been on display since 2001 and yesterday I dug into the attic and found the box and pulled it out because I have things on my desk like I have a Tigger figurine it reminds me to have a good attitude and I have that baseball card the personnel led to Jesus to me under the story the Billy from Boston remind me to lead people to Jesus this is my newest addition to my desk - that's that I'm gonna look at everyday that while I might not be able to tear the whole thing down I plan on doing my section of it but this is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] please be seated and I'm asking you to do your section of it in the most godly way possible I think you do it by having one enemy this is spiritual I mean it's practical - if practical things need be done but it's spiritually at the root I'm asking you to have a heart one heart that learns laments so you can love like Jesus loves and that we come together back with one purpose to change the world together [Music] we're not gonna get there without us being changed I'm asking you to go watch yesterday's prayer service because I think it all starts with us like we can't ask the world to do anything that we're not willing to do ourselves change me in fact I want you close your eyes right there where you are team here and if you're watching somewhere and perhaps you're watching and you're you're saying so much has to happen in my heart I'm realizing you're right so much has to happen in me here's the good news God responds to the humble to the contrite to the broken listen to me he's never expected your perfection he's just wanted your honesty a broken and contrite heart God does not despise perhaps you're there and you feel convicted by your own sin maybe by your own biases maybe by your own feelings your own mistakes can I tell you in a moment of honesty before God he forgives makes new changes your heart if you're not a Christian or if you're far from God or you're our Christian and you backslidden or you're a solid Christian and you're just mad and discouraged and beat-up and your hearts got no heart can you pray this prayer with me right there where you are say Jesus thank you for paying for all my mistakes say that thank you for paying for my biases my anger my brokenness my mistakes my sin let's say these two words from the depths of your soul save me save me I'd give you my life I surrender my life to you save me forgive me and say these words change me

Channel: Church of the Highlands

Views: 7,275

Rating: 4.787879 out of 5

Keywords: Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands, COTH, Alabama, Religion, Christianity

Id: 45RdTB0Tb60

Length: 40min 52sec (2452 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 14 2020