Bishop Noel Jones - Sunday Morning Worship - September 5, 2021

can't do nothing you're showing us more and more that our dependence is on you and we must lean on you heavily right now we think of all of those who have lost loved ones we can't get them out of our minds we think of the pervasiveness of death like we've never experienced it before every time the phone rings every time somebody sends a note every time somebody stops us in the street we're dealing with bad news but we thank you for the good news of the gospel we thank you for the power of your word because you declared to us that we can do all things if we just get your strength we can come through every and anything we want to focus on our teachers now who are going to the front line [Music] and being exposed to everything that the children bring in the room i pray now lord that you will just send a blanket of protection upon them not only have they got to deal with diseases but they've got to deal with the upfront of children who have become violent have become wicked and i pray right now lord that you will give them wisdom to operate let your anointing prevail in that room let your spirit control the atmosphere of that room and i pray god that the teachers will go home not with sickness not with anything to spread in their house but that they will go home rejoicing that you have brought them out yet another day and i claim the victory right now in the name of jesus i reach every need supply every knee and i believe it done right now and if you believe it lift your voice and say it's done [Music] again we're in a critical situation politically and we need everybody now to be available to vote you've got to vote don't get quiet on the issues right now in a minute we're going to be facing the recall of our governor and uh we we just need to vote and you just can't avoid it and wait till 2022 to decide these relationships that we have we have made and garnish there's many things coming down the pipe that will help us economically and we have to have this conversation one of the things that will happen economically is the infrastructure embellishment which means over a trillion dollars is going into making our roads and our neighborhoods better now that means economic influx into the community that means jobs opportunities if the money comes our way [Music] so that's why we need a governor we can talk to to tell him look we need the money to come our way yeah yeah i understand why the republicans didn't fight it because it wouldn't be business to fight it because it means more money coming down to business people so one of the things we argued with and i talked to brother glenn and i were talking and the 209 209 says you don't have to give anything to minorities but as i said to the governor yesterday one of my brothers in the church says well you may not have to give it to minorities but do what you say and if in your policy you say you're giving a certain percentage then just do that and that will cover and bless us you got to understand that much of crime is based on not having enough talk to me now amen and so we want to pray i know some people say we shouldn't be involved well [Music] we better be involved the city refuge will host two days for early voting on friday september 10th so you know your way here it'll be from 9 00 a.m until 5 p.m then saturday on the 11th from 9 00 a.m again until 2 pm the official drop-off box for all available will be available rather on both days and that is or please mail your ballot before tuesday september 14th please we we have to participate you can't complain if you don't participate and that's a part of our right and that's a part of what god has fixed don't put god only in the midst of mystical and the ethereal god operates right down here with you and i and through us and make that a part of your plan please please let's not ignore it we've got to do it because we need somebody friendly in the right place now i'm seeing again that on friday september 10th from 9 00 a.m to 5 00 p.m the county of los angeles mobile clinic will be on site for anyone who would like to get their vaccination pfizer or johnson and johnson will be available so you know you're still debating it in your mind i know you are you're still debating in your mind some have some have it but if we don't have what they call herd immunity if we don't have enough people then when those who are fighting it from a vaccination point of view have put up a resistance against it it'll jump to somebody who doesn't have the resistance and then it'll mutate and get meaner because it can find somewhere else to go it's like a demon [Music] it's like a demon and when the demon is seeking somewhere to go and when the demon can't get to you because you block it the demon jumps over there now if you remember and and you know i'm too much of a biblicist to even try to uh spiritualize the whole issue of when you're cleansed and the holy spirit does not get in and the bible says that the demons wander around and they go get their buddies [Music] can you imagine demons doing missionary work saying say there's a vessel over there we can get because they don't have the resistant power of the holy spirit well we want to you know we debate it as preachers debating how much influence we have and what we can and cannot say and it's proper but again i'm telling you if you've got if you think the vaccination is evil all right that's what you think it's evil we don't have any scientific proof to say that it's not going that it's evil because we do operate in science when we choose to yes how many people wear glasses out there there's a lot of glasses and all that is science now you can debate now here's here's where we got a debate we've got to debate whether you will treat me right with the science that you have because for anybody to come to any conclusion about anything scientific that works it's because of the consistency of god see you've got to understand this that the god of the supernatural is the god of the natural that you you can't separate god of the natural from god of the supernatural you see here is what happened he said when he made the earth he gave man dominion everything that has been discovered was always discoverable always discoverable everything that you can discover was always there if adam had the knowledge of aviation if he had the knowledge of jet propulsion if he had a knowledge of gravity and wind velocity he could have flown it didn't come in the 19th and 20th century it was always there every cure for every medicine every cure for every sickness that they have cures for was always there you fight the vaccine but you take prescribed medicine the doctor tells you to get some pills and you go get the pills and nobody said that the mark of the beast was in xanax