by Hope City Church on May 27, 2024
In today's message, we explored the profound importance of rest and the necessity of understanding our capacity. We began by reflecting on the New Testament's call to enter God's rest, emphasizing that rest is not just a physical need but a spiritual mandate. We are reminded that our minds, the greatest processors, need to be shut down periodically to avoid burnout. Just as we reboot our phones and computers, we must also reboot our minds and spirits to restore our relationships, dreams, and overall well-being.
We delved into the concept that rest is earned through work. Many people rest without having worked, leading to a lack of harvest when the time comes. This principle was illustrated through a personal story about my uncle in Miami, who taught me the value of hard work by making me rake leaves with my soft hands. This anecdote served as a metaphor for the necessity of labor before rest.
We then transitioned to the idea of being salt and light in the world, as described in Matthew 5:13-16. This passage calls us to bring out the God-flavors and God-colors in the world, showcasing our gifts and callings not for our glory but for God's. This is a reminder that our purpose is to make God look good through our actions and achievements, whether in education, business, or any other field.
The sermon also touched on the power of community and the importance of not isolating ourselves. Ecclesiastes 4:8-12 teaches that two are better than one because they can help each other up. This principle extends to our spiritual lives, where our capacity increases when we allow God to help us. We are encouraged to be part of a small group, to rally around each other in both our mountaintops and valleys, and to understand that our capacity increases when we know who we are and what we were created to do.
We discussed the story of Saul's transformation into Paul, emphasizing that our capacity increases when we know our purpose. Saul was busy persecuting Christians until a divine encounter on the road to Damascus revealed his true calling. This story serves as a powerful reminder that sometimes, God has to knock us off our proverbial donkeys to get our attention and redirect us towards our true purpose.
The message also highlighted the importance of systems and structures in managing our lives and responsibilities. Just as Moses needed to delegate tasks to avoid burnout, we too need to put systems in place to handle our growing responsibilities. This includes finding ways to take things off our plates, such as hiring help for household chores, to focus on what truly matters.
Finally, we concluded with a call to action, encouraging everyone to find a day of rest and to be intentional about it. This is not just about physical rest but about finding rest for our souls. We were reminded that our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and minds to recover, and that true rest comes from God.
### Key Takeaways
1. **The Necessity of Rest**: Rest is not just a physical need but a spiritual mandate. Our minds, the greatest processors, need to be shut down periodically to avoid burnout. Just as we reboot our phones and computers, we must also reboot our minds and spirits to restore our relationships, dreams, and overall well-being. [01:01:52]
2. **Work Before Rest**: Rest is earned through work. Many people rest without having worked, leading to a lack of harvest when the time comes. This principle was illustrated through a personal story about my uncle in Miami, who taught me the value of hard work by making me rake leaves with my soft hands. This anecdote served as a metaphor for the necessity of labor before rest. [01:04:04]
3. **Being Salt and Light**: We are called to bring out the God-flavors and God-colors in the world, showcasing our gifts and callings not for our glory but for God's. This is a reminder that our purpose is to make God look good through our actions and achievements, whether in education, business, or any other field. [01:27:08]
4. **Power of Community**: Ecclesiastes 4:8-12 teaches that two are better than one because they can help each other up. This principle extends to our spiritual lives, where our capacity increases when we allow God to help us. We are encouraged to be part of a small group, to rally around each other in both our mountaintops and valleys, and to understand that our capacity increases when we know who we are and what we were created to do. [01:25:07]
5. **Systems and Structures**: Just as Moses needed to delegate tasks to avoid burnout, we too need to put systems in place to handle our growing responsibilities. This includes finding ways to take things off our plates, such as hiring help for household chores, to focus on what truly matters. Our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and minds to recover, and true rest comes from God. [50:22]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[01:01:52] - The Necessity of Rest
[01:04:04] - Work Before Rest
[01:25:07] - Power of Community
[01:27:08] - Being Salt and Light
[50:22] - Systems and Structures
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. **Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)**
> "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
2. **Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)**
> "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
3. **Exodus 18:17-18 (NIV)**
> "Moses' father-in-law replied, 'What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.'"
#### Observation Questions
1. What does Jesus promise to those who come to Him in Matthew 11:28-30?
2. According to Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, what are the benefits of having a companion or being part of a community?
3. In Exodus 18:17-18, what advice does Moses' father-in-law give him, and why?
#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does Jesus' invitation to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30) relate to the concept of spiritual and physical rest discussed in the sermon? [54:15]
2. What practical steps can we take to ensure we are not isolating ourselves, as advised in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12? [25:07]
3. How can the advice given to Moses in Exodus 18:17-18 be applied to our modern lives, especially in terms of managing responsibilities and avoiding burnout? [50:22]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current state of rest. Are you experiencing true rest for your soul, or are you merely going through the motions of physical rest? What changes can you make to find genuine rest? [54:58]
2. Think about your work-life balance. Are you working hard and then resting, or are you resting without having worked? How can you ensure that your rest is earned and meaningful? [01:04:04]
3. In what ways can you be "salt and light" in your community, showcasing your gifts and callings for God's glory? Identify one specific action you can take this week to make God look good through your actions. [01:27:08]
4. How can you better integrate into a community or small group to increase your capacity and support others? What steps will you take to become more involved? [25:07]
5. Evaluate the systems and structures in your life. Are there tasks you can delegate or eliminate to avoid burnout? What specific changes will you make to manage your responsibilities more effectively? [50:22]
6. Reflect on a time when you felt overwhelmed by your responsibilities. How did you handle it, and what could you have done differently to manage your capacity better? [47:48]
7. Identify one area of your life where you need to "reboot" your mind and spirit. What practical steps will you take this week to shut down and restore your well-being? [01:01:52]
Day 1: The Necessity of Rest
Rest is not just a physical need but a spiritual mandate. Our minds, the greatest processors, need to be shut down periodically to avoid burnout. Just as we reboot our phones and computers, we must also reboot our minds and spirits to restore our relationships, dreams, and overall well-being. This concept is deeply rooted in the New Testament's call to enter God's rest. It is a reminder that true rest comes from God and is essential for our spiritual health. Taking time to rest allows us to reconnect with God, rejuvenate our spirits, and gain clarity on our life's purpose.
[01:01:52]
Hebrews 4:9-10 (ESV): "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his."
Reflection: What steps can you take today to intentionally set aside time for rest and reconnect with God?
