The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Series: Appetite
Title: I’m Not Full Yet
Scripture: Matthew 5 (ESV)

We need to be disciples Sunday-Saturday. We need the Word of God to sustain us. We must know the Word of God to live the Word of God.
What the series is about: How to live a blessed life. We determine our blessed life!!
Your appetite dictates you living a blessed life.
Additionally……A blessed life is characterized by emulating Christ!
What you consume, digest, and take in, as well as what you consistently pursue, determines whether you live a blessed life. We determine whether we are going to live a blessed life.

Question: What do we consider a blessed life?
Blessed Life⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

• What we consider a blessed life may not be what God considers a blessed life.
 • A blessed life is what you hunger/crave the most. Do you crave God more than anything??
 • A blessed life is a life that STAYS hungry for righteousness.
 • A blessed life is one that STAYS hungry for RIGHTEOUSNESS.
 • A blessed life is NOT riches, wealth or materialism.
 • You cannot be blessed and highly favored with a miserable attitude.
 • We have made blessed about our current circumstances, our emotional state instead of what it truly means. It’s based off deep, inner fulfillment, not based on circumstances. It’s NOT external success, it’s internal STABILITY.
 • Blessed is a godly characteristic of who we are, from who’s inside of us. Meaning some blessings you receive in a lifetime may not feel like it!
 • Just because you got a new car, a new house or make 7 figures doesn’t mean you’re blessed.
This reminds me of Matthew 5:45 READ IT!!

• Blessed is who I am! Everything that makes you BECOME better doesn’t feel good.
 • A blessed life doesn’t always mean it’s a comfortable one.

Opening scripture for the series was Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Matthew 5 Backstory:

• Matthew 5 sets the stage for the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus teaches his disciples and a large crowd on a mountainside in Galilee.
 • Jesus started with Beatitudes.
 • The Beatitudes teaches about your inward attitude. He gives a description of what disciples should look like.
 • Jesus is revealing a pathway to spiritual formation. Spiritual formation (Spiritual Formation-processes and practices).
 • Jesus is giving a progressive blueprint of what discipleship should look like. Matthew 5:3-10 ESV.

HOLY SPIRIT⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

• You cannot do NO-THING without the Holy Spirit.
 • The Holy Spirit IS a PERSON, not an “it”. Mic check ? ✅
 • The Holy Spirit was sent to help, guide, and comfort us. The word “sent” in the Greek means Apostello. We get the word apostle from Apostello. It means to send out and commissioned for purpose.
 • The Holy Spirit was commissioned to help us to do our purpose.
 • The Holy Spirit should consume us. He’s a consuming FIRE. Hebrews 12:29

We are commissioned for purpose which is the Great Commission to do God’s Work. We cannot do ANY of that without allowing The Holy Spirit to FILL us, to consume us.
These are KINGDOM steps. You don’t skip steps in the Kingdom. You GROW and GO through the steps.
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Matthew 5:3-10 (ESV)
 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Last week’s message was, I’m Full of IT. This week’s message is, I’m Not Full Yet! I’m full of it BUT I’m not FILLED. I’m full of it BUT there are some things in me…If we are half and half, we are OUT of Order!
Matthew 5:6 - It’s a blessing to be persecuted.
Matthew 5:9 - Meaning you must make peace.
Jesus is igniting the spiritual appetite that the life He’s offering requires a DESIRE for HIM above EVERYTHING else because it’s a lifelong process.

We must desire God above anything else.
• In scripture blessing denotes God’s gracious act of bestowing, favor, power, prosperity or well-being upon His creation/His people/Covenant community. It’s a divine impartation, NOT merely well wishing. It aligns recipients with God’s purposes….often involving fruitfulness, protection, peace. One theologian said it’s Yahweh’s sovereign empowerment for life and flourishing.
Sometimes God’s blessings may involve refining trials to help aid in our spiritual transformation. Scripture often presents suffering not as the absence of joy, but as a blessing that produces refinement.

Reminds me of Romans 8:18 and James 1:2. Trials and adversity SHOULD produce maturity in our lives….it’s a blessing, even if it doesn’t feel like one. You can be frustrated and/or stressed, and it can be a refinement to STOP asking God to take you out, instead…..Ask God what do you need to see to BECOME what you NEED to BECOME!! Some want relief when sometimes God just wants OBEDIENCE!

PAUSE AND THINK: Think about the spirit of compromise.
Remembering The Story of the Hebrew Boys: they were thrown in the fire because they would not COMPROMISE.
Remembering The Story of Daniel: He was thrown in a den of lions because he would not COMPROMISE.
Think about how QUICK we are to COMPROMISE when the trial that’s wanting to BLESS us, we make it a MESS for us. This happens when we make BLESSINGS about how we feel.
Know your worth and stop settling for God’s less.

Blessings sometimes become STRESSINGS because they are teaching you something. We miss it because we don’t “feel” like it’s a blessing because we made blessings about something we “get” instead of who we are.
➡️ I’m blessed because I’m made by THE best.
 ➡️ I'm blessed to wake up with peace. As God's Word states, blessed are the peacemakers, so I will make peace for myself.✌️

Some have made Jesus who they want Him to be and not for who He really is.

Proverbs 10:22 (ESV)
 22 “The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.”
Newsflash: A blessing is who you are, it’s not what you have…..it’s who I am.

Part 2

A blessed life is a hungry life. It’s ongoing! It goes on and on…it’s not when you feel like BUT it’s ON GOING!! NOT just when everything is going good…it’s ongoing…#continuous! It’s an intense metaphorical longing for righteousness. It’s spiritual sustenance
Matthew 5:6.

You can be broke but you’re blessed.
It’s NOT about what I have in my bank account, it’s about WHO I AM!
Blessed is a characteristic thing!!
You can be in a battle right now BUT you’re blessed.
You can be a little bothered right now BUT you are blessed!! Why? Because our hunger for God keeps us in a blessed state! Everything is not dandelions and roses, but we are blessed when we are hungry for the Lord!!
Don’t let “things” take you out of alignment. Something can quickly take you out of alignment means you are NOT hungry enough.

Question: Are you hungry enough?

Question: What are you aligned with?

Some let minor things become major in our life. Don’t let things and people bother your blessed life.
What keeps us having a blessed life? To hunger and thirst after righteousness is what keeps you having a blessed life. Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

One of the hardest things for believers to do is to die daily! One of the hardest things for believers to do is to shut up when HE tells you to shut up! Some lay down their cross to make their point.

Appetite Question: Are you hungry and thirsty enough?

One of believer’s BIGGEST distractions is consistency. It’s supposed to be a good thing but when you focus on the routine instead of the love Christ is offering you, you do not follow through. How many times have you stopped something because you focused on the consistency of the routine instead of the goal you were trying to accomplish???

Ex. Beginning of the year commitments to self w/no follow through. So, we quit because we allow consistency to be our distraction.

You must be hungry AND thirsty after righteousness to be the routine.
Some focus on God and NOT the routine.

Question: What are you hungry for the most??? Look at what you are hungry for the most!
Dig into what’s going to bless your life and NOT what’s going to mess up your life.

LET THIS SINK A LITTLE BIT: You are filled with what you are hungry for. Let it digest.

Flashback: Some are consuming BUT not digesting. Which leads to constipation.

Question: How many times have you said you are going to do it and don’t do it?? This leads to spiritual constipation.

1 Corinthians 1:30 (ESV)
To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to hunger and thirst after Jesus, and to hunger and thirst after Jesus is to hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Some look for things that make them happy, make them feel blessed BUT remain unhappy. Because we seek, we thirst, we hunger after unfulfilling “Things.”
You’re NOT stuck!
 You’re NOT empty!
 You are hungry BUT your appetite is in the wrong place.
 There is a hunger that will NEVER be satisfied outside of Jesus.
 There is a THIRST that Jesus can quench.

 He told the woman to come drink from this well. The well that NEVER runs dry!?? John 4 (ESV).

 Out of your belly SHALL flow RIVERS of LIVING water! God’s overflowing/abundance
John 7:38

You must be thirsty for something for something to fill you. What are you thirsting for?
 GET hungry/thirsty for the Lord!

What’s the symptoms of unhappiness:
There's a time and place for everything. Some things will make us happy, some things will make us sad, some things will make us disappointed, and some things will discourage.
Is there someone you know who consistently demonstrates a life attitude of unhappiness, discontentment, and dissatisfaction, always seeking more and never content with what God has provided? The enemy uses unconfessed or suppressed sin as one of the tricks against us.

Side Bar: Scripture reading Psalm 1:1-3 (Righteous vs Unrighteousness).
2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)

First spirit you need to test is YO-self!! What’s MY motives? Christ Jesus blesses those that walk the path of righteousness.

Sin means➡️➡️➡️missing the mark!

Some are not living a blessed life and are living a life of unhappiness because they suppress those they need to forgive.

Unforgiveness can go from hurt to an idolatrous grudge. We suppress it because we don’t want to forgive them.
There are two things that can stop our hunger and thirst for the Lord: Ourselves and the tricks of the enemy.

DEEP PAUSE: THE FLESH cannot be satisfied.

A blessed life is one that consistently pursues the Lord.
You can accept Him and still not know Him.
The more you know about Jesus, the more you are conformable to Jesus and NOT to the world.

Some cannot/will not allow the Work to be done in them because they are control freaks.
The one who fits around my schedule.
If you know...then you know
Everything that is spiritual is NOT God.

Question: do you want a blessed life? Do you want a filled life? Do you feel stuck?

Some need to backtrack to find the ONE issue that is causing the many issues.
Revival is NOT having church 7 days a week.
Message: If your pursuit of righteousness is mediocre, expect mediocre results.

FYI: Everything that is spiritual is NOT God.
Some folks are not running from God; they are just NOT reaching for Him. Some need to reach for GOD.

We look like a part-time believer but expect full-time benefits.

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Series: Appetite Title: Full Of It
Scripture: Mark 5:21 -26, Matthew 9:20

Part I

In order to give God your best, you gotta have God in you!!
Nothing else matters except us becoming like Jesus. Help us to receive more of you God!???

If there is NO transformation happening, something’s lacking. If you keep falling to the same temptation this means transformation is needed.
We should want to look different; we shouldn’t want to look like the world.

Ask Yourself: Why would you want to look like something He saved you from?

We should not be in love with something that’s killing us. The world will kill us; sin will kill us.
Bible study helps you grow.
 Biblical studies help you grow.
 Discipleship training helps you grow.

Thought-provoking questions: What are you trying to accomplish? What are you doing to get what you want? What action steps are you taking to achieve this?

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter 21 “And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.”

What you’re FULL of is up to you.
Everybody is full of something. Life will make you full of something.
What you’re full of is determined by what you CHOOSE to digest. What you digest is determined by your appetite. Your appetite is dictated by whatever has your attention. This is what controls you. So, what you are FULL of is DETERMINED by you.
Some are FULL of fear…..
 Some are FULL of frustration……
 Some are FULL of disappointment…
 Some are FULL of shame………………….
 Some are FULL of folks' opinions………
 Some are FULL of needing validation.
 Some are FULL of needing affirmations and confirmations…..……
 Some are FULL of pride……………………..
 Some are FULL of brokenness…………..
 Some are FULL of grief……………………….
 EVERYONE IS FULL OF SOMETHING!!!

Questions: What is the “IT” that you are full of? What’s filling us… what’s pulling and pushing us away from God?

You can be FULL of joy and peace, until something hinders your joy and peace!!

ASK YOURSELF: What’s filling you and is it pulling out something of God or is what you are full of pushing you to God? Are we missing it because we are focused on the problem instead of the solution….causing us to be FULL of something. The “IT” you are full of… is IT keeping something between you and God, between you and your full potential… between you and your true inheritance.

I am FULL of something that’s between me and it’s keeping me from becoming like Jesus.
Whatever you are FULL of including BUT not limited to: Stress, Fear, Frustration, Anger, Worry…..you must look at something differently.

Sometimes the things that are giving you issues don’t make you feel better BUT they can make you BECOME better. Everything that makes you become better doesn’t always make you feel better. God can use your frustration to transform you.

Point to Ponder: What happens when you always feel better and NOT become better.

Question: What has your focus??

Some are sick of being frustrated…..
 Some are sick of worrying………………..
 Some are sick of being tested…………..
 Some are sick of being tried……………..
 Some are sick of being tempted……….
 Some are sick of being broke…………..

Question IS: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT????

Sometimes what you are SICK of you become FULL of, and you are letting it drive you instead of YOU driving “IT”!

Note: If the same thing is frustrating you…could it mean it’s time for ELEVATION!! If the same thing is triggering it could very well mean God is trying to get you to the point where you are NOT moved anymore by the thing that frustrates you because you are driving IT.

Mark 5:21-26 ➡️➡️ The people were FULL of IT!!

Backstory of Jairus:

 • Jairus was a synagogue leader.
 • Jairus had a daughter that was dying. If your children, husband or whoever is not saved, they are spiritually dying as well. Spiritual death leads to eternal death, if not checked and changed!!
 • Jairus ran the temple.
 • Jairus ran up to Jesus, fell at Jesus’ feet.
 • Jairus’ action of him falling to his feet showed submission. It superseded order and titles. Some just need to come to church and fall at the feet of Jesus.
 • Jairus said nothing to Jesus.
 • Jairus was a man of HIGH standard.
 • He ran the synagogue, the worship and the order of worship.
 • Jairus needed Jesus more than he needed his title.
 • Jairus was the highest ranking
 • Jairus heard about Jesus causing “havoc” from the synagogue because people such as the Pharisees were slandering Jesus' name. Some people will always try to judge you until they get to know you. Faxxxxxxxx! He didn’t say Lord, I need to holla at you, he didn’t pull him to the side to have a conversation, he risked it all! He risked his status, his associations because he needed Jesus BECAUSE he was FULL of something.
 • Jairus was full of something, He needed Jesus.
 • Jairus risked it all because his daughter was about to die.
 • This was the only time the Bible recorded Jesus and Jairus having an interaction.
 • Jairus needed Jesus more right now than he needed his title. He needed Jesus more than his associations.
 • Jairus’ desperation turned into belief, which turned into FAITH. Mark 4:23. He knew if Jesus could JUST get there and lay His hands on his daughter, she would be HEALED!! JUST Jesus!!!
 • Jairus demonstrated intercessory prayer and intercessory faith when he advocated for his daughter’s healing.
 • Jairus had enough faith to believe that Jesus would heal his daughter. He said, “Come and lay hands….”
 • Jairus falls at the feet of Jesus for his daughter. He risked his status by falling at the feet of Jesus. The people wanted to take Jesus out, but Jairus needed a miracle from Jesus.
 • Jairus’ desperation became belief.
 • Jairus was full of disease that drove him to Jesus. Mark 5:25 He went to Jesus AND Jesus followed Jairus.
 • Jesus started following Jairus. Oh, how the tables turned!!
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 • Mark 5:24-25 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years…..”

