Elder Bernice King What Are You Willing To Give Dec 2010

you mean adorn him like you mean it lift him up like you mean it he deserves all the glory all the praise all the honor for what he has done for us hallelujah if he never does another thing it's alright with me because he's done everything hallelujah hallelujah and we are just walking it out the history of what he's already accomplished for our lives touch the neighbor that's next to You Father in the name of Jesus it's all about you and not about us we come on believe submitting ourselves to you Lord that you might speak to us take this vessel Lord [Music] and allow the words that you desire to come forth this morning to come out let nothing be said that is not your desired wheel and we thank you for breaking forth into the deepest places of our spirit and soul we thank you Lord God this word will accomplish everything that you send it forth to accomplish it will not return void we thank you that it will produce two harvests not only in our lives Lord God but in the world that is in desperate need of Jesus the Christ transformed us this morning in this place that when we leave we won't even recognize our own themselves because we would been changed by your word and encounter with the Holy Spirit speak Lord for your servants here and God help us to obey in Jesus name and the people of God said together amen you may be seated in the presence of the Lord I certainly want to give honor to our pastor in our Bishop hallelujah we thank God for him [Applause] and we continue to pray his strength in the Lord and his family strengthen the Lord as we continue to move and those things that God has ordained for us his people amen this morning I am so delighted to have my brother Martin the third with us this morning along with his wife Andrea [Applause] and my one and only nice Yolanda a naked baby it's been a long time since I've had a member of my family here when I preached I think the last time was when my mother was alive and so I'm so delighted to have him here he travels quite a bit as he now leads the King Center here in Atlanta and we thank God for the work that he continues to do for him now if my niece acts up you all look over it she's only two and a half so you know how that is if if you would turn to John 3:16 we're gonna do some foundational stuff here this morning because we've kind of lost that way I don't know if you agree with me we've forgotten some things we've neglected some things we've ignored some things and I think it's time to get back to the foundation a familiar passage of Scripture that the whole world knows whether you Christian or Jew Buddhist or Hindu or atheist because invariably when you go to any sports event somebody's gonna be holding up John 3:16 God doesn't want us to forget it because it's the centrality of our faith and I thank God that he has his way of moving in and through our world to not let us forget that he is still on the throne and he is still in charge hallelujah so let's read it together in the New King James Version and if you have to read it and another is fine it'll be like we all speaking in our own tongue together for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life for God so loved that's enough right there if I didn't say anything else he's so loved he was overwhelmed with love he couldn't help himself that he loved us so much that He gave His only that's enough right there too he so loved He gave His only that means mamita the best that he had the only thing that he had that he could have kept to himself he gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes and that word believes is ongoing it means keeps trusting in him I don't think you heard that part see that trusting in him constantly is essential so that you do not lose your way because the interpretation of that word perish means to to get lost so he gave His only begotten Son that whoever keeps on trusting in him but wait a minute keeps on relying on him I don't know sometimes we we we get in a bad place in life because we stopped relying on God and because we stopped really sighing oh God we begin to lose our way and things begin to get confusing in our lives and and and so we've got to make sure that we always stay close and connected with Jesus Christ who is the way the truth and the life I think I can sit down now but I'm not gonna do that whoever continues to rely on him believe in him should not perish lose their way but have everlasting life life and life more abundantly look at your neighbor this morning and and and and and asked him this question asked them what are you willing to give now you don't have to shut down cuz I'm not talking about money this morning whenever you start talking about giving especially in the church we start shutting down and go ask for our offering we already gave that anywhere I'm going so cancel that and open yourself back up to receive what thus saith the lower I am I'm really troubled about where we are as a church globally particularly in light of the season because in many respects we have allowed the world to train us that's a key word to believe that Christmas is more about giving material gifts than it is about the birth of Christ we seem to have a head knowledge of in terms of what it's about but our actions speak otherwise because in many respects we have become so consumed in going to malls buying presents that we are moving more and more away from the true meaning of Christmas Christ mas in a sense we are becoming like the people in Bethlehem who were not concerned about the star that that was following and indicating the arrival of the king of kings and the Lord of lords Christmas has become so commercialized in fact most of us out going and trying to get the latest Xbox and the latest we that we're becoming more desensitized by the real meaning of Christmas the advertisers got us just where they want us and that's been their job to spend billions and billions and billions of dollars to get your loyalty and get your allegiance to them so much so that you become desensitized and almost numb to the true meaning of Christmas and before we know it it becomes all about the shoppin and the going in debt and the presence that we buy and anyway that's why we can all end up sometimes greeting people by saying merry xmas happy holidays I know it because the other night I was somewhere and I found myself saying happy holidays I got a little schizophrenic because I usually say Merry Christmas but I was seeking to fit in and we got to be careful because we have been commissioned and called and set aside not to blend in and to fit in