This Is Our America | Eagles Nest Church | Pastor Lee Jenkins | 10:30am

hey man want you to hook me up man because I still have hair most of my friends who are in their mid fifties like me they don't get haircuts cuz they don't have any hair yeah I'm blessed hey everybody as you can see we're not having our regular service today because I am here at blessed up barbershop in Canton Georgia now this is not just any kind of barbershops it is a black barbershop you see black barbershops are not just a place that we come to to get our hair cut it's a place that black people come to to talk about the news it's a place that we come to to vent just even a place that we come to the gossip in other words this is the place where we let our hair down and we talk about current events and we argue we talk about sports I mean whatever is going on in the world it is a safe place for us so we want to invite you into our world today especially our white brothers and sisters we want you to eavesdrop on us today and join in this experience so let me tell you what's going to happen today we are going to have some incredible worship we're going to have the word and then I'm going to do a very provocative interview with two Christian leaders one black and one white so why don't you join us today so now let's get ready for worship [Music] you decide [Music] you need sir [Music] [Music] just a new [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you he's hurt [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] I know that God is our strength I think we can all agree that no matter what our views are we all need we can all use a little more time so we want to take [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hey what's up eagle's nest and our friends wasn't that worship awesome you know there's nothing like worship especially during these trying times that we're living in right now there's a lot of conflict a lot of things going on in our world that's why worship is so important that's why we have to constantly spend time with the Lord and not get so stressed out over things but I tell you today's service I believe it will help come whatever fears you have whatever concerns you have because some the Lord is still on the throne and so I just want to welcome you to the eagle's nest online worship experience I'm passionately this is my wife Marty qey and we just want to encourage you today and we're so excited that you can join us and we're excited also about what the Lord is doing in your life and we believe that we are called to change the world so no matter how dark things are today we have been called to be salt and light to the earth and so we're excited about that no matter how things are looking believe me we are going to fulfill our assignment here on there so my wife wants to welcome some very special people and again we're excited to have you we would like to welcome those of you who are visiting with us online for the very first time thank you so much for inviting us into your home's into your living rooms on your phones we appreciate you and we'd love to connect with you so please make sure that you go on our website and fill out a connect card so that we can connect with you thank you so much for visiting also on Wednesday nights we have something called asking for a friend on Facebook live so make sure that you connect with us on Wednesday nights because it's a lot of fun all your questions will be answered from various topics yeah I'm excited Marty CO about asking for a friend we've been doing it for about four or five weeks now Wednesday night 7:00 p.m. live and we talked about different subjects last week we dealt with the subject of race who knows what we'll deal with this week it will probably be the same subject so please join us for asking for a friend well now is a time our service that we call giving back to God it is a form of worship and so I want you to welcome my good friend elder Benny Tait hello family I want to read a scripture that's found in the Old Testament and Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse number 18 I'm going to be reading from the ESV Bible English standard version and it says you shall remember the Lord your God what does God have to remind us to remember him sometimes well that's a simple question here's a simple answer it's because we're busy and sometimes we forget and sometimes God gets lost in the shuffle and so we have to reshuffle the deck and put God first why do we have to put God first look at the scripture it says it is he who gives you power to get wealth in that something the NIV says it is he that gives you the ability to get wealth so when you give today just remember that God has given you the power and ability to even be able to give so there are three convenient ways that you give today you can mail in your gift to peel box 10:48 Alpharetta Georgia three zero zero zero nine or you can text to seven seven zero four six four five nine eight nine or like most of us do you can give online at Eagle's Nest church dot org let us pray father we thank you God that you have given us the ability and the power to get wealth now god we just give back just a portion that what you've already blessed us with use this gift Lord for your good in Jesus name Amen [Music] what you have waiting for change [Music] or you have never failed me [Music] your will I will say [Music] Jesus nearly [Music] Oh [Music] wait [Music] [Music] [Music] I see you [Music] [Music] [Music] raineesha me [Music] [Music] I always finish what she started [Music] I always finish closer than home it you [Music] Oh Wow that worship was amazing and I hope you were blessed by it today I am honored I am really just super excited to have two of my good friends with me show Baraka what's up man do a little better have you been and we're gonna be hearing from him a little bit more in a few moments and then my other good buddy Darren Young strum what's up there man honor to be here good man how does it feel to be in a black barbershop I mean it feels good I'm gonna get a good faith today all right go get you a face well you all it's great to have you with us today and we're just gonna jump right into a word of Prayer and just to ask the Lord to bless our time let's pray father in the name of Jesus we come to you thanking you for who you are and Lord we know that you are in control of everything so although there may be chaos in the world today you know we know that if we trust in you not only can we have peace but you can barring priests to us so now Lord be with us today I pray that you will minister to the people who are listening give them peace give them understanding and help us to show show us rather how to love each other yes show us how to love each other during these times and Jesus name Amen amen last October you all I had a call that I couldn't get rid of I mean I was coughing