Sometimes the thing that’s giving us issues doesn’t make you feel better but…it can make you become better. God sometimes uses something wrong to make something right.

Question: If you’re sick of being tired? What are you doing about it?
Sometimes our profession………..
 Sometimes our titles………………….
 Sometimes our hobbies…………….
 Sometimes our extracurricular activities…

 Get in the way of NEEDING Jesus!!!

Part II

Simply Put: Some let things get in the way of them needing Jesus. Some desensitize the work of Jesus until we need Jesus to solve our problems.

Note: Just because someone doesn’t see your work doesn’t mean your value is decreased. Just because we don’t see Jesus until we need Him doesn’t desensitize and decrease Jesus’ work. It decreases our worth of thinking of how much Jesus means to us.
Jaruis needed Jesus more now than he needed his title.

DEEP PAUSE: How desperate are you for Jesus?? Don’t wait until desperate times appear to be desperate for Jesus.

PS: Please don’t just let everyone or anyone lay hands on you. Everyone is not operating in the right spirit. Stay covered up! Stay prayed up!! If you have the Holy Spirit, you ARE covered.

Matthew 26:41 (ESV) 
41 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We ALL need to fall at the feet of Jesus. Those that FALL at Jesus’ feet are FULL of SOMETHING!!! People that are full of something (Jesus), they don’t care what people think. Stay at Jesus’ feet!! If you are ALWAYS right, you are wrong. You should never always be right.  When you are full of something, the best place to be is at the feet of Jesus. Where you stand IS your altar for the altar call. During your altar call you ask for the release of something…once it releases, Please don’t pick “IT” up again!!!

When you are FULL of something such as desperation, fear, DISease etc….….the BEST (actually the only place) for you to be is at His feet. We need to be at the feet of Jesus before He makes you bow (fall at His feet).

Message: Mercy is Jesus making you fall at His feet and Him not taking you out of this earth while you were not ready.???????????????. Jaruis fell at the feet of Jesus for his daughter. We too should fall at the feet of Jesus for somebody else (be proxy).
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An intercessor means you are coming in between for your brother or sister; you are standing in the gap for someone who needs it. They may not be able to do it for themselves. Jaruis demonstrated intercessory prayer and faith. Sometimes your brother and sisters don’t have a mustard seed of faith BUT you may have what they need to get them through what they are going through. Fall at the feet of Jesus for them. You must have intercessory prayer and intercessory faith for others.

LONG PAUSE: What are you full of?? Lord! We believe BUT help our unbelief!!! Someone’s faith may be/get weak…if so, can one lean on your FAITH/INTERCESSOR PRAYERS?? Can someone lean on you
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Two are better than one…..However, two weak people can’t co-exist.
Many of us have DISeases. Are your DISeases driving you to Jesus or is it something that’s replacing Him?

Question: What are you full of and is driving you to Jesus? You can be so FULL of God that GOD will follow you……

Mark 5:24 (ESV) 
God sees Himself in those He follows. Jesus followed the men full of faith.
The people followed Jesus.
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Psalm 23:6 (ESV) 
6”Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Deny yourself! Pickup your cross!! Follow after Him!!

Question: Can you imagine being so FULL of Jesus that you follow Him and He starts following you?? Some follow the wrong people, for the wrong people.
Ex. Some want more social media followers and have people following them that don’t even like them. Jesus loves you though!

Peep This: When Jesus follows us, He sees something that looks like Him. He sees Faith in those He follows. Jesus followed a man FULL of FAITH, the crowd FOLLOWED Jesus!!
Meaning of Thronged: Being pressed on all sides by a large, packed crowd, almost suffocated and squeezed.
God WILL relieve you of your oppression. Let HIM!

 Mark 5:25 (NIV) & (ESV) 
One issue was causing her many issues. Some have a root that causes many issues. Many people don’t have a lot of issues. Some have ONE root issue that is causing multiple issues. So, if you can kill the root, you can kill the limbs that are growing from the issues.
Are you being a good steward over God’s voice and your money??? Your issue may be that you don’t steward what He gives (gifted you). Some cannot rob Peter because they can’t pay Paul…going back to their lack of stewardship.
Some have a superhero complex as their issue.

Backstory of the woman with the ISSUE of Blood.
✓ Jaruis daughter.
✓ The Bible did not give her a name.
 ✓ She was labeled unclean.
✓ Her issue caused her to be ostracized because she couldn’t go to church. She could not go to the market.
✓ She had the issue for 12 years. She was in survival mode for 12 years.
✓ She bled financially, emotionally, socially.
✓ She was called by her issue.
✓ The Levitical Law regarding the Laws About Bodily Discharges Leviticus 15 (ESV). Read IT!!!!!!!
✓ The woman with the issue of blood was isolated from loved ones and community because of her ONE issue. Her ONE issue created many issues for her.
 ✓ The woman with the issue of blood went to the doctor, paid money and she felt worse because of their treatment. The worse feeling is seeking help and walking away feeling worse than you were before. Mark 5:26 (ESV).
✓ The woman with the issue of blood hears about Jesus. Mark 5:27 (ESV).
✓ She was FULL of faith.
✓ She was full of determination.
 ✓ Jaruis asked Jesus to come because he had faith that Jesus could heal his daughter BUT she had faith too. She touched the hem of Jesus’ garment as an act of Faith that Jesus would heal her. Her faith stopped Jesus in His tracks. Jesus received her BY faith! Matthew 9:20-21 (ESV).
 ✓ She never spoke a mumbling word about her issue. She just wanted to get to what/who could solve her issue.
✓ She convinced herself that Jesus was ENOUGH!!
✓ She talked (encouraged) to herself.
✓ She did not have any friends. She had a lifestyle of loss. She broke religious rules to get to Jesus.
✓ She broke religious protocol to get to Jesus. She didn’t care about doing things in decency and order. She didn’t care what the “church” folks gotta say.
✓ She went from law to grace. Under the law, her touch would make Jesus unclean BUT under grace, Jesus’ POWER would make her clean and FREE!! Under the religious law she was contagious BUT under Jesus’ POWER (BLOOD) he was contagious to FREE her!!
✓ She made her way from law to GRACE!! She reached out to touch the hem of His garment and was made WHOLE (Clean). Jesus STOPPED the issue of blood!! Our blood for Your blood Jesus!! ✓ She did not do a hit and run healing. She didn’t hit it and quit it. She stayed and became healed and made whole. She was complete.
✓ She no longer heard the woman with the issue of blood, she heard Jesus call her daughter. The one they talked about Jesus called daughter. Let them talk!!!
✓ She gave her issues to the Lord. ✓ She was intentional about getting to the hem of Jesus.
✓ She had faith in His Word. Some have been looking for help from the wrong people, only to feel worse.

The worse feeling you can have is to come to church looking for Jesus and find satan. Many have been dealing with an issue that has caused them issues for many years. Many have been looking for help, relief and because they haven’t found it, some have become full of stress, disappointment, anxiety, remorse……You may have been battling for years BUT you SURVIVED! DID YOU DIE? You are alive!! It did not kill you!! Celebrate the survival that what tried to kill you didn’t.

Lord! Help us to celebrate BIG and SMALL victories.
Listen: Where there is BREATH, there is LiFE!! Celebrate that!!!

UNDERSTAND THIS: Some haven’t been “relived” because that “THING” keeps you at its feet. This is a great example of Paul with the thorn in his side. Some thorns are just to keep you humble.

Imagine God removing a thorn from your side and you leave Him afterwards.
• I may be broke….BUT my car has gas.
• You may not have money….BUT you have a place to sleep.
• You may be waiting on an eviction….BUT they didn’t kick you out yet.
 • Know when to CELEBRATE!!
• Celebrate small victories……………………
• Some are FULL of what they want and miss what GOD has already given them.
• Sometimes we get focused/caught up on the breakthrough and the deliverance BUT miss the survival. What caused me to be labeled, I survived! What caused me to be isolated, I survived! What took my resources, I survived! What I thought would break me, I survived! Lock in!!!
God did not let us survive for nothing!!
 
Mark 5:27 (ESV) 
The woman with the issue of blood hears about Jesus. Some have heard about Jesus BUT have not had an encounter.
SOW seeds of what you want to REAP. You don’t want to be talked about, what are you sowing? You want to be rich, what are you sowing? Peace is RICH! True love is RICH! Being healed and whole is RICH!!

Mark 5:28 (ESV) The Woman with the Issue of Blood
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She spoke life over herself! She was full of something. She was full of faith. Her faith made Jesus stop in His tracks. Jesus stopped and talked to her. She just wanted to get to who and what could solve her issue. She did not need to touch Him; she needed to touch the HEM of His garment. She went from law to grace! She was full of determination. She was contagious under the law. She reached out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment and was made whole.

Jesus felt something leave Him when the woman touched Him. What she was full of, made Jesus stop. Many touched Jesus BUT only she DREW from Jesus!! She was full enough to want to touch the hem of Jesus.

She was healed of the physical affliction. She knew she was unclean. She risked it all to touch Jesus’ hem. She felt freedom from the first time. She heard Jesus say daughter and not what her issue was. She was full of the Word. She had faith in His Word.
You must be able to tell yourself something encouraging to pump yourself your faith up. Faith is internal dialogue BEFORE its public action. The woman with the issue of blood faith replaced her fear.

Her appetite shifted from people to Jesus. Faith is a permanent action……
Faith without works is dead...She had enough Faith to get to the hem of Jesus’ garment. Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) 

What doesn’t happen in 12 years, God can do in an instant.
Some have been called by their issue for years, but God is calling them something different!! Some have been battling with something. What you battle with, Jesus is here to walk with you. Let your faith in Jesus guide you!! Some focus and put emphasis on or praise the problem instead of focusing on the solution.
The solution is Jesus. The woman with the issue of blood just wanted Jesus!!! She did not speak of her issue because her faith spoke for her!! Don’t consume everything you hear. Some like to emote or bleed on people. Don’t BE them!

Message: If EVERYBODY in your circle is weak, who’s holding who up? Check your circle!! What you complain about is what others pray for. Some are scared to release people because they don’t believe Jesus is enough. Don’t be scared to remove folks from your circle. ✌️  If they cannot tell you the truth, you DO NOT have a circle my friend.
They are NOT in your corner my friend. God! Please meet me at the point of my faith. Let God meet you at the point of your faith and WATCH HIM WORK (Do the rest). I’ve been through “TEW” much NOT to worship and have faith in GOD!!

Yeah, it takes all that for me to worship GOD. ????????????????.

If you want Jesus BAD enough, you need to be desperate. Desperate people do desperate things. Desperation gets you to Jesus.

The saying, “Desperate times causes for desperate measures” is what I think of when hearing this. Desperation will make you exercise your faith; we won’t be destroyed by our issues.

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Jr.
Series: Appetite
Scripture: Matthew 3:8 (ESV)
Title: Holy Digest

Fasting is great for your soul. It allows you to get MORE of Jesus and less of you. We need to MORE of JESUS and less of us EVERYDAY!!

Evaluation Time: Is it more of us or more of HIM in us?

Question To keep asking yourself: Is it more of you or more of Jesus?

Matthew 3:8-9 (ESV)
8 “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Question: What keeps us from giving up on God? What keeps us from giving up on each other? What keeps us to staying in alignment? What keeps us activated with the King?Answer: Carrying our cross and following after Him.

We are NOT looking to be better people; we are LIVING to be holy people. This allows us to be BETTER people. This allows us to win more people for God.

Whats the difference between  self-improvement and self-denial? Self-improvement vs self- denial?

Self-improvement is good until it gets in the way of your self denial.

Simply Put: Anyone can aim for self-improvement of yourself but that doesn’t make you a follower of Christ. Jesus DID NOT say improve yourself, WHAT HE DID SAY WAS to DENY YOURSELF!! The very thing you are approving about yourself is the very thing keeping you from carrying your cross and following after Him.

Self-improvement is not cutting people off.

Some cut folks off because:
Someone disturbed their peace.
Someone crossed your boundaries.
You have to seek God first and deny yourself at the same time.
They may be “disturbing your peace" so you can win them.

Some people you cut off may be the same one you are supposed to win to Christ.
No one gives themselves peace. No one can disturb your peace. God gives peace. Peace is a fruit of the spirit. People disturb God’s peace. Win them for Him.
This can be self-improvement, that’s not self-denial
Acknowledge/Seek God first before you go cutting people off.
Seek God’s face first and NEVER move without Him.

When our self-improvement gets in the way of our self-denial, then self-improvement is NOT good. It works in reverse to self- denial. You can self-improve all day BUT you have to deny yourself and carry your cross.

When we deny ourselves, self-improvement comes naturally because we are doing what we are supposed to do spiritually.

Example used: We can get on a treadmill for an hour but won’t open our Word up for 5 minutes.  We lose weight from exercising on the treadmill BUT we gain the world by not eating the Word of God…………..

Self denial MUST take place!!

We always want prosperity. Self denial strips you of you. Stripping you of you blessed you because it’s more of HIM and NOT you.

Self improvement means nothing when circumstances come and you haven’t denied yourself, crucified yourself etc.

In the self denial phase. As you deny yourself, walk with him, pickup your cross, follow after Him which includes walking by FAITH and not by Sight (2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV. This allows you to overcome those “circumstances.” You are not saved by self improvement, you are saved by Jesus saying that He truly loves you. It takes a certain type of heart posture to be in position to never want to drop your cross.

DENY yourself!
TAKE up your cross!
FOLLOW after Him!

Back Story of John the Baptist:
The appetite and drive of John exemplify what it means to have a strong appetite for Jesus.
John was a very peculiar man.
John the Baptist was a New Testament prophet.
John was Jesus’ cousin.
John recognized Jesus as the Messiah.
John wanted  to prepare the way for Jesus.
John did not preach in the temple like others. He preached in the wilderness.
John the Baptist preached repentance in the wilderness of Judea.
John preaching in the wilderness was for the direct fulfillment of the old testament prophecy spoken by Isaiah.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of John the Baptist in Isaiah 40:3 (READ).
All for gospels site Isaiah 40:3.
John was beheaded.
John was killed for telling the TRUTH!
John was different on the outside and on the inside.
John lived in the Judean wilderness.
John dressed different. He wore clothes made of camels hair. He wore a leather strap around his waist.
John ate grasshopper, locusts and honey for food.
John understood his assignment.
John preached repentance.
John performed water baptisms in the Jordan.

