Blinded By Certainty - Tim Timberlake

What happens when you’re absolutely sure… but completely wrong? In this powerful message, we walk through the story of Stephen—the first martyr—and his unwavering vision of Jesus in the face of death. While the Sanhedrin were united in their certainty, they were blinded to truth. This message challenges us to examine whether our confidence is rooted in pride or true revelation. When your eyes are fixed on Jesus, even suffering becomes purpose, and your obedience can shape someone else’s salvation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey, I'm Tim Timmerlake, and I want to thank you so much for listening to the Celebration Church podcast. I hope this message encouraged you, strengthened your faith, and gave you something you can carry into your week. If you'd like to stay connected, I encourage you to join us live every Sunday at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. on YouTube. We would love to have you there. And if you're ever in the Jacksonville, Florida area, come see us in person. We have a seat saved for you. Thanks again for being with us. We're so grateful for you and see you next time. When you find it, say I'm there. Still making your way there, say wait on me. I hear a couple of wait on me's, so we go wait a second. Acts chapter seven, verse fifty-six. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they shouted with loud voices and covered their ears and rushed him with one mind. And they had driven him out of the city and began stoning him. The witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they shouted with loud voices and covered their ears and rushed at him with one mind. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. For a moment, I want to utilize this text and these passages for a message that God has given me for our time together, entitled Blinded by Certainty. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We ask that you would speak to us. We ask, God, that you would change us, transform us, renew our minds today. We declare that you alone are worthy of all of the honor, all of the praise, and all of our worship. So right now, God, we ask that you would do what we cannot. That is heal those that need to be healed, deliver those that need to be delivered, and set those that need to be set free. In the name of Jesus, we pray. And all that believe He's still alive and well, can you shout Amen? One time real loud. You can take your seats. Welcome those that are here for the second or third. We've been walking through the Acts of the Apostles, and we have found ourselves almost at the conclusion of Acts chapter 7. Acts chapter 7 begins to unpack and unfold for us Stephan, the first martyr in the Bible, that is standing for who he believes in. Not afraid of death, not afraid of threats, not afraid of accusations or allegations. He's standing for who he believes in. And scripture teaches us that instead of defending himself, he shares with the accusers, which is the Sanhedrin Council, the Word of God. Acts chapter 7 is the longest recorded message in the entire Acts of the Apostles. And it comes from a man who did not physically see Jesus, who was not a disciple of Jesus directly, who was not named an apostle. He was a Hellenistic Jew, but he has a revelation of who Jesus is, which shapes his conviction, and those convictions shape his life. And because his life is shaped, even in his suffering, he is pointing people back to Jesus. And scripture teaches us that standing on trial in front of the Sanhedrons, he begins to teach to the Sanhedrons from the Word of God. He does not defend himself, he does not exalt himself, he does not even try to deny the allegations. His posture and position in Acts chapter 7 is that he desires to reflect those that will listen back to the heart of the Father. And as we read Acts chapter 7, beginning at verse 56, it starts off by saying, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they cried out with a loud voice and covered their ears and rushed at him with one mind. When they had driven him out of the city, they begin stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. And when I read this, I'm reminded that your vision will cost you greatly in the earth. When you get a glimpse and a revelation of who Jesus actually is, it will cost you some friendships, it will cost you some relationships, it will cost you some suffering, it will cost you some inconveniences, it will cost you some comfort, because when you see Christ as he is, you can no longer live as if he isn't. And the reality for some of us is we truly have not got a glimpse of Jesus. We've read about him, we've heard about him, but we have not gotten a vision of who he actually is. Because if you get a glimpse of who Jesus is, it will remove the pride out of your life. It will remove the arrogance, the ego, the selfish ambition, and the thing that you will try to do for the rest of your life is to make sure that he is pleased, satisfied, and fulfilled with what you do as it pertains to your life. And as we read this passage, I want us to go through each verse word by word, break it down so that you understand in context what's happening and how it applies to your life. So verse 56, I see the Son of Man standing. That first word, behold, that is prophetic urgency. It is Stefan telling the Sanhedrin counsel, you need to see what I am seeing. You need to look at what I am looking at. You need to gaze at the king of kings and the lord of lords that is standing at the right hand of the Father. He is urging them. He is not telling them, don't stone me. He is not trying to defend or protect his life. He's telling them, behold. I urge you to look where I'm looking so that you can see what I see. Look at me for a second. I urge you in this hour to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Are you listening to me? I