FOCUS // PART 3 - DISTRACTED // PASTOR MIKE JR.

[Music] the ability to focus can make or break your success in life in fact scientists consider the ability to establish mental focus as an important predictor of a person's future success can we argue that the same way tired people need rest distracted people need focus [Music] we've been saying for the last couple of weeks and i believe it's worth repeating that the same way tired people need rest distracted people need focus we've been arguing intensively and intentionally that the question or the primary issue may not be that you aren't smart enough that you're not gifted enough that you're not connected enough that you're not rich enough right but the problem simply may be that you're not focused enough and i don't know about you guys man but as we embark on our 21 day fast in the morning and if you have not registered do me a favor pull your phone out right now and text fastlane fast lane to 28950 they've told me that we have set a record at rock city here's a good place to hit me with every heart you can and every high five in the comments right now more than 3 000 people that's amazing how y'all not going to class up here come on man more than 3 000 people have signed on to register to be a part of the focus 21 days of fasting and prayer i want to give a quick commercial because it's our goal that you remain what focused it's our goal that you remain focused tonight on the app it's going to flip and there'll be a part on the app where you can go we're giving you an onboarding lesson a couple key uh quick lessons about what you're about to do information focus rooms why i'ma say it and i'm gonna say it again i want this to be the strongest most focused year of my life so i am giving god my january so he can bless my february through december yes somebody ought to shout i'm focused man i'm telling you the problem may not be that you aren't smart enough that you aren't connected enough that you aren't educated enough but the problem may be the primary problem may be that you aren't focused enough and i want to argue with you today that we must learn and grow to master the ability to control our attention the control of our intention is so critical i believe is one word that comes to my mind called cognitive dissonance cognitive dissonance or biblically that's what there is hypocrisy hypocrisy so some of us aren't focused because we suffer from cognitive dissonance it's right there on your screen cognitive dissonance or what they call biblically hypocrisy now define what that is biblically hypocrisy or cognitive dissonance is when you say what you don't believe or even do what you don't believe say that again it's when you say what you don't believe or do what you don't talk about that it's amazing because even once you get saved you have to distinguish what you believe it's like if you confess with your mouth but also believe in your heart and many times in the christian faith this is why i believe there's such a mental health crisis in the body of christ because we're saying things in church that we're not believing in our heart wow and what we have to realize when we say cognitive dissonance uh when we talk about uh transformation of change it can only happen when it starts at the heart level as a man think of in his heart so is he i think my dad growing up do you remember this dad used to say my heart has changed oh yes my mind is changing but my body is waiting on change yes there's a disconnect and what you're telling me now is your heart has changed but your mind hasn't shifted yes sir there is a cognitive disconnect come on and when you have this cognitive dissonance you'll end up saying things in faith but because you play with empty words in the past you have conditioned your heart to not even believe what's coming out of your mouth so when i say this is gonna be my strongest you you're saying it out your mouth by faith yeah but in your heart you don't even believe because you've experienced so much in the past it keeps you trapped in your past even though you're making positive confessions in your presence which means your future is held hostage by the hurt of your past even though your present is saying something worthwhile i'm trying we must learn to grow and master the ability to control our attention talk about that that's so good two things because what you just talked about cognitive dissonance reminds me what the bible says double-minded yes sir that's what the bible says a double-minded man is unstable yes in all his ways because i've learned that a double mind produces a double mouth when you that is possible because your your mind and your heart on the same page your mouth don't know what to say yeah right and so you'll speak faith one day and then speak fear another day double mouth double mouth all right so it's what uh it's what the uh the harvard business review calls a cognitive control yeah right uh colloquially we refer to it as willpower in other words it's the ability to stay focused in the face of temptation to be distracted and to wonder yes and many times we've got to develop the ability to remain controlled in our thinking yeah because until our mind is controlled our actions always be unstable the spirit it's the fruit of the spirit and it's so crazy and you say i talked about cognitive dissonance yes sir you just talked about cognitive control cognitive control so cognitive dissonance is when you're saying something out of your mouth that you necessarily don't believe in your heart yes but then cognitive control is when you're able to stay focused in the face of the temptation to wonder cognitive control right now and i don't mind you seeing this in dream do me a favor this is probably preaching suicide what i'm about to say right here they're going to heat me up in the comments somebody's going to say it's the feet for me shoot wide real quick if you look right now i don't have on a shoe because i suffer from something called gout it's where um the uric acids in my foot begin to swell and my foot is on fire thank you so much to one of my members who sent me a foot massage and said pastor get better uh but i had to tell myself before take it off my feet now thank you i had to tell myself before i started preaching i sat here and had a conversation with myself yeah i needed cognitive control yes oh wow i said you know what but you don't hurt i am on assignment and i got to preach that's good so for the next 40 minutes you have no authority over my allowing you i am not allowing good come on to take hold of my mind is it hurting yes but i've caught my focus somebody say