but to lead the way because we are to be the head and not the tail we ought to be the example and we ought to stand firm in our convictions now you don't have to beat anybody over the head but the reality is we've got to be careful that we don't compromise what we know to be the truth and that we do not Christ because he said himself if you deny me before men then I'm gonna deny you before my father and so we've got to know the gift that God has really given to us and we've got to be a model we can't get caught up in the way that the world celebrates Christmas it's time for us to ensure that even our children know what it's about what happened to the day when we would sit down and talk to our children and help them understand the real meaning of Christmas we don't do that anymore in fact our children equate Christmas with the things we give them they equate love in fact with what you give them because we have not done a good enough job of explaining Christmas and modeling' Christmas I made a decision almost 20 years ago that I was not gonna celebrate Christmas that way anymore it was a hard decision because I had been accustomed to buying a lot of gifts and I said this just doesn't make sense to me now he had a birthday she had a birthday and I gave them their due now why am i allowing them to take away my Lord and save his birthday and making it their birthday again and then I said wait a minute I have spent such-and-such $1 and what has really changed what looks different the retailers are more enriched but what has really changed and transformed around me and see that's what we've got to understand about Christmas and we've got to move beyond the material aspects of it now I'm not trying to be a Scrooge this morning y'all so please please don't mistake that I'm just trying to get us back to where we need to be so that we don't lose our way and lose our sense of perspective and eventually there will be no recognition no acknowledgement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and if we don't flip the script if if we don't get it right that's exactly what's going to happen and so we almost have to go to the extreme to pull us back to dead center the gifts that we buy even the gifts that we receive I'm gonna ask you a question can they change the world when was the last time an Xbox changed the world last time we changed the world I'm not saying you can't have things don't get me wrong but this is the one time that God has allowed us to have and it's the one time an opportunity for us to display who Christ is and what he came for than any other time the whole world pauses not the world maybe but at least here in this country pose to celebrate this one day it reminds me of January the 3rd Monday when the whole a world some people across the world pause to honor Martin Luther King jr. on that particular day we have had an obligation in our family of ensuring people know who Martin Luther King was and what he represented that his legacy continues to live in in the earth and so every year beyond service projects we talk about the meaning of that movement and the nonviolent philosophy that he introduced into society because we believe that philosophy is an extension of the work of Jesus Christ and then if our world is ultimately going to reflect the love of God then we are going to have to take a hold of that nonviolent philosophy so we make it our business to talk about it to teach it to model it as much as possible but on Christmas there seems to be an absence of that I mean yeah we tell the little stories in the pulpit and we sing the wonderful songs but when I go outside of the walls of the church I mean it's alright to set up the manger but the manger as we set it up doesn't necessarily have what God has given to us to be able to express and extend who Christ is because God gave us Christ to change the world I mean God gave Christ to change the world to transform the world to save the world and what he gave was everlasting that meant it goes from generation to generation to generation and yet from Christmas to Christmas we keep going back to the same old stores buying these gifts that don't last that break that wear out the warranty is limited and yet Christ is a lifetime warranty he's a gift that never breaks never goes out of season never becomes irrelevant it doesn't matter how old you are how young you are it doesn't matter what your race your nationality or your ethnicity it doesn't matter even your sexual orientation Christ is the gift that never breaks never wears up and has the capability of transforming your life God loved the world so much that he gave what he loved his only begotten Son I said again God loved the world so much that he gave what he loved now we're supposed to be an extension of their legacy so the question becomes what are you willing to give that you love so much oh I just lost about 99.9% of us because of the truth be told we still operate in a very hoarding manner and you got to prove yourself for us to go all out for you I mean in fact for us Christmas is really about the folks who love us it's really not about us showing some love Bernice what are you talking about I'm you know I'm I'm buying this gift y'all missed it when was the last time you sold some love to your enemy when was the last time you showed some love to somebody who been talking about you see what we get lost but Bernice you don't understand no I understand what I understand is that if the world is gonna be saved Christ did his part what are we gonna do to ensure that the world does not perish how much are you gonna allow the love of Jesus Christ to be exuded out of your life through something that you are willing to let go of and release to somebody else so God gave what he loved so much secondly he gave selflessly it really wasn't about him it was about getting something to us I remember at one time my dad told the story about the Good Samaritan and how he fell among a shooter not good Samaritan but the man who fell among thieves and how the priest and the Levite passed by we know that story and the Good Samaritan came along and and and he poured oil and wine in his wounds and he bandaged him and put him on his donkey and all that kind of stuff and the question that my father raised he said you know the question is not what will happen to me if I stop and help this man but the question is what will happen to him if I don't stop what's going to happen to the world if we don't step up outside of our selfish agenda and begin to take on the image and the likeness of Christ and begin to move in that very image and allow the love of Jesus