Robert Madu "Can I Get A Witness"

[Music] welcome to church online and in the sanctuary it is good to see some faces in the building and I want to do this even before I jump into the Word of God today and I know he's not gonna like did I do this but how many you know it's in the middle of times of uncertainty and ice in the middle of times that are challenging that's when real leadership comes to the front and no we're just kind of reentering Andry engaging here in church but I'm so thankful that during this entire season we've been blessed to have incredible strong pastors and leaders come on who have been present who've been consistent who've been a faithful come on can you help me thank God for pastor Jim and Becky Hennessy come on in the building online preaching lead and doing devotions three times a day come on I think we ought to give honor to where honor is due we're blessed you think God for you thank God for your vision your leadership and man thanks for letting me tag team preach with you today I'm excited to jump to this word shout out Trinity Pham shot out social Dallas fam this is gonna be good I hope you feel like hearing it like I feel like preaching it I got going me too Acts chapter 26 today Acts chapter 26 and I want to look at verses 12 through 16 X 26 we'll start at verse number 12 and we'll land at verse number 16 this is the Apostle Paul talking when you're ready to read it's a year if you're not ready say hold up come on those you're on line I know you ready you still got your pajamas on so come on look at what it says in verse 12 it says on one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and Commission of the chief priests about noon king agrippa as I was on the road I saw a light from heaven brighter than the Sun blazing around me and my companions we all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic Saul Saul why do you persecute me it is hard for you to kick against the goads then I asked who are you Lord I am Jesus whom you are persecuting the Lord replied now get up stand on your feet I've appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me can you say Amen verse 16 one more time it says god said to him now get up stand on your feet I've appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness a witness of what you have seen and will see of me I want to preach today for about six and a half hours come on it's people in here today I can do that I want to preach from this title can I get a witness can I get a witness if you in the sanctuary don't look at anybody just look straight here and say can I get a witness if you're on line just type right now in the chat can I get a witness come on let's pray before we jump to this father thank you for your word thank you for your presence speak to us today in Jesus name everybody said can I get a witness before I jump into the message today I just I just want to try something is it okay if I try something before we even get into the middle of the message that all right let me try god is good all the time as cheesy and it's churchy as that statement is can I tell you it feels good to hear a response in the piltan come on y'all I hadn't heard that in seven weeks feels good to hear some noise in the sanctuary again isn't it interesting ladies and gentlemen brothers and sisters how a crisis will make you grateful for things that you want took for granted oh come on you you you used to be annoyed with your child's teacher come on Tom bout heat on the stand she don't understand how to create a good learning environment for my child come on now you ready to send your child back to the teacher and give that teacher your stimulus check because a crisis will make you grateful for things that you once took for granted come on in it interesting and it's interesting that we used to celebrate the heroes that were on a field or on a court wearing a jersey but but now we're celebrating the heroes on the frontline wearing scrubs because a crisis will make you grateful for things that you once took for granted god is good all the time I'm telling you I say that because I love hearing a response in the sanctuary to me a preaching is not a monologue it is a dialogue I'm not up here giving a TED talk this is not a Broadway performance I love to hear noise back in the sanctuary not for my own affirmation but for agreement I believe that whenever a truth is declared up here and you agree with that truth out there there ought to be something on the inside of you that says a man that says that's good that says that's true come on I love that this message is on line I love that we get to broadcast this message around the world but how many you know there are some things that cannot be experienced online they can only be experienced on site oh come on can I get a witness so you even that phrase which is my title can I get a witness that comes from that old-school church tradition the old-school Church tradition where a preacher would be preaching in the middle of the message if he felt like the audience was a little bit disengaged he was just pause in the middle and saying can I get a witness but that's not really my reason for using that title today my reason for using that interrogative is because hear me I believe that question is the question that God is asking in this season and in this hour of the church God is asking can I get a witness God is wanting to know can I get some believers who will come into agreement with me can I get some believers who will bring heaven down to earth and will manifest my purpose in the earth in this time and in this season God is asking the question of you and of me can I get a witness no wonder the last words of Jesus before he exited the earth was this he said I will give you power to be what my witnesses to Jerusalem Judea Samaria and to the ends of the earth God wants to know can I get a witness I know how some of you are feeling and I know how some y'all looking at me right now you're saying Robert I am not worried about being a witness right now how in the world can I be a witness in the middle of a global pandemic how in the world can I be a witness when I one of the thirty million people who are unemployed how in the world can I be a witness when I've lost a loved one prematurely how in the world can I be a witness when I'm going through heartache and I'm going through