and coughing and coughing and I finally went to the doctor because this thing had persisted for about two weeks I went to the doctor and the doctor said well what have you been doing about your cough I said well man I've been taking up mucinex I've been taking nyquil I've been taking robitussin I mean I've been doing all I can do and it's just not going away so the doctor did a thorough examination on me by the way this was before kovat 19 so I'm glad that didn't happen a few months ago because I would be yeah man so I had this cough and the doctor checked me out and he said Lee you were wasting your time taking all of those over-the-counter remedies he said it wasn't going to help you he said the reason it wasn't going to help you is because you have a flu virus you don't have a common cold you have a virus and those over-the-counter medications are not strong enough to deal with this virus in order to get rid of this virus you're going to need something really strong so he wrote me out a prescription I went and got the prescription filled and lo and behold three or four days later my cough stopped and the reason the cough stopped was because the medicine that I took was strong enough to kill the virus for almost 400 years ladies and gentlemen America has had a bad cough call racism the COFF has come because of this virus call racism the coughs started back in 1619 up until about 1863 the COFF was a chattel slavery and so this institution of slavery was a virus to America because people were coughing all over the place because this racism virus was was affecting so many people so much so that it led to a war the silver war America turned on themselves and killed each other because of racism because of slavery so America sought an over-the-counter remedy called the Emancipation Proclamation but unfortunately just like those over-the-counter medicines that I tried it didn't work the COFF persisted subsequently America coughed her way up through Jim Crow laws through lynching through debilitating and degrading segregation she saw another over-the-counter remedy in the 1954 Supreme Court Brown versus the Board of Education so finally segregation was outlawed another over-the-counter remedy that people thought would stop this cough and get rid of this virus but that medicine wasn't strong enough either America's cough persisted then America coughed her way up to the late 1950s and the early 1960s where she was challenged by a Baptist preacher named dr. Martin Luther King jr. he was a man of peace he was a man of love and he was certainly a man of God certainly this non-violent biblical civil rights movement would be able to get rid of this virus and get rid of this cough once and for all because now you had all of America seeing what was going on I mean water hose being sprayed on demonstrators dogs biting people a governor standing up at colleges and saying you know what segregation now segregation tomorrow segregation forever certainly America would see what is going on and their hearts would break and finally the COFF would go away but although we had sweeping civil rights legislation which was kind of like our over-the-counter drug the COFF still persisted even though it got a little bit better then america coughed her way up through the 1970s 80s and 90s and even up to the 2000s the war on drugs which was really a war on brown and black being a racialized criminal justice system racialized policing come up redlining mass and karcher incarceration predatory lending discrimination in education discrimination in housing discrimination in politics the widening wealth gap all of these made the COFF worse now that's not to say that the coffee didn't get a little bit better because it did but America was still coughing America still had this virus called racism but then finally in 2008 America finally thought she had the over-the-counter remedy you all that would get rid of the virus and get rid of the call forever 2008 the election of the first african-american president barack obama america said you know what racism is over the virus is over we will never have to deal with this again after all here's a black man occupying the highest office in the land and arguably the most powerful person in the world a black man so we have finally America thought gotten rid of this virus and you know what the COFF got worse it got worse no that's not President Obama's fault but what happened in 2008 I don't know about y'all but what I saw was racism raised his head and the ugliest way I had ever seen in my life and I saw a time where we were celebrating some people then other people were were fighting against this thing and I saw racism in an ugly way so even the over-the-counter remedy of electing America's first black president still didn't get rid of the cause of the call and it still didn't get rid of the virus so now we're sitting here in 2020 after 400 years of coughing after 400 years of being sick after 400 years of trying to find an over-the-counter remedy that can take away the COFF and we still haven't found it you see America doesn't just have a common cold like I thought I had last year America has a debilitating dangerous contagious virus call racism and the only way we can attack this virus is we have to use something strong enough to get rid of it so I believe the doctor that we need to go to is Jesus Christ you see we've looked to legislation and nothing is wrong with that and we've looked to marching nothing is wrong with that we've looked to protesting we've had a kumbaya rallies racial reconciliation reconciliation rallies all this stuff man I mean and it has helped but we're still coughing so I'm saying we have to turn to Jesus and the prescription is truth love repentance and the people who need to take the medicine the most is not necessarily the Ku Klux Klan it's not necessarily the blatant racist yeah they need to take it but you know who needs it who needs to take the medicine the most guess who you are the church the church the very institution that should be salt and light of the earth has been silent or working against this spirit of racism this evil for almost 400 years so it's time for the church to step up especially my white brothers and sisters who are followers of Christ it's time for you to lock arms with us it's time for you to step up and it's time for us to attack this thing together because we have to do it together so I want you to know today I want to talk about America in fact I have entitled this short message this is our America because you see you may not know it but there are two Americas there's a black America and there's a white America and I want to talk about the America that we live in today I want to give you our perspective I want to share with you our pain as African Americans now why is this important because our pain and our perspective has been ignored for hundreds