Christ to operate in the earth what's gonna happen to folks out in the world who are confused and and and and who have bought in to to the lies and and the myths concerning the one true and living God in Jesus Christ if we don't get outside of our own personal agendas he gave self Lesly it wasn't about him to tell your neighbor this ain't about you this is about others my dad said an individual was not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity you're not even living yet until you can just stop thinking about you what about me what am I gonna get out of it how is this gonna benefit me can you imagine if God had said that God gave unconditionally he's so loved I don't see anything about because we did X Y & Z but he so loved that he gave without strings attached all he wanted is a response to you to recognize that this was something that you needed or they went unconditionally that means he didn't think about mmm you know it's been two three four thousand years and I've been trying to get their attention from Genesis Exodus hauled away to America and they still have ignored me they still going back to them other gods they still a worshipping and building altars to these idols believe me God has a manga did y'all know God is angry he had some anger believe me God was probably frustrated and a little disappointed and yet he did not allow his frustration his disappointment the fact that we let him down continue to let them down continue to let them down lie to him made false promises God I'm gonna do it right this time God I promise you that I'm gonna change God if you just get me out of this that sound familiar I'm gonna live for you I won't go back God just help me God if you give me this breakthrough Lord God I promise that I will live for you the rest of my life if you hook me up god I promise that I'm gonna give my time my talent and my teeth God and yet he continues to be right there for us and give unconditionally his love never stops he continues to warn us to get where he has ordained for us to be his love never stopped he gave unconditionally he gave sacrificially he gave his life I mean his life what are you willing to give your life for can you think about that do you know that the world would be different if enough of us were willing to really give our life I mean think about that do you know why we can sit in sanctuaries like this do you know why you can shop it choice malls and not a specific mall do you know why you have a variety of restaurants that you can dine at even at the fast-food level do you do pol even understand that you can walk up until the movie theater if you get there on time and choose the best seat in the house [Applause] because there was some people back in the 50s and 60s who know the gift of Jesus Christ for them in their lives and they begin to give their lives so that we could enjoy the things that we enjoy today they were willing to risk their jobs and risk their homes being bombed and willing to be beat upside the head and willing to be biblical and willing to be persecuted and willing to be talked about and willing to be denied so that we could be where we are today and yet we don't want to give our lives so the drug addict can be saved we don't want to give our lives for the drug dealer to be safe we don't want to give our lives so that people will cannot continue to be confused in the world about the one true and living God we don't want to give our lives so that peace can come to the earth we don't want to give our lives so that people will not have to go to bed hungry we want to flip him a coin but we don't want to give our lives we're not willing to really stand up like that for cause it's the church somebody please tell me where is the church every time I turn on the news I'm like God where are we where we where we where we there's got to be deeper than a leader in the church yeah Martin King led the people but the last time I look out and see him alone there were Thrones of people who stood with him and they moved together as a unit because they would determine that conditions were changed that people would begin to respect them and respect what they represented and we must do the same thing and that's what this is really about Christmas is about reconnect and recommitting to Jesus Christ in his way and advancing his kingdom in the earth so I ask you again what are you willing to give he gave everything but I recognized you can only give what you have let me help you with that I can't go to a subdivision I'm trying to think of one out here because I live in Fulton County y'all give me a name of a subdivision idea huh what is it I can't go to water's edge and tell you what the sign this for sale and say here it's yours cuz it's not mine I can't go to the mall and even though you may want that piece of jewelry I can't just say here is yours until it becomes mine when God sent Jesus into the world Jesus gave us some gifts why the gifts he gave us was a new commandment that new commandment was that we love one another as he loved us in other words the new commandment was that we love like him but until you have really received his love into your heart and into your life your capacity to be able to love like him is limited [Applause] so you got to understand how God loves you because when you understand how God loves you then you in turn are able to love people the same way whoo I gotta say that again when you understand that with all that comes with you the good the bad the ugly the mean the wonderful the kind the nasty the selfless nature the selfish nature all that comes with you the good hair day in the bad hair day the attitude what all that God loves you you total on him you hurt his feelings we God don't have feelings you disappointed him you violated the trust that he had in you you turned your back on him I mean he'd been there for you all this time I've been doing all this for them you did that all this time and yet you still turned your back on him and denied him and still winning that situation that you knew you had no business going into I mean y'all talked about it had a deal shook hands walked out the room and you still went and did what your flesh talk to you about and yet god loves you in spite of all that and yet we can't have a capacity to love like that you know when you're at that place when you can love people who hurts you when you can love people who disappoint you when you can love people who betray you but Bernice I just ain't there yet I feel you because it is a process but it starts first with making sure that you have received the total and the full and complete love