Day 2: Work Before Rest
Rest is earned through work. Many people rest without having worked, leading to a lack of harvest when the time comes. This principle was illustrated through a personal story about raking leaves, serving as a metaphor for the necessity of labor before rest. The idea is that diligent work prepares us for a meaningful rest. When we work hard and fulfill our responsibilities, we can rest with a sense of accomplishment and peace. This balance between work and rest is crucial for a fulfilling life.
[01:04:04]
Proverbs 12:11 (ESV): "Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense."
Reflection: Reflect on your daily tasks and responsibilities. Are there areas where you can work more diligently to earn a more fulfilling rest?
Day 3: Being Salt and Light
We are called to bring out the God-flavors and God-colors in the world, showcasing our gifts and callings not for our glory but for God's. This is a reminder that our purpose is to make God look good through our actions and achievements, whether in education, business, or any other field. By living out our purpose, we reflect God's love and grace to those around us, making a positive impact on the world. Our actions should always point back to God, highlighting His goodness and mercy.
[01:27:08]
Matthew 5:16 (ESV): "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Reflection: How can you use your unique gifts and talents to reflect God's love and grace in your daily life?
Day 4: Power of Community
Ecclesiastes 4:8-12 teaches that two are better than one because they can help each other up. This principle extends to our spiritual lives, where our capacity increases when we allow God to help us. We are encouraged to be part of a small group, to rally around each other in both our mountaintops and valleys, and to understand that our capacity increases when we know who we are and what we were created to do. Community provides support, encouragement, and accountability, helping us grow in our faith and fulfill our God-given purpose.
[01:25:07]
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (ESV): "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!"
Reflection: Who in your community can you reach out to for support and encouragement today? How can you be a source of support for someone else?
Day 5: Systems and Structures
Just as Moses needed to delegate tasks to avoid burnout, we too need to put systems in place to handle our growing responsibilities. This includes finding ways to take things off our plates, such as hiring help for household chores, to focus on what truly matters. Our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and minds to recover, and true rest comes from God. By creating effective systems and structures, we can manage our responsibilities better and avoid burnout, allowing us to serve God and others more effectively.
[50:22]
Exodus 18:17-18 (ESV): "Moses' father-in-law said to him, 'What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.'"
Reflection: What systems or structures can you implement in your life to better manage your responsibilities and avoid burnout?
He will never fail. I got at least three people in here that really trust the Lord on today. I really just sense the sense of the Lord on today. The Spirit of God, the presence of God, just ministering to our hearts in this moment on just seeking Him, that part of "I sought the Lord." There is a prophetic release that God's about to do in this moment right here. I don't know what mountain you may be on, what valley you may be in, but I'm telling you there's a breakthrough that's about to come to somebody's house. If you could just step out into the water, there's a stirring, there's a moving, there's a breakthrough that is happening in this space.
And what would take for some of you weeks to get over, God's going to do it supernaturally if you just step out into this moment here. Can we go back to that part and just stay right there? Wreck this place where we sought the Lord, and He answered. He heard. Amen, amen, amen.
Well, good morning again, Hope City. God is good. I'm going to recognize a few people real fast when graduates, but before I do that, I want to just make one acknowledgment. For those of you who know we've been raising money for our mission, we've got about 20 of us going to Africa in a few weeks here. But I just want to say this here, over the past X amount of weeks, is Ms. Kathleen, I know we don't do this here, but is she in here? Ms. Kathleen in here? Okay, no biggie. Yeah, but get her real fast, yes.
But for those who've been here long enough, you notice, you know that over the past X amount of weeks, we've been talking about our Africa mission trip that we're going to be going on here in about four to five weeks. We've been doing some, but come in real fast. I know we don't roll like this here, it's tacky, but let's do it anyway. And somebody give her a microphone real fast as well.
But y'all, literally over the past few weeks, this lady, Ms. Kathleen, she's the director over our global missions, and she can say herself how many international mission trips she has done. But y'all, over these past X amount of weeks, with her leadership and support with our missionaries, they raised over $68,000 for their Africa mission. So, we're going to be talking about that Africa mission trip. And so, that's huge. That is like phenomenally crazy. I'm talking about some banana pudding chicken and waffles selling people around this world.
So, I just want to publicly appreciate you and celebrate you. I know you don't like it, you don't want it, but just, yeah, but yeah. But thank you, appreciate you for your leadership. You're absolutely amazing. And just kind of share anything you want to share with the church on today.
Be blessed. Just tell him yes. And plug, one plug always relates to this one is closed, but in the future, just give a plug of, hey, why they, if they feel a call into why they should support the next time by going, if they feel that.
Yeah.
Yeah. Sounds good.
That's okay.
All right.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Anyway, let's give it up for her one more time. Yes.
And we have one more thing. I want to recognize some graduates. I'm going to ask my wife, Pastor T and Pastor Chris to come up here as well. But I just want to recognize some graduates who'll be graduating here or may have already graduated or is about to graduate here in the next few weeks.
I'm going to call, as a matter of fact, I'm going to relieve myself of some responsibility because some of these names I can't say. No, no, I'm not. So I'm going to give you... That's a college. I'm going to give you the college names and you say them. And I'm going to give you the high school names and you say them. So y'all call them up.
So we just want to take a moment to appreciate all of our high school graduates for 2024, our high school graduates and the college graduates as well. As we call your name, please come forward. Also, if your name is not called, do know we sent a message out last week and folks sent their names in. So, if we missed you, it's not because we didn't want you to come up here. It's that you didn't respond. So, FYI.
Okay. So, let's recognize our, yeah, let's do the high school first. Congratulations.
And just an FYI, I think last year we gave ramen noodles to the high school students. This year, y'all got an Amazon gift card, so y'all got to, okay. No ramen noodles for y'all this year. Thank you for your hard work.
I pray that this next upcoming season of your life, as you guys navigate and make your decisions on what your next big step will be, we're praying for you guys and hoping for the best. Thank you for the hard work you put in over the last four years to make this great milestone in your life come to pass. God bless you guys.
Absolutely.
I'll do it downstairs.
I got going.
And the college students.
Congratulations. Congratulations to all of our 2024 graduates, even you college graduates as well. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So I, I, let me do a little pastoring right now real fast.
Yeah, not this year.
Yes, ma'am.
I am.
Okay.
And when I'm done, I want to be brought up here as well, staying right here and recognized. Recognize me.
