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Stay Up | Pastor Christy Jones · Koinonia Christian Center

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just need to know that it ain't
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over. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Well,
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listen. It is time for the word.
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Everybody ready for the word? Oh my
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God. I am so excited to be standing in
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thestead of the greatest
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pastor in the entire world, Bishop Rosie
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S. O'Neal. Come on and give it up for
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our
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[Applause]
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pastor. My goodness. All right, y'all be
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seated. I'm telling you, I love my
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pastor. Just know that. Amen. Amen. And
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I have the opportunity to stand and give
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God some glory through his word today.
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Amen. So, let's jump
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in. Has anybody in here ever been
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walking too fast and your foot slipped?
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Mhm. Well, let me tell you, just the
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other day, Cristiana and I were leaving
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the dentist office, and I'm fasting out
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of the out of the dentist office,
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Veronica. I'm walking really, really
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fast. And all of a sudden, my foot
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slipped off the side of the
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sidewalk. I'm telling you, as God is my
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witness, the range of emotions that I
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experienced in that one
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moment was pure panic.
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I was scared as I don't know what. So
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many things were set in motion because I
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was going down.
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My whole reputation, Pastor Trev, was on
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the line because I was going down. All I
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could think in my mind was seeing it on
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Facebook. Pastor Christie face down on
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the pavement posted on Facebook because
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I was going down. My bones were at risk
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because I was going down. I'm not
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getting any younger. Y'all know that.
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And if the truth be told, over the
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years, I've added a few extra pounds.
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And Cristiana, as well as this little
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kid who was watching it, they were at
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risk, too, because they weren't going to
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be able to pick me up because I was
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going down.
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The feeling of losing your footing or
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heading for a fall just isn't physical.
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There's a spiritual going down that can
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happen when you lose your footing in
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God. Well, I think that there's some
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wisdom to be gained by Holy Spirit as we
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examine the life of a very familiar
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person in the scriptures whose life was
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going down because of his various
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choices. So, our time together today, I
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want us to take a look at the life of
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Samson.
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Samson is a well-known character. He's a
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miracle child because he was born to his
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parents at the time they were barren.
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Samson comes out different. He's unique.
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He's a pretty good kid, you know, pretty
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good-looking, really strong. I'm telling
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you, this joker could tear up a lion cam
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with his bare hands.
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And the thing that I loved about Samson
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is he had a covenant with God. It was a
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Nazerite vow. And in his covenant, he
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was not to touch any dead thing. He was
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not supposed to be in any certain in
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certain environments because he wasn't
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supposed to drink wine and he wasn't
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even supposed to be in wine making
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environments. And he was not and he was
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not supposed to cut his hair. Well, God
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had told him, just like he's told many
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of us through his word and his spirit,
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things that we should do and things that
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we should not do.
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But the issue that we've got to deal
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with today as it relates to Samson is
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this. For all of his potential, for all
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of his gifting, for all of his strength,
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and even with a covenant on his side,
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how is it that Samson kept going down?
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Now, I'm going to tell you something.
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This scares me. I don't know. It's It
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really does scare me. It grips my heart.
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And I'm telling you, it should scare you
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as well. I'm not talking about the kind
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of fear that paralyzes us. That's not
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what I'm talking about. But what I'm
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talking about is the kind of fear, the
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reverential fear that should create
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carefulness for our covenant. Amen. You
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got to remember that bishop taught us in
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our covenant that we have with God that
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there are promises
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and privileges. There are rights, you
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got it, and
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responsibilities. And if you remember
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from last week, Bishop shared with us
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that there is a cost to covenant. And
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she called and she told us that we're
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called to speak up for those who'd have
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no voices. Amen.
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Well, we've learned throughout this time
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of living covenant consciously. How many
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of y'all have been paying attention and
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keeping up? Amen. We've learned that our
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covenant should give us confidence.
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I'm going to say that again. We've
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learned that our covenant should give us
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confidence, but it also should give us
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clarity, but it most certainly should
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give us and produce carefulness. Yeah.
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So today's lesson helps us to see
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through the life of Samson what happens
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when we start putting compromise where
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there should be carefulness.