and hundreds of years and what you're seeing right now in these demonstrations and these riots and even in the looting which I don't think is good I don't want you to think I condone that because it doesn't help but but I want you to understand that what you see now is a frustration not just over the shootings and the killings of Ahmad R burry and George Floyd and Brianna Taylor but this thing goes back decades hundreds of years and this is pent-up frustration and many african-americans because our voice has not been taken seriously so I want to talk to you today about this is our America and the Gospel of John chapter 8 verse 32 I'm gonna read from the New Living Translation many of you all have heard this verse before Jesus makes one of the most poignant and profound statements in his ministry he simply says this you will know the truth and the truth will set you free amen let me say it again you will know the truth and the truth will set you free the bottom line you will never be set free unless you know the truth and you see black people we have been in Chains and even when the chains got removed from slavery we still feel like we're in Chains but you know what the chains of racism also affect white people because you're not free either you're not free to love you're not free to be our brothers and sisters you're not free to feel our pain sometimes we're not even free to feel your pain in your frustration because this sin of racism this virus has affected all of us that's why all of us have to attack it together so if you were to go to a doctor like I did last year when I had this cough the first thing my doctor did you all is he wanted to know something about my medical history he knew he couldn't attack my current condition unless he knew something about my medical history so we can't attack this virus called racism unless we understand what got us here okay so it's very important let me make this statement and then we're going to jump into three quick points and I'm gonna let my friends talk here you cannot cure what you are not willing to confront come on you see we have tried to cure this virus call racism without confronting it head on we've been dancing around it we don't want to talk about it there even people believe if you talk about racism that makes you racist that's like saying if you talk about cancer it'll go away so we feel like if we stop talking about racism then racism will go away no whatever you don't confront you will never cure and so it's time for us to confront this evil thus in America's original sin call racism so what does America need to do now there are many things and I don't think I have all the answers in fact I just want to throw out three quick things but these are things from a biblical perspective because our doctor is Jesus Christ and so I just want to throw three things at you to think about and not only are these things what I believe are a prescription for America these are three things that are are a prescription for us these are three things we have to do you see America is no better than the people if the people are corrupt if the people don't know how to love each other then it's gonna make America sick let me give you these three things what America needs to do now number one we need to confess our sins you know I know talking about sin is not real popular it's not the way to grow a big church these days talking about sin people don't talk about sin a whole lot but in order for America to take this next step we have to confess our sin first John 1:9 it says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness oh and Lord knows we need cleansing right now we need it but first we have to see the sin and we have to confess the sin in fact we have to name the sins yes and see we've been dancing around naming the sin and this sin the name of this sin that has been plaguing us for 400 years is called racism and you see I was just thinking suppose a husband came home to his wife and they sat down at the table and he had tears in his eyes and he said sweetheart I need to confess something to you I need to get it off my chest she says what baby and he says I have sinned against you will you forgive me now let me tell you what the wife would would say at least what my wife would say okay I don't know about you all but I'll tell you what martica would say she would put her hands on her hip she said well what is the sin what did you do that's what she would say tell me about it then if I said well no you don't need to know about it I'm just gonna keep it real general I can just I just want to tell you I sinned against you that ain't gonna work in the Jenkins household and I don't think it would work in any marriage because you need to name the sin you need to be specific because only when you name the sin can you attack and confront the sin so what I'm saying is we need to stop dancing around this issue because we've been doing that for 400 years and I'm gonna say especially in the church we need to confront it so we can get rid of it now I've had a lot of my white brothers and sisters to come to me lately and they were like well Lee why should I apologize for what happened 50 years ago a hundred years ago 200 years ago 400 years ago well you may not know this but in the Bible it is very common for people to ask God to forgive them of their sins and to forgive their their ancestors of their sins because a lot of times the sins of the ancestors affect us tomorrow in terms of what we're doing today talk about it so if you want God to heal your land you have to ask for not only forgiveness now for maybe what you have done or maybe what you haven't done but even forgiveness for what happened in the past in fact I'm not going to read these but Nehemiah the book of Nehemiah chapter 9 verses 1 through 3 the book of Daniel chapter 9 verses 16 and 17 they both confessed their and the sins of their ancestors so America so my brothers and sisters who are white even my brothers and sisters who were black we have to confess our sins the sin of racism number two is we have to change our direction you see it's one thing to say you're sorry but if you keep the same behavior and you don't change anything then it's not going to get better yeah you see the purpose of a protest is to get people to change not to just be on television okay now protests have a part to play because it can bring attention to an issue it can bring awareness but the bottom line is the goal is to get people to change so you and I as followers of Christ even when we ask Christ to forgive us of our sins then we have to change and that change is called repentance that's what it's called repentance is not just expressing sorrow or guilt a repentance is about turning completely around and going in a completely new direction and that's what needs to happen when it comes to this area repentance means now we have to