focus focus i choose to focus on the assignment that's not the affliction i choose to focus on the assignment not the affliction will will this cup pass from me yes the answer is no when the answer wouldn't even know yeah he didn't even give god a chance to respond nevertheless he said nevertheless yes because i realize if the affliction is a part of the assignment then i must keep god my attention so i can remain focused that's good somebody say focus we must learn to grow and master the ability to control our attention so i want to answer this question pastor mike i see you in the comments somebody just put it's the foot for me i see you in the comments how do we attempt then to do that and where do we begin how do we attempt to learn and grow to master the ability of controlling our attention i'll tell you one of the secrets i believe it is found in your decisions and in your daily routine yeah i'ma say that again in your decisions and in your daily routines take notes i tell you what i need 10 people to put that in the comments right now decisions and daily routines let's take a vote right now whichever one you need to focus on more the most i want you to write if it's decisions type decisions if it's daily routines type daily routines right there why is that important put this in your notes go to instagram i tell you what i'm finna count down from 10. pull your cell phone out and i want you to record the screen and tag us right now on instagram and we're going to share it with you are you ready 10 9 8 7 6 you got your phone four or five whichever one three two one check this out the secret to success is always found in your daily routine you don't become successful in a day yes but rather success comes daily i love that did you catch that the secret to success is always found stay there in your daily routine tell me what you do daily i'll show you where you'll be tomorrow that's good that's crazy isn't it let's talk about the power of a good daily routine that's that's so good i believe uh it was john maxwell who said you are what you do daily that's good and uh i even love the fact of this that many people are suffering from what i call destination disease that many people are so caught up on the destination wow that they're abandoning the power of the day that when you put your hope in your goals and your faith in the destination wow you'll miss out on what god is doing in the journal destination disease destination disease destination disease oh i want to i want to take it i want to i got to meet my brother cole i'm just be honest with you that's good my brother cole i i want to say this because i got to push back now well i'mma add to it okay you say it destination disease imma call it in another form of destination disease i never forget when i decided i wanted to buy a car i stopped doing all the maintenance and upkeep on my current car because i was focused on what was coming that's good too many people right now are abandoning or aborting your daily routines for the at the expense of your future dream that's good that's so good what are you doing now yes sir what are you doing now because i'ma say it again success does not come in a day that's good success comes daily that's good you're not going to be you're not going to become successful in a day you're not going to wake up tomorrow and boom i'm successful which is why most people 99 of the people who hit the lottery end up broke again because they didn't have a daily process of stewardship that's good they just hit it in one day that's good i don't want a lottery glory experience i want a process i am grateful i didn't understand it and y'all gonna have to jump in because i'm on one today i didn't understand and shout out to carrie douglas black smoke music black and smoke worldwide that's who i'm with i never forget when he took me on my music journey and he called me and said hey you're number 90 and i was like man when we gonna go top ten he said i gotta process he said if i take you to the top out the gate the song won't ruminate or resonate with listeners meaning a song will be on the top tomorrow and it'll be gone and you never remembered it he said but if we take the slow journey by the time we get to the top by the time we get to the top that's pretty good it'll get in your soul i'm telling you right now many of you are ready to blow up tomorrow and what if god is saying if i blow you up tomorrow and you get there your character won't be able to handle the clock see the climb develops the character yeah yeah that's good i don't think nobody heard me that's good the climb develops the character or the pain or the process helps uh uh promote the strength and develop the strength you're going to need to get where you need to be jump in there we talked about decisions decisions in a daily routine a daily routine is simply you making a decision yes to remain focused in the face of distractions yeah when i have a daily routine i remember i remember we said this years ago and in fact i think you mentioned this watch night that you're born looking like your parents but you die looking like your decision that's good if you're going to be focused that means you got to decide when you wake up in the morning all right i could get on instagram and see what everybody's doing but my routine means that i'm deciding to spend time with god yes sir all right now i'm at my lunch break i could go kick it with my co-workers and laugh and joke and talk about people but my routine means i'm deciding to do a mid-day motivation and spend some time with god i could go to the buffet but i mean i'm deciding i'm getting on this face see see the difference between where you are and where you want to be is a series of decisions you better preach foreign i'm deciding every day to make a decision to stay focused that's right i'm deciding every day yeah you know what i'm gonna work to be a better yeah i'm working to be a better father i'm working to be a better steward i'm working to stay focused let me jump in there cause i feel a preaching moment right now sir i'ma shoot it out and one of y'all got to catch it i'm throwing it to you i just made a decision that i'm not gonna cry no more i make a decision yes sir i made a decision to take my life to another i made a decision to stay focused on my money i made a decision that what's in the past is still in the past i made a decision to be all this god god has called me to i'm making a decision to leave old people and old patterns where they are i made a decision that in spite look at it my foot hurt right now i will bless the lord at all times and his praises will be in my