Starting Over Part 1 | The Power of Reflection - Touré Roberts

hey family i'm pastor torre i'm pastor sarah and listen you're getting ready to hear an incredible word for the lord i believe it's going to bless you i believe it's going to be timely do me a favor share the message if it moves you share the message and then also you have an opportunity to be a part of not only helping to spread this message but to be a part of our outreaches we're doing a lot of practical things to be a blessing to someone so feel free if god so moves you to use the information here in the video to support what we're doing we're being a blessing not just people spiritually we're being a blessing to people practically we love you get into this message and change your life hallelujah god i'm so grateful that your word is good you don't mince words there's there's nothing in between you say what you mean you mean what you say and you're not a man that you should lie and you're not the son of man that you should repent when you speak it it's good and so we thank you for your word and we're going to get into it right now and and i just want to greet you in the name of the lord jesus once again and and just say again happy new year this is incredible this is our first sunday in the new year and and you're doing the right thing i'm telling you you're getting into the presence of god and you're you're seeking out his word it's going to be a lap until your feet a light into your path this is the best way to kick off the year and i'm so excited to begin this new series called starting over and we're going to unpack a lot of things i'm excited about today's installment of the word i believe it's going to bless you get your pen get your paper ready if you love somebody you need to text them and let them know it's going down right now and they need to experience this word because i believe it's going to be rich and powerful and i want to get right into it i want to draw your attention to haggai chapter 2 and verse 9. we scratched the surface just a little bit on this anchor passage on our new year's eve service if you didn't see that conversation between myself and pastor sarah and it was just an amazing time if you didn't experience it it's on youtube you can find it uh right here on the channel right here on the feed if you're listening via podcast then then you know it will be there as well but again you want to experience that word because i believe that it sets up uh this year and i'm just so excited and we made it hallelujah do me a favor just put it right there in the feed if you're thankful to god that you made it just say i made it thank you god just give him a little bit of praise this morning a little bit of honor a little bit of glory just come on just say i made it i made it i made it i made it thank god i've made it hallelujah and i still believe that the best is yet to come in fact that's always true because it says that we go from glory to glory hallelujah and speaking of glory to glory haggai 2 and 9 and it reads like this the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former says the lord of hosts who cannot lie he says and then and in this place i will give peace says the lord of hosts let's pray almighty god we thank you so much for your word it is truth it is enlightening it builds us up it edifies us it it shows us the way and we're so grateful and father i'm thankful for your sons and daughters who have gathered around the table that you have prepared today hallelujah and you're going to feed us all to the full you're going to bless us you're going to enlighten us you're going to encourage us you're going to give us clarity where there was cloudiness clarity where there was confusion hallelujah and we're going to be better because of this time we spent here in your courts and in your presence we love you we bless you we thank you in the mighty name of jesus we pray amen hallelujah amen amen this this series is called starting over and i believe that we are in a time of rebuilding if you tuned into our new year's eve service i talked about how i believe that this pandemic was similar to a play in having the curtains close for a season you know when you go into intermission so that the stage could be rearranged and i believe that this next act will exceedingly excel the former and the worst thing that you and i can do in this season is to wait around for normal to return because here's the thing we are actually what we are calling normal no matter how good it was is the former that's why paul said forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead so the best is not behind you the best is always in front of you look at what it says hang out 2 and 9 again the glory of this ladder temple shall be greater than the former that's powerful so that means that the reason why i cannot be waiting for normal to return watch this is because now the former normal is lesser now the latter shall be greater than the former the former is lesser but the challenge is we can't see it yet because the latter that's coming hasn't fully come it hasn't been developed i want to draw your attention to another passage of scripture that is that correlates well it's actually at the same time haggai is prophesying during the time of the rebuilding of the temple and the book of ezra speaks about that process and there is an interesting bit of revelation that i want to show you i'm going to read a little bit and you can track with me it says then all the people shouted with the great shout when they praised the lord because the foundation of the house of the lord was laid but many of the priests and levites and head of the father's houses old men who had seen watch this who had seen the first temple wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes so so watch this and i'm going to keep reading just a second but watch this so so they are rebuilding the temple because the former had been destroyed and and they're there and and the people started praising god and shouting but there were some in the camp who were weeping because they were still thinking about the first temple it says old men who