pain how in the world can I be a witness when I'm going through the most difficult season of my life and to you I would say you never watched Matlock Perry Mason Judge Judy judge Mathis or Judge Joe Brown because you got to understand that they only call a witness to testify when they are in the middle of a trial if there is no trial there is no need for a witness to take the stand and to testify how many know it's in the middle of a trial that they call the witness forward to give the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth it's in the middle of the trial that the witness has to take the stand and put their hand on the Word of God and declare what they see and what they've heard come on if you don't have a trial then you don't need any witnesses to stand up but in the middle of the trial that's when the witnesses have got to open up the mouth and declare who they believe and what they've seen I feel like preaching in here today is the finest hour for the church this is not opposition this is an opportunity for the witnesses to declare the goodness of our God come on the world is watching us right now the world needs to see how in the world you can have peace in the middle of panic the world needs to see how it is that you've lost everything but you haven't lost your mind how it is that you're in the middle of suffering but yet you still got your joy the world needs to hear you declare that the world didn't give me this joy so the world cannot take it away I'm gonna be a witness in the middle of the trial you cannot have a testimony unless you're in a trial this is the moment for the witnesses to stand up and power and declare who God is we need some witnesses today have you noticed all throughout the Bible it almost seems like every single person that was used greatly by God was like on trial or in jail almost every single person that God used mindedly was either on trial or in jail do your due diligence almost everybody God used come on Peter was in jail Daniel was in jail Moses had warrants for his arrest Joseph was in jail Paul was on trial in jail Jesus even got a case and was on trial and was in jail come on it's almost like if you had purpose you had to be in prison or be on trial now I'm not telling something I'll to go out there and do that but I am saying perhaps there is a biblical principle that God is trying to teach us today and that is a faith that has not been tested it cannot be truly trusted faith has never been through anything can never really be trusted come on what did the Bible say in James he says considered pure joy my brothers when you faced various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance and let perseverance finish its work so that you may be complete lacking nothing that you might be mature don't fight the trial the trial is test in your faith it's God showing you what you're made of a faith that has not been tested cannot be truly trusted you need the trial and in my text today Paul is on trial he's on trial and look what he does on trial he tells his story of his conversion he tells his story of what God did in his life perhaps the most powerful conversion story in the entire Bible is Paul's conversion story this story of this apostle who used to be an assassin this this Christian killer that turned into a church planter did this man who who once had letters from the high priest to go drag believers out of their homes into prison to stop the spread of the church and the gospel ends up being in prison writing letters that spread the gospel and is still speaking to the church today Paul life is one big bright neon LED billboard this says one thing God can change anyone oh come on God can change anybody I'm gonna say that Kasumi I don't really believe that God can't change anybody it you don't know my Uncle Fred God can't change any but you have not seen my coworker God can't change any but you ain't seen my child Robert saw Paul goes through his transformation his conversion one of the funniest verses in the book of Acts to me is after he's been transformed he shows up to the church meeting to the other apostles shows up and the Bible says that the believers didn't believe that Paul had become a believer the believers didn't believe that Saul had really become a believer Barnabas had to show up and say no I promise y'all this is not a setup this is not a test he's for real they didn't even believe it but I'm telling you God he can change absolutely anybody it's powerful his conversion story and you'll see it three times throughout the Bible we see it in Acts chapter 9 when it happened we see it in Acts chapter 22 when Paul is accused of bringing a Gentile into the synagogue and a mob breaks out he's on trial and then we see it in the text we just read in Acts chapter 26 when Paul is on trial before King Agrippa and here's what I found intriguing the Apostle Paul who is brilliant who is intellectual who has a bright mind who is articulate who knows so many different languages when he is on trial instead of defending himself instead of pleading his innocence or pleading the fifth as soon as he gets in front of an audience when he's on trial is as if God whispers down toward before he speaks and says can I get a witness and all he does is tell his story of Jesus changed in his life that's all he does is tells the story of Jesus transforming his life I don't know who this is for today but never underestimate the power of your story never underestimate the power of your story I don't care how simple it is you need to tell the story of Jesus changing your life never underestimate the power of your transformation story and don't just tell the good parts you need to tell everything the good the bad and the ugly come on I'm not saying be crass but come on I'm tired of believers acting like they're in the witness protection program when God redeems you he expected you to open up your mouth and tell somebody it's not that hard to be a witness open up your mouth and say what he's done in your life three times he tells a story so I want to pull three things from the three instances that he tells his story three things from Paul's conversion story that I believe hear me gives us insight and instruction of how you can be a witness okay I'm gonna talk about the tent I want to talk about the transformation and I want to talk about the task