Oakwood AYM 9/10/21

two [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] happy sabbath day why happy sabbath all right let me hear you through the mask one more time happy sabbath are you glad to be in the house of the lord hey man i'm glad too it's been a long tough week even with the holiday y'all it's just been a it was just a long week i don't know about for you but anyway we want to start the way we've been starting for the past a couple a y's we're going to open up the sabbath together if this is your first time joining us tonight and experiencing this we are basically going to light a sabbath candle and open up the sabbath together here at a y so we've been talking about the importance of the sabbath and the fact that it is a straight-up celebration of the god that we serve so yes it is to some degree it's some self-care god put it the bible says god made the sabbath for man not man for the sabbath but still it is all about god so last week if you were here we said that the first reason we keep the sabbath is because we celebrate the creator we celebrate god as the creator so tonight the second reason we keep the sabbath y'all is because god rested on the seventh day can y'all say god rested on the seventh day i tried to get my daughter to come up here but she wouldn't and i would have asked her does that mean he took a nap baby girl and she would have said no daddy he didn't take a nap does it mean he pulled out his blanket and he climbed a bunk bed or something she would have said no daddy elsa what does it mean he said well he stopped all his work daddy you know what it means that's probably what she would have done we celebrate the sabbath because god rested on the sabbath how many know that god does not need to rest the bible says he does not slumber nor does he sleep god does not rest on the sabbath for his own good but he does so for our own good because god is trying to show us man that he will eventually send somebody to give us rest from all of our worries all of our sins so we celebrate the sabbath because god rested on the sabbath and because god made the day holy and just in case you don't know you make something holy when god is in the thing just like the burning bush the bush was holy was holy ground because god was in the bush so the sabbath y'all listen to this god is in the sabbath i believe that every seven days god draws a little bit closer to us so that we can experience him so that we can even become holy the same way that he is holy so will you celebrate this sabbath a holy god who wants to make you holy yes can we do that to sabbath can we shout and sing praise to a holy god this sabbath who wants to make us holy can we shout this sabbath to a god who rested so that we could rest amen well we're going to do that this sabbath uh we're gonna do that this habit let's pray together our father god we're so grateful for the sabbath day we're grateful god because it's not something you needed it's something you knew that we would need something you knew that you would put in place so that we can keep our eyes focused on you so that just in case by friday we forgot how our bills were paid just in case by friday we forgot how we cleared just in case by friday we forgot that our uh check did not cover our expenditures just in case we forgot who really sat on the throne just in case we begin to put our trust in the world and not in use every seven days we're reminded that we serve our creator god a god who thought so much about us that he created a day of rest for us so although we're stressed today we can fully rest in you so god as we open up the sabbath and we celebrate you the god of the sabbath help us to find rest in you tonight god tonight somebody needs rest from some difficult situation someone needs rest from a family situation someone needs rest just from the stress of life so god today i'm begging you in the name of your son give us rest and we will be careful to give your name the praise we thank you and we praise you in your son's name amen and amen [Music] sing hallelujah yo what's good what's good what's good what's good what's good what's good everybody somebody make some noise we happy to be back at ay happy that is savage happy that we get a time to rest and rejuvenate and hit with our people you know i didn't really appreciate sabbath until i got older but you know once i started getting responsibilities and stuff you know savage just you need that time where you can just like come on be with jesus you feel me you know what i'm saying all right so let me let me tell y'all about about my life and my perspective on some things right so you know i've been at a y you know like every every week since i was a freshman i sung at ay a lot um one thing i never really appreciated to be honest was the first set i don't know why it was just i think a lot of times the first sight is just the fast song we get hype it's like you know what what are we doing with this what are you thinking about the words so i'm gonna change that up a little bit i want to give us more meaning to this first song we're going to start off with because this isn't just you know have fun hang loose this is about having an encounter with jesus this is about spending time and worshiping the name of your creator so i have a word that i learned well actually first lecture first y'all know the word glory what do you think it means to you you can talk to me what does the word glory mean to you someone said exalting i heard it's like the weight it's the essence anybody else it's like the character of something says we give god glory god has glory anybody else what is glory so i actually learned recently the word we get the word glory from in hebrew is called kabad someone say kabab kebab actually comes from the term that meant weight when people would do sacrifices back in the day they would call the weightiest part of the animal the kabad this is the part that's the full essence of that animal the part that's the the full the full context of that animal the part that's really showing what that animal actually is so when it says that god has glory he has weight he has presence he has a character that's big and that's that's present but when it says we give him glory it's saying that no god i'm putting you as the thing that carries the most weight in my life i'm putting you as the thing that carries the most the most essence the most character the thing that's most important the thing that's powering me the thing that's pushing me through so as we sing the song you know don't just fall in love with the beat don't just bop your head think about what it means to give god the glory because no one else deserves the glory no one else deserves the honor so you know this one of