had seen the first temple wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple this new temple was laid before their eyes so so they were having they were seeing two things they were seeing the past or the former and what was and they were also seeing what was to come but it was in the beginning of what was to come and so oftentimes we struggle with with letting go of of the idea of normal based on the former because the fullness of what is to come has not yet been revealed but let's keep reading because there's something interesting and i'm going to show you a discipline that we must have in order to move forward properly in this new season and lay hold of everything that god has called us to do so it says now so so the old men wept we see that with the loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes yet many shouted allowed for joy so you've got these two things happening you've got the weeping for the former and the the shouting allowed for joy of that which was on its way it says now it gets interesting it says so these two things are happening so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people for the people shouted with a loud shout and the sound was heard afar off what does this mean this means that we are going to have to navigate watch this we're going to have to navigate the mourning of the former and the merriment toward the future you got to catch what i just said we are going to have to learn how to navigate the fact that we're sad about some things that we lost and there's some things that used to be normal to us that we had grown accustomed to and we're gonna have to learn how to navigate the morning over those things with the merriment and the the mirth the excitement the joy about what is to come and and and and the interesting thing is not only are we going to have to navigate that outside of us but we're going to have to navigate that inside of us we're going to have to navigate navigate that dichotomy in the world and also in the world of our own lives are you tracking with me because it's going to be noisy in this rebuilding season it's going to be noisy both inside and outside but when we learn to manage that conflict well we're going to succeed i feel like preaching i want to help you to understand that so you're going to be sad at times but you got to learn how to be sad and glad you can't be overcome so overcome with sadness about the former that you don't celebrate with gladness that the god who cannot lie and who cannot fail whose word is true is gonna bring the latter glory to pass if you receive that put it in there right now just put i receive the latter glory yes i might have to cry yes things may take a while for them to be rebuilt again but i just believe by faith that my ladder is going to be so much greater than my former and since i believe it i'm not going to be overcome with darkness i'm going to praise god for the light that's on the way if that's your word so that's me pt i'm going to bless him at all times i'm going to thank him at all times yes it's difficult but i believe that i'm going from glory to glory the best is yet to i feel god on that [Music] i feel the lord but we've got much ground to cover it's going to be noisy but we're going to have to manage that inner conflict because it's going to be a part of you that wants what was and and that's that's normal that is natural i'm not i'm not you know i'm not mad at you for that i'm not condemning you or judging you for that i'm just saying that you can't be overtaken by that you've got to be like the people you got because there's going to be those two sounds there's going to be the two sounds outside of you and some people around you are not going to be able to handle your optimism they're not going to be able to support your optimism so from the inside out you are going to have to manage those two realities are you tracking with me if you're tracking with me put it right there in the comments i'm tracking with you pt i'm tracking i'm tracking with you pt and so as it relates to this rebuilding we are called you and i the church the body of believers god's children everywhere we're called to create and establish this greater normal this new normal the latter in fact if you will hear me clearly we are in the formative stage of what we will one day call normal in other words we're not waiting for normal normal is happening and god has called you and i to create it to build it we're not waiting for it we're building it right now like we talked about a couple of weeks ago go through the gates prepare the way for the people remember that build up clear out the highway normal is not back there normal is upon us and we must seize watch this this opportunity to set the stage this is not the time to be timid nor the time to procrastinate this is our moment there are spots to be filled there is a place for you in this rebuilding that god is doing and more specifically hear me we're charged with the task of discovering and playing our role in the rearranging of the stage that god is setting i'm giving you a new job right now you're a set designer you're a set builder this is your new job but before i tell you how to start this process of starting over and how to start this process of building the new and the better normal i need us to be clear on what it is we're building you say what are we building pt i'm gonna tell you straight out we are building temples we're building temples write that down we're building temples temples yes temples we're building gods and ours we're building temples we're temple builders so let's talk about that god's and ours what is god's temple god's temple is his kingdom his kingdom is not a physical location it is bigger than that we have physical locations we do things in the physical but his kingdom is so much bigger it is his reign and his rule it is his love it is his power it is his peace it is what he is perpetually increasing and consistently and constantly increasing in the earth until the whole world is filled with the knowledge and the glory of the lord and we are temple builders we are kingdom builders we are building god's