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I'mma let you know this. When we do
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that, our lives go down. Look at your
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neighbor in the face and help me preach
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this and say, "Don't go down. Don't go
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down. Stay up. Stay up." So what is God
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saying to us today? He's telling us stay
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up.
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Stay up. I've been reading, pastor. Good
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gracious. I've been reading Judges
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chapter 13, 14, 15, and chapter 16
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probably for the past month and a half.
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I've been reading it just over and over
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and over again and just outlining
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Samson's life. And I'm telling you,
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every time I turned around, what I
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started noticing was Samson was I'm
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going
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down. I'm going down.
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Okay, now get that Mary J. Blind song
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right on off your mind. Go on and get
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that off your mind. Tell your neighbor,
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you ain't going down. You better stay
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up. You better stay up. And Lord knows I
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thought to myself that Samson must have
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had that song on repeat because he kept
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going down. Well, let's look at a few
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examples from Samson's life where we
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find him going down. Look at Judges
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chapter 14 and I'm going to read verses
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1 and two out of
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NIV. The first example that I see where
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Samson is going down. It says Samson
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went Judges 14:es 1 and two. Samson went
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down to Timna and saw there a young
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Philistine woman. When he returned, he
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said to his father and his mother, "I
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have a I've seen a Philistine woman in
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Timna. Now get her for me as my wife."
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Now, first of all, the tone of that, you
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talking to your mama and your daddy and
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you telling your mama and your daddy,
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"Go get her for me cuz that that's who I
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want." I had issues with that. But let
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me ask let me tell you this. I know your
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question may be, well now, what does
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that got to do with his life going down?
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Well, look at verse three, and I'm going
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to read this in the NIV. His father and
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mother replied, "Isn't there an
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acceptable woman among your relatives or
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among all your people? Must you go to
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the uncircumcised Philistines to get a
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wife?" The very first thing that I noted
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was Samson was looking in the wrong
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place to get his need met.
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He was looking in the wrong place to get
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his need met. He already knew that he
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was supposed to be intermaring with a
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Philistine woman. He already knew that
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he was looking in the wrong place.
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Somebody say he was looking in the wrong
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place.
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And if you look at how the language is
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in verse two, three, he said, his mother
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and father said, "Isn't there an
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acceptable woman?" what he was looking
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at was not acceptable for his covenant.
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Look at your look at your person on the
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left side of you and say, "Now, what is
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what you looking at acceptable?"
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You got to ask yourself that question
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when you're talking about your covenant.
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Is it acceptable for your covenant?
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God had already established what kind of
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person Samson was supposed to marry. and
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his choice compromised and undercut the
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carefulness that his covenant required.
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You got to be careful what you're
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looking at. You got to be careful. Now,
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y'all, we got to make Pastor said this,
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we got to make a covenant with our eyes.
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You can't look at everything. You can't
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entertain everything. You've got to be
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careful because what you look at will
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get down on the inside of you and it'll
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start pulling you in places that you
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should not be going.
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You got to be careful. Can't look in the
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wrong place. KCC men,
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align men.
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You all have made a commitment and a
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covenant to stand strong and be
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committed to Christ. Amen. You made a
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covenant to say, you know what? I am an
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aligned man. I'm generous at my core.
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Now, let me say this to you. I know that
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girl is
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fine. I know she fine. I know she's
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fine. Amen. But the truth of the matter
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is she's not your wife. And God calls
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that unacceptable.
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And somebody say, "And it'll take you
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down." And it'll take you down.
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The other thing that I noted, pastor,
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from Samson's life, look at Judges
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chapter
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14:5. The other thing that I noticed
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from Samson's life, and make note of
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this, that the Holy Spirit showed us.
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Verse five says, "Samson went down to
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Timna together with his father and his
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mother as they approached vineyards."
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Now, let's stop right there. Let's stop
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right there. Samson, now you already
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have a Nazerite vow. You already vowed
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that you would not be in
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vineyards. This is what you told God. So
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the second thing that I noted was his
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life went down because he started
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lingering in the wrong place.
