Dr. Jamal H. Bryant, I Didn’t Choose The Game. The Game Chose Me - June 18th, 2019

[Music] let give me a moment before speaking to the general body I won't speak to of the elders and students in MIT most of my preaching is will come either from the Old Testament or from the synoptic Gospels because most of my preaching style requires a narrative very rarely will I preach from the epistles and the epistles basically in preaching is built on a principle in not on a personality or somebody's story but in dealing with this last night of the encounter I am arrested you know where I wouldn't ordinarily go in a preaching context to really do an autopsy on Corinthians and Paul's first letter to the Corinthians encompassing the larger body but I'm gonna bob-and-weave and giving messaging to our in-house ministers and you are part of the larger community of newburgh one of the things that you'll know about X I told you that X is an abbreviation for acts of the Holy Spirit or acts of the of the Holy Ghost depending on what commentator or interpreter that you follow but in Paul's letter to the Corinthians most people look at all of the action or the activity of the Holy Spirit is an X and really don't attribute enough credit to the Holy Spirit at work in Corinthians I want to charge and challenge you between now and our crusade that you will commit yourself to reading 1st Corinthians chapter 2 between now and Sunday that your homework to read first Corinthians chapter 2 it is amazing because first Corinthians chapter 2 really gives us an overview of the inner working of the Holy Spirit and when you see the Holy Spirit working in Corinthians it's gonna blow your mind nobody is slain in the spirit first Corinthians is amazing you won't find a prayer line 1st Corinthians you won't even find evidence or two speaking in tongues and yet 1st Corinthians chapter 2 shows us a crystal-clear HD portrait of the Holy Spirit at work I want you to come with me in the text and I want to expose him to you that the Holy Spirit works and how the Holy Spirit works might be a little bit different than your preconceived notion about the working of the Holy Spirit Paul is saying in 1st Corinthians we read together 1st Corinthians 2 verse number 4 I want you to climb back up and I want you to get first Corinthians 2 verse number 3 first Corinthians 2 verse number 3 now while you're climbing all the way back up one verse it's gonna take you a moment to get it I need you to see something in first Corinthians two verse number four here's what Paul says MIT elders don't miss it Paul says my message and my preaching they're not wise they're not persuasive words it is the demonstration of the spirits or the Holy Spirit's power Paul is acknowledging I am absent of charisma Paul is saying in no uncertain terms that I am not articulate he is saying that in my natural I am not even a persuasive speaker I can't do a TED talk I don't like speaking in front of people he acknowledges what makes me powerful is not the words that I say but the demonstration of the holy spirit I wonder how many of us tonight want to make that axiom come alive that our actions speak louder than our words and our actions of what we speak demonstrate or communicate about the power of God in first Corinthians by now you should have climbed up and gap verse number three I know you were stuck in verse four come on let's go see what he says in verse number three he says I was with you in weakness and in fear and in trembling yeah I was with you in those moments I hope you can grasp this that you don't see my knowing it the presence of God is with you here's this when it is not obvious when it's not evident to other people they don't know how the Holy Spirit works in you because they think for you to have the evidence of the Holy Spirit you are always encapsulating Authority No the Holy Spirit says I am with you in the moment you feel the most vulnerable I am with you in the hour that you feel inadequate and insufficient the Holy Spirit is its strongest when you were in your weakest moment so the question we got to ask of the text because this is Bible study is where is the demonstration of the spirit in the end Paul's life since Paul is acknowledging that he's weak he's vulnerable and he is inarticulate and done well doesn't do well in crowds does that mirror somebody else's testimony yeah how Paul declared in essence my life just give me a mess summary of the evidence of the Holy Spirit in me is my life is a demonstration of what the Lord can do God takes a person with no charisma no commanding voice who has a lot of frailties vulnerability and brokenness and thin has the nerve to do something powerful in them and when they operate in something that is not their natural gifting I then step back put them on the stage for them to acknowledge this was not me that did it it had to have been the power of the Holy Spirit so when Paul is expressing this he's not saying that out of pride Paul is saying simply I know where my source comes from he knows that he battles and struggles with a myriad of issues and the only thing that keeps helping him cross the finish finish line is the undeniable presence of the Holy Ghost Paul explains in 1st Corinthians chapter 2 I didn't come to you with a strategy that men would recognize so for me to operate in this level of power is not because I went to Beulah or ITC or Emory but because I have lived openly a broken life and God has used my brokenness as the stage for what he needs to demonstrate the Holy Spirit at work so the only time I can tell that you have the Holy Ghost is in church that ain't the Holy Ghost I shut the book up and got the evidence of the Holy Ghost is that I have lived through some stuff that otherwise would bring me shame regret and embarrassment but I boast proudly that I came through it not by might not by power but by his spirit now if you say you want the Holy Ghost as you claim you cannot claim to want the Holy Ghost and not be prepared to be exposed the Holy Ghost blocks you from a private life y'all didn't hear what I just said I said the Holy Ghost blocked you on a private life wish stuff about you gets out and you don't know how we got out but God said I had to use you for my runway model to show