those songs you got to get up for so you know come on y'all can already start get up out your seats we got to we bout to have some fun up in here let's get it let's get it let's get it shout out to my man bryce on the keys it's here [Music] [Music] [Music] let's go down the list [Music] [Music] no one else can receive the glory no one else can receive and no one else can receive the praise no one else can receive the praise no one else can receive the glory no one else can receive the glory and no one else can receive the prayer no one else can receive the praise because he's holy and holy and righteous righteousness [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] no one else can [Music] receive the glory [Music] [Music] tyler [Music] i'll give you the glory [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] nobody nobody but jesus hey me call me on this one [Music] and every single part of me [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Applause] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] hey say hallelujah [Music] hey everybody [Music] yet [Music] [Applause] [Music] no no happy sabbath oakwood fam we are so glad that you could be with here be here with us tonight here at aym we're so glad to see each of your beautiful faces here in person i want to thank you all for coming but i also want to thank all of our online viewers who join us from week to week for being here for being a part of this worship family you know we need to say that more often aym is a family and as a family we care for one another we support each other right amen and for that reason i ask you guys to support this family all of our online viewers we encourage you to give to ay find us online at ou giving and please support us because this family we worship together we grow together in christ amen and also as a family we care for each other and because we care for each other i want to remind you that we are still in a pandemic and for that reason remember we've got a social distance so please sit every other row and if you did not bring your mask then you have got to go so [Music] remember remember that when we are here we care about each other's health and safety so please wear your mask fully over your face i want to thank you each again for coming and lastly if you enjoy this fire that is lit every friday night at a y please we encourage you to continue the conversation right after a y in the mosley complex the upper room experience continues this conversation where we talk about the message that is presented here tonight and so once again i thank you all for being here for coming i encourage all of our online viewers to continue to be a part of this family let us be considerate and god bless us tonight amen amen [Applause] so [Music] all right so i got another thing i want to share with y'all um i i probably told it to you as for a devotional if i've ever like done a praising practice with you or led praise and worship with you um there's a story that i was reading in acts right you know it's a casual story but god was showing something crazy to me in it so the story in in acts five it's a five or six i think it's five of these people called ananias and sapphira you might have heard of it right people in the early church back in the day you know when they first started churches what people would do was they would all compile all their wealth they would compile their resources and they would put it in a pool so they could look out for the people that were less fortunate so the people who had a lot would say okay i can share i'm going to make sure i can provide for the other people to make sure we have everything straight make sure the community is good it makes sense it was a good little system everybody was in on it these people ananias and pharah said like we want to get in on the on a party it wasn't like it was forced or anything wasn't like they had to do it it was just people who they loved jesus so because they loved jesus his love shining through them and they loved others they gave to others just some casual stuff right so ananias and savara they were like yo we're going to sell some of our extra land right they're going to sell some of their extra land they got the money but what they said was we're going to tell the church that we're giving all the money but we're going to hold it back for ourselves we'll only give some of it you may be like yo i mean it wasn't required like this is the love offering like why does it matter and that's what peter said too he was like yo it doesn't matter that you know this is your money you can do whatever you want to it but what the problem was was you didn't lie to the church you lied to god because you said you were going to give your all and you only gave some and i think a lot of times especially in a culture that's so involved with church so involved with music we sing songs like all to jesus i surrender we sing songs like like lord i love you lord i serve you we sing songs like i give myself away we sing songs like i'mma let go and let god but turn around and stress over the test that's coming up a lot of times we tell god we make these verbal contracts that we're going to live our life in a certain way and we go back on our word just like ananias and sapphira so as we engage in this moment of worship as we engage in this moment of prayer as we prepare for the sermon i just want to impart to you i want to i want to give to you the idea worship isn't something you have to do jesus gave you the choice you can choose but if you choose choose be a man of your word if you choose worship so you know i'm about to worship i don't know about y'all but if y'all want to come on this journey with me of talking about my god the guy who saved me um last time i sung ay last week while i was singing my parents got in a terrible car accident they were on their anniversary going to a beach they got hit by a deer terrible accident airbags fly up they can't see they're going so fast on the highway but god spared their lives i could have had a totally different testimony coming up here so i have something to praise god for so i'm asking think about what god has brought you through think about what you're praying for god to bring you through and make this a real and genuine worship y'all y'all got me all right let's do it i'll hail the power of jesus name let angels prostrate all and bring forth the lord [Music] [Music] time [Music] [Music] you bring life to the darkness you give hope you restore every heart that is [Music] and great is [Music] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] we [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] are you is [Music] [Applause] [Music] before this is the part of our service where