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You've got to be careful where you're
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looking. But you also need to be careful
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where you're lingering.
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And as a Nazerite, he weren't supposed
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to be there. He had already swore that
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he was not going to be anywhere near any
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vines.
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Now, let me say this.
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I know that we are not I know I don't
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want you to think that I'm telling you
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that you ain't going to ever be around
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people that have no covenant with God
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cuz that's not the truth. That's not the
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case. On your job, you going to have
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some people that are not saved. Amen. In
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your and I'm not telling you not to go
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to your family reunion because I know
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that Aunt Sally ain't saved yet and she
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cuss a little bit, dip her snuff and do
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her stuff. I get it and you and it's
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okay for you to be there. But what I am
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saying is this. You've got to be careful
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where you do your relaxing.
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[Music]
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You got to be careful where you lay your
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hair, where you let your hair down.
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You have to be careful because the enemy
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is trying to snatch you out of your
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place.
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You got to be careful because the enemy
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is trying to snatch you out of your
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place. But touch somebody and say, "You
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better stay up. You better stay up." Now
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see, there's a difference between being
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cordial and being comfortable.
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There's a difference between being
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cordial and comfortable. There's a
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difference between being influenced and
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influencing. You need to know the
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difference. I can smile with the best of
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them. I can smile. I can high-five with
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you, but I'm not going to let my hair
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down everywhere. And that's what you and
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I have to me be aware of. You can't be
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comfortable everywhere.
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Bishop said it like this. Please get
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this. She said, "If you are on fire and
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you hang out with ice cubes, sooner than
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later, I guarantee you that those ice
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cubes are going to win and you are going
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to cool off."
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Now, I don't know about you, but that's
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all I'm gonna say on that. The bottom
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line is his life went down. So, he's
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looking in the wrong direction.
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He's lingering in places where he
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shouldn't. And the third thing that I
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noticed, go to Judges 14. Look at verse
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8 and N. When I tell you his story, woo,
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was amazing. Talk Bible. That's right,
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Pastor Trip. Verse 8 says, "Sometime
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later, when he had went back to marry
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her, he turned aside to look at the
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lion's carcass. And in it, he saw a
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swarm of bees and some honey." Look at
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verse n. He scooped out the honey with
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his hands and ate as he went along.
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The third thing that I noticed that kept
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Samson going down was he started
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touching the wrong thing.
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He's touching something dead that's
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violating his covenant.
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And you got to ask yourself, what am I
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touching that's violating my covenant?
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Again, here's the thing. Who in the
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world wants to eat something honey eat
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honey out of something dead?
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It's sweet, honey. It's sweet. It's
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sweet, but it's on the inside of
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something dead.
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Now, let me tell you this. My daddy used
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to say it like this. Everything that
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looks good to you ain't good for
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[Applause]
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you. And that was certainly true of
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Samson's covenant. You know, Bishop, I
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was studying this term. It's a clinical
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term, and it's called necrilia.
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And it is the practice of having a
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strong or pathological fascination with
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dead things. It often includes a desire
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to engage in intimate interaction and
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activity with dead things.
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Now I saw your faces. I saw some of us
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scrunch our faces up like, "Oh my god,
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that is nasty." And you are exactly
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right. Physically it is. But the Holy
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Spirit said to me, "Don't scrunch your
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face up so quickly. And don't turn your
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nose up so fast because some of us have
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been practicing spiritual and emotional
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necroilia.
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[Applause]
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Somebody hurt you years ago and you
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started walking in unforgiveness and now
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you've been holding on to that pain and
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you're caressing it and you're holding
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it and you're playing with it over and
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over in your mind. Tell your neighbor,
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"It's a dead thing. It's a dead thing
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and you need to let it go.
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Some of you in here have used to battle
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with anxiety and depression, but you
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know that God delivered you from that.
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But every now and then at the first sign
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of trouble or struggle, you start
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reverting back to that old thought
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pattern in your mind. Instead of
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grabbing hold to the word of God and
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speaking it out of your mouth, you need
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to touch your neighbor again and say,
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"Stay up. Stay up. It's a dead thing.
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And you ain't supposed to touch it.