Isaiah 40:3. (ESV)
3 “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

John pulled them outside of their organized religion in the temple to hear the voice of God in the wilderness. He pulled them out of religious comfort to confront their spiritual condition.

Reminder: He preached REPENTANCE!!!

In order to prepare the way for Jesus you gotta get out of the way. You have to remove you. You have to REMOVE the YOU out of YOU!

You have to repent before you get baptism.

 Repent!! Repent!! Repent!! Repent!!

If you are NOT doing something outside of the church walls, you are NOT doing NO-THING for the KINGDOM. Repent!!

FYI: Sunday sermons, Mid-week refills are game plans to teach us/show us how to go outside of the church walls and tell someone to repent.

 OTN: Our lives will speak louder than our words because people watch who you really are outside of the church walls.

When you are desperate for God’s Word NOTHING will stop you from getting it. When you want to hear from God, nothing will stop you.  

Matthew 3:5 They ALL went to the wilderness. When you are hungry for God, NOTHING will stop you from hearing what God wants to say to you.

Question: What stops us from getting Jesus when someone is preparing the way for Jesus?

Pleaseeeee: Don’t let NO-THING separate ate you from the love of Jesus

Part 2


Luke 17:21 (ESV)
21 “nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

In order for you to realize this, you have to be a preparer of the way BUT you first have to repent. John is telling them to repent because repentance prepares the way for Jesus.
Question to ponder: Don’t you want to be in position that keeps Jesus in the midst of us??

Listen Here...
Emotional outburst doesn’t mean Jesus is there.
Us shouting and dancing doesn’t mean Jesus is there.
When you can accept being lied on and it doesn’t bother you...Jesus is there.
When you can help someone carry their cross, Jesus is there.
When you can always stop being right even, even when you are right, Jesus is there.
When you can forgive without praying about forgiving, Jesus is there.
Jesus tells you to forgive so there is NOTHING to pray about.
Repent for the Kingdom……..

One last time: When you can forgive without praying about it...Jesus is THERE….

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is….

Question: What does it mean to repent? Repentance is NOT I’m sorry.

Question: Why would they need repentance?  

Note: It was a Jewish audience. Many believed they had covenant privilege because they had to realize that ethic heritage meant NOTHING without personal faith. They had to realize that repentance then was preparation for Messiah. They needed to repent because sin separated them from a Holy God.

John let them know that repentance was God’s ordained prerequisite for gospel embracing. Letting scripture reveal sins death and grace sufficiency.

Repentance in Greek is metanoia which means a change of mind. A re-orientation of how you think and how you live. Some would rather change their image and not change their minds.

Meta means change. Don’t let Meta trick or change you (Facebook, Threads etc.). The enemy wants you to doubt how God wants you to look. YOU are created in God’s image…..

Genesis 1:27 (ESV) 
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

HEY! Stop using a filter, BE you!!

EVERYTHING on social media “aint” good.

Some have allowed meta to change their appearance and socially become that person via online. However, in person they are someone else…My dear…..that is called cat fished!

Some would rather change their image than to change their mind(set)Some would rather look like something they were not created to BE.
Some want their image transformed more than their minds.
Stop letting people rewrite what and who God called you to be.
Repentance changes our minds by the RENEWING of GOD!

Romans 12:2
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
What you consume is WHAT you WILL produce. Digest HOLY things
Produce HOLY things.
God is NOT moved by what we consume, He’s moved by what we produce.

Consumption doesn’t equal TRANSFORMATION.
Some may consume information BUT DO NOT digest what they are hearing.
When you take in consumption without digestion, you become spiritually constipated.

Meaning: We can come to church week after week and still can’t forgive anyone.
We can come to church week after week and say I still don't like people. We can come to church week after week and still can’t love our brothers and sisters.
We come to church week after week and we consumed...BUT we don’t let it digest because we won’t digest what don’t feel good.

We hear stuff.
We consume it.
But we won’t digest it.

Information does not equal transformation.
Some need a holy enema.
Some have spiritual digestion issues.

Digestion, not consumption produces transformation.

Attending church is good but it doesn’t equal spiritual growth. Bible reading doesn’t automatically equals changed behavior…..Why though??? Because you can sit at the table and still starve spiritually. This comes from digestion issues.

Pause: Natural digestion is breaking food down. Spiritual digestion breaks you down. The Word of God Breaks you and BUILDS you. The Bible is a two edged sword. You do not know if you digested the Word unless your life produces what you heard. That’s why it’s easy to quote a verse because you read it but you still quote the verses from your favorite R Kelly song. It’s easier to quote things you the world because it feels good to us.

When you digest the Word, your life reflects it.

Some can quote the world and not know a quote from the Bible.

Luke 17:21 (ESV)
21 “nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
This is why you can hear the truth every week.
You can say amen to the truth every week.
Agree to the truth every week.
Cry and shout to the truth every week and still not agree to the truth because there is no digestion of the truth. Before they were baptized John told them to repent.

Repent!!!
Repent!!!
Repent!!

According to Matthew 3:7 John told them

Matthew 3:7 (ESV)
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  

He called them what they were.
He called out their false motives.
John knew their motives weren’t right.
John knew their heart posture.
Somebody can say something right with the wrong motives.
They did not come to get baptized for contrition; they came to get baptized to be seen.

John’s word sifts motives. The word demanded authentic repentance for Kingdom entry. He was NOT impressed they showed up.
The pharisees and sadducees did things for show. We should not become the new age Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Pharisees were legalistic rule focused folks who didn’t keep their own rules.
The Sadducees were elite politically aligned.
John confronted performative   religion.

Do you walk your talk? Do your video and audio match.

Why do we get mad when we are doing wrong and someone calls us out on it? You cannot play around with snakes, you have to cut them off at the head.

FYI: When you are anxious to hear something, the enemy can speak what you want to hear too. Some are desperate for signs and wonders, the devil tells you exactly what you want to hear and it’s not from God.

Some get baptized to be seen and not for change.

Presence doesn’t equal purity.

What we do should model Christ.

Some show up in spiritual environments for the wrong reasons. Meanwhile, they have impure hearts, unclean hands and cannot stand in the presence of God. Too many folks look holy BUT lack transformation.

Matthew 3:8(ESV)
8 “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

John was telling them that there was no repentance in them BECAUSE there was NO fruit from them.

The Greek word for fruit is karpos
Repentance should be about what changed us. It means visible fruit.

Fruit should come from you. It should be visibly seen in you.  If there is no fruit visibly seen from us, there is no digestion of holiness in us. This happens because we made repentance about what we feel and NOT about what CHANGED us. John was showing them they did not have a change of heart and their fruit proves it.

Note: Bring forth FRUIT worthy of repentance.

John’s message is pointing out in order for us to be preparers for Jesus, he’s pointing to a way of life that reflects a changed mind.

It’s about realignment and a mental shift. It’s about How you think and how you live.

Question to Self: Is my life evidence that I am actually returned and realigned?

Faxxxxx: Jesus’ work at the cross addressed sin FULLY but repentance is about REALIGNMENT.

The Word of God is NOT boring. Your appetite is boring.

We cannot live off Little Debbie cakes, get little diabetes and then say it’s the devil. Get your life together please and thank you!!

Repentance is ONGOING posture of recalibrating. Returning and bringing your life back into agreement to what is TRUTH!

Question Does your "I don’t like that" match God’s, I don’t like that??

John connects repentance with fruit. Fruit is visible. It shows up in how a person lives and not in just what they say. Repentance is about a shift within YOU. It’s aligned ACTIVATION. Repentance keeps us aligned to he activated. John was showing us that fruit is birthed from the heart of repentance.

Matthew 7:16 (ESV)
16 “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”

Every healthy tree bears GOOD fruit. The diseased tree bears bad fruit. All this to say, you cannot hide what you continually digest. We cannot be over fed and under transformed.

What you digest MUST be holy.

What does your fruit display.

Repentance keeps us aligned to be activated.

You will know them by their fruit. No one can produce fruit for you.

Matthew 3:9 (ESV)
9 “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you,

God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

I’m good with God because I’m connected to God. Your grandma’s prayers don’t connect you to God. Her prayers may have saved you from seen and unseen dangers. Other family members that are saved don’t connect you to GOD. Others can’t produce your fruit. You have to digest holiness to draw closer,  connect to God and become more like Jesus.

There is no such thing as a generational curse. Jesus broke the curse on the cross. The BLOOD covered it. They are called generational decisions. One chooses to continue to remain in the curse.

You do not have to announce fruit, it just shows up.

We are done consuming, we ARE digesting.

Some lack fruit that meets repentance. Religion in our history but no fruit in our lives.

Some consume church stuff….

You can accept Christ and not bear fruit, but you have no reward. Ask yourself...why would you accept Christ and not get ALL of Christ???

If you don’t want to become what God wants you to become, it doesn’t mean you’re not replaceable. You can have an anointing on your life and so can the next man. God will never be out of options. We ALL need to walk worthy of who God called us to BE.

You have to who God called you to be. You are replaceable

1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV)
9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Romans 12:1 (ESV)
12 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Present YOU!! Present YOU!!
Jesus did not die for peasants.
You cannot give God just anything spiritually constipated because HE won’t accept it.
If you are not transformed, you cannot give Him nothing.
Stay in activation mode. Stay aligned so you can give GOD everything!!

Sometimes all you gotta do is open your mouth to get your breakthrough.

Questions: Does your life "presents" worthy to the Lord?  Does your life produce fruit of repentance?

How do you present your body to the Lord? By staying in a state of repentance. Stay in a state of repentance.

Pick your cross up and die!

Question: What are you presenting to the Lord every day??

Sometimes we major in minor BUT want God to do MAJOR things for us.

John the Baptist was telling the people that Jesus was in the midst and they must prepare the way and to bear fruit worthy of repentance.

Question: Do you want to know what your fruit is? Find it by reading

Galatians 5 (KJV) READ IT! It tells you

You have to love the people that you don’t like.
It tells you that you have to be kind to people when they are not being kind to you.
It tells you that you have to be meek. Meekness doesn’t mean weakness.
It tells you to have self-control. When you want to curse someone out, curse them out in prayer. Pray for them, folks.

You can’t have Jesus and MF’s in your mouth at the same time. Choose a side and stay there. The devil may have sent it but GOD may not have meant it. It’s not about how many are in the church. 3 people can win 3,000 people.

God’s church has a mission. The Chosen Church is a local body to a universal church. If we are infected, we are adding an infection to the whole body.

We have to have/keep a heart of repentance for the Lord that bears worthy of His fruit.

Ask yourself: Can I present myself to the Lord? Do I offer my body as a living  sacrifice to the Lord? Is my fruit worthy of repentance? Has repentance caused me to change? If you cannot, REPENT!!

1 Peter 2:9-10 is what the Lord built The Chosen Church on.

Note: You are chosen BUT you and NOT irreplaceable.

John told them in Matthew 3:10 (ESV)
10 “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John warned them that they were failing to show genuine repentance through righteous actions. They were living for themselves.

Some give God half heartiness to the Lord BUT God gives His all to them.

Resurrection Sunday at The Chosen Church was anything but ordinary…
It wasn’t just another service…it was a Holy Spirit-filled, life-changing, groundbreaking move of God that left an undeniable mark on every heart in the room.
Pastor Craig Walder Jr. delivered a right-on-time message titled “You Gotta Die!”..a word that was as piercing as it was transformative. At first glance, the title may seem harsh, but its truth cuts straight to the core of our spiritual walk: in order for our lives to truly live, something in us must die.
Through scripture, Pastor Craig powerfully illustrated how Jesus fulfilled prophecy…He died, and He rose again. Because of His resurrection power, we are cleansed, redeemed, and made whole. That same power now calls us into a deeper level of surrender.
He reminded us that accepting Jesus is just the beginning. True transformation comes when we take up our cross daily, follow Him wholeheartedly, and make the intentional choice to die to ourselves. It is in that surrender on that cross that we finally position ourselves to receive everything God has prepared for us.

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Scripture: Matthew 16:24 (ESV)
Title: You Gotta Die!

John 3:16-18 ( ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world,[i] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
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If you agree, believe this and say it, you are saved.
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Some have accepted Him BUT follow what AND who they want to follow. You HAVE to accept Him AND follow Him.

Matthew 16:24 (ESV)
24 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus!!

Before we can scream, “HE GOT UP!” Follow Him! We have to understand, learn and actively follow GOD!
In order to follow God. YOU GOTTA DIE!
You cannot experience/live a resurrected life WITHOUT living a crucified life.
YOU gotta die!
I gotta die!
WE gotta die!

⬇️⬇️⬇️What we CAN’T DO⬇️⬇️⬇️

We cannot keep screaming HE got up when we continuously stay down.
We cannot keep letting life beat us down.
We cannot keep letting ungrateful people beat us down.
He did not die for us to live beneath our inheritance.
Read that again…HE DID NOT DIE FOR US TO LIVE BENEATH OUR INHERITANCE!!!

Honest Facts:
➡️Jesus’ death on the cross was harsh.
➡️Our sins He took on was harsh.
➡️Jesus being away from The Father was harsh.
➡️You’ve said AND done somethings that were harsh.

The message spoken is NOT being insensitive, the title, “You Gotta Die!” Is an alarm to those that said I am a believer. Meaning, we won’t NEVER shout again He’s risen, if we are not ready or offering to say,
 I’ve been crucified.
If you do not have the appetite to KILL/crucify your flesh, you will NOT deny yourself.
Your flesh = Your body, the natural fallen condition, it's the corrupted humanity, prone to sin, self-centered, sinful disposition, actions driven by bodily cravings, selfish ambitions.
If you do not have the appetite to kill your flesh, just like Jesus did.  He was crucified on a cross and died.

He told His disciples this
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Matthew 6:24
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

This message is a DOORWAY to ETERNAL LIFE!!! Take heed!!
Resurrection is NOT denial of death, its victory through it! The cross did not kill Jesus, He willfully submitted to the will of the Father. Jesus willingly willed His will to the Father.
 He willingly laid down for a few days just for US. Before He laid down though….
He told the disciples….”If you want to follow ME……….”

Stop going to church and BE the church. We gotta BE the church!

