0:10

Coming up on the Potter's Touch. And

0:13

if you walk away from what's now trying

0:16

to establish what's next, then

0:18

next will only replace now and

0:21

you haven't really progressed at all.

0:23

And the reason you're so tired

0:26

is because you're so busy getting

0:28

to next and losing now that

0:30

you're still at home plate. After

0:32

all of these years, you haven't

0:34

gained anything because you're just swapping

0:36

out next with now, now with

0:38

next, next with now, next with

0:40

now. All of a sudden you've

0:42

got to strengthen what

0:44

remains. It's

0:47

not Gucci, baby.

0:53

It's Remnant's. It's

0:57

not Louis Vuitton, baby. It's Remnant's. It's

1:00

not even Nike. It's Remnant's. It's

1:02

Remnant's. It's something that she took

1:05

something that almost was forgotten

1:08

and made something out of it. She

1:10

valued it. She would make shirts

1:12

for me and blouses for Jacqueline, a

1:15

few trousers for Ernest, all from discounted

1:17

Remnant's. So today we

1:19

go to the Remnant table. Today

1:24

we go to the Remnant table to

1:27

stitch two texts together that

1:29

are as different as wool from satin

1:33

or burlap from linen. Two

1:36

texts seem like they don't have anything to

1:38

do with each other, and yet it is

1:40

my responsibility to measure them and

1:43

stretch them and sew them

1:46

and stitch them together. What

1:51

in the world does the St.

1:53

John text where Jesus is talking

1:55

about, unless you eat my blood

1:58

and drink my flesh? unless

2:00

you bring my blood and eat my flesh, you'll have

2:02

no part with me." What in the world does that

2:04

have to do with the

2:06

apocalyptic texts of revelations written

2:08

through the church at Sardis,

2:10

where he says strengthen

2:13

the things that remain? They are

2:15

both remnant messages on

2:18

the table of the coffron, this

2:20

son. Let's

2:22

not discount what can be done with

2:24

the fabric of a theological table of

2:26

texts bypassed by scholars and

2:29

ignored by contemporary tailors of texts who

2:31

like the creativity to see what can

2:33

be done from God's

2:36

remnant table. Though

2:41

it may seem strange to you this morning that

2:43

I'm talking to you about remnants, it

2:46

should not be strange. It's

2:48

unfortunate that only certain texts are preached

2:51

about in this contemporary society because the

2:53

truth of the matter is the word

2:55

remnant is mentioned 540 times in the

2:57

Bible. And

3:02

yet you hardly ever hear anybody talking

3:05

about remnants. This

3:07

will be a difficult message to preach. It's gonna

3:09

be a hard message to preach because I'm preaching

3:11

against the trends of the culture we're living in,

3:14

who is racing on the autobahn

3:16

of technology to be

3:18

fast, to be first, to

3:21

be previously frantically in pursuit of

3:23

what's next. If

3:26

you are pursuing, if all that

3:28

you are pursuing is what is next, you

3:32

will always find that what's next at

3:35

the expense of losing what's

3:38

left. Today

3:43

I'm going to sue him against the current and

3:45

go against the grain and probably get on someone's

3:47

nerves whose only focus is to be

3:50

innovative to the lady, explore

3:52

trends, what's new, what's fresh.

3:56

If you're from the streets, I'm

3:59

fresh. You

4:02

don't know anything about remnants.