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But perhaps the most famous example of
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Samson going down is found in his
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interaction with Delilah. Where he
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completely disregards the carefulness of
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his covenant. The most familiar part of
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his story occurs when he tells her the
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secret of his strength and he lays down
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in the compromised position on her lap
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and she lulls him to sleep and violates
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the covenant that he made with God. But
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what we've got to pay attention to and
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learn from in this story is not the big
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fall, but the small, seemingly
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insignificant moments of compromise that
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led up to this great fall with Delilah.
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You see, this lesson really is about the
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danger of compromise. Bishop gave me
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this definition, and I'm telling you,
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amazing. This is what she said.
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Compromise is when you have a standard
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set, but you expand it or relax it for
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something else that you want to do.
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Right? I'll say it again. Compromise is
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when you have a standard set, but you
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expand it and relax it for something
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else that you want to do. Compromises
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are not always sin, but they're not
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wise.
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Now say it again. Compromises are not
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always sin, but they are not wise.
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Bishop shared something else with me and
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I'm telling you, just listen to this.
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She said, "When you compromise
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consistently over time, even if it's not
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a sin, listen to what it will do. It
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will weaken your ability to stay
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upright. It weakens your ability to keep
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your word and it destroys your character
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because you push the boundaries for your
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own convenience and it ultimately kills
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the muscle of restraint in
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you. You get to a point where you have
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said no so much where you've said yes so
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much to stuff that you shouldn't have
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said yes to that you get in a position
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now when you should say no that you
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can't.
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Think about that for a moment. You get
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into a position, you should say no, but
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you done say a yes so much till now when
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it calls for a no. You don't even have
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any restraint at all. This is what the
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enemy is looking and trying to get us
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into this position to be. But tell
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somebody, stay up. You got to stay up.
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Pastor Shandelle said it like this.
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Every time you say yes when you
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shouldn't, it becomes harder to say no
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when you should.
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[Applause]
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Every time you say yes when you
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shouldn't, it becomes harder to say no
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when you should.
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For example, you said that you won't
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going to ever drink alcohol. And that
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was the standard that you and God set
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because you realize that your whole
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family deal with alcoholism. But now you
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see somebody else drinking. So you say,
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"Oh, well, maybe it's okay for me to
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drink a little something, too." That's
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compromised for you because you had your
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standard set already. Now you see
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somebody else and you're going to relax
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it. And I'm going to tell you what it's
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going to do. It's going to take your
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life down. Tell somebody, "Stay up."
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Stay up. Here's another example. You
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used to be on fire for the Lord. I mean
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in church serving wide open. You are
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here when the doors open, before the
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doors open. But then you get attached to
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certain groups or environments and you
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swore it you were going to be the light.
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But now you've been doing things that
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make you look like what's not the light
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anymore.
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You started compromising
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and it's taking your life down. Somebody
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say stay up. Stay up. And this is
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exactly what happened to Samson. Every
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time he said yes to his flesh, every
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time he said yes to touching what he
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should not have, every time he said yes
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to being in an environment that was
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against what God told him, he was losing
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restraint. So much so till by the time
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he got into this situation with Delilah,
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his ability to restrict and restrain
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himself was completely defeated. He
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ended up losing all of his strength. But
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look at Judges chapter 16 verse 19. My
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God.
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Oh, goodness gracious. His His story is
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just just I don't even know what to say.
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Hold on. Let me turn my Bible. Judges 16
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verse 19. It says, "After putting him to
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sleep on her lap, she called for someone
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to shave off the seven braids of his
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hair. Delilah had lulled Sam to sleep
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with his head in her lap. And then she
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called in a man to shave off the seven
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locks of his hair. In this way, she
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began to bring him down, and his
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strength left him. Y'all, this one verse
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is the culmination of consistently
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choosing compromise over carefulness.
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Wow. This one
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verse is the culmination of consistently
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choosing compromise over carefulness.
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This picture shows us a person who
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consistently cut corners.
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It shows us a person who consistently
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participated in gray area activity.
