Life After Death - Week 4

We are in this series life after death and I know we are two weeks, two weeks removed But two weeks ago we celebrated baptisms. Can we clap and celebrate one more time for everybody who made that step? public declaration In this series We've been talking about the cost of following Christ and what it means When Jesus says he says I have new life Available for you, but in order for us to step into the new life that Christ has available for us It means letting go of some old things It means putting to death some of the old things some are old preferences some are always some old relationships some old habits and Many times we can't step into the fullness of what God has for us Because of our unwillingness to let go of some things in the past and I believe today that God wants to Help some of us Encourage some of us I've been and I won't speak alone today, but I've been Super encouraged talking to so many of you who've been baptized who's been reached out to me We've been talking but I can't help but notice If we are going to step into the fullness if you are going to step into the fullness of what God has for you There's a concept that we have to understand and that concept is made real in Luke chapter 5. We're gonna read it and I pray that God will give us new eyes or fresh perspective Luke chapter 5 verse 33 This is the Pharisees questioning Jesus. It says they said to him John's disciples often fast and pray and so do the disciples of the Pharisees But yours go on eating and drinking Jesus answered can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the kingdom will be taken from them in those days. They will fast Those days they will fast Here we go verse 36. He told him this parable No one tears a piece of a new garment to patch an old one otherwise, they will have torn the new garment and the patch from the new will not match the old and

No one pours new wine into old wineskins Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins. The wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined No New wine look at this word Must be poured into new wineskins. I'm gonna read that one more time new wine must Be poured into new wineskins and no one after drinking old wine wants to new For they say the old is better. I Want to zone in on verse 38 where it says new wine Must be poured into new wineskins The concept that will help us to fully step into the fullness of the new life that Christ has for us is this We have to understand the concept that new demands new New demands new Too many times Christ has something new for us a new season a new thing for us to step into But we tried to do the new thing by holding on to old habits Trying to hold on to old ways. He said no no, no new Demands new it never ceases to amaze me my wife and I when we talk to new married couples, especially And we could be talking they come in it, but you know, my wife and I my husband I we're arguing we're going back and forth and I'm like what seems to be the issue He said, you know, I just want to be able to go out whatever whenever I go out I don't want to have to report to nobody. I don't want to have to talk to nobody I don't need permission if I want to go out and come back in and when I want to go out and come back in then I want to Go out and come back in whenever I want to go to come back in. I Said oh, so you want this new relationship, but not let go of old habits You want this new relationship, but you don't want to you want to hang around old friends and Around old people and do old things. I hate to break it to you. But there's a concept that goes new

demands new There's some things that when you are trying to step into the newness of what God has for you There are some things that have to change. That's why I love this only just saying when he says something's about to shift Because I believe even in our own lives God is calling calling us to listen open up our eyes and recognize we're in our life lives as he's causing us to intentionally shift some things. Some people will ask you like CJ, well, how do you know? How do you know exactly when do you need to change things? How do you know? I love this famous social media thing that's going around right now where it says there will be signs. There will be signs. It's funny. I was talking to Vontae and Ty yesterday. We had a birthday party and I told him, I said, Hey fellas, I think I'm about to start playing pickleball. It's time for me to start learning pickleball. And like, what about, are you done with basketball? I'm like, yeah, I'm done with basketball. Like how do you know? I'm like, well, here's what happens, right? I'm 37 and when I go out and try to play basketball, like I'm 24 something happens in my back that tells me to sit down. And when I ignore the signs and continue to try to play, like I'm 24, I can't move for about two weeks. So there are signs that show it's time to change some things in our own lives. And I'll say this, even when you look at the seasons, think naturally for a second. Anytime a season, the season shift, you know, when fall is about to come to leave, start changing colors. When the season switch, it might start getting a little warmer. The sun comes out a little earlier, goes down a little sooner. The weather starts to switch. Sometimes our mood starts to switch. There will be signs when it's time to make some adjustments. And you know what often keeps us from making the adjustments that we need to