So, so just, just, I let you guys. I give you guys a little window into how we plan and work on things and how we accept or reject and I'm gonna make this as funny as possible but when we were planning to do the recognition of the graduates we had a real debate about doing this in all three services knowing that some people on the first second and third service versus in the middle we landed on let's just make everybody come to the middle service if they come there get it then obviously they stayed in their services wise but our home church impact church of Jacksonville did it the way that I really wanted us to do it which was in every service because again as we're growing I'm kind of still talking about this here but kind of off this that they did theirs in all three services because the goal is to give every service their own experience and so as we go and grow and you notice that we don't do it in all three services we do it in all three services we do it in certain things a certain way it is because somebody has tried it and proven this is the best way to do it so we'll get those individuals their cards but the other part was we didn't want to do one person at one time in each service or two in each service wise but it is what it is this all comes with growth and just excited about the way we lean in and make our decisions I bowed out this time here but now I can go back to our meeting and say see I told y'all I told you the truth and I told you the truth and you don't have to tell me the truth y'all should have did it the way I said it so but I love our meetings we have some absolutely amazing meetings with our staff to pull these things off because you really can't do this stuff without an amazing team so whether it's mission trips recognizing our graduates or whatever those things that are going on in our lives it truly takes an amazing teamwork to make it happen so can we give a hand clap to all of our dream team members who make it happen weekend and week out here at Hope City Church.
And I want to give her just a couple quick announcements and I'm going to jump right into the word next Sunday the first two Sundays in June as we're ending technically we'll be ending our mental health series on today as I mentioned to you a few weeks ago this really going to go about six weeks versus just a month of May I'm starting next Sunday for two Sundays our Sunday morning service will actually be a conference style service so next Sunday the first Sunday in June and the second Sunday I will still be in mentor but it will be a mental health conference that's going to take place on Sunday morning.
We're going to have a lot of resources available, outside vendors available with resources, sharing information on mental health, whether it's for adults or for teenagers. So I really want to encourage you as you get that email on tomorrow, those graphics on tomorrow, share that with some people in your world. I do believe that this will be a safe space that many of them would love to come to hear about mental health.
One of my biggest desires, if we had a big enough space that at the end of each service, we would release people to go into different rooms if they needed to speak with a therapist or a counselor. We don't have that level of space right now, but I am envisioning, as Hope City gets the building that I believe we're designed to have, that as we do conferences like that on Sunday morning, people can be released to go into spaces to get real help on that exact day.
But again, we will have vendors and resources. There'll be slightly different style of service on next week, but I do promise you it is a service you do not want to miss. Some of you may personally need some counseling of yourself. I'm hoping with the way the services will be structured on next Sunday, sitting right there in this big setting without no one knowing your pains or your problems, the things that will be shared on next Sunday will begin to heal you, give clarity and direction in your personal life.
So next Sunday, get here. It's going to be amazing and help us spread the word on next Sunday. Amen.
One more thing on that is starting tomorrow. There's a page on our website, a counseling page. On the counseling page, if you need any type of counseling here at Hope City, this is going to be your first stop, your first go-to to sign up or to actually fill out a form so that we can get you with the right.
And some of that counseling will be in-house and some of it will be referrals on the outside. For those who are members of Hope City Church, we've always offered free counseling. Even if we send you out on the outside, some of that will be still free to members of Hope City Church.
Our goal is to come along your side, even when it comes to our mental health for therapy, for counseling, making sure that we're giving you the right resources and putting the right people on your path to help you on your journey. So please make sure you take advantage of these resources that will be start being available for you starting on tomorrow. Amen.
Awesome. Well, let's jump right into the word. I heard y'all had a great time on last Sunday with Pastor T. And so we're going to, I'm going to try to continue along that same line, that same thing today, speaking about mental health.
Still today, I want to talk about beyond capacity, beyond capacity. Whoever heard that statement, and I've often heard people say the Bible says, but I haven't found anywhere in the scripture yet, but folks say things like God would never put more on you than you can bear. I believe that's true. But whether there's a specific verse that says that I've never actually seen that verse, but I do believe it is true. God will never put more on you than you can bear.
But here's the flip side of that. Even though God would not put more on you than you can bear, I think the issue is many times we put more on ourselves than we can bear. And that is the problem. Not God putting too much on us. It's us putting too much on ourselves. And we cannot handle it. We cannot maintain physically. We can't handle it emotionally. We can't handle it. And spiritually, we can't handle it because we're allowing ourselves to put too much on ourselves than we can bear.
All of us have a limit. I'll say it again. All of us have a limit. All of us have a capacity level. And you have to know your limits. You have to know your capacity. And you even need to go so far as to ask yourself when you find yourself with too much on your plate. Why is this on my plate? Why am I doing this? What is motivating me to do this? Is it because I'm led to do it? Is it pride that's making me do it? Is it because I want to be seen doing it? What is leading me to do this thing that is overwhelming my life?
I love what it says here in Exodus chapter 18 verse 17. It's a story where the father-in-law of Moses was giving him some counsel. Particularly after he saw the way he was leading the people of Israel. How people was coming to him for advice and coming to him for wisdom. How he was staying out there every single day one by one giving direction and giving counsel, dealing with the issues that was growing or going on with this growing family if you would.
Look what it says in verse number 17. Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good." He said, "You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out for the thing is too heavy for you."
Let's stop there for a moment. Have you ever paused and asked yourself the question with the weight? Even myself, is it? Have we ever evaluated ourselves, our lives and the things we're doing in a particular season? Whether a whole year, a week or a month. Have we ever paused and asked ourselves, what are we doing? Is this too much for me to manage? Is this too much? Is this too much for me to handle?
He said, "What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out for the thing is too heavy for you." Notice he did not ask him his opinion. He just stepped out and said, "Hey Moses, hey son, this thing you're doing is not good. You're not only going to wear yourself out. You're going to wear the people out that is working and serving with you."
And he said, "You are not able to do it alone." And in those few verses there, he goes on to give him a strategy of delegation. He explains to him how you handle these thousands of people. Many people over the years have misinterpreted the scripture here. When they talk about churches growing that, you know, how we really read that it goes, Moses or Jethro says, put some over hundreds, over thousands, over tens and twenties.
And I've seen pastors over the years look at this verse to express this will be the size of some churches that some churches will be tens, twenties, but that's not what he's talking about there. This was literally a growing, the nation of Israel, the children of Israel. It was growing. It was expanding. And Jethro said, "Moses, this is not good. This is how you handle a growing family. This is how you handle a growing organization. Put systems and structures in place."
