Kingdom Culture: Redefining Who We Are
Bishop Henry Fernandez Preached on 10/5/2025Philippians 1:21-30
Loading…
0:00
56:53
Summary
Bishop Henry Fernandez launches a series on Kingdom Culture, challenging believers to redefine their identity by choosing holiness, consistent integrity, and radical love over worldly conformity.
Key points
- •Kingdom citizenship requires a visible distinction between the believer and the world; we are called to be a 'set-apart' and peculiar people.
- •A renewed mind is the prerequisite for kingdom living, as it allows believers to discern and prove God's perfect will.
- •Consistent conduct is the true mark of a believer, where daily actions and integrity in small things (like honesty in business) reflect Christ's character.
- •Repentance is a healthy, daily component of kingdom culture, not a sign of failure, but a sign of a functioning conscience and a close relationship with the Holy Spirit.
- •The church must function as a spiritual hospital, prioritizing unconditional love and acceptance over judgment to reach those who are hurting or confused.
Scripture
Spiritual Growth
Holiness
Community
Discipleship
Repentance
Life application
This week, perform a 'conduct check' by asking the Holy Spirit to highlight one area where you have been blending in with worldly attitudes (such as gossip or temper) and intentionally choose a kingdom response instead.
Reflection questions
- In what ways has your lifestyle become 'blended' with the culture of the world lately?
- When was the last time you felt the 'good conviction' of the Holy Spirit, and how did you respond to it?
- Are you currently viewing the church as a place to be served or as a hospital where you can help heal others?
- How can you better support the 'younger branches' or new believers in your immediate circle this week?
Have a question about this sermon?
Ask our AI and get an answer with citations.
Full transcript
0:00If you have your Bible,
0:02whether electronic or hard copy, let's
0:04quickly go to
0:07uh Philippians chapter 1.
0:12Begin at verse 21 to 30. I won't read
0:15all of it. I will summarize it in the
0:19CEB translation.
0:22This is going to be the foundation
0:25of the kickoff of this series, kingdom
0:30culture.
0:31Kingdom culture.
0:34And I want to have an emphasis this
0:36morning on redefining who we are.
0:41Please don't miss this.
0:43Redefining who we are.
0:47Because how can you say you're a part of
0:49the kingdom of God when you don't know
0:52who you are?
0:54Here is what Paul says. He says,
0:56"Because for me, living serves Christ.
1:01Because of me, living serves Christ.
1:07And dying is even better."
1:10He says, "For me, living my whole entire
1:15life
1:17is to serve Christ.
1:19It's to serve him. And by the way, if I
1:22die, it's even better. Why? Because I
1:26have died in the Lord."
1:29And then he says, "Live together." He's
1:32talking to the church now. Live together
1:35in a manner worthy of Christ's gospel.
1:40So he's he's really talking about three
1:42things in this verse. One, he's saying,
1:46"Okay, whatever we do, you know, we
1:48ought to live for Christ." And then he's
1:51saying, "So that when we die, we can
1:55finally hear him say to us, 'Well done,
1:58good and faithful servant.'" But most
2:00importantly, if you're still alive, he's
2:03then saying, "Please live in a manner
2:07worthy
2:09of Christ's gospel."
2:11And we have to be truthful now. Please
2:14pay attention. Please listen listen
2:16listen.
2:17Watch this.
2:19Is the church really living up
2:23to the expectation of God's word?
2:27What is the culture of the church?
2:30Is the culture of the church pretty much
2:34the same as the world?
2:37You have to really ask yourself that
2:39question. So today I'm launching this
2:41brand new series titled Kingdom Culture.
2:45The series is meant to help us redefine
2:48who we are as citizens of God's kingdom
2:52and to clarify what the culture of our
2:55proclamation should look like.
3:00The word of God teaches that we are a
3:03set-apart people. Don't miss that. We
3:06are different.
3:09And it's okay. WE ARE DIFFERENT. WE'RE
3:12NOT LIKE the ungodly. We're not supposed
3:15to be a reflection of what the world
3:17looks like.
3:19And I'll prove it to you here. Let's
3:21look at 1 Peter 2:9.
3:24Again, the word of God says, "But you
3:26are" He's talking to us now. Come on. If
3:29you're born again and you're in the
3:30kingdom of God, he's talking to us now.
3:32He says he says that but you are a
3:35chosen chosen generation, a royal
3:39priesthood, a holy nation." Right?
3:43You're a holy nation according to the
3:46word of God. His own his own his own
3:51special people.
3:53That you may proclaim the praises of him
3:57who called you out of darkness into this
3:59marvelous light.
4:02So as a kingdom citizen, you've been
4:04called from darkness into this marvelous
4:07light. Don't miss this. Into this
4:10marvelous light according to the word of
4:11God. So when we come to Christ, we
4:14experience a renewed mind.
4:19If your mind is not renewed as a kingdom
4:21citizen, then you're not going to be
4:23able to live out the characteristics of
4:26the kingdom.
4:28You got to have a changed mind. Please
4:31hear me. You cannot expect yourself to
4:34think like the kingdom of darkness.
4:39You can't. And I know the world wants us
4:42to make us feel like, you know, um we're
4:45doing something bad or we're we're we we
4:48just indifferent and you know, we think
4:51that we're special. No no no nobody's
4:53saying that we're better off than
4:54anybody. We're just going to base it on
4:56the word of God. The word of God says we
4:57are peculiar. We are a special group of
5:00people and our light has to be different
5:03from what the world is demonstrating.
5:07So it's okay. Please, I want to I want
5:10to help those of you who are Christians.
5:11It's okay if we're different from the
5:14kingdom of darkness.
5:16There's nothing wrong with it.
