Latest / Koinonia Christian Center / We Don’t Need Deborah and Gideon | Dr. E. Dewey Smith, Jr.

Transcript

We Don’t Need Deborah and Gideon | Dr. E. Dewey Smith, Jr. · Koinonia Christian Center

• 0:00
  Lord God, we thank you for this day that
• 0:02
  you've made and we've gathered to
• 0:05
  rejoice and to be glad in it.
• 0:08
  Thank you for your love and your grace
• 0:10
  and your mercy.
• 0:13
  Thank you for your compassions that fail
• 0:16
  not
• 0:18
  and your mercies that are new every
• 0:20
  morning.
• 0:22
  Great is your faithfulness.
• 0:26
  We give you praise this morning because
• 0:28
  all we've needed
• 0:31
  your hand hath provided.
• 0:35
  Thank you for the faithfulness
• 0:38
  and consistency of your hand. We praise
• 0:41
  you for Jesus, our Lord, our Savior who
• 0:44
  is the head of the church and our
• 0:45
  sooncoming king. Thank you for the Holy
• 0:47
  Spirit, our comforter, our sustainer and
• 0:50
  our guide.
• 0:52
  We give you praise for this place called
• 0:55
  Cornia.
• 0:58
  >> Thank you, Lord.
• 1:00
  Thank you, Lord.
• 1:02
  37 years you've kept this ministry.
• 1:06
  Thank you. Thank you.
• 1:10
  Your hand has been on this ministry from
• 1:13
  infancy to this to this moment. We give
• 1:15
  you praise. Thank you for Bishop Rosie
• 1:18
  O'Neal.
• 1:21
  Thank you, Lord.
• 1:24
  Thank you for how you've used her to
• 1:27
  shape and to shift
• 1:29
  not just this city, state, and country,
• 1:31
  but the world.
• 1:33
  >> Thank you for the paradigm that she
• 1:35
  sets,
• 1:37
  for her heart, for her genuiness,
• 1:40
  for a love for you, for you and your
• 1:43
  people. Thank you for 37 years of
• 1:48
  exceptional leadership.
• 1:51
  >> Thank you for her husband who has stood
• 1:54
  by her side in such a supportive way.
• 1:58
  Thank you for his strength and his
• 2:00
  humility and his heart and their sons
• 2:03
  and thank you that you've kept them and
• 2:06
  are sustaining them and continue to
• 2:08
  build them. We pray your blessings upon
• 2:10
  them. For the Hutchkins who served here,
• 2:13
  we praise you for them, Lord.
• 2:17
  We pray that this season will be the
• 2:19
  best season of their lives.
• 2:21
  And for these that you have ordained for
• 2:24
  this moment of consecration and
• 2:26
  elevation and installation. We thank you
• 2:29
  for their union. And we pray that you
• 2:31
  bless and sanctify them now. Now, Holy
• 2:34
  Spirit, I'm weak. I need your strength.
• 2:37
  So speak to and through me now. Use me
• 2:41
  as your instrument in Jesus name. Amen.
• 2:44
  Come on, let's give God praise. And
• 2:46
  while you're standing, while you remain
• 2:47
  standing,
• 2:48
  while you remain standing, let's thank
• 2:50
  God for Bishop O'Neal.
• 2:56
  Hushi, I thank you for being my sister.
• 3:01
  I thank you for being my sister. I thank
• 3:05
  you for being my sister. You're one of a
• 3:08
  kind. You're one of a kind. You're one
• 3:11
  of a kind. I want you to know that.
• 3:14
  And uh I I certainly I salute you and
• 3:16
  your husband and you always talk so well
• 3:20
  about him. And it's it's amazing how God
• 3:22
  just puts people together. Opposites
• 3:24
  attract they say.
• 3:27
  And I thank God for you and thank God
• 3:30
  for just you. Uh Pastor Pastor A, God
• 3:33
  bless you. Dr. church. God bless you and
• 3:36
  Hutchkins and all you. And of course, as
• 3:38
  we stand today to Pastor Trev and uh
• 3:41
  thank God for you, my brother. Come on.
• 3:44
  Thank God for Pastor Trev and Lady
• 3:48
  Marthur.
• 3:50
  Pastor Shandelle and Christie. Come on,
• 3:52
  give God praise for them.
• 3:54
  This is a moment
• 3:56
  and I am I'm honored to be here. I don't
• 3:58
  take this assignment lightly. And so,
• 4:01
  um, I there's a word today from the book
• 4:04
  of Judges, and I need your prayers. I
• 4:07
  need your prayers. I was, uh, I was
• 4:09
  excited when I got here, and, um, and,
• 4:13
  uh, and I thought about it early this
• 4:15
  morning. It just hit me. It was, I don't
• 4:17
  know, sometimes, you know, grief comes
• 4:19
  in ways. I thought about it. It was It
• 4:20
  was It was nine years ago today that my
• 4:23
  mother made a transition.
• 4:25
  And I and that and I thought about that
• 4:27
  2:00 in the morning and a bit of sadness
• 4:29
  came and I was awaken and I realized the
• 4:32
  Lord said uh this transition and uh and
• 4:36
  just work with me all night really
• 4:38
  >> because it was deeper than just my
• 4:40
  mother's passing. It was about this
• 4:42
  transition. Uh she transitioned to a
• 4:44
  place but and he shared some things with
• 4:46
  me and I'm going to share them with you.
• 4:49
  I need your prayers. Uh this is a little
• 4:51
  unusual and a little unorthodox but I
• 4:53
  need your prayers. the book of Judges
• 4:56
  and you have Judges. I want just take a
• 4:58
  look at two scriptures for your
• 5:00
  consideration. Please, ma'am. Please,
• 5:02
  sir. Judges five. We're just going to
• 5:04
  take a look at Judges 5 and Judges 6.
• 5:08
  But for the benefit of brevity, Judges
• 5:09
  5. I want to thank my wife for being
• 5:11
  here with me this coming.