temple and we also are building ours god's temple is his kingdom our temple is our life it's our lives and both both both must be built and it will happen simultaneously and automatically if our priorities are intact can i teach you today see that's what the word means in matthew 6 33 when it says seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you did you know that everything that you need is in god's house it's in god's kingdom it's in god's temple and he knows that and he is developing us in the discipline of prioritization god if i put your temple first if i put your kingdom first if i put your agenda first then you would take care of my my little agenda you'll take care of my little life i believe that god hear me is building a leaner and more effective and impactful church i feel the lord let me say it again i believe that god is building a leaner and more effective and and impactful church and i also believe that god is building a leaner and more aligned you oh god two temples his temple his church his body his kingdom leaner more effective and more impactful but he's also building a leaner and more aligned you and here is the thing the more evolved the more aligned and the more whole your temple the better you reflect his glory did you catch it it is a two for one when i grow my expression of god grows when i become more like jesus the world gets better when i evolve and begin to take on his form and his likeness i begin to build bridges from god to man incredible bridges that meet every single need in the world gets better so god wants us to be temple builders building two temples his temple and our temple are you attracted to me even scripturally the temple oftentimes is referred or our bodies rather are referred to as the temple are you tracking with me and when one grows the other grows when i get better i reflect god's better i reflect the lord better and these two happenings are inextricably connected are you track it with me let's look at haggai again i want to unpack some things can i teach today right will you let me just not not shout or whatever but just just teach you i promise it'll make sense to you so in haggai one of the things i love about haggai it says and the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former says the lord of hosts watch this and then he says and in this place i will give peace says the lord of hosts in this place i love that in this place i will get faith now here's what's important it's important to recognize that god is rebuilding in the same spot if if we take it back to the temple for context he is not the temple has been destroyed but god has not chosen somewhere else to rebuild he's building in the same spot which means that watch this and this is important for you god hasn't given up on his original intention the idea was good it's just that what it had become didn't look quite like the idea i feel that that's a word for you god hasn't given up on you i don't care how much loss you care i care about you but what i'm saying is he hasn't given up on you in the same spot and in the same life god's going to build this new thing for you are you tracking with me the idea was good it's just that what it had become didn't look quite like god's plan you know the word says that before i formed you in your mother's womb i knew you got in essence is saying before you got here i saw you and and life becomes the place of shaping life becomes the potter's wheel and if you think about clay or something on the potter's wheel it is constantly perpetually and consistently being shaped and molded and sometimes there are moments in the process of that spinning where it looks like whatever is created is beginning to take form and you're like oh i'm almost done and then all of a sudden there's some sort of a shift on the axis and it gets kind of loosey again and yet god is still spinning it bringing it more to the perfect idea that he had now god's gonna build in this place in the same spot same spot new construction same body new insides same brain new vision same tools new mission are you tracking with me however there's something that we all need before we can rebuild and set the stage something that we all need we can't start without this before we run full steam ahead towards building we have to take a beat and that thing that we need is reflection is reflection the first step in starting over and building the greater normal the latter and the better temple is reflection here's why otherwise if we don't stop to reflect before we build otherwise we run the risk of rebuilding what we built in the past remember which is now lesser you have to understand that we have more history with what was than we do with what is coming you got to catch that so so our rhythm already you have to understand when god is doing a new thing our rhythm has to be reestablished and i know we're excited oh it's a new year and oh 2021 is all new but let me tell you something you ain't wired for new yet you're still wired for the former and so until you and i stop and have a serious season of reflection we run the danger in going back to because of rhythm to building the lesser are you tracking through me put it right there put it in the comments i'm tracking with you i'm tracking with you yeah we got more history see see we have to first before we move forward we have to first seek to figure out what was unprofitable about the old season or what needs to improve we need reflection put it in the feed right there i need reflection i need reflection because reflection is the doorway to perspective and perspective going forward is a must-have perspective is a non-negotiable and the only way that you and i can get to a clear perspective is through reflection and i want to give you your own personal reflection exercise that i want you to employ between now and next week when we're together and we continue in this series these are eight reflection questions that you need to ask yourself are you ready you got your pen write these questions down what did i learn what did i learn in the last season sometimes we are constantly learning but never applying what