mouth the difference between the 20 20 you yeah and the 2020 one you is gonna be a decision man why you didn't call me back no more i made a decision why you don't come around no more i made a decision why you didn't buy that when you had the money cause i made a decision that if i can't buy it twice i ain't gonna buy it once i made a decision that's good somebody type decisions decisions decisions but also in my daily routine now i said something when we were prepping for this sermon today and i told y'all to make sure we remind and we should have filmed the prep yeah when we sit on the floor and just open the bible and dig into what we're doing we got to start doing more of that yes sir i made a decision i said you know what i want to make sure that we just don't teach and preach but give practical ways yes sir they can do this so here's an example a life example on how you can maintain your focus because what we must do then if once we realize that our life is the sum total of decisions and daily routines i want to say this real slow then we have to put this in your notes identify and correct the distractions that's good now we said that this past week identify and correct the distractions so i want to give you a practical way to identify and correct the distraction here's a practical way right here i'm in my office uh writing today's message i called a win we had another sermon planned yes sir this morning i woke up and i was like i feel something and i began to write right right right right and the holy spirit began to just lay things on my heart and i noticed that while i was writing i stopped into the instagram post i stopped and made another instagram video i ended up facetiming the kids and then the holy spirit said distraction i made the consequential mistake of charging my phone where i was studying so how do i identify number one i identified that the distraction to my studying was my what my phone i identified it so how do i correct that i picked my charger up put it on the opposite side of the room and charge my phone so now in order for me to come succumb to the distraction i had to willingly give up my focus oh my god was your focus taken or did you lay it lay it down so good yes that's crazy that's good did your focus get taken or did you lay it down and many of you may never be as successful as you can be yeah notice i didn't say successful yeah because i believe we all will experience a modicum of some some or some total level of some level of success but i believe all of some of us won't be as successful as we can be why we're too distracted and i want to tell you that a distraction is the destruction of your dream in slow motion you got to say that again a distraction is the destruction of your dream in slow motion whenever you succumb to a distraction you slowly turn your attention and have no idea that while you're looking at the destruction the dream is dying slowly and i refuse to allow my dream to remain on hospice no sir come on man i refuse to allow my dream to remain on hospice i'm giving my dream life's performance life support when i give it what focus attention somebody talk about that that's so good that's good you're you're saying i'm tripping because you just said distraction is the destruction of your dream slow motion in other words when i'm distracted it messes up my pace because purpose has a pace yeah and so whenever i'm distracted i love what you said you you took your phone and placed it on the other side you were practically showing us that when we have distractions we need to learn how to create distance yes between us and what's distracting us no no no no no no no no put this in your notes put this in the comments i must create distance between me and the distractions keep going because everything does not require elimination some things just need moderation yes and sometimes when you're going through focus you need to learn what needs to be eliminated yes and what needs to be moderated that's so good can i push you can i push your ass sir because with distractions there are some distractions you can't remove you have to ignore oh right your your phone is essential yes sir in one season my wife needs but it's a she she got you guys you got a wife yes you got business calls you got to make so what's a distraction um what's necessary one season becomes a destruction another so that means that i may not can remove it but i can ignore it right i remember when we just just had a new baby allison right so we already had ava that's my first grader we just had allison allison comes home um from the hospital in the middle of the school year corona is hit kids are at home she's learning at home and so now ava is distracted by her baby sister she her baby crying she want to hold her she want to play with her now allison is just as important as ava you can't put out i can't put out she's my baby so i had a conversation with ava and said baby i know you want to play with your little sister but you're going to have to learn to tune that out jesus because you got to remain focused there are some distractions that come with your destiny yes you want god to blow up your business people are going to call you people don't want to go have a conversation you can't want to be big and avoid the distractions that come with it so there's some things that cannot be removed you simply have to learn to ignore it jesus we gotta understand when we talk about distractions we're also talking about destiny come on when we talk about destiny we have to realize that decisions are the doorway to destiny yes decisions literally has latin roots means to cut off there are some things that won't make the cut in 2021 yes that i gave too much attention to in 2020 jesus because i'm making a decision and when i make a decision what i'm doing is taking a knife and cutting off what's not going to can i preach that for you come on i need somebody in the comments section to just type cut it off cut it off that in order for me to be who god has called me to be i got to cut it off you acting funny no i'm acting focused i had to cut it off in order for me to be who god has called me to be something gotta get cut off can i can i jump in a little come on some more because sometimes i'm not acting funny the problem is whenever you have focus focus requires someone to be a fighter and many people can't fight because they don't have focus oh my god [Laughter] jesus distraction but do you see how powerful they are yes how powerful distractions are and if you're watching me right now i'm trying to give you practical ways we're trying to give you practical ways to overcome