This is Bishop Dale Bronner. Thank you so much for joining our YouTube channel today. If this is a blessing to you, I want to encourage you to like it and then click the subscribe button and then turn on notification. Hit that little notification bell so that you never ever miss another one of our videos. And then if you're in the metro Atlanta area on a Sunday, check out one of our exhilarating services at 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m. >> of God's word. Galatians 5:13-15 in the message version of the scripture. You'll notice there these words. It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. >> Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love. That's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's word is summed up in a single sentence. Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out. In no time at all, you will be annihilating each other. And where will your precious freedom be then? Today we're talking from the subject the purpose of purpose. The purpose of purpose. You may be seated. Isn't it interesting here how the apostle Paul as he is writing to the church at Galatia is talking to them about freedom and then a responsibility that goes along with freedom because with freedom always comes responsibility. Just like when children start growing a certain age once they they get to the age of around a teenager, kids start wanting then more freedom from their parents. But the way that freedom more freedom is granted is by the child taking on and showing more responsibility so that they don't have to remind you about homework. They don't have to remind you about limiting your screen time. They don't have to remind you about cleaning up behind yourself. They don't have to remind you about taking out the trash. The more responsible that you are, the more freedom you get. I mean, if they give you a curfew and you are always a few minutes early, you're winning more freedom. >> But if you violate the freedom that has been given to you, you're going to lose the freedom that you've got. >> And so this is the way that it that it works in life. And so I would say to you that the more responsibility that you take, the more freedom will be granted to you. And the less responsible you are, the more freedom you will forfeit. So you have the ability to get more freedom in your life by growing your responsibility. the more responsible you are to do what you know that you need to do without anybody having to ride you on it, having to remind you about it, having to tell you, having to incentivize you to do something. The more that you will take the responsibility, the greater the freedom that you will have. And you see, if you have a business, some people say, you know, man, I want to have my own business one day so I can be my own boss. And so if I don't want to go to work, I don't have to go to work and I can just, you know, walk in and just go to work around 2:00 in the afternoon. If I want to get up at at at 12:30, but what they don't tell you is that when you got your own business, >> and you're the one who's responsible, >> you're going to work harder for yourself than you did with anybody else on anybody else's job. Cuz when you clock out at 4:00 and 5:00 because you work for somebody else, whatever goes on with the business, that's somebody else's problem. But when it's your business, when you leave at 5:00, you you number one, you got to get there before everybody else gets there. And number two, you got to stay there after everybody else is gone. Then when you're at home, after you've had dinner around 8:30 in the evening, an idea comes to you. And even though you're not on the clock, so to speak, because you are responsible, because it's your business and your business is your baby. And so it starts saying, "Hey, hey, hey, wake up. Talk. Think about me right now. I know you're not on the clock right now and this is outside of business hours. Your your hours go, you know, you you complain about working 8 hours. Why don't you try 14 hours, 16 hours a day when you got your own business and then because now you're taking risk on yourself and you realize I am responsible and so you gain freedom to the degree that you gain responsibility but it is not a freedom to do whatever you want to do. is to do the right things that you know that you need to do. When you got your own, you birth your own organization, when you in charge of anything, that thing will wake you up sometime at 2:38 in the middle of the night. You just be waking up looking at the ceiling wonder what what is this about? It's it's it's about the business saying, "Excuse me. Uh I I I got an idea I want to talk about, and I'm not going to wait until the morning, and you can lay there all all night if if you want to, but you're not going to go back to sleep cuz I'm going to ride you. until you think about me, until you come up with some ideas and then you start thinking about it because you are responsible. So you give up your time because you are responsible and your responsibility in the long run will grant you the freedom. But short term, oh my god, you're going to be a slave to it. Uh you don't have the vision, the vision has you. You don't have the dream, the dream has you. In the beginning stage, you don't have the business. The business has you. It's carrying you. It's telling you when to get up and it's telling you you're not going to sleep until and you'll have to think about it and I ideulate about it and then come up with some different things. Ideas will pop to you. You'll be looking at a commercial somewhere and all of a sudden an idea pop in your mind about what you need to do for your own business. >> You'll be riding down the street and you'll be then thinking about something. You'll be on vacation. and and your business that doesn't it DOESN'T CARE ANYTHING ABOUT your being on vacation. It'll expose you to something and all of a sudden an idea pops in your head and you and it it it'll say I dare you to stop thinking about me and you cannot stop thinking about it until you HAVE DEALT WITH. ANYBODY KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? >> That's when you are are possessed by something. I'm just telling you the real dream is not something that you see in your sleep. is something that keeps sleep from you because you're thinking about it and you're up early and you're up late sometimes and so because it makes you responsible. It's not a freedom. Yeah, you're free to do your own business, but you are not really free to it because you're a slave to its demand. And so it will make you responsible in very simple terms. We're talking about the purpose of purpose. And in the simplest of terms that I can make it is that the real purpose of purpose is simply to love and to serve others. >> It is to love and to serve others. It's to love God and it's to love other people and serve them. The real simple understanding of purpose is to love and to serve. It's not deep. It's simple. It's to love and to serve. I love the words of Pastor Tyler Stton that said this. He said, "We live in the most socially conscious, globally minded, justiceoriented generation in living memory. We are also the most mentally ill and chronically unhappy. We are a generation doing exactly what we want with our lives. And yet, we are completely overwhelmed, utterly exhausted, and