5:19If you love God and you get up every
5:21day, you're reading YOUR BIBLE, IT'S
5:23OKAY if you believe that every now and
5:26then in your life you got to be on a
5:28fast. You got to pray. You got to turn
5:30your plate down. You got to shut down
5:31social media. You got to do all of these
5:34things and
5:35block out all these distractions. It's
5:38okay if if if if if God the Holy Spirit
5:42is in you and he's speaking through you
5:44and he's really kind of controlling your
5:47emotions and causing you watch this not
5:50to do things that your flesh wants to
5:52do. It's okay. Why? Cuz you are a
5:55kingdom citizen and you're expected to
5:59show the lights.
6:04And I know it's hard for many of us as
6:06believers
6:07because there's this blending in
6:11of the world's system.
6:14And here's the sad part about it.
6:17We don't even want to hear it
6:21that we're acting like the world.
6:24We don't want to hear that.
6:26Just leave me alone. Let me do my own
6:28thing. It feels good. Not everything
6:31that feels good is right.
6:37Romans 12:2, it says, "Do not do not do
6:40not be conformed to the pattern of this
6:43world, but be transformed by the
6:46renewing of your mind. Then you will be
6:49able to test and prove what God God's
6:53will is, his good and pleasing and
6:56perfect will." The only way you're going
6:58to know the difference between light and
6:59darkness hey, is when your mind is
7:02renewed.
7:05Cuz if your mind is not renewed, you're
7:07not going to know the difference.
7:09You're going to blend in with everything
7:10that you see in the world. So scripture
7:12calls us peculiar, meaning that there
7:15should be a visible distinction between
7:17the believer and the unbeliever,
7:20between light and darkness, between
7:23kingdom culture and the culture of the
7:26world. Let's talk a little bit about
7:28kingdom culture that it requires
7:31consistent conduct. Listen to me.
7:34Consistent conduct.
7:37We we we cannot live as kingdom citizens
7:41living a very unstable inconsistent
7:45lifestyle.
7:48It's not what the Bible calls us to do
7:51because our job according to Philippians
7:531:27, it says, "Only let your" Watch
7:56this now. "Only let your conduct be
7:59worthy of the gospel of Christ." What is
8:01he saying? He's saying, "Whatever you
8:03do, make sure your conduct is reflecting
8:08the characteristics of Christ."
8:10And don't we struggle with that? Come on
8:13now. Cuz I know what you're saying. But
8:15Henry, you know, hey
8:17you know, my my my flesh does this and
8:20you know, I I just feel like doing that
8:21like I think it was Angela was up there.
8:23You could tell she's struggling with
8:24cussing because she just kept talking
8:26about cussing every time in our
8:28conversation. Cuz you know, cuz all of
8:30us have issues.
8:35Let's think about that.
8:37Cuz let's be honest. Let's be honest.
8:40We're still struggling with certain
8:41things. Come on now. Right? But when
8:44when he's saying you that that that that
8:46that you you are to let your conduct,
8:48it's Listen, it's not easy
8:51to want to tell somebody how you
8:56feel.
9:01But as you're about to open your mouth,
9:04it's like the Holy Spirit always comes
9:07in at the right time to calm you down.
9:10Am I talking to anybody?
9:14That's why I tell Christians, listen,
9:16the culture of the kingdom is whenever
9:19your conscience is dealing with you,
9:21it's a good thing.
9:24Whenever you do something wrong and you
9:26walk out of the will of God and that
9:28conscience is saying, "You know, you're
9:29not supposed to do that. You know,
9:31you're not supposed to say that. You
9:33know, you're not supposed to go there.
9:34You know, you're not supposed to do
9:37It's good.
9:38Don't don't don't make that make you
9:41feel like
9:43I'm not going to go to church no more. I
9:44don't love God no more cuz I just feel
9:46dirty." And some of some of you are
9:48unsaved. You know, you think about that
9:50and you say, "Well, I don't want to go
9:51to church no more because I just feel
9:53like I'm a hypocrite because I keep
9:55messing up. I keep messing up." And so
9:56forth. no, no. It's good that your
9:58conscience is still there.
10:04You see, the culture of the kingdom is
10:07when you do something wrong, when the
10:10Holy Spirit is saying,
10:13"Mhm." You just run back to God, and you
10:14say, "God, I am so sorry, man."
10:16So, cuz you see, that's between you and
10:18God. That's between you and God. IT'S
10:20OKAY. THAT'S WHY HE'S THERE. HE IS there
10:24ready to receive you. He said, "Cast all
10:26your cares and your burden on him."
10:28That's it. Religion will teach you YOU
10:31MESS UP ONE TIME, YOU'RE DONE.
10:36WITH GOD, HE SAYS, "COME TO HIM EVERY
10:40SINGLE day and repent."
10:44THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH REPENTANCE.
10:48IT'S A PART of the kingdom culture to
10:50repent daily to God. God, forgive me of
10:53my sins, and so forth. The problem is is
10:56when you keep doing wrong,
10:59and you have no conscience.
11:02That's the problem.
11:05Is when you can walk out of the will of
11:07God and feel nothing.
11:10And there's no conviction.
11:13That's a dangerous place to be.
11:15You You want to be the will of God that
11:17when there's something really stupid you
11:19do you've done,
11:21you know, that the Holy Spirit will
11:23convict you, and you can like, "Ah."
11:26Okay Lord.
11:28And then you run back to God and ask God
11:30to forgive you.
11:31Right? You don't have to go to no
11:32priest. You don't have to go to the
11:33pastor confess your sins, and so forth.
11:35You don't have to do none of that.
11:37Right? You go to God. And if there's
11:39anybody watching here today, anybody in
11:41this room, and if you can raise your
11:44hand and say for since January of this
11:47year, there was nothing I did that was
11:49wrong that I needed to go to God for
11:52repentance, please raise your hand cuz
11:54we're about to beat the devil out of you
11:57today.
12:02Cuz you know what? All of us
12:06have to go to the Father every day. Come
12:08on. Now, work with me here.
12:10That's the culture of the kingdom.