people what the Holy Ghost is able to do and I can demonstrate that not to clapping not to dance and not to shout but going through a season where I was crying and heaving and broken and one day I shook it off and said for God Ilia Paul said I came in the simple mind of God and I spoke a simple direct message and when I spoke it it went straight to the heart when I taught on marriage Paul said it moved you when I spoke about giving and moved you when I talked about being shipwrecked it moved you but I could only do it not quoting books I read but chapters of my life I recited you have to look around and even if you're looking around in this church you have no idea how many people are stifling the Holy Spirit simply because they distance themselves from their tears the moment they do not give an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to be exposed because they act like it did not happen oh yeah y'all not saying nothin to me I act like they have no level of brokenness for the Holy Spirit to be able to expose himself and the power of what he's able to do now for me to be able to stand up and say to you today on live streaming internet that I went to Morehouse and went to do that's fine that's nice studied at Oxford graduated from graduate theological foundation oh that's nice the Holy Spirit don't come in until you add on that failed the 11th grade got kicked out of high school got a GED y'all ain't saying nothin to me went to Morehouse on probation you got to scratch your head and say how did that happen it's in that that you say it's the Holy Ghost so now yes sir one thing I and so many people who hide behind the pulpit I think that this is just a lectern for you to just articulate all of your success and not talk about your failure and if you don't talk about your failure again all you're doing is regurgitating what you've read what you've studied what you memorize but not what you have lived so God has to remind you that the pulpit is for folk that been pulled out of a pit oh yeah and so it's a real real model is what God can bring you through that you use as your exhibit a right yeah sign get up on father's day and get up on Father's Day as a divorce pastor and my message on Father's Day is not my preparation of Morehouse Duke and Oxford my message on Father's Day is only the Holy Spirit can help you effectively co-parent with a woman you divorce from yelling saying nothing that you can mess up a marriage but your life can be so strong after the divorce only five of y'all can shout that your ex can still hear you preach yes this Holy Ghost oh yeah y'all ain't had no bad breakups you can't even talk to them I'd say when the Holy Ghost works in your life stuff that other folk don't understand only the Holy Spirit can intervene and say I can still use you in spite of your brokenness and we use too much philosophy anthropology data and theology without any practical application of where does the Holy Spirit work go to first Corinthians chapter 4 first Corinthians chapter 4 and I want you to look at verse number 9 first corinthians chapter 4 verse number 9 I noticed this whole old school if you got a highlight or pull it out those of you there looking at it on your phone on your laptop just press it hard and then it'll highlight on itself first Corinthians chapter 4 verse number 9 I've never in all of my years in church all my years in seminary all of my years here in preaching have never heard this articulated out loud first Corinthians 4 verse 9 we are made spectacles unto the world and he will make you a spectacle in front of angels and he will make you a spectacle in front of other men the Greek word for spectacle is theater want you to write that down Greek word for spectacle is theater and God will make you here it is a theater in front of the whole world you are going through stuff for the entertainment of angels men women are watching your life to see how you are born to perform yawning got quiet but the translation is God is gonna turn your life into a theater he puts you on a stage and the audience is the entire worlds alright so a little background as a side note my doctoral dissertation is on the theology of William Shakespeare so what I did my my doctorate dissertation on is the theology of William Shakespeare two things that I would have you to know is that William Shakespeare went to seminary went to seminary and dropped out of seminary his second year dropped out of seminary the second year because God told him in a vision he can meet more people through the arts than through a sanctuary so all of his plays are interwoven with biblical truths and scriptural underpinning and so when William Shakespeare first started out in theater he began what we don't even use anymore a rotating stage so the rotating stage operated almost like this inner cavern right here in the sanctuary and so what would happen is those who are on the stage are acting in their sing and the people behind the stage are turning the wheel they're turning the wheel so they're giving their words and the stage is turning stage is turning and the people who are on singing - at the other end of the circle and they just start talking as scene one is coming off all right you have the visual and yeah so what God is saying is you don't even know that while you were in church worshipping I'm turning the circle all right I'm turning the circle watch this which means I am changing the scene without you moving god help me your whole life is a theater so people are only used to seeing you in one thing but they don't even know that while I am do praying wow I am worshipping while I am declaring God is changing the scene so who haven't seen me in a while don't know the scene has changed now let me tell you why you're the shout the genius of William Shakespeare is that you can change the scene without ever closing the curtain God about God help me in here you got get to a place where God says I will change everything that you looking at without stuff going dark I will shift everything that you are connected to and forgot no idea even if you don't clap God got somebody else that is prepared to appreciate my sing some fill with the Holy Spirit I can put on stage each watch this because God wants to make the world