Killing Two Birds With One Stone: Why Are You Really Following Jesus?
Bishop Henry Fernandez Preached on 4/6/2026John 12:9-13
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45:29
Summary
Bishop Henry Fernandez explores the diverse motives of the Palm Sunday crowd, challenging believers to move beyond seeking miracles to seeking the Master while remaining steadfast under the persecution that follows true transformation.
Key points
- •Motives matter when following Jesus; the Palm Sunday crowd contained the curious, the convinced, the critical, and the corrupt.
- •People are often drawn to what Jesus does (miracles) rather than who He is, but true disciples focus on the Master over the miracle.
- •Association with Jesus makes you a target for spiritual and social persecution, just as Lazarus became a target for the religious leaders after being raised.
- •Authentic worship requires using what is readily available and should cost the worshiper something, regardless of their circumstances.
- •Faith is a conscious choice and a calculated risk; it is better to live as a believer and be wrong than to live as a skeptic and find out there is no repentance after death.
Scripture
Faith
Worship
Discipleship
Spiritual Warfare
Character
Life application
This week, evaluate your reasons for attending church or praying. Instead of asking God for a miracle, spend time in 'costly' worship - praising Him specifically for His character even if your current circumstances are difficult.
Reflection questions
- If you never saw another miracle or heard another anointed sermon, would you still worship God? Why or why not?
- Who or what has become a 'superstar' in your spiritual life that might be distracting you from the presence of Jesus?
- In what ways has your transformation in Christ made you a target for criticism, and how can you respond with grace?
- What 'palm branches' (readily available resources or talents) can you lay down this week to honor God?
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Full transcript
0:00If you don't mind, would you stand all
0:01over the auditorium?
0:03I want to take your attention to the
0:05book of John.
0:07John chapter 12.
0:12And we will
0:14read from verse 9 to verse 13.
0:20They're going to put it on the screen
0:21and I would like for all of us together
0:24in unity
0:25to read it. Those of you are streaming,
0:28>> [music]
0:28>> I believe it'll be on the screen for you
0:30to also see it. So, please join in
0:33uh with us. We would like to read
0:36together.
0:37And uh please don't be silent about it.
0:41I want you to read it out as loud as
0:43possible.
0:44We're going to read again John chapter
0:4712
0:48beginning at verse 9. Are you ready?
0:53Let's read.
1:37Father, we thank you
1:39that it is in your name and your name
1:41alone
1:44that we have the power
1:47to stand in this present society that we
1:50live in
1:52to declare that we are truly
1:55followers
1:57of Jesus.
1:59We agree with the Apostle Paul when he
2:02stated,
2:03"I'm not ashamed of the gospel."
2:07Cuz it is the power
2:09to those who believe.
2:13Open our hearts and our minds to receive
2:16your truth today.
2:18Help us to examine our motives
2:21and to align our worship with you.
2:25Help us to safe stay focused on you and
2:29you alone. Let this word today
2:32that comes through your servant be
2:34anointed
2:36full of power.
2:38In your mighty name we pray.
2:40Amen. Can we give God one more praise in
2:43the house?
2:46And you may be seated in the presence of
2:49the Lord.
2:52So, if you will this morning, allow me
2:54to use a very interesting topic
2:58by using a phrase that most of us are
3:01familiar with.
3:03And that is
3:05killing two birds with one stone.
3:11Why
3:12are you really following
3:16Jesus?
3:18Killing two birds
3:20with one stone.
3:22And then the question is, why are you
3:26really following
3:29Jesus?
3:32See, many of you have heard the phrase
3:35killing two birds with one stone.
3:39And for the younger people, you may not
3:41understand what it means.
3:43It simply means addressing two things at
3:47the same time.
3:49And so today, I want to challenge you
3:53uh because spiritually, many people are
3:57doing this in a dangerous way.
4:01They're trying to take care
4:05of two things
4:07at the same time. And while it's
4:09possible and it's okay to do it, but in
4:13another sense, it can be a dangerous
4:16thing.
4:17Some people are trying to follow Jesus
4:21while ignoring true worship.
4:26Others are trying to discredit God.
4:29Watch this. While at the same time
4:33attacking his people.
4:36And so on Palm Sunday, it exposes both
4:40groups.
4:42Why are you following Jesus?
4:45Is it to open your heart to him? Is it
4:47to worship him? Or is it to find out
4:52about the miracles that he's performing?
4:55And is it to discredit him and his
4:59people?
5:01We find in scripture it tells us that a
5:04large crowd of Jews fou-
5:08found out, if you will, that Jesus
5:12was gathered at a particular place and
5:15they came not only because of Jesus, but
5:19also to see Lazarus. And you've got to
5:21remember now, Lazarus was this man that
5:25Jesus raised from the dead.
5:28So, the news was out.
5:31That Lazarus who died
5:34is alive.