act differently we have to think differently we have to live differently than we did before let me give you two scriptures on that Acts chapter 3 verse 19 it says repent then and turn to God so that your sins will be wiped out that times of refreshing may come from the Lord in America that's what we need to do confess our sins and repent Ezekiel 18 30 it says therefore you Israelites I will judge each of you according to your own ways declares the sovereign Lord repent turn away from all your offences then sin will not be your downfall and the sin of racism has been our downfall because we haven't repented not only for what we have done but even for what has happened in the past lastly number three what should America do is execute righteousness and justice let me say that again execute righteousness and justice you see righteousness is our vertical relationship with God it's us loving God but justice is our horizontal relationship with people how we treat people you see both of these words go together it's not righteousness or justice it is righteousness and justice you can't say you love God and hate your fellow man you can't say you love God and you're prejudiced or are a racist it just doesn't work you can't say you love God and you discriminate you can't say you love God and you think your race is more superior than another race righteousness and justice are very important but how about this you can't be so concerned with right with justice that you don't practice righteousness you say sometimes we can get caught up and all the legislation and that's good and marching and all that but you know what we have to be accountable to God so two scriptures Psalm 33 5 it says the Lord loves righteousness and justice the earth is full of his unfailing love and then Psalm 89 14 says righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne so it is the foundation about of what God is all about then it says love and faithfulness go before you so those three things let me tell it tell you one more time we have to confess our sins change our direction and execute righteousness and justice well now it is time for a conversation I have show Baraka here it is so good to have you show you are an artist you are professor you're an author you're known around the country man of being a man of peace but being a man who challenges people in this area of racial reconciliation and racial unity and man I can't wait to hear what you have to say but let me introduce my other brother here dare and North strim youngster yeah Nora I'm thinking about are we blowing those you're like years I probably load you'd be loaded right now man yeah some reparations like that yeah yeah you got it like that uh so Derek it's great to have you man been knowing you about 20 years you were you're our lead pastor at new vintage church yes Santa Rosa California but you've been one of the major leaders at one of my favorite churches besides Eagle's Nest Robby which is a North Point Community Church yeah a stir by one of my good buddies Andy stand yep and you were leading the student ministry for many many years yeah and I believe North Point is where it is today and because of your contribution thanks so uh great to have you all right so let's jump right into it man all right so I'm gonna start with you as a black man all right all right how do they do the recent events make you feel man I mean how tell me what's going on inside of you over the last three weeks or so yeah fatigued exhausted angry and but you know because of who I am and because of my relationship with God the one thing that I must understand is that I come from a long legacy of believers who the theology is rooted in resilience and hope and so though I'm exhausted though I'm tired when I look at the lineage of the folks like the Harriet Tubman's the Jurina leaves the Richard Allen's the Tom Skinner's the mo Kay's as you mentioned these are folks whose theology was informed with this idea that we are art art our gospel is rooted in righteousness but in justice all right and so we don't have the luxury not to to fight injustice is like our Jesus is a Lord who flips over tables right he corrects our sins but he also points out the wickedness in the crowd and so in institutions and so as I'm fatigued as I'm tired as I'm angry I'm also realizing that I'm equipped with the proper resources to to bring resolution to the issue I'm saying and so I think the Lord for the spirit that gives me endurance to continue this race one of my favorite quotes is from Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass says I pray for twenty years and found no freedom until I began to pray with my feet and I think that is the antithesis of our that is the epitome of I think I have to say black faith in America is that we pray but we pray with action and we trust the Lord that he gives us the endurance - in our fatigue and in our anxiety and in our frustration and in our anger that that is a fuel that leads to some sort of change so it's okay to be an angry black man that's necessary it's necessary to bring angry I think the Lord uses that that anger for for his righteous purposes if you're not angry when you see a cop kneeling on the neck of an armed man then there's something wrong with you so you need an adjustment absolutely you know I mean and so their problem is some of us need to be more angry we either have some more angry black man and break black women and angry white brothers in a new white sisters right because the gospel gives us compassion for people and if you see people harmed and that doesn't ignite something in you because you see the image of God being molested you see the image of God being and then there must be an adjustment in theology and I would like to say that I do think and I'll probably talk about this later or how our theology needs to be adjusted mm-hmm wow man that's good stuff man all right so Darren um as a white guy how has this made you feel especially over the last three or four weeks man how have you been processing this so I have to follow that yeah you got to follow that all right you got the first edge up though ya know so when I think about how I've been feeling I think what I've been feeling is responsible like I don't feel as you know tired that's what most of my black friends have been telling me I'm tired I'm exhausted I'm worn out I'm sick of this and for me I feel responsible like and I feel tactical hmm like those are the two words I think of when it's like I have something that I can do I have a small platform and I'm not sure exactly how to use it I think a lot of white people are scared of saying the wrong thing because they're afraid of being the next person who says it the wrong way and then their reputation is ruined or whatever but I think we can't be too afraid of that so I'm trying to be responsible like ask questions learn and figure out