4:06

I'm not here to

4:09

talk to you about the next

4:11

new and improved anything. I

4:16

simply want to know if you will grab

4:18

my hand like I grabbed my mother's hand

4:21

and take a serious look at why God

4:23

mentions this word 540

4:25

times and

4:27

mostly in reference to

4:30

prophetic fulfillment. Why

4:33

is God in love with

4:36

remnants? Let's

4:41

start with the text in Revelation. Are you

4:44

with me? I

4:46

love you all. There

4:48

is no other place I'd rather preach in the world than

4:50

upon a town. I tell you, this

4:52

is my church. This

4:55

is my world. The

4:58

book of Revelation is penned by

5:00

John but authored by Jesus. You

5:04

must understand the book is divided into

5:07

three categories and it divides itself when

5:09

it explains itself by saying, John, write

5:11

the things which thou has seen and

5:14

the things which are and the things which

5:17

shall be hereafter. When John writes about seeing

5:19

Jesus with his hair like lambswool and his

5:21

feet as if they had been burned, he

5:23

is writing about what he has seen. When

5:26

he writes to the churches, he is writing about

5:28

the things which are. When God

5:31

says, Come up here, I will show you

5:33

the things which shall be hereafter. This

5:35

is the syllabus from which

5:38

Revelation is written and it's

5:40

a masterpiece because it

5:42

is Jesus responding to the question

5:44

that the disciples ask him,

5:47

When shall be the sign of your coming

5:49

and what shall be the end of the

5:51

age? He said, He is not given to

5:53

the Son to know but the Father which

5:55

is in Heaven because he

5:57

had not yet been to the cross. of

6:00

Revelation is him writing back over

6:03

the balconies of heaven down to John to

6:05

answer the question. Though

6:07

John himself is a remnant. John

6:13

is a remnant because all the other apostles

6:17

are now gone. And

6:19

John is all that's left. And

6:23

Jesus is talking to a remnant

6:26

about a remnant. Wonder

6:30

how many of you are the only one left. Still

6:35

standing with

6:37

stubborn bodacious faith and

6:40

tenacity unrelenting

6:42

unwavering standing

6:44

by yourself standing

6:48

in the integrity of who you are in

6:50

Christ even when other friends have gone in

6:52

other directions. And yes you

6:54

have suffered some losses along the

6:56

way but you are still here.

7:06

You see the text in Revelation 3

7:09

is largely a clarion call to strengthen

7:11

the remnant because all that

7:13

stood around the remnant had

7:16

really fallen away. They

7:20

had a reputation that they were alive but

7:22

they really were not. They had been so

7:24

influenced by the culture and the world around

7:26

them that they had lost their identity in

7:31

exchange for popularity. If

7:34

you're not careful you can lose your identity

7:37

seeking popularity and lose sight of

7:39

who you are trying to fit

7:41

in with who they want you

7:44

to be. And

7:47

the church had lost its way trying to

7:50

pursue the culture. You had to be relevant

7:52

to the culture. And they

7:54

were so relevant to the culture that they

7:56

had lost sight of who they were in

7:58

the book of Revelation. says that

8:01

only a remnant was recognized.