Mic check 1,2,1,2 ➡️ We have to pick up our cross to follow after the Cross!!!
Matthew 16:1–4 
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✓ Jesus started out by checking the “holy” folks who were NOT living holy. The Pharisees/Sadducees (Religious leaders).
✓ Jesus did not have patience for people who were not good to people. You can’t claim to be a good person when you are NOT good to people. They talked BIG but they DID NOT back it up!!
✓ Jesus had a teaching moment with his disciples about their lack of faith.
✓ Jesus had a moment where He gives Peter praise. Then He turned right around and rebuked Peter. Matthew 16:21 (ESV) Peter was checked immediately!
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Jesus already died for what you did. NOW what YOU GOTTA DO IS DENY
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

You have to deny yourself…..
You utterly have to disown…..
You have to denounce…………….
You have to renounce……………….
You have to reject association with yourself……
You have to dissociate yourself…..

This can be hard to detach from because some LOVE themselves and want to “Do them!”

Simply Put: Pickup your cross and follow Christ.

This is a not a self-improvement moment, it’s a self-rejection moment.

Part II

Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

You cannot follow Jesus while still agreeing with you. You MUST deny yourself.
God did not tell you to do somethings, “your name” told you to do somethings.
Stop lying on GOD!!
DENOUNCE YOURSELF!!
Some denounce EVERYTHING but their flesh.

Stop asking “you” for permission and allow God to lead you……
You keep approving what God is trying to kill.

Listen Here: The devil isn’t your biggest enemy, your biggest enemy is that you keep agreeing with yourself and not acknowledging God.
You gotta die before you can live!!

You want to be in control, but you need to let “IT” go!
You wanna be the C.E.O and C.O.O. Let “IT” GO!!
You cannot be all these spiritually and let GOD lead you!!

Some want control and then want God to bail them out when needed. All the while singing…“We want God to clean up what we messed up so we can start all over again!”
Deny yourself the same way Peter denied/denounced Jesus.
It was a strong thing to do!!
If you want to follow Christ, you have to have an appetite for death. You must die daily!
If you are a child of the KING, deny yourself to gain more of Jesus.
If you want to follow Jesus Christ, you have to have an appetite for death.

The cross in Matthew 16:24 did not represent anything pretty. It did not represent a symbol of hope.
The cross represented shame, guilt, torture and death.  The cross was ugly. The cross was scandalous. There was nothing glorious about the cross back then. The resurrection was the beauty of it all.
The cross was a Roman instrument and public digression.
In order for something to live, something MUST die!

Romans 6:6 (ESV)
“We know that our old self[a] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
Meaning
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You gotta die with Christ so the old self loses its throne and the new resurrected life with Christ begins.
We keep dropping our cross because the old me keeps popping back up in the new me.

Question: Why do we keep dropping our cross?

This DOES NOT make you a true follower of Jesus Christ.
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Joining a church is good ✅
Being a good person is good✅
Giving a good offering is good✅
Giving to the poor is good✅
Your good works are good✅
Serving in the church is good✅

To be a true believer
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To be a real follower of Christ
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It means becoming like……
It means to acting like………
It means emulating Christ!
This means we cannot keep screaming, “He got up!" and we keep sitting down every time our flesh arises.

Question: How can Jesus come out your mouth and curse words right after? ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Too much of you showed that you put your cross down.
This is the only things Jesus told us to carry according to scripture.
⬇️⬇️⬇️
✓ Jesus told them to bring their burdens and worries to Him. Matthew 11:28-30. He said take on His yoke.
✓ Key takeaway: Jesus promises that His "yoke is easy and HIS burden is light," offering soul rest instead of heavy labor. He’s a heavy load bearer!!
✓ You have to carry your own cross.

Every day you wake up, you have to kill your flesh! Your flesh gotta die.
Your flesh CANNOT get you into heaven.
Your cross is too heavy to follow nonsense. Let them folks talk about you! Let them folks BE!!

➡️People should see your cross first BEFORE they see you!!
Before you can get up, you have to die first.
Some do not want to die because they love to have control and love how it feels to be in control (out of control).
Mind You: You cannot be in control and carry your cross.

The cross reveals LOVES cost.

Easter insist this: Suffering is not the end. Resurrection is God’s YES after the worlds no.

Meaning…When the world rejects you, God has already accepted you. You keep trying to fight the world when Jesus already OVERCAME the world!! He told us via scripture that we will have trouble BUT we will have peace too…..if we choose to become a true follower of Christ.
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John 16:33 (ESV)
33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Message: God has ALREADY overcome what WE try to take on.
Jesus invites us to come and die.
Straight like this
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1- Deny yourself - Surrender ALL to become more like Christ.
2- Carry your cross - You cannot keep carrying family members who are not carrying themselves. That’s NOT your cross friend.
3- Follow Him - You might have to unfriend some “friends.” Carrying your cross will cause you to lose some invites BUT it’s ok! Carry your cross!
4- Live again

Carrying your cross will cause some to not like you.
We die with Christ to LIVE with Him.
You are not disqualified by your weakness. What you did does NOT count you out.
It’s an open invitation to follow Christ.
The cross is where you die and where people watch you die as well. There are no private cross bearing/carrying.

There is NO cross shaming. Wear your cross proudly. If you are ashamed of GOD, He will be ashamed of you.
Read for yourself.
⬇️
Luke 9:26 and Mark 8:38 (ESV)

If you really want to follow JESUS…..YOU gotta die!!
Until you CHOOSE to die….
Until you CHOOSE to kill your flesh…
Until you CHOOSE to give it up………..
They are talking about me…give it up!
I’m still hurt……give it up!
I’m grieving……give it up!
I’m disappointed…..give it up!
NAIL “IT” to the cross!
Give it up!! Give it up!
What you carry (Your cross), it’s nailed to the cross.
Carrying your cross is a DAILY death.

It keeps the old you at bay. Instead, we keep resuscitating what’s killing us. Some stuff you won’t let go is killing you.
Jesus died for and with purpose!!
Some of us are afraid to die to somethings because we think death means loss.

Newsflash: Somethings some won’t let GO of…is killing them anyway.
In the Kingdom of God, death means transition.
Dying to self means living in purpose.
Dying to sin is living in FREEDOM.
Dying to control is living in peace.

What’s still alive in you that needs to be nailed to the cross. There cannot be an empty tomb without a bloody cross first. Some cannot find His body because it’s not in them.

The PROOF of the RESURRECTION is look at me:
✓ We all are proof that He died for a sinner.
✓ Some are proof that He died for a murder.
✓ Some are proof that He died for a backslider.
✓ Some are proof that He died for an adulterer.
✓ Some are proof that He died for fornicators.

Question: What’s your proof?

Choose to pick up your cross and follow Jesus daily so HE can LIVE through you.
If it wasn’t for the blood on the cross, where would I be?? I would be lost! Thank You Jesus for THE BLOOD of JESUS!!!
Material stuff means NOTHING!

The WORD of GOD actively living through you means EVERYTHING !!

➡️You have to walk with your cross!
➡️You have to talk right while carrying your cross!
➡️You have to carry the cross that Jesus beared!
➡️Don’t put your cross down.
➡️After church, carry your cross.
➡️Between church, carry your cross.

Pickup your cross and follow the KING!

OTN: Your cross may be in the way for others and cause them to be uncomfortable BUT keep carrying your cross. It’s about the cross, NOT about you or them.
When “they” are talking crazy, pickup your cross.

When you want to clap back, look at your cross.

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Teacher Reid
Scripture: Matthew 26:57-67 (ESV)
Title: The Trial OF Perfection!
Palm Sunday Message

Backstory of Matthew 26:57-67

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✓ Palm Sunday is when Jesus is received into Jerusalem.
✓ Jesus was held as the King of the Jews.
✓ He was their Messiah at the time.
✓ He was celebrated as their Messiah.

As the scriptures turns…the reality of things APPEARED to turn worse.
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✓ Jesus was betrayed by Judas.
✓ Jesus was led to be arrested.
✓ Jesus was falsely accused.
✓ Jesus had to go before the high priest.
✓ Jesus stood before wicked politicians.
✓ Caiaphas (the high priest) was the son-in-law of Annas.
✓ Caiaphas reigned as high priest in Jerusalem roughly around 18 to 36/37 AD.
✓ Caiaphas had a role in the second Temple period. Rome had conquered Israel around this time. They were under the rule of the Roman Empire.
✓ Caiaphas was more of a political (politician) leader than he was the role that God had established.
✓ Jesus went before Caiaphas and the Council.
✓ Caiaphas orchestrated a plot to arrest Jesus, to put Him to death, to remove Him out of the way.
✓ Caiaphas should have been concerned with issues of God, which was to bring sacrifices before God BUT NO….all his actions were political driven.

He should have had a pure heart to assist in removing the sins of the people for God…BUT NOPE….it became a political game instead.
✓ Caiaphas wanted to gain status in the Roman Empire so he changed his heart posture from God to the people.
✓ Caiaphas used the people to do his dirty work. It went from what is God concerned about to how can we move our agenda forward.
✓ Then people were seeking to falsely to accuse Jesus just to have something to use against Him. They started using the people to infuse false narratives about Jesus to justify their actions.
✓ Old Testament there was a high priest.
✓ During that time, it had to be a sacrifice that met the requirements for your sins.
✓ Again, they wanted to put Jesus to death to get Him out of the way. He was causing a stir by preaching to the Pharisees and Sadducees. God was at hand and the people were offended. People that stand in their own way from worshipping and serving God get easily offended when it’s not about them. See Jesus, not you Otis…because no one came to see you.
✓ The people started praising and worshiping the Messiah.
✓ They did not have any real reasons to charge Jesus, so they used the people to make things up to kill Jesus.
✓ They had their own motives BUT GOD had his own.

Acts 4:27-29. God had a purpose behind the scenes.

✓ Our government leaders think they know what they are doing BUT God knows what He is doing. He is in control. Thank YOU LORD for your SOVEREIGNTY ????????????.
✓ Everything they did was predestined by the Father. Everything served its purpose.
✓ Jesus was tried and judged by wicked men. They did this to get Jesus out the way and move up. Jesus was causing “problems” for them.
✓ Jesus was spotless and without sin. Jesus was perfect but we were not. Jesus was pure, we were not.
✓ He was the mediator between God and His people.
✓ The only way God would deal with the sins of the people was through the high priest.

Pause: In the Levitical law, during the Levitical period, any sin you had there were certain requirements that you had to do to get rid of that sin. You had to bring a certain sacrifice.

You had an option to get rid of sin, but the offering had to mean something to the Lord.

✓ The high priest was the “broker” between God and man was the high priest. The high priest would “broker” a deal between God and the people.
✓ Offered sacrifices to atone for the people's sins. This would forgive the community of people. Thank You Jesus for Your blood. ??????????
✓ The high priest entered the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem once a year.
✓ Performed rituals meant to restore or maintain the relationship between God and the people.

They used the Romans to do what they wanted to do! They wanted their agenda to be THE agenda.
The whole agenda was run by wicked men.

Side bar: Some use their name and status to get them where they want to go.

Acts 4:27 (ESV) Means that everyone who put their wicked ideas/scandal together to crucify Jesus was not a coincidence. Even though man had his hand on it, God Sovereign purpose happened!! Everything that happened was predestined to happen. God had a purpose behind the scenes/schemes.

OTN: Jesus did nothing wrong, yet HE did everything thing right! It was written and God’s will was executed!
Something had to die!! ???

Title: The Trial of Perfection
There needed to be something/someone PERFECT to become the payment for sin. The sacrifice had to be perfect.

Leviticus 16:21 (ESV)
21 “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.”
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Part 2

The day of atonement there were two goats.
✓ Something has to die. Someone had to die for the sins of the people. Something had to bridge the gap.
✓ One goat took away the sins. Something had to die to take care of the sins of the people.
✓ One had to die on the altar for the payment.
✓ One goat is let into the wilderness.
✓ The sins of the people confess.
✓ It’s symbolism of all of our sins taken far away from God.
✓ When God looks at you, He’s not looking at the things you are doing wrong. There is an appeasement. There is a temporary satisfaction because sin is out of the way.
✓ The system of offering bulls and goats year after year was not working for God.
✓ God wanted perfection so He had to be the perfection.
✓ Aaron was tasked with confessing the sins of the people over the goats. He was sacrificing…one goat was killed on the altar…one goat was sent away into the wilderness.

Romans 6:23
23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Again, something got to die.
God is using the will of wicked men to validate the perfection of His own sacrifice. God made a sacrifice for Himself. He had to take place.
Caiaphas was supposed to perform this role. The people had grown far from God and so did the priest. They were not concerned with what God required ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Hebrews 5:1 (ESV)
5 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

The blood of bulls and goats were not cutting it anymore.
Someone with GREAT strength and PERFECT holiness is what would suffice to be the sacrifice!!!
They were in need for a savior/mediator who possessed ALL the attributes of PERFECTION, to overcome sin and bridge the gap between man and God. Thank YOU JESUS!! You are the TRUTH!!!!????????????????????

Hebrews 10:4 (ESV)
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Hebrews 10:1-18 (ESV) READ IT!!!

The system was not working, it was broken. You have the same problem over again. God wanted perfection...SO He had to BE the perfection.

Atonement means Covering.

GOD is JUST over EVERYTHING!!
God is a just GOD BUT there are penalties for sin. There has to be a penalty for sin. God judgment takes place...even though He’s a JUST GOD.
Sin must be punished because God is righteous and He cannot let sin go unpunished.

In John 11:49-50 Caiaphas suggests it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.

John 11:49-50 (ESV)
49 “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

GOD worked out His plan for Himself.
There is a requirement and he’s asking who’s qualified. Who can stand in the place where God stand.
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Psalm 24:1-3 (ESV)
1 “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?” (There is a requirement?)⬇️

THE REQUIREMENT IS
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Psalm 24:4-7 (ESV)
4 “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.Selah”

Holy means:
✓ Perfect!
✓ Complete!
✓ Lacking NO-THING!
✓ Complete in EVERY single way!
✓ Weighted of substance!

Psalm 24:1-10 is praising the Works of God. They were talking about the return of the Ark of the Covenant. They returned in VICTORY!!!
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Psalm 24:7-10 (ESV)
7 “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!”

➡️Gates in scripture means: Elder of the tribe. This was the natural form.
The criteria was
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✓ He who has clean hands.
✓ He who has a clean heart.
✓ Those who have pure motives. They are in alignment with God. Meaning, what God wants, that’s what they did.
✓ He hasn’t lifted his soul to idols.
✓ He had to be right with God.
✓ He is in alignment with the will of God.
✓ He doesn’t worship anything else.
✓ The person can actually stand in the holy place.

⬆️Moment of reflection: What are your idols?

Real Talk: If you did not meet the requirement that God spelled out in detail, you did not live!! You would get pulled out by a rope.

❤️Palm Sunday is when the KING of GLORY (Jesus) rode into Jerusalem.
READ
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Matthew 21:1-11 (ESV)
Zachariah 9:9 (ESV)

Question: Can the KING of GLORY roll into your place?

