Bridge Church Greenbrier

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Welcome to the Bridge Church Greenbrier Podcast, where we connect all people to the person,

power and purpose of Jesus.

Wherever you are listening from, we're so glad that you are joining us.

Now let's listen to this week's message.

We're starting a new series today, and the series is The Road to Resurrection.

We know that Easter is coming up in a couple weeks, it's an exciting moment, it's an exciting

day that Jesus did not just go to the grave, but he defeated death, and he rose from the

grave.

And that's the reason why we today can live this life knowing that he's not dead.

That my God's not dead, he's surely alive, living on the inside, living on the inside.

Come on.

And so he's living on the inside of us, to those who believe in him.

So today I'm going to be sharing a message with you for the next couple weeks, talking

about the road to resurrection, and what Jesus ultimately went through, and why do

we call Jesus, King Jesus?

You know, there's an ultimately, we say it, we say these Christian words in the

church, but do we really know what they mean?

Jesus is King!

He's the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, like, but do you know what it means?

You know, when they came in in John 12, 12, they came in and Jesus came in and he was

riding in on a donkey, and he was coming in and everybody was praising him.

Hosanna, hosanna, blessed is Jesus the King, blessed is he!

And he came in on a donkey and he really, the reason why he came in on a donkey is

because he's fulfilling prophecy.

Like the prophecy through the Old Testament is not meant to scare us, but it's meant

to prepare us.

And so he prophesied this in Zechariah 9-9, he prophesied that he would come in on a

donkey, and why would he come in on a donkey?

Why wouldn't Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, come in on a stallion?

Like I can imagine a Clydesdale coming in like, I'm the King of Kings!

Because when the horses signified war, the donkey signified peace and humility.

Like he did not come to us to be served, but to serve.

And so he came in on a donkey for a specific reason, to show, one, to fulfill prophecy,

two, to show, listen, I'm not here to take over the Roman Empire, I'm not here

to condemn you, I'm here to save you.

I'm not here for political reasons, I'm here for spiritual reasons.

And so when he comes in, he comes in and people are worshiping him for the political.

They're like, oh, the King's here, right?

And Jesus comes in, he signified this, and when he came in, but what does it mean

to be king?

You know, I don't know, anybody over 30 years old ever play King of the Hill?

Not the TV show, but King of the Hill, yeah, come on Tiny, yep, yep, yep, listen.

So King of the Hill, I'll give you an illustration, Ty and Tay, you're way too young for this,

it's okay, but listen, I like to use them in my illustrations every Sunday, that way

when they're not here, I make fun of them, but anyway.

So what happens is, the King of the Hill is when my brothers and a lot of kids around

the block would play, we would go and there would be a hill, there would be some type

of a little, we had a sand hill at our place, because we grew up right outside Lake Michigan,

so we'd be on a sand hill, and we would climb the hill, be King of the Hill, whoever

was on top of the hill was King of the Hill, but everybody who was on the bottom

would attack the person on the top to knock him off the hill in order they could

be King of the Hill.

So when I was on top of the hill, I had everybody charging at me, I'm just swinging

at them, and I'm King of the Hill, and then all of a sudden someone would come knock me

off from the side, and then they would be King of the Hill, and they signified

that I'm on top.

But the only problem when you're on top, is it means that you have to fight everything

coming at you.

That means that you have to save yourself.

How is saving yourself working out so far?

Go ahead, I'll wait.

And so the significance of letting Jesus be King of your life, is saying, listen, I

don't have to fight this alone.

I don't have to go through this alone, I have the Lord Almighty, the King of Kings,

and the Lord of Lords on my side, I'm going to let him be the King of my Hill.

Yes, Jed Hill, he's the King of my Hill, and when he's the King of my Hill, guess what?

You cannot be on top.

Ouch.

And so what that means, when he's the King, it signifies, number one, there's three

significances of him being King in our lives.

Number one, he's the King because he has authority over some things.

He's got authority over all things, at all times, having everything that you need.

He has authority over all things.

You say, well, what about my son who is gone wayward, and he has authority over that too.

The reason why a lot of us have a problem with our children, is because maybe we haven't

given our children fully over to God that we think we're owners, and it's not until

we give them to God.

He has authority over all things.

And so when you understand that he has authority over all things, it gives him the significance

of saying, hey God, if you have authority over everything, and I know you're a good

King, I'm going to come under your authority, right?

And when we come under his authority, it's so amazing.

