Seven Last Words of Christ

[Music] faithfulness [Music] i see [Music] i [Music] is [Music] oh love it lifted me oh love lifted me nothing nothing else could help your love lived in me i'm so grateful for your life that lifted me all love it lived in me when nothing else could help i searched all over and found nobody like you jesus oh when nothing nothing else could thank you for your love god [Music] come on somebody let's raise that praise [Music] [Applause] the blood that gives me strength [Music] [Applause] today [Applause] it will now [Music] well praise the lord everybody i want to welcome you to the good friday service live at the new birth church here in atlanta georgia on behalf of our senior pastor dr jamal harris and bryan we are so honored to worship with you this evening i'm pastor kylie slimmins i serve here at the new birth church as the executive pastor and i am so privileged to worship with you on this evening would you do me a favor would you tag someone would you tell someone that you are a part of this worship experience so that they can be blessed and receive what it is that god has for them listen family and friends i was reading i was reading an article from delta delta highlights that two days ago that they are now releasing the vacant seats on their plane since covet 19's breakout delta has been the only airline that has kept space between their passengers the window seat was occupied the aisle seat was occupied but the middle seat was vacant and the holy spirit began to speak to me and he reminded me that it was adam who brought sin into the world that created space between us and god there was now a vacancy but somebody by the name of jesus showed up and can i tell you when he showed up he moved himself watch this here right into the vacant places of our life family and friends i want to let you know tonight that tonight we hear the seven last words of the very person who took that vacancy there are so many people around the world trying to figure out who is going to get in the middle of this seat who is getting in the middle of my situation who is getting in the middle of my fight can i tell you the good news don't worry don't be troubled don't be afraid because the one who's coming in your situation can i tell you right in the middle of it is jesus christ himself he's coming in the middle of your situation he's coming in the middle of your predicament and i don't know what you are in the middle of but can i tell you god's getting ready to show up and he's getting ready to show out and i don't want you to wait till the battle is over i want you to right now from wherever you are if you are at your job if you are at the school if you are online if you are watching on your phone whatever it is that you're doing i want you to give god praise right where you are because it is time to give god the glory and hear what he has to say to us are you ready for worship tonight we're getting ready to go into prayer but whatever you do don't stop praising don't stop worshiping and don't stop sharing because god is getting ready to show up in the middle of look it somebody and say it's prayer time it's prayer time listen you all know that it's good friday today and it's good because of calvary somebody say because of calvary hallelujah let's go to the father in prayer god we thank you today bring me down some father we thank you today hallelujah we thank you because of your grace and your mercy father we thank you god that you are the king of kings father and you are the lord of lords we shall block you tonight father because you are worthy of all glory and honor god had it not been for calvary god we would not be here and so god before we go further our hearts tell you thank you god we thank you for your wounds that you led for us god we thank you for the beatings that you took for us father we thank you dear god for carrying the cross for us father that we might have life and life more abundantly father we thank you tonight god that we don't have to go before a priest dear god but we can petition your throne of grace directly father the scripture tells us that the curtain was read father and we thank you today that as your sons and daughters god we have direct access to your throne god so today is good father it's good because of deliverance today today is good god because you were crucified for our sakes father today is good god because you rescued us from sin and death it is good god because you are with us god and there is nobody else like you we lift up your name father we cry out to you tonight god we are grateful for your blood god had it not been for your blood father we don't know where we would be and so father we give our lives to you god because you gave your life for us hallelujah we thank you i dare you to just worship him all over the building i dare you to tell the father thank you i dare you to honor him tonight for the blood that was shed for us and so we lift our voices to you god we lift our hearts to you father for you are worthy of glory hallelujah you are worthy of honor hallelujah and you are worthy of praise we will forever love you glory to god because you have been good to us your love is reckless towards us your grace is reckless towards us we are undeserving dear god but you love us anyway you love us anyway somebody just say i love him somebody just say i love him wherever you are just worship the lord because he is good to us hallelujah thank you glory to god we are expressing our love on our king of kings tonight wherever you are we want you to make that place a sanctuary and we want you to get up from that chair from that couch it's time to celebrate jesus tonight we want you to like we want you to comment and we want you to share this great experience create a watch party tell everybody it's time to celebrate jesus come on it's time to put our love on him tonight hey glory to god come on team everybody let's tell you as we love on you everybody let's raise it hey receive our love receive our love come on everybody let's raise it come on as we [Music] come on as we shout your praise your name come on receive our breathe [Music] no other name like the name of jesus [Music] we lift your neck i just want to declare just one more time come on we lit your name everybody's sending your house we limit your name [Music] [Music] the name of jesus [Music] the name of jesus [Music] the name of jesus be glorified [Music] [Music] victory [Music] put some praises in the [Music] jesus [Music] somebody just lift up the name of jesus wherever you are [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] nobody [Music] [Music] everybody [Music] an achievement [Music] [Music] is [Music] nobody [Music] for me [Music] somebody left up the name of jesus no come on for real for real lift up the name of jesus lift up the name of jesus [Music] still couldn't find nobody there's nobody greater there's nobody greater there's nobody greater than you i need somebody to live that praise today come on say it's nobody greater that's his head nobody plays come on somebody get loose in this brother better than you now let's declare it i searched all over let's talk to them tell them tell them i searched i searched [Music] i searched [Music] nobody like jesus nobody [Music] [Music] now everybody [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] holy [Music] is [Music] [Music] nobody like jesus nobody like jesus nobody like jesus nobody like jesus [Music] nobody nobody nobody [Music] she [Music] she [Music] hey [Music] she [Music] [Music] she [Music] there's nobody like him in all the earth and his name every knee must bow and every tongue must confess there are so many religions in the world but only christianity can boast of a god who was born who lived who died who rose again and is coming back and we're not confused his name is jesus and because he lives we can face tomorrow because he lives all of our fears are gone i am so grateful for a good friday and many of you don't even realize the significance of it is that even when you're having a bad day it can still be a good day because all things work together for good to those that love him and are called according to his purpose tonight is going to be an amazing night of celebration reflection meditation praise adulation and worship here's what i need you to do is become an electronic evangelist i want you to please become a mobile missionary i need you to get on the line right now text somebody tag somebody tell somebody that we are live on the air right now in just a few moments we'll be on the word network but right now where it is that you are streaming on this platform i want you to get in touch with your five favorite friends your five favorite friends i need you to get them plugged into what it is that god is doing something amazing is going to happen and guess what it's got your name on it new birth endeavors to be a holistic ministry and i'm so grateful for what it is that god has put to our hand to accomplish in the earth that has been signed by heaven i want you to know that this is going to be an amazing weekend for us and as a consequence an amazing weekend for you how we opened up our doors this morning for the community because far too many black and brown people have not had access to the vaccine today we opened up our gymnasium and i want to tell you that we partnered with an african-american owned medical company and we were able to vaccinate all that came through and registered to god be the glory that was step one we're coming back in a couple of weeks to do part two of it we have been over the linton season we made a covenant that we were going to collect 2 000 pairs of eyeglasses eyeglasses that have prescription in them for those who are visually impaired visually challenged but do not have access either to insurance or an optometrist and i want you to know new birth you have always exceeded my expectation i asked you for 2 000 pairs of glasses of for readers glasses you don't read anymore use anymore some of you now got lasik some of you are wearing contact lenses some of you had extra pairs laying around the house in the car and i asked you to send them and to mail them our goal was 2 000 on good friday i've got to report to you we are at 2 800. somebody give god some preach 20 800 pairs of glasses so our new goal is 3 000 pairs of glasses you've got two days to get them to make two days to get them to me those of you on the west coast is not too late for you to federal express of those of you who are in the georgia metropolitan area you ought to bring them to the church and you ought to share them at least on resurrection sunday tonight i've got six of the greatest young preachers on the planet are in one place i'm telling you that god has put something amazing on their lives and i believe that the next generation is safe because we've got some heralders of the gospel who understand what it means to take care of the sacredness of scripture i want you to lock in i need you to tune in and i want you to make sure you don't miss it that's tonight but tomorrow you all know that new birth we are a holistic church i need you to meet me on the campus tomorrow morning at eight o'clock as we have done through the whole linton season we're gonna walk three miles together we're walking three miles together tomorrow morning at eight o'clock so please make sure you can come it has been a wondrous sight to see all different generation baby boomers to millennials a disease we've seen grandmas and those who are in strollers those in wheelchairs everybody in between is walking tomorrow morning at eight o'clock i tell you new birth i am so godly proud of you you don't even understand whatever it is that we do we always come in first bishop long taught us years ago we don't take sides we take over and so new birth please i need you to know new birth we are the largest contributor to goodwill of any church in america we're the largest contributor to goodwill of any church in america i really got amped up about goodwill when i discovered that goodwill is the largest employer of african americans in the country the largest employer of african americans in the country so it's not just about clothes it's about job and wealth creation for our veterans for our returning citizens for those who are trying to pull themselves up by their bootstraps so here's what i need you to do tonight turn up this service all the way up loud and i need you to go in your closet start cleaning it out go in that basement going to attic some of y'all got clothes still got tags on it i need you to put it in the bag and meet me on the campus tomorrow at 10 o'clock at the same time that we're doing that on the other side of our campus the king's table is open where we are able to bless those who are confronting food insecurity can you believe it that since this pandemic we have given 700 000 families groceries 700 000 families with free groceries tomorrow we're doing no less so if you know anybody who's dealing with food insecurity have them to come to new birth cathedral on tomorrow sunday morning is resurrection we're going to celebrate in the middle of a pandemic can you believe what i just said we're going to celebrate in the middle of a pandemic we're going to praise him even with our mask on it's a pull-up service my brother is flying in uh pastor charles jenkins is gonna be here it's gonna be absolutely amazing uh we've got food trucks all around the campus uh as well as we've got games for all of our children i told somebody today it's gonna be a bizarre it's gonna be a festival it's gonna be a carnival it's gonna be azusa it's gonna be revival all wrapped up in one i'm telling you whatever plans you thought you had cancel them and celebrate the resurrected lord here on our campus sunday morning at 9 30. this is what i need you to do very quickly because we're getting ready to go live