• 5:14
  She's been unable to come. I said, "You
• 5:16
  got to go today." And she was able to
• 5:18
  come. Our sons are both now gone. And
• 5:20
  so, we're empty nesters. So I'm just
• 5:23
  thankful that she was able to come to
• 5:24
  enjoy Greenville. I said there's no
• 5:26
  place like Greenville. So okay, so thank
• 5:28
  God for her for being here. Amen. Uh
• 5:31
  Judges 51, you see these words. Then
• 5:33
  sang uh Dborah or Deborah
• 5:37
  >> if you're bougie Dborah if your country
• 5:39
  Deborah
• 5:41
  then sang Dborah Deborah and Barack
• 5:44
  that on that day sang praise ye the Lord
• 5:46
  for avenging Israel.
• 5:49
  when the people willingly offered
• 5:52
  themselves,
• 5:54
  so let all thine enemies perish.
• 5:58
  I just take a look at that right quick.
• 5:59
  And then I want to come down to Judges
• 6:02
  chapter 6 for a moment.
• 6:05
  And you found Judges chapter 6 just for
• 6:08
  the benefit of time. Uh verse 14 and you
• 6:12
  find these words. And the Lord looked
• 6:15
  upon him. Somebody say Gideon.
• 6:18
  >> Gideon. The Lord looked upon Gideon and
• 6:20
  said, "Go in this thy might, for thou
• 6:25
  shalt save Israel from the hand of the
• 6:27
  Midionites.
• 6:29
  Have not I sent thee?"
• 6:32
  Uh, the first text, Judges 5 and 1,
• 6:37
  shows plurality.
• 6:40
  Judges six shows a singular term, but
• 6:44
  the essence of the call is plurality. So
• 6:47
  although we have four people who have
• 6:49
  been consecrated today, just allow me
• 6:52
  just homalytically use singular words,
• 6:55
  singular names. I want to lift this
• 6:57
  thought this morning. We don't need
• 6:59
  Deborah and Gideon.
• 7:04
  >> You may be seated. We don't need
• 7:07
  >> We don't need Look at your neighbor.
• 7:09
  Say, we don't need
• 7:10
  >> We don't need
• 7:11
  >> Deborah
• 7:13
  >> or Gideon.
• 7:16
  Now when the Lord
• 7:18
  wanted to rule his people, Israel
• 7:20
  particularly, divine government or what
• 7:22
  we call theocracy allowed God to choose
• 7:26
  people who were called judges. Can
• 7:27
  somebody say judges?
• 7:29
  >> And God raised 12 judges. Ael, Ehu,
• 7:33
  Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon. He raised
• 7:37
  Tlahad, Ja, Jeepa, Elam, Abdam, and
• 7:41
  Samson
• 7:43
  >> to rule the people from what we call a
• 7:44
  theocratic perspective.
• 7:47
  >> God's theocracy allowed them to rule his
• 7:52
  people. And out of the 12 major judges,
• 7:54
  I want to thank God that one of them was
• 7:58
  a woman.
• 8:01
  >> I said it again, one of them was a
• 8:04
  woman. She's called Deborah Dborah the
• 8:06
  Honeybee. I I'm moved by her. She
• 8:10
  reminds me a lot of Bishop O'Neal.
• 8:14
  >> Uh Deborah, she broke through the
• 8:17
  parameters
• 8:19
  uh of
• 8:21
  Hebrew patriarchy. She was able to
• 8:25
  pvault
• 8:26
  uh the limitations of antiquitous
• 8:30
  patriarchy and toxic masculinity.
• 8:34
  And in spite of women not being
• 8:37
  esteemed, it was through her courage,
• 8:40
  >> her ingenuity, her strategic might when
• 8:44
  no man was in sight who was able to
• 8:47
  accomplish this assignment. God raised
• 8:54
  Deborah.
• 8:56
  That is not to slight anybody else.
• 8:57
  Fellas, if you're triggered, that's your
• 8:59
  problem.
• 9:00
  The reality is when God needed her, he
• 9:03
  used her.
• 9:06
  It blessed me because when we think
• 9:08
  about the scriptures as a whole, so many
• 9:10
  of us have been blessed. I thought about
• 9:12
  my own mother this morning and how even
• 9:14
  as a teen went through so many things,
• 9:17
  but it was through her strength that I'm
• 9:19
  here. I thought about Moses. We talk
• 9:22
  about Moses's strength and how Jethro
• 9:24
  gave him wisdom and his leadership. But
• 9:27
  what we don't do is acknowledge the
• 9:29
  women. who played a role in Moses's
• 9:32
  liberation motif.
• 9:34
  Uh, please understand, without those
• 9:36
  Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Pure,
• 9:40
  Moses never would have made it out of
• 9:42
  any prenatal promise. Thank God for
• 9:45
  those Hebrew midwives.
• 9:47
  If it wasn't for his mother, Jehoshaped
• 9:50
  >> who defied the decrees of the Pharaoh
• 9:53
  and did not throw her child into the
• 9:55
  river, but rather the text tells us that
• 9:57
  she hid him for three months because she
• 10:00
  saw he was a goodly child. And when she
• 10:03
  no could no longer hide him, she built
• 10:04
  an ark of bull rushes and placed him in
• 10:07
  the midst of the river. Thank God for a
• 10:09
  good mother
• 10:10
  >> who hangs in even when threats are
• 10:13
  against her children. Thank God for
• 10:15
  Pharaoh's daughter
• 10:17
  >> who happened to be by the banks of the
• 10:19
  river at the same time when little baby
• 10:21
  Moses was placed in that ark and saw the
• 10:24
  ark. And even though her daddy wanted
• 10:26
  the baby Hebrew boys killed, thank God
• 10:28
  for divine intervention
• 10:30
  >> for moving on the hearts of a pagan girl
• 10:34
  to say, "Go retrieve that baby
• 10:36
  >> from that river. Thank God for his nosy
• 10:39
  sister Miriam
• 10:41
  >> who happened to be by the river at the
• 10:43
  same time. And it was the Pharaoh's
• 10:45
  daughter who beckoned unto Miriam.