the tent the transformation and the task that's a big deal I rarely have points but I brought you points out of quarantine today the tent the transformation and the task the tent I love this tent I love this tent Paul was a tent maker from Tarsus there's anything that Paul knew he knew the Torah and he knew tent making from the time he was a child he knew tin making some scholars believe that his family had a tent making business he knew the Torah and he knew about tents and I'm be telling i'ma tell you right now this tent right here has changed our family's life this right here this tent is in fact soon deserves over I got to take this all the way back home because this tent has transformed our parenting that's how I'm you know parenting is hard parenting in the middle of a pandemic is hell okay I've learned a trick I'm helped some of the parents especially we got toddlers in fact show that picture of my kids those are my kids my son somewhere hiding in there and we set up this tent in the backyard because we're on a struggle Street here trying to parent in the pandemic and we set up this tent in the backyard and we put toys in the tent we put snacks in the tent we put all kinds of games and there's caprice ons in the tent and here's the rule stay in the tent we put all three of our kids in the tent and we zip up the tent zip up the tents and we keep them in the tender here's the rules of the tent that is your world you can do whatever you want just don't get out the tent okay I mean you can crayon in the tent whatever you want just stay in the tent and it's been funny after we check on the come on we're not savages we check on them about every three hours and if we go and it's crazy to look in there and sometimes the tents a spaceship sometimes the tents a toy sure it's all kinds of stuff but this is their world this is their truth this is their reality in the tent and then once it's all over I'll get them out of the tent but when they are in the tent oh that is the reality that is their truth whatever you say goes in the tent do you know so many believers live their lives in a tent see the tent represents the truth that you hold on to the truth that you've accepted as a lie when there was another reality outside of the tent there are so many believers that are stuck and trapped inside of a tent that you think your whole world is the tent and God just like the Apostle Paul is trying to get you out of your tent and show you that there's something bigger than what you're seeing right now but the enemy wants you trapped did some you right now you've been in this pandemic and you're already in this can of doubt ha ha I don't see anything but read the world is all wrong I'm gonna die I'm not gonna get out of this it's so easy to make the tent your world when the tent is not the real reality the tent represents a truth who can I get out the tent the tent represents the truth that you have held on to then it's not actually the truth it is a lie Paul begins his whole testimony saying that most of his life he was living in a truth that was actually a lie my whole life a majority of it I was a Hebrew of Hebrew he was of the tribe of Benjamin he believed in Judaism the reason he was attacking Christians was not because he thought he was wrong he thought he was right you understand we read the Bible now really realized in the context of the Bible you understand Christianity was just being burst at that time so to Paul in that day this new movement of the way it seemed like to him like it was Isis so he said I'm gonna do whatever it takes to stop these believers until God transformed his life until he got out of the tent and realized Oh what I thought was the truth was actually a lie I'm wondering have you embraced the truth that's actually a lie something somebody told you in your childhood has become your enemy will always stop you from declaring who God is and sharing your testimony if he can get you trapped in the tent that is the lie you know the first thing God told Abraham to do when he told him to step out of faith was to what get out of the tent and look up see the stars that's how I'm gonna make your descendants but inside of the tent Abraham was talking about come on God you know how old I am and you know how old Syria is I don't see how in the world that's gonna come to past in my life because in the tent is hard to believe the promises of God the tent represents the truth that you've adopted that could be a lie and perhaps the only thing scarier than a lie is a lie that you've accepted as the truth get out of the tent get out of whatever the enemy wants you entrapped in that is not real and it's not who God has called you to be Paul says I thought I had the right perspective I thought I had the truth until one day at midday I saw a light brighter than the Sun come on you know God shows up in your life when you add midday see a light brighter than the Sun and that light knocked him down to his knees because you do know that God knows how to humble you O God knows how to bring you down to your knees don't think you are dead in the can of Pringles in a moment God can bring you down to your knees that's what's happening in the world right now you see how many people have been brought to their knees and one virus has shut down the entire world all of a sudden Paul the one who's the intellectual is all of a sudden blind and needing somebody to guide him somebody to lead him but he had to get out of the ten because if you get out of the tent that's when God can transform your life number two is the transformation the tent represents the lie that you've embraced as the truth but after you get out of the tent you can step into transformation no doubt about it Paul was transformed on the road to Damascus but how does God do transformation in our lives is it one moment is it man one day I was going this way and all of a sudden God turned everything upside down or is it the moments that precede the moment that causes the transformation or is it both see I found growing up in the church we think it's just just the moment that's generally what we celebrate right person that was on drugs personnel was you know it picked it to alcohol and all of a sudden they came in the church with the arms fold and all of a sudden in one moment Oh tears are going this way snots going the other way just as I starts