we learned i feel that that's the difference between wisdom and understanding wisdom is learning understanding is applying what you learn so that you can experience the fruit of what the last season taught you what did i learn that's the first question for your reflection exercise the second thing is what did i gain hallelujah let me tell you something as much loss there was in 2020 baby we gained some things we gained endurance we gained faith we gained perspective we learned some things in 2020. we didn't come out of 2020 empty sometimes what you gain was intangible but you and i need to figure out what am i bringing into 2021 that i did not have in 2020 because i'm telling you we are better now even though we've been broken by so many things what did i gain what did i learn first what did i gain what did i lose let's be real what did i lose and really unpack what you lost because one of the things that i'm learning is watch this some things i lost so that i can gain i wish you checked that see what i've learned about life is that we only have a certain amount of spots for things in our lives and sometimes when god wants to bring you better he removes lesser and we're like oh my god i'm going to die i didn't know i could make it without this i didn't know i could oh my god i got another next year you know god upgrades you sometimes god has to to to cause you to lose in order to win are you tracking with me what did i learn what did i gain what did i lose here's a here's an interesting one what did i love and did it love me back no we're going to dig in and really begin to reflect what did i set my heart upon and was it a worthy investment we're going deep what did i learn what did i gain what did i lose what did i love and did it love me back watch this here's another one this is important where did i find value and was it healthy where did i find value where did my value come from did it come from likes or comments or views or followers or attention from those that were attracted to you where where where come on we're going to dig deep where did i find value and let's be real when did i feel alive and was it healthy or was it not healthy what did i learn what did i gain what did i lose what did i love and did it love me back where did i find value and was it healthy watch this what were my priorities and were they profitable uh-huh i didn't come to play because we're gonna get this thing right yeah these are the questions i'm learning that reflection they're more in just a second but i'm learning that reflection has to do with the hard questions that you're willing to ask yourself what were my priorities and were they profitable what did i put first did i put others first or did i put me first what what did i i give the majority of my time and my attention to and that it profit me or simply distract me confuse me we've got to answer these questions what did i learn what did i gain what did i lose what did i love and didn't love me back whether i find value was it healthy what were my priorities and were they profitable here's the biggest question you gotta ask who am i now you're not the same person that you were on january 3rd 2019. you're somebody different and this was the point the ladder is going to be so much greater than the former you're not that same person and you have to dig into the presence of god and dig into yourself and dig into the wisdom of god and look in the mirror and ask yourself who am i now hallelujah what did i learn what did i gain what did i lose what did i love and did it love me back what did i find value was it healthy what were my priorities and were they profitable who am i now and last but not least and we're going to dig further into this next week but what do i need to do daily to maintain that new identity and live out that destiny oh you got some homework ahead of you but god gave me this and i believe that as you ask these questions and analyze the answers i believe that god is going to reveal to you his strategy for building his temple and your own as you dig into this it's about reflection you know i had i've got so much to tell you about vision and and connection and all these things we're going to talk about in the coming weeks but god said hold up it's not the time to run out there there will be a trumpet there will be a starter pistol coming soon and when that starter pistol goes off carpe diem seize the day it's coming yes yes yes yes yes it's coming but i don't want you to run fast in the wrong direction running fast is only an asset it's only valuable when you're running towards the goal when you're running towards the mark because you can run fast and go nowhere and this is too critical of time it's a time for rebuilding and as i mentioned before you are a part of the crew that's resetting the stage that god is building and he's getting ready to reveal and as you do this as you as you ask yourself these questions as you dig deep as you sit with god as you sit with god he's going to rebuild these things to you yeah no no i was speaking as some of you i was even tempted on the first of january to just run out there and and god says hold up swell up he didn't say that he said take a minute son rest get in my presence seek my face you have never been this way before oh believe me you you will have plenty of time and opportunity to run forward and to run ahead but but you need to reflect and this is a deep reflection and it takes time but i believe that if you will do the work that i've laid out here with the understanding this is a message you got to listen to over and over and over again i'm not trying to shout you up right now i'm trying to bring you to an elevated place because you are part of god's plan he is rebuilding you and he's going to use you to rebuild his temple and we're going to continue next week and we're going to get even more practical and it's going to become even more powerful and here's the beautiful thing you're going to be clearer by this time next week you're going to have so many notes and it's going to be so much insight and so much understanding that comes to you and and and this new version of you