watch this is heavy stuff it's heavy stuff do you know that God then to make the Holy Spirit work in you sometimes has to allow you to stay in a sing-along enough to build the crowd [Applause] enough people are not watching you suffer yet you've been praying the prayers that are antithetical to the movement of the Holy Spirit you've been praying Lord remove on my enemies it's wrong trail when you got the Holy Spirit you gotta begin praying Lord give my enemies of front-row seat cuz I want them to see how I'm gonna come out of this Oh y'all ain't saying nothin to me I I need God to let my enemies live long enough for them to know I survived without them I need them to know I made it without compromise your life is a theater for the Holy Spirit look look at tongue chapter 4 verse number 10 I'm still in 1st Corinthians we are fools for Christ's do you see that in your Bible all along you you thought you were a serious actor God says I am putting you in a role they wing you have finished the production you're gonna laugh at the skid I'm gonna feel like a fool when it's over that I ever doubted him y'all ain't saying nothing so many of us we experienced the breakthrough and then we distance ourselves from the agony I want you to get so engulfed on the last time you were stressed over something that now don't matter what kind of fool are you to believe that God is not gonna provide a breakthrough when he's already proven he's done it three other times before hallelujah anybody it foolish enough to believe God for stuff that is unthinkable that I I'm telling you that and an unknown writer says if your dreams don't scare you it's not big enough hallelujah I want you to have I'm gonna say it I want you to have foolish dreams God my faith is so crazy that I'm I'm trusting you for what the realtor said I couldn't have my my belief system is so crazy it ain't gonna take me years to pay this mortgage off my faith is so crazy that I'm a trust God then imma get healed and not have to go through surgery that's the kind of faith I gotta have I'm what I want to be a fool for Christ hallelujah I'm gonna confound people who think that they are wise how then do you look at the person beside you tell him I I done played the fool before Hey yeah but but it wasn't for God it was for people that was crazy this time I am executing operating and exercising here it is foolish faith Oh y'all ain't saying nothin to me I said foolish face god I trust you for it I don't know how it's gonna happen he is forfeiting y'all I don't even know how it's gonna be paid for but it ain't my business God I trust you for something foolish Paul speaks about great trials great affliction great persecution even death hardships he says and he's called to endure here's the word he uses like a good soldier Paul say you heard my testimony I have endured infirmities anybody had the battle sickness your mother come on wave that hand at me put that hand down Paul said I had to endure affliction people were putting stuff on me waved that hand at me put that hand down my Paul said I've been persecuted people charged and accused me with all kind of stuff Paul said I had people looking at me who I didn't even know who waiting on my failure waiting on my demise I've been in shipwrecks where the stuff that I was on just collapse without any warning y'all ain't saying nothing to me I had to give direction even when I was lost myself I had to give encouragement when I was depressed I had to pray for folk when I couldn't pray for me yall they saying not this is foolish faith kind of fools faith of their Paul has to exercise he says God is appointing my life he's appointment my life is ministry and my life is such a ministry it does not require a microphone all of you who are in this room who are anointed sometimes you have to remind yourself I am persecuted for Christ's sake unpack that I am going through this so glory might be revealed hallelu it's a terrible thing that that God manipulates your life without your permission my favorite example of it is Lazarus I bring him up all the time he's one of my favorite personalities of the New Testament Lazarus nobody ever really charts back his medical history noting that we had no sign no semblance no evidence of him having any previous illness and that crazy he Jesus was just at the house he just had the house two three chapters ago he at the house and Lance is doing good he's doing good he's sitting in the lazy boy chair watching SportsCenter I was good they having a dinner party one sister is in the kitchen the other sister is at his feet cleaning off his feet and in the crazy that the only one in the house not paying Jesus attention is Lazarus don't have very sensitive only one who don't even speak to him is Lazarus everybody else is tending to him but Lazarus and Jesus don't even correct them he don't even call them out he just takes a mental note he says oh okay I got it everybody in the house is adoring me is worshiping me is serving me except that one who's sitting there just watch she said alright I know what I'm gonna do I got it that's what I'm gonna do I'm gonna make him go through something god help me I'm gonna make him go through something that'll make him feel like he died god help me and and even the people who he lived with don't even have confidence he gonna get out of this so that the next time he sees me his response would be different but I got a challenge him I gotta make him live through something so now let's come on three chapters later on Jesus - bills he get a text message from Mary and Martha Jesus come quick the one you love is sick unto death Jesus put his iPhone back in his pocket don't even pay no attention to it saying it's all right let's take the long way and we'll get there because it don't usually take this long also they take the long way and finally Jesus shows up and marry your mother who are praying people they worshipping people take out a relationship with God they say by now it's too late his body sings he said I'll now don't worry about it show me where you later y'all ladies saying enough now something crazy happens is that now Jesus calls his name and says Lazarus come forth now his was crazy is that Lazarus had never publicly worshipped before it's not today