distractions and remain focused but one thing we're going to get to this later in this month or probably next month i need you to guard your gates yes men um are distracted by what they see women are distracted by what they hear come on which is why if you want to catch a man's attention you put something nice on and when he sees it oh my god catches his attention it's attention he's now distracted or you'll see an ugly brother with a beautiful girl yes it's because he knew how to say what she needed to hear here yeah so you need to learn that there should be distance between you and the thing that is distracting you and i want to submit to you that we have to stop playing with our distractions too many of us are playing with our distractions and we need to say something that i believe most people don't want to do because i want to say that certain people are certain people are too guilty of over spiritual lies and everything yeah well you know i don't have no money because the devil attacked my finances no you bought stuff you shouldn't have bought yourself oh you know the devil met no you were just being messed up everything ain't the devil yeah but i want to say sometimes we are guilty of not making things spiritual enough i want to say something that may get me in trouble come on man distractions are evil yes yes i just lost half the church right there what is evil let's define evil evil is anything that distracts you from your purpose or your god-given mission that's good evil is anything that distracts you from your god-given purpose or your god-given mission and i want to submit to you pastor mike well how do i know it's evil evil is determined by its function in your life wow did you catch that evil is this is defined or determined by its function in your life and i want to say this right here and i pray you can catch this some of you are succumbing to evil distractions but they're good wow i want to say because there's a difference between good works and day at work yes is that cool good works and day at work so pastor mike what what what a day at work day at work i'm gonna read it to you day at works are good works that god has to specifically assigned to you to do i don't think you heard me dead works are good works that god hasn't specifically assigned you to do i want to give you a practical example uh because right now uh non-profits are popular yes sir everybody's trying to start a non-profit some for the good reason some cause they just want some type of stimulus check or something okay but i discovered i looked up at one point and one of my members had started a non-profit mentoring young ladies then all of a sudden she said and then three other women says you know what i always wanted to do that too and they started now watch this three of them had about five girls in their group i'm sure that what they're doing for those girls are good yeah but i hate it because they're dead works they're doing it because it was popular or they're doing it because they feel that someone else did it i can do it but if god didn't call you do it it may work out good for the one you're doing it for yeah but it's still dead work to you and it's ultimately a distraction for you yes because what you chose to do is a distraction from what you were called to do jesus i think i need to say that again say it again what you chose to do can become a distraction from what you're called to do see we're created for good works not every work say it again we're created for good works not every work which means there are things that i may want to do that aren't necessarily in my wheelhouse i remember when clubhouse hit uh and it really got to be become a big thing a few uh months ago and i really haven't been that that of that active on there over the course of the past few weeks because i realized that i was getting pulled into conversations that true be told didn't necessarily match up with what god had called me yeah it didn't necessarily match up to what i was passionate about and so i was doing things and getting in conversations because i was invited to it so you got to be careful because sometimes the devil will use an invitation to distract you hey sometimes the devil will use an invitation hey girl come hang out with us no i can't do hey come on vacation with us i'm supposed to be saving money put some scripture on it nehemiah come down yeah oh my god i can't come down you just went up because it was an invitation yes i'm doing away great great work that's crazy times you have to learn to turn down some invitations in order for you to stay focused on what god has called you to do focus is tend to mount jesus so who god is calling us is good it is focus that is gonna keep us in the midst of difficult seasons yes with everything that happened this week on capitol hill with everything that's happening in america that the very thread of social injustice and racial discrimination is being ripped apart we must remain focused yes sir we can't lose in our own communities let's remain focused we can't go backwards when god is calling us higher and to another level we must remain focused i love that beautiful black sister that beautiful black queen from georgia stacy abrams who in the midst of what i call voter fraud and some other injustices that her election was in my opinion robbed from her she didn't waddle and neglect a waddle in misery she remained focused and said you know what yeah bet yeah it won't happen again yeah sir now they flip the whole state because the focus ones who can take their pain and get the left extract the lesson from the pain wow this is critical wow because all of us will be dealt pain yes it's what you are able to remain focused and extract from the pain that's going to help you get the glory jesus am i talking to anybody when we go to this pregnant methean text we find a very popular narrative that all of us have heard as we matriculated through sunday school one-on-one yes sir it's peter and his boys yeah on the boat yes sir in a storm yes sir and they see jesus yes sir i'm not going to insult your intelligence and preach this entire text we're only using this as a launch plan to leap from so we can give you some principles that you can make applicable to your everyday life in matthew chapter 14 verses 28 and 30 look at this text then peter called to him lord if it's really you tell me to come to you walking on the water verse 29 yes come jesus said so peter went on the other side of the boat and began to walk on water look at verse 22 and 23 let's give it some context immediately he made the disciples get into the boat i want to stop right