urge you in this season to keep your gaze locked on him. Don't be concerned about what the right or the left is doing. Keep your gaze fixed on him. If you do not have your gaze fixed on Jesus in this season, you will be afraid, you will be worried, you'll be stressed, you will suffer with anxiety, and you won't be able to pinpoint wide. I'm telling you, if you are not focused on Jesus and what he said, what he is saying, and what he desires to see in and through you, you will lose the plot because of what you hear. Look at what scripture says. The heavens opened, which is apocalyptic language, according to Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 1, or Matthew chapter 3, verse 16. Then he says, I see the Son of Man. He does not say the Son of God, he says the Son of Man. This takes us back to a prophecy in Daniel where Daniel said, the Messiah will come as the Son of Man. So what Stepan is telling and declaring in front of the Sanhedrin Council, Jesus has divine authority. He is the suffering servant that has come to save. And if you acknowledge him, he will save you even though you are persecuting and killing his servant. He says, standing, which is different from most passages that describe Jesus at the right hand of the Father. Most passages describe Jesus as sitting at the right hand of God. But he says, standing. This standing reveals a posture of welcome for the martyr that is coming home. The posture of a witness who is defending him because he stood for righteousness, the posture of judgment against the Sanhedrin's who can't quite see the Messiah the way Stephan sees the Messiah. And I want you to write this down as it leads us to point number one. When heaven opens to you, earth will often close in on you. I'll say it again. When heaven opens to you, heaven will often expose how earth is closing in on you. Hear me. You don't get heavenly vision without earthly opposition. And some of us are so focused on being affirmed and approved by men and women that we have forgotten that we're supposed to be approved by one. You cannot get promoted in the spirit without experiencing earthly opposition. If you are not experiencing earthly opposition, then it is quite possible that you are headed in the wrong direction. Because the enemy does not mess with his own. That's why you don't hear other people tearing down other religions. Because the enemy does not mess with his own. That's why you hear in movies and on all of your social media platforms and in all of the news and media outlets Christianity being torn down because it is the only true and living God that points us back to not a religion but a relationship. That's when, whenever you hear someone get in trouble or they get afraid, they don't shout out other gods. They shout out one God and they say, Jesus Christ. Because even an atheist needs someone to cling to. When all else fails. You don't get heavenly vision without earthly opposition. And the reality of this text that it should teach us and it should model in front of us is the clearer you see Jesus, the more uncomfortable you make people who refuse him. Stephen teaches us something so profound. He teaches us that it doesn't matter what happens to you, as long as your gaze is fixed on who approved you. See, see, we we're too concerned about who like us and who don't like us. And we're so focused on wanting to be liked that we have sacrificed loyalty to Jesus. And it is not until you don't care who like you, because you are loyal to Jesus, that you actually see the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords operate in and through your life like he desires to operate in and through your life. You cannot worry about who likes you, who approves of you, who affirms you, and who does not. The only thing that you need to be focused on is keeping your gaze fixed on Jesus because he's already called you, he's already anointed you, he's already set you apart, he calls you a peculiar person. He said, You've been chosen to do what it is I've chosen you to do for such a time as this. So who cares if they don't like you or not? When you get a revelation of Jesus, what you must understand is that revelation will alleviate all these people that speak clutter into your mind. It will bring you to a place of greater discernment where you can decide whether you want to follow what they're saying or whether you want to follow what Jesus has said. You get a real glimpse of who Jesus is, it gives you a revelation that will elevate you spiritually but isolate you socially. And some of us we pray for revelation, but we cling on to the circle that we are a part of because we are so used to the comforts of this life that we don't want to spend any time in isolation to actually hear from God so that he can show us who we are found in him. And so, revelation it will bring you to a place where you are isolated here on earth. But you receive something in return that cannot be purchased, that cannot be bought, that cannot be given to you by men and women. You will receive insight and foresight as to who Jesus actually is. And God will show you something that cost you everything to believe. I'll say it again. God will show you something that will cost you everything to believe. I want to remind you of this, Stefan. He is not a disciple, he's not an apostle, he's a Hellenistic Jew. He did not visibly see Jesus, yet he has a revelation of Jesus, and it cost him everything. It cost him his status, it cost him his security, and eventually it cost him his life, but his gaze is still fixed on Jesus, and he does not fear. He says, Behold. And I wonder what would happen to a body of people who are no longer afraid of dying. What what what weapon, hear me, could the enemy point in your direction when sickness does not get you into fear? Where lack does not make you afraid, where pain does not scare you away, where not even death