is going to begin to take form and you're going to learn that new rhythm and you're gonna learn how to walk in and i'm gonna teach you and i'm gonna show you and i'm gonna lead you well i'm doing the same thing for myself and 2021 it's going to be a year of great victory and great triumph ta-da is still headed in your direction i want to pray for you [Music] father i thank you so much thank you god for bringing us through and god although the former things have passed away and we're still trying to wrap our arms around in our mind around what the new normal is we're grateful that you are with us and you're for us and you'll never forsake us and father i'm praying right now for all that are under the sound of my voice lord hallelujah that as they move into this time of reflection glory as they move into this time of soul-searching and seeking and seeking your face lord that you would meet them with wisdom meet them with revelation meet them with insight meet them with understanding hallelujah meet them in a deep way and then god i thank you that you're going to reveal them to them you're going to show us who we are now and then as you did with david you're going to teach our hands to fight hallelujah you're going to teach us how to move and what to do you're going to teach us where to go and what to pursue you're going to teach us what to embrace and what to refrain from embrace embracing you're gonna teach us what to love and what not to love hallelujah you're gonna teach us what to give our hearts to and and what to take our heart back from you're gonna teach us how to be great it's gonna be amazing thank you god for doing this for us your sons and daughters so that as we evolve and as we grow and as we build our temple we will be brilliant expressions and reflections of yours thank you god for doing this in jesus name [Music] now listen as some of you and you haven't been to church and in god's house and in this type of experience in a long time and i don't want to take anything for granted god is real jesus is real he is the truth and i don't i don't i'm not moved by sadly some of the poor representations of what it means to be a believer what it means to be a christian that sadly is prevalent in our world but one thing you got to remember is that a counterfeit is only profitable if there's a real thing and there is a real thing and there is a real life and there is a real journey and there is a real faith worth laying your life down to pursue there are people both great and small who have tasted and seen that the gospel which means good news of jesus is worthy of laying everything down and embracing as a parable in the scripture about a man who was shopping in a field he was he was a a merchant who amassed treasures he would seek out treasures and and he went into this one field and he found a pearl of great price and he sold everything he had and bought it it's like that imagine being loved so incredibly and so thoroughly and so entirely that all you want to do is spend the rest of your life in the presence of the author of that love it's real and anything that you would have to give up so to speak in order to walk with god god promises to multiply it 100 fold in this life and afterwards experience the great gift of eternal life so if that's you and you just maybe you stumbled across this or maybe someone invited you to this and you say i feel something special and something different and something unique and i want to open up my heart to it i want to open up my spirit to it let me tell you something god doesn't want from you he wants for you jeremiah 29-11 for i know the plans that i have for you says the lord they're good and not evil plans to prosper you and not to harm you to give you a future and a hope if that's you and you're watching and you say pastor i want to open up my heart to jesus i i want love like that i want love that that delivers me from loneliness i want love that heals my insecurity i want love that heals my mind and heals my body i want i want love that that that breaks depression off of my life i want love that that makes me excited to get out of the bed in the morning to journey to experience what might god have for me on this day if i want to be loved unconditionally if i want to not be judged by where i've been or what i've been through or what i'm struggling with but to be loved [Music] unconditionally if that's you and you say i don't want to step into this crazy year i don't want to step into this crazy time without being connected to that love and i want to open up my heart and receive that love today i just want you to write there just say i receive it just say it say i receive it to say i receive god's love put in the feed i receive god's love i receive god's love and the manifest expression of god's love is jesus [Music] john 3 16 for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son jesus is the perfect expression of the love of god and he will love you so good if that's you i receive jesus i receive jesus i receive the love of god hallelujah and i believe that as you receive see receiving is everything as you receive and as you have the capacity to receive he comes the greater watch this the greater your ability to open up and receive the greater the measure of the love that comes from god that you get to experience hallelujah and there's so much more i only scratch the surface of the life that the christ comes to secure for us keep putting it there i receive jesus i receive it put it there that's me that's me i'm not going into 2021 without jesus and if you're already connected with jesus but you've strayed away and you're coming back home just put it in the feed put it in the comments hit us up send us an email do whatever and say i'm coming home i'm coming home i'm coming home and to all of you i say welcome home you

Channel: ONE | A Potter's House Church

Views: 53,387

Rating: 4.941679 out of 5

Keywords: LA Churches, TPH, The Potters House, TPH LA, The Potters House LA, One LA, Toure Roberts, Sarah Jakes Roberts, tphla

Id: FfvP3f9JUik

Length: 41min 4sec (2464 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 03 2021