you can bring your cares and burdens before god there's a particular song and the chorus simply says that burdens are lifted at calvary jesus is very near so if you have a burden you got carrots did you have a bad week this is time you can tell jesus about it is your roommate getting on your nerves you can tell jesus about it you're not financially clear yet you can tell jesus about it you got him problems at home with your family friends this is the time when you can tell jesus all about it so right now we have our prayer team that is right here at the front and if you want specifically somebody to pray for you they are here and they will pray for you um so don't be afraid this is not the time to to look at somebody else or to wonder what everybody else is thinking you need if you know you need to be here and you know you need prayer and you need to be here i'm going to come down there with you guys i don't want to be up here with y'all be up here so i can be closer to you guys [Music] just a few more seconds [Music] [Music] definitely father [Music] there are so many things and blessings that we take for granted and so that the very fact that we are sitting in this building in good health attending school eating shelter food friends fellowship first and foremost we must say thank you because there are so many people that had plans and and and and made uh uh made plans to to get up and and and go about their day on this day friday but they did not live to see it but for some reason god you allowed us to be here and so for that we've got to say thank you we cannot take your blessings for granted we are seeing another sabbath day a sabbath that was not promised to us and for that we say thank you we've made it from friday last week to friday this week and we have to say thank you we thank you for our help our education friends god some of us or most of us in here are financially cleared and we could not see how we were going to be able to do it but you made a way of as you have done so faithfully in the past and so we're grateful we're grateful for the friends the fellowship that you have blessed us with but father some of us have come here tonight burdened down [Music] some of us are overwhelmed stressed out some of us are are on the or on the edge or may be depressed for whatever reason god actually will comfort us and not just us in this building but everybody that is not attending service and everybody that is watching online as well comfort us sometimes it gets hard to get through the day but you promised that you would never leave us and you would never forsake us so god we cling to that promise that even in the midst of what we're going through that you will comfort us and strengthen us when we're weak because when we are weak we are strong in you again i pray for every person that is burdened down every person that is contemplating maybe there's somebody or there somebody watching that is contemplating suicide god actually that you will be near with that person there are people that have health issues that are that are battling covet and cancer i ask that in the name of jesus that you will heal them go beside their hospital bed their bedroom wherever they are and heal them [Music] there are people that are trying to find their purpose there are students here that are trying to find their purpose they don't know what career path to choose what friends to hang out with or somebody's even here contemplating marriage god so i ask that you will guide them be with every leader on this campus every teacher every administration the president uh the vice president be with the entire administration of this campus so that while they are looking towards you they may lead us as well [Music] be with the pastors of this church the elders the deacons the deaconess the student leaders the interns god be with us all that as we set the example to lead others may come to know you better i cannot in this prayer without asking for your blessing over our nation when our nation's leaders [Music] hurricanes and and kobe cases are steady going up god so i ask that you will please please please heal our land heal this nation we know that in in these times we were gonna we were told of these times that were gonna happen but god please strengthen us some of us are discouraged help us to look up and and to know that our redemption is about to draw now that you are about to come soon [Music] help us to be joyous in these occasions and this in these cases that are going on be with those that are affected by hurricane ida and those are in afghanistan and those that are that are in haiti god be with this entire world this world definitely needs you now more than ever before and again i dare not in this prayer without asking your blessings over our speaker who is called to speak to us tonight fill him with words from on high touch him and be with us as well as we listen to the words may we not see him but may we see you [Music] this is our prayer in the mighty most powerful name of jesus we do pray all these things and everybody said amen and amen [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] with [Music] [Music] he's [Applause] [Music] it's your friend is [Applause] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] and i will [Music] you already got it as long as [Music] let's do that again [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] sacrifices [Music] we love you jesus [Music] of my words [Music] [Music] i got another part for y'all got another part for y'all [Music] [Music] oh [Music] i this is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] and i will [Music] i got something else for y'all [Music] lord and [Music] jesus no matter what i don't keep on chasing me [Music] lord [Music] [Music] y'all mean that we just singing it we singing her and we mean it y'all don't give him y'all gonna give him control [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] come on is he a good god oh that was weak come on i see a good god anybody thankful for what he's done in your life come on oakwood is anybody thankful for what he's done in your life come on let me hear you just say you're going to crown him as lord of lord king of kings come on is that somebody's testimony that you know he's made ways for you out of no way come on somebody say crown them crown them come on is that your testimony [Music] come on should crown him hallelujah [Music] anybody just thankful to be here with all the mess that's going on in the world you know who is the king of glory the lord strong and mighty the one mighty in battle to save come on is that your testimony tonight i'm thankful to be here tonight to be amongst the worshipers again it's just good to be here is anybody just ready for