can make you change your mind as to who Jesus is. Stephen teaches us something so profound that when your eyes are fixed on Jesus, it does not matter what is happening around you because your focus is on who saved you. I see the heavens open and I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And then verse 57 says, they covered their ears. They rejected truth. This not only has spiritual ramifications, this is also legal symbolism. Because they understood that they would be judged based upon what they heard, so if they don't hear it, they can't be judged for it. And the same thing goes with us. We may not cover our ears in a service, but we'll cover our heart, we'll cover our wallet, we'll cover our purse, because if we don't hear it, we don't have to apply it. They're technically saying, we have heard enough. Their refusal to continue to hear and listen was their testimony of who they actually believed in. This is not justice. Stefan is not standing a fair trial, he is standing in the middle of predecided outrage. Scripture teaches us they cried out loudly, drowning out the truth. And it says they rushed him out of the city and they began to stone him. Now, when it says they stone him, let me paint to you a picture of what a stoning was at this particular time. Because it wasn't them picking up gravel and throwing gravel at him. There were two different types of stoning that took place in this time period. The first type of stoning, they would dig out a trench that was about eight feet deep, they would kick the victim over into this hole, and then they would take small boulders and they would aim them at the head of the person that was being stoned with a desire to crush their skull. The second method of stoning that they would use, they would dig a hole in the ground and they would bury the person neck deep, leaving their head exposed, and they would take stones and crush their skull into the dirt. Stephan understanding that this this plight that he is walking through as it pertains to stoning, he does not cover his head. Look at what scripture says. He points his head towards heaven, and he does not pay attention to what's happening around him, the physical pain that his body is enduring, his gaze is fixed on God, and it says the heavens open, and he sees the Son of Man standing next to God. What happens to a person that is no longer afraid? Because they got a revelation of who Jesus actually is. When the enemy can no longer threaten you with weapons of fear, weapons of sickness, weapons of pain, weapons of death, weapons of premature death, weapons that you will never walk into the things that God showed you that you were walking when He can no longer threaten you with those things. He loses power over your mind to tempt you with fearing and worrying, being anxious over those things. But you have to decide. Greater than the fear that the enemy presents to you. How can you kill a person that's already dead? How can you convince a person that sickness can kill when Jesus is already healed? How can you get me to make my mind up that God is not who he said he was because I've seen him do miracles, signs, and wonders? Only a person that has a revelation of Jesus does not fear being stoned. Not with fruity pebbles. Small boulders. Historians and theologians say each stone weighed 15 to 20 pounds. And not once does it say he addresses the size of the stones, not once does it say he addresses the amount of people coming towards him, not once does it say that he addresses the crowd. It continues to say he looked to heaven and he saw the heavens open and he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Hear me. This is the longest message in all of the Acts of the Apostles. It is him teaching them about the goodness of God in the face of adversity, and not once that they use one scripture for their allegations and accusations against him. Which teaches us a valuable lesson. Whenever the enemy presents false facts against you, he never uses scripture. He always uses your past. Whenever Jesus presents the facts in front of you, he never goes back to your past. He always paints a picture of your future. What you talk about will dictate and determine your reality. 57, it says they covered their ears, they heard the same message, they heard the same language, yet they unified in rebellion. Which teaches us a valuable lesson. This is so powerful. It teaches us that unity is not always linked to righteousness. Unity does Not always equate to doing things the right way. You can absolutely be unified and headed in the wrong direction. You don't believe me? Look at the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament. You can absolutely have agreement about the wrong thing. And so unity in and of itself is not profound. Unity as it pertains to pursuing the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and walking out righteousness, that is profound. Unity without righteousness leads to rebellion. Point number two is this. People don't always reject truth because it's unclear. They reject it because it's undeniable. He speaks the same message in front of two groups of people. Which shows us that conviction, it often sounds like offense when you don't want to change. That's why two people can hear one message, and one person asks the question, God, what is it that you want me to hear so that I can be transformed? And the other person, they ask themselves the question, I wonder if the person beside me listening so they can change. That's why two different people can hear the same message. One says, God, transform me from the inside out, and the other person can say, I hope my mother-in-law is listening on YouTube right now. Because conviction, it sounds like offense when you don't want to change. And some people would rather silence truth than surrender to it. The Sanhedrons show us that unity without truth is