laid him in the tomb that the Bible says he comes out jumpin god I can't hear nobody sometimes God will make you live through something where you feel like you gonna die just so he can get glory now do me a favor obedience is important everybody who stay in this stay standing everybody who see this stay where you are everybody see this stay right where you are now when Jesus is in the room Lazarus was seated just like you seen it right now [Applause] he said don't make me make you go through something this summer to make you give me more glory than you ever have I need somebody to give God glory like my life is evidence hallelu be seated I'm coming hallelu hallelu hallelu y'all ain't been through not come on you'd like to kill me I'm almost lost it all and the way I was gonna survive there so since you don't experience the Holy Spirit just because of what it is that you live through [Applause] there was an occasion in there was an occasion in angelic homeroom where Yahweh is doing roll call he does role and everybody has to give an account be present and Satan shows up for homeroom yeah somewhere you been you don't skip class a couple of times we've been said I've been going up and down to and fro looking for somebody to devour have you considered my servant job saying that I had my eye on them but you got a hedge fence of protection around them so I watch this Satan is looking at who God protects man up I'm teaching better than y'all - out I said say Satan is looking at who God protects not only looking at you he is studying you he said look you got this head friends I'm protecting around them lower defense so I can get Adam and God operates with what theologians call the permissive will of God so Satan can't do anything without God signing off on it first man that somebody needs to know that I said he cannot get to you without God's protection so the Lord says I'm a lower defense I'm a lower defense and imma let you get to him you touch all this stuff you just can't touch his soul and joke didn't even know that he's now on the stage that both heaven and hell are looking at him on the stage I hope you'll get it to see how will he respond when he starts losing stuff it's gonna change your thinking it ain't a test is theater yeah you are in a suspense right now you you are in a thriller right now all the heaven is looking to see what are you gonna do why you are going through this chapter of your life and joke throws off everybody says the Lord giveth the Lord taketh away but still bliss it be the name of the Lord see it's easy to praise God when stuff is being added to your life but God wants to see how will you bless him when you start losing stuff and understand like David I will bless the Lord all right I need you yeah you already got one they turn that mic on for me please turn that one on and I need one more please I'm getting to my last point you are right now be seated I'm just talking you you are on the stage of life you're in the stage of life and you are a spectacle your weakness is showing God is exposing you to people who shouldn't be in your business so let your light so shine before men before women that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven how they gonna see it then looking at your stage William Shakespeare in Macbeth third stanza says tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow creep into this petty pace from day to day and life is just a poor player that struts and frets its hour upon the stage full of sound and fury signifying nothing it took all of that out of Ecclesiastes that life is just a vapor gone say I need to see how are you gonna memorize your lines if you know that you playing a role in the play how you don't know your words that word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee so some of you all your thriller is turning into a horror because you don't know the script yeah you you you you got to know you got to know your lines then the race in giving to the Swift nor to the strong but to those who endure to the end I can't hear nobody in here you you gotta know your words when with my mother and father forsake me that's that's that's when the Lord will lift me up y'all still don't know your words until he's my shield and my buckler you-you-you don't know you don't know your words in the time of trouble he shell me I'm telling you we you know he says I'm I'm using your testimony to expose the Holy Spirit painting dancing generating phone men I was rolling to the back of the eyes hear all that that's good but your real Holy Ghost is your life all right real quick please those of you 20:19 been one of the roughest years that you've had in a long time I ain't telling you to just follow Church calisthenics I'm taking it's been a hard year for you how are you for you lift that hand for me please been a rough year lost your job this year do you lift that hand for me lost that job this year went through a divorce this year breakup this year money got real tight this year had to move twice this year it's just June you had to move twice this year come on lift that hand lost a job money tight oh you see I'm telling 2019 six months got sickness in your body come on keep that hand lifted for Holy Spirit you may feel themself in you you've been forced to be a caretaker hallelujah you're now responsible for extended family lift that hand for me please got something going on in your body that you'll need recognize doctor ain't even labeled it yet but you ain't been feeling like yourself been lethargic been sleeping been slow to move hallelujah here's those cries I need that hand lifted you struggling and folk don't even know how bad it is hallelujah I'm telling the Holy Spirit give me reveal themselves how they live now you you ain't embarrassed you and ashamed of your testimony how much you lift up both of their hands I'm not ashamed of your testimony I'll in it thank you put their hands down this lady right here in this black I think you got braids in here yes would you come to me please holiday thank you come on help me thank you you [Music]

Channel: True Word Of Yeshua

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Id: DrOwDAFXOo0

Length: 39min 35sec (2375 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 20 2019