chronically anxious. That's quite a picture. And when I think about that, I mean, that just that just drains some of the life out of me just thinking about how addicted that we are. We we we've justice oriented, socially conscious, globally minded. We we're carrying up too much. We're inundated with too much stimuli, too much news from things around the world, and we can't even be concerned about what's going on in our own backyard. and we've got too much on our minds and and just maybe when we get to a situation like that, maybe we just need to turn back to some oldfashioned ways. And you need to think about some of that old mother wit, father wit that your mom and your daddy had, your grandparents had because they were able to run their whole world on a fraction of what we have now. >> And it's amazing how they were able to raise successful families and didn't have any education. It's amazing what they were able to do. They were more in in connection with their community and they didn't have the digital connection. These were the type of people that had a long cord with the telephone in the kitchen and they'd be sometime dragging it into another room of the house cuz you had a long cord on it and that's how they stayed connected and that's how they were able to watch over their children because you couldn't just call somebody and talk to their daughter. You going to call and your mama was saying who is that on my phone? Who it's young man? It's it's 8:30. Uh you you don't call my house this time of night. And they were in control of it. And so because our world has gotten so stressed out and everybody now needs a therapist. And listen, I'm not against that. If you need a therapist, get one. And some people need to be medicated. If you need it, get take your medicine. But maybe maybe we've just gotten sick because of something that we used to do and we are no longer doing it. And I just want to I just want when I thought about the stress, the anxiety, and the depression that is in our culture right now. Our ancestors didn't deal with all of that. And they worked harder and they had to go out and split their own own wood and get the the eggs from the chicken and milk their own cows. I mean, they worked from sun up to sun down. Some of y'all don't even know anything about this. and and they didn't have vacuum cleaners and they didn't have dishwashers. Oh, they had them. It was at the end of their own two elbows. Some of the finest dishwashing that you ever saw. And and uh and they didn't have the electricity. And many times they they didn't even have indoor plumbing. And yet they were happy and well adjusted and there was more warmth and love in their house. And their family was more connected. And they knew what was happening in the lives of their children as they sat around the table. And that was therapy right there for the family. And it was such an incredible atmosphere to have the essentials of everything that you needed to become a successful person in life >> and the conversations that happened around it. But notice what the Bible says in Jeremiah chapter 6 and verse 16. This is what the Lord says. Stop at the crossroads and look around. Have you ever been at a crossroad in your life? >> You're at a juncture. You're at an age now dealing with challenges that you've never done with dealt with before. He says, "Ask for the old godly way and walk in it. Ask for the old godly way, the ancient way, and walk in it. Travel its path and you will find rest for your soul." Is your soul tired? He's trying to tell you, "Go back to an old way." But you reply, "No, that's not the road we want. We want to be connected. You better go back. You better go back into some of the very things that carried your great-grandparents, that carried your grandparents. He says, "Ask for the old paths, the old ancient ways, the things that recalibrated their minds, the thing that gave them the ability." I mean, we have one child now, and that one child about to drive us crazy. They had children like animals, like a litter of children. They had six and eight and 10, 12 children. And they they could handle it like it was nobody's business, just like it was nothing. They it was just another thing and they trained this one and they so and so you get this one and the older children became the parent really of those younger children. They just spit them out. You know what to do. And they had to wash clothes on a washboard and hang them out on the line with with clips and and and the fragrance of the fresh air and the natural ultraviolet rays of the sun were disinfecting the clothes and better than any kind of chemicals. And we didn't have all of this poison. And my goodness, and and when you had a a milk that was natural and raw and unpasteurized and it could come there and you had natural ingredients, my god, the food tasted differently. But in instead of all of this instant processed stuff, I'm just telling you, you can't imitate stuff that has to cook and marinate for hours and smoke for this particular period of time. And I'm just telling you, when you get meat that's been in a smokehouse, oh my god, my my sto my mouth is nearly watering. But you can't even IMITATE THAT. YOU YOU I MEAN, stove top re seriously. Where is the cornbread? I'm talking about some real stuff. And and he says, listen, if you're stressed out, if you're depressed, if you're dealing with all of this anxiety, he says, you're at a crossroads in your life. You don't know what to You're about to pull your hair out. You you you're burned out. He says, "Ask for the old way, the godly way. Get back to it. Maybe you need to go back and have some conversations with some people who knew how to live when life was simple." >> And let me just tell you this, not everything that's simple is easy. >> But life was simple. It was simple. when they looked at their stuff, you know, you got a sack of potatoes and stuff was in a burlap bag >> and then you made clothes out of it. YOU DIDN'T YOU DIDN'T just waste stuff. They were able to do more stuff with less. I'm telling you, sometimes the less you have, the more creative you become. You will be surprised how much you can do with a little when you just asking God to help you. And they had to depend on God. And so it says when you get at the crossroads of life, ask for the ancient paths. And maybe it's time to let our minds run back and have an a conversation with your great-grandparents. Have a conversation with your grandparents. Think about their way of life. Think about it. Just think about it. And there's something about that can be grounding and recalibrating for your own human soul. And you'll realize that though their lives were under stress and pressure and they lived through depression and I'm just telling you they were so creative that they could they were poor and their children didn't know it >> because the culture that they had in their home was so rich and though you are dealing with situation other people would identify know that they were poverty and the children who were in poverty didn't even know that they were in poverty because all of their needs were met. Somehow God knows how to do more with some rice and beans and some cornmeal than other people. I'm just telling you, you don't have to have a whole lot of stuff. And that little children, I mean I mean it's it's amazing. And and I'm telling