playing and they come to the altar and we assume that the transformation happened in that moment but I'm wondering if transformation in our life really has to do with the moments that precede the moment I wonder if transformation is much like a woman who gets pregnant and how do you know when you get pregnant it's a lot of disorientation it's a lot of sickness and throwing up and a whole long process until you get to the delivery room and although it's celebration in the delivery room we cannot reduce your pregnancy to the delivery room because you had a whole lot of stuff you went through before the delivery room that made that moment powerful come all the sisters should be saying hey man what type of a man say ya know not just the delivery room I had to put some heels to the side my ankles were swollen it was moments that preceded the moment I think that's how God does transformation because of what Paul says and the third time he tells his conversion story he says something in front of King Agrippa that he doesn't say in the other two stories God speaks to him and says Saul Saul why are you persecuting me he says another statement that God said he said it is hard for you to kick against the goads against the goats and I knew that verse for a long time but I never took the time to study what in the world is a goal because we don't use goats gold was a stick that a farmer would use whenever a farmer was preparing his land for a harvest he would take the gold with the cattle that was preparing the field for the harvest and if the cattle was a little stubborn if the cattle thought that his way was greater than the farmers way the farmer would just take that stick that goat and just just hit that cattle just it was a stick he would just just poke him a little bit just to keep him straight to keep him in line and if that cow decided to fight against the farmer you know it would only hurt him more to fight against the farmer so the farmer just just keep hitting them with that gold to get his attention come on we're the real people and has God ever just goaded you a little bit have you ever fought against God's will and he just just to show you that he is God and you're not that you're not gonna get your way come on that he has all power and he has all control he said it's hard for you Paul to kick against the goat so if he's saying is hard for you to kick against the goads we cannot reduce his transformation to the Damascus Road Damascus was the delivery room but God was working on so long before then as a matter of fact I submit to you that while he was killing Christians God was goading him Wow he's holding the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen as much as he wanted to stand there and approval there was something I believe on the inside of him that was trying to figure out how was Stephen being stoned but he's smiling how is he looking up to heaven saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do don't hold these charges against them as he's locking Christians up I think he would hear them singing praises and singing shouts of acclamation to God even as they were being killed he was watching their face in the whole time it was goading him God was speaking to him saying Paul this has got to be real if they're willing to die for it see this is why your life matters this is why you need power to be a witness because your life is a testimony to somebody else somebody's watching you Paul was arresting believers and God was arrest now he was locking them up God was locking him up and Damascus was just the delivery room of something God had already been doing in his heart see this is why I've learned that when I'm preaching to never judge how somebody's receiving the message by how they look oh I'm telling you you could be in this message at home or in here tumba falling asleep but you don't matter to me because I know God is still doing something on the inside of you just the fact that you're here just the fact you watching this right now I don't care if your mama says sit down and made you watch it God is goading you he's trying to get your attention and there will be a Damascus moment because transformation cannot be limited to the moment on the road to Damascus God will do a work in your life long before the culmination of the road God will go to you into believers it is a word that our lives should go to other people there ought to be something about the way you live as a witness that shows people that your God is real talked about the tent talked about the transformation Oh talk about the task as the worship team joins me he doesn't just transform Saul to Paul to chill he immediately puts him on assignment puts him on assignment hear me to the Gentiles in that crazy in it just like God then we'll take a Jewish man and have his own people reject him but we'll send them to the Gentiles to preach the gospel God took an insider and had him preach to the outsiders to let the outsiders know you could be an insider that's just like God that's just like God and to tell the insiders that although you're an insider if you don't understand grace you're still an outsider so you're insiders could be Outsiders if you don't understand the grace of God but you outsiders are not Outsiders you can actually have an opportunity to be insiders I know it's confusing but sometimes the call of God is confused but you still have an assignment on your life God has given you a specific task and an assignment for some of you it's gonna be how you live your life in the midst of this pandemic people are watching what you say they're watching what you post some you got is shifting your task your assignment you thought you were called to do one thing God has shifted you to another assignment to do something else and don't be so stuck on what he did through you that you miss what he's going to do through you step into the new thing that he has for you he's always calling you to a task the tenth the transformation the task tell your story is the worship team coming because this won't really make this sound more spiritual as I land the plane never underestimate the power of your story I was thinking about that statement and reminded of like six years ago it was a monumental ministry moment it's preaching at a conference in Australia I was there with my wife Taylor and a good friend of mine