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And y'all, we've got to be careful. This
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is a prophetic warning to us. We've got
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to be careful. We've got to stay up
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because the enemy is trying to snatch
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you out of your place. But tell
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somebody, "The devil is a lie." I'm
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going to stay up.
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So, how do we stay up? Let me go on to
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this. So, how do we stay up? This is
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what Holy Spirit said. I'm going to give
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you these and then I'mma sit down. This
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is what the Holy Spirit said. Number
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one, how do you stay up? You got to
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respect your covenant.
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You got to respect your covenant. Bishop
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said it standing right here. You got to
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decide. Decide what kind of person
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you're going to be. Decide what kind of
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Christian you are going to be. You got
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to set your non-negotiables.
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What are the things that you are
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absolutely not going to do? I know
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everybody else might be doing stuff, but
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no, I'm not doing that. Why? Because
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this is what me and God talked about in
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my covenant. No, I'm not going over
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there and hanging out with those crazy
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people over here that's talking a bunch
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of trash about the church. No, I'm not
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doing that. Yeah, that's good. I'm not
22:47
doing that. Look at your neighbor and
22:48
tell them, "I'm not doing that."
22:51
Set your non-negotiables. What are
22:53
things that you are absolutely not going
22:55
to do? But what are the things that you
22:57
are going to do? I am going to be in
23:00
church every Sunday. Absolutely. I'm
23:02
bringing my tithe. Absolutely. I'm
23:04
sewing into the life of my pastor.
23:06
Absolutely. I'm loving on my husband.
23:09
Absolutely. I'm not stepping outside of
23:11
that covenant. No, I'm not.
23:13
You got to respect your covenant. You
23:16
got to respect your covenant. And God is
23:18
calling for some of us in here today.
23:20
It's time for you to make a decision.
23:25
What kind of Christian are you going to
23:27
be?
23:29
All right. Number two, how are you going
23:32
to stay up? You got to respect your
23:33
covenant. Number two, you got to refuse
23:35
dead things.
23:38
You got to refuse dead things. The Holy
23:40
Spirit gave it to me like this. You got
23:42
to refuse to taste, touch, try out, or
23:45
toy with anything dead.
23:49
I'll say it again. You've got to refuse
23:51
to taste, touch, try out, or touch, or
23:55
toy with anything dead. That's past
23:58
relationships. That's toxic
24:00
relationships. That's harmful habits.
24:02
Whatever that is for you, you got to
24:04
refuse it.
24:06
Don't play with it. You got to refuse it
24:10
because the enemy is trying to take you
24:12
out
24:14
and you got to know that.
24:17
Number three, how do you stay up? You
24:20
have to recognize the ex the escalation
24:23
of compromise.
24:26
You have to recognize the escalation of
24:30
compromise. Here's what he said to me.
24:32
You need to know that any compromise
24:34
that you make is going to carry you
24:37
further than you intended to go, keep
24:39
you longer than you intended to stay,
24:42
and cost you more than you intended to
24:44
pay.
24:47
You need to know that this compromise is
24:50
going to take you further than you want
24:52
to go. You see, the enemy is not just
24:55
trying to mess up your day. That's not
24:57
what he's trying to do. He's trying to
24:59
erase your face.
25:02
He's trying to take away your legacy.
25:04
And you need to wake up and stay up.
25:09
[Applause]
25:12
That's a cost you don't want to pay.
25:18
He ain't just trying to take your
25:20
marriage. That's not what he's trying to
25:22
do. He's trying to destroy legacy.
25:26
You and your spouse loving on each
25:28
other. That's a picture of Christ loving
25:30
the church. So, he wants to erase that
25:35
so people can go down. But tell
25:38
somebody, "Stay up." Stay up. Number
25:41
four, what you got to do if you're going
25:42
to stay up, you got to remember what's
25:44
at stake. You got to remember what's at
25:47
stake. Y'all, we run the risk like
25:49
Samson of losing our hair, losing our
25:52
anointing, losing our witness, losing
25:55
our power, losing our strength, and
25:58
losing our vision. There's so much at
26:01
stake.
26:03
And you got to be aware of that.
26:06
This ain't the time to be sleep.