8:05

I want to be in the

8:07

number of people who resist the

8:10

trends and winds of fluctuation and

8:12

know who I am so

8:14

that I don't get caught up

8:16

in the current of who you

8:18

want me to be and lose

8:20

sight of who God created me

8:22

to be. Even if I end

8:24

up on the table I would

8:26

rather be a few in number

8:29

and know who I am than

8:31

to be diluted and polluted by

8:33

public opinion until I lose all

8:35

sight and direction and

8:37

uniqueness of my own

8:39

self. That

8:43

means I'll do it if I have to do

8:45

it by my that

8:50

means you don't have to like me but you

8:52

do have to respect me. You

8:58

don't have to agree with me but

9:00

I refuse to let you discard me

9:03

because I'm willing to be a remnant

9:07

even if it's at the expense of

9:09

not being relevant to you because

9:13

God works with

9:15

remnants. He

9:20

says strengthen the things

9:22

that remain before

9:25

the influence of the world has

9:27

taken root. There

9:29

are still a few people in Sardis that

9:32

are yet holding

9:36

on. The

9:39

tolerance of sin had taken his toll a

9:41

deadly spiritual cancer known

9:43

as complacency had

9:46

unknowingly made its way into the church

9:48

and sucked the spiritual life out of

9:50

it without even a fight but

9:54

not the few they were still holding

9:56

on while he rebuked

9:59

the church's soul. He did not rebuke

10:01

the remnant. Instead, he

10:03

revived it. And

10:06

the Lord said, I am going

10:08

to revive the people who are... Hold

10:16

on. So you

10:18

might be tired and you might be

10:20

winded and you might be frustrated and

10:23

you might be alienated and you've been

10:25

asking God how long God said, I

10:27

am going to revive the remnant who

10:29

are still holding on in spite of

10:31

the storms and the winds. And

10:34

he said, I want you to focus not

10:37

on who left, not

10:40

on who you lost, not on who

10:42

walked away. I want

10:44

you to focus on strengthening

10:46

that which remains. This

10:54

is good to my soul. The

10:57

letter is harsh and straightforward. It

10:59

is designed and written to the

11:01

pastor where to focus his energy,

11:05

not to focus your energy on

11:07

trying to get back people who walked

11:10

away. Let

11:15

them go. Let

11:22

me say it louder for the people in the back. Let

11:25

them go. This

11:29

is the time in your life that

11:31

you can no longer continue to grieve

11:33

about who walked away, who abandoned you,

11:35

who forsook you, who left you, who

11:38

walked away. You've got to

11:40

stand up and recognize that God

11:42

doesn't need anything that you lost

11:44

to bless you. That

11:47

God will always use what you've

11:49

got left. I'm

11:56

talking to somebody, I don't even know

11:58

who it is, but the Bible says,

12:00

said, Wake up! Wake

12:04

up! Wake

12:08

up! Father

12:16

God, in the name of Jesus, we thank

12:18

you, not just with

12:20

the fruit of our lips, not with

12:23

this verbal praise, not just by watching

12:25

the service, but we praise you with

12:27

our substance. And

12:29

in so doing, we enter

12:31

into covenant with your ability

12:33

to exceed our expectations, not

12:36

just in spiritual ways, but in

12:38

tangible ways. We thank

12:40

you for divine favor. We

12:42

thank you for the kind of doors that open to us,

12:45

that cause us to get butterflies in our

12:47

stomach. We thank you, Lord, for

12:49

a future that is so bright that we

12:51

need sunglasses to be able to see it.

12:54

We thank you, Lord, for an

12:57

escalator ride up an area where

12:59

we've been climbing up steps. You're

13:01

going to expedite the process. Hallelujah,

13:05

it is going to be big. We thank

13:07

you for surrounding us with big people, with

13:09

big ideas, and sometimes we

13:11

don't even understand how we got connected,

13:13

but you're setting us up for something.

13:24

This is challenging because the

13:26

vast majority of the church had

13:28

become a victim of the societal

13:31

culture. Yet

13:33

there was a minority that was fighting

13:35

to refrain from the gravitational pull of

13:38

her downward, because there's always

13:42

something to pull you down. Instead

13:46

of up and forward,

13:49

the remnant wasn't perfect. They

13:51

were almost dead, but

13:54

yet holding on. The

13:58

power of the sentence, in fact, is always there. almost

14:00

dead, but not quite. God

14:04

said, before death can

14:06

get you, I'm

14:09

going to strengthen what

14:13

remains. Can

14:16

I talk to tired folks and

14:18

weary folks and run down people

14:20

who are at the end of

14:22

their rope, who have to fight

14:24

their way through all kinds of

14:26

storms and all kinds of tragedies

14:28

and all kinds of adversity just

14:30

to be who you are and

14:33

get where you're going. I've got

14:35

news for you God is about

14:37

to strengthen you like you've never

14:39

been strengthened before. And

14:47

then let me challenge the thinking people because

14:49

the great challenge in our lives is how

14:52

can we be innovative and

14:55

creative and productive and

14:58

go forward without

15:00

losing what

15:02

we had. Sometimes

15:05

you become so addicted to

15:08

what's next that

15:10

you don't focus on what's now. And

15:15

if you walk away from what's now

15:18

trying to establish what's next, then

15:21

next will only replace now and

15:23

you haven't really progressed at all.

15:25

And the reason you're so

15:28

tired is because you're so busy

15:30

getting to next and losing now

15:32

that you're still at home plate.

15:34

After all of these years you

15:36

haven't gained anything because you're just

15:38

swapping out next with now, now

15:40

with next, next with now, next

15:42

with now. All of a sudden

15:44

you've got to strengthen what

15:47

remains before

15:49

you can gain what's

15:52

next. So

15:55

we're stuck in between in this text two

15:57

different dilemmas. One is not so. to

16:00

try to get back what I lost. And

16:04

the other one is not to fall in love with

16:07

where I'm going at

16:09

the expense of

16:11

expunging where I'm at. Let

16:15

me work with this. I'm going to bring it on down home. It

16:17

is like growing up in a home where

16:20

the troubled child gets all the

16:22

attention and

16:26

the good child gets none. Because

16:29

there's so much drama coming from this

16:31

kid that all the parents'

16:33

focus is trying to get back what

16:36

they lost. And

16:38

they don't strengthen what they have. And

16:42

if you're not careful, the

16:45

one who was the good child will

16:47

start acting up for the attention.