just organized rebellion. And so people don't always reject truth because it's unclear, they reject truth because it's undeniable. He had an undeniable encounter with Jesus. That undeniable encounter with Jesus led him to lay his life on the line for who he said that he believed in because he understood if I lay my life down, the Messiah will pick it up. And for some of us, we keep asking Jesus to elevate a life we have not yet laid down. I want him to bless my job, but you have not laid it at his feet. I want him to bless my finances, but you have not laid it at his feet. I want him to bless my marriage, but you have not laid it at his feet. I want you to bless my entrepreneurial endeavors, but you have not laid it at his feet, and God will not elevate anything that you have not laid at his feet. His life had been laid at the feet of Jesus. Therefore, he was not concerned about them burying him because he knew that the King of glory would elevate him. And so people don't always reject truth because it's unclear. They reject it because it's undeniable. And here's the reality. If you listen to nothing else but this statement, I want you to hear me when I tell you this. If truth does not transform you, it will trigger you. And some of you are triggered by truth because you don't want to change. And so you'll label the messenger as an extremist. But you won't look at your life and say, I need to repent. And you'll find problems with the person that delivers truth to you because surely you are not that bad, and they need to change, and they're too harsh, and they're too extreme, and they're too loud, and his hair is too long, and he has tattoos, and he never wears a suit because the messenger is wrong, not the message. And we'll judge people and not realize that the very same people that you judge will be the very same people that you eventually join. Let me just take you to the text. You don't believe me. It says that witnesses laid their cloaks down at the feet of a young man named Saul. Saul of Tarsus, for those that don't know. Saul of Tarsus would eventually become Paul. Paul would eventually write most of the New Testament. In this passage, he's judging Stephan because of his stance on the reality of who Jesus Christ is to him. He thinks that he's doing the work of God by killing Stephan. Because in his mind, Stephan is blaspheming his God. Stephan is blaspheming his patriarch and Moses. Stephen is blaspheming the temple that he is dedicated to serving. And he stands back in approval to the Sanhedrin, stoning Stephan. Scripture says they lay their cloaks at the feet of Saul. This was not just some pass-by statement. This is revelation for us to understand and glean from because you don't lay your cloaks at the feet of anyone that you're not seeking approval from. Which means that Saul of Tarsus had stature. You don't just get stature from the Sanhedrons without being learned. He was learned and versed in the Old Testament. He was learned and versed in multiple languages. And so they were impressed by his knowledge and his information. But he had no revelation of who Jesus was yet. And what he does is he judges Stephan. And because of that judgment, he does not see what Stephan sees. And I want you to picture this because the scripture is very clear. It says that Stephan dies looking up. And the Sanhedrin's live looking down. He dies looking at the King of Kings. And they live, living blinded by pride. He dies seeing the glory of God, and they live being blinded by their arrogance and ego. And the reality for some of us is that you are in this environment, you're listening to this message, and maybe you're not in this room, maybe you're online, and you hear the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you will still choose intentionally not to follow it because it makes you uncomfortable. The scripture says they heard it and they covered their ears. They ran and they gnashed their teeth, they screamed to drown out his voice. They took him outside of the city as a sign of rejection, just as they did. Jesus, when they crucified him, they crucified him outside of the walls of the city. And they stoned him. It was supposed to go a lot differently than how it was carried out. Because in order to be stoned by Jewish law, there had to actually be a trial. There was no trial, just public outrage. And in the face of public outrage, Stefan continues to teach them about how faithful God is in the face of unfaithfulness. The next step after there is a trial, there's supposed to be dialogue. There was no dialogue. Only one group covering their ears, gnashing their teeth, and screaming so loud that they could not hear the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ because they chose not to believe. And then after they came to the conclusion that the person that they were accusing or alleging had done the crime was found guilty, they would take them outside of the city, they would push them off of the ledge, and the first witness that saw the crime would be the first person to throw the first stone. And the reason scripture teaches us that they took off their cloaks is so that they would not have anything to hang up their arms as they are throwing these boulders at the head of Stephan. Can you imagine being so religious that you don't want your clothes to get dirty to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ being declared by someone else? It says they take off their cloak so that their arms are not restricted. They lay them at the feet of Saul and they continue to stone him. And as they continue to stone him, not once, does he complain about the pain, not once? Does he complain about the difficulty? Not once. Does he complain about the size of the boat? As he continues to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. As witnesses laid aside their cloaks to throw stones harder. Stephan had made up