make? You find it right in verse 39. It says, and no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say the old is better. Let me explain to you what happens when they say the old is better, which when you say the old is better, what you're really saying is the old is more comfortable. It's more safe. It's more familiar. I don't really want to switch. I don't want to do. So what happens is when we ignore the signs, because we want to stay the same, we end up being stuck and God doesn't want us to be stuck. He said, I want you to progress, but you can't progress. If you want to stay the same, you can't progress. If you want to do everything the same way, you've always done it. And sometimes we say, you know what, CJ, but the, the old is familiar. The old feel safe. Can I encourage you and let you know there is no safer place to be there in the will of God. No matter how crazy it feels, no matter how unsecure it feels. I said, this is the first service I've learned in my life. It's better to be out in the deep in the middle of the ocean where God told you to be than to be in disobedience on the shore. And he never told you to be there because in obedience is safety. When you obey what he told you to do. And sometimes let's be fair. Sometimes we're afraid of what we might lose. We're afraid of the old. What about if, if, if I get new friends, then my old friends, what about, what about the old places? Can I tell you something about the old? I love what it says in verse 37, Jesus says, otherwise, otherwise the new wine will burst the skins. And listen to this. The wine will run out and the wine skins will be ruined. You know what that tells me? Jesus doesn't only care about the new thing he's doing.

He cares that the, what happens to the old wine skins. He says, I care about not just this, this new thing being lost, but don't you also recognize the wine skins that you're pouring into? Even that will be lost. So the best thing for you to do is to submit. I told this to somebody earlier this week when I met with them, I said, when God begins to show you the things in your life, you need to switch. You need to change the best thing for you to do for your sake, for the sake of others, for the sake of people that's attached to you. The best thing for you to do is to submit immediately. Now I know it's easier said than done. I've been through it. I've been through times in my life where I felt like I had to submit. Y'all know the story. When it was first time for me to come to Rochester, I've told you that story millions of times, how hard I fought, how much I didn't want to do it. I literally sat in my closet and cried and I'm not even talking about a prayer closet, my literal closet. I sat there and I cried. I'm like, God, I don't want to do it. And I went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. So I know it's not easy, but the thing that God has for you, the thing that he has for your children, It's going to require you to submit fully. Submit completely. Submit as soon as you can. And I find comfort in this. When I read this story, I look at this and I just don't read where it says, and no one pours new wine into old wineskins. What I read when I read that, I read it like this. Jesus is talking and he says, and I do not pour new wine into old wineskins. I don't pour new wine into old wineskins. What does that tell me about Jesus? We have a God who is careful and who is mindful, who stewards everything carefully, who sees it through. So he says this, if I'm about to do something new, if I'm about to pour something new, you can rest assured and know that I have produced it and I have prepared for it. Before I pour it, we're worried about the new thing he's going to do. He said, when it's in my hands, I take care of everything, past, present, and future. I'm going to produce it. And here's the thing, because some

of us may be in a season right now when God is producing some new things in us. Can I give you a heads up? The process of him producing something new is often uncomfortable. It's often hard. It often feels like you're being crushed. But can I tell you, unless the grapes are crushed, there's no way new wine can come out. So the things that he's doing in your life, he's trying to prepare you and make you, not just for what he wants to do in you, but for what he wants to do through you. He says, I'm going to produce it, but I'm not only going to produce it, but I'm going to prepare the way for it. The things in your life that I'm doing, I'm going to find comfort and confidence in the fact that God has already gone before you and made provision. He's already gone before you and made provision. He's already thought about the thing that you're worried about. He said, just trust the fact that before I do anything, some of us think God is like us. We think he's forgotten some of the details. Well God, what about this? God, what about that? God, what about this? It reminds me, and I told you the story before when I moved up here and I just started bringing up everything to God because I really didn't want to move. I really didn't want to go. You know, sometimes we got to admit the thing that's really getting us is that we really don't want to change. The thing that's getting us is that we really don't want to move. So we start making illogical things, things that make no sense. I remember I'm praying and I tell God, I'm like, this is the last straw. And I'm praying, I'm like, God, what about my daughter? At the time my daughter was young, this is about five years ago, my daughter is young. She ain't like brushing her teeth. I'm like, God, what about my daughter? When we get up there, she's going to start going to school and she don't even like brushing her teeth. And I know you did not bring me to Rochester to go to jail because if she go to school and they teasing her because she don't brush her teeth, it's going to be problems. And I'm serious. I'm mad. I'm talking to God. He didn't say a word. I remember getting up that morning as after I prayed and I went to the gym and I'm still mad because I don't want to move. I don't want to change. I come back home after the gym that day, my family wakes up. My daughter does something she's never done in her life. At that point, she runs into the bathroom where I'm at. She says, daddy, daddy, give me the toothbrush. I said, what? She said, give me the toothbrush. Give me the toothpaste. She brushes her teeth. Then she looked at me. She said, see, daddy, I did it. I can hear God at that point and say, what detail do you think I haven't looked over?