12:14You see, the Bible teaches us that
12:15there's a difference
12:17between those who live under the rule of
12:19the kingdom of God, that's the kingdom
12:22of light, and those who live under the
12:24dominion of darkness. And yet, this is
12:27where the struggle comes in today.
12:31Here's the struggle.
12:33There's a dangerous blending in
12:37of the kingdom
12:40culture
12:42with the world's culture.
12:46It's hard now
12:49to differentiate the difference between
12:50the church and the world.
12:55It's very hard.
12:56And here's the sad thing about it, the
12:58church has become comfortable.
13:06We want sermons to excite us.
13:10We want preachers to impress us.
13:13We have our favorites.
13:16We've turned church into a modeling
13:19runway.
13:25We've become silent.
13:27We have shifted away from the
13:30the culture of the kingdom, the purpose
13:32of why we gather, the purpose of why
13:34we're in the church. We're now blending
13:37in with the world.
13:40You know what I worry about?
13:43I worry about if we come into an
13:45auditorium like this,
13:48and we have all of the bells and
13:50whistles, and everything is beautiful,
13:52and the presence of God is not here.
14:02It is like And we see it in the Bible,
14:04there people who who were anointed of
14:07God, and the anointing of God was
14:10lifted, and they went out to perform as
14:13usual, only to find out they can't
14:15operate
14:17under the power of the kingdom of God
14:18anymore. Why? Because God's anointing
14:21has lifted
14:23itself from them.
14:25And I hope Faith Center will never allow
14:29ourself to get to that place where the
14:32presence of God is out of this room.
14:35I told the 9:00 service this morning, I
14:37don't care. I love the fancy stuff that
14:39we do. That big LED screen, I love it. I
14:42love it. I love the smoke, all the smoke
14:44that they put up in here. I love smoke
14:46this place up. Praise God. I don't care.
14:48I love all of that. I love the fanciness
14:50and the you know, the way we're doing
14:52our praise. I love all I get all of
14:55that, but do we still have the culture?
15:00[Applause]
15:03Is the presence of God still here?
15:08Think about that for a moment. Is the
15:10presence of God still here? And for the
15:13church, we're losing that.
15:16There's a blending in. There's a mixture
15:19that has left many confused about what
15:22true Christianity is.
15:25Cuz we're not living up to the standard
15:30of the culture of the kingdom.
15:32We're not.
15:33Let's face it.
15:35And you know what's sad?
15:38Is when preachers start preaching like
15:39this,
15:41it's not being embraced too much.
15:45Because we no longer have an appetite
15:47for the word of God,
15:49we more have an appetite to be excited.
15:59So, church has become self-centeredness.
16:03Bless me. Bless me. Give me. Give me.
16:06Let me shout. Let me dance. Let me do
16:08all of this, and so forth. But the world
16:10is watching.
16:13They They They They They're watching.
16:14They They They're looking, "Wait a
16:15minute now. Okay. Um do do you have the
16:20attributes of Christ?"
16:24Right? Cuz you very well know as
16:26Christians, oh, we know how to do
16:28church, but do we know how to live the
16:30word?
16:34See, I I I can tell who's coming back
16:36here next week.
16:38Uh half of you like looking like, "Ah,
16:40don't think I like the serious here."
16:42But let me be clear with you. I'm almost
16:44there. There's a vast difference between
16:46the culture of the kingdom and the
16:49culture of the world.
16:50And it's not hard. Watch this. It's not
16:53hard
16:54to tell them apart if you are walking in
16:57the Spirit.
17:00You can tell the difference from the
17:01world
17:04or the difference from the church.
17:05According to Galatians 5:16 and 17, "So
17:09I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will
17:11not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17:14Walk in the Spirit." If you walk in the
17:16Spirit, the Holy Spirit will guide you
17:18every single day of how to conduct
17:21yourself on the job, at home, wherever
17:24you go. He'll teach you.
17:27Cuz we're all being tested every single
17:29day.
17:30When you leave church, what's your
17:32conduct?
17:33When you're in traffic, what's your con-
17:35Cuz it can happen to anybody.
17:38I'm telling you.
17:39Do you know how many times
17:42I'm driving, somebody cut me off.
17:45I don't mean
17:47disrespectful.
17:51Cut me off.
17:53And I have to keep catching myself.
17:55Don't say nothing.
17:59Not only that, just you save your life.
18:01People crazy today.
18:04They're crazy today.
18:06Right? Just Just Just watch your
18:08conduct. You know, I was telling the
18:10staff the other day,
18:12um
18:13I think it was the staff I was telling
18:15and I went and drove up to a gas
18:17station. Drove to a gas station. And
18:20when I drove up,
18:21man, I looked, money was on the ground.
18:26And I took the money up,
18:29and I walked right back into the Well, I
18:31didn't go in there first, you know. I
18:33walked right into the um
18:35the the store, the gas station there,
18:38and I said, "Hey, somebody just dropped
18:40and left this um money here, so forth."
18:45And they took it from me, and one person
18:47said, "Well, why you do cuz you know
18:49they're going to take it for the in
18:52I don't care.
18:56I don't care.
18:58That's not my character.
19:01I don't care if it's $10,000,
19:04$100,
19:06I'm not going to take it. It's not mine.
19:10The culture of the kingdom as a king
19:12Now, you it may sound weird, but pastor,
19:15somebody just dropped it there. What if
19:16you go to the grocery store, and the
19:18cashier just gave you $5 more, $20 more?
19:23As the
19:24kingdom citizen, you're not supposed to
19:27take that.
19:30This is a practical I know you're like,
19:32"Oh,
19:33No, you can't. No, cuz your conscience
19:36should say no. You It should You
19:38shouldn't even be thinking,
19:40[Music]
19:44That's where you WANT TO GET TO. YOU
19:45WANT TO GET TO WHERE THE HOLY SPIRIT
19:47INSTANTLY WILL TEACH YOU do the right
19:50thing.
19:55Come on now.
19:56This is not hard.
19:58It's not hard. Just do the right thing.
20:04And when you do it, God will honor you.