on the word network now before we do that i want you to sow a seed i want you to give a gift and i'm going to be championing this same number all night long i want you to give a gift of 40 on tonight 40 is our days of lent that we've been in consecration that we've been in preparation that we have been in planet that we have been in self-denial i want you to give that seed of forty dollars uh on tonight all of the prompts by which you can give are beneath me right now i want you to take full advantage of it while you're hemming and hung i want you to be mindful that jesus did not sacrifice his thumb he did not sacrifice his big toe he sacrificed his entire life i'm asking you to just sacrifice a seed of forty dollars on tonight ask that you will please a partner with us i'm excited because uh this is hear this uh ten years running this is the most watched seven last word service in the world did you hear what i just said the most watched seven last word service in the world some seven to ten million people are going to be worshiping with us tonight live on the word network i don't want you to watch us i want you to worship with us minister jonathan nelson who's over our praise and worship arts uh here at new birth is gonna lead us in worship please whatever it is that you're gonna do wave your hands in the air wave them like you just don't care come on say amen in the chat room put lifted hands in the chat room don't watch us worship with us hey come on everybody in the studio get on your feet come on everybody let's celebrate come on everybody in your house everybody get on your feet come on come on have your hands everybody come on come on come on how many y'all know jesus you should help we're going to declare his name tonight come on hey hey we're going back a little bit come on come on everybody like your big church cry come on let's fix that intro come on everybody [Music] everybody [Music] come on what should i press [Music] come [Music] we welcome you to our service tonight everybody in your home say jesus [Music] and join us [Applause] [Music] if you [Applause] jesus is our help you are live in atlanta at new birth cathedral in stonecrest georgia thank you word network for giving us an opportunity to lift up his name all over the world to kevin adele thank you so much to our brother dave sheffield i am overwhelmingly appreciative this is our 13th year doing the seven last words on the word network i'm so excited and i just cannot hide it i want you to do me a favor get on the phone right now text somebody tell somebody that jesus is lord and if he is lifted up he's going to draw all of us unto him i've been here in atlanta for two years and the very first pastor to invite me to come share is our host on tonight i am so thankful for the dawsons they are pestering one church in two states from illinois to atlanta but they are our hosts on tonight i'm going to ask ahmad and joel if you'll come give god a handclap of praise jesus is our help but the dawsons are our hosts come on let's give god glory good evening everybody god bless you god bless you so very much listen this is good friday and we do understand that we should be excited about what has taken place yes a bad thing happened to jesus but a good thing happened to us and we are so massively excited about what we are here to celebrate people of god we absolutely honor our absolutely wonderful pastor of here this great ministry great church here at new birth come on let's clap our hands for dr jamal harrison bryant come on you can do better than that for my brother and my friend come on your pastor let's begin to celebrate god for all that is taking place we are excited pastor jewell we are excited about all that god is doing yes yes yes i'm excited we have a wonderful lineup tonight of powerful men and women that are going to share the last sayings listen get yourself together go get whatever you need so you don't have to move you want to stay tuned tonight it's going to be explosive i'm excited pastor of mine you're massively excited listen people of god if you have not already done so i need you to do me a huge favor i need you to tag somebody let somebody know get your family together bring them around and let them know that the last seven sayings are being released here at new birth here on the word network great things are taking place and god is moving by his power and by his spirit you don't want to miss it people of god we have an amazing as you have already heard about it already we have an amazing lineup for you on tonight and we want to introduce our speakers we're going to give you two of them and they're going to begin to come but we want you to get your hearts ready for pastor john r faison senior we celebrate this man of god people of god he is the senior pastor of watson grove baptist church a growing multi-generational multi-site church with campuses in nashville tennessee and franklin tennessee the grove endeavors to be a growing church for growing people whom christ will use in his growing kingdom people of god under pastor faison's leadership god is using the grove to impact the city of nashville and beyond with tremendous effectiveness since his arrival in march uh 2012 the congregation has grown from 300 to 2500 members pastor faison is a highly sought after communicator of the gospel uh and people of god i believe you are absolutely going to be blessed would you please introduce our second speaker is reverend dr brianna k parker she is a faith leader a scholar and data activist she is ceo of the black millennial cafe bmc it is a consulting practice and data resource center for black churches for communities and for organizations she was awarded the norman vincent pearl preaching scholarship and the saint mary bethune religion award from the national council of negro women my god and she is a silver lifetime member of the naacp put your hands together people of god we're ready as the ministers come forth and begin to share a powerful word [Music] in it come on help me praise god for another day and another opportunity that we have to worship the lord in spirit and in truth let's bow god thank you for this day thank you lord for the opportunity to share thank you for what this moment of memory means make it real for us we pray it in the name of jesus amen first word comes from luke chapter 23 verse 34. jesus said father forgive them for they don't know what they are doing anonymity the state of being anonymous nameless faceless hidden being able to act without attribution i gotta be honest i don't like it i think it's a cowardly way to do something to do something and to not attach your name to it see i grew up in a house where you couldn't use anonymity they said they did they might carry absolutely no weight in my parents house mom and dad would always respond with who is they and without an answer to that question the conversation would end and it rubbed off on me as i try to follow jesus and do justice from time to time i have received my own share of anonymous letters i'm pretty sure they weren't written to encourage me but i would never actually know see my mom and my i am my mom and my daddy's son and so i don't do anonymous letters if you don't have the courage to give me your name then you don't get permission to live in my head consequently when i hear this first word that jesus utters from the cross at calvary i see a problem father forgive them for they know not what they are doing them they christ is feeling the direct pain of their actions and in response to it he asks the father to forgive them says they really don't understand what they're doing and here's the kicker he allows them to remain anonymous case you didn't know christ is a marvel christ is the son of the living god the only begotten of the father he was 100 percent god yet 100 man a theo anthropological miracle divinity and humanity packaged so well that his divinity was never diluted but his humanity was never diminished he was jesus was man enough to live with us yet god enough to die for us but on the cross at calvary we find jesus in perhaps his most human moment yet in this moment of human frailty jesus teaches us the divine lesson of forgiving the anonymous and that lesson is quite revealing when we consider who these anonymous folks could possibly be who is them who are they i want to suggest tonight that them are first of all those who hated him and hurt him you you you cannot be the powerful figure that jesus was in his day and not be polarizing jesus centered his life amongst the marginalized and the oppressed he critiqued both the roman empire and the religious corruption with divine authority not only did he speak truth he was truth as a result he had people who adored him but also people who hated him and the ones who hated him were often the loudest and the strongest and now in this moment both empire and religious hierarchy have jesus exactly where they want him to be on a roman cross but when the effects of their hatred cost him the most hurt jesus prays jesus jesus prays to the father to forgive them and gives them the privilege of remaining anonymous them them they are the folks who hated him and hurt him but but but but them are also those who loved him and left him see the toughest part of being attacked is often not the sound of your foes it's the silence of your friends and on calvary the silence was deafening jesus had poured the essence of himself into so many people miracles he performed needs he had met lives he had changed but at the cross he's all alone all of his disciples are gone except for john all of jesus's family have disappeared except for his mother jesus is dangling now between heaven and earth and the people who claim to love him the best have left him at his words what does jesus my savior your lord do he prays to the father to forgive them and gives them also the privilege of remaining anonymous who who are them who are them those those who hated him and hurt him those who loved him and left him but wait a minute that there's another group uh categorized into them it's those who didn't know him but needed him uh the the the divinity of christ allowed him to experience the present but also to be very clear about the future christ knew that his crucifixion was not just about this particular historical moment no he knew that his crucifixion his death would resonate throughout time and eternity see jesus died for people who didn't even know him knowing that they would need him and his sacrifice at calvary settled the sin debt of humanity once and for all he died so people who weren't born yet could be born again this is why his life wasn't taken he gave it this is why no man took life from christ he laid it down of his own will and his own volition and beloved this is where y'all it gets personal because uh uh if if jesus was there on the cross thinking about the future then then that means them ain't just them that that means them is us you and i are part of the them and now now before you get a bit self-righteous and refuse to look in the mirror of life and begin to reflect upon where you sit please no er last one of us have denied him last one of us have betrayed him last one of us have disregarded his grace and his goodness in some capacity and we ain't done it one time we haven't done it twice we've done it over and over and over again and christ now dangling between heaven and earth dangling between humanity and divinity dangling between time and eternity is staking of us and what does he do he prays to the father to forgive us and give us the privilege of remaining anonymous beloved it is not a coincidence tonight that christ's first word is about forgiving the anonymous it is not an accident that that christ's first word is about looking beyond faults seeing needs and providing forgiveness that wasn't even asked for it is not a coincidence that christ's initial utterance as he dangles his frail body with his entrails hanging from his frame with blood and spittle and bodily functions being released at the same time his first word is about forgiveness it's not a coincidence because see it's hard to carry the guilt of the world and a grudge at the same time it's hard it's hard it's hard it's hard to bear the sins that you've been assigned to seal and to cover and to have art at the same time jesus is trying to help you and i tonight he's trying to help us that that that that one of the initial pieces of beginning your assignment and doing what you've been called to do is first learning how to forgive i'm talking to somebody tonight who knows what your assignment is you know what you've been called to do but you have not been able to step into it in its full fruition you have not been able to walk into it with all that you are and all that you can because you still got a grudge you are still holding on to somebody who didn't treat you correctly you are still harvesting bitterness and anger and unforgiveness against people who have forgotten you exist let me tell you what forgiveness is unforgiveness rather is what bitterness looks like in public when when you refuse to give people a chance to be free you think you are bounding them but you are actually killing your self your hands are not free to be put forward to the purpose god has given you until you release your hands from holding that which is against you i gotta go tonight but i want to tell you you're trying to step into the plan and the purpose god has for your life i want you to know tonight your first step is not reading a self-help book i need you to know tonight that your first step is not getting your attire and your articulation together i need you to know tonight that your first step is looking in the mirror and saying god is there anybody that has attached themselves to me that i've not learned how to look beyond and forgiven and never mentioned that name again not only