It Starts With Power | Preparing for What's Next

Welcome to REACH KC, it's so great to have you with us, I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in. There was no way until you made one, grace upon grace, hallelujah, even though it don't mean a lot, I'm just grateful for you, I'm just grateful for you, oh my love, you will be right here by my side, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you. Holy, holy, there's only one, you give me glory for all that you've done, even though I don't deserve it, yeah, even though I can't make it again, yeah. Who am I to keep me on your mind, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you, oh my love, you will be right here by my side, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you, yeah. And I, I lifted both of my hands, you gave me chance after chance after chance, and I, I'm giving all that I am, you gave me chance after chance after chance, and I, I lifted both of my hands, you gave me chance after chance after chance, and I, I'm giving all that I am, you gave me chance after chance after chance, and I, I lifted both of my hands, you gave me chance after chance after chance, and I, I'm giving all that I am, you gave me chance after chance after chance, who am I to keep me on your mind, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you, oh my love, you will be right here by my side, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you, who am I to keep me on your mind, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you, oh my love, you will be right here by my side, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you, I survive and I'm here to testify, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you, I'm alright if they say I'm out of my mind, God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you. Yay! Yay! Woo! Yeah! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! I could see your name for a mile in the by and still I find more to that one each time Jesus' feeling ain't ever on my lips It's sweeter every time that I call on Him There's just something about your name There's just something about your name There's just something about your name That makes me cry holy There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Jesus, you're worthy Yay! You have been the friend you never let I won't forget your faithfulness

Jesus' feeling ain't ever on my lips It's sweeter every time that I call on Him There's just something about your name There's just something about your name There's just something about your name That makes me cry holy There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Jesus, you're worthy There's just something about your name There's just something about your name There's just something about your name That makes me cry holy There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Jesus, you're worthy There's no other name, Lord There's no name other than yours Oh, oh, oh Jesus, you're worthy The one the darkness can't deny The resurrection and the life Jesus, Jesus, you're worthy You're made to stand, you're made to kneel You're made to face the storm and sin You never fail, you never will Jesus, Jesus, the bread of life Obedient, corrupt, devoted

And the worthy one, the first and last And still to come Jesus, Jesus, the King Who overwhelmed the grave The Lord who will forever reign The name above all other names Jesus Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name That gives all our glory Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name That gives all our glory Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Jesus Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Jesus Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name Jesus, be the name That gives all our glory Jesus, be the name It's been a day, it's been a day, that gets all of us together. It's been a day, it's been a day, it's been a day, that gets all the glory.

It's so sweet, it's been a day, it's been a day, it's been a day, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, it gets all the glory. This healing in your name, this healing in your name, this healing in your name, it makes me cry holy. There's freedom in your name, there's freedom in your name, there's freedom in your name, it makes me cry holy. There's salvation in your name, salvation in your name, salvation in your name, it makes me cry holy. So Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, it gets all the glory. In your name. Freedom in your name, there's freedom in your name, there's freedom in your name, your name gets all the glory. Bring light to the darkness, so your hope can be restored. Every heart that is broken, the greater your sin. Bring light to our love, bring light to the darkness, so your hope can be restored. Every heart that is broken, the greater your love. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise. The grace you owe me, the pain I endure. Bring light to our love,

bring light to the darkness, so your hope can be restored. Every heart that is broken, the greater your, yes you are. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise. You are worthy. How great are You, Lord. How great are You, Lord. How great are You, Lord. All the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry. These folks will sing. Great are You, Lord. All the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry. These folks will sing. Great are You, Lord. All the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry. These folks will sing. Great are You, Lord. All the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry. These folks will sing. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord.

Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord. All the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. Great are You, Lord. Sing it! All the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. Great are You, Lord. Sing it out! All the earth will shout Your praise. Your praise in our lives will be poured out of place. Your praise in our lives will be poured out of place. There are some of us in this room that are living on a hilltop that have just walked out of something that God has just brought them through. There's been breakthrough recently in our lives and we are living in a season right now, currently, that there is many reasons to praise God for. And there are some of us right now that are deep in the valley who are being pressed down from every single side. There are some in this room that are in that valley that are confused on why. That is searching for a reason of how. And I came here to tell you that even that person

in that valley has the same reason to praise God in the house today. So God, you have your way in your house. God, you do what only you can do. You minister to your sons and daughters in this moment. Let us be submitted. Let us respond to what you are doing. Let's give you praise, God, because you are worthy. You are faithful. And we love you. We love you, God. Because you chased down a wretched sinner like myself. So Lord, you do what only you can do in this place. We thank you for who you are. We give you thanks, praise, and honor. And all of God's people in the church, they gave a mighty. Let's make some noise in the house of the Lord this afternoon. Whoo! Hallelujah! Grab a seat, tell your neighbor, welcome, welcome, welcome home! I only heard like one person hit it right. How many of us are excited to be here? A bunch of smiling, beautiful people out there. That's going to pull up after Easter Sunday. I see you. No question, right? We tell you welcome home because we believe that you are actually home. And for you to feel that you are home, that means that you feel that you belong. We believe that you belong the exact way that you are currently right now and how you walk through those doors.

