Pressure 101 // Pressure (Part 2) - Pastor Mike Jr

and I am excited everybody wave at everybody watching us and welcome to Rock City we are so excited to be here can we just give God a hand clap of praise do me a favor if you're watching from home I want you to share this right now share this start a watch party here it is heart is the new hallelujah verse it again heart is the new hallelujah if we say anything that blesses your life I want you to heart the screen do me a favor comin comin comin comin comin comin comin comin comin comin I want you to pay close attention to who I have with me today pastor James fortune right here pastor Henry taulbert past the Hollis protege himself then over here we got Hilda Tiffany we got past the Curtis and we have pastor Leslie we are excited about what God is doing I truly believe today's work it's going to change your life hands up all over the room hands up at your home hands up at work repeat after me say Lord you gotta say it like you mean to say Lord you gotta say it like you believe it say Lord open my heart open my ears to hear what you have for me in Jesus name ready said grow let's go to work okay so I want to welcome you to pressure 101 I want to welcome you to pressure 101 something broke loose Sunday that I still can't explain I don't know about you sunday has something different on it didn't it hear me you can feel the presence of God I've gotten phone calls from people all week saying pastor you don't know what that did to me because so many people are under I'm gonna see if you caught that tonight under pressure there's so many moms at home who've had to teach their children for the first time in a long time so they're trying to prepare meals trying to teach kindergarten first grade third grade love a husband still trying to make love to him and although she keeps it together she's been tripping because she's under now better stay with me tonight there's a man watching right now who his money is acting funny he doesn't know how he's gonna put food on the table pay bills he's trying to keep his masculinity and he's struggling right now because when the money man's money is messed up his mind is messed up so he might be in the car smoking a cigarette getting drunk to deal with y'all slow tonight y'all better come with it tonight right sure we started talking about pressuring the thing that we talked about this week was pressure bills in silence pressure builds in silence I want you to put that in your notes pressure bills in silence it's what Thoreau called quiet desperation I don't know if that spoke to you but it really spoke to me quiet most men lead lives of quiet desperation mainly can I properly articulate that meaning that their actions are crying out even if their mouth isn't that's critical their actions are crying out even if their mouth is have you ever met somebody who when you ask them how are you good the first thing is it not strange but then the way they move and is saying now something wrong with you now their actions are screaming what do I want to push all of us to do I want all of us and I want you to catch this now to mature to a place that if something is wrong say something let's do this and I have my instructors here tonight and we're gonna dive deep in this conversation on pressure and I want to dive deep what's your definition I want you to define and I'ma come straight to you pastor Harriet I want you to define pressure what's your working definition of pressure I see pressure as the tension between who you are who you're becoming wait wait whoa that put that in the comments somebody please put that in the comments pressure is the tension said again it's the tension between who you are who you're becoming oh my god let's stop we're gonna be here while tonight I feel it then oh my god the pressure is the tension between who you are who you are and who you're becoming and who you're becoming so let's do this let's do this we're gonna think so I want everybody watching me to realize this is what we do on a daily basis and our text group we're constantly challenging the text here it is I hope I get I hope I don't go viral for this we practice safe pets did you catch that practice safe text he says pressure is the tension between who you are who you're becoming pressure is the tension between who you are and who you're becoming and sadly so many people are under pressure because they have not mastered the gap you missed what I just said they have not mastered the gap in your notes I want you to write the gap what is the gap the distance between who you are and who you're becoming pressure ela elaborate on some of that so a couple years ago I had the opportunity to go to London right and when I went to London I saw something that absolutely blessed my life when you're getting to go on the train all around the station you hear this lady repeating mind the gap mind the gap mind the gap you see it on signs you sit on the floor you sit on the train you see it everywhere and at first I didn't know what it meant until I got ready to get off the platform and get on the train and what I discovered is is that there's a small gap between where I am and where I'm going and so what they're saying is if you're not careful you will lose valuable things in the gap in between where you are and where God is calling that's crazy so you're saying as you got ready to step off the train if you're not careful there's a hole a gap in between what got him there and where he's going I want to submit that some of us are feeling pressure right now because we have not mind the gap we lost some valuable things in the process and I want to talk about this pressure builds in silence we see Jesus who's been the picture of strength we see Jesus who's been the picture of strength his deity has been on display the only time we really see him show real emotions that Lazarus is funeral and it says Jesus wept now most scholars argue on why he's crying but that's not what we're here for today the next time we see him kind of show emotion to me he turns to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and he says I need you to pray with me watch and pray and they do what they fall asleep I really want you to catch this he says I need you to watch him pray watch this I didn't need your help to open blinded eyes I did need your help to heal the sick I did need your help to walk on water I did not need your help to raise Lazarus I did not need your help to heal the one with the issue of blood and the first time I asked you for something you fall asleep and many of us don't realize that there are certain people in our life who are asleep when we need them the most that is so critical Curt my best friend right now shout out to him Andre Rudolph dealing with the loss of his father and I made a critical statement a powerful statement to our staff I said I need everybody calling and checking on him even though you're gonna do it anyway I wanted to make clear you heard it from my mouth because so many times we said I don't want to bother somebody because I don't want to be a burden he probably needs his face I'd rather he see my missed call they're not getting a call at all cuz I'm understanding I don't need you in my deity I need you in my humanity meaning I don't need you when I got strength I need you when I'm weak and that's a beautiful Greek word X Dunamis Eck Dunamis we know Dunamis power Dunamis is when you have a power depletion you lack power and many people watching me right now are struggling with pressure because givers don't know how to ask for help that's critical isn't it givers don't know how to ask for help and I want to submit to you if you don't handle your problems or your pressure your pressure will hinder you and I want you to understand that pressure has made many great people sales of who they are under pressure Noah became a drunk under pressure Elijah set up on the tree and literally said kill me under pressure Jacob became a liar under pressure