• 10:47
  Listen, get the baby. Would you please
• 10:49
  go and find one of the Hebrew midwives
• 10:52
  and tell them I have a baby that I need
• 10:54
  help raising and tell them that they'll
• 10:56
  get a check every Friday
• 10:58
  >> for helping me to raise the baby. Thank
• 11:00
  God that Miriam
• 11:03
  in her Hebrew ingenuity went and found
• 11:06
  her mama Joshua and brought Joshua and
• 11:09
  Joshua got paid for raising a baby that
• 11:12
  she birthed. You ought to thank God.
• 11:14
  Thank God for the women. Uh uh thank God
• 11:17
  for his Egyptian wife Zapora
• 11:20
  >> who later on because Moses refused to go
• 11:23
  through the circumcision process, his
• 11:25
  wife intervene when God would have
• 11:29
  otherwise committed providential
• 11:31
  homicide against Moses. It was the
• 11:33
  intervention of his wife Zapora who
• 11:36
  offered blood on his behalf to allow
• 11:38
  Moses to evolve to walk in the
• 11:41
  deliverance and the victory that he was
• 11:43
  called to walk in. If it had not been
• 11:45
  for Shifra and Pure, had not been for
• 11:48
  Joseph, it had not been for Miriam, had
• 11:51
  not been for Zapora, we wouldn't know
• 11:53
  the story of Moses like we do today. Let
• 11:56
  me just pause parenthetically to say in
• 11:58
  that same vein, thank God for Rosie
• 12:01
  O'Neal.
• 12:02
  >> Because if it had not been for God using
• 12:05
  her and elevating her, how many people
• 12:08
  would have never heard God's uncarchable
• 12:10
  riches? How many families would still be
• 12:12
  broken? How many people would still have
• 12:14
  no hope? What would have happened to
• 12:16
  those of you who have had no experience
• 12:18
  with Cornineia for the past 37 years?
• 12:20
  THANK GOD THAT GOD still you Deborah's
• 12:24
  and he still you roses. GIVE GOD PRAISE
• 12:26
  RIGHT THERE.
• 12:32
  So here at time of this text, Deborah
• 12:34
  has been chosen to be a judge to lead
• 12:36
  God's people theocratically. And judge
• 12:40
  she did. I mean, she was an incredible
• 12:43
  judge. She was significant. She was
• 12:45
  incredible. She faithfully served. She
• 12:48
  discerned. She led with wisdom. She
• 12:50
  partnered with Barack. She sang the
• 12:52
  victory song. She even led Israel into
• 12:55
  having victory over Canaan. And because
• 12:59
  of her work, because if you use this,
• 13:02
  her ministry, her administration, peace
• 13:04
  and prosperity
• 13:06
  were in the land of Israel for 40 years.
• 13:09
  She usher ushered in a time of peace and
• 13:13
  prosperity.
• 13:14
  >> But then her successor was a fellow
• 13:17
  whose name was Gideon.
• 13:20
  >> And similarly Gideon was chosen by God.
• 13:24
  >> Similarly, Gideon was an incredible man
• 13:27
  of God of ingenuity who was called to
• 13:30
  lead God's people in battle over the
• 13:33
  Midianites.
• 13:34
  So significant is Gideon that he's
• 13:36
  mentioned in the heroes hall of faith in
• 13:38
  the book of Hebrews chapter 11 and it
• 13:40
  was 300 soldiers
• 13:43
  >> and all and trust in God that he was
• 13:45
  able to defeat 135,000 Midianites. I
• 13:49
  tell you what a wonderful tag team
• 13:53
  >> Deborah
• 13:55
  >> and Gideon.
• 13:57
  >> Deborah defeated
• 13:59
  the Canaanites.
• 14:01
  Gideon, her successor, defeated the
• 14:05
  Midianites.
• 14:06
  And although these are two of my
• 14:08
  favorite characters, today I want to
• 14:10
  suggest to you in a strange way that
• 14:13
  they are not a good paradigm
• 14:16
  for Cornelia.
• 14:21
  >> Although these are two of my favorite
• 14:23
  biblical characters
• 14:26
  in terms of succession.
• 14:28
  Pastor Trey, this is not a picture of
• 14:31
  what I believe God wants for this
• 14:34
  ministry.
• 14:35
  >> And the reason why I said that, brothers
• 14:38
  and sisters, is because today we stand
• 14:40
  at a sacred intersection.
• 14:43
  >> Today, however, is not it's it's it's
• 14:45
  it's a retirement. It's an installation.
• 14:48
  It's a handoff. It's a holy moment of
• 14:52
  continuity, not catastrophe. That's
• 14:54
  right.
• 14:55
  >> And I want to suggest from the outset
• 14:57
  that what happens a lot of times in
• 14:59
  leadership, brothers and sisters, is
• 15:01
  that God sometimes allows leaders to be
• 15:05
  raised and allows persons to respond.
• 15:10
  See, Drael, Deborah was not raised
• 15:13
  because Israel was flourishing.
• 15:18
  >> Gideon was not summoned because Israel
• 15:20
  was faithful.
• 15:22
  They were God's emergency responders.
• 15:27
  >> So today, I want to preach a paradoxical
• 15:29
  word. We don't need Deborah and Gideon.
• 15:31
  Not because Deborah isn't great. Not
• 15:33
  because Gideon isn't anointed, but
• 15:36
  because their kind of leadership emerges
• 15:39
  when the people refuse responsibility.
• 15:44
  >> So this word may sound strange to you,
• 15:46
  but I hope it's helpful to you. See,
• 15:49
  Deborah is anointed. Gideon is
• 15:51
  effective,
• 15:52
  >> but their paradigm only emerges when
• 15:55
  people refuse maturity.
• 16:00
  >> See, because what happens is you find in
• 16:01
  the book of Judges, it's a cycle.
• 16:04
  >> The people went through sin,
• 16:06
  >> oppression, they cry, get delivered,
• 16:09
  they rest,
• 16:12
  and then repeat.