And it is not by happenstance or coincidence of your invite for you being here. We welcome the first-time guest, and we welcome the other guest. And we welcome the other guest. The one that is going to be asking how and who and why. We pray that this would not be an experience for you. There would be no show in it. There would be no entertainment in it. But that you would meet with the living God right here. Through the worship that was proclaimed, that the person that is filled with the Holy Spirit next to you that is crying out to Jesus and you are wondering, Why are they crying? What is happening in their life? That the Holy Spirit inside of you would say, That's me. And I'm in you too. And that you would respond to that. And to the reoccurring tribe member that continuously showing up every Sunday, we say, Welcome home. And we pray that also you would never get comfortable here. That you would still be uncomfortable and stretched. and to the one that is watching on pando right now in a prison cell we say welcome home that you are loved and you are seen and you are cared for and I have great news for you today because today is a special day because it is the day of you're catching on now that today is the day of salvation and I see nowhere in scripture where it tells me that tomorrow is that day allow that to sit in if I could read you some scripture we believe that God is looking for unlikely people from overlooked places to do an extraordinary thing right and here in our text in Deuteronomy we see a man that is a murderer illiterate and stuttering in his speech you might know the man I'm

talking about that's Moses who was called in to lead the people and filled with the Spirit of God and after receiving revelation from God he comes back and he's telling his people this we pick up in Deuteronomy 8 he started 6 and he says so obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him for the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water and he goes on and on to fig trees and olive oil and honey he's painting he's illustrating a picture do you hear the speech in this man the same man that was once counted out he's giving this and it says it is a land where iron is common when you have eaten your fill said this be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you and there are some of us in the room that are praying for some good land right now in the midst of your prayer there is a warning that he gives straight from the Lord and he says but this is the time to be careful beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands regulations and decrees that I am giving you for when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in and when your flocks and your herds have very large and your silver and your gold is multiplied he said be careful do not become proud at that time and forget that your Lord God who rescued you from slavery out of the land of Egypt and I don't know how many people are in the house today that have been rescued out of something do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness of poisonous snakes and scorpion and he gave you water from the rock he fed you with man and from the wilderness he did all this so you would never say to yourself I have achieved this well with my own strength you work the 40 hours you ain't do it it wasn't you it wasn't all you and can I say something boldly out of love to set somebody free today that it ain't all yours either we're gonna take up an offering there's many ways to give and you can do it on the seat on the screen get some ushers up God we thank you for your word we thank you for your scripture we thank you for your presence here in your house today we pray to as your people they would

respond to what you were doing in our hearts God that we would give out of a cheerful heart out of acknowledgement and out of obedience and knowing God that you are the sole owner Lord that we would never become too proud of what we have done or too bitter for what we don't have but we would be humble we would be grateful there is breath in our lungs that we have anything to give Lord because it is through your provision that you have provided so God we give you thanks we ask that you bless the gift and the giver in Jesus mighty name date night treat yourself barbecue stuff treat yourself new shoes treat yourself fresh eat treat yourself it's the best wrap-up year hi I'm pastor Jesse and I'm for this summer we are taking a missions trip to the LA Dream Center with a team of 17 Our heart is to go and plant seeds where God calls us to go, but also come back with a changed heart and affect where we are now. Throughout the month of April, our team will be hosting a Missions fundraiser in the Fellowship Hall every Sunday. During our fundraiser, we'll be selling coffee from Burundi, Texas Heat Salsa, and Reach Missions T-shirts. We're also gonna be doing an incredible raffle throughout the month of April, so come buy your tickets this Sunday. Don't miss your chance to help us sow seeds where God has called us to go. Come on, don't forget to treat yourself. Come on, somebody. If you ain't been down there yet, you ain't treated yourself, amen? We just believe that God is up

to some major things at Reach, amen? Does anybody else believe that? And that through Kingdom Builders that what he is doing is just building his kingdom even outside of what he is doing right here at Reach, and we are just so excited for everything that he is doing, and I'm just believing that God is just gonna continue to build people through this ministry and through this church and just continue to just raise up people, and I'm just excited for everything that God has done and is doing, and I came to preach today. I hope you came to have church today. Did anybody come to have church? No, no, no, no, I'm talking about did anybody come to have church? That's what I'm talking about. That's gonna help me preach today because I came with a word from the Lord today, and I just want to deliver it in the capacity of which he has deposited it, and I believe that it is going to help change some lives and move this church forward, and I just, I have a word titled today that I want to preach, preparing for what's next. Amen, preparing for what's next. It's preparing for what God is going to do because the last time that we met