Jesus was PERFECT! In ONE week, Jesus demonstrates He is (AND IS) ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

✓ King!
✓ King of Glory!
✓ Lamb of God!
✓ The PERFECT Lamb!
✓ The High Priest!
✓ Scapegoat!
✓ Light of the world!
✓ He’s the Passover of the Lamb!
✓ He’s a Spotless Lamb who takes over the sins of the world!
✓ He’s the conquering KING that rides in on a donkey.
✓ He’s EVERYTHING wrapped in ONE!! OTN (The Father! The Son! and Jesus are ONE!)

Listen: If you were not right when entering the holy of holies (Most Holy Place), you would not come out alive!

John 5:19 (ESV) He had a pure motive. He did what He accomplished…the will of the Father.

Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)
15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

?This was Jesus! His motives were pure before God! He ONLY does what the Father wants ⬆️⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️⬇️!!

John 5:19 (ESV)
The Authority of the Son
19 “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”
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AGAIN: He has a pure motive! Jesus did NOT come to do His own thing; He came to do the will of the Father. He did not lift any idols.

Note: Jesus came to do one thing and that was to do the will of the Father. He had one purpose!!!

God cannot tell a lie because HE truth.

Question: How can you put perfection on trial? He is perfect and holy!

They could have put Jesus on trial over and over again and He would still be PERFECT and HOLY!!

John 14:6 (ESV)
6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Hebrews 10:4-5 (ESV)
4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;” Jesus was speaking and He was speaking of God.
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✓ The old way was good enough to get us here but He did not want that.
✓ God provided Jesus with a body to carry out God’s PERFECT Will.

Sometimes we spend so much time trying to figure out a way…instead of looking at the perfection of Jesus.

Point to Ponder: Jesus is the reason for it ALL!! Tis’ is still the season. Consider all He did for the sins of the world. We have access to the Father because we are IN the perfection of Christ.

Everything doesn’t require a lofty answer sometimes it just requires you to shut up and look. Meditate on what Jesus has done.

SN: Shut up or put up!!

Question: How do you feel about your relationship with God?
How do you view your relationship with God?
Are you trying to climb through life without Him?

2 Corinthians 5:17 “He who is in Christ is a NEW creature…….” Read

We have access through Jesus’ (broken) body.
Sometimes you gotta stop to appreciate God’s perfection.
Although God requires perfection…He was humble enough to provide it for us.
All of us will stand trial one day!

What will be your answer to the perfection and holiness of God? What are you going to say when you stand before Yahweh, the Maker of heaven and earth?? ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

✓ What offering are you going to give?
✓ What sacrifice are you going to give?
✓ What service are you going to say that suffices?
✓ Your answer should be CHRIST!!
Trust Christ’s perfection!
Put your trust in His righteous!
Put your trust in His record!
Put your trust in His holiness!

It’s NO longer I that lives...BUT the WHO that LIVES in me.

Additional scripture to read and study. Luke 3:2

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Series: Appetite PT3
Title: Stay Hungry But Watch Your Weight!
Scripture: Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)

 Do Not Worry About Your Life!!

Matthew 6:25 (NIV)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)
33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

If we ate spiritual food like we do natural food how would our souls look?

Moment of reflection: Take a moment to think about your appetite this week.

Matthew 6:25 (ESV)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Often we put effort into things that don’t really concern the Lord. Some things we think are God's Work BUT it doesn’t move the Lord.

We need to HIDE the BOOK (Bible) in our hearts.

 .

KNOW the BOOK/BIBLE, KNOW GOD!! GET BACK TO THE BOOK CHURCH!!

You can do works BUT if it’s not the Work of the Lord…then whose work is it really??

 Matthew 7:23 
23“And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Psalm 119:11 (ESV)
11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

The time we allocate to the Lord, in prayer, in fellowship, and while reading the Word of God, is under a severe and aggressive attack.

OTN: I am a witness to this. Every time I tried reading and studying last week, tests showed up and caused me to fumble my study time. However, it did not hinder me from praying!

Question: What time do you spend with the Lord??

Question: Do you get enough Word to sustain you? Sunday and Wednesday service is not enough to sustain you. You must read the Word and do the Work for yourself (The Word and the Work of the Lord).

✓ The teacher gives you Bible study.
✓ The pastor gives you the Word of the Lord.
✓ What did the Lord give YOU for yourself???

Disciple! Please start prioritizing your time.

Note: What we digest right now is more important than ANYTHING else right now. The world is a busy place and it's easy to get weighed down by its many distractions

Question: How are you managing your weight (time).

. “Do NOT worry about your life.”

Listen: Stress can ADD pounds to you physically and mentally. The weight is called the unwanted weight of anxiety.

PAUSE: ARE you HUNGRY for the LORD? What’s your hunger level?!?

Question: Are you a control freak? God can control your life, IF you let Him.

Note: Humans make choices, GOD holds them responsible for their actions.
Simply put: Humans choose the behavior, GOD chooses the consequences.

God can control our life better than we can because HE gave us the Life!

Stop struggling with things you can’t control.

Worrying adds unnecessary weight.

✓ Issues of the heart make you worried.
✓ Life will make you worry.
✓ Human nature will make you worry.
✓ What’s going on in the world makes you worried.
✓ In this fallen world, worry is a natural consequence. That’s why we need to cast our cares and worries to God.

Somethings small can ruin something BIG that is waiting on you.
Some want temporary feelings. Some want a temporary fix. You have everything you need waiting on you, but you are letting a temporary fix /feeling ruin your appetite.

Message: Don’t let a temporary craving ruin your spiritual appetite.

If someone could have said...



Adam! Don’t eat that! It’s going to ruin your appetite.
Sampson don’t eat that, it’s going to ruin your appetite
David don’t eat that, it’s going to ruin your appetite.
(Your name) don’t eat that, it’s going to ruin your appetite.

Worry and stress ruins your appetite for the Lord.

In today’s times, some are reenacting the feast of the marriage in Matthew.

Mathew 22:1-14 (ESV)
✓ Jesus spoke to them in parables about a wedding.
✓ All they needed was to come to the table. Everything they needed was at the table.
✓ The invited guests gave an excuse.
✓ The king invited them to something that was free.
✓ They would have had ALL they needed at the feast.
✓ They were NOT hungry enough.
✓ The king wanted them to dress and come BUT they wanted temporary fixes.
✓ They allowed everything else to zap their hunger for the Lord. They allowed temporary fixes/feelings to ruin their appetite for the Lord.
✓ They allowed the minimal and everyday life to zap their hunger for the king.
✓ We need to come to Jesus, become a disciple, do His Work and DO NOT repeat the behavior from the people in this parable
✓ Jesus had just started His ministry during this time.

Until we hunger and thirst for Jesus, we will NEVER be satisfied because righteousness is the byproduct of the precondition. Hunger and thirst are the preconditions. Church…We must STAY consistently hungry for the Lord. Blessed are those that are hunger and thirst.

The people Jesus was talking to needed something. The lack of access to food, water and clothing is what they lacked. The lack of resources caused them to worry and be anxious of the future.

God wanted the people to rest and not be anxious. We too should rest in God and stop being anxious. We should live worry free.

They were occupied by the Roman Empire. Some did not want a savior during that time, they wanted relief. Some of them wanted Jesus to overthrow their oppression. They wanted Jesus to overthrow the Roman government.

The people had corrupt tax collectors that overcharged the people. This act left the masses in dire need.

Don’t worry about your life. Your life should be FREE of worry.

Some are carrying the weight on their shoulders. Rest in GOD!!!

Take the weight and cast your cares on the Lord, HE cares for you!!!!

Peter 5:7
7 “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

God takes care of the birds, HE will take care of you too!!

 

Matthew 6:26 (ESV)
26 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Luke 12:24 (ESV)
24 “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

Worry will not solve things quicker!
Anxious thoughts don’t move GOD

God is moved by you trusting Him to do things in His sovereignty!! His providence is
EVERYTHING!!



GOD IS MOVED BY YOUR FAITH!!
GOD IS MOVED BY YOUR TRUST!!
TRUST GOD’S PROVIDENCE!!
TRUST GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY!!

NUGGET #1
WE CAN'T HAVE COMPROMISED TRUST ISSUES, WITH A GOD WHO'S NEVER FAILED US
#APPETITE

Question: Why do we have trust issues with a GOD who never failed you!!!!

Question: Why do we have issues with God when He has never failed?  It’s not God’s fault when we fail, our expectations fail. Again! Our expectations fail us, NOT GOD! When God doesn’t give you things you want, you have a problem with God!

Question: Do you have trust issues with God? Either you trust God or you don’t!!!

Open your mouth and praise God and STOP worrying about stuff that doesn't move God! Putting your complete trust in God moves GOD!!!

Acts 1:6 (ESV)
The Ascension
6 “So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?””

The disciples walked with Jesus and still did not get it!! They asked Jesus to overthrow natural oppression.

Jesus came to do what God wanted Him to do, not what man wanted Him to do.

We want God to deliver natural
Oppression, meanwhile GOD wants YOU delivered!!

Some put their faulty minded expectations on GOD, when He doesn’t meet their expectations, they develop trust issues. We should have uncompromising TRUST with the Father!!

Matthew 6:25 (NIV)

Therefore means something that makes you go back. Therefore, in Matthew 6:24 is Jesus telling us something previously and He’s referencing back to it……………Somethings make you go back to scripture!



. Therefore is connected to the verses proceeding the 25th verse.

Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Message: The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your body will be full of light. If your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. Moral and spiritual vision is easily distorted and darkened. Why though??

Answer...

 

You ARE what you eat but You will also BECOME what you see.

Our eyes ARE the entrance to our hearts, minds, and the doorways to our souls.

You ARE what you see. Your eyes MUST see AND perceive well. What we see makes a difference. We see holy or unholy, light or darkness.

You cannot look at ungodly things and think you’re going to be more like Jesus!!!

Listen: Your eyes either SEE sin or ACCEPT sin. What do your eyes see???

Question: Do your eyes let you open your Bible? Do your eyes see and perceive well?

Question: How do you serve Jesus and you still look and act the same.

Some claim Chosen BUT we misrepresent Jesus!!
 
 

Part 2

VISION VS PRIORITY

Priority is Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first. You cannot seek ye first the Kingdom if your eyes are dirty because you do not see priority because you don’t perceive what priority is.

Matthew 6:22 (ESV)
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,

The Greek work for single or clear is Haplous: It often implying being generous or having an undivided focus.

Eye Check: If your eye is healthy and focused on the Kingdom, your whole body, your whole life experience is full of life. How we look at something is based off perception.

Watch out. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Don’t let him mislead you.
2 Corinthians 11:14 (READ) 2 Cor 11:15 (READ).

Ugly Truth: Some don’t know the difference between LIGHT and darkness because their eyes can’t perceive what is right from wrong, from what’s holy and unholy because some have more darkness in them than light. God is the Light of the world AND so should we be too.

Some think God is talking to them, and it may have been the devil talking to them. Speaking to the dead is darkness.

KNOW the difference between LIGHT and darkness. BE the difference and walk in the LIGHT!!!

Psalm 119:37 (ESV)
 

37 “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”

Somethings we are looking at is adding unnecessary weight to our lives.

STAY HUNGRY!! STAY HUNGRY!!

TOO MUCH SOCIAL MEDIA WILL MAKE YOU HEAVY.

Comparison is weight.

Your eyes HAVE to be healthy …….

Matthew 6:24  He gave them a choice, Him or money.
 


“24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Some have made money their God.

No one can serve two God’s. According to scripture, you will love one and hate the other.

 

Question: Who’s your master? Money? Materialism? Things? God should be your answer. Don’t make money your master. Money will fail you BUT God will NEVER fail you!!

DON’T MAKE GOD YOUR MASTER. YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY. YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY.

Phil: 4:6 (ESV)????

6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

No matter what you are going through STIILL give Him thanks!! Give Him thanks in ALL circumstances. BE grateful during good, bad, and stressful times.



No matter what someone tries to tell you, if you don’t perceive it, you will NOT receive it.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)

18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)

6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

Don’t cast your cares on them, cast them on HIM.



It’s one thing to have fear BUT another thing when fear has a hold of you. Everyone has a moment of fear. Fear is an emotion we were born into. When fear controls you, it becomes a problem. We should only fear (revere the Lord). Fearing the Lord draws a person toward God, not away from Him.



✓ Psalm 111:10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding" (ESV).
✓ Proverbs 14:27: "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death" (ESV).
✓ Ecclesiastes 12:13: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (ESV).

THE BIBLE SAYS in 2 Timothy 1:7
7 “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (ESV)

Jesus is telling them not to worry. We too should not worry. We should seek GOD first. Whatever you seek FIRST is your source and resourcing you.

Question: Have you made fear your God?

STAY hungry and SEEK the Kingdom of God FIRST!!!

NUGGET #2
"WHOEVER (whatever YOU SEEK FIRST IS YOUR SOURCE AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RESOURCING YOU!" ~DR. HART RAMSEY~

Question: Who’s your source? Paycheck, spouse, God??? God is the SOURCE, everything and everybody else is a resource.

Some depend on the wrong things. Some budget wrong and they don't allow God in their budget. You did this and that...and Jesus ain’t in this or that. If Jesus ain’t in it...               there will be limits.
***TAKE THE LIMITS OFF OF GOD!!***
Put God into your budget first. In ALL our ways we should acknowledge GOD

Proverbs 3:5-6.

Message: When you want to stay in a carnality mind you will make something what it’s not.

Some are financially blessed but miserable.

Carnal minded people

Our first priority needs to be seeking Him. When you seek Him, you become more like Him.

When you become more like Him you can. Forgive easier.

When you become more like Him you can love easier

When you become more like Him you do not become irritated one/or agitated so easy.

When you become more like Him when you see the person who did you the worst and love them anyway.

When you become more like Him, you do not go to bed angry/mad at your spouse.

We should be emulating Jesus!!

Kingdom priority is seeking the Kingdom FIRST. It’s an act of spiritual sight.

FYI: if our internal eye is clouded by anxiety, materialism or bad vision we literally can’t see the Kingdom to prioritize it first. That’s why our appetites don’t seek Him first. We seek what we want first because we don’t see clearly .

You can’t have Matthew 6:33 (ESV) without Mathew :6:22 (ESV) . Verse 22 is the vision that helps you see verse 33 and prioritize what God is telling you to see. Seek ME first.


So, if our perception is fixated on worldly treasures (Which is the context of verses 19-21), then verse 33 becomes a legalistic chore. Ex. Complaining about coming to church etc.