5:36And so, while Jesus was having a
5:39meeting, yeah, some came to see Jesus,
5:42but there were plenty of people who
5:44said, "I don't not only want to see
5:47Jesus, but I heard that that there was a
5:49man who once died is now alive. So, I
5:53want to see him."
5:55The chief priest
5:57decided to kill Lazarus because
6:02their their very position was
6:05threatened. Isn't it amazing? Lazarus
6:09died. Jesus raised him from the dead.
6:13And now the religious people wanted to
6:17kill him for the second time.
6:21Just to protect their religious
6:23identity.
6:26And so, this moment reveals something
6:30critical to the church.
6:33And it is that not everyone in the crowd
6:36has the same motive.
6:39You need to understand that this event
6:42that took PLACE IN SCRIPTURE CLEARLY
6:44indicates to us
6:46that just because people gather where
6:49they're worshiping Jesus, doesn't mean
6:52that everybody is there for the same
6:55reason.
6:57So, I want TO POINT OUT FIVE things to
7:00you today that I want you to pay
7:02attention to and this is very important.
7:05Point number one, not everyone follows
7:08Jesus for the right reasons.
7:12Palm Sunday was not just a celebration.
7:16It was a revelation of motives.
7:20There were two groups of people who
7:22showed up.
7:23Number one, the curious
7:26and the convinced.
7:29The curious and the convinced.
7:32They came because of what Jesus did.
7:36Curious. OH, LAZARUS IS ALIVE. SO, THEY
7:40were cu- curious. The second group, they
7:44saw the evidence and they believed. Ah,
7:49Lazarus.
7:50He's alive. He must be the Messiah then
7:53because for Jesus to raise him from the
7:55dead, he's got to have some superpower
7:58in him. So, they were curious and they
8:02were also convinced. I've I've seen
8:05Lazarus. I know. I was even there. I was
8:09in the community when Jesus raised him
8:12from the dead.
8:13John 12:11 tells us, "Because of
8:17Lazarus, many were leaving." Watch this.
8:21The Jewish leaders and believing in
8:25Jesus.
8:26THE WORKS THAT JESUS was performing WAS
8:30DISTURBING THE religious community. My
8:33brothers and sisters, ANYTIME YOU DECIDE
8:37TO FOLLOW JESUS AND NOT RELIGION, IT IS
8:40going to upset some people.
8:43>> [cheering]
8:43>> I want you to understand this.
8:46Many of them were angry, the religious
8:49leaders I'm speaking about. Many of them
8:52were very angry
8:54because
8:55uh uh of of what Jesus was doing and the
8:58miracles he were was performing.
9:01You see,
9:02number two, the critical and the
9:04corrupt. This was another group of
9:06people
9:07who showed up. The critical and the
9:10corrupt. Not just the curious and the
9:13convinced. But the critical and the
9:16corrupt. They came to discredit Jesus.
9:19They still don't believe.
9:21Even though they heard that he raised
9:24Lazarus from the dead. EVEN THOUGH THEY
9:26HEARD he was the Messiah, they still
9:29didn't believe. And then they WANTED TO
9:31DESTROY BOTH JESUS and Lazarus.
9:36They wanted to kill Jesus and now they
9:38wanted to double kill
9:41Lazarus.
9:43You know what I have I am so convinced
9:45today that there are some people and
9:47sadly, they show up sometime in the
9:49synagogues. So so many times they show
9:52up in crusades. So many times they show
9:55up where the believers gather. There are
9:58some people, no matter what you do, they
10:00will forever be critical. They will
10:02forever be negative. They are so corrupt
10:05that nothing you do and say will ever
10:09convince them of the power of Jesus
10:11Christ.
10:14AND WE MUST EMBRACE THE FACT THAT THAT
10:17EVEN in the church today, just like back
10:20then, you're going to have the critical
10:23and the corrupt.
10:25PEOPLE WHO COME TO DISCREDIT
10:28THE NAME OF JESUS.
10:30You got people walking AROUND NOW
10:31SAYING, "THERE'S no God. I'm an atheist.
10:35He's not real.
10:37I don't believe in him."
10:39And the reason WHY THEY'RE PROCLAIMING
10:41THAT IS BECAUSE THEY PRAYED FOR GOD TO
10:44PAY THEIR RENT. THEY PRAYED FOR GOD TO
10:46HEAL THEIR BODY. THEY PRAYED FOR
10:48SOMETHING TO HAPPEN AND IT NEVER
10:50HAPPENED and because of that, they're
10:53discrediting the name of God. How
10:56foolish.
11:00You mean to tell me that God is going to
11:02just react
11:05at the snapping of your fingers?
11:08Who do you think you are
11:12that you can demand God to act
11:15when you want him to?
11:18You're very critical
11:20because you see dysfunction in the
11:22church.