and we was talking about the book of Acts, we seen that the Lord had told the disciples to what, wait, wait, and I ruined it for anybody that is ever walking on the plaza or walking where there are stoplights that you push the button on and it says wait, wait, and somebody's like, you sound exactly like that thing. Thank you very much, I appreciate it. I worked very hard on that, and here we are. But he told them to wait in Jerusalem, and there they will receive the Holy Spirit, but then there's a passage twist in verse 12 of chapter one, and it's interesting because if you go back, this is your homework, if you go back and read the end of the gospel of Luke, it actually gives more detail into this situation, and you can actually get a little more clarity on what happened and what took place in those moments, which is actually one of the indications that Luke is actually the author of the book of Acts because many say that there is an unknown author or the book is unknown, but Luke, if you go back and you read the end of the book of Luke and then the beginning of the book of Acts, it will show you that the stories coincide and it's almost a continuation of one letter to the next, and it's crazy because in Luke 24, we actually see some women just realize that he was no longer in the tomb, amen? Come on, somebody, that's what we were celebrating last week,

that Jesus is risen, he is no longer in the tomb, he is not dead, he is alive, he is on the throne, he is interceding for the people of the church, he is alive, and so the women run back and tell everybody, imagine that, amen? I mean, run, tell that, I mean, they were just running, but the disciples, the 12 men, didn't believe them, and it actually says this in Luke 24, it says, but the story sounded like nonsense to the men. Seems to be tracking, right? Amen. All the women just run and tell all this stuff, but it sounded like nonsense to the men, and so they didn't believe it, it says, but then Jesus, but then Jesus ends up revealing himself to some of the disciples, and they are still confused because they thought, right, that the Messiah was supposed to come back and restore the kingdom of Israel, and so they're trying to get, Jesus to give them details in essence it's an attempt to try to prove his identity as the Messiah because the Old Testament predicts and prophesies that the the Messiah will restore the kingdom and so they thought that it was going to be just the kingdom of Israel and so they're trying to pry this information out of him and he came to restore a different kingdom amen he came to restore the kingdom of God which is the power that is on earth here and the power that is in heaven and so a number of disciples had just witnessed Jesus after the resurrection and they came and they watched him ascend into heaven and it talks about it in Luke 24 and also in Acts 1 and then they returned back to Jerusalem is what it says in Acts 1 verse 12 and you know that during this

half-mile walk the conversation that was taking place after Jesus just ascended he revealed himself to him I mean they were filled with all different kinds of emotions because just a few days ago Jesus was crucified and then then they went and looked in the tomb and they didn't see him there and you know that the conversations had to been filled with confusion right it had to been filled with anticipation it had to been filled with like awe and wonder but at the same time excitement and so now they're in this upper room right and they're praying and so much has just happened in their life literally one of their closest friends and colleagues in ministry just betrayed their leader Jesus right like Judas had just done this and they were trying to put all these pieces together still they were trying to just grapple all of these emotions and feelings that they had as if it wasn't enough Jesus was brutally murdered right in front of their eyes and then they they found that his body was missing and they're trying to determine did his body get stolen what happened and then out of nowhere Jesus appears to them and by the breaking of bread which by the way was the way that he revealed the the signification of the betrayal that was going to happen but then if you go back and you read in in Luke 24 it says that by the breaking of bread to them that all of the sudden their eyes was opened and they noticed that it was the Messiah and he revealed himself and now after this they're meeting in the upper room of this house in Jerusalem and they say many scholars say that it was likely the place that the Last Supper happened at which was the very place that they broke bread the first time and Jesus identified the traitor it's it's crazy to me and here they are waiting waiting and so here's what I want us to get out of this today before God ever moves outwardly in power he often prepares his people in prayer he often prepares his people in unity and in leadership every championship team that you ever look at has a moment that most people never see it's not the game it's not the highlight reels it's not the moments that this big explosive play happens it's not the trophies it's the locker room before the game the stadium is packed the lights are blaring the the voices are loud the crowds are