a word tonight come on is anybody ready for a word tonight i want to thank definitely the ay staff office of spiritual life dr pollard everybody pastoral staff anybody that's here some of the faces i haven't seen in a while because of all the things that have been going on but i'm thankful just to be here thankful to pace and the team can you give their hands to them and these musicians as well you guys feeling good tonight come on are you feeling good tonight all right now i'm gonna ask if you can just actually stand with me we're gonna go straight into the word because i don't want to delay you at any any cost we're gonna go to judges the book of judges chapter 8 the book of judges chapter 8 specifically of verses 22 through 27. judges chapter 8 verses 22 through 27 like i said i'm just thankful to be here tonight i believe the lord has a word for us tonight i thought somebody would respond to that i thought somebody would respond to that i believe the lord has a word for us tonight judges chapter 8 22-27 if you have it just say i'm ready i'm ready the bible says this in the english standard version then the men of israel said to gideon rule over us you and your son and your grandson also for you have saved us from the hand of midian gideon said to them i will not rule over you and my son will not rule over you the lord will rule over you and gideon said to them let me make a request of you though every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil for they had golden earrings because they were ishmaelites and they answered we will willingly give them and they spread a cloak and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil and the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1700 shekels of gold besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of midian and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels and gideon made an ephod of it and put it in this city in ophra an all israel hoard after it there and it became a snare to gideon and to his family i was told that the theme part of the theme that's going on this year is dealing with the heart is your heart in it so under that i believe the lord has sent us a message that simply says be unhurried be unmoved be unhurried be unmoved father we just thank you for the blessing of being able to be here on this sabbath as we were reminded earlier we have rest on this day and some of us are stressed to the point that we don't know what to do maybe through classes relationships things happening at home health challenges whatever it may be we're stressed anxiety is high but we have been given this day for us to relax for us to rest and so right now as we've entered into worship already we ask that your word open up our hearts open up our minds open up our ears that we as students can walk out of here not just learning information but actually being disciples and applying it to those that we come in contact with and in jesus name we pray amen he may be seated then the men of israel said to gideon rule over us you and your son and your grandson also you have saved us from the hand of midian on april 13 1997 the sports world was forever changed dr pollard particularly in the game of golf a 21 year old young man by the name of tiger woods became the youngest and the first black or asian person to ever win the heralded masters tournament and out of the four major championships in golf the u.s open the british open the pga championship and the masters it was his first victory out of the so-called grand slam and hitting drives of more than 300 yards with mental toughness second to none against men that were old enough to be his father woods won a tournament with a 12-stroke lead that many suggested at that time was the greatest golf performance in more than a century what was already a promising career that it started to influence throngs of new friends from fans to sports and enhanced media attention due to a success as an amateur and a rookie it all catapulted due to that specific win in april of 1997 and when speaking on the impact that his father had on him with his new success tiger said my dad was always the person who would plant seeds and give me encouragement but would also say things that would fester inside me that wouldn't come to fruition for a while and originally encouraged and cultivated into golfing as a child by his father woods had started to reach the apex of a gift that he did not see in himself but that his father saw in him by june of 1997 he he set the record for the fastest climb to becoming the number one ranked golfer in the world two years later in 1999 woods won eight pga tournaments earned a record six million dollars and began a winning streak that became the second longest in pga history in june of the following year tiger did the impossible oakwood surpassing his 1997 masters win with his first win in the u.s open by a daunting 15-stroke lead a performance that is considered the greatest of all time this only pushed him further along his dominant path by capturing the british open in july and the pga championship in august becoming the youngest golfer to achieve the career grand slam q and altogether woods has 168 wins in his career 82 pga tour victories including 15 majors celebrated as the greatest closer in history he is unbelievably 14-1 when going into a final round of a major with the lead going against the competition tiger has the lowest career scoring average of any player which is a good thing in golf and the most career earnings out of any player in pga history with an expectation to become the first billionaire athlete by 2024 tiger sits comfortably with an 800 million dollar net worth he's the face of golf and outside of jack nicholas the standard that all golfers try to ascribe to and yet with all of that attached to his name tonight tiger's life and reputation took a deep dive unexpectedly back in 2009 and due to a car accident that left more questions and answers on thanksgiving night of that year it was later revealed that tiger a married man with two children had been cheating on his wife with a specific woman and after admitting to the affair and apologizing to his friends and family many other women came forth to various news outlets saying that they had been having affairs with tiger as well divorced by his wife of six years and losing countless endorsements that were estimated to be between five and twelve billion dollars in shareholder loss woods fell into addictive drug and alcohol use and troubles with the law the man who had been a hero and inspired so many to follow his lead in a sport that was not understood and not appreciated until he came upon the scene now did not look so heroic at all i think that bill gates said it best when he