the right way to do something take action so I'm making small videos with friends to send out to students I'm texting my friends telling them I know the progress is too slow but I'm with you and I'm for you and so I feel like there's a responsibility of white people to get in the fight and I told a friend of mine the other day he's younger than me he's like 28 I said well I was a teenager during the Rodney King riots and he said you were a teenager cheering that I said shut up but he said I was he was he was too I said I remember that a lot of white people were just saying get over it get past it this is ridiculous this is unneeded and in my circle that's not what white people are staying right now yeah a lot of white people are saying tell me what to do I'm in it's taken too long but I think there's a different feeling and so I'm feeling some hope yeah to that the white brothers and sisters out there will go okay yeah no more excuses it's good so Darren you just hit on a really important point people ask me how do I feel I feel the same way Schofield's know oh my god every kind of emotion imaginable but I guess my top three would be tired frustrated angry but within all of that check this out hopeful absolutely now how could I be hopeful in this situation and I'm not gonna spiritualize it and say I'm hopeful because of my faith in God that's obvious but you know why I'm hopeful you guys because the first time in my life I have seen white people protesting come on speaking out and locking arms with us so Darren I'm gonna start with you to him go go back to you man what has happened I mean why are we seeing more more white people which I certainly appreciate thank you thank you thank you today why are we seeing more white people engage right now so this is my take and I don't represent all white people of course and that's one of the frustrations that you know you think because you say something you represent your entire race on both sides but and hold and I don't represent all right yeah okay Drive at this show exactly and so but what I think has happened is the progress in racism is so painfully slow you oh it's almost imperceptible you almost can't see it but I think it's been slowly happening because of people like you and people like you who are educating who are taking a stance who are educating well you've been educating for years now long time teaching the history and white people then coming to those things and they've been sharing it on Facebook and they've been sharing it I mean social media has spread the education as well and so when this this murder took place on his neck I think the response you're seeing is it's more progress than we thought had happened had happened yeah in some circles mhm and therefore white people are going wait a second those white people who are who are in the want progress are going enoughenough yeah like yeah we agree and we've been in the shadows too long and we we need to repent of being in the shadows yeah and we need to admit our sin of being in the shadows and my sin of not saying things before my said I'm not using my platform my sin of just quietly trying to help my friends instead of publicly being willing to to stand and so I think that's part of what's happened I can't answer exactly but you know it's amazing because I'm so appreciative of people like you and others that I don't know who are stepping out and speaking out but there's a little part of me that says well it's about time yes about time I mean we've been crying out for a long time but I'll take it no take it man is it's happening so what do you think is going on I think if I could be candid I think white people are recognizing that racism is a white problem it's not a black problem and so it's a disease that white people must deal with and for so long it's been it's been palmed onto black people to figure out how do you deal with the race problem and it's like is I'm not the one who's sick disease walking around it's like you need to figure out how to deal with it why do you feel like you are a more superior person because of these ideas the other thing I think is when we think about technology one of the reasons why this civil rights movement was so successful was because of television right when you get to see police officers using hoses on dogs I mean using dogs and hoses on people when you see the images of the police officers sick and dogs on folks that informs the world and I think technology has informed us and what and on things that have always been there my uncle was choked to death by police officer for trying to use a fake check a fraudulent check very similar to yeah you know Georgia law right this happened in the 90s the early 90s and this was national news but you know there was no protest and this was doing the same time when Arizona was not celebrating Martin Luther King birthday and so these things have been going on forever I was little younger when I was around the same age when Rodney King verdict and all these things I think also what's happening not only is the world being exposed to what has always been prevalent I think there's a credit to not only just to white people but I think black people are understanding that racism is just not a thing that happens in a one-on-one interaction Wow when we understand and you did a masterful job of walking us from 1619 to today and theologically this is why I think we need a reset if we believe that people are created an image of God and that image was flawed at some point in time so that means our relationship with God was tainted our relationship with one another is tainted well that also means that things I create is broken and tainted and so what happens is when we talk about Redemption our theology is not just a redemption of Oh Lord forgive me and I'm cool as long as I have my quiet times and I read my Bibles in my quiet corners I listen to Hillsong and Fred Hammond it's like Lord how do I help you know I'm saying how do I redeem the relationships with one another Wow but I also have to redeem the brokenness that I've created in society and I think people are starting to learn that systems have been created so racism is bigger than just the relationships oh there are systems there are things that have been created that are perpetuating ideas we can look at Atlanta now and I stop at this Atlanta has been a city that has been written by black folks for many many many years if racism was a problem then we still wouldn't be one of the biggest colors we wouldn't have one of the still one of the biggest problems with wealth gap we wouldn't have the issues with income inequality with housing issues sex trafficking however it doesn't matter whose face is in a system the system is going to run as long as well as the people who oriented to made it to run for their personal benefit we saw that in Baltimore when black cops were a part of