20:08Because that's what we do in the in in
20:09the kingdom of God. We we operate under
20:13different cultures. So, how to
20:14understand kingdom culture? If you want
20:16to understand kingdom culture, you must
20:17do two things. Write this down if you're
20:19taking notes. Number one, you have to
20:21have a personal relationship with Jesus
20:23Christ. Number two, you've got to
20:26uh be committed to reading, studying,
20:29and obeying God's word. Let me deal with
20:31number one.
20:32In John chapter 15 verse 5, the Bible
20:35says,
20:36Jesus speaking, he says, "I am the vine,
20:38you are the branches.
20:40If you remain in me and I in you, you
20:43will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you
20:46can do nothing." So, what Jesus is
20:48saying, if you stick with me
20:52and I stick with you, you're going to be
20:54all right.
20:56The fruit that you will bear will be
20:58good fruit. But you cannot bear good
21:00fruit
21:02if you dibble-dabble
21:05in the kingdom.
21:07If you cut a branch off a tree,
21:11literally cut it off,
21:13and try to attach it
21:15a week after,
21:17it's hard.
21:20You're not The branch gets its source
21:22from the vine,
21:25the roots.
21:26For you to survive and be a true
21:29Christian in this world today,
21:32you cannot be a part-time Christian.
21:38Boy, it's so quiet in here this morning.
21:41I just love this Presbyterian church,
21:43you know. I just love it.
21:46No, you can't.
21:48You you can't you you you you you have
21:50to recognize, according to the word of
21:52God, is that you have to follow Jesus
21:55Christ by having a personal relationship
21:57with him every single day. And guess
22:00what? He's not always going to tell you,
22:02"I want to bless you.
22:04I want to give you good health." Cuz
22:05that's the kind of gospel we want, a
22:07gospel of blessings. The same God who
22:10tells you, "I want to bless you," is the
22:12same God's going to say, "Hey,
22:14straighten yourself up, man.
22:17You know what you've been saying ain't
22:18right.
22:20You know the places you've been going.
22:22You ain't got no business going there.
22:24You know it. You you know it. You know
22:26it. I don't know if I'm talking to
22:27anybody here. You know it. You know it.
22:30You know them bushes you've been
22:32burning?
22:32[Music]
22:37[Music]
22:40Come on now.
22:42You you you you know cuz he's been
22:43talking to you, right? Because
22:46your light
22:48it's your light.
22:50It's your light. If your light is not
22:51shining,
22:53then other people are going to look at
22:54you, "Oh, he says he's a Christian.
22:58Why should Why should I believe in his
23:00God
23:01when he got the same temper I got?"
23:05Why should I believe in his God
23:08when you are the most toxic person at
23:10the workplace?
23:12Why should I come to your church?
23:17Why should I believe in God when your
23:18whole reputation tells me you can't be
23:20trusted?
23:24Cuz people they're not reading their
23:26Bible, the unchurched.
23:28If you confess that you know Jesus
23:31Christ as Lord and Savior, they are
23:32watching you.
23:37Woo! Glory to God.
23:39You got to be committed to reading the
23:41Bible, studying, and obeying God's word.
23:43Psalm 119:105, it says,
23:46be committed It says, "Your word is a
23:49lamp to my feet and a light unto my
23:51path." Just sit You see,
23:54it's very easy. If if if you if you
23:58want to embrace the world's culture,
23:59it's very easy. Here's what you do. Just
24:01ignore God.
24:04And I guarantee you operate in the
24:06kingdom culture in the in the culture of
24:07the world.
24:09Just ignore God, embrace self-made
24:11ideologies, and follow whatever is
24:14trending. That's another thing. Just do
24:16whatever is trending in society today,
24:18right? You know, the spirit of the age,
24:22the age that we live in in versus the
24:23spirit of God, is two different things.
24:26You know, we're living in the season
24:27where rampant deception
24:32is literally lurking around our society.
24:38The church is in a state where we're
24:41deceived.
24:43We're deceived.
24:45So, Bishop, how could you say that?
24:47We're deceived because we're no longer
24:49after the heart of God.
24:52We're after personal gain.
24:56We've been deceived.
24:58It is hard to tell
25:01true and anointed preachers today
25:04from the ones who are false.
25:07Let us just be Let us just be honest.
25:10You go on social media, everybody's
25:11prophesying.
25:13Everybody's got a word.
25:17Trust me when I tell you, it's hard
25:19today.
25:21You know why? Because because ministry
25:24has become
25:26a thing that we see through eyes,
25:30not through discernment.
25:34So, we've been deceived. Deceived to the
25:36point Watch this. Where we come each
25:38week and we gather. Like I said, it's
25:40the smoke, it's the light, it's the
25:42worship, it's that. But we're missing
25:45something that we keep forgetting.
25:49And that is every one of us will have to
25:52give an account one day
25:54how we live our lives.
26:01You do know if the rapture takes place,
26:04you stand before God. But we're we're
26:06not certain if we're going to live to
26:07see the rapture, but which we don't
26:09preach anymore in church. Um you do know
26:12every living thing dies.
26:16How is the church of the Lord Jesus
26:18Christ got so comfortable
26:21where we're not warning people
26:24that you will die.
26:26And when you die, you're going to stand
26:28before God that you have to give an
26:30account.
26:33You have to give an account.
26:36We don't like to hear that no more.
26:39People do anything, say anything they
26:41want to say. But we're forgetting we're
26:43forgetting that you're going to die and
26:46you're going to stand before God and
26:48that that God will ask you, "What have
26:51you done
26:53with the life I've given you?"
26:55CERTAINLY, YOU CANNOT tell him that
26:58Henry Fernandez did not preach the
27:00truth. I am hired by God as the heavens'
27:03mailman and I'm telling you every week I
27:05will come here, I'll preach it in season
27:08and out of season.