that God has given to you because you can't do it in you I mean when somebody does something to me human instinct is to want to take revenge and get back at him or retaliate but you know what the violence in the world would never stop until the people of God set an example to love like Christ a lot of conflict is because people cross people because nobody is showing them another way that's why I thank God for the King we had in the fifties in the 60s because he tried to show us another way he tried to model not an eye for an eye and a tooth for two but turn the other cheek the Bernese you know understand somebody get up in my face like that somebody crossed me like that I got words for them I tell you what I got something for noon and you don't understand if you're gonna be a real man it's gotta go down I mean we might as well just cut off the lights go home stay home and don't even come back together again why are we doing all of this if we're not serious about it the world is desperately in need of a model an example and I can't I can't go no further I'm gonna stay right there I do the rest with the other folks next service but it's important that we understand that if God gave His only he gave sacrificially he gave unconditionally he gave selflessly he gave because he so loved He gave almost as if he was forgetful I can't I can't Bernice I just I can forgive but I just can't I can't forget but he forgets I mean Jesus and God a part of the Godhead Father Son and the Holy Spirit now no flesh can glory in his presence wherever there is sin God can't exist but for the blood because the blood covers it so in order for Christ to come out of the place of God to take on a human flesh he had to forget some things cuz if he had remembered he would've had to keep holding back get that right clean that up I know you got a memory we got memories but I don't know about you have you ever cut yourself really bad and I mean it hurts anybody ever done that before you ever had any kind of wound or anybody hits you or and and and and and the sting from some of that it just hurt anybody had those experiences do you know that there comes a time afterwards where you remember getting cut but that pain associated with the cut you can't quite recall it you just don't remember it I remember the cut but that very experience that I had as a result of the cut I just I forgot I just don't remember so yeah you might be able to remember somebody turn the back on you they abused you and you had to leave that relationship because that was necessary but there is within us because we are creating an image and after the likeness of God the capacity to be able to rise above that so that our vessels will not be so infected and oozing with that pain that the love of God cannot rush out which contains the forgiveness of God which also has connected to you the Ministry of reconciliation and that's really what it's all about getting to a place that your vessel can be used completely and totally by God so that his work can continue what do you have to give if he gave his life we got to give our life now you might say I've given my life to Christ but have you really given your life so much so that you have died so that when people come in contact with you they experience Christ there's some people that when you meet them when you check out the way that they roll in with their life you can't help but say that's the Spirit of Christ there that's the Spirit of Christ then and and and I want some of that on me that's what we're called to you all we're called to become who he was when he was in the earth then and only then can we love like Christ live like Christ and lead like Christ and that's what our world needs if we're gonna overcome the poverty because we gotta show people what community is about [Music] touch the handle god I pray right now [Music] through the holy spirit you would begin to show us every area in our life that needs to be upgraded we're operating off at an old operating system a world system and we need to download the new commandment that you have given to us because God the old commandment to love neighbor itself was conditional because it was conditioned on how we love ourselves but the new commandment is based off of your example through Jesus Christ so let that download begin to install itself in our lives so that God when people begin to look at us out the screen of our lives they will be able to function at a whole nother level and it would draw them in that they too want that same download in their life and we thank you we bless you and we honor you help us to fully give ourselves our life to you as you have fully given yourself to us in the person of Jesus Christ that we might bring back the true meaning of crisis that he was born into this world that he might save the world and lead us back into right relationship with you we might advance his kingdom and the earth we thank you for it in his name Jesus name Amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] come on and bless the Lord for elder Bernie's King and the word that the Lord brought through her what a word amen amen so in that I asked the question to everybody that's in here what are we willing to give God gave His only begotten Son for our lives even when he knew everything the good the bad and the ugly so there's someone in here today who you've never given your life to Christ but he's already given his life to you and he's opened up the door for you to come to him and he said I knew everything about you even before you were formed in your mother's womb and still gave my son for you it if there's anyone in here who haven't given that life to Christ who haven't confessed him as Lord and Savior he has given his life to you already so why don't you come now come on new birth pray pray Frank if there's anybody in here if there's anybody who watching by streaming favor you never given your life to Christ he has done it already for you he loves you so much that he's already given his life and then there's some who want to rededicate their lives back to Christ you've already confessed him as Lord and Savior oh you don't even have a church home but God has called you here and you know God has called you to this place where a bishop long and first lady would love to be your pastor if that call is for you you can come as well you don't have a church home you want to rededicate your life back to Christ come now come come come come come on in bless the Lord noubar turn

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Length: 50min 3sec (3003 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 18 2018