the the Freddie grave death and so what we have to understand is that it's systems that are issues as well people are gonna be ignorant people are gonna do stupid things but when you create structures that perpetuate racism we have to do something about these systems and I think white people and the young black folks and educated folks are start makes our X to explain this and if we can get other people to understand that racism is just just me calling you then work our racism is not just me not it's you not being hired for things yeah it's not you it's not you being considerate it's you being passed over for loans it's red line it's it's it's the fact that the coronavirus is disproportionately affecting certain people groups right it's all of these things and how do we address all of these issues is delivered racism Wow you know trying to explain systemic racism to white people it's like oh my god it has been one of the most frustrating things because we look at racism as an individual racism you know did somebody call you the n-word or or did somebody do it and and that that's but there is a more pernicious racism which is systemic racism which has to do with culture deep-seated stuff and I kind of liken it to my wife I asked her one time stupid question by the way how does it feel to have a baby okay and she started trying to describe it to me and I'm like looking at her like that's like I couldn't really relate right right because we're not a woman and no do you want to relate and no I don't you know what those problems I don't want those brothers or the Lessing's I'm sorry yeah that's right yeah here's here's the view and it is a blessing yeah but it's easy for us to say right but here's the deal there are some things that people go through unless you've gone through it yourself that you just don't understand or have a difficult time understanding so I'm seeing my white brothers and sisters now trying to understand well white people take the stance of I'm not a racist yeah you know because I didn't say those things and I didn't do those things and it's been a long process for me to understand that I'm I'm part of as a wipe I'm just accidentally or intentionally I'm part of a system that was built to make life easier for white people and until that system gets changed and fixed racism will continue to naturally occur in our America so that's and it's not it's not when we when we say the white system is a racist system we're not saying all white people are bad and all why people hate black people that's not what we're saying we're saying there's literally a way of life that has been created because of our history because of the history of racism that naturally leads to life being easier for white people than black people and it's just it's still with us like you said the COFF is still happening I am yeah Amen I like it it soon playing monopoly yeah and you play Monopoly there's to say you and Lee play Monopoly for about it good you know monopoly last days you guys can play for two days and you guys have dominated the whole board and then all of us are not coming I'm day three and I'm like hey I want to play Monopoly and you're like look you can play but we're not giving up any of our property we're not we worked hard for all of this so we'll include you now matter of fact you know what we'll give you Baltic and Mediterranean don't complain don't complain because you we gave you an opportunity right and this is the problem racism like the systems and the structures to your point have been created for the benefit and flourishing of a particular people right it's in our Constitution it's in laws the Virginia House it's it's riddled through our society and then you think just because oh we freed slaves and we and you're the chains are no longer on you that everybody has equal opportunity and people slavery was a was an institution for which people benefited substantial companies were built off of this right and so one of the things that I challenged and I and I and you said the word reparations and I'm not saying everybody needs to get a check but we need to figure out how to how to work this thing out because repentance to your point isn't turning away and we see consistently in the scriptures that it's not just a turning away but it's how do i repair the damage that has been done and I don't think our society wants to we don't mind saying I'm my bad but when it gets to the point was like oh hey hold up I have to fix what I do then that's the problem and how do we begin to say all right we need to start divested in some of the institutions that have built billion-dollar industries our churches our seminaries right yeah we can go on for on how not only the church was silent but how they were complicit yes in building institutions this slavery itself was an institution that was impetuous cheon's in Europe is like hey we need to civilize these folks and we're gonna make money off and while we realize Wow so to your point about monopolies it's a credit to the black culture black community that you have done as well as you have starting with Baltic like yeah I mean the fact that you're you've done far more and far better than anyone will anticipate because of strength character power unity decision to overcome and to to work in the midst and then the face of difficulty and every time we pass go we land on that little joint that makes it like gives you two hundred hours back plan all day so all right so I want to kind of end it with this what can the church do I alluded to the most important patient that needs to take this prescription this powerful medicine to get rid of this pernicious virus is the church the Christian Church yeah more specifically that's what the white Christian Church but we're in this together absolutely so again this affects everybody I want to start with you show what what can the church of Jesus Christ so if I could be real about my own personal emotions I say unfortunately the Bible doesn't give us the the the luxury of not being a part of racial reconciliation mmm because sometimes I don't want to be a part I don't I'm like I'm fatigued I don't care like I just want to be in my little black community and give my little black thing mm-hmm but the reality is is that the church is responsible for bringing people to the full knowledge of who God is in his church right and so the first thing is we all have to understand is if you are a Christian the Bible commands that we be a part of his reconciliation yes then I will make two challenges once at a white church one in a black church white church I will say this I will say and I alluded to this earlier I think the first thing needs to be is that there needs to be an adjustment of how you seek the gospel the gospel is just not a posture of personal piety it is a redemption of all things and so if there's a redemption of all things that means