there i may never i'm gonna be honest we may not get off of that one sentence you don't need a lot of sentences when you know what you're doing yes sir look at verse 22 immediately somebody said immediately immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side now when we see immediately in verse 22 it forces us to act or bench to ask the question what just happened in verse 1 21. yeah and verse 21 what's happening pmj jesus is busy doing what he was called to do he's in purpose he's in an assignment christ in verse 22 sent the disciples across the lake and dismissed the crowd i see two things in verse 22. i see what jesus sent and jesus dismissed that's good now to the naked eye into the immature ear you believe those are the same things yeah he sent the disciples across the lake he dismissed the crowd come on man denotes that i'm going to catch up with you yeah dismissed means we're done yeah sent means we have future business dismiss me you've gotten what you need from me that's not going about your way that's good i want to argue that somebody watching me right now you are caught smack dab in the midst of two decisions yeah are you gonna send them or dismiss or dismiss and the problem i have if i've been sending folk i should have dismissed and dismissing folk i should have said am i preaching to anybody you got to hit a mic yes i have to make a decision in 2021. yes i love you yeah but you are dismissed oh man i gave you another chance to break my heart and you did it again so as of right now you are dismissed yes i keep telling you this is our year to get focused you don't want to fast with me don't want to watch church with me you ain't even got to come to church all i need you to do is go on youtube and listen to church and you still can't do that so as of now right now you are dismissed pastor mike being dismissive and dismissing people i didn't say being dismissive i said dismiss i'm not being disrespectful wow i'm making a decision and a mature statement as an adult yes i am looking at you or texting you or sending you a voice note saying as of this moment go ahead and do what you're going to do because i am too focused to teach to keep playing where you are i love this pastor mike that ain't biblical yes it is i believe they said it like this made the lord watch watch between me and thee where we were absent one from another yes in other words that was the churchy way of dismissing people jesus yes says i'ma send y'all over here i'm gonna catch up with you as for y'all y'all just dismissed why's pmj uh because the disciples were there for uh discipleship yes the crowd was there for deliverance and miracles wow see you see focus somebody say focus 100 people out of tight focus right now if i'm preaching to you if we're preaching to you if you're getting anything out of this and you haven't shared you are robbing the people in your life of the level of focus that they need to be how can you get a word like this and not share it how can you get a word like this and not heart it because heart is the new hallelujah how can you get a word like this and not say something listen to your boy when i say this right here the mistake many of you are going to make because you have a big heart a heart that god placed in you it is a good heart but it's also a big heart you have a bleeding heart you're going to allow certain people to come with you and they're going to drain every inch of life out of you jesus says because i've been so busy and purpose watch this now i need y'all to go here yeah and y'all to get out that's good this is so important why pmj because we told you this and hollis jumping it it's hard to do what it's hard to be focused when you're fatigued it is hard to be focused when you're fatigued yes and when fatigue walks in the door yeah focus outside walks out yes sir it's hard to be focused when you're fatigued i want to i love being practical can i be pragmatic sir please i'ma say this i know y'all gonna bust out laughing when i say it there are certain professions that can't afford to be tired and operated there are certain professions and certain jobs you just can't be fatigued on the job i'm gonna name one my pilot if i get on a plane i ain't trying to be funny if i get on the plane and i look in the cockpit and he doing this i need my money back i gotta go i ain't trying to go down with this play let me say this my doctor yeah absolutely yeah when i had surgery this year and i looked i looked at the doctor gave me a fist pump and his spirit made me rest better yeah if he had walked in and said no you're my 12th one today i'll go two more i would say no we're gonna wait till tomorrow that's good because i don't need you in my body that's good fatigue my parents yes all my parents a lot of you are fussing and beating on your children and yelling at them and cussing them out and sending them to their room and not spending time with them cause you're fatigued you're tired yeah you tired yeah you tired i'mma say this and three y'all gonna catch it my pastor i need my see i didn't i used to say things like i rest when i'm dead that ain't good for you or me yeah wow you need me rested and prayed up you need me focus and alert hearing from god so i can give you fresh manna yeah a fresh word from god if i'm a tired pastor now i'm just preaching recycled sermons and barely giving you what you need and i can't intercede i can't pray there are certain positions what god is calling you to yes it's too pivotal for you to be fatigued absolutely and i want to submit i'm going to say this this may be the one of the one of the worst ones you can't be sleep and driving who's ever been driving fatigue wow i'm gonna see i'm gonna put you on the hot seat let's play let's play family feud right here hit your seat when you got the answer the first one get it all right name the worst thing to do name something you do while driving fatigue swerve swerve drift drip all right my answer let the wonder down see so when i get tired first thing i do is do what crack the wind yes cause i say things like the sound of the wind yeah or the wind gonna keep me up see many of you right now are dating a window down many of you don't realize that what you're drinking is just letting the window down many of you don't realize let me cut some music on the half of the conversations you're in that you shouldn't be in is you just turning the radius you are moving fatigue and when you move fatigue jesus imma say this don't wreck yeah because you fell asleep at the wheel jesus wow it's a substitute for actually being rested and focused jesus jesus christ it's a substitute you don't