11:24Because you see in the church, things
11:26are happening that you're saying, "How
11:28How are these people people of God and
11:31do these things?" Do you read your word?
11:36The same things that are happening today
11:38happened in the scripture.
11:40And that's why the Bible tells us that
11:42you make sure you don't be the one to be
11:44deceived.
11:47The critical and the corrupt.
11:51Not everybody who comes to the house of
11:53God, not everyone who comes into your
11:56life wants to see you prosper, want to
11:59see you thrive. Oh, they showed up, but
12:02they showed up with a motive. We're
12:03going to kill both of them.
12:07DON'T BE SURPRISED IF I TELL YOU TODAY,
12:09THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WILL SHOW UP IN
12:11YOUR SPACE AND THE ONLY REASON WHY
12:14THEY'RE IN YOUR SPACE, they want to kill
12:18you.
12:22IT MAY NOT BE PHYSICAL, BUT THEY WILL
12:24KILL you spiritually. They will kill
12:27your drive. They will kill your motive.
12:29They will kill your excitement. They
12:32will kill your vision.
12:35John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only
12:39to steal, kill, and to destroy." You
12:42see, some people don't come to church to
12:44grow, they come to watch To watch this,
12:48they come to evaluate, criticize, and
12:52tear down.
12:54Point number two,
12:56people are drawn to Jesus,
12:59but not always for Jesus.
13:04You see, they came according to John
13:07chapter 12 verse 9, they came not only
13:10because of Jesus, but also to see
13:14Lazarus. THESE ARE THE GROUP OF PEOPLE
13:16WHO YES, I I'M GOING TO CHURCH. I'm
13:18going to worship God, but but but but
13:21BUT THEY THEY GO TO CHURCH because they
13:24want to see the evidence of the
13:27miracles.
13:29AND HERE'S MY SUGGESTION TO you today,
13:32WHAT IF YOU NEVER EVER SEE ANOTHER
13:34MIRACLE? What if you never hear another
13:37anointed sermon? What if you NEVER SEE
13:40THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE of the POWER OF
13:44GOD, WILL YOU WILL YOU STILL WORSHIP
13:48GOD?
13:51WOULD YOU WANT TO STILL WORSHIP GOD? I
13:54BELIEVE THERE'S A FEW PEOPLE in this
13:55room today. We don't need to see nothing
13:58to worship God. We worship HIM BECAUSE
14:01WE KNOW HIM FOR OURSELVES. WE WORSHIP
14:04HIM BECAUSE WE HAVE a personal
14:07relationship
14:08with him and we don't need anything ELSE
14:11TO CONVINCE US ABOUT THE POWER OF
14:14ALMIGHTY GOD. Can somebody give him
14:15praise in the house?
14:19>> [applause]
14:21>> So, let's be honest.
14:23Some come to see what God is doing while
14:27others come to see who God is using.
14:36They come to see what God is doing. Let
14:38me go up to that church and see what God
14:40is doing. Let me just go up to the faith
14:42center. Let me just see what God is
14:44doing. You know, last week the worship
14:45was just hot. Man, them singers were
14:47just I mean, they led us in the presence
14:50of God. While others say, "Let me see if
14:53God's going to use the singers again
14:55this week. Let me see if God's going to
14:57use Henry Fernandez this week. Let me
14:59see who God's going to use in the church
15:01today."
15:04See, these people gathered
15:07and Jesus was the star of it all.
15:11But you had
15:13people who were confused in their
15:15thinking
15:17because they just wanted to see what he
15:19was doing, not to worship him.
15:23Just see what he was doing.
15:25And then others were
15:27Let me see who God is using. Let me see
15:30the Lazarus
15:32that he raised from the dead.
15:35But the danger in doing this is when
15:38people come
15:40to church and they're more focused on
15:43the miracle
15:44instead of the master.
15:46The person instead of the presence of
15:49God.
15:51Acts chapter 3 verse 12, that it tells
15:53us, "Why do you stare at us if by our
15:58own power or if it was by our own power,
16:02we had made this man walk?" This Peter
16:05talking.
16:07THEY WERE ASTONISHED
16:09AT THE MIRACLE.
16:11AND THEY WERE FOCUSED ON PETER.
16:14IT IS SO EASY TO FOCUS ON THE PERSON
16:17THAT GOD IS USING instead of God
16:20himself.
16:22And this is the reason WHY WE HAVE MADE
16:24PREACHERS SUPERSTARS.
16:28This is the reasons why we have NOW HAVE
16:31GOTTEN ALL GUNG HO OVER OUR TITLES.
16:35We're prophets, prophetess, and we're
16:37deacons, and we're elders. WE'RE SO
16:40DRIVEN WITH PERSONALITY
16:44that we don't even enjoy the presence of
16:46God.
16:48Don't shout me down now.
16:51>> [applause]
16:53>> Peter said, "Why do you stare at us
16:55as if we had anything to do with this?"