in his mind that he would declare the work of Jesus louder. And as we see in this text, Saul is not passive. He is presiding. He's overseeing. He's standing in agreement with the crime that is taking place in front of everyone that is watching. But something profound happens, and something that we may look past if we're not paying close attention to the text. Point number three is this. Someone is watching how you suffer. And it is shaping their salvation. Someone is watching how you suffer, and it is shaping their salvation. Scripture teaches us in Acts chapter 7, verse 58, they took off their cloaks, they laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. We understand that Saul would become Paul. Paul would encounter Jesus on the road, and he would encounter a light so bright that it would blind him until he turned his life over to Jesus. He would go on to write a lot of the New Testament, and we would uh get most of the letters to the church from the Apostle Paul because he saw the way this man suffered. And so obedience in this season might look like a loss. But in the season to come, it might look like legacy. And some of you are complaining too much about the suffering and not thanking God enough about the surrender you have in the suffering. And God will use your worst moment as someone else's awakening. God will use the moment you thought was going to bury you, to resurrect the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and someone else. God will use that moment that you thought was going to strip you of everything you had held on to to position someone else to see the faithfulness of a God they know could only save you. God will utilize the worst season, the worst pain, the worst difficulty, the worst friendships, the worst relationships, the worst financial and economic crisis in your life to point people back to the king of glory and the hope of Jesus Christ that can only be displayed and demonstrated through someone that is willing to put it on display in the worst season of their life. Here, Stefan is on his deathbed, being stoned and being tortured to death, and still he declares the words of Jesus Christ, and his declaration serves as a shaper and as a molder and as a tool for the gospel to be proclaimed to Saul of tortured. And the enemy thought that he was burying Stephan, but what he did not realize is that he was planting Paul. And here's my question for you: Who is watching you suffer today that is shaping a testimony on the inside of them that can only bear witness to the faithfulness of an Almighty God, even when you are faithful in seasons that you cannot see. And so the pain that you're stewarding, the difficulty that you're going through, the seasons and the circumstances that you're navigating right now, they are serving as a testimony of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ in your life, and it's helping to shape someone else's salvation. And so what they meant to silence Stefan's voice, they failed to realize that God used to multiply it. And what the enemy meant to silence your voice, God will use to multiply it. What the enemy meant to hush you up and shut you up, God will use as a microphone, as a megaphone to proclaim his faithfulness and his glory. Even when you don't have words to say, you can look to the hills from which cometh your help because you understand that your help comes from the Lord and your testimony should be and will always be that God did what only God can do. So with stones being thrown at his head, Stefan says, Behold, I see the glory of God, and I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. When life begins to press on, and life begins to pressure you, and life begins to weigh on you, which way do you look? Do you look for handouts? Or do you look for the hand that's stretched out? Scripture says, Stephan, he proclaimed, I see the Son of Man standing. Jesus doesn't just stand for anything in anyone. Jesus stands for those that stand for him. And he wasn't just standing. I truly believe that Jesus was standing to welcome the first martyr home to eternal rest. Standing to welcome home a man that stood for him, that stood for righteousness in the face of his enemies, that stood for holiness in the face of his adversaries, that stood for something when everyone was telling him he needed to remain silent. What will you stand for? Because if you don't stand for something, you'll bow for anything. And you'll try to stamp the name of Jesus on your agenda and pray and cry that he blesses it and he won't. Because he will only bless what he desires for you to accomplish in the earth. Not your little goals, not your little list, not your little dream board. If it's contrary to what he desires for you, he won't bless it. Now what he will do, he will let you walk into it, but he won't bless it. And what you think is a blessing ends up becoming a thorn that pulls you away. And so my question for us is what are you looking at? And who are you looking for? Because if it's not Jesus, you are blinded by your own certainty, and your own certainty, it will lead you down a path of destruction. And so you have to see someone that is more powerful than you. You have to believe in someone that is more powerful than you, and you have to stop wanting to be liked by all people. I want you to think about this. They didn't like Jesus. Who doesn't like Jesus? He took over 5,000 fish and loaves and fed over 5,000 families. Who wouldn't like Jesus? He walked through the streets and people cried out for him to heal them and their children, and he would stop. He would pray for blind eyes and those blind eyes would open. He would pray for deaf ears and those deaf ears would open. Who wouldn't like Jesus? They heard of the stories of him allowing Lazarus to die and then coming back and raising him from the dead.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