Gideon became afraid under pressure Jonah ran from God under pressure Peter denied Christ and I want you to understand that many of us right now are dealing with pressure that we were not prepared for at least in our own mind and the question I would like to ask you out of the gate and I want you to take really good notes tonight is Who am I that's a critical question James that's a critical question Who am I I want to put you on the spot James because in gospel music and your gospel legend all of that it's difficult sometimes to embrace who you are and not mimic what's working for somebody else talk about the power of authenticity of being yourself yeah it's a great power there and I think you know it's a it's a thin line between who you may look up to who you make people that you glean from people that you want to learn from and also trying to be like them because there's only one James fortune no matter who they want to compare them to everybody else has already been taken as a quote say so by being your authentic self it allows you to walk in your calling you don't have to have a competitive spirit listen I Know Who I am I know who's I am I know my abilities and I don't need affirmation or confirmation from anybody else other than the Holy Spirit God God laid this on my heart during my devotion this morning I want to share with you it's authentic living authentic living versus image management I want you to put that in the notes put that in the comment section right there authentic living versus image management so many of us are mastering pastor holidays image management so i'ma look a certain way I'm a swag a certain way I'm a post a certain way I'm gonna carry myself a certain way and many of us are dying on the inside you will know why the pressure is so much because the you who God intended you to be not even stepping up to the assignment that God called you to be and because you're trying to mimic what you see you are carrying the weight of somebody else I don't think you heard what I just said right there image management so what do I realize pmj go to Luke chapter 1 verse 80 Luke chapter 1 verse 80 John grew up and became strong in spirit that's critical give me an ASP there it is and the child continued to grow in to become strong in spirit and he lived in the desert of the day of his public appearance to Israel i'ma said again and the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit and he lived in the desert until the day of his public appearance watch this I want you to leave that on the screen look at this let's didactically break down this text right here here it is and the child holds the child John so let's go to the NLT give me NLT there it is John grew up all right so let's stop let's look at every line of the text what does the next word say grow up I want to polish and parenthetically digress right now and submit that there are too many people trying to walk in an assignment they haven't grown into the text says John grew up and became strong John grew up and became that word became literally means there was a process in place that molded him talk about that pastor Holland's the process I think what's critical pastor is is that when you think about purpose when you think about destiny is something that you live in to not up to mmm and so many people are trying to live up to this call in this thing which means I've got to do it today when a word that you just said it's so critical it's process not processes people for purpose he doesn't just call you to something didn't expect you to be able to perform it today any time God calls you to something he's already taking you through processes and life to prepare you for it that's good so then so what he's saying I want to explain what he's saying cuz that was so good a teacher never gives you a test that they haven't taught you are a bad teacher if you put a test in front of a child well I'm gonna take that back because a teacher will do two things they will teach you something they will teach you something then test you or they will test you to assess you my god that's the first one of the night they will test you to assess you I want to pause and parenthetically digress because I want to submit to somebody who's watching me right now that the first thing you need to do about the current test that you're in is discerned is it's something I've already been told or is this an assessment now what's the difference being J if I fail a test that I've already been told that is not indicative of the teacher that is indicative of the student not paying attention but if I fail an assessment it's really not a failure because the only reason they give an assessment is to see where you are so they know what to give you next I don't know who I'm preaching to right there but I want to prophesy that what you went through in the last season of your life was an assessment that God took you through that to see what you left and what you had and now that he knows what you lack he's about to give you more strength he's about to give you more peace he's about to give you more favor he's about to give you more wisdom he's about to give you more insight why because now that I've been assessed I know what I need to become better oh this is critical look at this scripture let's go back to it look at what he says it says John grew up and became strong in spirit and he lived in the wilderness and he began his public ministry to Israel I want you to get until he began his public ministry to Israel I want to look at this one line he lived in the wilderness so John became strong in theory and he grew up not in public eye but where in the wilderness I want you to put this in your notes most people cave to pressure because they mistake the wound for tomb the wilderness serves as a wound a place of preparation and most people k2 the pressure because they mistake the womb for a tone that is so critical and I want to talk about well before we go further who is John who wants to jump in that who is John come on Leslie who is done so John the Baptist is the first prophetic voice that we hear after a 400 year silence from Malachi to the beginning of the new testament and Malachi the last thing that God says is that he'll turn the hearts of the sons to the fathers and the enjoyed appears in the wilderness and they're asked well who is he and he says simply I'm a voice crying out for this isn't Jesus cousin this is cousin it is Jesus cousin but he's six months older than Jesus okay so his ministry commences and then it really confirms Jesus's ministry so that's positive for us so John is Jesus's cousin yes this is the one that when Mary goes to Elizabeth's house the scripture says what they may be leave i want to polish it for a moment i want you to catch this but every creator for every spiritual spiritually gifted individual who feels like you're carrying too much weight by yourself i would like to submit to you that you may not have found your john that's critical why is john important because john does what curtis he confirms but he also goes ahead did you catch that john goes ahead because jesus' ministry was so weighted he needed people who could help him handle the pressure this is John where is he he is in the wilderness this is critical he's in the wilderness and you said he's six months older than Jesus so so so the Bible says that in the wilderness he became what he boys crying out so I want you to catch this his prophetic gift is developed in obscurity and not only that Pastor go along with what you say it they mistake the womb for the tomb he's one of the only men whose as being born with the holy spirit he was a Nazarite from birth Jesus could say no no no we got women at our church who can go I'm tired of sin all to me and do stuff put the camera back on and say that again he's one of the only set again he's one of the only men to be born a a Nazarite meaning he was set asides a guy from his birth but secondly to be born with the holy spirit I want