must i forgive them but i gotta let them be anonymous i gotta let them do what they do and keep my attention on my assignment who are you tonight that needs to forgive your enemies who are you tonight that needs to turn your head and focus on where god is taking you the good news is because jesus forgave those against him he has power to say six more words the good news is because he forgave his enemies he has power to die that friday night the good news is that because he forgave you and i can do the same tonight if you made up your mind my purpose is more important than my pain do me a favor lift your forgiving hands open up your forgiving mouth and tell god thank you for a chance to get it right i tell you i told you that the power of god was getting ready to meet us in this place we celebrate god for doctor i mean i'm telling you this man of god just ministered unto us listen i want you to get your hearts ready because we are getting prepared for reverend dr dominique robinson people of god yes that's right celebrator she's launched her preaching ministry at the age of 13. most recently she served as the next generation pastor at shaw temple ame zion church in smyrna georgia the reverend dr dominique robinson now serves as the newly appointed dean of chapel and assistant professor of religion at wiley college would you please put your hands together for dr dominique robinson come on and give god some praise in this place i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord is anybody glad to be in the house of god on this evening my assignment for this evening comes from the gospel of luke it's only found there he replied in chapter 23 verse 43 truly i tell you today you will be in paradise with me my thought for this evening is this the crisis of cancer culture the crises of cancer culture will you pray with me god speak and we will hear in jesus name amen the crisis of cancer culture my brothers and my sisters canceled culture is not new to us it is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles whether to be online or social media or in person those who are subject to this ostracism are said to have been canceled and we know that this canceled culture is not something that just started in 2020 or 2021 but new york times reports december 3rd 2020 that the beginnings of this canceled culture started in china when individuals began online to seek after someone they thought they knew and found information about them they did not like then they had an ad hoc group gathered together and decided that they would hound the individual verbally flog them and expel them from the community my brothers and my sisters the cancer culture is a slippery slope we know how it goes a celebrity or a public figure they say something or they do something offensive the public backlash comes out feud by political progressive social media ensues then comes the call to cancel the person so that is effectively to end their career or their cultural cachet it leads to boycotts or a disciplinary action from their employer it indeed is a slippery slope but most people who have been canceled somehow get their jobs back somehow their net worth increases somehow their records and their shows are still sold out the question then does does it have an impact see this cancel culture did not just start in china but it has its roots in our black culture black people used to use this thing called cancer culture also known as the call out culture which can often be conflated the call out culture has accountability means that we expect a change in behavior or not just a penal system we want to make sure you know what you did and you change your behavior but we my brothers and my sisters we practice our cancer culture and we don't seek to cancel uh systems we seek to cancel people this is where we find ourselves in the text this evening where there is a mob a culture seeking to cancel three people conversations between the christ and two criminals on three crosses a message from the messiah and two malfactors we find that the culture is trying to cancel jesus but jesus was the original cancer culture jesus decides that he is sent by our god to be the original cancer culture agent how then does he do this first he does this by confirmation cancer culture includes finding facts and we find that while this thief is having a conversation with jesus he confirms that he is indeed a thief and deserves to die but then says but you don't deserve this this is confirmation that jesus has been sent to the cross to die for all of us who do deserve to be canceled but we as christians we practice this cancer culture as if we don't have a point and a reason to be canceled we forgot the margin of grace we say we are believers but what happens to our core values of christianity forgiveness and redemption cancer kosher often focuses on celebrities and public figures when you're gonna hold the mirror to yourself and realize that you've done some things that deserve to be canceled that you should've been the thief on the cross we have to make sure we're clear about the fact that we are not practicing a canceled culture in midst of a time where people deserve our forgiveness but be clear some systems and webs of oppression deserve to be canceled patriarchy and sexism and ageism and racism they deserve to be canceled indeed that ableism deserves to be canceled homophobia deserves to be canceled and jesus was sent to cancel those very things he confirms indeed that we are called to a point and a purpose to make sure we embody a cancel coach in such a way that we cancel the things that deserve to be canceled but we so caught up and who we think we are as if we have power to cancel people as if we have power to crucify people as if we don't deserve to be those people crucified and not only is there confirmation but there is consolation i'm so glad i see because jesus says to the thief he says verily i say unto you confirming that he is the messiah and you are in need in need of forgiveness he says today that is the consolation it's at this very present moment it's not tomorrow but it is now that means that jesus is making a promise that no matter what we've done today can be the new day in our life jesus says to the thief there you are in proximity to me you need to know that this is a moment of salvation now we believers at times decide we know what salvation ought to look like we decide that when you say you give your life to christ you ought to turn over a new leaf but this example shows us that even until the last breath you don't have to turn over new leaf you just have to say yes to jesus christ here we are still condemning people when it's time to have some consolation jesus says to the thief that i will indeed you will be in paradise with me now some argue that the thief went to paradise i know some people say it has roots in the garden of eden and anybody can argue where this paradise is but he doesn't say he took him there he says remember me how powerful is it that in the midst of jesus pain jesus still took time to remember somebody else's suffering and if jesus did it on the cross i believe that even today while jesus at the right hand of god the father that jesus is remembering me and jesus is remembering you there's some consolation that jesus is right by our side and i'm glad to know that jesus doesn't remember my pastor but it remembers my future that i have an opportunity to gain eternal life my brothers and my sisters we have to cancel this cancer culture because we're so caught up in wanting to end somebody else's career as if we don't have a promise on our name i need you to understand that god has sent his only begotten son to give us confirmation and consolation but the joy comes in this there's also continuation he says you will be with me in paradise that's a future tense that means that there's hope that there's something after this and anybody knows that paradise is luscious pleasant it's lavish it's opulent it's a place to reside and i need you to know that it's not just a place but it's a mindset and a choice ask my goddaughter she will begin to sing to you a paradise and sesame street sweeping the clouds away on my way to where the air is sweet can you tell me how to get how to get to sesame street she would tell you that that is paradise i know if i ask any of my students where is paradise they tell you may 1st when i walk across that stage this summer that is paradise and i would say as their dean of chapel that's paradise for me too i i can't wait to see you finish this academic year if you ask a homeless man with paradise he would say where there's a roof over my head if you guys are unemployed with paradise they say somewhere with the job you got the hungry with paradise they say somewhere with the meal this is the reminder that there's better after this jesus was sent on this earth to overcome every issue and every problem and every crisis so that no crowd or culture can ever cancel us even though we deserve to be canceled my brothers and my sisters during this cold with 19 pandemic i've tried my very best to abide by the code restrictions and so i still like to at least go out and find a meal every now and then i go out and i make a reservation for a meal at a restaurant and there have been times that i really want to go somewhere else and i would call the other restaurants i would call the other restaurant they would tell me that they did have space so i had to call the last restaurant to cancel the reservation because a better place became available okay you don't understand okay listen i have a calendar that i try to manage and sometimes i get overwhelmed so i look over the things i have to do and i decide to cancel certain meetings so i can make room i came to let you know that jesus came to cancel some things so that we can have a better place jesus came to cancel some things so that we can have space how do i know it to be so i'm so glad you asked a songwriter said there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from emmanuel's veins and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains uh but that's not the verse tonight the verse tonight that gets me is the dying thief rejoice to see that fountain in his day and there may i as vile is here wash all my sins away he came to cancel guilt he came to cancel shame he came to gattle fear he came to cancel disappointment he came to cancel embarrassment he came to cancel bigotry he came to cancel self-hatred he came to cancel low self-esteem is there anybody in the building tonight who can say i need god to send his only begotten son to cancel a thing or two for me jesus thank you for going to the cross cancel this culture that tries to kill me because of who i am is there anybody who can testify god called me and i am anointed and no man no demon in hell can cancel me why because jesus was sent to calvary he shed his blood for you and me and that is the cancellation we need i give you this in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit put your hands together and give god some praise somebody ought to put your hands together for all of the word that has happened thus far new birth new birth and the word network tonight our dear sister is all the way here from kansas city missouri she is the baby doll of the church of god in christ she is such a powerful anointed woman of god i call her a house dumper i want to introduce for the very first time here at new birth but not the last would you help me by clapping your hands all wherever you are put it on the screen miss crystal rucker come on everybody let's celebrate [Music] come on and clap your hands if you love jesus hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] belongs to you always [Music] you deserve my worship yes you do oh lord you deserve my praise thank you jesus [Music] adoration and glory it belongs to you always when i think of the goodness of jesus and all that he's done for me my soul cries out hallelujah i can't help but thank you for saving me [Music] it [Music] thank you for waking me up this morning [Music] [Music] yes [Music] yes lord it belongs to you and only to you always cause when i think about you dying for me laying down your life [Applause] [Music] thank you lord for your grace and mercy thank you lord [Music] and [Applause] [Music] hallelujah somebody that gives a lot of praise [Music] he deserves our praise yes god hallelujah put your hands together one more time come on clap those hands clap those hands let's celebrate god in this place our next speaker is reverend brianna parker she is currently the lead researcher for the barner group state of the black church study she served paul quinn college as an adjunct professor and as the currently titled dean of chapel and jarvis christian college and as an associate professor of religion and immediately after that we're going to have uh dr charles um dates who's a phenomenal man of god dr charles dates became the youngest senior pastor at chicago's progressive baptist church a church celebrating a distinctive 100 year history my god he is the contributing author to the 2014 book letters to a birmingham jail and the 2019 book say it celebrating expository preaching in the african-american tradition and when he comes up we want to celebrate god for the gift that is dr charles dates it is good to be in the house of the lord this evening the text today comes from john 19 verses 25 through 27 it reads like this near the cross of jesus stood his mother his mother's sister mary the wife of clopas and mary magdalene when jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby he said to his mother dear woman here is your son and to the disciple here is your mother from that time on this disciple took her into his home if i had to tag the text today it would be where provision resides god i've done what i could in preparation and i sat with you for revelation