roaring everything is happening but the team is still inside the locker room they're gathering right they're focusing they're getting their minds right they're calling the play for what's getting ready to happen because of what happens here's the truth what happens in that quiet room determines what happens on the field what happens in that private moment determines what happens on display see Acts 2 is the moment when the church explodes into the world with power it's that highlight play it's that monumental moment that ESPN would catch and throw on a highlight reel that's what Acts 2 is but Acts 1 is the locker room moment where the church is gathered they're praying right and they're dealing with the pain of this deep betrayal they're dealing with some of these feelings that they've never felt before and then they go on to strengthen leadership and they're getting ready for what God is about to do and so I want to look at three critical observations today of the church before it exploded three observations of the church before it ever even exploded and the first observation is this the prayer of the church the prayer of the church look at Acts 1 verse 12 it says then the Apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives where they had just witnessed some of them had just witnessed Jesus which was a distance of a half a mile and when they arrived they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying and here are the names of those who were present Peter John James Andrew Philip Thomas Bartholomew Matthew James Simon and Judas which was the son of James and they all met together and were constantly united in prayer along with Mary the mother of Jesus several other women and the brothers of Jesus now here's what I want us to get a hold of this morning church is God moves through a united and a praying church a united and a praying church you want to know what united is united is not division united is not where people are causing stuff that is happening in the church you want to know one thing that I seen that the Paul that the Apostle Paul wrote he told them at one point in the church or in the book of Corinthians to cast the people out and turn them over to Satan you want to know why because there was

people that was in the church that was actually causing division within the body of Christ and they were doing stuff with other people in the church and they was doing things that should have never happened and he said turn them over to a reprobate mind give them over to Satan and let the devil deal with them get them out of the church because they keep going in and so in discord between all of the people and they keep doing all this stuff and it's not godly and I need you just get them away from there why because the church was born in a prayer meeting long before it ever exploded in revival and they spent time with Jesus they had to get in there and spend time with Jesus but they had to be united first because if they wasn't united then the Spirit would have never came Jesus prayed in John 17 God let him be one as you and I are one let him become in unity like you and I are in unity because a church has to be unified in prayer before it can ever receive the power of the Holy Spirit he said make them one as I am one with you and they had spent time they knew the very thing that they needed was his presence to make this entire thing work but how many of us know that it takes a desperation within the church for a presence of God in our hearts for the Holy Spirit to ever be poured out upon us like we've got to have a desperation within us that says God I want to cry out for you more than I'm crying out for my problems I'm not gonna let my problems get the best of me I'm not gonna let my problems get my prayer life I'm not gonna let my problems beat me down and defeat me because God I want you even if all I have is these problems God I'm okay with my problems as long as I got you in my presence God I can deal with the problems because a moment in the presence of Jesus will make your problems dissipate and you won't even remember them until you walk out of the presence of God he said I need it to be a desperation in the hearts of my people so that I can fill them with the Holy Spirit why because unity and prayer are the womb of revival if you ever want to birth something great church it begins with the moments of prayer through the people of the church that's where it starts it starts with the people of the church the first thing the early church did was not strategize they prayed they

prayed and then they started figuring things out here are a few observations from our passage about a hundred and twenty believers gather it wasn't just no small group 120 people gathered and the Apostles were present which was the twelve the the there was some women present come on somebody they was the ones that was the evangelist they was running and telling everybody everything treat yourself marry the mother of Jesus Jesus was there, come on somebody. It's always wonderful to have the mother in the house, amen. Jesus' brothers were there, even though they were once skeptics, come on somebody. If your brother said he was Jesus, what would you think? You know what I'm saying? You'd be like, yeah. And then you walk in, Mary's giving him a bath, and he's standing on the water dancing. You know what I'm saying? Get in the water! You know, Mary upset. But then after all this, you've got, so I mean, you've got the apostles that were present, the women that were present, Mary, the mother of Jesus was present, her other sons that were there, but they're now believers, come on somebody. How many of us know sometimes deep betrayal reveals realities that we were once blinded to? Amen. I don't know about you,

but there's some stuff that I've been through that opened my eyes, and this passage is a picture of a praying community waiting on God, because before the spirit ever fell in power, the church knelt in prayer. And as what happens is many of the followers were still caught in this devastating mindset. They had literally just witnessed the deepest betrayal known to man at this time. It was deeper than any of the stories they read. Literally, Jesus the Messiah was brutally murdered. Can you imagine literally the scenes of the images that were seared into the minds of the followers of Jesus? Especially the disciples, those that were in this room, Mary watching her own son get brutally crucified, watching her own son get brutally murdered and stabbed in the side, and people spitting on him, and not only that, but she's sitting and watching some of the disciples walk away from him. Come on, come on, come on. She said, my baby. I know they, I know they turning their back on you, but I'm right here. I know, I know that you feeling broken, but I'm right here. And then you got them sitting in this room, and it's all because Judas,

one of the brothers that they literally did life with, allowed the devil to influence their mind or influence his mind, and he turned on them. And he turned on Jesus. This is literally why we have to remain in prayer church, because when we remain in the language of heaven, the language of hell is defeated, amen? Amen. If we can begin to be encapsulated with the presence of God, because when the church prays, problems don't stop his mission. God provides for what he needs. There ain't nothing that's going to stop it when God says that it's there, and what the church needed at this time was the power of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus told him was going to be the comforter. What better moment to receive the comforter in your life than when everything is going to hell, when everything is turned against you, when everyone has done what they've done to you, and you are in a moment where you want to turn your back and run from God, but he said, I need my church, I need them to kneel down on their knees, and I need them to fight this battle in prayer, and when you do that, then in that moment, I will pour out my power upon you. When you're meeting in a room, and you're gathering in unity,