• 16:15
  sin,
• 16:16
  >> oppression,
• 16:18
  >> cry, delivered, rest,
• 16:21
  >> rinse,
• 16:22
  >> and repeat.
• 16:24
  And what happened after Deborah was led
• 16:27
  by God with an emergency response to
• 16:31
  lead God's people and brought prosperity
• 16:33
  and peace in the land. Can I tell you
• 16:36
  what happened when her successor came?
• 16:39
  >> The people did not mature.
• 16:45
  I say it again,
• 16:46
  >> the people did not mature.
• 16:50
  >> And this is why I suggest we don't need
• 16:52
  Deborah
• 16:53
  and Gideon because that paradigm
• 16:56
  suggests conotes and not and and and
• 16:59
  conotes some other things. Number one,
• 17:01
  it suggests that God's people wanted to
• 17:04
  go backwards.
• 17:08
  >> Did you hear what I just said?
• 17:09
  >> When you look at the last verse,
• 17:13
  In chapter 5,
• 17:14
  >> it tells us that peace had been brought
• 17:19
  in the land. The land had rest for 48
• 17:22
  years. Let me take contextualize IT.
• 17:25
  BISHOP DEBORAH, JUDGE DEBORAH,
• 17:29
  >> brought the people from one level
• 17:32
  >> to the next level.
• 17:35
  >> How she transitioned is not mentioned.
• 17:38
  >> The Bible says very little about her
• 17:40
  ending.
• 17:41
  Jesus
• 17:42
  >> talks about Moses's ending
• 17:44
  >> as Joshua makes his the onset. But it
• 17:47
  says very little about Deborah's ending.
• 17:49
  I want to suggest that's that's
• 17:51
  wonderful because her ministry, her
• 17:53
  service continues.
• 17:56
  >> It never ended. It just was the passing
• 17:58
  of the baton. It was the the expectation
• 18:00
  that the work that she had laid, the
• 18:02
  work that she had done would continue in
• 18:04
  the succeeding generation. AND SO
• 18:06
  THERE'S PEACE AND PROSPERITY. DEBORAH
• 18:08
  HAS FINISHED WELL.
• 18:12
  I'M GOING TO SAY IT AGAIN. I said
• 18:14
  Deborah had finished. Well,
• 18:18
  >> all right. Y'all not with me. Bishop
• 18:20
  Rosie O'Neal has finished.
• 18:25
  >> Well,
• 18:26
  the church is packed. YOU OWE NOBODY
• 18:29
  NOTHING but love. My God. Families are
• 18:32
  being brought together. Miracles and
• 18:34
  healing are being brought in this place.
• 18:36
  YOU ALL GIVE GOD PRAISE THAT SHE has
• 18:38
  finished. Well,
• 18:46
  there peace IN THE LAND,
• 18:48
  >> PROSPERITY IN THE LAND.
• 18:50
  >> BUT NOTICE THE VERY NEXT VERSE.
• 18:55
  >> Chapter 6, verse one.
• 18:57
  >> Yes, sir.
• 18:58
  >> And the children of Israel
• 19:02
  >> did evil
• 19:05
  >> in the sight
• 19:07
  of the Lord. What does that mean? That
• 19:11
  meant that they wanted to go
• 19:15
  >> backwards.
• 19:17
  Notice the text never said Israel needed
• 19:19
  new leadership.
• 19:24
  >> The text never mentions new leadership
• 19:25
  after Deborah.
• 19:27
  That wasn't the main
• 19:30
  thought of the writer. He starts with
• 19:33
  Israel did evil again
• 19:36
  after a season of faithful leadership
• 19:39
  which tells us something uncomfortable.
• 19:41
  You can have great leadership and still
• 19:43
  have immature fellowship.
• 19:48
  The foundation has been laid. Deborah
• 19:51
  did her job. But the people did not
• 19:53
  internalize the victory.
• 19:56
  >> They outsourced responsibility.
• 19:58
  >> They spiritualized dependency. They
• 20:00
  waited on another hero.
• 20:03
  >> And whenever people refuse to mature,
• 20:06
  they force God to intervene again.
• 20:12
  >> After this service concludes
• 20:14
  >> after the process of installation has
• 20:16
  gone forth, my question will be, what
• 20:19
  would Judges 6:1 look like for
• 20:22
  >> Cornelia?
• 20:27
  >> Will we go back?
• 20:30
  to some of the traditional and
• 20:32
  environmental ways of other churches and
• 20:34
  other ecclesia communities that you know
• 20:36
  you have grown and been moved beyond.
• 20:38
  WILL YOU REVERT BACK
• 20:40
  >> TO WHAT used to be comfortable before
• 20:42
  you were stretched by a bishop of the
• 20:44
  Lord's church OR WILL YOU SAY God
• 20:49
  >> help us to maintain the posture and the
• 20:52
  spirit and the traction will you?
• 20:58
  So what happened? Because the people
• 21:01
  >> decided to go backwards,
• 21:04
  >> God punished them
• 21:06
  >> to go downward.
• 21:08
  >> I said God punished them to go downward.
• 21:10
  Look at verse number two. It says, "And
• 21:11
  the hand of Midian prevailed against
• 21:14
  Israel. And because of the Midionites,
• 21:16
  the children of Israel made the dens,
• 21:18
  which are caves in the mountains." So
• 21:19
  no, so look at the imagery here. God's
• 21:21
  people
• 21:23
  >> were just walking in promise. Yeah,
• 21:26
  >> I know.
• 21:27
  >> As long as Deborah was there, THEY WERE
• 21:29
  WALKING IN PROMISE.
• 21:31
  >> But now the folk who were walking in
• 21:32
  promise during Deborah's administration,
• 21:35
  >> sir,
• 21:36
  >> they've gone from walking in promise to
• 21:38
  now hiding in caves.
• 21:40
  >> Fear has replaced faith. Survival
• 21:43
  replaces stewardship. Protection
• 21:45
  replaces purpose. And notice, God didn't
• 21:48
  invent Midian. God permitted it.