so the proof of my calling to this moment rest upon you where provision resides i i think i think we have jesus all messed up in a pandemic we are all again scrambling in a capitalist america where the rich in a global pandemic get richer while the poor are expected to be appreciative of two thousand dollars as a payout even with scarcity and maybe because of scarcity for some of us we are obsessed with money while capitalism plays a part in how we operate in the world we value money over people over peace and in some moments above and against our faith one thing we were adamant about in discussing the edna during the state of the black church study was the perspective of the relationship between church and money media tropes continued to perpetuate greed in the church although we haven't had national scandals in decades and those that were there were primarily made up of white evangelical greed and debauchery while the world has money messed up and the media portrays us as messing up money the church or christians have money messed up when we discuss blessings the first thing we think of is money my friend charlie even checked me a couple weeks ago to talk to me about the way when i was making a joke i related to god and money and we have to really think about how we've handled it we have chanted about money we've slathered notes of uh with holy oil based on money we've asked profit to pay pray for money we've decided to spin around run around and don't trip because i like to shout too but run around the church so we can get some money even the saved ones have hooked crooked and even given some second looks for some money and many times we do it so that we can make an impression on people and make people believe that god has indeed been good to us we've attempted to bypass the sacrifices and discipline and even isolation that comes with money because we're so desperate for it all while ignoring that the bible says that it's the love of money that's the root of all evil as obsessed as christians are with money we haven't been equally as obsessed with finding a biblical basis for this obsession this connection or this correlation with jesus and money while we beg jesus for money that's not an association that is biblical intense study of the text will show you that of all the blessings and all the miracles that jesus has done none of them have ever included money when people were hungry jesus fed them when the boy was dead he resurrected him when the woman had the issue of blood he healed her he didn't pay for a caterer for the people to eat he didn't pay for a funeral to show compassion he didn't pay the doctor's bill to heal our sister when she suffered i think somehow we've mixed provision with money provision is what we've seen with jesus jesus provided food for the masses life to jairus's daughter life to the boy in the funeral possess procession and his friend who was dead to the bed in the grave he provided healing to the woman with the issue of blood sight to our friend who was without sight and stability to our friend who could not walk he provided deliverance to the boy with demons and liberation to all who encountered him jesus wasn't giving out dollar dollar bills y'all he wasn't saying throw it in the bag he wasn't claiming he was where the money resides instead he was meeting real needs for real people using real power and that's called applying pressure i think we've relied so much on money that we forgot to appreciate provision it's one thing to want stuff and it's another to live long enough to get to appreciate your stuff it's one thing to pay for health care but it's another to be made whole it's a one thing to have a home but it's another to have peace in your home you can't go asking god for money because that limits the possibility for god to do greater that's why asking for money can get you stuff but trust in god's provision can get you care there's much more to provision than money and of all the things that we see in this text i hope we don't miss provision because provision isn't easy but the long-term benefits are good because provision at its best will change perspective the language used when jesus solidifies these relationships was legal language for that day because it's easiest to see most people attribute it to the language of adoption they see it as adoption because that's the way we see people because we see things as valuable but jesus sees people as valuable further investigation of the text will actually show us that this language is actually used when one would actually write a will as easy as it is to see adoption language we cannot miss that it is not uncommon for a dying person to distribute their estate on the cross it is normal actually for a dying person to attempt to leave what is most valuable in a will or what is called a testament a testamentary disposition i was recently planning my estate covet made it clear that it was necessary to keep my will updated when i sat with the attorney we began to decide the things that were most valuable to me we laid out all the valuable things and when that was complete we take an inventory to make sure we made provisions to make sure the people in my life could have long-term care we spent 80 percent of our time identifying valuable things but only 20 making sure it would last and not cause most harm i was surprised when jesus's most prized possession in this moment were people and mine were things i'd missed it i didn't make sure my nephew son knew how to take care of my mother and that my daughter niece knew how to help my father navigate aging and depreciating sight because he's legally sight impaired i didn't call my cousins and ask them to make sure that they took care and were grandparents to my grand nephews who are like my grandchildren because i was worried about money and i was worried until i thought about my sister my sister's last time in the hospital before she died eight years ago exactly two weeks before good friday her last time in the hospital she took my niece and she said to her i would like to make this not hurt but i don't have time for that i only have time to make sure you know how to live without me briera when i die i want you to stay with mama and tt i want you to stay with them because they won't make you feel good life won't be easy with them and they're going to make you have responsibility but i want you to know they're going to love you yes because you're their niece and grandchild but more because of how they loved me when mama needed care they came to me when your mama needed to be fed they fed us when i needed someone to take care of you they took care of us and today there's no major surgery nothing exciting but guess what they are here my sister like jesus because both of them were dying understood that people are most important and not things it made sense when i thought back on my sister because when jesus is talking about the beloved disciple it would make sense that he would give care to his mother why because when the other negroes were trying to decide who was going to sit where it was the beloved disciple who was here today at the foot of the cross it was aquila and priscilla who financed him his ministry and they loved him but they were not there at the foot of the cross peter was ten toes down and ready to roll up on anybody but he was not there at the foot of the cross mary went for broke and broke the bank on the oil but she was not there at the foot of the cross all i'm saying is you might imagine that it's one thing for people to love you but if you're gonna trust your future you ought to trust your future with the people who can be there when it looks like you're failing it made sense it made sense for jesus to trust him but you know the truth is i understand why a lot of people weren't there at the foot of the cross because provision does not preclude disappointment we see mary who who is normally a bit anxious mary jumps the gun she was responsible for jesus's first miracle mary was acting like any black mother to begone jesus and show them what you can do when we first saw her with the miracles now we get to see mary not acting like the mother of the savior just the mother of a dying son we understand right now that she has pain that we've never seen before but don't trip this is nothing more than a consolation prize she didn't want the beloved disciple but she was going to trust that jesus knew what he was doing and giving her the beloved disciple this is still a painful moment because even in provision it will never preclude the pla the pain of what jesus is doing in your life mary was there in the beginning and we see her here at the end and we have to imagine that she's the hidden figure of his life because it's not like she could watch the cnn try and watch people lie on her child and fly in for his execution instead she had to be there which meant mary would now not only lose a son but lose a responsibility and position that she had if he had not traded in his life with the beloved disciple but i get it i get it because provision prompts immediacy the thing about provision is it's not on your time we will beg god for years for the stuff that we want and as soon as it comes we all of a sudden need time to get our lives together to go and make things right to be able to accept what god is doing in our life but provision and responsibility can both happen immediately and simultaneously in the middle of disappointment without preparation and in the midst of mourning there's a drastic and unexpected trade here the text says from this hour meaning right now suddenly behold and ain't no more time god's immediate provision is faith god's trade game though is strong i was watching espn 30 for 30 and i saw james hart and james harden played with the oklahoma city thunder and when he was playing with the oklahoma city thunder he took them to the finals they had not been in the finals he he did this as the sixth man he was the youngest six man of the year and so when it was time for the trade agreements they sent him a contract and it was dollar bills on dollar bills it was only six million dollars under the normal maximum for the nba they gave him one hour to say yes and of course he had to have his people look over things and he did miss the deadline but he had given his heart to this team hit gotten them to the finals and they hadn't been there he knew how to play his position he was making relationships with the people so what he knew for sure was that they would give him a little bit of grace even though he missed the deadline when he missed the deadline he gets a phone call from oklahoma city and they explained to him that they appreciate him but unfortunately they were going in a new direction they told him he had been traded to the houston rockets so now he's distressed he admits that he was distraught through the middle of the night couldn't believe they had given up on him so he goes to meet with the houston rockets and the houston rockets are excited but he is distraught and delirious because they tell him not only are you trading teams but now you have to trade positions now he's upset because he has to reorient himself with the game now he doesn't know what he's going to do because it's too much transition but they explain to him that the reason he's not going to be the sixth man anymore is because they are making him a franchise player now as in suddenly as in from this hour he became somebody else he didn't have to try out he didn't have to get any stronger he didn't have to get any better he didn't have to get any practice he didn't need to consult with anyone he didn't need any more skills all he had to do was accept god's trait now i would love to tell you today what that means for mary but i'm the third word and it's good friday so i can just give you what it means for you the good news for you today even on this fridays you don't have to get any stronger you don't have to get any better you don't have to get any wiser you don't have to get any sweeter the only thing you have to do is trust god's trade in value and that's on the fish in five loads of bread cause what i do know is god will trade your sorrow for joy your chaos for peace your brokenness for wholeness your sickness for wellness and your stress for rest don't you know god has made provision for you so while they're over there gambling on his clothes knowing that that's where the money resides if you want to find me you have to find me at the foot of the cross mourning with mary because i believe if i can get to the foot of the cross and i can trust jesus and love him that everything i need for a provision he's already made so y'all find where the money resides but i'ma be where the provision resides [Music] come on matthew chapter 27 [Music] verse 46 reads the following about the sixth to the ninth hour jesus cried out with the loud voice eli eli lama sabachthani that is my god my god why have you forsaken me father give me grace i pray in jesus name amen ladies and gentlemen of the jury we're here tonight because a parent has abandoned their child we are hard pressed to find a better picture of authentic sonship and fatherhood than the parent blamed and the victim of dereliction in matthew chapter 20 7. in a world of toxic patriarchy and loathsome labels here is an unashamed picture the pixels of which frame god as father the one who does not fail his children from every angle of the evidence and testimony there is reason for this son in this text to trust god his father without reservation or disappointment the record in the deposition is clear this is a father and a son at his baptism in matthew 3 17 the ubiquitous voice of all creation shouted from the heavens this is my beloved son with whom i am well pleased evidence suggests that hundreds of people simultaneously heard that singular defining voice of human history the