16:50

Because you're teaching them that the only

16:52

way to get your attention is to

16:54

be bad enough. This

17:01

is the hidden lesson in the prodigal

17:03

son. It's not just about the boy

17:05

going and coming back. It is about

17:07

the neglect of the elder brother. Because

17:10

the father is so focused on what he

17:12

lost that

17:14

he neglected what

17:17

he had. Because

17:21

it's hard to strengthen what

17:24

remains. Because what remains becomes

17:27

common. And

17:32

normal and ordinary and

17:35

so predictable and so dependable that

17:38

you take it for granted until

17:42

it dies. If

17:48

you are not careful, you will

17:50

undervalue who

17:53

stayed.

17:55

Trying

17:58

To get back Who left. Organ.

18:02

Who's works? Because

18:06

sometimes there's nothing really

18:08

sexy. About. Bring a

18:10

remnant. About been

18:12

dependable bubbling stay or go about a

18:15

thing of in there about Bring by

18:17

your side if you're not careful you

18:19

won the glick. The people. That.

18:21

Stayed with you. For

18:26

the people who are next to

18:28

you. Talking.

18:38

To us in five hundred

18:41

and forty packs. Better

18:43

what he is interested in is

18:46

a remnant. He

18:48

always preserve remember his

18:50

promise is to the

18:52

rim. That's. The

18:56

remnants over and over and over

18:58

again. The bible tells us the

19:00

value of people who stick it

19:02

out. I'm adding a bear and

19:05

think that makes him a coupon.

19:07

Fix it but God promises that

19:09

you could only be a couple

19:11

Bob of I have a few.

19:13

A Bad Bad Bad bad bad

19:16

bad it be. I'm. Not worried

19:18

about it you do so as

19:20

what's the we have some of

19:22

the zebra did not let me

19:24

you but if you are my

19:26

favorite up the windows or whatever

19:28

and pull you out a blessing

19:30

you want out of high but

19:32

up for see if you see

19:34

me when I picked him up

19:36

you will have a lot of

19:38

parts of my spirit but the

19:40

up with people who are going

19:42

who advised there. Because

19:48

we are wrong thing

19:50

For people who say.

20:02

Both texts were written by the apostles. John,

20:05

both texts have a

20:07

senator, sinister overtone. Both

20:11

texts have John reporting

20:13

the words of Jesus. Both

20:15

texts are at

20:18

inflection points. Both

20:20

texts speak of separation.

20:24

Both texts have a sense of

20:27

cynicism. Both

20:29

texts are connected to a

20:33

principle that

20:35

I am sharing with you. The

20:39

principle is profound and provocative that

20:43

you need to focus on

20:45

what you got left. The

20:51

child that stayed, the

20:55

friend who stuck, the

20:58

business you got cannot suffer

21:01

for the business you're going after.