you're gonna talk okay you know maybe i'm dyslexic or something nobody said the mark of the beast was when you hook up to the dialysis machine [Music] all of a sudden here come the mark of the beast yes i can understand the his terrificity that makes us a little bit what is this trepidation because of angel orange trepidation because of the tuskegee experiment but understand that those uh and angel orange didn't only kill uh black soldiers angel orange wasted a lot of people in this country that old vietnam thing you remember and of course tuskegee was in a time in an age where it was just it's horrible i'm not saying that the attitude has changed completely but i'm saying look at the stats seven hundred thousand americans dead people dead all over the world because of this virus and we know it's evil so now you can choose between doing nothing and running into this virus or you can choose between taking on the lesser of the two evils and trusting god because you got to trust god either way but i want to trust him understanding his principles and if you don't want to do it for yourself and do it for your grandmother and the people you're around and please don't try to make scared god amen you can't make scared god you're scared say you're scared but please don't tell me nothing about the mark of the beast amen and the government trying to find us where we are so they're putting something in us to find where we are uh you got a cell phone right oh he knows where you are amen so again we're asking god to help us to make our minds up but it's time to make our minds up sooner or later we've got to do something to be a part of this it's offering time amen [Music] it's offering time and again we want to say thank god for all of you who have been so uh generous even in a in the absence i i gave a payment on my offering on my offering and tides i got to make another payment this month and then i'll catch up i'll catch up this month and then then i'll talk to the lord about what i'm to do every week but i'm gonna catch up this month amen when i talk about catching up i gotta gotta check my blood pressure but we thank god for all of you and and i i can go on and on about offering but if you haven't heard enough about offerings yet because if the preacher's going to talk about anything he's going to talk about some offering but when you love the lord and you have read your bible and you understand generosity and kindness always repays because you can't beat god giving the young man in africa sent me over a period of time putting a bank account in africa 220 000 almost a quarter million ran and the spirit of the lord told me when he said i want you to have this because of what you've been doing the spirit of the lord told me don't touch it and the situation in africa got so bad where the moo has come in so i said sir you got access to it it's yours and i gave it all back because and i felt good about it i felt very good about it you know sometimes you give by not taking do you feel me church sometimes you give by not taking so get the best gift you can your tithes they tell me don't say gift forget your offering and get your tithe and just hold it up to the lord if you will father in the name of jesus in these times of financial uncertainty with the prospects of good things coming down the pipe we just simply ask that you sustain us that you keep us that you open doors for us that you make ways for us and we will step in the door we will go in the way if you open the door lord we will say like david said what shall i render unto god unto the lord for all of his benefits for all that he has done for me i will take and yes lord if you make the way if you open the door then we would be negligent if we don't step in so we're asking you to open the door make the way and we will honor you by going into that door i pray now lord for our children in school that they will take the right courses i pray for those who are coming out that they will get the right jobs i pray for those who are watching over them and directing them that they will give them the right advice and i speak it in jesus name and somebody lift your voice and say i'm blessed i'm blessed i'm blessed i'm blessed all right amen just before the praise team come for those who don't or are my left by right the wings would you please stand and please give your your offering um on the side for those who are sitting in the center where you please stand and please walk down front and just a reminder please keep on your mask during service amen please receive the priesthood [Music] [Music] the victory [Music] here we go it is time it won't always be like this victory [Music] you can dance [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] victory [Music] once again as long as we know how thanking you for another day father this is the day the lord has made we will rejoice and be glad and father we thank you for these tithes and offerings and most of all we thank you for the instruction and the wisdom and the guidance [Music] is is [Music] oh i love it victory victory i'm a winner victory [Music] [Music] [Music] victory [Music] your hand out so [Music] [Music] my amen oh i feel like a party coming on here it's in matthew's gospel it's in matthew's gospel and says should i hear that in saint matthew's gospel chapter four and i would actually like to focus on the second temptation but i think i'm going to do an an overview and then because to remain contextual and to understand it in its wholeness it might be necessary to do an overview and then focus on the particular text after we have absorbed the context so well let's just go as and and let it happen organically whatever happens then was jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness and the scripture says here to be tempted of the devil and when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights he was afterward and hunger when the tempter came to him he said if thou be the son of god command that these stones be made bread and he answered and said it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by everywhere that proceedeth out of the mouth of god then the devil taketh him up into the holy city and set at him on a pinnacle of the temple he sees unto him if thou be the son of god since you want to talk about being the son of god then cast thyself down for it is written he shall give his angels charge concerning thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against the stone then jesus said unto him it is written again thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain showeth him all of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and saith unto him all these things will i give thee if thou shalt fall down and worship me then send jesus unto him get thee behind me satan for it is written thou