• 21:52
  Sometimes judgment is isn't something
• 21:54
  God is done doing to you. Is God letting
• 21:56
  you live that which you chose.
• 21:58
  >> Since the people wanted backward living,
• 22:01
  God allowed backward to become the
• 22:03
  reality and allowed the Midionites to
• 22:05
  take them down. Well, I'm here to tell
• 22:06
  you, brothers and sisters, since God is
• 22:08
  building his church, Bishop just told us
• 22:10
  the gates are around hell. But don't
• 22:12
  think the gates will not attack. The
• 22:15
  gates of hell want to take this place
• 22:18
  down. What a paradigm. DO YOU KNOW WHAT
• 22:21
  PARADIGM this sets for ministries across
• 22:23
  the world? Do you know how many pastors
• 22:25
  hold on to the batons uh until they
• 22:28
  expire? Miles Monroe said once and we
• 22:31
  have to pry the baton out of cold hands
• 22:35
  rather than pass the baton on to the
• 22:38
  next generation knowing that one waters
• 22:40
  another plants. But God gives the
• 22:42
  increase. I'm here to tell you, YOU HAVE
• 22:44
  WE GOING TO CELEBRATE TODAY, BUT LET'S
• 22:46
  be on God tomorrow because the enemy is
• 22:49
  like a roaring lion seeking whom he may
• 22:51
  devour. And when the enemy shall come in
• 22:54
  like a flood, he's not going TO TAKE US
• 22:56
  BACKWARDS BECAUSE OR DOWNWARD BECAUSE
• 22:58
  THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD SHALL LIFT UP A
• 23:00
  STANDARD AGAINST HIM.
• 23:06
  And so the people wanted to go backwards
• 23:11
  >> after a great
• 23:14
  period of peace and prosperity
• 23:17
  >> and because the people wanted to go
• 23:18
  backwards
• 23:19
  >> rather than having a mind to work the
• 23:22
  people got some of the people let me
• 23:24
  contextualize it got jealous.
• 23:26
  >> Some of the people refused to follow
• 23:28
  leadership.
• 23:29
  >> I grew up with trail. I know sir we we
• 23:31
  came up together and and and and
• 23:33
  disrespecting the leadership. what God
• 23:35
  wanted to do. And as a consequence, the
• 23:37
  enemy wanted to take them downward. But
• 23:39
  I prophesied this morning.
• 23:42
  That's one thing Corner is not going to
• 23:43
  do. She's not going backwards. And she
• 23:46
  show not going downward. I wish I had
• 23:48
  somebody to help me here for a moment
• 23:50
  cuz we've been working on the building
• 23:52
  for. As a matter of fact, if if
• 23:53
  anything's going to be torn down, it's
• 23:54
  Satan. Satan, WE GOING TO TEAR YOUR
• 23:56
  KINGDOM DOWN. YOU'VE BEEN BUILDING YOUR
• 23:59
  KINGDOM ALL OVER THE LAND. SOMEBODY
• 24:01
  SHOUT, "I'm not going backwards.
• 24:04
  And we're not going
• 24:07
  >> downward.
• 24:10
  >> And so
• 24:14
  the Somebody all clap your hands right
• 24:16
  there and give God praise.
• 24:20
  And so guess what happened?
• 24:23
  Since the people wanted to go backwards.
• 24:24
  >> Yes, sir.
• 24:26
  >> God punished them to go downward.
• 24:28
  >> I'm grateful that God provided a leader.
• 24:32
  Amen.
• 24:34
  >> From upward.
• 24:37
  >> Now, this is where it gets a little
• 24:38
  tricky cuz my premise is we don't need
• 24:42
  Deborah or Gideon. I thank God for
• 24:45
  Deborah and Gideon.
• 24:47
  >> But Cornelia, we don't need Deborah and
• 24:49
  Gideon.
• 24:51
  >> Let me tell you why. Because Gideon
• 24:54
  enters not from the center, not from the
• 24:58
  capital.
• 25:00
  Gideon enters not from legacy
• 25:02
  leadership.
• 25:05
  >> Gideon enters from hiding.
• 25:11
  >> He's threshing wheat in secret.
• 25:14
  >> He's not prepared. He's fearful.
• 25:18
  >> He's not anointed. He's uncertain.
• 25:20
  >> He's undersized in his own estimation.
• 25:23
  Why? Because when the people refuse
• 25:25
  shared responsibility, God had to send a
• 25:28
  singular savior.
• 25:30
  >> I'm gonna say it again. I said WHEN
• 25:32
  PEOPLE REFUSE SHARED RESPONSIBILITY. God
• 25:35
  sends a singular savior. Let me let me
• 25:38
  share this. Gideon is not God's ideal.
• 25:42
  >> He's God's intervention.
• 25:45
  >> He is only raised because the people
• 25:47
  failed to carry Deborah's legacy
• 25:50
  forward.
• 25:52
  We see no etmological connection between
• 25:56
  Deborah
• 25:58
  >> and Gideon.
• 25:59
  >> Yes, sir.
• 26:00
  >> WE HAVE NO TEXTUAL PROOF
• 26:02
  >> that Gideon was ever trained
• 26:06
  >> or discipled
• 26:08
  >> by Deborah. Yes, sir.
• 26:10
  >> WE'VE SEEN NOTHING ECCLESIAL, NOTHING
• 26:11
  JUDGE JUDGING JUDGE WORTHY IN HIS
• 26:14
  CHARACTER PRIDE. AND NOW HE POPS, HE'S
• 26:16
  INSERTED INTO THE narrative as an
• 26:19
  emergency.
• 26:23
  HE IS RAISED BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WOULDN'T
• 26:25
  CARRY THE legacy forward.
• 26:28
  >> Gideon is saying God God is saying if
• 26:31
  you won't mature together, I'll rescue
• 26:34
  again, but it will cost you.
• 26:39
  >> Do you know why I like why we don't need
• 26:42
  the Gideon and Deborah paradigm?
• 26:45
  >> Because we don't need an outsider.
• 26:53
  We don't need anybody disconnected from
• 26:55
  history.