God is calling us to repair relationships one another and the systems that we've created if you know that these systems before us everything from predatory lending to the home loans to police seem like then you should address it God has called us to be concerned about all of creation then to the black church I will say this is that we also have to recognize that though we are part of the process of reconciliation there's a lot of work to be done in our own communities I think sometimes and this is this is show Baraka speaking this may be controversial there's two perspectives that I think we have on white supremacy that I don't think that I think is helpful one there's this idea that it's it's almost like an idol everything it's almost like this ever-present weight on us is like I can't accomplish anything and cuz white supremacy it's holding me down I can't do this I can't do that and then there's this other view to where it's almost as if it doesn't exist at all right the reality of it is is we all we know that it's it's a real thing however often times we spent our time trying to get to some white table to be accepted mm-hmm and I think when you do that you missed the fact that your own community is a diet mm-hmm and your communities need your attention and you could create jobs you can create opportunities you can create wealth and I would say the black church has done a good job of that but I also feel like we need to be even more focused with allowing ourselves to speak truth to power but recognizing this some white disease right coming along our brothers and sisters saying hey how can we help you but you're not gonna occupy all my time and energy yeah because I realize that there are people who are dying and struggling who meet my attention here who've been pushed to the margins and ignored for so often and so I need to figure out how the gospel and the gut and the resources that I have can bring these folks up as well and I think to me those are the challenges that I would like to bring to the way in the budget I love it Darren just are you pro that was so profound so the church there yeah just some thoughts well your whole your whole illustration is this idea that there's a call mm-hmm and we haven't discovered the cure yeah and I think the first thing the white church has to do is admit they have the cost oh my god you know that we have the COFF can I introduce see one thing about a virus like the corona virus some people are asymptomatic right that means yeah that they have the virus a lot of people have the virus of races right but they say well I have black friends yeah well I voted for Barack Obama I'm they making but you know what you could still have the virus of racism and just be asymptomatic right I'm sorry I mean I was deaf on that no I was about to say that [Laughter] yeah I think that you we have to admit we have the virus a symptomatically or symptomatically and we have to have a desire to figure out the medicine and and so I think that looks like education it looks like asking questions it looks like being willing to listen it looks like not just going back to the same old same old like you said earlier well I do my quiet time I pray I read my Bible so I'm a pretty good person who does good things it's really locking arms with people like you and saying okay what what can we do what does this look like it for example Eagle's Nest has small groups new vintage has small groups so Eagles Nest and new vintage are gonna have small group together at times to hear what what are you what are you going through what can I learn how do i how do i and so then the other thing I was gonna say is a lot of this gets muddied because and I know that it's part of my white privilige that I haven't had to think about politics so much but a lot of it gets muddied in today's politics yes right because we go well these are the issues on this side and these are the issues on this side and so I have to as a church Christian I have to decide which side I'm gonna take and which side I'm gonna drop even though I care about things on both sides and so we have to stop making everything so political start making it Jesus issues and be willing to say I'm gonna care about poverty and I'm gonna care about you know abortion or whatever it is and I'm gonna care about both things and not just go I'm gonna let politics divide my faith that's right and so as Christians you know we can there will be people who watch this and they will make this political today they will watch this videos oh absolutely oh that's just you know because of this that of the other and we have to as Christians be willing to go hey how are you hurting and how can I help that's right and not just go well it's not on my political side so I'm gonna not risk you know coming over to your side because then that makes me oh this side or that side that's right you're if you're a Christian you're a Christian who needs to care deeply about people who are made in the image of God [Music] yeah because what I think the great one of the greatest problems that the church has done is is we've taken the religion and we've made it a culture and we've taken the faith and we made it a culture so to your point you can care about abortion but you don't care about that individual when it's born and it's shot in the streets right because it's not a comprehensive view of of life you talk about pro-life but it's really just probers like you just want to baby born once it's born we're not thinking about healthcare we're not thinking about the conditions in which that person lives that makes the police interactions more prevalent and it's like oh I care about I care about the poor I'll send people to Africa they do missions work but I don't care about the conditions which creates Africa right and it's probably because of our imperialistic ways and our corporations that make Africa a wasteland because of our greed and our ignorance right and I this is part of reason why I think it's it amazes me and I'm sure it is it amazes me that there's so many churches that will send missionaries right into different countries but they won't send them to you know I don't know to certain community we create cultural competency will train people up for months and will say hey you gotta learn the culture you need to speak the language you need to understand how these people move you need understand their food but then in Chicago it's just like oh they're just animals and they're just killing themselves and we don't know there's like you need to understand the cultures and the conditions in which created these these issues and it's so funny to me that our theology is really steeped in the emphasis of imperialism and triumphalism and and heroism because we want to be heroes but the moments we have to sit back and learn and be submissive it's just there's no there's no sexiness in that that's