27:10It's your business to respond to it. I'm
27:13not going to force you to believe in me
27:16and force you to believe what I'm saying
27:18is right. I hope you have enough sense
27:20to be reading your Bible to check this
27:23preacher to make sure he's preaching the
27:25word of God and not what he feels.
27:30And if you are reading the word of God,
27:33you're not going to stand before God and
27:35say that man that you PUT AS THE PASTOR
27:37OVER THAT CHURCH COMPROMISED AND DID NOT
27:40PREACH THE TRUTH. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO
27:42LIE ON ME.
27:45[Music]
27:47We don't want to hear this anymore.
27:50Cuz we have lost our identity as A
27:52CHURCH.
27:56CHURCH IS NOT ABOUT PEOPLE. It is not
27:58about our outfits. IT'S ABOUT IT'S IT'S
28:00SELF-SERVING.
28:02WE ARE DIFFERENT. THAT'S NOT WHO WE ARE.
28:06WE ARE ABOUT OUR FATHER'S BUSINESS.
28:12OUR CULTURE IS DIFFERENT. WE'RE A
28:14FAMILY.
28:16That's another thing about THE CULTURE
28:18OF THE CHURCH, THE KINGDOM OF GOD. WE
28:20ARE a family. No matter the color you
28:22are, NO MATTER YOUR CULTURE, NO MATTER
28:24WHO YOU ARE, MALE or female, we are one
28:27in God AND GOD EXPECTS US TO TREAT
28:31EVERYBODY equal and to love EVERYBODY
28:35EVEN when we are different.
28:41So, when you have a church that is
28:43divided in culture and all these things,
28:45that's not God.
28:49That is not God.
28:51We can't be like the world
28:53messed up with all of their ideologies
28:56about, you know, all this nonsense. You
28:59can't bring that into the church.
29:04Because you have to follow the example
29:05of Jesus Christ. He had 12 imperfect
29:07boys that he selected and he loved them
29:10unconditionally. We've got to learn that
29:13in the church.
29:14So, when people offend you in the
29:16church, how dare you talk about these
29:18people offend me, so I'm going to leave
29:19the church?
29:21What if Jesus had thrown out all them 12
29:23boys when they started acting up?
29:26We need to grow up.
29:28Just like your family.
29:30I know you wish you could divorce some
29:32of your family members.
29:34But they are blood.
29:36And no matter what you do, they're still
29:38connected to you.
29:39What am I saying? I'm saying to you,
29:41when it comes to the church, the culture
29:44of the church is I know you're crazy. I
29:46know you have crazy. I know listen I
29:48know you just just I don't want to use
29:51the word, you know, it's the S word.
29:53I know it, but I got to love you.
29:57I got to pray with you.
29:59I got to believe in you.
30:01I just keep my distance from you, but we
30:04are one and you not going to get me to
30:06hate you no matter what because the
30:08culture of the kingdom is for me to love
30:11my brothers and my sisters.
30:14Ooh, they they they are not they're not
30:16giving no praise to God because of that.
30:18Let me wrap this up by saying this.
30:21If you truly have a hunger for the
30:23kingdom culture, watch this. The Holy
30:26Spirit will convict you and draw you
30:29to a different lifestyle.
30:31Ooh, and this is really what I hope this
30:33church will do and those of you
30:35streaming that I want to give you an
30:37invitation to join us in this kingdom
30:39culture.
30:41With a Holy Spirit will draw this church
30:44to first of recognizing
30:46that we all been saved by grace.
30:50Our job is not to judge people.
30:53Our job is not to come in here just
30:55because of what we want to get.
30:58But the culture of the kingdom is I see
31:00you my brother.
31:02You're important to God. I see you my
31:03sister. You're important to God.
31:06You know what? You start acting funny. I
31:08get that I leave you with God, but I'm
31:10going to love you.
31:12I'm going to love you no matter what.
31:15[Applause]
31:17See, it's different. We don't preach
31:18that. You
31:19you know, if you listen to some
31:20preacher's sermon today, I'm telling
31:22you.
31:23When you listen to some preacher's
31:25sermon, that cannot be God.
31:28It's a message of divide.
31:31Some preachers use their sermons to tell
31:33people off.
31:38Just like you
31:41will use your mouth to throw people
31:44under the bus and tell people off.
31:46But as kingdom citizen
31:49I demonstrated the other day a few weeks
31:51ago. The Bible says love covers
31:55a multitude of sin. When is the church
31:57going to get back to the place when
31:59somebody does something dumb, stupid,
32:01crazy, whatever, instead of calling them
32:03out, embarrassing them
32:05why don't we just do like Jesus, show
32:07them love.
32:10That's what's going to win people.
32:13That's what's going to win people. When
32:14you see these young people, I know I
32:16know these young people, they're
32:17different. Um trust me. Um trust me.
32:19Trust me. I'm 61. I don't I don't live
32:22down their lane. You all are something
32:24else.
32:27You all are something else. Trust me.
32:29How old are you?
32:3024. You're something else.
32:34I don't understand them.
32:36But you know why I have to give them
32:38grace?
32:39I was 24, too.
32:43See, that's the problem with some of us
32:45who are up in age. We forgot. We used to
32:47do the same dumb, stupid stuff these
32:51young people are doing and some of us
32:53were more crazy than these young people.
32:59Come on now.
33:00The culture of the kingdom is to embrace
33:02them and to be the light and to show
33:04them hey, because watch this. What where
33:07where else can they go?
33:12When somebody mess up, where else can
33:16they Are you going to send THEM OUT TO
33:18THE WOLVES? ARE YOU GOING TO SEND THEM
33:20OUT INTO THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS? WHERE
33:22ELSE?
33:24THAT IS WHY THE CHURCH MUST BE A
33:26HOSPITAL.
33:27[Music]
33:30OUR JOB is to provide an environment
33:33where the hurting, the depressed, and
33:35those who are CONFUSED CAN FIND LOVE AND
33:37ACCEPTANCE THE SAME WAY JESUS GAVE IT TO
33:39US.