Who wouldn't like Jesus? They asked him to perform miracles, and the first miracle that we read about in scripture is he turns water into what? Who would like Jesus? Peter fishing on the side of the boat. He tells them, drop your nail on the opposite side, and you're gonna catch so much fish that you won't be able to hold them in by yourself. Who would not like Jesus? They saw him walk on water.

SPEAKER_00 39:54

Who in the world would he like Jesus?

SPEAKER_02 40:02

They saw him take nails in his hand and nails in his feet, pierce the sun of the crown of thorns on his head after throwing him the lattices and carrying the cross up to the top of the mountain. Who with the melodic Jesus? They saw his dead body being taken down off the cross and him being placed in a tomb and then three days later. No sign of the sun!

SPEAKER_01 40:48

Jesus walks the earth. He continues to allow people to see him as a living, breathing, moving testimony. He tells, he tells them, put your hands in my wounds, put your hands in my side. Look look at how much God has done in and through me. I am the risen Savior who would not like Jesus. For 40 some more days, he continued to walk the earth, proving the fact that he indeed was resurrected and he wanted people to see his resurrected body, and after he ascends again, he leaves his Holy Spirit that that that unpacks revelation that gives us power, that gives us comfort, that gives us everything that we need. Jesus did that, and yet still they chose not to like Jesus. So if they did not like Jesus, why do you expect them to like you? It don't matter if they like you, it don't matter if they love you, it don't matter if they approve of you, it don't matter if they affirm you, it don't matter if they pat you on the back and tell you good job.

SPEAKER_02 41:59

You don't live your life of that one of them! You live your life for one man, stand before the king of kings! I see the glory of the Lord! I see the Son of Man being a right hand of God.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

For the well done of men and women. Live our life for the well done of women. Just one. Just one. Not many, just one. It is the one that blew life into your lungs. The one who on a daily basis closed your mind. The one that gives you a life worth living. And if you don't lay your life down, don't expect him to pick it up. Stefan. With the strength he had left. Look to the heavens. And said, I see the glory of the Lord. I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

SPEAKER_00 43:48

One glad morning. I'm gonna fly.

SPEAKER_02 43:57

When when this life is over When this mortal body gives up on me, when this flesh erodes and fades away, I will live because I am not stuck in this body. I am a spirit that has a soul that lives in a body one glad morning.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

You will fly to meet the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and you will either hear, Well done, thy good and faithful servant, or depart from me. I do not know you. You can live the rest of your life dying, looking up. Or you can live the rest of your life living, looking down. I choose to die looking up. What about you? I said I choose to die looking up. What about you? So with all eyes open, all heads lifted, if you're here today, and you know you've relied too much on other things and other people, and you've been blinded by your own certainty. And you want the King of Glory to open your eyes so that you can see him and to open your ears so that you can hear him and to give you a life worth living. I want you to jump up on your feet right now and lift your hands.