• 26:56
  >> We don't need anybody who doesn't share
• 26:58
  the DNA of the ministry.
• 27:01
  >> But thank God before Trev. Thank God
• 27:04
  before Martha Shandrel and Christie.
• 27:07
  Before their parents, before their daddy
• 27:09
  stepped to their mothers and said,
• 27:10
  "Baby, would you have an objection if a
• 27:12
  man of my complexion came in your
• 27:14
  direction and offered to be your
• 27:15
  protection?" Uh before Trev's daddy said
• 27:18
  to his mama, "Baby, would you let me
• 27:19
  spin the wheel of my conversation around
• 27:21
  the axle of your understanding?" And she
• 27:24
  fell for that line, they came together.
• 27:26
  And one day when her fallopian tubes
• 27:29
  released the egg, and the semen was
• 27:32
  released, this the the semen connected
• 27:34
  with the egg and formed the zygote. The
• 27:36
  zygote became an embryo. The embryo
• 27:38
  became a fetus. And nine months later,
• 27:41
  three trimesters later, Trey came into
• 27:44
  the world. Not because he was some
• 27:46
  emergency plan for now, but because
• 27:48
  BEFORE HE WAS FORMED IN THE BELLY OF HIS
• 27:50
  MAMA, GOD GAVE HIM A PRENATAL
• 27:53
  ORDINATION.
• 27:54
  SITTING BACK AT THE CHURCH AT 19, HE HAD
• 27:57
  SOMEBODY TO SEE GOD IN HIM AND SAY, "YOU
• 28:00
  GOING TO BE NEXT." NOT BECAUSE HE'S
• 28:02
  GIDEON,
• 28:03
  >> but because HE'S 12, BORN HERE, RAISED
• 28:07
  HERE, SHAPED HERE, CAN CARRY THE MANTLE
• 28:10
  ON, AND CAN CARRY THE LEGS ON. We don't
• 28:12
  need
• 28:13
  >> We don't need
• 28:17
  We don't need a Gideon and a Deborah.
• 28:20
  Not when we got a Rosie and a Trev.
• 28:23
  >> We don't need a Deborah and a Gideon.
• 28:26
  When we got a Rosie and a Martha, Rosa
• 28:28
  and Shandelle, A ROSIE AND CHRISTIE.
• 28:30
  THANK GOD.
• 28:35
  >> This is what discipleship looks like.
• 28:38
  This is what development LOOKS LIKE.
• 28:40
  THIS IS what
• 28:45
  feels that Gideon is a stranger
• 28:48
  >> to Deborah.
• 28:50
  >> And while Gideon may be a stranger to
• 28:52
  Deborah, Trevor's a son to his mama.
• 28:59
  >> WHY YOU NEED A STRANGER WHEN YOU GOT
• 29:01
  sons and daughters? Give God PRAISE
• 29:03
  RIGHT THERE. WE DON'T need
• 29:10
  we we don't we don't we don't need we
• 29:11
  don't need we don't need
• 29:15
  Deborah and Gideon.
• 29:17
  >> Only the only reason we have that
• 29:19
  paradigm is because God's people wanted
• 29:21
  to go backwards.
• 29:24
  The only reason we have that paradigm
• 29:26
  because God punished them to go
• 29:28
  downward.
• 29:30
  >> The only reason we have that paradigm
• 29:32
  >> Yes sir. It's because God provided them
• 29:35
  something
• 29:36
  that was outward.
• 29:38
  But then fourth and finally, we don't
• 29:41
  need Thank God that Cornelia doesn't
• 29:43
  need a Gideon
• 29:46
  >> and a Deborah paradigm. Not just because
• 29:48
  God God's people wanted to go backwards
• 29:51
  and God punished them to go downward.
• 29:53
  God provided a leader that was outward.
• 29:55
  But fourth and finally, I'm taking my
• 29:57
  seat.
• 29:58
  >> We don't need Deborah and Gideon.
• 30:00
  Deborah and Shandale in this house. You
• 30:02
  know why? Cuz God promised to take you
• 30:06
  forward.
• 30:10
  >> I said God promised to take you forward.
• 30:13
  So guess what he does? He says, "I'm
• 30:14
  going to let you go through a season
• 30:18
  where the Medidionites are going to
• 30:19
  dominate you for seven years,
• 30:22
  84 months, you're going to go through
• 30:25
  punishment because of your apostasy and
• 30:27
  your hypocrisy.
• 30:29
  because you couldn't carry out Deborah's
• 30:31
  legacy
• 30:33
  and I ra I had to raise up a leader
• 30:36
  >> and that's the problem with the church
• 30:38
  >> we having to God is raising leaders when
• 30:40
  that's our responsibility
• 30:50
  >> that's the problem in the 21st century
• 30:51
  church's kingdom won't come because two
• 30:54
  of us in leadership our kingdom and
• 30:56
  queenom won't go
• 30:59
  We made it about ourselves. What a
• 31:02
  beautiful paradigm. What what a
• 31:04
  beautiful picture to have four smiling
• 31:07
  people on a program smiling, working
• 31:09
  together, best friends, loving each
• 31:11
  other, not personality driven, not the
• 31:14
  long range of mentality, PLURALITY OF
• 31:17
  LEADERSHIP. GOD SAYS, I WILL GIVE YOU
• 31:18
  PASTORS
• 31:20
  PLURAL ACCORDING to mine heart which
• 31:22
  shall feed you with knowledge and
• 31:23
  understanding. THIS IS THE KINGDOM. THIS
• 31:26
  IS A PICTURE OF WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO.
• 31:28
  GOD SAYS YOU RAISE LEADERS.
• 31:35
  >> WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE DISCIPLEHIP
• 31:36
  BUSINESS.
• 31:39
  >> ECCLESIOLOGY IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY.
• 31:41
  Esquetology is his.
• 31:44
  >> That's why HE SAID, "I'M GOING to
• 31:45
  prepare a place for you. I'm going to
• 31:46
  get your room ready." So while I'm going
• 31:48
  to get your room ready, you raise
• 31:50
  leaders. YOU SPEND TIME. YOU DISCIPLE.