16:58>> [laughter]
16:59>> As if WE HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS.
17:01WE WE'RE NOT THE ONE who healed THIS
17:03MAN.
17:04IT'S GOD. WHAT PETER WAS SAYING, "FIX
17:07YOUR EYES ON JESUS."
17:10AND I'M TELLING YOU, ALL OF US TODAY,
17:12whether you're in this building OR
17:14YOU'RE STREAMING, YOU NEED TO GET YOUR
17:16EYES OFF PEOPLE AND FIX FIX YOUR EYES ON
17:20JESUS and Jesus alone.
17:24You see, the assignment of every
17:25believer is to point people to Jesus,
17:27not yourself.
17:29Point number three, your association
17:31with Jesus makes you a target.
17:37Lazarus had no idea
17:39that by virtue of Jesus raising from the
17:42dead, he's going to be a target.
17:45Lazarus didn't do anything wrong, yet
17:48they wanted him dead.
17:52May I submit to you today,
17:54some people will attack you
17:57all because Jesus worked on you.
18:01Ah, y'all missed that.
18:04Let me say it again. Some people will
18:06attack you all because Jesus worked on
18:09you.
18:14You see, Lazarus, his life was the
18:17evidence of Jesus' power.
18:202 Timothy 3:12, the Bible says, "All who
18:24desire to live a godly life will be
18:29persecuted."
18:31If you decide to live a godly life,
18:34hey, you're going to be persecuted.
18:37So, for those of you who are saying,
18:38"Why am I going through all these
18:40problems? You know, I'm serving the Lord
18:42and when I was an unbeliever, I didn't
18:44have to go through all of this." Well,
18:46welcome to the club, honey. If you are
18:48fully surrendered to God, you are a
18:50target.
18:53You ought to get worried when you get up
18:55every day and everything is sweet.
18:58You You went through 2025, no drama, no
19:01problem, no test, no trials. Everything
19:05was fine. You and your boo was fine. You
19:07and everybody. You got money, no
19:09sickness, nothing, no drama. Everybody
19:12loved you. I mean, if you went through
19:142025 like that, then God bless you. I
19:17don't know which God you're serving.
19:19But when you truly follow Jesus Christ,
19:23the devil is going to throw the kitchen,
19:25the sink, the stove, THE REFRIGERATOR
19:31DO I HAVE A WITNESS OUT THERE?
19:33He's going to throw everything
19:36at you.
19:38John 15:18 tells us, "If the world hates
19:42you,
19:43keep in mind that it hated me, too.
19:46It hated me first."
19:48Jesus is saying, "Don't be shocked that
19:51the world don't like you.
19:54Cuz when your life reflects
19:55transformation,
19:57you become a threat to the kingdom of
19:59darkness.
20:00You become proof that God still works.
20:05Point number four, Palm Sunday
20:08is about properly directing worship.
20:13John 12:12 and 13, the Bible said they
20:17took palm branches. AND THEY SHOUTED,
20:21"HOSANNA! BLESSED IS THE ONE who comes
20:25in the name of the Lord."
20:27See, this was not casual. It was
20:30intentional worship. It was intentional
20:35worship.
20:36No one had to beg them and push them to
20:39shout unto the Lord.
20:42What happened
20:44is is is you know, that day people
20:47started shouting and lifting up the name
20:50of God, and instantly instantly the
20:54worship went to a whole 'nother level.
20:58Do you understand?
20:59When you recognize the presence of a
21:01mighty God in your life, when you begin
21:04to recognize had it not been for the
21:06Lord on your side, I don't know who I'm
21:09talking to this morning.
21:12When you recognize the presence of God
21:15in your life, it is going to force you
21:17to shout unto God. It's going to force
21:20you to birth a worship. It's going to
21:22force you to recognize that he is God,
21:26and blessed is those who come into the
21:29name of God.
21:32So, what happens when people encounter
21:34Jesus? Number one,
21:36they pursue him relentlessly. Jeremiah
21:3929, he tells us, he says, "You will seek
21:43me
21:44and find me when you seek me with all of
21:48your heart."
21:49When you go after God relentlessly, I
21:52want to talk to a few of you who that
21:54you know, the enemy has put a lot of
21:56pressure on you. I I I don't don't focus
21:59on the pressure. Don't focus on the
22:01problem. May I suggest to you to
22:03relentlessly go after God. That's what
22:06you're supposed to do. Worship him while
22:08you're in pain. Worship him while your
22:11your back is against the wall. Worship
22:13him when nothing makes sense. Worship
22:15him in the midst of uncertainty. Worship
22:18him. You got to learn to encourage
22:22yourself. You may not have Henry
22:24Fernandez around YOU. YOU MAY NOT HAVE
22:27THE DEACON and the elders around you.