21:07

Because if you make that mistake

21:09

again, you are only replacing what

21:13

you lost, which means

21:15

you are not gaining anything

21:18

at all. The

21:23

real test of relationship isn't when

21:25

it's easy, it's

21:28

when it's hard. The

21:34

second text is interesting. Can I pick it up

21:36

for a minute and play with this piece of

21:39

garment? The second text is interesting

21:41

because it

21:43

is undeniable that Jesus has changed

21:45

his message from the kingdom of heaven

21:47

and this and the kingdom of heaven and that. The

21:49

kingdom of heaven is lacking. All

21:55

of those things were palatable and

21:57

enjoyable and receivable. that

22:00

she's resented him they could not

22:02

debate against him because he was

22:04

the word made flesh and

22:08

it was all cool until he

22:11

broke out and started talking about death

22:15

and they got quiet and

22:17

then he brings up this almost

22:20

cannibalistic statement if

22:24

you're gonna be my disciple imagine now

22:28

if I said if you're gonna be a member of the Potter's house you

22:31

must drink my blood and

22:35

eat my flesh you

22:37

can understand why that would be disruptive

22:42

and you say what Jesus

22:47

started talking cannibalistic drink my blood

22:49

and eat my flesh to the

22:51

carnal mind it was cannibalism Jesus

22:56

is actually calling

22:58

for them to consume him spiritually

23:03

not literally but

23:05

when you hear with carnal ears

23:09

you draw carnal conclusions

23:13

and so this was an inflection point

23:16

to prove are

23:18

you a fan or

23:21

a follower and

23:25

all the fans walked

23:28

away and

23:31

what I got out of the text it

23:33

was really amazing is that Jesus didn't chase

23:35

them stop

23:37

chasing people who are leaving stop

23:44

chasing people who are offended stop

23:47

chasing people who don't get it

23:49

stop chasing trying to get back in

23:51

your life people that God is trying to take

23:53

out of your life Jesus

23:56

simply let them go he didn't go behind and

23:59

tell you no You don't understand what I'm

24:01

saying. You don't get what I mean. You don't know where

24:03

I'm coming from. No, no, let me explain. No, don't go,

24:05

don't go, don't go. He turned

24:07

to his disciples, the remnant,

24:09

and said, will you leave

24:11

me also? Because

24:22

what I'm going to invest in is

24:25

what I've got left. Not

24:28

what I lost. You

24:32

see, Jesus is

24:35

bringing them to a place of

24:37

inflection. And the Lord told me,

24:39

whoever I'm preaching to today, you're at an

24:42

inflection point. You

24:45

can neither become so engrossed

24:47

in your future that you

24:49

do not feed your present, nor

24:54

so breathed by your past

24:57

that you're reaching after what has walked

25:00

away. The

25:02

word of God to you is

25:04

to strengthen what

25:06

you believe. Who

25:08

am I talking to today? This

25:13

is not about a

25:16

monologue about death or drinking blood

25:18

or eating his flesh. It's much more

25:20

than that. We've got to turn the page on

25:22

that. We've got to go to the next level

25:24

on that. We've got to understand that what

25:27

God is trying to do is bigger

25:30

than that. He

25:33

is trying to do

25:35

a methodology that creates

25:37

conflict resolution, which

25:39

is a task between opportunistic

25:42

people and

25:44

covenant people. If

25:47

you can't take a lick.

25:54

We didn't have covenant in the first place.

25:58

If you can walk away easily. you

26:00

weren't meant to say. Come on. God's

26:03

getting ready to kick the brakes

26:05

off. He's getting ready

26:09

to unlock your limitation. That drag that's

26:12

been in your life, that undertow that's

26:14

been in your life. The Lord sent

26:16

me here this morning to tell you

26:18

He's going to unlock your limitation. Get

26:21

ready to unlock your limitations through

26:23

God. I'm tired of coloring

26:25

inside of the line. I'm

26:28

tired of being a good little boy and eating my

26:30

apple and going to bed. I'm getting

26:32

ready to launch out into the deep. For your

26:34

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maneuvered you into a position so that He

26:50

could get the glory out of your life

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just when you thought you'd miss your

26:55

season, just when you thought it was

26:57

over. God said, Lord, shout it to

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the deep. Receive more

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in 2024. Call or click today.

27:06

Your future isn't here. Time

27:09

is ticking away. Always

27:14

touted. Always

27:17

moving with moments. This nation is

27:19

not out of our home. It

27:21

is. It is. No way. You're

27:25

aware of the moment. You

27:28

wish you could wake up in the air. What

27:33

should you say? Would

27:36

you take a risk? Would

27:39

you still look? When

27:41

will you become a comedian? Yes. Would

27:44

you please your moment of silence? Would

27:47

you please your moment of silence?

27:52

I'm going to a note, and in

27:54

this dance with time, remember. The

28:01

International Leadership Summit. Register

28:03

today at thisisils.org. Feel

28:07

free to reach out to us on social media and

28:09

share your story of how God is impacting your life.

28:12

We look forward to seeing you next time on the Potter

28:14

Show.