you to catch this now he's born with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit and even drop yet so he's walking around with a precursor of what nobody else can get I wanna I'm gonna have church by myself so you're telling me that John is born with what nobody else in his time had that Jesus had to leave for us to get which means why are you walking around jealous of people when you got in you what they can't even get access to yet I want to submit to somebody who feels the pressure of having to compete and compare with other people that what you have is god-given that's critical John that is so critical so it is this John who's in the womb put this in the comments if you don't mind for me put this in the comments womb equals the wilderness or or obscurity and the problem with many of you is your view of the womb your view of the desert or obscurity whenever you see desert or wilderness is that interchangeable desert wilderness is interchangeable and the problem is you view the desert as an insult not an incubator that's rich you view the desert think about this John keep in mind from the moment we see John healed he he on fire John in the womb can't wait to get out o that go back up back up John is so on fire that when Mary walks in he and his mom are wound like let me out he gets out and goes to obscurity priest pmj why because if God develops you in public people would have access to what you got the game plan the blueprint and is it is in obscurity I want to talk about this now I want to talk about this I want to talk about the blessing of the desert the blessing of the desert I want to submit to many of you that your problem right now is that you view the desert as an insult not an ink you what's an incubator what is an incubator and incubator is where babies are placed when they need more attention and many of you right now are so ready so ready you can go back a couple slides Candace you are so ready to do what God is calling you to do that you're stepping out before God ever says so that that is so critical I want to submit to many of you right now that the desert is where creativity is birth and cultivated it is what you learn in the desert that prepares you for public ministry that's critical that's critical I think a lot of people include myself as certain to look at the desert is like a place of death but it's more so a place of development because it's in the desert and desert can also be translated for solitude is if you look at John his his identity it was shaped in private but revealed in public so many times God shapes us in private and then he reveals us in public so I think if you look at the desert as okay this is not this solitude this is not punishment this is a protection even Moses his mom for three months she hit Moses until she could not hide them anymore so anybody who's frustrated feeling like you you're not on a certain place or a certain platform at certain point they're not gonna be able to hide you anymore but that was producing that wasn't punished I feel God on that you're not you're not overlooked your hidden yeah that's that's critical you are not being overlooked you are hidden and the desert is what development takes place and I want to submit that a lot of you are dealing with pressure because you have nearsighted perception nearsighted perception what does that mean pmj how you view where you find yourself currently is impacting how you serve and live where you are let's talk about that nearsighted what does it mean to be nearsighted somebody jump in there nearsighted first was we just say nearsighted I was funny I was looking at that work the other day and one of the definitions I got that I never heard before was it says to have a lack of imagination so even when you talked about John the Baptist and we talked about height saying he started his ministry he knew Jesus was coming but he never tried to jump in and do what Jesus is gonna come do so I know a lot of times we feel pressure because we go and try to orchestrate what God that word day you know we try to put our hand and things and it's not about saying finagle things but God didn't ordain that so we have pressure that's our word because we're trying to do something God hasn't told us to do I want you to put that in the nose we're trying to orchestrate instead of letting God ordained it in other words we're trying to manipulate not wait on miracles did you catch what I just said and when you don't you your current season right you look at it as punishment that's critical ain't it that's so good with James you said this whole piece about Moses I think that's Exodus chapter 2 the Bible says that she saw his the child and said he was special right immediately after that she hides some is this idea that I think because I'm special that means I'm supposed to be highlighted you're supposed I'm supposed to the stage you're supposed to see me but God says when I see that you're special I hide you and if you see what God is doing that you're wrong in your life the wrong way that's how the attention and frustration comes into place because I'm thinking I'm supposed to be in one place but God is saying no I'm hiding you in this season because ultimately I'm trying to prepare you and anytime we step out too soon whatever we try to get on our own whatever stage you can get on your own pales in comparison to what God would have ultimately did in your life had you let them hide you jumping oh that's good yeah yeah they gotta be excited because when you look at that word that they use for wheeled wilderness if the Greek is a Ramos and really what it speaks to is solitude but a secondary at this there's a designation of that word is to be deserted by people is they say that again all right a secondary definition of a Ramos is to be deserted by people and so John comes to be this prophet as Leslie said the first voice for 400 years prophets were often trained in solitude because it would be hard for them to speak against what they were falling in love with stop stop stop stop stop stop stop say that again say again it's hard for a prophet to speak against what they're falling in love with why so what has to happen is that the prophets would often be trained in the wilderness because eventually they will be called to come back in and speak against what the culture was doing and so what God would do is that he would pull them to wet pull them away because the he has to tune their ear before he can use their voice it's like God can't use that do that right yeah y'all see why I put my team around me tonight he says it's a couple things he said we gotta pause on number one he said the secondary definition of desert mm-hmm was that peak say that again about people to be deserted from people to be deserted from people this is critical because many of us think when God placed us in isolation he takes us out sometimes he leaves you in public view alone yeah I don't think you just jump in there jump in there it was pastor hollis one time appreciate you saying it just because it's visible doesn't mean it's valuable the most valuable part of a move a guy of those pities you cannot see it's not just because it's visible that doesn't mean it's day but that's a public service announcement let me pause over this is a public service announcement but every person at home who's scrolling on social media seeing people post a stuff thinking just because it's visible it's valuable when sometimes we think about this I don't know where to go it's not this what car dealership do you go to in your city to get a Bentley I've never seen a Bentley commercial I'm in her own church I've never seen a Bentley commercial I see a for commercial but Bentley says we don't have to advertise cuz if you got it you know how to find this I don't think you heard what I just said this you don't have to market what you got when God hand it's all who you are now this is critical what stop ride you're trying to send me to that perfect stop ride hear me when