He doesn't just treat us like slaves, no, no, no.

We come under his authority, and he gives us authority.

He gives us authority.

The Bible says to trample on snakes.

That means when you're underneath his authority, you can't let something beneath you speak

to you.

Some of that's been your problem all along.

You're letting someone that didn't create you name you and label you.

And they don't have the authority to do that.

But you're giving away your authority for them to do that.

So he has the authority, it says in Matthew 28 18, when Jesus was raised from the dead,

he came out of the grave, he was about to be ascended to heaven, and he tells the

disciples, he's like, listen, Jesus said to them, all authority on heaven and on earth.

So where we're at right now, all authority on heaven and earth has been given to him.

Therefore, there's the word, therefore, since all authority has been given to me, I'm about

to give it to you.

As believers in Christ, I'm about to impart my authority to you.

If you come under my authority, I'm going to give you authority.

He said submit yourselves to God, resist the devil, and the devil's got to, ha, that's

authority.

That I tell the devil where to go.

He don't tell me where to go.

He says, so, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name

of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey, come on somebody,

obey everything I've commanded you.

How are you going to teach someone to obey everything that Jesus says in the word when

you're disobedient?

Oh, baby, I'm preaching good and I've only got like eight minutes left.

How are you, if you're so disobedient, how do you expect other people to come and

meet Jesus?

Maybe you're the one separating them from Jesus by the way you're disobeying.

But he said, I've given you authority, you're going to be an example on how to be a

Christian or how not to be a Christian, you're an example.

He says, and surely, he says, teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you and

surely I am with you to the very end of the age.

Surely I will never break up with you.

Surely I'll never abandon you.

Surely I'll never walk out on you.

Surely I'll be with you everywhere you go.

Surely I'll be with, I will be with you and when I'm with you, you will not fear,

you will walk in obedience, but what happens when I walk away in disobedience?

That means I turn my back on him and I walk out on him.

That means I turn my back on him and I break up with him.

God never left you.

I don't know who needs to hear that.

You left him.

You wonder why you're not feeling the protection, the provision of God?

Reevaluate your life and find out where you're being disobedient to God.

Repent of that and turn back to him.

You're one honest prayer from being in a righteous relationship with God.

What's righteous mean?

Righteous means right standing relationship.

That means there's nothing in between me and God right now.

I confess my sins, he's forgiven me, there's nothing blocking me from him.

So I've been given the authority, it's so amazing.

Now the second part, I want you guys to understand that when we believe, we receive

him.

How many people know that?

I want to reiterate that because sometimes I think that when we come as children of God,

we read the verse, we see what it says, it says being part of the kingdom of God

gives us Christians an identity as children of God, but I don't think we understand

that.

It's just we have to believe first.

That's why John 10, 1-12 says, yet to all who did receive him, to those who believe

in his name, he is given the right to be called children of God.

That you've been adopted.

I don't know who has abandoned you.

I don't know who's deserted you.

I don't care if your parents broke up.

I don't, no, he's saying, listen, I'm adopting you.

I'm your new father.

I'm your new father.

I won't walk out on you.

I'm your new father.

I'll always, always, always, always protect you.

And so when we understand that we're children of God, that children are chosen.

Oh my God, I don't have a long time to preach, but 1 Peter 2, 9 it says, but you

are a chosen race.

You say, well, I'm black, I'm this color, I'm that color.

Notice he said, you're a chosen race.

There's only one kind, it's mankind.

You're a chosen race.

And this is for all the people that have been calling themselves things outside their

name that you're not good enough and you're all these things.

Guess what?

He says, since you believed in me, since I chose you, okay, just know that I was

never lost.

You were.

So I found you.

Okay.

He says, and he starts calling you all these great things that you're a royal priesthood.

Oh, that feels pretty good.

You're a holy nation.

You're a holy people.

Oh, that feels pretty good.

You're his own possession.

Oh, yes.

And here's the reason why, that you may proclaim the excellence of Him who called you

out of darkness.

Anybody ever been in a dark place in their life?

Where my sinner's at, let's get honest, I'm talking like a dark, dark season in your

life that he called you out of, that if you wouldn't have got called out of, you

would have been stuck there still today, into his wonderful light.

He called you out into the light so that you might be the light.

He didn't just call you out to call you out.

He called you out to light you up and take you back out.

Oh, it's not, it's a privilege to be chosen, but it's also a responsibility.