know what's crazy about a substitute yes sir a substitute teacher comes in and does exactly what the teacher gets paid to do yes but doesn't make the same the teacher makes yes because the substitute doesn't have the qualifications or the accreditation i want to say that i'm done being a spiritual substitute jesus reefer sometimes is a substitute oh wow liquor sometimes is a substitute you're blessing me sex sometimes is a substitute sir food sometimes is a substitute binge watching is sometimes a substitute i want to argue that if we're going to be focused this year we got to learn to discern or decipher between what's essential yeah and what's a substitute that's good yeah i would love to jump in right there because um as we talk about how when fatigue walks in the door focus walks out it's important to realize that when weariness walks in wisdom walks out you cannot make good decisions with the entire brain yeah and many times we don't even realize your choices will change when you're full see some of them you said i thought i said something i said i said when fatigue walks in yes what focus walks out yes sir you say it when weariness walks in no now weariness is an elevated level of fatigue see where is this level elevated level of fatigue so you're saying no not only did focus walk out but now you've been in fatigue so long you've now become weary and when weariness walks in wisdom walks out fools and you make better decisions when you're full yes see when you're hungry you eat whatever a baby anything when you're full and prepared you can prepare a dish that's so good you know what y'all are making me think about think about jacob and esau come right esau is weary he's tired yes sir and so he sells his birthright for what accumulates to some some trash come on dude this is not even good soup come on this is just something he threw together and i can't think how many times we compromised our calling yes because we retired i dated somebody because i was tired of waiting okay i was calling before yeah i wanted whatever because i was tired of waiting on the one god promised me yeah this i want to stop for a moment we're gonna we got to pay our sponsors but this praise break is brought to you by the thousand people watching who have been the hell and back again who've been fatigued and been weary and could have fell asleep at the wheel some of us have wrecked our money we wrecked our marriages we wrecked our finances we wrecked our future but god didn't let us die in the rest now that i'm back i will give god the best praise that i got but i realized if it had not been for the lord who was on my side yes i was weary in 2020. i one songwriter said i was weary wounded and sad and sad yes but i founded fatigue your last job name was fatigue fatigue your last bad experience name was fatigue name was fatigue why you used to work at the company where you used to shop at fatigue and company what you used to drive fatigue and the reason i am no longer stressed and i am getting excited about my future because i just real i got my second win yes sir i just realized if i get focused i'm fasting in the morning yeah and i know if my father's gonna give me the strength yes i gotta stop yeah i'm getting excited i gotta stop come on i'm getting excited yeah i'm getting excited jesus says i can't risk yeah being fatigued i can't so i'm dismissing y'all yeah i'm sending y'all jesus was stressing to us the criticality of consecration wow the criticality of consecration stephen covey i always talked about his seven habits of highly successful people he tells us to sharpen the saw put this on the screen sharpen the saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have which is you that's good your shape ain't your best asset yes sir what you drive ain't your best asset your your house five bedrooms three bedrooms or a two bedroom apartment ain't your best assets million dollars in the bank a hundred thousand in the bank half a meal in the bank twenty thousand in the bank five hundred in the bank that ain't your greatest asset your career is it your best asset your degree isn't your best asset what pastor mike what's my best asset your soul yeah i wish above all things yes sir that you were prosperous yes sir even as your soul sir sir the best asset that you have i just made a decision yeah we're not doing a bible study we're going to play this again tuesday wow this word right here is too vital it's too critical for you to hear it one time yeah and you're going to make a decision come on man come on the same way you went to grandmama house and ate thanksgiving took you to gold plate and reheated the next day you're gonna reheat this word cause what i'm becoming and what i'm desiring to become is too big and too precious for me to waste it on another distraction that's good am i talking to anybody in here appreciate it i have to sharpen the saw yes the worst thing in the world is to see a dull knife a dull knife is the manifestation of a dog christian can i can i get some of that the problem is is you don't even know that a knife is dull until you go to use it and too many times you look like you sharp but you're really not until god gets ready to put you in purpose only to realize i'm not as sharp as i should be jesus jesus knew i had to enhance my greatest asset yes which was me yes sir yeah look at your pastor please you yourself are your greatest yes sir do me a favor go stand in the mirror real quick and when you stand in the mirror i want you to save this part of the message yes and i want you to play it back and you're going to repeat after me yes i want you to look in the mirror and say i i am my greatest asset my greatest i am my greatest asset i may not have all the money yes i may not fit in i may be different i may be peculiar folk may not understand me but i have to guard who i am because if i guard who i am i will become who god wants me to be yes i am because what god created you to be is bigger saul looked at david when they saw this saul looked at david and said hey if you gonna go beat that giant get focused by putting on my stuff yeah and david tried it yeah then davis i can't wear this i can't do it it don't fit me yes i can't dress like them it don't fit me i can't flow like them it don't fit me don't i'm done trying to be what other people want me to be man i am what god says i am sir i will have what god says i can have because this year i'm going to remain focused jesus knew you got your notes yeah jesus knew that he needed to be renewed and strengthened yes put that in your nose he needed to be renewed and strengthened yes sir he was physically