22:29You got to learn in your own space, in
22:32your own private time TO WORSHIP GOD AND
22:36SAY, "LORD, IT'S just me and you right
22:38now. I thank you. YOU ARE AWESOME.
22:42YOU'RE AMAZING. I MAY NOT UNDERSTAND
22:44WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW, BUT
22:46LORD, I thank you." Somebody ought to
22:49give a lot of praise right now.
22:52>> [applause]
22:54>> You got to relentlessly
22:56pursue him. And then they worship him
23:01with what they had.
23:04You see, you got to worship God with
23:06what you have.
23:08Branches. Palm branches. Palm branches.
23:12You see it here. They worship him. Can
23:14you imagine? They went and they picked
23:17these palm branches, and people would
23:19think this is ridiculous. Why would you
23:23want to use palm branches and so forth?
23:25Well, for some of us, we have our hands.
23:28And you see, some of you, your problem
23:29is your problem is your problem is you
23:31want God to bless you,
23:34but you reserve the praise.
23:39>> [applause]
23:40>> I'm going somewhere with this. You want
23:43God to bless you. Some of you are just
23:45too sophisticated to worship.
23:47>> [cheering]
23:51>> I don't know what happened to you. I
23:52don't know what happened to you. I don't
23:54know what happened to you because if the
23:55truth be told, I'm telling you got your
23:57car now, bless the Lord. You got your
24:00house now, bless the Lord. You got fine
24:02clothes on now, bless the Lord. You live
24:05somewhere decent. CAN I JUST BE HONEST?
24:07YOU'RE IN a gated community now, BUT IT
24:09HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT.
24:12>> [cheering]
24:14>> OH, [screaming] GLORY TO GOD.
24:17I know YOU HAVE ARRIVED, BUT IT HAS NOT
24:19ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT. BUT LOOK AT WHAT
24:23THE LORD HAS DONE. OH, you better open
24:25up your mouth and praise him. You better
24:28PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER and praise him.
24:30You better dance every now and then and
24:33PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR
24:35THE LORD,
24:37YOU WOULDN'T HAVE THE HOUSE. YOU
24:39WOULDN'T HAVE THE CAR. YOU WOULDN'T HAVE
24:41THE JOB. YOU WOULDN'T BE HEALTHY. TO GOD
24:45BE THE [screaming] GLORY!
24:50>> [cheering]
24:50>> GLORY TO GOD.
24:53SO, you better learn to thank him. You
24:54better learn to worship him. You better
24:57learn to open up your mouth. I don't
24:59care who you disturb. They weren't THERE
25:02WHEN GOD BROUGHT YOU OUT. THEY WERE NOT
25:05THERE WHEN GOD MADE A WAY OUT OF NO WAY.
25:09YOU BETTER OPEN UP YOUR MOUTH, and you
25:11better GIVE HIM THE PRAISE BECAUSE HE'S
25:14WORTHY OF THE PRAISE.
25:16>> [music]
25:18>> He's worthy of the praise.
25:22What would make these people
25:26go and cut branches down?
25:28>> [crying]
25:30>> The Bible says when they heard that
25:32Jesus was coming through Jerusalem,
25:35they took
25:36WHAT WAS READILY AVAILABLE.
25:39WHAT DO YOU HAVE in your space right
25:41now?
25:44What do you have in your space? CAN YOU
25:46IMAGINE? THEY WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
25:48THEY COULD HAVE USED TAMBOURINES BECAUSE
25:50THEY HAD it back in those days.
25:52BUT THEY LOOKED AT THE PALM TREES, AND
25:55THEY SAW THAT THE WIND WAS BLOWING the
25:58palm trees. And they remembered the
26:01SCRIPTURE THAT SAYS, "LET EVERYTHING
26:04>> [cheering and applause]
26:06>> PALM TREES don't breathe.
26:09HUMANS ARE BREATHING, SO THEY CUT IT
26:12DOWN,
26:13AND THEY laid it
26:15on the streets of Jerusalem, the Bible
26:17says, for the triumphant entry of Jesus.
26:21So, you got to learn to use what you
26:23got.
26:26Would you tap three people and tell
26:27them, "Use what you got."
26:30Whatever you have in your possession,
26:32use it to honor and to glorify God.
26:36Second Samuel
26:3824:24 says, "I will not sacrifice
26:44this anything that cost me nothing."
26:50YOUR WORSHIP MUST COST YOU.
26:55YOU THINK I'M UP IN THIS CHURCH ON THIS
26:58STAGE NOT PAYING THE PRICE? MY WORSHIP
27:02BROUGHT ME HERE.
27:03>> [cheering]
27:04>> Oh my God, help me here.
27:07AM I TALKING TO ANYBODY IN THE room
27:09today? YOUR WORSHIP BROUGHT YOU TO WHERE
27:12YOU ARE. PEOPLE JUST SEE YOU DRESSED UP.