said quote success is a lousy teacher it seduces smart people into thinking that they can't lose tiger who was raised as a buddhist gives us the angle for our sermon tonight when commenting on his deviations and infidelity he said quote buddhism teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint obviously he said i lost track of what i taught what i was taught and that theme puts us right in our main text tonight where gideon whose name means mighty warrior did not see in himself what god saw in him gideon who usually would be treading wheat on top of a hill dr pollard was instead doing it in a wine press to hide it from the midianites these midianites had held the israelites in bondage and the israelites have been struggling and toiling every day while being disenfranchised so they call out for the lord to deliver them out of this wretched circumstance and ironically they are in this thralled environment though because of their own apostasy the god who had been calling judges who were nothing more than regular people designated to bring the nation back to him had not wavered from this method previously before we see or hear from gideon and being led by two women deborah and yael israel had found success in the lord's plan and entered a time of rest for 40 years where they were not bothered and yet in their prosperity comfort and complacency israel as reflected in verse 1 of chapter 6 starts doing evil in the sight of the lord increased with material goods they do not seek the voice of the lord anymore with witnessing the lord pull them out once instead of gratefulness from their hearts they identify god as nothing more than a genie in a bottle their wish is his command freedom for their comfort becomes more important than following his commands independence and will trumps being inspired by his word they are morally corrupt they lack substance and are superficial capitalism and greed is the blood that flows through their pious veins and prayer has become their last resort instead of their first resource and because of the choices and decisions that they have made over this time the actions and character of israel become so tainted that god get this now here oakwood delivers them into the hands of the midianites and those who had once lived a high and comfortable life are now cave dwellers those who had found honor in their occupations are now feeling humiliated because of the oppression therefore the god who has never stopped loving them especially now makes it real clear that they must be humbled in order to turn back to him and just like a child that is tired of being in timeout who ask if they can get out now israel asks the lord to come deliver them out of their own punishment and the quote says this tonight god answers prayers and sometimes in his answers he goes so far beyond anything we ever believed could happen his people pray for deliverance oakwood and the lord chooses to deliver with the unlikely hero gideon god called gideon to go and lead the charge to defeat the midianites and he would be the general in charge to lead the way however gideon was unsure about what god was telling him to do because what he saw in himself was a young man that was just a servant in his father's house the least of them as he called himself gideon looked at god as if he had found the wrong guy and the self-doubt that gideon chooses to reflect at this time is really an act of unfaithfulness because god had already told don't understand this tonight he had already told him that he would succeed yet gideon did not believe it because what god was telling him and gifting him to do did not line up with the plan that gideon had for his own life therefore it takes gideon having to test god with three different signs in order to convince himself that the talents and gifts that god has given to him were actually going to be useful now we don't have enough time tonight to go through every detail of what happens in these chapters with gideon however what should be noted is that through an act of faith gideon goes into battle against the midianites with only 300 men by his side starting with a mere 32 000 men israel was overmatched by million by 135 000 troops yet god tells gideon that his 32 000 are too big and cuts them down to 10 000 and eventually to 300. and i like how one commentator stated by saying that israel's small army is too big for god to use yet it's with these 300 that in the hall of fame of great warriors and generals that that that gideon finds his name inscripted on the wall because of the success that he had in defeating the midianites a man that has literally come from the bottom in a wine press is now standing on the hill of victory because of what the lord has done through him by way of his gifts and talents yet while sitting comfortably in his success tonight oakwood with all of that attached to his name at that time gideon's life and reputation takes a deep dive unexpectedly in talking about success gifts and talents gavin adams suggests this simple talk of enlightenment for us tonight he says the quote is why we do it our calls and aspirations that marks the beginning of our journeys but success tends to interject what we do and and how we do it he goes on to say that when the what we do and the how we do it overwhelm the original why red flags should fly this quote is not isolated from my main text tonight because israel get this now who is riding on the coattails of their dearly beloved deliverer gideon seeing all that he has done in order to help free them from bondage lifting the spirits of the people systemically changing the projection of their futures from being different disenfranchised to now walking more abundantly they suggest to him that because he is so talented gifted and successful that he should make himself king over them for generations to come and gideon understood that it was not his place to take the throne over israel and that the lord god was the true king over israel so while at the top of his game while being the baddest man in town the most recognized face in the nation and with many under his influence gideon decides to speak words that were humble but his actions were not when telling them to know that he is not worthy of such a position and to be satisfied with their true king he then tells them that what they could do for him though is give him all of their gold and jewelry so that he can make an ephod out of it traditionally an ephod was a vestment worn for and by a high priest it was used to seek knowledge about the future the unknown in a supernatural and spiritual way we remember that samuel ward when he served in the tabernacle in shiloh the ephod was worn by the high priest only and was considered a sacred garment and