I say this cuz I want I want to jump on it's just because it's visible doesn't mean it valuable you said sometimes he pulls people away from you but you say he has to tone your ear before he can trust your voice that's critical he has to tone your ear before he can trust your voice I want to talk about this in the past college you said something that was good too you said he says mote Moses mother says he's special then she has them all right you know why I think a lot of us are under pressure because we are affirming ourselves before anybody else can like in the Bible we see where people were told what they were gonna be and then when we do see somebody say what they've been to do they ruin it that's critical so the question now becomes what Rush not let's be honest let's keep it 100 there's some things that you want to accomplish young there are some things that you want to do but I'm what I'm trying to get you to realize is how do I know my site is off here's where pressure comes in if you see where you are currently as an insult you rush to leave if you see it as an incubator you leave when you approved David was anointed Corina correct me if I'm wrong pastor here in Castile is he was anointed king two or three different times but each stage of it was an incubation and it wasn't an insult to who he was there were people who walked beside him who knew who he was but yet and still they allowed the incubation process to occur in his life this is crazy Dave the Prophet comes says David you don't want then just leaves and then dad says now go back out there with them sheep can't you see David at home got me out here with these sheep they don't know who I am I'm the key did you see David David getting here watch Steve dish they don't lost a mind I'm the king let's practice a takes I don't necessarily know what David felt that way because think about it even when he had when Pop when Saul came at him opposition he knew who he was to be to Paul but yet and still he took the place of servanthood when he had the opportunity to do so he said no I can't touch guys and noises so he's real respected who he was and he respected the fact that he had to go through the process and walk it out so what gave him that humility could it just be there I think that's them I said just because I'm annoyed don't mean you're not so he understood no I'm annoying it he is - in the words they touch not my anointed I can't pick and choose who that's gonna be I think I think we got to understand pseudo but before he walked crown he was in the field many of us have this fun this unnatural pressure because we're trying to go from the field straight to the throne here's one thing I think this conflicts what both of them say it I think there's a difference between a mantle and a ministry a mantle is about who you are but the ministry's about what you do and so I think there are there it's possible for us to have a mantle I told you I got to work I do me in face everybody watching I'm trying to work with Pastor here I'm trying my best he just reads so much he'll Ian realized what he say sometimes let's start over there's a difference between a mantle in a minute and what's the difference the mantle is who you are the ministry the ministry is what you do it's possible for you to have a mantle that you haven't been released to walk into yet and so a we have to discern because David again he gets annoyed at King and he doesn't become the king of the United Kingdom to what 17 years like that lady several years later and so he has the mantle but he realized that the ministry right now is in the hands of Saul I want to say this - this is why you got to stay close to me if I'm your pastor and Curtis that's why I love what God is doing in your life pastor Hollis I love what God is doing in your life you too will lead churches you you it's it's inevitable God had his hand on your life but the problem with so many people is that God how do I want to say this people don't realize God doesn't throw bouquets I had to do a wedding I had to do a wedding and I normally leave right after the wedding but they asked me to stay for the receptions okay so all of a sudden I'm in there and the lady had the bouquet she turned her back she just threw it and whoever called it called it all right I want you to understand is that when the hand of God is on your life it's not random its intentional did you catch what I just said right there and I think a lot of us are wrestling right now because I think we confuse the mental in the ministry did you catch that how stuff is good come on Curtis I want to add to that too because you just say that God doesn't throw bouquets so basically that gives the idea that God is intentional yes oh well he puts his hand on he was intentional about its own reminder of Joshua okay Joshua is literally the assistant of Moses and so through all this time God is using Moses to do great and mighty things but the whole time Joshua is almost like in this sense in the back he's in the background basically and God literally is positioning Josh or whether he know it and I to get ready to take over and take Moses in spy but Joshua never acts when is it gonna be my time why didn't you let me go up to the mountain when you sent Erin and her to the top he went in the valley he began to fight the battle and later God began to raise Joshua this is what's crazy about it Joshua had some moments where he doubted there was a moment in Joshua in the first chapter where he struggled with hey this is gonna be a bit too much for me but God still chose him in spite of it let him know look did not command you to go lead my people so God is intentional whether you believe it or not if he picks you that mean that he saw something you even when you didn't see it and so that's what I want to explain is that God when he picks you and a double that he'll can stop it God is intentional he doesn't throw bouquets he's intentionally picked you out even before you were formed in your mother's womb and I think what's so critical about that we got a the pressure somebody say pressure what you're currently feeling right now you have to ask God is it the season for me to walk in what I'm dreaming so many people are sitting at home right now we're still in the house for the most part so everybody's trying to start a business everybody's trying to start a podcast everybody want to write a book everybody want to do something because we're sitting at home watching other people post unfinished in most cases unfinished assignments I've seen 10 book covers and I'm inbox people and congratulate my pen to get started on it because the first thing we do is to cover not the research I don't think you caught caught what I just said so what am I realized I am running my race I am running my race I love what you guys are telling me tonight let's talk about the four stages of a life cycle I want to talk about this introduction growth maturity decline introduction growth maturity decline introductions stands for season called preparation and we've been talking about this preparation this most most often happens in obscurity preparation let's talk about this preparation we often hear people say he's preparing me he's preparing me let's talk about this what does that mean what does that mean I want to jump on there kind of related to something that Pastor Harry said between mental Mantle's and ministries it makes me think of Elijah but also Joshua that Pastor Curtis use as an example there was a point in Joshua's ministry where he served so closely so the person that he was connected to that Moses went up on the mountain God told him don't bring anybody with you yet until Joshua was able to sneak up on the mountain and God didn't realize it because when he saw it he saw one spirit likewise with Elijah when Elijah was training him he said master what's the next step he said if you can see me when I leave in other words if you can take on my ministry the mantle of Who I am you can handle my