SPEAKER_00 46:10

When we all get to heaven, what a day. When we all see Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 46:31

Come on, just gaze at Him for a second. Don't look at your reality, don't look at your circumstance, don't pay attention to the pain.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

I want you to gaze at the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

SPEAKER_01 47:34

Every time he says, You're not gonna make it beyond this age, I tell him I look forward to the day. I behold the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. How can you threaten a person that's not afraid of your threat?

SPEAKER_02 47:46

How can you make someone fearful of someone that is fearless? I'm telling you, when you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, there is no fear found in perfect love.

SPEAKER_01 48:03

So repeat this prayer after me, Lord Jesus. I repent, I turn away from my sin, I turn towards you, and I ask you to forgive me, cleanse me, wash me white as snow, take my unrighteousness and exchange it for righteousness. I want what you have, and I want to become who you desire for me to become. I confess with my mouth that you are my King of Kings, and I believe within my heart of hearts that you are my Lord of Lords. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen. Now I want those that are not blinded by your certainty, that are not blinded by your pride, that are not blinded by your ego and your arrogance, that are not blinded by your selfish ambition to give Jesus all of the glory.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

Lift up and shut up from the ladies in this place.

SPEAKER_01 50:11

Oh, they're gonna see me get stoned. I gotta make sure I got a good face on. I gotta make sure I talk the right way and I talk adequately and I present to them a masterpiece. And we live in a society where people want to preach masterpieces instead of preaching truth. Because masterpieces get you liked by men and women. Truth gets you silenced. You think for a second he's buried to his neck in dirt and mud, and he's thinking to himself, how do I look? No, he looks beyond heaven. He fixes his eyes on heaven. And he sees the glory of God revealed, and he sees the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Spend more time with him than you ever have before. Spend more time in your word than you ever have before. One thing you'll learn about Celebration Church, one thing you'll learn about me, I don't fear monger at all. At all. I'm giving you what scripture says, and I'm telling you what scripture says. It will get worse before it gets better. Your hope is not in a system, your hope is not in a society, your hope is not in an agenda, your hope is not in a policy, your hope is not even in the conclusion of war, your hope is found in Jesus. Listen, listen, listen, listen to me. Because I'm held responsible for what I tell you and what I don't. And I don't want you to miss what I'm saying because you don't hear. Hear me. If your eyes are not fixed on Jesus in this season, you will miss the plot. You will miss what he's actually doing and what he's actually saying and how he's actually moving, and you will be restricted by fear, and you will be limited by worry, and you will be imprisoned by anxiety. And you have no worry, and you are fearless, and you trust, and the plan that God has implemented in the earth. You will not be swayed to the left or to the right based upon what you see on the news, and based upon what's happening in society and culture, your eyes will be fixed on Jesus and what Jesus has said, and what Jesus has said, that's what you expect to come to pass. How can a man fix his gaze on heaven when his head is being crushed? Trust. Trust. What type of suffering are you willing to endure so that someone else's salvation can be shaped? Don't be afraid of no smoke. Don't be afraid of no enemy. Don't be afraid of no demon, no imp, no devil. You ain't afraid of nothing. Not afraid of no sickness, not afraid of no disease, not afraid of no infirmary, not afraid. I'm not afraid of those things. Why? Because I know where my help comes from and you know where your help comes from. It doesn't matter what arrow the enemy points towards you. Scripture says that the weapons that are formed against you shall not prosper. So I want to remind you, you are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. And you shall live to see the work of the King of Glory accomplished in the earth. In the name of Jesus. If you receive that, put your hands together. Bless the name of Jesus. If you have no fear, you got no worry.

SPEAKER_02 55:07

You're not allowing nothing that the enemy wants to stretch you, stretch you. Thank the king of glory for his victory, for his grace and his mercy, and his steadfast love that covers you all the days of your life.