prophetic witness called in for testimony from the 8th century went on record saying that he was told to say for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulders this ladies and gentlemen of the jury is the language of fatherhood and sonship and to ensure our due diligence we searched further through the archives of history and found a greater testimony in the witness of a man named hosea he was told out of egypt i have called my son but let's give room for the son himself to testify he said in john 17 and i quote i have given them the glory you have given me so that they may be one as we are one in his own words the victim of parental negligence testified to the oneness he enjoyed with his father at every angle the case is clear they enjoyed a unbreakable bond of oneness and on the surface you might be led to believe that this father is a good man a great parent in fact but today's testimony might prompt you to think differently he is a father who is rich beyond measure this child lived a special favorite life in the celestial and palatial towers the record says that angels adored him heaven and earth bowed before him nothing that the child wanted or ever wished for was withheld from him and ordinarily you would not think that this parent could be convicted of child abandonment this is such a weighty and strong case to make against the wealthiest omnipotent and omnipresent father to make matters worse in our trial tonight the father asked this son to willingly leave his place of pleasure to go to a land far and distant to win back the lost children the evidence and testimony will show tonight that the purpose of this mission was the rescue of this distant land and their inhabitants by his impeccable ministry this world would come to know that the father has sent his son but we're not here tonight to talk about the closeness of the relationship between the father and the son we're here tonight to talk about what happened on the night of april 2nd between the 6th and the 9th hour something unbelievable has happened the shock of this case is not that the roman soldiers did what they did to jesus no the disturbance in this text is what the father does to his son i must confess we don't have to work hard to reach a guilty verdict it's not the parts of the bible of this evidence that i don't understand that trouble me it's the part that i do understand that troubled me this is god talking to god about god's absence it is the knowledge of the will of god that jesus is after in gethsemane but when he's on the cross he's not wondering about god's will he's wondering about god himself it is one thing for the world around you to go dark it is something altogether different for the light inside of you to be extinguished and for you to go dark and then asking why have you forsaken me jesus is saying i can understand why my family isn't here after all they're human he's saying i can understand why some of my disciples are not here after all they are human but in asking why have you forsaken me he's saying i can't understand why you aren't here because you are god and you're never supposed to leave me but when you look at what happened you cannot deny the police report tonight the father abandoned his child they took him to the barracks and abused them and the father did nothing they wedged the staff in his hand and feigned obesity but the father did nothing they stripped him of his own clothes and the father did nothing they spat on him and beat him and look at this child as the father does nothing but even in his dereliction he's retaining his trust in his father my god my god why have you forsaken me and some of you know what that's like living amid a global pandemic wrestling with the systemic injustice that plagues our country and before i rest my case i've got one thing i need to say to you if he did it to jesus [Applause] he might do it to you [Applause] ladies and gentlemen of the jury i am the parent who is accused of abandoning his child [Applause] let me first begin by introducing myself i am the one who flung the stars in the heavens who told the sun the rule by day and the moon to rule by night i am he who in the beginning said let there be and before i could say let all that was not started straining to become i am he who created everything out of nothing when the only pulpit i had was the power of my own personality i am the one who weighed the mountains in scale i'm the one who said to moses i am that i am i've been given a bad name even by some of those who claim to preach in my name some of them have led you to believe that by trusting me you can have everything you want whenever you want it the way you want it but i showed up tonight in atlanta to represent myself and to testify to the truth of my own word i've got some good news tonight and i've got some bad news tonight the bad news is i abandoned my son the good news is well i abandoned my son it's the kind of unthinkable act that has riddled those who study me from ignatius of antioch to augustine of hippo from harriet tubman to gerena lee they've all wondered about my ability to leave those i love in hard times let me explain to you what happened on the night of april 2nd outside of jerusalem it was a separation because of love in this moment there was a real division in the heart of my triunity and because of our trinity it is inherently indivisible the magnitude of the sacrifice i made that night is indescribable but that in the last time i've been accused of abandoning my child as a matter of fact some of you in the jury have accused me of abandoning you i can recall when you couldn't pay your mortgage so you blamed me and thought that it was the end of the world i remember the time when you prayed for a sick loved one and they got worse not better so you blamed me for abandoning you i remember while interpreting the faith of your foreparents through jim crow laws and chattel slavery you quietly questioned my devotion to justice and righteousness so you blamed me i remember some of those prayers when the pandemic first started it started to eat your prophets to quarantine you to isolation it stripped you of your summer plan so you reasoned that i forsook you some of you in reality implicitly think that you can do a better job at being me than me you say if i were god if i were omnipotent there would be no suffering if i were omniscient there would be no pain you asking your intellect why would such a holy god allow evil to exist but on this day at this hour the only friday in all of history that saw night twice i paid for all of your wide questions by asking myself why why have you forsaken me this personal cry of desertion was not a sign only of my nearness this is the worst human situation it was a sign of my great distance from you i abandoned jesus on that cross so that you would never forget that i'm not okay with sin i did it so that you would never be comfortable in your own sin i did it so that you would know that sin pushes me away from you but look at my son on that cross look at the impeccable example of faith that he gives in the most dark hour he teaches you that real faith is calling on me when your experience says i'm nowhere to be found he took your questions on that cross he took your abandonment on that cross he took your disappointments on that cross but i let him do it i abandoned him so that i could embrace you i let them put him out so that i could bring you in i let them bruise him so i could fix you i let them hang him out there so that i could bring you in here and when i forsook him i made you my own so i wanted to tell you it's all right now the crooked ways have been made straight it's all right now there's joy and sorrow it's all right now tears will turn to laughter it's all right now the bitter has been made sweet it's all right now the rough places have been made plain it's all right now because every nation and every tongue will say that jesus is the lord it's all right now [Music] greatest thy faithfulness o lord my father there is no shadow of turning with thee thou changes not thy compassions they feel night for as thou has been thou forever will be [Music] to cheer and to guide strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow blessings are there with ten thousands [Music] faithfulness [Music] see [Applause] [Music] a day to think about how faithful he's been great [Music] [Music] mercy's me [Applause] oh wow got your hands [Music] [Music] is [Music] is i gotta get out of here [Music] he's been myself do you know his big me [Applause] hallelujah come on you ought to lift up that hand right there come on open up your mouth if he's been faithful he been better to us than we've been to ourselves he's been faithful [Music] come on he looks me out hey god yes [Music] faithful faithful is our god faithful is our god faithful is our god faithful faithful is our god faithfulness yay oh [Music] [Music] folks he's been faithful our god has been faithful i said don't tell nobody come on put those hands together come on lift it up make him drive for us he's been faithful through this whole pandemic he's been [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] whatever you need a here that's the word you ought to just type it on the screen right now faithful type it right now [Music] when i didn't have nothing faithful when my job cut my hours faithful come on sickness in my body hey you're feeling good in here our god is faithful my god my god [Music] [Music] our god is faithful have you not been blessed by all of our preachers thus far come on give god some praise [Music] pastor john faison dr dominique dr bree dr dates come on let's give god a hand clapping praise for all of them christa rucker is from another planet i don't even i don't know where she's from mars or venus but she is not from here and we are just grateful what an incredible week of reflection this is and i don't know whether you realize how impactful this week is and what it means under other circumstances softly minstrels under circumstances we'd have to be reminded that today should have been marvin gaye's birthday marvin gaye was slain dr dates at the hands of his own father amazingly on sunday will be the 53rd anniversary of the assassination of martin luther king jr who was killed by a firearm by those who were offended by his nerve to dream out loud this week the whole world is watching in minneapolis minnesota trying to make sense out of the live lynching of george floyd will be moaned that he like eric gardner could not breathe we've assembled on this night literally from around the world because 2021 years ago a loving lord and savior was killed by the government four significant men in history who had their night life snuffed away in the same week i wanted to pause in this moment to issue public petition on behalf of the men in your family your sons your brothers your father your husband your nephew that god will put a hedge fence of protection around their lives in this studio sanctuary would you just speak the name of one man in your life come on open up your mouth speak the name of one man who you need god to cover you need angels to go to war for them i want you to write the name of the brother in whom you're praying for in this hour write their name in the chat now while i was in route to worship tonight social media began to implode and the news interrupted regular programming to announce that major league baseball was not coming to atlanta because there are forces who are trying to seek out revenge for black people going out to vote can you imagine that january we had more people come out for a special election then participated in a presidential election as a consequence some 45 other states are writing uh these uh throwback jim crow jim crow laws to stop us from voting in this next cycle i'm thankful that major league baseball has led the way but now we are upping the ante because we understand the role of the prophetic black church is to speak truth to power it would in fact be a a crime a tragedy of justice if we sang and shouted and did not serve so here's what i need you to do with wrapped attention i want us to bombard the principalities and powers of the state of georgia i want you please to um send a notification to the governor the state of georgia that is not just major league baseball but it is praying black saints who believe that this unjust law needs to be turned over i want you if you will to take one moment in this weekend of solemn reflection to write the heads of coca-cola head of delta head of home depot and let them know that while you are circumnavigating around the cross you are mindful that you are a soldier of the cross it doesn't matter whether or not you live in georgia or not because what they do to us tonight they'll do to your state in the morning let's set a precedent that we are not to be played with that we are a church here it is that will cry loud and will spare not i want to challenge all of you it's easy you don't even have to get an envelope don't have to get a stamp i want you to send an email to governor kemp i want you to send an email to the head of coca-cola home depot and delta airlines letting them know that the church will not roll over and play dead but that we stand for our god-given right because we know what happens when people don't show up to vote when people don't show up to vote you'll hear a cry give us barabbas i need to make sure that we show up because we are right in the precipice of changing this nation of shifting the paradigm so finally and maybe for the first time it'll be the land with liberty and justice for all i want to challenge you to do it not just for you i want you to do it for your sons and daughters who will come behind you because they should not have to inherit our fight they should not have to deal with our ptsd of civil rights but they should be able to eat the fruit