What thing have you think I haven't taken to account? I'm a good God. I am a good father. You can rest assured that I've looked over every single detail. Stop worrying about it. And step into the fullness of what I have for you. And can I tell you, he doesn't just produce it, prepare it, and pour it. But if that's not enough confidence for you, have confidence in this. He does this all for his good purpose and plan. It's all for his, when you don't see what he's doing, know that his plan and his purpose, he's working. If you don't understand it, if you don't like it, he says, what I'm doing, I have plans to prosper you. I have plans for hope in the future for you. Are you so attached to the old things in your life? For my people who just got baptized. baptized, who's trying to walk into this new life that Christ has for you. There are going to be some things that you have to make an intentional decision to let go of. I told you at the moment, the decision was just step one daily. He says, pick up your cross daily. There's some places that at some point he'll start nudging you. I don't know if you could go there anymore. There's some relationships. He'll start nudging you. It might be time to get some new friends. There's some things I told him. I remember when I first started working out and I was like, I want a new body. It's time and I started working out and I'm going to the gym and I began to talk to the coach. The coach was like, Oh, all right. The decision, that was great. But here's what else you need to do. You need to up your water intake. I'm like, man, I gotta drink more water. I don't like drinking water like that, but I know you got to change some things. And then I remember going to the gym and I used to be tired cause I would go there in the morning. There was like, I was like, I'm tired. I'm doing too much in the gym. They're like, no, you're not doing too much in the gym. You just staying up too late. You come into the gym at 5am after you stayed up to 12am you need to switch your

bedtime. I'm like, man, I gotta switch my bedtime too. These days I go to bed at 8pm unless the Knicks are playing. Then I'm up all night, but it's like I had to switch my bedtime. I had to switch my water intake. I had to switch my diet. You know what else? I had to switch because I switched my diet. I had to switch the things that I was spending on. My spending habits had to change. New demands new for some of you who are hoping to walk into the fullness of everything God has for you. God says, that's great. Now get ready to make some changes in some other areas of your life. And if you are unwilling to make the changes in other areas of your life, don't get mad at the church. Don't get mad at God. Don't get mad at your husband. Don't get mad at your wife. Don't get mad at your children. Don't get mad at anybody else look in the mirror and say, I was unwilling to change the things that I needed to change. I ignored the signs and anytime you ignore the signs, you suffer the consequences. Yeah. Here's bow eyes closed. I'm sorry for the abrupt, but I feel it to end right there. I feel a pause right there because there are some of us who God has been highlighting things in our own lives and our own days where God is like, I'm tapping on that. I'm nudging you because there's some adjustments you need to make in that area. This is not for everybody to go home and go crazy. Like I need to change this. I need to change this. No, no, no. There are some things is a process. It's a journey and along the way he'll tap you. And the spirit talks about this. When I knock, don't harden your hearts. Don't try to ignore it. There's some of you in here who need to start making decisions this week.