you can pressure my pressure to catch that seed see see people people people don't get this Jesus was not just preparing the disciples for ministry he was pronounced teaching them to handle his pressure this is what I mean he picked people who knew how to be patient tax collectors look at money that's a slow grind fishermen have to sit on water for a while I don't think you heard what I just said I want you to understand that when God is preparing you and let's talk about this because so many people are sitting at home right now saying okay God's preparing me but what does that mean what does that mean let's talk somebody jump in there I think when we talk about preparation especially when we think about John one of the things that I think was unique about John is that God he was caught to be the prieser precursor for Jesus which means he was coming he saw that Jesus was gonna have a ministry that was here the people were way over here he was saying let's bridge the gap and so he comes and he's preaching this message of repentance like hey look you got to come back to the original vision I guess what he's saying he's like you got to come back to your first level you got to come back to God you got to come back to it and so what he comes in to do is he says I'm coming in to deal with the flesh because if you don't fix the flesh when the spirit come you don't miss it if you don't get your flesh in order if you don't get this thing where it needs to be whenever the Christ shows up he's gonna be so far away which is why I still believe that Jesus was so rejected he was so pushed away from the people who didn't understand his message because they missed the cleansing of the flesh that was gonna make way for the word in the spirit to drop easy hard to leave people with broken legs that's good it is hard to lead people with broken legs because when their legs are broken you feel the whole impact of the struggle they're going through they caused the leader to move slow and many of you right now are under a lot of pressure because you you're surrounded by people you're having to drag not lead did you catch what I just said and the problem is we make it look easy see preparation is letting you in on the harsh reality that what you're about to do is gonna be painful that that's what it is see I think John I need you to go to the wilderness I need you to isolate yourself from people because what you got to say they're not gonna like any way you're gonna be able to handle jail because you would develop them one isolation jumpin' jumpin' I see something you want to share come on let's go you say that we're drowning and pressure that we can control and when you said that it reminded me of I was on I wouldn't put a beat in a house so I put the be in a house but the house was literally a little too much for me so a couple of weeks later the realtor comment said hey I have a family they want to look at that house you have the country on so I said okay because again I knew that house was out of my price range anyway he said well before they can go under country you got to sign a neutral release to allow them to put a beat in I said you mean to tell me even though I can't was out of my out of my reach because I went under country under contract with the Covenant with it it belongs to me unless I sign a neutral release to give it up they can't touch it in our words I was reminded of Jesus on the cross we say I'm laying laying down my life you're not taking it from me I'm giving it up so a lot of us giving up things that belong to us so we're drowning and press it on exists because you have authority over it you have authority over you got to give it up they can't take it from you whatever your assignment is whatever that promise is they can't take it from you what's so good jump in it okay Wow see my preparation I thought of I forgot what you called it window the Holy Spirit just drops up on me right now do music oh my god I just have mothers the first deal music this y'all first I'll sit here thinking about preparation I was like God give me something for preparation and I remember you talk about in movies you find the gospel of certain movies so we look at preparation God just gave me the Gospel of Karate Kid so if you remember when he went to mr. Miyagi the many times the preparation looks nothing like the problem da is like ah like no no no no the preparation looks nothing like the problem is keep it going yeah it's like what why am i painting houses why my watching cars why am i standing floors not realizing this was all part of his preparation for him to win so a lot of time we're frustrated with God like I don't want me in this place I always share even with artists do the duty of the moment because that moment is preparing you for your next moment so my preparation started at five years old been a drummer at my dad's church not knowing God was gonna take me globally but this God begins to prepare me it was things that hurt it was things I didn't like but all of it was all it always working together for my good and for God's reparation often does not look like the promise that's critical preparation often does not look like the promise wax on wax off wax on wax off then when you get ready to get hit you didn't realize that the waxing had a point to it there was a principle to it and somebody who's watching us right now what you're currently going through looks nothing like what you're believing God for I asked God to be a hunter Panora but all my bills are behind he's teaching you how to manage a budget I asked God to give me a promotion now my friends tripping he's teaching you how to deal with difficult people cuz the next season I don't know if you hear what I'm talking about it here he's preparing me and preparation often does not look like the what unless whoa that's good right there anyone know what's crazy a lot of people have pressure in their lives cuz they're there they're jealous of your they're jealous of your promise but having been through your preparation that that's critical preparation that often happens in obscurity in obscurity you want to know what I miss and we never talked about this I miss being unknown that's a weird statement pass silence that's the weird say I kind of miss being able to go to a store and just walk through it or being able to post what I won't and didn't nobody care you get me a lot of us are running to places that we aren't built to handle the pressure that comes with it did you catch what I just said I got I gotta keep moving cuz I stayed there all day preparation I want to stop and prophesied declare he's preparing you for something I don't know who's watching me right now but I felt God on that right there that everything God promised you it is coming and it's going to happen but God says if you don't embrace the preparation see when you don't embrace preparation um Perry uuuuu had a couple NFL tryouts and you know this plate swag college football all-american two-time national swag champion two-time swag all-american you know this if I miss prep camp or training camp the likelihood of me getting injured goes up why is that because not only does your mind have to be conditioned your body got to be conditioned and wonder it one of the greatest things I have learned from one of my coaches in high school I was a small kid I was 5-8 155 pounds and he said to me here you got to live weight so I'm like why I'm faster than everybody else I can just really he said no you gotta look I said why he said because lifting weights is not just about looking good it's about making your body hard cuz when you get in the game you gotta be able to take hits it don't matter how fast you are reach everybody go you don't take I'm trying to tell somebody if you can't take let's go if you can't take shaking or guys told you to go and I learned that my freshman year of college because I got in practice and took a hit that caused me to miss the whole year I got in college took what hit they called