right wow man we could talk forever man this is a good stuff here here's how I want to end this by the way of this evening we're having a special Sunday night presentation it's going to be at 6 p.m. and it is me and Lecrae and pastor Dennis rouse who is the pastor of what's in a victory yeah victory World Church and norcross huge church very diverse almost a fact of an indoor storage or I just got shopping on my mind all right so hey at 6 p.m. today we want you to tune in Lecrae pastor Dennis rouse and myself we do a conversation that is just like this conversation and we want you to tune in on our website eagle's nest church org and watch that it is riveting and we believe it will change lives just like I believe our conversation is all right so we got to come to a close here it's what I want to do one question but you have to answer it in just a few sentences and then I'm gonna ask you two guys to pray a short prayer and then we're gonna close all right I never thought that I would see so many white people saying black lives matter and they're not talking about an organization they're talking about a human concern they're talking about justice they're talking about a life of another person so before we close just in a few sentences what does the phrase Darren blacklivesmatter mean to you yeah well I love what you say if blood if all lives matter then black lives would actually matter and for so many years they have not - so many people in this system and you know in learning and watching and listening I've seen lots of different illustrations for this one of which is you know it would be silly if a fireman were spraying a house on fire and a neighbor came by and said wait a second all houses matter mm-hmm but all houses aren't on fire yeah this one's on fire and all lives haven't been questioned as to whether or not they matter black lives have been questioned and so it's an emphasis that we need to take time and and deal with the fact that for so long in America they have not mattered and so I'm I'm hopeful that that white people will realize that when we say black lives matter we're not saying you don't that's right we're trying to highlight the fact that for so long they have not it's that simple to me thank you and there's probably more that I have to learn too well thank you for your heart and thank you for that image the profound explanation yes sir sure what about you black lives matter that's a good question I would say just the very statement itself is a rebuke to 400 years of systemic oppression and which and it's it's a it's a celebration black joy black resilience it's a it's a a declaration of love of self love of seeing other black folks and saying you matter you're loved you're made an image of God but it's also a cry and a plea yes it's also a as you say a call of desperation of clinton-like to say please understand like you're killing us you're killing us and I think the the retort of all lives matter is Aaron said ISM is just I've continued it's just it's sad that I think one of the the basic premises of white supremacy is that why people must feel included in everything yeah and it's and blacklivesmatter is saying it just like look at this moment just take a chill for that right chill so it's good stuff man Darrin I'd like for you to close us in the word of Prayer what you do pray I ever got leads you but you don't mind saying a special prayer for those of us who are African Americans and then a special prayer for our white brothers and sisters and that we can be sought in light of the world and be unified so we can hopefully change things let's pray God we read your word that will humble ourselves and pray that you'll give us mercy and God today I'm humbly come before you to to ask for your forgiveness to repent of even the sins of my ancestors and if my own heart as I've grown up and tried to figure out how to love the world well and I know I've fallen short in ways and and got to pray for the white church that we would recognize God that that that we still have the COFF and it doesn't mean that we do everything wrong it doesn't mean that we've done no good it doesn't mean that we're terrible people who carry no value in the world god it means that we've got a problem with a system that's been here from the beginning and it's still lingering and we now have a chance to do something so I pray that the white church would decide that we're not going to sit on the sidelines or sit in silence but we're going to make a difference and use the platform that we have to learn to educate and to change God for for my black brothers and sisters who are tired who are weary who are worn who are on the verge of giving up you just want to lash out god I pray that I pray that you would give them hope that you would give them strength that you would give them the words to say that you would give them the platform to say it on that you would bring about change gather your power and your spirit would change our country for the good that that God you would bring justice that you would bring change and that whatever you have to do to bring about that change God we pray we'd be willing to walk through it and to walk in and God we love you thanks for friends who can figure this out together I pray that many more will become friends in this process and figure this out together in our America amen amen well it's time for us to go home but we'll still be in God's presence if you've never invited Jesus Christ in your life then it's going to be really tough for you to embrace what we're talking about because Jesus is love and I just want to invite you to ask Christ in your life if you've never done that maybe you are already a follower of Jesus and you've allowed some things to distract you from your relationship with Christ and your relationship with your brothers and sisters so all you have to do is confess your sins and change your ways which means repent and God will forgive you and give you a new life and so uh all you have to do is go on our website and indicate that you want to give your heart to Jesus or that you want to rededicate your life or that you want to be a member of Eagles Nest Church or if you are a first time guess to Eagles nests online we want to know who you are and we want to walk with you and connect with you and pray with you thank you for joining us today I hope this has blessed your soul and I want to encourage you to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem god bless you you [Music]

Channel: Eagles Nest Church Atlanta

Views: 2,568

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Eagles Nest Church, Pastor Lee Jenkins, Alpharetta, Jesus, Eagles Nest, Online Church, Best Sermons Online, Roswell, George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, BLM

Id: rjPflC0hkbY

Length: 82min 45sec (4965 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 07 2020