Seek the scriptures first, don’t go to Google first. AI is not anointed intelligence. Don’t go to AI, it’s artificial intelligence, it’s fake…Some go to fake intelligence and make them their God.

When you do not know light from darkness, you just look to get your needs met. You cannot seek first what you haven’t seen as the ultimate treasure.

If your eyes have been open, if you’ve become a NEW creature in Jesus Christ…..ACT as such NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST JESUS!!!

When your appetite is based on resources you can’t seek Him first.

NUGGET #3
IF THE EVE ISN'T RIGHT, THE FEET WON'T FOLLOW THE RIGHT PATH.

The Bible says, “God orders the steps of a GOOD man.” Psalm 37:23 (KJV)
You won’t know the path if you can’t see the order. Everything we do comes from VISION and PRIORITY. Many get in trouble because they get caught in a process of always looking to the Lord. It’s often based from a place of trouble and not love.

NUGGET #4
STOP JUST LOOKING TO THE LORD AND START SEEKING FOR THE LORD!

Question: Are you the one that always ask Help! Help! Help Lord Help?

SEEK and you SHALL find!



Isaiah 55:6 (ESV)

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;”

Matthew 7:7-8

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Some may not be receiving any help because they are not seeking.

Isaiah 55:6

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;”

We should be repeat seekers of the Lord while He may be found. We should always be searching/pursuing/ seeking Jesus. Stay in seeking Jesus mode!!

Seek God in SONShine or rain! Seek! Aim and strive after the Lord! Persue God ALWAYS!!

God wanted them to elevate their thinking. We too should elevate our thinking.

Stop losing sleep over things you cannot control. Stop struggling over things He already said he’d provide.

We are anxious for God to do what we want BUT we won’t wait. In the wait, we mess up because we take it out of God’s hands. Sometimes the wait is getting you together.

Advice to self: Seek God! Pursue God! Patiently wait on God.

The worse thing is to get a blessing that you are not ready for…..

Jesus gives us the blueprint for breakthrough, the recipe for success. So, what are YOU seeking FIRST?

The promise of provision is given to those who SEEK HIM FIRST!!

So, our appetite has become ruined because we've been putting something first before our 5 course meal.

Some have made God an after thought instead of our source.

Worrying is harmful to your emotional and mental.

Some need a SEEK care, not self-care! Get yourself together. A SEEK care will show you how to properly self-care.

Some have put the weight of their faith in the wrong source. Worry has become someone’s God and it’s pressing against their souls.

 

We must STAY hungry for GOD and watch our weight. Stop meditating on the wrong information. Meditation is a magnifier and what you choose to magnify enlarges the weight of anything we obsess over. Obsess over the Kingdom, God and seeking Him first.

What you magnify will enlarge your territory.

Get God out of your guest room and put Him in the living room. We made Him a guest when He should have residence in our body.

Nugget #5
SEEKING HIS KINGDOM AND RIGHTEOUS STANDARDS FIRST, ELIMINATES WEIGHTED WORRIES

When you seek the Kingdom of God, you are seeking the provision God promised us. It’s multiplies! It increases! What we choose to do first determines the outcome of our NEXT!

Question: Have you made God first or have we ruined our appetite by eating something that gives a temporary filling?

Every time we worry , we are saying, GOD can you handle this???

Worry decreases our faith.

The antidote to worry is seeking the Kingdom of God First.

Jesus preached one central message and that message was straight KINGDOM!!!

Matthew 4:17 (ESV)

The Kingdom of God is about a relationship with Him. Your mentality BECOMES Kingdom.

Matthew 6:10 (ESV)

10  “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”



In scripture, Jesus asked for the transference of heaven's systems into this earth reality. We can’t perceive that revelation if your eyes are not clean.

 

Forgiving and Forging Forward
Kingdom Men of Chosen | Man Cave Recap

Last night’s Man Cave at The Chosen Church was nothing short of transformational.
Our Transformation Table centered on the powerful topic of Forgiving and Forging Forward, inspired by Ephesians 4:31-32. What unfolded was more than a discussion…it was a release.
We were reminded that forgiveness is not optional for the believer…it’s essential!

When we choose not to forgive and instead harbor bitterness, we unknowingly set into motion a chain reaction in our lives. A chain that impacts our obedience, tests our faith, and distorts our decision-making. What feels justified in the moment can quietly become a barrier to everything God is trying to do in and through us.

Forgiveness Is More Than a Moment, It’s a Release

Elder Dangerfield brought a powerful teaching that shifted perspective. He broke down the Greek word for forgiveness, aphiēmi…and challenged us to go deeper. Forgiveness is not just the act of saying “I forgive you.”

It means:
• To go
• To release
• To send away

It is the intentional act of canceling a debt…choosing not to hold someone hostage for what they’ve done. That hit different…because real forgiveness isn’t surface-level…it’s spiritual surgery.

From Real Life to Real Freedom

What made the night even more impactful was the transparency in the room. Men stood up and shared real stories. Real pain. Real struggles.
They testified how unforgiveness had impacted their lives….how it showed up in their relationships, their mindset, and even their ability to move forward.

But even more powerful was this:

It wasn’t until they truly forgave that they were able to truly move forward.

Forgiveness wasn’t just a concept…it became a key.

You Can’t Forge Forward While Holding On

One thing became clear:

You cannot step into what God has next while still holding on to what hurt you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean what happened was right. It means you’re choosing freedom over bondage.

Liberty Was in the Room
There’s no other way to say it…something broke in the room last night

Chains fell...Weights lifted...Hearts shifted…

…and I can promise you this:

Not one man that was present left the same way he came.
As Kingdom Men, we don’t just talk about growth…we live it!!

So the challenge is simple, but not easy:

What do you need to release so you can truly move forward?

Because forgiveness isn’t just about them…It’s about your freedom…

Is your hunger in the right place?

Psalm 119:11 (NLT)
11 “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Everything is NOT the devil. Sometimes it God trying to save us.
We need to get our appetites in order.

Scriptures:
They Word have I hid in my heart……
Rightly divide the Word of truth…….
Some pursue things and NOT God. Lord, please forgive us.

Question: What alarm is leading your life?

Loneliness is a believer's alarm that’s gotten too far away from the Lord. Loneliness doesn’t mean the absence of affection. Loneliness is the absence of direction. When loneliness creeps in (alarm), fall on your face in the midst of loneliness. Fall at the feet of your Father!! ????

FYI: loneliness It’s not about being alone, it’s about not giving God enough of your alone time.
Note: We fast to empty ourselves of us and to fill up with more of God. More of you and non of us God. We fast to draw closer to God. Fasting is to refill us of God’s DNA!!

Reminder: Everybody is NOT your assignment. This reminds me of a message Pastor Craig spoke about last year. He stated that some are drained, tired, frustrated etc because they are doing things out of alignment (Out of their assignment). This reminds me to stay in my lane….the one that God assigned me to.

Everything leaves you unsatisfied when you seek things of the flesh. Fasting allows God to fill His space in your life. Our hunger must be for the Lord. If you don’t make space for the Lord, your body will be driven by your mind. If your mind is not in Christ Jesus your flesh will lead you.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Renewed minds = Satisfied minds.
 
Remember: Appetite, desires….Some are drawn away from God by their own desires.
Newsflash: Just because you’ve been in church for years doesn’t mean that God has been in you for years.

There are some things where destruction needs to be replaced with instructions.
Instruction: Latin word; To build in, to construct, to prepare, build knowledge/skill in someone’s mind. So, when we become new creation, we find like-minded people. The instructions relinquish what God has been trying to break up in you for years.
Give God His first and what you need will come.

Reminds me of Matthew 6:33 and Proverbs 16:3 (Read them). We MUST hunger had thirst for Jesus!!
We must hunger and thirst for Jesus.
Newsflash: if you what your name in lights and not in the book of life, your mind messed up.
The enemy gives a false sense of satisfaction, when you pursue what the enemy presents to you.

Pursue God=Perfect peace!

Question: How’s your prayer life? How often do you talk to the Lord.

We need to pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Talk to your Creator often!! Our hunger should be for the Lord!!

When you think about God an urge to pray should come. We should not just pray when we get sick. God is NOT a desperate times causes for desperate measures type of God. When you have an appetite for the Lord, when you think about His goodness, you give Him a moment of praise.
When your foundation is based on God, the urge will come and you will pray/praise the Lord.
Define your urge? We should have the urge for God.

Note: If you're unable to express praise or prayer, it's likely the devil has a hold on you.

Question: If God had to depend on your praise, could He depend on your praise???

Question: is your appetite hungry for the Lord. When your appetite has been activated you can experience an activated life.

If you do not have an appetite for God’s Word, your discernment will be off. If your appetite hasn’t reminded you that you haven’t eaten His Word then your hunger is in the wrong place.

 15:16 (ESV)
16”Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Again: What you hunger for, you pursue.

Matthew 5:1-3 (ESV)
Read 5:1-11

The Sermon on the Mount
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes (Matt 5:2-11)

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
God is not moved by crowds. He left the crowd; the disciples went to where Jesus was. A true worshipper who follows the Lord is a true disciple. True worshipers and true disciples move the Lord. A true disciple will follow after Jesus Christ NO matter the circumstances.

John 10:27 (ESV)
27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

OTN: Scripture says Jesus separated Himself from the crowd to pray. Don’t be too busy to connect with the Father. What we are connected to matters. We make time for the things that are important to us!
What we hunger for controls our behaviors.

The Beatitudes describe what your inward attitude should be like. These are Kingdom character traits. Matthew 5:1-11 (Character of believers.
Remember: The Bible was to them, for us. We should read the Bible not through our eyes first BUT through the lenses of who He was talking to first.
To live a blessed life, your attitude must resemble GOD,

One of the main tricks of the enemy is to distract you from knowing who you are. If the wilderness the enemy tried to attack Jesus’ identity.
When you know who you are circumstances don’t change you.

The beatitudes are set up in sections:
✓ 3-5 Explains Kingdom Interest.
✓ 6-8 Explains Kingdom Expression.
✓ 9-12 Explains Kingdom Experience.

Psalm 1:1-6 (ESV)
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

What you believe determines how you behave. Kingdom minded people behave like Kings.
He said if you stand with them, it will not be long before you sit with them. Where you stand is what you believe and where you sit is how you behave. Spend enough time standing and sitting outside with them and you will eventually belong to them. Who you sit and stand with matters?

Hunger and thirst for God = Be filled, satisfied. Live a satisfied life. There is NO satisfaction outside of desiring GOD first.

You never have to beg a homeless man to eat. You should never have to beg a hungry believer to go after God or persuade them to eat the Word of God.
Question: How hungry are you? Who are you hungry for? What’s standing in the way of you eating from the Lords table? What stops you from thirsting and from being hungry for LIVING water?

Feeling lonely = God wants more of you.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Thirst and hunger for God and BECOME like Him!!

Emulate = Strive to get to Jesus!

You are NOT failing if you are striving to be like Christ

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Series: Appetite PT2
Title: Satisfied
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-6 (ESV)

Pastor Craig Walder Jr.'s sermon, Satisfied, was part of the Appetite PT2 series at The Chosen Church Worship service. He referenced Matthew 5:1-6 (ESV). Alignment is crucial for fulfillment. It's vital to recognize God's word as unchanging, reliable, and foundational.
Pastor Walder highlighted three human struggles: the pride of life, being one's own god;
the lust of the eyes, including jealousy and envy; and the lust of the flesh, involving desires from being earthly creatures in a fallen world.

The enemy's tactics, as seen in the story of Adam and Eve, involve planting seeds of doubt and presenting alternatives to obedience. Actually , the enemy has no new strategies, relying on human appetite, perception, and ambition. Satan aims to persuade individuals to question God's Word, exploiting vulnerabilities and tempting through needs and desires. Jesus' appetite was aligned with God's Word, and we must follow suit. Despite physical weakness, Jesus' appetite for God's things remained strong. Understand this, we MUST surrender daily our fleshly desires. Whatever has control over your appetite has control over your life.


Alignment leads to fulfillment BUT fulfillment doesn’t mean you are full. It means you are activated, it means you’re hungry. It means you are consistently hungry.
Mic check: Some are hungry for God BUT want to snack for something else at the SAME time! 
Being hungry can be great thing if your appetites foundation consumes righteous things.
Our appetite is based on a bodily need.
Sometimes our appetites desire things we’ve never tasted BUT seen it and it looks appealing to us.

1 John 2:16 -17 (ESV)
16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
Desires of the flesh….From the World.
Desires of the eyes…..From the world.
Pride of life….From the world.
Lust of the flesh….From the world.

Remember: The world WILL pass away with its desires BUT GOD’S Word WILL forever stand!!!
God's word is unchanging, reliable, AND provides a foundation stronger than the temporary, physical world.
⬆️Isaiah 40:8?
⬆️ Matthew 24:35?
All desires are not sin. When our desires doesn't please God, we violate the rightness of God.

Three things folks battle:

✓ The pride of life: Being your own god.
✓ The lust of the eyes: insights jealousy and envy.
✓ The lust of the flesh: The desires that arise from being earthly creatures living in a fallen world.

Note: All desires are not sin because God has GIVEN us desires. This reminds me of Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires of your heart.” Our desires should please God, not ourselves.

Our flesh desires things we’ve never tasted BUT it looks desirable to us because of the sinful nature that surrounds it. We should not allow the enemy to capitalize off these things!

Genesis 3:1-6 (NIV) Speaks about the lust.
Adam and Eve never tasted or touched the fruit in the middle of the Garden that was presented by God and the serpent. Something made the fruit desirable to them. The enemy placed a seed of doubt and showed them the alternative to obedience.
PLEASE stop having conversations with the devil and STOMP on the devil. We do not negotiate with the devil; we crucify our flesh!

Genesis 3-1 (NIV)
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The enemy will convince you to question what God told you to do so he can talk you out of obeying the truth (God.). However, ask yourself, Did God really tell you what you said
He told you??

1. The woman saw the food was good.
2. The food was pleasant to her eyes.
3. She desired to be wise.
4. She took and ate the food.
5. She gave the food to her husband and he ate the food too.

The enemy has no new strategies. There are no new inventions from the enemy, he just appeals to the human appetite, perception and ambition.
Temptation sometimes often works through things that either satisfy a desire we already had or awaken one that we never knew existed.
The serpent showed Adam and Eve something they’d never seen before.
The devil will try to convince you to second guess what God told you or showed you through His Word. Temptation comes when you have a need of something or when it’s something you want. The devil targets our appetites.
He tries to put you in position to fall.
The Word tells you…You are more than a conqueror BUT you keep letting anger conquer you.