Some of you need to block some people as soon as this service is over. Some of you need to send the apologies. I don't like making apologies. I don't like saying I'm sorry. Some of you need to adapt some new habits and start learning how to apologize. When your life has God been giving you signs and this is what I want to do. I'm not going to call anybody to the front, but I want to pray for you. I want to pray for you as you sit right in your seat. If you're in this room and you say, I want the courage, the boldness and the faith to make the adjustment where I need to make the adjustment so I can fully begin to walk into this fullness of everything God has for me. If that's you and you want to make adjustments, you want me to pray for you. Could you please just lift your hand in the air? I see you. I see you. It's game time. Let's do this. Father God, I pray for each and every person who has their hand lifted right now. Father God, you've called us to walk in the fullness of the new life you have for us. But father, I pray you see our humanity. I thank you God that you're a God who can sympathize and empathize with us. You know how hard it is. Father God, and I thank you that you've made provision even for our humanity. So father, I pray that you give us all the strength, the boldness, the courage, the faith, the obedience, the trust to put behind us the old things, the things that make us feel safe, the thing that makes us feel comfortable, the things that feel like security when it's just for security. Father God, those who are worried about relationships that they may lose. Father God help them to recognize and understand that anything we lose when we're obedient to you is worth losing. Help us to say a full strong yes again and again and again and again every single day of our lives every day

we wake up. Father God I pray that you open up their eyes to the family of believers that you've placed around them that you've called us to be attached to and become fully part of this body. We thank you now God for everything that you've done and everything you will continue to do. We give you our full yes and our full trust in Jesus precious and mighty name we pray. Everybody shout aloud amen amen. You can give God one more hand clap. Oh what a message that is. What a message. Pastor CJ thank you thank you for hearing the voice of heaven. Man I made so many notes I'm gonna preach the stink out of that message somewhere. It is I'm gonna ask my Lisa and Cass to join us on the stage. Today is such an incredible day. I'm so thankful you've no idea what a privilege it is to be pastors to your heart. Oh my goodness you're not just crowd you are people who God knows by name and he has planted you in a family and as you know we've been talking about transition Pastor Marlise and I being clear that God has given us assignment and with God's assignment comes a beginning with God's assignment comes an end but it's not an end to belong. It's not an end to be part of anything and Pastor CJ you and Cass since November you've been preaching. Since November we have been watching. I cried my eyes out when we baptized 127 people. I said to my wife no person can do this unless God is with them. It's not possible. I've been in ministry too long. You can pretend you can make noise but you can't change hearts. It takes the anointing of God and the board and I've been and I've been meeting and meeting and meeting looking at the future asking God Lord you know what you are doing and sometimes we brainstorm and plan and decide but ultimately the purposes of God shall prevail. So today Pastor CJ, Cass, Nicola, Pastor Cass it is our utmost joy to announce you as the new Senior Pastors of The Father's House. Oh you have no idea how much joy this is. No idea how much joy this is and we know that God is gonna continue. The board has asked that Pastor Marlise and I stay to the end of the year as founding pastors coaching, helping, investing because their desire is for all of us to come alongside you because we grow together. We don't arrive fully knowing but we know this one thing. We can teach people things but we cannot give them an anointing and we want to acknowledge even this morning the anointing of God. This is new wine for a new time and a new hour and we are forever grateful. Say something. I told this the first service first and foremost we thank God for his goodness, his faithfulness.

Pastor Pierre Marlise, we We know and recognize that we stand on y'all's shoulders, your faithfulness over the years, your obedience, your sacrifices, it's not forgotten, it's not missed on us, we'll never forget it, we're always grateful for you, always thankful for you, and we thank God for you, for your blessing to this house, not just this house, to Rochester, the region, for generations that have been blessed by y'all. One more time, can we honor Pastor Pierre Morlise? Church, what a beautiful day. Now I want you to remember this date, May the 31st, is the day that we are gonna par-tay, and we can get down, people. We can be telling the stories, because it's not about us standing on this stage, it's about the community of faithful people that we want to thank, those who have served, those who are serving. I took John Lemoore across to 692, and I said, I want to show you where it started, and he sat right there, he says, no way, only God can do this, and then he looked around, he says, there is such a sweet presence of God in that chapel, and he says, when I come back, I want to go record a worship night over there, because I can feel God has a story, and he's not done. The page has been turned, it's got a new name, a new chapter, and the story goes on. So raise your hands as high as you can go. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit be with you. May the Lord bless you, may the Lord keep you, and shine His love over you, and may God give you peace. Be blessed, church, be blessed, we'll see you next Sunday.