me miss the whole year and the rest of that year I spent the rest of the time working out gaining 25 pounds and never got hurt again and so what preparation does is that it prepares your body and conditions you for what God knows is coming [Applause] when you don't get prepared you can't handle the is oh my god the heads Leslie the heads and that's what we don't talk about we got pressure in our life now because we're tripping over what we don't have yet and don't even realize what God is doing is he's he's loving me enough not to give it to me I don't think you heard what I just said right there he's like I got to keep moving preparation number two the second season its growth the first season introduction which is preparation where does that happen so I want you to put the first one up put put introduction on the screen introduction there we go introduction okay introduction is preparation and where does it happen okay in obscurity we even see what Jesus goes to the temple that he just disappears because he's in obscurity being prepared all right uh-oh I felt God right there this is why people say they just came out of nowhere ain't come out of nowhere I came out of somewhere you just went privy to that somewhere cuz I was in preparation you miss what I just said I was in preparation hear me when I say this number two is growth and growth equates to what pressure and pressure causes what is its brought on by what opportunity now this is critical this is so critical Pastor Mike please tell me where you're going with this I would like to submit to you that the way God sees if you're if you learned anything in preparation is that he allows you to be presented with opportunities to opportunities in particular okay either you're gonna have the same opportunity or the marry opportunity you got to discern which one it is Satan rose up on Jesus and says if you be who they say you are turn these stones into bread all right she says men a son of man should not live by bread alone but about the very word that proceeds out of the mouth of God then juxtaposed Mary rose up on them and says they out of wine do something how do I properly discern which season I'm in I'm gonna this is my personal personal opinion I believe you properly discern with season you're in because godly the godly ways some time comes with ink complete information hey I need you to do something versus do this because a lot of times people will try to box you in on your purpose when they're not the one who called you did you catch what I'm saying y'all let's talk about that opportunity the the pressure of opportunity it's a pressure of opportunity the pressure of opportunity things I think about when you talk about opportunities I think about capacity I think one of the things that we have to ask ourselves is can we be the new us in all situations and I think when we talk about opportunity what we're talking about is having the ability to make Kingdom decisions in wirless situations so when John comes he's saying hey look I need y'all to repent but it's time for got to be transformed and I think the mistake that many of us make is that we set up for come form and instead of moving to transforming because come for me means I've shaped myself to what I'm in transforming me and I've become something completely different and I think many people miss what God is doing because we're expecting to become a better version of what we are when God is trying to make us something completely different than where we are because transformation is metamorphosis that's what that word is it's not love let's be different it's not let's change he says be you Metamorpho be you can't transform become something completely different I think what God is trying to do in us when he's giving us opportunity is he saying I'm putting you in a position which is often a coke cocoon like a butterfly well I'm trying to take you from where you are to what you want to go but you got to be okay with the isolation impression well we gotta realize that this is so hell this is so good tonight if you're enjoying is tonight just let me know in the comments right now I mean is this is so good right now because again what what's incredible is the worm or the caterpillar goes into that cocoon watch this I want you to catch this this Holy Spirit game it is knowing is gonna get wings not knowing what its gonna look like see see see it doesn't even go into the cocoon with the whole picture all it knows is if I submit to the process I used to crawl now I'm gonna fly now I don't know what its gonna look like but I just have to trust the process and what I want to I want to make sure we're doing right now because sometimes the devil presents opportunities that look anointed know I've had so many people call I just need you to do XYZ if you come on this platform and so on so I've had people called me because they know we got a strong database if 200 of your members just so three $35 into this this this timeshare sauce on so we can know that ain't God just cuz it look good don't mean gods on it I want to talk about this what are some of the challenges you've had in your life because there have been some opportunities that brought pressure our fraternities that brought some pressure jump in there somebody come on I think I will piggyback on what you just said to every good opportunity is not a god opportunity and being an artist a lot of times we can we can jump on just because it's a stage and I remember the first time I wanted to perform on Estelle Awards I was submitting I was you know I was just starting I was like I'm ready I'm ready but but a friend of mine actually was carrying Douglas he said James he's a lot of times God won't let you have those opportunities because you're not ready yet even if you think you are there's a different level you only get one time make a first impression he was like I know you got your little song you survived and thank you this he said but don't every opportunity it doesn't mean you have to take it and I'm reminded and when I was thinking about opportunities I'm reminded of Solomon of course when he became king that was pressure he was young but I like what happened when he when he got the opportunity is he didn't try doing in his own way he said God give me wisdom he prayed for wisdom and leading the people and I think a lot of times when we get opportunities they may seem to overwhelm us I may feel like pressure we gotta lean on God God give me the wisdom to handle this situation if this really is you I think I look at and again I'm loving what we're doing tonight I pray and put the camera on pass the Hollis for me come back three put the camera back I pray for pastor Hollis a lot and I mean it's because he got an opportunity that a lot of his peers see as oh my god that's so dope they have no idea the amount of pressure he's under none know whatsoever hear me when I say this I told him and you come to meet ray I told him I told him on the other day I said man I'm understanding the weight of being next to me that that's powerful that that's powerful when you're trying to burst something that should be this is so crazy even though he's been prepared in obscurity because he went from parking lot ministry to fire being with me in the bank for about a year and a half that helping in church being in every ministry but what they have no idea about is that even what he's doing now should be in obscurity he's trying to build a ministry right now but because of the opportunity in the platform everybody gets to see your mistakes everybody gets to watch this compare I want to give you three things right now that I pray you can put in your notes don't covet don't compare don't compete I'm gonna say it again don't covet don't compare don't conform that's stronger because that I'm gonna take your advice right there pastor Harry don't covet don't compare don't conform you got me because people everybody wants the opportunity but don't know the pressure that comes with