Question: When you're broke, do you wait on the Lord or do you seek out people and things to put money in your pocket: Sugar daddy, sugar momma? Etc.?

Romans 8:1 tells us that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” You do not live in condemnation, unless you choose to keep falling.

Genesis 3:1 The enemy tries to get you to question what God told you.

Anything you need the enemy will show you the easy way to get what you need. He will try to entice you with something that appeases your flesh.
He sometimes gets us to make it feel as though we deserve something to get us to sin.
Sometimes what we desire is NOT in God’s will for us.
Sometimes the devil will tempt you with something of God to make you come out the character of God.
Message: If we don’t know how to control our appetite the enemy (in-me)/flesh will have you doing things you never thought you would do before.
The enemy puts doubts in our minds to distract us.

Newsflash: Just because it appears good doesn’t mean it’s GOD!! Sometimes what we deserve is NOT in God’s will.

Sometimes what’s NOT your vice is what you need.
The devil will sometimes take something of God, use it against you to get you to sin.
Reminder: The enemy tempted Jesus with “power” BUT Jesus already had the POWER! Jesus did not respond through His flesh, He didn’t respond through His emotions, He responded through the Word of God. Jesus' response was according to His appetite.
Jesus’ appetite was aligned with the Word of God. Our appetites must be aligned to the Word of God. Jesus was tempted when He was physically weak BUT His appetite was strong for the things of God. Flesh loves to be in charge. However, we must die to our flesh daily.

Whatever has your appetite has your life.

Matthew 4:4 (NIV) states, "Jesus answered, 'It is written: "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."'

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV) says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna... to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

Everything that’s good for you will NOT always feel good to you.
Pray to God before reading and give Him your struggles and He will illuminate His Word.
Our natural appetites remind us to eat. Our spiritual appetites should remind us to spiritually eat.

Question: Is your appetite in the right place or is your appetite off??

Jeremiah 15:16 (ESV)

16 “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts”
What you’re hungry for, you will pursue!

Newsflash: If you don’t study, you will fail. The test will come again until you pass the test. Study God’s Word , study to know God and to pass the test.
Some want relief and not obedience.

Nugget #3 IT'S IN THE WILDERNESS THAT YOU FIND OUT YOUR WILLINGNESS!
If you are winning and the person next to you is failing. Sis/Bro you are not winning. It’s in the wilderness you find out where you really are spiritually. After 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus was hungry. Vs 4. In the wilderness Jesus was being prepared for His assignment and purpose! Sometimes when God is preparing you for what’s next it comes with agitation. The agitation is protection. If you cannot handle the wilderness, you won’t be able to handle the mountain top!

Listen Here: The enemy always tempts you when you need something the most. Because he wants to offer an alternative to God’s obedience. God wants you to wait on the blessing….in the meantime the devil offers a cash advance (dept). God says wait, the devil gives you things now. Some have a problem of being tested in the wait, so they fall into temptation to gain the “now”. Again, don’t bite the bait.

We are NOT microwave believers...Simmer on that!!!

Matthew 4:3 Temptation always comes when you feel the lack of. Jesus lacked food so He was tempted with food. Temptation comes when someone is emotionally, spiritually and physically weak too.

Question: Why did the devil come after 40 days and 40 nights?

Because Jesus was physically weak. The enemy attacks us in our weakest moments. The tempter comes when we are weak. The enemy comes with temptation when you are isolated. Jesus was by Himself in the wilderness. Please don’t isolate yourself, unless God is leading you to do so.

On another note: God’s a keeper of those that want to be kept!! Isolation magnifies inner voices. It’s 1 of 2 things (1) God’s truths or (2) The devil’s lies. If “you” isolate yourself and God doesn’t, you will hear more lies than God’s truths. The Holy Spirit led God to that moment of isolation. Community and accountability will keep you grounded. When you are tired it’s easy for your guards to drop. We need to always depend on God’s Word. A lot of sin happens when you’re tired. According to 2 Corinthians 12:9 “God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.”

Question: Why would satan think he could get Jesus to fall to temptation?

He tried it!! He got Adam BUT he could not get Jesus! The KING of kings!!??????????

The Holy Spirit will always bring something to your memory. Remember the first man, Adam! God sent him to do the work, but he failed the test and fell to temptation. Reminder: The devil is the king of lies, the king of this world and of the sinful systems of this wicked world. Sinful systems include: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. Matthew 26:39 Jesus was tempted to quit BUT He persevered! You cannot do it in the garden if you are NOT prepared in the wilderness.

The wilderness prepares you for the garden. We must steward the garden season well. The garden is more trying than the wilderness. The WORD of GOD is what’s going to keep us!! It’s the only thing that’s going to sustain us in all aspects of life. The test was not about the hunger; it was about alignment with the Word of God! The devil tried it!! The devil wants you to die in your sin.

Nugget #4 YOUR APPETITE STAYS ACTIVATED, WHEN YOU STAY ALIGNED WTH THE WORD OF GOD!

God’s purpose was to die for us to redeem us. Look at testing as preparation, not punishment!! Matthew 26:39 (ESV) You cannot do it in the garden if you fail in the wilderness. You just steward the wilderness and garden well. The Word of God will sustain you. The garden seasons are crushing seasons. Some garden seasons will make you bleed. Some name their “new” seasons. Your seasons are not based off materialistic things. Your season is whatever God says it is. Wheat and tares grow together. Everyone has spiritual toxins in them. We all need to be delivered from something.

Matthew 13:36–43 (READ) Galatians 5:9 says, “A little bit of yeast will mess up the whole loaf.”. These would be the influences that sneak into our spirituality and shape how we see God, how we see ourselves, and how we see others. The wilderness will show you your legalistic spirituality. We ate already accessible! No need to preform, REST in God. God doesn’t need more performers; He needs true worshipers. Question. Are you a narcissistic, follower of Christ? Do you want things your way or NO way?

Are you at the center of everything and not God?
Again: Is God leading you or are you “trying” to lead God.

The wilderness will show you your Secretism. Secretism def: “Secretism is the active, deliberate cultivation and performance of secrecy to build group identity, power, or reputation, often by promoting the illusion of exclusive, restricted knowledge” We need the wilderness. The wilderness exposes who and what we stand on?

Do we stand on the Word of God or compromise to comfortability? Who you sit with determines WHERE you stand. Clean hands, pure heart might be your intention but the wrong voices around you will start to shape you. The Bible says, “Bad company corrupts good character!” 1 Corinthians 15:33 Married couples: Pass the wilderness so we can get to the garden!! Your wilderness will show you that you are kissing breakthroughs because of your circle. Does your “circle” have a hold of you or does God have a hold of you. Is your circle trying to get to the King??

If your circle is not lifting your faith, are they lowering your spiritual standards. Jesus Himself (Humanity) showed that we all have needs in the wilderness. The first thing the enemy does is attack who you are in God (Matthew 4:3). Disruption always comes before deployment and attacks always come with assignments.

The devil comes to attack your identity first. He wants to expose who you are or would like for you to doubt who you are in Christ. Vs 3.

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The enemy will try to make you prove who you are: (1) He’s exposing you for not being authentic. (2) He wants you to mismanage or misuse the power you possess. Lightly put: The enemy will test what you practice!!! You will expose self or God’s power.

IT’S CRUSHING SEASON YA’LL!! The enemy will challenge who you think you are in Christ. The Bible is our blueprint!!! Matthew 4:4 Jesus is the Word devil!! Jesus fasted and ate His tears for food. Psalm 42:3 Some don’t want to go through anything BUT want God to give us everything!

Question: Is the Word working for you? Are you working the Word?

Do what the Word says and MOVE on. It is written, He wrote it, NOT you!! Don’t twist the Word of God to make it fit your lifestyle. Don’t misuse the Word of God to justify your feelings against someone. Adam destroyed himself, the devil did not destroy Adam. Chosen can destroy Chosen, not the devil. Don’t be moved by your fleshly desires. The enemy is always attacking our alignment to knock us off track and many fall out of alignment because they are unequally yoked.

Question: Are you unequally yoked with Jesus? In the wilderness our true desires come out of us.

Matthew 11 Give God your burdens. God gives rest! Take on Jesus’ rest! Some lose their appetite because they haven’t taken upon Jesus’ yoke. Which is why we become unequally yoked. Some reduce Jesus to Easter. The Bible was FOR them and TO us. We need to learn the Bible teachings.

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Message: if we take on God’s teachings: (1) You won’t be stressed out. (2) You will know how to handle opposition. (3) You won’t be depressed. (4) You won’t be weary. (5) You won’t have identity crises. (6) You won’t live in dysfunction. (7) You will know how to get through trauma. (8) Those triggers won’t make you. Women want to yoke up with someone to make them feel and look better. Yoke with Jesus!! Be hungry for God and allow Him to feed you!! Jesus was hungry for food BUT He was hungry for His assignment more. Are you hungry for God or for “things”. Some yoke up with things that fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Things and people in your life should never decrease your relationship with God…it should increase it. Jesus was hungry for food, but He was hungry for His assignment more. Everything Jesus overcame was because of His humanity, not because of His divinity. God showed us this so we too can go/grow through human things. If you are aligned with Jesus, your appetite must emulate His.

Nugget #5 YOUR DESIRES DETERMINE YOUR TEMPTATIONS

James 1:13-15 (NV) God can change a season in the middle of the season!!! We cannot afford to be a malnourished body of believers.

Question: What’s your spiritual formation???

Type your new text here.

Yesterday, The Chosen Church congregation was inspired by Pastor Craig Walder Jr.'s powerful message from his new series, Appetite. The message, titled Activated Appetite, was thought-provoking. He referenced Matthew 4:1-4 (NIV) in his scripture. Pastor Craig posed a poignant question: Are you a good steward over your current season? We gained insight into the concept of appetite as a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need. Our appetite plays a vital role in determining our alignment with God, which impacts our advancement in life. Recognizing transitional moments in life is essential, as advancement encompasses spiritual growth beyond material gain. However, we often become stagnant in our current season due to our inability to align or realign ourselves, indicating spiritual complacency. The enemy doesn’t need to attack your purpose; he simply tempts your appetite. Pastor Craig shared five insightful nuggets to illuminate how activated appetites thrive spiritually. Nugget #1: Whatever holds your appetite holds your life. Nugget #2: God may lead you to a place that doesn’t resemble God. Nugget #3: The wilderness reveals your willingness. Nugget #4: Your appetite remains activated when aligned with God’s Word. Nugget #5: Your desires determine your temptations. Question: What’s your spiritual formation? Last thought: Foster a hunger for God and allow Him to sustain you.

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Series: Appetite Pt. 1
 Scripture: Matthew 4 :1-4 (NIV)
Title: Activated Appetite

Question: Are you a good steward over the season you are in???
Appetite is a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need. Our appetite determines our alignment with God. Our alignment determines our advancement in life.

Question: Ever felt the season of being stale, dry, stank, lifeless repetitive non ending cycles?
Sometimes season ends, God has moved on. We made a cycle of dysfunction and chose to stay in cycles of dysfunction. You didn’t steward the season well and you stayed while God left it! How? Because our appetites can become deactivated because our alignment becomes misaligned.

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Our desires become our distractions. Some allow their pain to become their prison when it should be a moment of preparation. Do you steward your assignment (The season you are in) well?
Message: Don’t miss the transitional moments of advancing in life. Advancing in life is not earthly gain, its spiritual formation. Sometimes instead of adjusting, we get stuck in the season that we are in. because we refuse to align/re-align ourselves. I equate this to spiritual complacency.

Newsflash: You would not have to diet if you chose to eat right. People diet when they do not like the way they look. Most seasons start with exposure, not with answers. Favor is fair for those who are living according to God’s will. When you live righteously, you earn the favor that God chooses to give you!! Thank You Father God for the favor!!

⬇️———ON THE FLIP SIDE———⬇️

Pause——Real favor attracts real attacks! The enemy doesn’t have to attack your purpose. He just tempts your appetite. Jesus backstory regarding His ministry and His wilderness experience:

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Before Jesus preached Before he performed any miracles Before He ever healed anybody Before He chose any disciples…He was led into the wilderness where He experienced REAL spiritual warfare. The enemy, the tempter tested Jesus’ hunger temperature.

Nugget # 1 WHATEVER HAS YOUR APPETITE…HAS YOUR LIFE.
Jesus in Matthew 3 was just affirmed. Matthew 3:16 He was just baptized and announced. The Spirit led Him to be tempted. Vs. 1 Spirit led Him to a dry place. The Spirit led Him to a desolate place. The Spirit led Him to a non-attractive place.

FYI: GOD does not tempt us! God will allow the enemy to tempt us. Reminds me of Job and Joseph. James 1 - God uses things to train us when the enemy tempts us. Jesus was development Jesus was sent BUT before He was sent, He was tested!! Jesus was developed and deployed before He was sent. Message: We all need tests and development! We all need testing and training as a part of our development journey. God will only allow Satan to do to you what’s going to benefit you.

Note: You’re tested the most when you need something the most. Scripture presents testing and temptation together. In scripture testing and temptation are not identical, but they can happen at the same time. Testing - Temptation- The difference can be in the intent itself, not solely in the event of a thing. God sometimes test us to reveal us, to strengthen us and to prove what is genuine. The enemy attempts to distract, weaken, distort or to cause failure….

Don’t bite the bait!!! Genesis 22 God tested Abraham. It was to reveal and refine the faith that was already in him. God never wanted Abraham to fall or fail.

FYI: Testing shows what’s already in you! We forget to fail because we fail to realize that we ARE the Kings kids and don’t have to fall to the devil’s tricks. Trick NO good devil!!! The enemy tricks us (test us) so we can compromise. He wants us to turn a moment of testing to a moment of compromise, a moment to miss the mark, a moment to shame and condemn us. Don’t bite the bait!!

Somethings we rebuke GOD assigned it. STOP REBUKING WHAT GOD SENT YOU!! He rebukes things that’s sent by God for our good. We need to understand God’s voice and stop rebuking things. When we don’t know God’s voice, it’ shows that something is off. When you align with God, you know and hear His voice. Alignment with God is an activated life.
Question to ask self: Who’s leading who? Is God leading you or are you trying to lead God.

Nugget # 2 GOD WILL LEAD YOU IN A PLACE, THAT DON'T LOOK LIKE GOD!
We cannot take our lives out of the hands of the one who gave us life. Spirit led Him in. The devil appears in the testing and begins to offer alternatives to obedience…..which is the temptation. Many get in trouble because they want relief, not obedience. We want God to relieve us BUT we don’t want to obey Him. Why??