commentators go back and forth on if gideon actually wore the garment or or just had it there to look at and observe but whatever the action that gideon took with the ephod is up in the air and in some way you can see here tonight that that there was not a bad or evil intention that gideon had and what he had asked the people to do in helping them make this ephah yet it is with this priestly sacred garment that it becomes a snare to the people and the one who had delivered them out of bondage away from the midianites has now delivered them into idolatry away from the god who had sent them now tonight any logical person that is reading this story will ask themselves this simple question why did gideon do it and as reasonable as that question is it breeds one of the most complex and nuanced answers presented to us from any part of the bible oakwood and here it is for us tonight and i need you to get this this is this is the whole sermon because gideon felt like he could notice that this is the first time where we do not see a conversation between god and gideon happening before gideon takes a specific action gideon has been an instrument for the deliverance of his people in a miraculous way that even his own blood could not estimate the dominance that would be displayed by his leadership in such a terrible time for the nation and embedded within the miraculous content skill and talent and leadership of this man his success has conceived and birthed an opportunistic irrational confidence to believe that because the lord has enabled gideon to do a specific thing at one time as being a general that he was now equipped and wise enough to follow every impulse and feeling that he has without praying no matter how good the intention because in his mind the lord could not have done such a miracle without his help now one of the things that i do not understand in life this is my biggest problem that i have are people who enjoy going to the grocery store you'll never convince me that the grocery store is a place that people should go to for a place of tranquility as i hear some say and since i don't enjoy being there especially in a crowd especially in the crowd i like to go there early in the morning when the store has just opened and i like to go with a purpose and every time i go early in the morning i'm fascinated by the actions of all of us customers that are present because none of us are in there hear this now none of us are in there just to be in there everybody that is in there is in there with a purpose to get whatever is on their list and get out so what makes no sense to me are the people that i will see in there just walking around going through every aisle just taking that time because they do not have a list mentally or physically they are in there just to see what they can get and while aimlessly walking they they put stuff in their baskets that they may not really need have not checked the price for and end up wasting money on things that they did not need to be in there for in the first place and this is all a casual example i don't even have much more to share with you this is all a casual example to explain i want you to hear this tonight oakwood that the biggest hindrance to all of the multiple gifts and talents that god has given to us is not adversity but being faithful over impulsive we live in a society that breeds the concept that you have to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way because you will not advance and look as good as the next man a woman i had a friend that said to me this week our society today enables us to hear this now to believe that when we don't know what else to do then we should just keep moving forward the danger in this tonight is that you will trust your reputation over his requirements gideon was called to be a man of valor gideon was not called to be a priest he was not told by god to make an ephod yet there was no war for him to fight anymore so what gideon believed was that because of his success he could now dictate when it was time for him to switch lanes there was nothing wrong in his action the problem was that god did not tell him to do it and while he may have had earthly success he became a spiritual failure to his people because understand this tonight he becomes a slave to opportunity to be honest though tonight what startles me in this passage is not just that he waves or wavers from the call on his life it is how he deviates from god's plan that scares me i really wish i'd heard this sermon when i was 18 years old when i came to oakwood remember that at the beginning of our main text this is the key it is the people who based on the success and the impact that gideon had had on their lives tell him that he should go make himself a king now notice that these are not haters these are not midianites that were his apparent enemies these people they are his family they're his friends his peers his neighbors his colleagues these are people that knew him oakwood before his rise to success which suggests to us and here it is for us tonight oakwood gideon allowed himself to be dictated not only by his feelings but by those who had been impacted by god using him in their lives now this is important for us as christians because high praise can be just as lethal as lacerating insults your walk with god hear this tonight oakwood cannot be dictated or in the image of your parents just because you are a miracle in their life your walk with god cannot be contingent upon your husband or wife just because the lord has ordained for you two to come together your life your journey your walk your decisions must first bow at the feet of jesus before anyone else so at the end of the day oakwood just like tiger and gideon at the height of their success the reason you do not have peace in your life tonight even though you have accomplished so much and have made it here today is because you have made an ephod based on your feelings and impulses and what your family and friends think of you and this all symbolizes one simple thing that you are obsessed with not being offensive you have a fetish for fitting in with everyone you have no substance because you are devoid of self-awareness you are deficient in being yourself in christ because you lack the conviction to remain how he made you in the face of new opportunity high praise or when what he has required from you is to do nothing and faithfully wait for your next assignment so it's easy for us it's easy it's really easy for us to do this when we forget that god did that we did not rather create the gift or the talent we were not the ones who orchestrated or or allowed us to borrow these techniques and abilities and so there's a quote which says that understand this here tonight i