27:15PEOPLE SEE YOU LOOKING FINE, BUT THEY
27:17HAVE NO IDEA THE COST. THEY HAVE NO IDEA
27:20THE COST WHAT IT TOOK TO GET you to
27:23where you are today.
27:27Glory to God.
27:28Woo!
27:31Woo! Glory to God.
27:33>> [cheering]
27:37>> They also amplified their praise. Psalm
27:4034:1 says, "I will bless the Lord
27:43>> [screaming]
27:44>> at all times." This should encourage
27:46those of you who will only bless him
27:48when everything is going well.
27:51Some of you will only scream or shout or
27:53clap your hands when things are going
27:55fine, but can I give you a little
27:57secret? The best time to praise him is
28:01when your back is against the wall.
28:03The best time to praise him is when
28:06you're down and out,
28:08and you fall down and you can't get up.
28:11You got to learn, "Lord, I thank you.
28:14>> [music]
28:15>> Lord, I worship you.
28:17I DON'T FEEL WELL,
28:19BUT GOD, I GIVE YOU THE PRAISE CUZ YOU
28:22ARE AN AWESOME GOD. DO I HAVE ANY
28:25WORSHIPERS in the building today?
28:29Woo! Glory to God.
28:31>> [music]
28:32>> Lord, I thank you.
28:34I know I'm going through a storm, but I
28:36thank you.
28:37I know the devil is shooting darts at
28:39me, but I thank you.
28:41I know I'm going through IT ON THE JOB,
28:44BUT I THANK YOU. I KNOW I GOT FAMILY
28:47DRAMA, BUT I THANK YOU.
28:49I'm not going to let anything stop me
28:52from giving you the praise. I will bless
28:56the Lord at all times. His praise will
29:00always be in my mouth.
29:04And finally,
29:06point number five,
29:08>> [cheering]
29:09>> you ought to examine your heart
29:11because Palm Sunday demands a question.
29:16And that question is,
29:18where
29:20or why
29:22are you here?
29:24That's the question. Why
29:27are you here? You need to ask yourself,
29:30why do I worship?
29:33Why do I gather in this room each and
29:35every week? Why do I stream?
29:39What do I say
29:42after I leave here?
29:47What do I say
29:50after I leave here?
29:52After I've come into the temple,
29:55after I've laid my branches, my palms,
29:59and I give him praise, when I leave
30:01Jerusalem,
30:03WHAT DO I SAY
30:06TO THE UNBELIEVER?
30:08WHAT DO I SAY WITH A DYSFUNCTIONAL
30:11WORLD?
30:13WHAT DO I SAY TO FAMILY MEMBERS WHO
30:16DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD? WHAT DO I SAY TO
30:18PEOPLE WHO ARE DISCOURAGED? WHAT DO I
30:20SAY TO THE MARKETPLACE? WHAT DO I SAY TO
30:24THE UNCERTAINTY
30:26THAT'S AROUND?
30:28What do I say? Second Corinthians 13:5,
30:31it says, "Examine yourselves to see
30:34whether you are
30:36in the faith."
30:40Are you a believer?
30:42I mean, do you REALLY BELIEVE?
30:46WHAT IF THIS WEEK IN THIS COUNTRY
30:50THINGS TURN FOR THE WORST?
30:53Are you a believer?
30:56Are you A BELIEVER THAT YOUR HELP DON'T
30:59COME FROM WASHINGTON? YOUR HELP DOESN'T
31:02COME FROM WHO IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
31:06FOR SOME OF US,
31:07>> [screaming]
31:07>> OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD WHO IS
31:10MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
31:16OOH, GLORY TO GOD.
31:17>> [cheering]
31:18>> DO YOU BELIEVE
31:21THAT GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT'S
31:23HAPPENING AND NOTHING IS GOING TO TAKE
31:25HIM BY SURPRISE?
31:29DO YOU BELIEVE
31:32that whatever you're dealing with right
31:33now, every problem
31:36has an expiration date?
31:43DO YOU BELIEVE THAT EVERY FIERY DARTS OF
31:47THE ENEMY THAT IS TARGETED AT YOU, DO
31:50YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD CAN shield you?
31:53>> [cheering]
31:54>> And what the enemy meant for evil.
32:00Ooh, GLORY TO GOD.
32:02AH, GLORY TO GOD.
32:06My goodness. DO YOU BELIEVE
32:09NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL
32:12PROSPER?
32:15I want to know if you're a believer.
32:18Or
32:20are you a spectator?
32:23Or are you a skeptic
32:26trying to discredit
32:28what we feel?
32:29You don't take all of that.
32:31These people are crazy.
32:34People are nuts.
32:36He don't need to be preaching like that,
32:37screaming.
32:39We don't need to get all that excited.