shalt worship the lord thy god and him only shout thou serve now notice verse 11 then the devil leaveth him and behold angels came and ministered unto him uh just open your mouth and say we have to pass and now make it more personal and say i have to pass [Applause] i have to pass there are some battles that aren't worth fighting if you win and there are some battles worth fighting if you lose i wish somebody had told me that when i was married uh you know every now and then i get i just drift real quick have you ever after having a some horrible clash with your mate have you ever asked yourself what were we arguing about oh i see all of you when you are arguing you had a point right but we are at a time now in our collective lives and in our individual lives where we have to win there are certain circumstances in your life and i don't know if i've got many procrastinators here but there are times when you face certain things and instead of going into it adamantly vehemently you put it off and many times in my life i can't speak for yours but many times in my life i just decided not to decide and sometimes when you put something off because you don't want to face it and sometimes you don't want to face it until you have to face it because you don't know and i don't know what the outcome will be so we rather not get in the battle when we can't guarantee how we're coming out there are certain things that eventually you're going to have to deal with and for some we say all right now give me the bad news first give me the battle the big battle first since i got a deal with it ultimately and most of us who lead in our families who lead on our jobs who lead in our church who lead our lives we understand that there are times when we have to encounter you can't keep saying to yourself i'm not gonna say anything you can't keep going down the other street when there's something that you have to deal with when we look here we can declare right now in the text that jesus passed the test and he had to pass the test because he now becomes the example that we have to have when we come with an encounter with satan i'm going to call this the overview for because i got to do details later you cannot be tempted outside of what you bring to the table every man is tempted when he's drawn away by his own lust and enticed so immediately then temptation is made up of two parts it's made up of what you bring to the table and what the enticer stimulates you to do ah you know when you preach jesus uh you know you got to deal with sin sometimes you know when you preach money you don't have to deal with any of that you just you know self-help and norman vincent peale and and you know get rich quick but when you deal with jesus and you follow his pattern and you see what he went through and then you have to apply to yourself satan is not seeking to tempt where there is no desire because you can't get me to buy a car i don't want and so when you understand the significance then of being called of god then immediately you will find that satan's going to take a shot at you because god put his hand on you and he can't stand for you to have a relationship with god so as soon as there is a recognition that god has his hand on you the first thing he's going to do is come after you understand this satan doesn't have to go after who he has he just goes after who got away from it let me approach this from the scriptural text jesus says testing is actually the narrative of the temptation falls into three primary categories the first one is jesus's testing recalls that of israel in the wilderness whatever god commanded israel his child into the wilderness which more he would require his son the messiah you have to understand that when israel got in the wilderness they failed the test and it's interesting that whenever god moves to bring somebody out of a situation the first place they end up in is the wilderness he brought you out of captivity on your way to ownership but he doesn't take you from captivity immediately into ownership there is a period where you have to go through until you get what he has appointed i wish it would be that the moment he filled me with the holy spirit and put his hand on me that i would become the kind of child that he wants me to be but in order to be the kind of child that he wants to me to be i have to go through the wilderness [Applause] there are certain things you can't avoid when god has his hand on you you can't avoid people talking about you when god has his hand on you you can't avoid satanic hindrances trying to block your path when god has his hand on you when god has his hand on you you cannot avoid the battle you have in your mind over what people have done to you and often times you run into the people who have done it to you after god put his hand on you and that is a wilderness experience to see can you get over what they did because god put his hand on you so you're not taking the past into the future [Music] but you're dropping it right where it was because now that god has put his hand on me i can easily forgive you because i have another destiny in mind than revenge i wish i could talk to somebody here if you're gonna go further you gotta let some things go you gotta let some people go you gotta get them out of your mind you can't keep looking back at what folk have done when you gotta go forward you can't listen to what a lot of folk gotta say when god is talking to you in the other air you can't harbor anything in your heart when you need the freedom for the holy spirit to move through you i don't need a block on the inside let the block be on the outside uh it's overview i i i i don't have to shout it's critical now because the second thing is that jesus provides a model for tested believers if i'm going to get through this i have to walk where jesus walked i can't walk on my own path because i need direction here and i need to understand how to handle things when they come the third thing that is significant here in the narrative is that the narrative affirms a correct understanding of jesus's messiahship as against the contemporary and the political or the militaristic interpretations i've got to understand it from the biblical point of view and not from culture's point of view because many of us have had to fight because of the cultural attack to the christian journey that we're trying to make can i just say that another way oftentimes we modify where we stand because of what's happening in the world around us and many times we as the children of god become complacent to the things of the world because we have not yet been transformed by the renewing of our mind to the point where we say you don't influence us but we should influence you this is important because many times we modify our stand not only do we modify