33:44It's a spiritual hospital.
33:47Our job is to make sure we do what is
33:49right.
33:51And live in the kingdom so when people
33:54look at us, they can say, you know what?
33:55That church up the street there. Let me
33:58tell you something, man. Those are some
34:00of the most loving caring people.
34:05Even when people
34:08are sinful
34:09and not walking right
34:12they are loving
34:14and they're caring.
34:15That's the culture of the kingdom. The
34:17culture of the world is to
34:19divide and conquer.
34:22That's why I'm telling you you you got
34:23to be different. Take this message not
34:26just for in here
34:28but when you go out there this week as
34:30you're living, what kind of a behavior
34:33do you have on the job?
34:36You have to be different.
34:38You can't
34:40You may have to go now and you may not
34:43want to have a lunch with that co-worker
34:45anymore.
34:47And I know they're going to talk who you
34:48think you are. You think you're better?
34:50No, I just don't want to get my culture
34:52messed up.
34:56You may just have to say I can't have
34:57lunch with you. I can't have these
34:59conversations with you anymore.
35:01Family members, you you're going to have
35:03to step up to the plate and say I have
35:06because your family is watching you and
35:08one of the reason why some of them are
35:09not going to church and don't like
35:12church
35:14is because of your actions.
35:18How can you say you go to church
35:21and you're the terrorist in the family.
35:27You're not acting accordingly.
35:30I'm going to encourage you. It may not
35:32be a message to excite you this morning.
35:34I can preach that.
35:37But this church
35:39you must now be the light.
35:43[Applause]
35:45That's all I'm asking you to do.
35:49Be different.
35:51Let's become a people when people see
35:53us.
35:55The first thing they know of this
35:57church. I remember when we started years
35:58ago, some of you been here long enough
36:01to know.
36:02You know one of the things that this
36:03church was known for and we kind of
36:06shifted a little bit and we've lost
36:08that.
36:09And I hope we will bring it back.
36:11If you've been here long enough
36:13one of the things people would say about
36:15the Faith Center is
36:17man, them people are the most loving
36:20people on the planet.
36:22[Music]
36:24That's the greatest testimony.
36:26See, you're judging an effective church
36:28by numbers.
36:31You're judging an effective church by
36:33the preacher.
36:37That's not God.
36:41Cuz I could preach good.
36:43We can pack this place out but be the
36:45most nastiest
36:48evil group of people.
36:51We were known for love.
36:54So the culture of this house is
36:57you don't have to know the person.
36:59They may look different from you.
37:01They may have an accent, whatever it is.
37:04Our job is when we walk in here, you
37:06don't have to know me to just say hi.
37:11[Applause]
37:13The culture of the ministry ought to be
37:16the Holy Spirit leading you to pray for
37:18people. Shut this gossiping down.
37:22Whatever it is.
37:25Shut it down.
37:26All this nonsense that we wasting time
37:29talking and dealing with. Get back to
37:31the culture of the kingdom.
37:33Love people, embrace people, and go out
37:36there and disciple people. I've always
37:39said this. I've never in 34 years tried
37:42to encourage people to leave their
37:43church to go somewhere else.
37:45It's not transplant. We don't need to
37:47transplant people from other church to
37:49come to our church.
37:52There's over 2 million people in Broward
37:54County. Most of them ain't saved.
37:59Those are the people we need to go
38:00after.
38:01Beyond church.
38:04That's who we need to go after. How do
38:06we do it? It's not going out there with
38:08these tracks, these little thing. Do you
38:10know the Lord Jesus Christ is your
38:11personal savior? If you don't know him,
38:12you know you going to hell. You know
38:14that.
38:16That's not how you witness.
38:18How you witness
38:21is when they watch your conduct.
38:24And one day something going to happen to
38:26them, they going to come to you.
38:28Um can you pray for me?
38:33Perfect opportunity.
38:35Oh, sure. I'll pray for you.
38:37And you pray for them and then you can
38:38say
38:39you know
38:41I'd love to invite you to my church.
38:46See, that's evangelism.
38:49That's why we're here.
38:53So I want to ask the Faith Center
38:57to lay aside every dead weight
39:00and the sins
39:03that is holding us back.
39:06And let's reach forward to doing what
39:08God has called us to do. Would you
39:10please bow your heads.
39:12I close with this.
39:16I know you're here today. I know you're
39:18streaming.
39:20Man, it I know I get it. It's not a
39:23message.
39:24It wasn't a message, you know, pastor
39:26didn't
39:27you know, fired up. I get that.
39:32But this is not the intent for the
39:33series.
39:35The intent for the series is not to
39:37excite you. It's to challenge you.
39:40It's to bring conviction.
39:45And
39:47I think God is calling the Faith Center
39:49Church
39:50to be the light.
39:53To be the light.
39:56And there's some of you in this room,
39:58some of you are watching.
40:00The Holy Spirit has already convicted
40:02you this morning.
40:04And you know he's talking to you.
40:07Cuz he's challenging you saying, "Hey,
40:10I sent this message
40:12as a way of convicting you.
40:15Don't resist it.
40:17Don't feel bad about it.
40:19You should rejoice
40:21because it's an expression of his love
40:23towards you
40:25to get you
40:26to do the right thing.
40:29If that's you this morning, as I close
40:31the service out,
40:33if you felt convicted by the Holy Spirit
40:35that
40:36you need to now begin to
40:39be the light.
40:42And you need pastor to pray with you.
40:44I'd love to do that this morning.
40:47I want to pray with you.
40:48If that's you from the comfort of your
40:50seat, please come.
40:53That's how I want to end the service.
40:54Please come. Don't wait on anybody.
40:57You just come
40:59and say, "Holy Spirit, I got convicted.
41:03I got convicted.
41:06I got convicted.
41:09I got convicted.
41:11Come on now.
41:13Come on. I got convicted. Come on. We
41:15should be celebrating these people.
41:18I got convicted.