i wish this was the first sermon i heard when i came to oakwood your true success is measured not by how much we own but by how much of us god owns oakwood the impulsiveness to look at ourselves and believe that because of how god has used us in the past that we are now ascribed to be able to dictate our future is truly satanic when we live a life that is outside of the purpose that god has for us in that time in that year in that month during that day we create a tsunami of snares that will affect us and our people in our relationship with god because we have made an idol with our feelings reputation and impulses so what does this mean there are some people dr pollard and you know some of these people there are some people that are married today wishing they were not because they trusted their feelings of infatuation over trusting in prayer there were some of you sitting here tonight not in the will of god at the school of the prophets knowing that you are only here because your parents said this is where their money is going but you did not follow where the lord led you so here it is you cannot be walking with the lord and walking aimlessly with no purpose at the same time every good thing that comes does not mean that god wants you to do it that means that it may take you a little bit longer to finish your degree but stay faithful you may not ever be able to get into a bigger house but be content and stay faithful you may not ever be able to make any more money but are you being faithful to the call that he has on your life at this specific time and that does not mean that he won't tell you to go do anything else and that does not mean that he may not give you a new interest to pursue and that does not mean that an opportunity will never come your way nor does it mean that he will not tell you to take advantage of a specific one the point is tonight are you able to be unhurried are you able to be unmoved are you able to listen and go when the lord says to go do you have the discipline to say no when it is not your time so we're out of here on this i don't want to leave us on a sad note here it is for us tonight you know that you are walking with the lord when you trust his indicative command more than you trust your impulsive and influence conviction so we're out of here dr pollard because this is what we know we know that the father's will is more efficient than our very own because as believers this is not the first time that we have seen a man tempted to coordinate himself as king from the same people that he is blessed we know that while god's plan may not understand this tonight may not make sense to us at times as believers this is not the first time we have seen a man's human feelings be checked at the door by his divine purpose for it was jesus who while meeting with the father and the angels saw the oppression from the devil on the human condition and knew that something needed to be done for it was jesus who agreed to and understood that his father so loved the world that he had to give up his only begotten son for it was jesus who after being born the devil tried to take out with herod putting an apb out on his life and all the infant boys alike for was jesus whose parents knew the purpose for his life and in response to that great adversary the devil became refugees in the land of egypt for it was jesus who after being baptized by his cousin john was led into the wilderness by the spirit to be tempted forcing the devil to assume that he had just succeeded in ruining the divine plan for it was jesus that while being there in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights dr pollard he was tempted by the devil to trust in his anger trust in his hunger trust in his weakness trust in his deprivation and trust in his feelings but it was jesus who responded by saying that man should not live from bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of god said ford was jesus who are being tempted to mess up his father's plan set away from me satan for it is written worship the lord your god and serve him only for it was jesus who being advised by his people and by his disciples was told that he should set up his earthly kingdom yet he responded that no man could be his disciple unless they love him more than they love their family more than they love their friends more than they love their own life fought with jesus that since he loved you more then he loved his own life he was oppressed and afflicted led like a lamb to the slaughter as a sheep before its shearers yet he did not open up his mouth ford was jesus who when he passed this test and many others alike he built up the fortitude that allowed for him with all power in his hands to keep the nails in his hands to not come down from the tree and to remain where the father had called him just for you and for media so i'm reminded tonight of what the hymn writer said when we walk with the lord in the light of his word what a glory he sheds on our way while we do his good will he abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey so let me encourage you tonight oakwood be unhurried be unmoved trust in no bear for there is no other way to be happy in jesus i don't know about you tonight come on where's some people that tonight that are saying i'm not trusting in my family i'm not trusting in my friends i'm not trusting in all the people around me while some may trust it in chariots and some they trust in horses i will trust in the name of jesus because at the name of jesus healing can happen deliverance is in the name of jesus healing is in the name of jesus my steps are ordered in the name of jesus i don't have to worry in the name of jesus is that your testimony tonight come on put your hands together tonight if you know that there's no one else that you need to put your trust in but all you need to do is remain in jesus [Music] here's my concern tonight that with all that's happening in the world with all the problems and the difficulties that we see that we have made ourselves become idols to our comfort that we have decided that we will only follow christ if there's an advantage for us that we can agree to and the danger for us to know is that there are some people right now that are struggling with some relationships because sister you may have some family members that told you you need to be a certain thing but god did not tell you that you may be struggling tonight because of what you see all of your friends doing and you're trying to figure out how to fit in but the lord is requiring for you to be different and the problem is you cannot be confident in yourself because you have not let the lord's love pour all over your areas of decisions and choices and options in your life so all you