our stand because of our friends we modify our stand because of our personal ambition we modify our friends because of the fear of being ostracized by people who aren't within the parameters of our thoughts we modify our stand because of our financial situations we modify our stand because of what our children demand many times we don't stand where we ought to stand and jesus is saying to us that the easy way is not always god's way and sometimes you gotta deal with being ostracized by man to be accepted by god i wish somebody said can you hear me out there all right as long as you can because it's critical then to follow this further what matthew does is he makes the biblical background clear even in simple ways like saying the spirit led jesus into the wilderness now many people argue that but what he's doing is reflecting on a common biblical motif where god is guiding his people if you look at exodus 13 18 it is god who put them in the wilderness they didn't go in the wilderness by themselves they weren't going away from the command of god it is god who put them in the wilderness because he is leading them if you understand that then you understand that jesus has to be led into the place where he can become an example for you and me you cannot take jesus outside of the human experience and expect us to be like him he has to come into the human experience and show us how to operate in that place so being the son of god he has to be led by the spirit of god to guide the path that you and i have to take let me tell you this whatever you're going through right now it is not something that has not already been done so please don't give don't say to yourself i'm the only one feeling this way because jesus had to feel what you feel in order to show you how to get out of what you're in and this is why god has to lead him into the wilderness now many people will say that the holy spirit does not lead into where there's trouble oh i wish i could talk to you here uh many people say that god does not lead into anything that's difficult so if somebody tests your lust or tests your attitude or tests your kindness or tests your anger the first thing you say it's not god that's the devil do you know how many times we confuse the operation of god for the devil many instances in your life it ain't the devil it's god putting you through a test to analyze who you are so you can see that i can't do this by myself i need god to bring me out with a mighty hand oh i feel like shouting on this one it is important to understand this because the biblical motive is that god guide his people into the wilderness if you have any doubts just check exodus 13 and 18. check exodus 13 18 and 21 15 and 13. i i put them down uh 15 and 22 deuteronomy 8 and 2 and what we note also is that jesus quotes three texts from deuteronomy and all of them are commandments that israel failed to obey but jesus is determined to obey what israel couldn't do jesus did and because israel is in front of jesus we don't have to follow israel we follow jesus because jesus steps in between the failure of israel and the victory we're going to have because we follow him when you live your life following jesus you don't follow anybody else's opinion in order to get to where you need to go uh uh i'm gonna take my time i i don't have to preach this we can talk about this i i can holler later the wilderness then is translated desert and the uh new version the niv because few people lived there it was not a pleasant place some believe the wilderness to be a special haunt of demons and if you look at the comment in chapter 12 43 and apart from a few rugged people like john who made the wilderness between jordan valley and the judean hills they made it their homes it represented a dangerous and inspirable setting right now that's where we are we're in a very in hospitable and dangerous time that's where we are right now all of us were all in the wilderness we're in the wilderness of the pandemic we're in the wilderness of social upheaval we're in the wilderness of our own personal idiosyncratic situations we have never seen death like we have seen death in this last two years we are in the wilderness of not knowing what to do financially we're in the wilderness of not knowing how church is going to end up at the end of the day so right now more than ever before we are in an inhospitable and dangerous place and for you to say that god does not want us here is for you to know something i don't know because if he didn't want us here he wouldn't have allowed us to be here the problem is not the situation the problem is how we're gonna handle it and i'm here to tell you we've got to pass amen we can't fail we can't i wish you could holler at somebody and tell him you just can't fail right now amen amen and amen i don't know this thing is bothering me uh just briefly uh yeah just turn it off i'll keep it on it it's important testing one two give me some sound here please uh you see we we think when we think of applying this passage today when i think about this particular passage and we may mediate at a greater length on the other two lessons scholars have talked about i studied a couple people and i found that jesus's victory models for us as it modeled for his disciples and what the passage here tells us about the true character of jesus's mission no less than matthew's discourse sections which is in 28 and 19 this narrative provides a model for us you cannot look at this and understand it clearly if you don't understand that the narrative here brings us where jewish teaches instructed by example as well as the word so jesus now has to be led in to the wilderness so that he might instruct us not only by word but by example he has to show us how to handle the situation that's why we have to move into yeah feel better now we have to move into the narrative about jesus so that we can understand how he navigated in the situation we have many people who can tell us how to live i have a whole lot of folk who have a lot of advice for us but we never see them live through what they talk about you see what the bible is saying to us is we're not only going by what jesus taught we have to go by what he does and in order for him to have that kind of problem that we have he has to be led by the spirit so the spirit does not avoid wilderness when god is working in you his power so don't you think that something is wrong with you because you end up in a wilderness experience you would not be in that wilderness experience if god didn't first put his hand on you notice when he is going through the experience he's going through the experience after the word was declared this is my beloved son anytime god decides to make you a public spectacle of being with him you will experience the wilderness you can't avoid it you