And so, I always think of my mom, you know, she's, my mom's in heaven, so great,

love her, but she would always, you know, go to the store and she, the fruit, man,

she would fill the fruit before she put it in the bag.

Every piece she would fill to make sure, right, she's choosing it, she's hand picking

it.

And I think of God, man, he's, he chose you like you're hand picked.

Like he didn't, he wasn't just like, let me scoop a bunch of people and throw

them in this and whatever I get, I get.

No, he's like, listen, I'm choosing you, you're chosen, you're chosen.

I'm just like, God, that's so good, it's so good.

You know, when I was in eighth grade, I was homeschooled my whole life until

ninth grade, yeah, homeschoolers, shout out, come on somebody.

And so, I was homeschooled, but, so when I was homeschooled, we didn't get to play

sports in school and stuff like that, it was, it was challenging for us, but my brothers

and I and a couple kids from the neighborhood would always go down to the park and play

basketball, and there was a bunch of people there playing basketball, a lot of older

folks, you know what I mean, and I grew up in an urban area, so there was a, there

was a lot of good basketball players, right, you know, white men can't jump but

black men can, come on, and, you know, now I'm just saying, I'm just saying,

and so, so I'm sitting there with my friends, and we're playing basketball, and I'm

13, and there's like these 40-year-old men over here playing, and, you know, I'm

sitting over on that other side of the court, and they start to pick people

for this game, and I'm sitting there just like, you know, watching, kind of like

shooting, like, you know, who they're going to choose, they're about to have

an all-star squad, and the guy points at me, and says, I want him, I want

him, and I look at him like, me? Like, you know, because I'm bigger than all

the kids in my age, but at the same time, I was, you know, I wasn't 40, I wasn't

as good as these guys were, and I could never, I'll never forget that day

where he called me, and wanted me on his team,

like, I really felt like, man, like somebody notices me,

like, like, you called me to be on this team,

I don't, I don't, I feel unworthy, and so that game, I spelt, I felt the

spirit of Michael Jordan on me, and, you know, he called me into this

game, and, and like, I probably, I literally, I shot the ball five times, and I made

the ball five times, and I've never done that a day in my life,

but it was just something that was on me, it was something that was on me,

because I knew I was chosen for this one thing, and like, I felt so

disqualified, but it's like Jesus, man, when we come

in, we feel disqualified, he don't, he, but he, but he qualifies us,

you know, it's not because of our might, it's not because of us, but

he likes to use these imperfect things,

he, oh, it's so great, he likes to use these things in our life, especially

the broken people, where the broken people at,

oh man, come on, God likes to use us, oh, he does, he does, he does, and I don't

know why, but I, I'm starting to figure out,

because, because the world will look at the broken thing and say, that

thing's worthless, and God's saying, look, that thing

right there, I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna show you that, yes, they

couldn't have done it by themselves, but with me, but with me, but with me,

that part, it's that part, guys, that with him,

all things are possible, that him, he makes all things new, with him,

he's chosen, you're chosen, you're chosen people, you know, he says,

and so he's given us the demonstration of being chosen,

of being loved, you know, he says it, and if we go down the verse, it goes in

1 Peter 2 11, it says, once you were not a people,

but now you are the people of God, once you were

lost, but now you are found, once you were in darkness, but now you're

in light, he says, once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy, once you've been not forgiven, but now

you've been forgiven, once you did walk into this dark, dark

place, but now, somebody say, but now, but now,

it's so, it's so powerful, guys, like, because he calls us out,

and he gives us value, he gives us worth, and when you know the value of

who you are, come on, when you know your true value,

you won't go spinning on other things, come on,

and so, yeah, come on, and so John, John 15 16, it says,

you did not, he says, you did not choose me,

but I chose you, you didn't choose God, he chose you already, like, that's

pretty powerful, like, what do you mean, pastor, like, I,

like, I didn't, well, you called on his name, you drew near to him,

yes, but he already chose you before the foundations of the earth, he says, I'm

gonna die for that one, that's why the appointment that even

you're here today, it's not mistake, he chose you,

he chose you, and he doesn't make mistakes,

he says, I chose you, but why did he choose you, so that you might bear fruit,

fruit that will last, so that whatever you ask, come on, somebody, in my name,

the father will give you, that means, when you're walking in purpose,

you're bearing fruit, God likes to bless that, and give you what you need,

but if you're not walking in purpose, and you're not bearing fruit,

does that mean he doesn't give you what you need,

it got real quiet in his church, like, I don't know,

but he says, in second chronicle 7 14, he said, if my people were called by

my name, would humble themselves, turn from the work of ways, then I will

hear it from heaven, then I will heal their lands,

so you're saying that if I don't walk in humility, God doesn't hear my prayers,

if I don't walk in humility, my prayers just bounce off the roof, and come back to me,