exhausted some of you are just tired you're physically exhausted physically exhausted look at this now he needed to recover a clear perspective of his mission i love this we even got to the scripture yes sir it's so much in he needed to recover number one he needed to be renewed yeah that's strengthened physically he needs to recover a clear perspective of his mission he was mentally exhausted i love that go back one slide there it is physically exhausted all right i want to talk about this renewed strength every person we're going to make the devil out of a lie i don't want you to care about who sees this or what be bold today with your pastor hearken to the word of the lord every person who can honestly say pastor seven eight nine days into this year ten days into this year i'm already physically tired i just want you to type me right now there's nothing wrong with it because the greatest lie that people are believing is that the moment the clock struck 2021 it became a new year for you and because it's a new year for you all your problems magically went away i want to say this tomorrow alabama will play clemson yeah i'm sorry they will play ohio state right right and the national championship monday if i'm not mistaken monday watch this their first game was in 2020 their championship is in 2021. wow so the year changed but the season didn't jesus oh the year james but the season and what i'm trying to get you to realize right now that for many of you although it's 2021 and it's feeling like 2020 it's because it may be a different year but the end of the same season come on man and you got to be able to be you got to be mature enough to realize pastor ybj prophesied that the year may have changed but the season may have not because many of us are listening to cliches we are practicing cognitive dissonance yes saying stuff we don't believe or ignorantly don't understand wow that's it right now because here it is jesus went to be renewed the problem with most of us we go to god to be relieved and so we're getting released instead of being renewed in other words we're practicing religion instead of relationships yeah so when we go to god to pray it's it's to escape everyday life instead of be renewed and strengthened to go back and conquer what we're dealing with too many of us see jesus we just said it jesus when jesus took a break yeah he dismissed the crowd jesus got by himself to be renewed yes sir we get by ourselves or go to god to get relieved make that make sense in a practical way jesus went into his devotion time to be made better yes we go to god to take something oh god take this pain yeah jesus says no shake the pain yes sir can i oh my god come on see there's a difference in wanting to be better and just wanting to feel better too many times you go to god so he can make us feel yes but we got to decide if i really want to be better i'm deciding in 2021 because i'm focused i don't just want to feel it i want to be it i want to be in i don't just want to feel it i want to be somebody needs to go in the comments section and just type i want to be it i want to be i don't just want to feel like i got some money no i really want to walk that out i don't just want to feel like i'm a better father i really want to be a better father i'm tired of just feeling good i want to be good somebody asked me the other day one of my pastor friends called me and said why you keep letting them preach with you what if they get your stage what if they get your influence what if they split your church what if they leave you you can't do stuff like that i said stay where you at i said i've never seen a doctor go in an operating room by himself you're preaching i have never seen a doctor go in the operating room by himself i said the people that i am called to experience an icu type of 2020 and i refuse to be in pride and think i'm the only one who got a word from my people i needed every doctor in the room because there's too many of you going through and i came to submit to you this is your year not just to fill it yes but to be it yes i'm getting ready to have church i need your help right here don't just feel better be better don't just feel good be good don't just feel favored be favored don't just feel anointed be anointed 700 people are the type not only do i feel it but i'm about to be it come on man hey that's a praise break i wish that worked with my foot cause my foot hurt right now so i'm gonna tell myself foot be better yes i need you to understand that you don't just need to be relieved yes you need to be renewed that's good he needed to recover a clear perspective he was mentally tired if you're mentally tired just say pray for me pray for me pray for me he needed to be recharged with god's power yes so much power had gone out of him yeah that's so critical if he's healing the sick raising the dead opening blinding eyes healing people feeding five thousand he is exhausted yeah yes sir hear me i play football i play one year at west alabama you played for uh florida state won an acc championship you played basketball i got i'd be exhausted when i get through praise sir exhausted yes sir way worse than running gases in football i can remember running them hundreds and when i get through preaching i go home and crash because preaching is physical and spiritual i can feel you pulling on me that's why so much of what i'm preaching ain't even in notes so much of what i'm preaching isn't even in the notes yeah and you're pulling it out of us yes this was supposed to be a lesson yeah and we don't found ourselves preaching yes cause you're pulling it out of what i need a thousand people to just say i'm pulling on your passion this is why we pray yes this is why we're fasting this is why i need you to say my name yes because i need every church every member of our church every citizen of rock city that when you get weak pull on me because i realize when you pull on me i'm pulling on jesus lord i'm giving you 10 seconds to praise god where you are how you ain't lost your mind yet cause i'm pulling on jesus i gotta stop i'm getting excited yes i'm trying to stop i gotta stop yeah somebody had a tight pull on jesus oh jesus somebody out of tight pull on jesus when your body get tired pull on jesus when your mind get weak pull on jesus and remain focused yes that's it man that's it he need to be renewed yes yeah recover clear perspective i love that we're charged with god's power i never even got to the message today man i'mma stop i'ma stop right there i want to ask you one question i can't even ask the question i don't mess the whole sermon they don't pull stuff out of us