and you're pleading out for the hearts of the church, the power of the Holy Spirit will come, but as what happens is it is birthed and released through a time of intercession. May the church, the church worldwide, give birth to a heart of treveling prayer. If you don't know what treveling prayer is, it reminds me of the moment that Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane, and he's crying, and he's praying out, and he begins to bleed blood, and he's crying out for the people, and he says, God, if this is your will, then let it be done, but if not, then remove this cup from me, and I wonder how many people would walk into their problems that they're going through and hang themselves on the cross and say, God, if this is your will, then let your will be done in my life. I don't care who's turning against me. I don't care who's speaking against me. I don't care what is happening because, God, all I want is you. All I need is your presence, God. I don't need anything that this world has to offer me. I've had money. I've had cars. I've had clothes, and it all will burn.

It all will burn. God, I need your presence. Treveling prayer is the moments where you remove yourself, and you. Empathize with the people that you're praying for in that moment and you begin to intercede on their behalf That's when the Holy Spirit can come in and even begin to pray through you in ways that you can intercede for people that you Didn't even know that you knew how to pray for It says prayer is The thing because giving birth To something great always happens through prayer May the needs of the church be brought to the heart of the father not just by the pastor, but by the people Because it's not just my traveling heart that's gonna change the world it's our people It's the it's the churches. It was the prayers of the church that fueled the revival in the church It was the prayers of the church may we get a heart for prayer God May we have a heart that moves us to prayer God so that we can meet and be in unity and pray with our brothers May we make growth groups a moment where we can just intercede With those that are going in life with us and we can just begin to sit in the middle of a living room and lay hands on people and just begin to pray the goodness of God over their life because somebody's Struggling with something and somebody's going through a hell and they just need it They just need a moment in the presence of God May we be unified in a moment God to where you can come in and do whatever you want to do May we always leave room for the Spirit of God to do what the Spirit of God wants to do in the second observation of the church before it ever exploded Is the problem in the church Hmm The problem in the church see nobody ever likes to talk about the problems in the church but in Acts 1 We see some time dedicated to the problem

That was happening in the church and it says during this time when about a hundred and twenty believers Were together in one place Hmm Remember they were praying They were in a moment where there was deep intercession happening there. There's their Savior was just brutally murdered They seen him. They're still in wall on wonder They're still trying to figure it out. And in this moment Peter stands up and addresses him and he says brothers The scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas Who guided those who arrested Jesus this was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit Speaking through King David Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery Falling headfirst there his body split open spilling out all of his Intestines and the news of his death spread to all of the people of Jerusalem and they gave the place an Aramaic name Akadama and which means field of blood and Peter continued this was written in the book of Psalms Church Where it says let his home become Desolate with no one living in it and also says let someone else take his place It's amazing because during this time of prayer Peter stands and addresses Judas's betrayal I Never realized this until I started studying this passage This week, but apparently there had to have been a lot of talk about Judas's and what had happened with Judas Maybe even the prayers that was happening in that room were related to the betrayal of Jesus by his traitor that turned his back and sold out Jesus over a little bit of money Isn't it funny how Judas sold him out for a little bit of money, but we'll sell them out for nothing Tighten them up Somebody get the tool kit Some people got some screws loose We need to tighten up We need to get it because here's what's happening. All the sudden we see he says this pretty confidently, right? Otherwise, why would Peter we can say that they were talking about Judas or otherwise Why would Peter stand up and begin to address it in the room?

He addressed it because this is what was in the air hearts were hurt People are always affected by betrayal and oftentimes the people that are affected by betrayal are more than just the people that it was against See Jesus knew the betrayal was coming and he knew the results of the betrayal as well See our problem is all we ever see is the betrayal And we often interpret it through the lens of gossip What did you hear did you hear what was said what did you hear how pastor said did you hear how this was did you hear how that was done, oh well did you hear and then the next thing you know we're playing the telephone game and we see the facts we see what we think are in the facts and we interpret the rest through some made-up version by third parties that wasn't even there and then we narrate the story to others like we got the juice like like we know what's really happening but CJ Jesus never went around shaming Judas never do you ever once see Jesus publicly shame Judas even when he knew this was coming long before it ever happened you can go back in about John 5 or 6 and see that Jesus declared that he knew one of them was the devil he knew it but Jesus what what he understood was the outcome of the betrayal see God can write redemption even through your betrayal God can write redemption even through something that has happened to you come on somebody your next breakthrough is on the other side of this deep-seated betrayal that you've went through so when people ask you are you cool you can tell them hey listen I'm good because why would I expose myself to you when you can't even handle what God has put on my life I didn't come to talk to everybody today but I came to preach to three people who've been feeling something heavy in their spirit not because you got problems not because your life fell apart but because you've matured to a place in your life that you started to realize the weight of what you carry you started to see it you see the reason that people see what you've got is because God made or you made the mistake of making what you carry look easy see they see your smile they see your strength they see the consistency in your life but is what they don't see is the weight of everything that you carry is what they don't see is what it costs you see they don't see the price that is paid to carry the weight if they had to