can't get around it it does not mean something is wrong with you it does not mean that you have walked away from god to have to go through something so stop looking at what you're going through as something is wrong with you and be prepared for the battle to come out on the other side with more power than you ever had before amen you can go in filled with the spirit but you're going to come out with the power of the spirit and i want to move from field to power i want to move from having him dwelling to expressing himself and the greatest enemy is the devil notice here now jesus who fast in the wilderness is now going to expose a weakness the spirit now has empowered jesus for his mission and he's empowered jesus for his mission as god's son and you see that very clearly in chapter 3 in just 16 and 17. now the same spirit that has empowered him and declared him to be god's son is the one who leads him into the wilderness where his call must be tested oh i feel the holy spirit here now you said you said it was god who anointed you you say it was god that brought you out you said it was god that directed you to open that business you said it was god that led you to a particular church you said you said it was god who released you to the next level oh i want to see the white of your eye covey to no covert that's what you say how quickly we say the lord but every time you say the lord you look for the test and don't be too quick to say the lord if you ain't ready for the test i feel something happening here because part of the power has got to be exhibited in your vociferous and vehement strength to keep focus on what god said when the enemy is throwing everything at you from every side if god said it then in spite of what the enemy is doing you will still achieve it but you got to stay the course you cannot say god said and then back upon the first thing that comes against you i wish somebody would understand it you cannot say god said and then run from the opposition that's standing in your way if god said it you gotta face it with everything you have and don't back up when the enemy comes up because if god said it i believe it and i'll have the victory over everything that comes my way oh folk didn't start talking about you till you said god said amen you didn't get so much opposition until you said god said amen because the devil wants you to doubt whether god said it or not what matthew does he informs us the purpose of the spirit leading of the god son the purpose was that he might be tested like most of the heroic predecessors abraham joseph moses david job go down the list jesus had to pass a period of testing before beginning his public ministry many times god holds you in a wilderness experience before he releases you to ministry so that he can build your character because giftedness that is not supported by character won't last very long we have many gifted people that we don't use because they don't have any character i wish somebody'd understand me and your gift will put you in the lights and your character will put you in the basement can i can i you know what i i'm not trying to preach now [Music] you have been called the son of god and you have a ministry before you but i need to lead you into the wilderness so you can be an example to those who follow your disciples and also everybody who takes on your name that i will anoint for a purpose i want to lead you in the wilderness to be tempted so that i can build character he learned obedience through the things that he suffered [Applause] we want the lights but we don't want the wilderness that strengthen us to handle the lights i wish somebody to understand this you see when you're gifted if you're not properly groomed you will be arrogant and cocky but what god does is he takes the arrogance out of you by what he puts you through so instead of coming to folk like you're a big chief you come in humble because you understand that god has put you through in order to be manageable i wish i could talk to you here you see many times people don't understand that everybody who has a great anointing has to overcome a great problem oh i feel like shouting here should i say that again never get surprised when you understand who the people you think have the greatest anointing and know they're anointed but understand this you see and experience the gift but you don't experience their fight [Applause] every time paul talks about giftedness he talks about character and he says don't think more highly of yourself than you are because you're gifted he says if you can move mountains face that move mountains you speak in every tongue you can find but if you don't have love you just making a lot of noise i wish you'd understand me the greater the anointing the greater the challenge the greater the anointing the greater the difficulty god puts in your life god put a thorn in paul's life to keep his foot on the ground oh i feel the holy spirit i don't have to give you bible characters look at your own life every time it seems as if god is bringing you closer to him something rises up in your flesh in your circumstance in your finance in your family on your job i i don't want to spend too much time here the blessings of god can cause you to lose who you are the blessings of god can raise you up so much until you think you're the cat's meow the dog's bow out so let me give you this never think what you have received is something you achieved [Applause] he that find it a wife find us a good thing don't forget the rest of it because if you leave the rest of it out you will think it's your charm you will think is how handsome you are you would think it's how debonaire how smooth oh she didn't have a choice honey uh she's dealing with me baby find death favor from the lord because she's with you don't think it's you [Applause] i wish somebody did it because she's with you don't think it's you god was the one god is the only one who can put good people in your life because you can't choose them i'll go over your life and run through the list and it shouldn't be a list if you could choose well [Applause] if you knew how to choose it wouldn't be more than one amen i i don't want to mess up the service but didn't you have to run from somebody you chose [Applause] the blessings of the lord and the anointing and the selection that he makes of you to go on a mission if he doesn't build your character the wilderness is a character builder some of the people i mentioned before jesus they almost snapped under pressure and the only thing that kept them was god's favor when you get home first samuel 25 13-34 first kings 19 somebody read first kings 19 and 4. amen i you know i don't we don't have to be formal first kings 19 and four somebody with a might holler it out but he himself he sent him into the