And watch this here. The bigger something becomes, the more systems and structures you need in place. When something is small, you don't need as many systems and structures, but the bigger something becomes, if you have a vision or a business, the bigger that thing grows, what you normally could do by yourself. As you expand, you get more sales, more clients, more locations. You have to have the right systems and the right structures in place to handle that.
Why? Because if not, it's going to ultimately come crashing down. And this is what Jethro saw with Moses. He said, "Moses, this thing is not emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthy for you. This is how you should handle that."
And let's drop to verse 23. He says, "If you do this, God will direct you. You will be able to endure and all these people also will go to their place in peace." I love that. I think about how when we came here to Savannah 10 years ago to start this church, it was just me and the wife and the kids. And there were some Sundays I was the preacher, I was the usher, I was a whole lot of things.
And that was okay, but as the family started to grow, you have to make sure you got the right systems and the right people in place. I have a friend right now, he says he, not only does he preach on Sunday, he plays the keys on Sunday. He does the announcements on Sundays. Then he jumps up and he preaches on Sundays. He got to have systems in place when things begin to grow, not only in an organization, but even in your personal life, even in your household, even with your family, you have to have systems in place.
Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Go back to that verse 23 in Exodus. He says, "And all of these people also will go to their place in peace." In other words, if you keep doing it the way that you're doing it, some of these people are not going to go to their place in peace.
He said, "The only way for you to give them the answer and the support that they need, you need systems and structure in place. If not, they're not going to get the results or the answers that they really need because you cannot do it by yourself. You won't have the stamina. You won't have the mental fortitude to give sound instruction, sound advice."
Have you ever been there before? You were doing so much. You got so tired and you just start saying, "Yeah, yeah, go ahead, yeah, go ahead on." Because at that point, you was checked out. You was tired. You didn't care.
Come on. Parents, you ever been there before? You were so tired. The kids are asking you for all kinds of stuff. And if they catch you at your weakest point, you let them get away with stuff you normally would not let them get. But when you're tired, "Yeah, go, yeah, yeah, go ahead on. Yeah, go, yeah, go ahead on. Just get away from me."
It's the thing, right? Just get. We do things when we're weary. We do things when we're exhausted that we normally would not do if we were rested. One of the tricks of the enemy today in 2024 is to keep us so busy, so going, always busting a move, always trying to get the next big thing. Because that's the thing right now. The people that's moving is the one that's really doing something. And that's not really true.
We got to learn how to watch this here. We have to learn how to rest. He says in verse 28 again in Matthew 11, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." So that's not just saying going to him and pray to him and now you got rest. It's going to him, talking to him, and now he's going to give you instructions that will give you rest.
Because some of you think because you prayed and now everything is perfect. No, you have talked to God. Now let God talk to you. Because too often we go tell God what's going on, but we don't pause long enough to let him respond back to us and say, "Cut this out. Don't do that no more. Cut back on this here."
Come on, somebody. What are you going to take off of your plate in this season here so that you don't be weary in well-doing? He says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened." In other words, is your marriage weary? Is it burdened down? Are you financially weary and burdened down? Are you emotionally? Are you psychologically? I don't know the specificity of the thing that's in your life. You know, but the scripture says that if you have something in your life, come to me.
Bring it to me who are all weary and burdened and I will give you rest. If you don't go to him, he can't give you the rest. If you don't bring the thing to him, he can't give you the rest. Come on, somebody. You got to bring it to him in order for him to give it rest.
He says, "Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul." Many of you are sleeping at night, but you're not getting real rest. Your body is laying down. Your body is getting eight hours, but your soul is not getting no rest. Your soul is the seat of your emotions. It's where you think and where you feel and where you make your decisions, but you're still waking up and still tired.
It's because your body went to sleep, but your soul is restless. Your soul is still moving. Even with your eyes closed, your soul is still at work. God is saying, "I want to give you soul rest. I want to give you a soul rest."
And oftentimes in order for our soul to rest, we have to evaluate our life, evaluate our plate. You know, me and my wife made a decision. Ashley, she did. I supported it. Praise God. I did. Made a decision maybe about four or five months ago. We have someone to come in to help us clean the house. We have a decent sized house and my plate is crazy full. Her plate is crazy full. It's a school teacher wise.
And the amount of time it takes to clean, like, homie ain't got time for this right here. Let's figure this thing out here. And we found a housekeeper to come in once a month. I'm talking about from the top to the bottom. This lady is a beast. I mean, she cleans that house so well.
Here's my point. What can you get off your plate that you don't have to do? For us, that was one for us. And behind it was your, I tell you, it didn't even spend $195 a month. It's enough. Put it in the budget. Come on, somebody.
Yeah. Because what we did was we put our rest in the budget. The amount of time it takes to clean that. And I ain't cleaning nobody's house for no $195 because I'm like, I clean your house for about $800. But you told me $195. I'm like, sign me up.
Again, what ways can you take stuff off your plate? Particularly if you have a busy lifestyle in your life that really requires you to get strategic the things that you are called to do. Because some of you are called to do that. Some of you are called to do some of the stuff you are doing. But are you finding creative ways to build you a team, if you would, to help you with that stuff?
Multiply that four times a month. That's pennies for some of you. For some of you, your time is what you need to redeem. If you can redeem some of your time back for the stuff you really need to invest in, I'm telling you, you'll be so much further ahead. Your vision, the things that God is calling you to do.
He said, "For I am gentle and humble in heart, you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Let me give you just a few ways here to increase your capacity. Watch this here.
Number one, our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and minds to recover. Our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and minds to recover. There's a misnomer. There's a misnomer now to just always be making moves, always be going, going, going, never pausing, never stopping.
Some of y'all have beautiful homes. You ain't even there enough to enjoy it. You know, some of y'all homes are so beautiful, you really don't need to take that many trips if you just enjoy your house. Come on, somebody. You got a nice kitchen, a nice dining room, a nice backyard. Some of y'all can have a nice breakfast on your patio every single week.
You got to find strategic ways, you guys, to enjoy the blessing that's already in your hand that you don't even see because you're so busy. Our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and our minds to recover. When you do not allow it to recover, you do not see clearly. You do not think clearly.
I think about every time when Jesus went out to minister, when he got through ministering, he would go out in the wilderness somewhere by himself, what? To recover. To recover and to get his mind back in peace from the weight of what he was carrying.