walk one mile in your shoes they'd understand that you don't even know how you got out of bed this morning somebody ought to lean over to their neighbor and say I'm a survivor I've made it through some stuff because you see you what you see is one thing but what I carry is another see people think you got it all together see they think you do they think you've never had any trials they think that you've never had any nights where you laid there and cried yourself to sleep they think that you've never had any moments where you were tired of being strong in front of people but they don't understand what you see is not what I carry not what you see people see the crown people see the flash people see the crown but they never see the cross that is born they never see it see people see your oil they see the anointing that is on your life they see that God is moving deep down within you but they don't see the crushing see they don't see it because the way you handle yourself King the way that you move when you are in front of people they don't see it all they see is your oil but they never see see people see the victory but they don't ever see your warfare they don't ever see the moments when you battling in the spiritual realm when you fight for something when you fast in for seven days talking about God I'm not eating until you speak I'm not doing nothing I'm denying my flesh I need a word from you God and I'm not putting anything else in my body until I hear a word from you because man don't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and I need a word Lord I need a word Lord I didn't come I came to tell somebody today the reason that the weight is heavy is because your calling is real see God doesn't just put light assignments on strong shoulders he got something tough for you to carry because he needs to know that the moment that you explode and something happens through you that you can deal with some little bitty betrayal of some lousy person that wants to turn against you and try to sabotage everything that you got see when you got a million dollar business and the second-hand man to you wants to try to take you under and steal what you got see he needs to know that one you gonna honor him with the million that he gave you come on that's a word

for somebody right there you need to start tithing on that million in Jesus name that wasn't even in my notes that's for somebody right there that's free but here's the truth if the weight has been pressing you see if the response Responsibility has been stretching you if the calling has been putting or pulling something deeper out of you It's because God has deposited trust within you So don't apologize for the weight Because the same weight that broke or that's trying to break you is the same weight that built you And it's the same weight that's gonna continue to build you because the things that you're going through right now is Preparing you for what's next. That's why we got to be preparing for what God is about to do That's why we got to be preparing as a church for what God is about to do. I'm not gonna listen to Voices that seem to be loud see lies always seem louder than the truth when you're not getting in the truth But you got to get in the Word of God so that the Word of God will begin to speak in your mind louder than the Truth or louder than the lies of the enemy See if you made it through everything that tried to take you out If you already made it Through everything that tried to take you out. I believe that some people should look at the name say I didn't just make it I survived you hear me. I didn't just make it. I survived. I've lived through hell. I've been broke I've been rich. I've done had it. I've been trying to take out I Survive I'm a survivor something There's a song there. I know Jesse spent singing in the first sir. I Can't remember it is a good song, but I can't remember it. Here's the truth. Here's the truth See you got to start walking in the room like God sent you there You've got to stop shrinking. You've got to stop apologizing You've got to stop dimming your light because of the people that are around you you gotta stop You can't stop shining cuz some hater don't like the light You better shine baby, I'm gonna put it I'm gonna give it three claps cuz I want the light on bright I Don't dim my life for nobody no nothing. I can't be bought. I won't be bought. I'm assigned to the kingdom I'm moving in one direction not not anything other than that See if God opened the door, why do we keep tiptoeing through it?

Well, I think I think God called me here I Think I think why do you preach with such passion passion because God put an assignment on my life To come and tell every one of you guys that God has something in you It doesn't matter what you've been through that he's trying to take you somewhere so that he can build his kingdom Cuz that's what he you've got to walk in that Joker with authority Who cares if if the haters are watching You know what you want to know what I don't even unfriend people on Facebook Swear Well, why not I unfollow Why cuz I don't want to see what the haters got to say, but I want them to see what I got to say Well, isn't that prideful no cuz all I'm talking about is Jesus ain't nothing else coming out of my mouth I'm a brag on the goodness of God See you carry calling King And you carry purpose Queen See you carry favor So act like it See so many people walking around Well, I've just had people turn on me. I just have people so what? So have I I got stories that would make you quit I Got stories that I went through that would make you quit You talking about if you went through that ain't no way I'm walking into my assignment Listen that's not how it is rooms. Don't validate you God already did that He put an assignment on you. That means that no atmosphere that you walk into should ever intimidate you Period No table should ever make you feel small Whether I sit at the foot of the table or the head of the table Hello, come in with my very white You see how my wife just looked at me when I did that she said baby stop Treat yourself