wilderness and he sat down under a juniper tree oh mm-hmm that sound like elijah to me that sound like david who said under the juniper tree and what did he do he was about to snap anytime somebody's asking that for god to kill him and and i've got news for him too i got a message for him you didn't have to go down and ask god to kill you because jezebel was trying to do that [Music] jeremiah in jeremiah 20 and 7-18 jeremiah said you deceived me and i was deceived i'm in derision day and night because they are deriding me because of the message you gave me they're talking about me every day the challenge is you want the anointing but you don't want the character built you want to be seen as a powerhouse in god but you don't want the experience that solidifies the power satan understands that he can't take the anointing off you so he attacks the character so that he can break you from functioning because he messed up your character so bad that nobody wants to hear you [Applause] if god is calling and empowering you to do something for him then please expect the wilderness when jesus was baptized went up straightway out of the water and lo the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the spirit of god descending like a dove and lighting upon him isn't that right and lo a voice from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased now if you ever hear that the next thing you look for is the wilderness oh i feel like shouting did i bring this on myself with my big mouth and testimony service huh did i understand the ramifications of what i said or was i just trying to thrill a few church folk and make myself important because it's going to be tested the devil may not show up in person or test you on the same supernatural level that he tested jesus but your hardships may seem unbearable apart from the grace of god i have heard many young preachers say i thought it was god and i don't understand why i'm going through what i'm going through and all i got to say to them is let me tell you a little bit about what i have had the people who what you thought were the closest to you how do you envy somebody else's anointing anointing is not something you achieved anointing is something you receive and you can't hate me over what god gave me i didn't ask him for it he chose me i didn't choose him the testing then is for our good and when biblical heroes had matured through the time of testing then they knew the depth of god's grace that had sustained them so the truly triumphant they don't boast in their success because they know who brought them through for my own example for 15 years pastoring here i wouldn't have an anniversary i only have an anniversary service because i said to myself you're going to have a lot of folks standing up saying a whole lot of nice things amen and and many people rehearse it amen because most people don't know you like that never been to dinner never been out never been by the beach never never never never but yet people can speak for half an hour about how wonderful you are when it really should be how wonderful you preach because you don't know how wonderful i am i may preach wonderful and not be wonderful so the reason i had no anniversary is because i didn't want to sit down and listen to all the accolades when i knew me and somebody close to me when the accolades are going on might say oh they don't really know him i'll do that i wish you'd understand how it how it is there's a side of you that's being challenged every day so that you might walk in the way of god and what god says is i'm not going to let you embarrass me by giving you a gift and not dealing with your character because if the lights come on your gift it's going to come on your weakness so let me hold your gift till i straighten out your weakness [Applause] the young preacher the young singer the young musician is hollering why don't they use me getting mad and trying to be used and trying to work it out for them to be used and trying to wheel and deal to be used but what god is saying is i'm holding you i'm holding you why because i'm building your character i want to know can you sing in the choir when you know you got a lead voice but can you come and be faithful if nobody will let you lead i know you know how to preach but will you come and be faithful if nobody will let you preach i know you know oh i know you're handsome i know you're pretty and how come i can't get a man i'm pretty god said yeah you're pretty on the outside but i'm getting ready to make you pretty on the inside so you can get somebody and keep them your looks will attract them but your looks ain't gonna keep [Applause] jesus went into being tested only after he was empowered in the spirit how much time do i have i'm closing so the narrative presents jesus now as our vicarious advocate and here's what happened relinquishing his own power for his mission to save us from our sins so in the narrative what matthew presents jesus as israel's and our champion he's going into the wilderness as our champion so those of us who are in the witness box is very anxious to see how he's going to come out one two what method is going to use to come out this is our example of how to handle satan when he comes at us oh he's going to come at us we've discovered with our weakness from the flesh that's the first attack for every child of god that's where he's going to come he's going to come in the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life because that's what you bring to the table amen you are tested where your desires are you're not tested outside of what you desire all right notice he understands so much of being tested and that testing is a definite that he tells us to pray certain prayers lead me not into temptation but deliver us from evil that is part of the model prayer he says be careful watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak so the first place he's coming after you is your flesh what you desire so you can testify all you want about not responding to who you don't want i'm like bishop alma i want to talk to the same people over here i thank and praise the lord i was i was in the mall the other day and i and and somebody approached me in the mall and they tried to come on to me in the mall and oh they were trying to talk to me and i rebuked them in the name of jesus wasn't your type amen yes you you you saw him get out of you saw him get out of a volkswagen man come out of a volkswagen talking to you in your louboutin and in the back of your mind you want to give it to the lord but in the back of your mind you're saying what can you do with me coming out no volkswagen i ain't looking for no volkswagen now the fella rolled up by the rolls roy amen don't listen look i was born at night it wasn't last night amen i'll read your mail up in