we never even got to the message never even got to the message never got to the boat man we don't have to come back to the boat i need to stop right now i feel you pulling on me right now depression you have no authority i declare right now healing is coming into your house there's power about to flow in your home right now i need a thousand people to just begin to pray jesus jesus i dare somebody to put the name of jesus in the comments right now that is that name that is above every name come on somebody type jesus somebody type jesus right now as we prepare to go on this fast tomorrow i ask for strength god i ask for clarity god i decree and declare right now in the name of jesus that no weapon formed against us shall be able to prosper i decree and declare god you're giving us strength you're taking us from glory to glory and from faith to faith god i thank you right now in the name of jesus i declare right now in the name of jesus that god you're taking us to another level of focus you're taking us to another level of power you're taking us to another level of focus you're taking us to another level of power yes lord you're taking us to another level of focus you're taking us to another level of power you're taking us to another level of focus you're taking us to another level of power god i right now decree and declare that we're putting on the full armor of god that right now i want you to download when you get done go to the app and download your focus packet because i want you to equip i'm not just asking you to do something we wrote it out so you can have it right here and in there we have warfare prayers i'll lead you in when prayer is not only communion with god it is confrontation with the enemy prayer is not only communion with god it is confrontation with the enemy these prayers are very helpful when spiritual warfare coming put on the full armor of god so that you may take your stand against the devil's scheme the devil plots the devil plots but when the devil plots you be focused enough to plan and declare devil you have no authority devil i see you coming because i'm focused you're not creeping up on me i'm not about to get caught off guard i see you because i wrestle not yes yes lord against flesh and blood i declare right now in the name of jesus for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of the enemy and evil in heavenly realms therefore put on the full armor of god so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand stand firm and put on the belt of truth buckle it up around your ways with the breastplate of righteousness and peace i decree and declare you are fully equipped to become what god is calling you to be and pray in the spirit pray in the spirit some of you need to ask god for a heavenly language before you go on this path so you can begin to pray in the spirit that no weapon formed against the against you shall be able to prosper this hallelujah we got a remaining church every tongue that rises up against me ooh shall be cut down yes we got to remain focused we'll finish next week we got to remain focused i want you to fast with us i want you to know that the devil is after your focus yes that distractions will come we're not even playing a game and saying it may it will come as i'm praying i want i want to i want you to know what i'm telling the truth and i need somebody to go in the comments and affirm what i'm about to say while i was preaching and praying stuff was jumping off yeah put that in the comments if i'm talking to you while i was preaching your phone was ringing with mess while i was preaching somebody was trying to come over and see you while i was preaching kids were being loud and running through the house while i was seeing you while i was preaching stuff was jumping off hear me when i say this while i was preaching you just got news that a family member just passed i felt that in my spirit while i was preaching bad news began to creep up on your life but the devil is a liar i plead the blood of jesus i decree and declare that you won't lose focus that god has not given you the spirit of fear but of love power and a sigh a focused mind yes father i thank you it's in jesus name i pray my church i want you to hear your passion when i say this and i pray you hear my heart the next 21 days are pivotal we are not playing this is not a test this is not a game get focused don't play download your pamphlet right there pastor darius has it right there we printed one out so i could have it right here on our set but it's available on the app download the digital version it talks about the different types of fast it talks about how to be successful in your fast we've got prayers written out so you can just pray if you don't know how to pray just read the prayer out loud and it still has power it's the principle it's not just you being able to make it up don't don't do that i want you to understand that god is calling you to another level of focus i love you i'm praying for you i felt god today what about you guys absolutely i felt god today man i i'm i'm i'm overwhelmed out of a doubt by his presence oh my god i am overwhelmed now i see why we say it during unscripted take away the lights remove the noise i just want to be with you yes listen i know we didn't plan this but dre if you don't mind i want to play that worship set when i get done and while i'm playing that worship set i want you to take the time i'm playing that to focus your mind just let it play in the background just close your eyes for a minute and catch your breath breathe [Music] breathe take a deep breath right now with me i'm i'm here with you because somebody's having an anxiety attack somebody's feeling overwhelmed let's do it together hallelujah just breathe breathe breathe breathe calm down it's not over god sees you and to the person who feels like your prayers are going unanswered god heard you he heard you he's working and you're on your behalf why before you even knew you had a problem he had already came up with the answer the solution this is why we sung that beautiful song that we wrote on the spot yeah we wrote it on the spot take away the lights remove the noise i just want to be with you i just want to be with you whatever you're giving is between you and god when i give that's me remaining focused when i pray that's me remaining focused and now it's time to watch god work yes i love you rock city

Channel: Rock City TV

Views: 38,050

Rating: 4.9542532 out of 5

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Id: myy_D5DEiHY

Length: 54min 40sec (3280 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 10 2021