Lord help us See we done did see stick to the notes Siri stop Here's the truth There's no room should intimidate you because God's when he sends you somewhere. He doesn't send you empty He sends you prepared and he sends you anointing and he sends you with purpose So when you walk in walk in bold walk in even if you don't feel bold Walk in with your shoulders back your head up and act like you belong in the room Not in a conceited way But in a room that says I understand what God is doing in me and through me and I know that maybe I'm here because I'm covered by the hand of God because the you were not called by accident God sent you there and There is a people called the church that should stand behind you and gather and pray and usher in unity Even in the midst of betrayal See God's mission continues even when people fail. How do I know that because Judas was one of the twelve? Judas was one that was trusted. In fact, Judas was in leadership and yet he failed but notice something important Judas's failure did not stop God's plan It ushered it in Did you catch that? It ushered it in See without the betrayal Something else would have never even happened. See Peter says scripture foretold it. See David prophetically wrote Even my best friend in Psalms 41 The one I trusted completely The one who I shared my food with The one who I called over to my house and let him break bread with me The one who I would grill filet mignons for. Come on somebody The ones that I would cook for. The ones that I would break bread with. The ones that I really loved That person had the power to change my life The one who I trusted completely The one who I shared my food with

The ones that I would break bread with. The ones that I really loved That person has turned against me Hear me church, a broken leader does not cancel his sovereign God See people may fail but God's mission never fails If you've ever watched a relay race, sometimes a runner drops the baton But the race doesn't stop Somebody else picks it up and keeps on running See God's kingdom is bigger than any one person Those who start with you may not finish But God has been in the business of raising up people for generations now So when one person falls off, don't trip because he's raising up somebody better for you He's already got something in the works He's doing it. He's doing a great thing Was the pain of betrayal stricken in the people of the church? Sure it was They were in prayer and Peter had to stand up and say, hey guys What happened with Judas? It was meant to happen This was supposed to Because what happened there opened the door for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the church Listen, maybe what you have went through isn't so much about the betrayal to you as it is the building of you See God is going to do something through you even though right now it feels like it's against you And then the last observation is this The provision for the church See in Acts 1.21 it says this So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time We were traveling with the Lord Jesus from the time he was baptized by John until the day that he was taken from us Somebody that's been there, done that Whoever is choosing will join us as a witness of Jesus' resurrection So they nominated two men

Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias And then they all prayed Oh Lord you know every heart Show us which of these men you have chosen Chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry for he has deserted us and gone Where he belongs and they cast lots And Matthias, I wish I had time to keep preaching this more and more I'm gonna do my best here but Then they cast lots and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other 11 Here's what we do know Is that the early church cared deeply about healthy leadership See it's so easy in today's society to be offended by the standards of leadership We often will take a standard that was held to us That we had to be held to whether we had to be corrected over it whether we had to be whatever and we will take It as a personal attack, but look at the qualifications that was given to replace Judas See they needed someone who followed Jesus from the beginning Now that sounds easy when you just look at it right there But when you look at it through the eyes of the Gospels and You actually see Everything that is happening through the Gospels see where he said, hey, you know what? There's somebody that needs to be buried and they said Don't worry about them. The dead will bury themself. Oh Or when they said hey, don't worry about that deny yourself and take up my cross or hey Don't worry about that walk away from that business because I need you to just follow me and I'm gonna make you fishers of men See it wasn't an easy task and and then it had to be somebody that witnessed the resurrection See not anybody could just feel this role there was a particular Criteria that had this moment that was here That had to be met in order for them to even be nominated for leadership Why because God's mission always moves through people See revival without leadership will always collapse

Revival can be good for a moment, but only two men out of the hundred and twenty that were there Were nominated they understood something important the mission of God requires Leadership a church that lowers its leadership standards will eventually lower its spiritual impact And only a few will grab that Because a church that lowers its leadership standards will eventually lower its spiritual impact Here's the truth. Not everyone who is available is qualified Not everyone who is available Just because you available Doesn't mean anything sometimes because you're available means you ain't got nothing else to do I'll preach on that later. Not everyone who is gifted is always ready either Just because you've got talent don't mean that you're ready see so often people think they're ready, but they don't understand what comes with the assignment and If in the appointing of leadership, I find it interesting what they did Because is what they did was They allowed this moment and they casted lots Before they ever received the Holy Spirit they casted lots basically they drew from a hat and then they prayed Some scholars claim that they was using the method of Psalms or Proverbs 16 33 It says we throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall That's like going to the boat and believing God's gonna bless what you're doing That's a word for somebody right there, too You won't tithe but you'll go to the casino But As soon as they received the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 they were dependent on the Spirit for guidance Listen, I don't know about you church But I want to serve in a church where the Spirit of God is guiding the directions Where I want to be in a church that is a spirit filled church that I want to be a part of one that is Calling people higher that is raising people up one that understands that if God before us Who can be a Against us, I know that God is raising up people. He's placed them within the heart of Reach KC,