it's the humility part, and that's why a lot of our prayer requests don't get answered,

because we're shouting out to God as the last resort, instead of the first,

come on, like before I even step foot in that doctor's office, before you, I don't care what

injury you have in your life, I don't care what's going on in your life, I don't, yes,

we have doctors for a reason, but if you're not going to Jesus first,

the one who made you, the one that created you, like if you, if you're not going to him,

yes, go to doctors, don't don't want pastors that don't go to like, no, no,

go to the doctor, but if you're not praying about it first,

how dare you, how dare you, like before I even went to the doctor, I was having people intercede

and praying for me, I was praying for myself, I got prayed up before I went in,

oh, that's a word for somebody, what happens if you prayed yourself before you went in,

and so the people of God, they're, you're chosen, you're a, you're a royal priesthood,

and yes, this is a compliment, but it's a responsibility, it's a responsibility,

you look at the, the privileges of being royalty, royalty has, you have access to all

of the kingdom, we are co-heirs with the kingdom, we have access, I got the keys,

what do you do with your keys, are you still allowing other people to be locked up

because you're hijacking the keys, okay, royalty has influence,

royalty sets culture, royalty sets culture, doesn't blend in with culture,

royalty sets culture, royalty has to rule well, royalty cares for all people,

all people, even the ones you don't like, royalty cares for all people,

royalty has to lead well, because you'll answer to where you lead the people,

because why, royalty represents the king, are you being a good rep, are you representing the king well,

are you, I mean, you're gonna have to answer for that one day in your life,

are you representing him well, and so it's just, it's, to me, it's very hard,

it's very hard to follow the way when you're walking down old paths,

he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, but it's just so easy for us to start

walking and navigating ourselves down to old patterns and old things in our life,

and God's saying, no, no, no, no, not that way, not, not that way, not that way,

you continue down that road, it leads to destruction, you continue down that road,

you know what happens, it's a wake-up call for some people today,

and so he calls us royalty, he calls us holy, holy, that's so great, and 1 Peter 1 14 and 16

has, since we're adopted, we're children, right, we believe we're children of God,

1 Peter 1 14 and 16 has obedient children, come on somebody, do not conform to the devil's desires

you had when you lived in ignorance, don't continue being ignorant, I've called you out

of ignorance, I've called you out of sin, don't, you know, God can't forgive you of a sin that

you befriended, a lot of us, we make our sin our pet, and God's saying, listen,

I can't get rid of that because you're still tolerating it, okay, so he says, obedient children,

but just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do, for it is written, be holy

because he is holy, I'm not holy for myself, I can't be holy, matter of fact, I'm holy because

of what lives inside me, it's called the holy spirit, and so holy people walk in purity,

holy people walk in simplicity, holy people abstain from unclean things,

holy people separate themselves from, holy people separate themselves, come on somebody,

separate themselves from ungodly things, it's the separation, it's the, we have to get rid of

these things, we have to walk away from these things, I cannot entertain these things no longer,

see a lot of us were too busy trying to find, we're trying to,

a lot of us are too busy trying to find the right way to do the wrong thing,

well God, this sin right here, I can't get rid of, I'm gonna find the right way to sin,

and there is no right way to do the wrong thing,

so we have to get rid of that, those desires in our heart, he tells us, he tells us

so that we can be holy, because he is holy, what is holy, holy people are just simply people that

are, they're disciplined, holy people abstain from unclean things, holy people,

discipline's a huge thing guys, I discipline my body, we talked about this last week,

I buffet my body, I discipline my body, I gotta discipline my thought life too,

I gotta guard my heart, because out of my heart flows the abundance of life,

and so as we cruise in now, I just, I really want us to focus on, why are we saved,

why do we serve the king, like if you just got saved to go, if you think God just saves us

for heaven, you're missing it, because as soon as you got saved, that means you would just go

to heaven, and I don't see, are you guys still here, okay, so how many people have been saved,