Look what it says here in Exodus 20 verse 9. "You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me." So now keep in mind, the children of Israel, prior to them getting out of Egypt, they were slaves. And when they were slaves, they did not have a day off. They were every single day from sun up to sun down.
One of the gifts that God gave the children of Israel was a Sabbath. I need you to get this here. The Sabbath was a gift that God gave to the children of Israel. Say, "Hey, this is going to be a day that you do nothing." And even when we get to the New Testament in Hebrews chapter 4, this is even after Jesus Christ has died.
It says in Hebrews 4, 9 verses 9 through 11, "There remains." So we are out of the Old Testament. We're in the New Testament. He said, "There still remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for anyone who enter God's rest also rest from their works, just as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest."
Nobody should be that busy that you don't make every effort to find rest. He says make every effort. Why are you going to school? Why are you writing that book? Why are you starting that business? He said, "Make every effort to get some rest, make some effort just to kick your shoes off and don't even have to think or process anything."
You know, the greatest processor is our mind, not that phone, not that computer. Your mind is the greatest processor. And if you never shut it off, it will burn out. Have you ever had your phone burned out or stall out or your computer and the only way for it to get back in zone? You had to unplug. You had to shut the entire thing down.
Sometimes you got to shut the entire thing down in order to recover. And it's just, it is that serious. Some say, "What is it?" No, it's that serious. If you're going to restore the marriage, that relationship, that heart, that vision, that dream, that mind, you sometimes need to shut the entire thing down.
Watch this here for some of you for a mastery set, for a mastery book. You've allowed life, circumstances, situations to wear you down. You have been weary long enough. You are on fumes. You are working on fumes. It's burning you out. You are quick-tempered. And that's normally not you. Those are some clear signs. You got unnecessary fault. Those are some clear signs that some of you need to check out and find a rest.
And this is not like the children of Israel. Where that set day is now in Christ. The whole goal for us to enter in Jesus rest because he's done all the work in the spiritual sense wise. He is now telling us that God has done so much work. Jesus done so much work for us. When we do our part, get out of God's way, he'll do the rest.
I always tell people God would never do the supernatural until we do what we need to do in the natural. See, some of you are rested and you ain't do nothing yet. You only qualify to rest after you work. Some of y'all have not worked. You ain't do nothing and you resting.
Well, at least the family done nothing. Hell, what you doing? I'm resting. What did you do? I ain't do nothing all day. Wait a minute. You only qualify to rest after you work. It's too many people resting and they haven't worked.
And here's the detriment of that. When you are resting and you have never worked. When it's time for harvest to come, you ain't sow no seeds, so when harvest day should come, there's nothing to reap because all you've been doing is resting. You won't qualify to rest. You ain't do nothing yet. Get up there and work.
You know, I remember this reminds me of a story. I remember when I was living in Miami and at that time, my uncle saw my hands and he was a worker. He was a yard worker. He worked at this big company. He was a hard worker. And I'm, what's that? I was at his house and I would normally go there almost every other weekend and he saw my hands one day. He said, "Let me see your hands." He said, "Man, your hands so soft. Get out here and get this rake."
And he made me get out there y'all and get that rake. Some of my hands were too soft. Because these hands ain't made for the yard. Come on somebody. Even to this day, my wife's like, "Ooh, I love the way your hands." Yeah, my hands was made for my wife. Come on somebody. It ain't made for a rake. Come on.
But you got to work. You got to work. I got some calluses now. Come on somebody. They're all up in there. They're rough now. But you don't qualify. And I'm not saying this to be offensive. I'm showing you God has given us a strategy for increase, for harvest to come in our life. But we have to do a level of work and learn how to check out.
You know, Charles Stanley says something like this here, "Obey God and leave the consequences up to him." In other words, do your part and God would do his part. You got to just trust God. For some of you who have got eight jobs, you don't trust God.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's all you. That's all manpower. That's all willpower. You don't need no eight jobs in 2024. I know the numbers. I get it. But if you get close enough to God to discover, as I'm going to show here in a second here, what you were designed to do, there's something out there that will bring resources your way.
Now that may not work for them, but I'm telling you as a person of God and person of God, I'm a man of faith. I'm walking with God and everything that God has for me, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And he's going to lead me to the right people and the right things to bring the right stuff in my life.
And he's not a respecter of persons. He don't just do it for the pastor. Come on somebody. He do it for the people. He do it for the people. So there's not a special thing because, oh, he's the pastor and God shows him clearly how to get. No, no, no. This is for the people. This is for all.
And can I give y'all one freebie real fast? Here. Y'all need to study y'all scripture. Y'all be reading stuff like in the Old Testament where it says stuff like God says, "Touch not my prophet and do my anointing no harm." And y'all always use scriptures like that to defend your pastor. Don't talk about my pastor. The Bible said, "Touch not my prophet and do my anointing no harm."
If you really read that in the context of what that was talking about, God was literally telling the people, that enemy, that place they was going through, he was warning them, "Hey, don't touch the prophet or the leader. Nor the people." God don't just care about the prophet. He also cared about his people. Come on, somebody.
He was saying, "Hey, don't touch the leader and don't even touch the people either." Right? Because we are a royal priest. God cares about you as well. It's my point right now. He wants you to prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prosper.
But if your soul ain't prospering, he wants us to prosper and be in good health, even as our soul prosper. But I've seen a lot of people as of lately, their soul is not prospering. Their soul is not happy.
So watch this here. When your soul is not happy, it can affect your physical body. It literally can release chemicals in your body that makes you physically sick. That's the reason why we got to make sure our soul care is being managed, being taken care of.
You have six days in which to do your work. That's the reason why we got to make sure our soul care is being managed, being taken care of. You have six days in which to do your work. You have six days in which to do your work. You have six days in which to do your work.
I'm not telling you what day to do it on. But what I'm saying is find a day, make a commitment to check out. Find a day to recalibrate. Find a day where my wife, God bless her sanctified soul, she knows Monday's is my day. Don't schedule me for nothing. Not even the dog, and she'll make a habit of, "Hey, the dog got an appointment at 2 o'clock. Who taking him?"
You.
You. I ain't taking that dog nowhere. That dog gonna stay right in there. I ain't doing nothing but nobody, including the dog. It is the day that I have designed for me to total check out, to only do what satisfies against me, reprieve.
I'm telling you, God's gotta find a moment, a space where you can check out and only do stuff that refuels you. And you gotta fight for it, no matter what.