of the sacrifices that we're making on behalf of that man that you just petitioned whose name you just called i want you to please very quickly our giving prompts are there i want you to sow a seed because i don't want us to just be hearers of the word but i want us to be doers also i'm excited about the future of the church i'm excited about the future of our community i'm excited about the future of your family don't sit idly by this is your moment not to watch history this is your moment to make history i'm grateful the dawsons are going to lead us directly as to how it is that we're going to navigate through the rest of the night do me a favor please tag somebody text somebody tells somebody that the seven last words are live on the word network and they can't afford to miss another word [Music] i'm telling you absolutely amazing i do know that tonight has been sobering even as dr bryant began to share with us this clarion call i do know that c4 church new life church we are heeding the call and we're making sure that we're going to do exactly what we have heard on tonight and babe i'm not one for trouble and i don't have no power here but dr evan bishop dates he can't come back you bring a whole court case and you're a guest speaker he told the church up babe he can't come back well here's the problem the title of my message on sunday was called his hand it was called the cross-examination i'm not preaching it anymore he took your stuff didn't he yeah i'm not i'm no he did it way better i'm not doing that anymore but we're moving on this evening listen people of god i'm telling you i am so excited i believe the hand of god led dr bryan to bring the speakers on tonight because we have been blessed by each word that we have heard and it has been strategically divined by the hand of god and we're going to continue on in that respect we have pastor david wilford who is an amazing emerging prophetic voice within the 21st century church pastor wilford has over 17 years of leadership and pastoral experience he has served as a worship leader youth and young adult pastor itinerant minister and senior pastor he currently serves as the campus pastor of all nations worship assembly chicago west along with his wife we are so excited that he's coming immediately after that who's coming pastor jewell reverend canisius houston is coming and she is a true woman of she serves she strives for excellence in ministry through the word of god the work of god and the will of god i love it um in october 2016 she was appointed the first female and the 38th pastor of trinity ame church here in atlanta georgia put your hands together for pastor davis and reverend konitrus [Music] john chapter number 19 and verse 28 after this jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished that the scripture might be fulfilled saith i thirst father in jesus name i thank you that your word already has inherent power and i thank you that your glory is on this word so that your people would be blessed in jesus name amen scripture records this as the fifth saying of jesus from the cross and it is with this saying that the proclamations of jesus take a sharp turn he has already asked his father to forgive them because they are unaware of what they are doing he already gives a prelude to redemption of the guilty when he tells the thief that they will meet him that day in paradise he also addresses the relational gap that his physical absence will leave by leaving his mother in the care of john and john in the care of his mother and then as reverend gates so eloquently just presented he speaks to his father in a moment of distress and asks why he has been forsaken and then for the first time within his sayings from the cross jesus the messiah the anointed one expresses a personal need he says i thirst he shows us that it is okay to be anointed gifted yet also human there is a delicate balance between humanity and divinity and i know that we always look at that in the perspective of jesus but i would like to suggest that there is also that same delicate balance of divinity and humanity within you and i he shows us that it is okay to express your need because when you are a messiah or a messiah type sometimes people think that you don't have need sometimes people think that you are super human and that you can continue to go on and on and give and give and give and never receive or never be in want but he shows us that helpers need help he shows us that even anointed people still have needs we see jesus as humanity highlighted here in ways that we don't often get to see it in other places especially in john's gospel in contrast to the synoptic gospels in this book we are not introduced to baby jesus first or we're not introduced to his genealogy we're not introduced to the forty and two generations but we are introduced to jesus by virtue of his eternal existence we're made aware that before there was ever a body for him the word the word the word the word existed in the beginning and the word was god and the word was with god it was the same substance as the father and everything was made by him the word took on flesh and dwelt among us but don't get it twisted the word existed before there was a body and a name in the person of jesus christ the opening of the book john's book john's gospel sets the tone and the tenor and the context for the rest of john's gospel of which a primary concern is the identity of jesus as the son of god which leads me to believe that this statement about him being thirsty according to john's gospel is not just about his physical thirst yes that is one element of it but there's also some spiritual implications to the thirst of our messiah in this book throughout john's gospel we see this theme of thirst we see this theme of water and we see this theme of wine symbolically in john chapter number two jesus's ministry begins with the unquenched thirst of a people who have ran out of wine and his mother says it's your time now to start it's your time to be birthed into the miraculous because these people have run out of wine and i need you to do something about it because they are thirsty and everybody's running around and they're complaining that the wine is run out they're thirsty and he becomes the answer to their thirst miraculously by turning water into wine he again then proclaims that he is the answer to thirst when he meets a woman at a well he says that listen if you are thirsty and you ask of me i can give you water to drink and you will never thirst again that brings us to a place of tension however in the text because seemingly he who has and is the answer to thirst has now become thirsty what do you do when what you give seemingly does not work even for you what do you do when you're the worship leader and you lead people into worship but you can't get into the presence of god yourself in your personal time i wish i had a preacher that would tell the truth what happens when we preach and encourage other people but then we go back to our homes depressed we go back to our homes in shambles what do you do when you can't even facilitate for yourself what you have been the answer to for other people what happens when the deliverance worker or the altar worker can lay hands on other people but then it's still bound themselves and can't set themselves free there's tension here because jesus says i am living bread i am water that you can drink from and will never be thirsty again but here i am saying i thirst this theme of water and thirst and wine is present jesus makes his last supper the initiation of the covenant for his disciples and a meal and a drink and he tells them that if you don't drink of me if you don't drink this cup you can have no part of me and when they ask jesus aren't you going to drink or in other words aren't you thirsty he says i'm not going to drink of the fruit of the vinyl i'm not going to drink of this cup until the kingdom comes so then we landed our verse and our verse begins with the fact that jesus is at this point where he knows that all things were accomplished he gets to a moment of prophetic fulfillment even though he's in pain i just want to talk to a few people in this room and a few people that are watching me and i want to let you know that the presence of pain is not the absence of prophetic fulfillment i'll say that again some of us have been misdiagnosing our pain and we've been thinking that because we are in pain or because we are in want or because we are in need that we are out of the plan of god but i just want to encourage a few people that have found themselves being obedient but you're still in a painful place you found yourself being obedient but you're still thirsty you found yourself being obedient but you're still in want he remembers on the cross when he utters the words i thirst but there is a part of scripture that hasn't been fulfilled theologian suggests that he's referring to psalm division number 69 and verse 21 and he says they gave me poison for food and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink and i believe that jesus is on the cross and and he's about to finish his course and and he's looking at everything that has happened up until this point in time and he says i can't go off the scene without fulfilling every single part of the assignment that my father gave to me i believe that jesus's annunciation of thirst was not just a physical thirst it was not just the thirst on the surface because i've been being crucified now for hours but when we go back to his initiation of the new covenant he says i'm not going to drink the fruit of the vine until this new kingdom comes into order and must we never forget that when jesus shows up on the scene john the baptist says i'm preaching you into repentance because the kingdom has now come and when jesus is on the cross and he's hanging there he's bleeding out he's hanging there and he's been beaten i believe that what jesus is saying is here i am announcing that i am initiating a new era i am initiating a new covenant and i can't allow this part of the scripture to go unfulfilled because it's going to be the initiation into your new life can i preach to you at home and tell you that some of us have been evading pain but i've got a word for you pain and sacrifice often is the entryway to your new place i need somebody that's mature in this room to put your hands together for the painful plate that don't sound like a praise i said i need somebody in this room to thank god that i've been through some pain and i've been through some heartache and there have been some needs that seemingly went unfulfilled because it was the entryway into my new a new dispensation the kingdom has come they thought that they were going to be teasing him by his declaration or enunciation that he was thirsty but what they did not understand what they was that they were a part of prophetic fulfillment what they did not understand was we think that we are mocking him but what jesus understands is this new covenant of grace this new kingdom era will not be initiated until i also drink of the fruit of the vine they thought they were mocking him don't you understand there are people in your life right now they think that your deprivation they think that your need is something to laugh over they think that what you're lacking is something they should clown you over but they have no idea that it is all a part of the plan of god i got a word i got a word even your pain is a part of the plan even your purse is a part of the plan so instead of whining instead of crying you have the ability to initiate a new season don't be afraid of being thirsty we live in a generation where thirst has taken on another meaning and thirst means that you're pressed for the wrong things but what jesus does is jesus gives us a principle and he says thirst is not a bad thing thirst is not an evil thing thirst is not something that you should wade over or decide you won't do and there is a generation that has lost their thirst but we are the remnant i said we are the remnants that are going to declare thirst i thirst in order to transition us into a new kingdom era if you believe that i dare you in this room to open up your mouth and shout i'm thirsty oh you didn't do it like you mean it i said open your mouth and shout i'm thirsty i'm thirsty i'm thirsty people may look at it from the outside in like it's a bad thing but i am walking into a new season and my thirst is the announcement of what's about to happen i said my thirst is the announcement of what's about to happen open your mouth and give him glory that you haven't lost your heart the last thing i want to say about thirst before i take my seat is when an individual is about to die one of the things that goes first is their desire and ability to eat and then after the desire and the ability to eat then goes their thirst i believe that what jesus was saying was y'all think that you're gonna kill me you think you control my appetite you think you control my first level but no man i said no man takes my life but i lay it down i'll tell you when i no longer thirst i'll let you know when i'm ready to go can i preach to somebody that's watching me at home don't give up on your appetite too soon don't let go of your thirst too soon the next season is depending on your thirst your next place is depending on your thirst how thirsty are you for the new i only got about a minute left and i don't want to use it preaching i want to use my last minute to test the first level in the room i just want percy people to open your mouth stand on your feet and give the lord a praise i'm thirsty come on tell him i'm thirsty i've been through pain but i'm still thirsty been crucified talked about by people but i'm still [Music] thirsty [Music] speak lord for your servants are listening amen in the gospel of john the 19th chapter the 30th verse we