it talk about the pressure faster because when you do those three things when you covet when you compete when you try to compare you put pressure on yourself that actually it is not necessary right and so you have this built-in pressure that comes with what God is calling you to do and then you have this pressure that you add yourself literally a couple probably about a month ago I was praying and God told me to go on Instagram and to unfollow every pastor that I didn't have an actual relationship with all right no you're going with that cuz that 29 in Tuscaloosa trying to build what God has called us to do trying to continue to build this thing and take it to the next level if I'm not careful I'll sit on Instagram and I compare what I'm doing in my lane what somebody else is doing they're lame and the fastest way to have an accident mmm it's to pay attention to what's happening in another lane of the new yours that's good right there say that again the fastest way to have an accident is to pay attention to what's happening in another lane other than yours and if I let my eyes drift - what was that what's that car doing mm-hmm I can defend my car better if I just focus on where I'm going but once I take my attention to something else and I think that's where a lot of pressure comes in as a pastor I feel that pressure coming up as a millennial and so much of what we do unfortunately we do it for Instagram and for Facebook and for the post and so so much of our culture sort of engineer to be able to show off what we're doing and that that bleeds over in the ministry I want I want to say this too because I can't wait and this series is gonna be powerful I think this is going to be a game-changer pressure I want to say this not prayer you can receive this and it's just so strong of a statement there's some pressure I welcome I want dad that hear me is certain pressure James I won't I want to be the city's pastor more than anything I love this city with all my heart and I feel a cold so I feel a natural responsibility see certain things you're called to that when I hear something happen in this city don't nobody even have to call me and say what you're gonna do I feel the need to do that shoutout to the Huffington basketball team I'm working with Councilman councilman clen woods and we're helping get them championship rings I felt a call to do that if you live anywhere in the Greater Birmingham area right now you should be checking your mailbox if you have medical debt that's went into collections because we paid off close to a million dollars worth of medical debt and we partnered with a medical debt collection agency and we use the proceeds from our album sales because I felt that hear me when I say this there's a certain pressure that I embrace I'm not talking about the press let me be real with you when you get that promotion pressure coming with it when you have that baby pressure coming with it after you say I do in the honeymoon honeymoon is over pressure is coming with it there are certain pressure I welcome what am I talking about now and maturity will even view the privilege of pressure as a burden see many of us got to stop crying over what we pray for did you catch that James we got to stop crying over what we pray for what I'm trying to get you to realize now is there are there's healthy pressure think about that the same word for pressures used in so many different ways if your tires flat their say put some pressure in it which is some air but that same pressure can hurt you what am I trying to get you to realize that sometimes growth comes with pressure that's rich that is so rich I want to I want to move forward I'm running out of time maturity maturity of the state of production and most of the time production is met with opposition and obstacles our position and obstacles our position and obstacles and last but not least decline now we got a watch since because when God calls you he takes you to he takes you to what I call an introduction phase where he's preparing you after he prepares you he allows you to grow but it comes with pressure but you get an opportunity to display what you learned in private from there you reach maturity this way you and your zone this to me is when you reach the fullness of who you're going to be and who you're going to become I'm excited but I don't think any of us have reached our fullness yet we're still discovering who we are here's the season of life that so many people miss it's the decline and I believe that decline happens because of pride and there is no overseer there is no covering so you're trying to relive miracles from the past come here Moses come here Moses who striking the rock when all you had to do was speak to it and what I'm trying to get you to realize now is every Elijah needs an Elijah every Paul needs a Timothy every Abraham Isaac Jacob God Jesus Holy Spirit many of us have to be connected to someone who can speak into our life and call us that which we have not yet become and one of the greatest momentum killers in our life is gonna be premature delivery premature delivery its stepping out of obscurity before God calls us to it you want you want to know what's crazy you wanna know what's crazy somebody asked me yesterday said man it's like you just came out of nowhere and like but how you doing all this you know you got this song tonight I said I said I said y'all didn't know me I said but in little Birmingham Alabama we've been preparing for something we've been preparing for something y'all didn't know me yeah y'all didn't know me somebody asked me one inside man like how y'all doin y'all didn't know me for 10 years we've been building a database for 10 years we've been loving people for 10 years we've been faithful and I want to submit to you that the devil is trying his best to make you look to not even appreciate the last seven eight nine 10 years of your life God says I've been preparing you for what eyes have not seen and what ears have not heard so what do I need to conquer tonight pmj identification and concentration I believe you need to identify who you are and then concentrate on what's the most important thing in your life that call I had somebody inbox me today and said Pastor Mike I'm trying to get closer to God and I'm trying to build my devotion life you got any advice for me now I'm a pastor I know God I've been serving God my whole life of course I got advice but what I don't know if they hit you up or not I am but they did hit you up my inbox and say here's past the henrys Instagram contact him that's a lane that God has called him to see I'm a macro visionary I can see the big picture I'm not necessarily a micro visionary so what did I do I asked God to send me people who are strong where I'm weak did you catch that that is so rich and I want to leave you with this tonight don't covet don't compare don't conform I want to get a final thought from each and every one of you then we're gonna leave tonight I want to ask you this question I want to actually this question have you failed under pressure have you failed under pressure let's talk about that real quickly yes I definitely have failed under pressure I think a lot of times it's like you were saying earlier we we view pressure and something that's negative and we're not built to handle certain pressures it's it talks about even in success me being successful my characters there were certain errors of my character that wasn't ready for this level of success that God was taking me to and so at that at that point when the pressure was up I remember man you were talking too long ago now that you've got this number one album number one song I said that you know it's pressure now so you snuck him last time but now they're gonna be and so there's a thing for me continuing to have that pressure continue to have that pressure it affected my family life it affected my marriage my kids because I just wasn't ready for it my focus began to go off of my calling and it was