Now, I would have, thank you, ma'am, I would have let her slide. I would have let my wife slide with that. But y'all, she knew. I told her. I said, "Hey, Cookie, hey, listen, now Monday's my day off. Any other day you want till you can bother with me, go do this and go do this here. But Monday, leave me alone."
She finally getting it now. You know, I do a few tries. Because I think what it was is she wanted to see how serious you were. Because many of us aren't really serious about a real day of rest. They're still doing all kinds of other stuff to my, "Yo, day off. You ain't all. You took five counseling calls, five coaching sessions. You've been working all day."
Let me hasten here. He said, "There remains." Somebody say, "There remains."
Even today.
Wait, don't say that.
Oh.
There remains.
There remains a rest. Matter of fact, y'all take a ride, please. I'm going to challenge you guys. Here's your assignment. Over the next two weeks, take time and figure out a day that you can make a rest day.
And watch this here. It can't be Sunday for us. You say, "Well, Sunday is day off." Some of y'all going to leave church, go to the movies, go out to eat, go here and go there. No. Find the day.
And watch this here. When I went to New York last week, now, I intentionally slept eight hours a day. I was gone for three days. I slept eight hours a day. I got some rest. That wasn't a go-to rest, but I did that. My point is, normally, when I take trips like that, ain't no resting. From sunup to sundown, we hitting the streets. We got to go home after that and rest.
Come on, somebody. So some of y'all who going on cruises, you know you ain't sleeping. You're going to be up from sunup to sundown. And they got to come back home and what? And rest.
So we call them vacations. Well, we vacate our normal, everyday routines. But in our busy lives today with access to so much stuff right now, stuff that used to be real vacations and real rest is really not as restful as we think they are. So you got to be more conscious of, is this giving me rest? Is this really giving rest to my soul and my physical body?
So the assignment is, over the next two weeks, prior to ending that conference, what's going to be? And even if you have to change it every quarter, change the day every quarter, whatever works for you, just be committed to a space, a time where you find some real genuine reprieve and rest in your life.
Number two, our capacity increases when we know who we are. When we don't know who we are, when we're not aware and understand who we are, we'll be busy doing stuff we should not be doing.
I think about, for example, Saul, before he became known as Paul, he was busy. He was doing something productive if you would, and just because you, again, are busy and productive, it don't always mean that it's healthy and that it's good. Saul was busy and productive doing a work, killing people, killing Christians. He was busy, he was working, and some of y'all, y'all busy, y'all working, but busy working, doing their own.
What is it to come to the end of life and the end of your rope to only to discover, I spent the last 10 years of my life doing the wrong thing? And sometimes doing the wrong thing with the wrong people.
Come on, somebody. We have to make sure that we know who we are. I love what it says here in Galatians 6:4. "Each one should test their own actions, not their actions. Don't worry about their life. Then they can take pride in themselves alone without comparing themselves to someone else. For each one should carry their own load."
I think about when God created the heavens and the earth and every day he made something, then he stepped back and said, "Hmm, well that's good." All of us should be able to when we know what we were created to do and supposed to be doing, to be able to step back and say, "Oh, that's good."
That's where you're going to get to a place, you guys, of walking in shalom, that real God type of peace, whereas you're going with your spouse, going with your business, whatever the specificity of your life may be, because I, listen, I counsel people. I know people that's not even in our state who are prospering well in the eyes of people. They have achieved a lot, but they don't have no rest for their soul. They don't have any real peace in their hearts, no real peace in their mind.
And listen, I'm going to tell you this here. When you find real peace, my wife, I walk around the house laughing at myself. I'm not talking about figuratively. I laugh. I'm in the heaven barely laughs by myself. I mean, literally, if you walk in my house sometimes, some people would think I'm crazy, like, "What in the world is up with him here?"
You know, I'll be in one room of the house and she'll be somewhere else. I'm over there cracking up laughing. I'm sending her some videos to watch, and she don't watch them all because it's like, "Man, I'm doing work. You over there playing around."
Why? Because that joy, that, for me, joy is real medicine, y'all. You find something to laugh about, and because it's so much going on right now to make you cry, you got to find enough stuff to make you laugh so that you don't let this stuff stress you out.
And y'all, this is not a pie in the sky dream. It is not something that is not attainable. This is literally within reach for each and every one of you. As soon as you're willing to say, "You know what? It's more to my life than I'm living right now. It's more to my life than just being stressed out every single day arguing."
Come on, somebody. I told my wife, wild bite right now. We ain't arguing. We 21 years in this thing here. Now, almost 22 years. I ain't got time for no arguing. I want to eat. I want to go out. I want to go on vacation, not mad. Come on, somebody.
Come on. Come on. What's the problem? Let's fix it right now. Come on. Okay, my me. I'm sorry. I made a mad so bad a few weeks ago. I kept saying sorry so fast. It's like, like, I want to be mad. Like, no, I'm sorry. My bad. No, we ain't doing it. Come on, somebody.
You got to grow up to keep your peace of mind and your sanity wise. It's in all of our reach. All of you can do this. You can start. Watch this here. Well, Pastor Corey, how long should I pray about this here? You got to pray about that. Just do it.
Well, let me go pray and talk to the Lord, you know. Go talk to him about what? Just apply. Our issue today is not a lack of information. It's a lack of application. We don't apply. We get, just being honest, we get 52 good sermons here every year at the least. If we apply just a piece of what we hear every single Sunday, a year from now, your whole life can be transformed.
The issue is we are loaded with information but lack of application. I don't care whether that's in your marriage or your finances or in your faith. If you apply a hint of what the information is coming in, it is impossible for there not to be a transformation in your life.
And so some of you got to ask the question, have I been appropriately applying in my life? And if the answer is no, be man enough, warm enough and say, "You know what? Lord, it's me. It's me. It's me. Oh me. Oh Lord. Standing in the knee. Not my mama, not my sister, not my brother, but it's me. Standing in the knee."
Y'all know that, right? We always blame somebody else. My mama, my sister, my brother. No, no, no, no. It's me. It's me. I'm getting in my own way. And today I'm choosing to get out of my way.
Our capacity increases when we know who we are.
Number three, our capacity increases when we know what we were created to do. Again, when Paul realized what he was created to do, not destroying people, but to build people. Not to take life, but to give life. Paul really began to live when he began to realize who he was.