do is follow the crowd so if i was 18 i would need to be told be unhurried be unmoved because i spent so much time while here getting to know people [Music] or being influenced by people that did not matter making decisions with folks that i don't even talk to anymore people that aren't even in my phone anymore dedicating time to spin to and all of that time that i wasted i i realized one thing if i had just committed to what the lord told me to do what peace i would have had [Music] what understanding i would have had if i had been unhurried and unmoved in my calling we have hope tonight because we serve a god that came down to this earth and decided that he was not going to give up he was not going to give in because even though people that thought they knew him better than he knew himself said that he should do one thing he kept himself on that cross because he knew that you had a purpose so that's you tonight and you're saying lord i have strayed away from what i know i'm not talking about what your friends know i'm not talking about what your family's told you i have strayed away from what i know just lift your hands just lift your hands just lift your hands you're saying right now look i've done all of this other stuff but right now i need to find my way my course back to you [Music] that's you tonight i'm gonna ask you to stand just stand with me stand with me stand with me i know it's hard just stretch your legs stand with me all you're saying today is yes to your will yes to his understanding yes you will obey because you're tired of being like a paper blown in the wind just moving at every impulse and feeling that you have you want to be somebody that moves with a purpose with conviction you may not be a doctor you may not end up being a lawyer you may not end up making all the money in the world there's some people that are dreaming about some things in this room tonight and you've got some doubters in your life because people say that that dream does not make sense that career path does not make sense but what has the lord told you [Music] go back to where he called you go back to the understanding of why he called you in the first place don't get caught up in the howl or the what go into the why [Music] he called you because he loved you and he cares for you we're praying right here father god we understand that we have waved so many times in our lives but right now we have an opportunity a serious opportunity right now uh to to turn back from all of these things that we have done it's not even about habits lord it's really about people we we try to to to balance our lives to please everyone but but right now lord you're saying just just follow in my will and and i'll guide you all the way so right now help us to have the courage to do what you want us to do listen it may not make sense to some of them here tonight there's some things developing in their minds in their hearts that they're afraid to tell people about in fact the lord may have them in a place right now that that they may not understand all that's going on but but help them to find faith and trust in you and that when while they're on this campus that they are leaders and not followers that they are influences that that are people that are influencing other students to christ by the way that they walk within their purpose [Music] so while we stand tonight give us the conviction give us the victory to know that as long as we follow in your will that we'll have the peace that surpasses all understanding and just like the example set by your son we may be able to do some things that people will never thought of maybe never agree with we will be within your will because right now the world is not looking for normal folks it's not looking for people that are just falling by the wayside that are just acting average we need people with conviction people that have ideas people that have the impulse to follow you all the way so be with us lord creating us a new heart to follow you and all that we do in jesus name we pray amen [Music] all right if you guys appreciated the lord's words and i can't give him another round of applause [Applause] all right all right so um i'm going to be doing closing prayer then before we leave i have a couple of announcements about father we thank you for this day god we thank you for bringing us here god we thank you for the breath that we have in our lungs god we thank you for our friends and family lord we thank you for another sabbath god and as we continue on the sabbath i pray in us that you help us to keep it holy god every time the sabbath comes around help us to not dread it god but find joy in it god and not just find joy in it but find joy with you god help us to do all the things that would bring us closer to you things that we enjoy lord and i thank you for the word god help us to find all the things that we find a title a attachment to god all the idols that we have in our lives god i pray and ask that you help us individually find out what idols we have attached to us and to get rid of it god not just cut the cut off the weed but uproot it god and as we continue on with this day lord there has been a lot of stuff going on in this world and us individually and what we have going on in our lives with school and i just pray and ask that even though we do not know all the answers god to be reminded that you hold all the answers you know the future god and as no matter for juniors seniors freshmen sophomores that there is a finish line and that you will carry us through no matter what is going up and what no matter what is in our way we love you and we thank you and jesus and them our prayer men all right two announcements they will be have um upper room experience and mosley complex in room 106 104 104 and last thing we probably do not have the qr code but we do have a thing called the swat team and uh students with a testimony and um we don't have the qr code but if you go to the ou underscore aym prayer team oh there it is all right so um if you need anybody to talk to throughout the week anybody to just send you a devotional send you just send you a bible verse somebody to check up on you anything legit we got you you do not have to go through this alone this big campus you do not have to go through this alone so let us be there for you you do not have to go through it alone um yeah and that's it so we all can't be here so you know thank you for coming to ay [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh uh me

Channel: Oakwood University Church

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Keywords: ouc, worship, prayer, faith, love, hope

Id: xh6jePSn17o

Length: 97min 0sec (5820 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 10 2021