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Because no one wants to go through a wilderness season, no one wants to be tested. Nobody wants to be tried, and nobody wants to deal with pain BUT there is NO purpose without pain!! Note: The wilderness is a proven ground. YOU NEED THE WILDERNESS!!! Is a proven ground for Jesus!! Temptation shows our humanity because it exposes our pressure points. Temptation itself is not the sin Vs 1 “Jesus Himself was led to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus never sinned, YET He was tempted. Why was Jesus tempted? Because He was hungry. He needed food Vs 2. Jesus Christ as tempted in what He needed. It showed His humanity!! He was being tested and tempted. Question: What do we do in the moment of temptation? Testing reveals, Testing redirects.

Question: Ask self if you are built to handle both temptation and testing at the same time.

Believe what God tells you about people.
He obediently follows God's command to visit the blinded Saul.
Despite of his fear, Ananias lays hands on Saul, restoring his sight and calling him his brother.
This encounter led to Saul’s baptism, infilling of the Holy Spirit, and eventual transformation into the Apostle Paul.

God will stop you in between one set of instructions and give you instructions to move a different way but send you to the same place.

God’s vision is BIGGER than you!! You are NOT the main character!! God gives provision to the visions He gives you.

Saul was a blind man with a vision to see. He could not see it but he was obedient anyway.

Sometimes your sight is infected, but it should never hinder your insight.

Nugget #4 Your sight should never hinder your insight. You may not see it, but your insight is not based on my sight. Insight means the ability to understand situations in a very clear way. The ability to discern deeply and acutely. Simply put: We may not be able to see it with our eyes but because our insight is grounded in our faith, we should know that everything is going to be alright because we know God’s promises. ??

Our insight must be in alignment . You cannot walk by faith if you want to see everything.

Message: PRIDE WILL LEAVE YOU BLIND.

Question: What are you doing while you are waiting in the I between.

Saul was fasting and praying while he was in his in between. Don’t waste the in between while waiting on God.

Psalm 27:13 (ESV)
“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!”

I will see the goodness of the Lord!! Choose to see the goodness of the Lord.

You may not be in an ideal situation, but you serve an ideal God. Sometimes waiting may seem like warfare BUT choose to wait on GOD!

Worship while you wait!!????????

Wait means to BIND! Don’t sit idol.

Question:  What are you attached to while you are waiting. What are you binding yourself to in your in between?

Nugget #5 Worship must be my attachment. While you are waiting you must be attached to worship. Saul attached himself to praying, fasting while he was blind and waiting. Saul binded himself to worship!

Your posture while you are waiting should be the same as when you get what you waited for.

Question: Is your posture aligned?

Put me in position n to receive what you want me to have Lord while I wait on You.

Question: Is your in between trash?

God is not ignoring you….He’s conforming you. A delay is not denial.

The more God prunes us the more He can use us!! God is just trying to develop us.

Thank God for not giving you something you were not ready for. We can prepare what we are waiting for. Saul was attached to worship. He was preparing for what the Lord was going to do to/with him.

God does things exceedingly and abundantly for us so why do some lack when they have a God that owns everything?? Read Ephesians 3:20.

“Self-awareness is a critical part of spiritual growth.” -Apostle Gibson

Word: If we ignore flaws, God will always use someone to make you aware of it. Don’t miss the mark by judging the messenger.

Jesus could have instantly healed Saul, but He chose not to at that time. He used Ananias to help Saul.

Listen: GOD doesn’t care about your comfort He cares about His Kingdom!

Don’t miss your blessing listening to what others tell you about other people. Acts 9:15 (CSB) READ it!!

Pressure reveals people!! It shows you where you are. It shows if you are obedient or disobedient.

Just because we are faithful to church doesn’t mean we are faithful to God.

Reputation may be public BUT your calling is prophetic.

God used a killer, and He uses whomever He chooses to use. We all are EX something. Ex. Ex convict, Ex liar, Ex fornicator etc.

Your obedience or disobedience may influence someone else’s life. Your life will help someone or hurt someone else’s life (walk).

God made Ananias Saul’s accountability partner.

The lack of accountability is running wild in these church streets.

God called you huh? Why aren’t you serving???

Saul was gifted but someone still had to hold him accountable.

You have to hug people not like Judas but like Jesus.

There are some assignments that are only for you to do!

While waiting on Ananias Saul learned disciplined, and how to worship. He was in Judas house on Straight Street. He put Saul on immediate street while waiting.

Straight Street means immediately. Straight street was not to punish Saul but was to develop him.

In your in between God is waiting on you and working for you!

Note: When you are waiting on GOD, you are really waiting with GOD!!

Newsflash: if we do not have the same vision, then DI-vision will come. God is NOT the author of confusion.
READ 1 Corinthians 14:33

For a genuinely rewarding friendship/relationship, pursue one that’s filled with the Holy Spirit.

Every birthing has a waiting room.

Just because you go through stuff doesn’t mean your miracle is on the other side. Jesus suffered and we will too. The blessing of it all is that you are going throughhhhhh! With God in it you will always come out on the winning side.

What’s your posture while you are waiting in the in between ??

I want to leave you with this statement…Who you link up with determines your destiny.
 

Sunday’s service at The Chosen Church was a powerful demonstration of God’s glory. Ten souls accepted the gift of salvation, and a precious baby was dedicated back to the Lord. Pastor Craig Walder Jr. concluded the Holy Benefits Pt. 21 series with a transformative message titled The In Between, based on Acts 9:8–12 (CSB).
Without question, life’s transitional seasons can be challenging, and resting fully in God’s plan is not always easy. The uncertainty of what lies ahead can feel overwhelming. Yet Saul’s journey reminds us that true transformation cannot take place until obedience is demonstrated.
There is something beyond the reach of your obedience. Peace, joy, love, and wisdom all exist on the other side of your willingness to trust and follow God.
It is essential that we learn to effectively discern and steward God’s voice. It is easy to know a voice without listening to what is being said.  When we fail to listen, we risk making decisions that lead to unnecessary loss and wasted opportunities. The accounts of Saul and Ananias reveal what faithful stewardship of God’s voice looks like. Both listened and followed His instruction, and through their obedience came transformation. Saul, once blind, received his sight, and Ananias, who initially walked in hesitation and judgment, received renewed vision to see what God required of him.
Here are my notes and reflections from the message that highlight the importance of obedience, stewardship of God’s voice, and trusting Him through life’s transitions.

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Series: Holy Benefits Pt 21
Scripture: Acts 9:8-12 (CSB)
Title: The In Between

Backstory of Saul in Acts 9

Saul was God’s chosen instrument. Acts 9:15 (CSB)
On the road to Damascus he was struck blind but was later healed by Ananias
A blinding light flashed around him, causing him to fall to the ground.
He heard a voice say, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?".
The voice identified itself, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting".
Saul was blinded by the light and had to be led by hand into Damascus.
For 3 days, he was blind, neither did he eat nor drink.
He was filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized, and immediately begins preaching Jesus as the Son of God.
Saul PREYed on people and now he was getting PRAYed for.
Saul killed people until God killed the killer that lived inside of him.

Saul had sight initially but lost it after the confrontation. He was spiritually blinded prior to his encounter. Jesus knocked him down, left him blind, instructed him to proceed to the city and follow instructions.

Nugget #1 Question: Have you done what God told you to do? Do what you are told to do!

Conversion cannot happen without complete obedience. Transformation happens with revelation. Revelation requires participation. Simply put: Do what you are told to do. Obedience will save your life. Check your obedience!!! ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

You wonder why you’re stuck check your obedience.
You wonder why you’re in turmoil check your obedience.

Some have yet to do what God told them to do.
Saul could not transform without being obedient.
Something is on the other side of your obedience.

Peace could be on the other side of your obedience.
Joy could be on the other side of your obedience.
Love could be on the other side of your obedience.
Wisdom could be on the other side of your obedience.

Our failure to obey can lead to missed opportunities. Doing as you are told could be one of the best decisions of your life.

Some do not want to relinquish “control” Because they want stay in control.

Saul was used to being in control. He had power BUT he met real POWER!!

Acts 9:8 ????????
Saul had to take blind steps.
His eyes were wide open, but he could not see anything. Your eyes can be wide open and still see nothing. God gives us direction, but we challenge Him on the steps. Some want to see it step by step. Most of the time our challenge is based on fear of the unknown.

Some seek instructions on something they were already been told to do.

Nugget #2 Stop negotiating with a non-negotiator. God is not going to go back and forth with something He already told you to do. Some like agreeing with a non-negotiator. STOP ASKING HIM!!!!

2 Corinthians 5:7-9 (ESV)
7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. “

Stop looking to a person and social media for confirmation.

Newsflash: If you need many conformations, you do not know God’s voice.

We all need to know how to steward God’s voice. You will waste things if you do not listen to God’s voice.

John 10:26-28 (ESV)
26 “but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Know God —— Follow God!
No God —— Cannot follow God.
Lord! Help our unbelief.

We need to walk!! Don’t wait….walk!! Walk by faith!! Where God sends you HE will equip you.⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Reminder Scriptures:

Hebrews 13:21 (NIV)
21 “equip you with everything good for doing his will,and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

If God calls you to a task, He will equip you to fulfill it. This promise means that God prepares, strengthens, and qualifies you to live in a way that honors Him.

Choose obedience instead of details.

Acts 9:9 (CSB) ??????
Saul’s posture. He got knocked down, picked himself up, did what he was told to do. He didn’t ask one question. He did not say, I can’t see. He didn’t eat or drink. He did not acknowledge that he could not see, he just obeyed the instructions.

Life will sometimes leave you discombobulated BUT God will get you together if you are obedient to God.

Some are waiting on God to do things that are not in Gods will! Don’t want God’s provision without His presence.

Some pray for things that are not in God’s will for them. You will miss what God has for you looking for something that’s not meant for you!!

Nugget #3 Don’t miss what God’s already presented, looking for what you want. Some stuff we are looking for is not in God’s will for your life. Don’t miss your moment!

Don’t move before God and birth an Ishmael. Simply put: Don’t try to produce a spiritual result through fleshly means. READ Genesis 16.

DON’T MISS YOUR MOMENT!!!

The in between is not easy!
Waiting on God is not easy!
Wanting to know what’s next is not easy!

Don’t wait on God’s things without wanting God to change us. Change me oh God so I can be more like You!

Matthew 6:33 (AMP)
33 “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.”⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

God’s way — Not our way!! Seek GOD, not things!! God’s way! God’s will! God’s way!!! Do YOUR part first.

When you are in alignment what you want will come to pass.

Maybe God hasn’t sent what you want because your life is aligned to please your flesh.

Theme for 2026: ⬇️⬇️
Aligned for Activation! Question: Are you aligned for activation?

Your gift doesn’t show your fruit. Your fruit don’t mean you are right with God.

In order to ACTIVATE you must be ALIGNED!!! Saul was being aligned!!

Some want the gift of God without God, some want religion, not relationship. Just because God gives you a gift don’t mean you are of God. Your gift doesn’t show your fruit. Some stuff we get into is self-inflicted.

Seek GOD, not things!
When we are in between Lord give us more of You. More of you God, less of us.

Saul was in the in between ———-He had to wait to be told what to do!! Saul stopped moving on Saul’s behalf when he became obedient. He still could not see naturally.

Just because you cannot see or hear God doesn’t mean that He’s not working. God is working on your behalf….be patient. God moved on Saul’s behalf. While Saul is waiting, God is moving!

God is merciful!!! Ananias was merciful to Saul. Acts 9:10

Backstory of Ananias in Acts
According to Acts 9 Ananias was a. disciple in Damascus.
God called Ananias in a vision.
Ananias questioned God about visiting Saul due to his reputation for harming believers in Jerusalem. He did not believe that Saul truly converted. Don’t always believe what you hear. Believe what God tells you about people. He obediently follows God's command to visit the blinded Saul.
Despite of his fear, Ananias lays hands on Saul, restoring his sight and calling him his brother.
This encounter led to Saul’s baptism, infilling of the Holy Spirit, and eventual transformation into the Apostle Paul.

God will stop you in between one set of instructions and give you instructions to move a different way but send you to the same place.

God’s vision is BIGGER than you!! You are NOT the main character!! God gives provision to the visions He gives you.

Saul was a blind man with a vision to see. He could not see it but he was obedient anyway.

Sometimes your sight is infected, but it should never hinder your insight.

A Powerful Start to 2026: The Kingdom Men of Chosen Gather for the First Man Cave Session

The Kingdom Men of Chosen launched 2026 the right way…with PURPOSE, BROTHERHOOD, and AUTHENTICITY. Our very first Man Cave session of the year did not disappoint. With nearly 60 men in attendance, the fellowship breakfast set the tone for what promises to be a transformative year.

Led by Brother Geno Frazier, the morning was marked by transparency, genuine connection…and let’s be honest some phenomenal food. From the moment the doors opened, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, creating space for real conversations and real fellowship.
One of the highlights of the morning was the introduction of our Men’s Ministry Leadership Team:

Brother Geno Frazier
Brother David Jensen
Brother Paul Palmer
Brother Brett Swanson
Brother Derrick Shepard Sr.
Brother Elliot Dangerfield Sr.
Brother David Dewberry Sr.

Each leader took time to share a bit about who they are, allowing the men in the room to connect not just with titles, but with hearts and stories.

During our time together, the Men’s Ministry spoke directly to a defining theme for 2026: the importance of getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. We were challenged to move beyond familiar spaces, routines, and comfort levels. Growth requires movement, stretching, and sometimes discomfort…and if we truly desire to mature as men, leaders, husbands, fathers, and Kingdom builders, we must be willing to step into spaces that push us forward.
It was evident that intentional care went into every detail.

The leadership team worked seamlessly to ensure every brother felt seen, welcomed, and supported. The environment encouraged us to laugh together, pray together, and yes…even cry together. That’s the beauty of true brotherhood.
We closed the morning with a powerful reminder from Pastor Craig Walder Jr., who reinforced what it means to walk as a Kingdom man. He emphasized that unity, accountability, and consistency are not optional. They are essential.

When men stand together with a united front and walk boldly in their God-given purpose, growth is inevitable. This first Man Cave session was more than a breakfast…IT WAS A STATEMENT …A statement that 2026 will be a year of alignment, growth, and intentional brotherhood.

And trust us…this was just the beginning. The next Man Cave is coming and you won’t want to miss it. It is scheduled for Saturday, February 21 from 4 to 7 PM at chosen this is the second annual Books, Buckets and Bones fellowship. Registration is open now in the Upcoming Event section on the TCC app. Registration closes at midnight on February, 18th.