you, some of the the the medicine that you got back in in the day from older folks, anybody know anything about cod liver oil and and castor oil and and garlic? I mean, they they had some stuff. It was it was better than some of the stuff that you can get at a pharmacy. And and you you had a bad cough and they they some of them had some of, you know, some stuff with some some spirits in it to help you sleep at night, too. And they they would they would make you some that would KNOCK THAT STUFF OUT OF YOU. And and I I'm almost wish that we could get some of them to come back and and let them market some of these old remedies. And I'm just telling you, those are those old home remedies didn't have side effects that had you seeing double and the possible death and ingredients that you can't even pronounce. I'm just telling you, WHEN YOU EVER GET TO THE crossroads in your life, go back, go back, go back, go back. just simplify, go back and strip yourself back down to the foundation, come back to the lowest common denominator. And that's all that he's saying that whenever your life loses its calibration with humanity and with what's normal and with all of the digit digitization and it'll give you some stuff that AI cannot give you. And see, and this is the thing now. We're stressed out, we're depressed, and now we want to ask AI, "What's wrong with me?" Go down and spend some time with your grandparents. They'll tell you what's wrong with you. Go back AND THINK ABOUT HOW THEY lived and what they let stress them and what they didn't. >> And I'm just telling you, look, you'll learn some invaluable things about relationships, about resilience, about tenacity, about grit. You will learn all of the secrets of everything to be able to make you who you are. You talking about creativity? >> The less you have, the more creative you've got to be. Sometimes your greatest curse is having too much because having too much strips away your creativity. Anybody understand what I'm talking about today? And God says, listen, when you get to these places, he says, you're at a crossroads. You're at a place in life and history and time now that you've never been before. And things are more convoluted. Our world is is is more confused than it ever has been. It says whenever you're at that crossroad, it says you need to look back. before you try to walk forward. And if you'll learn to look back instead of trying to just go forward, my God, you will recalibrate your human soul and a peace will come to you. And so don't ever discount the old way. I call the old way treasure. And you never throw away old treasure just because you get new treasure. Wouldn't it be STUPID THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU GET NEW money that's coming to you this this coming week or this month, wouldn't it be stupid to throw away all of your old money just because new money is coming in? >> You don't ever throw away old treasure just because you get new treasure. >> One of the few parables that Jesus interpreted for us in scripture was Matthew chapter 13 and he talked about a man out of his treasure. brings things old and new. So Jesus was letting us know there's old treasure and there's new treasure. There's old treasure and there's new treasure. I want you to be thinking about something old that you have that maybe the Holy Spirit wants to put a new twist to. And it it's almost like you remember they did some creative um advertising with with the corn flakes and it says taste them again for the first time. It was like try it again. It's like if it's an oldfashioned kind of thing, >> but it says go back and sometimes God will give you an old idea. Don't ever throw away your old stuff just because you don't understand it. And you think that that's back in history. Let me tell you, we're on a circle. What goes around comes around. And how do you not know that God wants to use you in this hour for some things that need to come back around because we have lost our sanity? And you got to know some there just there's a value that my God there's a value some I'm I'm not people with gray hair they are part of our national treasure. I mean the gray hair that's up underneath the wig. These these are part of our national treasures. the one that's under the toupe where hair used to be. These are part of our national treasures. So just just think about it. He says go back to the old way, the ancient way. And there's something I think that God has for us. I love this statement by Harry Truman. He said there's nothing new in the world except the history that you don't know. There's nothing new in the world except the history that you don't know. And let me just tell you this. I use this principle in my own life. In order to think new thoughts, go back and read an old book. You will be surprised what God will hide back in ancient times. It's a principle of stuff that is crucial to our survival as human beings that has never changed even over time. And AI is not a human being and so it doesn't understand and AI wasn't back there with our grandparents. Use AI, embrace it, do all of that. It's a tool. But understand, even if I don't have you, >> I got something where I can do my own thinking. Cuz if I'm stranded in a place and if I see some water and if I got a hook and a line, I know what to do. >> And if I got some seed and I seed some dirt and if I can get a hold of a water with with if I can find a bucket, then if I have to go down the hill to get the water and if I come back up, I know how to be able to make this turn into something that can feed me a few months down the road. And so he's saying, listen, it says go back to the old way, the ancient way, and you'll find something that actually really helps us to recalibrate our souls. So when you when you look at that, you know, you you see that and something wonderful happens. I want you to notice what uh is written here in 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 7-11. Notice this. The end of the world is coming soon. My goodness, we're closer to it now than we've ever been. And so, notice what it tells us to do. Therefore, be earnest. That means sincere and disciplined in your prayers. Closer you get to the end times is you better be more diligent, disciplined in your prayers. Start praying. Start praying. And then he says, most of all, continue to show deep love for each other. Continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. And then notice what he says, cheerfully. Notice what he says here. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. My God, you don't even know what an oldfashioned meal will do. It's it's better than a a a therapist session sitting on somebody's couch talking about what's going on on the inside of you. You know that that was the old therapist couch was somebody's kitchen and a good meal. My goodness. I'm just telling you some of them will have some meals that are so outstanding that it your soul is fixed when you finish. I can't even tell that that maybe there's a reason we call it soul food. It did something for more than just the body. And I can tell you this, you can feel it when stuff has been prepared with love. >> I'm just telling you, I I can't even explain that, but you can just sense it. And and then notice verse 10. It says, "God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another, not yourself. He's given us a great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another." Remember the purpose of purpose is to love and serve others. It says, "Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies that then everything you do will bring glory to God through Christ through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever. Amen. Ain't that amazing? He says, "Whatever gift that you have, do it as though it was Jesus doing. If you can sing, sing as though Jesus was singing. If you can cook, cook it as though Jesus was throwing down in the kitchen. If you if you're cleaning, clean it the way that Jesus would have cleaned it. It's just saying, whatever you do, do it to the glory of God. That is to say, do it as if Jesus himself were doing it through you. He's given every person at least one gift. And most of the time, most people are multi-gifted. It's generally more than just one gift. But discover that gift and serve it to other people because you are not the destination for the gift. The gift is never to serve you. Notice he said that if you got the gift of speaking, you know, this is to speak to someone that needs the encouragement or the wisdom of whatever you might have on the inside of you. I am a speaker, but wouldn't it be crazy if I were just at home just talking to myself in the mirror all of the time? My gift is not for me. My gift is not for me. It's it's for others that God will put in my path. And whatever gift that you have, if it's the gift of encouragement, if it's the gift of dancing or cooking or writing poetry, I mean, whatever gift that you have, if it's the gift of design, if it is the gift, you know, of hospitality, if it is the gift of of of of an evangelist, but also is a salesman, uh, it's a salesperson's gift to be able to take people and show them into a home and and allow them to to create a narrative and let them see themselves living in that space. That's a gift. The gift is not for you. The gift is for others. The gift is only through you. >> Have you ever seen an orange tree producing oranges and then eating those oranges? You know, in the Wizard of Oz and then they going to the haunted forest and they and pulled one of the apples and then the apple trees slapped his hand. I It's like, no, no, don't don't don't touch that. That's mine. No, no, no. It's designed to be able to produce a fruit that it does not consume itself. And so what you produce is not for you. And the way that we are served, you know, there's there's this picture of hell that is given where everybody is sitting at at at this table. It's a big table. It's almost like the the last supper table and there's a glorious meal in front of them, but everybody on the end of everybody's arms is like a a long spoon. And the spoon is so long that they can't get it in front of themselves to be able to feed themselves. And because hell is a place where selfishness thrives, they they end up starving to death because they can't feed themselves. And the same table is in heaven. And people are sitting there with their long spoons and they are reaching their long spoons to the person's plate in front of them, picking up the food off of that and feeding the other person. And then it is reciprocated. And for one, selfishness makes it a hell. And for the other, sharing and serving makes it a blessing. >> And that's what happens. That's the picture of us when we try to take our gift and only feed ourselves with it. It's not designed to feed you. Uh you're you're giving out. And I know that some people who are great encouraers and who are great givers and then they're wondering, you know, you know, well, why is it that I'm I'm in need. You know, listen, it's this is about your serving gift. You give serve your gift. Give your gift. Somebody needs your gift. Somebody needs your gift. You go to the book of Romans and you'll discover much more than just the spiritual gift. There are other gifts. Gifts of hospitality, gift of teaching. You know, there wide variety of gifts. And may God show you your gift because somebody needs your gift. Somebody needs your gift. Your gift is uniquely yours, but it's only through you. It's not designed for you. And you might wonder, you know, I don't understand why God gives me prophetic words for other people and I'm the one who needs prophetic direction and I can't hear a word from God. Somebody else holds your gift. SOMEBODY ELSE HAS your word. YOU GOT A WORD FOR SOMEBODY ELSE, but somebody's got a word for you. You got a song for somebody, but somebody's got a SONG FOR YOU. YOU got something uh a company for them and yet somebody has company for you. So realize that whatever God has designed for you to produce what you need is locked in somebody else's gift and they've got to we've got to be able to be in alignment so that we feed each other. The world is starving because it has made people only see themselves and not the needs of other people who are desperate for the gift of who you are. The world is waiting for some of you to bring and serve your gift. They've got an appetite for it. And just because you've been rejected by one person, it simply means that you're in front of the wrong people. Sometimes people's pallet has not been sensitized to have an appreciation for the culinary artistry that comes out of your life. Don't change your recipe. Find the people that like what God give. This is my this IT IS WHAT IT IS. And you'll be surprised. You make the world a better place when you're able to just serve your gift that God has given to you. Serve your gift to other people and it makes the world a better better place. It's interesting how James and John, they asked Jesus to be able to sit on his right hand and on his left. You know, it's this special place of honor. It was a selfish request. And I want you to notice Jesus response to it. how he offended even the other 10 disciples in Mark 10 and verse 41-45. Uh when the 10 other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. They were absolutely beside themselves, angry. It's like the nerve of those people. So Jesus called them together and he said, "You know that the rulers in this world lorded over over their people and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among among you, it will be different. We're not going to act like the world. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the son of man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. Let me just tell you this. God never ever abandons purpose. >> God never abandons purpose. You know why? Because purpose is designed to be outwardly focused. It's designed to be outwardly focused. It's not about me. My purpose is always outwardly focused. It's outwardly focused. It's not about me. It's outwardly focused. Purpose is designed intentionally to be outwardly focused. It's not about your dream house. It's not about your dream job, your dream career. It's not about your dream man, your dream woman. It's not about your dream family. It's designed to be outwardly focused. Your purpose is related to other people that need the gift that God has locked in your life. >> And you can easily tell whether a person is outwardly focused or inwardly focused by how they pray. >> I mean, you remember the the self-righteous Pharisee, Lord, I think thee that I am not as a sinner. >> I fast twice in the week. I pay tithes of all. I this, I that, I focused on himself. where there was a sinner that was over there beating his chest that was just saying, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. God, have mercy on me. God, I realize I'm a mess." >> But isn't it amazing that God uses people who are a mess and that God can even Can I give you a news flash? God uses broken people. >> I wonder why. is because they carry something that God put in them. And until they're broken, they can't get out. >> It's got to come out. >> You don't have compassion for other people until you've been broken. >> But if you've ever been rejected, >> abused, mistreated, you know how to recognize other rejected, mistreated, neglected, and abused people. And so God will use the very thing that you've gone through to be able to identify you. So you recognize your audience of who needs you >> and where you came from. There are a whole lot of other folks that God wanted to deliver deliver you so you could become a deliverer to others. You show you got out so that God could use you to show other folks the way out. And if you made it, it's it's your way of saying that you are proof positive that God is not respective person. And if he brought me out, he can bring you out. If he delivered me, he can deliver you. If he got me off of that stuff, he can get you off of this stuff. that God is able and he's faithful. You can just tell people whether they're outwardly focused or inwardly focused. I think one of the most outwardly focused prayers is the prayer of St. Francis of Aisi. Here's his prayer. You've heard it. It's a very famous prayer. He says, "Lord, make me an instrument of of your peace. So that where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there's injury, pardon. Where there's doubt, I want to sow faith. Where there's despair, I want to sow hope. Where there is darkness, let me sow light. Where there is sadness, I want to sow joy. Oh divine master, grant that I might not so much seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, and it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Isn't that amazing? That's an unselfish prayer. That is outwardly focused. He understood his purpose. That I'm here to make a difference in the world. That I want to leave the world better than it was when I came. That where there is injustice in the world, I want to be able to sew a seed of justice. I want to be able to sow love and pardon and faith and hope and light. I want to be a differencemaker. You know that life is essentially about learning lessons. It's about discovering your call. It's about serving others through that calling and it's about being able to live in the present. >> You know, when you the the dangers of of social media and and all of the digitized world is that it takes you out of the presence. it that makes you miss the moment cuz you're trying to go live. You missed the moment yourself. Life is essential is about learning lessons, discovering your call and serving through that call and living in the present. Living in the present. And if you really need to discover your call, here are a few a few uh techniques, seven ways here. Number just seek the Lord. God says, "If you call on me, I will answer. You'll seek me and you'll find me when you seek with me with all of your heart." Jeremiah 29 11-14 and then here's what you do. Start where you are. Just start right where you are. You don't have to go halfway around the world. Start right where you are. And then survey your gifts. What am I good at? What am I gifted to do? Number four, build your skills and your knowledge. If you build skill and knowledge, God will use it. >> You become more usable in his kingdom. The more that you capacitate yourself. >> Number five, get around people. You don't even know how gifted you are until you get around people. You don't know who needs you until you get around people. >> Get around people. People are the mission field. >> Number six, pay attention to what makes you come alive on the inside. Don't ask what the world needs. You know what the world needs? What the world needs are people who have come alive to their purpose. And they understand that I'm put here for something greater than just to serve my own self. And number seven, see a need and serve others. You see a need and serve others. When God has gifted you, see people that need the gift of who you are. You are the gift. You possess the gift and you'll recognize it when you get among people that need that gift and appreciate the gift of God that's in you. And but if you're not appreciated where you are, find your tribe. >> Find the audience that needs the flavor that you bring to the stew. >> You bring a unique flavor to the stew. Find your tribe. And I'm telling you that being selfish or self- serving is being selfish. And you'll discover that wrong belief leads to wrong behavior. Self-centeredness is overly focused on yourself. That's that's what you find. You'll just find a self-centered person. They are overly focused on themselves. The curse of our world today is egotistical self-centered leaders. just focus that the whole they think the whole world revolves around them >> and it's a curse. >> It's not necessarily that they're against other people. They're just all for themselves. >> But then selfishness selfish is a lack of consideration of other people. You just you just failed to consider people. You you lack the empathy to even be considerate of other people. When you're selfish, you lack consideration of other people. Now, here here are some signs that you may be selfish. I want you to recognize it. Not everybody always recognizes. And if it's not you, it'll help you to recognize other selfish people in your world. They may be your children. It'll help you to recognize. Here's here are some signs that help you to recognize if if you may be selfish. Number one, you have no regard for how your behavior impacts others. The kids do that all the time. They have no regard and real they they think it's my life. I mean, what what difference does that make to you what I'm doing? It's because your actions are hurting your parents. They feel that it's not just you. So, you find a person that has no regard for how their behavior impacts others. Number two, you consistently act in your own self-interest instead of meeting the needs of others. Number three, you have no empathy for the sufferings of others. Number four, you show no remorse uh when you've hurt others. Your your best attempt at an apology is I'm sorry you took it that way. Number five, you use manipulation to get what you want. >> Number six, you always ask for favors but never repay them. Number seven, your kindness always comes always comes with a price tag. >> Is when somebody do something nice for you, but you know it's trying because they trying to get something from you. Number eight, you use others to get what you want. And number nine, you feel entitled to always get your way. It's a classic sign of immaturity. Selfishness is the hallmark of immaturity, of childish behavior, because children are selfish. They're the center of their own world. And so, I just wanted you to be alert of some of that um so that you'd know how to guard yourself. Now, I want to give you three responses, three ways to be able to respond to selfish people. Number one, don't take it personally. Is who they are. It's not it's