ones that have walked with the Lord, ones that have seen the resurrection power in their own lives, and they know that His power is real, and they're committed to the disciplines that it takes to walk in leadership. I wonder if I got 10 people in the room with me today that would call and say, God, I got a greater thing on my life than any of these temporary satisfactions that I've been dealing with, somebody that would say, I'm ready to press in to the kingdom of God, I'm ready to leave the world behind me, and I'm ready to go all in right now in this moment. How could I not surrender everything at the foot of the cross after everything that God has done for me? I believe that there are some in the room right now that would say that they feel called to full-time ministry, and I believe that there are some in the room that said they felt called to full-time ministry, but have procrastinated because they didn't wanna line up with the calling of the assignment. And they don't wanna do what it takes to require of them to get them to their place, and they've actually been running from it, and you have procrastinated on the decisions that God has told you to make because you either didn't feel good enough,

or you didn't wanna do what it was gonna take you to do, but today, if you surrender your will to His life, He says that He will restore everything that He said that He would do. And He said that there are people in ministry or want to be in ministry right now that is miserable in the positions that they've been in because your focus has been distracted, because you're not pursuing the Father like you were supposed to. You were created with purpose, King. You were created with calling, Queen. Don't forget, God called you to something, and if He called you to it, He'll carry you through it. Just because the assignment is tough doesn't mean you give up. Why? Because today is the day of salvation. If I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment. I believe that what the Lord wants to do in this moment right now is just something supernatural, and I believe that there are a couple of things, but I wanna start with this one. There are some that are in the room right now that have been running from God. Nobody move, just wait, give me a couple more seconds. That have been running from God. Nobody move, just wait, give me a couple more seconds. There are some that have been running from God. Either you've never given your life completely to Him

or you give it to Him a long time ago and you have not been walking like you have, but there is an assignment on your life that requires you to make this decision first that, hey, I will follow Him and nothing else in my life, and if that's you and you wanna commit to that today and you say, hey, I wanna commit my life to Jesus for the very first time or the first time in a long time, hey, if that's you, could I just get you to lift your hand up real high? Don't even worry about anybody looking around you. Come on, I see those hands, I see those hands. Come on, I see those hands. Hey, if that's you, could you just say, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, I gotta get out there. Hey, could I get you to come down here with me real quick? Come on, if that was you, I've seen about eight people raise their hand. Come on, if that was you, come on, say, I got an assignment on my life and I gotta respond to that assignment. There is something, come down over here. There is something that is on my life that I gotta respond to right now and there is something so big that I can't get away from it. There's somebody else that's in here. You didn't raise your hand, but God is calling you right now.

Hey, I want you to respond. Come on, come on, come on, come on. God is doing something in your life right now. He's doing it in your life right now. He's calling you home. He's calling you home. Come on, come on. He's calling you home. He wants you to walk with him. He wants to lead you. He wants to do everything that he said that he would do in your life. He just needs you to do what you need to do. Come on. This is your moment, God. This is your moment, God. And as we declare in this moment that the name of Jesus is above all things. He's greater than your betrayal. He's greater than your traitor. He's greater. than your problems he's greater than anything and is what he needs as he needs his church to be united in prayer and be called to the purpose for which they were called for and so is what I want to do is in this moment as the team begins to play if you feel a calling on your life that God is assigned to you and you feel called to the ministry I want you to step out of your seat and I want you to come right down here to the altar and we're gonna begin to worship and I want you to hit your knees and I want you to lift your hands and I want you to say God I'm responding to your assignment right now I'm responding to your call right now on my life and I'm gonna believe that everything that you have

assigned to me is gonna come through me and I'm declaring right now that change be broken and I would respond to you and everything that you have done in and through my life in Jesus name come on let's worship let's lift it up let's clear it out let's sing that Jesus is the name come on it is your name God yes Lord Oh It's all in your name, God. God, I pray that the power of your Holy Spirit would fill those right now that are called to full-time ministry and that, God, that you would allow this moment to be a monumental moment that today, April 12th, they would point back and say that I responded to the call of God on my life and in that moment my life was changed because I felt something strip off of me at the altar and I picked something up when I got up and I felt a power that came within me, God, and it gave me the power to witness of the good news of who you are. It gave me the power to withstand the things that are coming against me and be able to lift my hands even in the battle, God, and say that there is an assignment on my life. We want nothing else, God. All we want is you, Jesus. Come on. God, let us lay everything down. We don't have anything else. Nothing else. Nothing else will do. I just want you. And nothing else, nothing else, nothing else will do, I just want you, I just want you, I do, I just want you. I just want you. So Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that gets all the glory.

Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Love you each and have a great week.