• 31:53
  YOU DEVELOP.
• 31:57
  HALLELUJAH.
• 31:58
  >> That's how that's how I take you
• 32:00
  forward.
• 32:01
  >> Cuz you don't need Deborah.
• 32:04
  >> Yes, sir.
• 32:05
  >> And Gideon.
• 32:06
  >> God said, "I'm going to move you
• 32:07
  forward." But notice, I'm going to move
• 32:11
  you forward. For them, it came after
• 32:13
  discipline. For them, it came after
• 32:15
  regression. For them, it came after
• 32:16
  crisis leadership. And this is the theme
• 32:20
  of the sermon.
• 32:22
  Deborah and Gideon were not the plan.
• 32:26
  >> Obedient people were.
• 32:34
  >> God never intended
• 32:37
  Israel to keep recycling deliverers.
• 32:41
  >> God intended for the people to grow up.
• 32:45
  >> Y'all got to break some. Y'all got to
• 32:46
  break on me. Y'all got to break on me
• 32:48
  THIS MORNING. SO WHY DOESN'T Cornelia
• 32:51
  need Deborah and Gideon? Now let me turn
• 32:53
  the corner. You know why? Cuz today is
• 32:54
  not Judges 6.
• 32:57
  >> Today is not a relapse season.
• 32:59
  >> Today is not a cave moment. Today is not
• 33:02
  million oppression. Today is not a
• 33:04
  miracle on continuity. Today is a
• 33:06
  miracle of continuity BECAUSE INSTEAD OF
• 33:08
  GOD SENDING AN OUTSIDER, GOD RAISED SONS
• 33:11
  AND DAUGHTERS from within. INSTEAD OF
• 33:15
  CRISIS SUCCESSION, WE GOT INTENTIONAL
• 33:17
  TRANSITION. Y'all got the brakes on me.
• 33:20
  INSTEAD OF FEAR-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP, THIS
• 33:22
  IS relational trust.
• 33:31
  >> WE DON'T NEED DEBORAH AND GIDEON THIS
• 33:33
  TIME.
• 33:35
  >> WE NEED ROSIE AND TRAIL.
• 33:39
  >> THAT'S THE EPISTLE GOD IS WRITING TO
• 33:42
  SHOW US NOW HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE. WE
• 33:44
  NEED A MOTHER WHO SERVED FAITHFULLY. A
• 33:47
  SON AND DAUGHTER IN THE HOUSE WHO WAITED
• 33:49
  PATIENTLY AND GOT SHAPED. A CHURCH THAT
• 33:52
  STAYED CONNECTED ACROSS GENERATIONS.
• 33:54
  This is not replacement.
• 33:57
  >> This is reproduction.
• 34:05
  This is NOT EMERGENCY. THIS IS MATURITY.
• 34:09
  THIS IS WHAT MATURITY LOOKS LIKE.
• 34:23
  Cornia now responsibility shifts to you
• 34:27
  because if the people stay faithful,
• 34:32
  God won't have to send rescuers.
• 34:39
  If the people stay united,
• 34:41
  >> God won't have to raise outsiders.
• 34:44
  I wish I had a better sermon, but this
• 34:45
  is what he gave me at 3:00 this morning.
• 34:47
  If the people stay obedient, God doesn't
• 34:49
  have to disrupt continuity. The tragedy
• 34:52
  of judges is not bad leadership.
• 34:55
  >> The tragedy of judges is unstable
• 34:57
  people.
• 35:02
  >> So today, THE CHARGE IS SIMPLE. STAY
• 35:04
  TOGETHER.
• 35:06
  >> STAY HUMBLE. STAY SUBMITTED.
• 35:09
  >> STAY GROWING.
• 35:11
  >> STAY FORWARD.
• 35:13
  >> DON'T make Trev be Gideon.
• 35:19
  >> DON'T MAKE SHANDELLE BE GIDEON. DON'T
• 35:22
  LET MA DON'T LET MARTHA
• 35:25
  >> be Gideon. Don't let Christy be Gideon.
• 35:29
  >> Don't force Christ's leadership.
• 35:31
  >> Don't outsource spiritual
• 35:33
  responsibility.
• 35:35
  >> Carry the legacy forward. But I got a
• 35:37
  final word to say
• 35:39
  >> before I make my exit here. Now, first
• 35:40
  of all, here's my final declaration
• 35:42
  today. We need to pause
• 35:45
  to honor
• 35:48
  Deborah.
• 36:01
  Am I in Cornel or I'm in the
• 36:03
  Presbyterian Church of Greenville?
• 36:06
  TODAY WE NEED TO PAUSE to honor
• 36:11
  Deborah.
• 36:14
  LET'S THANK GOD FOR women who lead with
• 36:16
  courage and wisdom. WE BLESS THE DECADES
• 36:19
  OF SERVICE.
• 36:27
  Let's thank God for the Hutchkins.
• 36:35
  Come on, put your hand together.
• 36:37
  The Hutchkins proved TO US
• 36:40
  THE HOUSE HAS MATURED. The season HAS
• 36:43
  SHIFTED. THE MOMENT IS DIFFERENT.
• 36:47
  >> We don't need Deborah and Gideon
• 36:50
  >> because God has given us continuity,
• 36:51
  connection, and covenant.
• 36:53
  >> And if the people stay faithful,
• 36:57
  >> God told me 437, I'll stay present.
• 37:04
  That's what he told me at 4:37 THIS
• 37:05
  MORNING. TELL CORNNEEL, "IF THEY STAY
• 37:07
  FAITHFUL,
• 37:09
  I WILL STAY PRESENT."
• 37:18
  Bishop Rosie,
• 37:21
  a mother
• 37:23
  was taking her son to Florida for a
• 37:26
  basketball game.
• 37:29
  They left North They left North Carolina
• 37:31
  headed to Florida. They got on 95. When
• 37:34
  they left
• 37:36
  North Carolina, the weather was tranquil
• 37:37
  and serene.