not about you. If it weren't you, they're not just trying to take advantage of you. It's anybody. You don't please don't feel special that they took advantage of you. They do it to the next guy. Now, so don't take it personally. They're just a selfish person. So, when you're dealing with selfish people, it's not about you. It's about them. So, it has nothing to do with you. So, don't take it personally. Number two, when you're dealing with selfish people, set clear boundaries. You must, please let me put a push pin here. Set clear boundaries. You must set boundaries for selfish people because selfish people are takers and takers have no boundaries. So givers must set them. >> Takers have no limit. You can't give them enough. And you will never find a selfish person say, "Oh, oh no, no, no. I can't receive that new, but you've been too kind to me." They have no limit. Takers have no limits. So givers must set limits to protect themselves or else you'd be taken advantage of. You recognize selfish people when when you see their number come up on your phone and when you know them and you can say to them, I I I bet you I I bet they're going to want something. Watch. They're going to do little small talk for about 90 seconds. Hey, how you doing? Happy New Year. And then they going to circle around before they get off of that phone. I promise you, they're going to ask you about something. They're going to ask you about it's it's about, you know, it's coming. They ain't They are not interested in how big mama doing, how your cousin doing, and Uncle Willie. They They're not interested in any of that. They got a need right now. And they trying to set clear boundaries. That's all that I'm just telling you because takers have no limits. So givers must have them just to be able to protect themselves. So you can't change, you can't stop the existence of selfish people in our world. So we have to don't take it personally. Set clear boundaries and then practice acceptance. Practice acceptance. That means you have to realize this is just a selfish person. That's just who they are. I mean you you you don't I mean you got if you have selfish children you still have to love them. Remember the purpose of purpose is to love and to serve. So you you just uh practice acceptance. Acceptance is an understanding of who they are. It's where you realize I'm going to control what I can control. I can't control other people. I can only control my own actions. So what I'm going to do to control this situation, I'm going to lower my expectations. You're never disappointed by what you find in life. You're only disappointed by what you expected to find. So if I lower my expectation, I root out my disappointment. It's like I know when the phone comes, I KNOW WHEN THEY SEND ME this this uh text saying, "Hey man, what's up? What up, man? We we need to catch up." No, no, no. You're trying to get something. I already know that. Just how much is it? So that you you realize the the connection. you you know that this is something that's getting ready to happen. So establish your your expectation. Just practice acceptance. Practice accept this is this is who they are. This is who they are. And they may not be able to help it. So you have to recognize that. So but just to protect yourself. Don't take it personally. They're not trying to take advantage of you. They do it to the next man. They next do to the next person. Uh set your boundaries and practice acceptance. And please remember that your success that you have in your life is only related to your purpose. You don't get any brownie points if you do somebody else's assignment in life. You only get credit for doing what God put you in the earth to do. Have you done what God told you to do? And you have a gift of worth and value even if other people don't see that. I I I love the words of my friend Dr. Miles Monroe. He and I used to teach together and uh he said these words that if you do what you were born to do, you are successful no matter how insignificant it may seem to other people. No matter how insignificant it may seem to other people, if you do what you were born to do, you are successful. No matter how insignificant it may seem to other people. Listen, when we're serving our purpose, we're actually ministering and serving our purpose for an audience of one. >> We're not doing it for the applause of people. We're doing it for an audience of one. We're doing it because God gave me this gift and it belongs to his people. >> When you carry a God gift, it belongs to the people. It belongs to the people. It doesn't serve you. Yeah. >> So, outstanding singers, you don't just put on a concert in your own shower and think that you've served God's purpose, >> unless you know that your neighbors can hear through the wall. And so, your gift is to bless other people, not you. Somebody else has the gift that will bless you. So, you find that and connect yourself to that. But every gift that you possess has a destination that is outside of yourself. Every gift without exception that you possess has a destination outside of yourself. And I just remind you of this that God never gives a gift that's not needed somewhere. Find the place where the gift where there is a need or appreciation for your gift. Find that place where there is a need or an appreciation for your gift. And I just love the words of Oscar uh Hammerstein who said, "A bell is not a bell until you ring it, and a song is not a song until you sing it." And he says, "Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love is not love until you give it away." I'm telling you, it's just the way that it is. If you've got a gift, if you've got a present for someone, a gift is not a gift until it is given. A gift is not a gift until it is given. If somebody says, "I got a gift for you," it's not a gift until it is given. If the gift is still sitting up on a shelf in your closet uh in in in the back of your car, a gift is not a gift until it is given because until it is given, it blesses nobody. It's not going to do what it's designed to do until it gets into the place that it actually belong. A gift is not a gift until it is given. And I will tell you this that the motivation for purpose is never money but meaning. It's not about money, it's about meaning. When you're talking about the motivation for purpose, it's never about money. It's always about meaning. It's about meaning. And I love the words of Frederick Hesburg who said this that the powerful motivator in our lives isn't money. It's the opportunity to learn, to grow in responsibilities, to contribute to others, and to be recognized for achievements. But that's that's the important part. It's about an opportunity to learn, about an opportunity to be able to grow in responsibility. It's about contributing to the lives of others. Because remember, the real purpose of purpose is to love and to serve others. You love God, you love people, and you serve them because you love them. The thing that really amazes me is that people underinvest in their families and they overinvest in their careers. Please understand that your family is a gift. >> And the beautiful thing that I I realize is that whenever you're in alignment, you don't have to ask for God's blessings. >> If you want things to flow through you, just put your life into alignment. Blessings flow where there is