here right now there's somebody who came up in your life that you had to call on jesus about oh lord help me somebody from your past during this pandemic gave you a call that's where he's going to attack anybody praying for you ought to be able to tell you where he's going to attack and know where to pray so now we praying over there no that's not where he's going to attack you ain't got no problem with that he's going to attack you where you got your problem he's going to come into where he knows or feels he can get you amen all right let me give you another example if since since we so you're holding out when you want to get to somebody's heart the first thing you say when you don't know them that well is you ask somebody that's close to them what do they like now all sisters like perfume but you don't like the same perfume so i'm going to get you some perfume but i don't want to get you some perfume you don't like somebody asked your sister what kind of perfume does she like and then i'm going to act like it just came out of the sky you're going to talk to the brother what does he like to eat and you're going to prepare what he likes to eat and act like it just came out of the spirit oh how did you know i like that don't worry about it because in order to get to you he's got to bring what you like and so the first temptation is showing us how satan likes to attack where he feels the weaknesses he's been fasting 40 days a night he's got to be hungry now here's what he wants and i think all of us as the children of god who brag about situations and circumstances the first thing he wants jesus to do is to abuse his calling and his power for selfish ends that's the first thing you're the son of god well you're the son of god then why are you hungry if anybody can satisfy your hunger you ought to be able to satisfy it because you got the to satisfy it so from the christological interpretation here of the passage it has much to teach us because he's saying now if you're the son of god exhibit it much of the church problem today is we want to be exhibitionary exhibitionists and what satan is saying to the church in a time like this in a wilderness experience is show you ain't got no problem show how powerful you are it don't matter what the science says no matter what you got to go through in a regular world situation show you don't have to do it because you got the power to satisfy yourself so now here's what he's trying to do he's trying to redefine what sonship is sonship is satisfying yourself all of a sudden we have been broken because we've been called king's kids and now we have trials according to the teachings and preaching pre-pandemic none of us should be where we are now because we got power to make bread out of stone since you are the son of god the devil is inviting jesus not so much as to deny his sonship as to act according to the various worldly expectations for sonship so he warns us now here's what god is warning us that he is not called to let the world define the content of our calling the world must not decide how you ought to behave in what you're going through and the world cannot decide whether you're close to god or not because of what you're going through i don't have to defend what i'm going through i feel like now now that one is getting to me i don't have to defend what i'm going through because i'm going through like job that don't mean i'm not a child of god can i talk to you for a minute what you're going through is not because you're weak it's because you're strong i will put no more on you than you're able to bear god was not starving jesus jesus was fasting do you see the difference oh i feel like preaching in here the move you have made in your life that oftentimes has brought you great wilderness experiences was not brought on by somebody else it was a decision you made to get closer to god and you gave up some stuff to get closer to god you gave up some money you gave up some houses you gave up some women you gave up some men to get closer to the lord and now that you're struggling through it you can look at it and rejoice and say god is making me stronger because of the decision i made [Music] i'm trying to close and i will close some of us behind the pulpit should be in the public school teaching social workers in addition and many times you reach people outside of the church more than we reach them in the church so you acknowledge god's right to determine your label see many times you think pastor is the label that sanctions you talking to other people not so because you are a witness you don't have to be a preacher and many times in your everyday walk with god you touch more people than the people with the label i feel like shouting uh mother finch has spent years and years on the corner touching people's lives day and day and out and dealing with people we wouldn't deal with and yet still she's not called the bishop because you can't let people define your calling god is the one who defines your calling and you don't have to be traditional to move with god because god doesn't operate in traditional manners he gives a freedom for you to move any way you choose to move so the devil can't define who you are if i don't choose to make stones into bread he cannot go further and i'll close on this point in the day that matthew was writing there was a great roar about magicians and jesus is saying to satan i refuse to be a magician because as a son of god i'm not a magician i'm going to jump forward now jesus took a few loaves and fishes fed five thousand took a few loaves and fishes fed forth he can feed four thousand he can feed five thousand but he wouldn't feed himself i wish somebody would understand me here huh talk to me children of god it's not that he couldn't feed himself he fed four thousand he fed five thousand but when god has given you a ministry it ain't for you to use it for yours [Applause] the problem is the problem is that most of us want to get into ministry to use it for ourselves and jesus is saying in the first temptation it ain't for you but lord why should i be hungry when i've got the power to feed myself you got the power to feed yourself but you're not going to feed yourself because of who's asking you to feed yourself but you deserve that when you ought to have that the amount of time you've been working for the lord you living beneath your privilege god didn't give you the gift to serve yourself and that's why you keep on serving him when it don't look like you're being blessed that's why you keep on serving him when people aren't running to you making your life easier and you can't have the resentment that says what all i've done for them they haven't done anything for me because the gift ain't about you gonna leave the church because they don't give me no recognition is