• 37:40
  >> When they crossed over from the Georgia
• 37:41
  into the Florida line, out of nowhere,
• 37:44
  torrential rains began to pour.
• 37:48
  It's raining so bad on 95 that the young
• 37:51
  man
• 37:53
  who had been taught how to drive by his
• 37:55
  mama
• 37:57
  had the wheels for the first time and he
• 37:59
  was driving that car. He driven short
• 38:03
  distances but it's the long time longest
• 38:04
  time he longest time he'd driven and
• 38:07
  he's driving that car by himself
• 38:09
  uncertain unsure but his mama was in the
• 38:12
  passenger side.
• 38:15
  Baby, you got the wheel. And as he kept
• 38:18
  driving, Tv of Shandell for the first
• 38:20
  time, he started to get fearful because
• 38:21
  he saw cars pulling to the side of the
• 38:24
  road.
• 38:26
  >> On 95, he was driving and the rains were
• 38:28
  coming and the waves and the rains were
• 38:31
  coming. The wind was pushing the car
• 38:33
  side to side. And he said to his mom,
• 38:35
  "Mom, I see THE OTHER CARS PULLING OVER.
• 38:39
  SHOULD I TOO PULL OVER?"
• 38:42
  MAMA SAID, "CAN YOU SEE THE ROAD?"
• 38:48
  >> Can you see?
• 38:50
  >> He said, "Yes, mama. I see." He said,
• 38:52
  "Well, keep keep on driving."
• 38:55
  >> The further he got towards St.
• 38:57
  Augustine, the further the more the more
• 38:59
  the winds became omnous.
• 39:01
  >> The lightning started to write its
• 39:03
  mysterious language across the
• 39:04
  southeastern deep. People were PULLING
• 39:07
  TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ON INTERSTATE.
• 39:09
  HE GOT FEARFUL. HE SAID, "MAMA, YES,
• 39:11
  SIR.
• 39:11
  >> SHOULD I TWO PULL OVER?" GOD.
• 39:14
  >> SHE SAID, "Can you see the road?"
• 39:18
  She said, "Yes, mama. I see the road."
• 39:19
  He said, "Well, keep on driving."
• 39:22
  >> AND ONCE THEY MADE IT PAST JACKSONVILLE,
• 39:26
  OUT OF NOWHERE, everything
• 39:29
  >> stopped.
• 39:31
  Rains left, blue skies,
• 39:35
  DRY LAND. AND THEN THE MAMA SAID, "NOW,
• 39:38
  SON, pull over."
• 39:44
  Son scratched his head. WHAT DO YOU MEAN
• 39:46
  NOW? SAID, "PULL OVER TO THE MEDIAN.
• 39:48
  PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD." IT
• 39:50
  MADE NO HE SAID, "PULL OVER AND GET OUT
• 39:53
  THE CAR. GET OUT THE CAR ON GET OUT THE
• 39:55
  CAR AND MEET ME AT THE REAR OF THE CAR."
• 39:59
  >> Son obeyed his mama and pulled to the
• 40:00
  side road, got out, walked carefully to
• 40:03
  the side. They look back WHEN SHE'S
• 40:04
  DOWN. LOOK back
• 40:07
  >> from which we've come.
• 40:09
  >> Say, "Baby, yes, MAMA." DO YOU SEE ALL
• 40:11
  THE CARS THAT PULLED OVER?
• 40:15
  >> EVERY CAR THAT PULLED OVER
• 40:18
  >> is still
• 40:21
  stuck in the storm.
• 40:24
  >> BUT BECAUSE YOU KEPT ON DRIVING,
• 40:27
  YOU CAME OUT OF THE STORM. TRA, I CAN'T
• 40:30
  PROMISE YOU. SHANDELLE, I CAN'T PROMISE
• 40:32
  YOU THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU GOT DEBORAH AND
• 40:34
  GOT TREY, THAT YOU WON'T RUN INTO SOME
• 40:36
  STORMS SOMETIME. BUT REMEMBER THE WORDS
• 40:39
  OF YOUR MAMA, can you see the road? And
• 40:42
  if YOU SEE THE ROAD, KEEP ON DRIVING. DO
• 40:46
  ME A FAVOR AND SHAKE A neighbor's hand
• 40:48
  and SAY, "NEIGHBOR,
• 40:50
  I DON'T KNOW
• 40:52
  what you're going through in 2026,
• 40:56
  BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T YOU PULL
• 40:59
  OVER. KEEP ON DRIVING AND BE NOT
• 41:04
  DISMAYED.
• 41:05
  WHATEVER BETS YOU,
• 41:10
  God will
• 41:12
  take care of you." Y'all forgive I was
• 41:15
  sad when I came. MY SOUL GOT HAPPY. NOW
• 41:18
  SHAKE ANOTHER'S HAND. SAY, "NEIGHBOR,
• 41:20
  I CAN'T PROMISE you that you won't cry
• 41:24
  sometimes, BUT KEEP ON DRIVING AND
• 41:28
  REMEMBER THIS.
• 41:30
  MIDNIGHT
• 41:32
  ONLY LASTS
• 41:34
  for one minute."
• 41:36
  I said, "MIDNIGHT
• 41:39
  ONLY lasts for 60 seconds." At midnight,
• 41:45
  Y'ALL QUIET. I SAID AT MIDNIGHT,
• 41:48
  that's midnight. BUT AT 12:01,
• 41:52
  THAT'S MORNING TIME. AND WEEPING may
• 41:57
  endure
• 41:58
  for the night.
• 42:00
  But sh
• 42:14
  AND
• 42:17
  THAT I HAVE THE world
• 42:21
  didn't give it to me.
• 42:33
  Keep on going.
• 42:35
  TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, "I'M GOING THROUGH
• 42:39
  NO MATTER WHAT COMES MY WAY." DO ME A
• 42:42
  FAVOR. AND WHEN THE STORM COMES, DON'T
• 42:46
  YOU WAIT UNTIL THE BATTLE ORDER. YOUR
• 42:50
  HAND. SHOUT