And if you go back to that moment when Saul had that encounter with God, the scripture says in the book of Acts that when Paul was on the road called Damascus, on his roadway to kill Christians, he had got approval, a letter to go kill Christians. It says as he was riding on his donkey, a light shined from heaven, so much so it knocked him off his donkey, down to the ground. It forced him to look up and say, "Lord, who are you? And what are you asking me to do?"
And I believe those are two important questions that every church, every church should answer for people. Tell them who God is and what God has called them to do. God, God, God, what are you asking me to do? Who am I? And what are you asking me to do?
And it was in that moment that Saul, who began to be known as Paul, went through his transition from being a murderer to being a life-giver. And I believe some of you in this very moment right now, you could be in transition right now. All it takes is one moment, one light, one knock off your donkey.
And watch this here. Everything that knocks you off your donkey is not the devil. Come on, somebody. It's not the devil. That was God trying to get his attention. God trying to get Saul, Paul, into his presence. Why? Because God had a greater purpose for him and God wanted him to know it.
Listen, God is knocking some of you off of your proverbial donkey. Not to annihilate you, not to embarrass you, not to bring you down, but yes, to get your attention and yes, to bring you up.
Can we give God a praise for that revelation in our own personal life? Don't be busy doing the wrong thing. Watch this here. Your calling has a competitor. The thing you're called to do, the thing you should be doing, there's a competitor that doesn't want you to do what you're supposed to do.
So what life would do is give you not only some competition, but it'll give you another way. It'll give you another way. It'll give you another option. It'll give you another purpose, a lesser version of who you really are. It'll get you to a place in your marriage to be married for 21 years and struggle for five or seven, saying, "You know what? It can't get no better than this. My marriage could never be happy."
So you settle at a lesser version of what God wants that relationship to be. Everything in your life has a competitor. And that competitor's own goal is to take the prime seat in your life and force you to settle for everything less than what God has for you.
And by the grace of God, as long as I'm your pastor, as long as I'm in your face, I'm going to speak life. I'm going to speak hope. I'm going to motivate you. I'm going to encourage you. I'm going to get you to see beyond what you can see. I'm going to believe in you. I'm going to believe in your children. I'm going to believe in your marriage. Even when you don't see it, I'm going to believe it until you can see it.
Come on, somebody. Because I come to a point in life that I'm going to believe it until you can see it. I understand that life can dish up some blows that are so hard that it knocks us out. And it seemingly makes it impossible for you to have hope, for you to believe. I understand. I understand the losses. I understand the pain. I understand how that made you feel when they left you and you now want to quit. I get it. I understand it.
But just because I get it and just because I understand it, I can't let you stay in that state. I got to call you up to a higher place and to a higher purpose because God has more for you. We can't settle at a level, at a capacity that God says there's more.
Number four, our capacity increases when we are supported by others. When you get somebody who believes in you, who encourages you and supports you along the way. And my wife has had some crazy dreams, but I support her. Come on, somebody. Flip that around. I've had some crazy dreams and she's supported me.
Support is power for you guys. If you get some people in your life who support you and what you're called to do and what you want to do, stuff that you probably would have never been able to strengthen to do, their support, their encouragement makes you do stuff, makes you go further, makes you believe in something that other people wouldn't believe in.
Some of you dealing with a marital situation right now, that it's impossible in your mind to restore it, to fix it, to go further. And I'm telling you, nothing's too hard, nothing's too impossible with God.
Y'all heard us share many times, when we first got married, over the first few years, our suitcase was packed at the door, waiting for somebody to say something stupid. Come on, somebody. Y'all know what I'm talking about? Just triggered by anything, mad about anything, and you're ready to quit. Ready to go.
But it becomes a point in your life, you got to act like grown people. Paul said, "When I was a child, I acted like a child, I thought like a child. But when I became a man, come on, somebody, I put away my boy toys and did things God's way."
It's not about being religious, you guys. I'll make that clear. It's not about being religious. It's about having a relationship with a God that knows all and sees all, who designs you. He's already in your future. I mean, why wouldn't you want to know somebody who's already in your future that you can't even see?
I trust him more than I trust myself. And you want to know why? Because I know who I am. I know some stuff. Come on, somebody. I'd rather trust him.
I'm closing right here. Ecclesiastes 4:8 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
Listen, don't be you. Don't be yourself. Be us. Be we. Be part of a small group. There's power in community. There's power when you allow people to rally around you on your mountaintops and even in your valleys.
The number one, and we're done. Our capacity increases when God is helping us out. Our capacity increases when God is helping. When you allow God into the equation, your capacity, you're talking about 10x in your life? You get 10x.
I would say you can win 100x your life when you put God in the equation. I love what it says here in Matthew 5:13. "Let me tell you why you are here. You are here to be salt seasoning that brings out the God flavors of this earth. He said, here's another way to put it. You're here to be light bringing out the God colors in the world. He said, God is not a secret to be kept. We are going public with this. As public as a city on a hill."
Now, when you as Christians, as believers, when you read that in the original context, you can't give a revelation until you first understand the first inspired meaning behind the scripture. So don't look for a revelation first. What did the writer mean when he wrote that in real time then?
And he was letting them know, as Christians, as believers, our goal in the earth as we get saved is to be salt to bring life and flavor into the earth. To be light. To show people who God is. To lead other people to faith. That's the original intentionality of this scripture here.
But watch this here. Once you're saved for a while. Once you're walking with God for a while. Once you're on the other side of the cross. Once you come to the foot of the cross and you accept Jesus Christ, now you're on the other side of the cross, that scripture has a whole different meaning once you're in the family.
You get revelation from that verse once you're in the family. And when you read that and understand that now as a believer, when he says, "Let me tell you why you are here." Some of you got giftings and callings locked up on the inside of you. And God wants to put those callings on display. Not for you, but for you to let the world see him.
That's why you can't hide your calling. That's why you can't hide your purpose. Because you're putting God on display. I don't care if you're working in the housing market. I don't care if you're working in the finances. I don't care if you are an educator. God wants you to get in that space and shine so well. Be the teacher of the year. Be the biggest house seller of the year. Because he wants your light to shine.
Why? Because you're making him look good. Woo! Come on somebody. He wants your business to thrive. He wants the things that's in your hand to prosper. Because we are taking this thing public. He wants the world to see how great and how good our God is.
If you believe that, can you stand to your feet and let's give God the best praise that we can in this place on this last Sunday of the month of May.
Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father. Father, we thank you for your word. For your word is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our paths. Thank you for speaking to our hearts. Thank you for speaking to our minds. I pray that this word fell on good ground today and because of it God's lives will be transformed.
Maybe someone is saying today, "Pastor Corey, I needed this word today. I know church but I don't know him. I'm shaking your hand but I've yet to shake the hand of I got good religion but I don't have a personal relationship with this God you're talking about. I've experienced the light that's in this place today. I experienced the salt that's in this place today from the people in this space and I want to know the God that they know.
I want to know the God that you're talking about. Not calling you into a religion but I'm inviting you into a relationship with a heavenly Father that knows every hair that's on your head. He said Jeremiah before I formed you in your mother's womb I knew you and ordained you to be a prophet unto the nations. I want to introduce you to that God that knows you the same way that he knew Jeremiah.
And then secondly you're saying, "Hey Pastor Corey, I've already given my heart to Christ. I'm confident that if I was to take my breath on this side of life that when that day comes will open up my eyes in the presence of God. I have that confidence but I do need a church home that teaches the word of God in such a way that I can take it and apply it to my life.
I believe my faith. I believe my family can grow here at Hope City. If you're in this place I'm not going to call you up. I'm not going to call you out but I just want to know who to include in this prayer. So if any of this resonates with you on the count of three with every head bowed every eye closed no one's looking around if this resonates with you I just simply want to pray for you right there at your seat.
I just want to quickly see those hands if this message resonates with you in any of those two areas. One, two, three. Will there be one? I see that one hand. Will there be another? Will there be another? I see that hand as well. I see that hand as well. God bless you. Will there be another? Don't miss this moment. It's between you and God. No pressure. No priming. Between you and God. Will there be another? Will there be another?
I see that hand sir. God bless you. I see that hand. Let's pray this prayer. I see that hand as well sir. God bless you. Amen. Maybe you'll say I'm ashamed to raise my hand. Do me a favor all over the building. Lift your hands towards heaven. If you want to pray this prayer, pray it with us. I pray it out loud. I say, "Father God, I thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins."
Say, "God, I ask you now to forgive me of any and everything that has separated me from your love." Say, "God, I ask you now to move into my heart and have your way." Now say, "God, I don't fully understand what all this means but I do believe with your presence your power living on the inside of me. I will become the person you ordained me to be. So I ask you now. So I ask you now to fill me with the power and the presence of your Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, you are welcome to live in my heart for the rest of my life. In Jesus name I pray."
Come on can we celebrate with every decision that was made in this place on today. Come on let's celebrate with every decision that was made in this place on today.
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Joy is real medicine, y'all. You find something to laugh about, and because it's so much going on right now to make you cry. You got to find enough stuff to make you laugh so that you don't let this stuff stress you out. This is not a pie in the sky dream. It is not something that is not attainable. This is literally within reach for each and every one of you. As soon as you're willing to say, you know what? It's more to my life than I'm living right now. It's more to my life than just being stressed out every single day arguing." [01:15:12](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
2. "Our issue today is not a lack of information. It's a lack of application. We don't apply. We get, just being honest, we get 52 good sermons here every year at the least. If we apply just a piece of what we hear every single Sunday, a year from now, your whole life can be transformed. The issue is we are loaded with information but lack of application. I don't care whether that's in your marriage or your finances or in your faith. If you apply a hint of what the information is coming in, it is impossible for there not to be a transformation in your life." [01:16:53](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
3. "God will never put more on you than you can bear. But here's the flip side of that. Even though God would not put more on you than you can bear. I think the issue is many times we put more on ourselves than we can bear. And that is the problem. Not God putting too much on us. It's us putting too much on ourselves. And we cannot handle it. We cannot maintain physically. We can't handle it emotionally. We can't handle it. And spiritually, we can't handle it because we're allowing ourselves to put too much on ourselves than we can bear." [47:11](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
4. "You have to know your limits. You have to know your capacity. And you even need to go so far as to ask yourself when you find yourself with too much on your plate. Why is this on my plate? Why am I doing this? What is motivating me to do this? Is it because I'm led to do it? Is it pride that's making me do it? Is it because I want to be seen doing it? What is leading me to do this thing that is overwhelming my life?" [47:48](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "Our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and minds to recover. There's a misnomer now to just always be making moves, always be going, going, going, never pausing, never stopping. Some of y'all have beautiful homes. You ain't even there enough to enjoy it. You know, some of y'all homes are so beautiful, you really don't need to take that many trips if you just enjoy your house. Come on, somebody. You got a nice kitchen, a nice dining room, a nice backyard. Some of y'all can have a nice breakfast on your patio every single week. You got to find strategic ways, you guys. To enjoy the blessing that's already in your hand that you don't even see because you're so busy." [59:11](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
2. "You only qualify to rest after you work. Some of y'all have not worked. You ain't do nothing and you resting. Well, at least the family done nothing. Hell, what you doing? I'm resting. What did you do? I ain't do nothing all day. Wait a minute. You only qualify to rest after you work. It's too many people resting and they haven't worked. And here's the detriment of that. When you are resting and you have never worked. When it's time for hard. Harvest to come, you ain't sow no seeds, so when harvest day should come, there's nothing to reap because all you've been doing is resting." [01:04:04](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
3. "Our capacity increases when we know who we are. Number three, our capacity increases when we know that we were created. I'm sorry. We, our capacity increases when we know what we were created to do. Again, when Paul realized what he was created to do, not, not, not destroying people, but to build people. Not to take life, but to give life. Paul really began to live when he began to realize who he was." [01:18:24](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
4. "Our capacity increases when we are supported by others. When you get somebody who believes in you, who encourages you and supports you along the way. And my wife has had some crazy dreams, but I support her. Come on, somebody. Flip that around. I've had some crazy dreams and she's supported me. Support is power for you guys. If you get some people in your life who support you and what you're called to do and what you want to do, stuff that you probably would have never been able to strengthen to do, their support, their encouragement makes you do stuff, makes you go further, makes you believe in something that other people wouldn't believe in." [01:23:08](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
5. "Just as Moses needed to delegate tasks to avoid burnout, we too need to put systems in place to handle our growing responsibilities. This includes finding ways to take things off our plates, such as hiring help for household chores, to focus on what truly matters. Our capacity increases when we allow our bodies and minds to recover, and true rest comes from God." [50:22](Download raw clip | Download cropped clip | Download vertical captioned clip)
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