find these words in the new international version of the bible it says when he had received the drink jesus said it is finished with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit i absolutely love the arts i i mean from singing to acting to dancing i love the arts and since i am heavily involved in pulling together productions of the arts it may be indeed shocking to hear that my favorite part is not being backstage my my favorite part of the arts is not the rehearsals it's not the preparation my my favorite part of the arts is actually seeing the artists come on the stage and complete their work i mean i mean the artist the artist has healed the sick i mean practice their lines the the artist has preached better sermons than any of us could ever do i mean rehearse their choreography the artist has even paid attention to those who were thought to be outcast i mean they were not too proud to practice the background vocals as well but can i say it's the cross for me it is it's the stage for me for it's on the crosses it's on the stage that jesus the the artist can finish jesus's work the show i i mean it's it's isn't that what we visualize tonight that that jesus did in the first five words from the cross that rehearsal is over the prophecies the lines have been memorized and now it's time to fulfill what jesus was really sent here to do i mean from the pronouncements of forgiveness salvation provision abandonment and prophecy jesus boldly now declares on the sixth word it is it is finished i mean if we're honest jesus jesus uh was already dropping in his earthly life some of the dopest hashtags like work is food john chapter 4 verse 34 my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work or if he didn't like that hashtag glory given john chapter 17 verse 4 i have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do and now jesus says it is finished now now now we we could take this time and and look at a typical approach of these three powerful words it is finished in the greek i mean we could we could look at it in the greek and say to testela sty uh is the greek translation of it is finished which means debt paid and it is paul who confirms later in this uh in romans chapter 6 verse 32 when he tells the church at rome the wages of sin is death but the gift of god is eternal life in christ jesus our lord and we could even at this moment take a virtual praise break over the fact that jesus in his sixth word was comfort confirming that our debt was already paid for our sins that we have we are and we will commit it's already paid for but since we are still here for our second lenten season in a pandemic that most people thought would be resolved in a few months since we are still here and have survived covet 19 high blood pressure abusive relationships and underwhelming job opportunities since we are still here and we have survived virtual school and zoom fatigue and just being black in america can i push us past the celebration of tetelestai cannot push us past the celebration of debt paid and drop a new hashtag for 2021 good friday virtual experience hashtag all of it when jesus declared it is finished jesus did not limit the work to a specific category jesus did not decide which debt it would cover jesus did not exclude the sin because it was too controversial jesus did not exclude the sin because it was too embarrassing no jesus when jesus stayed on the stage when jesus stayed on the cross jesus knew that the rehearsals the earthly healings and miracles had already been attended to jesus stays on the stage stays on the cross because jesus knew that the characters the disciples had already been chosen and now the only thing left to do is to take care of the audience jesus knew that we would come to the show come to this life unworthily jesus jesus knew that we would lose our temper and possibly be recorded jesus knew that we would fall short jesus knew that we would make missteps mistakes and even do some of that stuff on purpose so jesus decided now i can pay their debt now i can lose their chains now i can set them free so instead of us being boxed into people's expectations examinations and exaltations concerning what god has decided our it would be and what it god would see about through jesus declaring it is finished we ought to celebrate y'all that jesus did not limit our it to their it or his it or her it but jesus came to finish all of it but but but pastor see what what about the time i all of it uh-huh uh-huh and when i thought about yeah all of it and and and i know that i was going to all of it since see since jesus declared it is finished can i tell you a secret uh you can too uh listen what we must understand about the it is finish is that the it and it is finished is indeed subjective which means that it depends on who is speaking in order to define what the it is uh see jesus when jesus declared it is finished jesus understood that jesus was in control of all of the it's but when we copy after jesus and say all of it what we understand is we're saying i no longer have to pay the debt for the sin with my it's with my heartache it's with my depression it's with my embarrassments it with my stress it's with my low self-esteem it's with my self-hate it's with my despair it jesus says what emotions can i free you from all of it help me preach in here i told you i told you that i love the arts i i love the arts and in particular i love watching the artists on the stage i told you that no matter whether it was singing acting or dancing that there is always a joy for me to see the artist on the stage can i also tell you that there is a universal sign to inform the onlookers the audience about the intent or the place in which the artist has reached their end point in the show uh-huh uh it is a universal stage no universal sign no matter whether they are singing acting or dancing uh the uh the artist shows the audience that the work or the show is now over uh listen i'm telling y'all y'all i think y'all know what i'm talking about uh that there is a universal sign that lets the onlookers the audience know that the artist has completed their work uh listen whether the artist has sang dance or acted uh when the artist has finished their work uh the artist simply bows their head can i pause for a minute before my time is up to let you know that jesus did not just give verbal cues to let us know that it is finished but in the sixth movement of jesus's words from the cross after he let us know with his words that it is finished jesus took a moment to offer a non-verbal cue jesus did not wave his hands to let you know it was finished jesus did not walk or get off the cross to let us know it is finished but jesus took on the same non-verbal cue of every artist in the world the scripture says after he said it is finished jesus bowed his head it's important for us to understand that when jesus bowed his head he was letting us know that when people came to try to close your it out when people came to try to disqualify your it that nobody could add to it and nobody could take away it because jesus had already shown us that the show was now over and can i tell you why you ought to celebrate the fact that jesus said it is finished it's because he before he left the stage he bowed his head and since he bowed his head i don't have to hang my head is there anybody that's grateful that when i mess up i don't have to hang my head because jesus said all of it and then bowed his head so when you get tired don't hang your head because jesus bowed his head when they talk about you don't hang your head because jesus bowed his head when you get rougher when it gets tough you ain't gonna hang your head because jesus jesus bowed his head and when jesus bowed his head he said it is finished which of my it's all of it listen people of god i wish that you would type that in in the chat if you've got the capacity to be able to do it just type in all of it he handled every last situation every circumstance all of it listen people of god we are nearing to a close but i want to make sure that we get an opportunity to be able to introduce my friend and my brother who absolutely needs no introduction but precious hearts we do know him as a visionary we do know him as a civil rights activist a community organizer people of god dr jamal harrison bryant combines sound biblical teaching business acumen and political insight to propel the body of christ to action and greater levels of faith i can honestly say that not only is he one of the most powerful voices on planet earth but i can honestly say he is my brother the next voice that you're going to hear is that in none other than dr jamal harrison brian [Music] thank you for what you did on calvary jesus we celebrate you thank you for doing it just for me [Music] grace come on say it [Music] [Music] then you proved it on calvary with the blood saying that you dripped to catch me when i slipped [Music] just for me [Music] it was nothing but god's mercy you created to cover [Music] [Music] all over the building's heads yes [Music] come on somebody raise the chance for me when you hung on the tree that every person under the sound of my voice began to just lift your hands and begin to lift your worship thinking about him dying on the cross and him chatting the blood up he did it with you he did it for you he did it for you he did it for you she's so sad [Music] you see i love you too much [Music] [Music] so [Music] of god [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] anybody knows [Music] [Applause] can everybody just lift your hands and just say just for me just for me say a church just for me i'm so glad you did for me just for [Music] just for me just for me just for me everybody's saying just for me [Music] just [Music] [Music] glory and praise thanksgiving i need you once more again would you help me salute and celebrate the word network for giving us this opportunity to lift the name of jesus i want you to clap for all of our preachers for tonight come on give god praise for them [Music] one of the safeguards of the preaching tradition is here and i want to just honor and thank god for dr teresa fry brown thank you so very much i'm honored to have you with us on this day luke chapter 23. verse number 46 jesus called out with a loud voice father into your hands i commit my spirit when he said this he breathed his last i want to preach for a little while tonight using as a subject don't waste your breath don't waste your breath one of my preaching partners for tonight and my teaching partner in real life dr john fazon felt compelled in the middle of the pandemic to write an op-ed for the tennessean entitled a letter to white people black americans are exhausted he opened by testifying through his typing when he said as a black man in america today i feel the multiple weights that are pressing upon every part of who i am i am exhausted ria cartwright a vogue magazine picked up john faison's baton and splattered on the pages read by suburban white women in a world of polarized and divisive rhetoric has become the norm [Music] i typically be hesitant to make such a sweeping generalization yet i say with full conviction on behalf of the black community we are exhausted for centuries the darkened children of the diaspora have been raped both metaphorically and literally in systems that were constructed solely to keep us oppressed suppressed and repressed yet in spite of the sit-ins the protests the marches the rallies the riots and even the wars that allegedly were aimed towards equality it took the live lynching of george floyd yet our nerves are wrecked this week because in spite of everybody seeing it there is no assurance of a guilty verdict and to be honest it's exhausting we delivered america yet again in this past election only to be slapped in the face by 43 states who are trying to suppress our votes coca-cola which black people have been drinking at every family reunion every funeral repairs and every church picnic has turned its back on us because the republicans gave them a 100 million dollar tax abatement in the middle of a pandemic and it's exhausting this week evangelical churches spoke loudly about satanic tennis shoes but have said nothing about gun reform [Music] if not said it worried about the capital being invaded [Music] have not yet apologized for touting that donald trump was god's man and it's exhausting i'm preaching to you tonight from your couch your living room sitting up in your bed some of you pulled over in a parking lot watching me from your phone doing your best to catch your breath and it has become exhausting trying to respond to every text answer every email balance your budget do your job raise your child intentional to try to eat right exercise when you have time watch your mouth manage your temper trying to remember to pray before you go to sleep fighting off demons holding together your marriage being a supportive friend concerned about aging parents trying to remember to take your medication trying to get a business off the ground [Music] finish reading the book you started last summer checking up your social media [Music] paying your bills squeezing in self-care trying to meditate running to the market it's exhausting and the truth of the matter is that's where you are completely exhausted tired but can't go to sleep hungry but have no appetite lonely but don't want to be bothered you're exhausted you're an extrovert with introvert tendencies you're exhausted i was walking past exodus 6 when god told moses tell the people that they would be free and moses was met with skepticism in exodus 6 verse number 9 moses spoke thus to the children of israel but the bible records in the original translation they didn't listen to moses because of their kotzer ruach because of their culture ruok and their hard labor the culture ruach can be translated as shortness of