an openness in alignment. >> Psalm 133 talks about how good and pleasant it is, brethren, to dwell together in unity. It's like the ointment that came on the head down to the beard and even the the garments, the skirts of the garment. It says, "For there the blessing was commanded." That means when you come into God's alignment of unity, you don't have to ask to be blessed, the blessing will fall to you. You get in line, it'll fall to you. What everything that you need will come to you as soon as you line up with God's value. As soon as you come into unity and out of selfishness, you come into the the common good. Then God says, "I will command the blessing. You won't even have to ask me to bless you. I'll bless you because you coming in line. And then assignment. Alignment is congruency in core values. It's congruency in culture. It is congruency in beliefs. It's in congruency of work ethic. So when you come into the into the workplace, when there is a congruency in your core values of that, in the culture of that organization, in the beliefs, in the work ethic, that we're going to all work so that our customers are served with excellence in this place. When you are in alignment with that, you get blessed, your co-workers get blessed, and the customers get blessed. Everybody, the organization gets blessed because we're in alignment with the values of this organization. It's amazing. But that alignment is a result of commitment. And here's what I would tell you about commitment. Commitment burns wrong bridges behind you so that you can focus on the right bridges that are ahead of you. It's about burning the wrong bridges and connecting to the right bridges. And I'll tell you this that the bridge between a dream and reality is called action. I know a lot of people with dreams and they're trying to make it a reaction, a a reality and and all they do is they just they just dreamers. They're just dreamers. And what you lack is action. See, there's a bridge. And so you have a dream and you want to have a fulfillment. It mandates you must have action. And then the bridge between knowledge and skill. You can't just look at a a YouTube video and think that you're going to that you're going to be a specialist mastering something because you looked at something on YouTube. The bridge between knowledge and skill is called practice. It's called practice. I would hope that you wouldn't want to have surgery from a surgeon who's been totally educated by looking at a video on uh YouTube and has never performed a surgery. That's why you call it practice in medicine >> because the bridge between knowledge and skill is called practice. And then if you really want to master something, the the skill the bridge between skill and mastery IS CALLED TIME. IT TAKES TIME. YOU CAN'T LOOK AT PEOPLE THAT'S BEEN doing stuff for decades and think that you can do it in in two weeks or six week program and it's going to give you something that a person has been mastering for the last 25 years of their life. The bridge between skill and mastery is called time. You got to put in time. You got to go across that bridge. If I want to master something, I got to put in the time. If I want to be able to develop a practice in something, I'm going to have to go from if I want to take my knowledge into a develop it into a skill, I'm going to have to practice, practice, practice, practice. It is the practice, the humrum practice that makes a person a virtuoso on the keyboard, on a violin, on a guitar, on a on a on a trombone, whatever it is, A SAXOPHONE, WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU PLAY ON THE DRUMS, >> you're going to HAVE TO PUT IN IN SOME TIME. You people looking at so and so is so talented as a basketball player, baseball player. No, no, no. That's skill that has been developed because they have practiced. And if you've got a ballerina that is professional, they go to practice. Athletes go to practice. It's practice that is that bridge. There's no other way. You have to go across the bridge. And if you want to take something from a dream and bring it into reality, you've got to take action. Action is a bridge. Practice is a bridge. And time is a bridge. And you got to cross the bridge in order to be able to get those things. When Elijah called Elisha the prophet to follow him, he was a he was he was a farmer and he was plowing with 12 yolk of oxen. And immediately when he called him and said follow me, he went back and he slaughtered the oxen and then he made a fire and burned and cooked and gave the meat away to folks burned all of the equipment and used it so that he'd never be tempted to go back. And it was a way of saying that I'm burning this bridge of what I used to do so I can follow you, man of God, and come into my destiny. If you always leave the little, you know, you get married and you still got your black book with all them numbers in it. >> Oh, God. >> I mean, when you get ready to go forward, you you got to burn the black book. >> That's right. >> It is It is your way of saying that I'm committed to going forward and we going to make it. We We going to make it, boo. We going We going to make it together. And I'm not going I'm not going to deal with my history. I'm not going to drag my history into this. This is a God has given me a new chapter in my life and I'm going to forge a new road ahead. You got to know when when to when to fold your your your tent. You got to know when to burn this stuff that's behind you so that you can build a strong bridge ahead of you to build the life that God is calling you to. >> And I would tell you this, be committed to just move in build in silence. Be committed to move and build in silence. It's a superpower. You know why? I I learned this principle from nature because seeds grow best in the dark. >> They're not trying to be loud and tell you about what they're doing and what they transforming into. A seed just goes down into the ground. Show them when the harvest comes up. >> What you were working with, >> but learn to move and build in silence. >> Learn to move and build in silence. You know why I I say that to you? Here's why. Because when you expose your plans too early, you invite attack. You invite doubt. You invite jealousy. You invite criticism. I mean, you be telling people what you're getting ready to do. They start attacking you and putting doubt in your head. Their jealousy will make you uh insecure. Their criticism make you doubt yourself. All kinds of things. That's what happens when you expose your plan. Put your seed in the ground and work. Learn to work and build in silence. >> The seed unfolds in the silence of darkness in the ground. You got to realize that when God has planted something in you, let him let it stay there cuz other people will talk you out of it and they'll tell you you don't have the education. You don't have the pedigree. You don't have the background to be able to do. Who told you that you could do this? And somehow God has a way of just opening a door. And I'm my favor is not fair. And I'm just telling you, there are time that God will just do things for his children just because he's daddy God. And he said, I will make a way for you out of nowhere and other folks won't be able to explain how you got here, who you knew, who you bribed. No, no, no. This was the favor of God. God had me in the right place at the right time. And I'm telling you, God brought the stuff that I didn't know. He brought people who knew. My God, I don't know who I'm talking to, but I will tell you this that when you have submitted your hand, your life under the mighty hand of God, God will begin to direct the steps of your feet. And you don't even know what God was saying cuz he didn't talk to your head. He puted marching orders in your feet. And he asked you to come this way and to meet people THAT HAD A CRITICAL PART OF THE THING THAT YOU NEEDED TO do to be able to get to the next place in destiny that he's planted for you. There are people that God HAS PLANTED BECAUSE GOD'S ANSWER TO EVERY PROBLEM IS ALWAYS A PERSON. And God has people planned for you. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ALL OF THE ANSWERS AS LONG AS YOU'RE SUBMITTED TO GOD WHO KNOWS THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE WHAT YOU NEED TO GET YOU TO THE NEXT LEVEL. My God, I'm just here to tell you that God is capacitating you. He's got everything that you need in place. WHEN YOU SUBMIT TO GOD, GOD WILL GIVE A SENSITIVITY AND A DISCERNMENT TO YOUR EYES. I don't know who I'm TALKING TO BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD. BUT GOD WILL GIVE YOU A DISCERNMENT ON THE INSIDE OF YOU WHERE you will recognize AND KNOW THE PEOPLE THAT ARE A PART OF THE DESTINY THAT GOD SENT YOU HERE FOR ME. I NEEDED YOU AT THIS JUNCTURE IN MY LIFE RIGHT WHERE I AM. I GOT SOME SEED. I'VE GOT TIME. AND I JUST NEED SOME DIRECTION. HE'LL PUT MENTORS AND COACHES IN YOUR LIFE. PEOPLE THAT KNOW INFORMATION ABOUT TAX, ABOUT LAW AND LEGALITY, ABOUT MARKETING STRATEGY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO KNOW IT. KNOW GOD. GOD KNOWS THE PEOPLE. HE'S GOT A RESOURCE. AND WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOURSELF TO GOD, HE'LL HOOK YOU UP. YOU OUGHT TO HIGHFIVE SOMEBODY AND SAY, "LORD, I THANK YOU FOR THE HOOKUP. >> >> and you get ready to do something, God's got you. >> And let me just tell you that when God makes you a seed, everything happens in an atmosphere. Seed grows in a certain kind of atmosphere. The temperature has to be right. The moisture has to be right. Everything happens in an atmosphere. And for some of you, your real gift, you understand that you carry the presence of God. >> You are an atmosphere shifter. >> Come on here. >> You're designed that when you show up, the atmosphere shifts. When God comes in the room, >> the atmosphere shifts. >> The atmosphere shifts. The moment that God comes in, the atmosphere shifts. I told my wife, it's when when I got into Nigeria and I got into my room, the middle of the night, you know what? The the light just kept on coming on in the bathroom. I said, "Devil, I don't have time for this. I I'm not I don't fool with this. Don't fool with me. I don't have time for this." I got to minister. I'm going, "Don't fool with me." And I got up and I I turned it off and searched it out again. Got back in the bed. He cut comes on again. I I'm like, "Devil, I didn't come here to play paddic cake. I've dealt with your kind before." Do you think that the bishop was afraid? ABSOLUTELY NOT. WHY WOULD I BE AFRAID WHEN I AM EQUIPPED? >> >> I was packing in the spirit. I SHUT IT down because God has empowered me. AND I'M TELLING YOU, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT YOU GOT AN ASSIGNMENT UNTIL AN ENEMY CONFIRMS IT trying to come against you. EVERY GOD ASSIGNMENT WILL BE OPPOSED BY A DEMON SPIRIT. THERE ARE SPIRITS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO TRY TO GET YOU OUT OF YOUR PLACE OF APPOINTING BECAUSE YOUR PLACE OF APPOINTING IS YOUR PLACE OF ANOINTING. AND YOU GOT TO BE SURE OF WHO YOU ARE AND REMAIN CONNECTED to God in the name OF JESUS BECAUSE SOME THINGS ARE TRYING TO GET YOU DISAPPOINTED. THE DISAPPOINTMENT IS TO GET YOU OUT OF YOUR God appointment. God has appointed you to certain places. The moment that you're in your place of appointment, the moment that you're there, the atmosphere shifts, you didn't come to step in and keep things business as usual. They ought to know when you have slipped into the atmosphere. The King of Glory can't slip into an atmosphere and be in incognito. >> The atmosphere shifts. You can just feel my god, sunshine has just come in. Some people's personality, it's like a light has been turned on. When they walk in the room, they light it up because if your entrance doesn't make a difference when you leave, it won't either. And you carry a gift and the world is waiting on your gift. And sometimes they don't even realize what they've been waiting on, but it looks just like the gift that's on the inside of you. >> Somebody is hungry, starving for what you carry. >> The other people that don't appreciate it, and I realize when I was young, I used to get offended that nobody, the these folks are not inviting me. Well, they weren't my place of assignment. Go to where you're celebrated. Go where you are appreciated. Go where they have a taste for the flavor that God has put in you. DON'T CHANGE THE FLAVOR THAT GOD GAVE YOU. You be you. Let God flow through you. He gave you that personality for a reason. He's going to use it for his glory. Don't change it. Don't change it. Don't change it. LIGHT UP THE PLACE when you come in. Light is designed for darkness. It scatters the darkness. >> You know why you went through brokenness? Cuz he's going to send you to broken people. You'll be able to recognize that brokenness in their eyes. >> And the only reason that he broke you is so that the light was in you could shine out. >> You carry a light. >> Hallelujah. And sometimes people need to lay eyes on somebody who's gone through brokenness and survived. >> And when they look at you and realize that you've been broken and you're still here and your gift is radiating and emanating with brightness, then they'll realize there's hope for me. They'll know it. Your purpose is to love, love God, love people, and serve people. Serve God. The purpose of purpose is about loving and serving. It's real simple. The purpose of purpose, not self- serving. It's to love God, love people, and to serve God, and serve people. There's a gift, several gifts that God has put in you. Somebody is looking at you and you wonder why God allowed you to do so much with so little because you identify with everybody else who starts with little. And if God could do it for them, he can do it for you and for you and for you and for you. And the world is waiting for your gift with your sound, with your accent, with your look, with your uniqueness to step into the atmosphere and shift it for the glory of God. I'm looking at atmosphere shifters today. And you're gifted. You are gifted. You carry a gift of God that God put on the inside of you. >> And he is sharpened and he's ready to serve you to the world. >> And he says, "Love them. Love them." Cuz you can't serve people that you don't love. Love them and serve them. And purpose will be fulfilled and your heart will overflow. The blessings of God will flood out of your life and transform the world around you. I pray that you got something out of the word of the Lord today. We hope that you enjoyed that message. Don't forget to like and subscribe and then press the notification bell so that you don't miss another one of our videos. 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