more about the celebrity side of it and I and I and I that's why I wrote the book destiny derailed because as I was all my destiny it was decisions that I made under pressure that caused my destiny before the rail but the good thing about that is God's gotta win putting you right back not at the back of line or right back where you were when you fell off and you pmj as I've shared with my dad and I'm share with you this week you you've really have done something that no other pastor was bold enough or had enough faith to do and believe it in me and believe it in my ministry and believing in what that God's hand was still omean and I'm forever I'm forever indebted to you for that because being someone who's went all over the world and and and prayed with pastors and done concerts for free for pastors and bend them been there for them in their weakest moments it was like I was a leper like nobody wanted to put their hands on me at least not publicly but for you to do that you showed me the type of man that you really are because we you know it's difficult to be in a place of suicide and for you to wrap your arms around and tell me James I'm not gonna never let you go like that meant more to me than anything else that month they said and it wasn't even that you knew that people had let me go you just were a reassuring to me as a spiritual father and as a pastor that that come hell or high water I got you and I'm here with you not just in the natural but also in the spiritual so I just want to thank you for that I really appreciate you I love you forever for that oh Jesus Christ pressure you never know when somebody's going it's pressure it's pressure and I like what he's saying pressure can see it so many decisions I made in pressure I wish I could get back so many times the pressure was too much and somebody watching me right now that pressure is driving you driving you it maybe alcohol because because if we don't deal with the pressure it's gonna come out is that a safe statement you you do some counseling talk about how it comes out sideways I think what do things we have to see is that one way or another our cup is gonna get emptied it's gonna get empty because we pour I was gonna get emptied because we bumped say that again this one or two it's gonna get empty because we decided to pour it or is gonna get empty because somebody bumped into us and it flowed out and I think one of the things that pressure has taught me personally is that the moment I become too big for the ministry I instantly become too small for the majesty why say that again I think the moment I become too big for the ministry I become too small for the majesty and what i mean by that is if i lose sight of who god has called me to be and what god has called me to do then I instantly disqualify disqualify myself from all the other things that he wants to pour into my life and I think one of the things that we have to master grab it it's the dependence on the word of God and the Holy Spirit because if we go away from those two things we are lost that's why the word is a lamp and it's a light because it shows us not only where we are that's good but it shows us where we're going and I think we pull away from that that's when the pressure begins to pull us down pressure that's pressure you know what's crazy oftentimes people see your gift and think you're built to handle that pressure that's crazy isn't they see your gift and they think you're automatically built to handle depression kurtas they see how you worship so they think when you go through he just gonna let on his worship when they don't realize often time my gift is not for me did you catch that my gift is not for me I've said it once and I said again apples apple trees don't eat apples that's critical ain't it cows don't eat meat I don't think you heard what I said right there it's handling the pressure you got something you want to share before we leave you said before it was Sunday on this pressure to perform and I wanted to take that opportunity to in this moment to kind of talk about the that word pressure is serious because for years I was chasing I'm a fill it in with a quote the greatest enemy to contentment is comparison and so I spent years looking at viewing watching other people do something and I did I wasn't bought into who I was and so every Sunday I would get up there and it was almost like I had to produce an oil I had to do this had to do that and there were some moments I noticed that the moments God moved was the moments that I moved out of the way that's good and so and so having this mindset of hey I'm necessary that what God has invested in me what God has put into me that God put it down as treasure and that God wants to use it to bring glory in the earth I had to buy into that sort of pressure to perform I had to completely do away for there's a scripture that says to be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving make your requests known to God and then this is the part that I think helps with pressure the peace of God will guard both your heart and your mind and so when you're able to put anxiety to the side you're able to put pressure to the side and allow God to do what it is that he wants to do then we'll be able to withstand its unnecessary pressure this weekend and please be in church we're talking about Jonah how one man miss handling pressure can cause everybody something because the Bible says he doesn't handle the pressure right he gets onto a boat he should have never been on and instead of walking in integrity and dealing with his pressure the people on he didn't admit it was him today lost everything and I want to submit to somebody watching me right now if you don't handle the pressure right who gonna lose something that's retraining pastor hearing I'm under so much pressure good pressure look who I got around me look who I got all these gifts around me that's the pressure to make sure I'm reading so I can stay up to date so I can say something new that can bless them pressure to be a good example pressure to produce but I'm also understanding God equips you when he calls you did you catch what I'm saying right now I want to pray for every person right now watching if you're under pressure father in the name of Jesus oh god I thank you I thank you for tonight honest conversations because God we don't sit tonight as if we've mastered this thing there are moments when we're low but God we stand here as a shining light to say hey even if you fall he'll pick you up again and if the pressure becomes too much on Christ that solid rock you stand so god I ask that you give them everything they need to conquer the current assignment they have I ask God if you give us boldness to walk away from what you did not call us to and lean and depend on you is in Jesus name we pray and everybody said come on stand to your feet listen we love you guys so much you're giving tonight you know how to give do me a favor I mean this from the bottom of my heart I want to challenge every person today everybody who's watching this right now I want you to begin to write down the areas you're experiencing pressure in and I want you to start um running an autopsy of pressure that might be a good message the autopsy of pressure that may be audible for Sunday the autopsy of pressure what caused it where did it come from is it God ordained is it a part of my son is it unnecessary is it my call or my can we got a look at that I want you to know I love you I'm praying for you Rock City you mean the world so we're gonna continue to pray and give you production and power I'm at the church right now just love you guys I'm praying for you stay blessed stay favored father god bless cover keeper it's my prayer in Jesus name go to cover - we love you we pray for you I see this weekend god bless you

Channel: Rock City TV

Views: 28,985

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Id: qUCHYR2nXrg

Length: 61min 56sec (3716 seconds)

Published: Tue May 26 2020