26:09
Now, I know these lights are dim in here
26:10
and it's, you know, a a nice environment
26:13
and you feel comfortable and you feel
26:14
like you can just close your eyes. This
26:16
is not the time to close your eyes.
26:20
This ain't the time to lay your head in
26:22
Delila's lap. This is the time to stay
26:24
up
26:26
cuz the enemy is trying to destroy us.
26:29
But somebody say, "The devil is a lie."
26:31
The devil is a lie. And then number
26:33
five, pastor. Oh my god. Number five.
26:35
This one hit me like a ton of bricks.
26:37
Listen. Woo. Number five. If you are
26:40
going to stay up, you got to reach out
26:43
to God for help. Yeah,
26:47
you got to reach out to God for help.
26:49
Let me tell you, look at this. Check
26:51
this out. Judges chapter 16, last verse,
26:54
verse 28 says, "Then Samson prayed to
26:59
the Lord. Sovereign Lord, remember me.
27:02
Please God, strengthen me just one more
27:05
time and let me with one blow get
27:08
revenge on the Philistines for my two
27:10
eyes." Let me tell you something. Pastor
27:12
Ni and I were on the phone yesterday and
27:14
we were talking. She said, "Chris," and
27:16
I know she's watching. Hey, girl. So,
27:17
she said this to me. She said, "Listen,
27:20
you got to understand the Sam Samson
27:23
thought that he had lost everything."
27:25
But you know what he did not lose? He
27:26
didn't lose his
27:28
voice. He didn't lose his voice. He
27:31
could cry out to God cuz that's what
27:33
that word pray means. He could cry out
27:35
to God. So, let me tell you something.
27:38
Some of you may be sitting in here right
27:39
now and you're listening to this message
27:41
and you're saying, "You know what? I
27:42
hear what you're saying, but my life is
27:44
already gone down. I'm not going down.
27:46
It's already gone down." I want to
27:48
encourage you. Cry out to God. Cry out
27:51
to God because the good news is God
27:54
strengthened Samson. He strengthened
27:56
him, y'all. He strengthened him and
27:58
Samson began to get in that position and
28:01
he knocked that mess down. And I know at
28:03
the end it looked tragic, but it really
28:05
wasn't. Because the good news is God
28:08
will help you.
28:12
[Music]
28:13
[Applause]
28:15
Cuz see, the enemy will try to hit you
28:16
with condemnation, make you feel like
28:18
your story is over. But I'm here to let
28:21
the devil know the devil is a lie. Your
28:22
story ain't over, baby. The fact that
28:25
you sitting in here right now with a
28:27
mind to even listen lets me know that
28:29
God's got you.
28:34
But you got to reach out to God for
28:36
help.
28:40
You got to reach out. And you still got
28:43
your voice.
28:44
Tell somebody, I still got my voice. I
28:47
know the devil been messing with me, but
28:49
I still got my voice. I still got a
28:51
connection with God. I still can cry out
28:54
to the Lord, and he will hear
28:57
me. Yes, he will.
29:00
Don't let the devil fool you, back you
29:03
into a corner, make you feel like all
29:04
hope is lost. Cam, all hope ain't lost.
29:07
Baby, you still got your voice. You
29:10
still got your voice, Lena. You still
29:12
got your voice. You still got your
29:14
voice, Maya. You still got your
29:17
voice. And you need to remind your
29:20
circumstances and remind the devil, I
29:22
still got my voice. I know I messed up.
29:25
I know I did some stupid stuff, but I
29:27
still got my voice. I still got a
29:29
connection with God. And he promised me
29:31
that he wouldn't leave me nor forsake
29:34
me. That he would be with me until the
29:36
end. And you need to know that.
29:39
[Applause]
29:45
That's all I came to tell you
29:47
today. Don't
29:49
compromise. Don't
29:51
compromise. Make it your business that
29:53
you are not going to compromise. that
29:56
you going to respect your covenant, that
29:58
you going to do what you need to do and
30:00
refuse dead things,
30:03
[Music]
30:05
and you going to stay up
30:07
and you going to stay up. Heads are
30:09
bowed, eyes are closed.
30:12
Believers, let's pray. up.