32:42Why they clapping their hands? This is
32:43This is the house of the Lord and and
32:46and and and and and God don't need all
32:49of that and and we don't need to make
32:51all of that noise. But when you go to
32:53your football game,
32:55>> [cheering]
32:58>> your basketball game,
33:02your baseball game,
33:04>> [cheering]
33:05>> come on now, your boxing match, when you
33:08GO TO THE STADIUM, YOU DON'T SIT DOWN
33:10AND YOU BE QUIET. UH, DON'T YOU PUT THAT
33:13JUNK ON ME. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE Lord
33:16has done for me.
33:17>> [cheering]
33:18>> Glory to God.
33:20And the scripture says, "MAKE A JOYFUL
33:23NOISE
33:25UNTO THE LORD. SERVE HIM WITH GLADNESS.
33:28COME BEFORE HIS PRESENCE."
33:30>> [screaming]
33:31>> OOH, glory to God.
33:35DON'T YOU TELL ME I CAN'T WORSHIP GOD
33:37WITH EXCITEMENT.
33:40Glory to God. Hallelujah. Somebody ought
33:43to give him praise in the house, man.
33:50So here's what I would close with today.
33:53Let Palm Sunday remind you
33:57that Christ is your firm foundation.
34:02See, no one can lay any foundation other
34:05than Jesus Christ.
34:08Next,
34:10you must choose how you worship.
34:13Joshua 24:15 tells us, stand with me,
34:16everybody.
34:18It says, "Choose
34:20for yourself."
34:23IT'S A CHOICE.
34:26WELL, HENRY, I JUST I I I'M still I'm
34:28I'm still Well, that's your choice.
34:31I don't believe in this God stuff.
34:34I don't believe in this Jesus stuff.
34:37It's your choice.
34:40I don't believe in going to church. It's
34:41your choice.
34:43I DON'T BELIEVE THAT GOD EXISTS. IT'S
34:45YOUR CHOICE.
34:49I I I I think this is man-made stuff and
34:51it's crazy stuff. This God don't exist.
34:53Okay, it's your choice.
34:55It's your choice.
34:57But choose for yourself this day
35:01you're going to serve because some of us
35:02are keeping our focus on Jesus, not the
35:05distractions.
35:07Hebrews 12:2 says, "Fix your eyes
35:10on Jesus."
35:13Fix your eyes on him.
35:15Not how you feel.
35:18So you choose this day who you're going
35:19to serve. Well, I don't believe in all
35:21this.
35:22Choose.
35:24I want to talk to those of you who don't
35:25even believe in God.
35:27You've turned away from church because
35:29you've seen a lot of hypocrisy. I get
35:31it.
35:35There's no way you can be in your word
35:38and let church drama drive you out of
35:40the will of God.
35:42Impossible.
35:45>> [music]
35:47>> You're looking at what's in the world
35:49and what's in the church and you're
35:50confused and you're like you're
35:52the choice for you is, "I'm done with
35:55God."
35:58Think I'm talking to a few atheists
36:00right now.
36:02You've convinced yourself and you've
36:04built a religion on there is no God.
36:07Everything just happens like that.
36:12Right?
36:15Let me say this to you and then I close
36:17cuz I want to pray for some people.
36:20I oftentimes say this.
36:23I'm not here to argue with you whether
36:25or not you believe God exists or not.
36:29You know why? Because
36:31if I have an apple in my hand,
36:34an apple I wish I had it.
36:38Seriously, cuz I would really
36:39demonstrate it
36:41more powerful.
36:45If I had an apple
36:48and I
36:52Man, this is good.
36:55This is good.
36:57I'm the one holding the apple. This is
36:59good.
37:01This is good.
37:03How does it taste?
37:07You are not qualified
37:11to tell me
37:12how the apple I'm eating
37:16tastes.
37:21You are not qualified.
37:24You see that I'm eating the apple.
37:28I am not qualified. Watch this.
37:32To tell you how [snorts] you feel
37:34towards me eating the apple cuz I'm not
37:37you.
37:40You are not qualified to tell me
37:43that the apple doesn't taste good cuz
37:45you haven't tasted it. That's why the
37:47scripture said, "Come taste and see."
37:50You have to taste it for yourself.
37:56So until you taste of the Lord,
37:59how in God's name you going to say he
38:01don't exist?
38:05Here's the risk you're taking.
38:08Cuz let's say, okay.
38:13Let's say
38:16you're taking one stone
38:20and you're discrediting what we do.
38:22But at at the same time,
38:25you're saying
38:27you want to live a healthy life on the
38:29earth and so forth.
38:31That doesn't make sense.
38:33That's a negative way. You you you How
38:35are you going to be sustained if God
38:37doesn't exist?
38:41Right? But here's what you can do.
38:44You can trust what the preacher is
38:46saying
38:48and
38:49try Jesus
38:52for yourself.
38:55Just try him.
38:57And if you have tasted and it doesn't
39:00work, that's fine.