breath where ruach describes the physical action of breathing if you can imagine this dates they were too winded to get the good news they were so drained they couldn't even hear they were about to be free i wonder after hearing these six words how it is that you have not sp responded in a more colorful way after you were told all of it after you were told that you are in the theme after it is that you were told that god's trying to make it up to you after you finally figured out it's not where the money resides after you've reached the conclusion that in spite of all of that i still can't shout i i have resigned myself to pressing hearts resigned myself to listening but not responding i resigned myself because i have adjusted to worshiping at home audible participation is no longer necessary i'm just drained i can't help but to check the breathing record of yahweh the first instance that i can find him breathing is in genesis chapter 2 when it is that he creates man in his image and likeness and the bible says according to the james weldon johnson translation of the creation and he breathed into him the breath of life many of you are exhausted because you keep breathing trying to make somebody a man you keep breathing trying to make them love you right you keep breathing trying to make them honor you make them respect you make them recognize your gift you keep waving your hands here i am and they pick over you knowing you're qualified knowing you're competent it is exhausting having to audition for a role you were born to play it is exhausting having to play second fiddle for somebody who can't remember their lines it's exhausting trying to keep a relationship together with somebody who has emotionally checked out it is exhausting checking on people who are emotionally unavailable it is exhausting having to always be the bigger person when you're surrounded by dwarfs it is exhausting having to forgive people who are not sorry it is exhausting trying to feign deafness when you heard what they said it is exhausting trying to act like you don't remember what they willingly did to break you and here god is breathing into man so that he could live and i'm trying to figure out before i get to luke 23 where did god lose his breath did he lose his breath when he told him you don't need a king but they begged for one anyway he said because this is what you asked for i'll give it to you when did god lose his breath when he summons moses to the mountainside and while moses was in consecration they make up in their mind as typical negroes that will worship god through gold even though gold can't heal cold can't deliver and gold can't set free when did he lose his breath when they became ungrateful that he brought them out of oppression and now they've got convenient amnesia and feel like they've got where they are because they graduated from hbcu because they play as a fraternity or sorority because they now drive a german car because they've got a rolex on their wrist when did god lose his breath they begin to doubt his ability when they begin to question his omnipresence when did god lose his breath when they second guessed his authenticity maybe god began to lose his breath when they begin to abuse his mercy i don't know when it is that he lost his breath until i stumbled upon luke 23 when they hoisted him up on that cross and he looked around and he's not dr bree looking at his mama he's not um facing looking at the centurion he's looking at that august body and he sees who's not there when he's on that cross he notices that bartimaeus hasn't shown up [Music] he notices that um that little boy who had um the fish sandwich is nowhere to be or found was on that cross when he saw that woman who had been hunched over for all those years never showed up at the defining moment of his life nobody has put out a warrant where is the bride and groom whose wedding he saved they never showed up when you go through the crucible of your life the words of dr charles edward booth when you're between the devil and the deep blue sea you remember who wasn't there you remember who didn't call who didn't check on you he says in this moment i am exhausted i'm talking to somebody tonight who's so exhausted you don't have strength to cry talking to somebody who's so exhausted [Music] but you don't even have the energy to fight back you're so exhausted that you won't even give them a piece of your mind you're so exhausted that you allow people to use you when you know what they're up to so exhausted you loan people money who you know won't pay you back jesus is so exhausted because why should i have to work when i just said it's finished if you ever got to a place where you thought you did everything you were supposed to do and then there's more for you to do you ever thought that that was the end and now when another assignment is plopped on your desk he said it's finished but it's incomplete got to forgive me i am i'm grateful for um all of these scholars who have preached on tonight all of them have proven themselves in the academy i'm the least of these i'm the only one of them who's got a ged only one of them who has had to repeat a grade all of them are honorable stella magna laude students and unlike them i i don't know what a's look like i know what eyes look like you get an eye it means it's incomplete and you got more time to make up the work that should have been done in the regular semester he said it's been finished but in that moment god gives him an eye is incomplete because he's just talking about what he could do but in that moment he realized i got more work to do i have got to put it in his hands i put it in his hands why because it's my last breath it's my last breath and i'm made up in my mind i can't do this on my own i need the ruach of god i need the breath of god because i can't do this anymore i feel like i'm talking to 300 of you who've got to a place where god told me to tell you he signed your permission slip to resign he gives you the authority to quit i can't do it but he can i put it in his hands and they that wait upon the lord they shall renew their strength they shall mount up on wings as eagles run and not get weary walk and not find they asked of samson what i ask of you tonight what makes you so strong they got no idea i'm talking to 50 of you and three in the studio that you're gonna make it why because you just got a second win that you able to tell the enemy though he slay me yet will i trust him i i will stay on the battlefield until i die and i wish i wish like dominique i could quote neighbor wish like dates i could um quote kierkegaard i wish like faizon i could recall howard thurman but i can't bring any of those to mine all i can think of is jennifer holliday and i am telling you i'm not going you're the best thing i've ever known god i can't find nobody in here hallelujah i don't know how you feel about it but i came to tell you i'm staying i'm i'm staying if there anybody asks you what's the matter with me tell them i'm saved i'm i'm sanctified and i'm running for my life i'm waiting for you to get the moment of realization i just got a second win that even though that was my last breath he's still breathing in me and if you got any breath left in you come here david let everything that has breath praise the lord if you can't breathe you ain't got to shout but if you still got breath left i dare you to open up your mouth now and cry out under god lord of weak i'm one but through it all i still trust you through it all i still depend on you do it all i shall not die but i shall live and your charge your charge tonight is to breathe again [Music] that's all i'm asking you to do i'm trying not to cry i gotta breathe again they left me for dead but i am i gotta breathe again and so from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same i will bless the lord at all time we don't shout it tonight we don't dance tonight i'm asking you will you just breathe tonight i want you to lift up that hand and open up your mouth and just for 30 seconds i want you to worship him here's your shout you are the air i breathe [Music] in him i live in him i move in him i have my very being i see you lifting up your hand but breathing i need you to open up your mouth and cry out under god like you getting your breath back i i can't hear nobody would you just open up your mouth and just begin to cry from your dire prayer i need you to yeah and the kind like you getting your breath back you only got 10 seconds left come on let me hear the worshipers how much she cannot come on open up your mouth i dare you to lift up your hands i dare you to open up your mouth i tell you to cry out unto him that's your commandment i need you to breathe tonight you shall not die you shall not die shall not die come on if i can heal somebody i need you to cry out allow god i said you shall not die but you shall live all you got to do is breathe all you got to do is breathe all you got to do is breathe greater is he that is in me that he that is in the world all i got to do is breathe [Music] wherever you are in this moment up that hand as high as you can see yourself i am speaking to your inner you i'm speaking to the exhausted you i'm speaking to the burnt out you i'm speaking to the weary you breathe your last breath waiting on other people breathe your last breath waiting to be loved right breathe your last breath anticipating affection that may not arrive don't waste your breath on people who don't care if you live god i just said something i said don't waste your breath on people who don't care whether you live or die i speak of every lifted hand that tonight god gives you your second win that tonight god is applying cpr christ's peace and righteousness he's checking your vital signs because you are not waving the white flag you are lifting up the cross i speak over you that while you rest tonight you are going to engage in uninterrupted rest i speak of every lifted hand that you are getting ready to have a sabbath that you deserve i speak over your life that the worst is behind and the best is yet to come and those of you who are grateful that god will give you a second win will you give god a shout of thanksgiving right now give him come on i say give him a shout of thanksgiving right now i would be derelict of responsibility you have heard seven deposits seven impartations seven installations of the word of god there is no way that you sat through that and can go back to living the same life if you can hear my voice and you have never given your life over to god on this friday night i want you to do it if you've never professed him as the lord of your life this is your personal invitation can you imagine this can you circle your mind around the fact that 2021 years ago he died with you in mind he knew you were gonna be at this place he knew that you were gonna be fatigued and yet he made that ultimate sacrifice the prompts are on the screen even now i'm going to challenge you to get saved i want jesus to be your lord you got seven people who preached tonight who would love to be your pastor seven churches that were represented love to have you in their fellowship but i'm telling you to us most importantly is not where you go to church but where you will go in eternity i want you to make sure that heaven is your home listen to me it's going to be an amazing weekend tomorrow morning at 8 am i want you to meet me on this campus we're going to walk together so that we are operating in our optimum capacity those of you here it is those of you who are dealing with food insecurity meet us on the campus at 10 o'clock we've got groceries for 5 000 families if you're anywhere within driving distance of atlanta meet us on this campus 10 o'clock tomorrow morning those of you who have the opulence of god in decadence that you got more than what you can handle i want you to bag it up tonight bring it tomorrow good will is going to be here on our campus and we want to be a blessing to others sunday morning i want to give you an invitation to celebrate our resurrected lord right here on our campus because he lives we can face tomorrow because he lives all of our fears are gone if you've not sown the seed i want you to do it now the giving prompts are available to you i'm challenge you to give a seed of 40 if you can't reach 40 give the best that you possibly can new birth is grateful to partner with the word network on tonight i'm gonna leave you in our custom studio sanctuary lift up that hand repeat after me please those of you who are around the world watching us from london thank you for staying up in nigeria i appreciate you adjusting your clock those on the west coast thank you for hanging out with us those down the street your pastor loves you i'm praying for you as we leave this place but never from god's presence repeat after me walk with god and he'll walk with me talk with god and he'll talk with me listen to god and he'll listen to me build for god and he'll build for me love god because he first loved me lift up that hand as high as you see yourself going i want to speak benediction over your life now unto him who is absolutely able to do anything but fail may god make you sleepless until you help somebody may god make you restless until you help yourself may god irritate you until you have enough sense to worship him and may god bless you until you have to give stuff away henceforth now and forevermore the blessed people of god said amen god bless you have a great night in the lord please remember that he is alive and because he's alive don't waste your breath god bless you from new birth and the word network [Music] just breathe you

Channel: New Birth Mbc

Views: 47,102

Rating: 4.7738094 out of 5

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Id: 7K3JolYcD4E

Length: 179min 25sec (10765 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 02 2021