Pastor Chris there so out of Queens New York and I'll never forget the moment because it was Taylor's first time to share her testimony her story publicly in Taylor was absolutely petrified she was so scared she had all this fear all this trepidation she kept saying to me and my friend Chris said man y'all are preachers she said I'm not a preacher she said all I have is my story I kept telling a girl that's all you need she said no I just I can't she said I can't I'm not a preacher I'll never forget the day of the youth conference it's about 2,000 young people in Brisbane Australia it's three services before lunch a friend Pastor Chris dorsal got up to preach first that morning powerful message theologically astute it was so good as he got ready to land the plane of his message he did what every preacher does he called for the worship team to come behind him and play good soft music because that's how you land the message young people responded it was great then I got up to preach after him it's a great message I was a little annoyed because I told the worship team what time to come out and what's on the scene they were late my despite of that guy showed up he moved in and young people responded him was awesome and Taylor got up I'll never forget it it's our first time telling her story of God bringing her from death to life she got up shared her story told her testimony she didn't even call for the worship team to come up I was in the back thinking rookie move she literally finishes the story and goes that that's my story and if y'all want prayer I'll be up here not long after she said that a girl from the back of the room takes off running to the altar weeping breaks down collapses and Taylor's arms all of a sudden all the young people flooded the altar in Australia we sat there for an hour after service as young people can't believe being crying out to God after the hour me and Chris say well let's go get something to eat since they're still a service we came back another hour later people are still weeping on the floor in the presence of God the power of your story no band ever got on the stage she had no three points just the power of the testimony the power of being a witness I'm telling you God is not looking for perfect people he's just looking for somebody that's available in this last day to open up their mouth and say I once was lost but now I'm found I once was broken but look what he's done in my life I'm a witness story God wants to give you power to be a witness he is asking from heaven can I get a witness he's waiting for your response I'm gonna ask those of you online to bow your heads close your eyes those are in the room would you just stand to your feet if you can father I thank you today for your word what I thank you that is in the trial that the witnesses are called to take the stand when I pray in the middle of this global trial but in the middle of this heartache and hardship that is affecting the entire world but I pray that the witnesses would not shrink back the Lord we would take the stand and declare the goodness of our God that we would open up our mouths grant your servants boldness in this hour to declare who you are to declare that you are our strength in the midst of weakness to declare that you are our provision in the midst of a failing economy to declare you are our healer the midst of a virus orders you from heaven ask the question can I get a witness I pray our response would be Here I am Lord send me wherever you lead what our hearts will follow heads are bowed eyes are closed in this robe and wherever you're watching this message right now I truly believe somebody watching this and even in this room God has been goading you for some of you this whole pandemic has just spent God getting your attention please believe he did not cause this virus but he certainly is using it some of you for the first time you've finally been an isolation things have been stripped away and now God has your attention and he can speak to you finally all the noise has been drowned out and he wants today to be your Damascus experience come on you know he's been speaking to you you know he's been trying to get your attention and today he has interrupted your regularly scheduled program for you to surrender say God I'm yours if that's you and you've never surrendered your life to Jesus just right where you are I want you just to lift up your hand even in this room if - you just lift up your hand as a sign to say lord I give up I give up I surrender to you thank you God thank you come lift it up you can put it right back down thank you God maybe you're watching this and you're saying that pastor Robert I am a believer I've given God my life but you're saying I have not been telling my story some you can't wait to get back to work but I'm wondering if the people at your job and your work even know if you're a believer your life is supposed to be a witness a testimony of his goodness you don't mean you get it all together doesn't mean you're perfect doesn't mean you're batting a thousand but even when you fall down and you mess up you're pointing people to the Grace and the goodness of God we're just broken people who know who to run to God saying I want to give you power to be a witness like never before all you have to do is wait to be available to receive it if that's you I want you to lift up your hand say that's me that's me thank you God would you just pray this prayer wherever you are we're all gonna say it and especially if you prayed that prayer would just say this from your heart say dear Jesus today I surrender come out of the tent I believe your truth over my life you have called me for such a time as this so I surrender come into my life forgive me of my sin make me brand new from this moment forward I'm walking with you I will be your witness even in the trial I'll declare my testimony I was lost but you found me I was dead she made me alive Jesus name come on somebody say a man a man and give God the best praise that you got oh come on you can do better than that would you give Jesus a praise today

Channel: Trinity Church Cedar Hill

Views: 9,976

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Keywords: TrinityChurch, Trinity, Church, CedarHill, Robert Madu, Social Dallas

Id: rp1_0iC-ZPo

Length: 41min 3sec (2463 seconds)

Published: Wed May 06 2020