39:03But the risk you're running
39:05is to convince me and some of these
39:07people
39:09that he doesn't exist cuz here's the
39:11dilemma. Now, I promise you, I'll close
39:13now. Here's the dilemma.
39:16It's possible that you you're telling
39:18the truth. It's It's possible that this
39:21Bible that I'm preaching from I know
39:23it's going to upset some of you, but
39:24please work with me here.
39:26It is possible
39:27that all of this stuff is a fake.
39:32It's possible.
39:35It's possible that this Bible stuff
39:37ain't real.
39:39It's possible
39:41that God doesn't really exist.
39:43It's possible.
39:45It's possible.
39:46Cuz I've I've never seen God. You've
39:48never seen him.
39:50So, it's possible. We could debate that.
39:52IT'S POSSIBLE
39:55THAT WE ARE WASTING TIME GOING TO CHURCH
39:59WEEK AFTER WEEK,
40:01WORSHIPPING, SOWING OUR SEED,
40:04EVANGELIZING.
40:06It's possible.
40:08I give that to you.
40:10So, I know you're saying,
40:12"I told you so.
40:14The stuff is all fake."
40:16It's possible.
40:19Here's the risk, though.
40:27All of us
40:28will check out of this world one day.
40:36All of us are going to die.
40:38We have never had anybody who has died
40:42and has come back
40:44to tell us,
40:46"Don't believe that junk about God and
40:48Jesus
40:50cuz there's no life after."
40:52It's possible.
40:54But we have nobody to come back
40:57to testify
40:59that there's life after death or not.
41:01So, here's the thing.
41:02You have a choice now.
41:05Take the risk
41:07in living in this life
41:10not following Jesus.
41:12Then after you die,
41:14mhm,
41:15you find out
41:17all of what Henry said was a bunch of
41:19garbage, nonsense. You won.
41:24You won.
41:26You won.
41:28Congratulations.
41:30You did all the stuff you wanted to do
41:32on the planet.
41:34Henry lost.
41:37But what if I'm right?
41:40>> [cheering]
41:46>> What if I am right?
41:49You do know
41:51there's no repentance [music] after
41:53death.
41:56So, I'd rather
41:59take the risk
42:02so my eternal destiny is secure.
42:09So,
42:10>> [applause]
42:13>> kill two birds with one stone today.
42:15Just surrender to him.
42:18And let him help you live out
42:21your life on the earth. Bow your heads
42:23with me.
42:25You're in this building. You say,
42:26"Pastor, I don't know the Lord as my
42:27personal savior."
42:29I'm going to ask you to say this
42:31sinner's prayer. I'm not even going to
42:32ask you to come down.
42:34Just going to simply ask you to say this
42:36sinner's prayer.
42:38You're streaming
42:40and
42:41you
42:42don't know God as your personal savior.
42:46Don't take the risk
42:48to find out after death.
42:51Would you kill two birds with one stone?
42:53Kill your doubts,
42:54your fear,
42:57and surrender to him.
42:59The Bible says you confess with your
43:00mouth, you believe in your heart, boom,
43:02you're born again.
43:03If that's you this morning,
43:05please repeat after me. Lord Jesus,
43:08I'm a sinner.
43:10I repent of my sins.
43:13I embrace the free gift of salvation.
43:17I declare with my mouth,
43:20I believe in my heart
43:22that I'm born again
43:24in Jesus' name.
43:25Now, Father, we thank you for all that
43:27you have
43:28said to us today.
43:32That as we go out this week, the week
43:34that is considered Holy Week,
43:38that we will go out there and be the
43:39light.
43:41We'll be very vocal about our faith.
43:46We will
43:47let the world know
43:49blessed is he who comes in the name of
43:52the Lord.
43:54That our God
43:56is real. He reigns and he's worthy to be
43:59praised.
44:01Help us to be ambassadors as we go. And
44:03for those who just gave their life over
44:05to you,
44:07help them to understand
44:09they need to read your word,
44:11pray, [music] be around
44:13positive people,
44:15stand firm in their faith.
44:19So, as we leave this place today, as we
44:21log off, let your presence be with us.
44:26As we come on Good Friday
44:29to relive
44:32one of the most important part of our
44:34Christian faith,
44:36the death,
44:37the burial
44:39of our savior, Jesus [music] Christ.
44:43As we partake of communion,
44:46bring us closer to you, I pray. We pray
44:49for
44:50every individual as they go through the
44:52week. Remove sickness, doubt,
44:56open doors, give approvals this week.
45:01Give answers this week.
45:03Heal and deliver, we pray.
45:07We thank you.
45:08We give you praise, honor, and glory
45:12that you were with us today
45:15in Jesus' name.
45:16>> [music]
45:17>> And somebody shout, "Amen." Let's lift
45:20our hands together
45:22and let's say our confession this
45:23morning. Faith in God will move
45:26mountains out of your life.