Mo, I didn't see your hand, okay, all right, he's got the largest hand in this room, I just

want to make sure I see, if I see his, we're good, and so, so we're saved, right, and so

if we're saved, and we're still here, that means we have a purpose, if we're going to heaven,

it's going to be great, streets of gold, all that stuff, yes, great, but what's my purpose now,

am I fulfilling my purpose now, and that's going to be the third, the third point,

okay, it says we are saved, we are Christians, to what, reflect his servant leadership,

we're reflections of the king, it's like, imagine looking in the mirror, we look in the mirror,

and I see myself, but spiritually I see Jesus, does that make sense,

man looking in the hour, God looks at the heart, when I look in the mirror,

I don't see myself anymore, like I really don't, because I don't even recognize myself,

because God's made me brand new, all right, I'll throw my mugshot photo over there if you guys

need it, but I'm a new creation in Christ, and so we have the, we have a responsibility

that he's given us the demonstration of his love and his mercy, right,

anybody ever been, has experienced the demonstration of love, his mercy here on earth, okay,

now you and I have an obligation,

the obligation is simply this, it's to share God's love and mercy,

but an obligation without an application does not get carried out,

so I have to apply with application, I have to be able to, I have to go, somebody say go,

I have to be willing to move, that's why I talked about spiritual health,

listen if we're getting so old and we can't move, that means we're not doing God's purpose,

I don't care how old you are, if you've got breath in your nostrils, God's not done with

you yet, and so we understand that, and so Proverbs 11 30, it says, but a life lived

loving God bears lasting fruit, for the one who is truly wise, what does he do,

come on, if you're truly as smart as you think you are, you'll be winning souls,

well pastor I don't know how to lead someone to Christ, well keep coming to church, because

we lead them to Christ every single Sunday here, and if you need help on a side, guess what,

we got a great discipleship team that will teach you, all you got to do is tap them and

say hey I need help in this area, and how do you lead someone to Christ, sharing your testimony,

sharing the gospel, a testimony is just a story until you put God in it,

I don't know, I'm tired of telling bedtime stories,

but I tell my testimony and that's what allowing other people to overcome,

that's it's inviting people into the kingdom, and it's so amazing when you understand that,

because I mean who in here like goes to a great restaurant, Serge and I and Alyssa,

my wife went to this great restaurant yesterday, it was very you know cultural,

and he brought his flag and all that stuff, it was great, and I got to try some new food

I never tried before, but when we try new restaurants, what do we do, we tell everybody,

yo you got to try this new spot, it's so good, what do we see when we see a good movie,

like we post it yo check this movie out on Netflix, check this movie out,

has anybody here had an encounter with the king,

are you telling about it, are you letting everybody know,

because all it takes is one encounter to share with somebody else,

one encounter, who in here has ever led someone to Christ,

I'm embarrassed, so less than half of you guys have led someone to Christ,

and I don't want you guys to be embarrassed, I want you guys to like literally when I lead

someone across, I want to want you guys to be able to stand up so proud,

just being like yes I was used by God today, yes when I get to heaven one day,

so the saints are going to all be gathered near, and they're going to say it's because

of your invitation that I'm here, that's going to be the biggest reward for me,

just to know that I got to bring an army with me to heaven,

and so that's the part where we got to understand guys, why do we do this,

I'll end with this verse because of luke 14 23,

the master told his servants, king Jesus told you and me, he's the master,

we're the servants, he says go out into the roads, the countries, and the lanes,

and compel them to come in, invite them to come in,

so that my house may be full,

Jesus is compelling each and every one of you, he said listen I want heaven to be crowded,

but it won't be crowded if you're not willing to be wow Christians, wow, witness, occupy, watch,

I want to encourage you guys, man I've never been so more in love with Jesus than when I share

about when I talk about Jesus, I've never been more in love with Jesus than when I tell

somebody about Jesus, and I get even more in love with Jesus when I see Jesus transform people's

lives, and it's because of your invitation that leads to someone's salvation, that leads to their

transformation, and it all starts with your invitation, because of you I'm going to be going

to heaven, like when people tell me that pastor you don't understand like you've changed my life,

I didn't change your life, God did, but he did use me, it's not about me, but God uses me,

and so I get excited about that, and he wants to use you too,

he wants to use each and every one of you, well pastor I'm not equipped,

pastor if you knew my past, pastor if you even knew what I did last week,

I'll dream it, but God's saying listen I want to wipe this lake clean today, I'm going to wipe it clean.

Thank you so much for joining us today, if you would like to connect with us

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