that why you were working to be recognized the first temptation i can feed all these people but what did he do as i close how many times have i said that if if you don't feed yourself guess who's going to feed you and the devil departed and the angels i don't think you can feed yourself better than god convenient oh i'm talking to somebody in here that this year god is putting you on a mission god is sending you out to be a blessing god is sending you out to touch people and he's preparing you for it right now in the middle of this time in the middle of this wilderness experience you've coming in filled but you're going to go out with power [Music] father come in the name of jesus i honor you for this moment for this time and for every person in here now whose mission may be just the family the school their friends and you have anointed them with a great anointing to touch lives that's in their space but you're teaching us that that anointing is going to lead us into the place of character building indeed and in fact the place of discipleship and as we receive these lessons not just the taught word but the empirical word of life i pray god that this will be a house of strength a house that builds one another and i speak that right now as the spirit of god is hovering over us and moving through this house and identifying individuals and people who are set now for the post-pandemic operation i want to say thank you i want to say thank you oh yeah thank you for everything that we've gone through i want to say thank you not because of going through but because of what is working in us [Music] and i claim that right now in jesus name somebody said we gotta pass we have to pass we have to plan [Music] we've got an assignment we have to pass the test you're in this building and you don't know the lord and the power of his resurrection father's might he's calling you right now come to jesus come to jesus come to jesus [Music] [Music] um [Music] yes [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] come to jesus they're coming somebody prays alone [Music] [Music] come on [Music] you still have time to come for those online there's a phone number that has appeared please call the 800 number someone is waiting to receive you if you need prayer please call if you need a word of encouragement please call if you want the gift for the holy ghost please call if you want a salvation call we waiting for you listen for those who's in the house if you want to place your membership here at city or refuge now the time just begin to come this way amen if you want to be baptized salvation is waiting for you just come down from come on city refuge a whole family is coming come on you can do better than that he will save you he will save you listen as we stand take it down for a second listen i know it's holiday two things amen before you rush to your car please to support our own solomon corner amen listen this honda size is 93 degrees outside the pandemic until going on so please be careful please be mindful of everywhere where you go please continue to wear your mask please continue to social distance amen and please watch the babies if you're going to the beach don't make no sense to be a hero say on the shore you know you'll make no sense to go way out there amen but please be careful amen i know it's hot i know we on holiday but please be careful for those online please continue to pray for us as we pray for you listen um immediately after service you can go and purchase today's message sign by the men's ministries table amen in the lobby you can register for the event that is coming up in vegas and also the christian education department fall semester is online now so please visit our website city or refuge.org click the education department button and find all of the classes father god in the name of jesus we come once again to give your name the priest the glory the honor we appreciate your glory god we want to thank you for the word that you have deposited inside our spirit now god bless us as we go go with us go before us and bring us about that point in time in jesus name we pray amen hook someone i mean don't hug no one just wave at someone amen and i see you amen next sunday god bless you [Music] it feels so good to be back yes the city of refuge is now back to an in-person worship service every sunday at 10 a.m masks are required for non-vaccinated and vaccinated individuals the city of refuge is offering a free cover 19 test monday through friday from 9 am to 6 pm no appointment is necessary our covert 19 test is a nucleic acid amplification test better known as naat to pre-register go to cityofrefugela.org or on-site registration is also available your test results will be emailed or text to you within 48 hours the noaa jones early learning center is internet ready all of our after schoolers can now do their online classes and zoom meetings noel jones early learning center is a coded safe environment staff and students temperatures are taken daily upon entrance and we implement sanitation procedures throughout the day we use the stem science technology engineering and math curriculum and the albeca reading program for preschoolers bible lessons are taught daily with weekly chapel services we are now accepting new enrollment applications and all child care subsidized programs are accepted by crystal stairs pathways and children's home society call us at 424 295 9440 for more information registration is now available all are welcome to attend our in-person or virtual sunday school every sunday with our new time at 8 45 join us for our weekly friday night dial in corporate prayer at 8pm pacific standard time our prayer line number is 760-548-9309 [Music] immediately following today's service stop by the nora jones ministries table to purchase today's inspirational message bible class will continually be virtual every wednesday at 12 noon with the rebroadcast at 7 00 pm on all our streaming platforms please follow us on all our social media outlets and there are three to choose from on instagram city of refuge la or bishop nor jones global on facebook follow us at city of refuge los angeles and on youtube at official regional gym the city of refuge will be hosting our special recall election on friday september the 10th from 9am to 5pm and on saturday september the 11th from 9am to 2pm for you to vote or to drop off your official ballot [Music] [Music] [Music] sharing [Applause] [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] this concludes our weekly announcements please continue to wear your mask wash your hands and please make every effort to stay safe you

Channel: Official Bishop Noel Jones

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Length: 114min 38sec (6878 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021