41:22I got convicted. I got convicted. I got
41:25convicted.
41:27Okay, I'll wait for the rest to come.
41:29I'll wait for the rest to come. Come on
41:30quickly.
41:31Come on.
41:33Come on.
41:38You see,
41:40you are the people God wants to use.
41:44Listen to me. You are the people God
41:46wants to use.
41:49And here's the reason why I say that.
41:51But there's a culture in the church
41:53that's not kingdom culture. There's a
41:54culture in the church
41:57where we shame people
42:00for being honest.
42:02For being honest.
42:04Because there's a tendency some of us
42:06pretend as if we've always gotten it
42:09right.
42:10And so many times the Holy Spirit is
42:13is convicting us and we don't respond.
42:16But you this morning,
42:19you responded
42:20in front of all these people, in front
42:22of the world, you responded. See, God
42:25honors that.
42:27He honors that.
42:30Right?
42:32And this is what I will say to you and
42:34then I pray with you. I'm telling you,
42:36take it from me.
42:38I've been in church pretty much all of
42:40my life.
42:41All my life.
42:43And the thing that I can absolutely tell
42:46you about God,
42:48he's faithful.
42:52He's faithful.
42:54He'll never leave you
42:57nor forsake you.
43:00That if if you if you embrace his
43:02forgiveness
43:04and you turn your life around, I promise
43:06you,
43:08you'll never regret it. I see so many
43:09young people here today.
43:12So many of you.
43:14So many of you.
43:17And I am dead serious in saying this, I
43:20would trade my age for your age any day.
43:25You know why? You are at such a
43:29ripe age
43:31that listen to me.
43:33I got saved from I was around 10.
43:3761.
43:39Such kind of like
43:4151
43:42years
43:44of serving God. Now watch this now.
43:47When I tell you
43:49and I'm saying this
43:50this is going to hit some of you.
43:52Listen to me. Listen to pastor
43:54carefully.
43:57I am so glad
44:00that I gave my life to Jesus Christ at
44:02that age.
44:04Cuz that was what kept me.
44:08You want to be kept?
44:11Don't you follow
44:12that world.
44:14That world will eat you alive and spit
44:19you out.
44:21I'm telling you.
44:23It feels good.
44:25Trust me.
44:27The club in.
44:31All the stuff, the women, the men,
44:34the sex, the drugs.
44:37Ain't nobody Listen, it feels good.
44:43Good.
44:46I'm going to tell you something.
44:49That world will use you,
44:51abuse you,
44:54and by the time you hit 40,
44:57you're a shipwreck.
45:00Don't let it happen to you.
45:02You serve God.
45:05And if you have to do it by yourself,
45:07it's okay. You serve God.
45:13You serve him.
45:15Would you stand with me, everybody? You
45:17serve him. You serve him.
45:19The commitment you're making today,
45:21here's what you need to do.
45:23You need to be serious.
45:26Don't just come down here today and
45:27that's the end of it.
45:30You cut off all them bad friends.
45:33Have the guts to do it. Cut them off.
45:36They're going to talk about you anyway.
45:38It's survival mode now.
45:41I'm telling you, it's survival mode now.
45:45You get in your Bible.
45:47You start reading it.
45:50You come to church.
45:52The devil is going to do everything to
45:53stop you from coming to church.
45:56He's going to come up with all kind of
45:57stuff. You keep coming to church. This
45:59is a safe place.
46:01You keep coming.
46:03Right? You're going to be tempted after
46:04today. All kinds of stuff is going to
46:06happen. But you get around the right
46:08people.
46:10You hear me, sir?
46:12Don't take any more chances with your
46:14life.
46:16I'm talking to you.
46:20Don't do it.
46:28There is an anointing on your life.
46:33Bring him to me.
46:35Come here, sir.
46:36[Applause]
46:39[Music]
46:41[Applause]
46:44[Music]
46:44[Applause]
46:48I'm just going to ask you this question
46:50by the power of the Holy Spirit. Why are
46:52you running?
46:54Why?
46:57Why do you keep running from God?
47:03Stop it.
47:05Stop running.
47:08Today is your day of deliverance.
47:12[Applause]
47:14I'm telling you.
47:18I see a young man
47:21that from birth
47:25your mama
47:27knew that you were special.
47:30You're a special young man.
47:33And all the stuff you've been dealing
47:35with
47:36is a distraction
47:39to get you out of your purpose.
47:43But I'm telling you, sir,
47:45there are generations waiting to hear
47:47you.
47:49That's how special you are.
47:55And the moment, listen to me, the moment
48:00you develop
48:02the courage
48:05to walk away,
48:09I'm telling you.
48:11If you can develop the courage
48:13today
48:14to walk away,
48:17watch what God's going to do in your
48:18life.
48:22Is this making any sense to you?
48:25Am I speaking accurately to your life?
48:29Are you willing to walk away?
48:31Are you willing? You're sure now?
48:36Get me a mic, please. Give me a mic.
48:40Give me a mic.
48:42Hold this. Okay. What did you say?
48:46Hold the mic up to your mouth, please.
48:50Let me make sure it's on. It's off. Cuz
48:52I want the people to hear this.
48:55Yes.
48:59It's hard.
49:03Mhm.
49:09I'm just trying to be
49:10[Applause]
49:12true to the path. I know it's hard. I'm
49:14trying to feel it out and just go. Cuz I
49:16got no back. No no back.
49:19No back.
49:19>> done this before. So yeah, it's hard.
49:21Like I feel like I know the right thing
49:24to do, but it don't feel
49:27I just keep getting distracted and I
49:28don't know. Like
49:31I know it's for me. I know God got
49:33something for me.
49:35But I know the enemy is just trying so
49:38hard to Let you guys listen to me
49:41from the route I need to go. I mean, I I
49:43empower myself. I
49:45I pray to God, but it's like if you
49:47don't come from that surrounding, it's
49:49hard. You know, so that's why what you
49:51said I got to find the right people. I'm
49:53doing it all on my own. I I feel like
49:55it's the right thing to do, but if you
49:57don't come from that background, that
50:00that surrounding, and you know none of
50:01your friends, your family, like I'm on
50:03the path by myself, so it's hard hard to
50:05stand in it cuz everybody making me feel
50:07like I'm not doing it right. Like I'm
50:09just feel like I'm the weird one. So,
50:11this whole word is for me. Like I don't
50:13I know like
50:15it's something different, so I don't
50:17really care like if people think I'm
50:18being funny or whatever. Like I know I'm
50:20going the right way, but sometimes I
50:22want that embrace me and that
50:23encouragement and assure me that I'm
50:25doing the right thing cuz distractions
50:27come. Okay. Well, hear me out clearly
50:30now. In that promise, we got to get out
50:32of here.
50:33But, God brought you here today for this
50:36word.
50:42Just just by hearing your testimony
50:46you know, cuz as a preacher, you know,
50:48like me, I'm a human, you want to be
50:50accepted.
50:51And I knew this series
50:54God was using it to really
50:57pull the church up
51:00to get us right.
51:01And I knew I'm going to say some stuff
51:03that's not normal.
51:06You know, um, cuz the word of God has
51:08been diluted for so long, so many times.
51:10I'm talking around the world.
51:13And to hear you today
51:16share that
51:17makes me feel that if there's only one
51:19person I preached to today
51:22it's worth it all.
51:25Seriously, it's worth it.
51:28You have no idea the amount of men
51:31you're giving hope to today.
51:34Because it's not easy to get men to cry.
51:37It's not easy cuz we you know, we try to
51:40muscle up.
51:41And for you to pour your heart out
51:44in a safe place like this
51:46I honor you for that. Now, you talk
51:48about
51:50that you're doing this on your own.
51:53Not anymore.
51:55[Music]
51:59See, this is the culture of our church
52:01now.
52:02Not anymore.
52:03So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm
52:06going to do this now. We can do our
52:08part. You have to do your part.
52:11Likewise, all of you, you have to do
52:14your part. I'm not just going to do this
52:15for you
52:16but the rest of you. Now, here's what I
52:18want.
52:20Minister Damian, would you come here?
52:23He was just recently ordained as a
52:26minister.
52:28Great spirit.
52:30Um, and I feel the Lord is saying
52:33he's not going to be your mentor.
52:38All right? Now,
52:40remember
52:41[Applause]
52:43I can assign him to you
52:46but you may not return his call. You may
52:48not follow up with him. It's on you.
52:52One thing you cannot say again is that
52:54you're alone.
52:56And that would be a lie.
53:00You're not doing this by yourself
53:02anymore.
53:03God's going to use him
53:06to get you to where you need to go.
53:08Now, quickly, stay right there. The rest
53:11of you, turn around. Just you you guys
53:13turn around to the audience, please. Do
53:14me a favor.
53:16Thank you for your patience, but I got
53:18to do this.
53:20Do not move if you're not inspired to do
53:25this.
53:26This is serious now.
53:28Don't do it.
53:32Don't try to come up here to show off
53:34anything.
53:36Every one of these people standing here
53:40I want to assign a men
53:43tor to them.
53:45Now, now, now, before you clap, before
53:46you clap.
53:48For the next
53:51a couple of weeks and the entire month
53:53of October, your job is you're going to
53:55get their phone number.
53:57I want male to male, female to female.
54:02And you are going to call them.
54:07Every week, multiple times a week
54:10and you're going to pray with them, do
54:12Bible study on the phone with them.
54:15And you're going to encourage them.
54:18Your job is to be an intercessor for
54:21them.
54:24And help them get through October.
54:27That's all I want you to do.
54:30So,
54:31I want if you're led, you got the time,
54:35you're not crazy
54:38I don't want you to be talking no crazy
54:40nonsense to these young people.
54:43And you're flowing in the spirit, I want
54:45you to move and come and find one person
54:47to stand next to them. Come, move
54:48quickly.
54:50Females, come on, move.
54:52Females, come on. Females.
54:55Then brothers, we only have a few guys.
54:57You find them. Come on, you find a
54:59brother.
55:01Just go to a female. Come on.
55:04All right?
55:05Those of you don't have somebody coming
55:07to you yet, please raise your hand.
55:09Raise your hand.
55:10And the moment somebody comes and hug
55:12you, then you put your hand down. We
55:14still need more. This is the church.
55:16This is what I'm talking about. Okay?
55:18Raise your hand. I still got some people
55:20here. Ladies,
55:23Okay. Okay. All right?
55:26I still got some people here.
55:29Still got some people here. And then
55:30we're going to pray. This is so good,
55:32man. This is so good. Now, we're going
55:34to pray. We're going to pray. We're
55:36going to pray.
55:37All right? Those of you in the audience,
55:39while they're coming, stretch your hands
55:40now. Let me pray so I can let you go. I
55:42know you want to get out of here.
55:44Father, I thank you for the service.
55:46Thank you for the direction in which
55:48this went today.
55:50I pray for every person who will now
55:53have a mentor.
55:55Give them wisdom as they talk to these
55:57people
55:58for the month of October.
56:00In their darkest hour
56:02that you will be with them.
56:04That you give them words of wisdom.
56:06And for these mentees, I ask by the
56:09power of the Holy Spirit that you'll
56:10touch them.
56:11Male and female.
56:14So, by the end of October they'll be at
56:17a different and a better place. Thank
56:19you for their honesty. Thank you for
56:21this church. Thank you
56:23for the direction that you're guiding us
56:25in. Thank you for how you're teaching us
56:28to be the salt and light of the world.
56:31And Father, we'll forever be careful to
56:33give you the praise, the honor, and the
56:34glory.
56:35And we will always declare
56:38as we come to service tomorrow
56:41for a day of fast to close it off. We
56:45believe faith in God will always move
56:49mountains out of our lives in Jesus'
56:51name. Amen.